Chapter 235: Reward, Follows

Yeo Su-in was anxious.

Even though the time to return had passed, none of his subordinates were coming back.

An ominous feeling flashed through his mind and hadn’t left since.

This task shouldn’t have been difficult. When the fight broke out between the Great Demon and the Virtuous Heroes, they just had to step in and swing their blades a few times.

Considering the skills of his five subordinates, it was as easy as picking up a pouch dropped on the ground.

In plain terms, something could’ve gone wrong.

They might’ve been caught by the Great Demon or faced a joint attack from the elders.

But it was impossible for all five of them to lose contact.

Ultimately, Yeo Su-in couldn’t stand it any longer and left the room.

In the darkness, the area around Baekseon Pavilion was truly a sea of blood.

The Great Demon stood there with a miserable expression where corpses were piled like mountains. The surviving subordinates were gathering the bodies in one place.

Familiar faces.

Most of the masters from the Elder Hall who had come along were dead. They had been completely wiped out.

Then, a single corpse caught his eye.

“Perhaps?”

The Great Demon’s eyes widened.

The corpse was none other than the commander.

Well, his existence had become meaningless anyway. Since the Demon Army had also suffered immense damage, they would have to be reorganized or disbanded.

In comparison, there were no recognizable faces among the opponents.

The corpses of White Dragon, the Demon Youth, the Demon Buddha, and the Ghost Blade, who was crushed beyond recognition, were gathered in one place. Even the corpse of Phoenix, who had been killed by Lee Jaseung.

While his own subordinates had suffered in great numbers, there were only five corpses of the enemies.

The Great Demon couldn’t believe it.

“Just who are these people?”

There was no one around who could answer that.

Just then, an old man opened his mouth.

“I see it now.”

He was Wu Zheng, an old master from the Elder Hall. Fortunately, he hadn’t died in this commotion, and he realized the truth about the smoke late.

“That smoke… yes, it’s the Black Ghost Eye.”

“Did you say the Black Ghost Eye?”

“It’s a peculiar item that allows one to secure vision through smoke if they wear an eye patch. I’d only heard rumors and didn’t know it actually existed. It really did.”

“Damn it!”

The Great Demon clenched his fist. It was useless to find out what had hit them now.

“Where is Yeo Su-in?”

Then another subordinate spoke cautiously.

“He’s nowhere to be found no matter how much we search. It seems he escaped.”

Ultimately unable to contain his rage, the Great Demon threw a punch.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground split and flipped over from the concentrated Qi released from the Great Demon’s fist.

“Aaahhhh!”

The Great Demon screamed, unable to contain his fury.

“Yeo Su-in, if I don’t kill that rat-like bastard, I’m worse than a dog!”

The thunderous shout reached a giant tree far away.

There was a person watching that sight from atop a branch.

It was Yeo Su-in, with a terrifyingly stiff face.

He was even angrier than the Great Demon.

The poison that had been advancing burst out again and was circulating through his blood vessels.

But Yeo Su-in didn’t care.

The volcano Mujin had built in his heart erupted silently just now. The anger that had been accumulating, but which he’d struggled to suppress, exploded.

Killing intent poured out from Yeo Su-in’s entire body.

White Dragon, Phoenix, the Demon Youth, the Demon Buddha, and the Ghost Blade were his most cherished subordinates. They were more trustworthy because they were subordinates he had obtained from the outside, not those recruited from within the Demonic Cult.

The subordinates he’d spent fifteen years raising had all died in an instant.

Yeo Su-in’s eyes burned intensely.

He would surely eliminate that goddamn Great Demon. He would eliminate his subordinates one by one as well.

He would dry their blood with the extreme fear that their turn might be next. He would make them die the most painful deaths.

“You bastard. You messed with the wrong person.”

What he had unleashed was a human’s most primal rage.

* * *

“Congratulations.”

Lee Jaseung smiled at Baek Seolyoung’s congratulations.

“Am I the one who should receive congratulations?”

As he said so, Lee Jaseung looked at Dan Woobin. Fearing he might credit the achievement to himself, Dan Woobin spoke quickly.

“Of course, it’s the Alliance Leader who should receive congratulations.”

“Then I’ll receive them on behalf of everyone for now. Thank you.”

It was still too early to celebrate. It was a situation where they didn’t know how Yeo Su-in would act yet.

Instead, reducing the power of the Asura Demon Sect significantly was indeed something to toast.

Then Mook Young’s voice was heard.

“A little while ago, Yeo Su-in realized all his subordinates were dead.”

“How did he react?”

“He was just watching.”

Mook Young couldn’t get very close to Yeo Su-in. No matter how injured he was, he was an opponent whose martial arts skills were far superior to his own.

So he couldn’t tell exactly what his emotions were. He had only seen him from a distance. But one thing was certain.

“He seemed very angry.”

Lee Jaseung smiled at those words.

“From now on, put every effort into all security.”

There was no telling what a severely wounded beast like Yeo Su-in might do.

Mook Young could tell that this order was especially with Baek Seolyoung in mind. Even without such an order, Mook Young now served her as his true master. He would protect her even if it meant sacrificing his life.

“Understood.”

Lee Jaseung asked Dan Woobin.

“Where are Captain Mu and Captain Ma?”

“They’re at the training grounds right now.”

“At the training grounds?”

Lee Jaseung wore a puzzled expression. He had given a special vacation for a few days to the subordinates who participated in the mission. Of course, he also gave each of them a fairly large sum of money.

Normally, it was a great achievement that warranted a month-long vacation, but given the circumstances, he couldn’t do that.

“Is it a rebellion against the short vacation?”

When Lee Jaseung asked with a laugh, Dan Woobin answered.

“If that were the case, I could at least scold them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that.”

Lee Jaseung gave a strange smile.

There was a reason he had sent them. When an almost impossible mission is achieved, there is a reward that naturally follows.

A reward far more important than vacation or money.

* * *

Mujin and Ma Young-gi were having a duel.

It was a duel for the first time in a very long time. After having a duel once or twice in the early days, they hadn’t done it since.

Furthermore, it became even more difficult after they each became captains. Since they were in positions leading subordinates, they couldn’t have duels recklessly.

Ma Young-gi had requested this duel first.

Mujin might have snapped at him, asking what kind of duel this was instead of drinking, but he accepted the duel readily.

He could tell that Ma Young-gi was trying to gain some kind of enlightenment.

Swish!

Ma Young-gi’s staff crossed the air quickly and roughly.

In terms of actual skill, Mujin was a step ahead.

But today, this duel was almost neck and neck.

Ma Young-gi’s fierce attacks continued.

Last night, Ma Young-gi had felt something while swinging the staff he received as a gift at Baekseon Pavilion.

His whole body felt tingly, and he felt as if he could fight better from now on.

He knew well what that feeling was. It was the signal that one’s martial arts were about to grow, or had grown, by one stage.

Whoosh!

Ma Young-gi was demonstrating his skills to the fullest. It was a power that would crush bones even with just a graze. He could do this because his trust in Mujin was great.

Slash! Bang!

Two distinct sounds.

Ma Young-gi was pushed back with a slide. Ma Young-gi’s clothes were torn in a long line. It was a situation where his arm could have been cut off if he had been unlucky.

Mujin looked down at his own arm.

There was a dark bruise on his arm.

On the surface, it looked as if Mujin had been hit, but it wasn’t so. If Mujin hadn’t made a concession, Ma Young-gi’s arm would’ve been cut off.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, I’m okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ma Young-gi bowed his head deeply with a shameful face.

“It seems your skills have improved huh?”

Ma Young-gi wore a joyful expression at Mujin’s words.

“It seems so.”

Through this duel, Ma Young-gi could tell. He could tell that his skills had risen by one stage.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

At the level of Mujin or Ma Young-gi, one never knows where their skills will improve. It was because masters were those who gained enlightenment even while using chopsticks, to put it jokingly.

In this case, it was the result of using the new weapon Lee Jaseung sent, added to the experience of using the Ghost Eye for the first time, leading to an advancement in martial arts. Of course, these were just small catalysts, and the biggest reason for the advancement was that he had reached a state where he was ready to rise.

“Why aren’t you congratulating me?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I feel like I should receive congratulations too.”

At those words, Ma Young-gi could tell. He could tell that Mujin had also gained something.

Although his martial arts skill hadn’t increased, Mujin felt many things this time.

It was the best performance of his life. No, the word performance wasn’t enough. After entering Baekseon Pavilion, he became the person named Jin-pa.

When he was alone with Yeo Su-in, he truly risked his life.

In a situation where he could’ve lost his life just like that, he had snored.

It was something not just anyone could do, and it wasn’t an experience easily gained either.

Mujin felt it. He felt that something that wasn’t there before had been created in his heart.

A certain wise and steadfast mind that was difficult to explain in words.

It was a different kind of thing from simply surviving several brushes with death on the battlefield.

“Looking at it, our Lord is truly amazing. How does he know we’d gain this kind of enlightenment? He should lay out a mat in the marketplace.”

“Then people would line up to offer their entire fortunes.”

“What if I lay it out?”

“Women would line up to offer something else.”

Then Mujin smirked.

“I like that better.”

Ma Young-gi laughed along.

The two were enjoying this sweet reward that follows an effort made with their very best.

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