Chapter 38: Blood Alliance Conference-1
Chapter 38: Blood Alliance Conference-1
"Damn it all...."
Listening to Ma Yu-gyeom's low, guttural muttering that seemed to boil from the very pit of his stomach, I too barely managed to suppress the sigh that threatened to escape me.
It seemed I had been mistaken about far too many things all this time.
***
It had been a little while ago, when I had been pouring all my strength into sparring with Miss Cheongyeon.
She had abruptly spoken to me.
'Squad Leader Ma seems rather unsettled.'
'...Pardon?'
When I asked, flustered by her sudden words, she instead turned the question back on me.
'I mean Ma Yu-gyeom. You've been keeping an eye on them for a while now, haven't you, Gongja? On both Ma Yu-gyeom and Mae Yeo-kyeong.'
'What? No, I mean, that's true, but how did you...?'
I was bewildered.
It was true I had been watching Ma Yu-gyeom for some time, but I had never once mentioned it to anyone. How could she possibly know?
'I could just tell by watching. Is he not someone you need to follow?'
'Pardon? Ah, but I'm in the middle of sparring with you right now, Sojeo....'
'I'm fine, so hurry and go.'
Chased off as if pushed from behind to follow Ma Yu-gyeom, I was able to realize one more thing.
The fact that while I had been sparring with her with everything I had, she had been leisurely observing Ma Yu-gyeom all the while....
It seemed it would take far more time if I ever wanted to defeat her.
And so, secretly shadowing Ma Yu-gyeom, I had been able to overhear his conversation with Sa Gun-il, and everything he said to Mae Yeo-kyeong.
It was all thanks to the assassin's secret techniques I had learned in my father's library.
Hidden within the shadow of a tree near Ma Yu-gyeom's quarters, I watched his retreating figure as he trudged heavily under the darkened sky.
In my ears, Mae Yeo-kyeong's sobbing flowed softly.
It was an utterly desolate scene.
I abruptly began comparing the facts I already knew with the ones I had just newly learned.
In my past life, I—no, everyone in the Thirteen Squads—had believed the fundamental reason Ma Yu-gyeom was so broken as to eventually defect to the Blood Cult was Mae Yeo-kyeong's death.
That he had loved Mae Yeo-kyeong so deeply that he simply couldn't endure her death.
'But... it wasn't like that, was it?'
Judging solely by what I had heard today, it seemed we had been completely mistaken back then.
From what I had heard today, wasn't it the case that by the time Mae Yeo-kyeong died, Ma Yu-gyeom had already broken up with her?
And on top of that, the woman he truly loved had been Dang Yeoeun.
'What is all this? What's going on here?'
My head was starting to get muddled.
No, if that was the case, then why did Ma Yu-gyeom, who got involved with the woman he truly loved, Dang Yeoeun, fall apart so badly?
And why did he treat Dang Yeoeun so callously?
At the time, Ma Yu-gyeom, who had begun a relationship with Dang Yeoeun, had toyed with her as if she were a plaything.
The image of Ma Yu-gyeom, drunk and groping her chest in front of others, while Dang Yeoeun wore a shamed expression yet couldn't even resist, remained shocking to me even now.
But if the reason for all of that wasn't Mae Yeo-kyeong's death....
A mess of thoughts swirled chaotically.
'Could it be because of Sa Gun-il's rejection? Because his dream of reviving the Jeomchang Sect was crushed?'
Right now, what Ma Yu-gyeom considered most important was undeniably the resurrection of the Jeomchang Sect.
After all, even I had been surprised when that prideful man bowed his head to Sa Gun-il and offered to give up the position of sect leader.
But thinking his dream was crushed simply because Sa Gun-il refused seemed like a bit of a leap.
The Ma Yu-gyeom I knew wasn't the type of man to give up just because Sa Gun-il rejected him once.
If anything, he would try every trick to change Sa Gun-il's mind, or else find some other way.
I didn't like him, but even I fully acknowledged that he was an extremely strong-willed man, mentally.
Which was precisely why I couldn't understand his descent into corruption.
All I felt was sheer frustration.
***
While various questions still cluttered my mind, the day of the Jeonghyeol Summit finally arrived.
I had continued to keep an eye on Ma Yu-gyeom afterward, but nothing else out of the ordinary had happened.
Compared to Mae Yeo-kyeong, who grew more haggard by the day, Ma Yu-gyeom truly seemed to be doing just fine, as if nothing had happened at all.
As I thought, neither the breakup with Mae Yeo-kyeong nor Sa Gun-il's rejection seemed to have dealt him any great shock.
"The alliance leader will be arriving soon."
A messenger who had rushed to the Thirteen Squads first delivered the news.
At this, Vice-Leader Heon Yeong-bo, who had already been running around with a haggard face as if he hadn't slept, burst into frantic action.
"What are you doing?! I said wipe over there more! You lot, quickly sweep over there! Hurry! There's no time! Tsk, move aside! I might as well do it myself!"
As he badgered every squad member in sight, obsessing over cleaning and tidying up, Bi Sa-yeong edged away and muttered.
"He's really going all out. Seems a bit insane. Think he'll end up following the alliance leader back after the summit, putting on a show like that?"
"Dunno. Probably not?"
Knowing full well that his antics were utterly futile, I could only find him pitiful and pathetic.
Before noon, all members of the Thirteen Squads had lined up beside the entrance.
The summit was in the afternoon, but the alliance leader's party was scheduled to arrive just slightly before noon.
And a moment later, their figures approaching along the main road came into view.
The current Murim Alliance Leader, Hyeopwang Mo Yong-geom, the Chief Strategist Jegal Ji-gang, as well as the Divine Sword Unit, the alliance leader's personal guard, and the Cheonryong Unit, said to be the Murim Alliance's most powerful armed force—a massive company totaling around one hundred and fifty personnel.
Even if one wasn't Heon Yeong-bo, all the squad members looked stiff with tension, but I, for some reason, felt reassured.
It was because the arrival time and the number of people were all exactly the same as I remembered from my past life, and that somehow gave me a sense of stability.
All personnel of the Thirteen Squads greeted them, lined up neatly in orderly fashion beside the entrance.
Grand Master Poong Yang, standing at the very front, cupped his fist with disciplined precision and raised his voice.
"We behold the alliance leader!"
Following his lead, we too cupped our fists with precise form and echoed in unison.
"We behold the alliance leader!"
The alliance leader, Hyeopwang Mo Yong-geom, accepted our greeting with a pleased smile.
"Good to see you all! I, Mo Yong-geom, am deeply moved to finally meet all of you who guard the frontlines day and night, protecting the orthodox martial world. I, Mo Yong-geom, know well that the peace we enjoy in our daily lives is entirely thanks to your tireless efforts. I apologize for making excuses of being too busy and only now coming to see you in person. I am sorry. And I offer my sincere gratitude."
Even without speaking very loudly, his voice resonated thunderously against our ears.
The internal energy laced in his voice, the overwhelming pressure he naturally exuded—it was truly a presence befitting one of the current absolute beings of the martial world.
Indeed, his presence alone felt even greater than that of the Divine Sword Unit and the Cheonryong Unit guarding his rear combined.
When he finished speaking and cupped his fist toward us, Heon Yeong-bo raised his voice as if he had been waiting.
"How could blocking the provocations of the Blood Cultists and safeguarding the world's peace be called mere effort?! All of us in the Thirteen Squads consider it an honor to be of even the smallest help to the alliance leader! Please, withdraw such words!"
At that, Mo Yong-geom burst into hearty, delighted laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Is that so? Truly the mindset of the heroes of the orthodox martial world! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
As Mo Yong-geom responded with pleasure, Heon Yeong-bo's face brightened with color.
Then he hastily spoke again.
"Heroes? You flatter us! How could we dare to be called heroes before the alliance leader, who is the true hero of the orthodox martial world?!"
"Hm? Ha ha ha ha ha!"
As Heon Yeong-bo's flattery drew another burst of laughter from the Alliance Leader Mo Yong-geom, a clearly elated Heon Yeong-bo tried to continue speaking.
"I, Heon Yeong-bo, am...!"
But the strategist, the Heavenly Brain Jegal Ji-gang, standing beside him, cut him off with an expressionless face.
"Alliance Leader, let us go inside now. If we go in, the young martial artists can get some rest, can they not?"
"Hm? Ah, quite right. Shall we go in, then?"
At this, Heon Yeong-bo, who wore a look of regret at not being able to fully demonstrate his flattery skills, hastily shouted.
"I-I shall guide you in! Please, follow me!"
Once the alliance leader and his strategist followed Heon Yeong-bo into the summit hall and the Divine Sword Unit and Cheonryong Unit had surrounded the area in layers, Grand Master Poong Yang finally turned to us and spoke.
"Everyone, disperse for the moment. When the Blood Cult's people come in the afternoon, we must line up again, so do not go too far."
Only then were we able to scatter and take a rest.
I abruptly asked the squad leader.
"How did you view the alliance leader, Squad Leader?"
At my question, Squad Leader Seol Pung let out a low, thoughtful hum and considered for a moment.
"Hmm, well."
Mo Yong-geom, who had succeeded the previous Murim Alliance Leader, Hyeop-wang Cheon Gi-gang, inheriting both the title of Hyeopwang and the position of Murim Alliance Leader, was the Supreme Family Head of the Mo Yong Family, one of the Five Great Clans of the martial world, and an absolute being of the martial world who held the rank of One of the Two Kings among the hierarchy of One Emperor, Two Kings, Three Sages, Four Demons, and Five Monsters.
He could be counted among the top three martial artists in the current martial world.
But my impression upon seeing him in person was a bit peculiar.
He did seem incredibly strong, certainly....
When I had seen him in my past life, he had seemed so impossibly distant that I couldn't feel anything at all.
But this time, I felt like I could glimpse just a little bit of his strength.
Of course, that was because he wasn't hiding his presence at all.
Squad leader Seol Pung pondered for a moment, then answered.
"He was like a mountain that looks so high it seems impossibly distant."
It was an acknowledgment of the alliance leader's strength.
But then he added quietly,
"However, I couldn't see him rising above the clouds."
As expected....
I nodded at the squad leader's words.
Because I thought I knew what those clouds signified.
The alliance leader, Chivalrous King Mo Yong-geom, was certainly emanating a terrifyingly powerful presence.
But compared to the Lust Demon Son Eun-sang, one of the Four Demons of the World whom we had seen recently....
It was exactly as the squad leader had described.
Compared to Son Eun-sang, whose height was utterly unfathomable like a cloud, the alliance leader felt tall, but somehow like a mountain whose height could still be measured.
Of course, I couldn't guarantee this was accurate—it might simply have been our misperception.
But from the formal greeting earlier that hadn't felt sincere, to his visible satisfaction at Heon Yeong-bo's flattery, his image as the pinnacle of the orthodox faction had somehow left me feeling disappointed—that much was true.
And this disappointment only deepened in the afternoon when the leader of the Blood Cult, the Blood Demon of Four Seas Jeon Mu-gwang, arrived at the Thirteen Squads' encampment.
Jeon Mu-gwang was walking into the Thirteen Squads' grounds, accompanied only by four black-clad individuals with bamboo hats pulled down low, trailing behind him.
But we couldn't even breathe properly.
The presence those five naturally exuded was pressing down on us far more massively than the one hundred fifty men who had come with the alliance leader earlier.
Bi Sa-yeong muttered from behind me.
"Incredible. It feels like I'm being crushed under an actual boulder. There are only five of them, so why do they feel more numerous than one hundred fifty?"
I agreed.
In particular, the presence of the Blood Demon Jeon Mu-gwang at the very front was in no way inferior to the sense of utter desolation I had felt from the Lust Demon Son Eun-sang last time.
It was overwhelming.
The Blood Demon smiled faintly, looked around at us, and said,
"I have heard much talk of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads. They say there are many very talented young people here. It is an honor to meet you all in person like this."
His impression was remarkably refined.
If not for the intense eyes set in his splendid red robes embroidered with the character for 'blood', it wouldn't have been strange at all to call him a great hero of the orthodox faction.
'Well, I guess that made sense.'
When I thought about it, he had originally been the family head of the Jeon Family Estate, which belonged to the orthodox faction.
Remembering his past, which I had heard from the elder Seok Gyeong-dal, stirred complicated feelings.
Grand Master Poong Yang clasped his fist in salute toward him.
"It is an honor to meet the head of the Blood Cult. I am Grand Master Poong Yang of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads. The alliance leader awaits."
At that, the four standing behind the Blood Demon immediately flinched.
Then the largest-built Bamboo Hat Person among them erupted with killing intent and shouted,
"How dare you! Speaking to the Supreme One in such a manner?!"
Hwaaak!
"Ugh!"
Struck suddenly by the overwhelming killing intent, we had to draw up our internal energy just to keep from stepping backward.
Even those who managed to hold their ground were first-rate and above; martial artists below second-rate were staggering and stumbling backward.
The Bamboo Hat Person had pressured this many martial artists with nothing but the intangible killing intent he emitted.
He was someone who possessed incredible martial prowess.
Then the Blood Demon lightly raised one hand and said,
"That is enough, Cheok Gang."
In an instant, the killing intent that had been crushing us vanished as if washed away.
The one hand the Blood Demon had lightly raised had blocked the killing intent that had been spreading out in all directions.
When we realized what that meant, our faces immediately turned pale.
And for that man to be Cheok Gang himself....
Cheok Gang was one of the Blood Cult's Five Demons, called the Iron God Mad Demon, and one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, known to be closest to the fifteen absolute beings of the world.
The terrifying killing intent he had just unleashed was a reputation that finally made sense.
But compared to the move the Blood Demon had just shown, even his name could not help but dim.
Because while Cheok Gang's martial prowess in wildly emitting intangible energy was unimaginable, blocking it was a feat on an entirely different dimension.
Being able to perfectly control the energy emitted outside his body as he wished meant that, if he desired, he could wield that intangible energy as if it were his own limbs.
It meant he could move objects with energy alone, or even kill a person—truly martial prowess befitting an absolute being of this era.
The Blood Demon spoke to Cheok Gang with a gentle face.
"If the martial world alliance's squad leader called me the head of the Blood Cult, what else should he call me? Surely you are not suggesting he call me the Supreme One? Then you would have to call the alliance leader of the martial world alliance the Supreme One as well."
At his words, Cheok Gang bowed his head with a flustered voice.
"H-How could I call a wretch like that...."
Then the Blood Demon spoke in a deliberately stern voice.
"Cheok Gang! We have come here for a summit now, and a summit cannot be achieved unless we respect each other! Are you, by any chance, trying to obstruct this summit that I personally initiated?!"
At those words, Cheok Gang immediately dropped to his knees and pleaded for forgiveness.
"Forgive me, Supreme One! This foolish wretch has again failed to comprehend your will and committed a blunder! Please, punish me!"
Those of us watching that scene couldn't help but wear expressions of shock.
For Cheok Gang, the Iron God Mad Demon, one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World who feared nothing under heaven and was famous for his wild arrogance, to kneel so easily.
And right in front of us, who were nothing more than fledglings of the orthodox faction.
It was a scene that made it abundantly clear just how absolute the Blood Demon's stature was within the Blood Cult.
"Rise, Cheok Gang. Your punishment will be decided upon after we return to the cult."
"Yes! Supreme One!"
Having given Cheok Gang a warning, the Blood Demon turned his head back toward us and spoke gently.
"I have shown an unsightly display before the divine dragons of the orthodox faction. As we are, after all, the scoundrels of the wicked demonic path, there are likely many shortcomings in the eyes of the pillars of the orthodox faction. I beg your understanding."
The Blood Demon smiled gently after saying that, but those of us watching couldn't smile at all.
Because his demeanor was coming across as something completely different from the wicked demon heads we had known until now.
It was a bearing that exuded both the martial prowess of an absolute being and a kind of composure befitting a great senior of the martial world.
The Blood Demon slowly looked around at us and said,
"Before coming, I looked into the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads a bit. Among the Flying Dragon Squads, the Thirteen Squads in particular have many young divine dragons."
Then, sweeping his gaze starting from First Squad Leader Han Gyo-seong, he continued.
"Han Gyo-seong, the young hero called the Blue Wind Sword Dragon, even hailed as a genius in the Mount Qingcheng Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects."
At his words, First Squad Leader Han Gyo-seong silently clasped his fist.
Even he, who always wore a sleepy expression, was now sharpening his eyes like a keen blade.
"Sa Gun-il, the young hero called the Jeomchang Sword Dragon, said to be the most outstanding among the disciples of the Jeomchang Sect."
At his words, Sa Gun-il only stared at him in silence.
He apparently couldn't offer a fist salute to the man responsible for annihilating Jeomchang.
I suspected that merely not drawing his sword was probably the best he could do.
"And.... Hoo, just as I'd heard, truly a great beauty. You must be Dang Yeoeun, the Tang Family Sword Peak. Beauty alone would be astonishing enough, but to possess such talent as well—I cannot imagine how proud your parents must be. I am simply envious."
It was surely a pleasant compliment, but it seemed to have rubbed Lady Dang the wrong way somehow.
Lady Dang, body trembling violently, ground her teeth hard and showed a strained fist salute.
But as if the Blood Demon hadn't seen that, he shifted his gaze to the next person.
It moved to Ma Yu-gyeom, who had been glaring at him with murderous intent since earlier.
The Blood Demon smiled gently and said,
"You must be Ma Yu-gyeom, the Jeomchang Sword Eagle. You were the son of the great hero Ma Won-il, who was the former sect leader of the Jeomchang Sect, weren't you? Your features don't much resemble your father."
Ma Yu-gyeom's face contorted horribly at those words.
For the Blood Demon, the very wretch directly responsible for killing his father, Sect Leader Ma Won-il, to speak his name—even I could see that asking Ma Yu-gyeom to endure that was an impossible demand.
In the end, he couldn't hold back and tried to draw his sword.
"You bastard dare?!"