Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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Chapter 4: The Showdown in the Blood Cult

“Agghh!”

As the cries filled with agony echoed through the night, a knight flew towards us from atop a small hill.

“Boo Gak-ju! It seems we’re under attack by the Blood Cult! They’re coming from all sides! Someone must have been captured in the scouting team, revealing the rendezvous point!”

“What?!”

Before arriving here, I was already worried like Older Sister Seol that the location had been compromised, but coincidentally, the attack began as we arrived.

With the knight’s shout, three or four figures emerged from the wolf’s den, their faces shocked as they looked at Boo Gak-ju.

“Boo Gak-ju!”

“What shall we do, Boo Gak-ju?!”

“Gather your lives!”

Boo Gak-ju pulled several sheets of paper from his robes and quickly handed them to Sword Phoenix with a determined gaze.

“Sword Phoenix, please deliver this to the leader!”

“What is this?”

It was clearly a compilation of collected information that he was handing over to Sword Phoenix.

“This is a map estimating the location of the Blood Cult’s stronghold based on all the information we’ve gathered. It must be delivered to the leader!”

“Why me? What about you, Boo Gak-ju?!”

“During times like these, it’s our duty as older folks to save the young ones!”

“W-well…”

His tone sounded as if he was going to sacrifice himself for us.

Boo Gak-ju looked around at our group with a bittersweet smile before continuing.

“We can’t afford to lose the likes of the Two Dragons, the One Phoenix, and the One Flower in a place like this. You all are the future of the Martial World, aren’t you? We’ll lure them away, so please be sure to meet us again at the Martial Forest Alliance. Now! Follow me!”

“Yes! Boo Gak-ju!”

“Let’s go!”

He then stepped forward, leading his five warriors while shouting once more.

“Everyone, break the Blood Path! You wait here and head south!”

“South? Not north?!”

The place we needed to escape to was the north, where Yunnan lay, yet Boo Gak-ju insisted we head south.

Seeing the confusion on my face, Hua Eun grabbed my wrist and explained.

“It’s to catch the enemies off guard. Naturally, the Blood Cult would think we’d flee to the north where Yunnan is, so they would gather their forces there. Boo Gak-ju will head north, and while their attention is diverted, we can slip away to the south.”

“Oho.”

I was surprised that such a thought crossed my mind in that brief moment, and following Hua Eun, we arrived at the wolf’s den.

We held our breath and checked our surroundings as the sounds of clashing weapons and screams began to come from afar.

-Clang!

“Th-the north!”

“Gaahhh!”

“The Martial Forest Alliance is breaking through to the north!”

Just as Hua Eun had said, the flickering torches surrounding us began to shift.

The torches in the south became sparse, while those in the north started gathering.

As the torches began to cluster towards Boo Gak-ju and his group in the north, suddenly shadows loomed before me, Hua Eun, and Older Sister Seol.

With the sun set and the distant light blocked by something, the scene darkened instantaneously. What was casting such a shadow? It was none other than Brother Gyu-seong’s broad back.

His deep voice rumbled through the darkness.

“I’ll take the lead, with Spear Dragon and Sword Phoenix following me. Wei So-ryong, stay behind me! Venomous Flower and Little One, watch our backs.”

Having a tank leading the way felt oddly reassuring.

As the three of us nodded, Brother Gyu-seong charged forward like a wild bear towards the south.

Following behind him were Sword Phoenix and Spear Dragon.

-Swoosh!

The grass, now as high as our heads, flattened to the sides as Brother Gyu-seong bulldozed through, creating a long path behind him.

Had we run about thirty meters?

With his voice lowered, Brother Gyu-seong shouted.

[Something’s coming!]

-Swoosh.

-Thud thud.

Following his words, rustling sounds from the opposite side echoed, accompanied by the approaching light.

Suddenly, Brother Gyu-seong, with the grass beneath him, lunged straight for the incoming foe.

“Something’s approaching… Ah! The Martial Forest!”

-Whoosh!

“Gahhh…”

Without losing speed, Brother Gyu-seong collided with the nearest enemy in front of him.

As we leaped out into the already flattened grass, we faced a foe who had just lost their torch, spewing bright red blood.

The oncoming enemy was knocked back as if hit by a truck, blood spraying everywhere.

The torch they dropped flew up over our heads, briefly illuminating the area before darkness enveloped us again.

The Blood Cult warriors, who had been stunned by our sudden appearance, were shaken to their core.

Simultaneously, Sword Phoenix and Spear Dragon, who had been hiding behind Brother Gyu-seong’s towering figure, sprang out and began piercing through the red-clad foes beside them with their weapons.

-Swoosh!

-Smash!

They seemed to have honed their coordination through many skirmishes before.

A javelin shot from Spear Dragon’s hand pierced through a man’s neck, and Sword Phoenix’s blade glimmered in the moonlight as it sliced from side to side.

“Th-the Martial Forest… Gah!”

“Gahhh!”

“M-Martial Forest Alliance!”

-Zing!

One of the startled adversaries regained their composure, attempting to sound the alarm. But before they could, a streak of silver glinted from Hua Eun’s fingertips.

“Ugh…”

“Grr…”

The poisoned darts that flew from Hua Eun’s hand struck the foreheads of the Blood Cult warriors.

In an instant, ten or so of the Blood Cult members were neutralized.

Brother Gyu-seong raised his head, checking around before gazing at the area where the torchlight had vanished, he spoke.

“Good! Venomous Flower, if any more of those types show up, will you help?”

“Sure.”

With a tank leading, two close-range fighters providing support, and ranged attacks handling the weaker foes.

Our seamless teamwork along with Hua Eun’s poison attack felt satisfying.

As the flickering torchlights began to head towards our direction amidst the chaos of the fight, Brother Gyu-seong surged forward once more.

*

After the initial clash, we managed to break free of the encirclement with a couple more skirmishes.

At the point where the tall grass ended, we leaped out only to face a swarm of Blood Cult members.

Under the moonlight hazy from the unlit torches, it seemed over a hundred Blood Cult warriors awaited us.

It looked just like how we had planned to catch them off guard, but instead they had caught us at a disadvantage.

The front-running Brother Gyu-seong halted in shock.

“What a catastrophe!”

Then, from among the Blood Cult members, a man walked out with a gleeful expression.

“Hehe, so the north was indeed a diversion? Well, would you look at that, three pretty girls too. This could turn out to be quite entertaining.”

With their appearance as if they had been waiting for us startled, my anger ignited.

That punk was fixated on Hua Eun.

Then came an unbearable remark from him, urging his men forward.

“Kill all the men and capture the women! And… heh heh… that one is mine!”

Upon hearing this, Hua Eun’s face flushed with rage and shame.

Immediately, I shouted in my heart.

It seemed the time had come to call the Chao.

I felt it would be impossible to let that twisted face slide without consequence.

“Chao! Teach these bad men a lesson!”

Then in my mind came the realization of how long Chao had waited and a shout urging us backward.

I yelled towards my companions.

“Brother! We need to fall back! They’re coming!”

“Coming?!”

At my shout, perhaps recalling Chao, we retreat a few steps in shock, causing the enemy to step back as well, surprised by our sudden appearance.

But the smug grin on their faces remained unchanged.

“How foolish to fall for the words of a child. I don’t know where you got your little crew, but no one is coming to help you.”

Excluding us, all nine of the Martial Forest Alliance’s scouting team would probably be drained dry by now, he sneered.

“W-what?!”

“When I captured those three at the beginning, it went smoothly. Hahaha!”

The strike that all the Martial Forest Alliance scouts were seized by the Blood Cult sent Sword Phoenix’s eyes wide open.

And just as the apparent leader of the Blood Cult was raising his hand to give orders to his men…

-Thud.

From afar, calls from Blood Cult members and the clashing of weapons could be heard.

With the noise between them, there came a distinct sound as something dropped from the knuckles of one of those clad in armor.

-Thud. Thud thud. Pitter patter.

Soon, it started to rain on the very spot where their feet were planted.

“Rain?”

The man looked up at the sky, baffled as to whether it was truly rain falling, but then his expression began to twist in horror.

It was not that his expression was altering; quite literally, his face began to distort.

No, should I say it was melting?

“Gahhh!”

Those who were struck by the falling droplets clutched their heads and sank to their knees, followed by a wave of self-reproach.

It seemed others of the Blood Cult also dropped to their knees, holding their heads.

“Grr!”

“Gahhh!”

The chilling wails of over a hundred men in pain filled the air.

-Thud!

-Drip drip drip!

As Chao stood between us and them, releasing a roar of fury, the Blood Cult warriors began to melt down as if seized by terror.

‘M-madness.’

Even I, who had called Chao, couldn’t believe my own eyes, as they widened in shock. Next to me, Hua Eun stood dazed, muttering.

“The royal of the Ten Great Venoms, the king of all centipedes. The disaster called the Flying Heavenly Centipede, carrying the rain of death and fog.”

T-t-totally my grandfather’s words. Who would have thought the rain of death meant this?

The intriguing part was that while the grass and their clothes remained unscathed, only the bodies of the men were melting away.

It felt like nothing from the natural world.

No kind of poison I knew even belonged in this category.

Once it was confirmed that all of them had fallen, Chao approached me, almost as if requesting praise for a job well done.

-Drip drip.

With a dazed expression, I patted Chao’s head.

“Chao, you mustn’t drool on your mom and dad when you go home, okay?”

-Drool?

While Grandfather had assured me that absorbing Chao’s poison would be fine, I also felt apprehensive.

The poisons from the Tang Clan provide immunity to ingested toxins, yet I feared Chao’s droplet might cause a hole somewhere.

This didn’t seem like poison but something entirely different.

*

“What in the world is this?!”

The Elder of the Blood Cult, Blood Wind Flying Snake, Mae Cho-gwi, stared blankly at the remnants of over a hundred warriors who had vanished, leaving only their weapons and clothes behind.

He had never expected such losses while capturing even the six from the Martial Forest Alliance and a few young ones.

Despite being ambushed by the mountain dispersing poison in the northern area under his charge, only three low-tier warriors had suffered injuries.

Moreover, the sight of an instant massacre left him bewildered.

The forces present consisted of Blood Ghost Deputy Commander Gu Poong-so and a hundred blood ghost warriors.

While known for exceptional tracking skills, Gu was also among the top five of the Blood Cult’s eight martial forces.

Adding to that, a hundred of his three hundred blood ghosts had vanished without a trace.

“Have our enemies not arrived yet?”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Are they intending to break their promise?!”

Just then, from behind, a chilling voice resonated.

“Surely not, right?”

As Mae Cho-gwi turned back in anger, he saw a pale woman dressed in long black flowing garments smiling at him.

Unbeknownst to him, they had been trapped from behind.

In a fit of fury, Mae Cho-gwi shouted.

“D-do not stand behind me next time!”

The woman simply smiled brightly and replied.

“Of course.”

Before him stood a power they had encountered at the borders of the Great Yue Kingdom when the Blood Cult had retreated from the Central Plains.

They had faced a force that had been expanding its influence, devouring the small villages on the borders. Initially hostile, the two sides proposed an alliance after recognizing their mutual grievances against the Central Plains.

They called themselves the Masters of Five Poisons.

Later, they learned they were descendants of the Five Poisons Sect.

-Swish!

Mae Cho-gwi, feeling mocked, released his energy into the vial in his hand, but the woman just effortlessly caught it.

She took the vial and gingerly tasted the poison inside.

Then, still smiling, she replied.

“Hmmm… This is indeed the poison of Hoban Yusa. Didn’t we tell you? That martial art has its weaknesses, right?”

“What the hell, so this has been discovered?”

Just as she warned before, it was indeed the poison of Hoban Yusa.

He had hoped to keep the fact that there was no antidote a secret from all the other elders except the Grand Elder and the priestess who dealt with information, yet it appeared the Central Plains had unearthed their weaknesses.

Feeling that it would not be easy to worm their way back into the Central Plains, Mae Cho-gwi wore a look of despair.

Just then, another vial flew toward him.

“What is this?! Huh? What’s this?”

Mae Cho-gwi thought it was yet another trick and became furious, but it was a vial that differed from what he had thrown.

Upon receiving it, he asked, and the woman answered with a smile.

“Hoban Yusa’s antidote.”

“What?! You completed it!? Really?”

“Of course. We honor our promises. Unlike some.”

She was likely referring to Blood Eagle Claw, Gu Cheon-ak’s failure in fulfilling an earlier agreement.

The enemy was already preparing for a counterattack, and due to that guy, they faced much hardship.

Feeling that he didn’t particularly want to but had to apologize now that they had completed the antidote, Mae Cho-gwi acquiesced.

“If that’s the case, then let us apologize. We didn’t anticipate how he would move either.”

“Well, that’s true. Now, why did you summon me?”

“Oh, yes. Take a look at this. It seems like a poison, but I don’t know what it is.”

It was then Mae Cho-gwi presented the scene of the melted remains.

Wide-eyed, the woman knelt to inspect the ground.

And soon, as if she had found something surprising, she erupted in startled shouts.

“I-It’s the One Poison Lord! Still young, but definitely the One Poison Lord! Is heaven about to listen to our Masters of Five Poisons’ wishes? Call forth the Toad Brigade and bring out the Thunder!”

At her orders, figures began to rise around them, bowing before hastily taking to the skies.