The Supreme Who Rules the Boundless Sky - Chapter 156
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Spear Heaven Martial Emperor Episode 156
Southern Anhui Province.
An open clearing near Jeun Mountain.
There, a group of several dozen people was catching their breath.
Their identity was none other than Ha Jinseong and his party who had escaped from the Ha Family.
“Lord Hahou. How is the situation?”
“Honestly, it’s not good.”
Hahou Yeon, Ha Jinseong’s guard who had returned from reconnaissance, answered Ha Jinseong’s question bluntly.
“The pursuers’ movements are becoming increasingly bold. On the other hand, we’re growing tired. The reason they haven’t attacked us yet isn’t because they can’t keep up with our movements, but because their preparations aren’t complete.”
“I see…”
“It seems they’re waiting for the North Sado Alliance to join them. If they face us without them, they’d have to accept considerable losses like last time.”
They had already fought several battles with the Ha Family’s pursuit team.
The result was Ha Jinseong’s party emerging victorious each time.
However, that didn’t mean they had defeated them without taking any damage.
Ha Jinseong’s party’s strength was being gradually whittled away with each battle.
“Then when do you think the attack will come?”
Ha Jinseong asked with a worried expression.
He absolutely trusted Hahou Yeon’s judgment.
This was not only because he was a benefactor who had saved his life several times, but also because he was a warrior with incomparably more experience than himself.
“Since I don’t know the North Sado Alliance’s movements, I can’t be certain yet. However, it wouldn’t be strange if it happened right now.”
“We mustn’t lower our guard then.”
“That’s right. Fortunately, we’ll reach our destination soon.”
Their destination.
That place was none other than Huangshan, the territory of the Namgung Family.
Ha Jinseong and his party planned to reach Huangshan and receive protection from the Namgung Family.
No matter how mad the Ha Family had become, they wouldn’t try to kill them by invading the Namgung Family’s territory.
However, there was a problem.
“Those people must know that we’re getting close to our destination. They’ll surely try to make their move before then. Sigh. How did things end up like this…”
Ha Jinseong let out a sigh with a darkened face.
When exactly did things go wrong?
‘From when I received the Seonghwa Gate Master’s consideration and obtained the Salt Blade Faction?’
No, that wouldn’t be it.
His half-siblings had been sending assassins to kill him even before that.
Come to think of it, everything had been wrong from the moment he was born.
‘No matter how much I denied it, they saw me as a competitor fighting for the position of family head.’
That fact wasn’t particularly surprising.
However, he had thought that if he gained strong power like the Salt Blade Faction, he would be unshakeable against their threats…
‘It was a mistake.’
And a very big mistake at that.
When the Salt Blade Faction within the Ha Family showed their intention to pledge loyalty to Ha Jinseong, his brothers and sisters united and joined forces.
What followed was swift and decisive.
As if they had made a pact, they crushed all of Ha Jinseong’s influence within the family…
Not content with that, they even secretly attacked the Salt Blade Faction that followed him.
In the end, Ha Jinseong had to secretly flee with the subordinates who followed him.
“Hmm?”
It was while Ha Jinseong was lost in such worries.
Hahou Yeon, who had briefly frowned as if puzzled, suddenly shouted urgently.
“It’s an ambush!”
Whizz!
Simultaneously with his voice, a barrage of arrows erupted from the distance.
They were arrows flying from beyond the forest.
Most missed their mark, but several people were struck by arrows and screamed.
“Argh!”
“Damn it!”
They rose with indignant faces and glared at where the arrows had come from.
Soon, a considerable number of warriors appeared around the clearing where they had been.
“Ha Jinho…!”
Ha Jinseong looked at the man at the head of their group and shouted with an angry voice.
The man chuckled and said.
“Ha Jinho? Won’t you even call me Elder Brother anymore? As expected of a bastard son with no proper upbringing, you have no sense of courtesy.”
“Shut up! You’re trying to kill us with false accusations…”
“Hmph. So you’re saying we should spare a traitor who betrayed the family and tried to join hostile forces? How ridiculous.”
Ha Jinho sneered as he raised his hand.
With a single gesture from him, warriors holding crossbows all aimed at his allies and took position.
Ha Jinseong felt a chill seeing that sight.
If they were at full strength, it might be different.
But his exhausted and wounded subordinates didn’t seem likely to survive that crossbow barrage easily.
“I’ll give you one last chance. Surrender quietly and return to the Ha Family. If you do that, you can avoid dying here and now.”
“You…!”
“Salt Blade Faction! This goes for you too. Even now, change your minds and pledge loyalty to the Main House. If you do that, I promise to forget this incident and treat you properly.”
“…”
Though Ha Jinho’s voice rang out loudly, the warriors of the Salt Blade Faction didn’t budge an inch.
Shing!
They simply drew their respective weapons and glared at Ha Jinho.
Ha Jinho showed an openly displeased expression at this.
He felt bad because it seemed his words were being ignored.
“Insolent fools. Do you truly refuse the cup of mercy and choose to drink the cup of punishment?”
“You talk too much.”
At that moment, Hahou Yeon stepped forward and spoke.
“The Salt Blade Faction is a member of the great Sacred Fire Gate. Did you think we would truly follow the likes of your Ha Family?”
“What!? How dare you insult the main house…!”
Ha Jinho was shouting with his head heated up, but then flinched mid-sentence.
Kuguuguung.
The aura flowing from Hahou Yeon as he spoke was extraordinary.
It was as if a massive beast stood before him.
Seeing this, Hahou Yeon let out a snicker.
“Are you scared? Why did you stop talking mid-sentence?”
“You damn bastard…!”
“Young Master Ha. Don’t fall for the enemy’s provocation.”
Just then.
A middle-aged man beside Ha Jinho restrained him.
Hahou Yeon looked at him with gleaming eyes.
This man emanated a completely different aura from Ha Jinho, who looked like a mere novice.
“And who might you be?”
“Im Guok of the North Sado Alliance. People call me the Wind-Chasing Sword.”
“How amusing that you go around announcing your own nickname.”
Hahou Yeon spoke mockingly but didn’t let his guard down.
Wind-Chasing Sword Im Guok.
His name was one that even Hahou Yeon had heard before.
‘He’s probably ranked within the top ten of the North Sado Alliance.’
He thought it was quite a big shot to send just to capture a mere deserter from the Ha Family.
Hahou Yeon narrowed his eyes.
‘I could win in a one-on-one fight.’
The problem was that there wasn’t just one enemy.
Just from what he could sense immediately, the enemy numbered over two hundred.
That was four to five times their own numbers.
Moreover, they were armed with crossbows…
Thud thud thud!
His senses, sharpened for battle, caught the sound of horse hooves.
His senses, honed sharp for battle, caught the sound of hoofbeats.
And quite a considerable number at that.
Could it be that enemy reinforcements had arrived?
But that thought disappeared as soon as he felt someone’s energy vibrating from afar.
It was an energy that was all too familiar and well-known to him.
Hahou Yeon shouted with a brightened face.
“Lord!”
“You’ve worked hard all this time, Yeon.”
Swish!
A slashing strike shot from the opposite side of the forest drew a line across the ground.
“What!”
Everyone looked there in shock.
Namgung Hyeok was approaching through the bushes with his sword drawn.
* * *
As soon as Namgung Hyeok saw the two groups confronting each other, he could grasp the situation.
‘Fortunately, I’m not too late.’
Although Ha Jinseong and Hahou Yeon’s forces looked exhausted and had many wounded…
It didn’t seem like they had suffered any decisive damage yet.
That meant he could still sufficiently resolve the situation now.
‘I did well to hurry.’
He briefly recalled the process of getting to this place.
‘I was lucky.’
When Namgung Hyeok first heard the news in Hubei, he immediately crossed over to Anhui with the troops borrowed from Yeomhwa Trading Company.
But they didn’t know where to go.
It was because they lacked information and couldn’t determine how far Ha Jinseong had fled.
‘So I decided to just start from the southernmost point and work our way up.’
If they were in the north, the Namgung Family’s forces would help them.
So he decided to search starting from places where the Namgung Family’s influence didn’t reach well.
And that thinking had hit the mark exactly.
As evidenced by finding Hahou Yeon’s group here at Jeun Mountain.
“S-Seonghwa Gate Master!”
“Benefactor!”
Surprised voices burst out simultaneously from both sides.
One side was a middle-aged man whose name was unknown, and the other side was Ha Jinseong.
Namgung Hyeok lightly waved his hand toward Ha Jinseong.
“It’s been a while since we’ve met.”
“D-did you come to rescue us?”
“Well, you could say that.”
He chuckled and looked toward the opposite side.
“Seonghwa Gate Master! Why the hell are you interfering here!”
There was a young man with a face resembling Ha Jinseong’s shouting at the top of his lungs.
He seemed to be the enemy’s leader.
Namgung Hyeok asked Hahou Yeon.
“Who is that bastard?”
“That’s Ha Jinho, the third son of the Ha Family. He’s also the leader of those who came to capture us.”
“Are you ignoring my words!?”
The man named Ha Jinho shouted at the top of his lungs.
Namgung Hyeok calmly answered his question.
“You’re asking a strange question.”
“What?”
“The Salt Blade Faction people over there are members of our Seonghwa Sect. I came back to take care of my people, so what’s the problem with that?”
“What do you mean…!”
Ha Jinho’s words were cut short.
It was because Namgung Hyeok treated the Salt Blade Faction as his subordinates as if it were completely natural.
But these were people who had been under the Ha Family’s command until recently.
They were never part of the Seonghwa Sect. So Namgung Hyeok’s words sounded utterly absurd.
“Seonghwa Gate Master. Stop talking nonsense and go your way. Otherwise, you won’t have a pleasant time either.”
“Ho. Are you threatening me right now?”
“That’s right. Do you think anything has changed just because you came for support alone?”
“Haha.”
Namgung Hyeok burst into laughter at the threatening words.
Ha Jinho frowned and asked.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Who said I came alone?”
Namgung Hyeok turned his head to look in the direction he had come from.
“…!”
There, approximately a hundred warriors were charging forward with menacing aura.
Each one radiated an aura that showed they were elite.
The Ha Family and North Sado Alliance had greater numbers, but in terms of warrior quality, they seemed to be far outmatched.
Namgung Hyeok looked at the flustered Ha Jinho and said.
“You’d better withdraw your forces right now.”
A savage smile appeared on his face.
“That is, if you don’t want to die.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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