Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: The Burning Manor (3)
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"So, you've come here aiming for my head?"
"Would I do that? Unlike the Murim Alliance, the Demonic Cult doesn't mistreat heroes."
Se Yeong realized why this middle-aged elder had come looking for him.
The Demonic Cult had come to recruit him to their side.
"Does your Cult Leader know of me?"
"The Cult Leader must have at least heard your name. With the bounty on your head rising to five hundred thousand nyang, even the hermits in seclusion will be after you now. No matter how skilled you are, one hand can't beat ten."
The more he listened, the colder Se Yeong's heart grew.
"So, what do you propose?"
"The Demonic Cult will protect you."
"Protect me..."
"Yes. But there's a condition. Cut off the heads of the young prodigies in this manor."
Hahaha...
Se Yeong burst into laughter as soon as the words were out.
The elder's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"Then what about Kang the Division Leader here?"
Se Yeong asked, his laughter fading.
"The Cult Leader doesn't tolerate traitors. I'll cut off that one's head myself and present it to him."
Kang the Division Leader was visibly shocked by the elder's response.
He had expected too much, it seemed.
The Demonic Cult didn't know the young master's true identity yet and simply wanted him to lead the charge against the Murim Alliance.
His own death was nothing more than a minor obstacle.
If the young master could become the master of the Demonic Cult, he'd lay down his head right here and now.
"Should I just send him away? Or cut him down? What do you think, Kang the Division Leader?"
Hehehe...
The elder laughed through his mouth, but a bone-chilling cold emanated from his entire body at Se Yeong's question.
"It seems you've taken my words as a mere request. The Demonic Cult doesn't make requests."
In the end, his words meant Se Yeong had to either follow the Demonic Cult or choose death—one or the other.
"You must be pretty confident."
Se Yeong mocked him, subtly tilting his scabbard forward in response to the threat.
At almost the same moment, the elder stepped back and flicked his finger to lift his staff slightly.
A white blade gleamed momentarily from within the black staff.
"Are you planning to kill a guest?"
"Nothing says I can't."
As tension crackled between Se Yeong and the elder, Kang the Division Leader quickly intervened.
"It would be best to just let him go."
The young master was already surrounded on all sides.
Killing this man here would only draw even more Demonic Cult experts, putting them in an even worse spot.
The elder gave him a strange look.
It didn't sound like something a subordinate would say to his master.
"Leave."
At Se Yeong's cold dismissal, the elder withdrew his killing intent.
"You have no allies in the martial world. Think it over carefully."
After sending the elder away, Se Yeong returned to the squad members with Kang the Division Leader.
"Hey, brother. We were just about to head to the manor, but you're back already?"
"Who was the guest, Hero Han?"
"No one important."
Kang the Division Leader tried to hide the elder's identity.
But Se Yeong didn't want to.
"It was someone from the Demonic Cult."
The unexpected words made the squad members exchange glances.
Then they shouted in unison.
"The Demonic Cult?"
"You don't mean that Demonic Cult, do you, brother?"
"Yeah, that one."
The squad members grew gravely serious at Se Yeong's confirmation.
The Demonic Cult showing up? Of all things.
"What did he... say, Hero Han?"
Yi Cheon Yeong asked on behalf of the silent squad.
"They offered to protect me."
"And what did you say?"
"They told me to cut off your heads first, so I told them to get lost."
Gulp.
Paeng Se Gi swallowed dryly, stroking his neck.
While they were unaware, terrifying words had been exchanged in the manor.
The shock left the squad speechless.
Compared to the Demonic Cult, being a public enemy of the martial world was nothing.
But Se Yeong seemed unconcerned.
"What are you standing around for? Get the food ready."
"Ah, got it."
Sa Sa Un, still dazed from the shock, hurried to move.
But his limbs were trembling from the impact.
'Even the Demonic Cult has shown up. The Demonic Cult...'
If Sa Sa Un was like that, the siblings were even worse off.
They'd heard plenty from the village elders about what the Demonic Cult was like.
"Where the Demonic Cult passes, no martial artists remain. Just corpses."
That's how the village elders had described it.
The farmers plowed the fields with plows and flooded the turned soil.
Before long, mountains and fields burst into bloom with all sorts of flowers, carpeted in green.
Just a few days ago, when they'd caught fish and made spicy stew, the flower buds had barely peeked out. Now, the hills and valleys were full of vibrant blossoms.
The siblings, who had run around the mountain, collapsed as the manor came into view.
Haa... haa...
"Stop resting and move it!"
Sa Sa Un burst out from the opening gate and yelled at them.
The other squad members were already back at the manor, practicing their martial arts.
"Sa... you're really tough on us."
Panting heavily, they barely stood at Sa Sa Un's nagging.
Their lightness skill had improved quite a bit, but it was nothing compared to the squad's.
They just got a little less tired and ran a bit faster.
After washing the sweat off in the stream, they reentered the manor.
"You gonna keep slacking?"
The siblings bowed their heads at Sa Sa Un's irritation.
"Sorry, Sa."
"Sorry."
Sa Sa Un, who had been frowning, softened his tone seeing they looked a bit pitiful.
"Hurry and prep the veggies."
In the kitchen, the siblings chopped vegetables and put meat in the pot.
Lunch today was beef noodle soup.
"When will we ever become experts?"
Sa Sa Un, kneading dough, picked up on Il Hwa's grumble.
"Experts? You're spending practice time cooking instead. No chance. It'll take at least ten years to be called one."
Actually, he was saying it more to himself than them.
With their help, he had more time to train, but it was still far from enough.
"I'd be happy just to be like you, Sa."
Sa Sa Un felt inexplicably pleased at Il Hwa's words.
"Well... I'm at least at that level."
He subtly showed his pride.
Having analyzed the outrageous martial arts of true experts multiple times, his eye for martial arts had sharpened and broadened.
And he was training in Se Yeong's techniques, no less.
"Is there no way to boost our internal energy all at once?"
Il Hwa and Yi Gu's internal energy was growing much faster than ordinary martial artists'.
But without experience, they couldn't tell.
"Quit whining. You're basically having a stroke of fortune right now. And even if your power surges overnight, that doesn't make you an expert."
He hated to admit it, but Se Yeong's training method was beyond excellent—brilliant, even if grueling.
Sa Sa Un, calmly explaining, suddenly snapped to his senses.
'Damn... why am I even telling them this?'
At mealtime, the squad gathered at the table.
The siblings served the beef noodle soup and sat down too.
"Go check."
At Se Yeong's words mid-meal, Yi Gu jumped up and ran to the gate.
Moments later, he returned with two farmers.
"The uncles say they have urgent business with Hero Han."
"Greetings, young master."
The farmers bowed deeply.
"Eaten yet?"
They glanced at each other instead of answering.
"Sit. Bring two more bowls of beef noodles."
The farmers brightened and plopped down on the floor.
"We're fine on the ground, young master."
"Alright. What's this urgent matter?"
Se Yeong waited for them to settle.
"Yes. Since last night, lots of martial artists have been showing up in the village. They've come before, but never all at once like this."
Due to the bounty on Se Yeong's head, sword-bearing martial artists constantly came and went from the village.
Most just scouted and left.
"There've always been martial artists in the village, no?"
"That's not it, young master. Suddenly, there are so many. Fierce-looking bunch too. The villagers are getting anxious."
With the bounty up to five hundred thousand nyang in silver, martial artists had flooded the village en masse.
Se Yeong brushed it off lightly.
"Got it. If anything bad happens, let me know right away."
"Thank you, young master."
The squad's faces soured as they ate on.
"I'll head to the village first and wipe those bastards out, brother."
Before Se Yeong could reply, one of the farmers on the floor spoke up.
"There looked to be at least a hundred martial artists."
Paeng Se Gi glanced at Yeonggak at the farmer's words.
"Let's go together, monk."
Not out of fear of a hundred, but worry about hidden experts among them.
"Om mani padme hum. Fighting in the village might harm the villagers, so better to wait here."
Paeng Se Gi had no rebuttal to Yeonggak's logic.
Se Yeong thought the same.
'Guess I'll be pulling another all-nighter.'
After dinner, the squad lit torches all around the manor.
The siblings brought out fried centipedes for the fidgety squad.
"Centipedes again? Bring something else. I'm so pumped I could uproot a mountain."
Crunch... crunch...
Paeng Se Gi grumbled but popped one in his mouth.
"You talk a lot for someone enjoying it."
The squad sat around the table, soothing their mouths with the fried treats.
Crunch...
Yeonggak, chewing and swallowing, suddenly asked Paeng Se Gi.
"What kind of martial artist do you want to be?"
Paeng Se Gi answered instantly, mid-chew.
"Like brother."
"Ah... must be nice not having to think."
"You mocking brother right now?"
"That's not what I meant."
Se Yeong, listening to their banter, suddenly turned toward the wall outside.
Hm?
Something felt off.
The presences approaching from afar were very different from before.
Se Yeong shot to his feet and headed to the wall.
The squad rose as he moved.
"I'll check outside, Hero Han."
Yi Gu, oblivious, tried to scout like before.
Se Yeong approached the wall and peered into the thick darkness at the countless lights.
The farmers said over a hundred martial artists in the village.
But the lights heading for the manor numbered far more than a hundred—easily over a thousand.
No, that was just the visible torches; with those without, at least three thousand.
"Brother..."
"Om mani padme hum..."
Even Paeng Se Gi and Yeonggak were at a loss.
Se Yeong spun urgently and called Sa Sa Un.
"Take the siblings to my room, grab the valuables and documents, and get out of the manor first."
Such words from Se Yeong's mouth stunned Sa Sa Un.
"Brother, no matter how many they are, we can hold them off."
Paeng Se Gi brimmed with confidence.
But that wasn't Se Yeong's concern.
"I'm not running. But we have to protect the siblings—their martial arts are still weak."