Chapter 567

**Chapter 567 – The Lazy One Takes Charge (2)**

Jahong was having a normal day.

Although there seemed to be fewer people on the streets than usual today, it was understandable.

The commerce of any city always revolves around its core industries. When a storm prevents ships from sailing, isn’t it normal for the taverns in port cities to be packed?

Loeyang was no different.

Being a huge city with a long history, Loeyang had developed multiple industries. But if you had to name the place with the greatest influence on the city currently, everyone would point to the same place:

The Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

The Martial Alliance itself didn’t produce anything particular, but it brought together so many people that it was said Loeyang functioned on the money its members spent when receiving their stipends.

That’s why the surroundings of the Alliance were filled with businesses that lived off doing business with its members. Jahong was one of those merchants, owning a fabric store near the west gate of the Alliance.

“Wow, no sales today.”

It was inevitable.

Under normal circumstances, this place would also be full of customers looking to buy fabric, but currently the Alliance was at war with Baekgeom Fortress. Half of the martial artists who used to visit the shops had been drafted into the war, and the other half remained alert inside the Alliance. In times like these, no one in their right mind would be buying things around here.

“I hope the war ends soon.”

If it dragged on, it was obvious that cries of agony would start to be heard everywhere. The merchants who depended on this to feed their families were already living through days of anguish.

Waking up every morning to curse eastward before starting the day had become a routine. Of course, the object of those curses was Baekgeom Fortress.

“But why is there so much commotion today?”

Explosions had been heard coming from the Alliance for a while now.

The Alliance being noisy was nothing new. It was a place full of martial artists, and martial artists by nature made a lot of noise. Shouting at the top of their lungs while training, practicing, or facing each other in combat was commonplace.

But today’s uproar exceeded normal levels.

“Could something have happened?”

Jahong stealthily got up and went outside.

Of course, he knew how absurd what he was doing was.

It was the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

Something happening in the Alliance was comparable to someone assaulting the imperial palace itself. Unless they were crazy, or had huge balls, who would dare cause trouble there?

Maybe they were testing a new martial technique, or perhaps some new weapon. With that idea in mind, Jahong cautiously peeked his head towards the main building of the Alliance.

At that moment, his mouth slowly opened.

“What is that?”

A groan escaped his lips.

Before his eyes, the main building of the Alliance was enveloped in a thick cloud of green smoke.

It was obvious at a glance.

That smoke wasn’t normal. It wasn’t the result of any accident or mistake.

“Uh…”

Many people had already taken to the streets to observe the scene. They watched as the smoke gradually filled the main building until it overflowed the walls and spread outward.

“T-that…”

He didn’t know how to react. What snapped Jahong out of his confusion was a desperate cry that suddenly rang out.

“Run away! Right now!”

A voice on the verge of panic.

Turning towards the source of the sound, Jahong recoiled in fear upon seeing several members of the Alliance running towards them with foam at the mouth.

Their faces flushed red, the veins on their foreheads bulging, and the desperate speed of their movements showed their urgency.

“What are you standing there for? Run!”

“Huh? What?”

The martial artists pushed the paralyzed passersby, grabbing them by the arm to drag them along in their flight.

Jahong also let himself be carried away by the current and soon ran as if his life depended on it.

Looking back, he saw the green smoke surpassing the walls and advancing stealthily towards them. Like an overflowing river, it covered everything in its path.

“Aaaah!”

He didn’t know what would happen if it caught up to them, but surely nothing good. Just seeing it, the green smoke inspired an instinctive dread.

‘Q-quickly.’

The smoke was expanding faster than expected.

‘What the hell is going on?’

At least Jahong had gone out to see the smoke and, noticing the others fleeing, was able to join the stampede. But inside the houses were many people who had no idea what was happening outside.

What would become of them?

The smoke surmounted the walls and the great avenue surrounding the Alliance, beginning to stealthily seep into the residential neighborhoods.

“Oh no!”

Just when Jahong screamed in terror…

“Huh?”

“What is that?”

Alarmed voices arose from all sides.

Jahong also saw something strange: someone jumped onto the enormous cloud of green smoke.

“Wow…”

An exclamation of astonishment escaped his lips.

He couldn’t see clearly. For his eyesight, distinguishing details at that distance was impossible. But one thing was clear:

The sword in that figure’s hands gleamed dazzlingly under the sunlight.

‘How impressive.’

It was such a magnificent sight that for a moment he forgot his own situation, gaping in awe. Then he heard a powerful voice:

“Don’t worry! I’ll take care of this!”

Followed by a manly laugh.

‘Hero.’

That was the word that came to Jahong’s mind. The man who had spoken those words fell back, disappearing into the green smoke.

“Ah…”

Jahong’s face filled with worry. But then, as if by magic, the smoke stopped its advance.

“Oh!”

Jahong swallowed.

Everyone around him had also stopped to contemplate the scene. A cold tension seized the group.

But what they felt wasn’t just tension.

A hope that something good would happen.

The expectation that the man they had just seen would resolve this crisis… no, that he would do something even more grandiose, began to grow in their hearts.

‘Hero.’

Jahong’s eyes kept searching for someone among the green smoke.

* * *

“Achoo! Achús! Aaaaachús! Achús!”

Wei Yanho was sneezing nonstop, with tears and snot gushing out.

“Ay! Aaaaaaaachús! Achús! Au, this is going to kill me! Au!”

Tears streamed down his face.

The poisonous gas was penetrating fiercely through his eyes and nose. Even his skin was burning.

Whether or not the poison could intoxicate him was irrelevant. Even without using his internal energy, his body was already waging a pitched battle to expel the toxins that were seeping in.

“Snf!”

Using his energy to create an external barrier would solve the problem easily. Something that not just anyone could do, but for the current Wei Yanho it didn’t represent a major difficulty.

“Anyway, aaaaachús! Those… achús! bastards…!”

They were giving a perfect example of that saying “they won’t rest in peace even after death.”

“Ay, it’s going to kill me.”

Wei Yanho wiped the tears with the back of his hand.

‘This is no game.’

Although he remained calm, his tension was increasing. If a martial artist of his level was suffering like this, any common person who inhaled this gas would die instantly without even showing symptoms. Literally, instant death.

‘First, it must be contained.’

Wei Yanho raised a hand. He could clearly see how the sleeves of his clothes were dissolving. The poisonous gas was corroding even the fabric.

“How brutal.”

Although he complained, from the beginning he had no intention of letting this lethal gas spread. Even if it wasn’t his responsibility, he couldn’t allow hundreds of thousands to die because of his inaction.

“So…!”

Wei Yanho activated his suction technique with his right hand. By exerting a gravitational force that attracted everything around him, the expanding poisonous gas faltered and stopped.

His eyes urgently followed the surrounding energy currents.

‘This won’t be enough.’

The contaminated area was too extensive. Although he could stop the expansion with his abilities, he couldn’t gather all the dispersed gas.

Ssssss.

The sound of the gas corroding his clothes made his skin crawl. Stopping it was a relief, but if it continued like this, Wei Yanho would have to stay there containing the gas forever.

If the war ended well and the Tang Family of Sichuan came with an antidote, perhaps he could be freed… but was it realistic to expect that?

‘I need another solution.’

The fact that not even the Master of Divine Abilities had an answer suggested that there wasn’t an obvious solution. Then Wei Yanho would have to solve it with his own abilities…

‘Easy to say.’

Wei Yanho sighed, intermingling the sigh with a cough.

Killing a Poison Demon wasn’t a big deal. But this was incomparably more difficult than simply killing one. That the cleanup was harder than the battle itself was a new situation even for someone like him.

‘There’s no use complaining with no one to help me.’

Complaints are only worthwhile when there’s an audience. Complaining alone changes nothing. The best he could do was resolve this quickly and then boast at his leisure.

Imagining himself strutting before the Master of Divine Abilities gave him a little energy.

‘Let’s see…’

After calculating the scope of the gas, Wei Yanho’s eyes gleamed.

‘Will it work?’

The odds were 50-50.

If the plan worked, it would be resolved cleanly. But the slightest mistake could make things catastrophically worse. Was it worth trying?

‘Of course.’

If he didn’t want to stay there until he was old, he had to take a risk. The way to win a bet is simple:

Entrust yourself to the heavens and dive in headfirst!

Wei Yanho waited.

If the Master of Divine Abilities and the other members of the Alliance had any sense, they would be evacuating the citizens of Loeyang at that moment. Surely they wouldn’t stay there like idiots waiting for him to solve everything. If they had brains!

So, he had to buy them some time.

Wei Yanho closed his eyes and concentrated on his suction technique. Containing all that gas wasn’t easy. His prodigious internal energy, worthy of admiration, was being depleted rapidly. He waited and waited, until only a thread of energy remained.

After containing the gas for a good while, Wei Yanho opened his eyes wide.

It was time.

“Well, then…”

He withdrew the hand holding the technique and unsheathed his sword. His White Sword shone resplendently even in the midst of the thick gas.

“Let’s go to the… Aaaaaaaachúuuuuus!”

A monumental sneeze preceded his charge as swift as lightning.

“If it goes wrong, it’s not my fault!”

Of course, until the end he had no backup plan.