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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: The Hostage
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“I’m going to take you hostage and tell your dad to stop fighting.”
Soyak’s eyes widened. Fear quickly filled those round eyes.
As the child hesitated, trying to step back, Seolhwa grabbed their shoulder.
“The reason I’m stopping this fight is to save you and your dad.”
“Save me and Dad…?”
Seolhwa nodded.
“You’re not lying to me, are you…?”
Of course, the main goal was to save the Namgung clan members. But saving the two of them wasn’t a lie either.
Seolhwa intended to exploit the fact that Maeng Deungho wasn’t yet fully aligned with the Yuk Hyeolju.
‘A father’s love for his son.’
If it was Maeng Deungho’s paternal love, which she had confirmed while staying at this Surochae, then it was entirely possible. For that, Jin Soyak was necessary.
“Choose. Will you be used by me to save your dad, or will you keep hiding here even if your dad gets hurt?”
“I don’t want Dad to get hurt!”
The words, spoken reflexively, were the child’s true feelings.
“Then?”
“…”
“Then what do you want to do?”
Soyak’s eyes flickered with confusion.
“If you really use me, Dad won’t get hurt?”
“Yes. But we have to hurry. The fight is still going on.”
The child still looked afraid. But soon, they nodded.
“I-I’ll do it….”
The child was more worried about their dad getting hurt than the fear of being taken hostage and used.
For a moment, the face of Jin Soyak, who had craved blood in his previous life, seemed to overlap with the innocent child’s face.
Seolhwa let out a hollow laugh.
“Don’t forget. This is your choice. You’re not being used because you’re your dad’s weakness; you’re intentionally letting me capture you to save your dad. Understand?”
Soyak nodded. The child’s eyes were now filled with determination, not fear.
“Let’s go.”
Seolhwa grabbed Soyak’s hand.
Soyak also clasped her hand tightly.
* * *
Clang, clang, clatter!
“Aargh!”
“Strike! Kill them!”
A fierce battle ensued, blood splattering and killing intent rampant.
Namgung Cheongsan, Moyong Yeonhwa, and Hwangryongdaeju were struggling against the full force of the Surochae.
At the center of that battle, two figures stood in a standoff, whom no one dared to easily approach.
They were Namgung Cheongun and Maeng Deungho, the Chieftain of Gwiyoungchae.
“Chieftain of Gwiyoungchae. Why did you take our children?”
At Namgung Cheongun’s words, Maeng Deungho frowned.
‘Children?’
“What exactly do you want?”
“…Nothing.”
What he wanted was to receive something from the Hyeolsachae Chieftain in exchange for handing over a Namgung child, not from Namgung itself.
Ma Jongui, a member of the Hyeolsachae, had confirmed the child and clearly promised to tell him how to save Soyak.
“You must have wanted something if you took the children!”
“I want nothing.”
Therefore, he wanted nothing from Namgung. He simply could not hand over the Namgung child here, for the sake of saving Soyak.
“Stop prattling and attack.”
Maeng Deungho raised his spear towards Cheongun. Slowly, energy enveloped the spear.
‘Damn it.’
Cheongun also raised his sword.
‘There’s no telling when the main family’s forces will arrive.’
The forces were being pushed back. He had tried to get what they wanted through dialogue and bring the children back, but even that wasn’t working out.
How could he make a deal if they didn’t want anything!
Whoosh-
In the blink of an eye, Maeng Deungho’s spear surged towards Cheongun.
Clang-!
Barely deflecting the spearhead, Cheongun twisted his body, evading the shaft’s trajectory.
The spear, moving at Maeng Deungho’s fingertips, seemed to writhe alive like a snake.
Swish- Thwack!
The bent spear shaft changed direction in mid-air, and the spearhead flew straight towards Cheongun.
Thwack-! Clang!
‘No opening to exploit!’
Cheongun was flustered.
To attack Maeng Deungho, he needed to close the distance, but the spear, enveloped in internal energy, had a sharp edge even on its shaft.
The ferocity of the constantly oscillating spear shaft felt as if a direct hit would tear flesh apart.
“Ugh…”
Thwack-! Clang!
“I’ve heard the Namgung’s swordsmanship is strong, but this power is unexpected. You’re the first to last this long against me.”
Maeng Deungho seemed at ease. He also knew that Cheongun was at the Cheoljeong realm.
“However, you’re still just a greenhorn!”
Maeng Deungho leaped, swinging his spear down as if to hammer it into the ground.
It was an attack imbued with such powerful energy that the air itself seemed to rip apart with a loud *whoosh*.
‘This is dangerous…!’
An attack that could neither be deflected nor avoided.
Cheongun gathered all his remaining internal energy and channeled it into his sword.
With a colossal explosion—*KWA-ANG!*—a dust storm erupted centered around the two men.
“Uwaaagh!”
“Urgh!”
The bandits and sword-unit members fighting around the two men were pushed back by the immense pressure, unable to withstand it, and some were sent rolling across the ground.
“Brother…!”
“First Young Master!”
Namgung Cheongsan, Moyong Yeonhwa, and Hwangryongdaeju were also affected.
“Ch-Chieftain!”
As were the bandits of Surochae.
All of them stared, mouths agape, at the swirling dust cloud’s center.
A period of silence enveloped them.
Soon, the dust settled, revealing the two figures.
It was Maeng Deungho, holding his spear with both hands, pressing down, and Cheongun, blocking it with his sword.
After another brief moment.
“Cough…!”
It was Cheongun who faltered, spitting blood.
Propping himself up with his sword, Cheongun barely managed to support his body, placing a hand on his chest. Blood spurted from his mouth once more.
It was clear evidence of severe internal injuries.
“Hmm.”
Maeng Deungho, looking down at Cheongun, remained unhurried.
“It seems you haven’t been in that realm for long. If you knew how to wield your energy properly, even I wouldn’t have had an easy time.”
Maeng Deungho inverted his spear, aiming it at Cheongun.
“B-Brother!”
“No!”
As Namgung Cheongsan and Moyong Yeonhwa screamed simultaneously.
“Maeng Deungho!”
In the Surochae, now quiet due to Cheongun and Maeng Deungho’s battle, a young voice rang out.
The gaze of everyone within Surochae, including Maeng Deungho and the Namgung members, simultaneously turned towards the direction of the voice.
On the roof of a shack, a short distance from where the battle raged, two figures were visible.
!
Seeing them, Maeng Deungho’s eyes shot open.
Because the girl who had arrived at Surochae two days ago, whom he hadn’t paid any attention to, was now holding a sword to his son Soyak’s neck, threatening him.
“Soyak!”
Maeng Deungho’s composure, which he had maintained until now, finally cracked.
“Everyone, don’t move! If anyone takes even one step, this child’s life is forfeit!”
Maeng Deungho, who had been about to push off the ground and charge forward, stopped abruptly.
Though it seemed like she was speaking to everyone in Surochae, the child holding Soyak hostage had her gaze fixed solely on him.
“…”
Looking at the frozen Maeng Deungho, Seolhwa slowly regulated her breathing.
“D-Dad…”
Soyak, despite his earlier resolve, was trembling with fear.
She had to finish this before the child was truly consumed by fear. It would be a disaster if he were to forget that this was a hostage situation by agreement.
“Maeng Deungho! I already know this child is your son!”
Maeng Deungho’s expression wavered again.
“So, if you want to save your son, drop your weapon and pull back your subordinates!”
However, Maeng Deungho did not discard his weapon easily.
Even though a sword was at his son’s neck, it was still just a child. If he could just create a small opening, before the sword could even move—
Whoosh-
Screech… Thud-!
Seolhwa’s sword instantly sliced off the edge of the shack’s roof.
The severed roof slid down the diagonal cut, crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces.
Even if it was a roughly built structure of earth and straw, it wasn’t something that could be easily cut with an ordinary sword.
The speed at which the sword was moved was also extraordinary.
It was as if she were warning Maeng Deungho, challenging his inner thoughts that underestimated a child.
“…”
Maeng Deungho’s grip on his spear loosened. But just as he was about to lower it—
“If that child dies, this child dies too!”
Ma Jongui, who had been observing the battle from behind Maeng Deungho, roared.
“You haven’t forgotten that we have a Namgung child here, have you! If you harm the Chieftain’s son, the Namgung young lady’s life is forfeit!”
Seolhwa looked at Ma Jongui.
Ma Jongui’s lips curved into a faint smile, as if certain of victory.
“If you want to save the Namgung young lady, hand over that child at once—”
“Try it.”
“W-What?!”
“I said, try it.”
Contrary to Ma Jongui’s expectations, Seolhwa didn’t flinch in the slightest.
No, rather, she looked at Ma Jongui with a gaze that found him pathetic and asked.
“So, where is this Namgung child you threatened to kill?”
Under her arrogant gaze, Ma Jongui ground his teeth and shouted.
“Where else?! Right behind me…! What?! Where did they go?!”
When Ma Jongui turned around, the Namgung child and the boy who had been holding her were nowhere to be seen.
They were clearly behind him just a moment ago?
Wh-What the—?!
Ma Jongui frantically looked around. And then he saw him.
Thud-thud-thud-!
“Hwarin!”
The boy who had somehow run towards the Namgung camp.
“You little bastard…!”
