Chapter 50 : What the Tang Clan Lost

Chapter 50: What the Tang Clan Lost

The proposal made by Tang Muyeol, the Clan Head, was accepted by Sewoon.

More than ten people from both sides began warming up and preparing.

Seeing this, the clan members expressed both admiration and doubt at the same time.

“Wow, a group battle? I didn’t see that coming.”

“Exactly. But doesn’t this make Young Master’s side far too disadvantaged?”

“Click, click. You fool, don’t you still understand Young Master’s deep intentions?”

“H-Huh?”

“Think about it. Up until now, hasn’t Tang Bi’s Dark Flower Unit failed to win even once?”

“That’s true.”

“So, this is a kind of consideration—to at least let them save face by winning in a group battle.”

“Ah, you’re right! That makes sense!”

“Indeed. No matter how brilliant those three have been so far, the difference in numbers is nearly threefold. Could Tang Bi’s unit possibly lose?”

“You’re right, exactly.”

The clan members all judged Sewoon’s decision as consideration for the opposing side.

Of course, the three of Sewoon’s unit had demonstrated the difference between entry-level and mastery-level realms by remaining undefeated until now.

But everyone knew that this was only valid in one-on-one battles.

In a fight between many versus many, such slight differences in realm would quickly be buried.

Although many opponents had already been defeated, the numbers still stood at eight versus three.

What’s more, among the remaining members was Vice Captain Ha Huyeong.

Ha Huyeong was the only one who had also reached the mastery realm, equal to the opponents.

Yet, what made the clan members most certain of the Dark Flower Unit’s victory lay elsewhere.

“Wow, to think I’d get to see the Black Flower Killing Formation with my own eyes.”

“The newcomers will definitely be taught a harsh lesson by the seniors!”

“No doubt about it!”

Unlike the three rookies who had only joined recently, Tang Bi’s squad members had long been training the Combined Formation together.

Though the Black Flower Killing Formation was originally performed by a total of twenty-four, even with eight it could be simplified into a Small Combined Formation.

The Black Flower Killing Formation was a highly perfected battle formation, one that played a great role in ensuring the Sichuan Tang Clan did not lose its name as a martial clan even during decline.

Everyone of the Tang Clan expected that this time, the Dark Flower Unit would claim victory, creating the pleasing outcome of reconciliation between the Young Master and the unit.

But unlike the others—

‘……Could it really be that he just intends to let us save face?’

Only Tang Bi held a completely different thought.

He kept letting out muffled groans, then glanced to the side.

‘Doesn’t look like it…….’

His expression grew heavier.

While everyone was in good spirits—

Sewoon’s expression remained nothing but stern.

Soon, the atmosphere of the Dark Flower Unit, who would face the duel, had sunk low.

All the members wore expressions as if dark clouds were weighing them down.

“Huuu……”

“Haaa……”

From all around came deep sighs, as though the earth itself were collapsing.

The reason was simple.

Unlike the clan members watching with expectation, for them the present situation was unbearable humiliation and shame.

‘This is so disgraceful, I feel like dying…….’

‘What meaning is there in winning like this?’

‘……I can’t even lift my head.’

The spirit Beom Pyeong had shown earlier was long gone.

Having lost every time without a single victory, now suddenly the stage had been tilted overwhelmingly in their favor.

And so, the long-ingrained defeatism that seeped deep into their bones began to resurface.

Even before fighting, their spirit was already broken—

“What are you fools doing before the fight even begins?”

An icy voice rang out.

The members, startled, turned their eyes.

A one-eyed man, with a black eyepatch over one eye, was glaring at them with a murderous look.

It was none other than the Vice Captain of the Dark Flower Unit—

Ghost Flash Dagger, Ha Huyeong.

Though usually never showing any emotion, his face now clearly radiated anger.

“Vice Captain, that’s not it……”

“Do you still not understand that showing such pathetic appearances before the clan members only makes us look more laughable?”

Something about Ha Huyeong’s words struck them, and the members’ eyes shook as though in an earthquake.

To the murmuring group—

“Didn’t the Young Master already speak to us?”

Ha Huyeong declared without hesitation.

“He laid the stage for us, so struggle as hard as you can.”

“Struggle with all your might, flail until the very end.”

“Our lord has commanded it. Then isn’t it enough for us to show him everything we have, with all our strength! Am I wrong?!”

“No, you’re right!”

Ha Huyeong was a natural-born commander.

Just a few words from him, and the shaken members had perfectly regained their fighting spirit.

Step.

As he strode up to the Grand Martial Training Hall, Ha Huyeong gave his last words.

“We will definitely win! Understood?!”

“Yes, sir!!”

Waaaaah!

The roars of the members were answered by the clan members, who cheered loudly in return.

“Then, we will now begin the final group battle!”

The voice announcing the start of the duel rang out loudly.

Fwoosh!

Led by Ha Huyeong, the eight members sprang forward swiftly.

Following his telepathic command, the unit quickly spread out and, in an instant, formed their battle array.

Ha Huyeong’s plan was already set.

‘From the start—we strike with full force!’

There was no need for probing attacks.

From the earlier duels, they had already gauged the strength of the three opponents.

‘We must end this quickly and decisively!’

Based on the accumulated information, the conclusion was clear—

giving them time would only work in the enemy’s favor.

Swish!

Shaaak!

To prevent the opponents from interfering with the completion of the Combined Formation, they unleashed a flurry of hidden weapons.

They especially concentrated on suppressing Daewoong, so that he could not fire his bow properly.

Ting!

Ting!

As expected, the opponents floundered, unable to respond, focusing solely on defense.

And in that gap—

“Dark Flower Unit! Unleash the Black Flower Killing Formation!”

“Unleash!!”

In the blink of an eye, the Sichuan Tang Clan’s pride—

the Black Flower Killing Formation—was fully activated.

Swoooosh!

Shhhhk!

From the eight Dark Flower Unit warriors, each stationed at their eight positions, an aura far stronger than before erupted.

It was because the Combined Formation linked the qi of Ha Huyeong and the eight members into one single stream.

Spread wide in the shape of the character “冂,” the eight martial artists instantly trapped their enemies within the empty space at the center.

Like being caught in the eye of a storm.

“Haah! They trapped them!”

“Now there’s nowhere to escape!”

The clan members watching gasped in amazement, jaws dropping.

“Release the Formation—!!”

Ha Huyeong’s roar marked the beginning of the offensive.

Pababak!

Shhhhk!

The eight members unleashed all of their hidden weapons at once.

Leading the assault were Ha Huyeong’s signature weapons, the paired beads called Child-Mother Pellets.

Alongside them came throwing knives, darts, Willow Leaf Daggers, Flying Locust Stones, and more.

From their sleeves, all manner of lethal hidden weapons shot forth like fangs bared with venom.

Shhhhk!

Shaaak!

The Tang Clan’s hidden weapon arts usually aimed for lethal acupoints to instantly kill.

But in a duel, the targets were different.

The Jugu Acupoint at the shoulder joint.

The Weizhong Acupoint behind the knee.

The Zhupin Acupoint at the back of the calf.

Instead of fatal points, their weapons were aimed at paralysis points that, once struck, would disable the body.

Ting!

Fwhoosh!

The Jang brothers desperately swung their shields and short spears to block.

Daewoong drew his bow without pause, intercepting with arrows.

But—

“Urgh!”

“Ghhk!”

The intervals between their groans of pain grew shorter.

Beautiful yet deadly, the Black Flower Killing Formation resembled a poisonous flower—an offensive array that concealed terrifying toxins.

Shaaak!

Shhhhk!

The hidden weapons poured down like a torrential rainstorm without end.

Only if there was a pause, even a brief halt, could they attempt to break free or counterattack.

But the endless arcs traced in the air showed no sign of stopping.

‘Until you collapse, our assault will never cease!’

Ha Huyeong and his unit clenched their teeth and unleashed their hidden weapon arts relentlessly.

Swoooosh!

Shhhhk!

The hidden weapons spun endlessly inside the Combined Formation, like the eye of a typhoon.

Indeed.

Not only were they throwing their own weapons, but they were also retrieving the weapons hurled by their comrades and throwing them again, endlessly.

“Wow! So that’s the Black Flower Killing Formation!!”

“How can so many move as if they were one person…!”

“They’re catching the hidden weapons within the orbit and throwing them again!”

“In friendly duels it’s always one-on-one, so they must not have had much time to practice this. How hard must they have trained all this time?”

“If a mere Small Combined Formation of eight is this fearsome, then how terrifying must the full Black Flower Killing Formation of twenty-four be…!”

The spectators poured out admiration at the Dark Flower Unit’s display.

To their eyes, the tide of battle had already tilted heavily to one side.

Like predators toying with prey, Ha Huyeong and his members’ offensive was overwhelming.

Shhhhk!

Shaaak!

Even now, hidden weapons continued to rain down without end.

The enemies, unable to withstand the waves of assault, began to retreat step by step from their positions.

‘It’s done. Just a little more and we’ll push them out of bounds…!’

And it was at that exact moment—

The one instant when Ha Huyeong, who had been maintaining perfect focus, relaxed ever so slightly.

Tap-tatat!

The reversal struck without warning.

Fwoooosh!

Suddenly, Jang Yi charged forward with all his might straight toward them.

Vwoong!

Ting!

Swinging his short spear overhead, he deflected the incoming hidden weapons.

Yet that could not possibly last more than a heartbeat.

‘…Has he been struck wrong and lost his senses entirely?’

That was the illusion that simultaneously crossed the minds of the eight martial artists maintaining the formation.

But Jang Yi, flying at them like a moth to flame, was anything but insane.

His mind was sharper than ever.

—When the final moment comes, I will insist we end it with a group battle.

He recalled the words Sewoon had spoken the night before.

—Pardon? A group battle, Young Master?

—But if it’s a group battle, surely they will…

—Yes. A hundred times out of a hundred, they will bring out the Black Flower Killing Formation.

—…Young Master, could it be that you even have a way to break the Black Flower Killing Formation?

At that moment, the eyes of Jang Yi and his two comrades—

gleamed like the piercing gaze of owls in the dead of night.

—Of course I do.

Sewoon’s last strategy to shatter the impregnable fortress had begun.

—You ask what it is? What else could it be.

Even now, his hearty laugh still rang in their ears, in their hearts, and in their very souls.

—Naturally, it’s poison arts.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

—The very poison arts we lost long ago.

Thump.

His chest pounded violently.