Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: Baiting the Rats
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The war with the Blood Rain Sword Clan had ended.
The clan leader, Blood Sword, had lost his life at Cheonhwi's hands, and all the warriors of the Blood Rain Sword Clan had been bound and thrown into the dungeon.
Perfect mission accomplished.
But the faces of the Extermination Squad, having completed their mission, were gloomy.
And why wouldn't they be? The warriors were busy under Cheonhwi's orders, repairing the walls and buildings.
"Why do I have to do this..."
"I didn't join the Extermination Squad for this."
Someone muttered their discontent softly.
Was this even reasonable?
They were warriors, not laborers fixing buildings!
Yet not a single member of the Extermination Squad had the guts to rebel against this task.
Because the one who had ordered it was the squad leader, Cheonhwi.
"Come on, everyone, let's get moving."
Cheonhwi, who had brought a plush chair from one of the buildings and sat where he had a clear view of the entire compound, urged the Extermination Squad members on.
"What are you doing over there? Use your internal energy, move those things with force. Over there, cut the bricks properly and fit them..."
Cheonhwi directed them as if he were calling the shots.
Unlike the Extermination Squad, who were sweating profusely as they worked, he looked utterly relaxed and carefree.
The squad members scowled at his appearance but kept their mouths shut tight and worked diligently.
How could they voice any complaints?
Hadn't they just witnessed his utterly astonishing martial prowess?
They could only lament inwardly.
'He's just lounging around like that...'
'Damn it! Respect my ass!'
Cheonhwi watched the Extermination Squad carrying broken bricks and hauling new ones, a smirk tugging at his lips.
'Look at those pouting lips.'
No matter how hard they tried to hide it, it showed.
Especially the members from the Nine Great Sects, who flushed red as if ashamed to be doing such work.
Seeing them, Cheonhwi spoke up.
"This is all training. Training."
With that, he leaned back against the chair's backrest.
He naturally propped his head on his arm and scanned the working squad before continuing.
"To cut rocks precisely, your internal energy output must be consistent, and moving them requires basic strength. The most important things for a warrior are foundational stamina and energy control. If you can't even do this properly, how do you expect to improve?"
The Extermination Squad flinched for a moment.
It made sense.
At that moment, Danri Gwancheon, who had been lifting a rock and cutting it into a uniform shape, spoke up.
"If we do this, can we get as strong as you, Squad Leader?"
"Like me?"
Cheonhwi chuckled at Danri Gwancheon's question and waved it off.
"Nah, that's impossible. But if you keep cutting the rocks uniformly, you might get a bit stronger than you are now."
"You sure?"
"Why would I lie?"
Danri Gwancheon's eyes changed in an instant.
He gripped his sword properly and glared at the rock in front of him as if it were a hated enemy.
And he wasn't the only one.
The other Extermination Squad members, too, were swayed by his words laced with subtle competitive spirit and began looking anew at what they held in their hands.
'Is this really training?'
'Can we really get stronger?'
They were skeptical.
But since it was Cheonhwi, who had displayed absolute might, speaking, their hearts gradually shifted toward belief.
Soon, their movements changed.
From a mindset of reluctant obligation to one of active engagement, which showed in their actions.
As their somewhat sloppy work became brisker, Cheonhwi nodded.
"Now that's more like it."
As he looked satisfied with the transformed squad members,
"Squad Leader. Is that really true?"
Ho Gwanggae approached.
His face was full of suspicion.
"No matter how I look at it, this doesn't seem better than regular training."
He had pierced right to the core.
"Well, yeah."
Cheonhwi admitted it readily.
Ho Gwanggae was the one taken aback.
"But just now you said..."
"Training does make you a little stronger than before. It's the same thing."
Cheonhwi twisted his lips as he spoke.
"Did I ever say you'd get stronger faster than if you trained properly?"
Ho Gwanggae gave him a look of utter disbelief at the shameless response.
Then he shook his head.
"Squad Leader, you're better at handling people than I thought."
Cheonhwi chuckled at that.
It was laughable.
For him, the former leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, to be told he was good at handling people.
It was like telling a swordsman he was good with swords—utterly obvious.
Still chuckling, Cheonhwi glanced at Ho Gwanggae and asked,
"More importantly, is the task I gave you done?"
"I delivered the message as ordered."
Ho Gwanggae nodded.
Unlike the other Extermination Squad members busy repairing the Blood Rain Sword Clan compound, Cheonhwi had given Ho Gwanggae a separate mission.
"By tomorrow morning, the rumor that the Blood Rain Sword Clan has fallen will spread far and wide."
"The Beggars' Sect lives up to its name—fast."
"Haha! We're not leading the Hundred Thousand Beggars for nothing."
Ho Gwanggae thumped his chest heartily, a proud smile on his lips.
A smile brimming with pride.
This lasted for a moment.
"But is there a reason for this?"
Ho Gwanggae asked cautiously.
Cheonhwi met his questioning gaze and asked back,
"For what?"
"I mean, do we need to stay here? We've crushed the Blood Rain Sword Clan, so shouldn't we head out now?"
His opinion was reasonable.
The mission given to the Extermination Squad was to eradicate the Blood Rain Sword Clan.
And they had succeeded brilliantly, so they should return to the Murim Alliance.
"Deputy Leader."
Cheonhwi called Ho Gwanggae softly.
A voice without inflection.
Yet hearing it, Ho Gwanggae felt himself shrink involuntarily.
"What was our mission?"
"To crush the Blood Rain Sword Clan..."
"No. Not that—the Extermination Squad's mission."
Cheonhwi cut him off sharply.
The Extermination Squad's mission?
Ho Gwanggae furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and then spat it out.
"Eradicating the evil sects...?"
"What, you knew it all along."
Cheonhwi grinned.
"Right. Our mission is to eradicate the evil sects. Do you think it's over just because we crushed the Blood Rain Sword Clan?"
Cheonhwi's eyes flashed as he spoke.
Cold and chilling.
Emitting a jade-like gleam.
"The mission we must complete is to wipe out all the evil sects in this western region."
"But Squad Leader, what does staying at the Blood Rain Sword Clan have to do with... Wait, no way!"
Ho Gwanggae trailed off as realization dawned, his eyes widening as he shouted.
He swallowed dryly.
His mouth felt parched.
"How long would it take to hunt them down one by one? With the war between the Murim Alliance and the Evil-Black Alliance, plenty of rats are hiding."
"Spreading the rumor of the Blood Rain Sword Clan's fall was to draw them all together...?"
"Exactly."
Cheonhwi grinned.
"Toss out bait like this, and won't the rats come scampering on their own?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Blood Rain Sword Clan has been crushed by the Murim Alliance's newly formed special task force!
The task force that faced the Blood Rain Sword Clan also suffered heavy injuries and is currently recuperating!
The rumors about the Blood Rain Sword Clan spread quickly.
It was news that would have spread widely anyway, but with the Beggars' Sect's help, it propagated faster than ever.
And this news was enough to stir the evil sects that had been in hiding since the war between the Murim Alliance and the Evil-Black Alliance became known.
The north of the Yangtze was practically righteous faction territory.
Thus, the evil sects based there had no choice but to feel insecure about their positions until the war ended.
For the evil sects in the north, it was the worst situation: hold their breath until the war ended or flee south.
And most of the evil sects remaining in the western region chose to hold their breath.
Then this rumor surfaced.
"What? The Murim Alliance task force is badly injured?"
"Then if we go to the Blood Rain Sword Clan now and take down the task force, the treasures they've hoarded for ages and their secret arts will be ours..."
The evil sects began crawling out from hiding, baring their fangs.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The Blood Rain Sword Clan was a family of evil sects that had dominated the western region for ages.
The treasures they had amassed would be mountainous, and their martial arts profound.
How could greed not stir?
Thus, several evil sects resurfaced and formed alliances to strike the Blood Rain Sword Clan.
One big score.
Success would reverse their fortunes.
As the evil sects that had been lying low began revealing their ambitions one by one,
"Here!"
"Heave-ho! Got it! Next!"
Three days had passed.
In that time, the Blood Rain Sword Clan compound was in the midst of full repairs.
Before long, their clumsy movements were gone, and the Extermination Squad moved with the nimbleness and speech of seasoned laborers.
Compared to the first day, it was like night and day.
And that wasn't all.
"Not much left now!"
They looked out for each other and encouraged one another.
The relentless chain of tasks without a moment's rest had bonded them tighter.
Thanks to this process,
the broken walls and buildings, though rough, were patched up to look the part.
Time passed like that.
As the sun dipped low while the Extermination Squad worked diligently, casting a sunset glow, faint stars soon appeared.
In the dim twilight,
"Yawn."
Cheonhwi, rubbing his eyes against the onslaught of sleepiness in his chair, looked toward the gate.
"They're here."
He muttered softly and rose from the chair.
Dusting off the squad members who were covered in grime from work, he moved his lips.
"Everyone, prepare for battle."
As the Extermination Squad looked at him puzzled by the sudden order,
Boom!
The barely repaired main gate exploded.
"Th-the gate!"
"We worked so hard to fix it!"
As they trembled with rage at the sight of the gate shattered to pieces,
"From today, we claim the Blood Rain Sword Clan!"
"Come out! From now on, the ones ruling the western region won't be the Blood Rain Sword Clan, but our Snake Head Gang and the Black... Huh?"
The group charging boldly through the main gate halted abruptly.
"Why is everything so intact..."
"I-I heard they were badly injured?"
Confusion flickered in their eyes.
They had heard the ones who crushed the Blood Rain Sword Clan were crippled from the fierce battle.
But what was this?
The compound was filled with people covered in dust but looking extremely healthy, glaring at the newcomers with murderous intent.
Their presence was formidable.
No matter how you looked at it, they didn't seem like the injured recovering from wounds.
"Sn-Snake Head Gang Leader. What's going..."
As the leader of the Black Workshop Society, allied with the Snake Head Gang, shrank back,
"You bastards!"
"How dare you!"
The Extermination Squad's eyebrows twitched in fury.
They erupted in anger.
"The gate... grrr!"
It was all because of the gate.
How much blood, sweat, and tears had they poured into repairing that gate?
It had taken a full day.
"Do you know what you've done?!"
Furious to the top of their heads, the Extermination Squad drew their weapons.
Swords, sabers, staffs, and more.
Crack.
Those cracking their knuckles made quiet bone sounds as they loosened up.
Cheonhwi looked at the squad with their rage bottled to the brim and said softly,
"Deal with them."
The moment the order fell,
Thud thud!
The Extermination Squad charged as one.
"Kwaaak!"
"Gah! Gr-Great hero!"
"Sp-Spare me, aaak!"
Compared to the Blood Rain Sword Clan they had faced before, these feeble enemies were pushed back helplessly by the Extermination Squad's martial arts.
"No forgiveness!"
"I'll make you realize your mistake!"
Cheonhwi watched the rampaging squad with a satisfied expression.
"Got one batch, now when will the next rats show?"
Meanwhile, unaware of the current situation, another group of warriors was speeding toward the Blood Rain Sword Clan compound.
Clad in pristine uniforms, faces tense.
They were righteous faction members affiliated with the Murim Alliance in the western region.
"Already?!"
The middle-aged man in the lead read the note from the messenger pigeon on his arm and shouted.
"We must hurry! The Snake Head Gang and Black Workshop Society have already set out!"
He was the sect leader of the Yangjeong Sect, the Cloud Crane Scholar, renowned as a great hero in the western region.
Everyone nodded at his shout.
"Picking up the pace."
"Follow me, everyone."
Following suit, the Able Light Sword and Jade Sword Sect Leader unleashed their movement techniques.
Dozens of warriors behind them accelerated to follow the three.
And soon after,
"The Blood Rain Sword Clan!"
"Everyone, be careful as we approach!"
Centered on the Cloud Crane Scholar, the group leaped over the walls in a single bound.
Swift and agile movements.
Upon entering the compound, the Cloud Crane Scholar drew his sword and bellowed,
"We're here to hel..."
His loud voice trailed off, soon tinged with bewilderment.
"Hey! Can't you move faster over there? If you broke it, fix it right now—instead you're helping so slowly... Sheesh."
"I can see you slacking over there. Trying to cut corners?"
"Huff, huff. Is this good here?"
"W-We’ll hurry!"
The warriors of the Snake Head Gang and Black Workshop Society were hauling bricks, repairing the compound.
While being scolded by much younger late-generation disciples.