Chapter 319
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 319
Chapter Title: Hah, It's Han Seol-bing!
'How do you handle overwhelming numbers of enemies? You drag them into a battlefield that's to your advantage and take them out one by one. Don't think of it as one against a hundred—think of it as one-on-one, a hundred times.'
That was Hocheon Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek's answer when Han Seol-bing once asked him how to face more than a hundred enemies who held an overwhelming numerical advantage.
When she heard that response...
Han Seol-bing had stared at Ha Mu-baek like he was some kind of madman.
Easier said than done.
One-on-one a hundred times?
Even an ordinary martial artist would collapse from exhaustion after just three rounds.
And he was telling her to do it a hundred times? Winning every single one?
It wasn't until sometime later...
After Ha Mu-baek demonstrated that answer in actual combat...
That Han Seol-bing finally realized their corps leader (before he became deputy leader) was an utter monster.
'First, have I lured them into a battlefield that's to my advantage?'
Han Manor.
The place where Han Seol-bing was born and raised.
Even after more than ten years away, she still remembered every inch of it vividly.
For her, it was an overwhelmingly advantageous battlefield.
'Now I just need to win ninety-nine more times.'
Han Seol-bing's eyes gleamed.
Not quite on the level of Ha Mu-baek back then, of course.
But she told herself that she, too, had become quite the monster now.
As she lured the enemies deep into Han Manor, Han Seol-bing pulled iron rods from her bosom and tossed them into various spots.
Setting traps in advance.
Ninety-nine.
Oblivious that this was their graveyard, they followed Han Seol-bing over the walls of Han Manor.
"Capture her! Don't face her alone—always attack in groups of four or more. Track her with squads of four!"
The unit leader barked the order the moment he vaulted over Han Manor's wall.
That formed twenty-four squads.
The unit leader took two subordinates and moved as a group of three.
And so they prowled between the buildings of Han Manor.
Han Seol-bing watched them from the shadows beneath the eaves.
'Not pushovers.'
The ninety-nine hadn't scattered into ninety-nine pieces.
Twenty-five groups.
They must have grown wary after seeing her slice through their rear guard.
Even so, that was manageable.
In fact, only twenty-five wins needed now—maybe even easier?
Han Seol-bing completely suppressed her presence and waited there.
Waiting for them to spread out even thinner.
With her holding down the Tak Clan Cold Wind Corps here, the people of Han Manor and the Ice Clan should have an easier time breaking into the palace lord's quarters.
Time passed in this standoff.
The Tak Clan Cold Wind Corps ransacked the empty Han Manor in search of Han Seol-bing.
Houses and furnishings shattered and smashed in the process.
Han Seol-bing felt a pang of regret at the sight.
This was a place she planned to return to someday.
But this was war now.
First priority: annihilate the enemy.
Those things could be repaired or replaced after the war.
Han Seol-bing's eyes sharpened fiercely.
No one detected her presence as they blindly searched, smashed, and gradually spread out.
'Now.'
Han Seol-bing slipped out from under the eaves and moved stealthily.
It wasn't an Ice Heaven Palace technique.
It was the stealth art she'd learned from Ha Mu-baek in the Hocheon Corps.
Silent Ghost Shadow.
A stealth technique Ha Mu-baek had taught to every member of the Hocheon Corps, deeming it essential for operations.
He'd said it was his unique footwork blended with the best elements from stealth arts of the Demonic Cult, Blood Cult, Four Evils Alliance, and Righteous Heaven Alliance that he'd personally experienced.
'What a real monster.'
She felt it every time, yet it never stopped surprising her.
The sheer presence and bottomless talent of that man, Ha Mu-baek.
Han Seol-bing glided silently like a ghost through the buildings of Han Manor.
Slither.
She appeared like a specter behind the nearest group of four.
Slash.
In an instant, her drawn dagger slit all four throats at once.
"Guhk."
"Keurk..."
Thud.
The four collapsed simultaneously, leaking faint groans.
Slither.
Han Seol-bing vanished like a ghost once more.
Eight men rushed over at the noise.
All they found were the corpses of their four dead comrades.
From that point, the game of hide-and-seek unfolded one-sidedly.
No one even caught a glimpse of Han Seol-bing's shadow.
She wove through Han Manor freely yet covertly.
An hour later...
The Tak Clan Cold Wind Corps had been halved.
'Hah, hah. This is intense.'
Han Seol-bing's face was drenched in sweat.
Summer or not, the North Sea was still a cold land.
To sweat this much moving around here...
'Internal energy... about forty percent left?'
Sixty percent consumed to eliminate half the enemy.
Not a good trade.
At this rate, her internal energy would run dry first.
The cause?
'Silent Ghost Shadow. Hah...'
Yes.
That was it.
A peerless technique for stealth, infiltration, and ambushes.
But at the cost of devouring internal energy.
It wasn't designed for soloing a hundred enemies from the start.
Of course, Ha Mu-baek had once taken out over a hundred foes alone with Silent Ghost Shadow.
Because he was a monster.
She'd spent long years by his side.
Watching and learning.
She'd thought she'd reached some fraction of that monstrous level herself.
Wishful thinking.
'I'm still a long way off...'
Even so, halving the enemy numbers had thinned their search net further.
Creating...
'A moment to circulate my energy.'
A brief respite.
Circulating energy on a battlefield was incredibly risky.
But she'd done it countless times before.
Instead, she fully expanded her energy sense to its maximum.
Hocheon Corps warriors had no choice but to develop exceptional energy senses.
They'd circulated energy in extreme situations like this far too often.
Thus immersed in circulation, Han Seol-bing's eyebrows suddenly furrowed in an inverted eight shape.
Her energy sense, extended to Han Manor's walls...
Had detected an unnatural flow.
The energy currents of another group on the move.
Did that mean the Tak Clan had sent more than just the Cold Wind Corps?
Urgency flashed across Han Seol-bing's face.
Even if she pinned the Cold Wind Corps here...
If others struck Han Manor and the Ice Clan's rear, the damage would be catastrophic.
Han Seol-bing hurried her circulation.
Once she'd recovered a decent amount of internal energy, she launched herself forward.
She darted even faster through Han Manor.
Increasing her use of Silent Ghost Shadow.
Her internal energy depleted at an accelerating rate.
Yet she had no choice.
Now that she'd sensed more enemies incoming...
Moving so swiftly left traces even with Silent Ghost Shadow.
Shortening her rest times and lengthening her engagements.
The situation grew harsher.
Amid it all, Han Seol-bing steadily whittled them down.
Until finally...
Only three remained.
The unit leader and his two subordinates.
"Hahk. Hahk. Hahk."
Han Seol-bing's face was sweat-soaked, her breathing ragged.
"Damn it. That monster bitch..."
The unit leader spat curses, his face pale with dread as he glared at Han Seol-bing.
"Thanks for the compliment. Hahk. Hahk."
Amid her exhaustion, Han Seol-bing flashed a weary smile.
Monster.
A word she'd longed to hear applied to herself, thanks to someone.
The unit leader, meanwhile, was truly terrified.
Of his hundred troops, only these three remained.
He'd never imagined this outcome.
Was she really a monster?
But even that monster was utterly spent now.
They could finish her soon.
Her legs were visibly trembling.
"You bitch. You won't die easy."
He mustered rage to drown out his fear.
Lust slowly crept into the unit leader's eyes.
Han Seol-bing.
A monstrous bitch, but even more breathtakingly beautiful.
To banish fear, he needed something stronger: desire.
He chose carnal lust.
"Once we catch that bitch, we'll ravage her to our heart's content before killing her."
Lust began filling the eyes of his two subordinates nearby.
The terror of her deeds faded, replaced by her stunning face and curvaceous, lithe figure.
Sword aura began gleaming on the unit leader's blade.
Thanks to focusing only on searching and tracking until now...
His dantian brimmed with internal energy.
A stark contrast to Han Seol-bing's near-empty state.
Heat haze-like energy rose from the other two warriors' swords as well.
Blades infused with heavy sword energy.
Han Seol-bing eyed the three and slowly backed away.
They advanced step by step.
Lewd grins spread across their faces.
They took her retreat for fear-induced weakness.
After a few more steps back...
A smile crept onto Han Seol-bing's face too.
"Always prepare thoroughly, even if you might not need it."
She drew an iron rod from her bosom.
Stepping back once more, she planted it firmly where she'd stood.
"Hah. What pointless..."
Mid-sentence, the unit leader recalled the deputy leader's briefing the day before.
'She's the Ice Heaven Palace's top expert in formations. You never know when she'll deploy one—never let your guard down.'
And the visible iron rod.
A common tool for activating formations.
"B-block i..."
Before he finished, Han Seol-bing slammed the rod into the precise spot.
Woooong.
A low vibration hummed as thick icy mist began enveloping the area.
"Grab that bitch!"
They lunged at the still-visible Han Seol-bing.
But in an instant, the unit leader was trapped in the ice fog.
His two subordinates vanished too.
Panicking, he scanned around.
"Don't move! Stay put! We need to find the formation's weakness!"
His shout fell on deaf ears.
Grotesque sounds and illusions closed in from all sides, driving him to swing his sword wildly.
The other two did the same.
One step further back, Han Seol-bing exhaled heavily.
The eight formations she'd preset upon entering Han Manor.
By chance, they'd stepped into the most useful one's center.
'The deputy leader's never wrong. At least in combat.'
Another lesson from her Hocheon Corps days: Ha Mu-baek's habit of preparing for contingencies, even if discarded.
It had paid off handsomely.
Ice Mist Soul-Stealing Formation.
A terrifying killing array that drained entrants' strength through endless illusions until exhaustion and death.
Exactly what Han Seol-bing needed now.
Even the handful of internal energy to activate it left her dantian empty.
She hurriedly sat cross-legged and began circulating.
Those three would never escape that formation.
They lacked the formation mastery to find its sole escape path or the raw power to shatter it.
All that awaited them was withering away inside.
Han Seol-bing expanded her energy sense and immersed herself in circulation.
She desperately needed enough to move again.
The rapid circulation technique honed in countless battles.
The backlash after combat was severe.
But now wasn't the time to care.
This was as fierce as the Great Martial War.
In just another hour, she'd recovered half her internal energy and kicked off the ground.
Ice Heaven Moon Shadow Step.
Blazing with utmost speed, she raced toward the palace lord's quarters like the wind.
"Th-they blocked it!"
"We can't let them break through there!!"
A fierce battle raged.
The good news: all personnel had successfully entered the palace lord's quarters.
The bad: they were precariously holding against the sealing forces and a fresh Tak Clan combat unit's pincer attack.
Han Seol-bing drew her sword and charged.
No time for hesitation.
Pure white sword aura bloomed on her blade.
Ice Heaven Sunlight Sword.
The sword art she'd held back against the ninety-nine Cold Wind Corps men to conserve energy.
Now, she poured her remaining internal energy into striking the enemies' rear.
"Kuaaaak!"
"Kwaaak!"
"Aaaak!"
Screams erupted in succession.
Those assaulting the palace lord's quarters turned at the commotion.
And spotted Han Seol-bing.
"Ha, Han Seol-bing!"
"H-how's that bitch here???"
"What about Cold Wind Corps?"
The Tak Clan warriors plunged into chaos at her sudden intrusion.
"Iron Wind Corps squads eight, nine, and ten—stop Han Seol-bing!"
A command boomed from somewhere.
Three squads. Sixty warriors wheeled around.
But it wasn't enough to halt her as she charged, swinging her blazing sword aura wildly.
Han Seol-bing cleaved through anyone her sword touched.
They collapsed, afflicted by frostbite and burns simultaneously.
She barreled straight ahead, eyes fixed forward.
Those rushing at her dropped one by one.
A terrifying sight.
"M-monster..."
Someone muttered it.
By then, Han Seol-bing had reached the palace lord's quarters wall.
She leaped lightly atop it.
The Tak Clan warriors stared blankly at her receding figure.
Fear gripped them at her monstrous strength.
p>Yet...
Her soaring descent was breathtakingly beautiful.
Like a celestial fairy from the moon palace.
The Tak Clan warriors gaped in awe.
Han Manor and Ice Clan warriors were much the same.
The battle halted momentarily.
Thanks to Han Seol-bing.
Her fearsome prowess and stunning grace.
Landing inside the palace lord's quarters, she immediately asked a nearby warrior.
"Where's the palace lord?"
"I-in the office."
Hearing that, Han Seol-bing kicked off again.
Toward the palace lord's office.