Chapter 200: A Perfect Trap (2)

“Ah, mister! Gahk!”

Seok Unjeong, barely hanging on her toes, shed tears as she watched Go Ram being attacked.

Just then, Yong Hwarin’s eyes caught a small pond beside the stone lantern.

Upon seeing the pond, an image rose in Yong Hwarin’s mind.

‘But I can’t be certain it’ll work.’

Yong Hwarin headed for the pond, cutting down the Sword Poison Sect martial artists blocking the way.

Watching Yong Hwarin from the rooftop, Eum Sajeok seemed to realize something and gave orders to the archers.

“Concentrate fire with the Iron Arrows on that bastard!”

At the command, the archers began firing Iron Arrows.

Yong Hwarin gritted his teeth.

His breath surged up to his throat, and it felt like he couldn’t last any longer. On top of that, he had to deal with the Sword Poison Sect’s martial artists attacking from all sides while also dodging Iron Arrows flying through the Poison Smoke—it was overwhelming.

Yong Hwarin hurled Large Needles in every direction toward the invisible Poison Smoke.

“Gghk!”

“Aagh!”

Screams rang out from within the Poison Smoke as the Sword Poison Sect’s martial artists collapsed.

Thanks to that, the path to the pond became noticeably easier.

At that moment, Go Ram inhaled the Poison Smoke, vomited blood, and fell.

“Gahk!”

Even after coughing up a bowlful of blood, Go Ram crawled along the ground toward Seok Unjeong’s feet.

Go Ram reached the feet of Seok Jamyung and Seok Unjeong and lowered his head.

Seok Unjeong stepped on Go Ram’s back, who had willingly become her stepping stone, and cried.

“Go Ram, mister. Mister, you can’t die. You said you’d introduce me to a handsome younger brother. Judging by your face, I didn’t expect him to be good-looking, but I agreed to meet him because you’re kind. How can you die like this?”

When Go Ram collapsed, Gam Heum, overcome with rage, rushed at the Sword Poison Sect martial artists without caring for his life.

“Raaahhhhh!”

If he was going to die anyway, he wanted to take at least one more down with him.

With each breath, Gam Heum’s sword strikes became more powerful.

In an instant, he cut down three or four men and tried to reach Seok Jamyung and Seok Unjeong, but before he could make it, he collapsed to his knees, the poison having seeped into his body.

In the end, Gam Heum fell not by the sword, but by poison.

As Seok Unjeong looked at him with tearful eyes, Gam Heum smiled gently and said,

“Don’t worry. The Small Sect Leader will save you. You know it, right? That our Small Sect Leader is invincible.”

Gam Heum kept smiling till the end as he laid his body down.

“Mister! Gam Heum, mister!”

Hearing Seok Unjeong’s scream, Yong Hwarin clenched his teeth.

‘I won’t let a single one of you live.’

Blocking the Iron Arrows, Yong Hwarin stepped into the pond and began scooping water out with his hands and feet.

Channeling the energy of the Three Gaps, he struck the water, turning it into steam that spread in all directions.

Amazingly, the Poison Smoke merged with the steam and sank to the ground.

As the Poison Smoke dissipated, the manor garden came into view.

Within it, dozens of Sword Poison Sect martial artists lay dead and scattered.

But there were more standing than those who had fallen.

What caught Yong Hwarin’s eyes was the sight of Go Ram and Gam Heum collapsed on the ground, and Seok Unjeong barely surviving, having used Go Ram as a step.

Seeing that, Yong Hwarin felt his long-held calm shatter.

“Raaahhhhh!”

It couldn’t quite be called a Lion’s Roar, but when Yong Hwarin let out a shout infused with the energy of the Three Gaps, the surrounding air exploded outward.

The Poison Smoke clinging to the ground burst out like a wave.

Eum Sajeok, watching from afar, felt a chill down his spine.

“How the hell is this bastard still alive? Creepy. Seriously.”

No matter what he tried, the man wouldn’t die. It was enough to drain anyone’s spirit.

But contrary to Eum Sajeok’s worries, Yong Hwarin’s internal qi wasn’t connecting properly due to the poison he had inhaled while breathing.

He was barely suppressing the toxic energy with his Yin Dantian and enduring.

He roared only to hide that weakness and put on a front.

Luckily, that bluff worked. The Sword Poison Sect martial artists hesitated, unable to bring themselves to attack.

After all, for someone to unleash a Lion’s Roar after falling into the Poison Sword Formation meant his energy had to be several times stronger than theirs to disrupt the flow of a first-rate martial artist’s qi.

Moreover, the fact that he had inhaled their Poison Smoke and still stood made Yong Hwarin look like a monster.

“Attack! I said attack, damn it!”

Eum Sajeok shouted from the rooftop, but the hearts of the Sword Poison Sect martial artists, once cowed, did not easily recover.

“This is why I hate using men from other sects.”

If it had been the Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit, they would have attacked without hesitation, knowing death awaited them the moment an order was given.

However, for this operation, the Sword Poison Sect’s martial artists had been brought in because their tactics were suitable for the plan, and now, at the most critical moment, they refused to follow orders.

“Useless bastards, you can’t even finish off a dying dragon.”

Still, he honestly lacked the confidence to jump in himself.

At the very least, Yong Hwarin was someone he didn’t want to face directly.

What annoyed him was that the Senior Brother, who was supposed to confront Yong Hwarin, still hadn’t shown up.

The one who originally planned this operation to attack Yong Hwarin with his forces here was none other than that Senior Brother.

However, Eum Sajeok had brought in the Sword Poison Sect martial artists, who were not part of that Senior Brother’s plan.

It was a fallback, in case the Senior Brother failed to arrive on time—he intended to use them as his last card.

Yong Hwarin was just that extraordinary, and he had laid double and triple traps in preparation.

“If I hadn’t prepared the Sword Poison Sect martial artists, we would have been in real trouble. But to think we’d see no results after setting such a trap.”

As Eum Sajeok spoke, his aide approached from behind and said,

“That’s not true. Those two have been dealt with, and as for the Heavenly Sword Hero, even if we don’t know for sure, he must be heavily poisoned and likely doesn’t have the strength to even stand properly. He’s just pretending to be fine. Even that alone is a significant result.”

“Right, that’s it, isn’t it? Bring me his head!”

“Yes, sir!”

The aide bowed his head and turned to shout an order.

“Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit, move out!”

At his command, the Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit, who had been hiding in a side building of the manor, surged forth.

Over thirty martial artists of the Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit flew up to the pavilion where Eum Sajeok stood.

Once they lined up on either side, Eum Sajeok finally felt at ease.

Seok Unjeong looked at them with a gloomy gaze and then turned to Yong Hwarin.

“S-sorry, Hwarin Orabeoni. It’s because of me. That’s enough, now please run.”

Thinking this had all happened because of her, her chest ached.

No one in the world had ever treated her or cherished her like they had.

Even more than her father, Seok Jamyung, these people felt like true family.

Seok Unjeong resolved that if Yong Hwarin died, she would follow him in death.

Until then, Seok Jamyung had remained silent, but now he ignited his Innate Qi.

The sealed Blood Channel burst apart, becoming an Open Channel.

“Ggghhh!”

But the pain that came with the destruction of the channel was indescribable.

The Demonic Master used every martial art he knew to break the seal, and he succeeded, but he was aware the effect wouldn’t last long.

“F-father.”

Seok Unjeong gasped when she heard her father groan.

But the Demonic Master soon tore through the ropes like rotted cords and removed the noose around his neck, setting Seok Unjeong down.

He quickly turned his body.

He didn’t want to show his daughter the red blood flowing down from his lips.

The Demonic Master slowly walked toward where Yong Hwarin stood.

“Young Master Yong, thank you for protecting my daughter until now. And once more, I ask you again—please protect my daughter. I’ll take care of things here.”

He intended to buy time for Yong Hwarin to escape with his daughter.

But Yong Hwarin coldly refused.

“No. You're her father. You protect her. I’ll kill every last one of them.”

Though he spoke calmly, the murderous intent radiating from Yong Hwarin made it clear that escaping was not an option.

“Then let me go.”

Yong Hwarin nodded.

He could understand the Demonic Master wanting to escape, at least to save his daughter.

The Demonic Master seemed like he was about to say something but then thought better of it. In a situation like this, any words would sound weak, so he closed his mouth.

He turned silently, approached Seok Unjeong, and said,

“We’re getting out of here.”

As Seok Jamyung tried to lift Seok Unjeong over his shoulder, she pushed his hand away.

“Father, I’m sorry, but I won’t go.”

“Why?”

“I can’t leave the people who cared for me behind. If I leave them to die and survive alone, how am I supposed to live with myself? You want me to go on living with my meridians sealed, having betrayed the people I love? I’d rather die.”

The Demonic Master closed his eyes.

Realizing her resolve was firmer than ever, he abandoned the thought of escape.

“You don’t even know martial arts, yet you’re more of a warrior than I am.”

He changed his mind.

He realized that helping Yong Hwarin eliminate the enemies was the only way to save his daughter.

“Drive them back! Attack with everything you’ve got!”

As Eum Sajeok’s sharp voice rang out, the Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit on the rooftop charged at Yong Hwarin all at once.

At that moment, white-robed figures flew in from the opposite rooftop.

Swaaaassshhh!

Fifty white-robed individuals hurled daggers midair, striking the masters of the Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit descending on Yong Hwarin.

Seeing the emblem embroidered on their backs, Yong Hwarin muttered,

“You’ve come! But you’re too late.”

The appearance of the Blood Green Unit didn’t stir much feeling in Yong Hwarin.

They had arrived far later than he expected. Because of that delay, Go Ram and Gam Heum had collapsed from the poison.

Since their lives or deaths were uncertain, he felt even more furious at their tardiness.

Tatata-tatak!

As five masters of the Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit landed on the ground and charged toward Yong Hwarin, he loosened the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm wrapped around his left wrist and stepped forward with his left foot as if walking.

Stepping into the space between the five, Yong Hwarin swung the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm at their lower bodies, cutting down the off-balanced masters of the Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit.

With deft movements of the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm, he snatched their arms and legs, completely throwing them off—unable to react, they were taken down.

When the Blood Green Unit began clashing with the remaining masters of the Blood Heaven Ghost Demon Unit, Yong Hwarin paused a moment, then turned toward where Gam Heum and Go Ram lay.

“Hwarin Orabeoni.”

“You okay?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s enough.”

Yong Hwarin gave Seok Unjeong a smile and checked the collapsed Go Ram and Gam Heum.

He had assumed they were surely dead from the poison, but surprisingly, their pulses were steady.

“What is this?”

Startled, Yong Hwarin injected his qi to examine them and found that the toxic energy hadn’t spread—it was instead gathered near their dantians.

And surrounding that poisonous energy was a faint aura—the unmistakable aura of the elixir given to them by Bukri Sogun.

“Haa... what a relief.”

Yong Hwarin let out a faint chuckle, realizing that the elixir Bukri Sogun had given them on the last day had protected them from the poison.

Yong Hwarin had thought he had blocked the poison using his Yin Dantian, but in truth, it was Bukri Sogun’s blood that had prevented the poison’s spread.

It was simply that, in the midst of battle, he hadn’t been able to properly observe the internal situation.

“Jeong Mae, look after the two of them.”

“They’re alive, right? They’re really alive?”

Seok Unjeong, seeing that the two she thought were dead were actually alive, was even more overjoyed than when she herself had survived, sniffling as she cried.

“Huhuhuuh, I really thought they were dead.”

As she sobbed, Seok Unjeong wiped her snot all over Go Ram’s back.

Yong Hwarin stood up and looked at Eum Sajeok, who was standing on the rooftop.

“I swear, you will not leave this place alive today!”

Even from a distance of twenty jang, Eum Sajeok flinched and instinctively stepped back from Yong Hwarin’s piercing gaze.

And the words Yong Hwarin had muttered softly struck his ears like thunder.

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