Absolute Return Episode 354
Episode 354: If you leave it alone, it will die.
As soon as the visa was returned, his subordinate Sahon approached the king with a cart.
“I will help you move your luggage.”
As Sahon loaded the gifts the warriors had given him onto the cart, the king also sat down.
As they left the training ground, the two began to have a lively conversation.
– Did the leader notice it after all?
The King nodded slightly. It was something he had already expected when the assassins failed to kill the demon lord.
-Then why did you come?
– Declaration of war. I want to brag. The assassination attempt you sent won’t work.
-You’re still young.
A sneer formed on Sahon’s lips. On the other hand, doubts remained in the king’s mind.
-It’s definitely different than before.
I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.
-Did you figure out how you survived the ambush today?
To Sahon’s question, the king shook his head.
-Are you helping from the leader’s side?
– He is not the leader. If the leader had been involved, he would not have handled things this way.
– In that case, the leader of the small group will definitely ask for help from the evil spirits and the madman.
The evil and the mad. They are the seven great masters of the Apostles, and they were the masters that Bisain brought to show off his power when he met with Jeongsama in the past.
-I guess so.
– If we give them time, we will be at a disadvantage. I will lead my men and deal with them myself before we meet them.
-There’s no need for that.
The king lay down among the luggage on the cart and spoke incomprehensible words.
-If you leave it alone, the leader will die.
* * *
After coming down from the cliff, Bisain sent a messenger straight to the road and hired a coachman and carriage. In order to avoid attention, he left the Sado 13rang behind and headed to the destination alone with Geommu Geuk.
Visain was silently looking at the scenery outside.
He braced himself for the great battle that was to come. He was prepared to die, and it was more dangerous than any fight he had ever been in.
Of course, I also wanted to avoid it. Because somewhere in my heart, I was constantly whispering to myself to run to the Apostle Leader.
―Have you forgotten already? You regretted that decision you made earlier when you were angry, right? You still regret it now. You’ll regret this choice when it’s over. Go and tell the leader right now and resolve this matter.
Visain looked at the sword dance with complicated feelings.
As always, Geommugeuk remained still with his eyes closed.
Then Geommugeuk suddenly spoke.
“Are you regretting it again?”
“You have eyes on the back of your head, and also on top of your eyelids.”
“So it looks like a monster? Just tell me you see it with your heart.”
Geommugeuk slowly opened his eyes.
“When you ride in a carriage, you close your eyes and seem to recite something. What exactly are you practicing?”
“Practice the Cheonmahoshinkong.”
Bisain was inwardly bewildered, as he had not expected that Cheonma’s poisonous martial arts would be mentioned.
“Can I tell you a secret like that?”
“What do you think? I’m not going to tell you the secret, so why don’t you just tell me the name of the martial arts?”
No matter how much you learn through words, there is a level that cannot be imitated. In the end, it is a word that comes out without you knowing it.
“I lost.”
“I think it’s okay to admit it like that.”
“So? You want me to drag you around?”
“What do you think? You get to see stars, birds, and clouds while being dragged around. The person dragging you around will probably show off and show off at first, but as time goes by, it will get harder for him too. He’ll wonder if someone will drag him around.”
Visain made a really helpless expression.
“How dare you say something like that when you’ve never lost to an opponent.”
“You know, my father? He’ll read it anyway, so I won’t try to hide it from him. Oh, you have to see him laughing at me.”
I couldn’t believe that there was someone who would take this kind of sword dance to the defensive. Well, I thought it was understandable, since he was the father of this sword dance.
“What kind of person is your father?”
“You probably have more information than I do.”
Bisain smiled faintly at the half-joking, half-serious remark.
“I’ll introduce you to him next time. Come see him in person and then decide.”
Will the day ever come when he can greet Cheonma?
“It’s getting serious again. The leader of the Apostolic Alliance isn’t greeting Cheonma. He’s greeting his friend’s father.”
My friend’s father.
It’s a word as unfamiliar as a friend in one’s life.
“But why don’t you ask who I’m going to meet?”
Well, he already knew that. Geommugeuk had guessed who Bisain was going to ask for help.
“Which of you are you going to meet first?”
Visain shook his head.
“You know what? When you see things like this, you really have no humanity.”
I felt sorry after saying that. I wondered if someone so inhuman would be able to help me.
“Let me ask you one more thing.”
“Speak.”
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“Do you think that even Senior Goe or Senior Gwang are not enough?”
When he saw Instructor Hwang, his skills seemed like those of Instructor Samyeong-gwan.
That means it is a power that overwhelms oneself.
The sword dance answered honestly.
“If two people join forces, it might be fine, but if you fight alone, you have absolutely no chance of winning.”
Although he had expected it to some extent, Visain couldn’t help but be surprised. The two of the Seven Great Masters of the Apostles had to join forces against this opponent.
An even more surprising statement was added to it.
“If the two don’t match, it will be difficult.”
* * *
The carriage arrived at the appointed place.
“Come in, my lord.”
“Thank you so much for taking the time to come.”
“The light is waiting inside. Come on, let’s go in.”
Among the Seven Apostles, there were two who had a close relationship with the Apostolic Alliance. To be exact, they were those who followed the Apostolic Alliance leader.
The monster glanced over and confirmed that there was only one person performing the ritual.
“You came quietly.”
I’ve met Geommugeuk before, but I don’t recognize him now.
The swordsman was wearing a mask and had his head bowed so as not to meet his gaze. Furthermore, he only showed the size of a Sado 13rang’s prayer.
The evil spirit did not notice the sword dance because he had never thought that the leader of the Demonic Cult would become one of the Thirteen Sadorang and protect the secret person.
Geommu-geuk also entered the room. The Sado 13th Ranger always moved with So Myeong-ju, so he didn’t pay any attention to it.
A table was set with drinks in the room and Gwangseom was waiting.
“Senior, thank you for coming.”
Since he was originally a quiet man, he just bowed his head slightly in greeting.
Visain sat down at the table and sent a message to Geommugeuk.
-Would you like to identify yourself and sit down with us?
-It’s okay. I’ll stay here.
The sword dance was set up slightly behind the visa.
“I was waiting for you to have a drink first. Now, have a drink too, So Maeng-ju.”
While drinking, they chatted lightly. They talked about everything from how they’d been doing, to the leader of the Sado clan, to recent events in the martial arts world.
Then, Gwangseom poured a drink for Geommugeuk as well. Geommugeuk turned his head and drank the drink under his mask.
Visain was secretly impressed.
‘The young cult leader is so skilled that he can hide his existence even in front of these people.’
After drinking a few rounds of alcohol, the real story began.
“So, why did the little lord want to see us?”
“I have something to ask of you two seniors.”
Visain was cautious.
Even that monster who is now treating me with a good face was actually a master with a notorious personality in the martial arts world due to his eccentric and cruel personality.
Gwangseom also had a quiet personality, so he didn’t seem as evil, but he was faster than his black horse.
Their courtesy to him was courtesy to the Apostolic Leader. Visain had not yet built up personal friendship and trust with them.
“This time, we have discovered some kind of dark force that threatens the main body.”
At those words, the gazes of the monster and the madman grew intense.
“Who are they?”
“The leader is Hwang Seok-gyeong, the instructor of the Samyeonggwan.”
When Hwang Seok-kyung’s name was revealed, the two people looked dumbfounded. They seemed more surprised to find out that it was Hwang Seok-kyung than when he said that there was a dark force threatening the Apostolic Alliance.
“If you knew who we were, you could have just gotten rid of him. Why did you ask to meet us?”
“He is hiding his skills.”
“Is it enough for us to need it?”
“Yes, both of you should go.”
There was a moment of silence. Bisain did not hide his opponent’s skills and conveyed them. He did not make the foolish mistake of belittling Hwang Seok-kyung’s skills just to save face for the two of them.
The evil man asked with a half-hearted attitude.
“Does your Majesty know?”
“You don’t know yet.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
From now on, it was important to persuade.
“He was involved with me from the beginning, and he even tried to kill me.”
“They tried to assassinate you?”
“Yes, that’s why I want to end this with my own hands.”
The monster stared at the visage.
“I guess you want to handle this matter well and gain the lord’s recognition.”
Visain also answered this honestly.
“Yes.”
The monster looked back at Gwangseom. Gwangseom was just drinking without saying a word.
The monster did not readily offer to help.
“If what you say is true, it’s quite dangerous, so why should we help?”
He didn’t say that this was an opportunity to make a great contribution to the Apostolic Alliance, or that it would be a favor to the next Apostolic Alliance leader. He didn’t say that instructors and such dream of becoming leaders.
“I won’t beat around the bush. If I become the leader, I will give you what you both want.”
“Do you know what I want?”
“On the day I ascend to the throne, I will give you the secret of the Slashing Ghostly Shadow Step contained in the Secret Book.”
A light streamed from the monster’s eyes.
The True Strike Ghostly Treasure was the secret weapon that the evil spirit desperately wanted. When practiced in tandem with his unique martial art, the True Strike Iron Man, it produced a much stronger effect, but unfortunately, he was unable to learn the True Strike Ghostly Treasure.
The reason I have been doing various things for the Apostolic Lord was to obtain the True Demonic Spirit Relic.
It was a double-edged sword of a promise. If he accepted this condition, he would help him in every way, materially and spiritually, hoping that he would ascend to the rank of Apostolic Leader as soon as possible.
Instead, after giving him the emergency kit, he will no longer be available for use.
“Is there any guarantee that the promise will be kept?”
“If you want, I can write it down for you.”
Only then did the monster nod.
“Okay, I’ll accept that condition.”
Visain looked at the light this time.
“I don’t know what you want, sir. Please tell me what you want.”
Only then did Gwangseom open his mouth.
“I want your life.”
For a moment, silence flowed there.
Then the monster laughed loudly and said.
“You have to be careful with your words in order to make jokes like this work.”
Visain also laughed along.
But Gwangseom didn’t laugh. Words he never used to say poured out all at once.
“When you went out to greet the So-Myeong-Ju earlier, you mixed San-Gong-Dok in your drink. They said it was specially made by improving the black bean, but you didn’t even notice it. Unless you are a body that is impervious to poison, you won’t be able to use your internal energy for the next half hour. Of course, I took the antidote beforehand.”
The moment the monster examined his internal energy, his expression hardened coldly. His internal energy was truly scattered.
“Why are you doing this? Why are you playing such an inappropriate prank?”
Instead of answering, Gwangseom continued what he was saying.
“Today, the person who killed So Myeong-ju will be you. After killing So Myeong-ju, you will be treated as if you disappeared from the martial arts world. A large sum of money will be deposited in your battlefield, and circumstantial evidence will be found that you were asked to kill So Myeong-ju.”
From the monster’s perspective, Gwangseom said the most horrifying words without even blinking an eye.
“This crazy guy! Are you so desperate to die? Do you think I can just take it because I don’t have any internal energy?”
Contrary to his exuberant confidence, he despaired. Fighting the light island without any internal energy? It was a fight between a man and a child.
“I’m sorry for using the mountain air poison. I didn’t underestimate your skills, so don’t be too angry. I’ll bury your body in a sunny place.”
Even Bisain was surprised and bewildered. Even with his internal energy, he was an opponent he couldn’t handle, but the problem was that Geommugeuk had been drinking.
Now that I think about it, the person who gave alcohol to Geommugeuk was Gwangseom. I should have been suspicious when that quiet person gave alcohol to his subordinate.
“Are you joining hands with Hwang Seok-gyeong?”
Gwangseom didn’t answer, but it was a silence of affirmation.
“Why did you join hands with him?”
Gwangseom looked out the window for a moment and then spoke softly.
“I fought him and lost. If I lost, I promised to become his subordinate.”
I felt respect in his words.
As the sword dance said, Bisain could see that Hwang Seok-gyeong was a truly strong person. It wasn’t just because of the promise. It seems that he became a true subordinate because he was fascinated by Hwang Seok-gyeong’s strength.
Only then did Geommu-geuk, who had been standing behind and watching all this, finally open his mouth.
“Isn’t the human heart truly unpredictable? I expected the traitor among the two of you to be the villain.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to him at the words of Geommu-geuk. When he suddenly appeared, not only Goaak but also Gwangseom looked puzzled. Their conversation was not that of a leader and his subordinate.
“Did you expect this to happen?”
“Hwang Seok-gyeong must have expected you to go meet them. But he didn’t stop you. Two of the Seven Great Masters of the Apostles could become your enemies, and you don’t stop them? Doesn’t something seem suspicious?”
When I heard the visa, I thought, “That’s right.” Why didn’t this kind of thought come to me easily back then?
“Then why didn’t you prepare?”
“What kind of preparation are you talking about?”
“I shouldn’t have drunk alcohol.”
“How can you not eat when I’m trying to feed you with your eyes wide open? Should I spit it out in front of that person?”
Shhhh!
The quick sword of the light island cut through the air.
Bam.
The mask cut by the sword fell off. He knew that he was not trying to kill him, so he did not dodge the sword dance. In fact, it required more courage and skill to accurately read the opponent’s intentions and not dodge than to dodge his sword.
The swordsman, whose face was revealed, spoke while touching his chin and mouth.
“The mask was already uncomfortable and difficult, so thank you for cutting it. I told you that I really need to change the fabric inside.”
