Chapter 62: If Not for the Eight Great Sects
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62: If Not for the Eight Great Sects
At the same time Ki Mu-hyeok and Shin Kang-heon were wreaking havoc downstairs, Kim Bok-ja had erased her presence with a spell and was investigating various parts of the club.
“The manager’s office seems to be over there, the liquor storage is in the back, so where on earth would they be stashing all the cash—?”
She hummed a tune as she moved around, yet no one noticed her presence.
Just as she was finishing up her reconnaissance of the club’s layout and the locations of key personnel, Ki Mu-hyeok’s voice came through her earphone.
[Starting now.]
Tap-tap.
“Okay. We’re starting on this end too.”
Tapping her earphone lightly with a finger, Kim Bok-ja replied and walked towards her pre-selected target.
Simultaneously, the atmosphere among the club’s guards began to grow chaotic.
“Manager. You should probably head downstairs.”
“What’s going on?”
“Some lunatics are causing a ruckus downstairs…”
Among the guards, several who appeared to be martial artists whispered among themselves before all rushing downstairs.
Most of the people wildly swaying their bodies were too drunk to even notice.
‘Thanks to them, this will be much easier.’
Kim Bok-ja grinned, surveying the club whose security had loosened with the guards’ departure.
A moment later, she stopped in front of her target and released her spell.
When the person suddenly appeared before him, the startled target blinked a few times, then broke into a wide smile.
“Wow, why is such a beauty walking around alone?”
He was one of the more resourceful club MDs she’d observed. With his clean-cut looks and dizzying patter, he seemed skilled at charming customers.
‘And the scent of drugs was practically radiating off him.’
It was clear how long he’d worked in clubs; even with his hazy, unfocused eyes, the man naturally tried to make a sale.
“Seriously, you’re insane. Red hair suits you so well! Are you an influencer or something?”
“There’s a table I want to go to. Can you show me the way?”
“Oh! Anything for you!”
Kim Bok-ja smiled sweetly at the approaching man.
At that moment, a pale blue will-o’-the-wisp flared in her eyes.
“Kkagwi. Bite.”
Then, a black, cotton candy-like vengeful spirit appeared from thin air and latched onto the MD’s face.
It looked as if Kkagwi was devouring the MD’s face, but in reality, it was taking control of his mind.
A moment later, Kkagwi, having easily infiltrated the MD’s mind, which was already softened by drugs, succeeded in taking over his body.
“Kyahahaha!”
With his lips curled into a grin, he moved his body this way and that, then started dancing wildly. A few people glanced their way, but since it was a club, no one thought anything of it.
Kim Bok-ja playfully slapped the excited Kkagwi’s back and said,
“Let’s go. To the manager’s table.”
As the club MD led the way, the guards also cleared a path. They simply assumed the woman following was a special guest.
CRASH!
Bursting into the manager’s office without knocking, a middle-aged man, who had been nervously smoking a cigarette, flinched and turned around.
“…What is it?”
The middle-aged man was the Great Heaven Sect’s puppet CEO.
Having heard news of a major fight breaking out in the underground Butcher Shop, he was already on edge. The moment he saw the familiar MD’s face, he hurled an ashtray.
“You bastard! Who told you to barge in here?!”
However, the MD, whom he expected to fall bleeding from the head, swiftly reached out and snatched the ashtray. It was a move reminiscent of a martial arts expert.
“Kyahahaha!”
Swallowing hard, the puppet CEO watched the MD approach with a completely deranged expression.
“You, what’s wrong with you? What are you doing—”
Behind him, Kim Bok-ja slammed the door shut with a thud and summoned the Monstrous Beings with a chilling, echoing voice.
“Sapsali, King Snake.”
Then, a huge white dog, large enough for a person to ride, and a yellowish python, flicking its tongue, slithered into existence and stood on either side of Kim Bok-ja.
Normally, ordinary people couldn’t see Monstrous Beings because their eyes weren’t “opened.” But if a Spellcaster cast a spell on a Monstrous Being, it could be materialized to be visible to regular people.
“Go get him.”
Kim Bok-ja willingly cast spells on the Monstrous Beings to make her upcoming tasks easier.
“H-heeeek! D-die!”
Screaming at the sudden appearance of the Monstrous Beings, the puppet CEO sprang to his feet. He pulled a gun from his suit’s inner pocket and fired at Kim Bok-ja and the Monstrous Beings.
Bang bang bang bang!
However, the bullets couldn’t even pierce the Monstrous Beings’ hides and simply fell to the floor.
Sapsali’s massive body perfectly shielded Kim Bok-ja, and in the meantime, King Snake subdued the puppet CEO, knocking him down.
Kim Bok-ja strode over, looked down at the puppet CEO, and curled her lips into a smile.
“The soundproofing here is really good, isn’t it? Or is it just that nobody cares about a puppet CEO?”
“Ugh…!”
Wrapped entirely by the massive python, the puppet CEO trembled uncontrollably in fear.
Gunshots had just rung out, but due to the club’s loud music, no one had noticed.
And a mere puppet CEO set up by the Great Heaven Sect? Just as she said, no one would care if he lived or died…
The puppet CEO, raising his head, tried to threaten her with a sliver of hope.
“Are you, are you with those guys who broke in downstairs? Do you even know who owns this club—”
“The Great Heaven Sect, right? That’s why we came to clean it out.”
“You knew, and you still came…?”
Kim Bok-ja squatted in front of the dumbfounded puppet CEO, smiled sweetly, and said in a subtle voice,
“If we can just have a good chat, I don’t intend to harm you. These guys don’t really like human meat; they find it unappetizing, you see?”
As she stroked the cow-sized Sapsali and the python, the creatures bared their fearsome teeth, drooling profusely.
Grrr…
The puppet CEO barely managed to hold back from wetting himself, then whimpered and begged.
“Please, spare my life…”
“Who said anything about killing you? Just answer my questions one by one, and you’ll be fine, so don’t worry. But they subtly encourage cash payments here, don’t they? Where do you keep the cash?”
In this way, Kim Bok-ja succeeded in extracting all the necessary information from the puppet CEO: the location of the cash, drug storage, business contacts, and VIP list.
“You know, the more I hear, the more I realize you’re quite a nasty piece of work, mister. You’re not just some scarecrow they set up, are you?”
The puppet CEO knew surprisingly detailed information about the goings-on in the underground club and was a scumbag involved in organ trafficking.
“W-what’s wrong? You clearly promised to spare me earlier—!”
As the atmosphere turned strange, the puppet CEO squirmed and cried out.
“Like I said… who said anything about killing you?”
A pale blue will-o’-the-wisp flared in Kim Bok-ja’s eyes, and a moment later, the puppet CEO’s eyes went blank, and drool streamed from his mouth.
“Hee-heeek… Heheheh…”
The puppet CEO wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what had happened here.
Because he wouldn’t even be able to recall his own name.
Having finished her tasks, Kim Bok-ja pulled out her smartphone and contacted someone.
“Uncle Suk-su. How’s it outside?”
While the three were inside the club, Hwang Suk-su was outside, handling information blocking and cleanup.
[No problem! The Great Heaven Sect won’t notice anything for the next hour. I’ve blocked all the CCTVs, and I even pulled some strings to spread a few rumors. Heheheh.]
Hwang Suk-su, a former Vagrant, seemed to be enjoying being back in the field after a long time.
Even if it was just a backup role for the Azure Wolf Crew, not directly participating.
“We’ll grab the lists and cash on our way out. As for the items in the Butcher Shop, you can move those later, Uncle. But you remember we decided to dispose of all the drugs, right?”
[It’s a shame to just throw away such expensive stuff… but I’m just along for the ride on this operation, so I guess I’ll have to accept it.]
Hwang Suk-su couldn’t help but feel regretful about the decision to dispose of the drugs, but the Azure Wolf had drawn a firm line on that matter from the very beginning of planning the operation.
They would take the organs of martial artists for those who truly needed them and hand them over to hospitals, but all the useless drugs would be completely destroyed.
[Hmph! So even the martial artists of the Underworld have romance, huh? You’re truly young, so young.]
Hwang Suk-su, unaware of the Azure Wolf’s true identity, said this with a mix of jest and admiration.
And just then, a call came in from Ki Mu-hyeok.
[We’re done here. How about your end?]
“Done here too. Come on up. Grab the spoils and let’s go together.”
A moment later, Ki Mu-hyeok, looking nonchalant despite having committed an enormous act, and the triumphant Shin Kang-heon came up to the club level.
“Nothing out of the ordinary?”
“I was awesome today, as usual.”
“They were weaker than I thought.”
The three casually conversed as they exited the club.
Even after they left, the club remained as if nothing had happened, with loud music still blaring and people swaying their bodies.
“Don’t give me that bullshit! You’re telling me I’m crippled?! That my Dantian can’t be fixed—!”
The man known as President Yang in the underground club, Yang Jun-seok, heard the news as soon as he opened his eyes: his Dantian, where a lifetime of Internal Energy had accumulated, was shattered and beyond recovery.
No matter how advanced modern medical technology became, a damaged Dantian remained an unknown frontier.
“Aaaaargh—!”
As he received a death sentence as a martial artist and slowly descended into madness, the Great Heaven Sect Master came to visit him.
“…Are you feeling alright?”
Yang Jun-seok spewed out his rage and resentment to the Sect Master, who was also his cousin.
“Sect Master! The bastards who did this to me—one used Ice Art, and the other used Yang-Dominant Martial Arts! They’re from the Sun Moon Sect!”
Yang Jun-seok shrieked, his face contorted crimson like a demon.
“Brother! Avenge me! Tear those bastards to shreds!”
“…”
Great Heaven Sect Master Yang Jun-pyo merely looked at his cousin, who had become crippled overnight, with a pitying expression. Beside him, Gu Ja-seung stood with a serious face.
Yang Jun-pyo waited until his cousin exhausted himself with his ranting, then asked,
“Did they say they were from the Sun Moon Sect themselves?”
“They didn’t explicitly say ‘Sun Moon Sect,’ but they made it obvious!”
“Why?”
“…Pardon?”
“The Sun Moon Sect has no reason to do that. What would they gain by making an enemy of us in this situation?”
At the extremely realistic and cold question, Yang Jun-seok, who had been silent for a moment, ground his teeth as if his anger was boiling over again.
“Are you saying, Brother, that I was defeated by some random nobody’s Ice Art?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What do you mean ‘that’s not what I meant’! If it wasn’t the Sun Moon Sect, then I was defeated by some nobodies, and all the Great Heaven Sect martial artists there were crippled and died for nothing, isn’t that what you’re saying?!”
An agitated Yang Jun-seok hurled harsh words carelessly, despite the person being the Sect Master of his own sect.
Gu Ja-seung, who had been quietly listening, stepped forward to intervene.
“Daeju. Please mind your words and actions in front of the Sect Master.”
“Shut up! You young punk, acting all high and mighty just because you’re an elder…”
Yang Jun-seok, in the midst of his tirade, suddenly slumped onto the bed.
The Sect Master, having knocked his cousin unconscious with Pressure Point Sealing, clicked his tongue softly and said,
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
The two left the hospital room, leaving the unconscious Yang Jun-seok behind.
Gu Ja-seung spoke with a serious expression beside the Sect Master.
“Three locations were attacked overnight.”
“All by the same culprits?”
“Circumstantially, it appears so. We’ve identified a swordsman using Ice Art, a blade-wielder using Yang-Dominant Martial Arts, and one Spellcaster.”
“I don’t understand. The last terror attack, too… Could the enemies really be the Sun Moon Sect?”
Great Heaven Sect Master Yang Jun-pyo had a calm and rational personality.
Therefore, he found it hard to believe the recent attacks were a betrayal by the Sun Moon Sect, their long-time ally, or a case of “killing the dog after the hunt.”
Because, in his opinion, the Great Heaven Sect and the Sun Moon Sect were still mutually beneficial to each other.
“Sect Master. All the evidence points to the Sun Moon Sect. And they don’t seem to be trying to hide their identities either.”
However, even Gu Ja-seung, the elder most trusted by the Sect Master, who had personally clashed swords with the Ice Art swordsman during the previous terror attack, was convinced that the opponent was a Peak Master from the Sun Moon Sect.
“The swordsman I fought mentioned the Ghost Sound Hall. A secret known only to our sect and the Sun Moon Sect.”
“Hmm.”
Yang Jun-pyo let out a low groan at the undeniable fact.
“Furthermore, the enemies are such exceptional masters that they toyed with our sect’s martial artists stationed at the businesses. In this country, the Sun Moon Sect is the only one capable of mastering such Ice Art and Yang-Dominant Martial Arts.”
“…”
The Butcher Shop was one of the Great Heaven Sect’s most profitable underground businesses.
That’s why they had deployed sufficient personnel and masters, including Peak Master Yang Jun-seok, and paid close attention to security facilities.
Yet, all of them were breached overnight. All three attacked locations, including the Butcher Shop, were taken with absurd ease.
Even more preposterous was that they only learned of the business attacks several hours after they had occurred.
It was clearly the work of professionals.
“Every single one of them is an expert, an elite. They specifically targeted our most valuable businesses. This is the work of people who already knew the locations of our managed businesses. If not for one of the Eight Great Sects, what other force could pull off an operation of this caliber?”
“Even mobilizing our sect’s top elites wouldn’t be easy…”
Masters and a Spellcaster capable of toying with martial artists stationed at businesses. And behind-the-scenes operatives disrupting information.
Unless it was a force on the level of the Eight Great Sects, gathering such a caliber of specialists one by one would be nearly impossible.
“If the Sun Moon Sect truly intends to eliminate us…”
Finally, doubt and anger began to swell within the Great Heaven Sect Master’s heart.
“We’ll have to show them that we won’t go down alone.”
Yang Jun-pyo muttered, his eyes gleaming with venom.