Chapter 419: Between Peace and Strife (5)

“Haaah! Haaah!”

Yayul Jeok had never imagined his breathing could become this ragged.

DRIP...

“Urgh!”

A sharp pain suddenly tore through his severed left shoulder.

He had stopped the bleeding completely with an extreme point-sealing technique, but apparently even that was no longer enough.

His internal injuries worsened with every passing moment, and the worse they became, the faster his meager remaining Inner Qi drained away. Even the Inner Qi he had gathered into the points to stop the bleeding was slowly being consumed.

Once the Inner Qi embedded in those points was gone, there would be nothing left to stop the blood from pouring out like a waterfall.

Then he would die of blood loss.

It’s fine.

He forced his blurring eyes open.

It’s still fine.

Dragging himself forward one painful step at a time, Yayul Jeok finally reached Small Secret Chamber No. 136 of the Night Citadel, connected to Passage Nineteen.

And there, he saw the massive ignition mechanism for the Volcanic Smoke Beacon.

RUMBLE! BOOM!

The secret chamber shook.

Battles were raging throughout the maze-like network of passages.

By now, more than half of the Dark Emperor Corps had probably been killed. Field-force troops had infiltrated the passages along the way and joined the fighting, so the losses had to be severe.

The one saving grace was that every member of the Dark Emperor Corps was skilled with poison and hidden weapons. Even with two Transcendent Peak masters on the other side, they should somehow be able to hold out.

Yayul Jeok flinched.

As he tried to walk toward the ignition mechanism, the strength suddenly drained from his lower body. He dug his toes into the ground to keep himself upright.

There truly was nothing left now.

Just enough strength to cling to life a little longer.

That was all he had.

So I can’t do it after all.

He had thought the blazing power of his loyalty and faith would be enough not only to trigger the Volcanic Smoke Beacon but also to contact the cult.

He had been wrong.

He had taken the enemy’s forces—and their schemes—far too lightly.

I may not be able to contact them...

But rather than survive and report the current situation to the cult, it would be better to trigger the Volcanic Smoke Beacon even if it cost him his life.

That was Yayul Jeok’s conclusion.

Only here, at the very end, had he finally become capable of making a cold, rational decision purely for the sake of the cult.

What a shame. But if the life the Evil God ordained for me ends here, then so be it.

Yayul Jeok looked up at the ceiling.

The secret chamber was narrow and dark, illuminated by a single luminous pearl. Apart from the entrance and several tiny air passages, it was sealed on every side.

But Yayul Jeok was not looking at the ceiling.

He was looking at the sky.

At the sky beyond the ceiling.

And at the god beyond that sky.

I cannot know what the god desires, or why he has chosen to end my life here. But...

At least he had lived fiercely.

He had lived for his god, yet at the same time he had lived entirely as himself. He had obeyed every command of the cult without question, yet even so, he had never lost himself.

A faint smile appeared on Yayul Jeok’s face.

The formless god before his eyes slowly began to take on a face.

A face he had seen only once in his entire life.

The son of the god who led the Perverse Lust Cult—and at the same time, the god himself.

The current Cult Leader of the Perverse Lust Cult stood there before him.

“...May you accomplish the great undertaking.”

Yayul Jeok placed his one remaining hand on the ignition mechanism.

It normally took the combined strength of ten grown men to operate it. In his usual condition, Yayul Jeok would have scoffed and pushed it down with ease.

But with his body reduced to this state, even that was no simple task.

He would have to squeeze out every last scrap of Inner Qi and physical strength merely to press it.

Yayul Jeok closed his eyes.

Then he drew even the tiny amount of Inner Qi he had fixed in place to stop the bleeding and concentrated all of it into his hand.

GUSH!

Blood erupted from his left shoulder.

“Uuuurgh!”

As Yayul Jeok summoned every last ounce of strength, his face flushed scarlet.

But only for a moment.

The massive blood loss drained the color from his face with frightening speed.

More... Just a little more!

RUMBLE!

The ignition mechanism began to sink.

Little by little.

To prevent the Volcanic Smoke Beacon from being triggered by some accidental external force, the mechanism was secured by three separate catches.

Yayul Jeok bit down on his lip.

CLICK!

The mechanism passed the first catch.

Only the first.

Yet Yayul Jeok already felt the world spinning before his eyes.

“Uuuurgh!”

CLICK!

A moment later, it passed the second catch.

“Haaah!”

Yayul Jeok suddenly found himself unable to draw another breath.

His lung function had deteriorated to the extreme. No matter how hard he tried to inhale, air simply would not enter.

Without air, he could not exert force.

Worse, he had no time.

Blood was still pouring from him even now. He could not afford to rest.

“Ghh!”

Clenching his teeth, Yayul Jeok even drew upon his badly weakened innate qi.

If he died, that energy would only scatter back into heaven and earth anyway.

This was no time to hoard it merely because using it would hasten his death.

WHOOOM!

Life suddenly returned to Yayul Jeok’s face.

His nearly exhausted innate qi had erupted.

Yayul Jeok drove his hand down with all his strength.

“UAAAAAAH!”

That was when—

BOOM!

A massive hole exploded through the wall of the secret chamber, and dozens of chunks of stone smashed into Yayul Jeok’s body and head.

It was enough to shock anyone senseless.

But Yayul Jeok did not stop.

He could no longer see anyway.

He took one final step.

“No!!”

A woman’s sharp cry rang out.

And then—

CLICK!

The ignition mechanism passed the third and final catch.

THUD!

At the same instant, Yayul Jeok was hurled sideways and smashed into the wall.

“Cough!”

The blood he spat was bright red.

Of course, Yayul Jeok could no longer see what color it was.

RRRRRUMBLE!

“W-What is this? Don’t tell me it activated?!”

“...It did.”

The corner of Yayul Jeok’s mouth twitched.

That voice was familiar.

“Damn it! Then what happens now? Every assassin stationed beside a high-ranking official immediately kills the official they’re assigned to?”

“That is correct.”

“That makes no sense! Guangdong Province is enormous! No matter how big the explosion or thick the smoke, how are they supposed to see it from everywhere?!”

“No fool could fail to notice crimson smoke rising from this entire mountain. Why do you think it is called the Volcanic Smoke Beacon? The name comes from how much it resembles an actual volcanic eruption. And...”

“...?!”

“The Volcanic Smoke Beacon also releases enormous quantities of a special scent, much like Ten-Thousand-Li Pursuit Incense. The assassins themselves cannot smell it, but trained tracking hounds have been positioned across dozens of li. Within half an hour at the latest, every targeted official will be dead.”

“Then we never needed to come all the way here! We could’ve just killed those tracking hounds!”

“We do not know how many there are, nor where they have been placed. Were you planning to slaughter every dog in Guangdong just to find them?”

“...”

“And there is more bad news.”

“...What now?”

“In half an hour, the Night Citadel itself will collapse.”

“Damn it!”

Even while hovering on the edge of death, Yayul Jeok felt a trace of surprise.

He figured out even that much.

He had only told Sima Hyeon how the Volcanic Smoke Beacon functioned and what purpose it served.

He had never told him that the Night Citadel would collapse half an hour after it was activated.

What a waste. Such a waste.

Discovering the formula for Deathflower Venom independently, even an imperfect version, had already been remarkable enough.

But now it seemed Sima Hyeon also possessed considerable knowledge of mechanisms and formations.

Talent like that was exceedingly rare.

Sima Hyeon truly had been a heaven-sent talent fit to become the next Yin God.

Yayul Jeok had recognized that talent long ago. He had intended to make Sima Hyeon the next Yin God, take him into the Perverse Lust Cult, and establish a new branch there.

That dream had fallen apart long ago.

Yet even as he lay dying, Yayul Jeok could not help regretting the loss.

Nothing can be done about it. At least I completed my final mission...

That was when—

“Not happening.”

THUD!

Yayul Jeok’s eyes flew open.

“GAAAAAAH!”

It felt as though thousands of needles were racing through his blood vessels, tearing through every nerve in his body.

He had already accepted death, only for an unimaginable burst of agony to wrench him violently back to awareness.

The shock tore a scream from him.

After that, he could do nothing but gape like a fish.

Perhaps that was why Yayul Jeok failed to realize that the blood pouring from his left shoulder had already stopped.

“Remember this? This technique.”

“...!!”

“The Thousand-Torture Needle-Hand Art of the Yin God. One of the Yin God’s assassination methods. With nothing but precise control of internal force, it can inflict horrific torture without any special equipment.”

“Ghk!”

“Eyes that could no longer see will open again. Ears that could no longer hear will hear again. As long as even a shred of vitality remains in you, you will not die without my permission.”

Yayul Jeok stared at Sima Hyeon through trembling eyes.

He must have killed countless assassins on his way here. His entire body was drenched in blood.

Yet Sima Hyeon’s face remained as rigid as a doll’s.

His voice contained no rise or fall.

Even his breathing could not be heard.

Perfect calm.

Despite all the battles he had fought, he had maintained the stable condition demanded of an assassin.

Sima Hyeon studied Yayul Jeok’s eyes for a moment, then smiled coldly.

“So you never managed to contact that idiotic place you call the Perverse Lust Cult. I was right, wasn’t I?”

“...!!”

Sima Hyeon turned toward Mookbi.

Mookbi nodded, her expression grave.

If Yayul Jeok had failed to report the situation to the cult’s main forces, that much was fortunate.

But this could only be called half a success.

The Volcanic Smoke Beacon had already been triggered.

Sima Hyeon turned back toward Yayul Jeok.

In those few moments, Yayul Jeok’s face had twisted hideously.

“Y-You...!”

“...”

“Kill me. Am I not your enemy?”

“Did you think I was planning to keep you alive? Of course I’m going to kill you.”

SHING.

Sima Hyeon drew a dagger from inside his clothes.

A dagger meant for certain death in two strikes.

One of the two blades he had honed thousands—tens of thousands—of times solely for the purpose of killing Yayul Jeok.

“But I cannot simply kill you. You will die only after suffering until the very moment before the Night Citadel collapses—until this half hour feels like ten years.”

“Y-You bastard!”

Sima Hyeon spoke to Mookbi.

“I’ll deal with this man. Leave with the others first.”

“No.”

“What do you mean?”

Mookbi glared at Yayul Jeok.

“The Supreme Commander ordered me to take this man’s life.”

“His life belongs to me. Many may want his head, but I have the first claim.”

“Then prove it.”

“Prove it?”

“Cut off his head. Bring me his corpse. Whatever you choose, bring me proof that he’s dead. Do that, and I’ll leave you to it.”

Sima Hyeon smiled coldly.

“You trust me?”

“Just answer. If you don’t decide now, my next arrow is going through your heart.”

“...”

“...”

Sima Hyeon stared at Mookbi for a long moment before turning his gaze back to Yayul Jeok.

“I’ll dump the proof where I met your superior before. Now get lost.”

“Fine.”

WHOOSH!

Mookbi hurried back into the passage.

She still had assassins to kill and allies to evacuate.

A terrifying smile spread across Sima Hyeon’s face as he looked down at Yayul Jeok.

“Shall we begin?”

Yayul Jeok’s eyes became bloodshot.

Sima Hyeon’s hand turned red as he seized Yayul Jeok by the ribs.

SIZZLE!

“GAAAAAAAAH!”

*****

“Gah!”

Assistant Regional Military Commissioner Go Yul recoiled in shock.

“W-Who the hell are you?!”

“Can’t you tell by looking? Just a filthy old man who hasn’t bathed in ages.”

“Then why are you strangling my concubine?! Take your filthy hand off her this instant—!”

“If I let go, you die.”

“...What?”

The old man grinned, holding the struggling woman high in the air by her throat.

“Consider yourself lucky. We can’t save everyone.”