Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: It's Not Over Yet
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The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion first assessed the damage to the Underworld Sect.
All the enemies who had swarmed the Hundred Flowers Pavilion that day were killed, but the same couldn't be said for those who had attacked other members of the Underworld Sect.
Those bastards had to be dealt with first.
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion used the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance for the task.
Fortunately, the damage to the Underworld Sect was not as severe as she had feared.
This was because Jang Gagu and Yuk Taegu had sent warriors from the underworld and ronin to protect the Underworld Sect members at the time.
Nevertheless, the enemy's strength was greater than expected, so some damage was inevitable.
The moment the incident occurred, they quickly assessed the situation and concentrated their forces where the enemy appeared, which helped reduce the damage.
The problem was that they hadn't managed to capture all the enemies who had attacked.
A good number of them had escaped alive.
The Underworld Sect's task now was to track them down, eliminate them, and uncover who was behind it all.
Since the kidnapped warriors from the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance had not yet been found, she was able to draw those two groups into the matter.
The enemy was formidable.
If not for Byeok Taesan, they would have been completely overwhelmed.
They shook the Underworld Sect's intelligence network, created an opening, and struck the headquarters directly.
How many groups could accomplish such a feat so easily?
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion contemplated the enemy with a grave expression.
Hwaok quietly approached her.
"What are you thinking about so seriously?"
"Ah, you're here? I was just… thinking about our recent enemy."
"They're quite something, aren't they?"
"They are. If it weren't for the Young Master, we would all be dead or in a worse predicament."
Hwaok nodded, deeply agreeing with her words.
"Just look at how they established themselves ten years ago to take control of the district. They're anything but ordinary."
At those words, the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion's eyes glinted.
"But are such people truly only in Wuhan? And is there only one such district in the city?"
Hwaok's expression also turned serious.
"Indeed. There must be... others in different cities. Unless Wuhan is a particularly special place for them."
"But our strength is too limited to investigate them all."
"Still, we have to. Why don't we take this opportunity to expand a little?"
"Expand..."
It was certainly a tempting proposition.
As it happened, warriors from the Secret Heaven Group had recently been joining them little by little, aiding the Underworld Sect.
Just by joining forces with them, their situation would change drastically.
Hwaok looked at the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion with a resolute expression.
"More people will likely continue to join us. The Master of the Underworld Sect must have an idea of who they are, correct?"
At Hwaok's question, the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion hesitated with a troubled look.
Honestly, she had her suspicions. But she didn't want to voice them.
It was frightening, somehow.
"They are scattered all across the world. Isn't the Underworld Sect the same?"
"That is true."
"We'll need the Young Master's permission first, but the Young Master I know isn't one to concern himself with such trivial matters."
"I feel the same way."
The two women looked at each other in silence for a moment. Then, they nodded simultaneously.
* * *
"Get him!"
A group of warriors rushed forward.
Far ahead of them, a figure in black was fleeing rapidly.
Though there was a considerable distance between them, it was slowly closing.
It was no wonder, as an hour had already passed.
During that time, the pursuers had switched out their personnel once, but the fleeing man hadn't had a moment's rest.
No matter how confident he was in his movement techniques, he would eventually be caught at this rate.
Still, the man continued to run.
Then, someone lunged at him from the side.
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
Fists and feet flew in an instant.
The man was highly skilled, but his ambusher was no pushover either.
After a few exchanges, the pursuers who had been chasing from behind formed a large circle around the two.
Then they began to attack the man in black.
Their attacks were perfectly coordinated, as if they had practiced together countless times, without a single misstep or moment of confusion.
*Crack!*
"Kugh!"
Soon, the man in black's shoulder and knee were crushed, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Hooo. How many does this make?"
"Seven."
"Do you know how many the Black Alliance has caught?"
"I hear they've also caught seven."
"We don't have enough people. We might fall behind at this rate."
Everyone's gaze turned to one side.
An Underworld Sect member was standing there with a troubled expression.
"Lead the way, quickly. We need you to work a little harder."
"I'll do my best."
The Underworld Sect member had no choice but to reply as such.
This operation was important for many reasons.
It meant the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance would be indebted to the Underworld Sect.
Furthermore, with the recent revelation that the Underworld Sect had aided the Hubei Martial Alliance, its prestige was gradually rising.
And the Underworld Sect was set to assist in the interrogation of the men they were capturing.
It was a two-birds-one-stone operation: catch the enemy remnants and raise the Underworld Sect's status.
How could they afford to be careless?
"I will guide you to the next location. While the great warriors were chasing the enemy, I received some advance information."
The enemy's location was traced through the recent attack on the Underworld Sect members.
In their haste, they hadn't been able to erase their tracks as cleanly as before, and that was what was used to hunt them down.
As the Underworld Sect member began to lead the way, the Martial Alliance warriors followed.
Similar scenes were unfolding all across Wuhan.
It wasn't just the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance participating.
The Namgung and Jegal families had also joined the search and elimination of the remnants.
Their official reason was to help the Golden Jade Trading Company, but their true goal was to acquire information about the organization called Nameless.
Of course, they couldn't just jump in haphazardly.
The Underworld Sect held the information, and the interests of the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance were involved, so negotiations were necessary.
In any case, everything worked out, and they gained the justification and information to participate. They, too, were diligently capturing the enemy's remnants.
The entire city of Wuhan was in an uproar over the matter.
But most people went on with their daily lives as usual.
* * *
"Was the Underworld Sect always this impressive?"
He was a man dressed in a pure white robe. His chiseled face overflowed with dignity, and his posture and aura strongly suggested he was a nobleman.
Before him, a woman in black knelt on one knee, her head bowed.
"Hyeokryeon So... that kid is no pushover. How many did you say he brought this time?"
"Four hundred."
"Right, four hundred. He really emptied out everything he had. And yet the Underworld Sect is fine?"
"Yes. They suffered almost no damage."
"That's what I'm saying. It means the measly Underworld Sect overwhelmed the forces Hyeokryeon So worked so hard to cultivate. Is that even possible? What do you think?"
"If the Underworld Sect members I confirmed are of average skill, then it is absolutely impossible."
"Which means someone else intervened..."
The man let out a soft laugh.
"In any case, Hyeokryeon Bigwang, that venomous snake, would never give up Wuhan so easily."
The man looked down at the woman with cold eyes.
"None of our people have made a move, right?"
"Yes. I ordered them not to intervene in any matter. I told them to abandon any opportunity that might arise, so they should all be holding their positions."
"Good, tell them to hold out until the end. I have a feeling there's something more to this, so we need to be certain before we proceed. We need to figure out what Hyeokryeon Bigwang has hidden."
"I will do so."
"There's no sign of the Martial Alliance or the Black Alliance's intervention, is there?"
"It's not certain. The Martial Alliance, the Black Alliance, the Namgung Family, the Jegal Family, and even the Hubei Martial Alliance are all tangled up in this. It's impossible to determine who moved in what way."
"Tsk, tsk. If even one of them had survived, it would've been easier to grasp the situation, but they were all wiped out."
"We are gathering information step by step, so an outline should emerge soon."
The man nodded.
"Well, it might take some time, but it can't be helped. Oh, and don't touch the Golden Jade Trading Company."
"Yes. I have given clear instructions on that as well."
"This whole complicated mess is giving me a headache. By the way, with the Golden Jade Trading Company... is that pretty much the end of it?"
"That is my understanding. But who can fathom the master's intentions?"
"Anyway, that monstrous old man has lived for far too long."
The woman cautiously raised her head to look at the man.
"What should I do? Shall I leak the traces of the remaining ones?"
"Of course, you should. And you know those things Hyeokryeon Bigwang left behind in Wuhan? Hand them all over while you're at it."
"Yes. I will proceed immediately."
"Ah, and don't get caught. We've done nothing but wait quietly. Do you understand?"
"Of course."
The woman bowed her head once more before departing.
The man watched her leave, and after she disappeared, he muttered to himself.
"I'm starting to get tired of this. She's too good at her job to replace... Should I raise a competitor for her?"
The corners of the man's mouth twisted.
"Well, anyway, it feels good that things seem to be progressing smoothly. Hyeokryeon Hwi, you moronic friend. You should have come yourself, like me. Kehehe."
* * *
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and Hwaok cautiously watched Byeok Taesan, who was seated in the place of honor.
Byeok Taesan's expression was the same as always, but for some reason, he felt a little intimidating today.
"You found the kidnapped ones?"
As Byeok Taesan spoke first, the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion quickly answered.
"Yes. They say there's nothing particularly wrong with their bodies."
"Nothing wrong? Those crazy bastards kidnapped them, and there's nothing wrong?"
"They have some injuries, but they are all fully recoverable. I personally took physicians to confirm their condition."
Bringing the Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric would have been overkill, so she mobilized about three physicians from the Heavenly Medicine Hall to help with some minor treatment and check their pulses.
Byeok Taesan looked at her as if asking for her opinion, and the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion opened her mouth.
"It's highly suspicious, but since nothing has been revealed, everyone seems to be letting it go for now."
But it wasn't over just because nothing happened.
Those bastards have planted a seed of suspicion in the Black Alliance and the Martial Alliance.
"Let them handle that themselves... We're not finished yet. You two think so as well, don't you?"
"Yes. There is definitely something more."
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and Hwaok began to infer the situation, speaking back and forth.
"The Nameless members who used to operate in Wuhan and the ones who attacked the Hundred Flowers Pavilion this time are clearly different organizations."
"I think so too. If they were the same organization, it wouldn't make sense for them to have absolutely no information about the Young Master. They made no preparations for you at all."
"And it seems there's one more organization involved."
"That's right. During the search for the remnants, there were signs of someone else's intervention."
"It was so subtle that no one could have pulled it off without years of experience handling intelligence."
"If it weren't for us, it would have been hard to even notice, wouldn't it?"
After saying so, the two looked at each other and nodded meaningfully.
"They're clearly different organizations, yet the same."
"I think so too."
Byeok Taesan listened quietly to the two women before speaking.
"It means these clumsy fools are even fighting amongst themselves."
"Exactly."
Though she wasn't sure if "clumsy fools" was the right term.
"Moreover, thanks to that subtle information, we were able to completely clean out the remnants of the original Nameless group that operated in Wuhan."
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion said this with sparkling eyes, and Hwaok continued.
"By analyzing that information, we've figured out how the original Nameless organization operates its spies and how it establishes its intelligence bases."
At those words, a flicker of interest appeared in Byeok Taesan's eyes.
"So... that means we can find their bases in other cities."
"It's entirely possible."
"As long as they don't change their system."
A smile played on Byeok Taesan's lips.
"Sounds like you're saying we don't have much time."
If this incident became known, they would likely take some action.
The first of which would be to reorganize their group.
Byeok Taesan glanced at the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and Hwaok.
"First, figure it all out. I'll pay them a visit myself."
The two women's eyes widened.
"The Young Master will go in person?"
Byeok Taesan grinned.
"If anyone becomes worthy enough to bring along by then, I'll take them."
He was telling them to train hard and get stronger.
Hwaok's jaw tightened with a determined expression.
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion looked at her with a troubled expression.