Catching the Hidden Fiend (5)
Murim Alliance's Mantongbu. A place where alliance members were perpetually ground to dust amid chronic manpower shortages, screaming all the while. Normally filled with flying documents and the groans of overworked members, the ceaseless clamor had fallen eerily silent today for some reason.
Jegal Somyeong pressed his throbbing temples with his fingers.
"Still no reply from the Taiyuan branch?"
"......Yes."
The black path forces in Sichuan were stirring suspiciously. They surely knew the Murim Alliance's nerves were on edge after the war with the Blood Cult. Their actions now were tantamount to heralding all-out war.
With the Blood Cult subjugation right around the corner, the Murim Alliance faced a critical decision: press forward one more step, or turn the reins toward Sichuan to slap down the black path factions?
To gauge what schemes the Sahyeokryeon was hatching, he'd sent multiple messages to the Taiyuan branch, but no reply had come.
Tap, tap.
"Hmm......"
Deep in thought, Jegal Somyeong tapped his fingers on the desk, organizing his mind.
"No word from Cheonmogak either?"
"Yes. The promised date has already passed...... but there's been no contact."
Messenger birds carried risks of loss. The information blackout was understandable to an extent, but with even Cheonmogak's agents this delayed in responding, someone was deliberately suppressing news from Shanxi Province.
"The Sahyeokryeon?"
Tap.
Jegal Somyeong's tapping fingers halted abruptly. He stared silently at the member who'd spoken.
"Why...... Is there something on my face......?"
"Hmm......"
Maeng Ju-won never would have asked such a question. Jegal Somyeong shook his head.
"No."
Even among carefully selected talents, clear gaps in ability existed. He'd somehow endured with Maeng Ju-won as deputy chief so far, but the limits were showing. Situations like this, where he had no choice but to dispatch him, left Jegal Somyeong handling all of Mantongbu's work alone.
This wasn't work for an old man.
'I need to get that Jin Sowoon punk into Mantongbu ASAP.'
Tedious, but unavoidable for now. Jegal Somyeong instructed the member.
"A fledgling group like the Sahyeokryeon, barely standing on its pillars with a roof slapped on, couldn't possibly have an intelligence network this sophisticated."
In truth, it was impressive they'd come this far as a crudely assembled outfit. They'd gathered people and taken their first step, after all.
'Damak of Cheongwa Academy...... Lost a good talent there.'
Of course, he'd known from the start Damak was imperial material, with no ties to the Murim Alliance. But suddenly becoming Sahyeokryeon's total strategist? An unexpected choice.
He wanted to dig into the details, but the Murim Alliance had no such luxury now. The warriors dispatched to Sichuan were already crying out from supply shortages.
At this rate, it wouldn't be the Blood Cult's death throes shaking the Alliance, but a rebellion among its own members crumbling it.
Of course, these hardships weren't new. The Alliance would face similar trials ahead.
That's why they needed successors above all—those who transcended clans and sects, truly wishing for peace in the kangho.
This was why Jegal Somyeong was perpetually starved for talent.
'Maeng Ju-won and Jin Sowoon...... They'll be the starting point.'
As he squeezed his eyes shut, the world spun. But even this brief respite was denied him.
"Total Strategist! A messenger from Cheonmogak has arrived."
"......!"
At the news, Jegal Somyeong—who'd just thought of resting—sprang up, fatigue forgotten.
The red messenger paper bypassed Cheonmogak and Mantongbu inspections, delivered straight to the total strategist.
Mission Failed
The stark sentence, devoid of explanation, silenced Jegal Somyeong and the member.
The member finally parted his lips.
"Total Strategist. This......"
Cheonmogak reports followed a strict format—minimalist, conveying core intel efficiently. Failing even that meant the agents on the mission weren't just failed; their lives were in peril.
"Could Damak have prepared countermeasures?"
Jegal Somyeong shook his head silently.
'Even the great Damak of the world couldn't block Cheonmogak without proper preparation.'
What was Cheonmogak? The eyes and ears of the Murim Alliance. Trained from the start in special Alliance programs. Their martial prowess might vary, but in infiltration, intel gathering, and handling? Unrivaled by even the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families. They even handled assassinations in emergencies. No matter how arrogant Damak, blocking them was absurd.
Tap, tap.
"What in the world......"
This wasn't just about mission success or failure. The ignorance of events in Taiyuan—Sahyeokryeon's base—was the issue. Who was suppressing the information, and why?
Jegal Somyeong clenched his fist mid-tap.
'No way...... The Demonic Cult bastards!'
If not them, Taiyuan made no sense. The question was what they were plotting. If they were inciting war between Sahyeokryeon and the Alliance......
The delegation's mission would skyrocket in difficulty. No—their very safety would be at risk.
'Did I assign too impossible a task!'
He'd given it half-hoping for success, half not minding failure. But now worry surged.
"Should we wait for now?"
At the member's words, Jegal Somyeong shot to his feet.
The culprit was unknown, but this wasn't a time for leisure.
"Total Strategist?"
"I'm heading to the Alliance Lord's hall."
Jegal Somyeong couldn't sit still.
The revelation that the fourth of the Seopyeong Five Dogs was a masked fiend wearing a human face sent shockwaves through all of Sahyeokryeon.
The leadership was hit hardest. Dobongsu and the Seopyeong brothers oblivious meant the fiend's abilities were extraordinary.
Realizing they too could be targets, they tensed up. Some even distanced themselves from closest allies.
"The key now is who sent this fiend."
"Obviously the Murim Alliance."
"You bastard! Still yapping about war without coming to your senses? The Alliance would have to be insane to pull this now?"
"......"
The fiend's prowess implied a formidable organization behind it. But who, besides the Alliance, Sahyeokryeon, or Blood Cult, could cultivate such? And ones cruel enough to kill and impersonate? None.
Calls to purge internal fiends grew fierce.
"We must screen for fiends first."
"We don't even know who."
"Then...... use the Black Flame Dragon's method."
They hesitated to actually do it. Everyone knew how Jin Sowoon caught the fiend, but none had the guts.
Suspecting was one thing; a single mistake could kill innocent brothers.
Even the hardliners demanding the delegation's execution fell silent. All eyes turned to the Black Flame Dragon's next move.
Jin Sowoon, unjustly framed until now, strutted through Sahyeokryeon with smug satisfaction. Though he'd never cowered anyway.
Bam!
The door to Saruryeon's hall shattered. Disciples' snake-like eyes widened as they reached for weapons.
"Who dares intrude on Saruryeon......!"
"Me, you snake bastards!"
The rude intruder announcing himself so brazenly was none other than Jin Sowoon.
"......"
His fearless entry froze the furious disciples.
Having clashed with Gun Yuhyeon in bloody combat, Jin Sowoon dragged a chair over like it was his own home and sat.
"Gather your guards when I say nicely."
"......"
Sensing why he'd come, the Saruryeon disciples hesitated, glancing around.
He'd come to Saruryeon to hunt Gal Munjeong's killer—the fiend.
Saruryeon had insisted the fiend was among the delegation. Blood-boiling grounds normally, but Jin Sowoon exposing Dobongsu's fiend flipped everything.
With the leader's permission, none could stop him now.
Then.
"Black Flame Dragon."
Saruryeon Vice Leader Wang Jupal rose as if waiting. Politely, he asked,
"Here for the fiend, right?"
Then asserted,
"Our internal interrogation confirmed no fiend. Go elsewhere."
Jin Sowoon cocked his head at Wang Jupal.
Internal interrogation?
"Bullshit."
"......"
Wang Jupal's eyes twitched at the insult.
"We questioned thoroughly......"
"Then why's the fiend still here?"
"What?"
Jin Sowoon nodded at the disciples.
"Gonna let the real fiend roam? Then Saruryeon takes blame for all future assassinations......"
He grinned at Wang Jupal.
"That okay?"
Wang Jupal's gaze sharpened.
"How can you be sure?"
"Still doubting my skills?"
"......"
Their eyes clashed fiercely—a faction leader's pride versus the one who must escort the delegation alive to the Alliance.
Tension thickened.
Then.
"Ahem, ahem."
A light cough shattered the silence. Jin Sowoon's eyes flashed.
"Who?! Who coughed!"
"......"
Jin Sowoon shot up.
"I'm using the Attention Technique! Who dares cough!"
Disciples glanced one way. The man there paled.
Hic.
"You?"
"S-Sorry."
Jin Sowoon approached, eyes bulging, staring.
"How dare you cough during my Attention Technique, you fool!"
Hic! Hic! Hic!
"Looks like your head's full of demons."
Hic...... "T-Tae-eul Gate's a Daoist sect, though......"
The burly bearded man shrank like a boy. Jin Sowoon bellowed,
"Talking back confirms you're the fiend!!!"
"Wh-What!!!"
Now realizing one cough put him on death's door, the man couldn't believe it.
Wang Jupal sighed deeply, stepping forward.
"Enough, Black Flame Dragon."
Provoking further risked unknown humiliation. The Black Flame Dragon's vicious temper was infamous in black path murim.
Wang Jupal asked,
"Just gather the guards?"
"Guards and elders too."
"Me included?"
"No. You can skip."
"Huh?"
Arms crossed, Jin Sowoon eyed him.
"My Attention Technique already confirmed no demons in your head."
"......"
Wang Jupal couldn't hide his complex expression. As the disciple said, Tae-eul Gate was Daoist? Why demons? He wanted to ask but shut his mouth to avoid hassle.
"......"
Watching, Gun Yuhyeon and Hyeoltu gaped.
Hyeoltu chuckled dryly.
"Real madman."
"......"
"You think so too?"
Gun Yuhyeon nodded slightly. Surely demons infested Jin Sowoon's head.