Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Hands and Feet Don't Match
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"Who goes there?"
A sentry on the ramparts poked his head out and called down.
"I'm Yeom Jin-sang, come from Bongrae. I've got urgent business with the commander of the Black Soul Ghost Armor Corps, so open the gate quick."
"Yeom Jin-sang? We weren't told to expect anyone by that name."
"That's why it's urgent."
"Whatever it is, this isn't some place anyone can just come and go as they please, and the commander sure as hell isn't someone you meet on a whim. State your business and wait."
"You think you can handle the consequences?"
"What... do you mean by that?"
"I've found the Demonic Cult's prized sword. You think I should just blab about that to some lowly sentry?"
At the mention of the Demonic Cult's prized sword, the sentry's face hardened coldly. He seemed to be talking to someone, and moments later, a heavy iron gate groaned open with a thunderous rumble.
Once the five horses had passed inside, the gate slammed shut again with another boom.
Only then did Heuk Do-san crawl out from the shade of the pine tree and sprint toward the ramparts. He scaled the wall vertically and vaulted over.
The sentry, sensing the wind, whipped around, but by then Heuk Do-san was already crossing the walkway atop the wall, hanging from an arrow slit.
"Did you see that?"
"See what?"
"Something just whooshed by."
"What the hell are you babbling about?"
"The wind?"
Heuk Do-san kept his eyes forward, listening to the sentries' conversation behind him.
The garden was filled with strange trees, a pond, pavilions, and halls bathed in moonlight.
But as if testifying to the bloody battle that had raged here before, most of the buildings lay half-destroyed, the pond had dried up, and the strange trees were charred and fallen or reduced to stumps.
The Heavenly Demon Palace was a ruin.
Yet the vast training ground, spanning some ten thousand pyeong, remained intact. With no buildings to begin with, it was only natural.
And there were troops.
The warriors filling the training ground numbered at least a thousand by rough count. Both horses and men were clad in dark iron plate, and the men wore ghostly face masks on their heads.
That wasn't all. They gripped charging spears over three feet long, swords with dragon-head hilts hung at their waists, and quivers full of arrows and longbows were slung across their backs.
It was the heaviest armor a cavalry unit could muster. They looked ready to charge into battle.
They galloped their horses to the beat of drums, drilling in formations. The sight of a thousand ghost-masked soldiers thundering across the field, thrusting spears and swinging blades, was intimidating enough to conquer the continent.
Their individual horsemanship and weapon skills were no joke either, hinting at extensive training.
Heuk Do-san recalled Hyeon-gak's words.
'He commands a full thousand men under him alone. Horses and men armored in pitch-black iron plate—their might rivals an entire army division, or so I've heard.'
'Black Soul Ghost Armor Corps...'
The term "army division" fit perfectly. With this kind of momentum and power, they could sweep through most battlefields like a storm.
'Seop Dae-gang, what the hell are you scheming?'
Just then, he spotted Yeom Jin-sang and his group entering the Heavenly Demon Palace under sentry escort. They hurried along a path skirting the training ground and vanished somewhere.
Heuk Do-san dropped to the ground and swiftly shadowed them, cloaked in stealth.
There was a wooden structure whose top had burned away.
More like a massive tower than a pavilion, this wondrous building was the Celestial Tower.
As its name implied, it symbolized a heavenly realm distinct from the mortal world below. Only gods and their kin could enter.
Here the Heavenly Demon held banquets with his demon legions or commanded wars.
Originally nine stories tall, the fierce final battle had obliterated the top four floors, leaving only five.
Yeom Jin-sang's group handed off to a few men at the Celestial Tower's entrance and entered the building.
Heuk Do-san lay prone on the roof of some nameless hall, scanning the tower top to bottom. Brighter light than elsewhere leaked from the top-floor windows.
'That's the place.'
He scaled the opposite outer wall under moonlight. As he neared the top floor, he held his breath entirely, reining in all his energy. He knew full well how sharp Seop Dae-gang's senses were, trained in the orthodox inner arts of Mount Hua.
Moments later, Heuk Do-san hooked his toes over the eaves above the window and hung upside down like a bat, peering inside.
As expected, Seop Dae-gang was receiving Yeom Jin-sang's group. He held a sword in one hand, his muscular bare torso glistening with sweat. He'd been practicing swordsmanship.
'Did he master the manual stolen from that Snowy Mountain cave?'
Yeom Jin-sang bowed obsequiously with greetings.
"It's been too long. I've heard nothing but tales of the Black Soul Ghost Armor Corps' fame ringing in my ears lately. Seeing it with my own eyes here at the Heavenly Demon Palace today, the might is truly—"
"You have news of the prized sword?"
"Yes? Ah, yes. That's right."
"Out with it."
"Well, you see, thanks to all the attention you've paid me, commander, my business has expanded a bit lately. Somehow word got around that I had a connection to you, commander, and—"
"Short and sweet."
"Yes? Ah, yes. To cut to the chase, last night a stranger came to me and told me to relay this verbatim: 'Seop Dae-gang, I've heard you're getting cocky. But without achievements, your fame is just a house of cards. I'll give you a chance. Five days from now, at the Heavenly Demon Palace, exchange the Demonic Cult prisoners trapped in the Azure Wave Sword and Golden Crow Sword.' That's what he said."
Heuk Do-san, eavesdropping from outside, was dumbfounded. He'd never uttered a word about cockiness.
It was surely a jab at Seop Dae-gang's own attitude. The claim of verbatim relay was just a ploy to dodge responsibility.
No matter. It would irk Seop Dae-gang, which was fine.
'Taunting him a bit isn't bad.'
"So the bastard has the prized sword?"
"He said you'd know him as the disheveled freak who showed up at Tongman Fortress. And he really was disheveled."
"Did you say... disheveled freak just now?"
"Yes."
Seop Dae-gang was visibly shocked.
It had been ages since he'd begun pursuing the Demonic Cult's prized sword via the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts. He'd gotten a lead ahead of other martial artists by chance.
The alliance, fearing power concentration, had hastily dispatched the Cheongjin Dojo, complicating things.
But Hong Gongtak's last letter said acquiring the sword was only a matter of time.
Yet he hadn't obtained it, and half the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts, including Hong Gongtak, were dead.
With the sword lord and half his aides gone, survival was impossible. The group disintegrated before even returning. The survivors had been quietly reassigned under pretext of secret missions, leaving him in the dark.
All intel came through the Cheongjin Dojo. They were surely involved.
The question was why. He'd sent agents covertly to find out. The result: a disheveled freak at Tongman Fortress had killed them all.
Yeom Jin-sang's separate inquiries confirmed it.
That was it. No further than the dojo's account. He'd failed to dig deeper.
Now that same disheveled freak from Tongman Fortress was offering, via Yeom Jin-sang, to swap the sword and Demonic Cult prisoners.
'Who the hell are you...'
Seop Dae-gang didn't decide rashly. He might glean more through Yeom Jin-sang.
"Why not go straight to the Righteous Alliance? Why tell me?"
"Because you're closest to the sea, aren't you, commander? With your renowned Black Soul Ghost Armor Corps, you can make your own call on swapping Demonic Cult prisoners and the sword."
"How did he know to come to you?"
"That's what I was about to say earlier. He must've heard the rumors that I have ties to you, commander."
"From Bongrae, of all places?"
"That's where I live."
"Why you specifically?"
"Probably figured I was the right man— an outsider—to avoid leaks within the alliance."
"Leaks within the alliance?"
"Surely some would fiercely oppose handing over the Seventh Star Lord to the enemy. Given his status."
"Another meeting planned?"
"Not at all. I've passed the message—what need to see him again? I even got a little reward."
Yeom Jin-sang smacked his lips as he spoke, hinting for a tip.
He seemed to have answers prepared for every question Seop Dae-gang might have.
The bit about a "rat's tail" of a reward was to subtly solicit cash while dodging suspicion.
Street-smart as hell from the underworld. But perfection breeds doubt.
'Not good.'
Sreee!
A bluish blade whistled past Yeom Jin-sang's nape. He trembled like an aspen, frozen in terror, looking ready to piss himself.
Click.
Seop Dae-gang sheathed his sword.
He asked,
"You took over the Blood Sea Gang?"
Yeom Jin-sang was startled.
How did he know about that minor scuffle among Bongrae's underworld bosses? And it was just three days ago.
'I wasn't the only informant.'
"All thanks to you, commander."
"Not me—the disheveled freak, I'd wager."
"What do you mean...?"
"I heard he turned the Blood Sea Gang upside down to rescue Heuk Ye-mong, letting you waltz in bloodlessly."
"Th-that..."
Only then did Yeom Jin-sang truly panic. His lips paled, eyes darting wildly.
'I could die here.'
Seop Dae-gang continued.
"No one knows from which cloud the rain falls. But the wise know which tree to shelter under."
"......"
"Anything else to tell me?"
A dead silence fell.
Yeom Jin-sang dropped to his knees.
"F-for-forgive me. I forgot your grace... That dog fed me poison and blackmailed me, so I... Spare me."
'Oh, brother.'
Heuk Do-san shook his head.
He'd expected Seop Dae-gang not to buy it easily, but this counterattack?
Exposure was imminent.
Poison death was secondary; Seop Dae-gang's sword was immediate. That bat would sing everything.
The moment his survival came out, so would Tongman Fortress.
The Shanseo Hong Clan would hunt him with full force, branding him a traitor for aiding Demonic Cultists against Righteous Alliance men.
Headache just thinking about it.
'Kill them all?'
Killing intent surged.
Slaughter Seop Dae-gang and everyone—problem solved. Finding Golden Crow Island could wait; his existence stayed hidden.
Plan: Burst through window, drop the three on the left, eliminate Seop Dae-gang.
By then, first-floor guards would notice. The real issue: thousand heavy cavalry drilling in the training ground. Deep in the palace, breaking out would be far harder than expected.
'Aw, screw it.'
"Tell me everything."
"It's all true, as you said. That night, raiding the Blood Sea Gang, he appeared out of nowhere and saved Heuk Ye-mong. I had no idea who he was then. His face was completely changed—disguise, probably. Voice different too."
"......?"
"Two days later, someone came asking about Golden Crow Island. I didn't even know where it was—planned to bluff, pocket some coin. But he was there: the disheveled freak."
"......?"
"He grilled me on Golden Crow Island, got nothing, then slipped me poison and threatened me. Told me to relay what I told you earlier. No antidote if I lied."
"So who is he?"
"That bald rock-headed monk Hyeon-gak..."
Boom!
Before Yeom Jin-sang could finish, the window shattered inward as a man leaped in. Six feet tall, disheveled freak.