When the Specter Revives (1)
The carriage that left Hebei entered Anhui.
On the first day we entered an inn there, I opened my eyes while sleeping.
Some unknown instinct for danger had awakened me. Slowly raising myself, I silently drew the sword standing beside the bed.
Gal Sa-Ryang was asleep on the bed against the opposite wall.
I slowly walked over and placed my ear against the door.
I felt no killing intent. I opened the door slightly. At the end of the corridor, two martial artists were standing. On the opposite side as well, two martial artists were standing watch without anything unusual.
I closed the door and walked to the window. I looked outside through a slight gap between the curtains. Outside was pitch-black. That was because this inn was located in a remote place away from the marketplace.
“What is it?”
Gal Sa-Ryang, who had woken from sleep, asked with a startled face.
“Shh!”
My gaze turned back toward the darkness.
Far away in the darkness, there was something. The feeling was completely different from the energy with which the old man had called me in the forest before. It was more unpleasant and dangerous than that.
Could the owner of that energy sense me? Probably not. I was not revealing any energy at all.
A short while later, the energy disappeared. It was certain that an incredible expert had been watching us.
Only then did I look back at Gal Sa-Ryang and say,
“Someone was watching us.”
Gal Sa-Ryang was startled.
He did not ask me whether that was true. Nor did he question how I knew something that the Fierce Tiger Corps martial artists had not sensed.
He had personally confirmed that my Martial Arts were superior to the elite Heavenly Palace Corps martial artists from before. Since the basic level of the Heavenly Palace Corps and the Fierce Tiger Corps could be considered similar, he would naturally think that I could notice it first.
“It is only natural that there would be someone watching us.”
“Yes, it would be.”
I looked out the window again. The problem was that it was not merely the energy of a watcher. But I did not bother telling Gal Sa-Ryang that much. There was no need to give him unnecessary anxiety.
The instinct that had watched over me for a long time looked into the darkness with me and whispered.
This mission is dangerous.
Before entering that place, Bright Moon Corps Leader Zuo Tie-Long took a deep breath.
Whenever he came here, he became stiff. Although he led the most powerful armed organization of the Grand Martial Alliance, whenever he came here, he somehow felt diminished.
A maid guided him. Whenever he looked at her light steps, he clearly thought she was an expert in Martial Arts, but he could not tell how much of an expert she was.
In other words, it meant she was stronger than him.
That young maid? How in the world could that be?
An aged servant who was sweeping the yard greeted him politely. His Martial Arts level could not be measured either.
The two martial artists guarding the entrance of the building, and the maid he met in the inner corridor after passing them, were all stronger than him.
How could he not lose his spirit?
In an elegantly decorated room, a man was reading a book alone while playing Go.
When Zuo Tie-Long had come last time, he had been tending the trees in the garden, and before that, he had been drinking tea.
This was their third meeting.
What he was doing was always something ordinary, not something dangerous. Yet whenever Zuo Tie-Long saw him, he always felt intimidated.
It had been that way since the first time the man came to find him. Through this man, Zuo Tie-Long came to understand what it meant for a person’s very existence to be frightening.
When the man first looked at him, Zuo Tie-Long had vaguely sensed it. He would not be able to defy this person.
He could not gauge the man’s age. At a glance, he looked very young, but at times, he felt like someone around his own age.
His face was truly handsome. He was the most handsome man Zuo Tie-Long had seen among all the men he had encountered until now. Even to him, a man and a middle-aged one at that, he was handsome enough to make his heart flutter.
His skin was as white as white jade, and the teeth that showed slightly whenever he spoke were white and even. Because of that, there were times when he felt like a woman. Zuo Tie-Long thought that if that man were a woman, she would be truly beautiful.
“You have come?”
“Yes.”
The man looked at Zuo Tie-Long and greeted him politely. His low voice was softened, giving it a neutral sound that made it hard to tell whether it belonged to a woman or a man.
His presence felt like seeing the Alliance Lord in his prime.
It was certainly different from the Alliance Lord, yet he seemed just as strong.
What was even more surprising was that this man was not the head of this organization.
There was a being he referred to as “the Elder.”
Just how strong was that person?
People of the world would never understand. The fact that he had been recruited by an organization without even knowing who its ultimate leader was.
If they met this man, they would know that it could not have been helped.
“Have you been well?”
“Thanks to you, I have been well.”
A woman brought tea and placed it in front of Zuo Tie-Long.
Zuo Tie-Long asked the man,
“Do you like Go?”
Judging only by the way he placed the stones, he looked like a master of Go, but the answer that returned was unexpected.
“No. The Elder likes it so much that I am trying to learn it. No matter how much I play, I cannot understand why this is fun. I also do not know where exactly life is supposed to be contained in it. Hahaha.”
Even so, his appearance and atmosphere truly suited Go.
“The Elder likes Go so much that he even keeps separate subordinates called White Stone and Black Stone.”
“Ah, I see.”
Seeing him mention the two of them so casually, it was certain that this man was in a higher position than White Stone and Black Stone.
Zuo Tie-Long thought this man was the second-in-command of this organization.
“Ma Bong-Gi has left the Alliance, correct?”
“Yes.”
“We will soon need a new Alliance Lord.”
In that instant, Zuo Tie-Long was startled. It meant Ma Bong-Gi would die.
“Ma Cheol-Gun seems suitable. Prepare him.”
He spoke as if notifying him.
“Ma Cheol-Gun is!”
Zuo Tie-Long had spoken too loudly, so he lowered his voice and continued.
“It is still too early for him to become Alliance Lord. Not only in the Central Plains, but even within the Grand Martial Alliance, there will be many who oppose it.”
There had been many problems even when placing Ma Bong-Gi as Alliance Lord. Zuo Tie-Long had used all the authority and power he possessed to create that result. But Ma Cheol-Gun would be even more difficult than that.
“So it is too early?”
“Not only that, he will not be as obedient as Ma Bong-Gi.”
“He will not be obedient?”
When the man repeated his words twice, Zuo Tie-Long could tell. The man was angry.
Indeed, the man raised his head and looked at Zuo Tie-Long. He was not raising any particular presence or killing intent, but Zuo Tie-Long felt even his heart freeze.
The man said languidly,
“Do you know why we make mistakes? It is because we try to do too well. Simply relax your strength. In the things you are trying to do, and in your life itself. Then everything will go well.”
The man’s gaze returned to the Go board.
He had simply phrased nicely the words, Shut your mouth and quietly do as you are told.
For the time being, he would have to do that. Because he knew without being told that the man’s warning had only one stage.
Zuo Tie-Long bowed his head.
“The next Alliance Lord will be Ma Cheol-Gun.”
Read only on MugenCodex.
We arrived safely in Zhejiang Province.
When we entered the entrance of a village half a day away from Namhyeon Escort Agency, the atmosphere there was strange.
Fierce Tiger Corps Leader Im Jung-Tae, who had been leading the way, gave some kind of instruction to his subordinates with hand signals.
The carriages stopped, and the martial artists drew their swords and guarded all directions.
I was in the carriage with Gal Sa-Ryang, and I raised my senses as much as possible while examining the surroundings. Indeed, along with a sinister energy, a thick scent of blood was carried over.
A tense moment passed like that, and the martial artist who had gone out to scout returned and urgently reported.
“I think you must go see immediately.”
The carriage slowly moved toward the village.
The village was horrific. Corpses were scattered everywhere, and many houses had burned down.
Gal Sa-Ryang and I got off the carriage and, together with the other martial artists, examined whether anyone was still alive.
They had not simply died. Most of the corpses had been hacked to pieces, their entire bodies torn apart. Old people had died, and children had been killed. Women were dead while stripped naked. The wounds left on their bodies made one guess how much pain they had suffered while still alive.
“Mad bastards!”
I had wandered battlefields for a long time, but this was the first time I had seen village residents brutally massacred like this.
Gal Sa-Ryang also frowned deeply.
Im Jung-Tae ordered his subordinates.
“For now, we will pass through the village. After leaving this place, contact the Grand Martial Alliance branch and have them collect the bodies and investigate the culprit.”
“Yes, understood.”
While this conversation was taking place, the curtain of the carriage Ma Bong-Gi was riding in did not even open. Instead, his irritated voice was heard.
“Let us hurry and go.”
The stench of rotting corpses was vibrating in all directions.
Everyone’s expressions hardened. They already knew that Ma Bong-Gi was not an excellent Alliance Lord, but even so, when the villagers had been massacred, not even coming out once was too much.
“We depart!”
Just as Im Jung-Tae gave the order, a martial artist examining a corpse ahead shouted,
“There is a survivor here!”
We ran over there.
A middle-aged man was still breathing. We tried to treat him by injecting internal energy into him, but his wounds were too severe, and saving him was impossible.
“Who in the world did this?”
The man struggled to speak.
“De… monic Cult.”
After leaving those words, the man breathed his last.
Everyone’s expressions hardened. Information had come in that the Demonic Cult was dreaming of revival, the Heavenly Palace Corps had gone out on an operation, and everyone knew the series of circumstances.
But this was the first time they had seen the Demonic Cult directly carry out slaughter like this.
Only then did the carriage door of Ma Bong-Gi’s carriage open, and he stepped down from the carriage. Behind the open carriage door, a naked woman could be seen covering her body with clothing.
Ma Bong-Gi frowned and said,
“You are saying this was done by the Demonic Cult?”
“Yes.”
Ma Bong-Gi looked at Gal Sa-Ryang and asked,
“Even so, must we go? Would it not be dangerous?”
Gal Sa-Ryang calmly said,
“We must go.”
Ma Bong-Gi looked at Gal Sa-Ryang for a moment, then climbed back into the carriage. Closing the carriage door irritably, he said loudly,
“Let us leave quickly.”
The carriage departed again.
“Let us get on too.”
“Yes.”
Gal Sa-Ryang and I also climbed into the carriage.
The ominous feeling grew stronger. I felt that we were heading into the very center of a conspiracy.
When we arrived at the second village, around thirty people had come out to its entrance.
“The Alliance Lord has come!”
“The Murim Alliance Lord has come!”
Surprisingly, they knew about Ma Bong-Gi’s procession.
Im Jung-Tae quickly shouted,
“Just pass through!”
The carriage increased its speed even more.
When the carriage carrying Ma Bong-Gi quickly passed through, the people threw themselves in front of the carriage we were riding in and blocked it.
If it had been the Alliance Lord’s carriage, perhaps it would have been different, but the martial artist could not bring himself to run them over, so he stopped the carriage.
People gathered around the carriage.
Gal Sa-Ryang and I got off the carriage.
“The Demonic Cult has revived!”
“Please save us!”
“Help us!”
They gathered and pleaded. It seemed word had spread that the neighboring village had been massacred.
Gal Sa-Ryang asked them,
“How in the world did you know that the Alliance Lord would come?”
Then the old man who had grabbed him and was pleading raised his head.
“Well, how did we know?”
Before anyone realized it, the old man’s eyes had turned wicked.
Swaaaak!
The old man’s hand flew toward Gal Sa-Ryang’s throat.
Tap.
His hand stopped in front of Gal Sa-Ryang’s neck.
I had grabbed the old man’s wrist. If I had left it alone, it would have been an attack that pierced Gal Sa-Ryang’s throat.
Flash! Slash!
I swung my sword and cut off the old man’s arm.
Even though his arm had been cut off before his eyes, the old man did not scream.
An ominous feeling swept over my entire body.
Thud!
I kicked the old man mercilessly while swinging my sword.
The old man flew backward and tumbled with the people, and the bastards nearby collapsed while spraying blood.
“Get into the carriage!”
I tried to push Gal Sa-Ryang into the carriage.
But by then, the martial artist on the driver’s seat and the horses had already been chopped to pieces. Originally, he was not skilled so poorly that he should have been taken down so easily, but because the enemies charged in again even after he cut them, he had been helplessly killed.
As the horses collapsed, the carriage tilted.
The number of enemies was around thirty. The problem was not the number.
The old man whose arm had been cut off earlier came forward again. If he were a martial artist, he could press his acupoint to stop the bleeding and fight again. But he could not wear such a bright expression. The old man’s expression, smiling brightly, was abnormal.
The ones who had been cut by the sword earlier also rose again. They also did not look like they were in pain.
Shiiik!
A man on the left attacked by thrusting his sword. I dodged his attack and broke his arm.
Craaaack.
His arm bent at a right angle, and bone jutted out. At that moment, I saw it. The bastard was grinning at me.
These bastards! They do not feel pain!
The Asura King Sword quickly cut through the air and severed the man’s neck.
Slice!
The head rolling on the ground was still smiling.
The remaining bastards were also smiling as they watched that sight. It was truly a scene engulfed in madness.
I had faced people like this a long time ago.
Their name flowed despairingly from Gal Sa-Ryang’s mouth.
“The Mad Blood Painless Army!”
They were elite soldiers of the Blood Sky Cult. They were invincible demon-men who felt no pain and became even more savage when they saw blood.
I did not know how many people had died in the war because of them. If I had not fought them with my life on the line and annihilated them, we might have lost the war because of them.
The hidden bastards had revived the Mad Blood Painless Army. Just as they had researched the Immortal Demon Spirit Pill, somewhere, they had researched how to create the Mad Blood Painless Army and succeeded.
Now that they had appeared, anyone would believe it.
That the true Demonic Cult had revived.
— Read only on MugenCodex —
