Chapter 78: The Mastermind (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78: The Mastermind (3)
Sect Leader Yang Jeong could not hide her bewilderment at the stark change in his tone.
She likely sensed, however vaguely, that the man before her was no longer the "him" she knew, but something else entirely.
It was all written on the bastard’s face.
I could see it clearly because I was sharing my vision with the Evil Connection Sword.
However, even though I told the sword to relay my words exactly, she was speaking in her own distinct style.
Don’t embellish it. Just deliver it as I say.
—You’re quite the demanding slave, aren’t you?
Who are you calling a slave?
Sigh.
Just deliver the message properly. Ask him again, briefly: "Are you the one from Inak Village?"
—Fine, fine.
"I asked if you were the one from Inak Village. Well?"
...Dammit. Whatever.
I suppose it doesn't matter what the tone is, as long as the point gets across.
"......Who the hell are you?"
Sect Leader Yang Jeong asked, her face full of wariness.
She seemed to have finally realized that this man was not the true leader of the masked group.
"Hmph. That’s none of your business."
".......What kind of sorcery is this?"
"I told you, it’s none of your business."
The leader of the masked men, currently under the control of the Evil Connection Sword, gestured toward the outside of the carriage as he spoke to Yang Jeong.
"You certainly made a mess out there, didn't you?"
Corpses were strewn across the ground outside.
They were all warriors from the Sichuan Province Branch of the Martial Alliance.
They had all been slaughtered to keep them silent.
At those words, Yang Jeong snorted, her eyes narrowing.
"Hmph."
Despite being paralyzed by pressure point arts and facing an uncertain fate, her audacity was remarkable.
She didn't show the slightest hint of intimidation.
Well, if she was bold enough to target not just ordinary women but even the women of the martial world, she had to have that much backbone.
"How dignified of you."
The man gave a mocking sneer before speaking again.
"When there are too many eyes and ears, killing is only natural."
"You certainly have a deep sense of camaraderie. But what a shame. With a wound like that, he won't last fifteen minutes before he dies."
A sword had pierced his abdomen.
If left untreated, death was inevitable.
At my words, the man’s mocking expression twisted hideously.
"Release this instant and undo the sorcery you've placed on Gongjeon. If you do, I shall overlook this incident."
So, this man’s name was Gongjeon.
She seemed deeply concerned about saving her comrade, but she clearly hadn't grasped the reality of the situation.
"If I were going to do that, I wouldn't have started this in the first place."
"Ha!"
The man gasped in disbelief.
Then, glaring sharply, he spoke.
"Do you truly think I don't know who you people are?"
Huh?
This was an entirely unexpected reaction.
I had intentionally waited and struck from a distance; did she somehow realize I had intervened?
Well, it was possible.
Since their collusion had been exposed, the leader of the masked men might have told her.
If that was the case, I definitely had to kill this guy... Wait, something was strange.
Did he just say "you people"?
He used a plural term.
It felt odd if he was referring to me and Yeong-yeong.
I needed to test him.
"Ho. You're sharper than you look."
".......We agreed not to interfere with each other. Do you think Mother will sit idly by if you stir things up like this?"
Mother...
So the rumors I heard before my regression were true after all.
However, the fact that they "agreed not to interfere" meant that he was already acquainted with the people he mistook me for.
I grew curious about who exactly he was talking about.
What should I say to get the answer out of him?
Just then, before I could even give an instruction, the Evil Connection Sword spoke up on her own.
"It’s a bit problematic when you target something we’ve already claimed. Hmmm."
........Not bad.
She spoke more naturally than I expected.
I suppose being the sword of Zhu Sarlen, the notorious Palace Master of the Fragrant Flower Pleasure Palace, gave her plenty of experience in such matters.
Regardless, the man reacted to the sword's improvisation.
"Claimed? Are you talking about the girls from the Phoenix Hall?"
"Perhaps."
There was no need to give a straight affirmation.
If I were someone he knew but was currently on awkward terms with, I wouldn't reveal everything about myself.
".......So it's the Lesser Sword Immortal."
My name came out of his mouth.
Why did he suddenly think it was me?
Evil Connection Sword, don't say anything for a moment. Just stare at him.
Sect Leader Yang Jeong let out a short, dry laugh.
"I must have hit the mark. I suppose your reason for moving is to eliminate those who interfere with the stage you've set. Isn't that right?"
Don't answer yet.
He was going to say more on his own.
"........."
As expected, the man continued to speak.
"But what a pity. You even mobilized the Ghost-Slaying Fist Demon, yet you let them live without achieving anything. Your Jonju must be quite furious."
'!!!'
For a moment, I couldn't hide my shock.
The organization they knew was none other than the Golden Eye Organization.
It was a relief I wasn't facing him directly.
If I were, my emotions might have slipped through for a split second.
—What should I say?
Wait a moment.
This was the first time I had made contact not with the Golden Eye Organization itself, but with those who knew them.
The pieces were finally falling into place.
I had already wondered if the Golden Eye was involved after seeing that monster called the "Silent Ghost" who couldn't feel pain.
How should I approach this?
The problem was that the mastermind behind these people was just as troublesome as the Golden Eye.
—Troublesome?
The one behind them is a monster that even the Alliance Leader, Baek Hyang-muk, couldn't handle personally. That's why I tried to deal with them after sending them far away.
But I think I needed to change the plan.
I had to exploit this situation to the fullest.
—This sounds fun. Giggle.
Evil Connection Sword, your role just became very important.
—I'll help you if you promise not to put me back in that wooden case, Honey.
......Don't try to haggle at a crucial moment like this.
—Hmmmm. We'll see.
The way she hummed suggested she felt she had nothing to lose.
Sigh. Fine. I'll find a way.
—Giggle. Good. I should help my darling, after all.
Then do as I say.
The Evil Connection Sword spoke through the man named Gongjeon.
"To speak so carelessly of the Jonju... I suppose you don't value your life or this man's life very much?"
".......Your Jonju should know better than anyone that Mother does not take kindly to people touching her children."
He was pushing back even harder.
To know of the Golden Eye Organization and yet show no fear.
Well, I suppose that's how they were able to earn such infamy.
Actually, this was better.
It made him easier to provoke.
"Do you think the Jonju would even blink an eye at your mother?"
"You bastard!"
At those words, Sect Leader Yang Jeong could not contain his rage.
Seeing the veins bulging on his face even while his pressure points were sealed, his loyalty seemed incredibly strong.
Evil Connection Sword, do it.
—Really?
Yes.
Though the Evil Connection Sword seemed puzzled by my instruction, she followed it.
She moved Gongjeon's body.
Grip!
He lunged forward and grabbed Sect Leader Yang Jeong by the throat.
"Ack!"
"Your life is hanging by a thread, yet I don't care for your attitude. I think I'll just kill you after all."
As the sword spoke, Yang Jeong, his eyes bloodshot from being strangled, glared with a gaze full of hatred.
"You... you bastard... are you truly... going to... cross the line?"
"The ones who interfered with our business first were you and your mother."
"You... damn... you!!"
Even as he was being strangled, the provocative words drove his rage to its peak.
The Evil Connection Sword's voice echoed in my head.
—I'm strangling him just enough so he won't die, but is this really okay? I thought you were trying to get information. Like this, you won't get anything.
Information?
My goal lay elsewhere.
If they had agreed not to interfere but were on awkward terms, wasn't there a better way to use this?
I just had to make them fight each other.
—Ho. My darling. You've got quite a brain on you.
Given the temperament of the "Mother" I knew, she would never let this slide.
She would undoubtedly seek revenge.
I was already worried about how to handle them since they were openly targeting me now; I couldn't let an opportunity like this pass.
—How long should I keep strangling him?
Until the man you're controlling dies.
This guy needs to stay alive.
Just then, the man managed to speak.
"Gack...... The fact that... you haven't... recovered... all the swords... must mean... you people... haven't... overcome... it yet... right?"
Huh?
What does that mean?
A piece of information far more interesting than I expected tumbled out of his mouth.
They hadn't recovered the swords, and that meant they hadn't "overcome" something? What on earth did that mean?
Evil Connection Sword, take your hand off his throat.
As soon as Gongjeon released his grip, the man began to cough violently.
"Cough... hack... wheeze..."
"......What did you just say?"
After coughing for a long while, the man spoke with a flushed face and a sneer.
"Heh... hehe... did you think Mother... wouldn't know... why you bastards are looking for those ominous swords?"
It was just as I suspected.
The swords he mentioned were likely the five Demon Swords.
"No. Come to think of it, perhaps even your Jonju knows. That's why he hasn't been able to easily touch Mother, hasn't he?"
There was some massive piece of information here.
If I could figure this out, I might learn why the Golden Eye Organization was after the Demon Swords and what they had discovered that led to the non-interference pact.
The Evil Connection Sword spoke to him through Gongjeon.
"You... what do you know?"
At those words, Sect Leader Yang Jeong frowned.
He stared intently with narrowed eyes, then let out a snort.
"You're not a subject of the procedure."
"What?"
"Is that why you're asking me back? I suppose it's true that your Jonju is more than just cautious—he doesn't trust anyone, not even his subordinates."
He was really laying on the provocation.
I had no reason to be angry, but if this had been the real Golden Eye Organization, they might have killed him on the spot.
The fortunate thing was that he still hadn't realized I wasn't part of the Golden Eye.
If I kept this up much longer, I'd be exposed.
Evil Connection Sword, tell him this.
"I'm asking to see if you actually know what you're talking about."
"Bwahahahaha!"
The man burst into a mad laugh, then suddenly turned serious.
"I'm saying it because I know, aren't I? No matter how much you haven't undergone the procedure, you must have understood what I just said."
"......."
"I don't know where you're performing your sorcery from, but there must be someone higher than you or the Jonju, right? Then deliver this message: if you stop now, the contract between Mother and the Jonju will remain valid."
......I suppose this was as far as I could go.
If I asked any more, my cover would be blown.
What was certain was that the reason for seeking the Demon Swords was to "overcome" something.
I racked my brain.
"Subject of the procedure" likely referred to those with the strange regenerative abilities.
The man with the golden eyes I met in Bongnim Valley, one of the Three Forbidden Grounds, had asked me if I had undergone the procedure for the Golden Imperial Body.
Wasn't it after that that I also gained regenerative abilities?
'.......He said they hadn't overcome it.'
Does that mean.......there's some other weakness besides cutting off the head?
Or perhaps there was something they couldn't surpass. No matter how much I thought about it, no clear answer came.
In that case, I needed to change the plan a bit more.
—Hmm?
Evil Connection Sword, from now on, do exactly as I tell you.
I told the Evil Connection Sword what she needed to do.
—My, my, my darling really makes me do all sorts of things.
Just do as you're told.
—Giggle. Well, it should be fun, at least.
The Evil Connection Sword spoke through Gongjeon.
"I delivered the message exactly as you said, and the decision was unanimous."
Sect Leader Yang Jeong gave a smirk.
"Then release my pressure points and undo the sorcery on Gongjeon. Quickly!"
"No. The agreement to not interfere with each other is now void."
"What?"
Grip!
"Gack!!"
Gongjeon stood up and grabbed the man's throat with both hands.
"You... you bastard..."
"Die like this."
As he applied immense pressure, Sect Leader Yang Jeong's eyes turned bloodshot, as if they were about to burst.
Since he couldn't move due to the sealed pressure points, he must have been consumed by the terror of death.
It was at that exact moment.
Slash!
The sound of something cutting through the air echoed inside the carriage.
In Yang Jeong's pupils, he saw Gongjeon's neck being sliced diagonally.
Spurt!
Blood erupted upward like a fountain.
Gongjeon's grip on the man's throat loosened.
"Cough... hack... wh-what is this..."
The man coughed, utterly bewildered.
Rumble!
Then, the cargo carriage split diagonally, just like Gongjeon's neck, and the top half slid downward.
The entire upper section had been sliced off.
As the outside became visible, the man saw someone wearing an evil ghost mask approaching him with startling clarity.
It was me.
"Cough... hack... Y-you, who are you?"
To that man, I spoke.
"I am the Blood Demon."
"The... the Blood Demon?"
The man's eyes went wide with shock.