Chapter 346
Chapter 346
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 346
Chapter Title: Time of Death and Terror (1)
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Do Geom, who had fallen behind for a moment because Dong Ja-ryang was mercilessly slaughtering his subordinates, increased his speed to catch up to the lead group again.
‘Once this operation is over, I’ll drag that madman down one way or another.’
Pa pa pa!
After leaping over bushes and charging through obstructing woods for about the time it takes to burn a joss stick,
“……!”
Do Geom spotted yellow-robed men collapsed here and there and came to a halt.
‘There’s no sign of a fight at all. That means they were taken out without even putting up a proper resistance…….’
That was right. He scanned the surroundings, but there wasn’t a trace of battle anywhere.
‘Did no one notice they’d been hit?’
Those running ahead couldn’t possibly have missed the bodies. They must have been the ones at the very rear.
But even so, it didn’t make sense that no one noticed while all of them were being wiped out.
Saaah……
Do Geom felt chills creeping over his entire body.
‘Someone’s hunting us. An incredibly skilled assassin…….’
Kwang!
Kicking off the ground and leaping up, Do Geom began running at maximum speed. He hated Dong Ja-ryang enough to want to kill him, but he had to report this as quickly as possible.
Pa pa pa!
Bushes surged up in the wake of his passage. Amid them, two more corpses came into view.
Do Geom ignored them and pursued Dong Ja-ryang.
After running about three hundred chang like that, he saw yellow-robed men approaching from far ahead.
Do Geom blocked their path.
“Are you turning back to search for your comrades?”
“Yes.”
“No use. They’re all dead.”
“……!”
“There’s someone targeting us nearby. If you don’t want to die, follow me.”
The yellow-robed men leaped after Do Geom as he started running again. But because he was going at full speed, the distance between him and them opened up in an instant.
‘Who could it be? One of them? Or someone completely different? If it’s someone else, why move only now?’
After various thoughts, Do Geom calmed his gaze.
‘No way… did they intentionally create this situation?’
The thought sent another shiver through him.
If so, who had orchestrated it?
Naturally, Yi Hwan.
‘Perhaps…….’
Do Geom shook off the rising unease and glanced back. Then he widened his eyes.
The yellow-robed men who had been following were gone. He slowed down just in case, but still no sign of them.
Kwang!
Do Geom kicked a large tree with both feet and changed direction. After looping back about a hundred chang, he found the dead yellow-robed men.
Surprisingly, the yellow-robed men had all collapsed in one spot. They’d been taken out all at once.
Do Geom heightened his senses to the maximum and scanned the surroundings. But all he detected was the sound of the forest rustling in the wind.
Saaah……
It was then.
Pood deuk!
A single bird flew up into the sky. Do Geom, reflexively drawing his sword to strike, stared at the bird soaring high and quietly exhaled.
“Hoo…….”
* * *
The warriors of the Qin Kingdom, who had run without rest, finally reached their limits. Even the ones with deep inner energy were nearly spent, so reaching this point was nothing short of a miracle.
“Urk!”
“Hah hah hah!”
“Leave us and go on ahead! Hah hah hah!”
“If we go a bit further down, we can call for allies with the signal flare! Everyone, hang in there!”
Even the middle-aged man’s urging had no effect. The warriors who had hit their limits had dull, clouded eyes.
The middle-aged man looked at Kim Mu-gwan and Park Ji-mun with bewildered eyes.
Kim Mu-gwan asked.
“If we fire the signal flare here, will the Qin army see it?”
“If we’re lucky, yes, but if by some chance they miss it, we’re out of options. We only have one flare…….”
“No choice. Fire it now.”
“……Pardon?”
“The Great Prince’s will is to save as many as possible. We can’t abandon them. Hurry!”
Kwaak.
“Understood.”
Pee yuu! Peong!
A single signal flare burst into a massive fireball high in the sky.
Kim Mu-gwan pointed to his left front.
“Everyone, to that spot!”
Everyone moved to where Kim Mu-gwan pointed. Beyond the dense forest rose a cliff like a folding screen.
There was a hill about twenty chang high in front of the cliff, and the path up to it was quite narrow and steep.
Park Ji-mun narrowed his eyes and said.
“We can hold out there to some extent.”
It was then.
Swae aek!
Following the sound of slicing air, several Qin Kingdom warriors screamed and collapsed.
Peo peok!
“Argh!”
“Keuk!”
“Hurry! Go!”
Kim Mu-gwan and Park Ji-mun blocked the charging Zhao Kingdom warriors.
Bbaek!
Peo peok!
“Krahk!”
“Ugh!”
Two black-robed men spewed blood and tumbled under Park Ji-mun’s greatsword and Kim Mu-gwan’s fist.
The two blocked the Zhao Kingdom warriors while retreating toward the cliff. In the process, a few more Qin warriors hit by hidden weapons collapsed.
But the rest managed to climb the slope to the hill with great difficulty.
Confirming this, Kim Mu-gwan shouted.
“Let’s go, Ji-mun.”
Kwa kwang!
A sinister energy passed under the feet of the two as they kicked off the ground and leaped.
Immediately after, someone emerged from the woods. It was Yi Tae-ji.
Almost simultaneously, Dong Ja-ryang and his close aides appeared.
“Planning to hold out there until reinforcements arrive? Fat chance. Heh heh heh.”
One of his aides spoke to Dong Ja-ryang, who laughed coldly.
“They just fired a signal flare.”
“No need to worry. Even if they fire a hundred from here, the Qin army won’t see it.”
“There might be troops who left camp for operations.”
“Hmph! How many could there be?”
Brushing off his aide’s concern, Dong Ja-ryang turned to Yi Tae-ji. Yi Tae-ji was staring at the Qin warriors on the hill with sunken eyes.
Dong Ja-ryang asked.
“Why the long face?”
“You don’t see him?”
“Yi Hwan, you mean?”
“That’s right. I watched them climb the hill just now, and he wasn’t there.”
“No way…….”
Dong Ja-ryang furrowed his brow.
“He didn’t run off alone, did he?”
“Not his style.”
“Then where is he?”
For the first time, Dong Ja-ryang’s face twisted. He had been chasing solely for Yi Hwan’s head.
It was then.
Hwi rik!
Do Geom dropped down beside Dong Ja-ryang.
“You’re quick.”
“All your direct subordinates are dead.”
“……What?”
“Someone’s targeting us.”
At those words, Yi Tae-ji, who had been sharply scanning the hill, whipped his head around.
Do Geom explained what he had witnessed. Once finished, Yi Tae-ji said with conviction.
“It’s him. He’s changed tactics.”
“You saying he’s mastered assassination arts too?”
“Not sure about that. But if it’s not him, it’d be someone else entirely, and they would’ve stepped in much sooner.”
“Damn it!”
Kwang!
Dong Ja-ryang stomped the ground and glared at the hill with murderous eyes.
“You might’ve seen wrong, so we should check there first.”
“With those two blocking the narrow path, we’ll take heavy losses holding out until reinforcements. Better to wait.”
“Scared now?”
“I’m saying this for your sake.”
“No need. Take the lead now.”
At Dong Ja-ryang’s words, Yi Tae-ji’s killing intent flared for a moment. Hadn’t Dong Ja-ryang himself threatened and told him to back off when Yi Hwan was right there?
Dong Ja-ryang turned to Do Geom and continued.
“Help him.”
“No.”
“What?”
“Because of you, too many who didn’t need to die have died. So until reinforcements arrive, I won’t budge from this spot.”
“Forgot the punishment for defiance?”
“Do as you like.”
[Want to die, Do Geom?]
[Seems I’ll outlive you.]
Paat!
Dong Ja-ryang’s eyes gleamed with killing light.
But Do Geom ignored it, walked to the woods, and sat down.
It was then.
“Guk!”
Suddenly, a sharp scream erupted from the right rear. A yellow-robed man collapsed, blood gushing from his chest.
Do Geom, who had just sat, reflexively drew his sword and unleashed sword energy toward the woods.
Pa pa pa!
Slashed bushes surged up where the sword energy passed. At the same time, Yi Tae-ji leaped in and swung his sword.
Bbaek!
Kwa ji jik!
A dull sound followed, and a tree crashed down.
Yi Tae-ji and Do Geom both plunged into the woods. But aside from the felled tree, there was nothing.
“Over there!”
Someone shouted urgently.
This time, a black-robed man collapsed without even a scream.
Teol keok!
His severed head rolled down the slope.
“Everyone, away from the woods!”
At Do Geom’s shout, yellow- and black-robed men alike swiftly gathered in the center.
Dong Ja-ryang looked down at the lifeless yellow-robed man.
Were those bulging eyes staring at him? Dong Ja-ryang slowly turned his gaze toward the woods.
“Yi Hwan, is that you?”
* * *
There are many ways to kill a person.
But assassins constantly researched and honed the most efficient methods to kill their targets.
To draw out carelessness and exploit weaknesses.
To completely conceal not just presence, but even heartbeats.
To perfect assassination techniques that could kill in an instant.
And what had reached the pinnacle of that realm was the Black Emperor’s martial arts.
However, the Black Emperor’s arts allowed no momentary lapse, demanding tremendous concentration—which brought extreme fatigue. It was only natural, as even the slightest movement required full focus.
Yi Hwan sensed it was time to withdraw.
‘Still, I’ve bought quite a bit of time.’
Tu dok!
Blood dripping from Yi Hwan’s body made the bushes rustle faintly. He had been slightly grazed dodging Do Geom and Yi Tae-ji’s attacks moments ago.
‘Damn…….’
Pa!
Yi Hwan vanished like a snuffed flame. Two streams of sword energy shot like lightning toward where he had been.
Peo peok!
The sword energy punched two holes in a large tree, and Do Geom and Yi Tae-ji leaped in.
Bbaek!
Kwa kok!
U ji keun!
Another tree toppled.
Do Geom and Yi Tae-ji turned back-to-back, sharply scanning the surroundings. Then Yi Tae-ji spotted blood on the ground.
“Look here.”
Do Geom turned his gaze.
“With this amount of bleeding, it’s just a graze, so he’s not safe yet.”
As they stepped back out, Do Geom spotted a blue glow silently rising behind Dong Ja-ryang, who stood far ahead.
“……!”