Return of the Sword Emperor - Chapter 40

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

Chapter 14 – The Dang Family’s Debt of Gratitude and Resentment (3)

Victory snatched from the jaws of critical crisis tasted nothing like triumph.
Dang Wiyong clutched his father’s corpse, his body wracked with sobs.
The Dang Family’s fighters grieved the brothers and friends they had lost.
Though Dang Inseong’s body was soaked in blood from countless wounds, he moved methodically among the survivors, tending to them with a silence that carried a weight beyond mere pity—something that defied words.

“Fifteen… that’s all?”

Of the more than fifty members of the Dang Family and their allied fighters, only fifteen had survived the clash with the Cheonrang Dan—including Dang Yucheon himself.
Dang Yucheon’s face was grim as he grasped the scale of the Dang Family’s losses, his voice trembling with sorrow and rage.
His gaze turned toward the Milgeom Dan, standing with expressions that seemed somehow out of place in this moment.
There was no question that without their aid, the Dang Family would have been annihilated.

“My gratitude. We owe our lives to you.”

Dang Yucheon bowed formally toward the Milgeom Dan.

“You’re too kind. We came as quickly as we could when we heard the news, but I’m sorry the damage turned out to be so severe.”

At Jong Gak’s reply, Dang Yucheon shook his head bitterly.

“That failure was mine. I did consider the possibility that they might lay an ambush, but I thought it unlikely. And…….”

Glancing at both the fallen Cheonrang Dan and the pitiful forms of the Paecheon Sinma and Seungcheon Magak scattered across the battlefield, Dang Yucheon’s fists clenched so hard his nails drew blood from his palms.

“I never imagined those old beasts would be waiting. I was far too careless.”

Dang Yucheon’s gaze had shifted toward Sang Hwan of the Amhyang Organization.

“Why wasn’t there any word that such creatures existed?”
“I… I’m deeply sorry, but I hadn’t heard of them either…….”

Dang Yucheon sighed as he watched Sang Hwan fumble for words.
The lack of intelligence was certainly a failure on their part, but it wasn’t right to hold an individual accountable for it. Besides, if the Amhyang Organization hadn’t managed to relay their crisis to the Milgeom Dan, the Dang Family would not have escaped total destruction.

“Enough. I know the Amhyang Organization is doing what it can. Those creatures hid their presence well.”
“My apologies.”

Sang Hwan could not bring himself to raise his head.
In the meantime, Dang Inseong moved swiftly, collecting the bodies of the fallen family members.
Though they could not arrange for burial immediately, neither could they leave corpses scattered about in all directions, so he gathered them in one place.
For those family members too badly wounded to move, Dang Inseong fashioned stretchers—simple enough constructions of branches of suitable thickness with cloth hastily woven together.
The Milgeom Dan lent their strength to the grim work of gathering the dead and assembling the stretchers.

“I believe we’ve done what we can for now.”

Dang Inseong spoke with his lips clenched tight.

“You did well. How are you holding up?”

Dang Yucheon asked, examining Dang Inseong’s form, from which blood seeped at countless points.

“I’m fine. When I think of them, injuries like these are nothing.”

The anger woven into his measured tone was plain enough for anyone to feel.

“Yes. Such wounds are truly nothing.”

Dang Yucheon’s gaze swept across the corpses of Cheonrang Dan scattered in all directions, his eyes glinting with a cold, unsettling light.

‘The Dang Family’s Debt of Gratitude and Resentment carries the weight of a hundred million gold pieces.’

Jong Gak, reading Dang Yucheon’s mood, recalled the Jianghu’s adage for describing the Dang Family and swallowed hard.

“Much obliged. You’ve helped us more than once.”

Dang Yucheon conveyed his gratitude to the Milgeom Dan, who had not only saved his life but had also moved tirelessly without shirking any difficult task.

“Not at all.”
“Still, you’re all remarkably skilled. I don’t mean to underestimate you, but I had no idea the Milgeom Dan possessed such considerable strength.”
“I was surprised as well. The last time I saw them…….”

Dang Inseong, who knew the Milgeom Dan’s abilities well despite limited major contact—though they had occasionally undertaken operations together—was regarding Jong Gak and the Milgeom Dan with a somewhat bewildered expression.

“We were fortunate. We’ve been working hard in our own way.”

Dang Yucheon took considerable liking to Jong Gak’s understated manner, which made no boast of their accomplishments.

“Ha! I heard that the lord of Chamhoeyak, out of consideration for the Escort Team, deliberately chose not to alert us to the danger—a wasted courtesy, that. Tsk, tsk, to have such skilled ones at one’s side and not use them.”

As Dang Yucheon clicked his tongue, Sang Hwan, who had been restless until now, carefully opened his mouth.

“If the Dang Family was attacked, then the Mudang Faction and Daeho Sect heading toward Chamhoeyak must have come under attack as well. And perhaps…….”
“You’re saying Chamhoeyak is in danger.”

Sang Hwan nodded at Jong Gak’s words.

“Yes.”

His eyes gleamed with a desperate hope that they would offer aid.
Yet as a member of the Escort Team, Jong Gak could not make such a decision alone.

“We must return to the Escort Team first. I’ll consult with Deputy Patriarch Jwa and decide from there. You should come with us as well. The Escort Team is equipped with medicinal supplies for treating the wounded.”
“Understood.”

Dang Yucheon nodded readily.
With all preparations complete, the Dang Family and the Milgeom Dan began moving to rendezvous with the Escort Team.

* * *

“The situation is rather complicated, isn’t it.”

After receiving an explanation from Jong Gak, Jwa Jong Je looked around with an expression of consternation.
The sight of subordinates barely clinging to life after the previous battle, and the Bokma Dan members who had suffered the worst casualties, drew an involuntary sigh from him.

“This is not an easy matter to judge. What do you think we should do, Deputy Patriarch?”

Jong Gak, pausing briefly in thought at Jwa Jong Je’s question, answered in a low, measured voice.

“We should go. If reinforcements from the Mudang Faction or Daeho Sect fail to arrive in time, or if they fall to the Madoryeon, then those at Chamhoeyak will find it difficult to escape calamity.”
“But they say the enemy has far greater numbers and stronger overall power than those who attacked the Dang Family…….”

Jwa Jong Je continued, glancing briefly at the two Amhyang Organization members engaged in serious conversation—Sang Hwan and Gwak Gae.

“To be honest, I don’t know what we should do. Of course I know we should help, but I’m not certain our going will even make a difference.”

Jong Gak gazed quietly at Jwa Jong Je’s face.
In the depths of his trembling eyes, he sensed a tangle of fear, guilt, and responsibility.
Jong Gak turned his head slightly and met Dok Go Jin’s gaze.
The two men, having already exchanged views before joining the Escort Team, now traded a meaningful look.

“Then let us do this.”

Jong Gak raised his voice so all could hear.

“The Escort Team will return as planned.”
“However…….”

Jwa Jong Je’s expression grew complicated as his words trailed off.

“The Bokma Dan will also withdraw with us.”

While Yi Cheonhu and the Bokma Dan members, who had naturally assumed they were headed for Chamhoeyak, murmured amongst themselves, Jong Gak turned his attention to Won Jong and Woo Gon.

“You two return as well.”

Woo Gon, as if he’d expected this, nodded and let out a hollow laugh.

“Well, it’s exactly the same as when we went to rescue the Dang Family before. Don’t waste time—let’s depart quickly.”
“We’ll go too.”

Dang Yucheon stepped forward alongside Dang Inseong, who was wrapped in bandages.

“Will you be all right?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not so badly hurt I can’t move. Ah, I’ll ask you to look after those fellows. You needn’t go all the way to Gangnam Chongta—just scout the nearby towns.”

Dang Yucheon pointed to the family members whose wounds were too severe to keep them in the front lines—more than half of them, eight in total.

“Do not worry. I will take full responsibility.”

Whether from relief at not having to go to Chamhoeyak, Jwa Jong Je struck his chest and raised his voice.
Just then, Yi Cheonhu, having conferred swiftly with his companions, spoke.

“We will go as well.”
“The Bokma Dan too?”
“Yes.”
“There’s no need to push yourselves.”
“It is not a matter of pushing ourselves—it is a duty we must fulfill.”

Seeing the resolute light in Yi Cheonhu’s eyes, Jong Gak chuckled softly and nodded.

“If that is your wish, so be it. But remember this well—the journey will be quite perilous.”
“I am prepared.”

Yi Cheonhu nodded gravely.
The one most surprised by Yi Cheonhu’s more resolute bearing than ever before was Dok Go Jin himself.
This was the Yi Cheonhu of the previous life who had abandoned the Milgeom Dan as bait and fled. A man who had risen steadily within the Bokma Dan afterward, yet never managed to hide his cowardice until the end.

‘I felt the change, but…….’

Watching Yi Cheonhu steady his companions and steel his resolve, the corners of Dok Go Jin’s eyes curved slightly upward.

* * *

“Lord Chamberlain, where are you? Where have you gone?”

Heuk Do Byeong, the Vice-Chamberlain, came running drenched in blood, his voice rising as he searched the surroundings.

“That, that is…….”

Whether it was the gruesome sight of Heuk Do Byeong covered in blood, or the killing intent that radiated from his entire body, Jin Yong—the deputy warden—couldn’t manage to speak properly.

“The situation is dire. Please, tell me what’s happened.”
“I… don’t know.”
“Pardon?”

Heuk Do Byeong stared at Jin Yong, who shook his head weakly, his expression one of sheer bewilderment.

“He was here just moments ago, but at some point he vanished from sight. No one knows where he went.”

In that instant, Heuk Do Byeong’s face went rigid.

‘Surely not?’

An unwelcome thought crossed his mind, but Heuk Do Byeong forced himself to shake his head.

‘No. Pointless speculation.’

Heuk Do Byeong chose to believe that some unforeseen circumstance must have arisen with Sunjak, and opened his mouth to speak.

“A decision must be made.”

At Heuk Do Byeong’s grave tone, Jin Yong’s body shuddered. Yet he quickly reminded himself of his position.
In the warden’s absence, the deputy warden assumed command—and in a crisis like this, there was no room for hesitation.

“I hear the escaped prisoners have been suppressed to some degree.”
“Not entirely. Their resistance is formidable, and with outside enemies aiding them, the situation is far from under control. Both the inner and outer garrison have suffered grievous losses.”

Though the prisoners of the inner sanctum had been more thoroughly restrained, those of Chamhoeyak had likewise been administered Sangong Poison and could not employ their martial arts. Yet when faced with the escaped prisoners directly, it proved otherwise.
They had not recovered their former abilities, but they were far from helpless.
Because of that, the guards of the inner garrison who had borne the brunt of the initial assault had suffered devastating casualties, and the outer garrison’s losses far exceeded expectations.

“How… how severe is it?”

Jin Yong asked in a trembling voice.

“We must withdraw from this place.”
“What are you saying? Surely you don’t mean abandon Chamhoeyak?”

As Jin Yong stared blankly, Heuk Do Byeong spoke with finality.

“The outside enemies aiding the prisoners are a grave concern, but what is far more dire is that formidable adversaries—far beyond the measure of mere prisoners—are closing in on us. There is no time to hesitate. We must pull back at once. All surviving guards of the inner garrison and the administrative staff alike are in danger. The female section in particular must not suffer any losses.”

The female section was no mere prison block—it maintained ties to the government itself.
The moment Heuk Do Byeong mentioned the female section, Jin Yong’s head bobbed in involuntary agreement.

“Ah, yes. We shall withdraw.”
“We will buy you time.”

Heuk Do Byeong turned to leave, bowing slightly—whether it was a final gesture or not, he alone knew—and departed.
Jin Yong made no response, only staring after him with vacant eyes.

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