The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 189

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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 Undefeated – Episode 189

Chapter 189 – A Promise Broken

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Green Smoke left Yang Chan’s hand and detonated simultaneously from three directions.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort followed, and then flames erupted. The Green Smoke touched by the fire dissipated along with the blaze.
At the same moment, two separate attacks rushed toward Yang Chan from opposite sides. Though they employed the same technique as before, the result was entirely different. Yang Chan slid across the river’s surface, pivoting his body. The two streams of energy that fell short of him by mere inches tore into the water.
Splash!
Splat! Splat!
Water sprayed upward from where Yang Chan had passed. In an instant, he crossed the river and leaped skyward to evade another surge of energy coming from behind.
Whoosh!
Crash!
Sand erupted in a thick cloud where his feet had touched ground. Had he been delayed even a fraction of a second, he could have lost his life in such a perilous moment.
Yang Chan had already grasped it—these were Masters of an entirely different caliber than the Black Robed members from before.
Among them, Mun I-jong and two Blood Robe Members clung to Yang Chan’s heels with remarkable speed.
From Yang Chan’s fingertips, Blood Light erupted this time. It shot toward Mun I-jong and the Blood Robe Members like an arrow loosed from a bow.
“Hopeless!”
Flames ignited across the bodies of Mun I-jong and the two Blood Robe Members. The fire wrapped around the incoming Blood Light like smoke.
But then—
Boom! Boom! Crash!
“Ugh!”
A cry of shock mixed into the deafening explosion.
Unlike the Green Smoke, the Blood Light produced a powerful detonation that left Mun I-jong and the two Blood Robe Members—who had believed they were employing the same technique as before—in disarray.
In the chaos, nearly thirty paces of distance opened between them. With Lightness Techniques of roughly equivalent skill, such a gap was impossible to overcome. Mun I-jong had no choice but to abandon the pursuit.
Twitch.
“Damn it…….”
Mun I-jong’s eye twitched with convulsion.
The others arrived moments later, landing on either side of him. One of the two Blood Robe Members was bleeding from his flank.
‘I was so focused on the Poison Technique…….’
Mun I-jong’s eyes burned with deadly intent.
When he had set out to find Yang Chan, he had prepared tactics specialized in poison—specifically, a defense utilizing the Samadhi True Fire.
It exploited the nature of poison, which weakens under heat. The first Green Smoke had been neutralized perfectly.
But the Blood Light that came second was an explosive martial technique, different from the Green Smoke. Because of this, one Blood Robe Member was wounded, and the distance that opened between them meant he had lost his quarry.
“Tch!”
Mun I-jong spat roughly and surveyed those who had come with him. Fortunately, aside from the injured Blood Robe Member, none of the others appeared to be hurt.
One of the Blood Robe Members spoke.
“Do we return?”
“Set an ambush around the Pavilion.”
“Do you believe he will return?”
“Not him—the man he meant to meet. He wouldn’t have lingered at the Pavilion at this hour without reason. There’s a high chance he arranged to meet someone there.”
“Understood.”
They all crossed the river again.
Mun I-jong glanced back toward where Yang Chan had been. But Yang Chan had already vanished.

* * *

Yi Hwan gazed at the Pavilion from the darkness.
Whoosh…….
The Reed Field, swept by the wind, swayed back and forth. Though there was no trace of human presence, Yi Hwan remained in the shadows.
The smell of gunpowder carried on the breeze and the faint wisps of smoke suggested that a fierce battle had occurred nearby.
Yi Hwan scanned the area around the Pavilion with sharp attention.
‘No bodies?’
This detail deepened his suspicion. The absence of corpses meant he had fought against a formidable opponent whose defenses could withstand poison.
If that were the case, Yang Chan had likely left the Pavilion.
And one more thing.
Within the wind-swept Reed Field, one spot moved in a peculiar manner. At a distance from the Pavilion, the reeds there scarcely swayed compared to all around it.
Then wasn’t someone pressing down on the lower part of the reeds?
‘What a shame.’
Yi Hwan turned away without hesitation.
There was no reason to venture into a place where an ambush was suspected. And he was certain that if Yang Chan was alive, the man would seek him out again.
If he intended to leave like this, he wouldn’t have sent a note asking to meet in the first place.
‘If only I’d brought the Face Mask…’
Then he would have attempted to identify whoever was lying in wait. It had been a frustrating night in every way.
The wind whistled sharply.

* * *

A drop of blood fell from Yang Chan’s body.
Blood dripped to the ground.
‘I’ve drawn him into my troubles through no fault of his.’
Yang Chan stared at the pavilion.
He could see clearly that those who had targeted him had not left but were lying in wait around the pavilion.
So he too had remained, watching all this while. If Yi Hwan came to the promised place and ended up fighting with them, that was when he would step in.
The wind whistled through the night.
The gale shook the tree he stood on violently, but Yang Chan remained motionless, as though he and the tree were one, his gaze fixed on the pavilion and its surroundings.
Time wore on. Well past the appointed hour, Yi Hwan did not appear.
‘Has he not come at all? Or did he sense something amiss and turn back?’
Yang Chan waited a little longer.
But Yi Hwan never showed.
‘I’ll have to find him instead.’
Yang Chan turned and vanished into the darkness. Not long after he disappeared, Mun I-jong and the Blood Robe Members also left the pavilion.

* * *

Mun I-jong, having come back empty-handed, sought out not Yi Tae-ji but the Empress herself. Though the hour was late, the Empress received him with makeup applied heavily.
From Mun I-jong’s expression alone, she divined that things had gone wrong.
Mun I-jong bowed low.
“I have failed to recruit him.”
“Then you killed him?”
“I let him slip away.”
Irritation flickered in the Empress’s eyes. She crossed her legs and spoke with a cutting edge.
“Your second brother said something to me. That he’s no longer the Hongwol of old, it seems. If I agree with him, what becomes of you and Hongwol, even setting aside the Gold Robed Guard?”
……
Mun I-jong did not protest. Having already seen through the Empress’s nature, he knew that silence was his best course.
“What would you have me do?”
“Though we have failed this time, I swear I will drag him before Your Majesty by whatever means necessary. If that proves impossible, I will bring his head.”
“Hmph!”
The Empress snorted coldly, then sank deeper into her chair, looking down at Mun I-jong.
A moment of silence passed. But it did not last long.
“If you cannot make him one of us, then by whatever means, you must kill him. Should he so much as consider joining our enemies, I will cut off your head with my own hands!”
“I will keep this in mind.”
“Now go.”
“I beg leave to make one request.”
“What is it?”
The Empress’s brow arched sharply. But she had to hear what the request was.
“What is it?”
“I require a Pidom Bead. With it, should I meet him, more men could move simultaneously. If I cannot recruit him, I must capture him and bring him in—and for that, a Pidom Bead is essential.”
A Pidom Bead is a sphere crafted from a substance antithetical to poison. Carrying one on one’s person allows one to resist most venoms, yet it is so rare—as rare as plucking a star from heaven—that it is scarcely found in the world.
The Empress’s expression turned incredulous.
“Do you speak as though a Pidom Bead is something one can simply say ‘Here it is’ and hand over on the spot?”
“Your Majesty has the means to obtain one.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“In the past, when I attended the late Emperor, I once overheard mention that there were quite a number of Pidom Beads in the Imperial Treasury.”
The Empress’s eyes brightened with interest.
“The late Emperor told you this himself?”
“Yes. Unless my memory deceives me, that is what he said.”
“Hmm…….”
The Empress interlaced her fingers and let her gaze grow distant. Mun I-jong kept his head bowed, waiting for her answer.
“If I surrender even the Pidom Bead and you still fail, then I shall truly have to demand your head. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Since you do, you may go.”
Mun I-jong bowed deeply and left the Manhwa Palace. Beyond the bridge, his attendants were waiting for him. As he crossed, a cold smile twisted his mouth.
‘Trying to recruit a man who’s already become an enemy because of Yi Hwang-ja? If she’d ordered me to kill him from the start, we wouldn’t have failed.’
Anger surged through Mun I-jong—not so much from the Empress’s attitude as from what he’d heard Yi Tae-ji say through her.
‘He says Hongwol is no longer what it was? That fool doesn’t even have the eyes to judge such things, and yet he dares…….’
His attendants fell into step beside him.
“Will we not go to see the lord?”
“The Command Center.”
“Shouldn’t we report to him first?”
“It’s too late.”
Mun I-jong cut off their words and headed straight for the Command Center. His attendants, sensing something amiss in his demeanor, said nothing more.

* * *

The Empress’s brow creased slightly.
“To enter that place, I would need the Crown Prince’s cooperation…….”
She needed Yi So’s key. Her own key alone could not open the Imperial Treasury.
It was a dilemma. Yi So was not the sort to hand over his key without question. Yet she could hardly march up to him and propose they enter the Imperial Treasury together.
The moment she mentioned the key, suspicion would bloom in his mind.
“A master of the Poison Technique is a formidable strength in itself. If I could draw him to my side, it would be like gaining wings…….”
The Empress could not bring herself to abandon this pursuit. The Poison Technique was the ultimate card—capable of neutralizing any and all variables.
She fell into contemplation over how to enter the Imperial Treasury. When her head began to throb, she swept her robes and left the great hall.
“I shall go to the hot spring.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You come with me.”
A glimmer of desire kindled in the Female Guard Captain’s eyes.

* * *

Yi Hwan, who had failed to meet Yang Chan, found sleep elusive.
‘Who is it?’
Someone who knew his true identity had revealed themselves.
It could be a Successor of the Blood Demon, but if it were someone else, who could it be, and how did they know his identity so precisely?
‘He appeared, and then this happened.’
Yi Hwan thought of Yang Chan.
The man he’d seen in Zhao Kingdom had crossed into Yen and orchestrated a poison assassination plot. It might not be him, but the methods aligned—the odds were very high.
Click.
Yi Hwan opened the window. The sky that had been scattered with stars was now shedding thin threads of rain.
‘I can only wait for him to make contact again.’
There was no other course of action available to him now.
That was when he caught sight of Go-mi leaving the compound.
Go-mi, noticing the light spilling from his room, turned to look back at him.
“Where are you going at this hour?”
“To the Training Grounds.”
“Train hard, but don’t push yourself too far.”
“Papa has agreed to help me.”
“Papa?”
“Yes. Then I shall see you tomorrow, Grand Prince.”
Yi Hwan watched Go-mi’s silhouette fade into the darkness, and a faint smile crossed his face.
He lifted his gaze toward Jo Gwang’s quarters. Papa was just stepping outside.
She too noticed the light in Yi Hwan’s room and turned to look, then bowed respectfully.
Yi Hwan raised his hand slightly in acknowledgment.
‘With Papa’s help, Go-mi will make great progress.’

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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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