Chapter 352

They’re coming.

The Green Shadow Squad martial artist had blurted out a disjointed sentence.

But insight struck Tang Sadok like a flash of lightning. It gave form to the small unease he had harbored in his heart, and it was the conclusion drawn from all the experience he had accumulated over the years.

The murderer isn’t alone!

The one-armed man who had killed his father and the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun was coming to the Sichuan Tang Clan with his subordinates.

Who the true mastermind was, how many men they had, and how they had managed to move through Sichuan as freely as their own backyard—none of that mattered now.

The next moment, Tang Sadok’s voice erupted like a thunderbolt.

“One Origin, Three Divisions, and Five Squads—prepare to meet the enemy!”

Rumble!

The pavilion trembled beneath the enormous shout, laden with powerful internal energy.

The disturbance had occurred in none other than the Family Head’s Hall. The first to react were Tang Sadok’s guards surrounding the pavilion.

“Family Head!”

Bang!

By the time the guards burst inside, smashing through the pavilion, the clan members who had heard Tang Sadok’s shout were already spreading his orders throughout the family compound.

Within fifteen minutes, hundreds of Tang Family members, united by venomous resolve and resentment, would assemble.

And then…

I’ll show you what the Tang Family’s revenge looks like.

Despite the fury boiling in his chest, Tang Sadok’s eyes had grown as cold as the northern wind and bitter snow.

“Family Head, what in the world is—”

“The men who deserve to die are coming. That is all.”

He waved away the bewildered guards and fixed his gaze on the Green Shadow Squad martial artist.

The man’s uniform was torn and soaked in blood, unmistakable evidence of battle.

“What happened? Tell me everything you saw and heard. Leave nothing out.”

The Green Shadow Squad martial artist finally caught his breath and began his report in an exhausted voice.

“It began when we discovered a suspicious group while searching near the Golden Hall.”

“A suspicious group?”

“Yes.”

“The Golden Hall is barely half a day from our family. The Beggars’ Sect and the government troops have already completed every inspection and search in the area. How could…”

Tang Sadok trailed off, his gaze turning grim.

“…The government troops. It was the government troops.”

The Green Shadow Squad martial artist stared wide-eyed at the Family Head, then nodded.

“Y-yes! They were definitely wearing government uniforms.”

“A disguise.”

Tap. Tap.

Tang Sadok drummed his bony fingers against the table.

They had been caught completely off guard.

The Beggars’ Sect and the government troops had confirmed Chengdu’s safety several times, and it had been only two days since they expanded their search area.

The enemy had slipped into Chengdu through the gap left when the net loosened.

It wouldn’t have been difficult.

The elite were always deployed to the front lines. The most experienced and sharp-eyed members of the Beggars’ Sect and government troops had already left Chengdu.

Besides, wasn’t this after several thousand government troops had spent nearly ten days roaming around Chengdu? Anyone wearing their uniforms could have blended in naturally.

“How many were there?”

“Perhaps to avoid suspicion, they were moving in several groups. But from what we were able to determine, there seemed to be at least three hundred of them.”

“Three hundred?”

“Yes. I’m certain.”

The Master of the Gatekeeper Pavilion had been listening to the report with an anxious expression. Now he spoke in a triumphant tone.

“Ha! Only three hundred? They must have a death wish. Isn’t that right, Uncle?”

“…”

“Our family alone has more than three hundred martial artists ready to fight at a moment’s notice. And that isn’t all. Isn’t this exactly why we built an impregnable fortress? They won’t even make it over the walls before our poison and hidden weapons kill them.”

Tang Sadok finally opened his mouth.

“Shut up.”

“Pardon?”

“I said shut up.”

“U-Uncle, why are you acting like this? It’s only three hundred. We could wipe out that many in the blink of an eye…”

“Only three hundred?”

The fingers drumming against the table stopped dead.

Tang Sadok stared at his only nephew with utter contempt.

“You haven’t forgotten the Gyeongwol Year Bloodbath, have you?”

“…How could I?”

The Gyeongwol Year Bloodbath was practically taboo within the Tang Clan.

Fifty years ago, the Sichuan Tang Clan had been forced to abandon the land it had occupied for centuries and flee in disgrace.

That day, Tang Sadok had lost his only older brother, and the Master of the Gatekeeper Pavilion had lost his father before he was even born.

“But things are different now!”

Tang Sadok answered his nephew’s impassioned shout in a cold voice.

“Yes. Exactly what is different?”

“The Demonic Cult’s forces numbered two thousand, while our family had only three hundred martial artists!”

“You’re more or less correct so far. Go on.”

“Although we were defeated and forced to retreat, our family suffered barely more than a hundred casualties, while the Demonic Cult lost over a third of its forces.”

“That is also true. Those losses delayed the Demonic Cult’s conquest of Sichuan. Our family lost its home, but gained even greater fame in exchange.”

“Then why?”

Bang!

The Master of the Gatekeeper Pavilion slammed his fist down, denting the iron table. He glared at his uncle with blazing eyes.

“Why are you afraid of a mere three hundred enemies? Fifty years ago, even the Demonic Cult’s vicious fiends—several times more numerous than this—had to shed untold blood to overcome our family!”

His ringing shout shook the air inside the pavilion.

Tang Sadok’s answer to his furious nephew was short and simple.

“So? Is that all?”

“…What?”

“You pathetic fool.”

Tang Sadok sighed as his nephew’s eyes wavered.

“The Gyeongwol Year Bloodbath is a humiliating chapter of our history that must never be forgotten. But it is also the day our family proved its strength to the entire world.”

“Y-yes. That is why martial artists throughout the world still praise our family’s martial might and righteous spirit.”

“Ha… Hahahaha!”

Ignorance this profound was practically a disease. Tang Sadok let out a hollow laugh as he looked at his nephew, who still failed to understand.

“Yes. The entire world knows. Do you think our enemies don’t?”

“……!”

“After the Great Faction War, our family built an impregnable fortress that no one could breach. We increased our numbers and armed our clan members thoroughly. Is there anyone under heaven who doesn’t know that? Is there anyone who doesn’t know the strength and determination our family displayed during the Gyeongwol Year Bloodbath?”

Under the storm and thunder crashing down on him, the Master of the Gatekeeper Pavilion’s face had turned pale.

Only now did he understand that the three hundred enemies invading the Sichuan Tang Clan were not men anyone could dismiss as only three hundred.

By contrast, the old and experienced Family Head’s judgment was swift and decisive.

“Sound the Tang War Drum.”

A stir passed through the guards, who had been frozen like stone at the Family Head’s command.

“Y-you mean the Tang War Drum?”

“Distribute poison and hidden weapons to everyone, regardless of age or sex. Retired elders, craftsmen who have never learned martial arts, women—no one is exempt. Our family will commit its full strength to this battle.”

“A-as you command!”

The blade-sharp order wiped the color from the guards’ faces. They hurried into motion.

A short while later, when the Tang War Drum’s thunder rolled throughout the Sichuan Tang Clan, everyone would know.

Their family stood on the brink of destruction.

And no one felt that danger more keenly than Tang Sadok.

This is dangerous.

The experience and instincts he had honed over years of leading the family whispered a warning.

A sea of corpses and blood surpassing even the Gyeongwol Year Bloodbath might be waiting for the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Then came the sound that announced the beginning of everything.

Boom. Boom. Boom!

The majestic sound alone was enough to set hearts pounding. The Master of the Gatekeeper Pavilion murmured,

“So this is the Tang Clan drum…”

The Tang Clan drum had not sounded since before he was born. He was still struggling to contain his emotions upon hearing it for the first time when Tang Sadok spoke.

“They beat us to it.”

“U-Uncle?”

The Master of the Gatekeeper Pavilion spun toward him and saw the fathomless depths of Tang Sadok’s eyes.

At the same time, several gray-flecked figures entered the pavilion with swift movement techniques.

“Family Head!”

“It’s the enemy! They’re coming while beating a war drum!”

“They launch an attack while sounding their own war drum. Impressive bastards. Truly impressive.”

Tang Sadok burst into laughter.

The ten people staring at him looked dumbfounded.

“This is no time to laugh!”

“Family Head, please give us your orders!”

They varied widely in appearance. One was a young man who seemed to be in his thirties, another was a graying middle-aged man, and there was even an old man around Tang Sadok’s age.

Whatever their ages, each had proven their martial prowess among the clan’s hundreds of members.

That was why Tang Sadok had given them another name.

“The Tang Clan’s Ten Wonders. Perfect timing. I was waiting for you.”

“Family Head, what in the world is happening? We should attack them at once—”

“You can ask that fellow over there for the details.”

The gazes of the Tang Clan’s Ten Wonders followed Tang Sadok’s.

Finding himself under the scrutiny of so many powerful figures, the Green Shadow Squad martial artist swallowed hard.

“I-I’ll tell you anything I know!”

“That is good to hear. Then let this old man ask you…”

Tang Sadok continued in a gentle voice.

“Weren’t you one-armed?”

“……!”

“……!”

At that moment, time seemed to stop.

The majestic thunder of the Tang War Drum, which had finally begun to sound. The frantic movements and shouts of the clan members.

Unlike the time outside, which continued to flow unchanged, everything inside the pavilion had come to a complete halt.

Amid the silence and shock, only one person moved backward through time.

Crack. Crrrck.

Bones lengthened and contracted. Muscles swelled.

The blood-soaked uniform tore apart, splitting the two characters embroidered across its chest—Tang Family—in half.

The Green Shadow Squad martial artist slowly rose to his feet.

He was no longer a young man in his twenties.

Nor was he a member of the Green Shadow Squad.

“You have a sharp eye. The Poison King raised his son well.”

The middle-aged man smiled faintly and rubbed his left arm. The color of his skin differed subtly around the elbow, as if the arm had been removed and attached again.

“And to answer your question… I honestly don’t know myself. Let’s just call it demonic martial arts for convenience.”

A green light flickered in Tang Sadok’s eyes as he stared at the middle-aged man.

“So it was you. You were the one who harmed my father.”

“Poison King Tang Taesang truly lived up to his reputation. I was honestly impressed. That was when I lost my arm, too.”

The middle-aged man clenched and unclenched his left fist, making a show of frowning.

“The sensation still isn’t quite what it used to be. I wonder if I’ll ever fully recover…”

“Do not worry. This old man will personally cut off your head so you never have to concern yourself with it again.”

“We’ll lend a hand as well.”

Rumble!

The enormous qi pressure flowing from Tang Sadok and the Tang Clan’s Ten Wonders shook the pavilion.

Yet even in the face of deadly poison capable of killing a person with a single breath, the middle-aged man—the Western Heaven Demon Lord—smiled calmly.

“If you can, by all means.”

Roar!