Chapter 145

Chapter 145
## Chapter 145: Flying Heaven Fortress (2)

“Despite our enmity, I find myself compelled to offer you my respect.”

Yu So Baek performed a martial salute to Namgung Kyung, a tribute to a fellow warrior whose unyielding spirit had blazed until the final moment. Though he felt a pang of dissatisfaction that they hadn’t dueled while both were at their peak, he also considered the circumstances a stroke of luck.

“We have no use for captives. Put them out of their misery.”

After barking the command to his idling subordinates, Yu So Baek began to walk away. The second he shifted, a piercing whistle sliced through the air. Instinct took over as Yu So Baek wrenched his body to the side. A flying blade hummed past his shoulder, sinking instead into the men who had been closing in on Namgung Kyung and his survivors.

“Gah!”

“Agggh!”

Cries of agony rose in rapid succession. The warriors of the King of Hell Sect were helpless against the projectiles, which curved and dipped through the air with a predatory intelligence. Their formation shattered in heartbeat. Yu So Baek lunged to pull a vulnerable subordinate out of the line of fire, roaring at the woods.

“Who goes there? Reveal yourselves!”

In response to his shout, the foliage to the left parted. Poison Freak Dang Cheon Hwa emerged, a long smoking pipe clenched between his teeth. He led a group of Tang Clan martial artists who had journeyed from the Ha Hu Clan for the sake of Jo Mun. Walking among them was So Su Rin, who had successfully mastered her poison qi.

Though their group was small, Yu So Baek’s body went rigid with tension. The pressure radiating from these newcomers was suffocating. When his gaze collided with Dang Cheon Hwa’s, a heavy sense of impending doom settled over him.

“I asked who you are!”

Ignoring the question, Dang Cheon Hwa simply released a slow, thick cloud of smoke. At that silent cue, the Tang Clan specialists unleashed their arsenal. A rain of hidden weapons—ranging from palm-sized throwing knives to needles so fine they were nearly invisible—descended upon the King of Hell Sect.

The sight of eight masters, excluding Dang Cheon Hwa and So Su Rin, saturating the environment with steel was breathtaking and terrifying.

“Get down!”

“Please, mercy!”

“Retreat! Retreat!”

Chaos erupted. The sect members tried frantically to deflect the incoming metal, but the skill gap was a chasm. The Tang Clan had woven a web of death as inescapable as a heavenly net cast upon the earth. These were no mere foot soldiers; they were high-ranking veterans of the Tang Clan, and their precision was absolute.

“This is impossible!”

Yu So Baek watched in horror as the massacre unfolded. He knocked aside the blades aimed at his own throat with ease, but his men were not so fortunate. After a single volley of the steel storm, only twelve of his subordinates remained on their feet. Nearly forty warriors had been cut down before they could even raise a sword in defense.

The state of the survivors was equally grim. Whether from the impact or the toxins coating the blades, two more men began to shiver violently before collapsing. A third followed them into the dirt moments later.

“You cowardly snakes!”

As the words left Yu So Baek’s mouth, Dang Cheon Hwa blurred toward him. With a single stride, the old man erased the distance between them. Several sect members rushed to intercept the elder. Dang Cheon Hwa evaded their blades with a subtle shift of his shoulders and blew a plume of smoke directly into their faces. Those who breathed it in convulsed and fell, blood pouring from their eyes, ears, and mouths as they expired in seconds.

“Hold your breath! Do not inhale!”

Warning his panicked men, Yu So Baek turned his blade toward Dang Cheon Hwa. The prowess of the man who had defeated Namgung Po—the brother of the legendary Sword Saint Namgung Hu—was formidable enough that even Dang Cheon Hwa had to take him seriously. The elder used his long metal pipe to parry the incoming strike.

While the Tang Clan was synonymous with poison and hidden blades, they were also masters of close-quarters combat. Their Phantom Twelve Swords was a style feared for its chaotic and aggressive nature, and Dang Cheon Hwa was regarded as its greatest practitioner in the clan’s history.

Yu So Baek struggled to keep his focus as the pipe lunged at his vitals with dizzying speed. He found himself at the brink of death several times; even when he risked a wound to land a counter-blow, he only managed to snag the hem of the elder’s sleeve.

His remaining subordinates tried to intervene, but it was a futile effort. Parallel to their expertise in toxins was the Tang Clan’s movement technique, the Cloud-Moon Wanderer’s Step. Utilizing this skill to its peak, Dang Cheon Hwa moved like a specter. His pace seemed leisurely, as if he were taking a moonlit stroll, yet no one could pin him down or land a solid hit.

Each time the elder drifted past an opponent, he released a puff of smoke. Having witnessed the earlier deaths, the warriors held their breath, but the smoke was not so easily defeated. For those lacking immense internal power, the mere touch of the smoke against their skin was enough to induce lethal poisoning.

When Dang Cheon Hwa finally came to a halt, Yu So Baek was the only enemy left standing. He was a mask of blood and wounds, swaying on the verge of total collapse.

*Where did this ancient demon come from?*

The poison he had been fighting to suppress was winning, clouding his vision and stealing the air from his lungs. Realizing the end had come, Yu So Baek let his sword slip from his fingers.

So Su Rin approached Dang Cheon Hwa, who had returned to casually puffing on his pipe.

“My, my. I didn’t realize the King of Hell Sect had become such obedient little pets. I suppose that’s the limit of their ambition.”

Yu So Baek’s eyes widened. He was shocked that So Su Rin had identified them so effortlessly.

“Who… who are you people?”

“Would the name even register? I have a bit of a reputation, but I doubt it carries much weight in a bottom-tier place like the King of Hell Sect.”

Yu So Baek bristled at the insult. It was true that the King of Hell Sect held little sway within the Heavenly Demon Cult and had been little more than a footnote during the unification wars, but his pride stung nonetheless.

“You… how dare you…”

Fury flickered in his fading consciousness, but his body was too far gone to respond. So Su Rin stepped forward and gripped him by the back of the neck.

“When you meet the King of Hell and he asks who killed you, tell him it was the Blood Rakshasa of the Divine Demon Division.”

Without waiting for a response, she snapped his neck. Dang Cheon Hwa watched her toss the corpse aside and shook his head.

“People call me cruel, but you certainly don’t lag behind.”

So Su Rin offered only a smirk.

“I do wonder why we bothered saving a group like that, though,” Dang Cheon Hwa muttered, turning his attention to the survivors who had been fleeing from Yu So Baek. “You’re the children of the Namgung Clan, I take it?”

“We are,” the group replied, nodding with visible relief.

“You’ve endured much.”

After a brief word of comfort, Dang Cheon Hwa stood before Namgung Kyung, who was clinging to the edge of consciousness.

“Look at you. Quite a pathetic sight for the renowned Soaring Heaven Sword.”

A weak smile touched Namgung Kyung’s lips. “It is what it is. It has been a long time, Senior.”

“Keep your breath for healing, not greetings.”

Dang Cheon Hwa retrieved a small jade container. “It isn’t as potent as a Great Reversion Pill or a Supreme Purity Pill, but it will serve to mend your internal damage.”

Namgung Kyung took the medicine without hesitation. “You have my gratitude, Senior. This debt will be repaid.”

“Stop talking and swallow it.”

Dang Cheon Hwa turned his back as Namgung Kyung took the pill and settled into a meditative posture to circulate his qi. As the Namgung retainers moved to form a perimeter, Dang Cheon Hwa waved them off and took up the position of guardian himself, standing beside the wounded master with his arms crossed.

—

“Everyone, take a seat.”

The Blood Light Martial Emperor gestured toward the chairs. Around the table sat the various leaders who had gathered to coordinate the siege of Flying Heaven Fortress.

“I’ve only just arrived, so my grasp of the current situation is incomplete. I’ve seen the reports, but I require a direct briefing.”

Man Sa Gok Chief Dong Chuk stood up immediately. “I will provide the details.”

“Ah, Chief Dong. I see you’ve joined us.”

Though his words sounded welcoming, the Blood Light Martial Emperor’s face remained a mask of indifference. He had never truly respected Dong Chuk; the greeting was purely for show.

“Three days prior, we confirmed that the Namgung Clan successfully entered Flying Heaven Fortress.”

Dong Chuk sat back down after the brief update. The Blood Light Martial Emperor nodded, resting his chin on his hand while his fingers drummed a rhythmic beat against the wood.

“There are currently about four hundred people inside the fortress, with another hundred and fifty on the way. They’ve managed to gather quite a crowd during our short delay.”

“Quantity over quality. Aside from the fortress guards and the Namgung Clan, the rest are just rabble from insignificant sects. They aren’t a serious threat.”

“The same could be said for our side.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Nothing. I simply mean we cannot afford to be overconfident.”

Jang Gon, representing the Military Affairs Division, looked toward Dong Chuk. “The Chief is correct, but our real concern should be the incoming support from the Ha Hu Clan.”

“The Ha Hu Clan?”

“Precisely. Our Shadow Agents monitoring them report that although they started late, they are moving with incredible haste. They are expected to reach Flying Heaven Fortress in three to four days.”

“That puts them there at the same time we arrive. What is their strength?”

“Approximately fifty warriors.”

“A strange number.”

“It suggests an elite strike force. The Ha Hu Clan is on par with the Five Great Clans; we would be foolish to dismiss them.”

“I see.”

The Blood Light Martial Emperor sank into thought for a moment before looking to his left. “Wind Demon Division Leader.”

“Present.”

“I am assigning the Ha Hu Clan to your division. Can you handle them?”

“Consider it done.”

Ju Seung Geon’s eyes burned with a dark light as he bowed. He was the brother of Ju Pung Gi, the previous leader who had perished during the mission to recover the Heavenly Demon Ring. His hatred for the Ha Hu Clan was personal and profound, as he blamed them entirely for his brother’s demise.

“The rest of you will also take action.”

The Blood Light Martial Emperor turned his gaze toward the Protectors he had brought along.

“Understood,” Sword Demon Dragon replied softly.

Among the powerhouse-heavy Protector Hall, Sword Demon Dragon was easily in the top five. In this room, no one but the Blood Light Martial Emperor himself could claim to be his equal.

“I won’t leave the burden entirely on the Wind Demon Division; they may require backup…”

As the Emperor trailed off, several faction leaders jumped at the chance to volunteer. They preferred the glory of intercepting the Ha Hu Clan over the messy, grinding siege of the fortress. After some discussion, it was decided that the Ghost Path Hall would assist the Wind Demon Division.

“That concludes our business for today. We have wasted enough time. Starting tomorrow, we move with total speed. Keep that in mind.”

The Blood Light Martial Emperor stood up and pulled a large, shimmering bead from his robe. “One final check.”

The leaders, who had begun to rise, paused awkwardly to look at the object.

“You may recognize this. It is a Poison-Avoiding Pearl.”

The Blood Light Martial Emperor scanned the room, a cold, predatory smile spreading across his face.