novelraw Chapter 157 : Caught in One’s Own Trap (3)
Chapter 157 : Caught in One’s Own Trap (3)
Chapter 157: Caught in One’s Own Trap (3)
“Huhk, huk!”
“Huuuk.”
Deep within the mountains, only the rough breaths of men could be heard.
Even while gasping for air, the ones exerting their movement arts at full strength were the martial artists of the Qingcheng Sect, with Jeok Seongja at their head.
It had already been over two shichen (= four hours) since they left the Sichuan Tang Clan.
And during that entire time, they had not rested even once, using their lightness arts at full power—so even for the martial artists of the Qingcheng Sect, it was impossible not to be exhausted.
“Is your speed slowing down! Run properly right now!!”
“Y-Yes, yes sir!”
Damn bastards!
Jeok Seongja, in a furious state, drove his disciples mercilessly.
Their thighs and legs felt as though they would burst, but the disciples clenched their teeth and forced the next step forward.
From Chengdu, where the Sichuan Tang Clan was located, to Shuangliu County, it should have originally taken another full shichen.
But by cutting straight through land that was not a proper path and taking the shortest possible route, they had managed to reduce the time this much.
‘Damn it!’
Yet strangely, Jeok Seongja’s heart refused to calm.
However, the other elders and disciples watching him could not understand why.
It was true that the current situation was no light matter.
Contrary to their expectations, the Tang Clan had seen through their scheme.
But really, how much speed could the martial artists of the Sichuan Tang Clan—such a feeble force—possibly muster?
It was obvious that they had already overtaken them.
If anything, rushing like this and wasting strength needlessly felt like the worse choice.
“Ahem, Sect Leader.”
At that moment, the highest-ranked among the elders, Elder Gu—the Flying Flower Sword—quietly approached and spoke.
“I fully understand your concern now that the great plan has gone awry, but from what I see, you may relax a little.”
“……”
“As you know, it was the Great Elder we sent to the village afflicted by the plague.”
“……”
“Even if they departed far earlier than us and arrived before him, there is no one among them who can dare to stop the Great Elder.”
Elder Gu continued speaking, but Jeok Seongja did not respond.
But only for a moment—then, still running forward, Jeok Seongja turned his head and met Elder Gu’s eyes.
“Do you truly believe there is no one capable of opposing him?”
“……Pardon? What do you mean?”
Jeok Seongja spoke slowly to the bewildered elder.
“Until now, not a single carrier pigeon has arrived from Magollyun.”
“Well, that’s—”
“And from the Great Elder you mentioned, not a single message has come.”
“Hm, that is certainly strange, but surely the Tang Clan wouldn’t dare to—”
Stupid fool.
Even after being told this much, Elder Gu’s lukewarm response made Jeok Seongja’s insides burn.
How could there be only vermin like this in their sect?
Not one of them could properly grasp the situation.
‘Damn it, if I knew it would be like this, I wouldn’t have sent Do Hoemyeong ahead.’
Do Hoemyeong, the only one who had suggested a reasonable solution, had already departed toward Magollyun by his order.
Grinding his teeth at his painful mistake, Jeok Seongja suddenly noticed something in the distance.
‘Wait! That’s—!’
“Stop!!”
“Hrrk!”
Jeok Seongja suddenly let out a lion’s roar, forcing the disciples charging at the front to halt.
Those running at full speed were startled by the explosive shout imbued with qi and immediately ceased their movement arts.
“S-Sect Leader…!!”
“Huuk!”
Just as the elders were about to ask Jeok Seongja’s intent in this sudden situation—
They were all shocked.
Pabab!
Swaaeeek!
At some point, Jeok Seongja had drawn his sword and, brushing past them, unleashed a sudden barrage of slashes.
Clear sword flux shimmered at the tip of Jeok Seongja’s blade.
With the ripping sound of air being torn apart, the sword flux left the blade and condensed into a half-moon shape as it flew forward.
Kwaaarrr!
Kwoooom!
A massive explosion rang out, and a violent tremor shook the ground as if an earthquake had struck.
Jeok Seongja’s sword strike had obliterated everything in front of them.
Although both elders and disciples were bewildered by Jeok Seongja’s sudden action, once the cloud of dust cleared—
“W-What is… this?”
“!!”
Their reactions completely changed.
In the area Jeok Seongja had blown apart, they found traces of something unimaginable.
“A t-trap?”
“What!”
A deep pit had been dug—one that even with movement arts would have been difficult to escape from easily.
And at the bottom of that pit were dozens of sharp spearheads embedded upright.
Had the front disciples continued rushing ahead, countless of them would have been skewered like meat on a spit upon those spear tips.
Cold sweat trickled down the backs of the Qingcheng Sect disciples.
“Enemies! Everyone, take battle stance!!”
Jeok Seongja raised his voice once again.
Cha-chaang!
The Qingcheng disciples belatedly regained their senses and drew their weapons.
As the martial artists of the Qingcheng Sect scanned their surroundings and swallowed dryly—
Clap, clap.
Suddenly, the sound of applause spread through the forest.
“So the teacher is still a little better, after all?”
“!!”
A voice that stoked Jeok Seongja’s fury echoed in his ears.
Swiik!
Chwarara!
Simultaneously, groups of martial artists who had been hiding in various spots began revealing themselves one after another.
Gritting his teeth, Jeok Seongja glared at the figure leading them.
“Tang Sewoon…!”
The Clan Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan—the one they so desperately wished to kill—
Tang Sewoon had revealed himself.
* * *
“Why are you so surprised?”
Sewoon let out a faint laugh as he spoke.
After executing Chu U-ja, Sewoon had immediately led his forces to block the route the enemy would most likely take, waiting here the entire time.
Given the terrain, the Sichuan Tang Clan’s forces were positioned in a way that surrounded the Qingcheng Sect’s troops.
Because the Sichuan Tang Clan specialized in long-range interception through their hidden-weapon arts, this formation was extremely unfavorable—but…
“Surprised? I’m simply grateful you walked here on your own two feet to die.”
Swaaah!
Kwarururur!
Jeok Seongja unleashed his overwhelming qi as if he felt not even the slightest obstacle.
The qi of his Manifestation Realm, though barely stabilized by countless great arts and excessive consumption of spiritual medicines, shook the surroundings.
It was a highly unstable form of mastery, achieved only by barely scraping past the initial threshold.
Yet to those nearby, it radiated a destructive force on an entirely different level.
His intent to seize the initiative was painfully obvious.
Pathetic.
Sewoon twisted the corner of his mouth and released his energy in the same fashion.
Swaaah!
Kwagagagak!
The qi that had filled the surroundings from Jeok Seongja was swept away in an instant.
‘W-What…?!’
“M-Manifestation Realm!!”
“!!”
Not only Jeok Seongja, but every member of the Qingcheng Sect failed to hide the shock on their faces.
The qi erupting from Tang Sewoon was no weaker than Jeok Seongja’s—true, undeniable Manifestation Realm power.
“……How did a bastard like you manage that?”
At Jeok Seongja’s involuntary mutter, Sewoon shrugged lightly.
“What else? It’s just a difference in talent.”
“……!!”
Grinding his teeth at Sewoon’s smirk, Jeok Seongja glared at him.
The qi flowing from Sewoon’s entire body was not Innate True Qi.
He had really crossed the wall of the Manifestation Realm.
“You’ve been lying to the entire Murim Alliance until now.”
“Oh please. Everyone lies and deceives. Just like you lot.”
“Hmph! What have we ever deceived?! We, the Qingcheng Sect, acted to stop the atrocities you committed—!”
“Ah, shut it.”
Sewoon cut him off instantly.
“You were going to spout nonsense like that, so I brought this.”
“……What?”
Whoosh!
Before Sewoon even finished speaking, the Tang Clan subordinates hurled something forward.
Thud!
Roll, roll—
A round object rolled on the ground and came to a stop before Jeok Seongja’s feet.
“Hiiik!!”
“……Senior Brother?”
“G-Great Elder!!”
What Sewoon had delivered was a horrifying gift.
Chu U-ja’s corpse, missing both arms and head.
And beside it—the severed head of Magollyun, whose body had completely vanished.
“There. Proof that I crushed every last part of your scheme.”
“……!!”
“Oh, and don’t worry. The commoners afflicted with the plague have all been completely healed and are safely protected.”
Sewoon’s words drained all color from the faces of the Qingcheng Sect’s martial artists.
This was the worst possible situation.
If the surviving commoners reached the Murim Alliance and testified about them, things would spiral out of control beyond repair.
Just then, as agitation spread through the Qingcheng camp—
“Kekeke, then that means only one option remains.”
Jeok Seongja’s chilling voice silenced the entire field.
As he lifted his head and glared at Sewoon, terrifying killing intent roiled in Jeok Seongja’s eyes.
“Here and now, I will kill all of you—and wipe away every trace of the plague.”
There was only one meaning behind those words.
He intended to massacre every last commoner.
Hearing that, fury ignited in Sewoon’s eyes.
“As expected, trash never changes.”
Creak.
Shockingly, Sewoon stepped forward alone, descending slowly as he spoke.
“To satisfy your petty greed, you steal from others, butcher the innocent, join hands with the Five Evils, and even sell off the ideals of the orthodox factions.”
Chwarararara!
In both of Sewoon’s hands, the Heavenly Thread began to surge.
From the strands of Heavenly Thread infused with Divine Poison Qi, a horrifying poison qi began to bloom.
The Qingcheng Sect martial artists, witnessing such an unimaginable and monstrous poison for the first time, could not hide their terror.
‘……Impossible.’
‘T-That level of poison… a human can emit that??’
‘Even the Eight Extreme Poisons combined couldn’t create something like that…!’
As the Qingcheng martial artists unconsciously took a step backward—
Jeok Seongja instead gripped his sword tightly and advanced.
“Us, cooperating with unorthodox sects? I don’t know what nonsense you’re spewing. Your final words are laughable.”
Pointing his sword at Sewoon, he raised his voice.
“Petty? Greed is a privilege that only the strong across all ages possess!”
“……”
Sewoon simply stared at him, giving no reply.
The words the man spat were shockingly identical to the twisted logic of the Blood Cult’s demonic practitioners he had heard before his regression.
“Even you—a lowly worm—groveled before the Alliance Leader, and knelt before Namgung Myeong to achieve greater greed!”
At some point, madness filled Jeok Seongja’s eyes.
He showed not a shred of guilt for the horrors he had committed.
This was the true face of the disgusting hypocrite, stripped of the mask of “Sect Leader of the Qingcheng Sect,” a pillar of the Nine Sects and One Gang.
“In this ruthless jianghu, the only law is power! What is wrong with pursuing greater strength through greater greed?!”
“Hah, I can’t listen to this filth any longer.”
Sewoon cut him off before he vomited.
Sss!
Cha-chang!
At the same moment, the Sichuan Tang Clan martial artists all raised their weapons.
In response, the Qingcheng Sect’s elders and disciples also drew their swords.
“I promise you—today…”
In this hair-trigger instant, Sewoon spoke his final words.
“The name of Qingcheng will be erased from the jianghu forever.”
Pababab!
Chwaaat!
As soon as he finished speaking, the martial artists of both sides charged at each other like mad beasts.