The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 141

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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 Martial Emperor, Chapter 141

Chapter 141 — Crisis (2)

Northern Military Unit Command Center.
Go-mi, returning on Yi Hwan’s orders, went directly to Gwak Chung-mu and relayed Yi Hwan’s thoughts.
“The Grand Prince believes this, then?”
“Yes, General-in-Chief.”
“Hmm…….”
Gwak Chung-mu immediately issued orders to his Vice Commander.
“Send scouts in three directions at once to ascertain the enemy’s movements! It may need to be relayed urgently, so send a generous supply of carrier pigeons!”
“Understood!”
The Vice Commander rushed out, and Gwak Chung-mu turned to Go-mi.
“What of the battle’s progress?”
“Until I left, the Grand Prince was gaining the advantage through skillful use of the terrain. He is unharmed.”
Go-mi bowed to the relieved Gwak Chung-mu and left the command center at once.
Song Cheon-mu and Cha Jung-gyeong were waiting for her outside.
“Are you leaving right away?”
“I’ll rest for a moment and eat something first—you both should have something too.”
“Understood.”
“We can leave immediately!”
“If your strength flags, you’ll be helpless when the real fighting begins. Listen to me.”
“……Yes.”
The three headed straight for the Barracks.

* * *

Half a watch had passed.
A general burst into the command center in haste.
“General-in-Chief! The Zhao Kingdom’s Southwest King is leading a Grand Prince force up from the southwest!”
“What?!”
“The enemy’s military strength is said to approach two hundred thousand!”
Gwak Chung-mu and everyone else shot to their feet. Though they had received Yi Hwan’s misgivings through Go-mi, no one had imagined the Zhao Kingdom’s Southwest King would lead his forces here in person.
“The Grand Prince’s concern was justified. It appears the enemy’s Vanguard Forces were indeed bait for a diversion operation.”
“Have everyone proceed to their respective defensive positions and prepare for battle!”
“Yes!”
As the generals raced out, Gwak Chung-mu gathered his helmet and sword and followed. The remaining generals fell into line behind him at once.
Gwak Chung-mu climbed immediately to the Watchtower.
From such a height, his view stretched across the horizon beyond the mountain terrain, but the distance was too great to spot the enemy with his naked eye.
Moreover, the accumulated snow prevented dust from rising, making it impossible to pinpoint the enemy’s location precisely.
Crack!
The heavy, darkened eyes of Gwak Chung-mu suddenly kindled with fire.
“If they come, then we fight.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The bell and drums rang out loudly from the forward positions. Soon the sound of bells announcing the enemy invasion echoed from every quarter of the Main Camp.
The troops began to move.
Warriors resting throughout the military encampment rushed from the Barracks in a panic and ran toward their respective units.
Gwak Chung-mu gazed toward the northwest.
The direction Yi Hwan and the Vanguard Forces had departed. The sky there burned with bitter blue.
‘Let him be safe…….’
The Vanguard Forces that departed with Yi Hwan numbered thirty thousand. Against them stood fifty thousand of the enemy’s vanguard.
With the enemy’s main force now bearing down, there was no way to send reinforcements even if Yi Hwan found himself in peril. Though Go-mi had reported Yi Hwan’s safety, he could not rest easy until he returned.
The Vice Commander spoke.
“We must send word to the Vanguard Forces at once to make them withdraw! If the enemy’s main force dispatches troops toward where the Grand Prince is, he could find himself caught between two forces with no escape!”
Gwak Chung-mu nodded.
“Send a messenger at once.”
“Yes!”
A commander hurried down from the watchtower.
Gwak Chung-mu turned his gaze back to the southwestern horizon. Snow swirled through the air.
The enemy was advancing, stirring the snow-laden forest as they came.
‘Come as you will, Zhao Yun.’

* * *

Western Front Western Military Unit.
When the Zhao Kingdom forces, who had seemed about to attack at any moment, withdrew instead, the Western Military Unit breathed a collective sigh of relief.
But Yi So could find no such comfort.
Word had come that the Southwest King of Zhao was advancing toward the Northern Military Unit with a grand army under his command.
Yi So spent the entire day shut away in the barracks, wrestling with increasingly grave deliberations. When the hour of moonrise finally came, he summoned Gwan Ji-baek.
Gwan Ji-baek entered.
“You called for me, Your Highness?”
“There is a task I need you to undertake.”
“Command me, Your Highness.”
“Lead a small force of elite soldiers and attack the northern regions of the Jin Kingdom. But first, you must return to where we fought and disguise yourselves in the uniforms of Zhao’s forces.”
“You mean to draw the Jin Kingdom into the conflict and force Zhao to withdraw?”
Gwan Ji-baek grasped Yi So’s intention at once.
“No matter how I think on it, this seems the only path forward. Whatever may come later, we must end this war now—or not?”
“Understood. I shall lead a small contingent and raise such turmoil in Jin territory that they have no choice but to intervene, then return!”
“Be careful, Ji-baek.”
“Have no fear. I shall return alive, I swear it!”
Gwan Ji-baek left the barracks.
Yi So threw open the window and drew in a long, sharp breath of cold air.
Then he cast his gaze toward the northern sky.
Thinking of the Northern Military Unit, now transformed into a hellish battlefield, his chest ached as though it might tear open.
‘This operation must succeed. It simply must.’

* * *

Pounding hoofbeats—rapid and desperate.
Yi Hwan rode as though possessed, urging his horse faster and faster still.
So intent was he on reaching the main camp with all speed that he scarcely noticed the widening gap between himself and his attendants.
‘If a grand army from Zhao attacks the main camp, the martial artists fighting alongside them will be of an entirely different caliber. We must be there to hold the line!’
Thunder rumbled overhead.
The sky had already darkened to a sickly hue, but Yi Hwan took no notice. His mind held only one thought: the catastrophe his miscalculation might unleash, and how he must prevent it at any cost.
The sound of driving rain swelled around him.
Rain, not snow, now fell in earnest.
Only then did Yi Hwan realize the weather had changed.
He glanced upward as he rode. The entire sky was blanketed by roiling dark clouds.
‘Does even heaven turn its face from me now?’
In their present circumstances, this rain was nothing but calamity.
The Northern Military Unit’s main camp sat in relatively elevated terrain, and the accumulated snow would have served as a significant advantage in holding against the grand army.
But if this rain melted that snow, even that advantage would vanish.
Pounding rain.
The downpour grew increasingly violent.
Thunder cracked the sky.
Lightning Strike flickered like a spider’s web in the distance. It was dangerous enough that a prudent man would have slowed, but Yi Hwan pressed onward without hesitation.
Behind him, Hwa Ryeong’s breathing began to labor. Having fought an engagement while not yet fully recovered, then ridden at full speed without pause, her stamina was draining rapidly.
Ju-tae, who had been watching her closely, quickly placed his palm against her back and infused her with Vital Energy.
Even in that moment, Hwa Ryeong managed a faint smile.
“I’ll repay you twice over later.”
“Don’t think of anything but the task at hand.”
“Of course. But thank you all the same.”
Hwa Ryeong drew in a deep breath and fixed her eyes on Yi Hwan. He was already fifty paces ahead, riding hard into the storm.
‘From the start, he was never my equal. Does that mean I should be grateful to them instead?’
The battle at the Gorge.

That was when Hwa Ryeong saw it clearly—Yi Hwan’s overwhelming strength that exceeded even her wildest imaginings, and the brutality that accompanied it.
‘He killed that bastard so easily. He was hiding even more power than I thought.’
Having witnessed Yi Hwan dispatch Eon Ho-chu, who had matched her skill, she could not deny it.
For that reason, she was grateful to the two warriors the Empress had sent. Without them, she might well have fallen to Yi Hwan’s hand by now.
A chill ran down her spine.
Hwa Ryeong shook her head sharply against the creeping dread.
Thunder rumbled overhead.
Lightning crackled across the sky.
Another Lightning Strike fell nearby.
Hwa Ryeong’s lips twisted into a bitter smile.
‘My life has become a whirlwind all of a sudden.’

* * *

Rain hammered down in torrents.
For winter, this downpour was unusually fierce.
Zhao Yun, King of the Southwest, found the rain troubling. In mountain terrain like this, a downpour could easily become an unpredictable variable in battle.
“It would suffice if it merely melted the snow.”
At first, he had welcomed the rain. But as the sheets grew heavier, that gratitude had evaporated.
“Bring me the map.”
“It’s here, my lord.”
Zhao Yun unfolded the map.
It depicted the Yen Kingdom Northern Military Unit and the surrounding terrain in meticulous detail.
Zhao Yun’s brow furrowed.
“This rain will favor the Yen dogs.”
“The Northern Military Unit is positioned on higher ground. Should the rain soften the earth, it could hamper our assault.”
“The cavalry will be nearly useless.”
“Must we even commit cavalry? Infantry alone should be more than sufficient to end this.”
Zhao Yun’s aide was confident of victory.
In truth, everyone shared that certainty.
Zhao Yun himself did as well. Yet he was a man of exceptional caution, and his pursuit of perfection meant he never allowed himself to drop his guard.
“Carelessness is forbidden. We must approach this as a tiger stalking a hare.”
Zhao Yun returned the map to his aide and gazed toward the distant terrain. They had much further to advance before this vast mountain wilderness ended.
“Send an envoy ahead. Tell them that unless Jo Gwang is surrendered, we will slaughter every last thing they’ve raised—down to the very dogs.”
“And if they comply? What then, my lord?”
“Men such as these will not comply. They know that surrendering Jo Gwang would make them the laughingstock of the realm. Yet if they do surrender him, tell them mercy shall be shown.”
“Understood.”
Moments later, the envoy rode out like the wind on horseback. Zhao Yun watched the departing figure with narrowed eyes.
“I wonder if he will acquit himself well.”
“Do not fret, my lord. The young master has more experience than most. He will certainly succeed.”
Thunder crashed.
Lightning split the air like a spider’s web overhead.
Zhao Yun didn’t blink. He kicked his mount’s flank sharply.
“Increase our speed.”
“Pick up the pace!”
The hoofbeats quickened.

* * *

Hot breath poured from Yi Hwan’s lips.
He had ridden without pause across an enormous distance, and even Yi Hwan’s breathing grew ragged.
Yet still he did not slow.
How much farther did he ride?
At last, the Northern Military Unit came into view. Yi Hwan finally glanced back.
Cheol Mu-ok and Ju-tae pursued twenty lengths behind. Beyond them came Hwa Ryeong and the warriors of Yi Wang’s retinue.
Yi Hwan’s gaze swept further.
Fortunately, there was no sign of Zhao Kingdom forces that had detoured around the Gorge toward the Main Camp.
Yi Hwan slowed momentarily.
Cheol Mu-ok and Ju-tae dropped down beside him.

“Huff!”
“Good grief, I’m dying!”
Both bent double, gasping heavily.
With steam rising from their bodies, it was clear how far and how long they’d run.
Moments later, Hwa Ryeong and Yi Hwan’s martial artists descended to where he stood. The instant Hwa Ryeong dismounted, she collapsed onto the damp grass, breathing hard.
“Hah, hah, hah!”
“I’m going ahead. Catch your breath and follow.”
Yi Hwan pushed off the ground and sprang forward once more.
Cheol Mu-ok moved to chase after him, then paused, glancing back at Hwa Ryeong. He exhaled quietly.
“We rest for a quarter hour, then move on.”
“Agh!”
Hwa Ryeong cried out and flopped backward onto the wet earth. As rain-soaked fabric clung to her figure, Cheol Mu-ok and Ju-tae discreetly averted their eyes.
Ju-tae spoke, leaning against a tree.
“He seemed furious.”
“Yes, that’s the sense I got.”
“Is it because he abandoned the ambush and fell back on a delaying tactic?”
“Most likely. It was the right choice given the situation, but in the end, we walked straight into the enemy’s design.”
“Do you think we can hold them? If they’re trying to strike the main camp with a diversion operation, the sheer number of soldiers is one thing—but the martial artists they’ve brought will be in a different league entirely.”
At Ju-tae’s words, Cheol Mu-ok’s eyes grew heavy. He harbored the same fear.
“We hold. Somehow, we do.”
Ju-tae’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
“Since I met the lord, my life has become something strange. I never imagined living this way.”
“What kind of life did you want?”
“What kind? The life of a martial artist, of course. Bound to no one.”
“I’ll tell him exactly that.”
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
“Damn it!”
Crack!
Hissss!
“Why does that cursed lightning keep striking?”
For all his grumbling, Ju-tae’s breathing had grown steady. Cheol Mu-ok glanced back at Hwa Ryeong again.
She still lay on her back, drawing long, labored breaths.
That was when—
“Someone’s coming.”
Ju-tae’s hand moved to his sword hilt, voice low.
Beyond the forest, brush rustled and parted. Figures emerged from the tree line.
Ju-tae lowered his hand from his sword.
It was Go-mi, Song Cheon-mu, and Cha Jung-gyeong. Go-mi’s eyes widened.
“Where is the Grand Prince?”
“He’s gone ahead to the military camp.”
Once Go-mi confirmed Yi Hwan’s safety, she relaxed—then noticed Hwa Ryeong sprawled on the wet ground. When Hwa Ryeong giggled from where she lay, Go-mi quickly turned her face away.
‘That shameless creature, finding this funny.’

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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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