Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 218
Chapter Title: The Return of the Death God
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Whoosh!
Figures shot up into the air above the forest.
Cheol Mu-ok ignored them and raced toward the carriage. At the same time, dozens of men near the carriage charged out.
Clank clank!
Cheol Mu-ok's sword transformed into a massive blade.
The clash began at the carriage.
Kim Mu-gwan leaped down from his warhorse and swung the crescent blade in his hand.
Thud!
"Argh!"
A black-clad assailant was cleaved in two along with his sword and crumpled to the ground.
Ju Tae, who had reined in the carriage, drew his sword and jumped down. Cheol Mu-ok soared into the air. Almost simultaneously, dozens of hidden projectiles burrowed into the warhorse's body.
Boom boom thud!
Neigh!
With a pitiful whinny, the warhorse collapsed.
Even as the warhorse he'd ridden with Yi Hwan all this time met its end, Cheol Mu-ok didn't look back. For now, reaching Yi Hwan's side was the priority.
Flash!
Scree!
A chilling energy flew in from the left. Without slowing his pace, Cheol Mu-ok twisted his body and swung his greatsword.
Boom!
"Ugh!"
The attacker staggered back with a sharp grunt. Using the recoil, Cheol Mu-ok instantly closed the distance to Kim Mu-gwan's side.
The carriage door still hadn't opened.
Clang!
Crunch!
"Argh!"
"Kaaak!"
Cheol Mu-ok's greatsword spat fire. Kim Mu-gwan's crescent blade sent both men and swords flying. Ju Tae toppled his foes with his usual blinding speed. In an instant, more than ten assailants sprayed blood and fell.
Ju Tae shouted.
"Watch out for the green-robed ones! And stay close to the carriage—there might be assassins!"
That was when it happened. An object sliced through the air toward them.
Slightly larger than a grown man's fist, it flew straight for the carriage.
"What the hell is that?"
As Ju Tae moved to swat it away with his sword, Kim Mu-gwan quickly yelled.
"It's a thunderclap bomb!"
"……!"
In that split second, Ju Tae hesitated, and the thunderclap bomb struck the carriage dead-on.
KABOOM!
A massive explosion erupted, sending a pillar of fire skyward.
"My lord!"
* * *
Yang Ji-mong clenched his fists tight.
'Got him!'
The thunderclap bomb was something he'd bought from Zhao Kingdom's Sacheon Dang family a few years back, sparing no expense.
Several times more powerful than standard thunderclap bombs, it was packed with special shrapnel that could pierce even a master's protective aura. Yi Hwan would've been shredded to pieces.
"Hahaha!"
Unable to contain his ecstasy, Yang Ji-mong ripped off his human skin mask and burst into laughter.
But the laughter didn't last.
"Guh!"
Yang Ji-mong's eyes bulged like a bull's. Into those eyes stabbed the sight of Yi Hwan floating in midair.
He had leaped up amid the hail of shrapnel, hovering there like a bird beyond the debris.
"No... impossible!"
"He's coming this way!"
Yang Ji-mong's guards hurriedly blocked his front. Yi Hwan had ignored everything else and turned straight toward them.
"No way!"
Yang Ji-mong was still in shock.
"Pull yourself together, young master!"
"Block him! Block that bastard!"
Seven beams of light reflected sharply in Yang Ji-mong's widened eyes. They streaked in instantly, obliterating the head of the guard right in front of him.
Thud!
Splatter!
Blood and brains splattered across Yang Ji-mong's face. Then a cold voice pierced his ear.
"I've seen your face before."
* * *
Yi Hwan flicked his finger against the side of the incoming sword.
Ting!
"Gah!"
The powerful shock rippled along the blade, snapping the attacker's wrist—the bones pierced right through his skin.
There was no need to look further.
Yi Hwan charged at Yang Ji-mong's guards like a raging tiger. Two guards swung at his chest and legs.
But Yi Hwan's sword was faster.
Scraaaape!
Sparks flew as his blade rode up one foe's arm, splitting it and vertically slicing his torso.
Thud!
"Kraaa!"
At the same time, his left hand pierced another's chest.
Thud!
"Cough!"
Yang Ji-mong paled and screamed hysterically.
"Attack him all at once!"
The first to charge weren't Yang Ji-mong's guards, but two green-robed men. They'd been waiting from the start for Yi Hwan to rush toward Yang Ji-mong.
Their joint assault was perfect in timing, spacing, and trajectory.
'Got you!'
Ecstasy flashed in the green-robed men's eyes. No matter how skilled Yi Hwan was, they figured he couldn't dodge this.
However.
Flash!
An immense light erupted from Yi Hwan's sword. In that instant, it stole the two green-robed men's vision.
Their perfect coordination faltered as their sword tips dulled for a moment, and then came gruesome death.
Splurt!
Unable to even scream, their heads flew off.
"Uh......"
Trembling in terror, Yang Ji-mong fell on his ass.
Yi Hwan didn't stop there. Only after slaughtering every last guard did he lower his sword.
"Grand Marshal's son, right?"
"Uh......"
Yang Ji-mong shuddered violently, his face ashen.
"I'll let you live for now."
Thud!
Yang Ji-mong collapsed unconscious.
Yi Hwan turned his gaze to the fierce battlefield.
This was an unexpected attack. He'd never imagined such resistance in the capital, fully controlled by the Golden Army.
It was blatant carelessness.
Sizzle.
His sword brimmed with energy again. As the energy surged, the blood on the blade bubbled up.
"If burning down the Palace of Illusory Flowers wasn't enough, I'll have to send a more brutal warning."
* * *
Two hundred years ago, Yi Hwan had been called the Martial Emperor.
But that was an honorary title bestowed by the jianghu after he'd achieved everything.
Before that, his moniker had been the Death God.
The most brutal and terrifying figure in jianghu history—even the emperors of the three kingdoms trembled in fear of him.
Today, he was showing his most savage side since reincarnating. Just like back when he was called the Death God.
Thud!
A severed head exploded like a watermelon before it even rose into the air. His undirected strikes cleaved anything that came near, and those who lost limbs but clung to life wailed in agony as they slowly died.
If there was such a thing as Asura hell, this was it.
Even Cheol Mu-ok, Ju Tae, and Kim Mu-gwan were stunned by the horrific scene unfolding before them.
Butchery wasn't a strong enough word. This was the devil's playtime.
"P-please spare me!"
Finally, the few survivors threw down their weapons and prostrated themselves. Only eight remained.
One was a green-robed man. Feared as the Empress's shadow by so many, even he surrendered body and soul before the nightmare that was Yi Hwan.
Sizzle.
Bloody steam rose from Yi Hwan's sword.
Clank!
As he sheathed it, the survivors pressed their foreheads to the ground, thinking their lives were spared.
Then seven lights appeared above them. They pierced straight through seven heads.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!
They died without a sound, faces down. The lone surviving green-robed man didn't dare lift his head from the dirt.
"Go tell the Empress: If she wants to live out her days in peace, she should flee somewhere I can't find her."
"......"
"Want me to help you up?"
"Th-thank you!"
The green-robed man fled.
Thus ended the battle of four against a hundred.
"Mu-ok."
"Yes, my lord."
"The Grand Marshal's son is in that forest. Bring him."
"Understood."
Yi Hwan headed toward the river flowing ahead. Ju Tae and Kim Mu-gwan followed.
"Any injuries?"
"Nothing I can't handle."
"Go wash up."
"......Yes."
* * *
Hundreds of warriors rushed to the gruesome site. Golden Army soldiers were there, along with elite Golden Imperial Guards. They stared in horror at the hellscape painted across the official road.
"It's the Great Prince's carriage!"
A Golden Army soldier spotted their emblematic banner amid the wreckage and cried out.
"No way, did the Great Prince......"
That was when it happened.
"There he is!"
A Golden Army soldier pointed to the river and shouted. Yi Hwan and the others sat there.
"The Great Prince is safe!"
The Golden Army cheered.
But the Golden Imperial Guard elites fled on the spot.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and thunder crashed. Torrential rain began to pour.
* * *
On the official road west of the Imperial Palace.
Commander Yu Gwang of the Central Army's procession pushed through the downpour.
As the sudden rain swelled into a deluge, his deputy veered toward shelter.
They entered a small, shabby village—so rundown it was hard to believe it was near the capital. At its entrance stood a fairly large shrine.
"Let's wait out the rain there, Commander."
"Bring me some liquor."
"Yes."
Yu Gwang grumbled at the sky, eager to reach the palace quickly and receive his appointment as Grand Commander-in-Chief.
"Clear the area fast!"
His guards rushed to prepare a seat. Yu Gwang eyed the statue of the Four Heavenly Kings standing tall in one corner of the shrine, furrowing his brow.
"Feels like a ghost might pop out."
"We'll move it."
"Forget it. We're leaving soon anyway."
Yu Gwang wet his throat with the liquor his deputy offered, then lay back on the silk mat they'd laid out, gnawing on jerky.
"The Fourth Imperial Prince got the Grand Commander-in-Chief rank?"
"Yes. But it's just an honorary title—nothing compared to you, Commander."
"Damn right. Some prince playing at Grand Commander-in-Chief? There's a limit to insulting battle-hardened generals. Tsk tsk tsk."
"Indeed."
Then a young general cautiously spoke up.
"Something feels off."
"What?"
"We passed three guard posts on the way here, and they were all manned by Golden Army. Given their duty is capital security, doesn't that seem strange?"
"Greater authority means greater duties. Quit overthinking and go to the villagers—get some hot food."
"......Yes."
The young general opened the door to head out. But he froze, stumbling back instead.
A middle-aged man stood beyond the open door. One of the Crown Prince's Palace warriors.
He stared straight at Yu Gwang and asked quietly.
"You're Central Army Commander Yu Gwang, right?"