Chapter 142
"What the hell are these guys!"
The fight between the White Wolf Unit and the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit began when Gi-su and Gi-sang lashed out against the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit that had come to pick a fight out of nowhere.
However, all the members of the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit, who had been confident of an easy victory, were now quite surprised.
The situation was unfolding in a completely different direction from what they had expected.
As soon as the fight started, all members of the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit pulled out their usual weapons and charged in.
But the White Wolf Unit faced them with bare hands instead.
To others watching, it might have seemed utterly reckless.
But the White Wolf Unit, after briefly reading their opponents' energy, had judged that it could handle them sufficiently without weapons.
So without any prior agreement, all members of the White Wolf Unit began to face the fiercely charging Black Gate Thirteenth Unit with their bare hands.
The Black Gate Thirteenth Unit found it laughable.
They couldn't fathom what kind of confidence these people had to face them like this, and found it absurd.
They vowed to teach them a proper lesson, to cripple them so they would come to their senses.
They decided they would make them beg for their lives.
But as time passed, it was the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit that was being pushed back, not the White Wolf Unit.
“How could this be happening?”
It was utterly bewildering.
The Black Gate Thirteenth Unit had naturally assumed that the White Wolf Unit would be no match for them.
This was because, aside from beheading the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon, the White Wolf Unit hadn't done anything noteworthy in the martial world until now.
Although they were called one of the Three Great Martial Forces representing the Hebei Peng Family, they were still just guardians of a single family.
In contrast, the Black Gate was effectively at the forefront of fierce battles, roaming the Central Plains and facing off against both the Orthodox and Demonic factions.
Of course, dangerous missions were usually handled by higher-ranking units like the Black Gate First and Second Units, or even more perilous tasks by elite forces like the Soul Annihilation Unit, but that didn't mean the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit lacked combat experience or was weak.
So they thought that even if a fight broke out, they would never lose.
No, they had even been wondering how much they should hold back.
But now they were realizing just how big a misconception that had been.
Moreover, the White Wolf Unit seemed incredibly familiar with this kind of chaotic brawl, a so-called dogfight.
In no time at all,
"Urgh..."
The only ones left standing were the members of the White Wolf Unit.
All members of the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit were sprawled on the ground.
In truth, this was an inevitable result.
The White Wolf Unit had already been acknowledged as strong by Jo Il-ha of the Soul Chasing Twin Swords, the leader of the Soul Annihilation Unit, one of the Demonic Alliance's most elite forces.
There was no way such a group could be handled by the Thirteenth Unit, the lowest-ranked among the Black Gate units, no matter how prestigious the Black Gate name was.
"Ha. Was this all these punks had while acting so cocky?"
"I know, right? We thought they might have some skills, but..."
Gi-su and Gi-sang laughed incredulously as they dusted off their hands.
They definitely felt these opponents were too weak.
They didn't realize.
It wasn't that the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit was weak, but that the White Wolf Unit had become incomparably stronger than before.
"It looks like these guys are nothing compared to the Soul Annihilation Unit. And they dare call themselves the future of the Demonic Faction? How laughable, right?"
At Gi-su and Gi-sang's words as they shrugged their shoulders, the faces of the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit members sprawled on the ground turned red and blue with anger.
Finally, one of them couldn't contain his anger and crossed the line.
"You bastards! Die!"
It was the man who had confidently thrown a dagger at O Chae-mu earlier to provoke him.
With gleaming eyes, he once again launched a surprise dagger attack.
It was a killing strike aimed precisely at Gi-su's neck.
If not dodged, it would be an instant death blow.
But
"Where do you think you're aiming?"
Gi-su dodged the attack with utmost ease.
However, just because there was no damage didn't mean he wasn't angered by the man who had thrown the killing strike.
Enraged by the attack that had clearly been meant to kill him, Gi-su instantly grabbed the man's arm.
"This bastard keeps trying to kill people?"
"Hey, hey! Take it easy!"
Do-gyeong, noticing that Gi-su had lost his temper, shouted belatedly, but it was already too late.
Crack.
Using his shoulder as a fulcrum, Gi-su broke the man's arm that he had grabbed and then slammed him into the ground.
"Arghhhh!"
A terrible scream erupted from the man's mouth.
"Oh no!"
For a moment, Gi-su made a face as if he had made a mistake.
He should have gone easier, but he had reacted a bit too harshly to the opponent's killing intent.
He hadn't meant to go this far.
From the looks of it, not just one arm was broken, but the entire shoulder seemed completely shattered and mangled.
Seeing this, another member of the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit who had barely managed to get up after rolling on the ground gritted his teeth and shouted.
"You sons of bitches! Do you know who we are!"
"You think you'll get away with this!"
So it was fine for them to use weapons and throw killing strikes against unarmed opponents?
The momentary feeling that they might have gone too far quickly dissipated, and the entire White Wolf Unit, including the twin brothers, let out a scornful laugh at the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit's blatant hypocrisy.
"Ha. These guys still haven't come to their senses?"
Just as another commotion was about to break out,
"What's going on here?"
Someone had just appeared on the scene.
"Gasp!"
With just his appearance, all the members of the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit who had been so aggressive instantly shrank back.
The White Wolf Unit looked puzzled at this sight.
They were curious about who this person could be who could make these uncontrollable fellows so afraid, when even the Black Emperor couldn't.
The White Wolf Unit's gaze turned to the man.
Indeed, the energy emanating from him was extraordinary.
It felt like they were face to face with a fierce beast.
For a moment, the entire White Wolf Unit tensed up and swallowed hard.
This was Ma Seak, the Ghost-Eyed Demonic Monarch, second-in-command of the Demonic Alliance.
"Who said you could come here?"
"W-well, you see..."
As soon as Ma Seak appeared, even the man who had been screaming horribly bit his lip until it bled, trying to endure the pain.
It was clear how much these people feared Ma Seak in their daily lives.
Ma Seak slowly looked around and smiled coldly.
He seemed to understand roughly what had happened.
The two sides looked completely different, as if they had already fought a round.
The Black Gate Thirteenth Unit looked a mess, as if it had been rolling on the ground the whole time, while the White Wolf Unit looked perfectly neat.
"I see."
They had come to pick a fight when told not to, and ended up getting thoroughly beaten.
These fellows are carrying the name of the Black Gate.
Ma Seak felt his irritation surge at their pathetic state.
Then he spoke with an ice-cold gaze.
"All of you, return immediately and wait until your punishment is decided."
"B-but we..."
"Just for disobeying the Alliance Leader's orders, you could have your heads cut off right here and have nothing to say. Would you prefer that?"
"N-no, sir."
"And you."
Ma Seak approached the man who was groaning with his shoulder completely shattered.
"Yes."
The man flinched and trembled.
Soon, Ma Seak's eyes flashed blue.
His gaze focused on the man's shattered shoulder.
Ma Seak's ghost eyes could see everything.
The extent of the injury.
Soon, Ma Seak's eyes returned to normal.
He shook his head.
"It's hopeless."
"Pardon?"
"You are expelled from the Black Gate as of today. Go to the medical unit for treatment and leave this place within a few days."
"I-I'm fine! The injury will heal soon!"
"No. Not only is your shoulder bone shattered, but your tendons, nerves, and muscles are all damaged beyond recovery. Moreover, I see you're right-handed. You can no longer use your main arm, so you're useless now."
"No, please! Give me another chance...!"
Whack.
The man was sent flying by Ma Seak's fist.
He collapsed, losing consciousness with just one blow.
Soon, Ma Seak's murderous gaze turned to the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit.
"I'm barely restraining myself from killing all of you right now, so don't try my patience any further. Take this pathetic fool and get out of here."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Unlike their arrogant manner of entering earlier, the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit hurriedly disappeared from the scene with their tails between their legs.
"Thank you."
O Chae-mu stepped forward to express gratitude, as he had after all prevented a fight from escalating further.
But the response he received was full of hostility.
"Don't misunderstand."
Ma Seak's eyes flashed fiercely.
"You're not the only ones I dislike."
His face seemed to say that he felt the same way about them.
Ma Seak's gaze was so fierce that O Chae-mu and the rest of the White Wolf Unit fell silent for a moment.
It was indeed befitting of the Ghost-Eyed Demonic Monarch, one of the Ten Great Masters and the second-in-command of the Demonic Alliance.
"Hmph!"
Soon, Ma Seak left the place as if he no longer wanted to face them.
"Hah. This is..."
Only then did the White Wolf Unit start to truly realize it.
The only one welcoming them here was the Black Emperor Dokgo Yeong.
They were thoroughly unwelcome guests.
Unwelcome guests who were invited.
Of course, it was an undeniably troublesome situation.
*Meanwhile, inside the lodgings, Yeo Un-hwi was just smiling slightly.*
"This must be hell for them in many ways, but it's all experience, just experience."
On the day of the clash between the White Wolf Unit and the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit.
It was now late at night.
Ma Seak was quietly reading a book at the table in his room.
No one would know.
The Ghost-Eyed Demonic Monarch enjoyed reading books.
*At that moment, someone came to his room without anyone knowing.*
Ma Seak spoke without taking his eyes off the book.
"Did you return safely?"
"Yes."
A man whose appearance was hidden in the darkness slowly began to report to Ma Seak.
"The atmosphere in the Demonic Cult recently seems unusual."
"Oh?"
Ma Seak paused for a moment while reading the book, then returned to normal.
"Has something happened?"
"We can't be certain exactly what's going on yet, but it seems clear they're about to do something soon."
When spying on various factions, sometimes spies were planted to gather information, but for places like the Demonic Cult where it was difficult to plant deep spies, observing the overall atmosphere of the faction was very important.
Grasping the atmosphere of the target organization and predicting the future was surprisingly accurate.
Of course, they couldn't know exactly what would happen and how, but even that much was sufficiently helpful.
Soon, Ma Seak added that they should pay more attention to observing the Demonic Cult side in the future.
The subordinate continued his report.
"Elder Jang Cheong has passed on the promised information."
"I see."
Ma Seak nodded.
It was a long-standing deal.
"However."
"He says he'd like to raise the price a bit now."
Ma Seak's eyebrow rose slightly.
"By how much?"
"He wants to increase it by two tenths."
"Tsk. That money-crazed old man. Sometimes I wonder who's really from the Demonic Faction."
"What should we do?"
"Tell him we agree."
"And Sa-ho."
"At your command."
At Ma Seak's call, another shadow emerged from the darkness.
"From now on, you are to thoroughly monitor the White Wolf Unit."
"Yes, sir."
In fact, Ma Seak had gone today to see what kind of people the White Wolf Unit were.
Since the Black Emperor hadn't held any official events, there had been no chance to meet face to face.
He had only briefly seen them in passing at first.
So he had gone to both give some warnings and take a look, but the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit members who had arrived first had already caused trouble.
'Hooh.'
The White Wolf Unit he met in person was different from his expectations.
Those guys are quite strong.
For him to come to such a conclusion about people who weren't his own was surprising.
Especially regarding figures from the Orthodox Faction.
"Hmm."
Left alone in the room after all the reports were finished, Ma Seak slowly looked out the window.
"The old era is passing and a new era is coming, he says."
It was what 'he' said when he visited Ma Seak recently.
Ma Seak smirked.
"Now that is truly an interesting story."
His eyes were burning with unparalleled ambition.