Chapter 79
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Please Go Back
"Can Yeon Baek-ryang handle him with just three hundred elite subordinates?"
Ye Cho-ah asked, her voice laced with unease.
"If it's just him alone, Yeon Baek-ryang will fall. No matter how far he's climbed into the transcendent realm."
Ye Cho-ah nodded at her subordinate's words.
He was a monster far more terrifying when alone—that was Ha Mu-baek.
"But this time is different. He has five cadets under his watch, and even his little sister. To him, they're nothing but baggage."
"Did you pass on the information about Ju Woo-myeong?"
A disciple of Wudang. And the junior brother of the current Wudang sect leader, no less.
From the Hao Clan’s perspective, it didn't really matter one way or the other. But for the Yeon Clan, it could spell trouble.
To prevent any misplaced rage from splashing back onto the Hao Clan, they needed to make sure Ju Woo-myeong's details were properly conveyed.
"We did. But Yeon Baek-ryang's state..."
It was clear he hadn't listened.
"What about Han Seol-bing?"
"She won't be easy, but she's no match for him."
Ye Cho-ah nodded at her subordinate's assessment.
"How's the breakdown and recombination of the Annihilation Merit going?"
"Smoothly. We've prepared for this for a long time."
The Hao Clan had already acquired fragments of the Annihilation Merit and studied them extensively for years.
They just hadn't obtained the complete version.
That was why they'd invested so much in the Pang Clan.
"Hm..."
Ye Cho-ah fidgeted with her hands at her subordinate's reply.
A faint pinkish energy rose like a haze.
As the energy wafted up, a red glow flickered in her eyes.
It was the energy of the Annihilation Merit.
After years of research, she'd tested the results on her own body—but regrettably, she hadn't removed the curse.
That was why she'd halted her training in the Annihilation Merit for now.
They'd concluded the issue stemmed from studying an incomplete version, so they'd sought out and obtained the full merit.
If they could properly analyze it, break it down, and recombine it...
Then perhaps they could create a new supreme art free of the curse.
That was the Hao Clan's hope.
Without a proper martial art of their own, they were always ignored, used, and discarded.
It was their one shot at overcoming that miserable reality.
"We've seen some results already. We've prepared people who've mastered it. They might be able to strike him from behind after he's worn out from fighting the Yeon Clan."
Ye Cho-ah shook her head at her subordinate's words.
"No, scrap that. He doesn't know we have the Annihilation Merit. If he did, he never would have left us alone. Let's not fall into the trap of clearing away weeds only to stir the snake. The Yeon Clan might deal him a heavy blow—or they might fail entirely. We need to stay back, no matter what. We can't give him any pretext to come after us."
Her subordinate bowed his head at Ye Cho-ah's words.
"Understood."
"Over there!"
Dang Jin-san shouted loudly.
"Got it."
Dan Mok Un-roe raised his shield.
Bam! Bam!
A deafening noise echoed. Dan Mok Un-roe was shoving back two evil corpses at once with his shield.
Slash. Slash.
Baek Ri-pyeong and Yeon Ha-min's swords.
They severed the necks of the incredibly tough evil corpses in a single stroke.
It was tremendous progress in just four days.
Ha Mu-baek watched the scene with satisfaction.
"As expected, nothing beats real combat for training."
The cadets' swords were growing sharper by the moment.
"And the killing intent has vanished from your blade."
Ha Mu-baek muttered as he looked at Yeon Ha-min.
Fierce, life-or-death real combat.
Paradoxically, the killing intent that had once shrouded Yeon Ha-min's sword had disappeared amid it all.
What they fought now weren't people—just demonic beasts.
They were destroying enemies, not killing them.
On the other side, Ju Woo-myeong and Ha Seol-ran were taking on evil corpses together.
One had just lost its head.
Right on cue, Han Seol-bing appeared, four evil corpses trailing behind her.
"She's herding them perfectly."
Ha Mu-baek murmured in satisfaction.
The cadets plunged back into fierce battle.
In the meantime, Han Seol-bing took her place beside Ha Mu-baek.
"Isn't it about time they show up?"
Ha Mu-baek nodded at Han Seol-bing's question.
"Tomorrow at the earliest, the day after at the latest?"
"How can you predict it so precisely?"
Ha Mu-baek chuckled at Han Seol-bing's question.
"You know better than that. If the Yeon Clan pushes at full speed, that's how long it'd take to get here."
"That's assuming they maintain maximum speed without any hitches. From Yichang to this spot at the edge of Zhejiang Province—it's nearly three thousand li."
"A martial world expert on horseback at full gallop can cover that in ten days."
"How many horses would they need to switch out along the way?"
"The Yeon Clan will figure something out. That guy seemed half-mad already."
Han Seol-bing gave a wry smile at Ha Mu-baek's words.
She couldn't argue with that.
"So, what's the plan?"
She asked a moment later.
Ha Mu-baek glanced up at the sky before looking ahead again.
The cadets battling fiercely against the evil corpses.
"We'll push deeper tomorrow."
"Ah..."
Han Seol-bing read his intent in those words.
"We never met the Yeon Clan group."
His sly smile was chilling.
"To make that happen, we need to catch some rats. Take care of the kids."
With that, Ha Mu-baek's figure vanished.
In an instant, he scaled the wall and headed into the forest outside the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall.
Four locations.
[Feeling like hunting now, are you?]
A transmission reached Ha Mu-baek then.
It was from Wi Ji-gun, who had secretly followed Ha Mu-baek's group.
He'd come solely for Ha Seol-ran's safety.
And the Hao Clan had no idea Wi Ji-gun was there.
A calamity beyond their calculated margin of error was traveling with them.
[Yes. Take care of two of them.]
[Got it.]
Thud!
Sounds rang out from all four spots—but they echoed as one, perfectly synchronized.
And four men collapsed.
Ha Mu-baek and Wi Ji-gun gathered them in one place.
"What scum are these?"
"Hao Clan rats."
"Bounty hunters, then."
Wi Ji-gun growled lowly at Ha Mu-baek's answer.
"Karma from my past."
A wry smile tugged at Ha Mu-baek's lips.
"You wouldn't have opened meaningless gates of slaughter."
His master's faith deepened the bitter smile on Ha Mu-baek's face.
"I thought so back then. Now? I'm not sure. Maybe it was just venting. Projecting my rage over comrades and subordinates lost to the Annihilation Merit onto them."
"The Annihilation Merit..."
Chaos Blood Annihilation Merit.
Wi Ji-gun knew of its existence.
He knew its results prowled the forest beyond that great wall, too.
"You called them Dark Blood Evil Corpses?"
"Yes."
"Still hanging around?"
"The Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest is vast. And they're strong."
"Tch. The Hao Clan rats are begging to die, meddling with that cursed art when there's nothing else to touch."
"It's their funeral if they destroy themselves. But when they annihilate themselves with the Annihilation Merit and turn into Dark Blood Evil Corpses... think of the innocent people around them."
The Hao Clan's headquarters was in Chang'an.
A massive city that had once been the empire's capital.
If Dark Blood Evil Corpses suddenly appeared there...
The thought alone was horrifying.
"You could have opened the gates of slaughter to stop it."
Wi Ji-gun patted Ha Mu-baek's shoulder.
"I'll dump these somewhere fitting."
"Do that."
Ha Mu-baek hoisted the four men over his shoulders and raced off, tossing them far away.
He struck their mixed blood points once more.
A day would pass before they regained their senses.
"We can't push any further."
Yeon Gong-hu said in a flat, emotionless voice.
Yeon Baek-ryang whipped his head around, glaring at Yeon Gong-hu with fury-filled eyes.
"I know that without you yapping."
The horses had collapsed.
They'd changed mounts twice along the way.
There were few large cities that could sell three hundred horses at once.
The last city they'd passed two days ago had been the final one.
According to the Hao Clan guide, resupplying horses ahead would be impossible.
They'd tried to stock up anyway, but there simply weren't that many available.
"We need a day's rest."
Yeon Gong-hu said again.
Yeon Baek-ryang's blazing eyes turned on him.
"You must be thrilled. Our schedule's delayed."
"It doesn't matter to me."
"Tch."
Yeon Baek-ryang ground his teeth in rage.
Even his utterly reasonable nephew's words were fueling his fury—he'd lost all rationality.
"Young master. Calm down. Resting is the right call. The horses are spent, and so are the men."
Dong Ju-san tried to restrain Yeon Baek-ryang.
Riding hard consumed tremendous stamina—not just for the horses, but for the riders too.
And they'd done it nonstop for days.
At full speed, covering nearly three hundred li a day.
Even experts with deep inner energy couldn't avoid exhaustion on such a grueling journey.
They'd camped rough, but they needed at least a day to recover.
The destination was now just a day's ride away.
Rest today, and it'd be two days.
They couldn't face the monster exhausted two days from now.
Besides, some among them were veterans of the recent war.
Some had even been through the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
The war had ended long ago—but not that long ago.
It was exactly that kind of time.
"Once we enter the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, it's not just Ha Mu-baek we'll face. Evil corpses can pop out anywhere. We need to recover our stamina and inner energy fully before going in."
At Dong Ju-san's continued persuasion, Yeon Baek-ryang nodded and quelled his anger.
But it didn't last.
A troubled-looking Hao Clan member appeared moments later.
"What?"
Irritation filled Yeon Baek-ryang's voice.
"I-I'm sorry, but..."
"What?"
Yeon Baek-ryang's eyebrows shot up.
Starting with an apology?
This always meant bad news that sparked rage.
"We've lost track of them."
"What?"
As expected.
It was news that demanded fury.
"We had them split into four groups surveilling beyond the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall... but they were ambushed simultaneously. They only came to after a full day, in a different spot from before. By the time they checked where the targets had been, they were already gone."
The Hao Clan member explained the situation with a grim expression.
Yeon Baek-ryang trembled with rage at his words.
How could this happen?
They were so close—and now they'd lost them?
"Tracks?"
He growled through clenched teeth.
"Checking traces around the wall past it—they seem to have gone deeper into the forest."
"Pursuit?"
"S-Sorry. The threat of the evil corpses made it impossible to go more than ten zhang from the wall."
The Hao Clan member bowed deeply.
"Useless vermin."
Yeon Baek-ryang muttered in fury.
The bowed Hao Clan member ground his teeth at the words.
Luckily, with his head down, Yeon Baek-ryang didn't see it.
"Can't even surveil properly and lose them? Too scared to pursue? Ha. Unbelievable. And I trusted trash like you and raced here like a madman..."
"Please go back."
Then Yeon Gong-hu interjected.
"What?"
Slap!
Yeon Baek-ryang struck Yeon Gong-hu's cheek.
It was a blow born of utter rage.