WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 175: The Black Flame Dragon Swallowing the Sea of Blood (5)
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“Are you all right, Young Master Jaehwa?”
Moyong Jaehwa was gasping for breath.
His face was flushed crimson, and his hands and feet trembled violently.
The veins across his face and body stood out as though they might burst.
It was proof that he had pushed his internal energy to its limit.
“Miss Eun, I'm sorry, but could you cool me down?”
Eun Seollan did not answer. Instead, seeing how badly Moyong Jaehwa's voice was cracking, she circulated the Lesser Jade Maiden Divine Art and cooled the heat radiating from his body.
Moyong Jaehwa closed his eyes for a moment. He looked as though he wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep.
But then...
Whoosh.
At the sound of an arrow cutting through the air, Moyong Jaehwa's eyes flew open. He shoved Eun Seollan aside and fell over her.
“Are you all right, Miss?”
Eun Seollan stiffened as Moyong Jaehwa landed on top of her, then barely managed to answer.
“Yes, I-I'm all right.”
“It looks like they're starting again.”
Moyong Jaehwa quickly got up and nocked an arrow.
Eun Seollan had personally retrieved the arrows fired by their enemies and brought them back to him.
Their fletching and arrowheads had been bent after being used once, but they were still far better than breaking branches to use as arrows.
Whoosh.
The arrow Moyong Jaehwa loosed flew across the encampment toward the blood-robed men.
It was nothing compared to the dozens of arrows they had fired, yet the blood-robed men could not take their eyes off his arrow.
Thud. Boom!
One of the men at the front, holding two overlapping shields, blocked the arrow. The impact sent them stumbling far back, disrupting their formation.
“Ghk!”
“Urgh!”
The blood-robed unit that had been about to advance darted back behind the rocks.
Moyong Jaehwa let out a long breath at the sight.
It had already been half a day.
They had spent all that time fighting the blood-robed men while the Martial Arts Academy students who had fallen under the illusion lay behind them.
Ilgak was waking people one by one, but even those who had barely regained consciousness could not move easily. Their insides were still in turmoil.
If there was one fortunate thing, it was that after he had fired several Horse-Piercing Arrows at the sorcerers, the illusion formation had not appeared again.
‘Should I even call that fortunate?’
The Horse-Piercing Arrows kept the blood-robed men from approaching, but they had already been surrounded.
They could neither advance nor retreat.
No, the moment they failed to stop the encirclement from closing in, everyone here would surely die.
Rustle, rustle.
The instant footsteps sounded behind them, Eun Seollan gathered cold energy in both hands.
A chill sharper than the wind of the high mountains gathered around her palms.
She immediately struck both hands toward the sound.
Swoooosh.
Crack, crack! Crack!
Sharp ice spikes burst from the forest floor, targeting the blood-robed men's ankles.
Moyong Jaehwa set down his bow, grabbed a sword whose owner he did not know, and charged at them.
Stab!
Clang, clang!
He killed two in an instant, but his unfamiliar swordsmanship left him locked in combat with the remaining two.
Then he gradually began to be pushed back.
‘Damn it... Fighting with swords is cheating!’
If they had been the sort to agree when he said, ‘Let's settle this with bows,’ they would not have ambushed them with dark arts in the first place.
Moyong Jaehwa silently cursed their cowardice as the blood-robed men's swords became harder and harder to withstand.
“Young Master Jaehwa! Duck!”
The moment Eun Seollan shouted, he ducked like lightning.
Ice spikes pierced the blood-robed men's chests.
“Ghk.”
“Grrk.”
The blood-robed men coughed up blood and collapsed.
Behind them, Eun Seollan was gasping, her face pale.
“Are you all right, Miss Eun?”
“Pant, pant, pant. I-I'm all right.”
Her skin had always been so translucent that her veins showed through, but now her face was utterly bloodless.
Anyone could see that she had pushed herself beyond her limits.
‘Damn it.’
Jin Sowoon had taught him how to fight many opponents with only a few allies, yet he had not been able to put it to use.
His warped arrows missed their targets constantly, and once the enemy realized their own arrows kept coming back at them, they began throwing spears and rocks instead.
‘If only I could use the Thunderclap Arrow...’
Moyong Jaehwa had never resented the fact that his martial arts were not especially strong.
Yet now, more desperately than ever, he wished for stronger martial arts.
If he had completed the Thunderclap Arrow, he could have reduced the Martial Arts Academy students' losses.
If he had the Thunderclap Arrow, he could have helped Eun Seollan escape.
Ever since dawn, there had been countless moments when he had wanted to use the incomplete Thunderclap Arrow.
Still, he could not bring himself to try.
Creak.
Whenever he drew the string, the joint between the horn and wood of his bow made a splitting sound.
The Thunderclap Arrow had snapped horn bows even when they were in perfect condition. Trying it now, when his bow was on the verge of breaking, was no different from throwing the weapon away.
A single mistake could cost him his life, Eun Seollan's life, and even the lives of the Martial Arts Academy students behind them.
It was not something he could attempt.
“Hoo...”
There was nothing he could do.
Moyong Jaehwa looked at Eun Seollan.
Her face, once as pure and elegant as a snowflake, was covered in soot. Her clothes were stained with dust and grime.
Her eyes were bloodshot from the aftereffects of the dark arts and lack of sleep, while her hands shook from pushing her martial arts to their limit.
‘At least... Miss Eun, at the very least...’
As he briefly weighed his options...
Thud! Boom! Boom!
Ilgak came toward them, knocking down blood-robed men as he advanced.
“Jaehwa, Seollan! Are you all right?”
Ilgak, who was asking after their well-being, did not look well himself.
There was no trace of the flawless Ilgak, one of the Martial Arts Academy's strongest students.
“As you can see, we're not completely all right.”
Moyong Jaehwa forced a smile, and Ilgak immediately understood what he meant.
“This cannot continue.”
Ilgak looked at the two of them.
“You must practice qi circulation.”
“What?”
“...”
Telling them to practice qi circulation in this urgent situation sounded utterly absurd.
Even so, Ilgak calmly continued.
“Even a handful of internal energy will be enough. Gather only enough to use your movement arts.”
Moyong Jaehwa finally understood Ilgak's intention and shook his head.
“That is...”
Ilgak cut him off and spoke firmly.
“Now is not the time to argue. We must inform the Martial Alliance at once.”
Moyong Jaehwa nodded, then looked at Eun Seollan.
“Miss Eun, practice qi circulation.”
“What? What do you mean? What about you, Young Master Jaehwa?”
“I'll stay behind.”
“Jaehwa!”
Even as Ilgak urged him, Moyong Jaehwa spoke without wavering.
“If delivering the news was important, we should have done it a day ago.”
“...”
Ilgak pressed his lips together at the words that pointed out his mistake.
“If we leave now, everyone over there will die. Are you willing to accept that?”
Ilgak turned to look behind him.
There were his fellow disciples from the sect, fellow disciples from lay martial sects, and dozens of people from the Orthodox Society with whom he had formed ties.
They would all die here.
Without realizing it, Ilgak clenched his fist. He never wanted to witness such a sight.
“...”
“I am not.”
Who would want to see such a thing?
But someone had to survive.
And the ones who should survive were those who bore no responsibility for this.
Whether Moyong Jaehwa understood Ilgak's feelings or not, he continued.
“Besides, when I think of Brother Sowoon, who will arrive soon, I don't want him to see me fleeing alone.”
Ilgak wanted to refute him at once.
Did he still believe Jin Sowoon would come here?
“...”
Jin Sowoon could not come. It was something no one could accomplish easily, and it was wrong to expect it at all.
Yet Ilgak suppressed those thoughts and barely managed to ask.
“Even if that faith is betrayed... do you think you won't regret it?”
The question was heavy with the doubt he had felt.
Then...
“Yes.”
Moyong Jaehwa answered without the slightest hesitation.
“...!”
Without even a trace of doubt.
He stared straight at Ilgak with unwavering eyes and answered again.
“Yes.”
“...”
It was faith without conditions.
Faith so pure it seemed almost noble.
At that point, Ilgak became curious about its source.
Was it rooted in Moyong Jaehwa's innocence?
Or was it the result of the responsibility Jin Sowoon had shown?
“I understand. Then at least Miss Seollan...”
Ilgak and Moyong Jaehwa looked at Eun Seollan.
Eun Seollan answered with a sullen expression.
“You said Brother Jin is coming. Why should I do something dangerous?”
Ilgak and Moyong Jaehwa nodded at the same time.
‘Right.’
‘That's true.’
Without realizing it, Ilgak had come to believe just as Moyong Jaehwa did.
As the two realized their foolishness, Eun Seollan pointed ahead.
“They're coming!”
Ilgak turned and frowned.
“They've prepared a countermeasure against Jaehwa's arrows.”
The blood-robed men had realized ordinary shields could no longer stop Moyong Jaehwa's arrows. They began advancing with iron plates fitted with pot lids and large rocks balanced over their heads.
Moyong Jaehwa cursed when he saw the sight he least wanted to see.
“Damn it...”
Knowing the Horse-Piercing Arrows would no longer work, Moyong Jaehwa desperately circulated his qi and gathered a handful of true qi.
“We have no choice but to fight in close combat.”
At Ilgak's words, Moyong Jaehwa looked behind them.
Not one of the Martial Arts Academy students was capable of fighting properly.
This was not Changban Bridge. It was absurd for only three people to hold back hundreds.
‘There is no other way.’
He pulled out a proper arrow, one he had avoided using until the very last moment.
“It is still incomplete, but one shot should deal considerable damage to the unit in front. If it fails... then...”
Moyong Jaehwa could not continue.
He did not want to imagine such a terrible future.
With desperate resolve, he nocked the arrow and began to draw the bowstring.
Creeeeak.
The horn bow, already at its limit, let out a scream.
‘Just once... Hold together just once!’
He poured the power of the Moyong Clan's Heaven-and-Earth Shattering Flash Sword into the arrowhead.
The arrow he held steady with both hands shook violently, and the horn bow trembled just as fiercely.
Creeeak.
As he carefully fed in the bare minimum of the Heaven-and-Earth Shattering Flash Sword's power and released the arrow...
Crack.
The horn bow finally broke apart.
Twanging.
The severed bowstring drooped helplessly.
“Damn it!!!!”
The blood-robed men saw Moyong Jaehwa's bow break, threw down their rocks and shields, and began to charge.
Ilgak and Eun Seollan did not even have time to console Moyong Jaehwa.
The blood-robed men, as though resentful of having been forced to hide from Jaehwa's arrows all this time, rushed at them like madmen.
“Jaehwa, fall back.”
Ilgak brought his palms together, then unleashed two shimmering golden fists at the enemy.
Thudthudthudthudthud!
Thudthudthudthudthud!
The Dragon King Wandering Fist struck more than thirty times in a single second, sending the blood-robed men flying. Yet the gaps were immediately filled by more blood-robed men charging in from behind.
“Haaat!”
Swoooosh.
Eun Seollan unleashed the Lesser Jade Maiden Divine Art, freezing the blood-robed men's bodies, but her ice arts had run out of strength and no longer posed much of a threat.
Moyong Jaehwa picked up his sword again and wielded it with clumsy swordsmanship.
With no way left to defend themselves, they were surrounded by the blood-robed men and prepared for death.
Then...
“Arghhhhhhh!”
Green radiance rained down in every direction, crushing the blood-robed men's heads and caving in their chests.
Boomboomboomboomboom!
Boom! Boomboom!
The savage explosions scattered sand and dust in every direction. Ilgak, Moyong Jaehwa, and the others instinctively shut their eyes, then barely managed to squint them open and identify the newcomer.
“Pant, pant, pant!”
The enormous figure was pale, as though every last bit of mental and physical strength had been spent.
Large wounds covered his body as well.
It was difficult to understand how he had even made it this far.
The giant looked at Moyong Jaehwa and said, “Pant, pant. You, you. Moyong Jaehwa! You're Moyong Jaehwa, right?”
Moyong Jaehwa saw the giant's face and stared in shock.
“N-Nam Hwaseong? Why are you here...?”
“Pant, pant. I-I'm glad you're alive. I'm really glad!”
Nam Hwaseong trembled with emotion as though he had found a younger brother he had lost.
Moyong Jaehwa, the person in question, was utterly bewildered.
Why was Nam Hwaseong of all people appearing here?
And why was he so relieved that Moyong Jaehwa had survived?
Nam Hwaseong swallowed painfully and barely continued.
“...Jin Sowoon. Jin Sowoon sent me.”
“Ah! I knew it!!!”
Nam Hwaseong practically threw the baggage he had been carrying at Moyong Jaehwa.
Moyong Jaehwa wanted to hear what had happened, but neither the blood-robed men's encirclement nor Nam Hwaseong's condition allowed for conversation.
As he absentmindedly examined the baggage, Moyong Jaehwa saw a long iron rod sticking out and tilted his head.
‘What is this...?’
There were small grooves at either end and a grip wrapped in leather at the center of the iron rod.
The bundle was also filled with arrows and Heavenly Silkworm Thread.
They were items that naturally made him wonder why Jin Sowoon had wanted to send them to him.
Then something suddenly came to mind.
“N-no way...”
Moyong Jaehwa's gaze moved between the Heavenly Silkworm Thread and the iron rod.
“An iron bow?”
Footnotes:
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