The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 112

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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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Crimson Dragon Martial Emperor Episode 112

Chapter 112 — Yeokcheonhoe

Yeokcheonhoe.
The world called them followers of prophecy. Men who had revealed themselves to the masses in recent times by assassinating imperial kinsmen and high officials.
Like their name proclaimed, they were rebels dreaming of revolution. They were also the descendants of countless souls who had been swept up in the political strife of Yen’s history and perished.
Their dream and ultimate goal was a dynastic revolution—to cast out the Yi family and establish a new ruling house.
At the heart of it all stood an old man, the Society Master.
Crack-boom!
Crack-sizzle!
The aura of thunder and lightning grazed past the Society Master’s face, leaving it pale and cold as ice.
His serpent-black eyes, sharp as a viper’s, fixed themselves upon Yi Hwan, who stood unbending before the Gold Guard.
“To step forward despite knowing you are numerically outmatched? If that action is no mere bluff, then the entire world is being deceived by this one man.”
A glimmer of admiration flickered in the Society Master’s gaze.
To step forward in such circumstances was never easy. All the more so for one of imperial blood.
‘An exceptional prince must be eliminated all the more thoroughly.’
In that moment, the Society Master found one more reason why Yi Hwan must be killed without fail.
Shring.
The Society Master drew his blade.
A blood-red vein running along the sword’s edge gleamed like some demon’s mark, shedding the falling rain.
“This man is no different from the Crown Prince Palace’s own sword—our enemy. No matter what transpires this day, he must be killed. All of you, steel yourselves for a final stand!”
“Yes!”
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Nearly two hundred Yeokcheonhoe assassins drew their weapons in unison. The ferocious momentum was so violent that the torrential rain warped and bent as it fell.
Then, above their heads, seven glowing orbs appeared.
The light passed over the Society Master’s head and descended silently behind him.
Thud-thud-thunk!
“Gahhh!”
“Aaahhh!”
At the sudden, agonized death cries that erupted, the Society Master’s head snapped around like a whip.
Seven Yeokcheonhoe assassins collapsed, blood pouring from their heads. Not even those in the Breaking-Void State had sensed the slightest trace, and every member of Yeokcheonhoe froze for a moment.
Then someone cried out urgently.
“Ambush! Guard the perimeter!”

* * *

“Aaahhh!”
“Gahhh!”
Agonized screams tore through the darkness beyond.
Yi Hwan, watching that direction, felt blood-light and Blue Light flashing alternately in his eyes. But soon he recovered his original, composed composure.
‘I’ve completed seven.’
The five orbs of light he had mastered before had now grown to seven.
It meant he had recovered to the state just before he had been bestowed the title of Martial Emperor in his own time.
Satisfied with the recovery speed surpassing his expectations, Yi Hwan turned to Son Young and issued a quiet command.
“Draw weapons.”
“Draw weapons!”
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
The Gold Guard, arranged in three defensive formations, sent the rain driving backward with their overwhelming presence.
Rumble!
Crack-sizzle!
Thunder and lightning tore through the darkness again, flashing white. It was at that very moment that Yeokcheonhoe’s assault began.

* * *

Beyond the darkness where rain lashed in fury, there were those watching the battlefield.
Hongwol’s Assassins.
“What was that just now?”
“I’m not sure either. This is the first time I’ve seen anything like it…….”
They stood transfixed by the Seven Orbs of Light that Yi Hwan had unleashed, caught between amazement and bewilderment. Like fireflies rising into the night, they’d appeared—and in a heartbeat, seven men lay fallen.
What they didn’t know was that Yi Hwan had summoned them.
“Which side do you think will prevail?”
“Victory or defeat—it doesn’t matter. We simply wait until the chaos reaches its peak, then take the Crown Prince of Zhao Kingdom’s head. That’s all.”
The figure in an unusually cold blue robe fixed his gaze on Zhao Guang. Zhao Guang stood further back, beside Mujeong Geomni.
A faint twitch.
“Quite tense, aren’t you?”
“It’s strange. Why does only an old woman guard the Crown Prince’s side?”
“The Grand Prince must contend with far too many enemies to spare bodyguards for Zhao Kingdom’s Crown Prince. Still, we mustn’t be careless. Whoever has stayed by the Crown Prince’s side this long is likely a master of considerable skill.”
“Understood.”
They had no idea that the old woman was Mujeong Geomni. So they’d warned against complacency—even as they were already falling into it.
Then it happened.
The Seven Orbs of Light appeared again. Both assassins’ eyes widened slightly.
“There. It appeared again.”
“It looks like it came from the Grand Prince’s body.”
“That’s what I saw as well.”
Both assassins’ eyes traced the trajectory of the light as it moved. When they heard the desperate death cry from where the light had struck, their eyes widened even further.
“Such a martial technique exists in this world?”
“Remarkable. That the Grand Prince possesses such a technique. This wasn’t in any intelligence report.”
While the two assassins marveled, the vicious melee between attackers and defenders was in full swing below.
Crash-bang!
Crack-snap!
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
“Those must be them. The Grand Prince’s renowned bodyguards.”
One assassin stared at Cheol Mu-ok and Ju-tae, his eyes wide with recognition. They moved like wolves loosed among sheep, their blades dancing the dance of death.
“From this moment on, ignore everything that happens in front of you. We focus only on our given task.”
“Understood.”
The assassin urged his companion onward.
He carefully surveyed the area around Zhao Guang during the exchange. Within roughly twenty paces of the battlefield, there was only a horse and the Guan Di Temple.
“We descend toward the rear of the temple.”
“Yes.”
The two assassins moved stealthily through the forest toward the rear of the Guan Di Temple. As they descended, they scanned the temple’s surroundings but found no more Gold Guard.
After a moment, once they’d reached the rear of the temple, both assassins looked back toward the battlefield.
Yi Hwan stood at the forefront, unleashing a torrent of attacks upon his enemies. Blue Light flashed and wove through the torrential rain.
Beyond him rose a mist of blood, and the screams of the dying.
To the two assassins’ eyes, Yi Hwan appeared as nothing less than a towering iron wall.
‘When we return, we’ll have to discard everything we thought we knew about the Grand Prince and investigate from the beginning.’

* * *

‘This is possible now.’
Hiss.
White steam rose from Yi Hwan’s blade as rain struck it. Two strikes had taken five lives. An ascending technique that had been impossible mere moments before—yet its results were more than satisfactory.
“Die!”
Two enemies rushed toward Yi Hwan. In the same instant, his blade cut through the air.
Flash!
Splurt!
“Aaahhh!”
One enemy’s head flew from his shoulders. The other’s sword arm severed at the elbow, spinning away into the rain.
Yi Hwan smiled coldly.
‘You picked the wrong time.’
That’s when it came.
A piercing shriek!
A sinister aura shot toward Yi Hwan from his left. Captain Son Young’s urgent cry split the air.
“Grand Prince! Danger!”
Before the echo of his warning had even faded, the attacker who’d been lunging at Yi Hwan’s torso tilted sharply to one side and dropped.
A spray of blood!
Spilling entrails and gore.
The blood covering Yi Hwan’s face was already washed away by the downpour.
“Attack!”
“Aaaaahhh!”
Crack!
Those who burst through the forest descended upon the Gold Guard’s defensive line from behind.
“Ugggh!”
In an instant, several Gold Guard soldiers fell, spraying blood. The defensive line’s effectiveness fell far short of Yi Hwan’s expectations.
The left flank in particular was taking heavy casualties rapidly.
But when Cheol Mu-ok and the warriors of the Dao Wang clan joined the fight, they managed to prevent the formation from collapsing.
Cheol Mu-ok’s roar rang across the battlefield.
“Hold your ground! Don’t retreat!”
His broadsword obliterated an enemy’s head beyond recognition. Another opponent charged at him only to be split vertically by the warrior’s blade in a gruesome death.
Thud!
“Ahhhhh!”
Cheol Mu-ok shouted to his men.
“You’ll take the vanguard of the formation!”
“Yes, Commander!”

* * *

Crack.
Thick sinews rose across the back of Zhao Guang’s sword hand.
Because he had learned the Imperial Palace Martial Arts of Zhao Kingdom but had almost no practical combat experience, Zhao Guang was extremely tense now. Mujeong Geomni, who held the Ami Sect Preservation Sword lowered before her, was watching her surroundings rather than the enemy in front of her.

Once combat began, she was to remain alert to enemies unseen.

Just before, as combat was about to commence, this was the instruction Yi Hwan had given to Mujeong Geomni.
‘The Grand Prince is certain there are those targeting the Crown Prince.’
Mujeong Geomni had drawn her senses to their peak.
In the current situation, she alone could protect Zhao Guang, so she had already distributed the Twelve Stars Cultivation evenly throughout her body and prepared to deploy her blade technique at a moment’s notice.
Rumble!
Crack-sizzle!
Lightning bleached the world white, then vanished.
It was in that instant.
Mujeong Geomni’s eyes flashed with light. Then her right ear twitched slightly.
‘Behind the Guan Di Temple.’
An extremely faint presence was detected from behind the Guan Di Temple. But it was still impossible to tell whether it was human or beast.
Whine.
Her blade began to glow white.
[Your Highness, guard your rear.]
At Mujeong Geomni’s mental transmission, Zhao Guang flinched. But he refrained from the mistake of turning to look at the temple.
[If I should find myself overwhelmed, I shall withdraw to the Grand Prince’s side.]
“……!”
Crack.
Zhao Guang’s lip, where his teeth had bitten down, turned pale.
Then it came.
Mujeong Geomni’s blade slashed through empty air. Simultaneously, two flashes erupted from behind the Guan Di Temple.
In Zhao Guang’s eyes, figures came hurtling through the rain like daggers. One of them, ignoring Mujeong Geomni, flew at Zhao Guang.
Zhao Guang extended his left foot forward and assumed a sword-drawing stance.
But the assassin’s head was split diagonally before he could reach Zhao Guang’s side, and he collapsed.
“Ugh!”
Spray!
Blood sprayed from Mujeong Geomni’s shoulder.
Another assassin rushed at Zhao Guang. Zhao Guang raised his blade and, against the figure in blue robes, deployed the One Slash Two Sections technique.
“Don’t meet them directly!”
An urgent cry burst from Mujeong Geomni’s lips.
Boom!
“Ungh!”
Blade struck blade, but a tremendous shockwave—as if lightning had detonated—swept across the surroundings. From within the rising mud and scattered branches came a heavy groan.
The moment her vision was obscured, Mujeong Geomni hurled herself toward where Zhao Guang had been standing.
Crash!
As the spray of mud settled, Mujeong Geomni caught sight of the Blue Robe figure staggering through the haze.
But Mujeong Geomni checked on Zhao Guang first.
Zhao Guang stood gripping his sword with both hands, driven back several paces, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He had taken an internal injury—that much was certain.
“Your Highness!”
In that moment, the assassin vanished beyond the forest.
“Your Highness! Are you hurt?”
“…I’m fine.”
Retch!
Zhao Guang coughed up blood.
Mujeong Geomni rushed to support him, scanning their surroundings. Mercifully, the assassin was gone, and no other presence stirred nearby.
“Let me take you somewhere safe, Your Highness.”
Mujeong Geomni led Zhao Guang to Guan Di Temple. She positioned him flush against the temple wall, then stepped forward two paces herself. With assassins liable to strike from anywhere, keeping their backs to stone was the wisest defense.
“Hold still, Your Highness. Just a moment longer.”
“Are you hurt, Mujeong Geomni?”
“I am unhurt, Your Highness!”
Tears streamed down her face.
Zhao Guang—who had always treated her with such cold precision—had never once offered her a gentle word.
Yet in that moment, he had asked after her safety.
‘How frightened he must be.’
Mujeong Geomni, who knew his heart better than anyone, felt her resolve crumbling.
Bite!
She clenched her teeth, keeping her senses sharp and ready. All the while, she watched the battlefield.
“!”
Her eyes widened in shock.
The enemy was retreating.
In that brief span while they held off the assassin’s assault, the skirmish had already turned.
‘What is happening…?’
Flash!
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
Yi Hwan’s blade carved through the fleeing enemies without mercy. Blood and entrails spilled across the ground as more fell. Cheol Mu-ok, Ju-tae, and the warriors of the Dao Wang clan cut down every enemy who hadn’t managed to escape.
“We were going to…”
Zhao Guang’s voice trembled, thin and strained.
“…face opponents like these?”
Stagger!
As Zhao Guang stumbled, bracing himself against the wall, Mujeong Geomni steadied him at once.
“Don’t trouble yourself with such thoughts, Your Highness. Think only of your own safety.”
Grip!
Zhao Guang seized Mujeong Geomni’s arm.
“Thank you, Mujeong Geomni. Because of you, I can go on living this wretched life a while longer.”
“…Your Highness.”
Mujeong Geomni barely held back the sob rising in her throat. Zhao Guang straightened his posture.
“Come. We must return to the Grand Prince now.”

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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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