Chapter 32
Rumble-!
The members of the Heavenly Tiger Unit and the Black Tortoise Unit looked down at their feet in bewilderment. The ground they were standing on was trembling as if there was an earthquake.
It was a tremor caused by the collision of huge energies.
The Blood Immortal unleashed his special skill, Blood Rain Piling Mountain, and poured out a menacing blood energy in all directions. If the Sword King and Cheon Woojin had not immediately blocked it, many of the alliance members would have suffered considerable injuries.
The Blood Immortal was a man who knew how to keep his word. If the Sword King would not stop here, he was planning to take at least thirty Martial Alliance members with him as companions on the road to the underworld.
"Sword King, what will you do?"
The Sword King frowned slightly as he faced the Blood Immortal's bitter smile.
"To hold the lives of the weak as collateral. How disgusting, Blood Immortal."
"Hahaha! Who do you think I am?"
The Sword King nodded his head. The guy was a disciple of the Dark Heavenly Son, who was called the greatest evil of all time.
It was not strange whatever he did.
The Sword King glanced around and then let out a sigh.
"Heavenly Tiger Unit Commander."
"...Yes, Sword King elder."
The Heavenly Tiger Unit Commander, who had been in charge of the mission until the Sword King and the White Sword Hall Master of the Martial Alliance arrived, bowed his head.
The Sword King's words continued.
"What are the damages from those guys?"
"...Two Heavenly Tiger Unit members were killed by the Sex Demon."
The Sword King, who nodded his head, his gaze turned somewhere. It was the corpse of the Sex Demon, whose head was gruesomely smashed.
"The Sex Demon seems to be dead."
In other words, it meant that the one who had directly harmed the Martial Alliance had paid the price.
The Sword King clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed and continued.
"I'll look forward to next time with the Blood Immortal. However, we will recover the body of the Giant Stone Monster. Since the Sword King himself has stepped forward, the mission must be completed properly."
The Blood Immortal, who had put away his red fan, took two steps back and let out a strange laugh.
"You're going to recover my junior brother's body? How selfish."
"Then will you fight and die?"
Soon, the Sword King menacingly released his momentum. The unique refreshing and domineering Sky-Blue Ki of the Nangong family instantly dominated the scene.
He had made the choice to let the Blood Immortal live to reduce the damage to the alliance members as much as possible. Nevertheless, if the Blood Immortal would not even make the minimum of concessions, the Sword King had no choice.
Even if damage occurred, he had no choice but to cut off the Blood Immortal's head and send it to the alliance leader as a gift.
The Blood Immortal also seemed to have felt the Sword King's sincerity as he let out an awkward laugh and took a step back.
"Well, fine. My junior brother's body is not more precious than my life. Isn't that right?"
The Blood Immortal threw a question somewhere. However, there was no answer.
As the Blood Immortal slowly retreated, Nangong Jin, who saw this, sought out his father.
"F-father!"
Nangong Jin could not understand. Cheon Woojin had killed the Sex Demon and was fighting on equal terms with the Blood Immortal. In such a situation, he thought that since his father, who was called the Sword King, had joined, they could easily catch the Blood Immortal.
However, far from fighting, the Sword King was saying that he would let the Blood Immortal go.
The Sword King clicked his tongue as he looked at Nangong Jin.
"There's someone helping him. If we really have to fight, we have no choice, but as he said, at least thirty or more martial artists will die. You could be among them."
The Sword King, who said so, was staring blankly at somewhere in the empty air. Cheon Woojin next to him was the same.
Through the two's actions, Nangong Jin instinctively felt that there was a master here who could easily deceive his senses.
It was likely the demon, the Sword Demon, whom the Sex Demon and the Blood Immortal had talked about before.
The Blood Immortal was still wary of the Sword King and Cheon Woojin and was slowly retreating with steps that were neither hasty nor leisurely.
"Haha, as expected, everyone has good insight."
The Blood Immortal was rather disappointed even as he retreated. He had thought that the situation would be reversed when the Sword Demon arrived.
Although the Sword Demon was on the lower side of the distribution among the disciples of the Dark Heavenly Son, in terms of skill alone, the man who was far above him, the third, was the Sword Demon.
A man who could cut anything in the world. He was even called a man who stood on the opposite side of the Sword King.
He had thought that if such a Sword Demon faced the Sword King, and he killed Cheon Woojin, the rest could be killed without difficulty.
However, the telepathic message from the Sword Demon was far from his expectation.
- Senior brother, I can face the Sword King, but you cannot face that guy.
It was a blow to his pride. He knew that Cheon Woojin was unexpectedly strong, but he was still just a rising talent.
However, at the Sword Demon's continued telepathic message, the Blood Immortal completely washed away his plan.
- Even if you and I attack together, I cannot guarantee victory.
The Blood Immortal looked at Cheon Woojin's face intently so as not to forget it. Cheon Woojin, who met the Blood Immortal's gaze, slowly surveyed the situation.
'Seventy steps, eighty, ninety...'
Cheon Woojin was estimating the distance between the Sword Demon and himself. If he narrowed the distance before they attacked the Martial Alliance members, there was a possibility of smashing their heads without any damage.
The Sword King looked at Cheon Woojin and said.
"Stop. The Blood Immortal's martial arts have few distance restrictions."
Cheon Woojin looked at the Sword King. His expression was firm. If Cheon Woojin tried to attack the Sword Demon and the Blood Immortal, it seemed he would stop him instead.
'It's impossible to face three at the same time.'
Just facing the Blood Immortal and the Sword Demon would require most of his internal energy, and if the Sword King was added to that, the probability of winning would drop to the bottom.
Soon, Cheon Woojin, who clicked his tongue, completely put away the Crescent Moon Staff.
At that, the Sword King's words continued.
"You must be Cheon Woojin. I heard you got first place in this selection exam."
The Sword King, as one of the pillars of the white path, was acquainted with all the masters of the Martial Alliance. However, it was his first time meeting the young man who was facing the Blood Immortal on equal terms. A person's name naturally came to the Sword King's mind.
Cheon Woojin, the first-place winner of this selection exam and the one who had annihilated the Asura Demon Lord and the West Heaven Society.
When his son, Nangong Jin, had gotten second place, he had been very displeased, but after hearing that rumor, he had nodded his head.
"Seeing you like this makes it even more convincing."
How could his son win against a monstrous guy like that?
The problem was where on earth a guy like that had popped up from.
While the Sword King was staring at Cheon Woojin, the Blood Immortal, who saw this, let out a hollow laugh.
"You're playing around."
In the first place, the fact that the great senior brother, the Black Master's disciple, had participated in the exam was a funny thing, and now he was even active as an alliance member after passing.
If he had his way, he wanted to tell them that the guy was the disciple of the great evil, the Black Master, but unfortunately, it was impossible.
'If the relationship between that guy and the Martial Alliance goes wrong and he runs wild, I could be in danger.'
The disciple of the senior brother, the Black Master, was amusingly letting him and the Sword Demon go to protect the alliance members.
It was a truly enjoyable thing.
Soon, the Blood Immortal and the Sword Demon completely disappeared.
Only then did the tension that had filled the scene scatter into the air.
At the same time, a man from among the Black Tortoise Unit members hurriedly ran to Cheon Woojin.
"Young hero Cheon, what on earth is going on?"
At Song Yiyeon's worried question, Cheon Woojin answered nonchalantly.
"I was assisting."
"Assisting?"
Song Yiyeon tilted his head. At that, Cheon Woojin pointed at Nangong Jin with his chin.
- Yes. Assist properly.
It was what Nangong Jin had said to provoke Song Yiyeon and Cheon Woojin before this mission began.
Nangong Jin, who recalled this, bowed his head deeply with a flushed face.
The Sword King clicked his tongue with an uncomfortable expression. He knew his son's personality better than anyone. He could tell what had happened without even looking.
The Sword King, who glanced at his son, approached the two corpses and examined them.
"This one is the Sex Demon, and this one is..."
It was a face he had never seen before. The approaching White Sword Hall Master, the Heavenly Tiger Unit Commander, and the Black Tortoise Unit Commander, Cheol Jiak, also seemed not to know.
The Sword King said.
"Seeing the demonic energy remaining on the body, he seems to be a guy from the Heavenly Demon Cult."
At the Sword King's nonchalant remark, the atmosphere in the room became heavy. In the first place, the reason the Martial Alliance was founded was to confront the Heavenly Demon Cult, so it was a natural thing.
"He is..."
Nangong Jin, whose face was red with shame and powerlessness, was about to say something but hesitated. At that, everyone's gaze turned to Nangong Jin.
The Sword King said.
"Do you know this guy's identity?"
Nangong Jin hesitated. Through their conversation, he knew that the guy was an elder of the Demonic Cult. Anyway, since he was a Heavenly Tiger Unit member, he had a duty to report everything he knew.
However, if he talked, he would have to talk about Cheon Woojin as well. Even the fact that Cheon Woojin had served the disciple of the Dark Heavenly Son, the Black Master, as his master.
He could not predict what attitude the Martial Alliance would show towards Cheon Woojin when that fact was revealed.
Anyway, since he had gotten first place in the selection exam and had made great contributions in this mission, he could be recognized as an alliance member after undergoing an ideology verification, or he could be ostracized or even imprisoned for being a disciple of a great evil.
Was it okay to do that when he owed Cheon Woojin his life?
Suddenly, Nangong Jin's gaze met Cheon Woojin's. On the contrary, Cheon Woojin had an expression as if he didn't care what Nangong Jin said.
Nangong Jin's lips moved several times, and then he finally spoke.
"...He died fighting with the Sex Demon."
"I see."
The Sword King nodded his head nonchalantly. It was something he had expected to some extent. In a place where there were two disciples of the Dark Heavenly Son and a master of the Heavenly Demon Cult, two were dead.
'A fight must have broken out over the body of the Giant Stone Monster.'
The Sword King could not have imagined for a moment that Cheon Woojin had killed the two.
Nangong Jin looked at Cheon Woojin. It was a gaze that seemed to say that since he had reported like this on his own judgment, he should reveal it himself if he wanted to.
Cheon Woojin just shrugged his shoulders. It was something that would be revealed someday, but for now, he did not want his relationship with his Black Master or his martial might to be revealed.
From that moment on, everyone in the Martial Alliance would hide their true selves in front of him and wear a mask.
It would be difficult to follow the orders of his two masters to see for himself what kind of place the Martial Alliance was.
Just now was perfect. Because no one would bother to hide their true selves in front of a newcomer.
Suddenly, Cheon Woojin said.
"The Black Plaque Star also came."
At the same time, everyone's gaze turned to Cheon Woojin.
"The Black Plaque Star?"
"Yes, it was a man named Ink Jackal."
The Sword King let out a long sigh. The Ink Jackal was the third-in-command of the Black Plaque Star and the man who served the Star Lord most closely. Since his martial might was by no means lower than that of the Blood Immortal or the Sex Demon, a truly dangerous situation could have occurred.
'If those guys had joined hands and aimed for us...'
The Sword King calmed his insides. A life-and-death battle could have broken out here. Of course, if he had to risk his life, it was obvious that everyone else would have died.
"By the way, it seems all the renowned factions of the martial world have gathered. I can only think that someone deliberately leaked the information."
The Sword King, who said so, looked at the White Sword Hall Master, Dan Wuming. Anyway, in this place, he was the person representing the Martial Alliance.
Dan Wuming bowed his head and answered.
"I will report to the alliance leader and have a special task force directly under the Punishment Hall formed to investigate the military affairs department."
"It's unlikely, but if there was even a little bit of malice from the military affairs department in this matter, I will officially protest to the Martial Alliance Leader, Beili Tian, so be aware of that."
Someone had deliberately spread the information and made the various factions gather here. He didn't know the purpose or the identity.
However, if the military affairs department was not just used but was even slightly involved in this matter, the Sword King would have almost lost his son because of the Martial Alliance.
The White Sword Hall Master felt a chill run down his spine.
"...Yes, I will have it investigated properly."
There were countless martial artists from the Nangong family in the Martial Alliance. Anyway, since the Nangong family was the most powerful family in the world.
If they were on bad terms with such a Nangong, the loss for the Martial Alliance would be enormous.
However, since he could not cover up the incident, the White Sword Hall Master just sincerely hoped that the military affairs department was not involved in this matter.
"By the way..."
Suddenly, the Sword King's gaze turned to Cheon Woojin. At the same time, everyone looked at Cheon Woojin. They all seemed to have many questions.
However, there was no one in the room who could dare to open their mouth first in the presence of the Sword King.
After a moment of silence, the Sword King asked.
"You, what is your identity?"
It was a question that seemed to represent everyone's curiosity.
(End of Chapter)