Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Annihilation of the Paegum Sect
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With Deung Hwang's death, the battle naturally came to an end.
At Hyeok Wi's command, several members of the unit moved swiftly, raising their voices.
"The Paegum Sect's sect leader is dead!"
"We've slain both vice sect leaders!"
At that news, joy and despair crossed between the warriors on both sides.
The Hyeok Clan was filled with elation, while the Paegum Sect was shrouded in deep despair.
"The sect leader is dead?"
"No way!"
"What happens to us now?!"
As the Paegum Sect swordsmen floundered in confusion, unable to hide their shock, the Soul Pacifying Corps charged straight at them in one fell swoop.
"D-Damn it all!"
Judging that surrender would mean death anyway, they fought desperately to the end but couldn't hold back the Soul Pacifying Corps, which advanced like a tidal wave under Hyeok Wi's lead.
Exactly half a shichen later, not a single Paegum Sect swordsman remained standing on the ground.
Total annihilation.
It was the utter destruction of the Paegum Sect.
"Request reinforcements from the main house."
After the battle wrapped up, Hyeok Wi busied himself reorganizing the unit.
The members began cleanup operations at his command.
Their top priority was sorting the wounded by injury severity and transporting the critically injured to the medical quarters first.
Next came gathering the dead and clearing the estate.
Finally, they sealed off the grounds to outsiders and scoured the interior to fully absorb the now masterless Paegum Sect.
Hyeok Wi showed clear signs of exhaustion from the prolonged fight, but driven by his sense of duty as unit leader, he took charge of everything from the front lines.
Meanwhile, two men watched Hyeok Wi's back from a distance.
Hyeok Mulin and Hyeok Gyo-jin stood side by side on a rooftop, a short distance away, silently surveying the scene.
Hyeok Gyo-jin glanced sideways first and spoke up.
"What brings you here?"
"I was taking a stroll and stopped by when I heard the commotion."
Hyeok Gyo-jin stifled a hollow laugh at the absurd excuse.
"It seems the Cult Leader has developed a hobby of strolling around in suspicious black attire and a strange bamboo hat these days. That's worrying for the cult's future—if word gets out, it'll be a headache."
"If you want, scream your lungs out in the bamboo grove. I won't stop you."
Those words made Hyeok Gyo-jin's mouth itch for real, and he fidgeted with his lips for a moment.
Eventually giving up, he changed the subject.
"I never dreamed the unorthodox scum were hiding here."
The emergence of the Tyrannical Sword Demon—no, the Blood Hand Killer Ghost Deung Hwang.
This would be a good lesson for broadening Hyeok Gyo-jin's perspective.
The cult wasn't bound by chivalrous codes but by doctrine, making it relatively easy for outsiders to enter.
That made it a good hiding spot for spies or external forces, but if used well, it could also attract talents from the Central Plains like Danri Hyang and Cho Sa-hyeon—a definite positive.
"What matters isn't whether the enemy is a cultist, unorthodox, or orthodox."
"Then...?"
"Just because they're a cultist doesn't mean they'll only use swords. The problem was your narrow-minded assumption that a sword master would be ignorant of other martial arts."
The world's martial artists aren't that simple.
Not just swordsmen sticking to swordsmanship or fist fighters to punches—many warriors master a variety of techniques.
'Take me, for instance.'
Yet Hyeok Gyo-jin had let his guard down at the last moment when his opponent dropped the sword while deploying the Defying Heaven Nine Souls Sword.
That was his fatal mistake.
It wasn't because the foe was unorthodox; it stemmed from his lack of experience.
Hyeok Mulin's stern admonishment was to etch this lesson into his mind, as such oversights could be life-ending for a warrior.
"Understood. I'll keep it in mind."
Stung to the core, Hyeok Gyo-jin bowed his head with nothing to say.
The mood sank into silence for a moment.
Then Hyeok Mulin spoke first.
"Killing Deung Hwang today will be credited to you."
"No thanks."
Hyeok Gyo-jin rejected it outright before the words even finished.
His brother had slain Deung Hwang, while he'd been on the brink of death.
Claiming the kill would steal the credit, but more than that, his pride wouldn't allow it.
"Shall I announce the Cult Leader did it? That would drag the Hyeok Clan's reputation through the mud."
"Tch...!"
Mentioning the clan made Hyeok Gyo-jin bite his lip in frustration.
"Announce it as the Tyrannical Sword Demon, not the Blood Hand Killer Ghost. People will buy it."
It was tough, but not impossible, for the Hyeok Clan's young master to take down the Tyrannical Sword Demon.
In fact, he'd nearly done it himself against the sword-wielding Deung Hwang.
"The Soul Pacifying Corps leader witnessed it too."
He squirmed, grasping at excuses to avoid the credit, but Hyeok Mulin brushed it off.
"Hyeok Wi is sharp and perceptive. He'll handle himself appropriately."
No need to even ask for his silence.
Hyeok Wi hadn't approached Hyeok Mulin, the actual slayer, or acknowledged him—as if he'd already anticipated how this would play out.
He hadn't even glanced their way on purpose.
That meant he'd keep it buried.
"You're dumping a hassle on me."
A pre-adult warrior single-handedly killing the Tyrannical Sword Demon wasn't easy.
Not even for one of the Seven Great Demon Clans' young masters.
If announced as Hyeok Mulin suggested, his name would echo across Shin-gang for a while.
Sensing the headaches already, Hyeok Gyo-jin clutched his throbbing head.
"When you become clan patriarch, you'll face ten times the trouble. Consider this practice."
"I'm still far from becoming patriarch. No need to prepare this early..."
Hyeok Gyo-jin stuck out his lips in a childish pout.
He often whined during talks with his brother, but today—saved from death and shown the Defying Heaven Nine Souls Sword manual-style—gratitude mixed with the cold advice, making him grumpier than usual.
As his complaints trailed off trivially, Hyeok Mulin tossed out a casual remark.
"Your swordsmanship has improved a lot."
Hyeok Gyo-jin froze.
The unexpected praise stiffened his body. He couldn't recall the last time his brother complimented him, not since childhood, leaving him flustered on how to respond.
Finally, after agonizing, he managed,
"The Cult Leader's Defying Heaven Nine Souls Sword was perfect too."
He regretted it instantly.
What kind of stupid thing is that to say!
Of course it's perfect—the creator himself!
Mortified enough to bash his head against a rock, but Hyeok Mulin replied softly, unperturbed.
"Thanks."
With a smirk, Hyeok Mulin gazed ahead and asked,
"So, what did you feel from my sword?"
Caught off guard, Hyeok Gyo-jin pondered deeply.
He mulled it over, contemplated, reflected.
After a moment, he shook his head.
"I don't know."
"I see."
"But for some reason, it felt like that path isn't mine."
The Defying Heaven Nine Souls Sword Hyeok Mulin demonstrated was the clan art he was meant to cultivate—yet here he was, saying something absurd.
But at that contradictory words, Hyeok Mulin smiled faintly.
'He finally sensed it.'
Though much altered, Hyeok Gyo-jin's sword forms and momentum still resembled his past self too closely.
Imitation was a fine training method, but it capped growth potential, forging a warrior's limits.
Whether one realized it themselves or had it forced upon them made all the difference.
And Hyeok Gyo-jin had grasped it on his own, even if vaguely.
This realization would become a great asset later.
"That's enough. Trust yourself and advance."
"Yes."
Hyeok Mulin turned to leave.
"I'll head out now. Stay well."
Ahem.
At the light well-wishing, Hyeok Gyo-jin coughed awkwardly.
Clearing his throat, he murmured carefully,
"You too, Cult Leader...?"
But glancing aside mid-sentence, the spot where he'd stood was empty.
Staring at the vacant air, Hyeok Gyo-jin felt exasperated yet accepting.
"Yeah, that's just like him."
Cult Leader or not, he was still the brother he knew.
'I'll just do my best in my place. Then someday...'
Gazing where he'd been, Hyeok Gyo-jin turned and strode forward.
A few days after the incident, Hyeok Mulin sat with Sima Jin to discuss the aftermath.
"The Hyeok Clan announced it as a personal grudge with the Paegum Sect leader. They fabricated just enough justification for the purge."
"Not a bad choice."
"Indeed. No gain in mentioning spies, so they went with a fitting excuse."
Decades without detecting the infiltrators in the Seven Great Demon Clans—exposing it wouldn't help.
Only Sima Jin and a handful of Hyeok Clan heavyweights knew, so it was easy to keep buried.
"One unit wiping out the Paegum Sect will solidify the Hyeok Clan's prestige."
Not a single disciple left standing—textbook sect annihilation.
Outsiders would attribute it fully to the Soul Pacifying Corps' might, giving pause to those who thought the clan declining.
"Yes, that'll ease their breathing room."
The Paegum Sect wasn't old, but Deung Hwang had bled the Hyeok Clan's finances dry before founding it.
They'd hoarded plenty of funds at start, then built a name drawing aggressive recruits for solid profits.
The Hyeok Clan reclaiming it all was like seizing years of treasury as spoils.
"Money and fame—both secured."
That didn't mean finances suddenly overflowed or prestige leaped to mid-tier among the Seven Great Demon Clans.
But recovering even some breathed new life into their struggles—a massive gain.
"What about the Tae Eun Merchant Group?"
"Yes. I've summarized the key points."
Hyeok Mulin scanned the documents Sima Jin handed over.
In short: only the merchant lord linked to Deung Hwang.
"Fortunate. Replace him, and we can resume operations."
Hyeok Mulin had no intent to dismantle or hand over the Tae Eun Merchant Group to the Hyeok Clan.
He'd rooted out spies and crushed Paegum Sect—surely he deserved something.
"Handle the merchant lord, install someone reliable. Then rename and restart."
Multiple successful long-haul caravans weren't luck.
Competent staff throughout—and he wouldn't let such talent slip.
'A windfall walking right in.'
Satisfied, Hyeok Mulin continued, lips curving.
"For caravan escorts, request guest warriors from the Hyeok Clan, not an escort agency."
The clan's warriors were more trustworthy than any agency, and fees would steady their funds.
Win-win structure.
"As you wish."
Sima Jin nodded, grasping the intent.
Then his final question:
"What name for the reborn merchant group?"
"Name..."
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Hyeok Mulin replied.
"Manri Merchant Group."
"Manri Merchant Group—fits their reach perfectly."
Under Hyeok Mulin's shadow, they'd venture farther than before.
Eventually, perhaps beyond Shin-gang to the Central Plains.
The profits and potential would aid him greatly later.
As they settled the merchant group's fate.
Knock knock.
A knock from outside.
Jang Wi entered, kneeling on one knee, presenting a letter respectfully in both hands.
"A message from the Yagul Clan has arrived."
Hyeok Mulin and Sima Jin's eyes met.
They'd finally decided.
Taking the letter, Hyeok Mulin unfolded it slowly.
As his eyes reached the end, quietly waiting Sima Jin asked softly,
"From the clan patriarch?"
"Yes."
Nodding, Hyeok Mulin smirked.
"He's asking me to prepare a seat for him."