Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 213

The Great War (1)

Having successfully concluded their business with the Daeri Family, Hwa-rin and his companions, though not fully recovered from their injuries, left Daeri and arrived in Sichuan.

Baek Gun-sung and the young masters of the Twelve Families headed to the Sichuan branch of the Four Bloods Alliance, while Hwa-rin went to Hwaryeon Hwaru, the Sichuan branch of the Hao Moon.

Hwa-rin, along with Natal Psha, went to a detached house in Hwaryeon Hwaru, where warriors from the Perdan Kingdom’s guard were resting.

“Alshad!”

Natal Psha, seeing Alshad, was delighted and called out to him, rushing towards him.

“Princess Natal Psha!”

Responding to Natal Psha’s voice, he turned his head and saw her running towards him.

Natal Psha ran to him and embraced him, but something felt strange, so she looked at Alshad closely. She noticed that his left arm, which should have been there, was missing.

“Alshad, why is your arm gone?”

Hwa-rin looked at Alshad and the other warriors and saw that they had suffered various injuries, both large and small.

“What happened?”

Natal Psha asked again, but Alshad dismissed it, saying he was fine.

“Where are the other members?”

Hwa-rin asked, but Alshad hesitated.

“Where are they!”

When Hwa-rin pressed him, Alshad told Hwa-rin about his experiences in the Central Plains.

“So, despite my clear warning, the Tang Family tried to kill you.”

“That is correct, My Lord.”

“Those bad people. Why are they trying to kill our kingdom’s people who have done nothing wrong? When I return, I will tell Abamama [father/king] and make them pay the price.”

“No, Princess. We are just glad that you are safe…….”

“No. You came so far to find me. But you, who have done nothing wrong, died. So I can’t just stand by. Those who kidnapped me and those who tried to kill you must be punished. I will not forgive them.”

It wasn’t just childish talk, but a statement of her strong will as a princess of a nation.

“I’ll take care of this…. Natal Psha, you stay here with Alshad and the royal guards.”

“Where are you going, Hwa-rin?”

“I’m going to deal with those bastards. I’ll drag them by the collar and make them apologize to you, so wait a little. It won’t take long.”

Natal Psha nodded, believing that Hwa-rin would do just that.

“Yes. Go and punish them, Hwa-rin. Punish them like you punished those who endangered the kingdom. And bring the head of that family before me.”

“Okay. Alshad, protect the princess well.”

“Yes!”

* * *

Before going to the Tang Family, Hwa-rin first went to the Heungchin Royal Residence to meet Heungchin Prince Joo Young-guk.

He thought that the Heungchin Prince should know about this in case it became a diplomatic issue.

“Why did you come to see me?”

“Actually…….”

He told him in detail about the kidnapping of Natal Psha, the theft of the Tang Family’s Cheonokbo [a valuable item/treasure], and the conflict between the Tang Family and the warriors of the Perdan Kingdom.

“Hmm. Princess Natal Psha said that?”

“Yes. Although it is not an official duty, a mere family killed the warriors of the Perdan Kingdom who came to the Central Plains to find the princess without the permission of the imperial court.”

“Hmm…….”

“Although it is different from the truth, the kidnapped princess was in the Central Plains, and the warriors who came to rescue her were killed by the Tang Family, so if the Perdan Kingdom were to make an unreasonable claim, they could sufficiently make it a diplomatic issue.”

From the perspective of the Central Plains, the Perdan Kingdom was not to be feared, but if it became a diplomatic issue, many troublesome things would arise.

“What if we just eliminate Princess Natal Psha and the royal guards?”

“It will become quiet. The Perdan Kingdom may also conclude it as an unsolved case. However, there are some problems.”

“Problems?”

“The young masters of the Daeri Family, Geumyang Merchant Group, and the Twelve Families, which are the foundation of the Four Bloods Alliance, have seen Natal Psha. Even if others don’t, the Daeri Family and Geumyang Merchant Group, who are merchants, can trade with the Perdan Kingdom, so if the story of Princess Natal Psha enters the royal palace at that time, more troublesome things will happen than now.”

Joo Young-guk frowned slightly.

“Why do you interfere in unnecessary things and give me a headache?”

“I didn’t think things would turn out like this. I went to sell the fields and paddies I received as collateral from the Daeri Family to make a living, and this is what happened.”

“You…….”

“Then, please allow the Heungchin Royal Guard’s military rations to be supplied from the Guryong Market. Then I won’t wander around and will only work at the Guryong Market.”

“Are you even threatening your uncle now?”

“That’s not what I mean, is it?”

“Okay. Let’s think about that issue. Anyway, your brother said that the quality of the grain you supplied was good.”

“Thank you.”

“Anyway, how do we deal with this problem?”

“Isn’t the Perdan Kingdom a valuable ally from the perspective of the Central Plains? That’s why you dispatched the Mengho Four Bloods Special Forces at that time, right?”

“That’s right. The Perdan Kingdom is playing a role in suppressing the surrounding kingdoms from uniting and growing.”

There were many kingdoms in the Saekmok region, and if those kingdoms joined forces to become a large kingdom, that is, an empire, the safety of the Central Plains could not be guaranteed, so the Central Plains needed the cooperation of the Perdan Kingdom.

“From the perspective of the Central Plains, we do not want the emergence of an empire with strong power and influence. If the Perdan Kingdom turns its back on the Central Plains, we may be in conflict with a huge empire within ten years.”

“Then shouldn’t we hold the Tang Family accountable?”

“That’s not easy either. Our claims and their claims may be different, so if we forcibly handle things based on this, the Murim [martial arts world] may revolt.”

A faint smile appeared on Hwa-rin’s lips. As if he had been waiting for this answer, Hwa-rin opened his mouth.

“Then leave it to me. I will clean it up so that there are no aftereffects.”

“You?”

“Isn’t this what I specialize in cleaning up? That’s how my uncle raised me.”

He was talking about the Mengho Four Bloods Special Forces.

“What are you going to do?”

“I will only make it so that the Tang Family will not act recklessly again. Natal Psha will also be satisfied and will not make things bigger.”

Joo Young-guk was bothered by the smile on Hwa-rin’s lips, but he thought he could solve it sufficiently and entrusted the work to him.

“I hope you don’t treat them too harshly.”

Even though the opponent was the Tang Family, he was more worried about the Tang Family than Hwa-rin and told him to take it easy.

“Please send the generals to the Tang Family later to clean up.”

“I will.”

* * *

As the sun passed its zenith and began to set, the warriors of the Tang Family were taking a short break after eating dinner.

At that moment!

Kwaaaang!

With a huge explosion, the Tang Family’s solid gate was shattered, and fragments flew into the Tang Family’s interior.

The fragments became deadly weapons that struck the Tang Family’s warriors who were resting in the courtyard, and they were hit by the gate fragments and fell to the ground without even reacting properly.

“Where is Tang Cheon-gi, that bastard who stole the head of family’s treasure!”

As Hwa-rin shouted while entering the entrance, revealing a terrifying murderous intent, even the surrounding air turned cold.

“Who is it!”

Hwa-rin looked at the Tang Family warriors blocking his path and gestured as if he was annoyed.

A powerful gust of wind arose and struck the Tang Family warriors who were blocking him, and they flew backward and fell to the ground without even knowing what had hit them.

“Tang Cheon-gi, if you know what’s good for you, hand over the treasure you stole from the head of family. Otherwise, the Tang Family will disappear today.”

As Hwa-rin shouted in anger, the Tang Family warriors looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

“Damn it, you’re not coming out.”

As Hwa-rin moved, the Tang Family warriors could no longer stand by and tried to stop him with force.

“Attack!”

The Tang Family warriors attacked Hwa-rin, and a faint smile spread across Hwa-rin’s lips as he began to use his strength.

Shweeeeik!

Numerous hidden weapons rushed towards Hwa-rin, but as Hwa-rin put his hand forward and pretended to move something, the flying hidden weapons disappeared as if by magic.

Peoeok!

Hwa-rin’s fist pierced the abdomen of a warrior.

“Keoeoeok!”

He trembled as if struck by lightning, then slumped on the spot.

Starting with this, Hwa-rin relentlessly attacked the abdomens of the Tang Family warriors and knocked them down, and the attacked warriors had the same reaction.

“Let’s see how long you’ll hide.”

Hwa-rin used his left hand to take out a sword from the air and swung it towards the Tang tree, which grew large and lush in the middle of the Tang Family’s courtyard.

Shweeeeik!

A powerful sword energy stretched out from the sword and passed diagonally through the base of the Tang tree.

Whiririring… Whiriring…….

As the wind blew, the Tang tree slipped and tilted to one side.

“Oh… oh… the Tang tree is falling!”

Kuuuuung!

The Tang tree fell to the ground, causing a cloud of dust.

The Tang tree was worshiped as the guardian of the village in the folk, and the Tang Family planted and grew it together when they settled in the Tang Family in Dogang-eon, using the fallen Tang tree as a symbol.

The Tang Family warriors’ anger soared to the sky as the Tang Family’s symbol was cut down in one stroke.

“Kill him.”

Hwa-rin didn’t care whether they were angry or not and only did what he wanted to do.

The Tang Family was excellent not only in hidden weapons and poison but also in general martial arts, and the origin of the martial arts was the martial arts obtained from the dead warriors while working as a doctor in the old days, and they developed those martial arts to create and use the current Tang Family’s martial arts.

Since the hidden weapons disappeared in the air even when thrown, the Tang Family warriors directly took up swords and attacked, and Hwa-rin faced these Tang Family warriors with his bare hands.

The Tang Family warriors tried their best to attack Hwa-rin by exerting the martial arts they had learned, but the difference between them was too clear.

“Keoeoeok.”

Hwa-rin lightly avoided their attacks and swung his fist, and the Tang Family warriors who were hit by Hwa-rin trembled and fell as before.

As the commotion grew, the people of the Tang Family came out, and they attacked Hwa-rin using swords, hidden weapons, etc., seeing the fallen Tang Family warriors and the Tang tree.

If someone had seen their fight, they might have described the Tang Family warriors as moths jumping into the fire.

There were many Tang Family warriors, but they were too insufficient to face Hwa-rin alone.

“Stop.”

A loud voice echoed in the air, and those in key positions in the Tang Family, including the masters of the inner court who could be said to be the real masters of the Tang Family, appeared, but Hwa-rin snorted at their appearance and used his hands on the Tang Family warriors who were trying to attack him.

“This bastard!”

Seeing this, Tang Min, the deputy commander of the Tang Family’s Dark Shadow Unit, leaped towards Hwa-rin and stretched out his palm.

It was the Tang Family’s proud Samyang Divine Palm [a powerful martial arts technique].

Hwa-rin sneered at Tang Min’s actions and moved his right hand towards his palm.

Jjaaaak!

The two palms collided in the air.

Tang Min thought that Hwa-rin’s right hand would be crushed by his Samyang Divine Palm, but the result was the opposite.

Tang Min’s palm was completely broken by Hwa-rin’s right palm, to the point where the white bones were exposed.

“Kuaaaak!”

As Tang Min screamed in pain for a moment, Hwa-rin strongly struck his abdomen with his left hand as if he didn’t want to hear it.

Pajijik!

At that moment, Hwa-rin’s energy penetrated into Tang Min’s body through his left hand and destroyed his dantian [energy center].