Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The Target is the Heavenly Pillar Gate
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“Cheok Wol-rin.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“There is something you must find out first.”
“……?”
“Lastgate Village, the eastern side of Golden Mountain, the northern side of Phoenix Peak……”
Neung Un-bi listed a total of twelve locations.
These were the places where those who had been imprisoned in the dungeon lived.
“From now on, divide the warriors of the Waning Moon Squad and send them to discreetly scout the areas. The objective is to find any traces connected to the Crimson Heaven Gate, the Marvelous Lotus branch of our Demonic Cult.”
“Pardon?”
Now that Neung Un-bi had decided to return to his identity as the Third Young Master of the Demonic Cult, he was expected to be a loyal subordinate who blindly followed orders, but this command was too abrupt.
“Why those places…?”
Wang Cheon and Cheok Wol-rin tilted their heads at the same time.
What should I tell them?
After a moment of thought, Neung Un-bi shared a part of what was on his mind.
“Because of ‘why’.”
“Why… you say?”
“Yes, why.”
“……”
Neung Un-bi nodded.
In truth, this question of 'why?' is very important.
If asked with a playful expression, it might just be to tease, but with a displeased look, it becomes a sign of disapproval.
Of course, depending on the situation, it might be meaningless.
But if you keep repeating that seemingly meaningless question about an incident in search of an answer, you will eventually reach its root.
“I don't understand.”
“What is it?”
“Why is the Crimson Heaven Gate turning a blind eye?”
“……”
“As you said, the Heavenly Pillar Gate has disgraced the name of the Demonic Cult.”
Cheok Wol-rin and Wang Cheon, who had an inkling of what Neung Un-bi was getting at, frowned.
Those who were captured for being demonics. They were clearly not martial artists.
The Heavenly Pillar Gate used them for their own empty fame.
Others might not know, but those belonging to the Demonic Cult could never be unaware.
If they didn't know, that would be one thing, but now that they did, it was an unforgivable act. They both knew that not only the Heavenly Pillar Gate's actions, but also the Crimson Heaven Gate's acquiescence, should never be overlooked.
However, their position as a Central Plains branch of the Demonic Cult weighed heavily on the minds of Cheok Wol-rin and Wang Cheon.
“So… do you wish to punish them?”
“……”
At the heavy tone in Wang Cheon's voice, Neung Un-bi tilted his head.
“My lord, it's natural for you to think that way.”
“Hm?”
“But please reconsider punishing them. You only think this way because you don't yet know how our Demonic Cult is treated in the Central Plains. The Crimson Heaven Gate is……”
“Why are you hesitating? I know. They're in a position where they can't step forward.”
“That's… huh?”
As Neung Un-bi answered with a calm expression, Wang Cheon looked bewildered.
“How could it be easy for them to act when they live in hiding?”
“Then… why?”
As Wang Cheon tilted his head, Neung Un-bi let out a smirk.
Who does he take me for, a fool? Does he really think I wouldn't have considered that?
In the Central Plains, the Demonic Cult lives without even hanging a sign, fearing their identity will be revealed.
That's precisely why the Crimson Heaven Gate poses as a neutral sect between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions, running a merchant guild.
Marvelous Lotus Mountain and Wine Spring are nearby, so there's no way they didn't know about the Heavenly Pillar Gate's actions.
They just couldn't intervene. Even if their pride was wounded, they had no choice but to endure.
If they caused trouble and got caught, the entire branch could be wiped out.
That was why Wang Cheon and Cheok Wol-rin hadn't criticized the Crimson Heaven Gate until now.
If that unknown person hadn't helped, they wouldn't have escaped the Heavenly Pillar Gate so easily.
“The problem is, why didn't they act, despite all that.”
“……What do you mean?”
When he said he understood, only to bring up the problem again, Wang Cheon and Cheok Wol-rin could only tilt their heads in confusion.
“Right, they might have judged it irrelevant since those people weren't converted members or anything. What I'm talking about isn't that they didn't rescue those captured as demonics.”
“Then…?”
“Rumors and perception.”
“Rumors and perception?”
“Yes. Even a worm will turn when stepped on.”
“Comparing them to a worm is……”
“No, that's why it's a fitting comparison. If even a worm does that, a branch of the Demonic Cult can't just stay quiet.”
“……”
Who in the world would be happy about being falsely accused?
Neung Un-bi had experienced similar things many times in the past.
The periodic subjugations of the Demonic Cult, bandits, and pirates.
It was something like a rite of passage for the younger generation of the Orthodox Faction before their coming-of-age ceremony or before they embarked on a new path.
It was even more intense when someone, like that First Young Master of the Heavenly Pillar Gate, had meager skills.
But someone was bound to be suspicious, and despite the hushing, rumors were bound to spread.
Someone was unjustly framed.
That people with no connection to the Demonic Cult were falsely accused and taken away.
Of course, the ones who create and spread such rumors are usually real members of the Demonic Cult.
Because of public sentiment?
What a joke. As if those bastards from the Demonic Cult would care about such things.
What's important is keeping their own house in order.
They worry that someone belonging to the branch might be swayed.
They worry that the so-called converted members might come to regret choosing the Demonic Cult.
Even bad words can become persuasive if you hear them enough, so even if they can't try to rescue them, they have to at least let rumors circulate.
They need to believe the Orthodox Faction bastards are the bad guys to keep their own house in order.
But there was nothing like that in Wine Spring.
Even children on the street said the Demonic Cult was evil, and the people in the taverns were busy blindly praising the righteousness of the Heavenly Pillar Gate.
That's the problem. That's why I felt something was fishy.
“It is difficult to fathom your intentions, my lord.”
“……”
“You say you know everything, yet you bring up the reason why the Crimson Heaven Gate didn't act. What on earth are you thinking… I just don't understand.”
As Cheok Wol-rin asked with a deep frown, Neung Un-bi met his gaze steadily.
Right, you two should know. What I truly hold in my heart.
Even if it's not everything…….
“My target is the Heavenly Pillar Gate.”
“……!”
-Pfft!
As someone burst out into a laugh filled with disbelief, Neung Un-bi's face contorted into a frown.
“Which one of you dares to be so rude while the lord is speaking!”
Even in his surprise, Cheok Wol-rin turned his head and glared at the Waning Moon Squad.
There were thirty of them. There was no way to know who it was, and the atmosphere suggested the culprit wouldn't raise their hand and step forward.
“Enough! That's not what's important right now.”
“……”
Wang Cheon stopped Cheok Wol-rin and asked Neung Un-bi.
“What in the world do you mean, your target is the Heavenly Pillar Gate?”
“From now on, I'm going to chop off those bastards' heads.”
“What?”
Their shock was palpable.
Not just Cheok Wol-rin and Wang Cheon, but even the members of the Waning Moon Squad who were guarding the perimeter stared at Neung Un-bi with wide eyes.
The incident at the Heavenly Pillar Gate last night was caused by Neung Un-bi.
But you can't compare the dungeon to the Heavenly Pillar Gate itself.
The scale is on a completely different level, isn't it?
If they provoked them needlessly, who knows what kind of repercussions would follow…….
“My lord!”
“Hush, don't say it. I know you're going to object anyway.”
“……”
“I had a thought. What would Master have done if he were me? If he knew that those pathetic bastards had tarnished the name of the Demonic Cult, what would he have done?”
“Th-that's……”
They couldn't answer.
The Cult Leader?
In truth, it was a question that required no thought. Without even needing to mobilize his warriors, the moment the Cult Leader stepped through the main gate, not even a cornerstone of the Heavenly Pillar Gate would remain.
“You are not the Cult Leader, my lord.”
“True, I'm merely the third disciple. But right now, I am an inspector acting on the Cult Leader's behalf.”
“……”
Neung Un-bi firmly reiterated that fact.
An agent of the Cult Leader, a person vested with his authority. Therefore, everything he did from this point on was no different from the Cult Leader's will.
“I can understand the mistake made by the Crimson Heaven Gate, which we've taken under our wing, but not the Heavenly Pillar Gate. I will not tolerate bastards like them defiling the name of the Demonic Cult.”
This was the justification Neung Un-bi had come up with to persuade them.
If he had used the reason that they were harming people, Wang Cheon and Cheok Wol-rin would have opposed him, even at the cost of their lives.
But when he said that, as one carrying out the Cult Leader's will, he could not forgive those who had smeared the Demonic Cult's name, what could they say to refute him?
“Hmm… But even if it's in the borderlands, the Heavenly Pillar Gate is not a small sect. The situation could spiral out of control. It would be better to report to the Cult.”
“……”
Neung Un-bi shook his head at Cheok Wol-rin's request.
Report it?
As always, after some back-and-forth under-the-table negotiations, they'd probably just exchange some hush money and find a compromise.
It was obvious they'd consider starting a war over such a matter to be a loss.
If that happened, the Heavenly Pillar Gate would just get a slap on the wrist, lie low, and pretend to reflect. And when time passed and things quieted down, they'd do the same thing again someday.
I will never let that happen.
“Do you want me to stop here? Do you want me to be seen as an incompetent fool who can't even handle a trivial matter like this and has to ask the Cult for help, by those bastards who are dying to get rid of me?”
“That's not it, but… the branch could be exposed. For you to handle this alone……”
Cheok Wol-rin couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
“Damn it all! Fine, fine! Seeing as you're this adamant, you must have a plan, right?”
“……”
After agonizing over it for a while, Wang Cheon made a decisive choice, and Neung Un-bi grinned.
As expected… you're better at times like this.
Instead of worrying about how to untie the knot, you just cut it.
“Right. But it's not perfect yet. That's why I need to check a few things. To bring down the Heavenly Pillar Gate, we need a proper plan.”
“What about the Crimson Heaven Gate?”
“We'll have to investigate them discreetly. I'm also curious why they didn't make a move, and besides, I am an inspector.”
“Understood. You're not going to change your mind no matter what we say, are you?”
“Right.”
“Then let's start by looking into the Crimson Heaven Gate.”
“……”
“Isn't it true that the one who knows a household's business best is the old man who's lived in the neighborhood the longest? To plan an attack on the Heavenly Pillar Gate, we first need to know their inside story in detail. Going through the Crimson Heaven Gate, who have lived here for a long time, will be much faster and more detailed than us investigating for a hundred days.”
“Oh?”
At Wang Cheon's words, Neung Un-bi showed a look of surprise.
“Why?”
“You just seemed a little different just now.”
“……How was I originally?”
“……”
A guy obsessed with fame and success?
But how could he say such a thing in this situation? The task at hand might not help his career at all.
“Um, well… you just seemed… a bit.”
“Ugh! Seriously!”
“……”
As Wang Cheon flared up, Neung Un-bi playfully narrowed his eyes.
In any case, he was right.
There was probably no one who knew the inner workings of the Heavenly Pillar Gate as well as the Crimson Heaven Gate did. To hide from someone, you have to know your opponent better than anyone else.
“Cheok Wol-rin.”
“Yes, Guard Captain.”
“He's not the kind of lord who will listen to reason anyway. If we don't help, there's no telling what he'll do, just like how he destroyed the dungeon last night.”
“Hmm……”
“Let's erase our tracks first. Seems we set up camp for nothing.”
“I see.”
“And those places the lord mentioned earlier?”
“Yes.”
“From what I gathered, they seem to be the places where the dungeon prisoners lived. So, split up and investigate, but be mindful of any pursuit teams sent by the Heavenly Pillar Gate. We'll rendezvous in exactly three days at this time at the northern entrance of Marvelous Lotus Mountain, in the mountain's shadow.”
“Understood.”
At Wang Cheon's words, Cheok Wol-rin nodded and began to clear the campsite.
Watching the two of them, Neung Un-bi felt nothing but satisfaction.
Wang Cheon, you rascal.
How admirable.
Please, just keep acting like you did today.
* * *
The campsite was neatly cleared, with all traces of anyone having stayed there completely gone.
Hyang-i, watching the direction in which Neung Un-bi and Wang Cheon had disappeared after parting with their group, had a look of utter disbelief on her face.
Hadn't she almost been discovered when, in her shock, she'd let out the breath she was unconsciously holding?
But… is he really going to attack the Heavenly Pillar Gate?
“The Third Young Master, that bastard… is he completely insane?”
Hyang-i had been dazed, but she quickly snapped back to her senses.
What was needed now was an immediate report.
If things went wrong, she could end up taking all the blame.