Emperor’s Sword [EN]: Chapter 86

“What in the world is going on?” These were the words Military Advisor Je Gal Cho Hong spoke to her attendant. The attendant seemed at a loss, not knowing what to do in her presence. “When did the Mad Demon leave this place?” “That… well… I don’t know either.” Je Gal Cho Hong’s hands trembled as she looked at the letter before her. She read it once more. (To the Military Advisor, I am going to save her. I would prefer it if you did not inform the Supreme One. Unless I return with her, it would be okay to show this letter to the Supreme One. I have pondered and hesitated greatly, but she is, after all, my only wife. If I had not known of her plight, perhaps it would be different, but knowing, I cannot help it. Rather than live with this shame, I would rather die. My life already belongs to the Supreme One, so I know this choice is disloyal, but for the first time in my life, I wish to risk my life for someone I must take responsibility for, not myself. Thinking about it now, I think I understand a little how difficult and arduous the path the Supreme One has been walking. Having many people to be responsible for seems to be a pain even greater than death. If I am lucky, I may be able to meet you again alive, but if not, I will beg forgiveness from the Supreme One even in death. I leave, trusting in you. I would prefer it if you did not inform the Supreme One. I am proud that you have become one of us. Then, let us meet again later. Whether in hell or on this earth… Mad Demon Lord) Je Gal Cho Hong had revealed everything to Pa Cheon not long ago, and in return, she had come to know a certain extent of Pa Cheon’s true nature. This also meant that she had been acknowledged as one of Pa Cheon’s people to some degree. She knew that he was the Heavenly Demon Scholar, the Jade-Faced Divine Dragon, and that he was plotting to dominate the martial world. Of course, she knew much more than this, but she did not know that he was the Supreme One of the Heavenly Demon Sect. She truly served Pa Cheon as her lord and revered the Mad Demon Lord as her superior. Her mind was in utter chaos and could not be settled. She blamed herself, thinking that the current situation was due to the information she had given the Mad Demon Lord about the Heavenly Fragrant Jade Peak, but regretting it now was useless. ‘I must inform the Great Lord. There is no chance he will survive if he infiltrates that place alone and tries to rescue the Heavenly Fragrant Jade Peak. No matter how powerful the Mad Demon Lord’s martial arts are, that place is still a dragon’s den! It is definitely not a place where one can guarantee their life alone. I must inform him quickly. If something happens to him, I will be left with eternal regret.’ She quickly left the room. ★ A dilapidated but vast manor located on the outskirts of Luo Yang was known to people as the Mysterious Heaven Field. A scholar named Dam Sa Woo, one of the great Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty, was sacrificed in a conspiracy by powerful figures who controlled the government at the time. He returned to his hometown, lamenting his era where he could not realize his ideals, and secluded himself, devoting all his efforts to nurturing talent here. Later, the Mysterious Heaven Field became a renowned academy where talents from not only Luo Yang but also within a thousand miles gathered, and its fame spread. However, now it was just an old manor where only its name was passed down. Once, Song Baek Yu, one of the wealthy merchants of Henan Province, admired and honored Dam Sa Woo and took over the Mysterious Heaven Field as his residence, but as his family fortunes declined, it was seized as collateral by the Golden Toad Battlefield. This place had now become a demonic sanctuary where 1,600 members of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s Demonic Emperor Heavenly Guard resided. Three people entered this place. Not long after they entered, the manor appeared unchanged on the outside, but a demonic aura that soared into the sky shook the heavens for a moment. They were none other than the Heavenly Demon, the Shadowless Lord, and Yul Geuk. The Heavenly Demon’s gaze was fixed and unwavering, putting pressure on those present. The disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect, facing the legendary Heavenly Demon Ancestor, could barely breathe and had their heads bowed to the ground. Yul Geuk, still behind the Heavenly Demon, casually picked his nose with one finger. Only the Shadowless Lord, the eldest of the 12 Demonic Sons, stood behind the Heavenly Demon, while the remaining members of the 12 Demonic Sons, who were the squad leaders of the Demonic Emperor Heavenly Guard, and Sa Hwa, including Dan Jang Hwa, also kept their eyes fixed on the ground. There was no change in their movements, as if something terrible would happen if the distance between their eyes and the ground deviated even by an inch. The Heavenly Demon, with a pleased smile, spoke in a loud voice. “All of you, raise your heads.” Only after his command did they barely raise their heads to look at the front, but their gazes still revealed an undisguised fear and a boundless respect. Not only was his appearance frightening, with a blue face, red hair, and only one arm, but also his domineering aura that made all demons submit made them cautious even when swallowing their saliva. The Heavenly Demon opened his mouth and showed his majestic appearance to them. “You are the proud descendants of me, the Heavenly Demon.” He began a long speech with ambiguous words, whether he was proud of himself or his descendants. “There are not many who can trouble you under this sky. Now, you and I will secretly carry out a mission. I urge you once again to move in perfect order without any errors according to my orders, and if… if you ignore my orders, act individually, or show any mistakes, I will hold you accountable without mercy. You do not need to think, just move according to my orders. Avoid unnecessary killings, but for the sake of the mission, you must be able to kill even the emperor of this land without hesitation. Never forget. You are the disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect, the only ones under heaven and above.” “Understood.” “The 16 squad leaders, including the Shadowless Lord, are to gather in the conference room immediately.” “Understood.” ★ The voice of the person speaking in the darkness was low, but Sa Chung Gil could not think of it that way. He listened carefully, not wanting to miss a single word, and his face showed an undisguised determination. “The money spent to get you out was a whopping 300 gold taels. If this goes as we intend, 1,000 gold taels will be returned to your remaining family. Of course, you can do it well, right?” Sa Chung Gil clenched his fists and made a bold promise. “Do not worry. I am more than happy to be able to repay my family for the suffering they have endured because of me, even if it is just this much. Since I was already facing death as a death row inmate, if I can die for my family, I will do anything. Do not worry, sir.” “Yes. As soon as the job is done, the money will be paid to your family. Do not worry about anything and make sure to finish the job well.” “Understood.” ★ The Great River Escort Agency was, before the Martial Alliance began to enter the commercial world in earnest, the largest escort agency in the Central Plains. It was a huge organization with 24 branch offices in 12 provinces of the Central Plains and over 7,000 escorts. An escort agency is a group that safely transports goods to their destination and receives payment for it. In order to maintain an escort agency in the harsh martial world, strong martial power was required, and in order to meet this, a large amount of money had to be spent to secure masters. In the case of ordinary small and medium-sized escort agencies, there was usually one chief escort leader and two deputy escort leaders under the agency head, and 30 to 60 escorts. In addition, there were dozens of porters who carried goods or took on difficult tasks. In contrast, the Great River Escort Agency had one chief escort leader, ten deputy escort leaders, and 200 escorts under each branch office head. The number of porters was usually twice the number of escorts. Therefore, the number of personnel in a branch office alone was over 600, including the porters. There were twenty-four such branch offices throughout the Central Plains, so its size was beyond description. The head of the Great River Escort Agency was Gu Gi Ja, the Azure Dragon Swordsman, who was once a top master of the martial world. Now approaching seventy years old, he was a self-made man who had grown the Great River Escort Agency to its current prosperity over 40 years since he was thirty years old. The Great River Escort Agency was inextricably linked to the Great Merchant Guild, a coalition of wealthy merchants in the Central Plains. It was originally established with funds invested by several wealthy merchants, and even now, it was acting as their feet, responsible for the distribution and escort of the Great Merchant Guild’s goods. Compared to the Martial Alliance, which mobilized the manpower of its branches scattered throughout the Central Plains or absorbed small and medium-sized escort agencies, the Great River Escort Agency had a relatively well-established system. In particular, recently, as the Demonic Alliance began to dominate Jiangnan, there were disruptions in the Martial Alliance’s transportation of goods, so their sphere of activity was expanding further. Ban Baek Su, the head of the Guangzhou branch of the Great River Escort Agency in Guangdong Province, the Soul-Chasing Killing Sword, had taken every precaution in preparing for this escort mission. It was the first time since he became the head of the Great River Escort Agency’s branch office that he had transported such a large amount of goods, and it was also the first time that half of the branch’s personnel had been mobilized. He personally led the escort mission, and five deputy escort leaders, one chief escort leader, one hundred escorts, and twenty porters were mobilized. The goods they were transporting were commissioned by the Guangzhou branch of the Golden Toad Battlefield for a down payment of 500 gold taels, and a contract was signed to pay the remaining 500 gold taels upon the successful completion of the escort mission. An escort mission worth a total of 1,000 gold taels was not common. Even Ban Baek Su, the branch head, thought that the highest amount he had ever received since he became the branch head of Guangzhou was 300 gold taels, so it was not unreasonable for him to personally take charge. The goods they were transporting were five black carriages that were sealed on all sides. It was unknown what was inside. Originally, it was the rule to specify the contents of the goods when signing the contract, but this time, the Golden Toad Battlefield side added a condition that the contents could not be disclosed, so Ban Baek Su readily agreed. If, by any chance, an unfortunate event occurred and the carriages were seized, they would have to pay 2,000 gold taels in compensation. Whether the contents were worth that much or not was not a reason. If the contract conditions were not satisfactory, they did not have to do it, and if they did, they had to make the escort mission a success no matter what. Fortunately, there were almost no elements that could threaten their escort mission in Guangdong or Fujian provinces, so they could relax. Two people dispatched from the Golden Toad Battlefield accompanied them. In the case of important goods, it was common for the client to accompany them. They rode alongside the branch head and had various conversations. Branch head Ban Baek Su was curious about what the goods were and tried to lead them on, but it was as if they had a lock on their mouths, and he could not hear a single word. About 100 escorts surrounded the five carriages, guarding the perimeter, and 20 porters became the drivers of the carts carrying the five carriages and the supplies needed for their escort mission. A characteristic of this escort mission was that there was no need to unload the luggage, so the number of porters was only twenty. In this respect, this escort mission might have been relatively easy. It was a distance that would take two full days to reach Jianning in Fujian Province at the current speed. Ban Baek Su encouraged his party and increased their speed. ‘Once this escort mission is over, I should take Hyang Wol and go sightseeing in Hangzhou. Hehe, only I know how much this contract is worth, so no one will know if I put about 100 gold taels in my pocket. How great would it be if things like this happened in a row?’ Ban Baek Su had a satisfied smile on his face. The group, who had left early in the morning, had a late lunch in the forest. Since this escort mission was not very far, they had prepared food and water when they left the branch office. They gathered the carriages in one place and sat around them to eat. They did not forget to set up about 10 guards even during the meal. Ban Baek Su ate with the two people from the Golden Toad Battlefield and cautiously brought up the topic. “But let me ask you one thing. I know that the Golden Toad Battlefield usually handles most of its own escorts… What on earth is that thing that you commissioned us for? Well, we are happy to do such a large escort mission… I’m just curious.” The two people dispatched from the Golden Toad Battlefield stared at branch head Ban Baek Su. One of them opened his mouth. “Do not try to know. We do not know either, and even if we did, we could not tell you.” ‘Tch, could it be that there are gold bars inside? Well, if the Golden Toad Battlefield has planned such a large-scale escort mission, it is likely… If there are really gold bars inside, then five carriages worth… Whew, this is nerve-wracking.’ Ban Baek Su swallowed. Once, he had been active in the green forest [a euphemism for bandits] in his youth. Of course, he was only a low-ranking martial artist at the time, but thinking about it now, he thought that time was good. Since he took over as the head of the Guangzhou branch of the Great River Escort Agency, he had been able to secretly embezzle some of the escort fees and accumulate a considerable amount of wealth. His current life was enviable. He was also a celebrity in Guangzhou, and he lived a wealthy life, showing off his considerable wealth. As he got older, his obsession with wealth grew stronger, and recently, some of the branch’s operating expenses were also going into his pocket. For him, the reward from this escort mission was a large sum, rare in recent times, and it was sure to make his life even more prosperous. While he was engrossed in these thoughts, the escorts were finishing their meals. The two people from the Golden Toad Battlefield had already finished their meals and stood up. Their appearance seemed to be urging the escort mission, which made Ban Baek Su feel displeased. “Okay, everyone, eat quickly and hurry to get ready to go.” At Ban Baek Su’s shout, the chief escort leader and deputy escort leaders busily urged the escorts. They hurried on their escort mission again. They had to reach Chaozhou, located at the edge of Guangdong, by tonight at the latest. The escort mission was going smoothly. By now, the anxiety that they always had when the escort mission began had disappeared to some extent. Well, there was no way they would encounter any difficulties in such a large-scale escort mission. Since the green forest bandits had merged with the Demonic Alliance, the risk of having goods stolen had relatively decreased, and at most, it was only those who had a conflict of interest with the client who would attack. There were not many organizations in the martial world that were bold enough to lay their hands on the goods commissioned by the Golden Toad Battlefield and transported by the Great River Escort Agency. Both were places with considerable power that could not be ignored, so they would not openly target the goods, and even if they hid their identities, the only places that could mobilize that level of force would be the Martial Alliance and the Demonic Alliance. Neither of the two places was so impoverished that they would steal goods, so this escort mission was already secure. ‘Since the Demonic Alliance and the Martial Alliance have been in fierce confrontation, escort missions have been smoother. In such a sensitive time, they tend to refrain from actions that would draw attention, and neither the wandering vagrants nor the nameless sects would dare to target our goods.’ They were not worried at all, so their nerves were relaxed. But right then, something happened that caught all of their attention. The most common sign that appeared before those who were targeting goods was when there were obstacles placed on the road. Ban Baek Su raised his hand. At his signal, the escorts surrounded the goods more tightly in one motion and guarded the perimeter. After tilting his raised hand forward several times, one of the deputy escort leaders and five escorts moved quickly towards the obstacle in front of them. The obstacles blocking the road were logs. They completely blocked the front, and anyone could see that someone had intentionally placed them on the road. The six people who had gone ahead, separated from the group, investigated the logs and the surrounding area, and some of the group jumped up onto the slope that slanted up the side of the road. Their movements as they looked around were familiar actions honed by long escort missions. Ban Baek Su, watching their actions, tilted his palm inward and then outward at the signal from Deputy Escort Leader Jo Jin Cheon that there was nothing wrong. It meant to quickly remove the obstacles. The escorts circulated their internal energy and pushed the logs to one side. ‘It’s strange. It’s definitely something someone did intentionally, but there’s nothing wrong… This is just like the method I used to use when I was young, it’s unsettling.’ They hurried on their way again. After a while, the tension they had felt a little while ago disappeared without a trace, and a relaxed atmosphere once again permeated the group. “Everyone, stop.” Ban Baek Su said, raising his hand again. “What kind of bastards are playing these pranks?” He was dumbfounded. This time, they had piled up a lot of small rocks, which were not very large, in the middle of the road. He had the surroundings investigated again, but there were no traces, just like before. They had to encounter several obstacles in a short period of time. However, the obstacles were not so great that they were difficult to remove, so the group was able to move forward quickly. After repeating this several times, they began to get annoyed. They were about 40 li [approximately 20 kilometers] away from Chaozhou. By now, it was getting dark, so the group’s movements began to speed up. The road that had been confusingly winding in front of them was now struggling to climb a low hill. Once they crossed that, they would be able to see Chaozhou in the distance. They mustered their strength. Puhwak Chwak

It was while Ban Baek Su was yawning and wiping away a stray tear with the back of his hand that the ground suddenly split open, and masked figures in black sprang out.

Hehehehe.

“Ugh!”

“Gack!”

In an instant, the masked figures cut down the guards from below. There were only about fifty of them, but their movements were so unexpected that the guards fell without being able to defend themselves. Ban Baek Su was jolted awake.

“Protect the carriages!”

Even before his shout, the chief guard and the other guards had gathered around the carriages, forming a defensive formation. However, this was after about thirty casualties.

What surprised Ban Baek Su most was the martial arts of their opponents.

‘These guys… they’re not ordinary.’

Before he could finish his thought, he was already attacking the enemies.

Clang!

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Screams of the guards echoed from all directions. The people of Geumhwa Trading Company were also caught off guard by the surprise attack.

“Fight with all your might!”

Even without Ban Baek Su’s desperate command, they were doing their best. The problem was that the enemies were stronger than them. Some of them flew into the air and headed straight for the driver’s seat of the carriage. Ban Baek Su became frantic.

“You bastards!”

He swung his Qinggang sword [a type of straight sword] at a few of them. The sword energy soared and cut through the enemy’s neck, but what met his sword was not the enemy’s neck but a deformed blade with a curved back.

“Now that I see it… you guys are…”

He recognized the blade.

‘Damn it, these guys are from the Demonic Cult. That crescent blade is the signature weapon of the Crimson Moon Clan, a branch of the Green Forest [a term for bandit groups]. Why are they here?’

He was greatly surprised that the opponents were masters of the Demonic Cult, and moreover, that they were members of the Green Forest, where he had once been. The guards, who were stronger than ordinary Green Forest bandits but not quite top-tier masters, were helpless against the elite of the Crimson Moon Clan. Seeing this, Ban Baek Su was enraged.

“These bastards! Are the masters of the Demonic Cult after the goods?”

It was a pointless question. The slaughter had already begun and there was no stopping it. It was clear that they would be annihilated if things continued this way. He quickly thought. If this continued, the problem would not just be the loss of the goods, but their complete annihilation. He had to make a choice. Would he die pointlessly trying to protect the goods, or would he make the meaningful decision to flee to save his life? What he had left behind in Gwangju was proving useful in this situation. He was a man with many regrets and attachments to life.

“Everyone, abandon the goods and retreat!”

By the time Ban Baek Su made his courageous decision and shouted, all the porters were dead, and only the chief guard, four of the five deputy guards, and twenty guards were barely alive.

They had never been so happy to hear his orders. They quickly left the battlefield. Surprisingly, the enemies, who seemed to be Green Forest bandits, did not block their path. It was as if they wanted them to escape. Even as he fled, Ban Baek Su turned his head and looked back. In his eyes, a masked figure raised his blade in the air and cut down the people of Geumhwa Trading Company in one fell swoop.

‘Fools.’

He sneered at the two people of Geumhwa Trading Company in his mind. No matter how important the mission or the goods were, it was only important while they were alive. Once they were dead, it was all meaningless.

The difference between a trading company and ordinary martial artists was this. Among the enemies they encountered during their travels, there were some that the guards could not handle. In such cases, they would willingly give up the goods and retreat. In a way, it was not that their lives were more important than the goods, but rather to minimize losses. If the enemies were stronger, the goods would be theirs anyway. In that case, it was better to save the lives of the guards and bring profit to the trading company. Of course, the trading company would have to compensate for the lost goods, but this would be deducted from the salaries of the guards who participated in the journey. This did not happen often, but when it did, if they knew where the goods were stolen, they could pay a certain amount and get them back, or they could resolve the matter by paying other compensation. If they did not know the opponent, they would have to pay the full compensation. For this reason, about 20% of the total annual net profit of the trading company was always reserved as a compensation fund. After the guards of Daeha Trading Company ran away, the fifty or so figures in the field drove the carriages out of the area. They drove for a while, and when they came to a fork in the road, they headed in a direction other than Chaozhou.

“Hahahaha, this is what we’re good at. The duty of the Green Forest is to steal other people’s things. What a thrill!”

The voice came from the figure riding in the lead carriage. A masked figure riding next to him said,

“Chief, do you think there’s really gold in that carriage?”

His eyes were filled with undisguised greed. The man called Chief looked at him and replied indifferently.

“Who knows? We’re just doing what we’re told.”

“Hehe, I don’t think anyone would notice if we took some of it for ourselves.”

“You rotten bastard. Don’t talk nonsense. If we get caught, we’re all dead. If you want to trade your life for gold, go ahead.”

“Whoa, whoa…”

“Hehehehe.”

“What is it?”

The masked figure riding next to the chief pulled on the reins, and the two horses pulling the carriage reared up and stopped abruptly. The chief’s urgent cry came out in an instant. A cloud of dust rose, and through it, they could see the figures of strange men wearing black robes that reached the ground.

“Wh-what are those?”

There were only about ten men blocking the road, but the atmosphere they exuded was extraordinary.

“Get out of the way. What rabble dares to block the path of the Demonic Cult?”

He was terrified and blurted out the name of the Demonic Cult. This was Jiangnan [a region in China], and at least in Jiangnan, there wouldn’t be many who would dare to challenge the Demonic Cult. However, it was common for general assumptions to be wrong. In that sense, the strange men in front of him were mysterious to the masked men’s chief. It was unclear how old they were, what they did, or which sect they belonged to. They didn’t even cover their faces with masks like they did. Yet, they seemed so vague to him, and the reason was unclear.

“Wh-who are you?”

A chilling voice came from one of the strange men just as the chief finished speaking.

“Kill them all.”

Swoosh!

They moved as if an eagle that had been crouching with its wings folded had spread its wings and taken flight. They approached in an instant, and by the time they realized they had approached, the attack had already begun.

“Damn it… everyone, fight!”

The chief also leaped forward and swung his crescent blade. The opponent raised a black hand and clashed with the blade.

Clang!

“Gack!”

At that moment, he felt a tightness in his chest and his lower body lost all strength.

‘H-how did this happen?’

He went to hell without ever knowing what had happened. The blade shattered the moment it touched the bare hand, and a bluish energy cut through his waist. The opponent was not a master of the level he had imagined. That was the beginning. The strange men, shrouded in silence, easily broke the Green Forest masters like reeds swaying in the wind with their bizarre attacks.

“Ugh!”

“Th-they’re not human!”

“Gack!”

Bang!

A black energy that seemed to be palm force, accompanied by a tearing sound, swept through, while a strange weapon shaped like a scythe cut through necks. Some were using a pickaxe to crush bones, and a ghost-like figure was crushing bones by constricting bodies like a suction cup. Their martial arts were beyond anything they could handle.

The fight was one-sided, and the difference from the guards of Daeha Trading Company was that they did not leave a single person alive, and none of the Green Forest masters tried to escape. In any case, fifty men were easily killed by ten as if they were providing entertainment.

“Erase the traces and take the carriage. This is too disappointing… if the masters of the Central Plains are at this level…”

“Let’s go.”

Thud thud thud thud.

They left only silence in the field and disappeared in an instant.