Chapter 127
Chapter 127
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: If He Were Ordinary, He Wouldn't Be the Heavenly Demon
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As Byeok Taesan left Byeok Taesu's office, a crowd of workers followed closely behind him.
Their hands were full of large gold fragments.
They were pieces from the golden wall that had been imbued with the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
Byeok Taesan led them to where Seung Doheung was staying.
Seung Doheung and the formation masters had set up their lodgings in a pavilion near Byeok Taesan's.
There were still plenty of empty pavilions prepared for guests within the Golden Wall Estate, so accommodating a few more was no burden at all.
In any case, Seung Doheung and his group were there, diligently studying the formations they had analyzed to improve their skills.
From the moment Byeok Taesan had asked if he had overcome the illusionary demon, Seung Doheung had become obsessed with improving his skills.
He couldn't relax for a moment, feeling as if something terrible would happen if he failed to overcome it.
So, one can imagine how startled he was by Byeok Taesan's sudden visit in the dead of night.
"Y-Y-Young Master! W-W-What brings you here? At this late hour…"
Byeok Taesan glanced over Seung Doheung and the formation masters lined up respectfully behind him.
Then he gestured with his chin toward them.
The workers standing behind him rushed forward and poured the gold fragments they were carrying into the pavilion.
Seung Doheung and his group stared blankly at the scene, wondering what on earth was happening.
"W-What is all this?"
"It… it looks like gold?"
"It is gold."
At Byeok Taesan's words, everyone's gaze snapped to him.
They turned their heads so quickly it seemed their necks might break, then just as quickly turned back to look at the pile of gold.
After glancing back and forth between Byeok Taesan and the gold several times, Seung Doheung cautiously asked.
"This gold… what is it?"
"Analyze it."
"Pardon?"
"It was originally a wall. Something special was engraved within its structure."
Seung Doheung quickly ran over, picked up a piece of gold, and examined it closely.
His eyes widened like saucers.
"Y-You're right. Don't tell me this is…!"
"Come find me when you're done analyzing it."
With only those words, Byeok Taesan turned and strode away.
Seung Doheung stared blankly at Byeok Taesan's departing back before snapping to his senses.
"Gasp, what? So… we're supposed to analyze the grand formation from Uichang and this at the same time?"
Seung Doheung's face turned pale.
And behind him, the faces of the other formation masters watching him paled as well.
It seemed they would need more formation masters.
"Does anyone know where the others are?"
At times like this, allies were the most reliable support.
* * *
After handing over all the gold chunks, Byeok Taesan returned to his bedroom, feeling unburdened.
He sat on his bed and gently closed his eyes.
The golden wall he had seen today was quite interesting.
Earlier, Byeok Taesu had asked him why he had destroyed the golden wall.
He had destroyed it because it was crude.
This golden wall was not something the Heavenly Demon held important, as Byeok Taesu had thought.
It was something created by one of the past Heavenly Demons to show off a new enlightenment he had achieved in the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
The Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts was a demonic art that put its practitioner in greater danger the more it grew.
In the end, that was why Byeok Taesan had died. And the same was true for the Heavenly Demons of the past.
That was why they all constantly researched ways to avoid that fate.
The golden wall was one of the results of that research.
Gold is perfect in itself. That is also why it is valuable.
He didn't know which Heavenly Demon from how many generations ago it was, but that seemed to be what had captured his interest.
He could tell at a glance what the intention was—to use gold to do something with the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
To think he would leave it behind as a golden wall.
A Heavenly Demon was a Heavenly Demon, after all.
"If he were ordinary, he wouldn't be the Heavenly Demon. Except for me."
Byeok Taesan calmly reflected on himself, wondering if he, too, had ever committed such an absurd act.
But no matter how he thought about it, he had been a perfectly ordinary Heavenly Demon.
In any case, the Heavenly Demon's enlightenment on the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts left behind at the Golden Jade Trading Company was completely useless to Byeok Taesan.
However, the knowledge of mechanisms and formations that could be extracted from the golden wall's structure was a different story.
A great variety of formations must have been working in a complex manner.
That was a job for Seung Doheung, so Byeok Taesan put it out of his mind for now.
As he turned his thoughts back to the golden wall and contemplated it, it occurred to him that what was imbued in it might not be entirely useless after all.
It was nearly useless for stabilizing the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts, but if he thought about it from a different angle, the story changed.
For example, as a way to control the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
"Gold, gold…"
A method of amplifying or finely controlling the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts using gold as a medium suddenly came to mind.
Byeok Taesan fell into a state of selfless absorption.
* * *
The Seventh Squad Leader of the Heavenly Sword Unit, who was helping the Heavenly Medicine Hall relocate, scanned his surroundings with a troubled expression.
The warrior from the Golden Moon Trading Company who had visited him a while ago had asked for his help.
The Golden Moon Trading Company had no intention of letting the Heavenly Medicine Hall reach Wuhan unscathed.
They planned to snatch what they wanted along the way.
And inflict great damage on the Heavenly Medicine Hall.
To that end, they had asked for his help with an ambush.
If they had asked him to attack the Heavenly Medicine Hall with them, he would have refused flatly.
But all they wanted was for him to leave his post.
The request was for him to break away from the procession under the pretext of chasing the attackers after their initial surprise attack.
Then, after everything was over, he would rejoin them, making the Heavenly Medicine Hall entirely dependent on him, the Seventh Squad Leader.
It wasn't a difficult task. The only problem was timing his departure and return correctly.
The Seventh Squad Leader walked in silence, gauging the strength of the Heavenly Medicine Hall.
'They're tougher than I thought.'
The physicians of the Heavenly Medicine Hall were one thing, but the wandering warriors sent by the Queen of Medicine to join them were a more serious problem.
But no matter how formidable they were, they wouldn't be able to stop the Golden Moon Trading Company if they were determined.
If the Seventh Squad Leader and his men were to intervene, the situation might change slightly, but even then, it would be difficult to stop the Golden Moon Trading Company. Of course, he had no intention of helping the Heavenly Medicine Hall anyway.
'How long will it take…'
The Seventh Squad Leader walked with these thoughts in mind. He had already briefed his squad members: if he moved, they were to follow him without question.
As they were walking, a group of men suddenly charged at them, swords drawn.
"Attack!"
"It's an ambush!"
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The physicians of the Heavenly Medicine Hall each defended the carts, blocking the enemy's attacks. The wandering warriors stepped forward, swinging their swords.
After a single clash, the enemies hastily retreated.
"Retreat for now! We can't win like this!"
The attackers who had charged in quickly fell back.
And at that exact moment, the Seventh Squad Leader made his move.
"Where do you think you're going! Come back here and kneel!"
As the Seventh Squad Leader chased after them like the wind, the rest of his squad rushed to follow.
There was no time for anyone to stop or cheer for them.
They fled so quickly, and the chase was so swift, that everyone could only watch blankly.
This was exactly what the Seventh Squad Leader had intended.
He quickly pursued the enemies—no, the warriors of the Golden Moon Trading Company.
After running for some time, the Golden Moon warriors reached a secluded spot and stopped, waiting for the Seventh Squad Leader.
"Thank you for your hard work."
One of the warriors spoke politely, and the Seventh Squad Leader smiled and shook his head.
"It was nothing. But, are you certain about the forces you've prepared? The wandering warriors who joined the Heavenly Medicine Hall seem unusually skilled."
"They are still just wandering warriors. And the forces we have prepared are not to be underestimated."
He went on to explain in detail the level of the warriors they had prepared.
The Seventh Squad Leader listened and quietly made his calculations.
"I should be able to return in about… half a shichen."
The Golden Moon warrior grinned and said.
"That's about what I was thinking. Well then, I must go and join the others, so I'll be on my way. Let's share a drink next time."
"Very well. I wish you good fortune in battle."
The Golden Moon warrior gave a slight bow and departed.
There were thirty Golden Moon warriors in total. They were rejoining the group that would attack the Heavenly Medicine Hall.
The Seventh Squad Leader watched them leave and muttered.
"Looks like this is the end for the Heavenly Medicine Hall."
Today, the Heavenly Medicine Hall would lose a large number of its important physicians.
The Golden Moon Trading Company planned to kidnap those physicians. They would probably be locked away somewhere, forced to make medicine for the rest of their lives until they died.
And today, all their carts would be burned to the ground.
The survivors would also suffer severe injuries.
All in all, the future of the Heavenly Medicine Hall was bleak.
At least, that's how it seemed to the Seventh Squad Leader.
* * *
About half a shichen later, the Seventh Squad Leader headed back to where the Heavenly Medicine Hall was, pretending to be in a hurry.
Since he hadn't gone far, the return trip was extremely short.
But when he arrived, the scene was not what he had expected.
First, all the carts were intact.
'They said they would burn everything?'
There were corpses scattered about.
The Seventh Squad Leader quickly scanned the area.
Most of the Heavenly Medicine Hall's physicians were unharmed. They were treating the injured.
'The wandering warriors survived?'
Honestly, he had expected all the wandering warriors to be dead. But he could see them here and there.
'But their numbers…'
There were originally about a hundred wandering warriors. But looking now, it didn't seem like their numbers had decreased much at all.
"Squad Leader! You've returned! We were so worried!"
No Jugang, the general manager of the Heavenly Medicine Hall, spotted the Seventh Squad Leader and hurried over.
"Squad Leader, what happened to the ones who fled?"
"Unfortunately, I lost them. They were incredibly fast. But here…"
No Jugang let out a deep sigh.
"Hah, don't even ask. Shortly after you chased after those men, another group swarmed us. It was brutal."
"Is everyone alright?"
"Fortunately, we were able to defeat the enemy without major losses. It's all thanks to our Hall Master's foresight. Who would have thought she would send such masters?"
"Masters? You mean those wandering warriors?"
"Yes. They were truly incredible. The enemies were quite skilled, but our warriors literally crushed them all."
No Jugang then excitedly recounted the events of the battle as if he were watching it unfold before his eyes.
More than fifty masked enemies had appeared, but the wandering warriors moved with perfect coordination to fend them off.
Some went to the carts to defend them, some mixed in with the physicians to protect them, and others focused solely on killing the enemy.
It seemed they had already decided how to respond to such an attack.
The Seventh Squad Leader looked around at the wandering warriors with tense eyes.
He saw the ones who had made him nervous earlier.
"Are those the masters you mentioned, General Manager?"
No Jugang looked at the wandering warriors the Seventh Squad Leader was pointing to, smiled, and shook his head.
"No. Those are the ones who fought alongside our physicians. Actually, it's more accurate to say they protected our physicians."
"They're not the masters?"
As the Seventh Squad Leader expressed his surprise, No Jugang grinned.
"They are masters in their own right. Truly formidable people. But there are even stronger ones over there."
The Seventh Squad Leader followed No Jugang's gesture.
A group of about ten wandering warriors was gathered together. Seeing them giving orders to the others, they appeared to be the superiors.
But no matter how he looked at them, their presence felt too weak. They didn't look like masters.
'Are they such masters that I can't even fathom their level?'
Whether he knew what the Seventh Squad Leader was thinking or not, No Jugang continued to gush, his words a mix of boasting and praise.
"They were flashing from east to west, striking down enemies. It was just jaw-dropping. Honestly, when they moved quickly, I couldn't even see them. And sometimes their swords seemed to multiply into three. Anyway, they were amazing."
The Seventh Squad Leader stared grimly at the so-called masters.
He had already heard about the level of the warriors the Golden Moon Trading Company was mobilizing.
If it had only been the men he had initially considered masters, they would never have been able to fend them off.
"Anyway, you must be tired from chasing the enemy. Please, get some rest. The smell of blood is too strong here, so we plan to rest for a short while and then depart immediately. We hope to rest in a village tonight, so we might be traveling for a while longer. I hope you understand."
"Of course, you must. In that case, I will help clean up. The sooner we finish and leave, the sooner we can rest comfortably."
"Oh, then we would feel too bad…"
"It's fine. And if you get the chance, could you introduce me to those masters over there?"
"Of course. Leave it to me."
The Seventh Squad Leader watched No Jugang walk away for a moment before turning his gaze back to the so-called masters.
Just then, he made eye contact with one of them.
The man grinned, baring his teeth. But the feeling was chilling.
'Something… doesn't feel right.'
It was a savage and violent-looking smile. He thought it might be expected of a wandering warrior.
But that alone couldn't explain this feeling.
It was both frustrating and unsettling.
Suddenly, the man lifted something up. It was a limp person.
And it was a familiar face.
It was the warrior from the Golden Moon Trading Company he had spoken with earlier.
The Seventh Squad Leader's face twisted in horror.