Episode 251 Now is the time for everyone to be strong.
Nothing has changed since I became a cult leader.
The path to take has been set, and the work to be done has been set.
Become stronger and kill fire weapons.
But in reality, there was a change.
The first change that came to me was the rows of houses lining the yard of my residence.
You could tell who they were by the symbol engraved on their chests.
A demon image painted on a shield.
“I came from the Cheonmajeon escort unit.”
When he became the leader of the sect, a warrior escort was dispatched from Cheonmajeon.
“I am the Red Yan (赤燕) who will be responsible for the safety of the young sect leader from now on.”
He had an eyepatch over one eye. It was rare for a guard to have only one eye, so it looked very special.
The escort drones behind them each announced their names and greeted each other.
The numbers are all twelve.
He explained that six people would take turns guarding me day and night.
I knew this enemy and the rest of the escort drones very well.
Red Smoke. He lived a life of shining like a flame and then disappearing.
These were the bodyguards of my brother, who was the leader of the cult, and they all died together with my brother on the day the fire weapon attacked. None of them ran away, and they were the ones who pledged their loyalty with their lives.
‘thanks.’
I expressed my gratitude to them in my heart.
“Now we will protect our sect leader.”
That loyalty was now turned towards me. Another fate I had to change.
The problem, however, is that I don’t need them.
They won’t want to leave me for even a moment, and I have a lot to do quickly. Plus, there will be a lot of things they don’t understand.
I have to somehow get him to distance himself from me.
I never thought I’d be given a task like this from the first day I became a cult leader.
There is no need to tell them, ‘You are not needed, so go away.’ They were not the type of people who would go back, and this problem was not one that could be solved that way.
A problem that must be solved by meeting Hwi, the leader of the escort and the signalman for his father. Of course, it will not be easy.
In any political arena, the most conservative characters are the escort drones. If they are not conservative, it is impossible to protect the target.
The more skilled you are, the more likely you are to overestimate your own abilities, and it is really hard to protect those with unruly personalities. Isn’t that the case for me right now? I am thinking of sending them back somehow.
“Take a break.”
I was trying to meet Hwi and have a conversation, but Jeokyeon seemed to have read my mind.
“The Lord of the Guards said this. The Lord of the Little Cult may want to send you back. But you have nowhere to return to. If he sends us back, we will have to leave the Guard.”
Hwi guessed that I would send them back and took the initiative. He knew my personality well enough and expressed his determination that I would never let them go. Whether they become food or death, he meant to keep them with me.
“So are you now completely mine?”
“The official affiliation is the Cheonmajeon Escort Squad, but in reality it is like that.”
I said to the enemy.
“Take off the blindfold.”
At my command, Jeokyeon flinched, but he quickly took off the blindfold without hesitation. It wasn’t because his eyes were injured that he was wearing the blindfold. His covered eyes were red as blood.
I approached him, looked into his eyes and said:
“You’ve mastered the art of ghost sight.”
The art of the eye-sight is a technique that has been passed down among the guards as a way to find those who are hiding. However, the process of learning it is extremely painful, and one cannot normally use one eye like this. One must give up one eye for the rest of one’s life for that one moment of crisis that may come once in a lifetime.
“Aren’t you sick?”
“It’s bearable.”
“Stay still.”
I placed my palm over his eyes. A thin stream of energy flowed through and caressed his pupils.
When I took my hand away, Jeokyeon lowered his head.
“thank you.”
A look of bewilderment appeared on Jeokyeon’s face as he turned to me. He probably never imagined that I would be able to handle his pain like this.
“It’s just a temporary measure.”
Ian was like that, and now Jeokyeon is like that too.
Protecting someone requires too much sacrifice. This is not just a problem for our school, but the burden our school places on its escort drones is too harsh.
“I heard that if you achieve great success in the art of eye surgery, you will be able to use these eyes in everyday life as well.”
“That’s right. But achieving great success is so difficult.”
“I will help you.”
The red eyes of the red smoke were astonished, as if they were looking at me like a ghost.
“How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-nine.”
He was young. The escorts who came with him were younger or of similar age.
“I may be young, but it’s been twelve years since I joined the escort.”
It means that he passed the examination for the escort team at the age of seventeen. Since it is not possible to enter the Cheonmajeon escort team with average skills, it also means that Jeokyeon’s talent is outstanding.
“The juniors who came with me are young, but I am confident in their skills.”
Of course it would be. They were the ones sent to protect the young sect leader. Hui would have sent me the young masters who would take responsibility for the next generation. Young masters who have both skill and loyalty.
Mr. Whee, you really chose well.
Because these are people who have already proven through death what kind of people they are.
“How much do you know about me?”
“I’m aware of most of the recent events.”
“Then you know my personality to some extent.”
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“I have a little guess.”
“Tell me.”
Jeokyeon hesitated for a moment about what to say, then spoke carefully.
“I think he is not an easy person to serve.”
I nodded and said.
“If you just let go of one thing, you can get along better with me than anyone else.”
“What is it?”
“Impatience. What I’m saying is, just let go of the impatience to become my escort right now.”
The escorts, including Jeokyeon, looked puzzled. They had already been assigned to the escort, so what could they be talking about? They were puzzled.
“I don’t know what that means.”
I asked a question instead of answering.
“What is your ultimate dream?”
“I will be the best escort.”
“Is it a dream to be the escort of a cult leader? Is it a dream to be the escort of a cult leader?”
After a moment, Jeokyeon answered.
“Of course, my ultimate dream is to become the leader’s bodyguard.”
Not only that, but other escorts will also have the same goal.
“That means I have to let go of my impatience.”
Still, they looked as if they couldn’t understand why I was saying this.
“Bring me thirteen wooden swords.”
When Jeokyeon realized that I was trying to test his skills, he immediately had his subordinate bring him a wooden sword.
After a while, we each picked up a wooden sword. I put white powder on the tip of the wooden sword.
“Okay, think of the friend at the end as me and protect him from now on.”
They immediately formed a formation, centering on the person I had pointed out.
They were very nervous.
“You don’t have to worry about me getting hurt. So just do your best to stop it. Okay, let’s go.”
I rushed at them.
How could you stop me when I’m determined to attack you, even if you tried to stop me somehow?
I unleashed my full might on them, and dug into them. They were pushed and pulled, and the sword I swung missed. I gave them places they could never dig into, tripped over their legs, and lost sight of me for a moment.
As the thought of, “What on earth is going on?” crossed their minds, I flew up and landed back where I was.
The twelve escorts looked at me with blank expressions.
What on earth have you been doing?
None of them dropped their swords. None of them got hit.
Then one of them was startled.
“Huh!”
Only then did they all become shocked. They were more shocked than if their arms or stomachs had been stabbed. Before they knew it, everyone’s hearts had been covered in powder.
Their leader, Jeokyeon, was the same, as were the comrades they were trying to protect. What was even more surprising was that they were buried without anyone knowing when or how. In the blink of an eye, they were all dead.
“Can you protect me with this skill right now?”
Not only did they blush, but their faces turned red. Regardless of the difference in skill, it must have been so shameful for them to be treated so helplessly as escort soldiers.
“I’m not trying to humiliate you. I’m just showing you the reality. You have to be much stronger to protect me. Because the people I’m going to face in the future are these masters.”
I walked up to them and looked each of them in the eye and spoke.
“I couldn’t stop it today, but I have to stop it next time. I can’t stop it alone, but I have to stop it now that there are twelve of us. Don’t waste your time trying to protect me while I eat, or while I sleep. Instead of standing guard like that, you should be practicing martial arts.”
Because nothing could be more meaningless than following me around as an escort right now.
“So are you saying I should just keep practicing martial arts?”
I shook my head at Jeokyeon’s question.
“You have your own position, but that can’t be the case. We have to move together for official events, both internal and external. But I live my daily life and spend time with the demons. There’s no need to waste time guarding me until then.”
In fact, it was a godsend for them, as they were cutting back on sleep to make time for training during their tough escort missions.
“Because this is the rule of the escort. Because it goes against the principles. From now on, let’s abandon such thoughts. We will establish new rules and principles. If I tell you to step aside and rest, you must unconditionally obey my orders. If I don’t call you separately, that time is training time. I will train with the determination to become the best escort warrior in the martial arts world.”
The eyes of Jeokyeon and Muin shook at the unexpected words.
“I need an escort drone like that.”
I slowly approached and brushed away the dust from the red smoke’s heart. Below it was the symbol of the guards.
“I need this shield drawn on your chest. An eternal shield that no one can pierce.”
I could feel the red smoke rising. They were still young. They were shaken by my words. It must have been their dream to become the best escort drone. Their chance had come.
“If you keep your promise to me, I will promise you one thing. I will take you with me to the end. When I become a Heavenly Horse, you will be my escort.”
The Red Smoke and the escorting drones were surprised. Usually, when the Heavenly Horse becomes the Heavenly Horse, the drones that escort the Heavenly Horse are replaced. But now, I have declared it. I will take you all with me.
“If something goes wrong with this method and I get kicked out of the escort, I’ll take responsibility for it. But that won’t happen.”
Jeokyeon couldn’t decide if this was the right thing to do.
“In exchange for giving you a lot of time, I will check your skills regularly. I will immediately kick out anyone who slacks off. This may be a more difficult task than escorting me.”
Now is the time for everyone to become stronger. Especially my escort drones, they must become stronger no matter what.
Jeokyeon looked around at his subordinates. He asked for their opinions instead of making a decision on his own. He felt that the communication was going quickly. He liked the way things were done.
“I learned the art of seeing ghosts… … but now I feel possessed by a ghost.”
Is it really okay to make such a big decision so emotionally? Jeokyeon added with that expression.
“We decided to follow the words of our sect leader.”
The escort drones behind shouted in unison.
“We will become stronger. We will stake our future on the Young Master.”
Their will was felt.
“Become stronger. So that you may one day become the best Heavenly Demon Guardians in the martial arts world.”
You can do it. I will help you.
And we have to do it to survive.
“Where is the accommodation?”
“It is available nearby.”
“I’ll rebuild it with the best facilities. It’ll even have a training center attached to it.”
Everyone looked moved.
“Well, since today is the first day, should we all go together?”
* * *
He headed to Cheonmajeon with his escorts.
The escorts who followed behind me looked at the mines with a cool yet confident gaze, unlike when they looked at me.
They were the ones who had the authority to call anyone to protect me. They were the ones who had the authority to skip greeting even the Amazons during escort missions. They were the ones who just got in trouble with me, and they weren’t the ones who would run away somewhere.
As we walked, the mines parted like water.
Not only did they not dare to block my path, but even the way they looked at me had completely changed.
Until then, they had shown their emotions. Whether it was a look of support or a look of disapproval. To some extent, I could read their minds.
But he didn’t dare to reveal his feelings to me, who had become the leader of the sect. When he saw me, he greeted me politely and showed absolute respect. Whether he liked me or not, it didn’t matter. He only thought that if he got hit by the next Heavenly Demon, he would die.
The escorts waited at the entrance and I entered Cheonma Hall alone.
Father was sitting in the throne room as usual.
I walked down the bloody path and stood at the bottom of the stairs.
“I hope you are well and healthy. Are you enjoying your stay?”
“Why are you doing something you’ve never done before?”
“Every young leader should be greeted with this level of greeting.”
The corners of my father’s mouth curled up.
“Just do as you normally would.”
I smiled pleasantly and asked my father.
“Have you had enough gossiping about me and your brother?”
“I couldn’t do it. Your brother doesn’t curse behind your back like some people do.”
Father, it was really cool how you took care of my brother yesterday.
“I kept my promise to come here holding your hand, so please help me out from now on, Father.”
My father didn’t answer, but I believed that he would help me in some way with my brother’s problem.
“You sang the song of successor, successor, but from now on, there will be much work to do.”
I knew it too. There were a lot of things to take care of internally, events to attend, and especially events outside of the home that I had to attend in place of my father.
“I’ll show off this handsome face that resembles my father to the world.”
In fact, what I believed in was the secret art of the sky. I had no choice but to somehow practice the secret art of the sky to secure more time.
My father, who had been looking down at me silently, suddenly asked.
“Are you ready?”
I had a gut feeling.
The long-awaited moment has finally arrived.
“I am ready.”
My father rose from his seat at my calm reply.
“Follow me.”
For that which was more important to me than the position of successor, I followed my father. I was walking slowly, but my heart was pounding like it was racing.
