The Supreme Who Rules the Boundless Sky - Chapter 176
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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 176
“Damn it….”
Seol Juhyeon, battered and bruised, spat out a curse.
She barely managed to prop herself against the wall and stand up, gripping her sword.
She realized that even if she tried to escape somehow, the sniper outside wouldn’t leave her alone.
In that case.
‘I absolutely must take a hostage.’
And it had to be a hostage that the sniper could never ignore.
There was only one person here who satisfied that condition.
Seonghwa Gate Master Namgung Hyeok.
If she captured him, even an archer of such skill wouldn’t be able to act rashly!
“Haaaah!”
Crack!
With Seol Juhyeon’s battle cry, her sword froze over.
A sword strike emanating cold energy rushed toward Namgung Hyeok.
From upper right to lower left. It was a clean strike.
However.
Whoosh!
A blazing Flame Sword blocked the frozen sword radiating cold energy.
Clang!
The scorching heat emanating from the Azure Heaven Sword melted Seol Juhyeon’s sword completely.
A faint look of shock appeared in Seol Juhyeon’s eyes.
Until now, she had only been thinking of escape, but she realized that their compatibility was poor.
“Die!”
But if she gave up over something like this, she never would have reached this level.
She instantly withdrew her sword and switched to a thrusting attack.
A sword strike rushing toward the heart in his chest.
Namgung Hyeok smiled and stepped with True Step.
Rumble!
Like a whirlwind, flames erupted and massive energy waves burst out around him.
Seol Juhyeon realized she couldn’t pierce through that True Energy Shield and immediately stepped back.
But as she pulled her body back, Namgung Hyeok’s Single Fist exploded in the air.
Sacred Fire Manifestation.
With a thunderous sound, Seol Juhyeon’s body flew up after being hit by the shockwave.
She realized her Body Protection Qi was shattered and coughed up blood.
Watching her roll on the ground several times and stagger to her feet, Namgung Hyeok asked.
“Aren’t you starting to think about surrendering?”
“Don’t be… ridiculous!”
The frozen blade danced once more.
A flashing cold energy sword unleashed a barrage of slashing strikes, and Namgung Hyeok smiled faintly as he engaged with her.
Clang clang clang clang!
Dozens of exchanges passed in the blink of an eye.
And during that time, three attacks landed.
Seol Juhyeon now had her shoulder slashed, her thigh kicked, and her ribs cracked.
‘Damn it… such a difference in skill!’
She gritted her teeth and unleashed her ultimate technique.
Ten Thousand Year Ice Soul, the secret art of the Glacier Legacy Sword.
Just as Namgung Hyeok was wreathed in Sacred Fire, she emanated cold energy from her entire body and infused her martial arts into the tip of her sword.
‘This is dangerous.’
Namgung Hyeok immediately recognized its power.
This was on a completely different level from all the attacks Seol Juhyeon had launched so far.
If he wasn’t careful, even he could die or be severely wounded.
‘In that case.’
Whoosh!
Seonghwa Energy spread through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians throughout his body.
Sacred Fire swirled around Namgung Hyeok’s entire body, consuming the surroundings.
Heat and cold energy collided, causing everything around them to begin cracking.
“Kuk!”
Even as Seol Juhyeon felt herself being pushed back by that energy, she desperately swung her sword.
Namgung Hyeok also unleashed his Flame Dance with sharp eyes.
Explosive Flame Annihilation.
The tremendous energy that had been swirling around them exploded in an instant.
KWAAAAANG!
“…!”
With a thunderous roar, Seol Juhyeon’s body was sent flying and crashed into the opposite wall.
She spat out a gush of blood and died instantly.
“Th-this is insane…!”
“He killed the Left Protector!”
The faces of the other traitors who witnessed that strike turned pale.
The strike that Namgung Hyeok had just unleashed was far beyond their imagination in terms of power.
“I-I surrender!”
“Me too!”
The demoralized traitors threw down their weapons and fell to their knees.
Lee Cheolgun clicked his tongue with a bored expression, but Jeon Wook simply struck their pressure points and bound them as if accustomed to it.
“It seems to be over.”
So Yeon and Bing Seolhye, who had been waiting outside, entered and spoke.
Bing Seolhye couldn’t hide her amazement at seeing the Left Protector killed instantly.
“The Left Protector was a warrior who ranked in the top ten throughout the Ice Palace and Five Great Families… You truly are our benefactor.”
“She was certainly a formidable opponent. If the compatibility hadn’t been favorable, we might still be locked in fierce battle.”
Namgung Hyeok said this and covered the corpse of the dead Left Protector with a cloth cover.
Regardless of the circumstances, it was a courtesy toward someone who had faced him head-on.
“What do you plan to do with these people?”
“We need to escort them and make them spill other information.”
The voice saying this was cold. Namgung Hyeok just shrugged his shoulders and showed no particular reaction. Since he had caught the traitors, it was now the Ice Palace’s business.
“More than that, thank you so much once again. Thanks to you, we were able to round up all the traitors.”
“It’s thanks to the operation working well. We were lucky.”
“Hehe. You’re being modest.”
“But what do you plan to do from now on? When the identity of the traitors becomes known, considerable chaos will spread.”
The faces of the traitors, including the Left Protector, were all equally illustrious.
All of them were high-ranking officials of the Northern Sea.
If it became known that all such people were spies, considerable uproar would surely arise.
No matter how well they managed it, they wouldn’t be able to hide the unrest.
“For now, we plan to keep quiet about this incident itself. It would be better to stay quiet until we obtain information.”
“But you won’t be able to deceive the enemies’ eyes.”
The spies who had infiltrated the Northern Sea Ice Palace wouldn’t be just these people.
They were probably positioned in each level of society.
They would notice the disappearance of these fellow spies within a few days.
Especially since someone like the Left Protector was a famous figure, there was a possibility they would realize it immediately once they noticed she had disappeared.
“Yes. Of course, we’re not expecting that much. What we’re hoping for is just to prevent people’s unrest.”
“I see. Then I’ll draw people’s attention for a while. So that everyone won’t be interested in what happens to the traitors.”
“What? Attention?”
“That’s right. Didn’t this whole incident start with the enemies’ provocation to hand me over?”
Namgung Hyeok said with a snicker.
“Then I should properly respond to it.”
The next day.
A rumor spread throughout the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
It was a rumor that Seonghwa Gate Master Namgung Hyeok had challenged the leadership of the rebel army.
* * *
The rebel army’s leadership was in chaos.
First, contact with the spies who had been operating well was cut off…
And before they could figure out what had happened, Namgung Hyeok’s provocation followed.
It was a provocation telling them not to needlessly sacrifice their subordinates and for the leadership to come out and fight directly.
Naturally, they planned to ignore it.
They were the same people who had ignored the Bukhaebinggung Master when he made the same proposal.
There was no reason to accept Namgung Hyeok’s proposal now.
However.
“You’re going to refuse the proposal? Hmph. I suppose you plan to continue meaninglessly throwing away your subordinates’ lives?”
“What?”
“Isn’t the reason you won’t come out and fight directly because you value your own lives? You cowards who hide behind your subordinates, fearing defeat – you’re hardly worthy of being called warriors. Because of your stubbornness, your subordinates will meet their deaths.”
“This bastard…!”
Namgung Hyeok, who had ridden his horse directly near the front lines, provoked them with a booming voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
Naturally, he spoke so that all the troops present could hear him.
The reaction of the rebel army warriors who heard this was peculiar.
Of course, they didn’t openly show their resentment, but…
It was certainly because Namgung Hyeok’s words were correct.
If this civil war continued like this, it would ultimately be them who died.
Their leadership knew this but was rejecting Namgung Hyeok’s proposal for their own safety.
“Warriors of the Northern Sea. You all must have heard my proposal. I tried my best to end this war with minimal bloodshed, but they refuse to dialogue with me. This is truly…”
“Attack! Attack! Don’t let that bastard spout any more nonsense!”
The leadership watching Namgung Hyeok shouting loudly gave their orders.
The troops at the front lines moved to capture him.
But by the time they rushed from their positions, Namgung Hyeok had already moved far back.
“If this is your answer, then there’s no choice. In the end, we’ll have to accept great sacrifices.”
“…!”
The rebel army warriors were shaken by Namgung Hyeok’s words.
And that unrest was directly transmitted to the rebel army’s upper echelons.
“Damn it!”
Thud!
Eom Jopyeong, the head of the Eom Family who heard the report, wore a frustrated expression.
Normally it might have been different, but…
Having retreated from the southern front and lost the Hancheol Mine, hearing such words now made it clear that their allied forces’ morale was plummeting.
And quite seriously at that.
He looked at those gathered in the military barracks and spoke.
“What do you think we should do about this? If we continue to endure this kind of provocation, we’ll have troops deserting.”
“Ignore it. He’ll stop after a few days anyway.”
The one who answered was Dong Wigwang, head of the Dong Family.
He was examining the battle map with sharp eyes. His intention to focus on the front line situation rather than Namgung Hyeok’s provocations was evident.
But Seol Yoon, head of the Seol Family, seemed to think differently.
“If we do that, we might really have deserting troops. Family Head Dong. The current situation is more serious than you think. Not only ordinary warriors but also the civilians on our side are hearing these rumors. This is probably the Ice Palace Master’s skillful timing to escalate the situation.”
“What meaning could there be even if those lowly people hear it?”
“There is meaning. Our goal isn’t to overthrow the Bing Family but to become the masters of the Northern Sea. In that process, we cannot ignore public opinion from civilians and ordinary warriors.”
“Hmph. Such things can be suppressed with overwhelming force. Those lowly people will tremble and submit if we just show them a little of our power.”
“Do you realize we’re losing in that power struggle when you say that?”
Seol Yoon spoke calmly.
Indeed, the rebel army’s morale was steadily dropping after consecutive defeats.
They could no longer act recklessly like before.
They had to come up with a countermeasure somehow.
“Damn it. Then what do you suggest we do?”
“We should accept that proposal.”
Someone suddenly entered the military barracks and spoke.
“Who dares to be so insolent….”
“Dares to what?”
“…!”
Dong Wigwang was about to get angry at the sudden guest, but he couldn’t.
The person who had entered was Ye Sorin, the Snow Mountain Demon Lord of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
A big shot that even the head of one of the Five Great Families would find difficult to deal with.
If she set her mind to it, she could easily kill Dong Wigwang.
And even if that weren’t the case, without the Heavenly Demon Sect’s support, the rebel army would be finished.
In other words, she was someone the rebel army had to serve and revere.
“I, I misspoke.”
So Dong Wigwang immediately apologized and bowed his head deeply.
The Snow Mountain Demon Lord snorted with displeasure and looked at Seol Yoon.
“I’ll say it again, accept the proposal. If you fight a duel between commanders and win, our army’s morale will rise, there won’t be any troop losses, so isn’t that good?”
“But if we do such a thing, there’s a possibility that our executives might suffer great damage….”
“Hehe. Are you afraid of a kid much younger than you? How pitiful. The name of the Five Great Families of the Northern Sea seems wasted.”
“Don’t look down on us! We’re simply keeping the worst-case scenario in mind. Seonghwa Gate Master Namgung Hyeok isn’t an ordinary person you can easily dismiss.”
“I know he’s not an ordinary person.”
“Then….”
“But if you seriously want the position of leader of the Northern Sea, you should think about it. How does this very act of worrying look to your underlings?”
“…!”
“That’s all I have to say. Think it over carefully.”
The Snow Mountain Demon Lord rose from her seat with a mysterious smile.
The three family heads gritted their teeth at her carefree retreating figure.
But….
After a discussion that lasted about an hour, they had no choice but to reach a conclusion.
They had no choice but to accept Namgung Hyeok’s proposal.
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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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