Chapter 16: I've Already Heard the Answer

TL: FoodieMonster007

That afternoon, Seo Daeryong arrived with a dozen investigators from the Sanzu River Hall.

The Demonic Army grew restless as a full-scale investigation seemed imminent. A rumor spread that every member, starting with Jang Ho, would be thoroughly searched.

Then, an incident occurred that evening.

An investigator from the Sanzu River Hall ran to my room while I was resting.

"There's big trouble. I think you need to come quickly."

When I arrived, the hallway outside the interrogation room was chaotic. A fight had broken out between the Demonic Army and the investigators.

"Stop right there!" I shouted, pushing through the standoff to stop the fight.

One investigator lay bleeding on the ground. It was more than a simple beating. Blood poured from his torn face, and his ribs were broken.

An enraged Seo Daeryong had tried to intervene, but the Demonic Army had beaten him up too.

"Are you badly hurt?" I asked.

"I'm fine, but my colleague is seriously injured," Seo Daeryong replied.

"Take him to the infirmary at once."

The other investigators carried the fallen man away.

The instigator, First Captain Go Dang, stood there shamelessly.

"Did you do this?"

"I did," Go Dang admitted.

The surrounding demonic practitioners were all from the First Division of the Demonic Army. Because of them, Go Dang wasn't intimidated. He was enjoying the situation, and his subordinates looked ready to snicker.

"For some reason, it feels like a day a prophecy might come true," I said.

Seo Daeryong knew which prophecy I meant and swallowed hard.

"What's this sudden talk of prophecies?" Go Dang asked.

Seo Daeryong stared intently at Go Dang's head and answered for me.

"Captain Go, it's a prophecy you definitely don't want to know."

"Then I'll make a prophecy for you too, Second Young Lord," Go Dang sneered. "Our Second Young Lord will lose the succession struggle, get kicked out of our Cult, and live by leeching off those bastards from the Murim Alliance orthodox sects."

The listening members of the First Division roared with laughter.

Instead of anger, I felt pleased.

"Oh, what a wonderful prophecy!" I exclaimed.

"Wonderful?"

"I'd survive even after losing the succession struggle, wouldn't I? And on top of that, I could live my whole life without working, just by leeching off others! Isn't living a life of idleness the dream for all of us? Thank you so much for the prophecy! I'll go live my second life there."

Go Dang's expression hardened at being mocked.

"Why did you injure the Sanzu River Hall martial artist?" I asked.

"He bumped shoulders with me in the hallway. When he tried to walk away without apologizing, I taught him a lesson."

"You probably bumped into him first, and you wouldn't have let it go even if he had apologized."

Go Dang didn't deny it. He just smiled, and the Demonic Army members around him laughed along.

"It's poison," I said.

"Poison?" Go Dang asked quizzically.

"Your subordinates. They're poison to you."

"What nonsense is this?"

His pride wouldn't let him back down while his subordinates watched. He would rush toward the ruin I had planned for him.

"Go Dang, didn't you kill a martial artist from our Cult like this last year? And the year before that, you killed three people in a tavern brawl."

The victims were all low-level martial artists. The Demonic Army covered up the incidents before they became official cases.

"The world is full of cripples who don't respect their Seniors."

His gaze shot toward me, as if to say, A guy just like you.

"Do you know what I received before coming here?" I asked.

"What is it?"

"The right of summary execution."

The words 'summary execution' silenced the entire area.

However, Go Dang just scoffed.

"What good is authority if you can't carry it out?"

His subordinates burst into laughter again.

This is the poison I was talking about. This is what happens when a fool becomes conscious of the eyes around him.

He should have been extremely tense, but he was posturing for his subordinates. He alone didn't realize what kind of stage he stood on.

I took a step forward, and the First Division demonic practitioners around Go Dang rushed forward together.

"Touching us means touching the entire Demonic Army," Go Dang said. "I wonder if the Second Young Lord truly has that kind of courage."

"At least I don't hide behind my subordinates," I retorted.

He raised his bandaged right hand.

"I'm injured because of a certain coward."

I then raised my own right hand.

"I won't use my right hand either," I said.

"!"

Go Dang flinched, not expecting this.

However, he was deluded into thinking he was the star of this stage.

"If you get hurt, are you going to run and tattle to the Cult Leader?" he taunted.

His subordinates burst out laughing. The stage grew hotter with each laugh.

"I won't hold you responsible if I get hurt. Not even if I die."

"You swear it?"

I tapped my sword twice, swearing an oath.

Only then did the bastard accept my challenge.

"Fine. Let's do this."

Go Dang drew his sword, holding it in his left hand. He stepped forward confidently, as he could handle a sword just as skillfully with his left hand as with his right. I, on the other hand, was right-handed.

I placed my right hand behind my back as if clasping them and walked forward slowly.

"What if you use that hand when you get desperate?" Go Dang asked, afraid I would use my right hand.

"Then tell your subordinates to attack and kill me together."

"Hmph! So confident. I heard you had a little talent show with the brats from the Southern Blade Sect. You must've gained some confidence from that."

"Actually, your little show is far more entertaining."

"Shut up!"

Go Dang charged, thrusting his sword.

I consider this duel another part of my training. The most important part of training is practical combat, after all. A real fight with a Demonic Army Captain is an experience money can't buy.

Go Dang held nothing back. He used all his strength, trying to wound me at any cost.

Sighs of disappointment came from the crowd every time his sword missed.

To them, I might have looked like I was about to be stabbed at any moment, but my heart was as calm as a lake.

Fighting him makes one thing clear. At my current level, I can easily handle someone like Go Dang with just my left hand.

Everyone's interest in the outcome of this fight will be, 'In how many moves?'

The number I decided on is forty moves. When this fight is over, a rumor will spread.

The Second Young Lord kills the First Captain of the Demonic Army in forty moves.

Since I defeated Yang Po, the disciple of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, in about twenty moves, defeating Go Dang in forty moves will seem reasonably balanced.

On the fortieth move, I changed my movement arts and closed in on him.

The moment I grabbed his sword wrist, Go Dang tried to shake me off and retreat, but if that were possible, he wouldn't have been caught in the first place.

I spun my body while holding his arm.

"……"

Go Dang's arm twisted like a wet rag. A bone jutted out from his wrist.

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

My fist flew again and smashed into the screaming bastard's face.

Go Dang tumbled to the floor with a heavy THUD.

I mounted the fallen man's body and brought my fist down. If I had imbued it with inner arts, he would have died instantly, but I struck him without it, just delivering the impact.

THWACK! THUD! THWACK!

One of the watching demonic practitioners from the First Division charged at me.

I swung my sword while still sitting on Go Dang's stomach.

The charging man's lower abdomen was sliced open, and he pitched forward.

The Demonic Army, Seo Daeryong, and the Sanzu River Hall investigators were all shocked. They hadn't expected me to cut him down in a single strike.

"You crazy bastard!"

"Kill him!"

Two of Go Dang's henchmen drew their swords and rushed me.

The attacks they swung in their haste were the last moves of their lives.

I shot to my feet and unleashed a series of thrusts. Their swords grazed my body, but mine struck their targets precisely.

SHUNK! SHUNK!

The two men collapsed, pierced through the neck. They sprayed fountains of blood in all directions.

The place instantly became a sea of blood. The members of the Demonic Army hesitated, unsure whether to charge as three of their comrades lay dead.

I shouted powerfully.

"The crime of the men who just died is treason."

They froze at the word 'treason'.

After immobilizing them, I walked over to the fallen Go Dang.

"Your Captain is the same. He severely injured someone who came on the Cult Leader's orders, so it's clearly treason."

I looked down at him and said coldly.

"Do you know what happened to the families of the people you picked a fight with and killed at the tavern last year? Of course you don't. You wouldn't have cared. They lost a father, a child, a husband. Do you think those people are living properly? Who the hell do you think you are to beat people? Who the hell do you think you are to kill our cult members?"

"…Please spare me."

His face was a bloody mess, but it was filled with a desperate will to live.

"Why should I?"

"…I'll repent."

Bloody water gushed from the man's mouth.

"Lies. You'll just do it again, won't you?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"You said it yourself, didn't you? That you'd do it again."

"…When did I say that?"

"Your entire past life said it for you."

I lifted my foot high and brought it down on Go Dang's head with a crushing stomp.

SHWIIK!

SQUELCH.

The man's head burst like a watermelon, and he died instantly.

A dead silence fell. No one could have imagined I would kill Go Dang, a favorite of the Demonic Army General, by smashing his head.

After killing Go Dang, I shouted at the First Division demonic practitioners.

"Treason is punished by summary execution. Do you want to die? Are you still holding up your swords?"

At that, the First Division demonic practitioners all lowered their swords at once. Their Captain was already dead, and their own heads would fly if they stepped up. They were completely overwhelmed by my martial arts, which had cut down their comrades in single strikes.

"The First Division of the Demonic Army will withdraw and be confined until further notice! From this moment on, anyone who leaves their room will be punished for treason. Be warned!"

When I gestured for them to leave, they didn't dare refuse and all went outside.

The watching Sanzu River Hall investigators stared at me with shocked faces. Their shock was mixed with a clear sense of joy and awe.

Seo Daeryong said to me.

"You're much stronger than I thought."

"What did you think?"

"Well… I didn't think you could beat the First Captain of the Demonic Army."

"We had a prophecy, didn't we?"

I said it to make him laugh, but Seo Daeryong didn't smile. He looked at the scattered corpses with a tense expression.

"Even for you, Second Young Lord… is this really okay?"

I spoke firmly to the frightened man.

"Don't make a fuss over just three or four deaths. I came here prepared to cut down half the Demonic Army."

"!"

For the first time, I saw just how wide Seo Daeryong could open his eyes.

That evening, the Demonic Army General sought me out.

He waited for me not in his office, but at a brothel in the Demon Village.

There were about a dozen brothels in the Demon Village. Though no one had set the rule, one's choice of establishment was naturally determined by rank. The brothel where the Demonic Army General waited was the most luxurious one.

"I called you here to have a drink. It's been a while," he said.

He treated me as if nothing had happened. He was even more subtle and gentle than usual.

"Have you been here before?"

"This is my first time."

"It's a good place."

Indeed, the food and alcohol were of the highest quality. The courtesans were stunning beauties, and the musicians' skills were superb.

"It looks expensive," I remarked.

"It's the most expensive place in the Demon Village. I made special arrangements for you today."

He was the type of man who took pride in such luxury and entertainment.

"Life is uncertain. You never know when you'll die. You have to enjoy it to the fullest. Don't you agree?"

"You're right."

"Come, let's drink."

I drank with him. The Demonic Army General acted as if he were in his own home, a testament to how often he came here. He drank, sang songs, and even jumped up to dance with a courtesan. He had clearly summoned me because of Go Dang's death, but he didn't mention it at all.

Since I was far removed from entertainment in my past life, I just played along moderately.

After a round of lively fun, the pleasantly drunk Demonic Army General finally dismissed the courtesans.

"I hear there was a small accident with my boys?"

The phrase 'small accident' reflected his intention for handling this matter.

"Yes. There was an unexpected clash."

A Captain of the Demonic Army had died. It was an incident that could have turned our Cult upside down, but the Demonic Army General was trying to use it as a blessing in disguise.

"Let's just let bygones be bygones. How about we wrap this up here? I had no choice but to use him, but that First Captain was a fellow with a lot of shady dealings."

It meant he wanted to pin everything on the dead First Captain and end it.

Wow, you're a real piece of trash.

He was his trusted subordinate. Forget revenge, he was trying to turn him into a criminal. This is why they say only the dead are pitiful.

"Even if it was for the investigation, it could become a huge problem if we make an issue of you killing a Demonic Army Captain, couldn't it?"

"I am sorry about that."

"What do you say? Shall we end it here? One Captain and three subordinates should be enough, don't you think?"

"Thank you for your consideration. I'd also like to resolve this amicably, but there's one problem."

"What problem?"

"There's no evidence. I came here for an official investigation. Don't I need evidence to report to my superiors?"

"Evidence can be fabricated easily enough."

"That's difficult. The anonymous letter I received mentioned the First Division has been privately taking outside contracts. This isn't a matter that can be swept under the rug."

I had heard it from Jang Ho, but I claimed it was in the letter.

The Demonic Army General struggled to hide his surprise, not expecting me to know even that.

"To close this case, I absolutely need evidence."

I didn't explicitly ask him to hand over the evidence. However, he would have understood it like this.

'You must provide the evidence for this to end.'

After our short, private talk ended, the Demonic Army General called the courtesans back in and resumed his merrymaking.

The Demonic Army General tried to have even more fun than before, but I could feel his unease. His dance moves were not as sharp as they had been earlier.