Chapter 302 |
Unknown Identity
After exchanging a rather cold greeting, they headed into the cave.
Although it was just a cave on the outside, it was equipped with various necessities, serving as a hideout.
Seated comfortably on a makeshift bed made of straw and cloth, Ou-yang Pae asked Mu-jin,
“But what brings you here?”
“I received information that the Demonic Cult is on the move. That’s why I’m here to support. The others have temporarily scattered to act as bait.”
After briefly explaining, Mu-jin asked back,
“By the way, I noticed the buildings we constructed last time were all destroyed. What’s going on? How many enemies are there, and what’s their level?”
“The number is about five hundred. The main figures are Ilgongja and Igongja. Along with the elders supporting them, even the current Red Flame King has come.”
“Five hundred? And the Red Flame King too? Our intel said about three hundred.”
“We also initially estimated about that many. Some of the warriors supporting Igongja and the Red Flame King secretly moved to the rear. It must be Igongja’s scheme.”
“…Well, Gouyang Cheon isn’t the type to come up with such tricks. Are the people with Ilgongja and Igongja from the Blade Family and the Illusion Family?”
The Demonic Cult consists of four noble families.
Depending on the martial arts they primarily practice, they are known as the Sword Family, Blade Family, Fist Family, and Illusion Family.
Or by attaching the family names: North Sky Sword Family, Demon Blade Flame Family, Demon Fist White Family, and Ingenious Illusion Family.
In the past, there were more noble families, but only these four have survived to the present day.
The founding Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult allied with several noble families and married the daughters of these families, much like King Taejo of Goryeo did.
This tradition continued, with each Heavenly Demon marrying daughters from the noble families, and the most outstanding child becoming the next Heavenly Demon.
Ilgongja is the descendant of the Blade Family, while Igongja is the descendant of the Illusion Family.
Naturally, each family supports their descendant to become the Heavenly Demon.
Ou-yang Pae is treated as an illegitimate child because he was not born to a woman from these noble families.
“That’s correct.”
Though Ou-yang Pae answered Mu-jin’s question with an expressionless face, his thoughts were different.
‘Where does he get such information?’
Anyone with an interest in the martial arts world would know that Ilgongja has ties with the Blade Family and Igongja with the Illusion Family.
However, knowing that Ilgongja dislikes schemes and Igongja enjoys manipulating others requires insider knowledge from the Demonic Cult.
While Ou-yang Pae pondered this, Mu-jin spoke.
“If such a large force invaded secretly, we should be thankful we survived.”
With five hundred men, elders from the Blade and Illusion Families, and even the Red Flame King, it was impossible for the traitors to handle them.
However, Ou-yang Pae took offense at Mu-jin’s remark.
“We anticipated that Igongja would resort to tricks. We didn’t flee and hide initially to scatter their forces by making them set up a siege.”
Ou-yang Pae briefly explained the battle from a few hours ago.
Ilgongja and nearly three hundred men approached openly from the front, while the rest moved secretly to the rear.
Just before they completed the siege, Ou-yang Pae, anticipating Igongja’s scheme, attempted a breakthrough.
During this process, Ou-yang Pae clashed with Ilgongja, even forcing the elders to join in to support Ilgongja.
The masters from Igongja’s side and the Red Flame King were held off by Cheong-roe Wang and Geum-yang Hwi. Meanwhile, their warriors inflicted significant damage on the enemies and successfully broke through.
However, an unexpected incident occurred during their breakthrough.
“A strange person appeared.”
“A strange person?”
When Mu-jin asked with a puzzled look, Ou-yang Pae frowned and answered,
“There was a man who didn’t exude any particular aura. I had never seen his face or heard his name, and he seemed to be around my age. I thought he would be easy to deal with quickly, but I felt an eerie chill when he drew his sword.”
“So, you let your guard down and got injured?”
“I didn’t let my guard down. I felt uneasy and quickly used the Honwon Muui Divine Art, but when our swords clashed, the art was shattered, and I got injured.”
“….”
Mu-jin’s expression became grave.
Ou-yang Pae used the Honwon Muui Divine Art in response to an ominous feeling, so he hadn’t fully prepared to unleash its full power.
However, the fact that the divine art was shattered in an instant was extraordinary.
‘If Ou-yang Pae didn’t sense any particular aura, that person must be far superior to him.’
There was something strange about the whole situation.
“A person of that caliber appeared, and you managed to escape despite being injured?”
“That’s why I called him strange. After injuring me, he quickly slaughtered several cultists. If he had continued, my life would have been in danger. But then he suddenly stopped attacking and disappeared.”
“He could have caught you if he pushed a bit more, but he just left? After injuring you?”
“Yes. The pursuers didn’t even know I was injured.”
After Ou-yang Pae finished speaking, they fell silent.
‘Who is he?’
Ou-yang Pae is known to have the greatest talent in the original setting of this world.
Mu-jin’s constant companion, surpassing even Moo-gyeong in talent.
But now, someone around Ou-yang Pae’s age, far superior to him, suddenly appeared?
“It could be a disciple of a reclusive master from the southern lands, but it feels more like someone from Shinchon. A reclusive master’s disciple wouldn’t attack you out of the blue.”
Ou-yang Pae nodded at Mu-jin’s words.
“I agree. I’ve never seen his face in the Demonic Cult.”
The situation was quite serious in many ways.
Ou-yang Pae was injured internally, so it was impossible to gauge his exact level. However, knowing him, he certainly wouldn’t have remained stagnant; if anything, he must have improved since their last meeting.
Before leaving Namban, Mu-jin had even informed Ou-yang Pae of the location of the elixir he would consume according to the original story. As per the typical storyline in martial arts novels, Ou-yang Pae would have acquired the elixir after falling off a cliff while escaping with internal injuries in Namban.
Assuming he consumed the elixir and improved his mastery of Honwonmu’s Divine Art, Ou-yang Pae would have already reached the level of the Seven Kings or the Major Lords.
Yet, this mysterious man had crushed Ou-yang Pae, who had reached such a level, in an instant, even if Ou-yang Pae had been off guard.
Of course, Mu-jin now understood. Even among the Major Lords or the Seven Kings, their skills were not necessarily on the same level.
Among them, the Wolf King and the Plum Blossom Sword Saint were at the lower end, followed by the Beast Palace Master and the Sun Palace Lord. The Hwang Gon Mu-jin fought in Namban was on a similar level, and above them were Tang-gak and the Head of Unhyangwon.
If the Plum Blossom Sword Saint hadn’t fallen into madness, he might have been on the same level as Tang-gak or Hwang Gon.
‘On the other hand, if the Wolf King had obtained and become familiar with the Yongrin Saber, he would have moved up a rank.’
However, this was just Mu-jin’s personal assessment based on his direct encounters. Ultimately, the skill levels could vary slightly depending on the situation or their condition that day.
And the one with the most significant fluctuations was Tang-gak .
Without any hidden weapons, he would be on par with the Wolf King. But if he had an abundance of hidden weapons, he could rival the Martial Alliance leader, who was above that rank.
Anyway, Mu-jin speculated that Ou-yang Pae had probably reached a level similar to the Wolf King or the Plum Blossom Sword Saint.
‘Since he was defeated in one blow, that means the mysterious man is at least on the same level as Wiji Hak or higher.’
While Mu-jin was grasping the severity of the situation, Ou-yang Pae added more information.
“Anyway, the internal injuries I suffered from that guy have complicated things. I planned to tie up the high-ranking experts and shake them up, but I can’t do that now.”
“Hm? Wasn’t your plan originally to just escape?”
“As someone aspiring to the title of Cheonma, how could I choose to run just because the situation is unfavorable? Besides, we are familiar with the terrain of Namban, so I planned to wear them down with hit-and-run tactics.”
“So, in the end, there are two problems.”
After listening to Ou-yang Pae’s explanation, Mu-jin spoke.
“One is that you’re injured and can’t lead the battle, and the other is the risk of that mysterious expert appearing again.”
“That’s correct.”
In response to Ou-yang Pae’s answer, Mu-jin replied as if it was no big deal.
“Then it’s simple.”
With a confident tone, Mu-jin spoke, drawing expectant gazes from Ou-yang Pae, the Red Tiger members, Dan Seo-yoon, and Geum Yang-hwi.
“If you can shake up the Ma Gyo if you’re healthy, we just need to buy you enough time to heal your internal injuries, right?”
“…Then, what about that mysterious expert?”
To Ou-yang Pae’s question, Mu-jin responded, cracking his neck from side to side.
“I’ll handle him.”
Ou-yang Pae frowned at Mu-jin’s brash tone.
“Did you even listen to what I said? He’s not an easy opponent.”
At Ou-yang Pae’s remark, Mu-jin clicked his tongue lightly and replied.
“You have to think the other way around. Since I’m the strongest among our allies, I have no choice but to face him, right?”
Though his tone remained brash, no one in the cave could deny Mu-jin’s words.
* * *
Meanwhile,
In order to buy time for Mu-jin and Dan Seo-yoon’s group to escape, the Shaolin and Wudang,
along with the Red Tiger members, scattered in all directions after delaying for a while.
– We have pre-arranged hiding places in case of emergencies. We’ll lead you there separately!
At the Red Tiger Leader’s suggestion, Hyun-hyeon hesitated briefly.
Even though they were traitors, he was still reluctant to trust men who were formerly from Ma Gyo and scatter.
But his hesitation was brief. Realizing they might die fighting the relentless Ma Gyo followers, Hyun-hyeon accepted the proposal.
Once Hyun-hyeon quickly divided the group into units of about ten, they dispersed with the Red Tiger members.
And shortly after,
Ilgongja and Igongja of Ma Gyo appeared at the place they had been staying.
“These pesky bugs! We’ve let them escape not once, but twice!”
Ilgongja, his face red with fury, spewed curses, exuding a menacing aura.
At that moment, the Red Flame King, who had come with the two Gongjas, spoke.
“Ilgongja-nim. It couldn’t be helped since Shaolin and Wudang intervened.”
“You call that an excuse? How can the great followers of Ma Gyo be defeated by mere hypocrites from the orthodox sects? This only means their training is insufficient!”
His fierce aura made the Ma Gyo followers who had arrived earlier kneel in fear.
Surprisingly, it was Igongja who calmed Ilgongja.
“Hahaha. Calm down, brother. Though we lost them for now, they’ve left many traces. We’ll soon catch their trail again.”
Pretending to pacify Ilgongja, he reassured the kneeling Ma Gyo followers with a gentle expression.
Of course, his true thoughts were different.
‘Tch. Expecting anything from these bugs is foolish.’
He was merely using Ilgongja’s rampage as a means to leave a good impression on the followers.
“Red Flame King, lead your subordinates and find their trail again. With so many traces, I trust you’ll succeed this time. Hahaha.”
At Igongja’s command, the Red Flame King nodded lightly and moved forward.
Unlike the Gongjas, who were solely focused on martial arts, the Red Flame King had ample battlefield experience. He deduced the direction based on the battlefield’s traces and instructed his subordinates.
“You head this way.”
After quickly organizing the scene, the Red Flame King moved towards the northeast with a few subordinates.
While following the trail for a while,
one of his subordinates sent a secret message to the Red Flame King.
– I had high hopes for the Gongjas of Ma Gyo, but now I see they are nothing but fools and idiots. Hahaha.
It was a blasphemous remark for a Ma Gyo follower to make, but the Red Flame King responded with a stoic expression.
– It is because such people are in the heir competition that we can easily infiltrate, So-cheon-ju.
In response, the disguised So-cheon-ju clicked his tongue.
– Tch. Despite inflicting internal injuries personally, they couldn’t finish the job. They’re too incompetent.
– …It was dangerous. If your identity had been revealed, it could have jeopardized the grand plan.
– Hahaha. That’s why I inflicted only enough damage to escape.
The So-cheon-ju’s reply left the Red Flame King speechless, and he could only bow his head.
Losing interest in his reaction, the So-cheon-ju clicked his tongue and spoke again.
– Sorry, but I have no interest in playing tag. I think I’ve done enough by inflicting internal injuries, so I’ll go collect the elixir.
The Red Flame King looked at him with a bewildered expression.
In fact, Bright Left Envoy had given him a secret order.
To keep an eye on the So-cheon-ju to prevent him from causing trouble.
As if knowing his thoughts, the So-cheon-ju sent another secret message with a sly smile.
– Hehehe. Don’t worry. I’ll be back after collecting the elixir. I heard that the Shaolin Divine Dragon is here. If you find him, report back to me. I’ll personally deal with the one who ruined our grand plan.
By the end of the secret message, the So-cheon-ju had already vanished from the Red Flame King’s sight.