Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Dragon's Maw Cave (7)
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“Bwahahahahaha!”
Janpung's laughter echoed thunderously through the cavern.
However, not a single one of the Southern Heaven Palace prisoners joined in.
“Bwahahaha!”
For unlike the mouth that spewed laughter, tears were streaming from his eyes.
“I, Janpung, have avenged our Lord! May your vengeful spirit find some solace!”
The joy of avenging the deceased lord of the Southern Heaven Palace coexisted with the sorrow that nothing would truly change.
Watching him from a distance, Deungsagyeok wore an expression of pity.
What was with all this drama after they had already won?
“Pre... pare... the... ritual.”
They should have been offering a rite to the Demon God, not this.
Still, he thought it was a good decision to follow Janpung's plan.
When he first heard the suggestion of a fire attack, he'd been flabbergasted.
It was obvious the flames wouldn't reach the inner parts of the Shadow Cave, so what kind of fire attack was this?
However, convinced by the explanation that followed, Deungsagyeok had no choice but to nod.
“Animals killed in forest fires don't burn to death. They suffocate from the intense heat. If this fails, we will take full responsibility.”
Thanks to that, the prisoners belonging to their faction had been busy for the past two days.
They had gathered everything in the Dragon's Maw Cave that could be used as kindling—clothing, wooden furniture, tree roots, firewood, and more.
After ordering his subordinates to prepare the rite, Deungsagyeok stared quietly at Janpung.
As if sensing the gaze, Janpung turned to him and nodded.
They had promised to attack the Unorthodox Path bastards as soon as the Shadow Cave was dealt with.
Slurp.
The thought of enjoying human flesh for the first time in a while made his mouth water.
After about two hours, the roaring flames finally began to die down.
Janpung and Deungsagyeok gave orders to their men.
“Find them! A reward for anyone who brings back a corpse.”
“Find... them.”
Rumble.
But.
After about fifteen minutes, Janpung and Deungsagyeok sensed something was wrong.
None of the subordinates who had gone in to find them had returned.
There was no way it would take fifteen minutes to search the tiny Shadow Cave.
At that moment, Janpung felt a sense of unease.
'...'
This was Jin Mujeon, who years ago, at the age of twenty, had helped Bukgung Baek devastate the Southern Heaven Palace's headquarters.
To him, he was an enemy, but from the Nine Dragons Fortress's perspective, he was a hero who had achieved great merit. He must have been a talent who had since climbed the ladder of success.
There were few reasons for such a man to end up in the Dragon's Maw Cave.
Either he lost a power struggle.
'Could it be?!'
Or he was here to eliminate the prisoners in the Dragon's Maw Cave.
Though it wasn't true at all, that's what Janpung believed.
Misunderstanding or not, Janpung's fear soon became reality.
KABOOOM!
With a massive explosion, Jin Mujeon and the other prisoners from the Shadow Cave appeared.
“...!”
Witnessing an explosive force akin to a martial aura, the eyes of Janpung and Deungsagyeok widened as if they would tear.
* * *
The battle ended more anticlimactically than I expected.
I didn't even need help from the Shadow Cave guys.
In a chaotic battle against many in a confined space... the War King Arts display an invincible might.
Besides, my opponents were prisoners whose internal energy was suppressed.
To me, a level 18 champion with full items, they were worse than ranged minions in a MOBA game.
And the same went for the enemy leaders.
“Keuk, to send someone to the Dragon's Maw Cave to wipe out the last of the Southern Heaven Palace... You hypocrites wearing the mask of the Righteous Path... Keck!”
SPLAT! Splatter.
“What's this madman babbling about?”
I blew the head of the man named Janpung clean off with a single strike and turned away.
The one called Deungsagyeok hastily lowered his gaze.
Nothing to see. Nothing to think about.
“Take care of him.”
No matter how generous I might be, there was no need to spare a man who had tried to kill me several times.
“Understood.”
Iju, holding a stone club, strode forward.
The man whose death was sealed pleaded with eyes full of fear.
“W-wait! Please, spare me. I have to live so that...”
“Your voice is fine? Don't tell me you were making that metal-scraping sound on purpose just for the atmosphere?”
Hearing Iju's taunt, it seemed the guy was a serious role-player.
Whoosh. Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack.
With a sickening sound, the leader of the Ten Demon Alliance gang also departed for the afterlife.
“Are these two the last of them?”
“Bae Jung-ri of the Unorthodox Path is still left, but you broke all his ribs, so he's on the verge of death. If you wish, I can drag him here...”
“Leave him. What's the point of killing a man who's already going to die? It'll just give him seniority in the afterlife, right?”
The kneeling men looked on with fear.
Every one of them was practically naked.
To avoid physical contact with them, I spammed Explosive Death Force from a distance.
Thanks to that, many prisoners were killed or injured, but it couldn't be helped.
Probably, even Bodhidharma or the Sixth Patriarch Huineng would have done the same in my place.
Thud, thud.
I put force into my steps, making my footfalls echo.
“Even the grain pills to feed you bastards are a waste. Hey, just kill them all.”
“Hic!”
“P-please spare us! We'll never, ever do this again.”
What followed was predictable.
They either begged for their lives, rubbing their hands together, or wailed and pleaded.
These men, who called themselves martial artists, turned into cowardly rats the moment the tables turned.
Seeing this, it's no wonder they're called scoundrels of the Unorthodox Path and demonic fiends.
Anyway, while I was creating an atmosphere of terror, my friends from the Shadow Cave sorted out the prisoners who had been dragged here against their will and sent them back.
It was to mete out punishment but also to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent.
And.
“Anyone who tries to run will be sent to the afterlife.”
I wasn't going to kill them.
I just intended to make sure they could never oppress others again.
CRACK! Snap.
“Gyaak!”
By breaking their ankles.
Originally, I planned to send every last one of them to the next world, but as a generous member of the Righteous Path's upper echelon, how could I do such a thing?
I decided to forgive them by simply crippling them.
That way, life would be inconvenient, but they wouldn't die.
Oh, and for reference, due to human anatomy, a broken ankle won't heal properly unless it's supported by something.
And in the Dragon's Maw Cave, where all the wood and cloth had been burned, they wouldn't be able to find anything to use as a splint.
After about ten minutes of beatings, the cavern was filled with wails.
I imbued my voice with internal energy so they could all hear.
“There are no more factions. Your headquarters will be shut down as well. Live scattered from now on.”
Sob... Keuk...
“Get lost by the count of three. Anyone still here will be considered defiant, and I'll break their necks. One.”
Rumble.
Watching them crawl away, I thought.
'I am generous.'
* * *
All that was left was to find the divine arts hidden in the Dragon's Maw Cave.
As promised, my Shadow Cave comrades and I headed to the former headquarters of the Ten Demon Alliance, where we were soon met with a strange sight.
“...What is this?”
A vast number of skulls, enough to trip over, greeted us. Some even had holes in their heads.
Suddenly, I recalled something from the first day.
'I'm not certain, but there are rumors that their leader eats human flesh.'
Wow...
“I can't believe it was actually true...”
That bastard really was a demon.
“Namu Amita Bul. May you all find peace in paradise.”
Saju quietly put his palms together and bowed.
I was about to ask why he was praying for the souls of criminals, but I let it be.
They met a greater criminal and were eaten, so I guess they paid for their sins.
“We just need to break that.”
Ilju pointed to a large statue of a demon god carved above a pile of skulls.
“...It's in the shape of a person?”
It looked surprisingly ordinary.
“The demon god worshipped by the Ten Demon Alliance is said to be the first Heavenly Demon who founded the Demonic Cult. So of course it looks ordinary.”
'Idol worship is frowned upon in Christianity...'
Well, that's for the heavens to sort out, so I'll move on.
“I see. So if we break through there, we'll find the martial arts 'we' were looking for...”
“That's right. The martial arts 'we' were looking for will be there.”
After lengthy negotiations, we agreed to exercise a joint license over the martial arts found in the Shadow Cave.
Of course, on the surface, it seems like I'm getting the short end of the stick.
After all, if I hadn't stepped in, the divine arts of the Dragon's Maw Cave would have remained buried in darkness forever.
However, I added one condition.
“Let me say it again, it's only for ten years.”
I had them sign a ten-year unpaid employment contract.
In other words, the stronger they become, the more I benefit.
“Hah, I told you not to worry, didn't I? It's just because I'm here now, but I'm actually a renowned master.”
One who had one of the Ten Great Masters as a teacher.
“...I know that much just by looking.”
“This kid.”
Pat, pat.
As I dusted off my hands and took a stance, everyone stepped back.
I didn't know the thickness of the wall, but it wouldn't be thin. If it were, it would have collapsed while the demon god statue was being carved.
Therefore, I poured all my remaining internal energy into unleashing an Explosive Death Force.
KABOOOOOM! Rummble...
With a sound like an 81mm mortar shell exploding, the entire wall crumbled.
It felt as if the entire Dragon's Maw Cave was shaking.
When the dust settled, I could see a small cave packed with books.
And next to them, a skeleton sitting in a meditative posture.
Anyone could tell this was a classic lucky encounter spot.
“Ah...”
“Keuheuk.”
“Damn it all.”
“Truly, it was the Buddha's will.”
“Big Brother!”
My five friends from the Shadow Cave burst into tears.
I gave them some time.
Wasn't this the moment their eight years of effort finally paid off?
People cry just from being discharged from the military; ending an eight-year prison sentence must be even more moving.
After a short while, Ilju, having stopped his tears, took a step forward.
* * *
After examining the martial arts manuals inside, I found a wide variety, from internal energy arts to various weapon techniques, combat methods, and assassination skills.
Furthermore, their levels varied greatly.
“Eungwon Gong? Why is a third-rate cultivation method like this here...?”
From third-rate martial arts for building a foundation.
“Cold Heaven Asura Saber... That's a first-rate saber art from Zhejiang.”
To quite famous first-rate martial arts.
“Taewon Divine Art! Isn't that the ultimate art of the Shandong Yue Clan?”
And even supreme-level martial arts were gathered here.
One peculiar thing was that the martial arts weren't from a single lineage but from many different ones.
While my five friends were engrossed in the martial arts manuals, I focused on the skeleton sitting in meditation. No, I had no choice but to.
'Bukgung Chusan, descendant of the Western Hegemon, rests here.'
Because the owner of these martial arts was none other than the Flying Heavenly Fox, Bukgung Chusan.
The creator of the Flying Heavenly Wind, which I had received as a reward from the Lord.
I later found out he was a blood relative of the Bukgung Clan.
Talk about a tenacious connection.
'Seriously, the Bukgung Clan again?'
They call themselves a prestigious clan, so what's with this 'Greatest Thief Under Heaven' business?
Still, having met an ancestor, I had to do what was proper.
I clasped my hands and stood respectfully.
Though the relation was distant, it was my duty as a descendant to bow to my ancestor.
'I'm going to bow, so please don't appear in my dreams. If you really want to visit, go to those guys instead of me.'
Just as I was bowing with considerable sincerity.
'Huh? What's that?'
I saw something placed under the platform where Bukgung Chusan's skeleton was sitting.
“C-could it be?'
A divine art?
Why else would it be hidden separately?
It must mean it's on a completely different level from the martial arts manuals over there.
I quickly reached out and pulled it out. Written on it was:
'The Way of the Seventh Sense?'
The seventh sense?