Disciple of The Three Kings [EN]: Chapter 290

“I am the Blood Demon.” Lee Ro-woon. His appearance caused a stir among everyone. The residents who hadn’t seen him yet, and the new cult members who had only glimpsed him from afar, all widened their eyes at the sight and sound of Lee Ro-woon. “……” In contrast, Mak Ho and the other messengers from Jeomchang couldn’t help but shrink back. ‘That man….’ The Blood Cult, a demonic presence that had been inseparable from the Eun [a powerful organization], for so long. They knew that the most dangerous and radiant time for them was when a being called the Blood Demon existed. The Blood Demon was like a divine immortal of the Eun. A mysterious, powerful, and terrifying being. Gulp. There was a huge difference between a Blood Cult executive and the Blood Demon. The feeling was as if one’s whole body was shrinking just by his presence. A being that one should not dare to defy, a being to bow one’s head to. Shudder. However, Mak Ho clenched his fists and stared directly at Lee Ro-woon. ‘He’s not as unusual as I thought.’ To the warriors of the Eun, the Blood Demon was like a monster from Gehenna [a place of torment]. They imagined him with horns on his head, blood constantly dripping from his mouth, and wielding swords with multiple arms. However, the Blood Demon they faced was just an ordinary-looking resident of Earth. ‘The aura he gives off isn’t special either.’ He exuded a dangerous feeling, but so did the Blood Cult executives. Perhaps…. ‘These guys might have put a suitable person forward to make the Blood Cult rise.’ Since the Blood Cult wouldn’t act without the Blood Demon, such an idea was plausible. If so, even better. No, it couldn’t be better. Swoosh. Should I capture the Blood Demon here? Wouldn’t that be a greater achievement? Such strange thoughts followed one after another. However, Mak Ho straightened his posture. ‘Let’s just focus on my role.’ Greed is the cause of disaster. “I greet the Blood Demon.” Mak Ho said, making a fist and palm salute with a slightly stiff tone. Thump. Kang Han-cheol tried to step forward at that sight, but he held back and retreated. Smirk. Mak Ho smiled. “I have come to hear the answer to our proposal.” He said to Lee Ro-woon. “The proposal we made before remains the same. The Martial Alliance recognizes the existence of the Blood Cult….” The same words he had said before were being repeated. Swoosh. At the same time, Mak Ho was feeling the gazes around him. The countless gazes gathered. The Blood Cult members and those interested in the Blood Cult. In front of them, the Martial Alliance was uttering words that were no different from a declaration of surrender. Considering their reputation, it was absurd. However, such things were the concerns of the higher-ups, not his. “So….” The important thing was that it was a proposal the other side couldn’t refuse. If the Blood Demon rejected Jeomchang’s proposal, there would be an unimaginable amount of bloodshed. Considering the nature of the Blood Cult, it wouldn’t be strange. However. ‘They would lose their justification.’ To shed blood when it could be avoided. That was something only blood-crazed madmen would do. The numerous cult members following the Blood Cult would leave, and interest in the Blood Cult would wane. And eventually, the Blood Cult would crumble without any support, just like it did in the past in the Eun. Those high-level experts. There were more than enough people in the Alliance to deal with them. “Will you accept the proposal?” The answer was already decided. If they had any sense, they would never refuse…. “I refuse.” Lee Ro-woon’s answer came without a moment’s hesitation. * * * “……” Silence fell. Mak Ho blinked his eyes. The others who came as messengers from Jeomchang were the same. “You said… refuse?” Something was off. “I reject the Martial Alliance’s proposal.” Not just a refusal, but a rejection. It meant there was no reason to even consider it. “W-what….” Mak Ho couldn’t help but be flustered. ‘They said the Blood Cult’s demons weren’t in their right minds…!’ He never dreamed they would reject such a proposal. Was there not a single person among them who understood what this proposal meant? Or was the Blood Demon so important that all of that didn’t matter? Either way. ‘I have to succeed.’ His achievement depended on success or failure. If the Blood Demon rejected the proposal, his chance to achieve something would also disappear. “Perhaps you should reconsider….” Mak Ho said. “This is an offer that will not come again.” Think! Please! “If there is anything else you need, tell me, I will convey your wishes to the Alliance….” However, looking at Lee Ro-woon’s face, Mak Ho closed his mouth. He realized that the Blood Demon was someone who would never change. Now the plan had to change. There was no such thing as giving up. “In the end…!” Numerous gazes. He had to take advantage of the fact that they were having this conversation here on purpose. “Are you saying you want to see blood-!” Mak Ho shouted, putting all his inner energy into his voice. “We tried to accommodate what you wanted without bloodshed! But does the Blood Cult ultimately want to see blood!” Justification. That was why it was important. Murmurs. People also began to whisper after hearing Mak Ho’s voice. They wouldn’t understand either. The Alliance was offering everything they wanted, even more, but they rejected it. Really…. “You are true to your name, Blood Cult!” Was the Blood Cult really what they thought it was? Such doubts began to arise. “They said you were blood-crazed murderers! Do you have to see blood to feel satisfied?” Mak Ho lowered his voice. Now the Blood Demon would have grasped the situation. Once again, he had to give him a chance…. “If blood must be shed, then so be it.” “……!” “Just like you have always done.” “What are you….” Lee Ro-woon took a step forward. Clang! The startled messengers from Jeomchang drew their swords. “Swords…!” Mak Ho shouted at them. Drawing their swords first was not a good choice right now. If it had come to this, they had to act as much like victims and the innocent as possible. “Didn’t you also build your empire in blood?” “That is…!” “Do you remember the massacre you committed in the southern Philippines?” “…….” “You didn’t save those you could have saved, and you didn’t save those you should have saved.” He seemed to know what he was talking about. During the Gate Break [a catastrophic event], when monsters poured out, the Eun did not move. -There are many dissidents in the south. So it would be better to leave them alone for a while. They deliberately abandoned them. “Is that all? You flaunted your meager power and oppressed the residents of Earth, and you oppressed the warriors who were inferior to you. Was that blood not blood?” Murmurs. Those who had become members of the Blood Cult. They clearly remembered everything they had suffered. The players remembered the discriminatory treatment of the warriors. The warriors remembered the discriminatory treatment based on the size of their sects and the gap in their martial arts. They recalled their fallen comrades and families. Whoosh. The atmosphere was changing. “Are you truly!” Mak Ho shouted. “Going to start a war!” Now he had nowhere to retreat. “No matter what you say, it doesn’t change the fact that you want to shed blood! If what you say is true…!” Mak Ho shouted. “It is rather an opportunity to resolve things without bloodshed!” If things went wrong, he would die. “The blood that will ultimately be shed!” Mak Ho’s gaze turned to others, not Lee Ro-woon. The Blood Cult members. The residents watching this scene. “Is the blood of all of them!” The blood Lee Ro-woon would shed would be small. Because he was strong. But the blood of those who were now trying to follow him would form a river. He was forcing sacrifice, and in the end, he was emphasizing that he would step back. However. “That is why it is valuable.” Lee Ro-woon stopped and said. A hand slowly extended. “There is no value in what is obtained without bloodshed.” He rotated his hand. “In an empire built on the blood of others, not one’s own….” Clench. “There is no glory.” It was that moment. Splat! Something that poured out was soaking Mak Ho’s face. His gaze slowly turned. The warrior who had just drawn his sword and was about to unleash his inner energy…. Splat! His upper body had disappeared, and he was spewing a fountain of blood. Overwhelming. It was literally overwhelming force. Completely ignoring protective energy and inner energy. Clench! Splat! It was simply crushed and burst. “Blood price.” Lee Ro-woon said. “You will have to pay the blood price. You will have to pay the price for the blood you have shed so far. That is how it has value.” “You are truly a madman!” Mak Ho shouted. “They said the Blood Cult was a group of blood-crazed murderers! That saying….” “Is not wrong.” The reason why the Demon God and the Martial King created the Blood Cult in the past was different. He remembered that there was some good intention. But the current Blood Cult was his, not the Martial King’s. At first, Lee Ro-woon had said. -Who made such laws? The laws that had been created over time. He was certain that Shin Yeo-wool would not have created such things. They were just things that had been created over time, through understanding. However. ‘Time created it.’ The countless long years they had spent being oppressed in the Eun. The Blood Cult had recorded those years to survive. And that had become the law. He would not ignore it. “This is….” What I have come to possess. What I must create. Splat! “The Blood Cult.” The messengers from Jeomchang were being torn apart and killed. Even though they were dying right in front of them, they couldn’t move. The aura they had felt when they first saw Lee Ro-woon was a lie. No. Whoosh! It was so immense that they had only barely grasped a fragment of it. The Blood Demon. “I am….” They clearly saw what that name meant. “The Blood Demon.” They saw what kind of power that name held. Thud, thud. Everyone fell and died. Now only Mak Ho was left. “Do you not want to shed blood?” It was fear, death, and the grim reaper. “I will tell you a way.” The two stood facing each other. Lee Ro-woon was looking down at Mak Ho with red eyes. Two eyes that were languid, yet more terrifying than anything else. “Bring me all those who must pay the blood price. Then I will end it with just that blood. But if not….” Lee Ro-woon’s hand reached out. Mak Ho had to avoid or block it. However. Thud. His hand, which had pierced his chest so easily, was gripping his heart. “You will have to pay the blood price for everyone. Blood for blood. That is the new law of the Blood Cult.” Thump! Thump! Thump! “I will shed blood, and I will obtain it through bloodshed. Just like I have always done.” The age of barbarism. The way to live in that age. “Tell them.” Mak Ho was looking at Lee Ro-woon with blank eyes. “Only I and the volunteers will cross the barrier. No one else will cross. The date is ten days from now. After that….” A light flashed in Lee Ro-woon’s eyes. Mak Ho quietly turned his gaze and looked around. Whoosh! It felt as if everyone was the Blood Demon. “You will have to pay the blood price.”