Chapter 299 - You Won’t Come, and We Won’t Wait

Instead of worship, laughter broke out.

It came from Jung Ak. Even after being accused of taking bribes, he showed no sign of alarm.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been impersonating the young lord?”

Even Ho Gyeong, who had been listening seriously, let out a disbelieving chuckle. But he had heard Ju Yang’s earlier words clearly.

[“The man who took Jeok Pae’s bribes and promised to kill you is that man there, the leader of the Demonic Sword Squad.”]

If that was true, Ju Yang was now someone he needed to protect.

Ho Gyeong asked Jung Ak, “What brings you here, Squad Leader?”

“Since our opponent is a master, I thought you might need reinforcements.”

Ho Gyeong did not believe him. If that had been his intention, he would have made a show of offering to lead the Demonic Sword Squad here from the outset.

He had appeared just as Ju Yang was about to name him. Clearly, he had come to intimidate Ju Yang into keeping his name out of it.

“As you heard, that man has accused you. It would be best for you to withdraw for now.”

“Surely you don’t believe him?”

“Of course not. But he testified before everyone, so we must at least conduct a formal investigation.”

“That man deals in Hell King Debt.”

Ho Gyeong turned to Ju Yang. “Is that true?”

The cold question cowed Ju Yang.

“It is, but what I told you is true.”

Ho Gyeong did not trust those who dealt in Hell King Debt.

Watching his expression harden, Ju Yang realized anew just how remarkable Geom Mugeuk was. Everyone scowled at them like that and looked down on them, but no one stepped forward to put an end to them.

Geom Mugeuk casually interjected, “When people can’t refute the message, they tend to attack the messenger.”

Jung Ak’s gaze turned vicious.

Ho Gyeong sought to placate him. “If it proves false, I will punish him severely for making a false accusation. Don’t worry.”

Outwardly, Jung Ak remained composed.

But he was looking for any opportunity to eliminate Ju Yang. If they returned to the branch and began a proper interrogation, his bribery would become public knowledge. If the other bribes were exposed too, he would not merely lose his position as squad leader. He would be thrown into prison.

Jung Ak turned his gaze to Geom Mugeuk. “And how will you deal with our young lord?”

“I will deal with him personally as well.”

“Wouldn’t that be treason?”

No one laughed at his joke.

Meanwhile, Ju Yang looked at Geom Mugeuk. Even if everyone else mocked him, Ju Yang would not. He had already resigned himself to death.

“Young lord, what do you intend to do now?”

Yes. Since he had started this, he would call him the young lord to the very end.

As though he had been waiting for that moment, Jung Ak drew his sword.

“How dare you speak of the young lord!”

Just as he was about to charge in and cut Ju Yang down, Ho Gyeong stepped into his path.

“Stop.”

“Step aside. I cannot stand by and allow someone to commit the outrage of impersonating the young lord.”

“I cannot do that.”

The two men glared at each other. The deep rift they had kept hidden was finally laid bare. In truth, Jung Ak had expected Ho Gyeong to block him.

“Kill that bastard!”

He sent the order to his trusted aide Cha Hoe by sound transmission. With Ho Gyeong occupied blocking him, this was their chance.

Cha Hoe launched a surprise blast of sword qi.

WHOOOOSH!

A savage streak of sword qi flew toward Ju Yang. It was powerful enough to sweep away both him and Geom Mugeuk beside him.

BOOM!

Startled by the explosion, Ju Yang fell hard on his backside.

He saw Geom Mugeuk’s back. Without moving from his spot, Geom Mugeuk had swung his sword and effortlessly dispersed the incoming sword qi.

“Attack together and kill them!”

At First Team Leader Cha Hoe’s command, the demonic martial artists of the Demonic Sword Squad drew their swords as one.

At the same time, Ho Gyeong shouted, “Stop them!”

The branch’s demonic martial artists also drew their swords. Tension stretched taut between the two forces as they aimed their blades at each other. If fighting broke out, the branch warriors could not stand against the elite Demonic Sword Squad.

It happened then.

Geom Mugeuk stepped forward and unleashed his qi presence.

WHOOOOSH!

His qi presence spread in every direction.

A colossal wave crashed over them.

There was nowhere to escape, and no way to evade it.

Every demonic martial artist sank beneath the water. The abyss dragged them endlessly downward.

They resisted, struggling desperately not to be pulled under. But Geom Mugeuk’s qi presence permitted no resistance.

Their bodies felt ready to burst. They could not breathe.

‘Aaaaaaah!’

They screamed, but no sound emerged.

And at the bottom of that abyss, they saw him.

Geom Mugeuk stood alone, shining amid the pitch-black darkness.

At that instant, his qi presence vanished.

The Geom Mugeuk in the abyss became the real Geom Mugeuk, standing before them.

They struggled to breathe, all of them aghast. They did not need to draw their swords to know that his martial prowess surpassed theirs by an overwhelming, incomparable margin. They also knew that what had constricted them was demonic qi.

Geom Mugeuk addressed Ho Gyeong. “It has been a long time. At the banquet celebrating your appointment as branch head, you said you would examine the small things carefully to prevent great disasters.”

Ho Gyeong remembered vividly. Those were the words he had spoken at the banquet after receiving his first appointment as branch head. How could he forget that occasion?

“You were there too?”

Geom Mugeuk nodded.

“Who are you, young hero?”

Just then, someone arrived.

Ho Gyeong was startled to see him.

“Branch Head Im!”

It was Im Jeong, the head of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s Jiangxi branch.

A man who seldom appeared unless something important was afoot had come here in person.

“What brings you here?”

Before coming here, Geom Mugeuk had met a Heaven-Reaching Pavilion warrior and asked him to convey this request to Im Jeong.

“I have come to deliver an order that every warrior of the Jiangxi branch serve the young lord with utmost devotion.”

The mention of the young lord startled everyone. Hadn’t they been mocking a false young lord just moments ago?

“It can’t be!”

Every gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk, and Im Jeong declared loudly, “Yes. This is the young lord.”

A stunned, astonished silence fell.

Ho Gyeong was the first to recover. He prostrated himself with due respect.

“I greet the young lord!”

The branch’s demonic martial artists, along with Jung Ak and the entire Demonic Sword Squad, immediately paid their respects. Under any circumstances, reverence for the cult leader and the young lord was absolute.

“We greet the young lord!”

Their voices rang out thunderously.

In truth, even without Im Jeong’s confirmation, the majestic qi presence he had displayed was enough to identify him as the young lord.

Now Ju Yang was the only person still standing there in a daze.

Geom Mugeuk looked at him with a faint smile.

“You believe me now, even without the Demon Supremes standing behind me, don’t you?”

Belatedly coming to his senses, Ju Yang threw himself flat on the ground with a cry.

“I failed to recognize your exalted person and behaved rudely.”

“Rudely? You were the only person who believed I was the young lord.”

Ju Yang was overcome with emotion. He could not believe it. Did that mean he had been meeting the Demonic Cult’s young lord all this time, collecting interest from him and conversing with him? He had even called him a lunatic.

“You’ll have some hard work ahead of you.”

Only now did he understand the source of that absurd confidence.

How could he neglect the Money Exchange when the Demonic Cult’s young lord had ordered him to run it?

“I will spend my life working in atonement.”

His life had been saved. What more could he ask for? Moments earlier, he had been floundering in the sea. Now he began to float peacefully again. Warm sunlight shone down on him.

By contrast, enormous waves were crashing through Jung Ak’s heart.

‘Why on earth is the young lord here?’

Wasn’t Ho Gyeong the one who had been after him? Had the young lord joined forces with Ho Gyeong to target him? But judging from Ho Gyeong’s startled reaction, he too had clearly not expected the young lord’s arrival.

“Now, everyone rise!”

Every demonic martial artist there stood up. They still gazed at Geom Mugeuk with astonishment and awe. He was the man who would become their cult leader. If he ordered them to die, they would have to die at once.

Geom Mugeuk approached Jung Ak.

“Squad Leader Jung, you’ve taken quite a few bribes.”

Before Jung Ak could deny it, Im Jeong spoke.

“We have confirmed that gold from the Money Exchange was deposited under Squad Leader Jung’s name in several money houses. The investigation is ongoing, and we expect further evidence to emerge shortly. We have also begun investigating sources other than the Money Exchange.”

Had anyone else said it, he could have insisted the evidence was fabricated. But this was a branch head of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.

Even so, Jung Ak held his head high and spoke as though it were nothing.

“I did not extort it from them. They offered it voluntarily.”

“Would they have paid you if you weren’t the leader of the Demonic Sword Squad?”

“It was their choice.”

With his subordinates watching, he maintained a defiant bearing. The instant he showed a cringing side, he would lose their respect.

“Did you share that money with your subordinates?”

Silence fell for a moment. The only person he had shared it with was his trusted aide, Cha Hoe.

“I intended to.”

He would have been better off saying nothing. At that pathetic excuse, his subordinates’ gazes turned cold.

“I do not believe the Demonic Sword Squad’s authority should suffer over such a trivial matter.”

Jung Ak was trying anything he could to escape this predicament. But his opponent was Geom Mugeuk.

“That is precisely why.”

Geom Mugeuk looked at the demonic martial artists of the Demonic Sword Squad.

“Because you are the Demonic Sword Squad. Even if the Orthodox Martial Alliance or the Unorthodox Alliance drives us back to headquarters, we will not lose hope if we hear that you are alive. We believe you will break through the enemy and come to save us. That is the faith the Cult places in you.”

Pride blossomed on their faces.

“That is why you must be different from others. You cannot simply accept bribes when they are offered. Surely this much is all right? No, it is not. If you are the sort of people who take bribes and think nothing of it, we will not wait for the Demonic Sword Squad. We will assume you chose an easier compromise rather than breaking through the enemy. You won’t come, and we won’t wait.”

Jung Ak’s face twisted, but the warriors of the Demonic Sword Squad agreed with Geom Mugeuk’s words.

Jung Ak shouted in protest, “Why are you worrying in advance about things that haven’t even happened?”

“Because I am the man who will become your cult leader. Even if no one else worries about it, I must.”

Jung Ak had no answer.

Then another charge was added to his crimes.

“It isn’t the bribes that make me unable to forgive you. You wanted Branch Head Ho to be killed or injured here today.”

A stir ran through those around them.

“No. If that were true, why would I have come here?”

“Because the task of finding whoever harmed the branch head would fall to you anyway. You intended to finish everything here. Kill Branch Head Ho, then avenge him.”

“Why would I do that?”

Ho Gyeong answered him.

“Because you discovered I was investigating you.”

Only now was Ho Gyeong certain.

“That’s why you came to see me and steered me into leading the mission personally.”

Jung Ak was about to shout that they were framing him when his eyes met those of his subordinates. The gazes that had once feared him were filled with distrust and disappointment. Their respect was vanishing.

“Losing me would deal a major blow to the Cult’s fighting strength.”

“Considering the possibility that your sword might turn on us for money, it could instead be a gain.”

“That would never have happened.”

“We don’t know that. Who knows what would happen if you were offered too much money to refuse?”

Geom Mugeuk spoke calmly to the resentful Jung Ak.

“This is why. This is why you must never accept it in the first place. Whether you’re telling the truth or not, everything ends up a mess like this. You become someone who looks as though he would sell me out for a few coins.”

He spoke sincerely.

“Pay for your crimes and start again. I will give you another chance then.”

For the first time, Jung Ak let out a long sigh.

How many years would he spend in prison? Five? Ten?

“I do not wish to do that.”

Jung Ak chose to kill Ho Gyeong and die himself. He had to blame someone, and that someone was not himself.

‘This is all your fault!’

He lunged at Ho Gyeong, drawing his sword.

A flash!

Just as his swift blade was about to cleave Ho Gyeong’s body, the sword that had cut through a massive boulder struck something and snapped.

CLANG!

The moment Jung Ak saw his opponent, his eyes widened.

SLAAASH!

The opponent who broke his sword and then slashed his chest was a terrifying evil spirit.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

The evil spirits’ swords struck from his left, his right, and behind him. Cut apart all over, Jung Ak died.

The witnesses were so stunned they could scarcely breathe.

Knowing that the only demonic art of the young lord that manifested evil spirits was the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, they all bowed their heads in respect. This time, their homage was not to Geom Mugeuk, but to the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.

Seizing that moment, Jung Ak’s trusted aide Cha Hoe tried to fulfill his dead leader’s wish, but fell dead beneath Ho Gyeong’s sword.

The branch warriors were astonished by Ho Gyeong’s skill. They had only ever seen his meticulous side, poring over documents at his desk, but he was a far greater master than they had imagined. His never having flaunted his prowess made the impression all the stronger. Had they known, they would have grumbled less about the increased workload.

Unlike the branch warriors, whose spirits had risen, the Demonic Sword Squad was enveloped in gloom. Corrupt though the two men had been, the squad had lost its leader and First Team Leader.

Geom Mugeuk soothed their hearts.

“Around this time, everyone will be drinking at the tavern I frequent in Demon Family Village. Worrying about money, children, work, other people. They may have all sorts of worries, but at least they won’t be worrying that warriors of the Unorthodox Alliance will open the tavern door and come in to kill them. Why? Because you are guarding the Jiangxi branch here.”

Geom Mugeuk conveyed his honest feelings with sincerity.

“We give you the best treatment, but I know it still isn’t enough. With your skills, you could leave and earn ten times as much. But you would not have the honor of belonging to the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon’s finest elite, the Demonic Sword Squad. You may ask whether honor puts food on the table, but you must live on honor. Because you are the people whose honor lets others eat in peace.”

After a brief pause, he added one last thing.

“Even if no one else acknowledges you, I will.”

Pride and resolve filled the Demonic Sword Squad warriors’ eyes. What did it matter if the comfort was only words? It came from none other than the man who would become their cult leader.

“We will devote our lives to serving you loyally.”

His efforts to comfort them were not over. They were only beginning.

“Now, all of you, follow me.”

The Demonic Sword Squad and the branch warriors all followed Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk spoke to Ju Yang too.

“Lead the way.”

“Me?”

“You’ll be the central figure there. You have to go.”

Ju Yang understood. He intended to take them all to Jeok Pae’s estate. It was not because he thought highly of Jeok Pae.

For Geom Mugeuk had said this to Im Jeong of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion:

“Send word to the Unorthodox Alliance. Tell them today is the Jiangxi branch’s bonding outing, so they are not to bother us for the day.”