Chapter 234
Chapter 234
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: The Mysterious Woman of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was a short battle.
But they had achieved the feat of killing nearly a thousand enemies.
The warriors had simply followed Yi Hwan's orders and defended the ramparts, so it was truly like sitting back and slaying a thousand foes without moving a muscle.
In contrast, not a single ally had fallen. With no casualties before the main battle even began, the warriors' morale could only soar.
Yi Hwan climbed up to the watchtower alongside Jo Cham.
From the watchtower, he could clearly see the Blue Wolf Tribe's cavalry encamped on the plains.
Jo Cham let out a sigh of admiration.
"They've given up the attack after just one skirmish."
"Gui Rang seems far more level-headed than the intelligence suggested. Halting an assault after losing a thousand men without landing a single blow requires a cool head that not just anyone possesses."
"Since they have no idea the Great Prince himself is commanding the army, they must be in a panic. It's embarrassing to say it myself, but with my reputation for being as hot-blooded as Gui Rang, they must find it baffling that I haven't charged out for a frontal clash."
"The greater the confusion, the more it clouds judgment. So far, so good for our opening move."
"Indeed. Thanks to you, the warriors' morale is sky-high. So, when do we move to cut off their supply lines?"
"By now, they've realized we're playing defense, so they'll rush to resupply before the snow falls. But that doesn't mean we need to act immediately."
"Pardon? If they're hurrying, shouldn't we hurry too?"
Yi Hwan shook his head.
"It'll take their supply trains at least half a month to reach here. No need to rush just yet. Plus, if we make a move now, they might catch on to our intentions and prepare countermeasures."
"Ah...."
Jo Cham let out an exclamation.
At that moment, Yi Hwan pulled something from his bosom and began cleaning his ear. It was the ear pick Go Mi had made for him, which he now carried everywhere.
Jo Cham nearly burst out laughing. Who in the world carried an ear pick around with them?
Just then—
"Time to eat!"
Gong Son-tae approached from below the watchtower.
Yi Hwan put away the ear pick and turned to Jo Cham.
"Let's head down."
"Yes."
As they descended, Go Mi and Hwa Ryeong appeared a short distance ahead. They had left the camp at dawn to scout the enemy and were only now returning.
"The main force led by the Supreme Commander is advancing quickly."
"Estimated time of arrival?"
"Mostly infantry, so even at best, half a day."
"Then let's eat together."
"Yes."
"Brother, I'm starving!"
Hwa Ryeong made a pitiful face. They had rushed out so early they hadn't even had a proper meal.
Meanwhile, Jo Cham followed behind the three, inwardly filled with admiration.
'Not a hint of tension on their faces.'
Facing an enemy army of three hundred thousand yet remaining so composed was no easy feat. Even battle-hardened veterans often lost sleep when war loomed.
'They do say blood will tell.'
In his youth, Jo Cham had roamed the battlefields alongside the now-retired Emperor Emeritus.
The Emperor Emeritus had been a symbol of unparalleled valor, admired by the nation's warriors not just as emperor but as a martial artist.
Now, Jo Cham saw that same image in Yi Hwan.
'Come to think of it, even his back and gait resemble His Retired Majesty.'
Jo Cham gazed at the crimson dragon embroidered on Yi Hwan's later-period armor.
The divine beast symbolizing the Yi imperial house—the Crimson Dragon. It suited Yi Hwan perfectly.
"Is something good on your mind?"
"......!"
Hwa Ryeong's question left Jo Cham bewildered.
"What do you mean all of a—"
"You were smiling, so I asked."
"I... was smiling?"
"Yes. A big grin."
"......"
* * *
As war clouds gathered in the north, a bloody melee raged in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
Clang!
Crunch!
"Argh!"
"Ugh!"
"Hold the left flank! Don't let them through!"
"Kill them all!"
Raaah!
Namgung Jang-cheon stared at the hordes of Dark Heaven Cult bandits swarming like black waves, exhaling ragged breaths.
"Hoo!"
"Young master! We should retreat! There are far too many of them!"
A general shouted urgently.
A Namgung family warrior added in desperation.
"Any delay, and our retreat will be cut off! You must decide now!"
Crunch.
Namgung Jang-cheon bit his lip.
Half a shichen earlier, they had spotted a suspicious group moving and engaged them.
At first, he thought they could handle it easily, but then three times as many appeared, turning the tide.
Worse, the battlefield was deep in the mountains, far from camp, making reinforcements impossible.
'Did they lure us in, rather than us spotting them?'
Otherwise, three times the numbers wouldn't have shown up right after the clash began.
Clang!
Boom!
"Argh!"
"Uwaaak!"
The screams of friend and foe echoed ceaselessly.
Namgung Jang-cheon finally decided to retreat.
"Pull back."
Tweet! Tweet!
The retreat horns blared repeatedly as Qin kingdom warriors began falling back. Namgung Jang-cheon and the Namgung family elites charged the enemy to cover their withdrawal.
Namgung Jang-cheon's sword blazed with fury. No one on this field could match him head-on.
Crunch!
"Graaak!"
"Mere bandits daring to draw steel against the warriors upholding the imperial edict!"
Flash!
Thud!
"Graaak!"
"Kraaak!"
Namgung Jang-cheon was a raging tiger. He unleashed his most lethal techniques mercilessly, felling Dark Heaven Cultists left and right.
The Namgung elites guarded his three flanks like an iron wall, moving in sync, preventing any approach.
Thanks to them, the struggling Qin warriors managed to withdraw.
Namgung Jang-cheon's face was drenched in enemy blood. Only his fury-bulged eyes and flashing teeth gleamed white.
Then—
Flash!
A streak of light shot from the left.
It flew straight at Namgung Jang-cheon. Having just severed a head, he raised a sword barrier and dodged with footwork.
Boom!
The explosion shredded parts of his robe. Startled, Namgung Jang-cheon stared where the light had come from. Figures emerged there.
Clad in blood-red robes and blood-red ghost masks, they chilled the blood just to look at. They charged straight at Namgung Jang-cheon and the elites the moment they entered the field.
One in a blue ghost mask advanced directly on Namgung Jang-cheon—the attacker from before.
"Not bad, kid."
Namgung Jang-cheon gripped his sword two-handed, fixing on the blue-masked one.
He had realized from blocking that single strike: an extraordinary master. Even after one exchange, sensation hadn't fully returned to his sword hand.
Clang!
Crunch!
Beside him, the elites clashed fiercely with the masked ones, but Namgung Jang-cheon couldn't spare a glance.
'Dangerous foe.'
His instincts screamed it. And this was the first such feeling since entering the martial world.
The blue-masked one lowered his sword. A sizzling sound accompanied blood-light igniting along the blade.
"If you knew what the Ten Thousand Great Mountains are, you'd know you can't just leave as you please."
"You talk as if this were your territory."
"It's not Qin territory, at least. And certainly not the emperor's."
"Shut your mouth!"
Sizzle!
Namgung Jang-cheon's sword also wrapped in qi.
The eyes visible beyond the mask narrowed long—smirking.
"The Namgung family loses its heir, and the greedy emperor loses his prince consort today. I'll make it so. Heh heh heh."
* * *
Drip...
Blood trails marked Namgung Jang-cheon's path. At least these were from his own wounds.
Tremble...
His eyes shook endlessly, hot breaths pouring from his open mouth.
In his duel with the blue-masked one, Namgung Jang-cheon suffered his first defeat since entering the martial world.
All the Namgung warriors with him had perished. They fought valiantly to the end against the masked foes, dying with worry for him in their final moments.
Had one clan elder not charged the blue-masked one in a mutual destruction strike at the last, he wouldn't have escaped.
The foe was that strong.
*You must survive for our fallen brothers. Avenge us, young master.*
Whoosh!
Namgung Jang-cheon ran without rest. His only goal was survival.
Tears streamed down his cheeks, mixing with the blood on his face into bloody tears.
A shichen after he passed?
Five blood-masked figures appeared. They followed the vivid tracks straight toward where he vanished.
No blue mask among them.
"Leave him alive, and he'll be the cult's eternal bane! Catch and kill him at all costs!"
"Yes!"
The leader surged ahead. In his own way, he couldn't believe this any more than Namgung Jang-cheon.
'Far better than the rumors!'
The blue-masked one was like a god to them. Yet Namgung Jang-cheon had clashed one-on-one and survived.
Boom!
Leaping high, the leader spotted Namgung Jang-cheon crashing through the forest.
"Left side!"
The masked ones veered left in unison. The leader ran atop the canopy, pursuing.
How much longer did they chase?
Rumble...
A faint roar echoed from afar ahead. Soon, a massive waterfall came into view.
Namgung Jang-cheon raced toward it.
'If he jumps below, we'll never find him!'
The leader glanced down.
His masked subordinates trailed twenty zhang behind. At their speed, catching Namgung Jang-cheon before the waterfall was impossible.
Flames lit the leader's eyes.
His body shot forward like an arrow from a bow. In an instant, the gap shrank to within ten zhang.
A bit closer, and he could strike with qi.
Sizzle.
Qi flowed along his blade, boiling the bloodstains into foam.
The gap closed to within five zhang.
Killing intent flared in the leader's eyes.
But then—a figure appeared before Namgung Jang-cheon, at the waterfall's approach.
More precisely, a woman in snow-white robes, slightly different from Central Plains styles.
Namgung Jang-cheon halted before her; the leader landed behind.
The woman glanced between Namgung Jang-cheon and the leader, then lifted her gaze to him, faintly furrowing her brow.
"You lot—the fanatics who flock together across the way, right?"