Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Commander Hwang Ho
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“Assassins!”
Clang!
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
The clash of metal, screams, and flashing sparks cut through the darkness, reflecting in Go Mi’s eyes as she raced forward.
Shing!
Go Mi drew her sword while on the move.
Splash splash splash!
Mud sprayed up in her wake. It was an extraordinary lightness skill.
Clang!
“Argh!”
Warriors burst out from tents all around.
Go Mi leaped over their heads, flying straight toward Hwang Ho’s tent.
That was when she spotted figures vanishing into the darkness.
Out of the initial five, three were now missing.
Whoosh!
Landing on the ground, Go Mi stared at Hwang Ho’s tent. Through the half-open door, she could see warriors inside. She leaped right in.
“What happened!”
Amid the warriors, she saw blood staining the floor red. And behind it sat Hwang Ho.
“……!”
Go Mi’s eyes widened fully.
Jeong Cheon was pressing down on Hwang Ho’s chest, blood oozing steadily between his fingers.
Go Mi stared at Hwang Ho’s face.
His pale complexion, twisted features, and dim, sunken eyes all screamed that his condition was dire.
“Make way!”
The army physician rushed in.
Go Mi watched him examine Hwang Ho for a moment before stepping outside. She fixed her gaze on where the assassins had fled, her eyes hardening.
“An assassination…….”
* * *
“Ptoo!”
The leader of the Blood Ghosts spat roughly.
Looking down at the chaotic Yeon Kingdom army camp, his eyes flickered with bewilderment and rage.
“To think Jeong Cheon was that strong.”
He had been certain of total success.
Even the most worrisome Cheol Mu-ok and Gong Son-tae were absent. Yet an unexpected variable had arisen.
Jeong Cheon.
The moment they burst into Hwang Ho’s tent, he appeared, and three of them died in the process.
They had succeeded in landing a blow on Hwang Ho, but couldn’t be sure he was dead. At the last instant, Hwang Ho had twisted away, preventing an instant kill.
“Gah!”
One of the Blood Ghosts who had escaped with him suddenly doubled over, vomiting blood.
“……!”
Thud!
The Blood Ghost collapsed forward, going limp. He was dead.
The leader’s eyes trembled faintly. Then his face flushed red.
“Damn it!”
* * *
Everyone parted to the sides as Yi Hwan entered.
Yi Hwan approached the bedside where Hwang Ho lay as if dead.
Turning to Jeong Cheon, he saw the man bow his head in grief.
Yi Hwan looked back down at Hwang Ho. He was still breathing, but so faintly that it could stop at any moment without surprise.
Then Hwang Ho opened his eyes.
“……Great Prince, I have urgent words for you alone. Everyone, leave us.”
“Take it slow.”
“No. It must be now.”
Jeong Cheon led everyone out of the tent.
“Cough! Cough!”
Violent coughing brought up a flood of blood. Yi Hwan gazed heavily into Hwang Ho’s eyes as the life rapidly drained from them.
“Please…… become His Highness the Crown Prince’s strength…….”
“The general’s strength will be needed more than mine.”
Drip drip.
Black, dead blood soaked the bed.
Grip!
Hwang Ho seized Yi Hwan’s hand.
It was his final movement.
“Please…… our Crown Prince…….”
* * *
“Huff! Huff!”
Jeong Cheon knelt with his head bowed, pressing his sword down with both hands, exhaling ragged breaths. Thick tears streamed down his cheeks.
Go Mi, who had been watching him, turned her gaze to the tent. The door was firmly shut, and Yi Hwan had yet to emerge. The warriors who had pursued the assassins were returning one by one.
Everyone stared fixedly at Hwang Ho’s tent with grim expressions, unable to utter a word.
The door remained closed. Time dragged on heavier than an eon for them all.
Creak.
Finally, the door opened.
Jeong Cheon shot to his feet. His eyes met Yi Hwan’s.
Yi Hwan said nothing. He wore no expression. That was the answer.
“Urk!”
Jeong Cheon collapsed.
All the warriors followed, dropping to their knees as if felled.
Southern Legion Commander Hwang Ho.
The right-hand man of Crown Prince Yi So ended his life like this. Yi Hwan had been the one to witness his final moments.
* * *
At Paeng Mu-wi’s quarters.
Young Ho-chung and Mo Jae-hwang had gathered. Hwang Ho’s death was their golden opportunity.
Young Ho-chung asked Mo Jae-hwang.
“In a case like this, how is the new commander appointed?”
“When word reaches the Imperial Palace, the Grand Commander-in-Chief will appoint a new one.”
“I understand that appointing a legion commander requires His Majesty’s approval.”
“Of course. But with His Majesty uninvolved in state affairs, once the news reaches the palace, Second Prince will handle it himself.”
Meanwhile, Paeng Mu-wi’s expression, as he listened to their conversation, seemed somehow darkened.
Young Ho-chung furrowed his brow.
“You look unwell, General.”
“Just a bit of indigestion. Don’t mind it.”
Young Ho-chung soon smiled meaningfully.
“If the general ascends to the commander’s post, we can shape everything to our desires afterward. Shouldn’t we start by replacing the heads of the key units with our own people?”
“Of course. That’s exactly what we’ll do.”
This time, Mo Jae-hwang spoke up.
“If we’d known it would turn out like this, we wouldn’t have needed to come at all.”
“We should send a gift to those Zhao Kingdom bastards, no? Thanks to them, we got what we wanted without breaking a sweat.”
“Honestly, that’s what I think too. Heh heh heh.”
But Paeng Mu-wi’s expression remained unlit.
“I didn’t want to gain the commander’s seat like this…….”
* * *
The next morning.
The Blood Ghosts’ leader, who had spent the night in the woods instead of returning to camp after the assassination attempt, observed the Yeon Kingdom army camp.
From early dawn, warriors moved busily. Yet nowhere in the camp could he detect any atmosphere or activity suggesting Hwang Ho’s death.
‘He didn’t die?’
The Blood Ghosts’ leader descended a bit closer.
He had to confirm Hwang Ho’s status somehow. Until then, he couldn’t return to camp. It wasn’t just a matter of his and the Blood Ghosts’ pride—it tied directly to the organization’s future.
Moments later, having crept near, the leader hid in the underbrush and watched Hwang Ho’s tent area. But still, no unusual signs appeared.
“Damn it. Did we really fail?”
That was when it happened.
“You?”
A voice drifted from behind out of nowhere. The Blood Ghosts’ leader spun reflexively, drawing his sword.
Shing!
“……!”
* * *
Yi Hwan gazed indifferently at the Blood Ghosts’ leader.
Eyes filled with shock darted busily between him, Cheol Mu-ok, and Gong Son-tae.
“You couldn’t be sure of success, so you came back to check somehow.”
Click!
Cheol Mu-ok’s sword transformed into a massive blade. Gong Son-tae did the same. The two blocked off any escape route perfectly.
Yi Hwan continued indifferently.
“I wondered if you wouldn’t come. If you hadn’t, I might have been quite troubled.”
Light flickered at Yi Hwan’s fingertip.
A deep crimson glow, heavy with bloodlust, detached and floated toward the Blood Ghosts’ leader like flower petals.
“What of Hwang Ho?”
“He ascended to the heavens before my eyes.”
“……!”
Even having confirmed Hwang Ho’s death, the leader clamped his mouth shut, a chill sweeping over him.
Admitting Hwang Ho’s death was tantamount to declaring his own intent to kill. There’d be no reason to reveal it unless he was confident.
‘No openings!’
Realizing not even a pinhole gap existed, the Blood Ghosts’ leader resolved himself.
‘My only way is to get past this one!’
His target: Yi Hwan.
He had already witnessed Cheol Mu-ok and Gong Son-tae’s prowess on the battlefield. Yi Hwan was the natural choice. He couldn’t possibly be stronger than them.
Grip!
The leader bit his lip to steel himself. In that instant, channeling full power, he kicked off the ground and leaped.
Five slow-moving lights then filled his vision.
People react reflexively to what they see. The leader was no different.
He turned his head aside to dodge the five lights. Then he launched toward Yi Hwan, swinging his sword.
The explanation was long, but the sequence unfolded in a mere instant.
Yi Hwan didn’t even flinch at the incoming blade.
Instead, Cheol Mu-ok moved. His massive blade cleaved the air at unimaginable speed toward the Blood Ghosts’ leader.
“……!”
The leader, who had aimed for Yi Hwan, hurriedly struck at the oncoming blade.
Boom!
“Urk!”
A thunderous crash erupted from the clash of blade and sword.
The leader groaned, staggering. But even in his stagger, he kept balance and sought to vault over Yi Hwan’s head as planned.
Right then, the scattered five lights burrowed into his back.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
“Urgh!”
The Blood Ghosts’ leader reeled from the impacts.
But he was a master too. Even under blows, he didn’t halt, aiming his sword at Yi Hwan’s heart.
But that was the end.
“Not bad.”
The sword halted before Yi Hwan’s heart, then reeled back, the wielder collapsing limply into the mud.
Splash!
Gong Son-tae rushed to seal his acupoints.
But the foe was already spewing blood in gushes. He had bitten a poison pill.
“Such a…….”
“Gurgle.”
The Blood Ghosts’ leader gurgled, then went limp. Gong Son-tae looked at Yi Hwan with dismay.
“My apologies. I should have moved faster.”
“It’s fine.”
Yi Hwan approached the mud-caked corpse of the Blood Ghosts’ leader.
Cheol Mu-ok spoke in a heavy tone.
“If we’d captured him, we could have learned much.”
“He was never one we could capture from the start.”
“I could have killed him alone.”
“Enough. Drop it.”
Shing.
Yi Hwan slowly drew his sword. Then he mercilessly severed the dead man’s head.
Slash!
The head fell, half-burying in the mud.
“Bring it.”
“Yes.”
Gong Son-tae picked up the head, blood and mud dripping from it.
Yi Hwan headed to camp. The busily moving warriors parted to the sides, bowing their heads.
Entering Hwang Ho’s tent, Yi Hwan took the head from Gong Son-tae and placed it before Hwang Ho’s corpse, wrapped in red cloth.
The generals watched Yi Hwan in solemn silence.
After a suffocating silence, Yi Hwan spoke.
“Mu-ok.”
“Yes, Great Prince.”
“Cut off their limbs and toss them at the enemy’s camp gate.”
“Understood.”