Chapter 53 The Great Southern Wilderness War (5)

Chapter 53: The Great Southern Wilderness War (5)

The Zhenwang Qi swirling within his body began to slip beyond his control.

In proportion, his reason grew increasingly clouded.

‘Shi…bul.’

I hammered the command to kill the Southern Heaven Palace Lord into my mind with all my strength.

Gulp.

The Zhenwang Qi raged within my body, causing internal injuries, making the saying that internal energy is part of the body seem meaningless.

But I ignored it and continued to focus the Zhenwang Qi in one place.

As the Black Mountain Horns approached, the Southern Heaven Palace Lord, who had been charging toward North Palace Baek, turned his body.

A powerful energy, seemingly a single strike from his sword, surged forth and swung out in an instant.

Whoosh!

Its speed was so blindingly fast, evading it was an unthinkable option.

The Black Mountain Tigers unleashed their sword energy, blocking the strike.

Kwaaang!

Thirty black sword energies began a fierce struggle against the sword energy.

And I instinctively unleashed all the accumulated energy I had stored, detonating the Explosive Mirror.

Once again, a huge explosion echoed, and immense pressure was felt.

As the energy dissipated, my reason returned proportionally.

At the same moment, I saw the Southern Heavenly Palace Lord’s sword energy vanish.

He ignited his killing intent even more fiercely and swung his sword once more.

Swoosh!

The sword energy, ignited in an instant, targeted us again.

‘What kind of energy is he pulling out like taffy?’

I grumbled inwardly, thinking only a supreme master could guarantee safety in Hell’s Forest, and tried to dodge.

“……!”

Perhaps because he had exhausted all his energy with that last move, his legs wouldn’t move.

The same seemed true for the Black Mountain Tigers; none of them moved to evade.

But.

Black Mountain Tiger and I weren’t the only ones on this battlefield.

Clang. Crack.

Bukgung Baek, who hadn’t missed the opening, succeeded in slashing through the back of the Southern Heaven Palace Master.

And so the fierce battle began.

Clang. Thud.

Whoosh!

Swords clashed, embroidering the night sky.

A sound like thunder reverberated through the area.

Over thirty seconds passed like that.

“Gurgle…”

“Gurgle.”

The two supreme masters, blood trickling from their mouths, stared at each other.

Bukgung Baek’s arms, legs, and chest bore crimson-red lacerations.

The Southern Heaven Palace Master’s lower body was gone.

“…”

Blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, Bukgung Baek looked down at the Southern Heaven Palace Master.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, the Namcheon Palace Princess met his gaze and smiled.

Pfft.

“It ended so futilely.”

“Are you satisfied now?”

“Satisfied? Cough. Hardly. Even if you could have mobilized a thousand more spellcasters, you’d be the one lying here today.”

“But the result is what it is.”

“Heh heh. Indeed.”

As the words left his lips, he closed his eyes.

It was a death too futile to be the end of the absolute ruler who had dominated the southern lands.

A bitter expression lingered on North Palace Baek’s face as he looked down at him.

* * *

The moment they confirmed the Southern Heaven Palace Lord’s death, the Black Coral forces immediately retreated along the path they had come.

Their purpose was to support the Outer Court struggling outside.

If they went, the battlefield would likely be cleared in an instant.

In the end, only Baek and I remained behind, his lower abdomen split open, blood pouring out.

“Ugh.”

Baek pressed several pressure points, then wrapped his wounds with his dust-covered tunic.

‘With that filthy thing…’

In a world without antibiotics.

Horrified by this emergency treatment, utterly unacceptable from a modern perspective, I searched the area for a relatively clean piece of cloth.

“Use this to bind it.”

“It’s fine.”

“If you treat it with something dirty, you might get sick later.”

“Illnesses can’t pierce my inner strength.”

No, does he think inner strength is some kind of panacea?

“Young Master Cheong said even a top-tier master is helpless against a major illness like half-paralysis. So, wouldn’t it be better to be cautious?”

“Hmm. That makes sense.”

As expected, invoking an authority figure’s name is the best way to persuade someone.

Bukgung Baek, his mind changed by Lady Cheong’s name, accepted the cloth I offered.

I took out the pouch I’d kept inside my dragon-scale armor.

Inside the pouch were the Yoxi Dan and, alongside it, a pill recently developed by Lady Cheong.

I took them out one by one and offered them to Bukgung Baek.

“Please take these too.”

“What is it?”

“Yosangdan and pills effective for external injuries.”

“The smell is awful?”

“Since Miss Cheong developed them, their efficacy is certain.”

“Tell her I’m grateful.”

“I gave him the medicine, but…”

Bukgungbaek swallowed them all in one gulp.

I waited a moment before asking again.

“Are you feeling nauseous or dizzy?”

“Nothing unusual.”

“I see.”

After hearing his words, I too poured the pills into my mouth.

After all, you should only take medicine that’s finished clinical trials.

“…”

I sensed Baekgong Baek glancing at me sharply, but I forced myself to ignore it and began circulating my qi.

A moment later.

Feeling my body return to normal, save for some minor internal injuries, I stopped circulating my qi.

Baekgong Baek had also finished circulating his qi and opened his eyes.

“How is your body feeling?”

“Remarkable efficacy. I can walk properly now.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than he rose and approached the corpse of the Namcheongung Lord.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he sliced through his throat.

“Gah!”

Startled, I stared at him as he clicked his tongue and said,

“What, not cleaning up?”

“Ah… yes.”

This guy is definitely a psychopath.

I wrapped the Namcheon Palace Lord’s head in the cloth I had left over after giving some to North Palace Lord Baek earlier.

“Come.”

Holding the blood-soaked, sticky bundle, I followed behind him.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

“Why he, who lived like a king, did such a thing.”

“I am curious, but what good would knowing do now? It’s already happened, and the man who did it is dead like this.”

I held up the bundle, blood dripping from it.

Bukgung Baek replied with a sneer.

“Still, it’s good to know. When you face your own wall someday, it might serve as a cautionary tale.”

The explanation that followed was shocking from the very start.

The great-great-great-grandmaster of Nancheongung was from the Xizhang Blood Sect, and because of that, wicked sorcery had been passed down to later Nancheongung masters.

Chu Cheol-o, who had hidden this and lived as the king of Nanman, had performed the sorcery when he hit a wall.

And the result, as you can see, was his death and the fall of Nancheongung.

“……You mean he did all this just for that?”

“Not ‘just’. Martial prowess is the foremost priority for a warrior. Moreover.”

Bukgungbaek continued, surveying the Namcheongung Palace grounds.

“His lifelong ambition to have the world at his feet drove him to such reckless extremes.”

“······You’re a proper lunatic.”

He chuckled.

Surprised by my reaction, Bukgung Baek replied with a sly smile.

“True. Abandoning the righteous path to cross the barrier through the heretical way was the most foolish choice. If such methods could truly make one strong, the Central Plains would be ruled by demons today. ”

“······.”

What the hell? He just got his ass kicked.

Normally, I’d have smirked and said something like, ‘Hehe, you’re truly the master,’ to placate him, but maybe I was too tired—I couldn’t muster a reaction.

As if stung by his own words, North Palace Baek cleared his throat and began to explain.

“Ahem, earlier, it wasn’t that I was outmaneuvered… I had a move prepared… I was waiting for the opportunity…”

After listening to his brief excuse, I quietly nodded.

“I see.”

“……Yes.”

“But how did you find out the true identity of the former, former, former Namcheongungju? And how did you know she uses magic?”

A sudden curiosity prompted me to ask directly.

“You want to know?”

“Of course.”

“But knowing could be dangerous.”

“……Then forget it. If ignorance is bliss, I’ll take the bliss. No need to swallow poison unnecessarily.”

“Good thinking.”

After walking for a short while, the back door we’d forced open came into view.

And there.

Waaaaaah!

The Outer Court warriors were raising both hands high, shouting victory cries.

* * *

The casualties from this battle were not insignificant.

Thirty-seven dead, twelve wounded.

Minor injuries weren’t even counted as casualties, so the death toll would surely rise.

After all, this was a village without even a local clinic, let alone an emergency room.

Still, we had to save those who could be saved. We left the wounded with the Nanman tribes and immediately headed back to the battlefield.

We had to inform the Namcheongung bastards who had launched their attack that their main camp had been overrun and force them to surrender.

And that course of action was correct.

When we presented the severed head of the Palace Lord high before the Namcheongung bastards, who were just about to launch their third assault, urging them to surrender, white flags began appearing everywhere.

Of course, not every bastard surrendered.

Those consumed by despair and lost their reason, along with the South Heaven Palace leadership, refused surrender and chose to resist to the bitter end.

While the madmen were beyond saving, the leadership clearly sought negotiation.

But the Blue Dragon Sect Leader was resolute.

He ordered all forces to be poured into annihilating them.

And that decision was correct.

Having lost the four brothers of the Samil Sect and their family’s close associates, the warriors of Guryongseong, their venom boiling over, threw themselves wholeheartedly into penetrating the enemy lines.

The thirty Heuksanho warriors, joining the fray late, followed the path they had carved, slaughtering without mercy.

Unlike the first and second battles, this had become a one-sided slaughter.

Some commanders, recognizing their disadvantage, belatedly surrendered, but the Blue Dragon Lord accepted none.

Even the once noble warriors of the Black Dragon Sect focused solely on mercilessly beheading the enemy such was the madness that consumed the battlefield.

Three hours passed thus.

Save for those who surrendered, not a single warrior of the Namcheon Palace survived.

Even the corpses were mangled beyond recognition, a testament to the battle’s ferocity.

I, tasked with leading the Outer Hall warriors and securing the prisoners, could only watch this scene unfold.

Waaah!

The warriors of Guryongseong let out a victorious cry.

Thus ended the war later known as the Great Southern Manchurian Campaign.

* * *

The joy of victory did not last long.

It was a war where so many had died.

This was true for the Oedang as well.

Nearly half of those who had set out did not return, buried in the earth.

Those who survived were hardly unscathed either.

Having carried out the most brutal missions among this expedition, casualties were abundant.

And then.

“Chung-un is dead.”

“······!”

The single sentence delivered by Wei Jifeng struck me like a hammer to the head.

It was news of the death of a man who felt like my own younger brother.

Wei Zifeng continued, his voice choked with emotion.

“It’s all because I wasn’t strong enough.”

“Brother Wei…”

He was so overwhelmed by his feelings that he couldn’t even bring himself to offer comfort.

After a moment to compose himself, he opened his mouth with a hardened expression.

“Hmph… Once we return, I intend to devote myself entirely to training. I will grow stronger… and never lose my brothers again.”

Watching his retreating back, I thought.

What if I had been stronger?

If I could have stormed Namcheon Palace alone and taken down the Palace Lord, couldn’t we have ended the war without anyone dying?

The journey back that followed felt half like a funeral procession.

To an outsider, we must have looked like a band of defeated soldiers.

Nevertheless, the fact that we had won remained unchanged.

Waaah!

Upon arriving at Guryongseong, countless people were shouting from atop the castle walls.

They seemed to be celebrating Guryongseong’s victory.

After walking for twenty days, I felt like I might collapse at any moment, but the expeditionary force paraded around the outer castle walls.

They probably thought displaying this would boost morale.

After all the festivities ended, I…

Clunk.

“I’m home.”

I could finally return to my nest.