Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Chapter 3 Showdown (9)
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“You already know?”
“We’ve been keeping an eye on things from the Espionage Division since earlier. The ones in white robes are called the White Sword Squad. They’re classified as red threats, first rank. Our Espionage Division personnel here alone can’t handle them. And that’s not all. The White Sword Heavenly Demon, leader of the White Sword Squad, has been spotted inside the Red Heart Inn. He’s a former great demon, classified silver threat, rank indeterminate. We absolutely must not engage him with just our Espionage Division forces.”
Cheonwi’s face, which rarely flinched at anything, hardened rigidly.
“White Sword Heavenly Demon?”
“What the hell? Why is the White Sword Heavenly Demon here?”
The two men could no longer afford to be relaxed.
The White Sword Heavenly Demon wasn’t your average fiend.
Silver.
A silver classification from the Espionage Division meant surpassing the elders of the Nine Great Sects in prowess. Even the cannibalistic Flesh-Eating Brothers were mere minnows by comparison.
“Is he the real monster? But the White Sword Heavenly Demon doesn’t seem like the type to orchestrate something like this.”
“Of course not. Looking at his history, he’s got a recklessly martial temperament. He’s a demon lord, sure, but his notoriety is limited to his martial arts. He’s not the sort to control a large-scale incident.”
“So even the White Sword Heavenly Demon is just a lackey.”
“Still a big shot, though. He must hold some position.”
“The kind of group that would deploy the White Sword Heavenly Demon… This is worse than we thought. Ladies. Looks like we’ve gotten tangled up with some seriously massive players.”
His tone had turned grave.
Seol and Hyang couldn’t hide their stiff expressions.
It was precisely because Cheonwi and Oho, who never lost their composure even when out playing, were like this that their unease felt all the greater.
“What about the guy across the street, the Shaanxi Divine Hero… What’s his connection to the White Sword Heavenly Demon?”
“Direct ties to the White Sword Heavenly Demon are unlikely. It’s not strange for the Shaanxi Divine Hero to show up in this area. As his nickname suggests, he operates out of the Shaanxi region as his base. Plus, his known disposition is far from demonic. He’s upright in character, with a bandit-hero vibe, and many praise him for it. There were reports of his close ties with those Mount Hua Sect elders too.”
“Mount Hua Sect? Those bastards over there are Mount Hua Sect?”
“Yeah. Not long ago. Just a few months back. At some inn in Taiyuan Fortress, I think. He had a private drinking session with the Swordless Daoist of Mount Hua.”
“That damn Daoist Nabu and his booze.”
“Anyway, if we have to pin the Shaanxi Divine Hero down, he’s closer to the orthodox path. But as the Espionage Division classified him white, his alignment is unclear. In other words, he’s skilled at hiding himself. That’s not good. It’s slim odds he’d associate with a demon like the White Sword Heavenly Demon, but he’s too conveniently close for it to be pure coincidence.”
“Jeonno.”
Oho rapped on the roof tile once more. A response came immediately from below.
“We’re listening.”
“Investigate the connection between the White Sword Heavenly Demon and the Shaanxi Divine Hero. If the main unit has no prior intel, send someone over right now to at least gauge the atmosphere between them.”
“Understood. I’ll relay that.”
The necessary measures were taken, but his chest still felt choked.
The Shaanxi Divine Hero involved too?
He didn’t even want to think about it. And there was more to stifle him. Oho turned his head toward the western alley off the quadrangle. He nodded toward an inn on one side and spoke.
“We have to watch that side too. Their target probably isn’t the Army Marching Sword or the Tongcheon Sword—it’s you two.”
The inn Oho pointed to looked utterly deserted. No one leaned on the railing despite having a clear view of this side. There was only one reason. It meant someone had the place firmly under their control.
A man perched on the window frame was one of them.
A monk in monastic robes, with a shaved head and a face as smooth as jade. He was a novice monk not yet into his youth.
“Probably because of the Disruption Ritual. Must’ve pissed off the pole star of the martial world.”
“And it’s Shaolin, of all places. Not somewhere to speak of so casually.”
“Is that so?”
“It is. By the way, they called him a Rakshasa Assassin demon, but he’s really young. Almost a child monk level.”
Oho couldn’t tear his eyes away from the boy monk on the window frame.
A report from the main unit long ago echoed in his ears once more.
‘Among the Rakshasa Assassin killer monks, there’s this ghostly little kid. In terms of talent, he’s on a once-in-history level—they say even Shaolin calls him that. He’s still young and unstable, but his combat prowess matches the Night Cart’s, per intel.’
Fortunately or unfortunately, the supposedly formidable boy monk wasn’t looking their way. His gaze was fixed eastward down the quadrangle, toward the Shaanxi Divine Hero and the White Sword Heavenly Demon. The Rakshasa Assassins were undoubtedly moving to identify their foes, just as Oho and Cheonwi had.
“And the Blue Spear Society.”
Some showed open hostility.
Men gripping blue spears.
Blended among the throng of heroes, they radiated killing intent toward the True Nature Pavilion.
Over twenty were palpable just from what he sensed. Especially the auras emanating from below all four sides of the True Nature Pavilion weren’t to be taken lightly. At least four. Undoubtedly members of the Blue Spear Society’s elite Thirteen Spears.
They lacked the weight of Shaolin or the White Sword Heavenly Demon, but they couldn’t be underestimated. This was their home turf, after all. And their enmity was clear. The moment something happened, they’d be primed to strike.
“Whew. Shouldn’t we revise the plan?”
Oho let out a sigh and continued.
“The red bull’s gotten too big. It’s visible from beyond the mountains, not just a hundred li away.”
Cheonwi likely felt the same. Even he, ever composed, spoke in a heavy voice this time.
The former great demon White Sword Heavenly Demon, and now the Shaanxi Divine Hero.
For Oho, nearing thirty, or the short Duanwen, they were opponents too much in both martial arts and experience.
Moreover, Shaolin.
What kind of sect was Shaolin?
The pole star of the martial world. Being the pole star meant they were the strongest force under heaven.
And they had sent not some ordinary Arhat monk among the 108, but from the secret assassination group Rakshasa Assassins, whose existence only a handful in the jianghu even knew.
Their identities were unknown, but the danger was plain.
If they turned even Shaolin into an enemy, Cheonwi, Oho, and Duanwen wouldn’t have enough lives if they had ten.
The situation was that dire.
“We push forward. How can we back out now that we’re this far?”
“Full steam ahead… Yeah. When have we ever retreated?”
“Our basic goal is the Disruption Ritual. Don’t forget. We don’t leave till it’s done.”
“How long we watching?”
“Three hundred breaths at least.”
“That far?”
“We go. No question.”
His tone brimmed with certainty. Oho asked no more. He knew when Cheonwi spoke like this, there was solid reason. He’d met Dongpungneung alone last night and apparently dropped something ominous.
Silence hung for a moment. Hyang cautiously broke it.
“But…”
“Hm?”
“Is it… okay for us to be out in the open like this?”
“I said it is.”
“Still…”
“How’s that guy supposed to find you if you’re hiding?”
“Will Father… come?”
“He’s probably already nearby.”
“Huh? How do you…”
“He’ll be here. He came last time too.”
Seol cut into Cheonwi’s words with a stiff expression.
“I told you, I must’ve seen wrong.”
“I don’t think so. You’re not the type to missee in a crisis like that.”
“Ha, but… things were chaotic then… and there were tons of enemies…”
“Looks like he didn’t fully trust us.”
“Father wouldn’t just vanish in a situation like that…”
“Because his martial arts aren’t that high? You’re mistaken. Look at the caliber of people gathered here—no ordinary expert could hold out this long. He must’ve had a hidden card. Sure, his feelings now must be complicated.”
“Complicated? He’s probably cursing us like he wants to devour us.”
Despite Cheonwi and Oho’s words, Seol and Hyang couldn’t shake their anxiety. Seol asked with a worried face.
“Ha, but how can you be so sure he’ll come here? What if… just in case…”
“He’s already fallen to the enemies?”
“…Yeah.”
“No chance.”
“But how do you…”
“They’re all waiting.”
“They’re waiting?”
“Right below us. The fabric shop. No shopkeeper in sight? He didn’t go sightseeing. Uninvited guests took over the whole place. Killing intent’s wafting off them. Seven or eight? The inn to the right’s crawling with them too. Two or three in the street.”
“So those are…”
“They’re watching us. Precisely, you two. They’re watching neck-deep for that guy to show. If they’d already caught him? Would they just watch? They’d have stormed here ages ago.”
“……!”
When Cheonwi put it that way, it really seemed so.
What a strange man.
People who spoke so fluidly usually came off like con artists, but not him.
Trustworthy? No, trust was a distant word. Yet he oddly put one at ease. With him saying it like this, it felt like at this very moment, somewhere out there, Father was watching over them.
“It’s already evening…”
Oho tilted his head, snapping her from her thoughts.
The sun had dipped low before they knew it. Sunset bathed the rooftops. The tiles glowed red.
“Not that you’re wrong…”
“He’s here. Taehaengbang.”
“Finally, the protagonists make their entrance.”
A stir rippled through the street packed with people. Cheers like crashing waves echoed around.
“Impressive momentum! Even got the crimson light armor. Fully geared up?”
Oho grinned as he peered down at the quadrangle.
The crowd parted from the southern road.
In the center of the spreading mass stood the Army Marching Sword, Hwangryeo-man. His stylishly grown beard swayed over his scarlet light armor. Brass bracers hugged from wrist to forearm. The jade-gemmed Gentleman’s Sword sheath at his waist shattered the sunset light, revealing the blade’s noble form.
“He means business.”
Cheonwi lightly furrowed his brow.
For a master like Hwangryeo-man to don such defensive gear was quite unusual. High-level internal energy alone could provide defense surpassing average armor. Thus, equipping armor signaled ironclad resolve for victory. Unlike promised, he wouldn’t let it end in a clean draw.
“That side too. Daedongjang’s no pushover.”
The doors of the True Nature Pavilion swung open. Onlookers stepped back hesitantly, clearing a wide space in the quadrangle’s center.
Out marched over twenty elite sword experts of Daedongjang, lining up before the pavilion. A solemn aura filled the air.
“Ooooooh!”
“It’s mighty!”
“Daedongjang Leader on the roof!!”
The highlight was Dongpungneung’s entrance. He didn’t emerge from the pavilion doors. People suddenly looked up and shouted. His massive shadow loomed over the True Nature Pavilion’s tiled roof. He overlooked the throng of heroes in the quadrangle. His thick right arm gripped a massive two-edged greatsword, left shoulder draped in ornate cloud-patterned blue pauldrons. His black-and-blue robe fluttered in the sunset breeze. The colors clashed vividly.
Step, step, step.
Hwangryeo-man and the Taehaengbang side showed no falter at Dongpungneung’s flashy arrival. They advanced with disciplined strides, parting the crowd to stand before the pavilion.
“You’ve come!”
Dongpungneung boomed.
Hwangryeo-man merely looked up quietly in response.
The gentleman does not hasten.
It was as if he declared so.
“Impressive.”
Oho stuck out his tongue.
The sword aura rising from Hwangryeo-man carried a soaring spirit. Straight and fierce, it split the overwhelming pressure from high above by Dongpungneung in one breath.
Gazing down at the halted Hwangryeo-man, Dongpungneung raised one hand. The pavilion doors opened again. Burly men marched out in two lines. On their shoulders rested six enormous, elongated boxes, each large enough for two rows. Overawed by the heavy mood, the heroes retreated. The Daedongjang men stood the boxes upright on the ground.
Thud! Thud!
Groans rippled through the crowd.
“Coffins…?!”
“Coffins…!”
Exactly as they appeared. Those wooden boxes were coffins bearing the dead.