Chapter 60: Faith in Life, Doubt in Death (2)

Song Deok managed to block one of the swords with ease, but four others continued to attack him.

Each sword carried inner power, and even Song Deok couldn’t avoid feeling shaken inside after clashing with their energy.

Though he bore the title of the Giant Power Conqueror, there was no way he could continuously withstand the combined assault of the Myungsooks from the Seomun Clan.

“You damn rat bastards!”

Fury surged in Song Deok’s voice as he roared out profanities.

Meanwhile, another twenty or so of Song Deok’s subordinates were slain as they tried to break through the Jaegal Clan’s formation.

Yong Hwarin watched the scene with admiration.

‘As expected of warriors from a prestigious clan! The way they instantly understood and acted on my words shows just how much they’ve trained. I wonder… would the warriors from my own clan be able to move like that in a situation like this?’

He shook his head faintly. It seemed impossible. More than anything, they lacked the comprehension needed to fully grasp martial techniques.

A sigh escaped his lips. He couldn’t help but think how great it would be to have such people serving under him.

*

“Our children are dying in droves. It seems we must step in ourselves.”

The top experts of the Law Enforcement Council, who had avoided dirtying their hands until now, realized they had no choice but to act if they wanted to break the formation.

“You useless idiots! You can’t even break through a formation like this! That’s why none of you can surpass the Nine Dragons Demon-Slaying Unit!”

The Nine Dragons Demon-Slaying Unit was the strongest combat force within the Blood Demon Castle.

With angry scolding, the Law Enforcement Council experts approached the formation.

Yong Hwarin swallowed hard as the group of serious-looking middle-aged men drew near. Without a word, they swung the weapons in their hands toward the formation.

“Urgh!”

All around, one or two were thrown back, crashing to the ground. Some died, others suffered internal injuries and coughed up blood.

Each time they attacked, one or two were repelled. It was time to make a decision.

“Everyone, fall back. Abandon the outer formation.”

At Yong Hwarin’s command, the warriors of the various clans quickly gathered the fallen and retreated to the area where the Soul-Severing Death Formation had been set up.

Everyone grabbed a bamboo spear.

With the appearance of the Law Enforcement Council experts, the Jaegal Clan’s formation was broken. Zhao Qiansheng laughed confidently.

“Wahaha! The formation is destroyed—slaughter them all!”

Furious over their fallen comrades, the warriors of the Blood Dragon Unit charged in unison.

“Throw them!”

At Yong Hwarin’s shout, over seventy martial artists from the various clans hurled their bamboo spears simultaneously.

Thinking the spears were aimed at them, the Blood Dragon Unit warriors tensed, preparing to cut them down.

But the spears simply landed in front of them.

“What the hell is this trick?!”

Song Deok shouted as he leapt high into the air.

“Kill them all!”

The Blood Dragon Unit warriors charged, leaping over the spears.

But there was something they didn’t know. The Soul-Severing Death Formation only activated once a line was formed with thrown bamboo spears.

Even as they kept charging forward, the warriors weren’t getting any closer to the enemy. Realizing something was wrong, they began shouting.

“It’s a formation!”

“It’s a formation trap!”

But Song Deok roared at them,

“Keep charging! If there’s no resistance, the formation will end!”

Had he been a true commander, he would have ordered his troops to stop or retreat at this point.

But Song Deok was a warrior who valued courage above all else—one who believed that charging forward no matter the situation was the essence of battle.

He was a war general, not a strategist, which made him especially vulnerable to such formations.

“They’ve nearly entered the formation.”

A Myung­sook from the Jaegal Clan spoke beside Yong Hwarin.

But Yong Hwarin still felt regret.

The Blood Dragon Unit members had entered the formation, but not a single one of the Law Enforcement Council experts, who had destroyed the Jaegal Clan’s formation, had stepped into it.

“Shouldn’t we activate the formation now?”

Yong Hwarin shook his head.

“We must draw those ones in too.”

But perhaps sensing something was wrong, the Law Enforcement Council experts didn’t budge an inch.

If they waited any longer, the Blood Dragon Unit’s rampage could end up destroying the Soul-Severing Death Formation. With no choice, Yong Hwarin gave the order.

“Throw the jade bottles!”

From behind, the warriors of the Pang Clan hurled the jade bottles, then immediately cracked them open.

The poison within scattered into the air.

“Formation step!”

As previously instructed, the Pang Clan’s warriors simultaneously performed the formation step.

Boom!

The bamboo trees in the forest shivered violently.

The step altered the air currents.

As the Five Toxin Venom spread into the air, a poisonous mist began to form.

The poison continued to diffuse throughout the air.

“Formation step!”

Once again, at Yong Hwarin’s command, the Pang Clan warriors performed the formation step.

The ground shook again.

The force was strong enough to make one’s eardrums ring. True to their reputation, the Pang Clan’s warriors were unmatched in power and inner energy.

A major strength of the Soul-Severing Death Formation was that it didn’t require top experts to deploy.

As long as the practitioners had enough inner strength to spread the poisonous mist using the formation step, that was sufficient.

But since the Pang Clan warriors had performed it, the effect was magnified. With the air currents now flowing rapidly forward, the poison mist surged across the Blood Dragon Unit in an instant.

And three breaths later, the results began to show.

“Urgh!”

“Aaagh!”

“Ahhh!”

Watching his subordinates suddenly clutch their throats and collapse, Song Deok screamed in shock.

“It’s poison! Hold your breath and fall back!”

The subordinates tried to retreat with all their might, but found themselves running in place.

The Soul-Severing Death Formation was a maze.

No matter how hard they ran, all they did was circle endlessly.

Running only made their breathing heavier, causing them to inhale more of the poison and collapse.

Watching the feared Blood Dragon Unit collapse in an instant filled the people with a mix of exhilaration and a fear just as strong.

A fear of the Five Toxin Venom of the Seomun Clan.

The Fear of the Soul-Severing Death Formation.

And finally, a fear even greater than all of that — a fear that cut through everything — brushed through their hearts: fear of Yong Hwarin.

In truth, it was practically Yong Hwarin alone who had annihilated the Blood Dragon Unit.

Everyone else had simply followed his commands.

As not a single member of the Blood Dragon Unit remained standing, the warriors from the various clans burst into cheers.

The fear passed in an instant, and the joy erupted just as quickly.

“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”

Gripping their weapons tighter, filled with pride over destroying nearly two hundred of the Blood Dragon Unit, the warriors shouted their slogan.

“Heavenly Martial World! Martial Clans!”

The chant “Heavenly Martial World! Martial Clans!” was a common slogan shared among all noble clans.

‘Heavenly Martial World! Martial Clans! Shangguan Clan!’

They would simply add their own clan name at the end.

As each clan’s warriors shouted their slogans, even the Two Wook Sword Demons joined in from behind.

“Heavenly Martial World! Martial Clans! Heavenly Central Dragon Sect!”

That was the only sound Yong Hwarin heard.

He offered a smile to the Two Wook Sword Demons.

But the cheers didn’t last even a moment.

Suddenly, an explosive force of internal energy crashed into them like lightning.

Boom!

Swept up in the force, five warriors died on the spot. It was Zhao Qiansheng, the Chief Law Enforcer, who couldn’t contain his rage and had unleashed his secret technique, the Radiant Sun Palm.

“You damn rats, acting out of line!”

Zhao Qiansheng’s fury surged as he looked at Song Deok, who was vomiting blood beside him.

In some ways, it had been his own fault — it was his failure that had allowed them to set up the formation. But he could not admit his mistake.

The mixture of those turbulent emotions exploded as unrestrained anger.

Once again, the warriors of each clan were frozen before Zhao Qiansheng’s overwhelming martial prowess.

“Young Master Yong, can’t we deal with them using poison again?”

A Myungsook of the Jaegal Clan approached and spoke.

Looking closely, it was a familiar face. He hadn’t recognized him in the confusion, but it was Jaegal Jinmu, who had been with Jaegal Yohye when she was ambushed.

“They are immune to poison.”

From what Yong Hwarin could tell, every one of those men had surpassed the absolute realm.

“Then what should we do?”

“Our only hope is that the Shangguan Clan sends reinforcements.”

“How could they possibly know what’s happening here and send aid? I’m sure these bastards blocked off any communication.”

Jaegal Jinmu’s words were met with a firm reply from Yong Hwarin.

“I believe that Lady Jaegal must have already realized that we’ve fallen into a trap and is taking action. The reason I’ve used formations to stall them wasn’t to defeat them, but to buy time until help arrives.”

At that moment, a thunderous explosion rang out.

Boom!

Zhao Qiansheng demonstrated his fearsome might, killing three men with a single blast of energy.

“If they don’t come, then we’ll all die here today. But I trust Lady Jaegal’s mind more than anyone. If it’s her, she will surely uncover this trap.”

Even though there were many Myungsooks from the noble clans present, they were, at best, at the peak of the first-rate level. They stood no chance against the Law Enforcement Council’s elite warriors from the Blood Demon Castle.

Only if the elders of each clan stepped in would it become a fair fight.

Jaegal Jinmu gave a hollow laugh as he looked at Yong Hwarin, who believed in Jaegal Yohye more than he himself did.

“Hahaha… That’s right! If it’s Yohye, she’ll know. Absolutely.”

Yong Hwarin kept his eyes forward, watching the Law Enforcement Council elites approach.

However, everyone else wasn’t looking at them. They were looking at Yong Hwarin — eyes filled with the expectation of a command.

Yong Hwarin spoke in a calm voice.

“If we can hold out for just fifteen minutes, we’ll survive. The Shangguan Clan will send reinforcements.”

“How can we believe that?”

Someone asked, and Yong Hwarin responded plainly.

“Trust me.”

For some reason, everyone found themselves believing in his words.

He wasn’t the heir of a famous clan, nor was he the brilliant young master of the Jaegal Clan — and yet, his words inspired confidence.

Perhaps it was because they had followed his lead this far and survived.

And the way he stood there, unwavering in this situation, made it hard to believe he was barely past the age of twenty.

Seomun Seoseol and Pang Cheollyeon stared at Yong Hwarin quietly.

They had never once thought a man looked “cool.” Because they were so outstanding themselves, they usually saw boys their age as beneath them.

Yet both of them thought the same thing at that moment.

‘He’s so cool.’

Even in a situation where they might die at any moment, it seemed women still had the desire to look good before someone they were drawn to.

Pang Cheollyeon straightened her clothes and wiped the blood off the back of her hand with her saliva, while Seomun Seoseol smoothed down her hair, disheveled from battle.

“From this point on, each clan’s warriors must endure using the sword formations your clans pride themselves on. That’s the only way to survive. Do not let it devolve into a chaotic melee. Just hold on for half a ke.”

The warriors of each clan formed sword formations to meet the approaching Law Enforcement Council elites.

Yong Hwarin formed a circular formation with the Two Wook Sword Demons, Mo Biyoung, and Jong Seok at its center.

“Hyemae, come here.”

As Jong Munhye stepped close to him, Pang Cheollyeon and Seomun Seoseol, who had been staring down the enemy, instinctively turned their eyes toward Yong Hwarin.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep