The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 138

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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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Enemy Dragon Warrior Emperor, Episode 138

Chapter 138 — The Battle Begins (3)

Yi Seong-ji walked slowly around the Frozen River.
Since arriving here, whenever his heart grew troubled or he needed to reach a decision, he would take walks in this place to settle his mind.
Hah!
Hup!
The ringing shouts of warriors training echoed faintly from a distance. The Dragon Tiger Army’s practice grounds were not far away.
Yi Seong-ji paused for a moment, watching the Dragon Tiger Army at their drills.
In that instant, his eyes blazed with sudden light, and he spun around as though struck by lightning. At the same moment, two streaks of brilliance hurtled toward his head and chest.
Whoooosh!
Around Yi Seong-ji, an invisible barrier erupted with resonance.
Clang!
The two streaks of light struck the invisible barrier, scattering sparks as they ricocheted away.
In Yi Seong-ji’s eyes, the masked assailants rushing through the shower of sparks were reflected like images in a mirror. They descended upon him in trajectories calculated with perfect precision.
Yi Seong-ji’s hands unleashed the Blood Light.
Screee!
A sword that fell while cutting through empty air was blocked by Yi Seong-ji’s right hand.
Crash!
Flesh and blood collided with steel, and the impact thundered through the air.
“Ungh!”
A cry of pain burst from the masked assailant’s lips.
Simultaneously, Yi Seong-ji’s left hand struck the other masked assailant’s blade.
Crash!
It seemed the assailant’s attack would be blocked there.
But in that very instant—
Bang!
The masked assailant’s sword detonated in front of Yi Seong-ji’s face.
……
“Your Highness!”
Yi Seong-ji’s Master came rushing from behind.
The two masked assailants looked at each other. Then they drove their daggers into themselves.
Thud! Thud!
The assailants who had chosen death collapsed without resistance.
“Your Highness!”
Blood trickled steadily through the gaps between Yi Seong-ji’s fingers shielding his face. Shards from the sword’s detonation were embedded across his entire body.
“Take His Highness to the barracks at once!”
“Yes!”
A warrior who had arrived late hoisted Yi Seong-ji onto his back and rushed toward the barracks. Yi Seong-ji’s Master surveyed the surroundings with eyes that mixed shock and fury.
‘What manner of men could these be……’

* * *

Yi Seong-ji’s condition was horrific.
Dozens of fragments were concentrated mainly on his face and neck.
Fortunately, his life was in no danger, but he risked losing the exceptional beauty he had once possessed.
Yet despite this, he remained unsettlingly composed.
While allowing the military physician’s hands to work upon him, he turned to the old man with a question.
“Have you examined the bodies?”
“They carried nothing that might identify them or suggest their station.”
“Search again without overlooking any small distinguishing marks upon their persons. If we fail to uncover who stands behind this, the matter will be buried and forgotten.”
“Leave such investigations to us, Your Highness. You must focus on your recovery.”
“Could it be the Second Prince?”
……
The old man did not answer immediately to Yi Seong-ji’s question. But soon he spoke.
“The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince cannot be ruled out either.”
“The Empress Mother must be placed in the same category of suspicion as well.”
“…….”
Silence was assent.
“I wish to be alone.”
“We shall uncover the truth of this matter without fail, Your Highness. Please do not trouble yourself overmuch. For now, you must focus on your recovery.”
“Very well.”
Once everyone had left, Yi Seong-ji descended from the bed and stood before the mirror.
With cloth wound across his face save for his eyes, it was impossible to discern the condition of his visage.
Those eyes that had always been still and deep as a lake began slowly to kindle with the light of fury. Then words devoid of clear meaning spilled from his lips.
“I thought all I need do was wait for the proper time…….”

* * *

The commander of Zhao Kingdom’s Vanguard Forces was Zhao Zheng-wu, son of the King of the Southwest.
Already famed in Zhao Kingdom as a mighty general, his ascent to the northern front was owing to a bitter history with Crown Prince Zhao Guang.
In those days when all believed Zhao Guang would become the next emperor, Zhao Zheng-wu had endured countless humiliations at his hands, and the resentment that accumulated from that time had transformed into outright hatred.
‘How long I have waited for a day such as this, Zhao Guang.’
Zhao Zheng-wu gazed eastward across the vast Mountain Region, his eyes growing cold.
Soon now the territory of Yen Kingdom would begin. Once he crossed into that land, he meant to sweep through to the main camp itself with his elite force of fifty thousand.
“Wine!”
Zhao Zheng-wu warmed his chilled body with the drink his attendants offered. Having spent his career in the temperate southwest, the bitter cold of the north was nearly more than even a supreme general could endure.
“How much farther?”
“In half a Chinese Hour, we shall reach Yen territory!”
“Half a Chinese Hour, then…….”
A cruel smile played at Zhao Zheng-wu’s lips. In his mind’s eye he saw himself sweeping through Yen’s main camp, and beyond that, saw himself holding aloft the severed head of Zhao Guang.
‘Let him be there, I pray. Let him be there, Zhao Guang.’
The advance continued. How long had they marched thus? Zhao Zheng-wu’s eyes narrowed as he gazed ahead.
He had spotted five severed heads swinging from a tree branch, moving gently in the wind.
“Are those the heads of our men?”
“I shall investigate!”
One general drove his horse forward and rode out. Upon confirming what he saw, he returned and made his report.
“They are the Martial Artists we sent to scout the enemy’s movements.”
“How many did we dispatch?”
“Five men.”
“Useless wretches. At least one should have returned with word.”
“There are others who departed in different directions, Your Excellency. They will return with intelligence soon enough.”
“Our own troops will see this as they pass. Remove it at once!”
“Yes, sir!”
The five heads were cast into the forest.
Such was the pitiful end of those who had given their lives fighting for their homeland.
The advance continued. Not long afterward, they crested one ridgeline and a vast Gorge came into view. Zhao Zheng-wu scrutinized the area carefully and issued an order.
“Search the surroundings thoroughly!”
“Yes, sir!”
Dozens of Martial Artists raced outward like the wind.
Zhao Zheng-wu halted the advance temporarily. It was paramount to determine whether Yen Kingdom had laid an ambush near the Gorge.
“Come closer.”
At Zhao Zheng-wu’s call, a young man approached—Eon Ho-chu, who days earlier had fought a bitter clash with Hwa-ryung.
Had his Internal Injury healed completely?
His complexion seemed unchanged from usual.
“Drink.”
“Thank you.”
Eon Ho-chu wet his throat with the wine Zhao Zheng-wu offered. Zhao Zheng-wu asked him a question.
“How many warriors does your household command, if I recall?”
“Including myself, twenty in the Vanguard Forces now, sir.”
“Are they all men of trustworthy skill?”
“I shall prove it in battle.”
Eon Ho-chu brimmed with resolve. Zhao Zheng-wu regarded him with an expression of satisfaction.
“Good. I like that confidence.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Eon Ho-chu returned to his place.
Zhao Zheng-wu entered a hastily erected tent for a brief rest. But the rest did not last long.
“Commander! The Yen forces have appeared!”
Zhao Zheng-wu stepped outside at once.
“Look there.”
He fixed his gaze on the point his aide indicated.
Above the Gorge, the banners of the Yen army fluttered in the wind. And the flags multiplied swiftly, growing more numerous by the moment.
“Not an ambush, then, but a straight fight? Heh heh heh. Well, that suits me fine.”

* * *

Above the Gorge.
From there, Yi Hwan watched the Zhao forces halt at the mouth of the Gorge, their advance stalled.
The narrow, treacherous terrain made fifty thousand soldiers appear as hundreds of thousands.
‘I must draw out the time as long as possible here.’
Yi Hwan abandoned the ambush operation.
A messenger had come from the main camp not long ago. Twenty thousand troops descending from the far north had joined their ranks, and word came that Jeong Cheon of the Southern Military Unit was advancing with ten thousand elite soldiers. Accordingly, Yi Hwan judged it wiser to wage a war of attrition, buying time while watching for opportunity, rather than risk a high-stakes ambush operation.
Yi Hwan’s gaze fixed on one particularly large banner.
Against a blood-red ground, the character for Eastern Forces was embroidered in golden thread.
It was the banner of the Zhao Kingdom’s Eastern Forces—the unit with which the Northern Military Unit had crossed blades through long years of struggle.
Bang Hyo spoke.
“Those are the Eastern Forces’ most elite unit in all of Zhao Kingdom.”
“They distinguish themselves by banner?”
“Yes. The blood-red banner signifies the elite corps, while the reverse—golden ground with crimson characters—marks the main contingent.”
“Do you know anything of their commander?”
The answer came from Go-mi, who stood behind him.
“Zhao Zheng-wu, the son of the Southwestern King of Zhao Kingdom, leads the Vanguard Forces. He has long been renowned among Zhao’s fiercest generals, his name known throughout the realm.”
When had Go-mi learned all this?
By now, nothing surprised him.
‘The Southwestern King’s son, then…’
At that moment, a figure advanced from the Zhao encampment. He wore golden armor that recalled an emperor, and a blood-red war cloak billowed about him as he walked forward with measured pace.
Bang Hyo spoke.
“That is Zhao Zheng-wu.”
“I will go meet him.”
“I will go, Commander.”
“No. If he wishes to exchange greetings, I must receive them properly.”
Yi Hwan walked slowly to the edge of the Gorge.
Zhao Zheng-wu approached until he stood directly below, looking up at Yi Hwan. A ferocious whirlwind swept between them, and their gazes locked.
“I am Zhao Zheng-wu, the Invincible General of Zhao Kingdom! Reveal your identity!”
“You needn’t know.”
“…What did you say?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Have a little patience.”
Fury rippled across Zhao Zheng-wu’s tiger-like eyes.
“You know nothing of battlefield propriety! Are all the generals of Yen like you?”
“Hardly.”
Yi Hwan replied coolly.
In doing so, he easily discerned that Zhao Zheng-wu was exceptionally hot-blooded. And something more besides.
‘Men of his sort are all temper and no brains.’
Just then, a general burst forth from behind Zhao Zheng-wu on horseback, moving like a whirlwind.
Thud-thud-thud!
Zhao Zheng-wu cried out.
“Behold Deok-seung, fiercest warrior of our Zhao forces! Who among you will test blades with Deok-seung and me!”
Yi Hwan’s brow furrowed.
Single combat between generals before a major battle was something done in ages long past.
Yi Hwan turned to Bang Hyo and asked.
“Do they still do that?”
“It happens occasionally, but rarely. Best to ignore it.”
Yi Hwan smiled faintly.
“If they wish to enjoy themselves, shouldn’t I oblige them?”
“Sir?”
Yi Hwan turned to look behind him.
Cheol Mu-ok, having completed the task Yi Hwan had assigned him and returned, was already stepping forward of his own accord. His massive frame, armored though it was, made him look to any eye like a seasoned warrior of the battlefield.
He borrowed a Crescent Moon Blade from another commander and advanced toward Yi Hwan.
“How shall I kill him?”
“Make it as brutal as possible to watch.”
“Understood.”
Cheol Mu-ok mounted his war horse. Then, without hesitation, he descended the steep slope of the Gorge.
Yi Hwan studied Zhao Zheng-wu.
“You might want to stand back. That one can be rather frightening.”
“Is that so? Let’s see just how impressive he is. Hehehehe.”
Zhao Zheng-wu retreated a considerable distance.
And into that space Cheol Mu-ok stepped.
The horses whinnied.
At the prospect of a collision where life and death would cross paths, the war horses grew restless first.
The Zhao Kingdom commander raised his Eight-cubit Broadsword and shouted.
“State your name and rank!”
“I have neither.”
“What?”
He smiled coldly.
“If you’re curious, ask King Yama in the afterlife.”
Thunder of hoofbeats.
As Cheol Mu-ok charged forward, the Zhao Kingdom commander kicked his horse’s flank hard.
“Hiyah!”
Thunder of hoofbeats.
Cheol Mu-ok smiled coldly, watching the Red Energy Force gathering at the tip of the commander’s Eight-cubit Broadsword.
‘A true Martial Artist, then.’
He held the Crescent Moon Blade loose, refusing to draw his Energy Force. A smile of certainty flickered across the Zhao Kingdom commander’s lips.
He was confident in his victory.
Thunder of hoofbeats.
Twenty paces, ten paces, five paces.
Burst of light.
The Zhao Kingdom commander’s Eight-cubit Broadsword was engulfed in red. He had gathered his full power just before the strike.
Still, Cheol Mu-ok did not draw his Energy Force.
Flash!
The Eight-cubit Broadsword flashed with crimson light as it flew toward Cheol Mu-ok’s neck. At that very instant, his Crescent Moon Blade erupted in Blue Light, cutting through the air like thunder itself.
Thud!

* * *

‘Perfect.’
A satisfied smile crossed Yi Hwan’s lips.
The Yen Kingdom warriors erupted in cheers.
Roar of triumph!
Meanwhile, groans of despair poured from the Zhao Kingdom ranks. Where the eyes of both armies had fixed.
There stood Cheol Mu-ok, alive. The Zhao Kingdom commander lay dead, his upper body and lower body separated. It was a death too horrible to witness with open eyes.

Visually, as brutal as possible.

He smiled coldly.
Cheol Mu-ok laughed.
‘This should do.’

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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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