Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 183

Ninth Dragon Chronicles (183)

“You can’t even find a trace now?”

“That’s right. It’s as if he never existed. The whereabouts of Gwonma Cho Dan-un, the predecessor, are unknown, completely lost in the fog.”

Jegeol Tak of the Jeongcheon Alliance sat facing Deputy Chief Mi Hyang of the Government Department, discussing Gwonma Cho Dan-un, who had briefly appeared in Shanxi and Gansu provinces before disappearing.

“Are you sure it’s Hwama Hyeolsu Fist [Fist of the Blood Demon]?”

“Yes, the intelligence departments of the Beggars’ Sect, Hao Clan, and the Four Blood Alliance have all confirmed it.”

“He has only appeared twice recently, and there was only one witness who couldn’t remember his appearance, so we couldn’t secure a facial composite.”

“So, you’re saying we can’t find him until he reveals himself again.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s the same.”

“Pardon?”

“Like the martial artists who appeared in Shanxi Province.”

Mi Hyang recalled the martial artists she had temporarily forgotten upon hearing Jegeol Tak’s words.

“New prodigies appeared as if a chaotic era was about to begin, and then they disappeared like a lie on the same day. Don’t you find it a bit strange?”

Mi Hyang couldn’t answer.

“Their appearance and disappearance are strange. It’s as if they appear and disappear as needed, taking orders from a single organization.”

Mi Hyang became suspicious at Jegeol Tak’s words and asked,

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean everything started when the Nine Dragons Stronghold established itself in Shanxi.”

“The Nine Dragons Stronghold?”

“Before the Nine Dragons Stronghold, there was the Black Snake Gang. After they were annihilated, the Nine Dragons Stronghold was established, and then the Red Tiger Clan was destroyed, revealing the Sixteen Remnant Sword and Heavenly Flower Dance.”

Mi Hyang quietly listened to Jegeol Tak’s words.

“Then, when the Eumsa Clan intervened, the Minor Sacred Divine Art suddenly appeared, and when the Nine Dragons Stronghold struggled in the fight against the Four Blood Alliance, the Hwama Hyeolsu Fist appeared.”

“Are you suggesting that the Nine Dragons Stronghold is behind all of this?”

“I’m not saying the Nine Dragons Stronghold is behind it, but I was wondering if someone behind the scenes is controlling the Nine Dragons Stronghold.”

“Ah…….”

“Isn’t the leader of the Nine Dragons Stronghold from a military special forces unit called the Fierce Tiger Death Blood Squad?”

“That’s right.”

“And I heard that the Fierce Tiger Death Blood Squad attacks and annihilates forces that threaten the safety of the Central Plains [the heartland of the martial world]?”

“That’s how it was investigated. Could it be that you think the military is involved in this?”

Jegeol Tak shook his head.

“Then…….”

He nodded, as if knowing what Mi Hyang was trying to guess and say.

“The military is an organization that cannot move independently. It’s a rather rigid group that only acts on orders.”

“Isn’t that a bit of an overreach? Why would the Imperial Palace try to destroy the Murim [martial arts world]?”

“From the Imperial Palace’s perspective, the Murim is always a place with many threats. The Murim helps with security and participates in wars for the safety of the country from time to time, but when the country is stable, the Murim becomes a necessary evil, so the Imperial Palace would try to manage it to some extent.”

Mi Hyang thought Jegeol Tak was going too far, but on the other hand, it seemed to make sense, so she couldn’t voice her thoughts.

“Unlike the Murim, Gwanlim [government officials] is unknown, so it may be more dangerous. Mention to the sects belonging to the Alliance that they should be especially careful.”

“Understood. And Chief!”

“Speak.”

“The Jongnam and Hwasan sects have learned about the agreement you made with the Four Blood Alliance regarding the handling of the Nine Dragons Stronghold leader’s aftermath and have requested an explanation.”

“Jongnam and Hwasan?”

“Yes. Apparently, when Namgung Cheong-ya was in the Nine Dragons Inn to protect Namgung Jin and Namgung Yeon-ah, the Four Blood Alliance sent Wi So-bong to control Namgung Cheong-ya, and Wi So-bong told them about the conversation between you and Sama Maeng, the chief of the Four Blood Alliance.”

“So, they told those who came down from Jongnam Mountain and Hwasan?”

“It seems Hwasan and Jongnam did so because they feared a bloodbath would occur with the appearance of the Hwama Hyeolsu Fist.”

“If Hwasan and Jongnam raised objections, the other Nine Great Sects must also know.”

“I expect so.”

“I understand. I’ll discuss it with the Alliance Leader and take care of it. Do we have anyone on our side in the Nine Dragons Inn or the Nine Dragons Stronghold?”

“In what sense are you asking?”

“Someone specialized in special operations such as intelligence, kidnapping, and assassination.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Then plant people in the Nine Dragons Inn and the Nine Dragons Stronghold.”

“Understood.”

“Is there anything else I need to know?”

“No. I will inform you immediately if any other unusual matters arise.”

“Do so. I appreciate your hard work.”

Mi Hyang bowed her head and left Jegeol Tak’s office.

“Hoo.”

She took a deep breath and tilted her head.

“The idea that the Imperial Palace is keeping the Murim in check seems a bit far-fetched, but the Chief has never been wrong with his predictions…….”

Mi Hyang thought she should find out more about the Imperial Palace.

“If the Imperial Palace is trying to keep the Murim in check, as the Chief said, it would be good to prepare countermeasures, but can the Murim resist the Imperial Palace’s actions?”

Even if the Emperor decided to release the Heungchin Guard and Yongchin Guard [elite imperial guard units] into the Murim, the Murim would be devastated.

Also, it is known that countless martial artists from the Imperial Palace would come out into the Murim and cause a bloodbath, and even the Demonic Cult of the world would have to flee to avoid the bloodshed, as there are so many masters.

“This time will be different. And there’s no way the Imperial Palace would carry out such a complicated task.”

She didn’t think they would devise such a complicated plan to be mindful of public sentiment.

The Murim is, after all, a world of gangsters, so public sentiment is not good. No, the world of Murim doesn’t help them live, so they would rather it not exist.

The Imperial Palace knows this public sentiment, and the Murim itself knows it too.

“The people are on the side of the Imperial Palace, not the Murim.”

* * *

There are a total of one hundred and forty-six assassin clans operating in the Central Plains, and more than fifty of these are not even considered third-rate assassin clans.

There are seventy-two assassin clans with proper personnel and systems. Among these clans, some have made a big name for themselves in the Central Plains, while others are known only to those in the know and secretly carry out contract killings.

“Huff… Huff… I can’t seem to grasp how this illusionary formation is structured.”

Hwa-rin once circulated the Assassin’s Ledger [a registry of assassins] to the assassin clans, issuing a summons to those who recognized her as the successor and leader of the Killing Star.

A whopping seventy clans responded to Hwa-rin’s Assassin’s Ledger and summons.

As Hwa-rin commanded, they selected two talented disciples from among their junior members and entrusted them to Hwa-rin. To provide these disciples with proper assassin training, Hwa-rin set up the Illusionary Chaos Maze Formation, one of the Illusionary Shadow Secret Arts of the Beggars’ Sect, in a cave she discovered in Mount Oh, and pushed in one hundred and eight junior disciples.

The characteristic of the Illusionary Chaos Maze Formation is that the environment of the formation changes once every hour. If one fails to pass through the maze within the time limit, the path to escape continues to change as the environment transforms.

Furthermore, Hwa-rin planted illusions that allowed the junior disciples to perform assassinations in various environments for their training. The junior disciples of the assassin clans trapped in the Illusionary Chaos Maze Formation had no choice but to undergo martial arts training along with forced assassin training.

“Gang Chan, hurry up. There’s not much time left.”

There was someone shouting at the grumbling Gang Chan, and it was none other than Sa Do-jun.

Sa Do-jun possessed outstanding martial arts skills, enough to be listed among the Ten Dragons and Eight Phoenixes [renowned martial artists], but he too was training with the junior disciples of the assassin clans in the Illusionary Chaos Maze Formation.

They were in a cave in Mount Oh, but the Illusionary Chaos Maze Formation made them mistake it for being inside an old temple.

Gang Chan, who was called out, hurried. As Sa Do-jun said, if they were late and the formation changed, the efforts they had made for an hour would turn into nothing.

Jin Dam-woo, the young master of the Blood Clan, stepped forward to help Gang Chan, and Nak Il-yeong of the Blood Branch also lent a hand.

“Bae Young-hwa, Bo Sang-guk, take the rear.”

It was Sa Do-jun who was commanding them. Sa Do-jun hadn’t commanded them from the beginning.

They naturally established a hierarchy while experiencing all sorts of things in the various environments of the Illusionary Chaos Maze Formation, and they moved according to that hierarchy.

As a result, Sa Do-jun was the most outstanding among them, and he naturally came to lead them. None of those training together had any complaints about this.

The junior disciples judged that Sa Do-jun was not lacking in any aspect, whether it was martial arts, judgment, or the drive to take action, so they trusted and followed him.

As they gradually got in sync and a system was established, their movements changed, and as much as their changes, they achieved noticeable results, gradually adapting to the Illusionary Chaos Maze Formation.

“There are many enemies in the front. There’s not enough time to deal with them all.”

When Gang Chan told Sa Do-jun, Sa Do-jun moved immediately.

“Gang Chan and Jin Dam-woo only target and eliminate the targets. The rest clear the way so that Gang Chan and Jin Dam-woo can approach the targets.”

As Sa Do-jun’s orders were issued, the junior disciples moved. There was no hesitation in their movements.

They were assassins, but they didn’t always face the imaginary enemies with assassin methods. If necessary, they would charge straight in and subdue the opponent, as they were doing now.

Cheeeeng!

Clearly, they were trapped in the Illusionary Chaos Maze Formation and fighting against enemies created by illusions, but in reality, swords clashed, sparks flew, and they were wounded when cut by swords.

Therefore, they were desperately struggling to survive in the Illusionary Chaos Maze Formation, fighting against the enemies created by illusions.

As their comrades fought the enemies and cleared the way, Gang Chan and Dam-yeong-woo charged through them, running relentlessly towards their only target.

On both sides of the two, their comrades ran with them, fighting the imaginary enemies who were trying to stop them and preventing them from interfering.

With the help of their comrades, Gang Chan and Dam-yeong-woo were able to reach the front of the target.

The target was a man who could be called a giant, with a large height and sturdy physique, and thigh muscles as solid as the waist of an average adult male.

He held a Beheader’s Blade [a large, heavy sword] in his hand, and when Gang Chan and Dam-yeong-woo approached him, he mercilessly swung the Beheader’s Blade.

Dam-yeong-woo stepped forward and blocked the Beheader’s Blade with his sword. However, he couldn’t overcome the force and was thrown backward, and Gang Chan instantly snatched Dam-yeong-woo by the scruff of the neck and threw him into the air using centrifugal force.

Dam-yeong-woo soared into the air for a moment, rising higher than his giant-like opponent, and as he fell downwards, he gripped his sword with both hands and struck down forcefully. In response, Gang Chan poured all his strength into throwing the sword in his hand, aiming for the giant’s heart.

“Disappear!”

With the help of internal energy [qi or chi], the sword flew like a ray of light, and the giant tried to block Jin Dam-woo’s attack by raising the Beheader’s Blade as he fell from the air and struck with his sword.

Jjeoeeoeong!

A powerful shockwave erupted as the sword and Beheader’s Blade collided, creating a vortex of energy around them. Nevertheless, the sword thrown by Gang Chan pierced through the vortex of energy and pierced the giant’s heart.

“Is it over?”

A large hole was created in the giant’s heart, but the giant was still standing there.

“Is it too late?”

From experience, if they had defeated the giant within the time limit, the giant and his subordinates would have disappeared, and they would have been given a sweet break, but the giant and his subordinates were still standing there.

“Fall back. Everyone, gather!”

Sa Do-jun also recognized the situation and quickly issued an order. As the junior disciples retreated and gathered where Sa Do-jun was, the surrounding environment changed.

Just a moment ago, they were inside a temple, but now they were standing in front of the gate of a huge and wide manor.

“It’s an assassination. The target is the lord of the manor. I know it’s hard for everyone, but let’s put in a little more effort. Bo Sang-guk will take the target, and Yeongcheon-sang and Bae Young-hwa will assist. And the rest will assassinate all the martial artists of the manor.”

They clearly knew that what they were seeing was an illusion created by illusions, but their expressions were more serious than anyone else’s.

“Let’s go!”

Sa Do-jun went over the wall of the manor first, and the others followed, entering the manor over the wall.