Where many people gather, there are bound to be those whose bodies move faster than their thoughts.
Shwiiiick!
A young martial artist charged forward, slashing with his sword.
As he moved, not to be outdone, another martial artist leaped after him.
Seo Daeryong calmly swung his great blade to block their attacks.
The onlookers were startled. He had moved that massive great blade as swiftly as a sword to deflect the attacks.
The first strike he simply parried, but for the second defense, he imbued his blade with vigorous internal energy.
Klang! Kang!
The two men’s grips tore open, and they lost their swords.
Having sent his opponents’ swords flying, Seo Daeryong shouldered his great blade and shouted,
“Calm yourselves and hear me out first!”
The martial artists who had lost their swords retrieved them and stepped back. Whether out of humiliation, the two glared at Seo Daeryong with terrifying eyes.
Dozens of sword blades gleamed, pointed at him, yet Seo Daeryong remained calm.
Part of it was because his martial prowess had greatly improved, but there was a greater reason than that.
He had not come here alone today.
No matter how deep a trap he was buried in, there was someone who would dig through the dirt to pull him out… No, where on earth was he!
If Geommugeuk was not here, he would have to get through this situation himself.
‘I must absolutely not unleash the Myeolcheonmado Form!’
If the Myeolcheonmado Form was unleashed, someone would definitely die or be gravely injured. Then this place would become a hell of killing and death, exactly as that bastard wanted.
‘I will never dance to your tune.’
Jagyeong was staring at him with a strange smile, as if thinking something. If that bastard charged in directly, it would become an uncontrollable fight.
‘Why isn’t he attacking?’
Judging by the methods he had used to corner him earlier, Jagyeong was not the type to miss an opportunity while enjoying the situation.
‘What the hell is he scheming?’
He was a man whose inner thoughts were utterly inscrutable. In any case, for now, he had to calm these excited and enraged martial artists.
‘What would the Young Cult Leader have done in this situation?’
He had to speak like Geommugeuk and act like Geommugeuk. As his right-hand man, he had to fully demonstrate everything he had seen and learned until now.
Seo Daeryong spoke to the martial artists surrounding him in a calm tone.
“I only found out afterward that that man is Cheongun Shinhyeop.”
After revealing that he had not known the man’s identity, he displayed his own standing once more.
“As I said before, I am the head disciple of Hyeolcheondoma, the one who will succeed the position of the Blade Demon.”
Whether he could truly become the next Blade Demon remained to be seen, but he deliberately mentioned being the successor. It was to prevent the opposition from acting rashly, even slightly.
Even so, the killing intent at the tips of the pointed swords did not soften. The moment they misunderstood that he had framed Cheongun Shinhyeop, he had become a murderer in their eyes.
Seo Daeryong sent a telepathic message to Jagyeong, provoking him.
—Does your master know? That his disciple goes around pretending to be a righteous hero.
—My master knows everything that is happening here today.
At least, those words sounded like the truth.
‘Is it really the Master?’
If his master had been Geommugeuk, he would never have believed Jagyeong’s words.
But the current master?
It wasn’t that he couldn’t trust his master, but that he didn’t know his master well yet. He had no way of knowing whether his master had truly taken in such a disciple in the past.
Jagyeong began to incite the gathered heroes once more.
“Whether you are a disciple of the Demonic Lord is unimportant. What matters now is that you are the culprit who annihilated Daejeongmun. No matter how much you try to intimidate us with the Demonic Cult at your back, you cannot break the great chivalrous spirit of us righteous faction members.”
A war of words unfolded between the two men with the martial artists between them.
“You are the one using the righteous faction as your backing to trap me. Evidence that I annihilated Daejeongmun! Produce that evidence first.”
Seo Daeryong spoke proudly, refusing to back down. The moment he lost in a battle of words, a real fight would break out. Then there would be no turning back.
“I am the evidence. Because I heard those words directly from you.”
The fact that Cheongun Shinhyeop had heard it directly was more credible than anything else. He would have no reason to lie to them.
Seo Daeryong’s rebuttal followed immediately.
“Do you believe I would say such a thing to someone I met for the first time today? I didn’t even know that man was Cheongun Shinhyeop.”
But there was no one who believed those words.
“Stop wasting time and kill him now!”
“Let’s attack together!”
“Filthy Demonic Cult bastards!”
As one person shouted, others shouted in succession.
But no one moved rashly. Among those gathered here were the leaders of sects invited here today. They were cautious. Rather than ordering an attack, they sent telepathic messages telling their people not to step forward first.
It wasn’t because they believed Seo Daeryong, but because experience had taught them that in fights like these, those who stepped out first suffered the greatest damage.
Moreover, there was no need to be the protagonist of “who attacked first?”
Jagyeong began to press Seo Daeryong again.
“Why is a demonic cultist like you here?”
“I judged that someone would target this place today.”
“Do you have evidence to support that judgment?”
“I cannot show it because all the documents were burned.”
Jagyeong openly sneered.
“Of course they were.”
It was right when the surrounding heroes were making similar expressions.
“I can tell you instead.”
Seo Daeryong quickly summarized why this place, the Bongsan Sword Gate, had become the target. He mentioned several sects from the documents he had received and explained why this place was chosen.
He even added Geommugeuk’s analysis. The analysis that because relations with Daejeongmun, which had previously been annihilated, were not good, they would target this place.
In this situation, Jagyeong could have cut off the explanation, asking what nonsense he was spouting, and incited an attack, but he remained silent and listened.
Because he remained still, the other martial artists also listened together. He was the one leading this situation right now.
Thus Seo Daeryong revealed his reasoning. The martial artists exchanged glances. It was a plausible analysis.
As the atmosphere shifted, this time Seo Daeryong pressed Jagyeong.
“Were you invited to today’s gathering?”
“I was not.”
“Then why did you come?”
The gazes of the righteous faction martial artists turned toward Jagyeong. They too were curious as to why Cheongun Shinhyeop had come to today’s gathering.
“I too obtained evidence that the Demonic Cult was targeting today’s gathering.”
“Can you show that evidence?”
“If I reveal the person who gave me the information, they will be targeted for revenge by your kind.”
When Jagyeong refused flatly, Seo Daeryong added a remark.
“Or perhaps such a person never existed in the first place.”
Some martial artists sent Jagyeong gazes that seemed to say: Reveal it clearly. After all, that man cannot escape from here today, can he?
But Jagyeong pressed Seo Daeryong in a different way.
“The martial art used to kill the Daejeongmun Sect Leader was the Myeolcheonmado Form that you have mastered. Now, how do you explain this?”
This was the greatest weakness in this matter.
“Surely you aren’t going to say that the Myeolcheonmado Form is a martial art that just anyone can learn?”
Jagyeong blocked even his retreat.
Seo Daeryong was at a loss for words at this question alone. Because it was something even he did not know.
Having seized the momentum, Jagyeong incited the heroes once more.
“Do you remember how this man tried to pin his crime on me earlier? Does that alone not show you what kind of person he is?”
Seo Daeryong was at a loss. He knew that in the current situation, even if he claimed that bastard was the real culprit, it would only backfire.
“The Daejeongmun Sect Leader must be unable to close his eyes even in death. Let us all avenge the Daejeongmun Sect Leader!”
Jagyeong raised his great blade high with a flash.
At that, the martial artists simultaneously released their qi, revealing their killing intent.
Jagyeong sent a telepathic message to Seo Daeryong, laughter contained in his eyes.
—Kill all these righteous faction bastards! Isn’t that why I’m helping you? Kill them all with the Myeolcheonmado Form!
The martial artists slowly approached with their swords pointed. The leaders, including Bigeomjangju, could not stay out of this fight either. Because becoming branded a coward was as fatal as suffering great damage by taking the lead.
Seo Daeryong stepped back.
‘If I don’t fight, I die.’
As that bastard said, to survive he had to unleash the Myeolcheonmado Form.
It was truly a hair-trigger situation!
Right then, someone’s voice was heard.
“Then the Daejeongmun Sect Leader will weep blood from his unclosing eyes.”
Everyone’s focus concentrated on the newly appeared person among the heroes. He was none other than Geommugeuk, whom Seo Daeryong had been waiting for all this time.
‘Young Cult Leader!’
Seo Daeryong felt as though a ray of light was descending upon him in the darkness. It was like someone reaching out their hand to him while dirt poured down from inside a pit.
Had it not been for the onlookers, he truly would have run straight to Geommugeuk.
‘I nearly died from the tension! You were watching on purpose, weren’t you? Making me suffer! Just so you could appear at the critical moment!’
Of course, thanks to that, he had gained precious experience. When would he ever have another chance to persuade others to clear his name while righteous faction martial artists’ swords were pointed at him?
Geommugeuk slowly walked forward and spoke.
“The Daejeongmun Sect Leader was a man who lived his entire life upholding chivalry. If you pin the false charge of killing him on an unrelated person and kill that person, do you think he would approve? That is what would truly make the Daejeongmun Sect Leader unable to close his eyes in death.”
Geommugeuk’s voice was low and calm, but it rang clearly in everyone’s ears.
Bigeomjangju asked Geommugeuk.
“Who are you?”
Geommugeuk did not hide his identity.
“I am Geommugeuk, the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
Everyone was startled, their eyes widening wide. Who would have known the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult would appear here?
“Someone is sowing discord between our cult and you all, so I came to Jungkyeong myself to resolve this matter.”
Even though his opponent was the Young Cult Leader, Jagyeong showed no fear at all.
“Rather than resolving it, aren’t you the one carrying out this affair personally?”
Geommugeuk could have avoided unnecessary aura contests with Jagyeong or the martial artists here.
He could have released his qi to overwhelm them with crushing force. Crudely provoking the opponent would lead to a fight, but overwhelming qi would make them lose even their will to fight.
It was certainly an effective method, but Geommugeuk did not choose to do so.
It was precisely because of Jagyeong. There was no surprise or fear in Jagyeong’s eyes as he looked at him.
‘He knew I was here.’
That meant he had known Geommugeuk would appear before anything happened to Seo Daeryong. Then he would have also known there was no way Seo Daeryong would kill the righteous faction martial artists.
‘Don’t tell me… Is he trying to provoke me into killing these people instead of Seo Daeryong?’
It was because such doubt arose.
In any case, regardless of the bastard’s intentions, he had to calm the excited martial artists first.
Keeping his eyes on Seo Daeryong, Geommugeuk spoke to the gathered heroes.
“That man is not only the disciple of Hyeolcheondoma but also the pavilion lord of our cult’s Hwangcheon Pavilion.”
Geommugeuk began his persuasion by shifting Seo Daeryong’s status.
“In other words, he is someone appointed by the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
Just when they had been thinking of him only as a disciple of the Demonic Lord, the mention of the Cult Leader made everyone tense.
“Do you know what kind of place Hwangcheon Pavilion is? It is the place responsible for our cult’s discipline. It is the strictest among our cult’s countless organizations. That man is precisely the person in charge of such a place.”
Geommugeuk slowly walked toward Jagyeong.
As the two men grew closer, a suffocating tension hung in the air. But Geommugeuk and Jagyeong themselves were both composed.
‘Why have you come here? You must know you could die by my hand.’
Even though he must have read the warning in Geommugeuk’s eyes, Jagyeong was instead smiling.
Stopping at a point slightly away from Jagyeong, Geommugeuk spoke calmly.
“You said that man told you he annihilated Daejeongmun? That an extraordinary person who became the youngest pavilion lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion said such a thing to you, whom he met for the first time today? Just how stupid do you think the people here are to pull such a trick?”
He had deliberately used the word “stupid.” If they were swayed by those words, it meant they were stupid.
“It is the same with leaving the Myeolcheonmado Form at the annihilation site. He has no intention of starting a war with you, yet the Hwangcheon Pavilion Lord left his own martial art at the massacre site? If he had, the Cult Leader would not let it slide. Do you think that clever man would commit such a reckless act?”
Among the listening martial artists, some nodded slightly. They too had been suspecting that someone was sowing discord.
But when he heard that the Demon Venerable’s martial arts had been used, he had assumed it was the Demonic Cult’s doing. Hearing Geom Mugeuk say this directly made him consider that someone might have been sowing discord.
“Moreover, the Pavilion Lord of Hwangcheon was investigated by the Murim Alliance’s Chongqing Branch over this matter not long ago and then released. If the Pavilion Lord of Hwangcheon were guilty, would the Murim Alliance have let him go? If that is what you believe, you should be going to the Murim Alliance to argue, not here.”
Not a single word of it was wrong, so no one could offer any rebuttal.
Seo Daeryong, who had been listening, felt admiration and self-reproach at the same time.
‘Ah, I should have spoken like that.’
Just then, one man stepped out from among the gathered heroes. He was Bang Cheongmun, the sect master of the Bongsan Sword Sect.
“Sheathe your swords.”
At his command, everyone put away their swords without complaint. In any case, it was not as though they could fight the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.
“I have heard the Young Cult Leader’s words well. Both the Young Cult Leader and the Divine Hero said you came after hearing that there might be bloodshed at our sect, but fortunately, nothing has happened.”
Bang Cheongmun regarded Geom Mugeuk with gentle eyes, but he was still half in doubt. Earlier, Geom Mugeuk could have killed him and yet had not, but even that could have been part of a scheme.
In any case, he had made a promise to Geom Mugeuk in the sect master’s hall. At least for today, he would not clash with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
At that moment, Jagyeong stepped forward and respectfully cupped his fist to Bang Cheongmun.
“Judging it to be an urgent situation, I came to see you like this without being able to contact you in advance. I apologize.”
“Not at all. You have no idea how reassuring it is that you came.”
Watching this, Geom Mugeuk felt a strange sense of incongruity.
No fight had broken out between Seo Daeryong and the righteous faction members, and the same was true for him. Yet that man did not seem disappointed in the least.
—His purpose is not to make you fight the righteous faction members.
Seo Daeryong was startled by Geom Mugeuk’s voice transmission.
—It’s not? Then why did he go to such lengths?
Standing among the righteous faction members, Jagyeong looked at Geom Mugeuk with the same open, amiable smile he had worn when he first saw Seo Daeryong.
You won’t be able to kill me while I’m among the righteous faction members, will you? It was not a smile born of such a thought. Then what was that smile?
—At any rate, he really is a bold bastard. If he was aiming for me, he must have expected the Young Cult Leader to come as well, yet he came here alone?
The instant he heard that voice transmission, Geom Mugeuk realized something.
—The problem is not that he came here.
—Then what is the problem?
—The problem is who didn’t come.
—Pardon?
—Why did the elder not come here?
He must certainly have known that an incident would take place here. If so, he surely would have come and tried to stop it somehow.
In that instant, Geom Mugeuk’s gaze deepened. He had realized what kind of smile Jagyeong’s was. It was fine if he managed to set them against each other, and it did not matter if he failed. The man’s objective lay elsewhere.
—That man’s purpose is to keep us tied down here.
—Why on earth?
The reason was simple.
—Because this is not where the real conspiracy is taking place.