Amid the silence, this was the thought that surfaced in Bi Sa-in’s mind.
‘If you were him, I would surely be dead.’
No matter how strong and terrifying Hwang Seok-gyeong might be, he could not be as much as you.
For Geom Mugeuk standing as an enemy was frightening just to imagine.
“If I’m fated to die anyway, would wearing two or three layers of protective armor save me?”
“If you were fated to die anyway, you wouldn’t have met me. So wear as many layers as you can.”
Their gazes tangled in midair. Bi Sa-in felt it. Geom Mugeuk was sincerely worried that he might die.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I died? The Sado Alliance would fall into chaos.”
At those words, spoken without meaning them, Geom Mugeuk made him face reality.
“I don’t want to say this to you, but even if you die, the Sado Alliance won’t fall into chaos. The same would be true if I died, or if our friend from the Murim Alliance died.”
He was right. If the Cult Leader or the Alliance Leader died, perhaps, but the death of a successor would not be enough to plunge the Sado Alliance into chaos.
“If anything, it would unite them with the will for vengeance and punishment, and the Sado Alliance would become stronger than usual. What do you say? Will you sacrifice yourself once for the Sado Alliance?”
“I decline.”
Bi Sa-in briefly imagined what would happen after his death. The Thirteen Wolves of the Sado would grieve, and among them, First Wolf would be the most sorrowful. What about the Alliance Leader? How much would he mourn? The fact that he could not quite picture that reaction made him think that he still did not know the Alliance Leader well enough.
The third person who came to mind was Geom Mugeuk.
‘Would this man grieve if I died?’
Just as he wondered why he was having such useless thoughts, Geom Mugeuk abruptly said,
“If you die, I’ll avenge you. I’ll chase them to the ends of the Central Plains, and I won’t leave a single bastard involved in this alive.”
Truly, how was he so good at seeing through people’s hearts?
“Thanks, even if it’s only words.”
A faint smile brushed across Bi Sa-in’s hideous face. For some reason, he felt that if it were Geom Mugeuk, he really would dig to the very end for revenge.
“You look good when you smile exactly like that. If you ever come to like a woman later, smile at her like that from time to time.”
“More nonsense!”
They were exchanging jokes in a situation where he might die. Truly, this would never have been possible if it were anyone other than Geom Mugeuk.
‘I could die?’
It would be a lie to say he had never thought that. But after becoming the Young Alliance Leader of the Sado Alliance, he had grown careless without realizing it.
Who would dare try to kill me?
Now it was time to change that thought.
How dare I, living as a martial artist, allow myself such carelessness?
Moreover, if Geom Mugeuk had not told him this directly, he never would have known.
“Very well. I’ll prepare for his ambush.”
“Make sure you wear protective armor.”
“I’ll wear two layers.”
Seeing that Bi Sa-in had accepted it sincerely, Geom Mugeuk felt relieved. Of course, his prediction might be wrong, but there was no harm in being careful in all things.
“Among the official attire of the Thirteen Wolves of the Sado, is there an outfit with a mask?”
“There is.”
Most escort warriors belonging to large organizations had masked attire. They were people who had to secretly protect their target while concealing their identities.
“From now on, have them wear that, and give me a set. And take one person out from among the Thirteen Wolves of the Sado. I’ll take that place.”
“Are you really going this far?”
“I am. Why? Do you dislike it?”
“I don’t mind, but I feel sorry.”
“I’ll collect the interest properly later.”
What Bi Sa-in wanted to ask was this.
“You are the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult. If it becomes known that you served as my subordinate, it won’t be good for you.”
This was different from what had happened earlier with Jin Ha-gun and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Wolves of the Sado. Right now, he was truly trying to protect him in earnest.
“It is not the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult going under the Young Alliance Leader of the Sado Alliance. It is Geom Mugeuk going to Bi Sa-in.”
“!”
Bi Sa-in sensed it instinctively. These words of Geom Mugeuk’s would not be forgotten for a very long time.
“I haven’t done anything for you that would make you go this far for me.”
“If you place a scale between people, that makes you a merchant at a business partner, not a friend. In relationships between people, one of the two is bound to like the other more. That’s me. Me.”
He was truly grateful for Geom Mugeuk, who said such things, and he liked him for it.
From the moment he was born until he became the successor of the Sado Alliance, he had never once thought he would have a friend. He had believed it could not possibly happen.
Geom Mugeuk smiled and added,
“Actually, this is for me. If someone other than you becomes the Sado Alliance Leader, I might die of frustration. If someone like you is the Alliance Leader, my happiness level will go up. So don’t worry about it. Just think I’m doing it because I like it.”
That was why he liked him even more. Geom Mugeuk seemed to make a show of every little thing, yet in truth, he was someone who did not enjoy making a show of things.
‘I’ve lost.’
Bi Sa-in admitted it. Even if he had come under him, Bi Sa-in had lost. Once he acknowledged it, his heart felt at ease.
The two of them stood like that on the windy cliff for a long while without speaking.
* * *
The next day, two things had changed.
The attire of the Thirteen Wolves of the Sado guarding him had changed, and among those masked men, one was Geom Mugeuk.
“Isn’t the mask a little uncomfortable? I think it would be better to change the cloth on the inside to something a bit softer.”
At those words, Seventh Wolf nodded as if he agreed, only to avert his gaze at First Wolf’s reproachful look.
First Wolf did not like that Geom Mugeuk had come all the way into the inner court of the Sado Alliance. If it had not been for Bi Sa-in’s protection, he never would have allowed it.
Geom Mugeuk and Bi Sa-in exchanged sound transmissions whenever they had the chance.
—Wouldn’t you be unnecessary inside the alliance?
—I actually think this place is the most dangerous. Isn’t it only natural for killing to take place where one considers oneself safest?
Bi Sa-in looked out the window. Thinking that those trying to kill him were here made the familiar scenery of the Sado Alliance, which had always given him comfort, feel strangely unfamiliar today.
First Wolf said to Bi Sa-in,
“Let us go. There is a meeting with the division leaders.”
As he left his residence, he sent a sound transmission to Geom Mugeuk.
—Are you really going to follow me all the way to the meeting place?
—I must.
—When it comes down to it, aren’t you doing this to steal our alliance’s secrets?
—You only realized that now?
Geom Mugeuk truly intended to follow him around all day. If the opponent had not been the Fighting King, he would not have done this. The Fighting King he knew truly loved fighting, and he hated losing as much as he loved it.
The plot he had been carrying out within the Sado Alliance would also be a kind of battle to him.
He would never try to lose this battle, and in order not to lose in the current situation, he had to eliminate Bi Sa-in. Because he was the person most directly threatening him.
Before the fire spread to the Sado Alliance Leader, eliminating Bi Sa-in would be the surest choice for victory.
First Wolf sent a sound transmission to Bi Sa-in.
—Young Alliance Leader, I know you trust the Young Cult Leader, but you must not show him the inner workings of our alliance like this. If the Alliance Leader learns of it later, it will become a problem.
—I know very well what you are worried about, First Wolf. But just this once, trust my judgment.
First Wolf looked at Bi Sa-in. At the very least, he did not feel that Bi Sa-in’s eyes were being swayed by Geom Mugeuk, so First Wolf nodded. He intended to pay even closer attention himself. There could be nothing more foolish than completely trusting a demon.
And so Bi Sa-in attended the meeting.
When placing the Thirteen Wolves of the Sado outside the meeting hall, First Wolf stationed Geom Mugeuk as far away as possible. It was so he would not be able to hear the conversation inside.
Geom Mugeuk obediently followed First Wolf’s instruction.
After the meeting ended and Bi Sa-in came out, he saw Geom Mugeuk standing at the end of the corridor. He could understand what had happened without needing an explanation.
—Please understand. First Wolf is an extremely rigid man.
—I understand.
Bi Sa-in moved as he usually did.
For one meal a day, he always ate at the same inn. Today was no different.
While eating, he sent a sound transmission to First Wolf.
—What happened on Hwang Seok-gyeong’s side?
They had already sent eyes to keep watch on that side as well.
—Nothing is different from usual. If anything, he is undergoing even more intense training than usual.
If he had not trusted Geom Mugeuk, he might have thought Hwang Seok-gyeong had been framed, so normally was he behaving.
Bi Sa-in glanced at Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk had been standing near the entrance of the inn, clearly looking outside.
—You are looking at me with suspicion again. I told you to trust me.
—How can I not be suspicious when I have taken a man with eyes in the back of his head as my subordinate?
Geom Mugeuk turned to look at him. The two eyes above the mask were smiling.
—Aren’t you tired?
—I’m tired to death. Earlier, I just roughly had a meal standing up. From now on, I should treat my guards better.
—Come here and eat with me.
—I refuse. I’ll keep suffering and hold it over you for a long, long time. Every time we meet, I’ll talk about this time.
They finished their meal and returned. Nothing happened that day.
Nothing happened the next day either. Hwang Seok-gyeong also went about his days no differently from usual.
And so three days passed.
Today as well, Bi Sa-in was eating at the inn he always visited.
—The Young Cult Leader may have judged wrongly.
Bi Sa-in did not react to First Wolf’s sound transmission. Today too, Geom Mugeuk was standing near the entrance, looking out at the scenery.
Beyond Geom Mugeuk’s shoulder, he could see passersby coming and going, merchants calling for customers, and children running about.
‘Yes, he’s human too. He can’t be perfect.’
After finishing the meal, Bi Sa-in and the Thirteen Wolves of the Sado left the inn.
As they were returning to the alliance, a girl carrying a basket of flowers approached. She was a girl he had not seen before.
“Buy some flowers. I’ll give you flowers cheap.”
The Thirteen Wolves of the Sado became wary of her.
One warrior among the Thirteen Wolves of the Sado went over and examined the girl. From outward appearances, there were no traces of her having learned martial arts. The basket she carried also contained nothing but flowers. She was, in every way, an ordinary flower-selling girl.
When Bi Sa-in passed in front of her, the girl held out a single flower.
He was about to pass by, but Bi Sa-in turned toward the girl.
“How much for one flower?”
“For an honored person, I’ll give it to you for free.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“You’re the Young Alliance Leader, aren’t you? Father told me to be polite if I met you.”
“Where is your father?”
“He’s sick. He’s lying at home.”
“Give me all the flowers you’re selling.”
“Really?”
The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I’ll buy them especially to commemorate our meeting today.”
He was just about to take out money and hand it to her.
“I’ll give you this flower too.”
The girl took out the flower tucked in her hair and was about to put it into the basket.
Tak.
First Wolf swiftly sealed the girl’s paralysis point and snatched away the flower she was holding.
“It is the Yin-Yang Absolute Poison Grass. If the yin poison grass that was stuck in this child’s hair and the yang poison grass in the basket are combined, they instantly emit a fragrance containing deadly poison.”
Everyone looked at the girl.
Before they knew it, the girl’s face had turned pitch-black, and she was collapsing limply.
After examining her, already dead, First Wolf reported with a grim expression.
“It seems they arranged it so that the moment she removed the flower from her hair, she would be poisoned by a lethal toxin.”
Whether of her own will or by someone else’s, it was a vicious killing attempt that had thrown away a life.
Just then, while everyone’s attention was on the girl.
“Watch your back!”
The one who shouted was Geom Mugeuk.
When everyone’s eyes were on the girl, in that fleeting gap, a passerby standing behind Bi Sa-in had launched an attack.
Kwaaaaaang!
Along with an explosion, dozens of steel-needle-like hidden weapons shot out all at once from the cylindrical device in his hand.
Shwish-shwish-shwish-shwish-shwish-shwish-shwish!
Geom Mugeuk crossed the space with Blink Step and swung his sword, deflecting the hidden weapons.
That was not the only attack. A man who had been looking at a peddler’s wares across the street turned and launched hidden weapons. This time too, with an explosion, hidden weapons fired out.
The Thirteen Wolves of the Sado threw themselves forward and swung their swords.
From the rooftop on the opposite side, another man revealed himself and was about to fire a hidden weapon.
Seogeok!
The arm holding the hidden weapon tube was severed and fell.
Geom Mugeuk, who had flown up before anyone knew it, had cut off his arm.
Geom Mugeuk had deflected every hidden weapon that had flown in earlier, killed the attacker as well, and then charged straight onto the roof. His movements had been so fast that those watching had mistaken it for someone else blocking them.
The ambusher whose arm had been severed tried to draw another hidden weapon with his remaining hand, but what he had failed to accomplish with two arms could not be done with one.
Puuuk!
The Black Demon Sword pierced through his neck.
When Geom Mugeuk landed on the ground, all the assassins had already been subdued. The Thirteen Wolves of the Sado had formed a ring around Bi Sain, and in the center of them, Ilrang was shouting.
“Young Alliance Leader!”
A hidden weapon was lodged in his chest. All the hidden weapons had been concentrated on Bi Sain, and because they had come flying in so swiftly from such close range, they had been unable to deflect them all.
“I’m all right.”
When they loosened Bi Sain’s robe, he was wearing protective armor underneath. And truly, not one layer, but two. The hidden weapon had lodged there without piercing through the two layers of armor.
Three of the Thirteen Wolves of the Sado who had blocked the hidden weapons were injured. However, all of them had avoided fatal wounds. They, too, had all been wearing protective armor.
Geom Mugeuk and Bi Sain’s eyes met.
—Well done.
—Because of your nagging, I borrowed protective armor from the Sado Alliance treasury and had the Thirteen Wolves wear it too.
In the end, it had truly been the right choice.
—What about me? You gave it to everyone but me? You should’ve given me one too!
—I figured you’d manage to block things on your own. We were short on armor as well.
—When you’re wearing two layers yourself?
—You told me to wear two layers!
And so the two of them joked around. Even after surviving a brush with death, Geom Mugeuk was still a man who had to joke around.
Soon, Geom Mugeuk put away his playfulness and spoke calmly.
“The flower-selling girl was bait to draw our attention. They meant to attack when our eyes were drawn to her.”
“How did you know that?”
Because the opponent was the Fighting King. If they were people acting under his orders, they would not have been so sloppy.
“I had a bad feeling.”
Bi Sain realized that Geom Mugeuk had been right. The opponent truly intended to kill him.
‘That mad bastard! He really tried to kill me? And right in front of the main alliance?’
If not for Geom Mugeuk just now, he might have been struck down. Even if he himself had survived, the Thirteen Wolves of the Sado would likely have suffered greatly.
The Thirteen Wolves of the Sado knew this as well, so they bowed their heads to Geom Mugeuk in gratitude. Ilrang, who had looked unfavorably upon Geom Mugeuk, was among them.
Bi Sain revised the thought he had earlier. That man was human too, so he could not be perfect? Not at all.
‘This man is perfect. He’s not human.’
Ilrang retrieved the hidden weapons the enemies had used.
“The hidden weapon they used is the Blood Heaven Torrential Rain, designated by the entire murim as a forbidden hidden weapon.”
Not only was it impossible to obtain through ordinary channels, but three Blood Heaven Torrential Rains—things that could only be acquired by paying an enormous sum—had been used.
They had tried not merely to kill him, but to kill him using forbidden hidden weapons? The opponent was someone with not a shred of pride or honor as a martial artist. Someone who cared only about achieving the purpose of slaughter.
Bi Sain looked at Geom Mugeuk with an angry expression.
Geom Mugeuk said nothing, his expression saying he would follow Bi Sain’s decision. Bi Sain did not thank him for saving his life. He intended to settle the debt of gratitude all at once after this matter was over.
“To use forbidden hidden weapons… He lacks even the basics of a martial artist.”
Bi Sain turned his steps toward the alliance. Since they had received the other side’s greeting, it was only right for them to go return one.
“Let us go see whether our Four Alliance Hall teaches the basics properly.”
Absolute Regression, Chapter 353