Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Noisy
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"Aaaaaaaargh!"
A scream more desperate than any before filled the room. The sound escaped the room and spread throughout the area.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric, who had just left and were on their way back to the Golden Jade Trading Company, heard the scream and stopped in their tracks, goosebumps rising on their skin.
As if possessed, the two men blankly turned to look back at the shabby inn they had just exited.
The screaming continued without end.
It was different from the screams before. It didn't just enter their ears; it pierced their minds—no, their hearts—no, their very souls.
"Hey, it's not just me, right? This is weird."
"Don't talk to me. If I try to answer, I think I'll lose my mind."
The two men shuddered.
"Oof. I feel like that could've been us. What do you think, my friend?"
"Enough. I won't talk, so just enjoy the screaming."
"Oh dear, is my friend sulking again? My apologies. It was a grave mistake on my part not to understand your feelings and refuse to speak."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages gave an exaggerated bow to the One-Needle Eccentric.
"Oh, I was wrong. Please, accept this humble apology from the Divine Doctor of the Ages."
The One-Needle Eccentric raised a fist.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages quickly scurried back three steps and said.
"Honestly, can't you have a conversation without curses and fists?"
"I wasn't always like this. You're the one who made me this way."
Just as the Divine Doctor of the Ages thought of a fitting retort, the screaming intensified.
"Aaaaaaaargh!"
The two men flinched and looked back at the inn.
They exchanged uneasy glances and quickly walked away.
It felt like something terrible would happen if they stayed and listened to that scream any longer.
* * *
Byeok Taesan extracted Gyeongbaekjun's soul and began to gently burn it from the outside.
Along with Gyeongbaekjun's screams, an immense amount of lingering thoughts poured into him.
But the state of the thoughts was strange.
They were entirely blood-red.
The emotions contained within were mostly fear.
He had expected a wealth of information after shaking him up with words before extracting his soul, but there was surprisingly little.
Amidst it all, the face of the one who played the largest role in Gyeongbaekjun's fear entered his mind through the lingering thoughts.
The rest of the information was too faint for anything to be certain.
Still, Byeok Taesan carefully stored the information in his mind.
It would all have to be verified and thoroughly investigated anyway.
And most of that work would be handled by the Underworld Sect.
Byeok Taesan only needed to provide the lead.
Gently burning the surface had its limits, so he now fully activated the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
Gyeongbaekjun's soul blazed in Byeok Taesan's hand.
Byeok Taesan's eyes widened slightly as he watched.
Something he had never seen when burning any other soul was happening.
Gyeongbaekjun's soul, burned by the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts, began to melt.
As his soul melted, it seemed to turn into blood. No, it *was* turning into blood, dripping down.
Byeok Taesan clenched his fist, gripping the blood that flowed from his hand.
Blood trickled down to the floor.
Soon, Gyeongbaekjun's soul had completely burned away.
Leaving behind, quite literally, only a handful of blood.
Byeok Taesan opened his hand. The blood remained on his palm.
This was real blood.
Byeok Taesan carefully examined the blood on his hand.
It was not ordinary blood. It was blood steeped in a sinister and dangerous energy.
It also contained spiritual power, albeit faint.
*Sshaaa.*
As he activated the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts, the blood on his palm floated up and began to disintegrate.
Blood-red particles popped and vanished.
The spiritual power felt from the blood gradually faded. The sinister and dangerous energy disappeared along with it.
As he burned the remaining blood, more thoughts flowed in. It was the sight of being completely submerged in a pool of blood.
Though it wasn't even clear if those were lingering thoughts.
"This is extremely... unpleasant."
Byeok Taesan muttered, staring at his now clean palm.
It seemed the method Gyeongbaekjun had learned to wield spiritual power was based on blood.
In truth, while rare, there are demonic arts that can interfere with spiritual power.
The same was true for orthodox arts.
However, to handle spiritual power through orthodox arts, one had to dedicate an immense amount of time to training to accumulate sufficient sacred energy.
Demonic arts were a bit different.
But to do so, one had to use something rather vile as a medium for the demonic art.
The most common was blood; sometimes corpses, poison, or even primal human emotions could have a similar effect.
By using such things, one could sometimes tap into spiritual power.
It wasn't guaranteed just by learning such a demonic art; one had to be very lucky for various factors to align perfectly.
In any case, what Gyeongbaekjun had learned seemed similar to such demonic arts.
Of course, its power was but a fraction of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts, but that alone made it far more efficient than most demonic arts.
Byeok Taesan flicked his hand, shaking off his thoughts of Gyeongbaekjun along with it.
Then, he began to methodically organize the information he had gathered today.
Now, it was time to use this to catch the one behind Gyeongbaekjun.
And, of course, to take care of a few of their assembly points using the information obtained from the warrior who had been with Gyeongbaekjun.
* * *
A man in a white robe paced around the room.
A moment later, the door opened, and a woman in black entered quietly and bowed her head.
"I could not find him."
The man, Hyeokryeon Gyun, frowned and glared at the woman.
"Couldn't find him? Gyeongbaekjun may be frivolous, but he is not one to abandon his post without reason."
"Yes. I am aware. It seems he has been dealt with."
"Dealt with? By whom? Have you been keeping a close watch on the Underworld Sect?"
"As far as I know, the Underworld Sect has not made a move. Of course, there may be members who have evaded my eyes and ears, but if they had moved, I would have detected it in some way."
Knowing how competent the woman in black was, Hyeokryeon Gyun could only nod.
If she spoke with such certainty, it definitely wasn't the Underworld Sect.
"Still, it's true that the Underworld Sect was moving to find Gyeongbaekjun, isn't it?"
"Yes, that is correct. It is highly likely they located him."
The Golden Jade Trading Company crossed Hyeokryeon Gyun's mind.
"Then was it the Golden Jade Trading Company?"
"There is a possibility... but that place is also under our surveillance."
"Then who in the world could it be!"
Hyeokryeon Gyun snapped with irritation.
Seeing this, the woman's expression soured. It was very rare for Hyeokryeon Gyun to act this way.
It seemed he was feeling cornered mentally because things were not going his way.
The woman in black was about to say something to soothe his mood.
But at that moment, a signal came from outside.
Her expression hardened as she looked at Hyeokryeon Gyun.
"My lord, something has happened."
"What? What is it now?"
"One of the Blood Spirit Brigade's bases has vanished."
"What?"
The Blood Spirit Brigade was an organization Hyeokryeon Gyun had brought with him this time. It was composed of warriors he had painstakingly trained, and each one was incredibly skilled.
Upon bringing them to Wuhan, he had established many bases and stationed the Blood Spirit Brigade among them.
At each base, at least two squads of the Blood Spirit Brigade were stationed.
One squad consisted of a leader and twenty members.
The ones guarding Gyeongbaekjun were Squad One of the Blood Spirit Brigade, composed of the most skilled leader and members.
That was why he honestly found it hard to believe when he heard Gyeongbaekjun had been taken down.
Their skills were such that the warriors of the Martial Alliance or the Black Alliance currently in Wuhan could never hope to defeat them.
But now, a base where two squads of the Blood Spirit Brigade were staying had vanished. Who on earth could have done such a thing?
"What should we do?"
the woman in black asked, and Hyeokryeon Gyun thought for a moment.
But his contemplation was short-lived. Another report reached the woman in black.
"Ah...!"
"What is it?"
"Another base has reportedly vanished."
Hyeokryeon Gyun's face twisted mercilessly.
"Are you serious right now?"
The woman in black quickly bowed her head.
"When I heard one base had vanished, I ordered all bases to be checked. The reports are now coming in one by one."
"Hooo. Fine, I understand. Report any further news immediately as it comes in."
Hyeokryeon Gyun said this and looked at the woman, who suddenly turned pale and shuddered.
"We've lost many, haven't we."
"Yes. Four locations have already been hit."
"Then what are you doing! Send the recall signal at once!"
Startled, the woman in black finally replied.
"Yes. I will send the recall signal immediately."
The woman in black focused her internal energy in her throat.
Then she opened her mouth wide and let out a sound.
But from the outside, it looked as if she was just opening her mouth without making any noise.
Using her internal energy, she had produced a sound inaudible to the human ear.
She poured most of her internal energy into it, so the inaudible sound spread out from her to a great distance.
That was the recall signal for the Blood Spirit Brigade.
As soon as the signal was sent, Hyeokryeon Gyun spoke.
"Don't tell me you called them all here?"
The woman in black was flustered. That was exactly what she had done.
"You fool! How could you call them here, knowing someone might be watching and follow them! You should have directed them elsewhere!"
At his words, the woman in black opened her mouth again.
And once more, the inaudible sound spread far and wide.
She had done it in such a hurry that her source energy was damaged, but it couldn't be helped.
Hyeokryeon Gyun was absolutely right.
The woman in black gasped for breath. Her face was pale, a side effect of overexerting herself.
Hyeokryeon Gyun sighed softly at the sight of her, then gently pulled her into an embrace.
Nestled in his arms, the woman in black quietly evened her breathing. A flush began to return to her pale face.
"You know what comes next is crucial, don't you?"
"Yes. I know."
"Watch them closely. Find out who dares to do this."
"Yes."
The woman in black answered quietly, lifting her head to look at Hyeokryeon Gyun. Desire flickered in her eyes.
Hyeokryeon Gyun gently caressed her cheek.
"We'll continue this after the work is done, shall we?"
With a look of disappointment, the woman in black stepped back slightly.
"I will proceed at once."
The woman in black bowed her head and withdrew.
Hyeokryeon Gyun closed his eyes, trying to calm the seething power within him.
Under the command of the woman in black were a hundred warriors. And all one hundred of them were exceptionally skilled in infiltration, assassination, tracking, tailing, and other intelligence-related abilities.
They would hide near the assembly point in advance, and if they found anyone tracking or watching the Blood Spirit Brigade, they would then track them in return.
He didn't know who these bastards were yet, but they were probably connected to the Underworld Sect in some way.
"The Underworld Sect..."
The Underworld Sect's power had grown suddenly. This was by no means a natural occurrence.
There was something behind it.
And this was his chance to uncover who was backing the Underworld Sect.
Hyeokryeon Gyun's eyes turned blood-red.
He controlled his power for a moment, then entered the adjacent room.
There, five women, prepared in advance, lay naked.
They looked at Hyeokryeon Gyun with fearful eyes as he entered the room.
A viscous desire began to swirl in Hyeokryeon Gyun's blood-red eyes.
* * *
The Blood Spirit Brigade moved swiftly through various parts of Wuhan.
The total number of Blood Spirit Brigade members who had entered Wuhan, excluding squad leaders, was a staggering four hundred.
But among them, four assembly points—that is, eight squads—had been taken down.
Adding Squad One, which had vanished while guarding Gyeongbaekjun, nearly two hundred members of the Blood Spirit Brigade were gone.
Still, over two hundred members remained. If they gathered together, they wouldn't be defeated so easily.
The woman in black hid stealthily near the assembly point, watching the Blood Spirit Brigade members as they arrived one after another.
Her subordinates had set up a wide surveillance network in the vicinity and were checking not only the Brigade members but also any potential trackers who might have followed them.
She constantly exchanged signals.
As long as it wasn't a signal spread over a wide area like before, she could exchange them freely.
Her subordinates had also learned a similar technique, so they were continuously reporting the situation through sounds no one could hear.
'Nothing?'
Even though they were watching with far more focus than usual, they had yet to catch a single tracker.
Even the Underworld Sect members, who were usually a common sight, were nowhere to be found.
The Blood Spirit Brigade fundamentally moved with stealth and silence. But when moving on such a large scale, it was impossible to hide their movements completely.
Therefore, anyone watching the Blood Spirit Brigade or who had sensed something amiss in Wuhan would have surely noticed their movements.
Yet, it made no sense that there wasn't a single tail on them.
At least, that's what the woman in black thought.
And as her thoughts reached that point, she suddenly felt anxious.
The woman in black decided she needed to expand the surveillance network.
Perhaps the skill of those watching them was far greater than she had anticipated.
She opened her mouth and let out an inaudible sound.
She had to push herself slightly to send it to all her subordinates, but it was manageable.
"You're noisy."
Startled by the voice that suddenly came from behind, the woman in black moved reflexively.
She drew her sword and spun around, swinging it in a single motion.
Her eyes went wide as saucers.
The person standing behind her was holding her sword with just two fingers.
Her gaze filled with confusion.
How in the world had he found her? Moreover, there had been no sign of anyone tracking the Blood Spirit Brigade.
That meant he had targeted her specifically and come straight here.
Reading her expression, Byeok Taesan smirked and snapped the sword he held between his fingers.
"You've been screaming your head off from here for a while now."
The eyes of the woman in black filled with disbelief.
< Noisy > End