Chapter 198
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Battle of the Three Demons (8)
Hyeok had become a being from whom no energy or presence could be felt.
There was only one possible reason. It was due to the nature of a Heavenly Demonic Corpse, which moved solely on Heavenly Demonic Energy. It was impossible to sense anything from a corpse completely wrapped in sealing paper.
*Crack!*
Hyeok burst out from the ground, right beneath the four members of the Ice White Seven holding the hostages. Moreover, sharp metal blades were attached to his wrists.
His bizarre appearance would have startled even the Flame Demon or the Ice Demon, let alone the Ice White Seven.
The moment Mu-heun saw the Ice White Seven flinch in surprise, he moved at an imperceptible speed.
*Swish.*
And appeared right before the eyes of the Ice White Seven.
"Heavenly Demon Slash."
*Slice!*
In an instant, he severed the wrists of the four who had been struck by the poison needles.
"Heavenly Demon Palm!"
*Pow!*
He then struck the four members of the Ice White Seven with such terrifying speed that even a master of the Transcendent Demon Realm couldn't have reacted, sending them flying.
He then immediately commanded Hyeok.
"Take my subordinates and go!"
Before Mu-heun's command even finished, the Heavenly Demonic Corpse, Hyeok, had already hoisted Pa-sun, Un-pyo, and the others and shot off. His speed was so fast one would believe he was at the level of a Transcendent Demon, no, close to the Supreme Demon Realm.
However, no one pursued Hyeok.
Because Mu-heun stood in their way at the entrance of the canyon, holding the Sun and Moon Sword.
Mu-heun confirmed Hyeok's retreating position, then raised his Sun and Moon Sword again and slaughtered all the members of the Ice White Seven he had just sent flying.
Blood dripped from the Sun and Moon Sword. Mu-heun flicked his blade once to shake it off and spoke.
"Finally, we can fight on equal terms."
He pointed the Sun and Moon Sword toward the pavilion again, unleashing a killing intent twice as dense as before.
This time, it wasn't a warning.
Just then.
*BOOM!*
The Ice Demon, Yeon A-ryeong, and the Flame Demon, Cho Yeom-wi, burst through the pavilion roof and soared into the air. Mu-heun raised the Sun and Moon Sword, which had been aimed at the pavilion, towards the Ice Demon and the Flame Demon.
"As expected... it was you two."
At that moment, Yeon A-ryeong swung her white fan, creating a ferocious gale, and Cho Yeom-wi added flames to the wind.
*FWOOOOSH!*
A storm of crimson flames rushed toward Mu-heun. He drew a circle in the air with his Sun and Moon Sword as if splashing ink, and the circle soon became a black sphere that enveloped and defended him.
*KRAKOOOOM!*
When Mu-heun felt the storm of crimson flames dissipate, he retracted the Dark Sword technique and emerged. Yeon A-ryeong and Cho Yeom-wi gestured with their heads as if telling him to follow, then shot away.
Before giving chase, Mu-heun recalled the topography of the Sidalmok Basin he had memorized.
'As I thought, towards the Salt Lake.'
Mu-heun immediately leaped to pursue the Ice and Flame Demons.
*BOOM!*
He kicked off the ground and vaulted over the Valley of Villains in a single bound. Behind the valley was another hill. Beyond this hill, a vast salt lake was sure to be found.
However... his view was deliberately obstructed. It was obvious what lay in the blind spot beyond the hill.
'I have a plan to some extent, but is it really wise to cross this hill...?'
He had prepared countermeasures for facing the Ice Demon Yeon A-ryeong and the Flame Demon Cho Yeom-wi simultaneously. But facing their forces as well was beyond his calculations.
Just then.
*Beep-! Beep-!*
[ Master! I'm here! ]
Mu-heun smiled faintly.
Then, he kicked off the ground and leaped once more.
*BOOM!*
In an instant, he crossed the hill and landed where the Salt Lake was. At that moment, what he saw were the Ice Demon and the Flame Demon.
The red-haired Flame Demon, standing aloof, wore a necklace with four red beads.
Behind him, the Ice Demon had the three surviving members of the Ice White Seven lined up. Their masks were engraved with the characters for one, two, and three. Judging by their energy and the numbers, they were clearly stronger than the four he had killed earlier.
Also, the lake was frozen solid.
And warriors were lying in ambush with their backs to the hill.
Mu-heun expanded his senses to gauge the martial prowess of the warriors.
There were well over several hundred of them.
Each and every one of them was a master.
They were on a different level from the Unorthodox Sect members who had rushed to Gyeokimok.
'So many masters...'
They seemed to be the forces supporting the Ice and Flame Demons.
It made sense. With two masters at the Supreme Demon Realm and three at the Transcendent Demon Realm, it went without saying there would be countless at the Peak and Absolute Peak levels.
With Mu-heun's current strength, he couldn't possibly face such a force alone, not even if he died and came back to life.
However,
Mu-heun was still smiling faintly.
Simply exuding a sinister, violet demonic energy,
he opened his mouth.
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister. It's been a while."
A desperate situation.
However.
Mu-heun's demeanor was different from what one would expect.
He was perfectly composed, not a hint of disturbance.
Seeing this, the Ice Demon Yeon A-ryeong and the Flame Demon Cho Yeom-wi felt the same sentiment.
'We can't let him live. Everyone will die. We must kill him now.'
Cho Yeom-wi spoke with a final jest.
"Haha! Yes, it has been a while. You still offer greetings in a situation like this, Junior Brother?"
"Weren't you the one who first came to me and taught me about etiquette, Senior Brother?"
"...Huh? Hahahahat! Right! That's right~ You've learned well, haven't you?"
"Yes. However, it seems you haven't learned so well, Senior Brother."
"Haha, what?"
Mu-heun spread his sinister energy wide. It was so vast that it seemed like a membrane of energy enveloping the entire Salt Lake.
"I'm sure I warned you. I recall dropping the head of the guide you assigned me, Chu Mu-yeol, to the ground and sending it to you."
"Hah...! You bastard. Have you still not grasped the situation?"
"Think about it. Why would I have killed Chu Mu-yeol? It was a warning."
"A warning?"
"Yes. A warning not to create a situation like this. To put it more simply, a warning not to make me kill you and Senior Sister with my own hands."
"What did you say?"
This time, the Ice Demon Yeon A-ryeong also stared directly at Mu-heun with a chilly gaze and spoke.
"What are you relying on to act like this?"
Her words were laced with a venomous chill, which swept across the frozen lake and flew towards Mu-heun.
However, Mu-heun paid it no mind and replied.
"The day the Red Demon Pavilion Lord, Hwang Cheol-ung, died, and the Red Demon Pavilion vanished from the Cult. The Cult Leader posted a notice."
"..."
"The notice stated that no further responsibility would be sought regarding the incident. 'No responsibility will be sought.' The meaning of those words... surely you and Senior Sister would know?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Why did you do this to me? I was cleaning up the mess made by the Red Demon Pavilion Lord, Hwang Cheol-ung."
"..."
"In fact, I stopped the Red Demon Pavilion's schemes with the Tang Clan in the Cult's Doyeop Valley, and as a result, I had trade with Sichuan reopened.
If so, you should have praised me. Why did you abduct the merchant caravan under the Dragon Demon Pavilion's charge and drive my subordinates to the brink of death?"
"...So? Are you done talking?"
"What you and Senior Sister are doing now is defying the Cult Leader's declared will to not seek responsibility, and at the same time, you are obstructing a merchant caravan that benefits our Cult. Do you understand?"
"Ha, hahahahahaha!"
"Hahathahahahat!"
Yeon A-ryeong and Cho Yeom-wi burst into laughter. They laughed so hard that tears welled up in their eyes.
Yeon A-ryeong soon looked at Mu-heun with a slightly relaxed expression and said.
"Hah... well. So you were human after all?"
"..."
"You've accomplished so many extraordinary things for your age that, frankly, I was a little scared. I thought you were something special."
"What do you mean?"
"No, no, in terms of martial arts, you are something special. The energy you're showing now is enough to envelop this entire vast Salt Lake. But still."
"Haha! Why are you dragging it out, Senior Sister? I'll tell him.
Junior Brother! No need for long speeches! I'll just tell you this."
"..."
"You said it goes against the Cult Leader's will? But... what if the Cult Leader doesn't know what we're doing?"
"That's..."
"We just have to make sure he doesn't know. Everything's like that. Especially in this Demonic Cult!"
"What a relief. I thought you were the second coming of some sage. But to think you're just a brat who doesn't know how the world works... You have no idea how relieved I am. Of course, the fact that I'm going to kill you here hasn't changed."
"Do you think so too, Senior Sister?"
"Of course. It doesn't matter if it harms the Cult. The important thing is whether it benefits me or not. Killing you is definitely a benefit to me. That's why I'm going to kill you today. Oh, and don't worry about the Cult Leader and the Cult's affairs."
"...?"
Yeon A-ryeong pointed over the hill, towards the Valley of Villains, and spoke.
"The merchant in the Valley of Villains. You know him, right? Cheon Hwi-san, was it?"
"Yes."
"We've already coordinated our stories. The Flame Demon and I reported that we were going out on reconnaissance to Qinghai Castle, and that merchant was abducted by the Valley of Villains. Same goes for your subordinates."
"What..."
"Haha! You, Baek Mu-heun, on your way back from Sichuan, came here with a very righteous heart to save your family and the merchants captured by the Valley of Villains! But alas! You were killed by the Three Supreme Blades of the World. Haha! And Senior Sister Ice Demon and I, while on patrol, discovered you dying and ta-da!"
"We will come to your aid, ensuring the merchant caravan continues its journey safely. That's what will be reported to the Cult."
Mu-heun composed his energy, stroking his chin as he spoke.
"So... that's why you gathered the merchants in one place without killing or harming them."
"Exactly. Do you get it now? The justification you spoke of? Who cares? Things like that can just be fabricated to sound good."
"I'm relieved."
"What?"
"I said, I'm relieved. Because thanks to you, the merchants didn't die."
"...You."
"I'm relieved. Because you've so candidly explained everything."
"Don't tell me...!"
The Flame Demon Cho Yeom-wi and the Ice Demon Yeon A-ryeong were startled by a sudden presence they felt behind them and spun around.
At the moment Mu-heun pretended to be contemplating while stroking his chin and composing his energy, the energy he had spread throughout the Salt Lake gathered back in one place.
The presence revealed as a result was all too familiar.
"I've heard everything you've said... loud and clear."
"Y-You are...!?"
"No, how...?!"
The head of the Great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is the Cult Leader. Therefore, while everyone in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult could be called the Cult Leader's subordinate, there were two organizations among them that followed the Cult Leader's orders and moved solely for his safety.
The Bright Heavenly Demon Brigade, the Cult Leader's direct executive body, which carried out almost all tasks under his command.
The Guardian Brigade, the Cult Leader's protective body, which prioritized his safety above all else in any situation.
The owner of the presence and voice they now sensed was the leader of the former, the Commander of the Bright Heavenly Demon Brigade, Jin Mu.
"What you've just said... truly... as a disciple of this Cult, I find it deplorable."
The Ice Demon Yeon A-ryeong, the Flame Demon Cho Yeom-wi, and all the Cult masters who supported them were greatly agitated.
'The Commander of the Bright Heavenly Demon Brigade, Jin Mu! Does this mean the Cult Leader knows everything?!'
"Impossible..."
From behind a large rock at the edge of the Salt Lake, Jin Mu emerged. It was unmistakably him. Following behind him were the Bright Left Emissary, Seo Deung, and the Bright Right Emissary, Ma Ji-seung.
"Th-The Bright Left and Right Emissaries too!?"
And behind them, warriors of the Bright Heavenly Demon Brigade poured out...
Mu-heun felt that all preparations for the stage were complete.
And he smiled faintly.