The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 84

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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 84. Repayment at Saja Gwan
“Would you care for a sparring match?”
“I’ve had enough fighting on the battlefield.”
At the polite refusal, Hong Taek smacked his lips in disappointment.
Ryu, realizing that prolonged contact with this man would only invite more trouble, turned to Yi Song.
“Let’s head out on reconnaissance at once.”
Though this contradicted their earlier plan—to retire early while the Baek Ui Ryeon fighters ate and rested, then set out again at dawn as usual—Yi Song nodded without hesitation.
“Search unit, move out!”
At Yi Song’s command, the search unit members who had been scattered about grumbled and gathered.
Hong Taek’s gaze grew heavy as he watched them assemble.
The momentum radiating from those who called themselves search unit members was razor-sharp.
From various experiences, to give off such an aura….
‘Cho Jeol Jeong.’
That was why Hong Taek’s eyes filled with shock.
Unable to have anticipated such a number of Cho Jeol Jeong masters, Hong Taek could not keep pace with Ryu, who moved ahead.
The search had begun earlier than planned, and discontent swelled among the newer recruits.
They had been forced to continue without proper rest.
Because of this, the search conducted by three squads of new recruits proceeded even more half-heartedly than before.
They wanted to reach the designated location quickly and rest.
Yet Ryu said nothing as he observed this.
Perhaps because of Ryu’s silence, not only Yi Song, but even Jwa Ryang and Dong Pil remained quiet.
By the time morning broke and they had traveled all night, the existing Jeok Sa Jo members who arrived at the designated location saw the new recruits already asleep.
Yi Song stepped forward to say something about such obvious defiance, but Ryu stopped him again.
“Let’s rest too.”
At Ryu’s words, Yi Song closed his mouth and stepped back, and his companions likewise set up their tents in silence.
After all the tents had been erected and they gathered to eat Geon Ryang, Ryu surveyed the existing Jeok Sa Jo members and spoke.
“We’ll wake them in two Si Jin. Be ready.”
“You mean to search immediately?”
At Yi Song’s worried question, thinking it too hasty, Ryu sent a Jeon Eum transmission.
-There will be combat. We catch them from behind before the attackers move.
Yi Song’s eyes widened at the sudden Jeon Eum transmission from Ryu.
-You mean enemies have infiltrated? Where?
At Yi Song’s urgent transmission, Ryu’s gaze turned backward.
That direction was where the three squads of new recruits had swept through.
What he’d worried might be overlooked due to their cursory search had clearly been missed.
Looking at Yi Song’s eyes turning fierce, Ryu spoke.
-In two Si Jin, when we move, it won’t be too late. So rest now.
Leaving those words behind, Ryu entered his own tent. Yi Song hesitated briefly watching him go, then assigned sentries and let his members rest.
For whatever reason, Yi Song announced they would move again after two Si Jin, but did not mention tracking down the enemies they had missed earlier.
He judged there must be a reason why Ryu had sent the transmission to him.
At Yi Song’s announcement that they would depart after two Si Jin, the existing Jeok Sa Jo members went to sleep without complaint.
They had to hurry if they wanted any more sleep.
This brief rest, seized in such complicated circumstances, passed in an instant.
When Ryu emerged from his tent at the appointed hour, he let out a soft laugh.
The members were already awake and beginning to prepare, though he had not called them.
Among these members were the reluctant new recruits, roused by Yi Song’s insistence.
Yi Song spoke to Ryu as he regarded the new recruits.
“It seems you have some intention, so I chose not to explain it to them.”
Whether Ryu understood what that meant or not, he simply nodded without speaking.
Ryu then stopped the members who were beginning to pack up their personal tents.
“Leave the tents. We move out.”
It was an unexpected order, and the members looked at him with puzzlement. Ryu spoke to them.
“There will be combat. We strike the moment we arrive. Nothing special about it. Just do as you always have.”
The word “combat” appearing so suddenly made confusion flicker across the new recruits’ faces.
Ryu took off at a run after a glance at the new recruits, and the entire group of existing Jeok Sa Jo members, their resolve steadied, began to run.
Unlike before, when they had moved using only physical stamina, they now employed Light Footwork—and at full speed.
Because of this, the new recruits had no choice but to hastily deploy their Light Footwork and chase after them.
***
Gathered at the foot of a small hill were Ja Ha Geom, who had volunteered to face Ja Jeon Geom Wang, and his subordinates from Heukkwi.
The search had drawn near their hiding place once, but fortunately their attention turned away on the other side of the hill.
The Baek Ui Ryeon warriors had nearly clashed without even noticing, but everyone relaxed at having slipped past safely, now waiting for the target to pass—several hours into their vigil.
Though all were skilled masters, the midnight cold proved far more punishing than anticipated.
Because of it, not only Ja Ha Geom but every member of Heukkwi sat hunched tight against the chill.
They curled inward to minimize heat loss and reduce the surface area exposed to the biting wind.
Everyone was conserving their Nae Ryeok—the vital force typically spent on resisting cold.
With battle imminent, preserving their Nae Ryeok had to come first.
Ja Ha Geom, who had been crouching that way, suddenly sprang to his feet.
His gaze fixed northwest in the distance.
The members of Heukkwi, perplexed that he was looking not southeast—where the Baek Ui Ryeon fighters would arrive—but in the opposite direction, heard Ja Ha Geom’s voice drop like frost.
“Enemies!”
At Ja Ha Geom’s cry, the Heukkwi members scrambled to their feet, readying for combat.
In that instant, Jeok Sa’s group led by Ryu closed the distance and descended upon them.
A brutal clash erupted immediately between Jeok Sa Jo and Heukkwi.
Jeok Sa Jo moved with their distinctive method—pairs and trios working in tight coordination.
A Heukkwi fighter focused on Dong Pil’s Twin Swords coming at him from the front suddenly flinched as Jwa Ryang’s Bi Do sliced in from the side, forcing him to roll across the ground to survive.
The Heukkwi man’s balance shattered, and Ryu’s Yu Myeong—that grotesque implement—burrowed in like a phantom to finish the work.
Another Heukkwi body, headless now, was hurled to the earth.
This same slaughter unfolded across the battlefield.
Within an hour of the fighting’s start, Heukkwi’s casualties mounted at a staggering pace.
The battle was entirely one-sided.
Heukkwi had been assembled specifically to neutralize hundreds of Baek Ui Ryeon’s central forces—which meant every member was at least an Ilryu Gosu, a master of the first rank.
Substantial numbers of them had reached Jeol Jeong, and even that hadn’t satisfied command—so Ja Jeon Geom Wang himself had stationed fighters of Cho Jeol Jeong, the highest mastery level.
Yet this formidable hierarchy of masters was crumbling without resistance.
One person alone was responsible for this catastrophe—a solitary figure tearing through the battlefield.
It was Ryu, whom no one had expected to be here at all, who was orchestrating this slaughter.
When the Yeonsu chain from Yi Song through Jwa Ryang had barely disturbed a Cho Jeol Jeong master’s balance, it was only Ryu’s ghostly exploitation of that tiny wavering that made the impossible possible—the master’s head simply departed his shoulders.
Of course, even Ja Ha Geom had to acknowledge Hwakyeong’s destructive power.
But no matter how masterful a Hwakyeong practitioner Ryu was, under normal circumstances it would be impossible to subdue a Cho Jeol Jeong master so effortlessly.
What made it possible was precisely the Yeonsu attacks coordinated by Jeok Sa Jo’s members.
A minute opening. A small slip. A momentary lapse.
Add just those things, and even a Cho Jeol Jeong master who normally required dozens of exchanges to overcome could be severed cleanly.
That was the caliber of ability Hwakyeong granted.
But while the concept was simple, executing such coordinated Yeonsu attacks in a chaotic melee where dozens fought intertwined was anything but easy.
Yet Jeok Sa Jo was pulling it off with stunning fluidity.
Because those falling to these near-miraculous Yeonsu attacks were his own subordinates from Heukkwi, Ja Ha Geom could not merely stand and admire the display.
“Hah!”
With a fierce shout, Ja Ha Geom burst forward, his body exploding toward Ryu.
He had grasped in an instant that unless he could pin Ryu down—the one orchestrating the entire battlefield—there was no way to reverse the current momentum.
Though he knew his position was hopeless, Ja Ha Geom did not hesitate.
Clang—clang—clang.
Metal shrieked against metal.
Ryu easily deflected Ja Ha Geom’s strike and turned to pursue another Heukkwi fighter whose balance had been knocked loose by his comrades’ Yeonsu assault—but his movement halted.
Ja Ha Geom’s blade, instead of rebounding, came rushing back at him.
For a moment, triumph flickered across Ja Ha Geom’s face at having successfully anchored Ryu’s feet—but it vanished.
The Yeonsu attacks his allies had pressed forward were returning, and now they struck not Ryu but Ja Ha Geom himself, still locked in his exchange.
Every blow was lethal, blocking them was barely possible.
Yet….
In the act of defending and evading, his balance—just slightly, only fractionally—had come undone.
“…!”
A moment too late, Ja Ha Geom understood what that meant. Through his widened eyes, Ryu’s grotesque weapon descended like lightning.
Thud.
A sound different from before. Ja Ha Geom fell, and as if he were already irrelevant, Jeok Sa Jo’s attacks pivoted to the remaining Heukkwi fighters.
The engagement ended in an hour.
Against odds of a hundred Heukkwi against merely twenty from Jeok Sa Jo—an encounter that seemed impossible to believe—Jeok Sa Jo claimed absolute victory.
The newer recruits, unable to hide their stunned expressions, had trouble accepting it.
Given what they had witnessed of the enemy’s power and their own numerical disadvantage, it would have been unremarkable if, despite having Ryu with his Hwakyeong among them, significant losses or crippling wounds had been inflicted on their ranks.
That not even a single gravely wounded fighter emerged from this savage battle was owed entirely to Ryu, who materialized like a phantom whenever danger threatened, and to the veteran Jeok Sa Jo members.
Because of this, the light in the recruits’ eyes had transformed.
Ryu’s gaze upon them was cold.
A few of the recruits understood why—why their eyes blazed so after victory.
They had belatedly realized that the place where the enemy had been hiding was none other than the far side of the Hill, which they had carelessly scouted and passed by.
When those who had noticed spread word through Jeon Eum, even the new recruits who hadn’t known learned the truth, and the atmosphere in the gathering grew heavy and thick.
As Ryu withdrew his cold gaze from the recruits, Jang Min Soo stepped forward.
“We resume the patrol. This time, without mistakes.”
Though their Nae Ryeok was depleted from combat, the new recruits dared not speak of rest and silently advanced at Jang Min Soo’s command to conduct a thorough Seon Do Jeong Chal.
Watching the recruits, Dong Pil asked a question.
“Are you going to verify and eliminate?”
At Dong Pil’s question, Yi Song narrowed his eyes and shot him a sidelong glance for some reason.
Dong Pil let out a quiet laugh at Yi Song’s reaction and moved; behind him, Jwa Ryang followed with a knowing smile.
Yi Song also moved in their wake.
Ryu, who had lingered at the rear until the end, spoke.
“I sense you’re about to ask why, so I’ll say it now—this is recompense for what happened at Saja Gwan. Thanks to it, I could see a face I’d missed once more. But this is the last time. Your body should be mobile again in about half an Il Gak.”
Having left words meant for none in particular, after Ryu departed as well.
“Unh…….”
With a pained groan, one of the Heukkwi rose among the scattered corpses.
It was Ja Ha Geom Do Jin.
When Ryu had struck him, the sound had been strange; it seemed he had tapped a vital point with the flat of the blade rather than the edge.
Ja Ha Geom’s gaze pursued Ryu’s form, already vanished into the distance and out of sight.
Clench.
His fist tightened, but Ja Ha Geom did not chase after Ryu.
He was not so reckless as to run a path from which only pride could not save him.
“I swear it too. Next time, I will never fall so helplessly!”
With that oath ground between his teeth, Ja Ha Geom hurled himself forward.
Not in the direction Ryu and Jeok Sa Jo had gone, nor in the direction from which Baek Ui Ryeon’s reinforcements were climbing.
He propelled himself toward the direction dense with mountains and forest.

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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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