The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 319

The Divine Doctor of the Demonic Path (319)

“The Demonic Sect might be preparing a trap. If the Blood Cloud Stronghold falls, there will be no forces left in the north to support them. Conversely, the Divine Demonic Merchant Guild will expand its influence in the north even further. From the Demonic Sect’s perspective, this is an unwelcome situation. Therefore, they will definitely be prepared for a surprise attack.”

“Hmm…”

“Above all, it’s important to minimize our allies’ casualties right now. Although we’ve united with a common goal, if unexpected losses accumulate, it wouldn’t be surprising if we turn against each other. It’s better to take a longer route and move cautiously to achieve definite results.”

Bayan nodded in agreement.

He almost overlooked that.

‘Indeed…’

Dan Akseon was right.

Although they were united now against a common enemy, the situation could change at any time if one tribe suffered disproportionate casualties.

According to the law of the jungle that governs the grasslands, a strong tribe could forcibly subjugate a relatively weakened tribe.

“Considering both possibilities, it’s wise to wait now.”

Bayan was inwardly impressed by Dan Akseon’s insight.

Even if both predictions turned out to be wrong, time was on their side anyway.

The best the Blood Cloud Stronghold could do was to preserve its forces intact.

On the other hand, their forces were increasing at an accelerating rate.

This was because more tribes were joining them as they continued to win battles against their enemies.

“Then I’ll look into whether there are any figures within the Blood Cloud Stronghold who can be won over.”

“Is there anyone suitable?”

At Dan Akseon’s question, Bayan smiled meaningfully.

“Betrayal is difficult the first time, but not so much the second time.”

“Ah!”

Dan Akseon could guess who Bayan was referring to.

‘Was it Bilge?’

The man who had sworn brotherhood with Bayan.

He was originally the grandson of the great chieftain Han, but he betrayed his grandfather and sided with the Blood Cloud Stronghold.

Having betrayed his own blood for profit, he was likely to be conflicted about his choice now that the Blood Cloud Stronghold was faltering.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Until then, please focus on gathering strength. Now that the Blood Cloud Stronghold is tied down, it’s a golden opportunity.”

“Understood.”

At Dan Akseon’s words, Bayan and the other tribal leaders all nodded in agreement.

* * *

Late into the night, around 2 AM.

The atmosphere inside the ger, the only one lit up in the Blood Cloud Stronghold’s main camp, was very serious.

“Is it true?”

“It is.”

“The Dark Lord… is dead?”

“…”

“That Six Demon Lords… how could he…?”

Gal Yeom-ui frowned at Borute, who was repeating himself with an incredulous expression.

To think that the leader of the Blood Cloud Stronghold was half out of his mind, muttering such pathetic words.

‘A mere puppet.’

Gal Yeom-ui, who had belatedly received instructions and hurriedly arrived here with a large number of assassins from the Black Night Squad (黑夜閥) [a group specializing in covert operations and assassinations], was inwardly dumbfounded.

He even doubted the intentions of the Demonic Sect in placing such a man at the head of the Blood Cloud Stronghold.

However, the task at hand came first.

“This is an order from the Sect.”

Borute, who received the letter from Gal Yeom-ui, took something out from his chest.

It was an item provided by the Demonic Sect.

He rolled up the letter and put it in a container the size of a finger, then twisted the lid.

When he opened the container and took out the letter again, red letters that were not visible at first appeared clearly.

—Cooperate with the Black Night Squad to eliminate the Divine Doctor of the Demonic Path.

Borute, who had been silent, scowled at Gal Yeom-ui’s sudden words.

“From now on, follow my orders.”

“How amusing. What authority do you, who isn’t even one of the Six Demon Lords, have to command me, who reigns over this grassland?”

Strictly speaking, the Blood Cloud Stronghold and the Black Night Squad were in a cooperative relationship.

Their status under the Demonic Sect was the same.

Borute reached out and grabbed his spear.

At the same time, figures emerged from the darkness.

Assassins who had been hiding in the night like ghosts.

There were thirty of them.

They were all wielding sharp hyeopbong swords [thin, flexible swords favored by assassins], the signature weapon of the assassins of the former Assassination Guild (殺幕).

Even when faced with the assassins who surrounded him as if to besiege him, Borute did not back down.

“What nonsense.”

Rather, he growled softly, his eyes flashing with murderous intent as if his violent nature had been triggered.

“Don’t be mistaken. The one I feared was the Dark Lord, not someone like you.”

Gal Yeom-ui smiled bitterly at Borute’s murderous aura.

Even a cornered rat could bite a cat.

The coward in front of him was just like that.

To be honest, it wouldn’t be difficult to take his head with just a word.

They were only scary when they were riding horses and forming groups, but their martial arts weren’t that great individually.

Nevertheless, Gal Yeom-ui couldn’t kill Borute after all.

He, too, could not be free from the orders from above.

Gal Yeom-ui, who covered his rising murderous intent with a sigh, opened his mouth.

“The Demonic Sect has instructed us to do only one thing. And that is to kill the Divine Doctor of the Demonic Path.”

“If that were as easy as saying it, the Dark Lord wouldn’t have ended up like that.”

Gal Yeom-ui’s eyes flashed coldly at the other party’s constant grumbling.

He stared at Borute silently for a moment.

Gal Yeom-ui opened his mouth.

“Do you think you can keep that position without my help?”

“What?”

“It was a position you couldn’t have risen to on your own in the first place. It was possible because the Dark Lord was watching over you.”

“You…”

“I’ll ask you just one thing. What’s different between then and now?”

At those words, Borute closed his mouth.

The anxiety that those who were dissatisfied with him might rise up at any moment now that the Dark Lord’s death was known began to creep in.

As if he knew that would happen, Gal Yeom-ui smirked.

“Focus on internal control of the Blood Cloud Stronghold for now. And cooperate with us when the opportunity to kill him arises. That’s what you have to do. Until then, we’ll cooperate so that you can keep that position.”

“You speak as if you can easily kill anyone you want?”

Borute’s voice was full of dissatisfaction, as if his pride had been hurt.

Gal Yeom-ui smirked as he met his sharp gaze.

“Who do you think we are?”

With those words, Gal Yeom-ui’s figure blurred and began to melt into the darkness.

And soon disappeared before his eyes like dissipating mist.

The same was true of the thirty assassins who had been surrounding him.

Borute felt a chill down his spine at their ghostly stealth technique, which disappeared without leaving any trace.

The Assassination Guild (殺幕), a legendary group of assassins unprecedented in the history of the Murim [martial arts world].

Theirs 암연환허(黯然換虛) technique [a high-level stealth and concealment technique, literally “Dark Fading Illusion”], which was claimed by their descendants, was hard to believe even when seen with one’s own eyes.

‘Damn it!’

Borute gritted his teeth so hard that they were about to break.

The absence of the Dark Lord.

To think that his existence, which he had only feared, would become so desperately needed.

He was afraid of the assassins’ swords that might fly in from anywhere, but he was even more concerned about his subordinates who might suddenly revolt.

‘I have to prove my worth.’

Borute felt anxious.

Because for the Demonic Sect, replacing someone was nothing if they were deemed unnecessary.

* * *

One particularly clear day.

Dan Akseon, who had left the ger, walked up a low hill.

There wasn’t much to see in the winter grasslands.

The vast expanse of land and the sky that stretched endlessly.

And only the occasional cold wind.

It was a landscape that could be felt as barren, but Dan Akseon liked this place very much.

This was because he could enjoy an unparalleled sense of solitude with the silence that came after the wind stopped and the unobstructed view as companions.

Dan Akseon turned his head and smiled at the place where the gers were gathered in the distance.

The warriors of the grasslands were busily moving and preparing something.

The heretics of Murim, who were now quite close to each other, were mingling with them.

The men facing each other began to wrestle, pushing and pulling each other.

It was a kind of traditional wrestling called ‘Bukh’ [a traditional Mongolian wrestling style] in their language.

It was also one of the few pastimes of the grassland tribes.

At first, the Murim heretics overwhelmingly dominated.

However, the warriors of the grasslands protested something, and when the match resumed, the situation changed.

The Murim heretics, who prided themselves on being skilled, were knocked out without being able to withstand a few moves.

It seemed that they had agreed to compete on equal terms without using internal energy.

And in the end, the warriors of the grasslands, with their experience and skill, won.

A moment later.

When the warriors of the grasslands brought their horses, the Murim heretics got on the horses with dissatisfied faces.

It seemed that there was a bet going on.

The warriors of the grasslands began to drive the Murim heretics mercilessly.

It was clear at a glance that they were teaching them horsemanship.

They, who had initially kept their distance from each other, were now bound together by an inseparable camaraderie.

Regardless of ethnicity and culture, they were now comrades and brothers who had shared life and death.

Dan Akseon, who had taken his eyes off them, stretched his legs out on the hill and lay down.

Then, he looked up at the cloudless blue sky and was lost in thought.

How long had it been?

Dan Akseon, who was having a rare leisurely time, turned his head at the familiar presence.

Cho Akryang, who had approached nearby, gave him a gentle look.

“Will you tell me now?”

“Yes?”

Han Seolhwa, who had walked with Cho Akryang, asked Dan Akseon, who was puzzled.

“The reason why you organized this expedition with a small elite force.”

Generally speaking, it would have been much more efficient to mobilize a large number of Murim warriors.

No matter how specialized they were in grassland combat, their significance would be insignificant in the face of an overwhelming difference in power.

Moreover, there were many skilled warriors who wanted to follow Dan Akseon.

Dan Akseon smiled and replied.

“I wanted to prepare for any possible dangers.”

“Danger?”

Dan Akseon nodded at Cho Akryang’s question.

“Yes. As I said before, I judged that the Demonic Sect wouldn’t just stand by and watch the Blood Cloud Stronghold disappear. Moreover, since we don’t have Uncle Beom, I thought that the Demonic Sect might pour out all their forces.”

Cho Akryang snorted.

“Even if that guy isn’t here, there’s no need to worry about the gap in our forces. Rather, he’s a troublesome guy who doesn’t know where he’ll bounce.”

“Anyway, I thought that the Demonic Sect would consider extreme methods as well. If I were in the Demonic Sect’s position, I would have wanted to eliminate you two at all costs, even if it meant great sacrifice.”

“Us?”

“In fact, you two are the center of this subjugation force.”

Cho Akryang and Han Seolhwa looked at each other with an inwardly dumbfounded look.

No matter what anyone said, the center of this subjugation force was Dan Akseon.

But only he didn’t know it.

Unaware of their inner thoughts, Dan Akseon continued to speak.

“I thought that even if we faced the worst-case scenario, it would be possible to minimize the damage and retreat with a small elite force.”

But the situation went far from what he had expected.

This was because the Demonic Sect’s response was more passive than expected.

“No matter how I think about it, it’s strange. Why aren’t they launching an all-out war?”

In the worst case, the possibility that all the remaining Six Demon Lords would be deployed could not be completely ruled out.

“Do you have any idea?”

“As of now, I can only think of one reason.”

Dan Akseon, who had been contemplating for a while, turned his gaze towards the direction where the Giryeon Mountains were located.

“I’m starting to suspect that it’s not that they’re not coming forward, but that there’s a reason why they can’t.”

“Is there a reason why you think so?”

Dan Akseon paused at Cho Akryang’s question.

After a moment of hesitation.

“Maybe…”

Dan Akseon, who had been hesitant, continued to speak after much deliberation.

“The Demonic Sect kidnapped my parents to treat the Heavenly Demon. But Potala Palace said that the Heavenly Demon might be dead. Moreover, I’m also concerned about what the Dark Lord left behind.”

The story that his parents couldn’t have died as doctors.

Based on that information, Dan Akseon was able to establish one hypothesis.

A moment later.

Cho Akryang and Han Seolhwa couldn’t help but be surprised at Dan Akseon’s words that followed.

“Could it be that my parents killed the Heavenly Demon?”