Chapter 567: Side Story 67
Chapter side_67
“I do not know what on earth the Cult Leader is thinking.”
“Indeed. To summon all high-ranking officials at such a time…….”
“Seeing that the Heavenly Demon Plaque has been invoked, I suspect it must be a grave matter…….”
The grand hall.
Including the elders who could be called the highest tier, the guardians, hall chiefs, pavilion chiefs, unit leaders, and squad leaders were gathered in one place. It was a fresh reminder of the power of the Heavenly Demon Plaque, which had not been invoked even once for decades.
No one could reject the Heavenly Demon Plaque.
If one was a member of the Mount Tian Demonic Cult, the moment it was invoked, they had to come, and refusing it was no different from losing one’s qualification as a Demonic Cultist and giving up one’s life.
Tap, tap-!
Inside that grand hall, another person’s footsteps were heard. The gazes of those gathered together naturally turned toward him.
The person who was not present, and the one who must come.
It was none other than the Cult Leader Gam Chun, the very person who had invoked the Heavenly Demon Plaque.
As he proudly made his appearance and released his momentum, short groans were heard here and there.
But there were just as many people wearing faint sneers, who did not properly recognize him as the Cult Leader.
How could the Cult Leader of the Mount Tian Demonic Cult not even properly master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art? That was precisely the reason why many did not recognize him as the Cult Leader.
But then.
“Gasp?!”
“Hmm?!”
Suddenly, groans erupted from here and there.
The moment Gam Chun revealed himself from the darkness into the light, his face, which had been hidden until now, began to be visible.
Where had his usual dignified face gone? His eye areas were bruised purple, and his lips were torn and bleeding here and there.
Because he had been beaten so much that swollen and bruised marks were everywhere, those looking at Gam Chun were all speechless.
No matter how much he could not properly master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Gam Chun was the head of the Mount Tian Demonic Cult. Did it make any sense for such a person to be beaten like a dog on a hot summer day by someone?
But Gam Chun did not even care about their gazes and stood blankly to the right of the highest seat. Soon, he looked left and right and smiled with a dazed expression.
“Ah- is it because of my face? Do not worry about it, hahahaha.”
“C-Cult Leader! What on earth happened?!”
“Who dared! Who dared lay a hand on the Cult Leader!”
Everyone could not hide their embarrassment.
It was absurd enough that the Cult Leader of the Mount Tian Demonic Cult had been beaten up by someone, but to say do not worry about it as if it were nothing?
Not a speck of qualification to be Cult Leader could be found.
In particular, the gazes of the elders, who were at the highest level, were fierce.
Although they could not bring themselves to say anything, looking at their red faces, they seemed to feel embarrassment and shame at the Cult Leader’s appearance.
“Cult Leader! How dare you go around dragging the name of the Mount Tian Demonic Cult through the mud!”
“This is why the Demonic Cult is heard to be not as good as it used to be!”
“Haha! How can such an absurd thing happen…….”
Here and there, people clicked their tongues and lamented.
In the history of the Mount Tian Demonic Cult, which Cult Leader had ever suffered such a thing? The Demonic Cult must always stand at the highest place, and must surely plant fear into the orthodox martial artists of the Central Plains.
And the Cult Leader who commands such people is indeed the Heaven above Heavens!
No one should be able to approach him, and he must overwhelm people with just his gaze.
Was that not the very root of the Mount Tian Demonic Cult?
But how could such a thing happen!
Slam!
“Cult Leader! What on earth have you been doing!”
“I have never seen such a disgrace in all my life! Even without this, the momentum of the Potala Palace is no joke! For such…… an absurd thing to happen as well……!”
Hearing the voices echoing from everywhere, Gam Chun swallowed a groan.
No, he did not get beaten because he wanted to, alright?
Moreover, if they wanted to hear the reason, was it not because of these guys? Gam Chun’s lips twitched as he frowned. The shouting from all around did not enter his ears; instead, his gaze looking at them turned even sharper.
“Who on earth did you get beaten by?!”
At the elder’s question, Gam Chun wore a hollow expression.
In the first place, if he had to count those who could make him like this, only one or two people would come to mind. Did they really say that without knowing?
However, he did not answer and just grinned.
“It was me.”
Soon, a small voice echoed through the hall.
Although it was small, it surely pierced into everyone’s ears. At the single word spoken, everyone’s gaze quickly turned and checked the direction from which the voice was heard.
“……!?”
“Gasp!”
“C-Cult…… Leader……!”
“De…… Demonic Sovereign…… h-how!”
In an instant, those who confirmed the figure entering the hall could not speak. The elders froze with their mouths shut, while the others trembled violently and broke out in cold sweat.
Demonic Sovereign Sa Do-hak.
Heavenly Demon Sa Do-hak.
The weight that name carried was by no means ordinary.
Simply one of the Five Emperors of the Central Plains? Or beyond being the former Cult Leader, there was something more. He was an absolute existence who led the revival of the Demonic Cult and ascended to the position of Cult Leader at a young age, yet no one could dare look down on him.
Even while fighting several battles with the Sword Emperor, who was called the pride of the orthodox path, he showed an overwhelming advantage, and it was not strange to call him the actual number one in the world.
That was precisely the weight carried by the name of the former Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, Sa Do-hak.
“Look at these bastards, you’re sitting down?”
Sa Do-hak frowned as much as he could and looked around. At his extremely fierce gaze, everyone flinched and jumped up from their seats.
Everyone except the elders knelt down in an instant and bowed their heads, which was a completely different feeling from when Gam Chun appeared.
Thus, Gam Chun could not help but feel bitter.
“H-How is the f-former Cult Leader…… here…….”
“Did I come to a place I shouldn’t have?”
Sa Do-hak naturally took his seat on the throne.
Because all those actions felt so natural, it even made people think that Sa Do-hak was still the ruler of the Mount Tian Demonic Cult.
“When I left this place, I told you guys repeatedly. You know it, right?”
“O-Of course we do.”
At the first elder’s answer, Sa Do-hak burst into an absurd laugh. As his blade-like gaze swept across the elders, those who met his eyes trembled.
“But you bastards seem to have forgotten. In treating Gam Chun, treat him as you would treat me…… I said so myself.”
“……!?”
“Gasp!”
“Is this place a playground for street thugs?”
Sa Do-hak’s momentum began to spread gradually.
His momentum, having fully mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and crossed the wall, was by no means ordinary. A power incomparable to the past oppressed, crushed, and trampled upon everyone in this place.
There was no one who could raise their head.
To the point where they thought that no one should ever raise their head in this place.
“Are you planning to make this place like the Murim Alliance?”
“N-No! There is absolutely no such thing!”
“T-That is correct, Cult Leader. How could we have such disrespectful thoughts……”
At the voices that followed, Sa Do-hak sneered. If he had not come without knowing anything, the Demonic Cult would have surely followed the same steps as the Murim Alliance.
Those who did not recognize Gam Chun would split and form another faction. If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before they split into pieces.
“I will not speak of this matter any longer. But keep this in mind. The one who will succeed me is Gam Chun.”
“……!”
“Ugh……!”
At Sa Do-hak’s words, everyone swallowed a groan and bowed their heads. Even though he had reappeared, he still referred to Gam Chun as his successor.
As if saying there could be no more arguing about this matter, Sa Do-hak’s tone was firm and pierced their ears clearly.
If anyone raised a rebellion, their head would surely fly off.
“And…….”
When no one opened their mouth anymore, Sa Do-hak finally nodded in satisfaction and began to look around the crowd.
Since he had summoned them using the Heavenly Demon Plaque, every single high-ranking official in the Mount Tian Demonic Cult would be present. Nevertheless, only one person was not visible.
Having squinted his eyes, he opened his mouth.
“I do not see Gu Ja-gok.”
“G-Gu Ja-gok, you say? Come to think of it……”
“I have not seen him for a while.”
“Now that you mention it…… the Ma Hyeong Squad has not been seen either.”
At the words coming from here and there, Sa Do-hak raised his eyebrows. What kind of bastards were they to not know where the leader of the Ma Hyeong Squad was, or where he had disappeared to?
This was something unimaginable back when Dongfang Gu and Sa Do-hak were in the Demonic Cult.
His expression distorted endlessly.
Involuntarily, he slowly stood up from his seat.
As he glanced and reached out his hand toward Gam Chun beside him, Gam Chun handed him a club he had brought from somewhere.
It looked thick and solid, so if anyone got hit by it even once, it would not end with just crying.
“A scripture has disappeared from the Potala Palace. And they think it was our doing.”
“What nonsense is that! A Demonic Cultist stealing?!”
“That is right, Cult Leader! What do they take the pride of the Demonic Cult for to say such a thing?”
Feeling the voices rising again, Sa Do-hak nodded. He also thought that a Demonic Cultist would not have done it.
But Gu Ja-gok, the most suspicious one, was not visible.
Moreover, was this not a gathering summoned by the Heavenly Demon Plaque? Even so, the fact that he was not visible meant he was involved in some way, did it not?
A long sigh escaped his mouth.
“What do I take you for? You dogs…… you did not even know that the leader of the Ma Hyeong Squad suddenly disappeared, nor could you even confirm the reason why the Potala Palace attacked……”
“Ugh?!”
“Gasp!”
Hearing the groans echoing here and there, Sa Do-hak brushed his hair back. As he swept all of his long hair back, his face was completely revealed, and it was crumpled in a way that did not look good at all.
“Instead of uniting as one, you bastards did all kinds of crazy things to get a bit of power and strength, which is why this disaster happened. Is that not so?”
“C-Cult Leader. P-Please calm down for a moment. We would never do such……”
“T-That is right, Cult Leader. W-We only did it for the sake of the Demonic Cult……”
Sa Do-hak did not listen to their trembling voices. With a grin, he held the club, scanned the crowd, and did not stop sneering.
“You bastards will never know how embarrassed I am right now. Ha- to the guy I wanted to hide it from the most…… I feel like I’ve shown all my dirty laundry.”
At Sa Do-hak’s words, Gam Chun chanted Buddhist prayers in his mind.
This was because he thought he knew what he was talking about.
Surely, he did not want to show this kind of situation to the Sword Emperor.
“C-Cult Leader……?!”
“Cut the crap and plant your heads on the floor! If you don’t want to set up your memorial tables today, do it right now!”
“H-Hieek?!”
“Gasp!”
Sa Do-hak gnashed his teeth and glared at everyone. Containing all his anger in his eyes and holding a lump of resentment in his heart, his bloodthirstiness cowed everyone, making them smash their heads onto the floor.
Naturally, not even the elders could be an exception to this.
“From now on, those who cannot answer my questions had better prepare themselves. Keep in mind that I, Sa Do-hak, never speak empty words.”
[We obey your command!]
At Sa Do-hak’s shout, everyone spoke in unison.
Watching that, Gam Chun felt as if a lump that had been stuck in his chest was washed down refreshingly.
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