Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Section 8. There Is No Justice More Precious Than Human Life (2)
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“Clan Leader.”
A urgent voice shattered the silence of the night, causing Eun Ha-seong to furrow his brow slightly. But he quickly composed his expression and spoke in a stern tone.
“Come in.”
The door flew open in haste, and a warrior with a flushed face rushed inside.
“Clan Leader.”
“What is it?”
“We found it.”
“Found? What...”
Eun Ha-seong started to ask but clamped his mouth shut. Moments later, his subordinate’s voice confirmed his hopes without fail.
“We’ve located the Blood Demon’s legacy.”
“Finally!”
Excitement lit up Eun Ha-seong’s face. Thick veins bulged like wriggling worms across the back of his clenched fist.
“And the item?”
“We left it at the annex near the Blood Demon Tomb. Our men will retrieve it at dawn.”
“No, I’ll go myself.”
He shot up from his seat and raced toward Bak Gyeok-dal Peak. Employing lightness skill, it took him only an hour to reach the mid-mountain where the Blood Demon Tomb lay.
The annex on the middle slope of Bak Gyeok-dal Peak was a place Eun Ha-seong occasionally used, its existence unknown even to outsiders.
Inside the annex, his subordinates who had been monitoring the Blood Demon Tomb stood guard with strict vigilance. In their midst sat a large chest.
Crafted from an unidentified metal, the chest’s surface bore a vivid engraving of a dragon ascending to the heavens.
“Clan Leader!”
The subordinates who had brought the chest knelt on one knee in unison toward Eun Ha-seong. But he ignored them entirely and strode straight to the chest on the cart.
“Finally... it’s in my hands. The Blood Demon’s legacy.”
His voice trembled involuntarily.
For the past few years, he had devoted himself solely to obtaining the Blood Demon’s legacy. He had kidnapped countless people and forced them into labor, committing unspeakable acts no human should.
And now, he had finally achieved the desired result. It was truly a victory of sheer obsession.
He ran his hand over the chest. The rough texture of the engraving met his fingertips, followed by a mysterious energy permeating his body.
Eun Ha-seong was certain: the Blood Demon’s legacy lay within this chest.
“Where did you find it?”
“In the western sector.”
“So it was there after all. Good work.”
“It was nothing.”
“And the laborers?”
“We’ve had them rest at the Blood Demon Tomb for now.”
Eun Ha-seong’s lips curled upward slightly at the response. A sinister aura emanated from his face.
“Perfect.”
“Then?”
“No need to leave any loose ends that could cause trouble. Clean them up at dawn!”
“Yes, sir!”
The subordinate replied without a hint of hesitation.
It had been anticipated from the moment they began excavating the Blood Demon Tomb where the legacy was buried. If word got out, West Heaven Manor wouldn’t rise as the hegemon of Shin Gang—it would become an enemy of the entire martial world.
“Have we still not caught that wench?”
“The Chief Steward went personally, so we should hear good news soon.”
“Hmph!”
A deep furrow formed between Eun Ha-seong’s brows.
Chief Steward Jo Hyeol-san was his most trusted confidant. Yet for some reason, unease gnawed at him.
“We must capture that woman no matter what. If the Blood Scale Death Veil gets involved at this point, everything will fall apart. Have those guys on standby just in case.”
“Those guys?”
“You know who.”
“Ah, yes, understood.”
The subordinate’s voice quivered slightly as he answered—a sign of his tension.
Eun Ha-seong lifted the chest. Though it was as heavy as a massive boulder, he carried it effortlessly to his quarters in the annex.
He felt the subordinates’ gazes on his back but paid them no mind. A clear smile graced his face.
Returning to his quarters, Eun Ha-seong set the chest down.
Wooong!
Others might not sense it, but he could. The powerful resonance emanating from within the chest.
The resonance was unmistakably calling to him.
“This is fate. The Blood Demon’s legacy was destined for me from the start.”
His smile deepened.
Eun Ha-seong tried to open the chest’s lid. But the chest was seamless, perfectly smooth.
It meant it couldn’t be opened by ordinary means. Yet he felt no worry.
From the moment he learned the Blood Demon had met his end here, he had investigated everything about the Blood Demon.
He knew more about the Blood Demon than anyone in the world—his personality, preferences, and even habits.
“He was obsessed with blood, earning him the moniker Blood Demon. There’s no way he’d hand his legacy to someone who hadn’t shed blood.”
Seruk!
Eun Ha-seong drew a dagger and slashed his palm. The blade carved a deep gash, and blood poured forth.
He brought the flowing blood from his palm to the chest.
Drip...
The blood seemed to flow along the engraving before being absorbed. It drank it greedily, like a beast maddened by thirst.
“Heh heh! Yes, drink your fill.”
Eun Ha-seong chuckled lowly.
The chest, now saturated with blood, glowed red before suddenly cracking. The fissures spread rapidly across its surface, and it soon shattered. Revealing what lay inside.
A tattered booklet that looked ready to crumble at any moment, and a strikingly crimson pearl.
“This is...”
Eun Ha-seong grasped the booklet and pearl in each hand.
Blood Demon True Scripture.
The faded cover clearly bore those words.
“Finally, the Blood Demon’s ultimate art is in my hands.”
His eyes gleamed with ecstasy.
Eun Ha-seong hurriedly examined the booklet. It was undoubtedly the Blood Demon’s ultimate technique. His gaze shifted to the pearl in his other hand.
“Then this must be a spirit pill, naturally.”
He thought more highly of the Blood Demon than expected. To prepare a spirit pill to boost inner energy for his successor.
Without hesitation, Eun Ha-seong popped the pearl into his mouth. It melted upon contact with saliva, sliding down his throat into his stomach.
“Mm!”
As a sense of fullness welled up inside him, making him smile, a sudden agony erupted—like flames scorching his insides.
The pain felt as if a red-hot blade were gutting his belly. Eun Ha-seong’s mouth gaped wide.
“Grrrr!”
A beastly groan echoed through the room.
Scorching flames raced through his meridians, ravaging his entire body. Overwhelmed by the immense energy he couldn’t handle, he rolled across the floor, eyes bulging.
He couldn’t even attempt to circulate his qi. Blood rushed to his head. Veins protruded, and his eyes turned bloodshot.
His head felt on the verge of exploding.
“Blood Demon, you son of a bitch!”
Unable to endure, Eun Ha-seong bellowed curses at the Blood Demon.
He cursed the Blood Demon and all his ancestors. But the pain didn’t subside.
“Arrrgh!”
His agonized scream resounded through the annex.
The main gate of West Heaven Manor was under stricter guard than ever. Given the tense atmosphere, the gatekeepers stared straight ahead, not even glancing sideways.
Then, a strange sight caught their eyes.
A single horse approached West Heaven Manor. Atop it sat a plump boy.
“What’s that?”
Puzzlement crossed the warriors’ faces.
It was still before dawn. Far too early for visitors.
Moreover, strict orders had come down after recent events: no visitors today.
The guards focused their inner energy into their eyes. Then they saw the odd scene clearly.
Behind the chubby boy on the horse, an unusually dark shadow rippled.
It took little time to realize it wasn’t a shadow, but a man in black robes on a black horse.
“Wh-who goes there?”
Sensing something amiss, the warriors went on alert and bared their weapons. Yet the newcomers didn’t stop.
“Halt.”
The guards shouted with infused qi. But by then, the strangers had already reached the gate.
“This is no place for outsiders to approach carelessly. State your identity.”
Yeop Gyeong, the leader of the gate guards, stepped forward.
Though stationed at the gate, Yeop Gyeong’s skills were among the better in West Heaven Manor. He was prudent by nature, rarely rattled.
Yet now, his heart pounded wildly, and chills ran down his spine.
From the moment the black-robed man on the black horse appeared, his body reacted instinctively. An oppressive pressure he’d never felt even from Clan Leader Eun Ha-seong crushed him.
He shouted to shake it off.
“I asked who you are.”
“Is this West Heaven Manor?”
The black-robed man on the black horse finally spoke.
A voice devoid of emotion, indifferent. Yet eerily terrifying. That numbness, those eyes flickering in the darkness.
The man on the black horse was Dam Ho.
Dam Ho dismounted Black Ghost.
The moment his foot touched the ground, Yeop Gyeong’s eyes flashed.
‘A limp?’
It was slight, but the opponent was clearly limping. Confirming it brought a strange sense of relief.
Yeop Gyeong’s voice rose.
“This is indeed West Heaven Manor. Outsiders aren’t welcome, so if you have business, return after dawn.”
“Is the Clan Leader inside?”
“Why do you seek the Clan Leader? He doesn’t meet with unidentified strangers like you.”
“Is that so?”
Dam Ho’s voice sank coldly.
At that instant, the gate warriors flinched.
‘Something’s happening.’
Dozens of warriors shared the same thought simultaneously.
Their eyes fixed on Dam Ho, bodies tensed.
They wanted to look away, but couldn’t.
The ominous aura from his body gripped their gazes relentlessly.
Dam Ho gazed at West Heaven Manor for a moment.
Even at night, it blazed with lights like a city that never slept. Its vast scale teemed with the presence of many people.
The manor’s master was surely among them.
A chilling voice slipped through Dam Ho’s lips.
“If he won’t come out, I’ll make him.”
“What?”
Kwang!
A massive boom erupted, and Yeop Gyeong’s body flew backward. In his fading consciousness, Yeop Gyeong found it strange.
What just happened?
Why am I flying?
And this pain...
Kwanga!
His body slammed into the gate. The gate shattered, and Yeop Gyeong felt no more pain.
His mangled corpse tumbled across the ground.
“Th-the leader...”
“That bastard killed the leader. Attack!”
The warriors snapped to and charged at Dam Ho en masse.
Dozens targeted a single man. Yet Bang Jin-bo didn’t worry for that one.
‘Brother!’
In that moment, Dam Ho moved.
Kwang!
Explosions rang out in succession, and the dozens of warriors hurtling toward their target became bloody messes, scattering in all directions.
Hell had opened in West Heaven Manor.