Chapter 208
“So, that….”
Atop a mountain near the place where they had been camping.
The White Wolf Squad had climbed to the summit and let out hollow laughs at the sight in the distance.
Unless their eyes were deceiving them, half the mountain had clearly disappeared.
“It was definitely our squad leader who did that, right?”
“Probably… right?”
Yeo Un-hwi had suddenly left, and the White Wolf Squad had been spending time on their own.
But then, without warning, the ground shook, and golden light shot brilliantly into the sky far away.
After staring blankly up at the sky for a moment, the White Wolf Squad hurriedly sought out a high place in response to the extraordinary phenomenon.
And now they had come face-to-face with this sight.
They knew the instant they saw it.
That could only have happened because of their squad leader.
“Wow. This is the first time I’ve learned that a mere human can do something like that. I thought only immortals could do that. Gasp! No, wait. Could our squad leader really be an immortal?”
“Wouldn’t he be closer to Yama, if anything?”
“But couldn’t someone as strong as one of the Twelve Supreme Venerables do that too?”
“I suppose so?”
“Hmm, that’s true. Someone like Lord Black Martial Emperor should be more than capable….”
“Huh? No. Why do you all talk so casually about the Twelve Supreme Venerables, as if that were just some neighborhood chief’s name? Anyone listening would think you were friends with the Black Martial Emperor.”
“Well… we do have some degree of acquaintance.”
“What? Really? How…?”
Moon Ho looked at the White Wolf Squad as though dumbfounded.
Aren’t you people from the orthodox sects? How can you possibly be friends with the Alliance Leader of the Unorthodox Path? What?
Since he had spent all this time holed up in the mountains doing nothing but training, Moon Ho knew nothing about the connection between the Black Martial Emperor and the White Wolf Squad that had been forged through the Extreme Evil Demon.
“If you spend time with our squad leader up close, you end up that way too.”
“Hahaha. I see.”
For some reason, those words seemed to answer everything.
Moon Ho soon swallowed and clicked his tongue again as he gazed at the half-destroyed mountain.
“By the way, we have to spar with someone like that every day from now on? And endure that murderous intent pouring off him?”
“Weren’t you the one who answered that you’d be happy to do it, with the greatest confidence?”
“That’s true, but seeing it like this makes it feel different. How could I not think that after seeing that?”
“I suppose you’re right. The more I think about it, the weaker my legs feel too.”
Although the White Wolf Squad had somehow endured all kinds of hellish training until now, after experiencing Yeo Un-hwi’s genuine murderous intent, they had continued lamenting among themselves as though they were about to die.
But they were by no means exaggerating.
Until now, whenever Yeo Un-hwi released his genuine killing intent, even the most renowned experts had trembled in fear.
So there was absolutely nothing shameful about being afraid of it.
Perhaps the White Wolf Squad had already entered a new stage of challenge.
Simply overcoming their daily fear and standing before Yeo Un-hwi would itself become a great challenge and training for them.
Then,
“What are you all doing here?”
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
As though they had coordinated it beforehand, Yeo Un-hwi suddenly appeared behind the White Wolf Squad, who had been blankly sighing.
“S-Squad Leader?”
“Why are you all so startled? Were you talking about me behind my back?”
“N-No. Of course not. Haha. Did you take care of everything?”
“More or less?”
Yeo Un-hwi had sensed the White Wolf Squad’s energy on his way back and gone looking for them.
He soon realized that the White Wolf Squad had been looking at the half-destroyed mountain in the distance and gave a quiet chuckle.
“There happened to be someone I had to put in their place.”
“I-I see.”
They were almost afraid to ask just how thoroughly he had dealt with that person.
“Oh, and we should get moving soon. Get ready as soon as we go down.”
“What? Weren’t we camping here tonight?”
“I heard there’s a good inn beyond that mountain. They said there should still be plenty of rooms at this hour.”
“Oh!”
Everyone looked delighted.
An inn where they could rest and sleep comfortably was obviously preferable to camping.
“We have to set out early tomorrow, so we should get plenty of rest. And eat some delicious food too.”
“All right!”
“As expected of an educated man! Hahaha!”
“Come on, let’s get going.”
“Yes!”
The White Wolf Squad, who had been groaning about dying moments earlier, answered together in booming voices, as if their earlier complaints had never happened.
“Woohoo! Yes!”
Moon Ho looked more excited than anyone.
Seen this way, he was clearly a perfect match for the White Wolf Squad.
***
The next day.
A group of men appeared at the place where the Poison-Heart Five Ghosts had died.
Among them, the appearance of the man who seemed to be their leader was especially striking.
Gleaming vermilion eyes set in bizarre black sclera.
He was the man who had casually slaughtered the two Absolute Great Evils the previous day.
As he looked around, puzzlement and irritation showed on his face.
“What is going on here?”
He had gone out personally to look for the Poison-Heart Five Ghosts after the men he had sent to capture the Heavenly Ghost Unit woman failed to return.
Normally, he would not have gone this far, but he had felt uneasy and come to investigate….
“The Poison-Heart Five Ghosts are dead?”
There were no corpses, but he could sense it.
A very faint energy that felt like it belonged to the Poison-Heart Five Ghosts still lingered here.
Even that trace would disappear completely before long.
The man’s eyebrows shot up.
“Could that woman have…?”
No. That was impossible.
That woman had already been injured by him.
Even if she had not been injured, there was no possibility that such a young woman could have dealt with the Poison-Heart Five Ghosts alone.
The Poison-Heart Five Ghosts were not that weak.
But that meant a third party had intervened.
“Tsk.”
The man with the vermilion eyes, Crimson Yaksha, ranked fifteenth among Black Darkness’s Sixteen Demon Generals, clicked his tongue and looked back at the half-destroyed mountain.
“It seems someone is exceptionally skilled at using bombs.”
Crimson Yaksha nodded at his subordinate’s words.
He agreed.
This had absolutely not been accomplished by human strength alone.
Of course, perhaps it might be possible for one of the highest-ranked among the Sixteen Demon Generals, or for one of the executives above them. But it was not as though a master of that caliber would suddenly drop out of the sky, was it?
Or perhaps it was the commander of the Heavenly Ghost Unit?
No. He was known to be an extremely cautious man.
He would never act recklessly.
His subordinate’s claim that someone who used bombs was involved was more credible.
“Did the Heavenly Ghost Unit have anyone capable of handling gunpowder or bombs on this scale?”
“Well, they are the sort to do things no one can ever predict.”
“Hmm. Interesting. My mission is finished anyway, and waiting around was getting awfully boring. This is perfect.”
Although losing a subordinate he valued, the Poison-Heart Five Ghosts, was rather regrettable, if this opportunity let him taste even a little more of the troublesome Heavenly Ghost Unit’s blood, it would not be such a bad thing.
“Tracking Demon Hound (追跡魔犬).”
“Yes.”
At Crimson Yaksha’s call, one of the subordinates standing behind him stepped forward.
His dark, gaunt, grotesque skin was striking, and his nose was so abnormally large that it was almost disturbing.
Crimson Yaksha gave him an order.
“Find him. The one who killed the Poison-Heart Five Ghosts.”
“Leave it to me, hnnng!”
Soon, Iron Demon Hound slowly inhaled the scent of the air, then began sniffing and looking around.
Then he slowly turned his head in a certain direction.
That direction was Hebei.
***
“…This operation was highly effective.”
In a large room.
Eleven figures sat around a huge round table in the center of the room.
One of them continued speaking.
“One of the strongholds of Black Darkness that we destroyed. The demon soldiers inside it alone were by no means few. Since three of the Sixteen Demon Generals were guarding it, two of our squad leaders will have to recuperate while receiving treatment for some time, but if our response had been even a little slower, the damage would have been much worse.”
“If there had been one or two more of those higher executives, quite a few of us probably would have died.”
“Do not speak so carelessly of death.”
“I’m only stating a fact.”
“That’s enough. The commander is here too.”
Each of those seated around the table radiated an extraordinary aura.
Consequently, an unwillingness to back down from anyone slowly crept around the table.
The one who calmed them was a low, weighty voice.
“By the way, have you still not found her?”
He was a middle-aged man with the most overwhelming presence of anyone in the room.
His face was filled with worry, strangely at odds with his overall bearing.
The others around the table exchanged glances for a moment, then shook their heads.
With a shallow sigh, the person who had just given the report spoke again.
“We sent out a search party, but no word has arrived that they’ve found her yet.”
“She’ll be fine, Commander. She can take care of herself. It doesn’t seem that they’ve caught her either, so shouldn’t she be back soon?”
“Hmph. If she encounters one of their higher executives—or even one of the Sixteen Demon Generals below them—she’ll never survive. For all we know, she may already be….”
“Watch your tongue.”
“He’s right. Still, she is the former commander’s daughter.”
“So what do you suggest we do? She’s the one who ran off, determined to earn merit on her own. If you’re so worried, go rescue her. Though you’re already far too late.”
“You….”
Once again, fierce energies shot up around the table like spikes.
Then,
“Enough.”
At the one word from the man called the commander, all the fierce energy roiling through the room vanished.
No matter how hot-blooded they were, none of them was bold enough to openly disobey him.
In truth, despite appearances, each of them was deeply loyal to the commander.
They were only arguing because the incident that had occurred this time had left everyone on edge.
It was then.
“Commander!”
Someone hurriedly called out from outside the meeting room and rushed inside.
One of those seated at the round table was about to reprimand the newcomer for entering without permission, but the commander raised a hand to stop them.
The intruder’s face looked so urgent that he had done so.
“Forgive my rudeness!”
“It’s all right. Speak.”
“Yes…! Lee Jina has returned!”
“Jina?!”
The commander, Go Muwon, shot to his feet.
And some time later.
Lee Jina, the Heavenly Ghost Unit member who had happened to meet Yeo Un-hwi, entered the room with the round table.
She lowered her head as though she had no excuse even with ten mouths.
Her clothes were torn to rags, with bloodstains on them.
She looked utterly battered.
“How could you have been so reckless? How could you?”
Given that she looked as though she had come back from the dead, Go Muwon rebuked her.
But his face showed more pity and relief than reproach.
But then,
“I’m truly sorry. I’ll gladly accept whatever punishment I deserve. But before that, I have something to tell you.”
Hmm?
There was something unusual in Lee Jina’s gaze.
Go Muwon looked puzzled at the sight.
“I think I may have met the Martial God’s successor.”
At her words, everyone in the room, including Commander Go Muwon, opened their eyes wide.