Kang Sogun

"Ugh..."

In the pitch-black darkness, a groan filled with pain was heard. The fact that the sound was so faint showed that his strength was exhausted.

"Young Master Cho, please come to your senses. If you can just hold on a little longer..."

A slightly aged voice whispered.

The one called Young Master Cho seemed to be in a daze and could not even answer properly.

"First, please drink some water. I will go out in the evening and bring some food."

The aged voice was full of pity. Soon after, a lament followed.

"General Cho has passed away, and I don't know what has become of the young lady, and now even the young master is like this. I truly resent the heavens. Does this mean that the righteousness of the Cho family is being ignored like this?"

A moment later, a fire suddenly flashed. The aged man had lit a tinderbox.

It was the last tinderbox he had.

As felt from his voice, the aged man looked to be close to fifty.

The young man called Young Master Cho's lips were already turning black and dying.

"To think that that evil villain was so high in martial arts. The world is truly unfair."

The aged man's name was Hwang Oh.

He had caught the eye of Cho Gangrip and had roamed the battlefields as a man of the Cho family for over ten years. He had lost the master who had recognized him, and now that he was about to send off his son helplessly, he despaired at his own incompetence.

"Team Leader Hwang, I think I'm done for. Please find Haran."

The one called Young Master Cho was Cho Haran's twin older brother, Cho Hagyeong.

Hwang Oh stood up resolutely. At this rate, he was about to send off Cho Hagyeong without even being able to use a single medicine.

"Please hold on for a moment. I will bring a doctor."

Although Hwang Oh said so, he himself could not be confident.

It was even doubtful whether he could escape the manor, avoiding the eyes of the ambushers who were guarding outside.

But watching Cho Hagyeong die like this was an even more unbearable thing to do. He thought it would be better to die while breaking through the ambush.

As Hwang Oh was about to find the opening and closing device and open the institutional passage before the fire of the tinderbox went out, the iron door suddenly began to move.

"Hah!"

Hwang Oh quickly extinguished the fire of the tinderbox. In the sudden darkness, Hwang Oh could not see anything.

The outside of the door was also part of the underground passage. So even if it opened, only darkness would rush in.

A voice was heard from within that darkness.

"Cho Hagyeong, are you alive?"

Hwang Oh flinched in surprise. If it was someone who knew the secret passage of General Jang Hong's residence?

And he knew Cho Hagyeong's name!

A ray of hope rose in Hwang Oh's chest.

"Who are you?"

Although Hwang Oh could not see anything, Kang Sogun could see everything.

He had lived in the darkness of the Martial Tomb for three years. The darkness was no obstacle to him.

Kang Sogun approached the man who was collapsed on one side. He was a young man who looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three.

Although Hwang Oh had sensed the movement in the darkness, he could not move rashly. He thought he had to light the tinderbox he had just extinguished and check the situation.

As Hwang Oh was about to light the tinderbox, Kang Sogun blocked Hwang Oh's hand.

"There are many ambushes. The smell of gunpowder travels farther than you think, so it's better not to light it."

Hearing that, Hwang Oh gave up on lighting the tinderbox. And he asked in a trembling voice.

"Are you from General Jang's family?"

But the person who had appeared said nothing.

As Hwang Oh was about to draw his sword, he hesitated. He had discovered red eyes in the darkness.

The moment he saw those eyes, Hwang Oh could not move.

Kang Sogun turned his head and examined Cho Hagyeong's injuries. His internal injuries were deep. Bang Ilok's fist was clearly a legitimate Shaolin study.

Kang Sogun sat Cho Hagyeong up and infused him with his internal energy. Kang Sogun's Golden Elixir True Art entered and corrected his twisted meridians.

A moment later, Kang Sogun, who had stood up, slung the fainted Cho Hagyeong over his shoulder and said to Hwang Oh.

"I'm going out, so pack what you need to take."

"There is nothing else to pack."

Hwang Oh had no choice but to believe the voice that came from the darkness.

-Thump, thump.

Hearing the sound of someone going ahead, he followed behind.

A moment later, the passage leading out of the manor appeared.

"There is an ambush around."

Hwang Oh said. He had already scouted several times. If there had been no ambush, he would have escaped this tomb-like secret passage long ago.

Kang Sogun handed the Cho Hagyeong he was carrying to Hwang Oh.

"Don't worry about anything else, just don't lose sight of my back."

Hwang Oh realized that the owner of the voice was surprisingly young.

In any case, as he thought that his master could live, strength entered his legs.

***

"Kuh!"

The man who had been stabbed in the chest let out his last short breath.

Jungrang immediately retrieved his sword and blocked the saber that was flying over his head.

-Clang!

While deflecting the saber, he cut the opponent's abdomen.

-Slice!

As his stomach was greatly cut by the internal energy contained in the sword, blood spurted out.

Jungrang rotated his body sideways and raised his sword.

A whitish sword qi formed at the tip of the sword. The sword qi, which looked like a cluster of stars, scattered in all directions.

"Kuh!"

One of the musicians who had been swinging his saber collapsed again.

'To think that bastard was a master.'

Yuk Ilcheong's heart was racing. He had thought he could easily capture Zhu Zhanji, but the guard of the woman who had come with him was a rare master.

He had not known that one master could be such a big variable. The killers he had prepared in two and three layers were meaninglessly spurting blood and collapsing.

Zhu Zhanji and the woman were also not to be taken lightly. As soon as the killers approached, they spurted blood and collapsed.

At this rate, not only the killers, but Yuk Ilcheong himself was about to be ruined.

'Kill them all!'

Yuk Ilcheong made up his mind and raised his hand. Then the soldiers who had been waiting outside rushed in.

"Kill them all!"

Yuk Ilcheong chose to kill the crown prince and everyone else first and then clean up the mess.

The path of power was a path that passed through the middle of life and death.

Although Yuk Ilcheong had decided to join the Prince of Han, he had had no intention of just following his orders from the beginning.

It was a give-and-take relationship. Although the Prince of Han had asked him to capture the crown prince and send him, he was a man who knew that he would not be blamed even if he sent a corpse if the situation was like this. Because he had such audacity, he had participated in the rebellion.

Since the incident had already occurred, it was certain to kill them first and then clean up the mess.

Yuk Ilcheong had also put his life on the line and had started this rebellion. He encouraged the soldiers, filled with malice.

"If you can't kill them, you will all die!"

The soldiers, as if they also knew the importance of this matter, disregarded their lives and rushed in.

As the soldiers rushed in, Jungrang looked around.

All of Zhu Zhanji's guards were dead. All that was left was Zhu Zhanji, Yeon Hwasim, and Jungrang.

Yeon Hwasim was still not in a completely healthy state. Zhu Zhanji was only taking care of his own safety.

Jungrang knew that this place was a place to hunt the crown prince.

'There is no reason for us to be in this fight.'

Since Yuk Ilcheong's target was Zhu Zhanji, he hardened his resolve to give him up and escape with Yeon Hwasim.

As Jungrang was deflecting the rushing enemies and going to Yeon Hwasim's side, Zhu Zhanji noticed and also stuck to Yeon Hwasim's side.

"Wait a little. There are reinforcements."

Zhu Zhanji had experienced numerous battlefields since he was young and had dealt with people. As if he knew what Jungrang was thinking, he said a word and deflected the rushing enemies.

Jungrang stuck to Yeon Hwasim's side for now and dealt with the rushing enemies. Seeing them thrusting in unison with long spears, they seemed to be well-trained soldiers.

-Clang!

As dozens rushed in and a chaotic battle broke out, a single sound of a horn echoed in the night sky.

Soon after, crossbows flew.

-Swish!

The soldiers who had been rushing like a pack of dogs were hit by the flying arrows and collapsed.

Following that, people in black clothes came down from the air and swept away the martial artists.

"They're here now."

Zhu Zhanji lowered his sword and looked back at Yeon Hwasim and Jungrang. Jungrang could not be relieved and blocked Yeon Hwasim's front and raised his sword in guard.

The people who had appeared from the night sky slaughtered Yuk Ilcheong's soldiers. They were the killers of the sixth hall of the Great Righteous Martial Hall.

The killers of the sixth hall of the Great Righteous Martial Hall were certainly outstanding. But the soldiers that Yuk Ilcheong had mobilized were numerous.

No matter how many they killed, the soldiers who were rushing from all directions did not decrease.

"Yuk Ilcheong! Your ambush has failed. Why don't you kneel quickly?"

Zhu Zhanji shouted at Yuk Ilcheong.

Yuk Ilcheong was watching the situation from the top of the gate tower far away.

"Hahaha. It seems you, Your Highness, are not seeing the situation properly. I have placed seven layers of moves in today's rebellion. I will see if you and your assisting group can break through all those moves."

"Do you believe you can face me with such a shabby plan? You are truly foolish!"

Although Zhu Zhanji shouted calmly, he was inwardly flustered.

'It seems that bastard has prepared thoroughly today. The emperor probably doesn't know that Hefei has turned.'

No, perhaps the entire Southern Zhili had fallen into the hands of the Prince of Han. If so, it would be truly troublesome.

The first emperor, in order to defend the capital, Nanjing, had integrated Jiangsu and Anhui, had named it Southern Zhili, and had ruled it directly.

Although the previous emperor had now moved the capital to Beijing, Southern Zhili was under the jurisdiction of the Nanjing court. The head of the Nanjing court was Bang Yeonso.

'Then does that mean Bang Yeonso has participated in the rebellion?'

Zhu Zhanji's spine chilled.

'If that's really the case, it's not a simple matter.'

Zhu Zhanji had stayed in Hefei and had sent messengers to the Southern Zhili army several times, but he had not yet received an answer.

'If I am isolated here, that is truly the path to death!'

Zhu Zhanji grasped the situation and decided to break through. Just then, as if the martial artists of the Great Righteous Martial Hall had arrived, a fight broke out on the outskirts as well.

Zhu Zhanji shouted loudly.

"Hurry up and show me your moves. I will personally break through!"

Zhu Zhanji swung his sword and jumped into the chaotic battle.

"Protect the crown prince!"

The sixth hall master of the Great Righteous Martial Hall, Yeomga, who had appeared at some point, commanded the martial artists of the sixth hall.

The target of Yeomga and the sixth hall's escort was Zhu Zhanji. Naturally, Jungrang and Yeon Hwasim were isolated in the group of enemies.

Jungrang pulled Yeon Hwasim and tried to go in the opposite direction of where Zhu Zhanji had charged.

In the wide manor training ground, Zhu Zhanji and the martial artists of the sixth hall were fighting as one group, and behind them, Jungrang and Yeon Hwasim were fighting alone.

"Hahaha!"

Just then, a clear laugh echoed in the night sky.

Two people flew in, and they were a middle-aged man and woman. The man was dressed as a scholar, and the woman was in an elegant palace dress.

As soon as the middle-aged scholar landed on the ground, he rotated once, and a sword rose from his back. The middle-aged scholar snatched the soaring sword with his hand.

-Swish!

Countless sword lights shot out from the middle-aged scholar's sword and scattered in all directions.

"Kuh!"

Dozens of enemies around the place where the middle-aged scholar had landed collapsed or were thrown back.

The middle-aged woman who had flown in next unfolded the sash that was tied around her waist.

-Thwack!

The sound of soft silk being torn by a strong wind was heard, and it swept away the soldiers.

Surprisingly, the sash made of silk had become as hard as a sword and had cut off the soldiers' necks.

The martial prowess of the middle-aged man and woman who had suddenly appeared was truly amazing.

Yeomga, who saw the two, snorted.

"What took you so long to get here?"

"As soon as I received the message, I ran a long way without stopping, but you blame me as soon as you see me?"

Jungrang knew that the middle-aged man and woman were also people of the Great Righteous Martial Hall.

'There are truly many masters in the Great Righteous Martial Hall.'

The martial prowess of the two was certainly amazing.

As the middle-aged man and woman appeared, the tide of the battle changed. Although Yuk Ilcheong's soldiers were still numerous, the Great Righteous Martial Hall, led by Shangguan Qingyou and No Ichil, was attacking from the outskirts of the manor, and inside, Yeomga, the killers of the sixth hall, and the two newly appeared masters were responding, so the encirclement collapsed rapidly.

Jungrang led Yeon Hwasim and moved towards where the middle-aged man and woman were fighting. Since the tide of the battle was favorable, he judged that it was better to join them for now.

As Jungrang and Yeon Hwasim joined in earnest, the damage to Yuk Ilcheong's soldiers was even greater.

"A good sword!"

The middle-aged scholar, who saw Jungrang's sword while fighting, gave a hearty thumbs-up.

(End of Chapter)