Aftermath of the Blood Demon's Fall
“Haaah...”
“Sigh...”
In the opulent chamber, Dimerof and Namgung Je-u sat in their chairs, letting out one heavy sigh after another.
“That bastard Baek Do-ha... causing a massive disaster...”
Je-u pressed hard on his throbbing temples.
Two days had already passed since Do-ha killed the Blood Demon.
“You said he told you, didn’t he?”
Dimerof looked at Je-u.
According to Do-ha, he had informed Je-u so the Nine Great Sects and One Guild could be mobilized.
“He said he’d use the Heaven-Cleaving Blood Demon Sword to cut down the Blood Cult’s forces. He never said he’d charge into their headquarters alone.”
Damn it all.
If he had known in advance, he would have stopped him. Charging into the main temple in the Northern Continent without even properly gauging the Blood Demon’s power was an enormous gamble. It was fortunate Do-ha had come out unscathed. If he had been delayed even a little, he would have had to face the Demon God Cult, the Demonic Cult, and even the traitor Depnius.
Thud!
“What the hell were you two doing?!”
Dimerof, who had been sighing, glared at Metatron and Baal sitting across from him.
With the two of them there, shouldn’t they have stopped Baek Do-ha? Even if he was their contractor, just standing by and watching?
“We were deceived as well.”
“Baek Do-ha didn’t tell us. How were we supposed to know what was going on in that bastard’s head?!”
“Anyway, that Baek Do-ha. Still causing trouble left and right.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Well, well? An angel and a demon getting along so well?”
Emilton, who had been watching, let out a hollow laugh.
When it came to cursing Baek Do-ha, angels and demons were of one mind.
“Th-that’s true. Ahem...”
“Past or present, it’s true that the guy causes trouble.”
“...”
No.
Correction.
Not just the angel and demon. Everyone here was of one mind.
Bang!
“Done talking behind my back?”
“Baek Do-ha!”
“Do-ha!”
As the door opened and Do-ha entered, everyone who had been seated shot to their feet.
That damn bastard! Causing a massive disaster and still looking so calm!
“I want to punch him.”
“Me too.”
“Why?!”
Hearing Dimerof and Namgung Je-u’s words, Do-ha’s expression turned hurt.
He’d even taken care of the Blood Demon, the core of the Blood Cult, and they wanted to hit him for it?! And these guys called themselves friends...
“You should be thanking me for getting rid of the Blood Demon!”
“Thank you? For what, you bastard?!”
Whoosh!
Swish.
Do-ha lightly dodged the bread Dimerof threw at him.
“You bastard! What about all the trackers we planted?!”
“Ah... Wait, were you tracking them?”
At his words, Do-ha scratched his head.
Among comrades, the common phrase “planting trackers.” It was slang for tracking, pure and simple.
Currently, the forces allied with the Demon God Cult weren’t just the Blood Cult and Demonic Cult. There were various minor forces that had joined hands with the Cult, and in the process they had naturally become entangled with the Blood Cult as well. Tracking the Cult itself was dangerous, so they had been tracking the Blood Cult, which had originally been evil. That way it would fall under official investigation, and the spies hidden in the Empire or the Martial Alliance would continue living as usual.
But because Do-ha had turned the Blood Cult upside down, all the trails of the forces they had been tracking were completely cut off. Even if they weren’t giants like the Demon God Cult, Demonic Cult, or Blood Cult, when those minor forces’ power gathered, it became quite troublesome. Because of that, they had planted trackers and continued working under the surface.
“Don’t worry. I’ll track them down again and find them for you!”
“Forget it, you bastard! I’m already tracking them again with the Empire’s soldiers.”
“What? Then it’s fine!”
Do-ha smiled and snapped his fingers.
“It’s not just the Western Continent. Our side’s gotten a headache too.”
“Why the Eastern Continent? Did the Martial World plant trackers too?”
“Not that. With the Blood Cult collapsing, the remaining Black Path bastards’ movements have turned sour.”
Black Path. Martial artists who walked a different road from the Orthodox White Path. Representatively, there were the Green Forest, Haomen, the Assassination Pavilion, the Yangtze River Water Fortress, and the Sun Moon Divine Cult. There were a few more, but if one had to pick, those were the ones.
Of course, the public said the Demonic Cult and Blood Cult should also be classified as Black Path, but they were on a different level entirely. Even the Unorthodox factions didn’t call the Demonic Cult and Blood Cult Black Path. They just called them madman groups. They hated being lumped into the same category. But even if they hated it, the Demonic Cult and Blood Cult were so massive that they couldn’t really raise their voices. Moreover, ordinary people just said they were all the same heretical demonic path anyway, so there was even less to say.
“The Yangtze bastards... they’ve been repeatedly invading Martial Alliance territory to test the waters and then retreating. As soon as the news of the Blood Demon’s death spread, it’s already happened four times in just two days. That border was originally Blood Cult territory, after all.”
“These sons of bitches... I should turn them all into fish food.”
“And there’s another place that was Blood Cult territory.”
“...Ah!”
At Je-u’s words, Do-ha nodded.
The mountain leading down into the jungle from the Yunnan region. It was an extremely insignificant place, but one had to face dangerous bastards there. Namely the Beast Palace and Green Forest. Green Forest claimed every mountain as theirs, and Beast Palace had always said that mountain border was their land. Strictly speaking, it was originally Beast Palace territory, and the mountain leading into the jungle had been taken by the Blood Cult. After that, Green Forest had occupied all sorts of mountains and extended their hands even into Beast Palace territory.
“Those bastards have started clashing too. In just two days.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll take care of both of them!”
Do-ha thumped his chest a few times and raised a thumbs-up.
What were friends for?! Wasn’t this the time to use his power?!
Crack.
But unlike Do-ha’s smile, a vein bulged on Je-u’s forehead.
“You damn bastard!”
Whoosh!
Swish!
Je-u also threw something at Do-ha, just like Dimerof. But while Dimerof had thrown bread, he threw a fork.
Whoooosh!
Ting.
“Whoa... throwing hidden weapons now.”
“You know full well what chaos will erupt if Beast Palace and Green Forest disappear, yet you’re saying you’ll take care of both?! You’re not the emperor anymore, is that it?!”
The Martial Alliance might not have much to do with those two forces, but ordinary people did. In the case of Green Forest, they took protection fees and helped caravan escorts cross the mountains. If wild beasts appeared, they dealt with them, and if a landslide was about to happen from natural disaster, they gave advance warning. Also, Beast Palace sold rare medicinal herbs and minerals to the Martial World. Especially the herbs and poisons that grew in the Southern Man region were of high quality, so physicians used them a lot, and thanks to that, countless patients didn’t lose their lives. Was that all? The fibers and woods that grew in Southern Man were light and hard, excellent as building materials.
But what if Green Forest and Beast Palace were annihilated? Great chaos would visit the Martial World.
“Argh, you damn bastard!”
“Even if you strike the Blood Cult, you should do it after preparing so that some cleanup is possible, shouldn’t you?!”
“That’s right! Making us write fraudulent contracts!”
“You filthy bastard!”
“You two, I’ll see you later.”
Do-ha, who had been scratching his head, looked at Metatron and Baal who had slyly joined in on the cursing.
Have those guys gone mad... Acting like Canteas? Maybe I should send Baal to Heaven. And Metatron to Hell.
“Dimerof.”
“What?”
“You said the Western Continent doesn’t need help, right?”
“Huh? Ah... no, help would be nice, of course.”
“Okay, you said you don’t need help.”
“You son of a...”
“Je-u. I’ll take care of the problems happening now myself.”
“...”
At Do-ha’s words, Je-u’s expression hardened.
Why did that offer of help feel so unsettling? Of course, if Do-ha moved, it would be solved. The problem was that countless victims would arise in the process of solving it.
“You don’t want it?”
“Ah... no, it’s good.”
Namgung Je-u had no choice but to nod.
Truthfully, he wanted to tell him not to help and just stay quiet, but if he said that, Do-ha would definitely go wild. The reason he’d charged into the Blood Cult out of nowhere was because Depnius had provoked him, wasn’t it? If he carelessly told Do-ha it wasn’t needed, who knew what that bastard would do.
“I’ll move right away.”
“Ugh...”
Je-u made a troubled face.
What to do. Should I stop him even now.
“You two, go to my house and stay there. If enemies come looking, don’t wait for my permission—just kill them.”
“Anyone at all?”
Metatron tilted his head.
Was it really okay to just kill them all like that?
“Anyone.”
“Understood. Simple enough.”
At Do-ha’s words, Baal, who had been crossing his arms, nodded. Unlike the hesitant Metatron, he had no reservations about such things.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
As Metatron and Baal vanished, Do-ha also turned his back.
He’d said he’d solve the Eastern Continent’s problems, so he should move quickly. He had things to do.
“Oh, right.”
Stopping short, Do-ha, who had been about to open the door and leave, looked at his friends.
“Do you guys happen to know who the strong ones are in those forces over there?”
“Where do you mean? The Demon God Cult?”
“Everyone attached to them. The Cult, Demonic Cult, Blood Cult, all of them.”
“Hmm? First there’s Depnius... and the Heavenly Demon. There was the Blood Demon too, but he’s dead.”
“Why suddenly that?”
Emilton tilted her head. People at a level similar to Do-ha were only about that many.
“There was one strange bastard mixed in.”
“A strange bastard?”
“It was an aura I’d never felt before, and he was insanely strong. Below the Demon God, but stronger than Depnius, the Heavenly Demon, and the Blood Demon. Stronger than me right now, even.”
“Hey, don’t joke around.”
Je-u snorted a laugh and shook his head.
If there was a being that strong, there was no way Dimerof or Emilton—or he himself—wouldn’t have known.
“I’m serious. Even if those three ganged up on him, they probably couldn’t win. Almost on par with me in my prime.”
“...”
Unlike Do-ha, who tilted his head and spoke nonchalantly, his friends’ expressions hardened. And for good reason—there was a being as strong as Do-ha in his prime among the enemy forces. This was a tremendous catastrophe. Do-ha didn’t usually call opponents strong. But if he was speaking like that, it meant it was truly dangerous.
“Did you see what he looked like?”
“Hmm... if a lion turned into a human, it’d probably look like that?”
“What the hell does that mean...”
At Do-ha’s words, his friends all furrowed their brows at once.
‘If a lion turned into a human’... How were they supposed to understand that.
“Blonde with curly hair, sharp eyes. Solid build, height a little over two meters.”
“...Surely not the Beast King?”
Among the people being discussed now, the first to come to mind was the Beast King, master of the Beast Palace.
“He’s not blonde.”
“That’s true.”
At Emilton’s words, Dimerof nodded.
“So I’m going to find out who that bastard is.”
“How?”
“I’ve got my ways.”
“It’s worrying, but this time I’ll trust you. He’s that dangerous a figure, so you’ll find out properly.”
“Huh? This time...?”
“Now, hurry and go!”
Dimerof stood from his seat and pushed Do-ha’s back.