If the opponent has finished their preparations, it’s better to avoid them.
This is a note that martial artists keep in mind when dealing with those who handle poisons and dark arts. If an opponent skilled in poisons and dark arts is fully prepared and at a distance, one must endure incredible damage to win.
That’s why Tang Geoh and the black-clad men pushed the thieves forward beforehand to exhaust the large amounts of poisons and dark arts that the Guard Unit had.
Although the Guard Unit completed their battle preparations and the black-clad men were glaring at them, they couldn’t act hastily due to the exhausted poisons and dark arts.
“What a bunch of cowards for all their shouting.”
Always boasting but too scared to do anything significant out of fear for the insects’ gaze. It was clear they shrank back in fear having run out of poisons and dark arts. Tang Geoh sneered at the unmoving Guard Unit.
“We are also ready.”
One of the black-clad men spoke to Tang Geoh.
“If you’re offering the first move, I won’t refuse.”
Nodding at Tang Geoh, the front line of the black-clad men surged towards the Guard Unit.
Even as the black-clad men charged at the Guard Unit, no dark arts flew.
The first line, trained in external martial arts, would hardly be hit by a mere dark arts attack, but with no signs of an impending attack, the black-clad men became confident of victory.
The scheme had indeed worked. If they tore through the middle of the Guard Unit, the second line would follow up to tidy things up.
Before long, the distance between the black-clad men and the Guard Unit shrank to about ten steps. The black-clad men were assured of victory.
“Everyone, fire.”
Just before the quiet command of the Guard Unit leader could be heard.
“Cough!”
“Gaaah!”
The flower of dark arts blossomed. Numerous flowers pierced through the black vase, and their targets collapsed without taking a few steps.
The black-clad men mistook it for them being unable to throw attacks due to having exhausted their dark arts, but in truth, it was the leader of the Guard Unit’s strategy, waiting for them to reach a lethal range due to a lack of dark arts.
“Cough! Break through!”
“The left side is weak!”
The surviving first line of black-clad men pressed into the thin dark arts barrier on the left flank of the Guard Unit.
The leader of the Guard Unit saw some of their members getting sliced by blades but trusted the prepared members against the approaching second line of black-clad men.
“Spread the poison! We must clean up the first line before the second line comes!”
“Charge!”
The guard members took out the poisoned blades they had not used in the chaotic fighting with the thieves.
“Ow! My leg!”
The second line of black-clad men halted their charge instantly at the sprinkled poison. In the meantime, the Guard Unit cleaned up the first line that had burrowed into their ranks.
“We can’t let the entirety of the first line die like this. Use poison!”
One black-clad man with purple hair, who had been observing the situation from behind, urgently spoke to Tang Geoh.
“Do as you please.”
“Second line, retreat! The wind blows towards the Guard Unit, so spread the poison mist!”
The black-clad men with purple hair surged forward and began creating suspicious smoke.
“We must capture those Tang family bastards before the poison mist reaches us!”
The leader of the Guard Unit shouted, staring at the curling smoke rising.
“It’s too risky to penetrate the poison mist to go to the enemy’s ranks!”
For the Guard members to eliminate the traitors enveloped in the poison mist, they would have to risk both the black-clad men’s attacks and the dangers of poisoning.
“Ugh!”
In a defensive position. Ordering to eliminate the traitors only meant ordering them to die together. The leader of the Guard Unit swallowed a pained breath as they gazed at the traitors.
That’s when it happened.
“Cough!”
A dark art pierced the neck of a purple-haired black-clad man who was off guard.
“What, what is happening? How can there be a person in the poison mist?”
The black-clad man cried out upon seeing a figure walking through the poison mist, though he figured it must be someone from the Tang family and couldn’t be fine in the poisonous fog.
“It’s no poison for me.”
Emerging from the poison mist was Lady Tang.
“It’s a poison user! The poison user has appeared from the mist!”
“Lady Tang! Capture that girl!”
“Not all here are from the Tang family. How do you expect to catch her when she vanishes into the poison mist?”
“Help me!”
Despite the panic among the black-clad men, Lady Tang darted through the poison mist, taking down the traitors from the Tang family one by one before returning to her original ranks.
“I’m back.”
“Are you okay, Hwa-rin?”
“Cough cough. Were you worried?”
The leader of the Guard Unit observed the affectionate exchange between the two worries with a bewildered expression before turning to look at the black-clad men once more.
Fortunately, the poison mist had stopped spreading and blocked the way between the two armies like a river. The supplies of dark arts were now running low. To make full use of the remaining poisons and dark arts, they would have to prepare for a chaotic battle.
“Prepare yourselves!”
How much Tang family blood would flow? The leader of the Guard Unit prayed as they took out a weapon meant for chaotic fighting from their garments.
“Ugh…”
Who would have thought they would struggle this much? Tang Geoh stared at the Guard Unit with a stunned expression. After a moment’s standoff, the mist finally cleared.
Through the collected mist, Tang Geoh could see the empty dark arts containers among their ranks.
“Now! Charge!”
With the obstacles removed, the black-clad men surged toward the Guard Unit.
———–
As expected by the leader of the Guard Unit, it turned into chaos.
As the black-clad men burrowed into their ranks, casualties began to appear everywhere.
Although the martial artists of the Tang family were not weak in close combat, since the Guard Unit was in charge of medicine, many martial artists were relatively neglectful of close combat.
Of course, conversely, there were strong martial artists in close combat as well.
“I will take you all on!”
As the leader of the Guard Unit swung their golden whip, black-clad men fell with a single hit.
“The Golden Dragon Whip? What’s a Tang family artifact doing here?”
The golden whip wielded by the Guard Unit leader was made from the leather of special spirit beasts, and it resembled scales growing on a dragon’s body, making it suitable for a chaotic battle.
Only those trained in the Golden Dragon Whip technique could wield it, making it perfect for the chaos at hand.
“Gaaah!”
Each time the leader of the Guard Unit swung the whip, flesh from the black-clad men was torn away.
“Golden Dragon Whip! I had no idea the leader of the Guard Unit had learned it!”
“Move away! I’ll deal with the Golden Dragon Whip!”
Tang Geoh pushed aside the black-clad men in trouble and stood before the Guard Unit leader.
“You! I will take your head back to my clan!”
The Golden Dragon Whip of the leader of the Guard Unit whirled towards Tang Geoh in an unpredictable trajectory.
“Haha! Just die here. I will forever etch my name into the Tang family as the creator of the poisonous user.”
Tang Geoh lightly swatted away the incoming whip with his hand.
“Blocking the Golden Dragon Whip? The hand of the black stain? You! How did you learn the Gujeolmanok-su?”
Tang Geoh’s hand was filled with stains, reminiscent of Lady Tang’s skin.
Gujeolmanok-su. A poison technique where just a brush would infect someone with one of fifteen poisons, it had disappeared during a mission to eliminate the faction that was experimenting with poison users years ago in the Tang family.
“I revived the practical poison user, so I can handle this much.”
“You weren’t just experimenting on the bastard child of your family!”
“Haha! Whether the body is a lump of poison or the hand is a lump of poison is quite similar! I also did it to satisfy my curiosity!”
“You bastard!”
“Then you can die now!”
As Tang Geoh realized that the Golden Dragon Whip was just a nuisance, he charged right at the Guard Unit leader.
When Tang Geoh swung the Gujeolmanok-su at close range, the Guard Unit leader reached out to block. A foolish decision. The moment the Gujeolmanok-su brushed against them, it was game over for even the leader of the famous Guard Unit.
Tang Geoh smirked in confidence as he aimed for the leader’s hand. But no wound appeared on the leader’s hand, and rather, the extreme yang energy penetrated Tang Geoh’s hand.
“Three Yang Divine Palm?”
Tang Geoh grabbed his burning hand and stepped back, questioning.
“Good eyes.”
“Why is a leader of the Guard Unit practicing the direct descendant’s techniques…”
The yang energy burned the poison. For someone hailing from a family specializing in poison, undergoing the mainline techniques was fatal for Tang Geoh, who had mastered the Gujeolmanok-su.
“This is because our family head is not constrained by lineage or status.”
“Ugh!”
Tang Geoh staggered.
The extreme yang energy invaded his body. Just getting hit with the Three Yang Divine Palm was enough to cause extreme internal damage, and the yang energy burning the poison made it even more lethal for Tang Geoh, who had mastered the Gujeolmanok-su.
It’s dangerous like this.
Tang Geoh sensed that things might not wrap up as he had planned.
Am I winning?
I have maintained a safe position while experiencing chemical warfare training, watching the situation unfold.
Victory seems closer.
The Tang family’s poisonous user faction got sorted out by Hwa-rin, and most of the black-clad men who had come to cause chaos are also being cleaned up.
The Guard Unit suffers considerable damage, and I see people dying ceaselessly, but unless there are unforeseen variables, it seems like the Guard Unit will emerge victorious.
‘If only it weren’t for those bastards.’
Even in this situation, I am watching the six or so black-clad men standing far away with their arms crossed.
If the ones being dealt with are generic extra mob enemies, those black-clad men exude a pressure like they’re the massive monsters that show up in the last three minutes.
I hope they’re just here to watch the fight from the VIP seats and then leave, but it seems that’s not the case.
“Cough!”
In the chaos, I saw Tang Geoh’s flesh being torn from the leader’s whip. While they were boasting about their martial arts like it was an elite competition, it seemed like the leader of the Guard Unit was winning.
It seems like the Guard Unit leader has eaten all the good herbs that came in. Despite being in charge of medicine, they don’t seem fatigued at all. What a relief.
Tang Geoh, at this point, was at a level where he had to shout that the Three Yang Divine Palm was going to burn the Gujeolmanok-su.
“I can’t watch anymore!”
So he finally decides to jump in.
One of the black-clad men from afar quickly approached and grabbed the Guard Unit leader’s whip. Then, he started injecting some suspicious energy into the whip.
The leader of the Guard Unit jumped back, shocked, letting go of the whip.
“What is this, magic? Tang Geoh you bastard! Have you allied with the Demonic Cult?!”
So it was a member of the Demonic Cult. No wonder things are taking a turn for the worse.
“…”
Tang Geoh, taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, either from being beaten by the leader of the Guard Unit or from the revelation of the Demonic Cult’s identity, averted his gaze.
“Did you dare mention the number one family of the world after becoming the pawns of the Demonic Cult?!”
“I feel like I’ve done all I can; it’s time to step in.”
Ignoring the Guard Unit leader, the black-clad man asked Tang Geoh.
“… Spare half of them.”
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