Chapter 358
Chapter 358
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 358
>Chapter Title: Intelligence (3)
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Crunch.
Dokgo Ryong was spending his days in the usual idyllic slaughter, just like always.
Those who had crossed over from the Central Plains, pretending to be a merchant caravan while scouting the northern nomadic tribes.
Even with rumors of bandits running rampant, they had stubbornly approached toward the Western Regions.
News of them had come through the nomads who had become followers of the Maitreya Cult, and Dokgo Ryong had disguised himself as a bandit to massacre them.
In truth, there hadn't even been much need for disguise.
He had simply gleefully butchered the Martial Alliance's spies.
With no survivors, there was simply no evidence left linking them to the cult.
Without evidence or witnesses, no matter how brutishly he fought, it would ultimately be considered an assassination.
"All taken care of, Grandfather."
"Tch. It would be nice if even the Alliance Leader showed up for once. These weaklings make it hard to even savor the fight."
"I think the same, myself."
"Kuhahaha! As expected of my eldest grandson!"
Those listening to the mad conversation between Dokgo Ryong and Dokgo Pae shook their heads in disbelief.
At that moment, Dokgo Ryong suddenly turned his head and gazed toward the distant horizon.
There, a considerable group was approaching.
After observing them for a moment, Dokgo Ryong soon wore a disappointed expression.
They were the Heavenly Fate Merchant Troupe, the Maitreya Cult's merchant group that traveled between the Central Plains and the Western Regions.
As the Heavenly Fate Merchant Troupe gradually closed the distance, one rider approached them.
"Greetings to Clan Head Dokgo."
"It's been a while, Sixth Young Master. No, I suppose I should call you Vice Leader of the Missionary Division now."
Jong-ri Chu, who had been assigned by Il-mok to travel between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, exchanged simple greetings with Dokgo Ryong.
"You've been through a lot with such troublesome duties."
As Jong-ri Chu swept his gaze over the corpses strewn on the ground and said this, Dokgo Ryong bared his teeth in a grin.
"With fights every day, it's not bad at all. Heh heh heh. And you, Vice Leader—traveling back and forth to the Western Regions must be quite the hassle."
"Hahaha. There's much to learn in the Western Regions. Ah, do you think so too? Hahaha."
Jong-ri Chu suddenly used the informal "you," but Dokgo Ryong didn't pay it much mind.
Jong-ri Chu's gaze had already passed over Dokgo Ryong toward the spot beside him.
An empty spot where no one was.
He even began muttering in some strange language no one could understand.
'Keung. The side effects of the Mad Soul Sword Art are truly terrifying. Anyone can see he's a madman.'
Dokgo Ryong didn't even consider how others saw him.
After the brief greeting, Jong-ri Chu and the Heavenly Fate Merchant Troupe passed by Dokgo Ryong's bandit group and headed west.
Even after entering the Divine River and stopping by the main headquarters, their journey continued, and they were able to enter the territory of the Huihui Cultists.
Then, some time later on another day.
Gazing at the distant walls of Merv visible across the barren vista, Jong-ri Chu muttered.
"It would be nice if we could acquire some interesting books this time too."
In response to his words, O'Hallak, who was to Jong-ri Chu's left, replied in English.
"If you show too much interest, it could be dangerous. Those greedy Huihui Cultists will jack up the price several times over the moment they sense it."
Then, James, to his right, added in the Huihui Cult's language.
"Still, thinking of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's future, we must acquire those books no matter what."
To that, Jong-ri Chu responded this time in the nomads' tongue.
"You are both right. We must obtain the necessary books without showing any interest."
As the three enthusiastically chattered away, the Heavenly Fate Merchant Troupe members averted their eyes and wore blank expressions.
Listening to their conversation, which mixed various languages, naturally made their heads spin.
Especially for those who practiced demonic arts, it was practically a trigger for demonic deviation.
Upon arriving at Merv, they sold various goods brought from the Central Plains and earned massive profits.
With that money, they bought items to sell in the Central Plains or purchased slaves and books.
The slaves would be sent to the Missionary Division to shed their slave status and be reborn as equal followers, while the books were for study.
As he had told Dokgo Ryong, Jong-ri Chu was learning much while traveling between the Western Regions and the Central Plains.
Among them, the field that had recently captured his great interest was sanhak—or mathematics, in other words.
"In the end, to aid the masses, we need wealth. And to distribute that wealth efficiently without waste, we must master mathematics."
James and O'Hallak agreed with Jong-ri Chu's words.
"We think the same. We must quickly add the Huihui Cult's numerals to the Demonic Teaching Hall's curriculum."
"Indeed. Expressing mathematics learned in hanja with Huihui Cult numerals is far more concise, so children could start learning it from a young age."
The Huihui Cult's numerals—Arabic numerals, that is—were proving extremely useful in commerce.
The trio, who had grown accustomed to Arabic numerals and learned the Huihui Cult's language while traveling the Western Regions, had begun reading Huihui Cult books and were recently studying various mathematics texts.
Their language skills were considerable, allowing them to acquire books written in multiple languages. The Huihui Cult, which traded with the Western world, had many books in Western languages circulating.
Beyond that, Jong-ri Chu's horizons were broadening in many directions as he traveled the Western Regions.
He fought off Huihui Cultists who attacked out of greed for wealth, gaining experience with their martial arts and advancing his own skills.
"Rumor has it a war has broken out far to the west recently. It seems a western lord who made a fortune trading with those Jesus freaks has rebelled."
He could even gather information from beyond the borders.
* * *
"A war has broken out in the West, they say."
Il-mok gave a wry smile at Jong-ri Chu's words as he prepared for the next merchant trip after returning in three months.
"The Central Plains matters take priority for now, so we'll have to watch and see, senior brother. But to prepare for any contingencies, please check once per trip."
The Central Plains might not matter much, but from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's perspective, the flow in the Western Regions was quite important.
Not only was there a risk of disruptions to merchant trips, but the Divine River, home to the cult's main headquarters, bordered Huihui Cult territory directly.
In the worst case of bad luck, problems could arise from both sides simultaneously.
"I'll do that. Ah, and this senior brother has recently taken an interest in mathematics— what do you think, junior brother? I'm considering adding it to the Demonic Teaching Hall's curriculum."
"...Mathematics, you say?"
Seeing Il-mok's subtly odd reaction, Jong-ri Chu opened the mathematics book he was studying and rambled on.
"Especially the symbols for the four arithmetic operations in this recent book—they're incredibly useful."
"Hahaha... Mathematics is indeed very useful, so adding it to the education will greatly aid the cult's development."
Il-mok replied with an awkward laugh.
Delighted by Il-mok's words, Jong-ri Chu left in high spirits, and Il-mok stared at the empty spot where he had been, giving a wry smile.
"Senior brother, you've brought back something truly terrifying."
He wasn't on good terms with mathematics.
Il-mok held a brief moment of silence.
It was a silent prayer for the children of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult who would soon suffer in numerical hell.
But he had not the slightest intention of opposing that numerical hell.
Regardless of his own dislike for math, he hoped children with talent in it would emerge.
'If mathematics advances, technology will too—nothing bad about that.'
As an adult, he wouldn't have to study it himself, so it was all the same to him.
After briefly thinking of the children who would suffer in the future, Il-mok let out a light sigh.
"Haa. Not the time to worry about the future."
Several months had already passed, but there was still no new news from either the Blood Cult or the imperial side he had contacted at the main headquarters.
The one silver lining was that the Martial Alliance showed no signs of obtaining any information either.
Thanks to that, the Central Plains maintained a peaceful atmosphere. At least on the surface.
But behind the scenes, various factions were entangled, groping for each other's weaknesses.
It was a powder keg waiting for a single spark, no different from a situation that could explode at any moment.
'I hope the Dark Shadow Pavilion finds something soon.'
Knowing this, Il-mok suppressed his inner regret and thought of someone.
Seo Wan-pyeong, Vice Pavilion Leader of the Dark Shadow Pavilion and his third senior brother.
And then, several more months later, on a certain night.
Il-mok, who had been preparing for bed alone in his hall, suddenly bolted upright and drew his Soaring Heaven Sword.
"Who's there."
He had sensed someone slipping into his hall under cover of darkness.
It was a terribly familiar situation. Shortly after joining the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, he had experienced it several times thanks to his third senior brother, Seo Wan-pyeong.
Moreover, a strangely familiar aura emanated from the unidentified black-clad figure who had infiltrated through the shadows.
"...Third senior brother?"
Il-mok belatedly realized the identity of the black-clad intruder.
The reason it took him so long to notice was simple.
The stealth technique was oddly clumsy for Seo Wan-pyeong, who was already nearing the Transcending Demon realm, and above all, a faint smell of blood wafted from his third senior brother, whom he had mistaken for an assassin.
"Senior brother!!"
Startled, Il-mok hurriedly approached the black-clad figure.
"...Sorry I'm late, little junior."
A familiar voice came from the black-clad figure. As Il-mok had guessed, it was Seo Wan-pyeong.
Upon closer inspection, Seo Wan-pyeong's body, revealed in the darkness, was covered in wounds.
To prevent blood trails, he had pressed his acupoints to staunch the bleeding and wrapped the injuries with black cloth to stem the flow.
At Il-mok's shout, Hyeok-ryeon Seon-a, who had been standing guard, and the Maitreya Cult warriors rushed into the hall.
"Call a physician immediately!"
At Il-mok's command, the warriors turned and headed to fetch the physicians.
After giving the order, Il-mok turned back to Seo Wan-pyeong, who had already gone limp with his eyes closed.
He wasn't dead.
Having seen Il-mok, he had relaxed and immediately fainted from the release of tension.
Shortly after, the physicians summoned by the warriors entered Il-mok's quarters and began examining Seo Wan-pyeong.
"Overwork and sleep deprivation, plus severe blood loss are the main causes. There's also minor internal injury, and above all, he hasn't eaten properly, so his vitality is greatly depleted."
"Is his life in danger?"
"...Not at the moment, but a few more days and it would have been quite perilous."
Il-mok let out a light sigh at the physician's explanation.
In other words, his life wasn't in immediate danger right now.
From that night until early morning, the physicians diligently treated Seo Wan-pyeong.
They disinfected and applied medicine to prevent infection, and for the sleeping Seo Wan-pyeong, they trickled herbal decoctions into his mouth little by little to restore his vitality.
Whether due to their devoted treatment or because he had finally caught up on some much-needed sleep.
The next day around evening, Seo Wan-pyeong, who had been in deep slumber, opened his eyes.
Upon waking, Seo Wan-pyeong's face twisted in frustration.
It wasn't from pain.
It was anger at himself for fainting before he could relay the important information he had obtained.
But now wasn't the time to wallow in self-pity.
"Bring Il-mok, the junior brother, immediately!"
He had information that he needed to convey to his little junior as soon as possible.