Chapter 141
"The moon is particularly bright tonight."
Late at night, Dokgo Yeong, who had dismissed all his subordinates and was drinking alone, looked up at the sky.
His face and eyes were filled with a mix of countless emotions that couldn't be pinpointed to just one.
You were truly a child who, from a young age, never listened to your older brother.
Dokgo Yeong recalled his younger sister.
Contrary to his words, in truth, his sister had been a smart child with many smiles from a young age.
She was too bright to be the Black Emperor's sister, without a single rough edge.
As time passed and she became an adult, she always remained bright, seeming destined to meet a loving man at a suitable age, have children, and live only in places where sunlight shone.
He believed only a happy future awaited her.
But misfortune struck without warning.
His sister lost both her husband and child on a day when heavy rain had been pouring relentlessly for days.
It was an accident no one could have predicted.
Afterwards, his sister, left alone, gradually fell ill.
Both mentally and physically.
Nothing could comfort her.
And a long time passed.
Enough time for the small tree she had planted with her child to grow so tall one had to look up at it.
His sister still couldn't let go of her family and became utterly devastated during all those years that passed.
It had been a long time since he'd seen her bright smile.
The bright, smiling sister from before was no longer there.
Then one day,
'Brother! I, I saw the the Moon! I saw Moon!'
'What... do you mean?'
His sister said she had happened to see a girl who looked exactly like her daughter.
Dokgo Yeong was also startled when he saw the child from afar.
The resemblance was uncanny.
So much so that it seemed as if his sister's dead daughter had come back to life.
But as it turned out, the child happened to be a daughter of the Namgung Family.
However, that wasn't a problem for his sister at all.
She was satisfied just standing at a distance and watching that child.
Even without speaking to her or doing anything, just that alone made her happy.
His sister had found a reason to live again that way.
Honestly... he had wondered if it was alright to leave things like this.
He worried she might be chasing an illusion, harboring false hope.
However, seeing the smile return to his sister's face after she discovered that child, Dokgo Yeong couldn't bring himself to stop her.
All he could do was watch.
Just as his younger sister only watched that child.
So, on a day like any other when, as usual, she had followed along just to watch that child from afar, the pattern continued.
His sister noticed that the Namgung Family's daughter had become the target of a vicious murderer.
But that murderer was not someone his sister and her guard warriors could handle.
Nevertheless, his sister, without looking back, led her guard warriors to block the murderer in order to protect that child, and met her death.
Along with that girl.
In the end, despite sacrificing her life, she couldn't save her.
This whole story was relayed by his sister's guard warrior who had barely survived, becoming crippled.
The more he thought about it, the more his heart ached.
Why was the world so cruel and harsh to his sister?
Even so, in her final moments, his sister died as a mother protecting her daughter, so how must she have felt?
Would she be satisfied with her death? Or...
As his thoughts deepened, Dokgo Yeong shook his head.
What was the point of thinking further? It was right to let her go now.
Once again filling his cup to the brim with alcohol, Dokgo Yeong raised it towards the moon.
The moon, gently curved like his sister's smile, rose above the wine.
Yes. This should be enough. So stop hurting now, forget everything, and rest in peace there.
Dokgo Yeong downed the cup of wine.
Today, the alcohol tasted particularly sweet yet bitter.
The night of the master of the Demonic Path was deepening quietly like that.
Unlike the initial tension felt by the White Wolf Unit, time at the Demonic Alliance passed without much incident.
This was partly because they were guests invited by the Black Emperor, and also because their lodgings had been arranged from the start in a place where they wouldn't particularly encounter other Demonic Alliance people, considering the White Wolf Unit's position.
Thus, except for when the Black Emperor specifically sought out the White Wolf Unit, it tried to avoid any conflicts by staying as much as possible around its lodgings.
Of course, it didn't make sense to freely roam around the Demonic Alliance in the first place.
But that was only for a while. For the White Wolf Unit, who had been training intensely every day, running to death, it was inevitable that their bodies would start to itch.
And so now, people were having fits within the White Wolf Unit every few hours.
Like this.
Aaargh!
Gi-su and Gi-sang, who had been lying flat, suddenly shouted and sprang up simultaneously.
Do-gyeong smacked the twin brothers.
Thwack!
Lie back down.
Grumble.
But one minute later, the brothers revived.
Aaaaargh! We can't stand it anymore.
What can't you stand?
In the end, it was O Chae-mu who ended up dealing with the brothers.
We need to sweat a little!
What, are you saying you want to train here now?
Why not? There's a training ground right next door, so we can use it.
That's right. It's not like we're doing anything special.
O Chae-mu let out a hollow laugh at Gi-su and Gi-sang speaking so confidently.
You guys haven't forgotten this is the Demonic Alliance, right?
Come on. Of course not.
Then what do you think the Demonic Alliance people will think when they see us training in the training ground?
Hmm. That we're working hard and they should learn from us?
...Forget it. Never mind.
Today, more than ever, words just aren't getting through.
Well, it wasn't particularly different from usual.
The twin brothers grinned as they watched O Chae-mu shaking his head.
Don't worry so much. We're just going to work up a light sweat.
Yeah, yeah.
When O Chae-mu nodded halfheartedly, the twin brothers excitedly ran off to the training ground.
Nngh. Then I'll...
This is good timing, for I was bored.
Once the twin brothers broke the ice, the entire White Wolf Unit came out one after another.
Gu Tae-san and Peng Do-hwan, and even Do-gyeong were the same.
You guys too?
I'm feeling stiff. Big brother, you should come too.
Tch. I guess I have no choice.
O Chae-mu also followed, as if he had no other option.
So the entire White Wolf Unit, except for Yeo Un-hwi who was taking a nap, came out one by one to the training ground and started warming up.
This might be a first in martial arts history, wouldn't it?
Is an Orthodox Faction military unit training in a training ground at the very heart of the Demonic Alliance?
Anyway, they all started light training like that.
They were chattering about this and that in between.
But then, a group of people came to the lodgings where the White Wolf Unit was staying.
At a glance, it didn't seem like they had come with good intentions.
A fierce aura emanated from them.
At first, they tried to ignore it, thinking they had just come to spy, but the group eventually entered the entrance of the training ground where the White Wolf Unit was.
The White Wolf Unit's gaze finally turned to them, as their actions could no longer be ignored.
Oh ho. Is it you? The Orthodox fools who had the guts to visit the Demonic Alliance brazenly?
The intruders looked the White Wolf Unit up and down, then raised the corners of their mouths in a sneer.
You think cutting down the injured Extreme Evil Laughing Demon was such a great feat?
Looks like you just got lucky, succeeding by sheer accident.
That's right.
The White Wolf Unit's eyebrows shot up at the clearly confrontational tone even to deaf ears.
Who are you? Are you lot?
We? We're the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit.
At the mention of Black Gate, the eyes of the entire White Wolf Unit widened.
Pleased by this reaction, those who had been picking a fight smirked.
Hmph. So you've at least heard of our name, despite your status.
Of course they had heard of it.
It was a name impossible not to know.
The Black Gate was an organization composed of only the most exceptional geniuses even among the Demonic Faction, and the Demonic Faction has achieved its current tremendous growth with them as the core.
They had even distinguished themselves in the battles between the Orthodox Faction and the Demonic Cult.
The Scholar Forest Group that the Murim Alliance had created was modeled after this Black Gate.
Of course, those who had created it before were different, but the name Scholar Forest Group remained an unpleasant memory for the White Wolf Unit.
Anyway, it was common practice for the talented individuals of the Black Gate to take on the most important positions in the Demonic Alliance as they grew up.
The Demonic Alliance's Chief Strategist Sama Ryang and the Soul Annihilation Unit were examples of this.
In other words, the Black Gate was practically the present and future of the Demonic Alliance.
And now these people came to find the White Wolf Unit and were picking a fight out of nowhere.
Of course, the reason was easy to guess.
Currently, there are quite a few people in the Demonic Alliance who were not pleased with the visit of the White Wolf Unit, a military unit from the Orthodox Murim, and moreover from one of the Five Great Families, the Hebei Peng Family.
But until now, no one had dared to openly express any complaints about it, solely out of fear of the Black Emperor.
However, the young men in their prime were different.
The ones who had suddenly barged into the White Wolf Unit's lodgings were like that.
The Black Gate Thirteenth Unit knew how many people around them were dissatisfied with this situation.
But no one dared to step forward.
Even the supposedly superior Black Gate First and Second Units were the same.
The Black Gate was strictly based on ability, with higher-ranked members belonging to the First and Second Units, and lower-ranked members to the units below.
For this reason, the Thirteenth Unit that had come to find the White Wolf Unit is now the lowest among the Black Gate's military units.
So the Thirteenth Unit decided to take action on this opportunity.
First and Second Units, we're doing what you couldn't do.
It was a kind of rebellious hero complex, wanting to prove something.
Moreover, the Black Gate was especially favored by the Black Emperor Dokgo Yeong even within the Demonic Alliance.
So they had the confidence, no, the extremely arrogant thought that even if they acted like this, Dokgo Yeong wouldn't severely reprimand them.
What do you want?
At O Chae-mu's words, a man among the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit who had been repeatedly throwing and catching a dagger like a toy smirked and opened his mouth.
Oh, nothing much. Since we've met like this anyway, how about a martial arts match?
Why do they all love martial arts matches and duels so much?
For a moment, the appearance of the Black Gate Thirteenth Unit overlapped with that of the Scholar Forest Group from before.
But O Chae-mu knew better than anyone from the incident with the Scholar Forest Group.
The match these malicious people wanted was only one thing.
It was a match where they would overwhelmingly win and humiliate their opponents.
It was obvious what they would do if that result didn't come about.
So O Chae-mu's answer was decided from the start.
I refuse.
"What?"
Let's not create trouble for each other. Now then, everyone, let's go back inside.
O Chae-mu turned around as if they weren't even worth dealing with anymore.
Of course, how could he not be angry?
But given the place, and not wanting to cause trouble after coming all this way, he held back.
Enduring here was winning.
It was then.
Swish!
A dagger suddenly flew by, grazing O Chae-mu's cheek and embedding itself in the wall behind.
Big brother!
I'm fine.
Fortunately, his cheek just stung a little without any serious injury.
But killing intent flashed unconsciously in O Chae-mu's eyes.
Ah, sorry. My hand slipped.
What?
Haha. Your eyes look fierce. Well? Do you feel like fighting now? Hm?
The man who had thrown the dagger smirked provocatively.
Grind.
His teeth ground together unconsciously, but O Chae-mu held back.
No, he had to hold back. Somehow.
Fortunately, O Chae-mu was maintaining his composure well.
And the White Wolf Unit was not naive enough to fall for such provocation anymore.
They were no longer the foolish White Wolf Unit that would charge in without thinking when angered...
Swish! Swish!
In an instant, both cheeks of the man who had thrown the dagger at O Chae-mu turned red.
Drip.
From somewhere, two daggers had grazed his cheeks and flown past.
"Kugh!"
This is how you use daggers, kid.
Gi-su and Gi-sang grinned with fierce glints in their eyes.
You bastards! Do you want to die? What are you all doing! Kill them!
Soon, sparks flew in the eyes of the entire Black Gate Thirteenth Unit as they charged at the White Wolf Unit.
Yeah, yeah! Now you're acting like the Demonic Faction!
Who came crawling here to pick a fight in the first place! Come on! You bastards!
The twin brothers also fiercely charged towards them.
Right. They had forgotten.
There were still empty-headed fools in the White Wolf Unit who would accept all provocations without blocking them.
And so the fight began.
O Chae-mu's head throbbed.
Ah. I don't know anymore now.