Chapter 32: Chapter 32
Rumble!
The members of the Heavenly Tiger Squad and Black Tortoise Squad looked down at their feet in fluster. The ground they stood upon was trembling as if an earthquake had occurred.
It was a vibration brought about by the clash of enormous auras.
Blood Immortal unleashed his ultimate technique, Blood Rain Mountain Pile, pouring ominous blood qi in all directions. If the Sword King and Cheon Woo-jin had not blocked it immediately, several of the Alliance members would have suffered no small injury.
Blood Immortal was a man who knew how to keep the words he spat out. If the Sword King would not stop here, he intended to take at least thirty martial artists of the Martial Alliance as companions on the road to the underworld.
“Sword King, what will you do?”
Facing Blood Immortal’s fishy smile, the Sword King knitted his brows finely.
“Taking the lives of the weak as collateral. Disgusting, Blood Immortal.”
“Hahaha! Just who do you think I am?”
The Sword King nodded his head. The bastard was a disciple of the Dark Emperor, called the greatest evil throughout ancient and modern times.
Whatever he did, it would not be strange.
The Sword King casually glanced around, then soon let out a sigh.
“Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader.”
“…Yes, Senior Sword King.”
Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader, who had been the person responsible for the mission until the Sword King and the Martial Alliance’s White Sword Hall Master arrived, lowered his head.
The Sword King’s words continued.
“What is the damage suffered from those bastards?”
“…Two Heavenly Tiger Squad members died to the Lust Demon.”
Nodding his head, the Sword King’s gaze turned somewhere. It was the corpse of the Lust Demon, who was dead with her head miserably shattered.
“The Lust Demon seems to be dead.”
In other words, it meant that the person who directly inflicted damage on the Martial Alliance had paid the price.
Smacking his lips with regret, the Sword King continued speaking.
“We shall promise next time with Blood Immortal. However, we will collect Giant Stone Monster’s corpse. Since the Sword King himself has stepped forward in name, we must finish the mission properly.”
Stepping back about two paces with his red fan put away, Blood Immortal broke into a peculiar smile.
“You will collect another person’s junior disciple’s corpse? How truly willful.”
“Then will you fight and die?”
Soon the Sword King unleashed a ferocious momentum. The Namgung Clan’s unique refreshing yet domineering Azure Sky Qi dominated the area in an instant.
He made the choice to let Blood Immortal leave alive in order to reduce damage to the Alliance members as much as possible. Nevertheless, if Blood Immortal would not make even the barest concession, even as the Sword King, he could not help it.
Even if casualties occurred, he would have no choice but to sever Blood Immortal’s head and send it as a gift to the Alliance Leader.
As if Blood Immortal had also sensed the Sword King’s sincerity, he let out an awkward laugh and stepped back.
“Well, fine. A junior disciple’s corpse wouldn’t be more precious than my life. Isn’t that so?”
Blood Immortal threw a question toward somewhere. But there was no returning answer.
When Blood Immortal slowly withdrew, Namgung Jin, seeing this, sought his father.
“F-Father!”
It was not understood with Namgung Jin’s head. Cheon Woo-jin had fought evenly against Blood Immortal even after killing the Lust Demon. With his father called the Sword King having joined in such a situation, he thought they would easily be able to capture Blood Immortal.
Far from fighting, however, the Sword King was saying he would let Blood Immortal go peacefully.
The Sword King clicked his tongue, looking at such a Namgung Jin.
“There is a fellow helping him. If we insist on fighting, it cannot be helped, but as the bastard said, at least thirty or more martial artists will die. Among them, you could be included.”
Having spoken so, the Sword King was staring intently at somewhere in the air. The same was true for Cheon Woo-jin next to him.
Through the actions of the two, Namgung Jin intuitively sensed that an expert capable of laughing off and deceiving his own senses was present here.
In all likelihood, it was the demonic head called Sword Demon, whom the Lust Demon and Blood Immortal had spoken of earlier.
Still wary of the Sword King and Cheon Woo-jin, Blood Immortal was slowly retreating with steps that were neither hurried nor relaxed.
“Haha, as expected, everyone has good eyes.”
Even while retreating, Blood Immortal was quite disappointed. When the Sword Demon arrived, he thought the situation would be reversed.
Although the Sword Demon had a lower generational rank among the disciples of the Dark Emperor, in terms of skill alone, the Sword Demon was a man far above himself, the third.
A man who had nothing under the heavens he could not cut. After all, he was commonly called the man standing at the opposite pole of the Sword King.
He thought that if such a Sword Demon faced the Sword King and he killed Cheon Woo-jin, they would easily be able to strike and kill the rest.
However, the telepathy heard from the Sword Demon greatly deviated from his expectations.
– Martial Senior, I might be able to handle the Sword King, but Martial Senior cannot handle that fellow.
It was a pride-wounding statement. He knew that Cheon Woo-jin was strong beyond imagination, but no matter what, he was merely a young generation talent.
However, at the Sword Demon’s subsequent telepathy, Blood Immortal cleanly washed away his plan.
– Even if you and I attack together, Martial Senior, we cannot guarantee victory.
Blood Immortal fixed Cheon Woo-jin in his eyes so as never to forget his face. Facing the gaze of such a Blood Immortal, Cheon Woo-jin slowly surveyed the situation.
‘Seventy paces, eighty, ninety…’
Cheon Woo-jin was measuring the distance between the Sword Demon and himself. If he closed the distance before they attacked the Martial Alliance members, there was a possibility he could shatter their skulls without casualties.
Looking at such a Cheon Woo-jin, the Sword King spoke.
“Stop it. Blood Immortal’s martial arts have relatively few distance constraints.”
Cheon Woo-jin looked at the Sword King. His expression was resolute. If Cheon Woo-jin attempted to attack the Sword Demon and Blood Immortal, it felt as though he would stop him instead.
‘Facing three simultaneously is impossible.’
Even just dealing with Blood Immortal and the Sword Demon would require using most of his internal energy, but if the Sword King were added on top of that, the probability of winning fell to rock bottom.
Soon smacking his lips, Cheon Woo-jin completely retrieved the Crescent Moon Staff.
Then the Sword King’s words followed.
“It seems you are Cheon Woo-jin. I heard you took first place in this selection examination.”
As befitting a pillar of the Righteous Path, the Sword King was also acquainted with all the experts of the Martial Alliance. However, this was his first meeting with that young man who had dealt with Blood Immortal on equal terms. Naturally, a person’s name surfaced in the Sword King’s mind.
Cheon Woo-jin, the top applicant of this selection examination and the very person who annihilated the Shura Demon Lord and the Western Sky Society.
When his son Namgung Jin was said to have placed second, he was extremely displeased, but upon hearing those rumors, his head nodded.
“Seeing you in person like this makes it even more understandable.”
How could his son beat such a monster-like fellow?
The problem was where on earth such a bastard had popped out from.
Around the time the Sword King was looking intently at Cheon Woo-jin, Blood Immortal, seeing this, let out a hollow laugh.
“What a farce you are putting on.”
In the first place, just the disciple of Eldest Martial Senior Black Elder going out to take the exam was a laughable matter, but to think he had even passed and was acting as an alliance member.
In his heart, he wanted to say that the bastard was the disciple of the great evil Black Elder, but unfortunately, it was impossible.
‘If the relationship between that fellow and the Martial Alliance goes sour and he runs wild as he pleases, even I could become endangered.’
Laughably, Eldest Martial Senior Black Elder’s disciple was letting himself and the Sword Demon go just like that to protect the alliance members.
It was truly an entertaining thing.
Soon, Blood Immortal and the Sword Demon completely disappeared without a trace.
Only then did the tension that had filled the area scatter into the air.
Simultaneously, among the Black Tortoise Squad members, a man ran in a flurry and approached Cheon Woo-jin.
“Young Hero Cheon, what in the world happened?”
At Song Yi-yeon’s question filled with worry, Cheon Woo-jin answered nonchalantly.
“I was assisting.”
“Assisting?”
Song Yi-yeon tilted his head. Then Cheon Woo-jin pointed at Namgung Jin with the tip of his chin.
– Right. Assist properly.
Before this mission began, those were words Namgung Jin had said when visiting Song Yi-yeon and Cheon Woo-jin to get under their skin.
Recalling this, Namgung Jin hung his head low with a face flushed bright red.
The Sword King clicked his tongue with an uncomfortable expression. He knew his son’s temperament better than anyone else. Without even looking, he could tell what had happened.
Glancing briefly at his son, the Sword King approached the two corpses and examined them.
“This one is the Lust Demon, and this one is…”
It was a face he saw for the first time. The White Sword Hall Master, Heavenly Tiger Squad Leader, and Black Tortoise Squad Leader Cheol Ji-ak, who had approached, also seemed not to know.
The Sword King spoke.
“Judging from the remaining demonic qi in the corpse, it seems to be a fellow from the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
At the Sword King’s nonchalant remark, the atmosphere of the place grew heavy. In the first place, it was natural since the reason the Martial Alliance was established was to confront the Heavenly Demon Cult.
“He is…”
Namgung Jin, whose face had turned red from shame and helplessness, tried to say something and then hesitated. Then everyone’s gaze turned toward Namgung Jin.
The Sword King spoke.
“Do you know this bastard’s identity?”
Namgung Jin hesitated. Through their conversation, he knew that the bastard was an elder of the Demonic Cult. In any case, since he was a Heavenly Tiger Squad member, he had a duty to report everything he knew.
However, as the conversation went on, he would have no choice but to speak about Cheon Woo-jin as well. Even that Cheon Woo-jin was a man who served Black Elder, a disciple of the Dark Emperor, as his master.
When that fact was revealed, he could not predict what attitude the Martial Alliance would show toward Cheon Woo-jin.
In any case, he took first place in the selection examination and had accumulated great merit in this mission, so after undergoing an ideological verification, they might acknowledge him as an alliance member, or they might ostracize him or even lock him in the prison for the reason that he was the disciple of a great evil.
Having received the grace of life from Cheon Woo-jin, was it right to do that?
Suddenly, Namgung Jin’s gaze met Cheon Woo-jin’s. On the contrary, Cheon Woo-jin wore an expression as if it did not matter what Namgung Jin said.
Namgung Jin’s lips parted a few times, and soon he spat out words.
“…He died fighting with the Lust Demon.”
“I see.”
The Sword King nodded his head nonchalantly. It was something he had already anticipated to some degree. In a place where two disciples of the Dark Emperor and an expert of the Heavenly Demon Cult were present, two were dead.
‘A dispute must have arisen over Giant Stone Monster’s corpse.’
The Sword King did not anticipate in the slightest that Cheon Woo-jin had killed the two.
Namgung Jin looked at Cheon Woo-jin. It was a gaze implying that since he had reported like this by his own judgment, Cheon Woo-jin could reveal it himself if he wished.
Cheon Woo-jin merely shrugged his shoulders. It was something that would be revealed someday, but for now, he did not want his relationship with Master Black Elder or his own martial prowess to be revealed.
Because from that moment on, everyone in the Martial Alliance would hide their honest selves and wear masks before him.
It would become difficult to fulfill the orders of his two masters to directly confirm what kind of place the Martial Alliance was.
Right now was just perfect. Because no one purposely hid their true selves in front of the youngest.
Suddenly Cheon Woo-jin spoke.
“Someone also came from the Black Overlord Castle.”
Simultaneously, everyone’s gaze turned toward Cheon Woo-jin.
“The Black Overlord Castle, you say?”
“Yes, it was a man named Muk Si-rang.”
The Sword King let out a long sigh. If it was Muk Si-rang, he was the third-in-command of the Black Overlord Castle, a man who assisted the Castle Lord at his closest side. Since his martial prowess was by no means lower than that of Blood Immortal or the Lust Demon, a truly dangerous situation had almost occurred.
‘If those bastards had joined hands and targeted us…’
The Sword King brushed down his chest in relief. A life-or-death battle had almost occurred here. Of course, if it was to the extent that he had to risk his life, it was self-evident that all the others would have died.
“At any rate, it looks as though all the prominent factions of the martial world gathered together. I can only think that someone deliberately leaked information.”
Having spoken so, the Sword King looked at White Sword Hall Master Dan Woo-myeong. In any case, he was the figure representing the Martial Alliance in this place.
Dan Woo-myeong lowered his head and answered.
“I will report to the Alliance Leader and form a special operations unit directly under the Disciplinary Hall to investigate the Military Strategy Department.”
“There should not be such a thing, but if even a little malice from the Military Strategy Department was contained in this matter, know that I will officially protest to Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon.”
Someone deliberately scattered information to make each faction gather here. Neither the objective nor the identity was known.
However, if the Military Strategy Department was not merely used but was even slightly involved in this matter, the Sword King had almost lost his son because of the Martial Alliance.
The White Sword Hall Master felt a chill down his spine.
“…Yes, I will ensure it is properly investigated.”
Among the martial artists of the Martial Alliance, those originating from the Namgung Clan were too numerous to count. In any case, the Namgung Clan was the family with the strongest influence under the heavens.
If they became enemies with such a Namgung Clan, the loss for the Martial Alliance would be immense.
Still, they could not cover up the incident, so the White Sword Hall Master merely sincerely hoped that the Military Strategy Department had nothing to do with this matter.
“By the way…”
Suddenly the Sword King’s gaze turned toward Cheon Woo-jin. At the same time, everyone looked at Cheon Woo-jin. Everyone seemed to have many questions.
However, there was no one in this place who dared to open their mouth first in the presence of the Sword King.
After a momentary silence, the Sword King asked.
“You, what is your identity?”
It was a question that seemed to speak for everyone’s curiosity.