—————————————
< Manbaknogoe >
Torture is based on the premise that it does not kill the victim.
The ultimate form of torture is to inflict maximum pain and fear within the limits of what the human body can endure, to the point of not dying.
Ilho also had a unique perspective when it came to advisors.
To rise to the position of a leader in the Dark Blood Group, it was natural to have to torture dozens of people. Ilho did more than that.
All those whom Ilho had tortured are dead.
But they weren’t tortured to death. They were just killed because they had given up all their information and were no longer useful.
Yes. Torture should not be done to the point where a person dies···.
‘I said no, you son of a bitch!’
“Euuuuuuuuu!”
Ilho screamed with a gag in his mouth. Thick veins stood out on his bloodshot neck, and blood flowed from every orifice in his body. Every bone in his body was shattered and he fell to the floor, writhing like an insect.
The barn of the farm was completely dyed red with the blood that Ilho had shed.
‘This isn’t even torture! They’re just going to beat you to death…!’
Ilho looked at the man with blurred vision. He was holding a thick club, which he had picked up somewhere. The club was red with his blood.
His vision grew darker and darker. Ilho had a feeling that he was going to die soon.
And after a while, Ilho felt his vision returning.
“···!!”
The wounds were healing. Broken bones were mending, perforations were closing, and torn muscles were regenerating.
And in front of his eyes, the great man was smiling brightly and pouring red liquid on Ilho’s face.
“Where are you going to die so freely?”
Buzz buzz buzz buzz.
Even though he came back from the dead, Ilho wasn’t happy at all.
Because this was already my third resurrection experience.
The great man broke him to the point of death, then poured the mysterious liquid on him and brought him back to health.
And then he started swinging his club again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
For hours already, without asking any questions.
This incident started with a conversation that happened a few hours ago.
“Where is your headquarters?”
The man asked like that, and Ilho thought about it for a moment instead of answering right away.
It wasn’t because Ilho had any loyalty to the organization.
I just took a moment to gather my thoughts. I wanted to answer in a more favorable way so that I could lead the subsequent conversation.
But the man did not tolerate that moment of silence.
“Hey kid, is your head spinning?”
“···Okay, wait! I have an answer···”
“You’re late, kid.”
The man immediately put a gag in Ilho’s mouth. From then on, he literally beat him with a club ‘until he was almost dead’.
No one had the guts to endure the senseless assault that lasted for hours.
‘Please. Stop it!’
“Stop! Stop! Stop!”
Ilho now looked at Daein with an earnest expression.
The man who had put away his club looked at Ilho blankly and spoke.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“Eww! Eww eww!”
Ilho nodded desperately. He was sick of this horrible violence.
‘I’ll tell you everything! I’ll tell you everything!’
“Ugh, ugh, ugh!”
Perhaps because of that earnest gaze, the master released Ilho’s gag.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh. Please save me!”
Ilho shed tears like chicken poop. This wasn’t acting, it was sincere.
Of course, the man wasn’t interested in his true feelings.
“First of all, you guys. Tell me what kind of people you are.”
Fearing that he would be hit for being late to respond like before, Ilho spewed out his words like a machine gun.
“We are the Dark Blood Unit! We are an assassination organization that receives various requests and carries out tasks.”
“A murder organization?”
“They do other things besides killing. Kidnapping, stealing, searching for people…”
While speaking, Ilho looked at the expressions of Jin No-in and Namgung Hyeon behind Daein.
The two people were looking at Ilho with stern expressions.
The man asked again.
“How big is it?”
Ilho started answering before the question was even finished. He was afraid that the man would pick up the club again, saying that he was wasting time.
“It consists of one main unit and four groups. The main unit has 100 people, and each group has 50 people. Within the organization, people are called by numbers according to their rank instead of names… I am the first in Group 3.”
The Dark Blood Group was a fairly large organization even among the assassination organizations. Even Daein had heard of it before.
But the man pretended not to know and asked.
“Huh. So you’re an executive?”
Ilho answered with a cowardly bow.
“Yes. Feel free to ask me anything you’re curious about.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
Ilho had a strong attachment to life. If it meant surviving, he would be willing to betray the organization.
‘I can’t die like this, even if it’s just because I feel sorry for all the wealth I’ve accumulated through all the hard work.’
Then the man asked.
“You guys. How many years have you been tracking these two people?”
“About 10 years… I’m sorry! I committed a mortal sin!”
“I’m sorry, but you’ve been chasing me for ten years. Do you even know who that guy you’re chasing is?”
“That, that···.”
For a moment, Ilho’s eyes wavered.
Would it be advantageous to say I know to survive here?
Or would it be better to pretend not to know?
Bam.
The man’s club was raised over his shoulder.
“Don’t be a jerk and just be honest. By the way, I want you to know a lot.”
“Yes! I know! I know everything! That child… I know that he is the hidden son of Namgung Sangin, the last head of the Geomhwang clan.”
Although she was a daughter and not a son, it was safe to say that she knew everything.
The man smiled with satisfaction.
“You guys know a lot. You must have done a lot of research.”
“That, that was such a unique request···.”
Ilho clarified the details of the request and the tracking route so far.
A large sum of money was requested by the Dark Blood Group 10 years ago.
“When we first received the request to find the supposedly dead Lion Sword Jin-chung, we didn’t know it would take this long. However, the client kept sending large sums of money, so we continued to track him… and that’s how we learned a lot of things.”
“Who is the client?”
At that moment, Jin No-in and Nam Gung-hyeon’s eyes lit up behind the great man.
The mastermind who burned down the Geomhwangmun Gate and made them live in hiding for 15 years.
Its identity could be revealed now.
“I, I don’t know about that either.”
When Daein looked at him suspiciously, Ilho shook his head with a sad expression.
“It’s true! I’m the only one who’s met that client… Please believe me!”
“I bet you can guess who it is.”
“The only thing is that the Five Great Families are related…”
“It’s the Five Great Dynasties!”
Jinnoin could no longer bear it and stepped forward. He grabbed Ilho by the collar and said.
“Is that true? Did the Five Great Ses make the text like that?”
Ilho answered with a frightened face.
“I don’t know exactly. I just heard what the chief priest said last time…”
Ilho really didn’t seem to know anything more than that.
‘If you know it in this situation, there’s no reason to hide it.’
After calming down the angry old man, Daein spoke to Ilho again.
“The information you recorded while chasing the two people for 10 years. And the materials and evidence you gathered while investigating separately. Do you have it all?”
Ilho nodded vigorously.
“The documents were organized and sent to headquarters once every ten days, and the treasure that you sold a while ago is also at headquarters.”
Ultimately, the question came back to the beginning.
“Where is your headquarters?”
This time, Ilho didn’t hesitate and spoke very specifically.
“The Dark Blood Group purchases estates throughout the Central Plains and changes its headquarters every three years. Its headquarters is currently in Liaoning.”
“If it’s okay, then there’s no need to turn around and go.”
It was not far away, and was on the way to the Murim Alliance.
The man looked back at the two people and said.
“Let’s stop by the headquarters of the Dark Blood Group.”
Of course, it’s not like we’re just going to stop by. Once we get there, there’s going to be a fight of some kind.
“Good.”
“song!”
Jinnoin and Namgunghyun nodded readily.
The idea of going back to the pursuers who had been chasing them gave the two a sense of fear and a strange sense of pleasure at the same time.
Also, if you attack the headquarters of the Dark Blood Group, you may be able to get a clue about the culprit who caused the Geomhwangmun Massacre 15 years ago.
At that moment, Ilho joined the conversation. He was feeling impatient.
“I, I will help you! I know the formations set up in the garden, and I know how to contact the organization members. If I help you, you can easily deal with the Dark Blood Group.”
Ilho fell flat on his face.
This was because the Great One might kill him at any moment if he decided that he was no longer useful.
‘I can’t just die like this. I’ll do whatever it takes to survive.’
“Great heroes! Please make this guy your servant!”
In order to survive, Ilho decides to betray the Dark Blood Group.
“This guy… is so vile.”
Jinnoin glared at Ilho with a displeased expression.
But the man thought it wasn’t a bad plan.
“It would be nice if it was easy. I could use it as a guide on the way and as a handyman.”
“Just order whatever you want!”
Thus the party heading to Liaoning was decided. After a sufficient rest, they left the farm and headed to a bustling city in Jilin Province to find horses.
As soon as they arrived in the city, Ilho began to speak hesitantly.
“But I···.”
“Why again?”
Ilho said, hesitating.
“I have to report the situation here to headquarters by sending a messenger every three days. Today is the third day, and if the messenger doesn’t arrive on time, headquarters will start to suspect me.”
Hearing this, it seemed to be true, so the Great Instructor wrote a letter to Ilho and had him send a messenger to the Amhyeoldan.
“Then write it down. I’ll dictate the content.”
“Yes, of course.”
Ilho wrote the letter as the Great Master dictated. He spread the letter out neatly so that the Great Master could see it clearly.
But at that moment, Ilho’s eyes, which were lowered while writing a letter, were flashing with an ominous gleam.
‘I am your servant now, but soon you will be on your knees before me and begging.’
And the great man smirked as he watched Ilho write the letter from above his head.
‘Hey kid. Look at this guy’s math.’
*
*
*
In the room, two people were sitting facing each other and drinking tea.
“A letter has arrived from Ilho in Jilin.”
The first man to speak was a middle-aged man with a dignified appearance. He had neat features and a straight back. If you just looked at his appearance, you would believe he was a scholar.
He was the leader of the Dark Blood Group, Dokgo Jun.
“Keep on going. Are you talking about that guy who’s looking for the Emperor’s bloodline?”
The person sitting across from Dokgujun was an old man with a hunched back.
The old man was so wrinkled that it was impossible to tell his age. His face was covered in freckles, his eyes were cloudy, and the whites of his eyes had turned yellow.
However, his white hair and beard, as white as snow, were shiny and lush like those of a god, which made the old man look even more bizarre.
Dokgo Jun spoke to the old man while drinking tea with an upright posture.
“That’s right. Manbaknogoe. Sooner or later, the time will come when you will do your job properly.”
Manbaknogoe.
He is one of the top 100 masters in the current martial arts world, but his eccentric behavior can be counted on one hand among the top ten.
Manbaknogoe said with a faint smile.
“Kekeke. I still can’t believe it. That the bloodline of the true Sword Emperor is alive and well. I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes.”
“That’s for sure. We spent ten years digging up the client’s backstory.”
The two had a kind of cooperative relationship rather than a superior-subordinate relationship. They became acquainted with each other a few years ago, and since then they have often helped each other out.
“Click, click. So what did that letter say?”
“The Lion Sword, Jin-chung. And they say they found and captured a child who appears to be a descendant of the Sword Emperor. It was written that he would arrive here in four days.”
At that moment, Manbaknogoe’s eyes narrowed.
“If that’s true… the world will be amazed. The bloodline of the Sword Emperor is alive.”
“You’re suspicious. You didn’t say it was true. But do you know what’s interesting?”
“What?”
Dokgo Jun showed the letter that Ilho had sent to Manbak Nogoe.
“Look at the writing here. There should be only one dot, but there’s another one next to it, as if it were flowing. The sentence next to it has the consonant ending raised unnaturally. And the next sentence is···”
“It’s a dark fish.”
As his nickname, Manbaknogoe, suggests, he was well-versed and skilled in formations, magic, and sorcery. He immediately noticed that there was a secret word hidden in the letter Ilho had sent.
“It looks like it was written while captured by the enemy.”
“Huh. Do you even know how to read? I’ve never taught you the secret language that only our organization uses.”
“So that’s why my nickname is Manbaknogun. Kkeukkeuk.”
‘It’s not an old man, it’s an old ghost.’
Dokgo Jun didn’t bother to point that out.
“Anyway, Ilho was captured by them. And it looks like he’s coming here with the enemies.”
“You’re coming here? Are you saying you’re going to attack me directly?”
Dokgo Jun frowned as if he was displeased.
“It seems so.”
“···Ph···Phhahahaha!”
Manbaknogoe burst into laughter. He laughed so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.
“He’s really special. Who would say he’s the blood of the Emperor of Swords? Aah. A man should make sure that he owes a debt of gratitude!”
“···Do you know who you are talking to right now?”
When Dokgo Jun raised his voice, Manbak Nogoe pretended to be surprised and said.
“Oh my. So your neck is in danger now?”
“That won’t happen.”
The leader of the Dark Blood Group, Dokgo Jun, spoke bluntly.
Although his name is little known to the world, he was a master who could easily be ranked among the top 100 masters.
I was confident that I wouldn’t lose even if I were to fight the demon lord right in front of me.
Besides, this was the manor where Jinbeop and his men were waiting.
bang!
Dokgo Jun put down his teacup and spoke in a cold voice.
“I’ll sell you a trap. When they make a surprise attack, we’ll pretend to be a victim and lure them deep in, then we’ll pounce on them and capture them all at once. Then, you can also lend a hand. The reward will be separate…”
“There is no need for maintenance.”
Manbaknogoe’s two eyes sparkled like a child’s. He seemed genuinely excited.
“Keep on. If I could see the living descendants of the Sword Emperor again, that would be enough. Ah. That would be enough.”
To Dokgo Jun, Manbaknogoe seemed overly excited.
‘I wonder if this old man has other intentions?’
Manbaknogoe.
The reason he was classified as a traitor even though he had never committed a particularly serious sin was because he had a vague sense of good and evil and was prone to acting out of character at any given time.
Tsk tsk tsk.
Dokgo Jun raised his internal energy and gave a stern warning.
“Don’t forget. The reason I called you here was···.”
At that moment, Manbaknogoe stopped laughing. He still had a smiling face, but he spoke with a much more calm expression.
“You’re going to use the soul-binding technique to find out the martial arts seal that the Sword Emperor left behind. And before you hand the child over to your client, aren’t you asking me to erase all of his memories?”
< Manbaknogoe > End
ⓒ Ganjjajang
