Chapter 234 : Ghost Eye, Awakens
Chapter 234: Ghost Eye, Awakens
The Great Demon clenched his teeth as he looked at the corpses of the Four Great Sons lying side by side on the floor of the private room where Yeo Su-in had stayed. An unbearable stench was wafting from the bodies, which had begun to rot in earnest.
The commander reported the findings of the investigation.
“They say the bastard stayed in this private room and spent money like water. For someone on the run to use such a method, he’s got truly amazing guts.”
“Why did the Four Great Sons move independently?”
“Isn't it obvious? They likely wanted to take all the credit for themselves.”
Since there was no room to think otherwise, the Great Demon’s face contorted. He was truly enraged to the top of his head. For the sake of mere reputation, they had ruined not only their own lives but his entire plan as well.
Furthermore, the Four Great Sons were the subordinates he had trusted most.
“You’re saying the injured Yeo Su-in killed them all?”
At the Great Demon’s question, a man who had been examining the bodies from the side stood up and spoke.
“It wasn't him.”
He was none other than Wu Zheng, an old master from the Elder Hall. He was a man of great depth regarding various fields of martial arts as well as the situation in the Jianghu.
“The cause of death for these men is completely different from those who have died at Yeo Su-in’s hands so far. Besides, judging by the technique, this isn't the work of one person.”
“You mean he had help.”
“That’s right.”
Wu Zheng nodded.
The Great Demon’s expression hardened as he asked the commander again.
“Does no one know where the bastard went?”
“No, no one knew.”
“Torture the courtesans more!”
“Yes, I’ll find out even if I have to wipe them all out.”
This was the territory of the Murim Alliance, but he was no longer in a position to be picky.
The sacrifices made so far to catch Yeo Su-in were too great. In short, he had already crossed the bridge of no return.
The Great Demon stepped outside because the smell of rotting corpses was irritating. The commander and the elders followed him out.
The night was already deep and the day was cloudy, so the surroundings were pitch black.
Right as they walked a few steps out of the building!
Bang!
Iron balls that flew around them exploded with a thunderous sound.
Reflexively, the Great Demon pulled up his protective Qi. Fortunately, it wasn't the Heaven Shattering Thunder.
Smoke rose up in clouds around them. It was a much thicker and more powerful smoke screen than usual.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of smoke bombs exploding was heard from all directions.
“Be careful! It’s an ambush!”
At the Great Demon’s shout, the commander and the masters who had come with him guarded all sides.
“Find out where those came from!”
The demon soldiers who had been waiting outside the wall flew in one after another.
Just then, a cold warning was heard from beyond the building in the distance.
“How dare you try to stand against the Young Cult Leader! This place will be your grave.”
It was Mujin’s disguised voice.
But the Great Demon didn't know that. For him, who was full of nothing but hatred for Yeo Su-in, there was no room to consider the circumstances in this urgent situation where smoke was rising.
The Great Demon’s eyes narrowed into long slits as he realized the opponent was Yeo Su-in’s subordinate.
“You bastards! Kill them all!”
* * *
Bang! Bang! Bang!
White Dragon was startled by the thunderous explosions coming from all sides.
Smoke that spread in an instant covered the surroundings.
White Dragon quickly held his breath and covered his nose and mouth. Fortunately, it wasn't poison gas but ordinary smoke.
“What is it? What’s this commotion?”
The three masters who had joined later, including the Demon Youth, were just as surprised. They knew that the Virtuous Heroes and their leader hadn't arrived at the establishment yet.
Phoenix had gone outside to watch their movements. The fact that she hadn't returned yet meant the Virtuous Heroes hadn't arrived.
“What on earth is this smoke?”
It was then. Someone shouted from beyond the wall.
“You dog-like traitors! How dare you draw in the mongrels of the Murim Alliance and try to kill us! This place will be your grave today!”
It was indeed Ma Young-gi’s disguised voice.
But no one realized it was Ma Young-gi’s voice.
White Dragon’s eyes turned cold.
“How did they find out?”
Whew! Whew!
The sound of whistles signaling an emergency echoed from all directions.
“We’re already surrounded.”
“It can't be helped. We’ll wipe them all out and get out.”
In truth, they weren't surrounded yet. Those who blew the whistles were the warriors of the Divine Sword Regiment. It was a means to stall for time and make the Great Demon’s soldiers completely surround the place.
White Dragon spoke to the other three.
“Since things have turned out this way, there’s no choice. Let’s scatter, eliminate as many of them as possible, and then get out of here.”
The other three masters nodded.
They scattered cautiously in all directions. Because it was dark and the smoke was thick, their movements were very careful.
* * *
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sparks flying in the darkness were the struggle to take each other’s lives.
It was hard to see ahead because of the thick smoke. The smoke, which seemed like it would vanish quickly, didn't disappear easily.
They couldn't see each other well, but because they were original masters, they fought by relying on their senses.
Clang, clang, clang! Clang, clang!
The result of the bloody battle in the darkness and smoke came out.
Thud!
A Buddhist staff made of iron crushed the opponent's head.
The fallen person was Yong-noe, an elder of the Asura Demon Sect. He was once a well-known master within the sect, but he couldn't overcome the power of time.
With his relatively diminished senses, he couldn't be the winner of a midnight bloody battle filled with smoke.
Whoosh, whoosh.
The one swinging the giant Buddhist staff was none other than the Demon Buddha.
The muscular, bald-headed man was covered in blood.
“Damn it! Why won't this goddamn smoke disappear?”
It was right when he turned around while venting his complaints.
Swish!
Someone approaching from behind suddenly lunged with a sword.
“Not a chance!”
He swung his staff and blocked it.
Clang! Clang!
The sword kept flying in. The sword was fast and accurate. It was to the point where he wondered how someone could thrust a sword so accurately in this darkness.
Swish! Swish!
It was then.
Two more swords flew in from the left and right simultaneously.
“Damn it!”
He couldn't block them because he was busy blocking the sword coming from the front.
The Demon Buddha twisted his body.
He avoided the sword from the left, but he couldn't avoid the sword from the right.
Stab!
At the moment the sword sank deep into his right side,
Thud!
Another sword pierced his back.
The Demon Buddha tried to swing his staff in all directions.
Stab!
The sword from the front, which had made the first surprise attack, pierced his heart.
“Cough!”
Blood flowed from the Demon Buddha’s mouth along with a cough.
The owner of the sword approached him.
Only then did the opponent's face appear through the smoke.
“……What is this?”
It was Mujin, wearing a black eye patch over one eye.
Men also revealed themselves from the sides and back. The warriors of the Divine Sword Regiment were also wearing black eye patches just like Mujin.
That eye patch was a peculiar item called the Black Ghost Eye. It was used as a set with the smoke that had been set off earlier. When wearing the Black Ghost Eye, the figures inside the smoke would glow, allowing their outlines to be recognized.
The same effect could be achieved when using it at night. Therefore, the effect was doubled when using the Black Ghost Eye at night. With the darkness plus the smoke, it could literally turn the opponent into a blind man with his eyes open.
It didn't work in just any smoke. It only worked within that specific smoke used as a set.
The effect of the Black Ghost Eye might not be that great when facing just one enemy. It would be enough for the enemies to just run out of the smoke.
But right now, two forces were fighting while tangled with each other. It was truly a situation where the effect of the Black Ghost Eye could be maximized.
The only disappointing point was that the smoke only lasted for one hour.
The sound of screams was breaking out from all directions.
The place was truly a shambles.
On the Great Demon’s side, they were under the illusion that the number of opponents was much higher than it actually was.
This was because Mujin and Ma Young-gi were leading their subordinates and eliminating everything they saw.
Of course, their ultimate enemies were Yeo Su-in’s subordinates.
“Let’s go.”
Four men followed behind Mujin, who took the lead.
The five Black Ghost Eyes disappeared into the darkness again.
* * *
Stab!
White Dragon let out a single scream as he looked at the long sword protruding from his chest.
He wanted to shout a grand insult at the opponent taking his life, but he couldn't tell who had stabbed him from behind.
Right when he was about to shout an insult at the man standing in front of him instead,
Thud!
His head was crushed by a staff swung by the man, and he fell just as he was.
White Dragon usually pierced the necks of his opponents with a weapon as sharp as a skewer, and coincidentally, his breath was cut short by a weapon of similar shape. It was just as coincidental as hearing the same insult from Mujin that he’d heard from Yeo Su-in.
The person who killed him was Ma Young-gi.
The staff in Ma Young-gi’s hand was the very one Lee Jaseung had sent as a gift. When it was used in actual combat, it truly became a terrifying killing weapon.
Just like Mujin, he was moving in a team of five. Because they were all wearing Black Ghost Eyes, they moved through the darkness as if it were broad daylight.
Swish!
A hidden weapon flew in at that moment.
“Watch out!”
Ma Young-gi threw his body and struck away with his staff a dagger that was about to hit a Divine Sword Regiment man’s face.
In the meantime, another Divine Sword Regiment man threw a hidden weapon toward the direction where the attack had come from.
A scream was heard in the darkness.
“Thank you.”
The man whose life was saved bowed his head. Ma Young-gi took large strides after patting his shoulder.
“Let’s do the greetings later.”
The five wearing Black Ghost Eyes disappeared into the darkness.
* **
“What on earth is going on?”
Phoenix’s gaze toward Baekseon Pavilion was dark.
Screams were heard endlessly.
The Virtuous Heroes who were coming this way changed direction and headed back to the Murim Alliance.
She had returned to Baekseon Pavilion to deliver that news, but in the meantime, Baekseon Pavilion had turned into a battlefield.
‘Could they have clashed with the Great Demon?’
The original plan was to make the Great Demon and the Virtuous Heroes fight.
Naturally, they had no plan to fight in their stead just because the Virtuous Heroes didn't come here.
Their second plan, if the first failed, was to hide here. They just had to avoid the Great Demon’s pursuit and hide in Baekseon Pavilion to recover from their injuries as originally planned.
‘But why?’
She couldn't tell just how a conflict had arisen.
There were four people on her side anyway.
But the screaming was continuing.
Judging by these two facts, it could be seen as a situation where her colleagues were continuing to kill the Great Demon’s subordinates. Since only the Great Demon’s party and her four colleagues were in that place.
Nevertheless, she didn't enter Baekseon Pavilion. No, her feet wouldn't move.
The screams of the enemies were certain, yet those continuing screams seemed to say this.
If you enter here, I’ll soon become yours.
How long had she stood there agonizing?
The continuous sound of screams subsided. It felt like about an hour had passed.
The situation was coming to an end.
It was a situation where she should go inside even now.
But instead, she turned her steps away.
She left the alley with quick steps. The place she was heading for was the private house where Yeo Su-in was staying. She intended to report to Yeo Su-in that she had just arrived and found out about this situation.
She was faithful to her instinct. It told her not to get involved in this fight.
She would take Yeo Su-in and leave this place.
The moment she just turned the corner of the alley.
Stab!
A dagger was driven into her chest.
With a martial arts level like hers, how could she easily allow a surprise attack just by turning a corner?
There was only one reason for such a result.
The person who made the surprise attack was indeed Lee Jaseung.
Phoenix looked at Lee Jaseung with eyes full of disbelief. She didn't recognize Lee Jaseung. She was the one who had run from a far place to save Yeo Su-in, after all.
Phoenix, with the strength gone from her legs, slumped to her knees.
Far behind her was Baekseon Pavilion, and far ahead was the private house where Yeo Su-in was waiting.
Both sides were in the worst possible situation.
Ah, of course, the worst among the worst was herself.
Her eyes slowly closed.
Right as her world was about to be submerged in darkness, she heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind.
Her world, which was about to be buried in darkness, brightened again.
She turned her head with the last of her strength.
Someone was walking along the alleyway that led from Baekseon Pavilion.
The scene she saw at the moment her breath stopped was far too strange.
About ten men.
They were walking in a single file line.
She was surprised and puzzled. The men were all wearing black eye patches over one eye.
The most handsome one eyed man among the lined up men spoke with a smile. It was like the greeting of a child returning from a martial arts academy.
“I’m back.”
At that moment, Phoenix’s breath stopped.
Of course, she wasn't the only one who died.
In the darkness of the shambles, not only her four colleagues, including White Dragon, but most of the Great Demon’s main force died.
Mujin, Ma Young-gi, and the eight members of the Divine Sword Regiment achieved this feat that no one would believe.
Because her breath had already stopped, Phoenix couldn't see.
She couldn't see Lee Jaseung walking up and giving Mujin a strong hug. Nor the sight of him hugging Ma Young-gi and then each of the remaining Divine Sword Regiment subordinates one by one.
She couldn't hear.
She couldn't hear Lee Jaseung’s answer to the words ‘I’m back’, which had been like a child's.
“You’re hungry, right? Let’s go eat.”
She couldn't feel it.
She couldn't feel the deep sincerity in those words. The great gratitude and relief for their safe return.
The operation was a success.