The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 10

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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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Red Dragon Warrior Emperor, Episode 10

Chapter 10 — Those Who Hunt Cha Joong-gyeong

Screech.
The fox watched a bird take flight, its fangs bared.
“Be still.”
Cheong Po-in stroked the fox’s head and turned to the man with a furrowed brow.
“He hasn’t budged for days now.”
“We wait until he does.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to move at night?”
“The generals are all masters of the highest realm. Evading all their eyes at once would be difficult, so we must not act rashly.”
The man spoke evenly, though his mind churned beneath. Several days had passed since arriving here, and in all that time Lee Hwan had not stirred from the Command Tent.
‘Still, entering the military camp is dangerous. Without knowing if he’s foe or ally, there’s no reason to gamble with my life.’
The man withdrew a wine bottle from his robes and took a sip.
Then it happened.
Whisper.
A presence stirred in the forest behind them.
The man and Cheong Po-in instinctively concealed themselves beyond the trees.
Moments later, figures emerged from the undergrowth.
About ten of them, all dressed in Yeon Military garb.
Cheong Po-in transmitted his voice through Sound Transmission.
[They’re Black Tiger Corps from Zhao.]
[Are you certain?]
[Yes. They wear Yeon uniforms, but those Sword School Ornaments are unmistakably the ones the Black Tiger Corps favors. But why would they venture this deep?]
[Routine scouting, I’d wager.]
[It seems rather deep for routine scouting, though.]
[For now, we watch.]
The man stood with folded arms, his eyes fixed on the Black Tiger Corps passing before him.
Then it came.
“Do you really think Cha Joong-gyeong stole the confidential documents from the general’s barracks and fled to Yeon?”
“Honestly, I doubt the man has the nerve for it. But since the general said so, we must investigate the matter, mustn’t we?”
“According to one of his comrades who was with him at the time, when the battle commenced, he moved off in an odd direction alone. That much suggests something is certainly amiss.”
“The truth hardly matters. We’ve been ordered to capture him, so we must capture him by any means necessary. If worse comes to worst, we kill him to complete the order.”
Cheong Po-in’s eyes widened at the conversation, and he glanced toward the man.
[It seems he stole something quite important.]
[Not our concern.]
The presumed Black Tiger Corps members passed the spot where the man and Cheong Po-in were hidden and disappeared into the forest beyond.
Shortly after, the man and Cheong Po-in emerged from the trees and climbed to higher ground. From above, they watched the presumed Black Tiger Corps descend gradually toward the Yeon Military Camp.
The man’s gaze grew distant as he spoke.
“Were there men like that in the Black Tiger Corps?”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re no ordinary soldiers. Each one carried a vicious aura about them.”
“Are you saying they’re masters from the Heterodox Sects?”
“Zhao has been recruiting experts from the Heterodox Sects for years, so it’s hardly surprising. Still, if those men become involved, this matter may grow troublesome.”
“Should we kill them all now?”
The man fell silent in thought, then slowly shook his head.
“Not yet. We observe.”
“What if we delay and the general comes to harm?”
“He won’t fall easily. If my eyes don’t deceive me, he is…….”
The man trailed off.
Cheong Po-in pressed him, curious.
“If your eyes don’t deceive you?”
“He may well be a master I myself cannot handle.”
“Come now, surely not.”
The man cuffed Cheong Po-in’s head, cutting short the man’s small laugh.
Thwack!
“Your habit of judging people carelessly persists. I tell you again—masters always exist in places we know nothing of.”
“……Yes.”
“For now, we watch their movements. Since the great general’s barracks lie separate from the main encampment, the moment they learn that Cha Joong-gyeong is there, they’ll certainly make their move.”
“Understood.”

* * *

The morning was unusually clear.
Song Cheon-mu prepared tea with Cha Joong-gyeong. Cha Joong-gyeong boiled the water while Song Cheon-mu ground the leaves.
Thump-thump-thump.
Song Cheon-mu’s hands moved unevenly as he ground the leaves. Cha Joong-gyeong offered a word of advice.
“Grind like that and it’ll turn bitter. You need to keep turning it evenly, make it as fine as possible.”
When Song Cheon-mu gave no response, Cha Joong-gyeong fell silent as well.
After an awkward stretch of quiet, Song Cheon-mu suddenly asked a question.
“I heard you were with the Black Tiger Corps. But how did you end up captured?”
“Ask the great general. He’s the one who took me.”
“Did the great general truly capture you himself?”
“The fact that you doubt the great general captured me shows you don’t quite believe the rumors—but you don’t think they’re terribly far from the truth either, do you?”
“…….”
Song Cheon-mu flinched, caught in his own contradiction.
Cha Joong-gyeong continued flatly.
“That’s right. On the battlefield, when the great general suddenly came at me, I ran. That’s when he captured me.”
“You didn’t try to resist?”
A soft laugh escaped him.
“You think I went quietly? If so, I’d have bitten through my own tongue long ago. Captive or not, I still have something of a warrior’s spirit.”
“So you’re saying there’s no shame in being captured by someone stronger?”
“Yes.”
‘That doesn’t seem like him at all.’
Cha Joong-gyeong carried the boiled water to Song Cheon-mu in a kettle.
“It needs a bit more grinding.”
“I’m doing it.”
Thump-thump-thump!
Cha Joong-gyeong stared at Song Cheon-mu’s handsome face for a moment, then spoke abruptly.
“Let me tell you this: not just the bad rumors, but the good ones are wrong too.”
Song Cheon-mu stopped grinding and looked directly at Cha Joong-gyeong.
“What do you mean by that?”
“On the day I was captured, word spread that a few Black Tiger Corps members fell to the great general. But that’s not the whole of it. A considerable number of our men died by his hand, and among them were some of the Corps’ finest masters.”
It was then.
Song Hoe’s voice drifted out.
“Isn’t the tea ready yet?”
“Nearly done!”
Cha Joong-gyeong scooped the ground tea leaves into a vessel and rose, adding one more thing.
“Once you’ve had your tea, please wash the rice for the meal.”
Song Cheon-mu watched Cha Joong-gyeong’s retreating figure as he stepped inside, his brow furrowing.
‘What is the truth? If what he said is true, the great general must be extraordinarily skilled.’
Some cursed the Crown Prince as thoroughly incompetent, while others praised his abilities. But coming from one captured by the great general’s own hand, such words couldn’t be false.
‘I’ll know soon enough, living alongside him.’

* * *

Lee Hwan gazed at the white steam rising from his teacup and asked.
“What’s he doing now?”
“Preparing breakfast.”
“From lunch onward, the others will handle it, so try not to give him too many chores.”
“The others, you mean…….”
“I asked for a few warriors to be sent. Including one who can cook.”
Song Hoe’s face brightened.
Until now, Lee Hwan had been averse to dealing with people, keeping only Song Hoe in the barracks. As a result, Song Hoe had endured an endless string of difficult days, managing every chore alone.
“You’re saying warriors will be sent, sir?”
“They’ll arrive soon.”
The moment the words left his lips, Song Cheon-mu stepped through the door.
“Warriors have arrived outside, sir.”

* * *

Zhao Military Camp.
Thousands of barracks sprawled across the vast plain, with several command tents rising prominently at its heart.
In the largest and loftiest of these tents, two men sat facing each other, cradling teacups.
A general in azure armor spoke carefully to the superior officer.
“If he’s handed it over to the Yeon forces, isn’t that catastrophic?”
“We haven’t yet located him. Even if he does hand it over, they’ll need considerable time to decipher what it means. There’s no cause for panic.”
“Still, shouldn’t we prepare for the worst? If the Imperial Palace learns that classified information has leaked, you’ll be in grave danger, General.”
The general in azure armor’s words made the superior officer’s eyes narrow.
“The worst-case scenario, you say…”
“We must find Cha Joong-gyeong no matter what. If I may speak plainly, sir—what if we brought in Murim masters? I’m told several of them are skilled in tracking techniques.”
“Murim masters…”
“Ordinarily, they’re people we’d prefer to avoid entangling with. But begging your pardon, sir—this is hardly the time to be choosy. If you’ll permit it, I’ll make inquiries.”
The general fell silent for a moment. Yet that silence did not linger long.
“The Imperial Palace will soon dispatch the Blood Ghosts. With them in play, bringing in additional Murim masters would only complicate matters for us. Therefore, the pursuit of this man falls to the Black Tiger Corps.”
“Can the Black Tiger Corps manage it alone?”
“If necessary, we can petition the Blood Ghosts for aid. In any case, that is my decision. You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.”
The general in azure armor bowed and departed, his expression clouded with bewilderment.
‘One misstep and his own head could roll—so why refuse to deploy Murim masters?’

* * *

Lee Hwan pulled back the cloth that had shielded him from the daylight.
‘Has night already fallen?’
Consumed by his Internal Cultivation Method all day, he hadn’t noticed the hours slip away.
Were the clouds gathering?
A world without moon or stars lay shrouded in pitch darkness. Even the insects that ordinarily chirped shrilly through the night were quiet—unnaturally so.
Click.
Lee Hwan shut the window and stepped outside.
Unlike the oppressive heat of day, the night air held a cool edge.
Whoosh.
Lee Hwan surrendered himself to the wind and surveyed the camp, its depths swallowed by darkness.
Sentries stood watch with torches lit throughout the grounds.
Pfft.
A bitter smile escaped him.
Only around his own barracks were there no guards posted.
‘So they’ve set up my quarters deep within the camp—a show of honor for a supposed great commander.’
Lee Hwan’s barracks lay in the very heart of the southern legion’s encampment. Consequently, any enemy reaching this point would have to penetrate multiple layers of sentries, which meant no dedicated guard was needed here.
‘Yet for a master skilled enough to bypass all those barriers, this quiet would actually make it easier to strike and withdraw.’
Lee Hwan’s mind turned to the past.
Years ago, he had slipped alone into a Qin army camp housing one hundred thousand elite troops and taken a general’s head.
Compared to the defenses then and now, the difference was like heaven and earth. A master with even modest skill in the Hidden Concealment Technique could pierce this security without difficulty.
Of course, if an assassination attempt did spark commotion, escape would be far from simple—so such attempts were rare. But the vulnerability remained.
Whoosh!
The wind gusted stronger.
It was at that precise moment that Lee Hwan’s eyes shifted, his gaze sharpening.

* * *

In the darkness, there were those watching Lee Hwan.
Though they wore the uniforms of Yeon soldiers, they were assassins from Zhao, sent to hunt Cha Joong-gyeong.
Before infiltrating here, they had captured and interrogated a Yeon sentry on the perimeter, extracted information about Cha Joong-gyeong, and slipped silently into the camp.
“Absurd. How could such a man fall into captivity—and to no less a figure than him?”
“Is it possible he defected rather than was captured?”
“No. According to the man we questioned, he was brought in by the Fourth Prince’s hand.”
“Is that man truly so formidable? He doesn’t appear to be anything special.”
“The rumor may be false, or there’s some reason we don’t know about. Either way, the prince needs to get inside soon, or we won’t be able to do anything.”
The Zhao soldiers waited for Lee Hwan to enter. As long as he remained outside, they couldn’t move recklessly. If they stirred without reason and were discovered, they’d be buried here.
“Why not simply kill the prince as well?”
“We can’t kill the Crown Prince of Yeon without orders from above. We’ll wait for him to go inside first, then launch a surprise attack on Cha Joong-gyeong.”
Even a despised prince was still royalty.
One careless move might provoke the wrath of the Yeon Emperor, and if a full-scale war erupted instead of the localized conflicts they’d maintained until now, Qin alone would suffer the consequences.
If such a catastrophe occurred, the responsibility would extend far beyond the destruction of nine bloodlines.
It was then.
“The dark clouds are clearing.”
“Damn.”
The heavy clouds drifted apart, and the moon emerged from behind them. As the suffocating darkness receded, soft light began to illuminate their surroundings.
“We may lose our opportunity at this rate.”
Conflict flickered in the eyes of the commander.
“Wait—he’s disappeared!”

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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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