Heuk-Ho's body wobbled.
Suddenly, everything in front of him turned pitch black, and he was so dizzy that he couldn't stand properly.
Thump!
He knelt, looking at Pyo Wol.
As he forced himself to gather his strength, his eyesight gradually returned.
He saw a silvery snake crawl up Pyo Wol's body and coil around his arm.
"You're even using a snake now?"
He was so astounded that he couldn't believe it.
Pyo Wol's face, which had turned dark red for a moment, had already regained its normal colour.
The highly potent poison from the needles did not affect him.
Pyo Wol put on his black dragon robe and stepped toward Heuk-Ho.
Heuk-Ho tried to point his sword at Pyo Wol, but he couldn't even muster the strength in his hand.
Shivering, he was having convulsions all over his body.
The snake's venom had penetrated deep into his body.
His eyes were suddenly bloodshot, and there was foam around his mouth.
The venom of the snake was beyond imagination.
He had some resistance in his body, but it was useless against the venom he had just been bitten by.
The venom quickly attacked his nervous system.
His fingertips and toes turned purple and shook uncontrollably.
"What, what is happening?"
Cluck!
Heuk-Ho vomited blood.
His blood had already turned purple.
Heuk-Ho couldn't understand the current situation.
The person poisoned by the thousand-day poison was okay, while he, who had resistance to poison, was poisoned.
"You, you...."
He tried to say something, but his lips wouldn't move.
Even his lips had turned black.
Pyo Wol raised his arm and spoke.
"Call him Gwia. He's the guy you just met."
"Krrrr!"
"As you can see, his body may be small, but his poison is deadly."
Gwia did not bite Heuk-Ho under Pyo Wol's orders.
He had come out of hiding on his own and sought out Heuk-Ho. The fact that he had made such a decision on his own surprised even himself.
Pyo Wol wondered if Gwia was the spirit animal the Saints spoke of.
That's when it happened.
Pyo Wol looked up at the roof of the mansion.
Black-clad men appeared on the roof.
There were over a hundred of them.
They all emitted a desperate aura.
Among them was a familiar face.
"Jang Muryang!"
He was Jang Muryang, the captain of the Black Cloud Corps.
Jang Muryang led the Black Cloud Corps to surround Pyo Wol.
"Pyo Wol!"
He looked at Pyo Wol as if he was about to devour him.
Not only Jang Muryang but the entire Black Cloud Corps had a fierce look in their eyes as they stared at Pyo Wol.
Looking at Jang Muryang, Pyo Wol said, "Even Heuk-Ho was just a sacrifice."
"General Lee thought that he would never listen to him, so he told us to keep an eye on him and he would get his chance, but he was right."
Lee-Yul had expected Heuk-Ho to act recklessly.
If he couldn't control him as he wanted, he thought using him to set a trap would be better.
So he called Jang Muryang to monitor Heuk-Ho.
While Heuk-Ho attacked Pyo Wol to buy time, Jang Muryang mobilized the entire Black Cloud Corps to complete the encirclement.
Another good thing was that Heuk-Ho had killed everyone in the nearby village, so there was no need to worry about other people's eyes.
Snap!
The archers of the Black Cloud Corps all pulled back their bows and aimed at Pyo Wol.
Just a moment ago, the street was filled with dolls, but now it was filled with the Black Cloud Corps.
There was no room for Pyo Wol to escape anywhere.
Pyo Wol sensed that he had fallen into a perfect trap.
The problem was that Lee-Yul's plan probably would continue.
He thought that if it were him.
But his thoughts no longer continued...
Fufufufufu!
Countless arrows rained down on him.
***
"We'll finish this quickly."
"Yes, sir!"
Baek Do-Gyeong shouted energetically at Lee-Yul's command.
As soon as the Black Cloud Corps moved, the forces of Snow Sword Manor also began to move.
Lee-Yul always prepared for unexpected moments.
Despite Heuk-Ho's erratic behaviour, he did not panic. Instead, he decided to use this opportunity.
Heuk-Ho and the Black Cloud Corps held a grudge against Pyo Wol, making it nearly impossible for him to escape.
They would relentlessly pursue Pyo Wol even if it meant suffering losses themselves.
If Heuk-Ho and the Black Cloud Corps were to fight in the city, many civilians would undoubtedly die.
That was just how they fought.
They didn't care about other people's circumstances and acted only in their interests.
As it was, Snow Sword Manor was already receiving criticism from society. If many civilians were to die, public opinion would completely turn against them. It would be too late then.
They had to fight while they still had the strength to do so. This was the moment that no one had expected.
Lee-Yul asked Baek Do-Gyoeng, "What about ManSlaughter?"
"He is waiting. As soon as we move our troops, he will move too."
Baek Do-Gyeong looked at Lee-Yul with a stern expression.
Snow Sword Manor's troops were already prepared to move. Once Lee-Yul gave the order, they would advance towards Jin Manor.
And tonight in Yeonnam would turn into a living hell.
Lee-Yul gave the command.
"Begin!"
"Sir!"
Baek Do-Gyeong answered and went outside. Then, leaving only the minimum number of troops, Snow Sword Manor's warriors rushed out like a flash flood.
The snow sword manor, bustling with people, fell silent.
Lee-Yul's movement was not limited to Snow Sword Manor's troops alone.
They will cover Hao Clan's eyes and ears.
***
"No, it's not. We received the report from the people who are monitoring the Snow Sword Manor."
"Unbelievable! They're going to launch an attack at this hour?"
Hong Yushin jumped up from his seat at the report from his subordinate.
It was a time when everyone was asleep and unguarded.
Even though they were in lawless territories, some lines had to be respected, especially by the factions that wanted to maintain their legitimacy.
While it's not an unwritten law, most factions despise nighttime ambushes. They consider it unbecoming of a warrior.
Of course, this is only the case for some.
There are many factions that raid at night.
The problem was that factions that resorted to such cowardly acts would receive widespread condemnation from other factions.
Therefore, most faction leaders only launched surprise attacks if the situation was dire.
Yeonnam was the centre of everyone's attention.
Many people were watching the fight between Snow Sword Manor and Jin Manor.
Winning was important, but it was also essential for them to avoid being caught. They could be attacked and cornered if they made a wrong move, even if they won.
Therefore, unless it was an extremely urgent situation, attacking at this time was taboo.
Snow Sword Manor had broken that taboo now.
Hong Yushin couldn't hide his confusion at the unexpected situation.
"How many troops are moving?"
"It hasn't been fully confirmed yet."
"Foolish! Hurry up and find out!"
"Yes!"
The subordinate rushed outside with his answer.
Meanwhile, all the Hao Clan members who were in hiding also stood up.
Although they disguised themselves as ordinary women, they were all martial artists..
They usually focused on gathering information, but they showed their true colours as martial artists in unexpected situations.
At that moment, a woman's voice was heard from outside.
"May I come in?"
"Come in!"
"Yes!"
The door opened, and a petite woman entered.
She was So-ok, the most popular courtesan at the brothel operated by Hao Clan.
So-ok had a sword strapped to her waist, and nothing about her appearance suggested she was a courtesan.
In reality, So-ok was the leader of the Silver Flower Brigade, a military group composed of courtesans.
Their primary missions were to collect information and provide emergency responses in particular situations.
So-ok, having taken up a defensive position, said, "The Silver Flower Brigade is on standby.
What should we do?"
"Let's wait a little longer until new information comes in."
"Understood."
So-ok replied calmly.
It was scarce for the Silver Flower Brigade to go on a mission.
Their duty was to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Although they had spent their entire lives in the Hao Clan, the number of times the Silver Flower Brigade had directly intervened could be counted on one hand.
So-ok thought this time would be no different, and Hong Yushin felt the same.
As Hong Yushin stared at So-ok, he opened his mouth and spoke.
"You're too uptight. Let's have a cup of tea."
"Oh! Yes!"
So-ok tried to quickly prepare the tea, but Hong Yushin was the first to move.
"No, I will do it."
"But how can you?"
"I cannot ask you to come down and get the tea, especially after waking you up at this hour and I'm sure the tea I'm getting will be quite good."
"Okay, thank you."
In the end, So-ok stepped back and watched Hong Yushin make the tea.
He was quite skilful in heating the water and preparing the tea.
Sometimes it was okay to drink tea with a respected senior officer.
So-ok leaned back in her chair, relaxing her tense shoulders and patiently waiting for the tea.
That's when it happened.
Thump!
A dull sound was heard.
As So-ok stood up abruptly, Hong Yoo-shin set down the teapot he was holding.
Thump!
Once again, the dull sound echoed through the room.
The two of them were visibly shaken.
If it happened once, it could be a mistake, but the fact that the same noise occurred twice meant a serious problem within the palace.
So-ok drew her sword and said, "I'll go out and come back. Please wait here, your highness."
"Okay."
It was at that moment that Hong Yushin nodded his head.
"Click!"
"Ah!"
This time a sharp scream was heard.
Hong Yushin grabbed So-ok's shoulder and whispered to her.
"An attack is happening."
"Who could it be?"
So-ok's pupils shook.
Only a few knew this place was a branch of the Hao Clan.
They were also disguised as a brothel and had only recently arrived in Yeonnam.
Clang! Clang!
At that moment, a small bell hanging in Hong Yushin's room rang.
It was an emergency communication system for emergencies only.
If it rang once, it meant that the enemy had invaded, and if it rang twice, it meant to evacuate immediately.
In other words, an overwhelming enemy had attacked the fortress.
Hong Yushin said, "We need to escape."
"I cannot do that. My colleagues are here. I can't leave them behind and escape alone. Even if you are the commanding officer, please leave this place quickly."
"It's an overwhelming enemy."
"Then at least let me stay and buy some time, won't you?"
So-ok answered with a determined expression.
It was unthinkable for Silver Flower Brigade to abandon their subordinates and flee. They were a collective destiny.
They would die together and live together.
However, Hong Yushin was different.
He was the most critical person in Hao Clan.
That meant he had to survive at all costs.
"Escape through the emergency passage. That way, you can get revenge on the intruders who came today, can't you?"
"Please, survive and meet me again."
Hong Yushin touched the wall decoration, revealing a secret passage hidden behind a bookshelf.
Without looking back, he jumped into the emergency passage.
While human life was not prioritized, there was a clear difference in duties.
Hong Yushin had to survive at all costs.
"Who on earth has invaded?"
He felt helpless as he had to flee like a dog with his tail between his legs without even confirming the attackers' identity.
Suddenly, he remembered what Pyo Woll had said.
[[Are you so interested in other people's affairs but do not know that you are being watched?]]
"Was that true?"
After hearing Pyo Wol's words, Hong Yushin ordered his subordinates to find those secretly watching them. But by then, the watchers had already hidden.
As a result, Hong Yushin thought that Pyo Woll's words might have been false and forgot about them.
However, after being attacked by unknown enemies today, he felt disgusted for ignoring Pyo Wol's warning.
"Damn it!"
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