Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Without Distinguishing Between Old and New
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The Verdant Branch Leader and Green Wind Conqueror, Tang Sa-uk.
This man, known as the shadow of the Dark Lord and one of his right arms, was walking down a forest path.
"...What on earth brings you here, of all places?"
Tang Sa-uk furrowed his brow slightly and scanned his surroundings.
He had his senses sharpened to a razor edge, as if he had encountered a mortal enemy.
It was because the area was filled with things even he had to be wary of.
The blowing wind carried a paralyzing toxin that numbed the nerves, and the ground he trod was so sticky that one step could sink a knee deep like an antlion pit.
The venomous insects and beasts hidden in trees and leaves harbored poisons as vicious as their vibrant colors.
Especially the snake that had just tried to bite his forearm—it was a Seven-Step Soul-Severing Serpent, whose venom could kill before seven steps were taken.
A demonic beast so rare that one might see it once in a lifetime even in the deep jungles of the Southern Wilds.
Yet such creatures littered this forest.
The toads gathered under the swamps were Golden-Faced Toads, which caused seizures with a mere touch, and the witch beetles crawling cautiously under leaves were Self-Exploding Blister Beetles that scorched everything within ten paces upon death.
Not a single one could be taken lightly.
This ecosystem alone could plunge the entire martial world into chaos if it escaped the forest.
Hence its name: the Bizarre Grove.
A place where freakish things lived and freakish events occurred.
The Bizarre Grove was the most vital forbidden ground in the vast Tang Clan Plateau.
Venturing in carelessly meant dissolving without leaving even a handful of ashes, so even Tang clansmen expert in poisons could not enter without the clan head's permission.
But put conversely, it meant the clan head could enter freely at any time.
And so, Tang Sa-uk had come here to find the Dark Lord, who hadn't emerged for days.
Chirrrp, chirrrp...
Rustle, rustle—
Caw! Caaaw!
But to him, the insect chirps and bird cries echoing everywhere were nothing but spine-chilling.
One wrong move here, and life could end in an instant.
How long had he walked like that?
Tang Sa-uk's hurried steps halted for the first time.
Far off, he spotted the Dark Lord.
He couldn't approach rashly, though—the Dark Lord was deep in conversation with some grotesque demonic beasts.
"So, what happened then? Huh? You got cockblocked? Pahhahaha! Nah, that's not it? What? Don't deny it because you saw it? Pfheheh! Your love stories are a real mess!"
The Dark Lord had six birds perched before him and was roaring with laughter.
At his outbursts, some birds flapped their wings in protest, while others rolled on the ground with bizarre cackles.
Flutter, flutter!
Tang Sa-uk hesitated on whether to approach.
Those birds were the dreaded Corrupt Sparrows and Killer Cranes, infamous even in name alone.
'To handle the worst venomous birds, which paralyze or kill with a mere scratch or glance, so casually... and six of them at that.'
Especially the Corrupt Sparrows and Killer Cranes of the Bizarre Grove—even past clan heads had struggled to tame them.
To converse so casually with such spirit beasts—was it his greatness, or his sheer stubbornness to slack off like this?
Either way, it was impressive.
But he couldn't wait here for the chatter to end.
Since entering the Bizarre Grove, he had been constantly circulating his inner energy without rest.
His dantian would soon be depleted, so he needed to finish his business and leave quickly.
Thus, he deliberately stomped harder.
Crack!
Flutter, flutter!
With the snap of a branch, the Corrupt Sparrows and Killer Cranes took flight all at once.
The Dark Lord's face twisted in annoyance.
"We were right in the thick of an exciting tale, and you couldn't hold back from interrupting?"
Of course, such words fell on deaf ears for Tang Sa-uk.
"You were the one who fled first in the middle of 'working,' weren't you, Clan Head?"
"That damn work, work, work! Do you think I'm some workaholic drone?"
"If you hate it so much, retire. Everything would be easier."
"No way, you brat. After all I've been through to get here? I'll stick around forever just to mess with you."
"The Young Master and your grandkids would love that."
"If they don't like it, what are they gonna do about it?"
Tang Sa-uk shook his head.
Seeing his temperament grow even crankier after a few days in the Bizarre Grove made him sigh.
Dragging him back out by force would just mean more suffering for the underlings.
"But why come here, of all places?"
When he learned the Dark Lord's hiding spot(?) was the Bizarre Grove, his first reaction had been to tilt his head.
Even if the Dark Lord was impervious to all poisons, this wasn't exactly a comfortable spot for him.
"Because someone said they wanted to visit for fun."
"...Visit for fun? Here?"
"That's right. Isn't it hilarious?"
"Who?"
"Who else?"
Tang Sa-uk's eyes darkened deeply.
"The Half-Evil Squad Leader, I presume."
"I've been scouting around these past few days, and I still can't figure out what that kid wants!"
Before departing, Un-hwi had asked the Dark Lord.
If he achieved greater feats than his duties required, were there extra rewards?
The Dark Lord asked what he wanted, and Un-hwi replied as if he'd been waiting.
He wanted to go to the Bizarre Grove.
"That sly fox kid surely knows how terrifying the Bizarre Grove is... yet he pinpointed it, so there must be something huge here."
Tang Sa-uk nodded.
He knew well that Un-hwi never acted without calculation.
"Why not just ask him?"
"Of course I did!"
"But he didn't give a straight answer, I take it."
"He clawed at me, saying even the Dark Lord couldn't figure it out—argh! How could I just sit there after that?"
Tang Sa-uk clicked his tongue lightly.
Un-hwi knew exactly how to handle the Dark Lord.
The Dark Lord crossed his arms with a sullen expression.
"But no matter how much I search high and low, I can't find a thing. I thought maybe it was related to curse poisons, but no."
"......"
Tang Sa-uk realized what the Dark Lord had been up to these past few days.
'You prepared all sorts of gifts for the Half-Evil Squad Leader.'
The Bizarre Grove was forbidden, but also a sacred ground of the Tang Clan Plateau.
No one knew what fateful encounter a clansman might have.
Undoubtedly, he had cleared out quite a few dangers Un-hwi might face upon entry.
He would have blazed new paths and sorted the hazardous beasts and insects separately.
Conversations from the Azure Sun Pavilion flashed through his mind.
"Don't you have any guesses?"
The Dark Lord asked.
Tang Sa-uk nodded quietly.
"I do."
"Oh? What?"
With a blank face, Tang Sa-uk pulled a stack of letters from his bosom and dropped them to the ground.
Rustle.
"Documents you've put off for the past fortnight."
"......"
"Sign them."
The Dark Lord's face crumpled.
"You bastard!"
"If the Clan Head skips out, the underlings pull all-nighters without going home. Thanks to your fortnight of skipping, over fifty retainers in the Clan Head's quarters haven't seen their homes, buried in paperwork. So, who's the bastard now?"
"......"
"Sign them?"
"......"
In the end, the Dark Lord had to stamp the backlog with lips pursed out a full three inches.
He tried claiming he left the clan seal behind, only for it to appear from the front pocket as if anticipated; no ink, and it came from the back pocket. No retort possible.
Among them were letters from outside, not just documents.
—My friend Hwa-u, how have you been? I'm doing well. I heard rumors that my cute, adorable, pretty youngest daughter entered under your wing. If even a scratch mars that porcelain face, I'll charge into your room with sword in hand...
The Dark Lord crumpled the letter as if he'd seen something he shouldn't and tossed it behind his back.
Tang Sa-uk wondered if it was okay to treat a letter from the Azure Flower Mountain Manor Lord so roughly but pretended not to notice. It wasn't the first time.
When about seventy percent of the backlog was done, Tang Sa-uk tossed his liege—who seemed to grow more childish with age—a carrot.
"Interim reports are pouring in from the various Stormwind Squad divisions."
"Oh? How'd they do?"
As expected, his eyes lit up differently.
He was a born warrior, after all.
"Some have already completed their missions."
"Oh, already?"
It was praiseworthy.
Most of the advanced missions assigned were notoriously tough.
"Yes. Heavenly Sword Grove and Fame Struggle Center have completed theirs and await further orders. Phoenix Hall has located their target and is moving swiftly. They're probably nearly done by now."
The Ha-baek Manor, which claimed dominion over the upper Yangtze, had been annihilated.
Especially their manor lord, Do Gang-su-sin, whose head flew with a single strike from Yi Cheol-san, birthing a new myth of the Azure Star Divine Sword.
The Heartless Troop, overlords of the Blue Sea, clashed openly with Phoenix Hall.
They proclaimed victory on their grand tent stage, but suffered crushing defeat.
Only their troop leader, Mu Jeong-geol, barely escaped alive—in such a pitiful state that even the outer barbarians mocked him.
The new Stormwind Squad was forging achievements rivaling the old one.
"Pahhahaha! That's how it is, eh? Looks like my eye for talent hasn't failed me."
The Dark Lord was thrilled that the seeds he had sown long ago were growing better than expected, bearing luscious fruit.
"The evaluators' assessments were highly encouraging."
"I'd expect so."
Just as the Lion King was attached to Half-Evil Squad, the evaluators for other divisions were renowned luminaries of the martial world.
Martial supremes in no way inferior to the Lion King.
Their judgment would hold no falsehoods.
As Tang Sa-uk recounted events by division, the Dark Lord's joy grew.
Toward the end, that joy doubled.
"...And there's amusing news from Half-Evil Squad as well."
"News?"
The Dark Lord's eyes flashed.
Tang Sa-uk spoke with sunken gaze.
"The Ghost Sect Lord has appeared."
One corner of the Dark Lord's mouth twisted, revealing his canine.
"Now they're openly strutting about, are they?"
The second test for the new Stormwind Squad involved all missions tied to the Demonic Cult.
After the Nine Dragons Great Battle, the uprisings of the Seventy-Two Evil Subsects across the land were no small matter.
Heavenly Sword Grove's Ha-baek Manor, Fame Struggle Center's Black Mountain Sect, Phoenix Hall's Heartless Troop were prime examples.
The Tang Clan Plateau deemed this the groundwork for the Demonic Cult's invasion of the Central Plains.
And now, the Ghost Sect Lord appeared?
Right in the heart of the Orthodox Joint Sect, no less?
Un-hwi had volunteered as bait to draw him out, but this blatant disregard for the Tang Clan could not be ignored.
This was real war.
"Shall we move?"
"Me? There? You know that's not possible."
The Ghost Sect Lord's movement meant the other sect lords might stir too.
Reports had come in: beyond the Long Wall, the Wind Demon Grand Curtain Lord was swiftly unifying the steppes; the Fist Demon Wild Beast Lord was purging the Blue Sea and West Factory; the Array Demon Tool Sound Sect had recently surfaced in the alcohol clans' martial world.
And in the east, the South Palace Clan was finally advancing along the Yangtze, baring its fangs.
If the Dark Lord left his post rashly, disaster was inevitable.
He had to hold this place.
"But—"
"Right. The Ghost Sect Lord is said to have stepped on a landmine too, so we can't leave it all to Half-Evil Squad. Fortunately, there are plenty of fine 'friends' around him—they'll help without hesitation."
Tang Sa-uk's eyes gleamed coldly.
"You mean, soon."
The Dark Lord nodded gravely.
"In the name of the Dark Lord, and by authority of the Tang Clan Head. Publicly announce the Joint Sect's internal strife, raise the mission difficulty to supreme. And... assemble all Stormwind Squads there. Without distinguishing between old and new."
The Dark Lord's gaze, fixed on the sky, blazed with ghostly fire.
"Let's see how far this great stormwind blows—whether it reaches the Heavenly Mountains."