Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: First, Let's Pull It Out
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Byeok Taesan approached the woman in black and looked around.
They were on the roof of a rather tall pavilion, from which they could clearly see the movements of the Blood Spirit Squad in the surrounding area.
Members of the Blood Spirit Squad were pouring into an estate a short distance from the pavilion.
The estate was empty. It was impossible to tell whether it had been prepared in advance or if everyone who had been there was eliminated.
However, judging by the atmosphere, it seemed unlikely that they had killed everyone.
While these people sometimes handled matters with unbelievable crudeness, if they had done so in Wuhan, it surely would have been caught in the Underworld Sect’s information network in one way or another.
"There aren't many of them."
The remaining number of the Blood Spirit Squad was a staggering two hundred and twenty. In addition, there were the eleven leaders of each team.
To hear him say there weren't many of them was, on one hand, absurd, and on the other, terrifying.
The woman in black quietly watched Byeok Taesan.
He was someone she could never hope to handle with her own power.
The best decision she could make right now was one of two choices: run, or stay still.
Unable to make a hasty decision, the woman in black wavered.
Suddenly, Byeok Taesan whipped his head around to look at her.
The woman in black flinched.
"What? Trying to run?"
The woman in black swallowed dryly.
Byeok Taesan watched her steadily and spoke.
"That fellow, Gyeong Baekjun or whatever his name was, didn't know much. What about you?"
The woman in black stared at Byeok Taesan with a hardened expression.
"All he knew were a few locations where those bastards, who are so diligently gathering over there, assemble."
The woman in black wore a look of disbelief.
"Gyeong Baekjun told you that?"
Byeok Taesan grinned.
"Why? Did you think he'd keep his mouth shut because of the filth embedded in his soul?"
The woman's eyes widened in shock.
She never imagined he would know about something like that.
"You… what is your identity?"
"Byeok Taesan. Didn't you already know that?"
Of course, she knew. She had confirmed Byeok Taesan's face several times through various methods during her investigation.
"How do you know about that?"
Byeok Taesan let out a smirk.
"I should be the one asking. How do you all know about it? I'm truly curious about your relationship with the Heavenly Demonic Cult."
As soon as she heard those words, the woman's expression froze solid.
Her mind suddenly became a tangled mess. She never thought the words "Heavenly Demonic Cult" would come from Byeok Taesan's lips.
'Could the force behind Byeok Taesan be the Heavenly Demonic Cult? Impossible! I checked so many times!'
The Heavenly Demonic Cult was in a position where they absolutely could not make a move right now. So why would their name suddenly come up here?
"Is the person you serve that man who wears the white robe?"
The moment she heard this, the woman's face turned pale. Her opponent knew everything.
'Could there be a traitor?'
The thought occurred to her that perhaps it wasn't the Heavenly Demonic Cult behind Byeok Taesan, but a traitor within their own ranks.
"Where is he now?"
The woman clamped her mouth shut. As if she would ever tell him that.
Byeok Taesan grinned and placed a hand on the crown of her head.
"First, let's pull it out."
Having been thoroughly shaken, she would likely spew out a great deal of residual thoughts.
Byeok Taesan smoothly extracted her soul.
***
The entire Blood Spirit Squad gathered at the estate as signaled.
And those monitoring the area around the estate expanded their perimeter even further.
The Blood Spirit Squad was an organization personally cultivated by Hyeokryeon Gyun.
From protecting him to carrying out any task he desired, they did whatever was asked of them.
Their exceptional skill and vast experience had always yielded sufficient results in any endeavor.
They had no doubt that this mission would be the same.
That is, if today's events hadn't occurred.
The Blood Spirit Squad Leader gathered the team leaders with a grave expression.
"Is everyone here except for the ninth team?"
"No anomalies to report."
The team leaders answered in unison, bowing their heads slightly.
A hint of irritation flickered across the Squad Leader's face.
He couldn't help but be furious at having so senselessly lost nearly two hundred of the men he had painstakingly trained.
"Any other news?"
"None."
"What about the contacts?"
"All but one have returned."
The contacts were individuals who could communicate with the woman in black, with one assigned to each base.
But with the entire Blood Spirit Squad gathered here, it seemed all but one had gone back.
"It certainly seems… that something is going on."
"It appears so. The surroundings are too agitated."
"And the fact that we've all been gathered in one place like this."
The Squad Leader casually turned his head and looked at the tall pavilion near the estate.
Others might not have known, but the Squad Leader had sensed someone's presence there even before arriving at the estate.
The presence was very familiar, so he knew who was there.
The Squad Leader gazed at the pavilion's roof with displeased eyes.
Though it was dark, he could clearly see a woman standing there.
"Tsk, no matter how much she is favored by our lord, to think she'd try to control everything by herself."
In truth, when something like this happened, shouldn't she have consulted with him to handle it?
The Squad Leader suddenly realized there was no need to wait here any longer.
The Blood Spirit Squad could simply remain on standby from now on. As long as they maintained a tight guard, what problem could there be?
The Squad Leader looked at his team leaders. They were still gathered together, murmuring amongst themselves.
"I'm going to step out for a bit. Maintain strict security, and if anything happens, use the contact."
"Yes, sir. Take care."
Receiving the farewells of the team leaders, the Squad Leader leaped out of the estate.
He reached the pavilion and deftly scaled its walls.
When he arrived on the roof, he saw the woman in black.
And he also saw someone standing behind her.
At first, he was startled, thinking his lord had come, but he quickly realized that wasn't the case.
"Byeok Taesan?"
The Squad Leader's eyes widened slightly.
He had not expected Byeok Taesan to be here with her.
The Squad Leader looked at the woman in black and spoke.
"It seems… an explanation is in order. Do you have anything to say?"
As he spoke, the Squad Leader drew his sword.
A violent aura began to emanate from his body in waves.
The woman in black said nothing, merely staring at the Squad Leader. But her condition was strange.
Her eyes were unfocused. She had a dazed expression.
The Squad Leader's gaze naturally shifted to Byeok Taesan, who stood behind her.
"I suppose I'll have to capture you first before we talk."
Byeok Taesan stared silently at the Squad Leader, then began to walk toward him.
The Squad Leader watched Byeok Taesan approach and scoffed in disbelief.
He couldn't feel any aura from him at all. He looked just like an ordinary martial artist.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he felt a strange sense of unease.
'Ordinary? Byeok Taesan?'
That made no sense.
But by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
Byeok Taesan was standing right in front of him.
The Squad Leader swung his sword. A massive amount of energy was imbued in the blade.
Byeok Taesan reached out a hand toward the sword.
Clang!
He caught the blade between his thumb and forefinger.
The Squad Leader's eyes widened in shock.
"I was planning to head over anyway, so go back and wait."
With his other hand, Byeok Taesan slapped the Squad Leader across the face.
Crack!
The Squad Leader flew through the air and crashed into the estate where the Blood Spirit Squad was gathered.
CRASH!
Skidding across the ground, the Squad Leader lost consciousness.
The members of the Blood Spirit Squad, startled by the commotion, rushed over to check on their leader.
He wasn't dead, but it didn't look like he would wake up anytime soon.
They all raised their heads to look at the pavilion roof from which their leader had flown.
On the roof, Byeok Taesan grinned at the watching Blood Spirit Squad, then turned to the woman in black standing blankly beside him.
He had confirmed a good amount of her residual thoughts; now it was time to burn her soul in earnest.
The woman in black was on a deeper level than Gyeong Baekjun.
Byeok Taesan extracted her soul and burned it with the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
Just as with Gyeong Baekjun, her soul melted away, turning into a pool of blood.
"Interesting."
That blood was the spiritual energy she had accumulated throughout her life. It was also spiritual energy extracted from the blood of others.
Byeok Taesan burned even that away completely using the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
She too spewed out residual thoughts of a scene where she was submerged in blood.
In the process, he was able to see one person.
The man in the white robe, Hyeokryeon Gyun.
"Hyeokryeon, Hyeokryeon… where have I heard that before…"
Byeok Taesan briefly searched his memory, which failed to surface, before leaping off the roof.
He came to a sudden halt in mid-air, halfway between the pavilion roof and the estate, then slowly walked down, treading on the air itself.
As he landed in the estate, everyone stared at him with looks of horror.
Of course, that didn't mean the Blood Spirit Squad backed down in fear.
They were exuding killing intent from their entire bodies.
No matter who the opponent was, no matter how terrifying, the Blood Spirit Squad would never retreat.
Byeok Taesan casually glanced over at the Blood Spirit Squad.
He flicked his finger toward one side.
Pop!
The head of a man standing slightly apart from the squad members burst, and he collapsed.
Everyone turned to look in shock.
The fallen man was the last remaining contact.
"I can't stand noise."
The contact had just opened his mouth, attempting to use that inaudible sound to alert his comrades.
So he took care of him. Because it was noisy.
Having prevented any further noise, Byeok Taesan leisurely raised his hand.
It was fine for everyone left here to disappear now.
Byeok Taesan filled his bracer with the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts. Then, he unleashed the fully amplified energy.
Normally, the energy of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts would have blanketed a wide area, melting the entire Blood Spirit Squad in an instant.
But this time was a little different.
As if wielding a massive whip, the coalesced energy writhed and squirmed, methodically erasing the Blood Spirit Squad members one by one.
They were unable to mount any meaningful defense before being swept up in the violent energy of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts and vaporized.
Soon, Byeok Taesan lowered his hand.
He had erased the entire Blood Spirit Squad. All except for their leader.
"Well… that was decent enough."
What Byeok Taesan had done this time was practice not just releasing the amplified Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts, but handling it with more precision.
It wasn't perfect, as it was his first time, but it was serviceable enough.
After all, despite unleashing such immense power, he had managed to keep the Squad Leader alive.
Byeok Taesan leisurely walked over, hoisted up the Squad Leader, and left the estate.
Now, there was one more left.
***
Around the estate where the Blood Spirit Squad had gathered, figures moved stealthily.
They were searching for anyone tracking the Blood Spirit Squad and checking if anyone was monitoring the estate from a distance.
But no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't find even a hint of such activity.
While they were searching the area, the signal suddenly cut off.
Their leader, the woman in black, sent out signals periodically. These were instructions on how they were to move next.
But with the instructions suddenly ceasing, they could no longer move.
They held their positions, waiting for the next signal.
But the signal never came.
They sent signals to each other, trying to grasp the current situation.
And they found out a few things.
First, no matter how many signals they sent to the woman in black, none came back.
Something had clearly happened.
Also, the contact attached to the Blood Spirit Squad was not returning signals either.
Upon realizing this, they all snapped to attention.
This was an emergency.
Someone had clearly attacked.
'But how?'
They had established a perfect surveillance network around the estate where the Blood Spirit Squad was staying.
How could anyone have penetrated it to attack the Blood Spirit Squad and the woman in black?
There were over two hundred members of the Blood Spirit Squad in the estate right now. To face them, one would need a force of at least a similar size.
If a group of that size had passed through, there was no way they wouldn't have known.
But regardless, something had happened, and they had to respond.
Their choice was to flee.
They decided to scatter in all directions and escape, then return to their main base.
They could contact their lord later.
Signals came from all directions, and the man sent his signal as well.
As soon as the decision was made, the man moved. Or rather, he tried to move.
If only figures hadn't suddenly blocked his path.
There were three of them.
The man eyed the three people who had appeared before him. He quickly assessed their level, and by observing their posture, visible muscles, and the flow of their auras, he calculated how they would move and react.
But the newcomers didn't give the man time for such calculations.
They suddenly rushed him, exquisitely blocking his escape routes as they swung their weapons.
The man knew instinctively. He would not be leaving this place today.
As he fell, struck in multiple places, the man recognized from the three attackers' styles that they each belonged to different organizations.
Of course, what good was knowing that now?
The three of them picked up the fallen man and headed off somewhere.
Similar events unfolded almost simultaneously in about a hundred other locations nearby.