Chapter 353

Boom. Boom. Boom!

Listening to the thunderous drumbeats, an old man muttered,

“It’s been a while since I heard that.”

He was short and stocky, with coarse, unruly features. To ordinary eyes, he was nothing more than an ugly, ill-tempered old man.

But anyone who had faced him even once called him by another name.

Fiend.

The old man curled the corners of his mouth upward. Seeing the wet-behind-the-ears pups waiting for him atop the walls surrounding the Sichuan Tang Clan like an impregnable fortress, roughly three hundred yards ahead, put him in an excellent mood.

“It feels as if the stench of blood is already filling the air. I felt this way when we first came down from the Qilian Mountains.”

His had been a difficult birth, and he had been born with ugly features.

How could the other two brothers, born on the same day from the same womb, have been any different? When even their father disappeared, the three brothers, with nowhere left to turn, hid in the Qilian Mountains to escape the people’s contempt.

“We were so young back then. Bastard or bitch, we killed them all, then killed some more…”

The age they had been born into was a time of chaos, and so they became fiends.

When they finally looked around, the people who had despised them for their ugliness and pelted the three brothers with stones all lay submerged in pools of blood.

Then, when they joined the Demonic Cult as it invaded the Central Plains and stained the world red, people came to fear them as the Qilian Three Fiends.

“It’s fun remembering our prime. Don’t you think?”

The old man turned his head with a smile, only to click his tongue when he realized his mistake.

“Good grief. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old, but I keep forgetting things.”

The two younger brothers who had followed him like shadows throughout their entire lives were not here.

The Second Fiend had left to take charge of Qingcheng, while the Third Fiend had gone to take charge of Emei.

Before long, the two famous mountains counted among the greatest in the world would be covered in a sea of corpses and blood.

And then…

Kwahhhhhng!

At last, the signal announcing the beginning of everything rang out.

The First Fiend let out a hearty laugh at the thunderous boom coming from beyond the walls of the Sichuan Tang Clan. The time promised by the Western Heaven Demon Lord had arrived.

“Our lord is calling us. Isn’t he?”

Shing-shing-shing!

Hundreds of weapons were drawn, slicing through the dawn air.

Behind the First Fiend stood three hundred men in black, stretched out in a long line. They had already discarded their government-troop uniforms and were now armed in black leather armor.

“The time has come. Raise the flag!”

The instant the First Fiend’s shout rang out, the Tang Clan martial artists on the walls saw it.

Flap.

Beyond the pale dawn mist, a flag rose high into the air.

Two characters fluttered in the fierce wind.

“Dark Heaven…?”

Someone on the wall muttered the words, but the booming drums swallowed them.

Boom. Boom. Boom!

Matching the increasingly forceful drumbeats, the black-clad men began to advance.

The breath escaping between their lips was hot, but their eyes were cold. Sharp killing intent rolled off their entire bodies.

And at the head of them all stood a single fiend.

“By the command of the Lord of Heaven…”

His blood-red eyes shone with joy.

What a magnificent day this was. The orthodox Murim would remember this day. Everyone would gaze upon the flag of Dark Heaven hanging over the world and tremble with fear.

The First Fiend shouted, quivering with elation.

“Destroy the Sichuan Tang Clan!”

“We obey!”

Boom. Boom-boom. Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

The drums grew sharper, accompanied by fierce shouts. Three hundred black-clad men charged toward the walls, while dark clouds rolled across the sky and covered the sunlight that had only just begun to shine.

That was when a powerful shout burst from atop the walls.

“They’re vile criminals who dare invade our family! Don’t leave a single one alive!”

“Everyone, fire!”

Shhhhhhhk! Thud!

An arrowhead shot with tremendous force pierced someone’s body and buried itself in the ground. A mist of blood formed, followed by a scream.

“Gaaaaah!”

But the casualties were extremely few. Most of the black-clad men blocked the arrows with their weapons, while others survived thanks to the armor they wore.

“Wh-what?”

“Even the crossbows can’t pierce them? What in the—”

The crossbows, whose bolts could penetrate even fairly thick iron plates, were useless against the armor.

As the Tang Clan martial artists faltered, a small figure streaked forward faster than anyone else.

Fwoooosh!

“Ha-ha-ha-ha! Excellent! Excellent!”

No one atop the walls knew who the First Fiend was. But everyone who heard his crazed laughter felt the hair on their bodies rise with fear.

“The Myriad-Poison Formation! Activate the Myriad-Poison Formation!”

The order came in a panic. But the First Fiend’s figure had already vanished like a ghost and reached the gate.

With a grin that twisted his face into something fiendish, he threw a single punch. Two jiazi of internal energy surged into it like a whirlwind.

“Let’s see how Tang Family blood tastes.”

Whoom—Kwahhhhhng!

The battle had begun.

“Hm?”

“What?”

Cheongpung and I looked at each other at the same time. Then we realized that we had both come to the same conclusion.

“Did you hear that?”

“Benefactor, did you hear it?”

The Divine Physician, who was checking Jeok Cheongang’s pulse while he remained unconscious, looked at us with a bewildered expression.

“What are you talking about?”

“Just a moment.”

I raised a hand to stop the Divine Physician from continuing and quietly focused my mind.

My body might have been in the underground prison, but my senses were another matter. Amplified several times over by the power of my internal energy, my hearing escaped the labyrinthine prison corridors and rose upward, higher and higher.

And then…

Boom.

This time, I heard it clearly.

Cheongpung set down the food he had been holding and spoke.

“Benefactor, could this be…”

“That’s right.”

I looked up at the ceiling of the prison and continued,

“It’s a drum.”

Boom. Boom. Boom.

At that exact moment, the drums rang out again, as if agreeing with me.

Ting.

System

• An unexpected Quest has been generated.

• You cannot refuse. The Quest has been automatically accepted!

• Would you like to view the Quest information?

“…”

Without saying a word, I stared at the holographic window filling my vision.

The sudden drumbeats and an unexpected Quest. Neither could possibly be a good sign.

Damn, look at the goose bumps already rising on my arms.

“This is driving me crazy.”

But there was no turning back now. The only thing I could do was find out what kind of path lay ahead of me.

View Quest information.

Ting.

A new holographic window appeared with the System’s characteristically cheerful notification sound.

Of course, unlike the notification, the content written in the Quest window was anything but cheerful.

System

Quest

Uninvited Guest

Dark Heaven’s dark clouds have finally spread across Sichuan.

The battle has already begun, and the Sichuan Tang Clan is surrounded.

May fortune favor you in battle.

Grade: ???

Limit: ???

Mission: ???

Reward: ???

Failure: Death

I read it exactly three times from beginning to end. Then I thought,

What kind of fucked-up situation is this?

I was so dumbfounded that I could barely speak.

The contents were absurd from start to finish. Enemies had invaded. We were surrounded and couldn’t escape. It wished us luck and ended there.

Goddamn, it’s disgustingly simple.

Grade, limit, mission, reward. Every single one was a question mark.

Well, at least one thing had been made perfectly clear.

If I failed this Quest, I would die.

What a revelation. If we couldn’t stop the enemies who had invaded, I would die. It was such wonderfully useful information that I almost slapped my balls in gratitude.

Is this a Quest information window or a Quest notification window?

Boom. Boom. Boom.

My vision swam. Listening to the drumbeats grow clearer and more violent, I soon felt cold sweat gather on my back.

But in contrast, my mind had gone cold as ice.

I dismissed the Quest window, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“Old Man Dong, we have a problem.”

The Divine Physician had learned martial arts, but his realm was far below ours.

Unlike Cheongpung and me, he had not heard the drumbeats. He asked with a puzzled expression,

“A problem? What do you mean?”

“The enemies have invaded.”

“The enemies? Here, at the Sichuan Tang Clan?”

“Yes. There’s no doubt. We’re already surrounded.”

The Divine Physician looked as if he found it difficult to believe. It was a perfectly normal reaction. What kind of lunatics would attack the Sichuan Tang Clan?

But if those lunatics were Dark Heaven, the situation changed completely. They were none other than the perpetrators who had stained Shaolin Temple with blood.

Still, every second mattered. There was no time to give him a detailed explanation.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen, so steel yourself.”

“…I understand.”

The Divine Physician nodded with a grim expression.

Perhaps because he had traveled throughout the world and experienced countless things, he seemed to accept reality more quickly than expected.

I looked at Jeok Cheongang, who was still lying there with his eyes closed.

“How is my Master’s condition?”

“As I said before, his qi has not stabilized yet. If he receives an external shock in this condition…”

The Divine Physician did not finish the sentence, but I had heard enough.

Jeok Cheongang’s condition was still unstable. According to the Quest window, the Sichuan Tang Clan had already been surrounded by Dark Heaven.

What if we broke through their encirclement and escaped?

The thought briefly crossed my mind, but I soon shook my head.

Jeok Cheongang’s safety was one concern, but our chances of success were slim as well. Considering the forces Dark Heaven had deployed against Shaolin Temple, escaping might only lead us straight into a deathtrap.

Especially if that monster called the Blood Lord is there. We have to avoid him at all costs.

After thinking it over, I arrived at a single answer.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Young Hero Cheong.”

Cheongpung answered in a subdued voice.

“Yes, Benefactor.”

“Can I ask you for one favor?”

“Anything.”

Cheongpung was endlessly innocent and carefree, but every once in a while, he showed a serious side.

And whenever he did, I found him more dependable than anyone else.

That was why I could ask him for a favor like this.

“Protect Old Master—protect my Master—here. That’s my request.”

“……!”

“As you heard, we can’t get out right now. Someone has to leave and help the Sichuan Tang Clan.”

“Benefactor.”

“So…”

“Benefactor.”

I swallowed the words that were about to follow. Cheongpung was looking at me with clear eyes.

“I’ll stay if you tell me to stay, and I’ll go if you tell me to go. But, Benefactor…”

His quiet voice reached my ears.

“You have someone you need to protect, don’t you?”

“……!”

“I once became too frightened to fight when I had to protect someone. I couldn’t protect the people I cared about. That’s why I’m a fool.”

I had not known. I had never realized Cheongpung thought about things like this.

Even afterward, he had continued living brightly and talking constantly, as if he were the happiest person in the world.

That was how he had always been. It suited him. It was only natural for him.

But it wasn’t.

As if recalling what had happened in Henan, Cheongpung turned his gaze toward some distant, dark corner of the underground prison.

A smile formed at the corners of his mouth. It was the same as always, yet different from his usual smile.

Only then did I realize.

The time had come to make a real decision.

One person stays. One person leaves.

I slowly shifted my gaze.

Cheongpung, still smiling.

The Divine Physician, wearing a worried expression.

Someone’s screams and shouts, drawing closer by the moment.

And then…

Jeok Cheongang’s face, covered by the shadows of flickering torchlight.

The next moment, my lips began to move before I even realized it.

“Young Hero Cheong. I have one request.”

Cheongpung’s gaze met mine.

I pointed toward the ceiling and flashed him a grin.

“Go give those sons of bitches a good hit and come back.”

“Yes, Benefactor!”

His answer was brighter than ever.