Chapter 78: The Mastermind (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78: The Mastermind (2)
"!?"
The leader of the masked men was utterly flabbergasted, unable to comprehend the situation.
"What in the world is..."
The others were equally bewildered.
A masked man had suddenly started speaking in a feminine tone, rambling about slaves and such. Who wouldn't find that bizarre?
Tell me about it.
Right now, that masked man was possessed and controlled by the Evil Connection Sword.
It would have been enough if she had just stopped at rescuing the hostage, but I hadn't expected the Evil Connection Sword to get so excited and start spouting such nonsense.
"Y-you! Have you gone mad?!"
The leader of the masked men barked at his subordinate, who was currently possessed. The possessed man merely smirked and replied, "Do I look like your subordinate to you?"
"What?"
To an outsider, it was a spine-chilling remark. They would probably think he was possessed by a ghost.
Stop it.
"Mmm~"
The possessed masked man twisted his body, letting out a suggestive hum as if he found it regrettable to stop.
...Sigh.
My head was starting to ache.
The situation had been so urgent that I hadn't given her any prior warnings—that was my mistake. Then again, who could have known she could do more than just control a body? Who knew she could actually speak through it?
"What a shame. I wanted to play more."
The masked man shot a playful wink at me as I massaged my temples. He set Eon Yeong-in of the Jinju Eon Family down on the ground and then brought the Evil Connection Sword to his own throat.
"S-stop!"
Slash!
He committed suicide.
The Evil Connection Sword then slipped from the man's hand and flew back to me.
The leader of the masked men stood there with his mouth agape, momentarily speechless, seemingly horrified by the sight.
"Haah..."
I saw Yeong-yeong shaking her head as she looked at me.
[Brother, what did you just do?]
It seemed she thought I had performed some kind of evil art. I figured it was best to explain so there wouldn't be any unnecessary misunderstandings.
[...It wasn't me.]
[It wasn't you?]
[The Evil Connection Sword is a demon sword, just like the Blood Demon Sword. If someone holds it, they get possessed by the sword's demonic energy and move against their own will.]
[A demon sword!]
Yeong-yeong's eyes widened. Given the notorious reputation of demon swords, I figured she’d understand with just that much explanation. The Blood Demon Sword was the prime example, after all.
I looked at Yeong-yeong, who was staring at the Evil Connection Sword with a look of revulsion, and said teasingly:
[Want to try holding it?]
[N-no thanks!]
I chuckled as she recoiled in horror.
Shaking her head, Yeong-yeong checked on Namgung Ga-hee's condition and then spoke to Song Jwa-baek.
"Jwa-baek... Brother."
"Brother?"
At that word, Song Jwa-baek’s nostrils flared, and the corners of his mouth twitched upward. To be that giddy over being called "Brother"—he really was a simple fellow.
...That would be a bit problematic.
He tends to develop feelings for the opposite sex far too easily, so I am a little worried.
"You're older, so of course I'd call you 'Brother.' Don't just stand there; please undo the pressure points on the lady."
"Ahem. R-right. Of course. I should."
At Yeong-yeong's request, he even let out a fake cough as he set Namgung Ga-hee down and began to release her pressure points.
Meanwhile, I approached the leader of the masked men. He was staring at me as if I were a monster.
"Y-you... what kind of trick was that? How can an Orthodox martial artist use such bizarre evil arts...?"
I suppose the Evil Connection Sword controlling the masked man looked like an evil art to him. Well, I didn't see any reason to explain it to him.
"None of your business. Now, didn't you say something about a hostage earlier?"
At my words, his face turned ashen. He likely knew better than anyone that there was no way out for him anymore.
"You laid a hand on my younger sister. Don't expect a quick death."
Crunch!
I slowly ground my heel into his ankle. The sound of bone shattering echoed through the air.
"Aaaaaagh!"
Seeing him scream in agony made me feel a bit better.
The screaming man looked up at me with a pathetic, pleading voice.
"P-please... just spare my life."
I scoffed at his plea.
"I'll make sure the words 'Please just kill me' come out of that mouth instead."
He shouldn't have done it in the first place. To think he could touch one of my people and expect to walk away unscathed.
Where should I break next to cause the most pain?
Just then, Yeong-yeong's voice rang out.
"Brother! Wait a moment!"
I stopped just as I was about to crush his other ankle. Yeong-yeong ran over and addressed the man.
"Who is 'that person'?"
'That person'?
Her sudden question allowed me to guess one thing: there was a mastermind behind this. Just what kind of mission had she been on that she almost got kidnapped?
"T-that's..."
The man stammered, hesitating. Seeing him fear the mastermind even when his own life was on the line suggested that his employer was no ordinary person.
I applied pressure to his ankle and growled, "Speak!"
The man still couldn't bring himself to open his mouth. I increased the force of my foot.
As the pain intensified, the man flailed his hands in a panic, trying to explain.
"I-I was just following orders for money!"
"Following orders for money?"
"It's true! Please believe me!"
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
Yeong-yeong plunged her sword into the man's shoulder, pressing him further.
"Then tell us who the mastermind is!"
"Ggggh..."
"There must be someone who gave the order and paid the money!"
I was angry, but since Yeong-yeong was the one who had almost been kidnapped, this was the first time I’d ever seen her this furious.
Yeong-yeong twisted the blade to inflict more pain.
"It's the Inak Village culprit, isn't it? Speak!"
Inak Village?
I couldn't hide my internal shock at those words.
I had forgotten, but there were several incidents that had drawn the Martial Alliance's attention before my regression. One of them was the Inak Village Incident.
Numerous young women had been kidnapped. At first, they only targeted civilians, but the incident escalated when they began indiscriminately targeting women of the martial world as well.
No, that's not it.
Come to think of it, neither Yeong-yeong nor Namgung Ga-hee were kidnapped in the original timeline. Back then, they were deployed when the Inak Village Incident first gained attention, but I remember them returning without any significant results.
They probably would have returned to the Martial Alliance immediately and been fine. It seems this situation happened because they were waiting for me.
...I'm starting to feel guilty.
History had changed because of my regression.
In the end, they weren't.
The internal circumstances were quite complicated. The situation eventually got so bad that even the Great Alliance Leader, Baek Hyang-muk, had to step in.
Considering that, this wasn't an incident Yeong-yeong should be involved in. It seemed we had stumbled into a very troublesome affair.
Lesser Conversation Sword was about to ask me when I noticed something.
What's this?
I looked toward the entrance.
Yeong-yeong asked curiously, "What is it, Brother?"
"We have guests."
"Guests?"
Yeong-yeong's eyes filled with wariness, wondering if it was another enemy.
"Over here!"
Soon, just as I had predicted, about ten warriors dressed in similar blue uniforms rushed into the inn.
I didn't know their specific affiliation, but the emblem on their left chests identified them as being associated with the Martial Alliance.
At the front was a handsome middle-aged man who looked to be in his early forties.
As soon as she saw him, Yeong-yeong looked surprised and gave a fist-and-palm salute.
"Sect Leader Yang!"
"Deputy Hall Master So!"
It seemed they knew each other.
The man called Sect Leader Yang discovered Yeong-yeong, and his eyes widened as he looked around. He seemed shocked by the numerous masked corpses scattered about and the absolute mess the inn had become.
[Who is he?]
Yeong-yeong replied to my sound transmission.
[That's Sect Leader Yang Jeong of the Sea Sect. He's an Outer Hall Master for the Sichuan Province Branch of the Martial Alliance.]
Yang Jeong?
I narrowed my eyes and studied him intently.
Sect Leader Yang approached us and said, "Deputy Hall Master So. You're safe. What a relief."
"What brings you all the way here, Sect Leader Yang?"
"We had set up decoys to find those bastards, but some of the women were attacked. I hurried after you to warn you and offer assistance."
It seemed the Phoenix Hall wasn't the only group targeted.
"Ah! Thank you!"
Yeong-yeong expressed her gratitude. However, since she would have been kidnapped already if I hadn't been there, his arrival was essentially just a formality.
The man named Yang Jeong looked at me and asked with a curious gaze, "And this young man is?"
"Ah! Sect Leader. This is my older brother."
"Your brother?"
At those words, a strange light flickered in Yang Jeong's eyes.
"If he is Deputy Hall Master So's brother, then... the Lesser Sword Immortal?"
I gave him a fist-and-palm salute and greeted him politely.
"I am So Woon-hwi. It is an honor to meet the Sect Leader of the Sea Sect."
He let out an exclamation of admiration.
"I knew you seemed extraordinary. I've heard so many rumors about you on my way here that my ears are practically ringing."
Just how far had the rumors spread? Regardless, being praised to my face like this was quite embarrassing.
"You flatter me."
"Not at all. It is truly fortunate. A peerless master like you being here allowed the members of the Phoenix Hall to avoid a great calamity."
"Oh, stop it."
Yeong-yeong scratched her head sheepishly. She seemed more proud of the compliment than I was.
Sect Leader Yang Jeong pointed to the leader of the masked men, who was still pinned by Yeong-yeong's sword.
"Is he the only one left alive?"
"Yes. I believe he's the leader of the group that attacked us. Sect Leader, there's no doubt that the Inak Village mastermind is behind this."
Sect Leader Yang Jeong nodded in agreement.
"Most likely. Given the simultaneous attacks, the Inak Village mastermind must be the one pulling the strings."
"Yes. To prevent further victims, we must find out who the mastermind is from this man."
Yeong-yeong spoke with determination.
Looking at her, Sect Leader Yang Jeong spoke with a troubled expression.
"About that... Deputy Hall Master So. Could you hand over custody of that prisoner to us?"
"Pardon?"
Yeong-yeong asked back, surprised. She hadn't expected him to suddenly ask for the prisoner.
"But we haven't gotten anything out of him yet..."
"Deputy Hall Master So, I understand how you feel. However, it's not just your group; other women we deployed to catch them are being attacked as we speak. If we don't hurry, there could be even more casualties."
"Ah..."
Yeong-yeong bit her lip hard. She clearly wanted to uncover the mastermind with her own hands.
However, Sect Leader Yang Jeong spoke with an even more earnest voice.
"I'm asking you."
"I understand what you're saying, but..."
Yeong-yeong tried to say something, but I intervened.
I gave him a fist-and-palm salute and said, "Please, take him. If it's an urgent matter, we should naturally hand him over."
"Brother!"
"Yeong-yeong. We have to save more people. Unless you're going to go help personally, it's only right to let the Sichuan Branch of the Alliance handle the criminal."
At my words, Sect Leader Yang Jeong replied with a salute.
"As expected of the Lesser Sword Immortal's magnanimity. Thank you truly for your understanding. I will make sure to catch the culprit."
"I hope you catch him without fail."
"Of course."
With that, Sect Leader Yang Jeong hurriedly withdrew, taking the leader of the masked men with him.
Shortly after he left, Yeong-yeong turned on me.
"Why did you hand him over? Didn't you find it strange, Brother? No matter how urgent it was, we could have interrogated him here first. Insisting on doing it while they're moving is..."
"Yeong-yeong."
"What is it?"
"Who said I just let him go?"
"What?"
*
Inside a transport carriage about two li away.
The leader of the masked men had stopped his bleeding and was applying Golden Spear True Scripture ointment.
Sshhh! Sshhh!
"Aaargh!"
"Ugh... w-why..."
Meanwhile, screams could be heard from outside. Even though something ominous was happening out there, the leader of the masked men looked perfectly relaxed.
Creeeeak!
Soon, the carriage door opened, and someone drenched in blood stepped inside.
It was none other than Sect Leader Yang Jeong.
Yang Jeong clicked his tongue and said, "You look pretty relaxed for someone who was just a prisoner. While I'm out here doing all the hard work."
"Did you kill them all?"
"Yeah, you bastard."
His tone and manner of speaking were completely different from how he had acted at the inn. He sounded as coarse as any member of the Evil Faction.
"Damn it, then what was I supposed to do against a monster on the level of the Eight Great Masters? Who knew that girl's brother was the Lesser Sword Immortal?"
"That was an unexpected variable," Yang Jeong said, clicking his tongue. "Even the Shadow Ghosts were taken out. I thought the rumors about sword flight were just exaggerated nonsense."
"Nonsense? There was no exaggeration at all. He's a complete monster."
The memory of the man's appearance was still seared into his brain. The immense internal power that devastated the inn and the feast of the Sword Control Art that swept through the area—it was like seeing an Asura incarnate.
"You're lucky to be alive."
It truly was a stroke of luck. If Yang Jeong hadn't appeared at that moment, he would have been dead for sure. That man was different from other Orthodox martial artists. It had been a long time since he had felt such a primal fear of death.
"...Still, I survived thanks to your quick thinking. I was actually considering whether I should commit suicide."
"Bullshit. You, commit suicide?"
"Well, it's not like I was going to sell out the Master."
"You're exactly the kind of guy who would."
The masked leader shook his head. Then, he spoke in a serious voice.
"I think it's best to just leave the Phoenix Hall girls alone for now."
"The Master will be furious."
"I know, but that Lesser Sword Immortal guy has something unsettling about him..."
Thwack!
"Gah!"
In that instant, blood sprayed across Yang Jeong's face.
"!?"
He couldn't hide his bewilderment at what had just happened. A sharp blade had erupted through the masked leader's abdomen.
"What in the world..."
He couldn't understand it. It looked as if the blade had pierced through the carriage itself.
"Ggggh... d-do something about this..."
"Damn it! Hold still."
Yang Jeong hurriedly tried to pull out the protruding blade to help him, but suddenly, the masked leader began to convulse, his eyes rolling back into his head.
"Ggggrrrrk!"
"Hey! What's wrong? Pull yourself toge—"
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
In that moment, the masked leader struck Yang Jeong's pressure points with lightning speed. Caught off guard, Yang Jeong was frozen in shock.
"Y-you... why?"
The masked leader's lips curled into a smirk, and he spoke in a voice dripping with seductive charm.
"Mmm~ So, are you the Inak Village mastermind?"