Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 187

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 187
There were six people, but only five horses.
Ye-hwa had collapsed after firing nine arrows at Baek Si and could not control her mount.
Geum Seok-du had no choice but to drive the horse while holding her in his arms. Fearing he might lose her in the chaos of battle, he even wrapped cloth around her body and bound her tightly to his torso.
“Gasp… huff…”
Ye-hwa’s breathing grew increasingly ragged.
Geum Seok-du swallowed dryly and glanced at Dokgo Myeong’s profile.
“Commander, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Dokgo Myeong kicked the horse’s flank and pushed forward a bit more.
Drip!
A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of Dokgo Myeong’s mouth.
Driving the horse so frantically had caused the sealed meridians to rupture, resulting in internal injuries.
‘The kid’s perceptive. But with all this blood on me already, the enemies won’t notice.’
That was when it happened.
Whoooosh! Boom!
Just as they thought they’d shaken off one wave of pursuit after mounting the horses, a firework shot up into the sky.
Geum Seok-du’s expression turned bewildered.
“This is… insane. Even if the officials are staying silent, setting off fireworks inside the city is too much.”
They still hadn’t completely escaped Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province. It was already problematic to wage what amounted to a war in the middle of the night, and now they’d used thunderbolt pellets and were openly setting off fireworks.
But there was no time to worry about that now.
The battle that had momentarily ceased resumed with the firework.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Purify the blood, purify the spirit! Maitreya descends!”
Dokgo Ak shouted.
“Damn it! I’m sick of you bastards!”
Screeeech!
Dokgo Myeong drove the horse even faster, bursting forward while extending the Heavenly Sword.
With a single strike, the chests of three men split open. Blood fountains erupted.
Mounted martial arts differed fundamentally from ordinary combat, yet Dokgo Myeong appeared extremely proficient.
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes flashed brilliantly as he shouted with a commanding voice.
“Ride! Increase speed and break through!”
Thus the five war horses cut across the night road.
The predetermined escape route no longer held meaning. It had only been an emergency evacuation path prepared in case something went wrong, not a retreat planned with such large-scale military encirclement in mind.
“We’re about to escape the city! This way!”
As expected, this was a race against time.
The Jeongheol Sect members were still unable to move comprehensively, so they couldn’t maintain the heavenly net for long.
Crash!
The Cheonma Sect burst through the city gates and, escaping the urban area, entered a sparsely populated mountain path.
Enemies continued to appear at regular intervals.
I broke through their ranks, killed, and ran on.
As I drove the horse forward in a frenzy that made my head spin, Dokgo Myeong’s eyes snapped wide open.
“Stop! It’s a trap!”
The moment Dokgo Myeong yanked hard on the reins, the horse let out a shriek and reared up on its hind legs.
Almost simultaneously, human voices echoed from the darkness on both sides of the road.
“Pull!”
Immediately after, something erupted from the ground hidden by the night’s darkness.
Whoooosh!
What burst forth, spraying sand, was a thick rope.
Dokgo Myeong, who reacted first, and Geum Seok-du, who followed, managed to stop their horses immediately, but Namgung Sohwa, Cheolmu-baek, and Dokgo Ak couldn’t stop in time and were caught by the rope, sent flying forward.
Dokgo Myeong immediately kicked free from his saddle and threw himself toward where the voices had come from.
Slash! Crack!
When Dokgo Myeong returned to the group, blood dripped from his blade.
“Is everyone all right?”
“We’re fine.”
“But the horses…”
The martial artists could rely on their inner energy, but the horses couldn’t withstand it.
The moment they were caught by the rope and rolled across the ground, the impact from the sudden deceleration crushed their bodies.
Dokgo Myeong nodded.
“It’s done. They held up well enough. Actually, this works out better. From now on, we leave the road. Seok-du, you release your horse too.”
Eventually, the group began moving on foot.
Though our speed decreased, the actual combat became easier.
Cheolmu-baek, being from the steppes originally, was skilled with horses, but Dokgo Ak and Namgung Sohwa hadn’t been able to display their full abilities while mounted.
The Cheonma Sect members, now dismounted, moved as quickly as possible while concealing their presence.
However, the enemies began blocking our path with increasing frequency and in greater numbers.
As the frequency and difficulty of combat intensified, Geum Seok-du spoke.
“The encirclement is tightening.”
Namgung Sohwa furrowed her brow and asked.
“Can’t we shake off the pursuit by erasing our traces like we did in Junggyeong?”
“We lack the preparation, and besides, the encirclement is spread over too wide an area—wasting time itself becomes the problem. Let’s take a brief rest instead.”
For the first time, the Cheonma Sect stopped moving.
Dokgo Myeong sat in a cross-legged position to tend to his internal injuries, and the others each regulated their breathing.
Unable to do this or that, an uncomfortable time passed even as we rested.
And there was always a man who revealed his true worth in such situations.
Geum Seok-du, who had been muttering and thinking about something, came up with a scheme.
“Commander, if we spot enemies first, would you report to me before engaging in combat?”
“Why?”
“At this rate, we’ll be surrounded. Even if we can’t shake off the pursuers already on our heels, I think there might be a way to break through the forces blocking our path without fighting. We’d only need to fight one more time.”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed.
“You, surely you don’t mean…?”
“We must hurry.”
After that brief respite, as we traversed the valley while concealing our tracks as much as possible, the Cheonma Sect discovered enemy forces positioned ahead, establishing a siege.
Geum Seok-du entrusted Ye-hwa to Namgung Sohwa, then immediately approached the enemies who were tightening their encirclement.
I wondered what they were discussing when suddenly Geum Seok-du came fleeing at full speed, crying out.
“Ak! It’s over! I’m done for! Please save me!”
Dokgo Ak and Namgung Sohwa immediately burst forth, brandishing their blades.
“What did you do?”
“What on earth…”
In the midst of the urgency, Geum Seok-du shouted again.
“Slit the neck! Don’t cut the clothes!”
Soon the bewildering battle ended. As everyone looked to Geum Seok-du for explanation, he calmly issued orders first.
“Everyone, remove your clothes and bury them in the ground, then change into these men’s garments. We have no time.”
Cheolmu-baek questioned him.
“A disguise? This alone is meaningless. It would be better to flee quickly…”
“That’s not it.”
“What?”
“No time for this. Ask later, move quickly!”
While everyone was bewildered, only Dokgo Myeong grasped Geum Seok-du’s intention and quickly changed clothes while urging the group forward.
As the group resumed their journey, they soon discovered another enemy force.
Geum Seok-du spoke.
“This time, everyone must follow me. Remember this. No matter what happens, do not draw your weapons first!”
Geum Seok-du led the way, pushing through the undergrowth.
The encircling force’s eyes gleamed at this unexpected encounter.
And then, Geum Seok-du suddenly shouted as if launching an ambush.
“Kun and Dui!”
“…?”
“Kun and Dui! Answer!”
“…Sun and Gen.”
It was a call-and-response using the Eight Trigrams, two characters at a time.
But Geum Seok-du furrowed his brow and glared at them.
“Still suspicious. Answer. Jeongheol purification…”
“…Maitreya’s descent.”
“Correct.”
“Wait, who are you?”
“We are the pursuit unit chasing from below the mountain. We lost the trail in the valley and have been searching.”
“And the valley side?”
“Reinforcements have taken position. May we pass now?”
“You may.”
Under the gaze of the Jeongheol Sect members.
For the first time, the group was able to break through the encirclement without engaging in combat.
After putting distance between ourselves and our enemies, a commotion erupted from the place we’d escaped. Geum Seok-du cried out.
“We’ve been discovered! We need to run now!”
Boom!
The group began running, employing their lightness of step.
After running for some time, Dokgo Ak finally couldn’t hold back and asked.
“What was that? What did you just do?”
Dokgo Myeong burst into a bright laugh and answered instead.
“Dark transformation. I stole their secret signal.”
“What? How?”
Geum Seok-du spoke while employing his lightness of step.
“They operate as a decentralized organization fundamentally. Even among themselves, they don’t know who their allies are. In such circumstances, to maintain an encirclement without fighting among themselves, they need a way to identify friend from foe. It must be a secret signal.”
“Don’t tell me—when you approached alone at first and then fled, you were trying to figure out what their challenge phrase was? And then you used that challenge phrase to steal their response phrase this time?”
“Exactly. From now on, we just need to reveal the response phrase and break through their encirclement. Before they exchange information through carrier pigeons!”
It was a stratagem only conceivable through understanding the Jeongheol Sect’s nature and the current situation, combined with a flash of brilliance.
Until now, we’d engaged in combat immediately, so the enemies had no time for dialogue. By deliberately approaching and listening to their challenge phrase, I’d subsequently learned their response phrase.
Thus, the Cheonma Sect was able to move while avoiding combat for a considerable time.
* * *
The sky grew progressively brighter.
Night was retreating, and dawn was approaching.
“I smell the salt spray of water. There! There it is! The dock!”
Geum Seok-du pointed ahead with a radiant face.
A dock shrouded in mist came into view. Once we crossed that, the escape route Gae-bang had mentioned would open.
However, the situation did not unfold so easily.
Whoooosh!
Dokgo Myeong turned his head.
The group followed suit, staring at the dock bathed in the dim light of early dawn.
“Enemies.”
Cutting through the mist, masters equipped with different weapons walked forward, their killing intent laid bare.
Dokgo Myeong exhaled sharply.
“Army-rank experts. And that’s…”
Three of them.
Dokgo Myeong let out a hollow laugh.
‘Unwelcome reinforcements indeed. So that beggar in the manor was also from the Jeongheol Sect.’
It seemed they’d even spread false information in case our encirclement was breached.
One of the mist-shrouded army-rank experts drew two short spears from his back and asked.
“Are you Dokgo Myeong?”
It was a middle-aged man radiating a murderous killing intent.
If there were army-rank experts, there would be troops under their command. Though I sensed no presence before, suddenly I felt military formations rising from all directions.
Dokgo Myeong tilted his head and replied casually.
“You’ve got the wrong person. What makes you think I’m someone so remarkable?”
“….”
The military commander fell silent for a moment, as if finding the situation absurd, before finally opening his mouth.
“I already knew you were Dokgo Myeong.”
“So you really do engage in such nonsensical behavior, just as the rumors say.”
Watching the two military commanders whisper to each other, Dokgo Myeong snorted derisively.
“If you already knew, why ask, you bastards? Did you really need to put on such airs?”
“….”
“You came swarming like a pack of dogs. Perfect. If I cut down all your necks here today, I’ll have toppled a pillar or two of the Jeongheol Sect on my way out.”
“Did you think such bluster would work?”
“How many Jeongheol Sect disciples do you think have fallen to me after spouting such words?”
Dokgo Myeong spoke with his usual confidence, spinning the Gunkon Sword once with a flourish.
“….”
“….”
A sudden silence spread forth along with the mist.
Dokgo Myeong exhaled sharply, his eyes gleaming.
‘This is ridiculous.’
His eyes felt slightly strained.
I knew this task wouldn’t be easy, but I never expected it to be this overwhelming.
‘Still, if I can just break through here, that’s all that matters. They wouldn’t have sent three military commanders for nothing. It means a path forward opens beyond this.’
In the silence before battle.
At that very moment when a ray of sunlight gleamed across the distant ridge.
Boom!
The spear-wielding man struck the ground.
The two military commanders charged forward on either side of him, and the Cheonma Sect disciples rushed in simultaneously.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh! Crash!
Something flew at tremendous speed and plunged down between the military commanders and the Cheonma Sect disciples.
Not just the Cheonma Sect disciples, but the Jeongheol Sect members as well froze in place.
“What is this?”
“What?”
The object that had plunged between the two forces was none other than an iron spear.
Then.
“Hahahaha!”
Suddenly, a woman’s resonant laughter rang out from the sky, stretching long and clear.
Crash!
Soon after, someone descended from the air and landed right in front of the iron spear.
She kicked the spear shaft upward with her foot, spun it around with a flourish, and slung it across her shoulder—a woman with unmistakable presence.
“My dear brother! It’s been so long! Didn’t you miss your older sister?”
It was none other than Dokgo Yeon, the mad dog of the greatest clan under heaven.
The moment Dokgo Myeong saw her, he felt his strength drain away.
“Wow, seriously. That’s quite the welcome.”
“That? This younger sibling went through so much trouble to come rescue you, and that’s the greeting I get?”
Dokgo Yeon shot back playfully before bursting into laughter.
“I was a bit late because I had to demolish my way through the outer defenses! But don’t worry now! I’ll destroy everything for you!”
Looking at her now, Dokgo Yeon appeared as though she had bathed in blood.
Now that I thought about it, Son Tae-im’s late arrival must have been due to the influence of the Heavenly Net Formation.
It was the Black Bloodfiend’s interference, blocking the Dokgo Household’s intervention to account for any unforeseen variables.
At that moment, the commander of the Bloodfiend Sect spoke in a chilling voice.
“Overturning Heaven and Slaying Dragons—your display is impressive, but surely one woman alone cannot alter the course of events?”
Dokgo Yeon whipped her head around and let out a scoff as if amused.
“A mad ape like you is more than enough for me to handle alone. But here’s the thing—when did I ever say I came alone?”
“…?”
“I didn’t come here today as Dokgo Yeon. I came as the Leader of the Beon-cheon Myeol-sa Alliance.”
Boom! Crash!
Before her words even finished, something tore through the sky and crashed to the ground, erupting in an explosion.
Flutter!
A large banner billowed magnificently in the wind.
Four characters inscribed upon it.
Beon-cheon Myeol-sa.
The name of the supreme ten-man combat unit that had made its mark across the realm, reducing countless heterodox forces to mere pools of blood, was written there.
“My goodness, Leader. No matter how urgent, shouldn’t we at least travel together?”
Soon after, Jang Mu-ak, the Vice-Leader of the Beon-cheon Myeol-sa Alliance, approached with a playful manner and hoisted the banner onto his shoulder.
The Beon-cheon Myeol-sa Alliance stood behind him.
“We’ve arrived, Young Master. We attempted quite the dramatic entrance tailored to the Young Mistress’s tastes—how was it?”
“Quite impressive. But you might damage the flagpole doing that. Don’t do it next time.”
“Understood. Ah, and there’s more besides us.”
“Where?”
“They’re arriving now.”
Thud, thud.
Unlike Dokgo Yeon, a group approached with relatively composed momentum.
No—they merely appeared composed because they were suppressing their killing intent. From the group that arrived drenched in blood as if from fierce battle, one could sense a ferocity akin to that of beasts.
Flutter!
Behind them followed a banner bearing the White Tiger emblem.
The White Tiger Guard, a division of the Dokgo Household’s Four Divine Envoys, and their Leader Seo Ryun.
“Seo Ryun, Leader of the White Tiger Guard under the Sa Heon-gak Division, and one hundred and thirty White Tiger Guards have now arrived. We greet you, Young Master Dokgo Myeong.”
The moment Seo Ryun reached Dokgo Myeong, he dropped to one knee and offered his respects.
“Under the Sa Heon-gak Division?”
“It means the tedious formalities are now complete.”
Seo Ryun raised his head with a sly smile.
Dokgo Myeong exhaled a deep sigh of relief and smiled back at him.
“Welcome. This is truly reassuring.”
“I was delayed blocking the pursuit forces. My apologies.”
“No need for apologies.”
The Beon-cheon Myeol-sa Alliance and the White Tiger Guard.
Though merely two martial squads, their momentum far surpassed that of ordinary warriors.
‘How can a single martial squad….’
‘Every single one of them is an elite comparable to the Gunkon Realm!’
All the Cheonma Sect Elders widened their eyes, scrutinizing their faces.
Certainly, the blood cultists outnumbered them. Yet the aura they radiated was the opposite.
Boom!
At that moment, Dokgo Yeon struck her Aechang against the ground, unleashing a wave of energy.
“Now then, Dokgo Household.”
Dokgo Yeon curled her lips upward, gazing at her enemies.
“Let us set aside the joy of reunion for now… and instead show why we earned the name of the greatest clan under heaven.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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