Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Shadows Watching
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Yong-un's forces were steadily stabilizing and taking shape one by one after the guild showdown.
Mu-hee, who knew the Carnage Society better than anyone,
had become its leader. With her at the helm, the society was slowly reviving under her command, even without the help of Myung-su or Jin-cheol.
Yet even as she led the group, Mu-hee—who had bowed to Yong-un and pledged herself as one of the Four Ghost Souls of the Phantom Soul Annihilators—never neglected her training in their arts.
The Demon Dragon Squad, another pillar of Yong-un's forces renowned for their martial prowess alongside the Phantom Soul Annihilators, were stacking up even more rigorous training to grow stronger.
Jung-won sought to surpass her current realm.
Han Jong-hyun, the former casting director of Garosu Guild, yearned to witness a new realm.
Sword Tiger aimed to hold onto his spot in the world S-Rank top five, which he attributed to luck.
None of them skipped even a single day of training based on the manuals Yong-un had provided.
As all these forces pushed forward with their efforts,
Unwoo Guild was no exception.
After the guild showdown, they combined limit-breaking training led by the zombies with energy accumulation techniques and martial arts that harnessed crimson demon energy.
Even the new recruits joined the limit-breaking sessions without fail for a full month, and once they did, everyone began receiving instruction.
As countless days passed, ripples different from their first encounters with Yong-un stirred in their hearts.
It was the result of one man: Yong-un.
Everyone in Yong-un's forces moved toward their individual goals.
And at the end of those goals stood Yong-un.
Deep in their hearts lay the resolve to protect the Supreme One.
"To think all this was the work of a single person..."
But amid it all,
entities were watching Yong-un's entire network without the knowledge of any other factions.
Perched atop trees in the wild mountains near where Unwoo Guild trained,
figures cloaked in dark crimson hoods observed the guild's sessions from afar.
One among them, with a dark crimson gem embedded in its forehead, spoke to the gathered beings.
"Sword Tiger's with the Demon Dragon Squad, right? How's it there?"
"Full of annoyingly tough bastards, more than expected."
They had even scouted the Demon Dragon Squad.
And that wasn't all.
"Unwoo Guild's manageable enough... but that guy's a problem."
They had pinpointed the Guardian Army protector shadowing Unwoo Guild from a distance—even glancing at him as he trained atop a nearby boulder.
Ho-gun, emitting a blue aura just like he had on Seodal Mountain, drawing in the mountain's energy for his cultivation.
"Impressive. Where'd he find these guys and bring them under his wing? How does one man gather so many like this?"
One figure grimaced, baring its teeth in irritation.
But their complaints were short-lived.
The man at the far end, who had been silently listening, finally spoke.
"Phantom Soul Annihilators..."
"Ah, right. How're they?"
The gem-foreheaded leader, who seemed to be in charge, asked.
The taciturn figure exuding an ominous air lifted something toward the leader as he replied.
"Token... the Witch is there."
The token for dealing with the Poison Witch.
At the sight of it, the leader broke into a bright smile.
"If Ho-gun's alive, the Poison Witch must be too. Thought she died since she wasn't here, but she's there after all."
"Not just... that."
The taciturn one tossed the token to the ground and rose from the tree branch.
He swept back the flapping robe covering his body, revealing his wrist.
On the pale white skin, black patterns began to emerge like ink on rice paper.
The leader, staring at the pattern, stood from where he'd been lounging on the branch.
He'd always worn a playful smile before.
But at the sight of the black pattern on the taciturn figure's wrist, his demeanor shifted completely.
"...One of our kind is there?"
His lighthearted smile vanished,
replaced by an overwhelming pressure that explained why he was the leader, along with a changed tone.
"Yes... one bearing our token."
At the taciturn figure's confirmation, the leader emanated a calm dark gray demonic energy as he spoke.
"Halt all scouting. And..."
His gaze fixed on a figure standing right behind him.
Unlike the others who could erase and recreate their patterns,
he stared at the one whose pattern was visible outside the robe, unerasable, and said,
"Wait until our new ally, who brought us this valuable intel, fully adapts to the pattern."
"Krr..."
The figure that occasionally convulsed, its pattern glowing,
raised its head, robe flapping.
Revealed was a face like a demon's—dark gray eyes and black horns.
A familiar face, strikingly similar to the now-missing Jang Hu-yeong.
Tak.
Ho-gun, mid-training, leaped onto the tree.
Sensing faint demonic energy near the branches and trunk, he peered down at the base of the mountain.
"What is this aura? Can such energy even exist?"
He had seen countless people in his lifetime on Seodal Mountain.
Yet this was a presence he'd never felt before, permeating the tree.
This sudden strange energy.
Ho-gun memorized the ominous aura and descended from the tree.
Time passed.
As Unwoo Guild's training neared its end, Yong-un approached them.
"Came to see how you're doing."
Yong-un's arrival was a chance for those cultivating Crimson Demon Eradication Arts to shatter their walls.
"Supreme One!"
All the guild members training bowed deeply to him.
Yong-un gave pointers to Jang-gwi and a few others who approached, then called out to Ho-gun, who seemed lost in thought from afar.
"Ho-gun."
Snapping to attention, Ho-gun approached and bowed.
"You called, Supreme One?"
"You look troubled."
"Ah..."
Before Ho-gun could respond, Yong-un glanced toward the tree where he'd stood.
"Seems you've been doing well as Guardian Law."
He hadn't said a word, only arrived—yet Yong-un instantly grasped what had Ho-gun deep in thought.
Ho-gun once again wondered where Yong-un's limits lay.
"If gods exist, surely it's the Supreme One."
Yong-un smiled at Ho-gun's chuckling remark.
"Aura is always mingled in the air. The energy that troubled you, the blue aura you cultivate—they all dissolve into the air and linger for ages."
"What kind of person could possess such an aura?"
At Ho-gun's question, Yong-un dropped a meaningful reply.
"Might not be a person."
"Pardon?"
Ho-gun stared at Yong-un in confusion.
In this Gate era, "not a person" meant only one thing.
'Demon.'
Monsters couldn't emit aura.
The moment they did, they were no longer monsters—but demons.
Having gleaned the answer from Yong-un's words, Ho-gun looked at him in shock.
But even at Ho-gun's gaze, Yong-un spoke nonchalantly.
"People always delude themselves. What they see is truth, and that truth is everything. But upon reaching the realm I aim for, I learned it's not all there is."
Yong-un patted Ho-gun's shoulder after glancing up at the tree.
"This world harbors many beings unknown to people, living among them."
A cryptic remark hinting it might be a demon—or might not.
Ho-gun felt his mind, just starting to sort itself, tangle up again.
As worry crept in, he glanced at Yong-un's hand on his shoulder.
"Hah, what does it matter what it is?"
He'd merely looked at the hand.
Yet that alone wrapped Ho-gun in an inexplicable sense of relief.
"With the Supreme One here, guiding us, we can overcome anything."
Even living isolated on the mountain, Ho-gun knew well what Gates, monsters, and demons were.
He'd never seen a demon himself, but from hikers on Seodal Mountain, he knew they were brutally savage, powerful, and evil.
Yet Ho-gun felt no fear—even if demons swarmed—as long as Yong-un existed.
Yong-un after the clash and his awakening on Seodal Mountain.
Like apostles beholding an indescribably exalted being.
As a martial artist at his peak, Ho-gun had been utterly captivated by that sight alone.
To the point he could cast aside everything just for the chance to learn from him.
"Truly, the blood of a warrior runs thick in you."
Yong-un smiled faintly at Ho-gun's radiant eyes.
He knew exactly what those eyes meant.
The gaze of the weak beholding an absolute master of lofty realm.
Respect transcending age.
The yearning to stake everything for his guidance.
Lowering the hand from Ho-gun's shoulder, Yong-un called out softly.
"Keep striving. Rise higher. Soar until you can see all that I see from here."
"Supreme One!"
"I'll aid you."
Ho-gun nearly teared up.
At Yong-un's words, he reaffirmed how right he'd been to serve under him, bowing deeply.
"Thank you."
In Jin-hap Valley, the Carnage Society's headquarters and now the leader's seat,
Yong-un—not Mu-hee—sat at the center.
Mu-hee, who had devoured the society upon becoming its leader, knelt beside him, head bowed.
She expressed profound gratitude to Yong-un, who had severed her fated servitude to the leader and enabled her to claim the throne herself.
Yong-un nodded nonchalantly and asked,
"Still no sign of Jang Hu-yeong?"
His first order after handing the society to Mu-hee:
Find the missing Death God Guild casting director—the murderer of his father.
"I'm sorry. The society isn't fully intact yet, so our intel gathering is lagging."
Yong-un nodded at Mu-hee's words.
He'd anticipated fierce resistance from those who'd lost Hwa-sal, Su-sal, and their leaders.
But it was only a matter of time.
The other elite assassins and those from outposts already acknowledged Mu-hee as leader.
Moreover, as the supreme spirit sorcerer,
with her spirit sorcerers and now-operational society assassins under her, absorbing the rest should proceed smoothly, he judged.
"Can you complete absorption in a week?"
"Yes, more than enough."
Mu-hee's plan was advancing steadily.
Judging by the progress alone, absorption posed no issue.
Rising from his seat, Yong-un said,
"Report the moment you find Jang Hu-yeong. If you need help, go to the Phantom Soul Annihilators, Demon Dragon Squad, or Unwoo Guild. You're one of the Four Ghost Souls now."
"Yes, Supreme One."
Mu-hee bowed even deeper.
Without intel, it was impossible—but now, having devoured Korea's top intel network and assassins,
the pieces were in place to move.
Gazing down at Four Ghost Soul Mu-hee, Yong-un vanished from the spot.
Jiiing.
The valley's various formations notified Mu-hee and Mok-sal of Yong-un's departure.
Mu-hee slowly raised her head, and Mok-sal emerged from behind her.
Staring at him, Mu-hee declared,
"You heard the Supreme One's command."
"Yes, Leader."
"No need to wait a week. We've pinpointed locations via spirit sorcerers—proceed."
Mok-sal bowed.
Mu-hee raised her hand, exuding the sharp charisma befitting a leader.
Suddenly, elite assassins who had been hidden around her revealed themselves.
Four elites excluding Hwa-sal, Su-sal, and now One Ghost Soul Myung-su: Mok-sal, Geum-sal, To-sal, Il-sal.
As they bowed, Mu-hee took the leader's seat Yong-un had occupied and commanded,
"Kill the traitors. Make examples of them. Instill such terror that the mere sight of the Carnage Society's crescent mark makes them piss themselves."
"Yes, Leader!"
The elites shouted in unison.
The leader extended her hand and ordered them,
"Three days. Settle it all in three. We can't keep the Supreme One waiting. Go—show the traitors the society endures."
Though once the supreme spirit sorcerer, seated as leader, Mu-hee was razor-sharp.
Even the elites couldn't dare look down on her; she radiated unyielding strength.
With no lingering doubts in their hearts, the elites bowed deeply.
"Yes! Leader."
A week had passed since the forces established themselves.
A week of them growing their own power under the guise of training.
United for cultivation, each faction raced toward their goals.
"Good."
The force-building to protect his family had grown to Yong-un's satisfaction.
To the point where they could guard his family even without him.
Their strength was climbing to Korea's top tier.
Nodding with a pleased smile, Yong-un—seated on the roof—was approached by Il-sal, an elite assassin under Four Ghost Soul Mu-hee.
Tak.
Il-sal appeared with minimal sound and knelt on one knee before Yong-un.
"Found him?"
The Il-sal who once thrust a dagger at Yong-un was gone.
Displaying utmost respect for the Supreme One, he bowed as deeply as to a leader and said,
"Forgive us."
"I see."
Three days had passed since the society was taken.
A group with intel sharp enough to uncover Yong-un as the destroyer of Jang-an-dong outpost.
Yet they still hadn't located Jang Hu-yeong.
"Hiding deeper than expected."
Yong-un had thought the society would manage,
but now judged Jang Hu-yeong's skills more formidable than anticipated.
"No matter how long it takes, find him."
"Yes, Supreme One."
At Yong-un's quiet command, Il-sal bowed until his forehead nearly touched the ground.
"Go."
"Yes, Supreme One."
Il-sal melted into the air, heart heavy with shame.
Yong-un rose from the roof.
Gazing down at the front door, he spotted a hunter who looked like an Audit Division staffer looking up at him.
"Huh? Hunter Yong-un, right?"
Tuk.
Yong-un, glancing at the staffer, turned to stare into the distance.
The staffer held up his business card and shouted,
"The Minister wants to see..."
His words halted as Yong-un raised his hand.
Following Yong-un's gaze, he turned.
"Ah... aaaah!!"
Black sparks shooting sky-high.
Accompanied by thick black mana surging.
A Gate forming—the staffer fumbled for his phone in shock.
But Yong-un's words stopped him.
"Wait. I'll be right back."
"Pardon...?"
The moment he looked up at Yong-un's personal action,
Yong-un vanished in a crimson streak, and the black sparks began to fade.
"N-no way..."
The world S-Rank No. 4 hunter.
Korea's hero.
Korea's strongest hunter.
One move from him, and a Gate not even fully formed began closing.
Mouth agape in awe at the Gate, a voice sounded right beside the stunned staffer.
"Too early to be that shocked."
Myung-su, now a perfect assassin in a week.
The staffer jumped and fell backward at the traceless appearance.
But Myung-su ignored him, smiling at the vanishing Gate.
"Master's always beyond our common sense. Being surprised is an insult to him."
"You're here."
Startled by Myung-su, the staffer clamped his mouth at Yong-un's silent return.
"Why's that guy acting like that?"
At Yong-un's question, Myung-su bowed and replied,
"Looks like he saw a ghost. Forget him—I'll escort you. The Minister summons."
"Got it. Let's go."
They displayed prowess that stunned even a hunter staffer.
But after a brief exchange, they vanished soundlessly again, leaving the staffer trembling and rolling his eyes in terror.
"G-ghost...!!"
As if he'd truly witnessed one, shrieking in fright.