Chapter 187. Provocation

The faces that had been laughing and jeering turned pale.

The Main Blood Hall Lord, having regained his breath, straightened his posture. His eyes were now fixed on the man before him.

Then Haerak’s gaze shifted back to So-hwa. He asked in a sour tone,

“Out of everyone, you just had to pick the strongest one, didn’t you? You’re barely a match for that guy way in the back, and yet you keep overestimating yourself. Why’s that?”

So-hwa’s eyes lifted slightly.

“…I didn’t pick him. He’s the one who came running out on his own.”

Haerak turned his attention to the Blood Sect member.

“Well, since he’s Pyo Wol’s subordinate, that makes sense, but really, does the Red Blood Hall have no sense of face? The strongest guy jumping in to bully the weakest one, puffing himself up for show. You don’t have to look cool, but you don’t have to be as filthy as your Hall Lord either, do you?”

The Blood Sect member’s face went gray as he stammered, then asked,

“…Where is the Hall Lord?”

“He’s coming. I tore his legs off, so it might take a bit, but once he’s able to run again, I’m sure he’ll show up.”

Haerak muttered the cruel words as if commenting on the weather, his eyes glinting.

“Still, credit to you, you worry about your superior first.”

So-hwa glanced around.

The Red Blood Hall members couldn’t bring themselves to attack and instead kept their distance.

So-hwa tried to gauge the Main Blood Hall Lord’s reputation within the Blood Sect.

‘Just from how he talks, he’s clearly insane. No way he’s ever fought with restraint…’

She thought it might actually be a relief that Haerak’s reputation leaned toward cruelty.

Turning back, she saw the silver peaks of the snow mountains filling her view.

To leave the Ice Palace, they’d have to cross those mountains.

From what Haerak had said, it seemed the Red Blood Hall Lord was somewhere in that forest, recovering his strength.

‘Is the passage outside the Ice Palace still sealed?’

It wasn’t that she distrusted the others, but she couldn’t be sure what might’ve changed.

Either way, all the passages inside the Ice Palace were now destroyed.

The route back to the Central Plains had been entrusted to Namgung Jin, so she needed to hurry to the Han Clan’s territory.

‘…They said there’s another passage outside the island. I hope they’re guarding it well.’

There were still members of the North Sea Ice Palace bloodline outside the island. So-hwa felt uneasy about escaping alone to the Central Plains, especially if the Blood Demon managed to cross over.

Then, something came to mind. She turned toward the cliff and stared.

Patches of white ice clung to the black cliffside, partially hiding a carved character.

It was the character for the East.

The Fourth Seat had told her before leaving the clinic: ‘I’ll have a boat ready in the northeast. If anything happens, hang a red cloth on the eastern cliff.’

So-hwa quickly gauged by sight where she might step along the cliff face.

“If I circle up along the cliff, maybe I can get out of the Ice Palace faster?”

Haerak glanced at her, and when he saw her gaze fixed on the cliff, he looked alarmed.

“Have you even seen what this island looks like? How do you plan to run across something that narrow?”

He caught himself, realizing his voice had risen, and exhaled deeply. Then, in a calmer tone, he spoke with genuine seriousness.

“Please. Just stay put.”

Hearing that, So-hwa couldn’t say more.

She had no choice but to trust Haerak.

It looked like an opportunity, and she wavered for a moment—but she was relying on his strength, so she followed his advice.

She truly meant to stay still.

Rumble.

A fierce surge of energy made So-hwa turn her eyes toward the snow mountain.

Haerak clicked his tongue and began walking in that direction.

“Quick arrival.”

Something shot through the air like a fire arrow, tearing the silence.

Kwawangg.

You could see the conifer trees uprooted and hurled skyward, as if a great tree had been swept up by a current.

When he first revealed himself, the Red Blood Hall Lord hadn’t made such an uproar.

So-hwa blinked and looked at Haerak with a dazed expression.

“…What did you do to rile him up like that?”

“Nothing much.”

Haerak replied casually and waited for the Red Blood Hall Lord to show himself.

True to the speed of his movement, the Red Blood Hall Lord reappeared almost instantly.

So-hwa couldn’t help but look away at the sight.

The Red Blood Hall Lord was running toward them in something close to nudity—or it would have been better if he were actually naked. Torn rags were wrapped around his lower body like the diaper of an infant.

Covering only the essential parts with his threatening bulk, he ran on—a grotesque spectacle.

As soon as he arrived, he grabbed the bulkiest subordinate and stripped him of his robe. The subordinate fumbled to take off his clothes faster and hand them to his lord.

Only when the Red Blood Hall Lord draped the robe over his shoulders did he seem to calm, and he advanced with steps full of wrath.

Thud. Thud.

The ground shook with every step.

So-hwa watched and muttered to herself.

“…Climbing the cliff and running away would probably have been better.”

Haerak didn’t answer; he just clicked his tongue.

“After all the trouble I went to dress him up prettily. I made him look thirty years younger than his age, yet he has absolutely no sense of aesthetics.”

He clicked his tongue as if he meant it.

So-hwa wanted to clamp a hand over his mouth and stop him.

Heat crept into the silence.

Though the Red Blood Hall Lord was their enemy, she could understand wanting to rip Haerak and her to pieces for a moment.

Without meaning to, So-hwa turned her gaze to the cliff. The quick-witted Main Blood Hall Lord warned her in a low voice.

“I told you not to do anything stupid.”

So-hwa lowered her eyes again but couldn’t hide her thoughts.

“…I don’t know if trusting you is the wise thing to do.”

Haerak was silent for a moment. Then, with a small laugh as if compromising, he said,

“Don’t climb too high. Stay somewhere reasonable. You’re making me nervous.”

Even he seemed to think he’d been harsh.

A heat radiated from Haerak. Despite the easy tone, he too recognized the Red Blood Hall Lord wasn’t in his right mind.

So-hwa withdrew her hand from her sleeve.

Three flying daggers gripped between her fingers flew toward the cliff.

Clack. Thud. Clack.

She stepped on the blades lodged in the rock and sprang.

Perched on the jutting stone, she looked down—and screams rose from below.

“AAAAGH!”

A Blood Sect member trying to climb the cliff after her was slammed into the rock by the heat.

CRUNCH. KWAANG. THUD.

There was the sound of clothes tearing and bones breaking as he was ground against the rough rock.

The Blood Sect member tried to fight back, but the spear aimed at Haerak bent like clay.

Molten metal drove into the Blood Sect member’s flesh.

“GRAAAH!”

Haerak didn’t spend long on that one man. He released his grip in an instant and fended off another.

It was better that the Main Blood Hall Lord didn’t withdraw his hand.

The metal cooled the instant the heat receded and solidified in place, looking as if great needles had been thrust into them.

In an instant, dozens of Blood Sect members were rendered helpless, their hands bound. They were bleeding profusely but dared not pull out the pieces of iron.

Despite Min Haerak’s neutralizing of his members, the Red Blood Hall Lord stood motionless.

If anything, he had stifled his rage and seemed to have calmed himself.

Kkirik.

He steadied himself by clashing the spears embedded in his hands.

The Red Blood Hall Lord clashed the spears embedded in both of his hands, adopting a stance.

“Listen, Red Blood Hall.”

Yet, instead of provoking Haerak, he called to his men.

He kept his eyes on Haerak as he ordered,

“I will handle the hound, and you lot will capture that woman. I don’t care if you cut off her limbs. She has a body that won’t die easily, so you don’t need to fear wounding her. Whether you throw a harpoon or hang her by the neck, bind her by any means necessary.”

“First, you have to assume you can hold me back.”

Haerak interjected, but the Red Blood Hall Lord ignored him and continued issuing orders.

“You lot won’t die easily either. If you think you’re going to die, maintain your cultivation as trained. Even if you haven’t fully mastered it—even if you can’t stabilize it—it’s fine. If you survive and report to the Blood Demon that you lost the woman, it’s better to sacrifice your body to capture her than to return empty-handed.”

He added, looking at Haerak’s cold face,

“This isn’t an order. Consider it advice so you lacking fools can avoid some suffering—push past the fear in front of you and preserve your dignity.”

He couldn’t speak further.

The reason was that the Main Blood Hall Lord—who had not left his territory—had appeared right before him.

Whaak.

The Red Blood Hall Lord flinched as the heat spreading before him rose. He had been burned before and refused to suffer it twice.

Haerak reached for him again, but then pulled back sharply.

“Damn.”

Haerak rushed forward to shut the Red Blood Hall Lord’s mouth, but the members had already been swept up by their leader’s words.

Haerak hurriedly changed direction to seize them.

The moment he threw his hand, imbued with internal energy, toward the cliff, his upper body lurched forward.

Boom.

The Red Blood Hall Lord seemed to have expected Haerak to pull himself toward the cliff—he came up right behind him and grabbed Haerak’s leg.

A sharp spear slashed Haerak’s knee. Swearing under his breath, Haerak twisted and kicked the Red Blood Hall Lord in the jaw.

Thud.

Haerak was caught in close quarters.

Even though his focus was on the cliff, his body was in front of the Red Blood Hall Lord, so he couldn’t move as freely as he wanted.

Haerak wanted to finish this quickly and clear out those vermin, but it looked like it would take time. It might not even be half a gak (7.5 minutes), but for someone like Tang So-hwa, half a gak was enough time to lose limbs.

Haerak, locked in a duel with the Red Blood Hall Lord, shouted,

“Go up the cliff! Run now!”

It wasn’t easy to tell her to trust him, but there was no time to hesitate.

Foolishly, Tang So-hwa still didn’t move—she seemed to be waiting for him.

Only after he yelled did her internal energy withdraw. She started moving diagonally up the cliff toward the northeast.

Seeing her heading for his intended destination, Haerak trusted Tang So-hwa and turned his attention back to the Red Blood Hall Lord.

He planned to cut the creature’s throat quickly and then pursue the others.

Boom. Crash.

Haerak, mid-combat, could not hide his irritation.

The Red Blood Hall Lord seemed intent on running down time; instead of attacking, he focused on maintaining his internal energy. Even when his arm was cut and his shoulder torn, he recovered immediately.

His regeneration was on another level.

It felt like cutting through water.

The Blood Demon’s blood had swept through him, and the Blood Art he’d learned seemed to be maximized.

“This is tedious. What exactly do I have to do to rip that body apart before it finally ends?”

“I’m curious too. To what extent can the power I received from the Blood Demon influence me?”

He thrust his hand toward Haerak’s neck.

Shraaak.

A lock of hair scattered in the air; the flying dagger slipped from Haerak’s hair and fell to the ground.

“You’re becoming quite a nuisance, aren’t you?”

Haerak’s voice was chilly as he grabbed the arm that had sunk into his shoulder.

Crack.

Bones broke with a sound, yet the Red Blood Hall Lord’s face did not change.

Realizing Haerak would try to target his blood, the Red Blood Hall Lord covered Haerak’s hand with his other hand.

Haerak’s face contorted.

For both Red and Blue Blood Hall Lords, infusing blood with heat was a technique the Main Blood Hall Lord loathed—yet this man endured it to hold Haerak.

“Are you truly planning to die this time?”

“Kill me. It doesn’t matter if I die. Anything is fine if it can hold you here.”

The Red Blood Hall Lord replied, spitting the words like blood. Yet, his expression was bright—almost exhilarated.

The Red Blood Hall Lord laughed, a giddy sound.

“This time, the Blood Demon will come in person. When he sees this mess, the Blood Demon will finally realize he cannot tame you and give up.”

He chuckled delightedly.

“That woman seems to be quite important to you. How fortunate. Since you’re the one who stole her away, the Blood Demon is furious—he won’t wait any longer to take your life.”

The Red Blood Hall Lord’s face was rapidly withering. Even with the scorching heat burning his body, he smiled as if he felt relieved.

“Ghk… finally, if I could—ugh—see that rabid hound that threatens him put down, I would be satisfied.”

Kung!

The sound of a fierce, tearing impact was heard.

It was the sound of ice shattering. For some reason, Haerak felt his heart drop.

He hurriedly shoved the charred Red Blood Hall Lord aside and turned his body.

The man might revive, but Haerak had no time to check.

As he pivoted toward the cliff, his eyes darted to Tang So-hwa—and he flinched. Something was fluttering atop the cliff.

The purple robe was hooked onto a jagged rock on the cliff face, fluttering in the wind.

“What a fool…”

A wrinkle appeared on Haerak’s brow as he used his internal technique. The long robe was stained with blood.

But Tang So-hwa was nowhere to be seen.

The Red Blood Sect members were gone as well.

Even if she had climbed the cliff, there was no way she could have escaped the palace grounds.

“Tang So-hwa!”

Haerak shouted with a voice charged with internal energy—yet no answer came back.

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(T/N): Changed Internal Cultivation Method to Internal Technique

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