Chapter 175 - The Black Flame Dragon That Swallows the Sea of Blood (5)

"Are you alright? Young Master Jaehwa?"

Moyong Jaehwa was gasping for breath.

His face was flushed bright red, and his hands and feet were trembling violently.

The blood vessels all over his body, including his face, bulged as if they were about to burst.

It was proof that he had pushed his internal energy to its absolute limit.

"Lady Eun, I apologize, but could you cool my face a little?"

Seeing Moyong Jaehwa speak with a voice that was cracking and raspy, Eun Seollan drew upon the Sosu Divine Art to cool his heat instead of replying.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Moyong Jaehwa looked as if he wanted to collapse and fall asleep right then and there.

However.

SWISH.

Moyong Jaehwa's eyes snapped open at the sound of an arrow cutting through the air, and he pushed Eun Seollan away as he threw himself down.

"Are you alright? My Lady?"

Eun Seollan stiffened nervously at the sight of Moyong Jaehwa overlapping her body and barely managed to answer.

"Y-Yes, I-I'm fine."

"It seems those bastards are starting again."

Moyong Jaehwa quickly got up and nocked an arrow to his bow.

It was an arrow shot by the enemies that Eun Seollan had personally retrieved and brought to him.

Because it had already been used once, both the fletching and the arrowhead were warped, but it was still far better than snapping off tree branches to use.

SWISH.

The arrow shot from Moyong Jaehwa's hand crossed the camp and flew toward the figures draped in blood-red robes.

Compared to the dozens of arrows they had fired, it was a mere drop in the bucket, but the blood-robed figures could not take their eyes off Moyong Jaehwa's arrow.

THUD. CRASH!

One of the men at the front, who was holding two overlapping shields, blocked the arrow, but the impact pushed him far back, throwing their formation into disarray.

"Ugh!"

"Gah!"

The squad of blood-robed figures that had been trying to advance quickly hid behind the rocks again, disappearing in a flash.

Seeing that, Moyong Jaehwa let out a long sigh.

It had already been half a day.

That was the amount of time they had spent holding off the blood-robed figures while protecting the academy students who had collapsed from the illusion array behind them.

Ilgak was waking people up one by one, but those who barely regained consciousness had their internal organs shaken and were in no condition to move easily.

If there was one silver lining, it was that shooting a few Horse-Piercing Arrows at the array masters' location had stopped the illusion array from being deployed any further.

'Should I really consider this a relief?'

They were using the Horse-Piercing Arrow to prevent the blood-robed figures from approaching, but they had already been widely surrounded at some point.

They could neither advance nor retreat.

No, the moment they could no longer stop that encirclement from closing in.

It was certain that everyone here would die.

RUSTLE, RUSTLE.

As soon as footsteps sounded from behind, Eun Seollan gathered cold qi into both her hands.

A chill even more biting than the cold winds of the high altitudes lingered on her hands.

Eun Seollan immediately slammed both hands down toward the source of the sound.

SWOOOSH.

CRACKLE, CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

Sharp ice spikes burst from the ground in the parched forest, aiming for the ankles of the blood-robed figures.

Moyong Jaehwa briefly set down his bow, picked up a sword belonging to who knows who, and charged at the blood-robed figures.

STAB.

CLANG-CLANG.

He killed two of them instantly, but due to his unfamiliar swordsmanship, he found himself locked in a clash with the remaining two.

And he slowly began to be pushed back.

'Damn it... You're fighting with swords like cowards!'

If they were the type of opponents who would listen to him say, 'Let's have an archery duel!', they wouldn't have launched an ambush using sorcery right out of the gate.

Cursing the opponents' cowardice inwardly, Moyong Jaehwa slowly began to find the swords of the blood-robed figures overwhelming.

"Young Master Jaehwa! Duck!"

He ducked his head like lightning the moment he heard Eun Seollan's words, and ice spikes pierced the chests of the blood-robed figures.

"Gah."

"Urgh."

The blood-robed figures slumped to the ground, spewing blood.

Behind them, Eun Seollan was gasping for breath with a pallid complexion.

"Are you alright? Lady Eun?"

"Hah, hah, hah. Y-Yes, I'm fine."

She already had skin so translucent that her blood vessels were visible, but now her face was stark white, as if all the color had drained from it completely.

Anyone could see that she had pushed herself to the absolute limit.

'Damn it.'

Even though he had originally learned how to fight the many as the few from Jin Sowoon, he was entirely unable to put it to use.

The warped arrows often missed, and realizing that the arrows they shot kept being returned, the enemies were now throwing spears and rocks instead of firing arrows.

'If only I could use the Thunderbolt Arrow...'

Throughout his life, Moyong Jaehwa had never felt aggrieved by the fact that his martial arts were weak, but right now, he desired strong martial arts more desperately than ever before.

If only he had completed the Thunderbolt Arrow, he could have reduced the casualties among the academy students.

If only he had the Thunderbolt Arrow, he could have helped Eun Seollan escape.

From the moment the sun rose at dawn until now, there hadn't been just one or two instances where he wanted to use his incomplete Thunderbolt Arrow.

But he simply couldn't bring himself to attempt it.

CREAAAK-

Every time he drew the bowstring, he could hear the joints connecting the horn and wood splitting apart.

Attempting to use the Thunderbolt Arrow—which used to snap horn bows left and right even when they were in pristine condition—when the bow was already on the verge of breaking meant essentially throwing the bow away.

He could not afford to try it in a situation where a single mistake would cost not only his own life but also Eun Seollan's life, and furthermore, the lives of the academy students behind them.

"Huu..."

It was a situation where they were completely stuck.

Moyong Jaehwa looked at Eun Seollan.

Her face, which used to be as pristine as an elegant snowflake, was covered in soot, and her clothes were stained with dirt and grime.

Her eyes were bloodshot from the aftereffects of the sorcery and the lack of sleep, and her hands were trembling violently from pushing her martial arts to the limit.

'At the very least... Lady Eun alone...'

While he was making such calculations for a brief moment.

THWACK! THUD! THUD!

Ilgak approached as he struck down the blood-robed figures.

"Benefactor Jaehwa, Benefactor Seollan...! Are you alright?"

Ilgak, who was asking after their well-being, didn't look to be in a good state either.

The flawless appearance of Ilgak, who was one of the foremost experts of the Murim Academy, was nowhere to be found.

"As you can see, we aren't completely alright."

Moyong Jaehwa forced a smile as he answered, but Ilgak immediately realized what he meant.

"We cannot go on like this."

Ilgak looked at the two and spoke.

"The two of you should perform moving cultivation."

"Huh?"

"..."

Ilgak's order to perform moving cultivation in such an urgent situation was completely absurd.

Even so, Ilgak continued speaking as if nothing was wrong.

"Just a handful of internal energy is fine. Gather just enough to use a movement technique."

Finally understanding what Ilgak intended, Moyong Jaehwa shook his head.

"That is..."

However, Ilgak cut Moyong Jaehwa off and spoke firmly.

"Now is not the time to argue. We must deliver this news to the Murim Alliance immediately."

Nodding, Moyong Jaehwa looked at Eun Seollan and said.

"Lady Eun, perform moving cultivation."

"Pardon? What are you... What about you, Young Master Jaehwa?"

"I will remain behind."

"Benefactor Jaehwa!"

Despite Ilgak's urging, Moyong Jaehwa spoke without wavering.

"If delivering the news was that important, you should have done it a day ago."

"..."

At the words pointing out his mistake, Ilgak clamped his mouth shut.

"If we pull out now, everyone over there will die. Are you really okay with that?"

Ilgak turned his head and looked back.

The senior and junior martial siblings of his sect, the senior and junior martial siblings of the lay sects, and the dozens of people he had built relationships with in the Orthodox Council.

All of them would die here.

Without realizing it, Ilgak gripped his hands tightly. He absolutely did not want to witness such a sight.

"..."

"I am not okay with that."

Who would ever want to see such a sight?

But right now, even just one person had to survive.

And the ones who should survive had to be those who bore no responsibility for this incident.

Whether he knew Ilgak's feelings or not, Moyong Jaehwa continued.

"Furthermore, thinking of Senior Brother Sowoon, who will arrive soon, I do not want to show him the sight of me running away alone."

At Moyong Jaehwa's words, Ilgak wanted to retort immediately.

Did he truly still believe that he would come here?

"..."

He wanted to say that Jin Sowoon could not possibly make it here, that it was something no one could easily do, and that expecting it in the first place was wrong.

However, Ilgak suppressed those thoughts and barely managed to ask.

"Even if that belief is betrayed... do you think you still won't regret it?"

He asked heavily, filling the question with his own profound skepticism.

And then.

"Yes."

Moyong Jaehwa answered without a sliver of hesitation.

"...!"

Without a single trace of doubt.

Staring straight at Ilgak with unwavering eyes, he repeated.

"Yes."

"..."

Unconditional.

Almost looking sublime.

Pure faith.

At this point, Ilgak became curious about the source of that faith.

Was the foundation of that faith...

Moyong Jaehwa's naivety?

Or the byproduct of the sense of responsibility Jin Sowoon had shown?

"I understand. Then Lady Seollan, at the very least..."

Ilgak and Moyong Jaehwa looked at Eun Seollan.

However, Eun Seollan replied with a sullen expression.

"You just said Brother Jin is coming. Why should I go out of my way to do something so dangerous?"

Ilgak and Moyong Jaehwa nodded at the same time.

'She's right.'

'I suppose so.'

Without realizing it, Ilgak ended up believing it just like Moyong Jaehwa.

While the two were realizing their foolishness, Eun Seollan pointed forward and spoke.

"They're coming!"

Turning his head, Ilgak scowled.

"They have prepared countermeasures against Benefactor Jaehwa's arrows."

Realizing that they could no longer block Moyong Jaehwa's arrows with ordinary shields, the blood-robed figures had begun to approach with iron plates affixed to cauldron lids and massive boulders hoisted over their heads.

Seeing the very sight he had least wanted to see, Moyong Jaehwa spat out a curse.

"Damn it..."

Knowing that the Horse-Piercing Arrow would no longer work, Moyong Jaehwa desperately circulated his moving cultivation and gathered a handful of true qi.

"We have no choice but to engage in close combat."

At Ilgak's words, Moyong Jaehwa looked back.

Among the academy students, there was still no one in condition to properly participate in a battle.

This wasn't Changbanpo, and stopping hundreds of enemies with just three people was completely absurd.

'I have no other choice.'

Then, he pulled out a proper arrow that he had been saving for the absolute final moment.

"It's still incomplete, but a single shot with this should deal quite a heavy blow to the vanguard. If it fails... Then..."

Moyong Jaehwa did not continue his sentence.

Because he didn't even want to imagine such a horrifying future.

With a desperate heart, Moyong Jaehwa nocked the arrow to the string and began to draw it back.

CREEEAAAK.

The horn bow, pushed to its absolute limit, let out a scream.

'Just this once... Just hold out this one time!'

The power of the Moyong Noble Clan's martial art, the Heaven and Earth Breaking Flash Sword, was imbued into the arrowhead.

The arrow held tightly in his hands shook violently, and in turn, the horn bow trembled just as fiercely.

CRAAAACK.

The moment he carefully poured the minimum power of the Heaven and Earth Breaking Flash Sword and released the arrow from the string.

SNAP.

Ultimately reaching its breaking point, the horn bow snapped apart.

TWANG.

The severed bowstring drooped lifelessly.

"Damn it!!!!"

The moment they saw Moyong Jaehwa's horn bow break, the blood-robed figures tossed aside their boulders and shields and began to charge.

Ilgak and Eun Seollan did not even have the time to console Moyong Jaehwa.

As if furious over having to hide from Jaehwa's arrows all this time, the blood-robed figures were rushing in like madmen.

"Benefactor Jaehwa, step back."

After pressing his palms together, Ilgak violently blasted his two fists, rippling with golden light, forward.

THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!

THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!

The blood-robed figures were sent flying by the Dragon King Flowing Fist, which fired over thirty times in a single second, but the empty spaces were quickly filled again by the blood-robed figures charging in from behind.

"Haaaht!"

SWOOOSH.

The Sosu Divine Art that Eun Seollan scattered froze the bodies of the blood-robed figures, but her ice arts, drained of inner qi, were not very threatening.

Moyong Jaehwa also took up a sword again and executed his clumsy swordsmanship.

Just as they were completely surrounded by the blood-robed figures with no further means of defense and were anticipating their end.

"AAAGH!!"

Brilliant green light crashed down in all four directions, crushing the heads and caving in the chests of the blood-robed figures.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

BOOM! KABOOM!

Sand and dust were scattered everywhere by the violent explosions, and Ilgak and Moyong Jaehwa, who had instinctively closed their eyes, barely managed to crack them open to check on the newcomer.

"Hah, hah, hah!"

The towering figure had a completely pale complexion, looking as though he had exhausted all his mental and physical strength.

Moreover, he bore large wounds in every corner of his body.

It was a wonder how he had even made it this far.

The giant looked at Moyong Jaehwa and spoke.

"Hah, hah, y-you. Moyong Jaehwa! You're Moyong Jaehwa, right?"

Being singled out, Moyong Jaehwa wore an astounded expression when he saw the giant's face.

"N-Nam Hwaseong? Why are you here...?"

"Hah, hah, t-thank goodness you're alive. Thank goodness!"

Nam Hwaseong trembled with emotion, as if he had just reunited with a long-lost brother.

However, Moyong Jaehwa himself was completely bewildered by the situation.

Why on earth had Nam Hwaseong, of all people, popped out here?

And why was he so relieved by his survival?

Swallowing with a pained expression, Nam Hwaseong barely managed to continue speaking.

"... Jin Sowoon, Jin Sowoon sent me."

"Ah!!! I knew it!!!"

Nam Hwaseong practically tossed the baggage he was carrying over to Moyong Jaehwa.

He wanted to hear the whole story, but neither their current situation of being surrounded by the blood-robed figures nor Nam Hwaseong's condition allowed for a conversation.

While distractedly examining the baggage, Moyong Jaehwa tilted his head at the sight of a long iron rod sticking out.

'What... is this...'

There were small grooves at both ends and a leather-wrapped grip in the center of the iron rod.

Along with a bundle of arrows and Heavenly Silkworm Thread stuffed inside the bundle.

They were items that naturally made him wonder why Jin Sowoon had sent them.

Then, suddenly, an image formed in his mind.

"N-No way..."

Moyong Jaehwa's gaze darted back and forth between the Heavenly Silkworm Thread and the iron rod.

"An i-iron bow?"