Gangdal lightly launched himself up and landed atop the wall.
“Only one carriage is approaching. There’s one man seated on the driver’s bench…”
In that instant, his gaze turned down below the wall.
Looking down, Gangdal was startled. Someone was standing beneath the wall, where no one should have been.
And it was not just one person. At intervals of three or four steps, massive martial artists stood surrounding the wall with their backs to it.
Gangdal flung himself backward and shouted.
“Get away from the wall!”
The branch martial artists standing near the wall promptly withdrew.
“There’s someone outside the wall!”
Gangdal assumed they were people who had come to assist Yogweng and the Chilro Chusal Squad.
‘When on earth did they get here? I didn’t notice them at all until they had surrounded the wall.’
No matter how much his attention had been taken by the Young Cult Leader and the Lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion, to have been this oblivious…
Then a natural doubt arose.
Even if he had failed to notice them, the Young Cult Leader or the Lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion should have noticed, shouldn’t they?
Could it be that those men were greater masters than those two? That couldn’t be.
Gangdal looked at Geom Mugeuk and Seo Daeryong.
Even after receiving his report, the two of them were not surprised in the slightest. From that reaction, he understood.
‘Ah! They’re the Young Cult Leader’s subordinates!’
It was only natural. There was no way the Young Cult Leader would move alone. Come to think of it, they had their backs to the wall. If they had been aiming for them, they would have been facing the wall.
‘If they had launched a surprise attack, we would all be dead.’
Once again, Gangdal marveled at the abilities of the demonic practitioners from the main cult.
‘Well, of course they’re strong. They’re the ones who protect the Young Cult Leader. If you only live once, this is how you ought to live.’
Meanwhile, the carriage arrived at the entrance.
‘Whoever it is, they picked the wrong day.’
Gangdal walked a few steps forward. Even if the Young Cult Leader and the Lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion were here, he was the master of this branch.
Gangdal spoke to the man on the driver’s bench who had brought the carriage.
“Esteemed guests are visiting our branch today. We are receiving no visitors whatsoever, so please return and visit another time.”
But the carriage showed no intention of leaving.
Gangdal observed the man seated on the driver’s bench. He did not reveal any particular aura, but Gangdal instinctively knew he was no ordinary man. If so, the person inside the carriage must also be of considerable status. Even so.
‘You bastards, the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is here right now. If you don’t want to die, get lost!’
If he shouted that, they would probably flee without looking back, wouldn’t they?
“Leave while I am still asking politely.”
Still, the carriage did not move.
The one who moved was one of the huge martial artists standing beneath the wall.
‘So the Young Cult Leader’s guards are finally moving.’
That was what Gangdal thought.
But the martial artist did not head toward the carriage. Instead, he entered the branch.
The moment they saw the martial artist entering, filling the doorway completely, Gangdal and the branch’s demonic practitioners all held their breath. The scar cutting across his face, the fierce gaze sweeping over his surroundings—when their eyes met his, their entire bodies trembled.
He was none other than the Demon Army Lord, Jang Ho.
The Demon Army had been returning to the cult, following the carriage Geom Ujin was riding in at a slight distance. Then, after receiving word from Tongcheon Pavilion, they had come here to attend upon the Heavenly Demon.
Since the Cult Leader was visiting a branch of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, how could they fail to observe proper formality? Thus, all the Demon Army soldiers were wearing the formal uniforms that revealed their status.
At that moment, Gangdal saw the characters embroidered on Jang Ho’s chest.
Demon Army.
Gangdal was shocked.
‘Could it be?’
Then Seo Daeryong said,
“Pay your respects. This is the Demon Army Lord, who leads our cult’s Demon Army.”
At the words “Demon Army Lord,” Gangdal was so astonished that his mind went blank for a moment. Truly, he had believed there could be nothing left today to surprise him.
The eyes of the branch’s demonic practitioners shone as they looked at Jang Ho. To ordinary demonic practitioners, the Demon Army held a special meaning.
The Demon Army, the finest elite organization of the main cult.
They were deployed on the most dangerous missions, and when war broke out, they stood at the vanguard. They were the dream and object of admiration for ordinary demonic practitioners.
Gangdal and the branch’s demonic practitioners all cupped their fists at once and bowed their heads.
“We greet the Demon Army Lord.”
Gangdal still believed the Demon Army had come forward to guard the Young Cult Leader. As far as his mind could conceive regarding today’s visit to the branch, the highest possible person involved was the Young Cult Leader.
With Jang Ho at the lead, the Demon Army soldiers began entering one after another.
Their overwhelming presence, with their demonic energy unconcealed, made not only the demonic practitioners but even the kneeling members of the Chilro Chusal Squad shrink back. Merely looking at them was intimidating.
Receiving gazes of awe, the Demon Army soldiers filed inside. Even one of them would have been chilling, yet they kept entering without end.
The four women stared at them in bewilderment. They did not know much about the Demon Army, but their massive physiques and fierce aura filled them with fear.
After looking at Geom Mugeuk and Seo Daeryong, then looking at these men, they felt as though they were seeing true demonic practitioners.
The Demon Army soldiers lined up on both sides from the entrance, forming a path.
‘They aren’t trying to block the carriage?’
Gangdal’s gaze turned toward the carriage. Just as he watched with a sinking suspicion, the carriage door opened.
The first person to step down from the carriage was the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.
Jang Ho said to the demonic practitioners,
“This is the Demon Sovereign of our cult, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.”
At those words, the demonic practitioners were once again struck with shock. When would they ever have had the chance to see a Demon Sovereign in a small rural branch like this?
For Gangdal and the branch demonic practitioners alike, this was their first time seeing a Demon Sovereign in person.
“We greet the Demon Sovereign!”
They shouted thunderously as they paid their respects. Gangdal’s heart trembled.
‘To think the day would come when I’d see a Demon Sovereign with my own eyes!’
He had heard all sorts of terrifying rumors about Demon Sovereigns. From now on, if he so much as breathed wrong, he would die. He disciplined his subordinates with his gaze.
‘Be careful! Watch your words and actions! Don’t even look at him!’
His well-trained subordinates answered with their eyes.
‘Do not worry!’
But their shock was only just beginning.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon, after stepping down from the carriage, stood respectfully beside it and waited for someone to descend.
At last, Geom Ujin stepped down from the carriage.
The moment he saw Geom Ujin, Gangdal froze. He had seen many martial artists in his life, but this was the first time he had felt such a presence. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon, who had descended first, had also displayed a tremendous presence, but it could not be compared to this man before him.
Geom Ujin slowly moved forward and walked between the rows of Demon Army soldiers.
Watching that sight, Gangdal’s eyes grew wider and wider. Who was it that a Demon Sovereign would treat with such utmost respect? Who in this martial world could walk upon a path formed by the Demon Army?
Jang Ho declared in a loud voice,
“All of you, show respect to the Cult Leader!”
One of the demonic practitioners let out a scream of terror, then clamped a hand over his own mouth. But no one paid him any attention.
Gangdal and the demonic practitioners all prostrated themselves at once and shouted,
“The Divine Cult is undefeated! The Heavenly Demon endures forever! We greet the august Cult Leader.”
Gangdal was half out of his mind. The Cult Leader had visited his branch?
‘Is this a dream?’
The Lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion had come, the Young Cult Leader had come, the Demon Army had come, a Demon Sovereign had come. Even that much was already like a dream, and now the Cult Leader as well?
‘Yes, this is a dream. A dream.’
Even though he knew it was not a dream, for that instant, he thought so.
The women, if anything, were not as surprised as they were.
The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was like someone from another world to them.
In the martial world, there was the Heavenly Demon, the Martial Alliance Leader, and the Evil Alliance Leader? That felt similar to saying there was a sun, a moon, and stars in the sky.
What surprised them was not that the Demon Cult Leader had come, but that this Demon Cult Leader was someone they knew.
The youngest, Danyeon, gasped.
“It’s him!”
When the three women saw Geom Ujin’s face, they were truly shocked. He was the man they had seen at the inn that day. And more than anything else—
‘The person we served food to was the Heavenly Demon?’
The three women looked at one another in astonishment.
The youngest’s eyes said this:
‘It was me! Me! I was the one who said we should send him food.’
The youngest’s taste in men was the Heavenly Demon?
Chohui stood behind them.
Unlike the bewildered women, Chohui knew very well just how astonishing and impossible this situation was.
She was a courtesan of Cheonhwaru. The person who appeared most often in the stories drunken martial artists blustered about was that man over there.
From all the boasts that began with “When I met the Heavenly Demon,” to the endless terror of the Heavenly Demon’s descent and the destruction of the martial world.
After hearing all those countless stories, there was at least one thing she knew for certain.
He was someone she would never see even once in her lifetime.
And yet that person was now walking toward her. That was why, more than anyone else, she understood just how unreal this moment was.
That unreal man walked between the Demon Army soldiers. The rugged Demon Army soldiers, who would look perfectly suited standing guard before the gates of hell, wore expressions more respectful than ever. Everything about the sight was unreal.
In that way, Geom Ujin reached the end of the formation and turned around.
The Blood Heaven Saber Demon stood beside Geom Ujin as though guarding him.
Step, step, step.
The Demon Army soldiers who had stood in formation moved with discipline, taking positions to guard all directions.
Several Demon Army soldiers stood in front of the Chilro Chusal Squad, who were kneeling with their internal energy suppressed. It was not to protect them, but to block those filthy wretches from the Cult Leader’s sight.
Under the terrifying gazes of the Demon Army soldiers looking down at them, the men could not even breathe loudly and lowered their heads.
Jang Ho had the branch’s demonic practitioners and the women, who had been kneeling and prostrating themselves, all rise. They did not dare meet his eyes and kept their heads lowered.
Geom Mugeuk went before his father and greeted him.
“You have arrived.”
Geom Ujin nodded once, then looked at Seo Daeryong.
His gaze asked what had happened.
Seo Daeryong respectfully reported to Geom Ujin.
“Thanks to your concern, we safely rescued Lady Dana and her younger sisters.”
When their names were mentioned, Dana’s heart began to pound.
Her name was being mentioned in a conversation between the Demon Cult Leader and the Lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion.
It did not feel real. Like Gangdal, this moment felt like a dream to her.
Then Geom Ujin’s calm question sounded, as if to tell her it was no dream.
“Which heroine is the one called Dana?”
Dana’s heart dropped as though she had fallen from a great height. The Demon Cult Leader was looking for her!
Seo Daeryong was even more flustered. He had never imagined the Cult Leader would ask who she was.
Seo Daeryong’s gaze turned toward Dana.
‘Will you be all right?’
But she was braver and bolder than Seo Daeryong had thought. Being surprised was one thing. When she spoke, she did so clearly, without faltering.
“My name is Dana. It is an honor to meet one so noble. Under the protection of the Divine Cult, and with the help of the Lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion, my sisters and I were able to preserve our lives. I sincerely thank you.”
Geom Ujin’s deep gaze seemed almost as if it could peer into a person’s heart, but the reason he had asked to see her was not to judge what sort of person she was.
“I am glad you are safe.”
Dana opened her eyes wide and looked at Geom Ujin. How could she not be shocked?
The Heavenly Demon was telling her he was glad she was safe.
“Thank you for your concern.”
At her trembling words, Geom Ujin merely nodded and said nothing else. That was enough.
Geom Mugeuk could tell. This was his father’s consideration for Seo Daeryong. Just as he himself had shown her the utmost courtesy, his father had shown his trust in Seo Daeryong by asking after her safety.
How could Seo Daeryong not understand that?
‘I will repay this grace with my life.’
It was the moment a wall of loyalty, like the Great Demonic Wall of the Nine Flower Demonic Art, was completed—one that nothing could bring down.
If it was for a Cult Leader and Young Cult Leader like these, then even if they cursed and hated him for the rest of his life, he could die for them.
Seo Daeryong silently bowed his head to Geom Ujin, expressing his gratitude.
There was also consideration from his drinking friend, Jang Ho.
Jang Ho was the first to pay proper respects to Seo Daeryong as well.
“I greet the Pavilion Lord.”
“I greet the Army Lord.”
Dana was surprised once more to see that terrifying Demon Army Lord show Seo Daeryong such respectful courtesy. Today, what kind of person Seo Daeryong was was being properly engraved upon her heart.
If anything, it felt too burdensome. The fact that she had drawn the attention of someone so remarkable.
And yet, in Seo Daeryong’s eyes as he continued to look at her, then hastily turned away whenever their eyes met, there was still only bashfulness.
Gangdal and the branch demonic practitioners lined up before Geom Ujin. Since the Cult Leader had visited, they offered him their formal greetings.
Standing before the Cult Leader, Gangdal’s heart swelled. He could die now with no regrets.
‘I am the only branch leader to have received the Cult Leader at his branch!’
This was truly something he could boast about after gathering every branch leader in the vicinity.
At that moment, unexpected praise flowed from the Cult Leader’s mouth.
“They are well trained.”
Geom Ujin had grasped the demonic practitioners’ abilities and aura simply by looking at them. Furthermore, their eyes were filled with loyalty toward the cult and its leader.
In addition, Geom Ujin had already learned through a letter what had happened here. From branch management and judgment of the situation to pride in the cult and boldness in dealing with the enemy—Gangdal was a man too valuable to remain in such a small branch.
“Thank you!”
Gangdal had lived diligently until now. He had trained diligently, and he had diligently trained his subordinates as well.
Because he had wanted to escape this small branch, he had worked hard to become someone who overflowed beyond the limits of this small branch.
As a result, he had become a branch leader brimming with confidence, and that confidence became the pride of thinking, How dare some mere Chusal Squad look down on us? Because he had that pride, he had been able to accept the women. In the end, everything had been connected.
Through this incident, Gangdal came to understand that opportunity did not simply drop from the heavens, but ultimately began with oneself.
And Gangdal believed that simply having met the Cult Leader in person had brought sunlight into his life.
At that very moment, a dazzling sun shone brilliantly upon his life.
“I will see you at the main cult.”