The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 35

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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 35

Chapter 35 — Commander Hwangho

“Kill them!”
Clang! Bang!
“Argh!”
“Gaah!”
Metal screamed against metal, shouts tore through the darkness, and sparks bloomed like violent flowers reflected in Gomi’s widening eyes.
Ching!
Gomi drew her blade as she ran.
Thump-thump-thump!
Mud sprayed where her feet had been. Extraordinary Lightness Skill.
Clang! Bang!
“Argh!”
Soldiers erupted from every corner of the Military Camp.
Gomi vaulted over their heads and hurled herself straight toward Hwangho’s quarters.
That was when she saw them — figures vanishing into the darkness beyond.
Of the original five, only three were visible now.
Whoosh!
Gomi descended to the ground and fixed her gaze on Hwangho’s quarters. Through the half-open door, soldiers were visible. She burst inside.
“What’s happened?”
Between the soldiers, blood painted the floor crimson. And beyond it, Hwangho sat.
……
Gomi’s eyes went wide.
Jeongcheon was pressing down on Hwangho’s chest, blood oozing thickly between his fingers.
Gomi’s gaze fixed on Hwangho’s face.
Pallid skin, a contorted expression, eyes glazing over — all of it spoke to the severity of his condition.
“Move aside, please!”
Gunui rushed in.
Gomi watched Gunui tend to Hwangho’s injuries for a moment, then stepped outside. Her eyes darkened as she stared toward the direction the assassins had vanished.
‘An assassination attempt……’

* * *

“Spit!”
The Blood Ghost Leader spat harshly.
His eyes, surveying the chaos that had engulfed the Yeon Military encampment below, roiled with shock and fury.
“Jeongcheon. I never imagined he’d be that strong.”
He had been certain of perfect success.
Cheol Muok and Gongsun Tae, the ones he’d feared most, were nowhere to be found. Yet an unforeseen variable had appeared.
Jeongcheon.
The moment the men burst into Hwangho’s quarters, he materialized. In the chaos that followed, three of them fell dead.
They’d managed to land a strike on Hwangho, but there was no certainty of death. At the final moment, Hwangho had twisted his body just enough to avoid the killing blow.
“Cough!”
One of the Blood Ghost members who’d escaped with him suddenly convulsed at the waist, coughing blood.
……
Thud!
The man collapsed forward and went limp. Life had fled him.
The Leader’s eyes flickered, then his face flushed red with fury.
“Damn it all!”

* * *

When Yi Hwan entered, everyone parted to either side.
Yi Hwan approached the bed where Hwangho lay as if dead.
Glancing back at Jeongcheon, he found the man’s head bowed, his expression somber.
Yi Hwan turned back to Hwangho. He was still breathing, but barely — so faint that his death would be no surprise at any moment.
Hwangho’s eyes opened then.
“…… I have urgent matters to discuss with the General. Everyone, step outside.”
“Take your time.”
“No. It must be now.”
Jeongcheon led everyone out of the Military Camp.
“Cough! Cough!”
With violent coughing, blood spilled forth. Yi Hwan watched intently as the light drained rapidly from Hwangho’s eyes.
“Please…… let my strength…… serve the Crown Prince.”
“The General’s strength will be needed far more than mine.”
Trickle.
Dark, coagulated blood soaked into the bedding.
Grip.
Hwangho’s hand closed around Yi Hwan’s.
It was his final gesture.
“Please…… protect our Crown Prince…….”

* * *

“Gasp! Gasp!”
Jeongcheon pressed his sword downward with both hands, head bowed, his breathing ragged and labored. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks.
Gomi, who had been watching him, turned her gaze toward the Military Camp. The door was sealed shut, and Yi Hwan had not yet emerged. The warriors who had chased after the assassins returned one by one.
Everyone stood rigid-faced, their eyes fixed on Hwangho’s quarters, none able to speak.
The door remained closed. Time hung heavier than an eon over them all.
Creak.
At last the door opened.
Jeongcheon shot to his feet. His gaze and Yi Hwan’s locked.
Yi Hwan said nothing. His face bore no expression. That itself was the answer.
“Sob!”
Jeongcheon crumbled.
In his wake, every warrior fell to their knees as though struck down.

Commander Hwangho of the Southern Legion.
He who had been one arm of Crown Prince Yi So had now come to the end of his life. Yi Hwan alone had witnessed his final moments.

* * *

Peng Muwei’s Residence.
Yong Hochung and Mo Jaehwang had gathered in one room. Hwangho’s death was a golden opportunity for them.
Yong Hochung posed a question to Mo Jaehwang.
“In such circumstances, how is a new Commander appointed?”
“When word reaches the Imperial Palace, the Grand Commandant will name a new Commander.”
“I understand that the appointment of a Legion’s Commander requires His Majesty’s approval.”
“Of course. But now His Majesty stands apart from governance, so once word reaches the Palace, the Crown Prince will see to the matter himself.”
Meanwhile, Peng Muwei’s expression, observed by the two men, seemed clouded for reasons unclear.
Yong Hochung narrowed his brows and spoke.
“Your expression seems troubled, General.”
“My heart is somewhat unsettled—pay it no mind.”
Yong Hochung laughed with pointed significance.
“Once you assume the Commander’s post, we can arrange everything thereafter as we wish. Shouldn’t we begin at once by replacing the leaders of the key units with our own men?”
“Of course. That is precisely what shall be done.”
This time Mo Jaehwang spoke up.
“Had we known matters would unfold thus, we needn’t have troubled ourselves to come at all.”
“Should we not offer our thanks to those Zhao dogs? Through them, we’ve gained what we desired without even breaking a sweat.”
“Truth be told, my thoughts run the same way. Hehehehe.”
Yet still Peng Muwei’s face remained dark.
‘I never wished to obtain the Commander’s post this way…….’

* * *

The following morning.
After the Blood Ghost Leader failed to assassinate Hwangho, he spent the night in the forest instead of returning to the Military Camp, watching the Yeon Military’s encampment.
From early morning, warriors moved about in hurried activity. Yet nowhere in the camp could he detect any atmosphere or sign that suggested Hwangho’s death.
‘He didn’t die?’
The Blood Ghost Leader descended to a closer vantage point.
He had to confirm Hwangho’s fate one way or another. Until then, he could never return to the camp. It wasn’t merely a matter of his and the Blood Ghost’s pride—the future of the organization itself hung in the balance.
Soon after descending further, the Blood Ghost Leader concealed himself in the brush and surveyed Hwangho’s quarters. But still he found nothing out of the ordinary.
‘Damn it. Did I truly fail?’
That’s when it happened.
“So it’s you?”
A voice drifting from behind made the Blood Ghost Leader spin around reflexively, drawing his blade.
Clang!
“……!”

* * *

Yi Hwan regarded the Blood Ghost Leader without expression.
Shock filled the man’s eyes as they darted rapidly between Yi Hwan, Cheol Muok, and Gongsun Tae.
“You couldn’t be certain of success, so you came back to confirm it yourself.”
Click!
Cheol Muok’s sword transformed into a Greatsword. Gongsun Tae did likewise. Together they sealed every possible avenue of escape.
Yi Hwan continued calmly.
“I was worried you wouldn’t come. If you hadn’t, I’d have been quite troubled.”
Light blossomed at Yi Hwan’s fingertips.
That pale, blood-tinged luminescence left his hand and drifted toward the Blood Ghost Leader like flower petals.
“What became of Hwangho?”
“He rose into the sky before my eyes.”
“……!”
Though the Blood Ghost Leader had confirmed Hwangho’s death, he clamped his mouth shut and felt a chill creep over him.
Admitting Hwangho’s death was as good as admitting his own. If Yi Hwan hadn’t been confident he could kill him, there would be no point in announcing the death to his face.
‘No opening whatsoever!’
Realizing there wasn’t even a needle’s gap to exploit, the Blood Ghost Leader made his decision.
‘There’s no way but to break through him!’
His target became Yi Hwan.
He had already witnessed Cheol Muok and Gongsun Tae’s martial strength on the battlefield. Yi Hwan was therefore the obvious choice—surely he couldn’t be stronger than those two.
Crack!
The Blood Ghost Leader bit his lip to sharpen his senses. In the moment he gathered all his power and launched himself upward off the ground—
Five points of light, moving with deliberate slowness, swept into his field of vision.
Humans react instinctively to what they see. The Blood Ghost Leader was no exception.
He turned his head aside to evade the five lights, then pivoted toward Yi Hwan and unleashed a sweeping strike.
Though the explanation was lengthy, the entire sequence unfolded in a mere instant.
Yi Hwan didn’t so much as flinch at the incoming blade.
Instead, Cheol Muok moved. His Greatsword cleaved through empty air at incomprehensible speed toward the Blood Ghost Leader.
“……!”
The Blood Ghost Leader, focused on Yi Hwan, hastily struck at Cheol Muok’s descending Greatsword.
Boom!
“Urgh!”
The Greatsword and blade collided, the impact thunderous.
The Blood Ghost Leader staggered with a cry, but maintained his footing even through the recoil, and pressed forward intent on clearing Yi Hwan’s head as planned.
It was then that the five scattered points of light pierced into his back.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
“Aah!”
The Blood Ghost Leader lurched from the impact.
But he was a master still. Even struck, he didn’t break rhythm—his blade thrust toward Yi Hwan’s heart.
Yet that was all he could manage.
“Well done.”
His blade froze just short of Yi Hwan’s heart, then the Blood Ghost Leader staggered backward and collapsed limply into the mud.
Splat!
Gongsun Tae rushed forward to seal the blood meridians.
But his opponent was already coughing up blood. He had bitten down on poison.
“How frustrating.”
“Gurgle.”
The Blood Ghost Leader made a wet, rattling sound before going limp. Gongsun Tae stared at Yi Hwan with an uncertain expression.
“My apologies. I should have moved faster.”
“Never mind.”
Yi Hwan approached the corpse of the Blood Ghost Leader, mud caked across his own frame.
Cheol Muok spoke in a heavy tone.
“Had we taken him alive, we might have learned far more.”
“He was never meant to be taken alive from the start.”
“If you’d meant only to kill him, I would have sufficed alone.”
“Enough. No more.”
Whisper.
Yi Hwan slowly unsheathed his blade. Without hesitation, he severed the corpse’s head.
Crunch.
The severed head sank halfway into the mud.
“Bring it.”
“Yes.”
Gongsun Tae lifted the head, blood and mud dripping steadily.
Yi Hwan turned toward the Military Camp. The soldiers moving about parted to either side, bowing their heads as he passed.
Upon entering Hwangho’s tent, Yi Hwan took the head from Gongsun Tae and set it before Hwangho’s corpse, draped in Red Cloth.
The commanders watched Yi Hwan in solemn silence.
For a moment, the air grew thick and suffocating. Then Yi Hwan spoke.
“Muok.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Sever their limbs and cast them at the enemy’s gates.”
“Understood.”

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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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