Chapter 185. Close Combat

By the time the silence had become familiar, Tang So-hwa’s gaze lifted.

The stone wall reflected in the full moon came into view.

Snow must have fallen heavily; patches of ice covered the surface.

And yet, something felt off.

There was nothing unusual to the eye—only nature itself—but a turbulent energy could be sensed.

The moment So-hwa halted, Haerak stopped as well. He, too, seemed to have sensed something.

Naturally, their eyes turned forward—in the direction of the passage.

A faint presence rapidly drew closer, at incredible speed.

Boom!

A monstrous figure landed before them, slowly straightening its body.

It was like watching a red giant tree sprout from the snowy field.

So-hwa recognized him.

The Red Blood Hall Lord—the one she had encountered while fleeing from Jin Yin Mountain.

“So you came all the way to the North Sea, huh? Foolish thing.”

The Red Blood Hall Lord grinned, his face twisted like that of a demon.

“Do you even know whose land this is?”

A clicking tongue cut through his words.

“Tsk, tsk. Still haven’t fixed that habit of bullying the weak first, have you?”

A violet back blocked So-hwa’s view.

“Pyo Wol, didn’t I tell you? With that face looking like a chewed-up root, if you keep living so vilely, you’ll never have children in this life.”

“So, you’re here too. Since the Blood Demon has his eye on you, I might as well take both of you in.”

“What’s this? I don’t recall having your head chopped off, so why’ve you lost your memory? How do you plan to take me?”

Haerak frowned as if recalling something.

“Now that I think about it, your speech’s gotten short, hasn’t it? Didn’t we agree you’d show me respect?”

“You fool, it seems you still don’t understand your situation.”

The Red Blood Hall Lord kept smiling faintly. He didn’t rise to the Main Blood Hall Lord’s provocation.

An ordinary man would’ve snapped by now and grabbed the other by the collar, yet the Red Blood Hall Lord looked almost pleased.

Haerak raised an eyebrow, as if something had occurred to him.

“Looks like you picked up something strange to eat on your way here. Haven’t you heard about the Blue Blood Hall Lord? The old geezer gave him a pill; he went wild and lost his eyeballs.”

“Shut your mouth!”

The Red Blood Hall Lord suddenly roared.

Haerak tilted his lips into a crooked smile and spoke slowly.

“So the ‘old geezer’ did feed you something.”

He deliberately enunciated the words old geezer with care.

“You filthy bastard!”

Eyes rolling back, the Red Blood Hall Lord lunged at Haerak.

The moment he crossed into the Main Blood Hall Lord’s territory, Tang So-hwa felt a gust of wind pushing her away.

“Stay back.”

So-hwa leapt backward, landing atop a tree. At the same moment, flames surged around the Main Blood Hall Lord.

The snowfield melted, revealing the blackened ground beneath. The heat was so fierce it was painful even to watch.

Ssshhh.

Flesh melted as it touched the flames. Charred skin shriveled, blood and pus mixing as they oozed out.

Even so, the Red Blood Hall Lord moved swiftly, his strikes precise.

Boom!

His fist grazed Haerak’s face. It missed by a hair’s breadth—but had it landed clean, it would’ve blown a hole straight through his head.

Haerak gave a sound of admiration.

“So the old geezer really gave you something good, huh?”

“I told you to watch your mouth!”

But with that slight provocation, his composure faltered.

“Tsk. What you need is medicine to calm that foul temper, but it looks like the old geezer failed as a physician. You can’t just oil the surface—you have to treat what’s inside.”

“I’ll tear that mouth of yours wide open.”

Haerak lifted one corner of his mouth with a fingertip and replied,

“Make it pretty, will you? Though judging by your face, I don’t expect much in the way of aesthetics.”

“Y-you!”

Tang So-hwa’s gaze wavered slightly.

The two of them were trading childish taunts like local street ruffians.

More precisely, Haerak provoked the Red Blood Hall Lord with words sharp enough to turn a man’s insides, and the latter wasted his energy, blazing with fury.

In close combat, wasted strikes could be fatal—there was no room to reset one’s stance. A single twist of the body could open a fatal gap for the opponent’s attack.

Since such fights often ended with a single clean hit, creating that opening was everything. Or so she’d heard—from none other than the Black Sky Demon, who had probably beaten more martial artists than anyone in the Tang Clan.

But the Red Blood Hall Lord was easily agitated and spent too much strength on what should’ve been opportunities.

“Cheong-il used to push his internal energy harder. He even turned wood into stone and threw it. Scared the hell out of me.”

Haerak smoothly evaded the Red Blood Hall Lord’s energy-drenched attacks, slowly draining his power.

“Ah, the old geezer must’ve played favorites between you and Cheong-il. Gave him something better, huh? Probably boasted about it, too, judging by how overconfident you look.”

“Raaagh!”

Unable to contain his rage, the Red Blood Hall Lord roared.

So-hwa felt a flicker of pity for him.

It was a relief that Haerak was on her side—he had an uncanny talent for getting under people’s skin.

The wasted attacks weren’t even the Red Blood Hall Lord’s fault at this point.

So-hwa frowned as she watched the fight.

A metallic tang—blood—was spreading through the air like a sea breeze.

She climbed a little higher. Her eyes widened, body stiffening.

The entire area where the passage was located had turned pitch black.

It looked as though a swarm of ants had infested the coniferous forest—a revolting sight.

Even worse, those things were moving toward them.

Pale-faced, So-hwa shouted,

“The Red Blood Hall members are coming this way!”

“I know.”

At that, the Red Blood Hall Lord let out a low chuckle.

Haerak frowned.

“What’s so funny? Are you proud of having such an ugly grin?”

The Red Blood Hall Lord scowled.

“…I’ll carve that filthy mouth of yours out and hang it on my hall’s signboard.”

“Do you like me that much? Enough to keep my mouth close to you? Ugh, disgusting. Keep those thoughts to yourself, will you?”

“You damn—… Hoo.”

Almost pulled into the verbal game again, the Red Blood Hall Lord took a deep breath and stepped back from Haerak.

Haerak looked disappointed but straightened his stance, asking,

“So, are those things your subordinates? Their internal energy feels… different.”

The Red Blood Hall Lord’s lips stretched all the way to his cheeks.

“The Blood Demon has blessed the Red Blood Hall.”

“The air reeks of rotten blood. What, did you all feast on the old geezer’s corpse together?”

Instead of snapping, the Red Blood Hall Lord smiled with genuine delight.

“Hah! Our loyal hound still has a sharp nose. The Blood Demon personally raised our strength—shed his own blood and taught us the Blood Art himself.”

Haerak let out a dry, incredulous laugh.

“So now you lot have decided to become hosts?”

“We cannot be called hosts. Unlike unbelievers like you, our hearts belong solely to the Blood Demon. We are more faithful than any believer; blood is not a shackle but power.”

Haerak said nothing.

But So-hwa felt Haerak’s heat wobble. He seemed tense.

The idea that the Blood Demon had fed them blood and taught them something felt dangerous.

The Red Blood Hall Lord chuckled.

“You can’t stop any of it, hound.”

His gaze turned to So-hwa, perched in the tree.

“The sin of stealing the Blood Demon’s possessions won’t be paid for even by death.”

“That perverted old geezer is the one who made it so I couldn’t die even if I wanted to, so what difference would it make now?”

Haerak spoke as if it didn’t matter, but the sky dimmed. Light flickered—Haerak, it seemed, had taken the Red Blood Hall Lord’s provocation this time.

So-hwa couldn’t tell whether the Red Blood Hall Lord’s words were mere taunts or a real threat.

Then Haerak’s voice came, in mental transmission.

“[Go to the Central Plains, immediately.]”

So-hwa fell silent at the telepathic order.

“[This is not the time to be stubborn. Just go for now. You can come back after the North Sea is dealt with. I’ll seal the eastern passage, so you go to the Central Plains.]”

So-hwa wanted to comply.

The disgusting smell of blood and the intense heat clinging to her skin made her feel uncomfortable. Her body reacted strongly to the danger.

She had a bad feeling.

She could see the Red Blood Hall members closing in.

This was not a fight she should join—she couldn’t even send a mental transmission.

So she answered aloud, voice raised.

“There’s no way to go back.”

“[Why not? You said you made a passage. Doyu told me everything. No need to hide anything from me, just go.]”

She wasn’t trying to lie.

“That passage isn’t with me.”

Darkness swooped over the area in an instant.

Haerak, forgetting not to break eye contact with the enemy, turned his gaze to So-hwa.

She shook her head.

“I gave it to the Four Directions Hall.”

Haerak smoothed his long hair and fixed his stare on the Red Blood Hall Lord again.

“Unbelievable.”

“……”

“That wasn’t directed at you. I was just saying how the situation looks.”

So-hwa understood what he meant and said nothing.

Haerak produced a short blade—one she seemed to recognize—and tucked it into his up-twisted hair to secure it.

“Don’t go anywhere. Stay right there.”

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(T/N): Just got back from my holiday break. I know my greetings are a bit late, but still—Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, guys! Let’s go, FIGHTING 2026!!!

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