The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 454

Shinma’s Physician (454)

Dan Akseon nodded at Jo Maengbang, who remained silent.

Everyone has unspeakable circumstances.

Even so, he was grateful at that moment that Jo Maengbang hadn’t uttered a lie.

“The reason I wanted to see Uncle Jo was to tell you this.”

“……?”

“I’m sorry.”

Jo Maengbang’s eyes widened in bewilderment.

“Why are you apologizing? The death of my second son is not your fault, Doctor Dan.”

It was true that he resented the Shinma Medical Clan’s doctors, but from the beginning, he had no intention of shifting the blame to Dan Akseon, who wasn’t even present.

“The reason I apologized isn’t because of that.”

Jo Maengbang paused at Dan Akseon’s words.

“Even if I had been there, I would have made the same choice.”

Dan Akseon’s eyes were filled with sorrow.

The death of a blood relative with whom he had spent most of his life, constantly facing life and death, was a heavy burden. He understood the sense of loss and pain.

However, the doctors of the Shinma Medical Clan were by no means people who acted for personal gain.

To them, the patient’s origin or background was unimportant.

They were simply trying their best to save as many people as possible.

And this was the same for Dan Akseon.

Jo Maengbang trembled as he clenched his fist.

“Why did Maengsan have to die?”

Jo Maengbang’s shout echoed throughout the area.

“Why?!”

“……”

“The doctors of the Shinma Medical Clan abandoned our brothers to save the Head of the Hyeongsan Sect. Is that the reward for our brothers who had devoted themselves so much to Muwi [a martial arts alliance]?”

Of course, his brothers hadn’t been working hard in the hope of any reward.

But still, wasn’t blood thicker than water?

They were doctors who would ask how they were doing when they met each other.

But when they were turned away at the crucial moment, the betrayal and anger were beyond words.

Jo Maengbang, who had vented his resentment that had been building up in his heart, stared at Dan Akseon with a heavy gaze.

“Please. Do not get involved in this matter.”

Dan Akseon shook his head.

“I can’t, Uncle Jo. You’ve chosen the wrong target to resent.”

“What do you mean……?”

“If you need someone to resent, resent me. After all, all this misfortune started because of me.”

It was his intention to gather the will of the Jungwon Murim [Central Plains martial arts world] and strike Shinji [a demonic cult], and it was also his intention to ask the Moorim’s [martial arts world] Demonic Path people to participate.

In the end, if you traced the cause of this tragedy, Dan Akseon couldn’t deny his responsibility.

However, Jo Maengbang’s thoughts were different.

“That is an insult to our brothers.”

Jo Maengbang opened his mouth again without giving Dan Akseon a chance to answer.

“Participating in the subjugation of the Demonic Sect was, after all, our brothers’ will and choice. I don’t want that belief to be denied. So don’t apologize like that again.”

“It’s the same for me.”

“……?”

“The doctors of the Shinma Medical Clan also chose their patients according to their beliefs.”

Unconcealable embarrassment flickered in Jo Maengbang’s eyes.

Dan Akseon continued to persuade Jo Maengbang, who was speechless and embarrassed.

“And I’m the one who gave the doctors of the Shinma Medical Clan that policy.”

Jo Maengbang’s face contorted at Dan Akseon’s attempt to take all the blame upon himself.

“Why do you have to go so far……”

“I don’t want to lose any more precious relationships.”

“So you didn’t kill my men.”

“Because they are precious relationships to you, just like me.”

Jo Maengbang’s eyes wavered.

Sometimes, eyes filled with sincerity have more persuasive power than a thousand words.

That was the case right now.

When he faced Dan Akseon, he was unknowingly calming down.

But that was only for a moment.

Jo Maengbang gritted his teeth and regained his composure.

“But it’s already gone too far.”

The short but precious memories of Muwi were the same.

It had been a long time since he had decided to give up on everything.

“You’ll have to kill me instead. And if you didn’t know, I used to live like this. I haven’t changed; I’ve just returned to my original place.”

“No. There’s still a chance.”

At those words, Jo Maengbang twisted his lips and answered by grabbing his sword.

Dan Akseon smiled wryly at Jo Maengbang’s self-deprecating eyes.

It was a very sad smile, worse than not smiling at all.

“I’m not going to back down here.”

“Then one of us will have to die.”

“No. I’m going to help Uncle Jo and treat Uncle Maengjin. I’ll be by your side until that happens.”

“Wh, what do you mean……”

Jo Maengbang’s voice trembled in embarrassment.

“That’s what happened in Muwi. Just because the place has changed doesn’t mean our relationship has to change.”

At that moment.

Jo Maengbang heard something cracking somewhere deep in his heart.

“Ha…… Aren’t you being too harsh?”

Jo Maengbang eventually dropped the sword he was holding helplessly.

“What am I supposed to do if you do that……”

Hot tears streamed down Jo Maengbang’s cheeks.

How long had it been?

He slowly raised his eyes and met Dan Akseon’s gaze.

His eyes and expression were somehow much lighter.

“Do you really think you can reverse the current situation?”

“Of course.”

“Then what should I do……”

Jo Maengbang couldn’t finish his sentence.

Suddenly, he vomited blood from his mouth.

Looking down at his chest, he saw a blood-stained blade protruding from his chest.

The blade that had penetrated his chest from behind.

Jo Maengbang, who recognized that it was Akjin’s unique weapon, Swaegeom [a chained dagger], gritted his teeth and looked back.

“Akjin…… How dare you……”

He was more bewildered than angry at his subordinate’s betrayal.

But all that came back was a cold sneer.

“You were so confident that you would strike the Hyeongsan Sect, but you were persuaded by one person and broke the will of your brothers. You are not qualified to be the head of the clan.”

Chwaak.

As Akjin pulled the chain in his hand, Jo Maengbang’s chest split open and hot blood gushed out.

“Uncle!”

Dan Akseon hurriedly supported Jo Maengbang.

However, the energy of life was rapidly disappearing from Jo Maengbang’s eyes.

It was too late to do anything.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

Jo Maengbang smiled wryly with his blood-stained face.

“Take care of the youngest……. Please take care of Maengjin……”

In the end, Jo Maengbang dropped his head without finishing his words.

After staring down at Jo Maengbang for a moment, Dan Akseon slowly raised his hand and closed the eyes of the man who had died in his arms.

“Did a great tiger get caught in a trap to catch a fox?”

It was then that he heard the voice of a beast full of ridicule.

“I came to crush the Hyeongsan Sect, but I’ve made an unexpected fortune. Shinma’s Physician…… I’m scared of how lucky I am.”

Dan Akseon carefully laid Jo Maengbang on the floor.

And slowly raised his body and cast his gaze towards the sneering Akjin.

Their eyes met.

At that moment, Dan Akseon was able to read the greed in the other person’s eyes.

No surprise.

“I heard that even the fearsome Shinma Three Venerables are no different from gentle sheep in front of you?”

The fact that the Shinma Three Venerables cherished Dan Akseon was already widely known throughout the Murim [martial arts world].

In other words, if he secured Dan Akseon, it wouldn’t be impossible to use the Shinma Three Venerables like his own limbs.

If he succeeded, it would be a great achievement that would never happen again.

Dan Akseon, who finally realized why he had betrayed Jo Maengbang, gritted his teeth.

The evil that wriggles inside human beings.

He was really sick and tired of measuring its depth.

The indescribable terrible anger soon turned into an uncontrollable hatred that filled his chest.

In the end, Dan Akseon raised Mukryong [his weapon].

The surrounding air around Dan Akseon seemed to freeze coldly.

A clear, dark trajectory cut through the air.

It was right after that that the faces of the bandits, including Akjin, were filled with astonishment.

“……”

They looked down at their feet with surprised eyes.

There was no sign of a loud explosion or a dazzling flash.

However, at their feet, a long crack was opening up as if it had been there from the beginning.

The cross-section was smooth like marble, and the depth was beyond imagination.

However, Dan Akseon, who created this, swept over the crowd with eyes as cold as ice.

“Everyone who mourns this man’s death……, and everyone who is angry, step back from that line.”

Everyone’s faces hardened, and they groaned.

However, most of them were glancing at Akjin and trying to read his expression.

“I’ll ask one last time. Is there really no one among you who regrets this man’s death?”

No sooner had those words ended than laughter erupted from behind Akjin.

“It sounds like you’re the best expert in the world just by the way you talk.”

The men who stepped forward with obvious ridicule.

The thirty or so men who were lined up behind Akjin were the ones who had a unique presence that Dan Akseon had felt since he first entered this place.

The thirty or so men who appeared between the two sides of the Blood Flame Clan held long weapons such as spears and long skewer-shaped Bunsuja [a type of polearm].

Through this, Dan Akseon could sense that they were preparing a Yeopsu Formation [a battle formation] to deal with experts.

The man with the hawk-like nose, who was standing at the front of them, chuckled and opened his mouth.

“I don’t think this is the time to mourn anyone?”

Dan Akseon responded with silence and glared at the other person.

On the other hand, a confident smile appeared on the face of Akjin, the vice leader of the Blood Flame Clan.

The experts directly dispatched by Sajoongak [a powerful figure].

The Changlang Squad, the vanguard for Sadoil Tong [a high-ranking position], was them.

They were selected from within the Janggang Sumaeng [a river-based alliance], and they were rumored to be as skilled as they were cruel.

The number of experts from the Nine Great Sects who had fallen at their hands already numbered in the hundreds, and many of them were called Myeongsook [renowned figures].

In order to strike the Hyeongsan Sect, Sajoongak readily gave up his direct attack squad like this.

“There’s no need for the limbs to be intact. As long as they’re alive, we can negotiate with the Shinma Three Venerables.”

The man who led the Blood Wolf Squad grinned and nodded at Akjin’s words.

“Let’s go.”

No sooner had those words ended than the Changlang Squad began to rush towards Dan Akseon like arrows.

Confirming this, Akjin issued an order to his subordinates belonging to the Blood Flame Clan.

“Let’s start too!”

No sooner had those words fallen than the Blood Flame Clan members grabbed their weapons and rushed towards Dan Akseon.

In their hands were hooks connected to ropes.

It didn’t have great destructive power in itself, but there was no better weapon to restrict the opponent’s movements.

Even if they only blocked the opponent’s movements by entangling them like a spider web, they would have already achieved their purpose.

And at that moment.