Return of the Sword Emperor - Chapter 37

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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 13: The Crisis of the Tang Family (3)

“What should we do?”

Jwa Jong Je turned to Jong Gak with the question.
Though he was formally the commander of the escort unit, it would be no exaggeration to say Jong Gak was the one truly leading them.

“I know what manner of family the Tang are, but if they’ve walked into an ambush, they’re in grave danger.”
“Yes—just looking at that man’s condition tells me things aren’t going well.”
“We might not have known before, but now that we’re aware of the Tang Family’s peril, we can’t simply turn away.”
“Mm.”

At Jong Gak’s words, a heavy sigh escaped Jwa Jong Je’s lips.
Practically speaking, the Guard Unit under his command would be little help against the Demon Cultivator Alliance. Yet as a member of the Righteous Martial Alliance, he couldn’t simply ignore the peril of his allies either.
When Jwa Jong Je fell silent, unable to speak easily, Jong Gak—who understood his position all too well—made the decision for him.

“Given how dire the situation appears, we’ll need to move as quickly as possible. The Secret Guard Unit will mobilize first.”
“You—you’ll do that for us?”

Jwa Jong Je asked, his face shining with gratitude.

“The Guard Unit should follow slowly, keeping watch for any enemies that might approach. And the Bogma Unit—”

At Jong Gak’s call, Yi Cheon Hu, who led the dwindling Bogma Unit, answered at once.

“Yes, Deputy Commander.”
“I’m counting on you to protect the Guard Unit.”
“We should also—”
“Never mind that. We’re short on numbers, it’s true, but in a situation like this it’s better to move with those whose movements we know. I’m telling you plainly: keep the Guard Unit safe. Everyone needs to come back alive.”
“Understood.”

As Yi Cheon Hu nodded, Jong Gak turned to look behind him.

“Woo Gon and Won Jong stay here as well.”

The two men, their lips pressed tight, stepped back silently to the side.

“Where is the Tang Family being attacked?”

Jong Gak asked Gwak Gae.

“Follow the Northwestern Ridge of the mountain you see there. Once you reach the point where the mountain ends, you’ll see the enemies.”

The distance was considerable, and Jong Gak’s brow furrowed.

“Can you guide us there?”

Gwak Gae, assessing his own condition, shook his head.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to, I’m sorry to say.”
“Understood. You did well.”

Jong Gak offered him comfort in a gentle tone, then turned his head sharply.

“Are you ready?”

At Jong Gak’s question, the remaining Secret Guard Unit members nodded as one.

“We are ready.”
“Good. We depart at once. Dok Go Jin takes the lead.”
“Yes.”

Dok Go Jin answered quietly and stepped forward. Then he turned back to address the others.

“I’ll be setting a fast pace. Keep up as best you can.”

Dok Go Jin didn’t wait for a reply. He turned and moved ahead.
His companions, who had spent the last few days learning exactly what manner of man he was, were already making their final preparations.

* * *

The situation was dire. More than dire—it was nothing short of desperate.
The Cheonrang Unit, arrayed in overwhelming numbers, was not rushing. They were methodically, inexorably suffocating the Tang Family and their allied forces in a tightening noose.
Not every member of the Tang Family was green. They had trained hard, earned their battle scars, and proven their mettle—yet they were no match for warriors who had rolled through actual warfare. The same held true for the allied contingents.
That Dang Cheol and Dang In Sung were holding the line through sheer will, that the Tang Family was unleashing a relentless barrage of hidden projectiles and poison, had kept them alive this long. Without it, they would have crumbled already.
The skilled efforts of Go Chang, renowned in Sichuan for his Jade Tiger Sword technique, and Bu Yong, master of the Wind Wave Fist, had proven invaluable as well.
But now even that was no longer possible.
Dan Do Je, wielding the Blood Sea Demon Shadow, had materialized like a ghost on the battlefield, cut down both Go Chang and Bu Yong, and vanished. Now Bang Yo pressed Dang Cheol with his Ascension Demon Horn, and Ye Do Hwang himself had engaged Dang In Sung directly.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Ye Do Hwang’s onslaught was relentless, giving Dang In Sung no breathing room, no moment to counterattack. He could only focus on defense, on survival.

‘Damn it. Still monstrously strong.’

Even as Dang In Sung retreated, he searched desperately for a weakness, some flaw in Ye Do Hwang’s offense. But none presented itself.
Whether it was the old animosity between them or respect for Dang In Sung’s abilities, Ye Do Hwang had committed his full power from the start.
The Cheonrang Unit, once dismissed as the weakest of the Demon Cultivator Alliance, had achieved what no one dared to trivialize under Ye Do Hwang’s command—his martial strength was so formidable that it was feared more in the Righteous Martial Alliance than among his own Demon peers.
But Dang In Sung, who had risen to second-in-command of the Uicheon Unit, was far from a pushover himself.
In the suffocating pressure of that relentless assault, he endured, waiting with absolute patience for his opening.
Cuts large and small accumulated across his body; he was slicked with blood. Yet his mind remained clear, unflinching.
And at last, the moment he had held his breath waiting for arrived.
Whether from impatience to end the duel quickly or simple chance, a gap opened in Ye Do Hwang’s normally flawless, meticulous offense. It was only the briefest flutter—a gap no wider than a needle’s eye.
But for Dang In Sung, who had endured and waited for nothing else, it was a gift beyond price.
Flash!
His left hand, hidden until now, burst forward, and light erupted from his sleeve.

“Hah!”

Ye Do Hwang, about to deliver his final blow, gasped in shock and twisted his body. He even endured the backlash of his own Internal Force, desperately yanking his blade to safety.
Cling! Cling!
Sharp metallic rings echoed as hidden projectiles ricocheted in all directions.

“Hmph! I’m not fool enough to fall for such a trick.”

Ye Do Hwang laughed, his expression casual and amused.
But beneath that outward composure, as he quietly wiped the blood trickling down his neck, his thoughts were far from light.

‘I was careless. If my reflexes had been a heartbeat slower…’

Five projectiles, each the size of a finger.
He had deflected four by the narrowest margin—but one had grazed his neck, and the last had forced him to shield it with his left forearm.

‘At least they weren’t coated in poison.’

Having endured the Tang Family’s toxins countless times, Ye Do Hwang felt he had been blessed by heaven itself.

“Don’t expect such luck again.”

Watching Ye Do Hwang’s eyes grow colder and more cutting than before, Dang In Sung could only exhale in resignation.
Now that the first—and likely only—true opening had slipped from his grasp, his chances of victory had grown impossibly slim.
But he had no intention of meekly offering up his neck.

‘I can hold on a while longer.’

Just as Dang In Sung steeled himself to seize another opening by any means necessary, Ye Do Hwang’s massive frame came barreling forward like a tempest.

In one corner of the battlefield where fierce combat raged on all sides, Dan Do Je of the Blood Sea Demon Shadow stood watching the situation with unhurried calm—having swiftly eliminated Go Chang and Bu Yong, the central pillars among the warlords, and returned.

‘No problems on this front.’

Ye Do Hwang was driving his opponent into a corner with overwhelming prowess that lived up to his reputation. Though he’d stumbled for an instant, it posed no obstacle to his victory.

‘Nor on that one.’

Where Dan Do Je’s gaze fell, Dang Cheol was locked in a grueling struggle against Bang Yo of the Ascension Demon Horn.

‘Those fools will be dealt with soon enough.’

Of the more than fifty Tang Family martial masters and the surviving warlords, less than half remained, and their numbers were dwindling rapidly.
Then a sound like thunder cracked through the back of Dan Do Je’s skull.
A faint smile crossed Dan Do Je’s lips as he turned his head toward the place where the fiercest and most violent clash of the entire battlefield was unfolding.

“Hah! The old fool is tougher than I’d expected—soon to meet the King of Hell himself, and still going strong.”

Beneath Dan Do Je’s mockery lay genuine admiration for Dang Yu Cheon.
Dang Yu Cheon and Jang Roe had collided roughly fifteen years ago, and whether time had passed him by or not, the ferocity of his assault on Jang Roe was no different from back then.
Yet Dan Do Je harbored no worry whatsoever.
If Dang Yu Cheon had maintained his strength from that era, then Jang Roe was stronger now than he’d been then.
As if to prove the point, Jang Roe’s counterattack came swiftly, deflecting Dang Yu Cheon’s onslaught with relative ease.
Dang Yu Cheon reeled backward, his arms flailing in frantic desperation.

“Krahahahaha!”

At Jang Roe’s sudden outburst of laughter, Dang Yu Cheon’s eyes flared with rage at being mocked.
When Dang Yu Cheon shifted two steps to his left, Jang Roe’s fist shot forward without fail.
In that instant, Dang Yu Cheon’s form rippled like water, leaving afterimages before vanishing.
His silhouette reappeared at Jang Roe’s rear.
Seizing the opening, Dang Yu Cheon unleashed the ultimate technique of the Green Flow Palm Method, intent on ending the bout in a single stroke.
Jang Roe twisted urgently and drove his fist forward.
It was the ultimate technique of the Tyrant King Fist—the very art that had earned him the epithet “Overlord of Heaven and Demon.”
Boom-boom-boom-boom-CRASH!
Jang Roe’s fist and Dang Yu Cheon’s palm collided violently, generating a tremendous boom and sending shockwaves cascading outward in all directions.
Both men staggered back three paces, then as if by agreement, launched fresh attacks anew.
Thus the relentless exchange continued on without quarter, stretching on and on.
It was a clash so fierce and merciless that even those watching could scarcely draw a proper breath.
Whooooom!
With a weighty resonant tone, a blueish-gray force gathered across both of Jang Roe’s fists.

“Die!”

With a curse-laden roar, the Heavenly Thunder—the most devastating technique of the Tyrant King Fist—erupted forth.
Dang Yu Cheon did not meet it head-on; instead, he retreated, dispersing the torrential force of his opponent’s onslaught through his body.
Even merely deflecting the power sent searing pain through his arms as if they might shatter, and a heavy vibration reverberated through his chest with crushing intensity.
As Dang Yu Cheon was driven back, his form suddenly shot forward as if snapped by a bowstring, his arm extending outward.
In that moment, countless palm shadows filled the air, pressing down upon Jang Roe.
Knowing that each and every shadow carried formidable power, Jang Roe threw punches frantically, sweeping away all the approaching shadows in a single torrent.
Yet something was amiss.
The rebound from his knuckles was almost nonexistent.
Like grasping at a mirage.

‘A feint!’

By the time Jang Roe grasped it, a single shaft of light had already pierced through the countless shadow-blades still hovering in the air, descending upon him with terrifying speed.

“Damn it!”

Jang Roe’s face contorted in despair.
It was too late to evade.
In that fraction of an instant, a memory he’d buried returned to haunt him.
The realization that he’d fallen for an almost identical tactic fifteen years ago crashed down upon him like a wave of shame.

“Hack—!”

A cry of agony tore from Jang Roe’s throat. In the same breath, he staggered and clutched at his shoulder.

“Poison.”

Dan Do Je, who had sensed the danger and drawn his blade just in time to save Jang Roe’s life, shouted the word aloud.
Jang Roe wasted no moment—he pressed down on the pressure point in his arm and mobilized his Internal Force to prevent the poison from spreading throughout his body.
But this was no ordinary toxin; it came from the Tang Family. Having penetrated directly through the wound rather than merely seeping through the skin, the poison was already amplifying its effects at a ferocious rate.

“Tsk, tsk. Look at you now—defeated by the same technique twice. First, purge the poison from your body. I’ll deal with this fellow myself.”

Jang Roe wanted to stop Dan Do Je as he moved toward Dang Yu Cheon, but he found himself powerless to do so.
He could only glare at Dang Yu Cheon with bloodshot eyes.

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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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