Episode 139
When I opened my eyes after a long day of fortune-telling, the world was immersed in darkness.
I got up from the bed, frowning at the pain I felt all over my body.
‘At this rate, I can’t even set foot in the artificial ruins, let alone seek revenge.’
A bitter smile came out of me.
The fact that the vampires and other demonic cultists attacked me meant that the iron blood demon army had discovered my purpose.
They probably tortured the kidnapped Hao Mun-do to get information about me.
‘I don’t know how much a mere Hyangju-level Haomundo would know about me.’
The problem was the work I had entrusted to Hao Moon.
Investigation into serial disappearance cases.
Surveillance of black markets and illegal slave traders.
Unless the Iron Blood Demons were stupid, there was no way they wouldn’t have noticed that I was chasing the demon cultists hiding in Gwiju.
‘It tastes bitter.’
I narrowed my eyes as I picked up one of the clothes scattered under the bed.
As I looked at the tattered and torn Cheonjamboui, I couldn’t help but sigh.
‘You could say it was cheap compared to the price of my life.’
Even so, I couldn’t help but feel regretful about losing my precious armor.
Of course, I had no intention of just throwing away Cheonjamboui just because it was in tatters.
‘The damage is so severe that repairing it will be impossible. It would be better to unravel the rope and secure Cheonjamsa.’
Cheonjamsa, the material of Cheonjamboui, was a treasure of great value in itself.
Even if it is not necessarily made into clothing, its uses are endless.
The best fishing line for anglers and a great memorization tool for assassins was Cheonjamsa.
‘I decided to postpone organizing my room until later.’
After throwing Cheonjamboui on the bed, I immediately opened the door.
Bangcheoksam, who was standing guard outside the door, turned to me and asked.
“Are you feeling better?”
“yes.”
“You still don’t look good.”
“It’s not so bad that you can’t move.”
“I would recommend resting a little more.”
“I’d like to, but unfortunately I don’t have much time.”
“What do you mean?”
“How do you think the Iron Blood Demon will react when they find out that the Vampire Demon is dead?”
“······In all likelihood, they will close the artificial ruins and try to return to religion.”
Bangcheoksam narrowed his eyes and answered.
I nodded my head in approval.
It is said that Dokgo Woojin was torturing the captured demons to obtain information, but that alone was not enough.
What do you do if you find out how to enter and exit the artificial ruins?
There’s no point in it if you can’t catch the Iron Blood Demon Army.
“So we need to move quickly and tie down his movements.”
“What exactly do you plan to do and how?”
“We need to put a fence around it. “This time it’s our turn to hunt.”
* * *
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Together with Bangcheoksam, I entered a building that seemed to be a warehouse.
Dokgo Woojin, who was torturing demons in a narrow warehouse, asked me as he wiped the blood from his hands.
“Why did you come here? “I obviously told you to rest.”
Four men were tied up in a corner of the warehouse.
Perhaps because they had been tortured, their appearance was absolutely miserable.
‘Everyone was gathered here.’
In addition to Dokgo Woojin and the four men who were tied up, there were several more people.
Dokwang, Dang Seoyeon, Damun.
Bang Cheok-sam said that Seo Ho-seon was injured and was resting in his room.
It seemed like he had posed as a decoy so that Dang Seoyeon and Damun could escape safely.
“Thank you for your help.”
First, I politely bowed to the King of Poison.
If it weren’t for him, I would have lost my life at the hands of a vampire demon.
‘Just looking at his appearance, I would believe him to be a village man.’
A man with a small body and gray hair.
A young appearance that doesn’t look like he’s over 100 years old.
He was wearing a loose long robe, and on his wrist was a flower-shaped ornament that I guess was memorized.
‘I never thought I would face the poison king of my time like this.’
It was a person I had never met in my previous life.
By the time I began exploring Gangho in earnest, he had passed away due to old age.
‘Taesanggaju of the Tang family.’
Tang Sang-jin, an absolute expert who holds the first place in the Ten Heavenly Emperors.
He had a quite unusual personality.
Originally, he was a born warrior with no interest in power, but he had no choice but to become the head of the family because his older brother, who was appointed head of the small family, lost his life due to a strange disease.
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Because he was a terrible martial artist, he got married quite late.
Unable to withstand the persistent requests of his family members, he did not take on a companion until he was over 50 years old, and after he had a descendant to carry on the family, he did not even set foot in the support of his wife.
He devoted himself so tenaciously to martial arts training that he eventually reached absolute perfection and was recognized as a member of the top ten masters.
‘······I think my personality is a little different from what I heard through rumors.’
The world called Dang Sang-jin a cold-blooded man without blood or tears.
However, seeing the way she got along well with her granddaughter, I thought that wasn’t necessarily the case.
[It’s been a lot of hard work. Leave the rest to me and take care of yourself first.]
When I think about it, he seemed to be worried about me even when he was confronting a vampire demon.
I don’t know if his personality changed as he got older or if false rumors were spread, but at least in my eyes, he seemed like a good-natured old man.
“I received a life-saving blessing. “I will definitely repay this debt someday.”
“It was okay to say thank you. “I think it would be a good idea to take care of yourself first.”
“Thank you for your concern. But I think I should take a break a little later.”
I looked back at Dokgo Woojin and asked.
“Did you dig up some information?”
“You don’t open your mouth easily. It doesn’t seem like he just has a heavy mouth. “Maybe he was banned or his family was taken hostage.”
“It won’t be a ban. “Go (蠱) is an item that even the Demonic Cult can only produce in limited quantities.”
In the first place, suffering was not a means of controlling the subject’s will.
It is just a safety device installed in case of an emergency.
They say that if you betray or reveal confidential information, it will explode, or that you can remotely control it and cause it to explode.
Many people are mistaken because of the false myths floating around, but in reality, such a method of use did not exist.
Is it possible for such a convenient item to exist in the world?
“If you can’t get them to open their mouths by causing pain, why not use poison instead?”
“Are you saying we should use the Dead Soul Poison?”
“yes.”
The poison of the dead soul was, so to speak, a kind of confession.
In fact, its essence was closer to a drug than a poison.
It is a powerful poison that destroys the reason and spirit of those who ingest it, and its recipe was passed down as a secret secret to the Tang family.
“Are you okay? “The method is…”
“It takes a long time and there is no guarantee that the target will spit out correct information. “But there is no other way.”
Of course, I had no intention of giving the Iron Blood Demon Army any time to spare.
While Dokgo Woojin was digging for information, I planned to set up a net so that he couldn’t escape.
I immediately gestured to Damun and said.
“Dam Sohyeop. “Get up.”
“······?”
“Let’s go to the Gwiju branch together.”
“Are you really planning to seek cooperation from the Guizhou branch?”
“That’s right.”
* * *
The reception room in the Guizhou branch.
Namgungbaek and I sat across from each other at a large table and talked.
“So, are you saying that there were demons working in secret in Gwiju?”
“That’s right.”
“This is a story that is not easily believed.”
“Look at this.”
I took the wooden box handed to me by Damun, who was standing behind me, and handed it to Namgung Baek.
Namgung Baek frowned as he opened the lid of the wooden box and checked the contents.
“This······.”
“It’s about the supply and demand of blood-sucking magic agents.”
“Vampiric magic?”
Namgung Baek, who was tilting his head, soon showed a shocked expression.
It was a natural reaction.
The vampire demon is an absolute master who holds the top spot in the eight great demon armies.
Anyone would be surprised if they said that they had taken the supply and demand from such a person.
“Really?”
“What do you mean?”
“The owner of this head is a vampire demon!”
“Do you think I’m lying?”
“Isn’t the blood-sucking demon an expert in the field of police? “By what means…”
“Senior Poison King helped me.”
“Poison King?!”
Namgung Baek’s eyes grew so big that they seemed like they were about to pop out.
The embarrassed feeling he felt was conveyed through the atmosphere.
As I quietly watched him close the lid of the wooden box with trembling hands, I got straight to the point.
“First of all, the reason I came to see the branch manager is because I wanted to ask for your cooperation.”
“What do you mean by cooperation?”
“I am the fourth, or rather, I should say third, disciple of the Demon Cultist. The Iron Blood Demon Army has not been subdued yet. “He is the key figure in this case, so we must catch him.”
“I know what you’re trying to say. “It probably means that we want to spread Cheonnajimang (天羅地網) by borrowing the power of the Baekdo Murim Alliance.”
“That’s right.”
“It is difficult. In peacetime, we would have responded to the request for assistance right away, but now we are at war. “We have to check the movements of the Cheonghyeoldomun, so we cannot withdraw our troops carelessly.”
“You don’t have to worry about that part. “Because the Blue Blood Gate will no longer move.”
“yes? “What do you mean by that?”
“If the branch leader promises cooperation, I plan to immediately visit the Blue Blood Demon’s camp and negotiate with the Blood Red Army.”
“Are you saying you want to go directly into the enemy’s den? “It’s too dangerous.”
“it’s okay. “I’m planning on taking a reliable escort with me.”
“······.”
“There is some circumstantial evidence suggesting that the Blue Blood Demon Lord and the Iron Blood Demon Army had a cooperative relationship with each other. “It won’t be that difficult to resolve the negotiation to your advantage.”
In the meantime, the Blue Blood Demon Army deliberately attracted the attention of the White Island Martial Alliance to help the Iron Blood Demon Army prepare.
So what did they receive from the Iron Blood Demon Army in return?
‘It’s probably war materials or funds. It would have provided some additional information.’
As soon as the Great War broke out, Cheonghyeoldomun began to expand its territory as if it had been waiting.
As if he knew when the war would start.
It meant that the demonic cultists secretly operating in Gwiju had informed them of the approximate time.
Also, there was one thing I learned while participating in two battles and watching the warriors of the Cheonghyeoldomun.
The Demonic Cult did not provide human resources to the Cheonghyeoldomun.
Therefore, I thought they would have provided supplies or funds.
‘In fact, it doesn’t really matter what they provided, whether it’s information, manpower, materials, or funds.’
The Cheonghyeoldomun joined hands with the Demonic Cult.
How will the Murim Alliance react when this fact becomes known?
‘I’ll be on guard.’
The reason why the Murim League had not shown any particular reaction to the movements of the Cheonghyeoldomun until now was simple.
Because we have to focus on the war against the Demonic Cult.
But what if it turns out that the Cheonghyeoldomun was in league with the Demonic Cult?
The perspective of the upper echelons of the Maeng Dynasty towards Cheonghyeoldomun was bound to change.
‘There is a high probability that reinforcements will be dispatched to the Guizhou branch.’
As a Blue Blood Demon Master, he would have wanted to avoid such a situation.
There was room for negotiation there.
martial arts,
