23 – 02# The Reality of the Earth after Rain (6)

The Black SerpentsChapter 23 – 02# The Reality of the Earth after Rain (6)

– a name that meant sowing black death – were without a doubt the most elite unit the Black Inverse Gate boasted. Although the Black Inverse Gate was now utterly ruined.

Back when they were at their zenith, the Black Serpents even had a record of capturing a peak expert from the Sichuan Tang Clan, one of the Five Great Righteous Sects, using only their first-rate warriors.

Of course, the current Black Serpents were a pathetic shadow of their former glory, but even so, they could still bury a single first-rate master who hadn’t reached the pinnacle.

Won-gi, the captain and leader of the Black Serpents, was certain of it. Overcoming a difference in cultivation level in a head-on battle, as the Righteous hypocrites were so fond of, was virtually impossible.

However, to say that there were absolutely no means to close that gap would be another matter entirely. Especially when dealing with the pragmatic martial arts of the Unorthodox clans, rather than the hypocrisy-obsessed Righteous ones.

“Use the Black Plague Corpsefire.”

“Is that not a poison… a *most* potent poison, that even the Black Inverse Gate struggles to fabricate?”

“But the foe is no transcendent master. Is this not… a waste?”

“This battle is one we absolutely *cannot* afford to lose. Consider your opponent a transcendent master, and fight accordingly.”

This is no mere voodoo concoction, brewed by chanting shamans dabbling in the occult. This is, quite literally, the Black Inverse Gate’s ultimate creation – their most dreadful poison.

Even so, funds and manpower proved so scarce that they required assistance from the Black Serpent Union to finally complete it. Meaning… If they fail to recover it here, it can never be remade.

Of course, the Black Inverse Jade Dew is itself a poison difficult for the Black Inverse Gate to currently produce. But weighed against *that*, the Scales of Endurance must take precedence.

“Soo-ah, can you protect Seol-hwa?”

“Of course.”

“Good. But you must not allow their swords, their projectiles, to touch you even once.”

“Not even…a graze?”

“They employ poisonous arts. Should poison seep into your body, it is over. One might resist somewhat with internal energy… but even that is impossible against *this* poison.”

Moo-myung, instantly perceiving the ominous shift in the Black Serpent Squad’s demeanor, pre-emptively cautioned Soo-ah. Granted, martial novels featuring such potent poison skills were indeed rare…

Still, unless one had achieved invulnerability to all toxins, caution could only be beneficial. But Soo-ah, alas, interpreted Moo-myung’s intent in a wholly different manner.

‘To identify foes wielding such virulent poisons so readily… What battles has Master faced, truly?’

Though the Mo-yong Clan had severed ties with the *murim*, they were not entirely ignorant of its ways. At least, they possessed knowledge of the heretical factions that stood as rivals to the orthodox.

Yet even those heterodox sects, fond of employing wicked martial arts, rarely resorted to such dire poisons. And yet, Master, at first glance, had not only recognized their affiliation with the Demonic Sect…

But even further: that they would resort to a poison so lethal that even a graze could be fatal. This implies that all foes faced by him have employed similar tactics without exception.

No, it runs even deeper.

Enemies who would use deadly poison as if it were nothing.

Can one even assume they would refrain from other dirty tricks? They must have employed tactics unimaginably vile. Soo-ah, herself, had firsthand experience of this.

Just what battles have you endured?

What hells have you witnessed with those eyes?

Soo-ah gazed blankly at Moo-myung’s back, which stood resolutely before her. Though he wore threadbare rags and his white hair, almost like an old man’s, scattered in the wind.

Even so.

His back seemed as vast as a mountain.

“Sajeo… I… I am so afraid.”

“……!!”

Seol-hwa’s pallid hand grasped Soo-ah’s waist. Seol-hwa’s arms, trembling ceaselessly like an aspen leaf, more than adequately conveyed the fear she harbored.

Seol-hwa, who had never displayed fear in any situation. Or rather, who had seemingly accepted everything. The sa-mae who continued to laugh, even when getting battered in a one-sided spar.

Now, she trembled like a mouse before a cat. And at that instant, words Master had once spoken came back to her. That single sentence that had dispelled all jealousy.

[Often it is said that a master and disciple are as parent and child. Would it not follow then, that disciples are as siblings to one another?]

Therefore, as the elder sister, you shall protect Seolhwa.

Sooa, instead of a reply, took Seolhwa’s hand. With just that, Sooa’s trembling ceased as if a lie. And in that instant, swords, brimming with killing intent, were swung towards each other.

◇

“Deploy the formation!!!”

The First Troop, specialized in all-out battles, would form a battle line and buy time, while the Second Troop, masters of toxic arts, would seize the opening to unleash their poison. Simple, but all the more effective for it.

The leader, veins bulging in his neck, roared with all his might, and the warriors swiftly began to assume their formation. Of course, Muyeong was not one to simply stand by and watch.

In ordinary times, he would have charged forth without hesitation, beheading them all. But now, Muyeong’s ankles were bound, and the reason was none other than poisoned projectiles.

While the First Troop of the Black Serpent Guard was deploying their formation, the Second Troop, from behind, was launching poison-laced projectiles. Had they been aimed at him, he would have scoffed and brushed them aside as he charged onward.

“Cunning beyond measure.”

“When a human seeks to capture a dragon, what scruples can they afford?”

“Cowardly scum… How far have you forsaken your humanity?!”

Sooa, unable to contain herself, burst out with indignation at the leader’s nonchalant reply to Muyeong’s soliloquy. Yes, their target was none other than Sooa and Seolhwa.

Of course, the Black Serpent Guard knew that poison had no effect on Seolhwa. They wouldn’t be so worried if they weren’t hitting vital points. However, Muyeong and Sooa could not know this, and

Even if they did know, they could not simply stand by and watch as the projectiles visibly pierced their skin. In the end, Muyeong was left with no choice but to remain in place and deflect every single projectile.

And in that brief window, the First Troop succeeded in completing their encirclement. Muyeong clicked his tongue at their coordinated movements. Indeed, they were not some ragtag band of third-rate martial artists?

“Their combined strength surpasses even the Moorim House of Moyaong’s Dragon Guard.”

“There was talk of an unknown master who spoiled the Moorim House of Moyaong’s endeavors… It seems that master was you?”

“I did not spoil, but pruned away the corrupt branches.”

“Indeed… So this has all been a calculated scheme.”

Come to think of it, he wouldn’t have found the High Venom by chance from the river.

As they exchanged words, the leader’s suspicion solidified into certainty. He had heard from secretive allies that they had suffered a significant setback in the Moorim House of Moyaong recently and were forced to retreat.

‘…Does that mean, could that old man possibly be…?’

“Great Leader, is something the matter?”

“Nothing. Quickly unleash the poisonous art and kill those two brats.”

The leader forcefully suppressed the thought and issued orders to his men. At the leader’s command, the First Troop of the Black Serpent Guard prepared their defenses, while the Second Troop retrieved their poisons and readied their toxic arts.

Some members of the Second Troop were even preparing to launch projectiles at the children, seeking to exploit any opening. If they chose offense, the children would die; if they merely defended, they would eventually succumb to the toxic arts.

Of course, the situation would be different if their opponent was a master who had reached the realm of immunity to all poisons. But in this vast world of martial arts, absolute masters who had attained that level of immunity could be counted on one’s fingers.

If the Black Serpent Union’s information was accurate, there were at most five such individuals in this vast world, and even they were all renowned masters of righteous sects.

A checkmate, the Black Serpent Guard warriors, save for their leader, believed. But in that instant, Muyeong swung his sword. The horizontally held blade traced a line like a horizon, cleaving the air.

Was it merely a trick of the light, this feeling that a sea-vast luminescence flowed from the line drawn in the void? In that instant, when the beauty of the light stole their gaze, it was their last memory.

The leader, having at least prepared beforehand, barely managed to cling to life. Yet his eyes widened like saucers. The Black Serpent Squad was the Black Evil Gate’s vaunted elite.

No matter how formidable their opponent, they were not ones to fall in a single blow. Therefore, even if it meant accepting some sacrifices, he had forcibly pushed forward.

‘Just what…! What sorcery is this?!’

The leader had witnessed quite a number of absolute masters from both the Orthodox and Unorthodox sects. He knew, with absolute certainty, that the technique wielded by this unknown elder was utterly beyond comprehension.

Such an impossible technique… he’d never even heard tell of it. Even the battle-hardened leader couldn’t have foreseen it – a technique that shattered the Black Serpent Squad’s formation with a single strike. Its name was, simply:

Horizontal Slash.