Chapter 138
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Devils and Ghosts (3)
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Hong Yeorin's explanation was somewhat disjointed.
Her mind and body were exhausted, she was tense, and she herself was utterly confused.
But Seo Ryang was able to grasp the general situation well enough.
“So, you're saying those bastards stormed the Red Snake House last night and turned the whole place upside down?”
“...Yes.”
“They're clearly no ordinary bunch. You can tell how well-trained they are just by their posture. But the Red Snake House isn't so weak that it could be taken over in a single night, is it?”
Hong Yeorin was silent. With her head lowered, her eyelids trembled.
Seo Ryang's expression hardened.
“Did that many troops storm in?”
“...”
“So that's how it is.”
The Seven Demonic Houses are on par with the Five Great Families of the righteous martial world. While the Five Great Families might have a slight edge in the number of masters, the Seven Houses are superior in terms of deployable forces.
In other words, they are by no means a faction that can be easily defeated. The powers in the Central Plains capable of overwhelming the forces of one of the Seven Houses could be counted on one hand.
That's why it was hard to understand. Except for the fact that it happened in 'a single night'.
‘I suppose it makes sense.’
If one of those few powers had decided to occupy a house on the level of the Red Snake House, they wouldn't have sent a mediocre force. They would have swept in with overwhelming firepower, leaving no time to call for reinforcements.
That was the only way to explain how it could be conquered in a single night.
Ma Dongpil spoke up.
“One thing is certain: they do not belong to the Righteous Heaven Alliance.”
“And why do you think that?”
“The Cult's primary enemy is the Righteous Heaven Alliance. The same goes for the Iron Blood Fortress, but the level of scrutiny is different.”
“True.”
“The guards of the Hall of Protectors are professionally trained on the unique martial arts of the righteous martial world, especially those of the Righteous Heaven Alliance. We are familiar with the characteristics and habits of their martial arts, even the formations they commonly use.”
“Hmm.”
“They were certainly strong, but they didn't use the layered techniques and immortal energy characteristic of righteous martial arts. Instead, they were skilled in practical sword forms and killing techniques.”
“...”
“No sect in the righteous martial world teaches martial arts like that.”
*That's not true.*
Seo Ryang didn't bother to mention that *they* were the ones who had raised the monster known as the King of Slaughter, and that if they put their minds to it, the bastards of the Righteous Heaven Alliance could create weapons even more vicious than the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. For example, Ma Dongpil couldn't detect any traces of righteous martial arts in the Nine Hells Calamity Saber Art, which was created by combining the secret techniques of the Nine Great Sects.
But Seo Ryang agreed with Ma Dongpil's point.
“To add to that, these guys aren't from the Iron Blood Fortress either.”
Ma Dongpil looked at Seo Ryang with a puzzled expression. Besides the Righteous Heaven Alliance, the only organization capable of swallowing the Red Snake House overnight was the Iron Blood Fortress.
“The Righteous Heaven Alliance values chivalry and righteousness. At least, that's their public image. So, what about the Iron Blood Fortress?”
“They pursue the path of the hegemon.”
“Right. In some ways, they have similarities to our Cult.”
“Indeed.”
“But the Iron Blood Fortress is like a giant doll haphazardly stitched together. It lacks the solid, foundational history that supports our Cult. That's why, despite their size, they're considered a step below the Cult or the Righteous Heaven Alliance.”
“Ah!”
Seo Ryang glanced at the man hanging from the tree.
“Their martial arts are practical and thick with killing intent, yet they show a history no less profound than that of the righteous martial world. This means their arts weren't perfected in just one or two generations.”
“...”
“They are not a power from the Central Plains.”
Ma Dongpil's eyes deepened.
“The martial world beyond the borders.”
“I can't be sure. But it's too much of a coincidence.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Don't you remember? The ones who attacked the transport convoy.”
Ma Dongpil let out a gasp.
“The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace. One of the Four Palaces Beyond the Borders.”
“We were in such a rush back then that I didn't think about it, but would even those madmen dare to provoke the Cult on their own? Even if they had joined hands with one of the Alliance or the Fortress.”
Seo Ryang and Ma Dongpil's gazes met in mid-air.
They spoke at the same time.
“It's the Sword Palace.”
“It must be the Sword Palace.”
The martial world of the Central Plains tended to look down on the martial world beyond the borders.
To put it simply, they considered them barbarians. It was true in the past, and it was true now.
That was why the Four Palaces Beyond the Borders, unlike the Alliance, Fortress, and Cult vying for supremacy in the Central Plains, had formed a bond despite being scattered across the north, south, east, and west.
Moreover, they had always coveted the fertile lands of the Central Plains, so different from their own harsh territories. But they couldn't conquer the Central Plains alone.
So they gathered under the name of the Four Palaces. One could call it an alliance of the martial world beyond the borders—one and yet four, four and yet one.
That was precisely why Seo Ryang suspected these men were from the Sword Palace. If the Beast Palace had attacked the Cult's forces, the Sword Palace could also target the Cult.
Furthermore, having seen the martial arts they used, there was no room to consider any other group.
Hong Yeorin was flustered.
“The Sword Palace? Are you talking about the Sword Palace of the East?”
Neither man answered her.
“But there's one thing I don't understand.”
“I agree.”
“Oh? You're thinking the same thing?”
“I don't know what you're thinking, Young Master, but there is something rather puzzling.”
“Tell me.”
“What I mean is, what gives them the confidence to pull something like this?”
The Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon was, by its own and others' admission, the strongest power in the demonic martial world.
It was formidable enough as a single entity, and it was a presence that could exert powerful influence over every demonic sect. A single order from the Cult could make every martial artist with a demon in their heart rise up.
It would be a different story if they had attacked the main headquarters, but the place they had taken over was just one of the Seven Houses. The Seven Demonic Houses were certainly a great power, but they were not a group that could replace the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
“Taking over the Red Snake House is a remarkable feat. But I don't see how they plan to handle the aftermath.”
“My thoughts exactly. There's a limit to how long they can suppress the news. Just holding the Red Snake House isn't enough.”
It was no exaggeration to say that the group currently occupying the Red Snake House was cornered. Fleeing east or west would still put them in the Cult's territory, and heading south was tantamount to suicide. At the southern tip, the monster known as the Divine Cult lay in wait.
“In the end, their only escape route is to the north, and in the north...”
Suddenly, Ma Dongpil's face stiffened.
Seo Ryang nodded.
“Right. The Righteous Heaven Alliance is in the north.”
The two men looked down at the base of the tree where the man was hanging.
There lay an ancient, precious sword, the Hyo-eum Sword.
“Don't tell me the Righteous Heaven Alliance and the Sword Palace have formed a partnership...?”
“Let's not jump to conclusions. Besides, cooperation between such massive organizations is never easy.”
Ma Dongpil fell silent.
Seo Ryang was right. For an alliance like the Righteous Heaven Alliance, which championed chivalry and righteousness, to join hands with the martial world beyond the borders—who were closer to enemies than allies? The possibility was practically nonexistent.
“Well, actually, that's not what's important right now.”
“Pardon?”
Ma Dongpil looked at him with questioning eyes. Hong Yeorin also wore an expression that said there couldn't possibly be anything more important than this.
A reddish glint of killing intent rose in Seo Ryang's eyes.
“The important thing is that some random bastard snatched my prey.”
“...!”
“I don't give a damn about the power dynamics of the Central Plains shifting or whatever. I came here to put the Red Snake House under my thumb. To work them to the bone. But someone hijacked them midway, didn't they?”
“...”
“And that pisses me the hell off!”
Ma Dongpil wanted to ask if figuring out who the third party was and why they did it wasn't more important than the succession right now.
But he couldn't. Seo Ryang's face was too serious to dismiss his words as a simple joke.
Seo Ryang looked at Hong Yeorin.
Hong Yeorin, who had been staring blankly, flinched.
“The General Manager?”
“What?”
“What happened to that loudmouth General Manager?”
“...He's gone. He left the main house in the evening before the attack, and we haven't seen him since.”
“It's one damn problem after another, for fuck's sake.”
Hong Yeorin's eyes wavered.
“Are you suggesting that General Manager Jang joined forces with them?”
“Or, he might have already been killed.”
“Killed?”
Seo Ryang said nonchalantly.
“Eliminating the strategist to annihilate the enemy is a basic tactic. With the Lord bedridden and the Second Lord absent, if the General Manager is also gone, what is the Red Snake House but a big, headless mob?”
“No, it's far more plausible that General Manager Jang colluded with them.”
Her eyes were filled with a menacing killing intent; it seemed Hong Yeorin already considered Jang U-hwi a traitor.
“I don't care if he's a traitor or not. The point is, that General Manager isn't in the Red Snake House right now, is he?”
“...”
“Dammit, the guy I had my eye on has vanished.”
Ma Dongpil asked.
“The guy you had your eye on?”
“I was planning to entrust the Red Snake House to him. I needed someone who knew how to use their head, and now he's gone.”
He had the nerve to say such things with the House Lord's own bloodline right in front of him.
Hong Yeorin gritted her teeth.
“What kind of nonsense is this...!”
“Shut up!”
“...”
“You're distracting me, so just keep your mouth shut. I'm already pissed off enough to kill someone.”
Seo Ryang roughly tousled his hair.
Ma Dongpil cautiously opened his mouth.
“Young Master. I believe we should contact the main headquarters first.”
“...”
“Young Master?”
“Huh?”
“...”
“What? You have something to say?”
“Ahem! I believe we should contact the main headquarters.”
Seo Ryang scowled.
“We have to. Dammit, just when things were finally going smoothly, I get blindsided like this.”
“I will go to the nearest branch and send a messenger pigeon...”
“No, that's fine.”
“Pardon?”
“You don't need to move.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Just then, a powerful wave of energy washed over them from a distance.
Even without revealing himself, his level of mastery was so supreme that it radiated a presence that made it hard to breathe. It was an aura reminiscent of the dark, heavy depths of the sea.
Ma Dongpil's eyes widened. A startled Hong Yeorin instinctively took a step back.
Seo Ryang stood up.
“You've arrived right on time.”
A moment later, Jong Risan appeared. The giant of a man, carrying a silver spear, exuded an overwhelmingly powerful atmosphere as he walked toward them.
“You're here.”
Jong Risan nodded and glanced at the man hanging from the tree.
“Who is this?”
“An enemy.”
“An enemy... Is he a warrior from the Righteous Heaven Alliance or the Iron Blood Fortress?”
“It's more complicated than that.”
Seo Ryang briefly explained the situation.
A look of astonishment spread across Jong Risan's face.
“The Red Snake House...? Is that truly so?”
“You can ask her for confirmation.”
Jong Risan looked at Hong Yeorin.
His eyes immediately widened in surprise.
“Aren't you the daughter of the Lord of the Red Snake House?”
“...”
“Don't tell me... Was what the Inspector said true?!”
Hong Yeorin lowered her head. Was it because she was meeting a fellow member of the Seven Houses? For some reason, she felt like crying.
Her reaction was enough. Jong Risan realized that Seo Ryang's words were the truth.
“How dare they!”
*Fwoosh!*
A terrifying wave of energy erupted from Jong Risan's body.
Even if they walked different paths, they were still a wing of the same Seven Houses. He couldn't help but be enraged that they had been taken over by unknown assailants.
Seo Ryang's face turned ice-cold.
“Now that it's come to this, we have no choice but to go and crush them, no questions asked.”
“Of course.”
“Have one of your men send a messenger pigeon to the Cult.”
“Understood.”
Seo Ryang looked up at the sky.
His face, which had been only cold, now turned impassive. He was gradually becoming more like a demon, but the identity of the God of Death still remained within him.
“You picked the wrong person to mess with.”
This was the path to crushing the Righteous Heaven Alliance and the Iron Blood Fortress.
Along that path lay the primary objective of becoming the heir. And bringing the Red Snake House to heel was the first step toward that goal.
But that step had been obstructed by some unknown bastards. The very spot where he was about to step forward toward his dream had been turned into a mud pit.
Seo Ryang could not tolerate it.
“Whether it's the Sword Palace or whatever, I'll tear you all to fucking shreds.”