Chapter 25

Jin Ja-gang counted the final number loud enough for everyone to hear.

Then he finally stood up, shaking off the loosely tied ropes.

Great Desert Saber flinched.

Jin Ja-gang didn’t emit any aura or pressure whatsoever. But Great Desert Saber tensed momentarily because Jin Ja-gang was acting as if he had something up his sleeve.

However, Great Desert Saber soon found it ridiculous that he’d become tense because of a mere child, and smirked.

“Impudent brat, trying to fool your elder with such amateur tricks. Is it you? Are you really the one who escaped?”

Jin Ja-gang pointed his finger at Great Desert Saber.

“…”

Of course, nothing happened. Great Desert Saber grew angry. Moreover, his mouth felt strangely hot, and his stomach was starting to ache slightly, making him very uncomfortable.

“You little b*st*rd, stay right there.”

Great Desert Saber dug his heels into the horse’s sides and leapt high into the air.

He intended to jump onto the cart in one bound, stepping on its edge to either beat Jin Ja-gang or behead him…

But absurdly, Great Desert Saber slipped after missing his footing on the cart’s edge.

“Huh?”

Not only did he slip, but he slid outward, falling forward and hitting his head on the edge of the cart.

Crash!

Great Desert Saber fell outside the cart.

Everyone was speechless at this bizarre incident.

How could a master of Great Desert Saber’s caliber make a mistake while jumping just a few steps’ distance?

The Extreme Poison Sect warriors, Relentless Dagger, and even the messenger couldn’t understand it.

But what was even stranger was that Great Desert Saber, who had fallen beneath the cart, wasn’t getting up.

“Hey, Desert.”

Relentless Dagger, who was at the front, called out to Great Desert Saber.

“Desert!”

But there was no response from Great Desert Saber.

Even if he was embarrassed, a master like Great Desert Saber wouldn’t die just from hitting his head.

Relentless Dagger moved a step to the side to look at Great Desert Saber who had fallen under the cart.

“Kkeuk, kkeuk!”

Great Desert Saber was foaming blood at the mouth and thrashing his body.

Relentless Dagger was shocked.

“Poison!”

The Extreme Poison Sect warriors were startled by these words and moved away from the cart.

“When did that…!”

Relentless Dagger glared at Jin Ja-gang, who was standing quietly on the cart, and shouted.

“You! What did you do to Great Desert Saber!”

Jin Ja-gang didn’t answer and just stared silently at Relentless Dagger.

Though it was disconcerting, Relentless Dagger felt pressured by just that look.

“This b*st*rd…”

Relentless Dagger gripped his dagger and gritted his teeth. But since he had no idea what Jin Ja-gang had done or how he’d done it, he couldn’t act rashly.

If he wasn’t careful, he might end up dying like Great Desert Saber without knowing why.

In that interval, Jin Ja-gang spoke to Yong-myeong.

“Go.”

“But…”

Yong-myeong hesitated.

Having observed Jin Ja-gang up close, Yong-myeong knew what he had done.

It happened right after Great Desert Saber had beheaded the old man on the cart.

While others were making a commotion and struggling, tangled together, Jin Ja-gang had hidden himself among them and moved his hand without blinking an eye.

He couldn’t see clearly, but it appeared that Jin Ja-gang had sprinkled his own blood droplets onto Great Desert Saber’s sword.

There was no killing intent, and the action of sprinkling blood was completely concealed by the others’ commotion, making it a natural movement that was difficult to notice.

At the time, Yong-myeong wondered what significance it could have, but immediately afterward, Great Desert Saber licked the blood on his sword.

And after Jin Ja-gang counted to ten, Great Desert Saber died of poisoning.

The numbers Jin Ja-gang had counted were calculating the time it would take for the poison to spread through the body.

It was truly astonishing.

Even though Yong-myeong was watching from the side, he couldn’t tell that poison was being used. That’s why Great Desert Saber had become poisoned without knowing it.

Having witnessed the entire process, Yong-myeong knew that Jin Ja-gang would find it difficult to do anything more to Relentless Dagger. That’s why he was telling them to go.

Soon, all the Medicine King Sect prisoners untied their ropes and quietly stood up, climbing down from the cart.

The warriors and the messenger looked at Relentless Dagger, not knowing what to do.

Relentless Dagger shouted.

“Stop them! That little brat…”

Jin Ja-gang also shouted back.

“If you move, I’ll kill you all!”

At these words, the warriors who were about to move stopped again.

Great Desert Saber was a master far beyond comparison with these men. Just moments ago, he had taken two lives in an instant, showing off his martial prowess.

Yet that same Great Desert Saber had died without being able to do anything, as if struck by a bolt from the blue. What could ordinary warriors do?

They couldn’t not block the way, but they also didn’t want to die pointlessly by standing in the way. They were simply stuck, unable to do one thing or another.

During this pause, the Medicine King Sect prisoners headed toward the mountain. They planned to climb up and escape.

Naturally, Relentless Dagger wouldn’t allow that.

With Great Desert Saber dead and himself now in charge, he couldn’t tolerate this any longer.

‘Because of just one child!’

Relentless Dagger exuded killing intent and shouted with internal energy.

“Stop them! I’ll take care of the child! If even one escapes, I’ll kill you all!”

The four Extreme Poison Sect warriors had no choice but to chase after the Medicine King Sect prisoners. A fight broke out.

“Waaaa!”

“Kill them!”

“Aaagh!”

“Kuk!”

Screams erupted.

Most of the Medicine King Sect people were weakened from torture, so the screams mainly came from their side, but they were numerous enough to somewhat hold their ground.

However, when Jin Ja-gang saw that people couldn’t escape and a fight had broken out, he unconsciously turned his gaze.

No matter how intelligent and bold he might be, he was still a child, and his concentration inevitably wavered momentarily.

That was an extremely dangerous act when facing an enemy.

Especially against a master like Relentless Dagger, who prided himself on his long-range throwing daggers!

“You!”

A throwing dagger left Relentless Dagger’s outstretched hand.

The dagger instantly cut through the air, aiming for Jin Ja-gang’s heart.

“No!”

Yong-myeong, who hadn’t yet left Jin Ja-gang’s side, sensed the danger the moment Jin Ja-gang turned his gaze. He threw his body forward to shield Jin Ja-gang.

Thunk!

The dagger deeply penetrated his shoulder. No, it went through his shoulder and embedded itself in Jin Ja-gang’s abdomen.

When Relentless Dagger pulled the string attached to the dagger, Jin Ja-gang screamed. The tip of the dagger was hook-shaped, making it impossible to pull out.

“Aaaargh!”

Yong-myeong resisted being pulled away, but being skewered together with Jin Ja-gang, they were both dragged toward Relentless Dagger.

“Nngh!”

“Vice Sect Leader!”

Fortunately, one of the Medicine King Sect prisoners picked up the sword Great Desert Saber had dropped and cut the string.

Ting!

As the string broke, Yong-myeong and Jin Ja-gang tumbled backward.

“Don’t interfere!”

Relentless Dagger rushed forward and threw another dagger. But the one who had cut the string didn’t dodge and took the dagger with his body.

“Keogh!”

The throwing dagger pierced the center of the Medicine King Sect prisoner’s chest. But as if determined never to let go, he gripped the dagger tightly and fell forward.

Because the dagger had a string attached, Relentless Dagger had no choice but to abandon it and draw a new dagger.

During this time, more Medicine King Sect people rushed over and stood in front of Yong-myeong and Jin Ja-gang.

“You scum! Get out of my way!”

Relentless Dagger drew two more daggers, intending to cut down the Medicine King Sect people directly.

But in the meantime, the Medicine King Sect people had knocked the messenger off his horse and put Yong-myeong and Jin Ja-gang on it.

The only problem was finding a way to escape.

The path behind led back to the Extreme Poison Sect, and ahead was the fearsome master Relentless Dagger, approaching with terrifying momentum.

The remaining Medicine King Sect people looked at each other and swallowed dryly.

Relentless Dagger shouted.

“Move aside or die!”

Rather than backing down at Relentless Dagger’s shout, they were ignited with fighting spirit. Then they charged toward Relentless Dagger.

“Uwaaaaah!”

“Kill him, kill him!”

They ran toward Relentless Dagger with their arms wide open, and even when Relentless Dagger cut them with his dagger, it was useless. Even as they fell, they desperately grabbed hold of Relentless Dagger’s clothing.

Relentless Dagger instantly cut down three people but couldn’t advance further.

At that moment, a shadow fell over Relentless Dagger’s head.

Neigh!

Relentless Dagger quickly ducked and rolled.

A horse jumped over Relentless Dagger and passed by. He could see Yong-myeong’s back on the horse.

Relentless Dagger raised his dagger.

With his view obstructed by the cart, he jumped onto it to throw his dagger.

But his foot wouldn’t lift.

“Eek!”

Looking down, he saw a young man from the Medicine King Sect, his facial skin partially peeled from torture, holding onto Relentless Dagger’s foot.

“Hehe, you can’t go…”

Before the young man could finish his sentence, Relentless Dagger, with a terrifying expression, stabbed the young man’s head with his dagger.

The young man’s eyes instantly lost their light.

When Relentless Dagger looked up again, the horse carrying Yong-myeong and Jin Ja-gang had already galloped beyond the reach of his daggers.

It was too late.

“Damn it.”

Looking around, the situation was chaotic.

Three warriors and the messenger were either dead or severely injured, with only one surviving with minor injuries.

All the Medicine King Sect people were dead.

“Urrrgh!”

Relentless Dagger gritted his teeth.

Losing Jin Ja-gang was his responsibility.

But the situation had reached this point because Mang-ryo had lost Jin Ja-gang in the first place.

“Mang-ryo! That stupid old man!”

Furious, Relentless Dagger stomped on the young man who was still holding his leg.

Thump, thump!

Already a cold corpse, the young man couldn’t even scream.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

Jin Ja-gang, carried on the front of the saddle by Yong-myeong, looked back.

He could see the Medicine King Sect people dying. He also saw how they were blocking Relentless Dagger with their lives until the very end.

“Run.”

His mother, who was dying after being bitten by the Five-Colored Centipede, had done the same. Even as she was dying, his mother had worried about Jin Ja-gang until the very end.

Remembering that scene, tears streamed down Jin Ja-gang’s face.

They were people he didn’t even know and had only been with for a short time. Even if their sacrifice wasn’t solely for Jin Ja-gang, it was thanks to their sacrifice that Jin Ja-gang had finally survived.

“Because of me…”

Jin Ja-gang sobbed.

A warm hand gently rested on his head.

“No. It’s not because of you. They chose to die proudly here rather than live and die as slaves to the Extreme Poison Sect for the rest of their lives.”

But even as he said this, Yong-myeong was also crying. He had just lost everyone from his sect, who were like family to him.

Jin Ja-gang knew that pain all too well.

“I will never forgive them. I’ll kill them all without leaving any behind. I swear to the gods of heaven and earth! I will never give up until I’ve killed them all!”

Jin Ja-gang cried out.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Clop, clop, clop!

Leaving behind Jin Ja-gang’s tears and painful cries, the horse continued to gallop without stopping.