Chapter 233
Chapter 233. Second Day of the Siege
Smoke churned violently from the moat surrounding the Tang Clan estate. Because of the poisonous miasma that poured out without ceasing, the Demonkin could not approach.
However, not all of them were vulnerable to the Tang Clan's poison.
A few Demonkin leapt straight over the moat and entered within the Tang Clan's outer wall. Still, none of them managed to set foot on the ground alive.
The formations installed along the outer wall reacted to the intruders who vaulted over it, firing dozens of concealed weapons. When the Demonkin, riddled like honeycombs, fell into the open yard inside the wall, Tang Clan members swiftly cleared away the corpses.
The Tang Clan estate's defensive system was operating flawlessly.
There was more than enough poisonous miasma to pour into the moat, and plenty of concealed weapons to replenish the formations, so they could easily hold out for four more days at this rate.
Yet a problem arose after just two days.
"Focus!"
At the Medical Hall Lord's sharp shout, Tang Hae-han quickly pulled his hand away. The flesh of the patient he had been pressing to stop the bleeding was dented deeply inward.
The Medical Hall Lord placed a cloth soaked in medicine over it and wiped away the blood. Because he had just excised flesh that had already begun to rot black, the area around the wound was drenched in blood.
"Hrrngh."
A groan escaped the martial artist's mouth. He had been given medicine so he would not feel the pain, but it seemed difficult to endure the agony of having living flesh cut open.
In the meantime, another martial artist entered the Medical Hall.
"Please step aside for a moment."
The urgent voice of the Divine Physician rang out.
"I'm sorry."
Tang Hae-han hurriedly stepped back.
The Divine Physician, who had just finished examining another patient, threaded a needle as thin as a fish bone. Then he drove it straight into the living flesh.
"Ahh!"
The martial artist squeezed his eyes shut. The Divine Physician paid it no mind, stitching the gaping wound at an astonishing speed. It was surprising that an old man could have such strength; he pulled the torn flesh tight and forced it to adhere perfectly.
"Wrap the wound quickly. Bind it tightly so the flesh doesn't split open."
After giving that order to the young physician following him, the Divine Physician moved on to check another patient.
Those who had already had their flesh forcibly cut away numbered more than ten. Considering that the first patient had arrived only an hour ago, this was by no means a small number.
Moreover, all of them were critical cases—so severe that even the Medical Hall Lord had to intervene personally.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
When a Medical Hall physician hesitated in Tang Hae-han's way, the Medical Hall Lord roared angrily.
"You're in the way, so just go back to the Nine Turns Pavilion!"
Instead of replying that he would get a grip, Tang Hae-han left the Medical Hall. No one stopped him. There was no room to spare for that.
Tang Hae-han had come to the Medical Hall to obtain medicinal ingredients to make antidotes, but he did not return to the Nine Turns Pavilion. With a look of resolve, he ran off somewhere.
They had definitely released poison into the moat.
It was a poisonous miasma that made it impossible for ordinary people to approach within a zhang (3 meters). In fact, it had helped them defend the estate for two full days.
'Then why are we suddenly taking casualties on our side?'
Something was wrong.
Tang Hae-han ran toward the outer wall that encircled the Tang Clan estate like an estate wall.
Reaching the dark open ground before the towering outer wall, Tang Hae-han came to a halt.
This was where the Black Tiger Unit, responsible for the main gat,e should have been stationed.
However, when he opened the middle gate, what greeted him was endless darkness.
At that moment—
Kiiiiiik.
A heavy sound of a door opening came from ahead.
Relying on moonlight for visibility, it was difficult to clearly grasp the scene beyond the opened gate. Soon, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he spotted a bridge over the moat.
Someone was sprinting rapidly across that bridge.
Just as Tang Hae-han reflexively moved to throw the Ox-Hair Needles hidden in his sleeve—
Bang! Kwaang!
The assassin was blown backward and slammed into the outer wall. A dozen or so concealed weapons had flown out from the roof of the middle gate.
Taat.
The main gate closed, and Black Tiger Unit martial artists who had been clinging to the roof descended and bound the man.
As Tang Hae-han struggled to understand what had just happened, a low voice spoke from behind him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Deputy Leader!"
The Black Tiger Unit's deputy leader approached with an angry expression, but Tang Hae-han grew even angrier.
"What is all this?! Didn't I tell you to stay as far from the moat as possible? Even if you take antidotes, continued exposure to poisonous miasma can still be dangerous!"
Tang Hae-han pointed at the gate and jumped in agitation.
"And yet you open the gate! No, leaving poisoning aside, how can you employ such a dangerous tactic?!"
This mad deputy leader was luring the Demonkin inside to hunt them.
Was he trying to capture them alive for interrogation? No, what in the world was his intention?
Had they grown complacent because the Tang Clan's poison blocked all approach, falling into a false sense of security?
It was proper etiquette for the Tang Clan members not belonging to the Martial Force Division to refrain from interfering in their tactics, but faced with this bizarre behavior, Tang Hae-han could not help but get angry.
This was not a situation where the Tang Clan could afford any leeway—so how could they recklessly open the gate first?!
The deputy leader looked at the agitated Tang Hae-han and spoke in a calm voice.
"As you can see, it seems the poison in the moat no longer affects them. They're already approaching right up to the edge of the moat. Still, they fear the formations on the outer wall and don't dare vault over it recklessly, so if we lure them in little by little and eliminate them, we can greatly reduce their numbers before dawn."
"Wait a moment. They're right up to the moat, but they aren't trying to cross the wall?"
Tang Hae-han reacted sharply to that statement.
"They seem to have judged it difficult to avoid a rain of concealed weapons at night."
"Th-then are you saying that once the sun rises, they'll all come pouring over the wall?"
"Even now, when we open the gate, a few can't hold back and cross the moat, can't they? It's just a guess, but seeing how they charge so fearlessly into such an obvious trap, I think once their vision clears, they'll move even more boldly."
Despite the gravity of the situation, which anyone could see spelled disaster, the deputy leader remained composed.
Rather than feeling frustrated with him, Tang Hae-han believed the deputy leader must have another plan in mind.
"Then, if we can hold out until sunrise, will things turn in our favor?"
"The Grand Madam has requested reinforcements from her natal family. Support is said to be coming through the rear gate, so if we draw them toward the main gate, at the very least, we can buy time for the Grand Madam and the direct line of the inner courtyard to escape."
"...... Escape?"
Was that really a positive countermeasure?
Tang Hae-han frowned, but the deputy leader remained composed.
"On top of that, reinforcements from the Sichuan branch are almost here as well. If we block those bastards from the front and back, we should be able to butcher them."
The deputy leader seemed to view the situation optimistically, thinking that he could evacuate the direct line of the inner courtyard he was responsible for protecting, and that the gathered enemies could be hemmed in and destroyed by a pincer attack.
Yet the moat—the very source of the Tang Clan's defensive strength—was no longer functioning properly, and he could still speak so optimistically.
Unable to sympathize with the deputy leader's thinking, Tang Hae-han raised his voice.
"If the poison in the moat isn't working, you should have informed the Nine Turns Pavilion! We could change the poison released into the moat, or coat the concealed weapons loaded into the outer wall's formations with poison. I'll go check."
"I already told the Nine Turns Pavilion Leader."
"When?"
"About an hour ago, I suppose."
Tang Hae-han flinched.
That should have been enough time for a new poison to be introduced into the moat.
And yet it still had no effect?
'Did all of them develop resistance in just two days, or have they become bodies immune to all poisons?'
Thinking that was impossible, Tang Hae-han spoke in a grave tone.
"...... It's possible there's a problem with the waterways that lead out to the moat."
"There's no manpower to send to inspect the moat right now."
"Then please inform another martial unit."
In truth, Tang Hae-han also knew that the Tang Clan's forces were stretched thin.
The Black Tiger Unit and the Red Tiger Unit were blocking the main gate and the rear gate, while the remaining martial units guarded the west gate, east gate, the middle gate, and even the inner courtyard.
They had scattered a limited number of personnel across the vast Tang Clan estate, so there was an absolute shortage of martial artists. In fact, with the moat no longer functioning, the number of wounded was increasing everywhere as the Demonkin vaulted over the outer wall.
As if no further explanation was necessary, the deputy leader ignored Tang Hae-han's words.
"Doesn't the Nine Turns Pavilion have its own duties? Go back inside."
"No, but still—!"
"You're in the way. Go in."
At the stern voice, Tang Hae-han could not retort and went back inside.
With his mouth tightly shut, Tang Hae-han headed for the Nine Turns Pavilion.
Clearly, the Demonkin outside the gate had crossed the bridge over the moat at an incredible speed.
'...... This makes no sense. The poison initially released into the moat was an extreme toxin stored on the seventh level. If the Nine Turns Pavilion Leader received the Black Tiger Unit's report, he surely would have released an even more potent extreme toxin—yet it has no effect at all.'
And if they were fearless enough to push through the poisonous miasma and enter enemy lines, would they really be afraid of a rain of concealed weapons just because the surroundings were dark?
He ran into the Nine Turns Pavilion Leader coming down the stairs.
"I told you to go to the Medical Hall and obtain medicinal ingredients. Why are you empty-handed?"
"Pavilion Leader, did you change the poison released into the moat?"
"Hm? How did you know that?"
"I heard it outside and came straight here. What poison did you change it to?"
"At this point, we can't change the antidotes we distribute, so I used a poison of a similar nature. The rate of poisoning is faster, but since the antidote components are similar, those standing guard should be fine."
The Nine Turns Pavilion Leader answered that way, thinking Tang Hae-han was questioning him about the antidotes he was preparing. However, the usually talkative Tang Hae-han did not argue further.
Avoiding the Pavilion Leader's gaze, he gathered several tools and quietly went outside. He headed toward the direction where the water reservoir that fed poison into the moat was located.
Upon reaching the reservoir, Tang Hae-han stopped. Water was overflowing around the pipe that connected the reservoir to the outer wall.
He lifted the jar containing fireflies high.
The dark field of vision brightened slightly.
Yet there was not a single sentry standing guard nearby.
'What in the world has happened.......'
Tang Hae-han felt fear, but instead of fleeing, he climbed up the outer wall.
Carefully, he stuck his head out toward the outside. When the firefly light reached the dark moat, the surface of the water gradually revealed its outline.
".....!"
Tang Hae-han's eyes widened in shock.
Because a black shape could be seen beneath the water's surface.
Descending from the outer wall, Tang Hae-han pushed aside the pipe connected to the reservoir. As he did, a small hole appeared in the wall that had been buried underground.
Seeing that no water flowed in even when the pipe was moved aside, it was clear the hole had been blocked.
Tang Hae-han inserted the rod he had brought into the hole.
Thup.
Something was touched at the end. It felt soft, like compacted mud, but with a slightly firmer texture.
Tang Hae-han pushed with all his strength. As something was forced out as if being pulled free, a torrent of water poured inward.
Kwaaaar.
Tang Hae-han quickly reattached the pipe to block the hole again.
Now all that remained was to refill the reservoir with fresh poison.
Step.
However, instead of returning to the Nine Turns Pavilion to fetch poison, Tang Hae-han climbed the outer wall once more.
This time, he boldly extended the firefly jar outward and carefully examined the moat.
"Huhhk.....!"
He hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand. Even so, he could not stop his body from trembling.
The black object that had been blocking the hole floated up to the surface.
Tang Hae-han's face turned deathly pale.
Aligned with the hole, a Demonkin's garment—its end twisted and contorted—spread out upon the water's surface.