Chapter 46
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Confrontation (4)
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“What?!”
Song Gyeong shot to his feet.
“What's happening at the Fourth Young Master's residence?!”
“Well...”
Song Gyeong's face crumpled at the True Demon Unit member's brief, concise explanation.
“So the Black Sun Guard stormed in and ended the situation?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Damn it! Hell!”
It was a situation that should have brought relief, yet Song Gyeong was furious.
'He should have just died there... It would have been better if he'd at least been injured enough to need a few months of recovery!'
In truth, Song Gyeong had little interest in the Third Young Master. His focus was on the Fourth Young Master.
Only with his ruin could Song Gyeong stop being a puppet.
“When is the next operation scheduled?”
“Exactly fifteen days from now.”
“...I see. Tell the Vice-Commander to handle the training. I'll be absent frequently due to personal matters.”
“As you command!”
As the True Demon Unit member disappeared, Song Gyeong shot to his feet.
“He'll summon me again.”
He sighed, downing the wine on the table straight from the bowl.
'How did the great Song Gyeong end up in such a state?'
He was an ambitious man, but also a pragmatic one.
This meant that while he desired to be the best, he also knew how to be content with his position. He simply wanted to look out for himself, enjoy some minor pleasures, and grow old.
'...How long do you plan to toy with me, Fourth Young Master?'
His insides boiled. The thought of how he'd become an obedient dog because the Fourth Young Master had caught him in 'that incident' made him jolt awake from his sleep, seething with rage.
“Hah!”
Overcome with rising fury, Song Gyeong hurled the bowl aside.
*Crash!*
Shards of the broken bowl scattered in all directions.
It was then.
“Ugh!”
Song Gyeong turned his head toward the sound.
“So you've come to.”
To his surprise, a dozen or so cultists were writhing and crawling on the floor. They had been beaten so severely that not a single spot on their bodies was left unscathed.
“They're certainly a tough bunch.”
Song Gyeong pulled on a mask he had set aside. The fact that he, the commander of an internal combat unit, had to wear such a mask infuriated him.
He also hated having to put on such a cringeworthy, false act.
“Now that you're awake, get out of here. And remember this. I will find you again. Thinking of what you did to the Third Young Master makes me want to rip your heads off right now, but I'll hold back because of *his* order not to kill you.”
*Twitch!*
A vicious killing intent erupted from the cultists' bodies. Though they were rolling on the floor, battered and broken, the surge of bloodlust was so potent that even Song Gyeong flinched.
'Vicious bastards.'
To avoid ending up like them, he had to get that evidence back from the Fourth Young Master.
It was then.
A man approached from the distance. It was astounding how he used a swift movement technique without his breath even faltering.
Song Gyeong frowned.
“What brings you here?”
“I've come to deliver the Young Master's command.”
“...A command. Right, what order did he give?”
The man, Shinhoe, glanced at the cultists before speaking.
“Capture the woman you despise so much.”
“...!”
“Capture her and drag her to the Hall of Punishments. I promise you your safety and her ruin. In addition, you will be paid double what you received before.”
Song Gyeong clenched his fists without realizing it.
To be paid to act as a subordinate. It was the kind of work done by assassins in the martial world.
But the story changed when the sum of money grew larger. Double the previous payment, plus the chance to catch that crazy bitch who was a thorn in his side—there was no reason to refuse.
*Throb, throb.*
Setting aside his anger toward the Fourth Young Master for a moment, Song Gyeong grinned as a vicious killing intent rose from his body.
“By when should I have her captured?”
Shinhoe turned around.
“Before dawn tomorrow.”
***
After entering his residence, Seo Ryang sat cross-legged in the training yard.
Standing guard from a fair distance, Ma Dongpil glanced at him.
'What could he be thinking?'
It wasn't cultivation. He could now tell that much just by looking at the Young Master's face.
But that was as far as it went. He had no way of knowing what the Young Master was thinking or what he planned to do next.
'Is his mind troubled?'
Although their relationship was now strained, there must have been a time when he laughed and talked with the Fourth Young Master without any ulterior motives. He thought perhaps the Young Master's heart was heavy over the current, unavoidable situation.
Of course, his assumption was completely wrong.
Seo Ryang was sighing heavily inwardly.
'Will this even work?'
Who cares if that bastard Hong Wi-mun lives or dies?
His goal was never Hong Wi-mun, but to escape the Divine Cult. It was for that single purpose that he was orchestrating this complicated and irritating affair.
Of course, a big part of it was that he couldn't let it slide since that bastard had provoked him first.
'The Black Sun Guard... If it weren't for those masked chatterboxes, I could have dealt with him soundly and boosted my profile significantly.'
Based on the information So Yeonsim had given him, he had reviewed the Divine Cult's history and laws and found that a life-or-death duel between candidates was not against the rules.
It wasn't necessary to settle things, but he had intended to end the situation right then and there. Naturally, he had no intention of actually killing him. Seo Ryang knew where to draw the line.
His plan was to inflict an injury severe enough to require at least a year of recovery—though not crippling—so that Hong Wi-mun wouldn't even dare to provoke him again.
In other words, there was no reason for him to back down quietly just because the Black Sun Guard had intervened.
Nevertheless, he had retreated because he had to consider the future.
'There's no guarantee that this one instance of drawing attention will grant me my freedom. Making an enemy of the Hall of Punishments won't do me any good.'
The same went for the Office of the Grand Marshal and the Garden of Joy, but the Hall of Punishments could, depending on the circumstances, become the most fearsome organization in the Divine Cult. A minor squabble was one thing, but he should never make an enemy of them.
'Fuck... I hate having to think this hard.'
How great would it be if he were skilled enough to just smash everything without a second thought and stroll out of the Divine Cult?
Everything else aside, it was unlikely the Cult Leader would leave him alone. He wanted to avoid the gruesome end of seeking freedom for his life, only to have his head gain freedom as it rolled on the ground.
'In any case, the die is cast. Since the board is set, I have to use this situation to take a step forward.'
The saving grace was that his martial arts were growing by the moment.
He grew stronger by the day without even actively training. His internal energy increased, his mastery of Demonic Arts rose, and the saber that had fit so well in his hand was now becoming one with his soul.
'At least I won't be getting beaten up anywhere.'
This was excessive modesty. At his current level, he was skilled enough to take on a grand elder of a major sect, even if a sect leader was still out of reach.
Judging by his growth rate, in three or four months, he would reach a level where he could comfortably face a sect leader.
'The preparations are complete. I've cast the line; now I just need the fish to bite.'
*Shhh.*
When Seo Ryang opened his eyes, Ma Dongpil bowed his head.
“Have you finished your meditation?”
“Meditation? Just random thoughts.”
So I was right.
Ma Dongpil sighed inwardly but didn't let it show.
“Everything will work out, Young Master.”
“It has to.”
Seo Ryang stood up.
“Alright, let's get moving.”
“Pardon?”
“What? You want to rest? Right, you have been running around a lot with me. Go back to your residence and get some rest.”
“N-no, that's not what I meant...”
“Then what? Hungry? Want to grab a bite before we go?”
Ma Dongpil felt his head spin.
“I will of course follow wherever you go, Young Master. I just don't understand what you mean by 'get moving'...”
“Hm? Ah, to catch the fish.”
Seo Ryang was the type of person who, once focused, couldn't break out of his own world. Naturally, Ma Dongpil couldn't understand a word he was saying.
“By 'fish,' you mean...?”
“The Commander of the True Demon Unit, of course. Song Gyeong, was it?”
“Ah, yes!”
“I sent Commander Wi to a tavern to have a casual drink, didn't I? Song Gyeong will obviously make a move. Once we pinpoint the True Demon Unit Commander's location, things will proceed on their own...”
“...”
“...Now that I think about it, why are you here? I sent you to track the True Demon Unit Commander.”
“It was Commander Wi who went, not me.”
“Huh?”
“Commander Wi volunteered to locate the True Demon Unit Commander herself. She has likely found him by now.”
Seo Ryang's face went blank.
“Hey, what are you talking about? I clearly told Commander Wi to go to the tavern and sip some wine. What do you think that meant? It meant the True Demon Unit Commander would come to her if she just sat there, right?”
“W-well, yes, but.”
“And I told you to track the True Demon Unit Commander so we could go help her at the right time...”
For a moment, Seo Ryang's eyes widened.
He recalled his conversation with Wi Hongryeon.
- Go have a drink at a decent tavern.
- A drink?
- Yeah. The True Demon Unit Commander will probably make a move soon. It could be as early as tonight.
- ...Oh, I see.
- You're probably sober by now anyway, right? Go have a drink.
- Would it be alright if the order of things were reversed, Young Master?
- What are you talking about?
- Ah, it's nothing. In any case, I'd be glad to meet that bastard, the True Demon Unit Commander.
- Geez, you fighting cock.
- Hehe, I'll be on my way then.
- Alright. Don't cause any trouble!
The sight of Wi Hongryeon's back as she ran off cheerfully, grinning with delight.
'Wait, the order of things?'
If she was drinking, the True Demon Unit Commander would come to her.
But if Wi Hongryeon reversed the order of things?
“...Don't tell me.”
Does she mean she'll catch the True Demon Unit Commander first and then have a celebratory drink?!
“That damned woman!!”
*Fwoosh!*
Seo Ryang burst out the gate at incredible speed. Ma Dongpil scrambled to follow him.
*Yaaawn!*
Geumho, who had been lying on the side of the training yard letting out a big yawn, suddenly opened its eyes wide and pawed the ground.
A faint five-colored light seemed to leak from Geumho's body...
*Flash!*
And then, Geumho's body vanished.
No one saw where or how it disappeared.
***
*Haa, haa.*
Unable to control his breathing in his excitement, Song Gyeong closed his eyes.
'Don't get excited.'
Today was the day he would ambush the wench who was more than just a thorn in his side—a woman whose flesh he wanted to tear off piece by piece and feed to the dogs, though even that wouldn't satisfy his anger.
His face was already flushed red. His heart seemed to be beating three times faster than usual. He was so worked up that he could barely speak.
'Is this the place?'
He looked at the tavern from an alley. To be precise, he looked at a shop that must have once been a 'high-class' tavern.
'...It's completely wrecked.'
Repairs had stopped for the night. With one wall blown open and fine cracks spiderwebbing everywhere, the tavern's first floor, despite its size, was no different from an abandoned house.
'She caused a ruckus here? And yet she came back to drink again?'
She really is crazy. That wench clearly lacked even a shred of common sense or decency.
'Well, I guess it doesn't matter.'
Song Gyeong smiled coldly.
Since she was a formidable opponent, things were bound to get broken again. In that case, an already broken tavern was better than a new one.
'Time to make my move.'
He placed his hand on his hip. He planned to draw his sword the moment the time was right.
Just as Song Gyeong was about to sneak toward the tavern...
“Hey.”
*Chaaang!*
Reacting instinctively, Song Gyeong drew his sword and unleashed a slash at incredible speed.
*Claaang!!*
The deafening noise of his sword striking a wide blade shook his ears.
Song Gyeong's eyes widened.
'This sword?'
A bizarre sword, short in length but with an incredibly wide blade.
Beyond the sword, a woman with a diagonal scar across her face was grinning ferociously.
“Gotcha, you little rat.”