Chapter 325
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 325
Chapter Title: Alright. So, how should I clean things up?
Han Family and Bing Family retainers were able to enter the underground levels of the grand hall through different routes, led by Na Hong-ryeon and Ji Heon-wi.
The second underground level.
There were three entrances, and this floor alone was enormously spacious.
Thanks to that, there was plenty of room even with all the retainers gathered.
After leaving warriors behind to guard them, Na Hong-ryeon and Ji Heon-wi descended even deeper.
It was to report that the urgent evacuation had been completed.
"Sister. What happened?"
Han Seol-bing asked urgently the moment Na Hong-ryeon arrived.
That was why the familiar, personal form of address slipped out again.
"Miss. What do you mean?"
With the Palace Lord present.
Na Hong-ryeon did not forget her position as Chief Steward.
"W-When you were leading the retainers, did nothing happen? There was a change in the formation on the path you took."
At those words, Na Hong-ryeon's face hardened.
She remembered something notable.
And now, a change in the formation...
"Because of that little brat..."
Na Hong-ryeon's expression darkened for a moment.
"It was a good change."
Seeing her face change, Han Seol-bing hurriedly added.
She realized she hadn't explained properly in her haste.
"Ah..."
Na Hong-ryeon finally let out a low exclamation.
Then she explained what Im Jang-mu had done.
Han Seol-bing's eyes widened at her words.
She had nearly dropped Bing Ryong Han Seol-bi from the shock.
She was that surprised.
"A boy around ten years old touched something? And no one else touched anything else?"
"At least, not in my line of sight."
Han Seol-bing's senses scanned the Dust Wind Formation.
Thanks to the partial restoration just moments ago, the death paths they had been navigating had vanished.
But they were already seeking new routes.
However, perhaps because of that small fix.
Han Seol-bing could now obstruct their steps with even fiercer energy.
"Bring that child here."
A child whose name she didn't even know.
Na Hong-ryeon only knew the boy's face.
Her gaze turned to Bing Chwi-seol, who was seated behind her.
The Palace Lord nodded in permission.
"Understood."
Na Hong-ryeon hurried back upstairs.
"That child's actions caused a positive change in the formation?"
Bing Chwi-seol's question.
"More than that. Parts that had eroded were partially restored."
At Han Seol-bing's words, Bing Chwi-seol's mouth fell open.
It was an absurd event.
While they waited anxiously for the child.
Han Seol-bing's eyes suddenly widened.
Thanks to the partial restoration, she could faintly sense the entire formation.
And just now.
Someone had slowly passed through a gap in the sky.
A familiar energy.
A smile crept onto her lips.
"He's here!"
An exclamation close to a cheer burst out unbidden.
Bing Chwi-seol was startled once again by her sudden reaction.
"What is it?"
"He's here. He's come!"
Too excited, perhaps.
Han Seol-bing just kept repeating that he had arrived.
From her intense reaction, Bing Chwi-seol could only think of one person.
There was only one man she was waiting for so desperately.
Ha Mu-baek.
That was it.
Ha Mu-baek stopped by stepping on the air.
He looked around at those watching him.
"I asked where Seol-bing is."
Ha Mu-baek asked again.
However, the Bi Pung Corps warriors closest to him couldn't answer.
They too were searching for the woman named Seol-bing.
And.
The Bing Family and Han Family warriors who had been attacking the Bi Pung Corps from the ground and the upper levels of the grand hall.
They were simply tense at the appearance of this unidentified master.
He was someone they had never seen in Ice Heaven Palace.
He wore plain black martial robes.
But right now.
That casual display of Void Stepping.
And moreover, he was hovering motionless in the air.
A realm far more difficult than mere Void Stepping.
If this man searching for Han Seol-bing was an enemy?
The mere thought was horrifying.
However, it was clear the Tak Family had no such master.
Though Han Seol-bing and Na Hong-ryeon had confidently said reinforcements were coming.
No one thought of that.
They hadn't specified a single individual was coming.
They had said "reinforcements."
So naturally, people thought of a group.
No one could associate this sudden superhuman with reinforcements.
"Hmm."
Ha Mu-baek quietly observed them.
Deep underground in this grand hall.
That was where Han Seol-bing was.
His energy sense already covered the entire area.
The formation's influence made things outside it feel faint.
Ha Mu-baek turned his gaze to the Bi Pung Corps side, who were glancing alternately below and above in confusion.
"Are you Seol-bing's enemies?"
They were from the same Ice Heaven Palace.
Yet they were fighting like this.
Factions had divided into allies and enemies.
He needed to confirm the clear foes.
He had already distinguished them through their internal energy, verified by his Infinite Bright Wheel Eye.
"U-Urgh..."
The immense pressure Ha Mu-baek was exuding before they knew it.
The Bi Pung Corps warriors couldn't even respond properly.
As if it didn't matter, Ha Mu-baek moved forward again.
In an instant, he dropped right into the midst of the Bi Pung Corps warriors.
"A-Attack! Attack him!"
The Bi Pung Corps Leader's order, sensing from his words that he was definitely not an ally, despite his unknown identity.
The Bi Pung Corps warriors snapped to attention and charged at Ha Mu-baek.
But.
Puk! Puk-puk-puk! Puk!
With a casual flick of his hand, he sent them all tumbling down into the grand hall below.
From that single clash.
A faint sense of relief appeared on the faces of the Bing Family and Han Family warriors.
His hostility toward the Tak Family warriors lowered the chance he was an enemy, at least.
Ha Mu-baek glanced at the grand hall, then leaped straight down.
He landed lightly on the floor as if there was nothing to see.
He opened the massive doors of the grand hall and strode inside.
"W-Wait..."
They snapped to and tried to block him at his sudden action.
But he had already vanished inside, descending the stairs to the underground.
Thud.
Thud.
Ha Mu-baek spotted a woman and a child descending the stairs ahead of him.
Na Hong-ryeon whirled around in surprise at the sudden footsteps from behind.
"Who are you?"
She pushed Im Jang-mu behind her and placed her hand on her sword hilt.
"You must be from Seol-bing's family."
Ha Mu-baek said calmly upon seeing Na Hong-ryeon.
Na Hong-ryeon hesitated at the sudden mention of Han Seol-bing's name.
"Seol-bing asked for my help, so I came."
A matter-of-fact statement.
However.
At those words, Na Hong-ryeon's eyes widened.
The reinforcements called via messenger pigeon.
A single person's reinforcements, as it turned out.
He had arrived.
"...M-Mon, mon, monster?"
Im Jang-mu was startled by Na Hong-ryeon's sudden mutter and clutched tightly at her skirt hem.
Ha Mu-baek chuckled.
It seemed Han Seol-bing had described him that way.
"Just a man."
Na Hong-ryeon snapped back to attention at his response.
"What proof is there that you're the one the miss mentioned?"
She didn't fully drop her guard.
At that moment, hasty footsteps echoed from above.
Bing Family and Han Family warriors who had lost sight of Ha Mu-baek.
With Ha Mu-baek having dealt with the Bi Pung Corps, they had the leisure to recover and pursue.
However, the path underground was forbidden in the palace, so they hesitated above.
Soon, footsteps descending again could be heard.
"Do you have time to quibble over that right now?"
Na Hong-ryeon flinched.
Even this child named Im Jang-mu had been urgently sought by Han Seol-bing.
But she couldn't just blindly trust and step back based on his words alone.
Coo-coo-coo.
A pigeon's coo echoed then.
Baek-ah, who had delivered the message and returned, had lingered near Han Seol-bing due to the formation and now flew down the passage.
It landed oh-so-naturally on Ha Mu-baek's shoulder.
Ha Mu-baek looked at Baek-ah with an amused expression.
"You even sit on my shoulder now. What's up?"
Baek-ah turned its head away, not even meeting his eyes at Ha Mu-baek's question.
However.
That behavior alone convinced Na Hong-ryeon of Ha Mu-baek's identity.
Wasn't this spirit beast one that rejected others' touch before Han Seol-bing's request?
"The miss and the Palace Lord are at the deepest part. Let's go."
It was urgent.
The moment trust formed.
Her actions were unhesitating.
"This man has come at Seol-bing's request to aid us. Everyone, return to your posts and block the Tak Family's attacks!"
Na Hong-ryeon's voice boomed through the passage.
The approaching footsteps from above halted, then receded.
They were heading back up.
Na Hong-ryeon scooped up Im Jang-mu and dashed downward.
Ha Mu-baek closely followed behind.
About ten levels deep, by floor count?
Upon reaching such depths.
A thick iron door appeared before them.
It was closed, but Ha Mu-baek could already sense inside.
"Impressive."
He muttered lowly.
Ten Thousand Year Ice Crystal.
Ice Heaven Palace's treasure, and the North Sea's treasure.
He had sensed its immense energy.
Na Hong-ryeon opened the door, and Ha Mu-baek entered with her.
"Welcome. Corps Leader. Thank you for coming."
Han Seol-bing greeted him with a bright smile.
Her eyes were tinged red.
Just from seeing the situation with his own eyes, Ha Mu-baek roughly grasped what was happening.
Daggers gripped in both hands, thrust into the ground.
The Ice Crystal's energy flowed into Han Seol-bing through the woman behind her, then into the ground via the daggers.
'So this is the secret behind that massive formation's power.'
Now, the flow of the grand formation's energy was visible to Ha Mu-baek's eyes.
"Welcome. Hero Ha. I am Ice Heaven Palace's Palace Lord, Bing Chwi-seol. Please forgive the improper greeting given the circumstances."
Next came the greeting from Bing Chwi-seol, who was transferring energy to Han Seol-bing.
"First time meeting you, Palace Lord. I am Ha Mu-baek."
Ha Mu-baek politely cupped his fists in formal greeting.
As he straightened from his bow, his gaze turned to Han Seol-bing.
"You've been through hell. How many days now?"
"Five days."
Han Seol-bing's answer.
Ha Mu-baek nodded.
"You're reaching your limit soon. No matter how much you cut intake and suppress with internal energy."
Han Seol-bing's face flushed slightly at his words.
Bing Chwi-seol was the same.
They understood what he meant.
"Those surrounding the formation and flying down from the sky are the enemies, right?"
At Ha Mu-baek's question, Han Seol-bing nodded.
"I'll clean them up."
As if pulling an item from his pouch was all it took.
Na Hong-ryeon and Ji Heon-wi could only stare at him in a daze at how casually he said it.
Meanwhile, Han Seol-bing just smiled faintly.
Now, there was nothing to worry about.
The monster had arrived.
Was it the tension releasing now that a great burden was lifted?
Or simple relief?
Han Seol-bing startled at the sudden urge from her lower abdomen.
She barely suppressed it by focusing her mind.
"More importantly, why'd you call this kid?"
Ha Mu-baek pointed at Im Jang-mu, who had come with him.
"Ah!"
In the joy of this long-awaited arrival, Han Seol-bing had momentarily forgotten about Im Jang-mu.
"You saw something on the way here and fixed some stones?"
Im Jang-mu nodded at the question directed at him.
"Yes. I saw a spot where the light had faded. Curious, I checked and found a rock broken into pieces. So I fitted some of the pieces back together."
Han Seol-bing's eyes bulged at his response.
It was absurd.
What would an eleven-year-old know about formations?
Nothing.
Yet it just "looked" that way to him.
He saw it and fixed a bit.
How was she supposed to take this...
Thinking of the efforts she had poured into learning formations.
The heavens were truly unfair.
"Impressive kid. He can just see the flow of the formation's energy."
Ha Mu-baek muttered in wonder.
He could see the overall energy flow too.
Thanks to the Infinite Bright Wheel Eye.
But could he spot the weakened energy like the boy and repair it?
Impossible.
The boy was a natural at formations.
A child simply sent from the heavens.
If they tossed this kid into the formation.
He'd probably find the death paths himself and break through.
"What will you do?"
Ha Mu-baek asked Han Seol-bing.
"About what?"
"From what I saw coming in, the formation seems incomplete... Fix that first? Or should I just clean up?"
From Im Jang-mu's story alone, Ha Mu-baek judged the boy could fully restore the imperfect parts.
Han Seol-bing thought the same.
But he was just an eleven-year-old child.
There were clear physical limitations.
"If you'd arrived before, Corps Leader... I might have asked him to fix just the urgent spots. But now it's not urgent."
Han Seol-bing smiled brightly.
"Alright. So, how should I clean things up?"
Ha Mu-baek asked Han Seol-bing.