Chapter 64
"Well, if that's what the Commander says."
Yeo Un-hwi's decision was quickly accepted by everyone.
In other cases, they might have felt his decision was excessive, but this time was different.
After witnessing the shameful sight of them eagerly volunteering to be spies for the Demonic Cult, they only thought it was good that they died.
Even Peng Seo-jin, though not showing it outwardly, was truly shocked.
It was surprising enough that Demonic Cult members had appeared nearby, but for those called Rising Stars of the Orthodox Faction, nurtured carefully by the Murim Alliance, to accept their proposal without a moment's hesitation was astounding.
The sight of them fighting over who would volunteer was utterly appalling.
From the moment they showed that behavior, they were no longer promising Rising Stars of the Orthodox Faction, but traitors deserving of death.
Even Peng Seo-jin, who didn't particularly enjoy unnecessary killing, thought beheading the Scholar Forest Group was the right thing to do.
What more could be expected from those who had revealed such depths of depravity and corruption?
It was better than sparing them and sending them back, only to have to sort out right from wrong later.
Of course, there would likely be some investigation from the Alliance afterwards, but that wasn't a major concern.
After all, the Demonic Cult members had been slain with the Scholar Forest Group's swords, and the Scholar Forest Group had been killed with the Demonic Cult's blades.
No special techniques had been used either, to avoid leaving any evidence.
But before nodding in agreement to all this, there was one burning question in the minds of those present:
'How did he know?'
How did Yeo Un-hwi know that the Demonic Cult's Black Kill Squad would appear before the Scholar Forest Group right after they left the Peng Family?
And even that they would fall for the Demonic Cult's temptation?
'How is that possible?'
It was as if Yeo Un-hwi knew the future.
But Peng Seo-jin quickly shook his head.
'That's impossible.'
That was beyond the realm of martial arts.
Even if it were possible, it would make him no different from an immortal.
No, even an immortal might not be capable of such a thing.
And even if it were possible, Yeo Un-hwi didn't particularly look like an immortal.
Though he had never seen an immortal being, he was certain they wouldn't be as terrifying as Yeo Un-hwi.
Peng Seo-jin had been greatly shocked when Yeo Un-hwi slaughtered the entire Demonic Cult Black Kill Squad and executed the Scholar Forest Group.
It wasn't just because of Yeo Un-hwi's overwhelming martial arts.
It was because the way Yeo Un-hwi killed them looked so natural.
As if he had done it thousands or hundreds of times before, like someone who had walked that path for an incredibly long time.
It sent chills down Peng Seo-jin's spine as he watched.
'What kind of past does Brother have?'
The more he learned, the more curious Peng Seo-jin became about Yeo Un-hwi.
His incredible martial arts that didn't match his age, his cold ruthlessness towards evildoers without the slightest hesitation.
And even knowing so accurately what would happen in the future.
Everything Yeo Un-hwi had shown was utterly incomprehensible, even to Peng Seo-jin who had lived his whole life as the heir of the Hebei Peng Family.
But he had no intention of prying.
He believed Yeo Un-hwi would tell him someday, and was content to wait.
Even if that moment never came, it was alright.
Peng Seo-jin truly trusted Yeo Un-hwi.
If he couldn't trust the words of the man who had risked his life alone to save him from certain death, who could he trust?
Hmm.
Peng Seo-jin slowly raised his head to look at the sky.
The sun was already setting.
This day that had felt so incredibly long was finally coming to an end.
A few days later, news spreading from Hebei shocked the entire martial world.
"Hey, did you hear about that?"
In a bustling tavern, a man suddenly brought up the topic.
"What story?"
"Well! I heard the Scholar Forest Group had a huge battle with the Demonic Cult's Black Kill Squad in Hebei, resulting in mutual destruction!"
"Huh? You mean that Scholar Forest Group that was just starting to be active after being nurtured by the Murim Alliance?"
"That's right!"
"My goodness. They must still be quite young, yet to face the Black Kill Squad... But how did the Black Kill Squad appear in Hebei in the first place?"
"How would I know that? From what I heard, there are even rumors that the Demonic Cult sent them specifically targeting the Scholar Forest Group. Probably because their seniors have been scoring a lot of achievements against the Demonic Cult."
"Oh! So they were trying to nip it in the bud?"
"That must be it!"
"Well, well. But for them to fight to the death against the Demonic Cult's Black Kill Squad at such a young age, that's truly impressive!"
Meanwhile, the expressions of a group quietly eating nearby as the men excitedly conversed looked quite complicated.
"What did you say?"
In a room with a massive black dragon engraved on the wall.
An old man with snow-white hair was drawing something with a brush.
Despite his small stature and advanced age, a fierce aura that overwhelmed people emanated from his entire body even as he sat still.
He stopped the brush in his hand and turned around at the report his subordinate had just delivered.
The old man with an incredibly cantankerous expression stared at his subordinate with chilling white eyes.
"Mutual destruction?"
"Yes, that's correct."
The subordinate answered while trying his best to calm his trembling heart under that gaze.
The man before him was known to kill subordinates like himself as easily as eating meals if he was displeased.
That was why he couldn't help but be afraid, even if it wasn't a problem he had caused.
"So you're telling me that our Demonic Cult's elite Black Kill Squad, one of our very best, all died facing mere children? Hm? Did I understand that correctly?"
"Th-That's right."
"Do you think that makes any sense?"
The subordinate kept his mouth shut.
He too thought it was utterly nonsensical.
Especially the Black Kill Squad.
Their reputation wasn't built on nothing.
The Black Kill Squad had perfectly accomplished countless impossible missions until now.
Moreover, this mission was considered very easy compared to their previous assignments.
So no one in the Demonic Cult thought the Black Kill Squad would fail this mission.
But how...
The old man let out a hollow laugh as if he found it absurd.
Probably everyone who heard this news would have the same reaction as the old man.
Hmm.
This was a mission ordered by the Cult Leader.
Of course, they had succeeded in the order to kill all members of the Scholar Forest Group, but losing the entire Black Kill Squad in the process was simply incomprehensible to the old man.
It wasn't even a partial success, but a failure in all but name.
Mutual destruction?
Losing the entire Black Kill Squad on such a mission was not worth it at all.
Moreover, the Black Kill Squad's infamy was well known even in the Central Plains martial world.
For such a Black Kill Squad to all die facing mere children was an utter disgrace from the Demonic Cult's perspective.
The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became.
"This is infuriating."
"Pardon?"
Splat.
In that moment, the head of the man reporting to him burst like a watermelon.
That was his last word.
The man reporting was killed for no fault of his own, simply because the old man disliked the content of his report.
Perhaps the anxiety the man had felt all along was a premonition of this fate.
"Tsk."
After killing his subordinate, the old man clicked his tongue as he stared at the blood flowing on the floor, furrowing his brow once more.
His irritation hadn't subsided at all.
"...Something must have happened in between."
The old man muttered as he pondered quietly.
"Yes. I'm curious what bastards could have done this."
The old man's eyes soon began to gleam fiercely.
At the same time.
The Murim Alliance, which could be said to represent the entire Orthodox Faction of the martial world, was now in a very somber mood.
The Alliance Leader's Hall was filled with sighs.
"How... how could such a thing happen?"
Song Il-do, the leader of the Murim Alliance also known as the Meteor Sword Emperor, spoke in a deeply regretful voice.
It wasn't a question expecting any particular answer.
It was a lament mixed with sighs.
The Murim Alliance elders knew this well, so no one said anything in response.
They too simply let out deep sighs with gloomy expressions.
It was understandable for the atmosphere to be like this, as the Scholar Forest Group were like children to them, carefully selected and nurtured by the Murim Alliance just like their predecessors.
Losing them was no different from the pain of losing one's own children for the Alliance Leader and elders.
However, they had no idea.
They didn't know how much those who seemed like lovely disciples in their eyes were actually like evil spirits to those without power elsewhere.
If they had known that fact, they wouldn't have even been able to feel sad or regretful.
No, perhaps even if they had known, they might have refused to acknowledge it until the end.
After all, it was none other than themselves who had raised them to become such heartless individuals.
So while the Alliance Leader's Hall was filled with sorrow, there was one person observing the current situation more coldly than anyone else.
"Alliance Leader. I have a request."
"What is it?"
A request out of nowhere?
Song Il-do, the Murim Alliance leader, looked at Jegal Mun, the Alliance's Chief Strategist, with a puzzled expression.
He was the person Song Il-do trusted more than anyone.
In fact, it wasn't that the problems with the Scholar Forest Group had never been brought up before.
But everyone had laughed it off, saying it couldn't be true.
At that time, only Jegal Mun had recognized the seriousness of the issue and repeatedly suggested to Song Il-do privately that measures needed to be taken.
But each time, Song Il-do had pretended not to hear Jegal Mun's words, saying that as far as he knew, the Scholar Forest Group couldn't possibly be like that.
Song Il-do, the Murim Alliance leader. He was indeed a good person.
But his problem was that he trusted and protected his people too much like this.
He didn't realize that this was causing the Murim Alliance to become sick...
Anyway, Jegal Mun found this incident very strange.
Mutual destruction with the Demonic Cult? That was absolutely unlike the Scholar Forest Group he knew.
"I would like to send an investigator I recommend for this incident."
It was common practice to dispatch an investigator from the Alliance to accurately assess and investigate the situation when incidents or accidents related to the Alliance occurred.
So the Murim Alliance was planning to soon send an investigator to Hebei.
But Jegal Mun wanted to recommend a specific person as the investigator for this incident, rather than assigning just anyone as usual.
Since this was uncommon, Song Il-do asked with a puzzled expression:
"Why?"
"There are many suspicious aspects to this incident. So I would like to send someone who can handle the matter more thoroughly and definitively than anyone else."
"What suspicious aspects?"
"It's not certain enough to speak about yet, so I will confirm and report back to you later. For now, I'm concerned that my doubts might cloud your judgment, so please understand."
"Hmm. I see. Very well. Go ahead and handle the investigator dispatch as you see fit."
"Yes. Thank you."
Jegal Mun's eyes narrowed as he bowed his head slightly.
'What could it be? Why do I have a feeling there's some hidden truth to this incident?'
He then summoned the person who had been on his mind all along.
There was one person perfectly suited for this kind of task.
None other than a man with the Jegal surname.