The Next Move
After the distribution of rewards concluded, Jeok-un returned to his office.
He had skipped the grand banquet prepared in his honor.
Although it was a prime opportunity to build connections with influential figures who looked upon him favorably, he had no interest.
"Whew. No matter how many times I go through it, empty formalities are a massive pain."
Unless it was a drink shared with comrades who had crossed the line of death with him, Jeok-un detested such gatherings.
Besides, he had far more pressing matters to attend to.
Propping his legs up on the desk, Jeok-un calmly began to organize the rewards he had received.
'First of all, the results are greater than expected. To hand over the position of a Ten Heavens Squad Leader right away... The Lion Sword Emperor is certainly generous.'
The most significant reward was, of course, the promotion of the White Night Squad to the Ten Heavens Squad, making him a Ten Heavens Squad Leader.
The two artifacts he was to claim from the Sichuan Treasury were also substantial, but since he had already decided what to take, they were secondary.
In any case, Dok-go Cheon's decision was unprecedented.
No matter how brilliant Jeok-un's achievements were, it was no easy feat to bestow the rank of Ten Heavens Squad Leader upon someone from the Orthodox faction who had joined less than a year ago.
What pleased him even more was that by becoming a Ten Heavens Squad Leader, he had killed two birds with one stone, successfully chipping away at Do Ye-cheon's faction.
The number of Ten Heavens Squads was strictly capped at ten.
This meant that as the White Night Squad rose, another squad had to be demoted.
Normally, the squad most recently promoted to the Ten Heavens would have been demoted.
However, that rule was not applied this time.
The reason was simple.
'How could they demote the squad of Hwa Mu-il, the First Fist Then Needle?'
After the death of the No brothers, Hwa Mu-il had formed a new squad.
It was named the Wonhwa Squad.
This unique squad, which combined medical treatment and combat, was named after the courtesy name of the divine physician Hua Tuo.
And its leader was none other than Hwa Mu-il, a figure of Hall Leader rank.
Demoting such a squad and kicking them out of the Ten Heavens?
It was absolutely impossible.
Thus, the squad ranked just above them was demoted instead.
It was the Taesan Squad, which belonged to Do Ye-cheon's faction.
"This makes no sense! Why me?! I, Gwak Dae-mo, cannot endure such humiliation!"
Gwak Dae-mo, suddenly demoted to the Outer Heavens Squad, had thrown a fit, but no one could help him.
'Now, is there only one step left to become a Hall Leader?'
Jeok-un's eyes gleamed.
If he became a Hall Leader, he would finally be able to challenge Dok-go Cheon for the position of Lord of Sadocheon.
But it was easier said than done.
Since the position of Hall Leader was the core of Sadocheon, he wouldn't be able to obtain it easily, even if he completed a few more Black-grade missions.
Yet, Jeok-un was confident he could achieve it.
Because he knew exactly what was going to happen.
'If I beat the bastard who dares to assassinate the Lord to death, they'll have no choice but to promote me to Hall Leader.'
Slaying the Lord's assassin.
In other words, Jeok-un intended to eliminate Vice Lord Do Ye-cheon.
Before his regression, Do Ye-cheon had attempted to assassinate Dok-go Cheon.
According to what he had learned through Night Lord Ji Jung-yeong, the same plot was unfolding now.
Cornered by this recent turn of events, Do Ye-cheon would almost certainly accelerate his plans with Yukhonbang.
What Jeok-un had to do was clear.
'Raiding Yukhonbang's headquarters is the most definitive way. There will surely be concrete evidence of Do Ye-cheon's collusion with Yukhonbang there.'
Yukhonbang was a unique unorthodox faction that belonged to neither Sadocheon nor Heukpaeseong.
A sect specialized in bizarre and sinister dark arts.
Even basic information, such as who their founder was or their history, remained shrouded in mystery.
Even Jeok-un, who had regressed from the future, did not know the location of their headquarters, which spoke volumes about their secrecy.
However, Jeok-un was not worried.
'Because the perfect person to find their headquarters is already waddling this way on his own.'
A certain face flashed through Jeok-un's mind.
That damn younger brother of his, whom he had met at Poyang Lake.
'Then all that's left is...'
...how to explain to the Lord himself how he had caught wind of this assassination plot.
Should he sell the excuse that it was information obtained by his father, Jegal Mun, once again?
But this matter was far too grave.
It made no sense for the Martial Alliance to have obtained such intelligence and yet make no move.
"Hmm."
"You seem to have something on your mind."
"...!"
Jeok-un flinched at the sudden voice.
When he snapped out of it and looked ahead, Hwang-no stood there, bowing politely, having materialized like a shadow.
"Ah, my apologies. I summoned you, yet I was too deeply lost in my own thoughts."
Jeok-un was not truly startled.
After all, the reason he had ditched the banquet in his honor and returned to his office was precisely to meet with Hwang-no.
"You could have just spoken up to snap me out of it."
"Not at all. It was clear at a glance that you were contemplating an important matter, Leader, so I held my tongue."
"I see. Thank you."
Hwang-no remained polite to the end.
Even though he was in the Profound Realm just like Jeok-un—and was actually at a higher stage—his attitude toward Jeok-un had remained unwavering since the day he first resolved to serve him.
"Right. Let's hear your report first."
"Yes. I shall report all the information I gathered through infiltration."
Before departing for the Black-grade mission, Jeok-un had given Hwang-no a separate assignment.
It was the perfect task for Hwang-no, a former assassin.
"Just as you suspected, Leader, Gold Emperor Oh Chu-baek was colluding with Vice Lord Do Ye-cheon. However, it has been confirmed that Do Ye-cheon severed all ties the moment you succeeded in Tongseong County."
"Heh, the old raccoon got outfoxed by the fox. Did you secure any evidence?"
"Yes. I retrieved a letter written by Do Ye-cheon himself from the Joseowon."
"Good. That's one more blade to stab him with."
The mission had been to secretly infiltrate the Geumhwang Merchant Group and investigate their every move.
Since Jeok-un did not yet have his own intelligence network, he had no choice but to rely on Hwang-no.
In fact, it was more accurate to say that only Hwang-no could have pulled it off.
The interior of the Geumhwang Merchant Group was protected by dozens of layers of tight security and guards.
Yet, it posed no challenge to Hwang-no.
'After all, the world's greatest assassin is essentially the world's greatest spy.'
To kill someone, one must first conceal their presence and infiltrate the target's domain.
Even if he had not yet fully recovered his peak strength, slipping into the Geumhwang Merchant Group was easier than breathing for Hwang-no.
And true to form, Hwang-no had returned with flawless intelligence, leaving behind not even a hair's breadth of a trace.
It was exactly the information Jeok-un had been hoping for.
"Abandoned by both the Martial Alliance and Sadocheon, they were in the worst possible position, leaving them no choice but to accept a vicious proposal from Heukpaeseong. But then..."
"'They' appeared?"
"...Yes."
A chilling aura flickered in Hwang-no's eyes as he continued his report.
It was an uncontrollable surge of killing intent.
But it could not be helped.
For the "they" he had just mentioned were none other than...
"They were undoubtedly members of the Demonic Cult."
Their sworn, irreconcilable enemies—the Demonic Cult.
"The one who revealed his name was Ho Baek-seon. He appears to be a disciple of the Sword Demon."
Ho Baek-seon had only revealed his name to Oh Chu-baek.
However, Hwang-no had deduced his connection to the Sword Demon.
"He tried to hide it, but the energy radiating from him was identical to the Sword Demon's."
The Sword Demon was the mortal enemy who had slaughtered Hwang-no's son and daughter-in-law.
Having ground his teeth in resentment and relived that hatred for a lifetime, how could Hwang-no fail to recognize that energy?
Jeok-un nodded and spoke.
"Your guess is correct, Elder. He is Ho Baek-seon, one of the Twin Calamities. He is the first disciple of the Sword Demon and the leader of the Ghost Spirit Squad."
"...!"
Jeok-un shared the information he possessed with Hwang-no.
Before his regression, Ho Baek-seon had died by Jeok-un's own hands.
It was an event that would have occurred roughly ten years from now.
At that time, his rank had been Elder.
'Back then, he was definitely at the mastery stage of the Profound Realm.'
But he wouldn't be that formidable yet.
'He must be at the peak of the Transformation Realm, or perhaps the entry stage of the Profound Realm.'
His martial power would be similar to or slightly higher than Dang Maeng and Seo Do-yeom.
However, he could not be measured by the same standards.
For a demonic practitioner was fundamentally different from an ordinary martial artist.
"Why would the Sword Demon's first disciple contact the Geumhwang Merchant Group?"
"His initial reason for entering the Central Plains probably wasn't the Geumhwang Merchant Group."
"Pardon?"
"It's likely because of the Beast Poison Demon we eliminated. He vanished without a trace all of a sudden."
"...!"
"Ho Baek-seon possesses great martial prowess, but his intellect is severely lacking even within the Cult. This was almost certainly an impulsive move on his part."
Surprisingly, Jeok-un's deduction was near-perfect.
It was the result of analyzing the information he had gathered before his regression.
'As the first disciple of the Sword Demon, he must be privy to a lot of critical information.'
Jeok-un's lips curled upward slightly.
"Well, in the end, this works out perfectly."
"Pardon?"
"I was already planning to annihilate the Geumhwang Merchant Group before crushing Do Ye-cheon. But now, those Demonic Cult bastards have practically volunteered to die alongside them. How generous of them."
"!!"
It was an opportunity to execute a future Elder of the Demonic Cult ahead of time and extract their secrets, as well as a chance to wipe out Oh Chu-baek and the Geumhwang Merchant Group, who had allied with the Cult out of desperation.
Yes, how could this be anything but a stroke of good fortune?
'As soon as I claim that from the Sichuan Treasury, I'll go and slaughter every last one of them.'
Just as he was mapping out his next move in his head—
Pitter-patter!
A sudden commotion arose, accompanied by the sound of rushing footsteps.
It sounded like someone was running toward them.
The movement lacked the grace of a martial artist, and it was incredibly frantic.
'What's going on?'
As Jeok-un tilted his head in confusion, the door burst open.
"L-Leader!"
The one causing a scene in the dead of night was Go Bok-gil.
Go Bok-gil gasped for air, his jaw trembling as he struggled to squeeze out the words.
"H-Hae Seon... *cough, cough*. Senior Hae!!"
"!"
Jeok-un—no, both of them—sprang to their feet instinctively.
For there was only one person Go Bok-gil would refer to as "Senior Hae."
A reliable subordinate to Jeok-un.
A child who was like an adopted daughter to Hwang-no.
Something had clearly happened to Hae-yeon.