Emperor’s Sword [EN]: Chapter 39

The Southern Alliance of Muchang’s Bloodshed!

As the moon, seemingly weary, hid its face and fell asleep, a ritual of ending lives was being carried out in the quiet of the Southern Alliance. In three different locations, a storm of blood was brewing simultaneously, unnoticed by the people.

Kwangmajon swiftly moved through the buildings, surveying the prey he was to eliminate. A satisfied smile never left his lips, and he was filled with anticipation for the sacred task that was about to begin. A three-foot sword hung at his waist, but he did not draw it, instead using only his hands to tear through flesh and bone.

The Lion Hall, the main building of the Southern Alliance, was his designated area. As befitting its importance, relatively skilled individuals were stationed there, but to Kwangmajon, they were nothing more than scarecrows. The problem was that, as the Supreme One had ordered, no traces of the killings should remain, and the bodies should be disposed of in such a way that they would be discovered as late as possible. He was solving this with ease.

‘Nu, nu…’

They say white teeth show in the darkness, but already, his opponent’s hand was crushing his head. There was no sound. A slanted passage, from the eye to the back of the head, was hollowed out, and the surroundings were charred black. It was a clean job, with not even blood or brain matter flowing out. Those hiding in the bushes remained in the bushes, and those lying prone on the roof remained still. Eliminating those who were hiding was not a problem. The problem was the ones patrolling around the Lion Hall at regular intervals.

‘Once this night passes, it will begin.’

‘Heh heh, the moment the Southern Alliance falls into our hands.’

There were three of them. They were the ones in charge of patrolling, and among those guarding the Lion Hall, they were relatively high-ranking figures.

‘Whistle’

One of them whistled. But there was no response.

‘Huh?’

When he whistled, the ambushing guards were supposed to send a signal.

‘Whistle, whistle’

…

‘This… could something have happened?’

Just as one of them finished speaking and was about to take out his whistle,

‘Snap’

‘Cough’

One of his companions slumped over, his neck twisted to the side.

‘Nu, nu’

Something was shoved into his gaping mouth. After snapping one man’s neck, Kwangmajon shoved the sheathed sword of the dead man into the mouth of the one who was about to scream, and then, he slit the throat of the other man, who was frozen in shock. And then, the sound that followed.

‘This is in commemoration of eliminating all the trash in the Lion Hall.’

He picked up the head that had been attached to the man’s torso until recently, tossed it up, and then caught it. The face still held the terror of the moment of death.

‘Next is the Elder’s Hall, I suppose?’

Kwangmajon did not forget to throw the three corpses into the forest, and he tossed the head in his hand into the air. The head landed precisely on a branch at the top of a tree and swayed with the wind.

★ The fastest thing in the world is light. And now, there were those who were dying by a sword as fast as that light. It approached without a trace and pierced before the opponent could even feel it. The wound was just a small trace of blood! So minute that it was almost impossible to see unless one looked closely. It was the skill of Danjanghwa, who was no exaggeration to say was the second-best swordsman in the Cheonma Order [Heavenly Demon Order] when it came to swords.

Her swordsmanship was almost at the level of art. Her greatest interest was speed, that is, quick swordplay. She always drew her sword from its sheath. One by one, without fail, she took lives. Although she was at the level of Injonma [a high-ranking martial artist], capable of emitting three or more layers of sword energy, when she used her sword, only a faint sword energy enveloped the blade, without wasting unnecessary true energy.

Her hands were delicate and sensitive, and from any stance, she chose the fastest straight sword path. And with a single red flower blooming, her opponent would die. She had learned and knew dozens of sword techniques, but now, she had abandoned them all. It was the freedom from formality that had made her who she was today.

If one were to pick the best among the 18 divisions of the Southern Alliance, it would be the Thousand Hero Flying Blade Squad, and among them, the best was undoubtedly the leader, Kang Heon-seong, the Super Light Quick Blade. He had accidentally obtained one of the ancient demonic blade techniques, the Asura Quick Decapitation Blade Technique, and he had invested 28 years in mastering it.

Even if he was a dullard, he would have achieved at least the 9th level of mastery, if not perfection, and this blade technique was second to none in terms of speed. Had he ever been this tense in his life? He had accidentally, really accidentally, discovered an intruder and witnessed him killing a master of the Alliance. And he followed him.

Judging by her slender figure, she was clearly a woman, but after seeing the terrifying scene a moment ago, such thoughts did not even cross his mind. He felt a taut tension all over his body. He was excited. He thought he had finally met a master after a long time. But he was an incredibly unlucky man. If he had suppressed his curiosity and gone back to at least raise an alarm in the Alliance, he might have been promoted by a rank or so. But what was it about that competitive spirit?

‘Stop there.’

The opponent was standing in a forest slightly off the middle of a narrow path connecting two buildings. And she did not move at all, not even turning her back. Kang Heon-seong’s beloved blade was already firmly in his hand, and upon confirming that, he was able to suppress the tension that was stiffening his body. He was relieved. At least as long as he had his blade in his hand, he was confident that he would not die an absurd death.

‘Who are you? Who are you to be killing the masters of the Alliance at this late hour? Turn around.’

‘Foolish one!’

That was the end of it. She turned around as he had said, and in an instant, she closed the three-zhang [approximately 10 meters] gap, and then something flashed. That was all.

‘No…no way…how…such…quick sword…’

He fell without even being able to swing his blade once, as if he was resentful, and a familiar blood flower bloomed on his forehead.

‘You are a truly unlucky one. You were not even on the list of targets, yet you invited death… I would have pretended not to see you if you had just followed…’

She roughly shoved his corpse aside and turned to go back to her work(!).

★ It would be miserable to die at the hands of Kwangmajon or Danjanghwa, but could there be anything more unfortunate than being targeted by this person? Cheonma Jizon [Heavenly Demon Supreme], Pa Cheon! The man who was simultaneously listed as Cheonma Scholar, Jade Face Divine Dragon, and among the top 2,000 of the Murim Five Thousand [martial arts world ranking], but whose true identity and power had reached a level that the people of the martial world could not even imagine! He was the stormy Pa Cheon, walking the path of an absolute master of the martial world.

With a bored expression, he was pacing around the Cheonhyanggak [Fragrant Pavilion], where security was the tightest and many who had mastered evil arts were stationed. He was walking back and forth with his arms behind his back, yet no one noticed him. It was a truly bizarre event, unprecedented in history. He was timing it. He was calculating the time it would take for Kwangmajon and Danjanghwa to complete their missions and return to their lodgings.

At first, he had also considered using the method of hiding in the darkness and shooting hidden weapons like the two of them, but it was not satisfactory, and he had decided to switch to a method of dealing with them all at once. Unlike other places, the ones in this Cheonhyanggak were all targets for elimination, without the need to distinguish them. Rather than killing 300 of them one by one and disposing of the bodies, he had chosen a method of sweeping them all away at once and eliminating anyone who might discover them.

Pa Cheon’s body, which had been moving back and forth, stopped abruptly.

‘By now, they should be finished, right? Good. Now it begins… Do not resent me. After all, once you have stepped into the world of Murim [martial arts world], it means you have chosen to follow the law of the jungle! I have no particular feelings for you. It is just that you are in my path, and so, I am removing you to clear the way. The fact that a person kills another person! Every time I do it, it is not a pleasant feeling…’

‘I will kill you in a way that you will not even feel pain. This is the greatest mercy I can bestow upon you.’

Sss sss sss

Pa Cheon rode the wind and slowly approached them.

‘Wh-what is that?’

The first one to discover it was a man named Doksu Gwaerang, and he stared at the beautiful sight as if he were bewitched. At that moment, the 300 or so people in different locations were all looking at it with the same feeling.

From Pa Cheon’s hands, indescribable lights shot out, and they slowly took the shape of a sword. Since his body was still invisible, it appeared to others as if a shining sword was floating in the air, and it was so dazzling and beautiful.

Whoosh

It cut through the air, yet it made almost no sound. It moved as if floating in the air, searching for the places where people were hiding and sweeping them away.

Doksu Gwaerang felt as if the beautiful light was being sucked into his eyes. And he went to hell with that feeling still intact. There were no screams. There were no traces or wounds where the sword had passed. They simply fell as if they were sleeping.

About half a quarter of an hour had passed? The light no longer floated in the air.

-Pa Cheon. You are amazing. The level of your formless sword seems to have become more mature, so you have definitely entered the realm of transcendence.

[Is that so? To me, it just seems like I can kill people more easily. Even if I enter the realm of natural sword or cosmic sword… I don’t think this thought will change. No matter how great a realm I enter, when I kill people, it is nothing more than a killing sword. Whether I cut and pierce flesh with an iron sword or kill with a formless sword… the fact that a person dies, and that I am the one who killed them, does not change.]

Pa Cheon turned and disappeared as if he had finished his task.

★ It was the first time since Palbong had entered the Southern Alliance that it had been this chaotic. Even when the Murim Alliance sent out a group of warriors, it was not this chaotic, and it was not like this even when they annihilated the Honghak Gate, which was located on the outskirts of Muchang, about ten years ago? Palbong was a servant who did odd jobs in the outer office in charge of meals for the Southern Alliance. His first task when he woke up at dawn was to fetch water and boil it. It was when he was pouring the tenth bucket of water into the pot.

‘Gurgle’

‘Murder!’

‘Intruders!’

At the sound of the shouts, he dropped the bucket he was pouring, hit his foot, spilled the water, and shed a tear at the pain. And then, the sound that burst from his mouth!

‘Damn it…’

★ It was a secret chamber where darkness held sway. It was a place so large that it would be more appropriate to call it an underground plaza than a secret chamber, and there were night-shining pearls and oil lamps in various places, but they could not completely dispel the darkness. A group of people were gathered there.

‘How many are there in total?’

‘The number of people we have found so far is 671.’

‘671?’

For a while, silence hung heavy, as if it would swallow any sound. A low groan tore through the silence.

‘Hmm! Just… what kind of bastards are they? Haa…’

‘We have already reported to the Grand Commander.’

At those words, the figure who had been sighing showed a hint of surprise.

‘…I suppose so. There will probably be a reprimand. Sau, who do you think is responsible?’

‘…I don’t know.’

In front of them, several people were moving busily between long wooden boxes. They were coffins. Hundreds of coffins were placed in the underground plaza, filling most of the space, and each one contained a corpse.

The people moving between the coffins touched the corpses, cut open their bellies, and poured some kind of liquid into them. They also cut out the wounded areas with sharp knives. And then, they were diligently writing something in small letters in a book.

Watching this scene, Sau cautiously spoke to the woman in front of him.

‘What should we do about the martial arts competition that is scheduled to start today?’

‘…Proceed without any setbacks. The only way to avoid the Grand Commander’s reprimand is to complete that without any setbacks. Otherwise, what we have built up so far… could collapse overnight. The Great Senior Brother would be pleased. If he heard the news… he would probably be laughing at us right now.’

She bit her lip.

‘Chuma!’

‘Yes, Young Mistress!’

Chuma, who was examining the corpses in the coffins far away, rushed over at her call.

‘So, what did you find in your investigation?’

‘Not yet… I need to investigate a bit more… but a few things have become clear.’

‘What are they?’

‘First! The corpses can be accurately divided into three types. One type is 162 corpses that died with bloodstains between their eyebrows, 205 with holes in their heads or twisted or broken heads, and 304 who died without any wounds.’

‘No wounds? Poisoning?’

‘That’s not it. First…’

He was subtly annoyed when she interrupted him. But wasn’t the person in front of him the esteemed Young Mistress? He didn’t show it, but his speaking speed had noticeably slowed down.

‘The wounds on those with bloodstains between their eyebrows were caused by a very fine weapon or sword energy. Furthermore, what’s even more surprising is that when we cut them open, the depth was consistent. This suggests the killer is someone who enjoys killing enemies within range with a single strike and is likely a master of quick sword techniques.

Among the corpses was Kang Heon-seong, the leader of the Cheonung Flying Blade Squad. When his body was discovered, he was still gripping his blade, and judging by the stiffness of his joints, he seems to have died before even swinging it. This alone shows how fast the killer’s quick sword is. And the inside of the wound where the sword entered and exited is slightly scorched, indicating that the killer is a master of internal energy [qi or chi] who can use sword energy.’

‘So, you’re saying that all the corpses with bloodstains between their eyebrows are the work of one person?’

‘Yes. I meticulously examined the depth, width, and traces just in case, but the consistency is so uniform that it can only be explained as the work of one person…’

‘A formidable one… What about the other corpses?’

‘The other type of corpses mostly had holes in their heads, or their heads were crushed, pulled off, or their hearts were burst, indicating a very violent method of killing. One important thing was the head of a corpse that was hanging from a tree… judging from various circumstances and traces, it was cut off by a sword sheath.

To be able to cut so sharply with the rough side of a sword sheath… it speaks of an unimaginable master. And even in the cases where there are holes in the head, even if sword energy is used, it’s impossible to prevent the flesh from being slightly pushed or torn, but this person pierced through with their hand, and the cut is very clean. It’s a level of mastery that this subordinate cannot even imagine.’

‘And?’

She was trembling.

‘As for the remaining 304 corpses, I’ve been a coroner for over 30 years… and I’ve never seen corpses like these before.

If I had to explain it, it would be natural causes.’

‘What? You’re saying 304 people died of natural causes on the same day?’

‘I don’t know either. Anyway, there were no traces on the corpses, and after investigating using 108 methods, I couldn’t find any evidence. If I had to explain it… it would be something like a heart attack.’

Even as he said it, he knew how absurd it sounded, so his last words trailed off.

‘Could it be… sound-based martial arts?’

‘No.’

He denied it firmly.

‘Those killed by sound-based martial arts would have burst blood vessels or internal organ damage, but nothing like that was detected.’

‘So, we can’t even know how many there were.’

‘That’s right. What’s certain is that there were two supreme masters and one or more unidentified killers. Especially considering the stiffness of the corpses, it seems that the two killers struck first, and then the others died almost simultaneously with a slight time difference. This suggests that there were likely multiple people involved.’

‘Multiple people moved and used unknown methods? And the internal masters nearby didn’t notice? There’s a blind spot somewhere… I understand. Good work. Continue investigating, and if you find anything unusual, report it immediately.’

‘Yes, I understand, Young Mistress!’

Cheonhyang Okbong left the place with Sau. Her face was still hidden by the veil, so it was impossible to tell what her expression was.

★ The massacre at the Southern Alliance last night had already reached the ears of the martial artists staying at the Southern Alliance, despite their extreme security, and various speculations were rampant. This incident, along with the Southern Alliance’s decision, was increasingly amplifying the suspicion.

Despite the enormous upheaval, the Southern Alliance held the martial arts competition as scheduled, as if nothing had happened. Numerous martial artists had already gathered around the prepared martial arts arena.

A canopy was set up at the center of the upper platform in front of the arena for the martial arts masters of the Martial Alliance and the righteous sects, and about twenty seats were prepared there.

People gathered around the arena, wondering how the competition would proceed. It was already past the scheduled time, but not a single person was seen in the VIP seats on the upper platform.

People were murmuring that the delay was due to the Southern Alliance massacre, which had spread rapidly this morning and was known to everyone.

‘Great Hero, this way.’

Guided by Namgung Hyeokryeon, Pachaen calmly walked towards the martial arts arena. Among their group were the figures from the Demonic Cult, such as Gwangmajon, and about ten of Namgung Hyeokryeon’s companions. As they tried to push their way forward through the crowd, some people grumbled.

‘Hey, what do you think you’re doing, pushing through in this crowd?’

Jang Han, who had said that, turned around and then quietly moved away when he saw Pachaen’s group. He recognized them as the lively descendants of the righteous sects. In the end, they were able to get to the front in this way, but they were still left standing to watch.

‘For someone like you, Great Hero, to be standing here watching…’

‘Ah, it’s alright. What’s wrong with standing for a bit?’

Namgung Hyeokryeon felt sorry at Pachaen’s reply. There were only about 20 seats on the upper platform, and Pachaen was more than qualified to sit there, but they didn’t feel they had the right to sit there. Of course, there were people who would become the next leaders of the Five Alliances and disciples of the Mount Hua Sect Leader, but their status was too low to sit in the upper seats.

You could tell where you stood in the martial world by attending such martial arts competitions.

Each martial arts competition had a certifier and invited guests. In addition, only the leaders or elders of major sects could sit in the VIP seats.

About an hour after they arrived, people began to appear in the VIP seats.

Each of them had an outstanding demeanor and a solemn aura, clearly martial arts masters. As they appeared, cheers erupted from the crowd. Pachaen had seen some of them a few times before.

One person stepped onto the center of the arena.

He was an old master who looked to be about 80 years old. He was Gu Ryung-jin, the Elder Council Head, the ‘Thousand Imprint Illusion Blade,’ and the second-highest-ranking master in the Southern Alliance. Pachaen had seen him at the righteous sects’ gathering held at the Northern Sword Association. As he stepped onto the arena, cheers that seemed to shake the sky erupted.

‘It’s Elder Gu!’

‘The Thousand Imprint Illusion Blade!’

‘Wow!’

‘Start quickly!’

As the cheers continued, he raised his hand to calm them down.

‘From now on, we will hold the martial arts competition to select the next Young Alliance Leader of the Southern Alliance. As already announced to the martial world, the winner of this competition will not only become the next Alliance Leader but will also marry the Young Mistress Cheonhyang Okbong, the Alliance Leader’s disciple and adopted daughter. The Alliance Leader should be the one to preside over this competition, but due to matters within the Alliance, I will be presiding over the competition instead. Now, let the martial arts competition begin.’

*Ding, ding, ding*

As the sound of the gong rang out, the area around the arena became noisy again.

‘The method of the competition is that anyone can come up to the arena and if they win five consecutive matches, they will be the winner. The certifier of this competition is…’

He looked around and his eyes met Pachaen’s.

‘Oh… isn’t that Great Hero Moon?’

After saying that, he jumped down from the platform and immediately approached Pachaen.

‘Why are you here? Please come up to the platform.’

‘As you can see, I have many companions. It seems that there are a limited number of seats, so I didn’t want to sit there alone.’

‘What are you saying? We can always make more seats. Please come up. If word gets out that someone like Great Hero Moon was treated poorly by our Alliance, we would be in a very difficult position. Please, come up.’

He pretended to be unable to refuse and followed him towards the platform. As Gu Ryung-jin, the Elder Council Head of the Southern Alliance and a former old master, led Pachaen with great courtesy, the people’s faces were filled with questions. As he went towards the platform, the people there stood up and greeted him. The curiosity of the crowd grew even more. Elder Gu went back up to the arena, but the people’s eyes could not leave the handsome young man.

‘Today, I would like to introduce a distinguished guest who has come to grace this occasion. He is Great Hero Moon Yoon, the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon, who holds one of the Five Thrones of the Martial World.’

‘What?’

‘The Jade-Faced Divine Dragon?!’

‘Wow!’

‘The Jade-Faced Divine Dragon!’

‘Great Hero Moon!!!’

‘Wow, wow!’

The cheers of the people were excessive and did not stop. Pachaen had no choice but to stand up and raise his hand. The cheers, which had been shaking for a while, stopped at Elder Gu’s gesture, but they were still talking about the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon.

The atmosphere was a bit chaotic and disorganized, but Cheon In-hwan did not care and continued to speak.

‘Great Hero Moon Yoon, the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon, will be the certifier of today’s competition.’

‘Wow, long live the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon!’

‘Long live, long live, long live!’

Were they about to do a three cheers of long live? The shouts of long live did not stop from the people’s mouths. The crowd was thirsty for a hero. The Jade-Faced Divine Dragon was the object of their admiration, possessing everything a hero should have. At the young age of twenty, he had surpassed the old masters of the martial world and had become one of the Five Thrones of the Martial World, the strongest in the Central Plains [the central region of China]!

How many martial arts masters could get this kind of response? It was customary for the certifier of such martial arts competitions to be the most prestigious and highest-ranking person among the participating martial arts masters, and among them, no, in the entire martial world, there was no one with a higher status than the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon.