Chapter 374: Sell It for Travel Expenses

TL: FoodieMonster007

All eyes turned to the Poison King.

In murim, the Poison King was a mysterious figure shrouded in rumors. People said his victims died without ever knowing they were poisoned. They claimed that making eye contact with him caused instant blindness. Some whispered he had killed hundreds with a single drop of poison and even slept in a vat of toxins.

Rumors painted him as a hunchbacked old monster or even a middle-aged woman. He was truly the subject of countless misunderstandings and exaggerations.

Today, the martial artists of the Thirteen Evil Wolves and the Extreme Army saw the Poison King in person. They were shocked. They never dreamed the Poison King would be such a young, beautiful boy.

The Poison King remained relaxed and aloof, unfazed by the many eyes on him.

The Poison King's gaze fell upon Geom Mugeuk. His deep eyes watched Geom Mugeuk for a moment.

"Greetings, Young Cult Leader."

Normally, the Poison King would skip greetings to dig for poisonous herbs. Today, he showed a completely different side for Geom Mugeuk's sake.

"Greetings, the Poison King."

Geom Mugeuk also bowed politely with a clasped-hands greeting.

The Poison King projected a solemn aura that overwhelmed the area. It was an unfamiliar and new sight.

After acknowledging Geom Mugeuk, the Poison King paid his respects to the Evil Alliance Chairman.

"It's an honor to meet such a distinguished person."

"I've heard much of the Demon Supreme's reputation. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The Poison King calmly exchanged greetings with Baek Jagang. Though the Poison King was usually lost in his own world, he now stood on the boundary between his world and the outside.

Baek Jagang felt more tense than when he had fought the Brawling King. He was confident he would not die against the Brawling King, but he had no such confidence against the Poison King.

He felt he might be able to kill the Poison King, but he would ultimately die as well. The Poison King inspired that kind of fear. Today, however, Baek Jagang conveyed gratitude instead of wariness.

He owed the Poison King a great debt. He knew without asking who had detoxified the Yellow Springs.

"There will come a day when I repay today's debt."

"It was for our Cult's Young Cult Leader, so please don't mind it too much."

Was it really for me?

Geom Mugeuk was certain it was not. The Poison King knew he had Myriad Poison Immunity. Detoxifying the Yellow Springs was not for him, but to save these people. Or perhaps it was for the children.

The Poison King before his regression and the Poison King now were the same person, yet he was living a completely different destiny. Geom Mugeuk knew they were all standing on a borderline. Changing one's destiny did not require a grand catalyst, just as the Sword Supreme who once sought to be Cult Leader was the same man now devoted to martial arts.

Others had come with the Poison King. Sangseon, who served him, and five Poison Fangs also appeared. Sangseon carried nine poison pouches, and the other Poison Fangs had at least seven each. The peerless masters of the Thousand Poisons Forest had truly come together.

"How on earth did you get here?"

Sangseon answered instead.

"Strategist Go requested an investigation after we obtained confidential information that the Yellow Springs, a weapon of mass destruction banned in murim, was being moved in large quantities toward the Evil Alliance."

They had come at Go Wol's request. Go Wol must have considered the Yellow Springs a major threat to his own safety. Of course, the Poison King did not have to come himself. Go Wol was merely Geom Mugeuk's personal strategist, not a member of the All-Knowing Hall. He could have just sent subordinates to investigate.

Yet, the Poison King had come personally for Geom Mugeuk. He must have really not wanted to come.

Thank you, the Poison King.

Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned to the Poison King.

The Poison King walked toward the children whose paralysis acupoint had been suppressed. Several people stood near him, but the Poison King deliberately approached a child standing close to the Brawling King.

The Brawling King glared coldly, but the Poison King paid him no mind, far from being intimidated. His attitude dared the Brawling King to try and kill him.

The Poison King pulled back the child's eyelid and pulled out his tongue to examine it.

"They didn't use Gu poison, but put a suggestion on the children through other means."

He then examined the pouches the children wore on their chests.

"What a strange thing they've made. Sangseon, let's take one of these. Take it and study it, but isn't this bag a bit big for children to carry?"

His words contained a rebuke for entrusting such a task to children.

Geom Mugeuk knew how much the Poison King hated those who used such poisons of mass destruction indiscriminately. As someone who cherished the art of poison, he utterly detested those who used it recklessly, especially on children.

Right now, the Poison King was probably feeling an intense desire to kill the Brawling King. If this had not been the Evil Alliance's affair, the Brawling King would already be dead.

The Poison King walked past the Brawling King, muttering to himself as if to make a point.

"From what I heard earlier, it seems you even frame innocent people."

To say such a thing while walking past him was both a dismissal and a provocation.

The Brawling King was already pushed to his limit, but he could not attack the Poison King. His conflict was palpable as he debated striking the man who had ruined his plans. In the end, he could not attack.

He knew better than anyone what a terrifyingly skilled person was hidden behind that youthful appearance. This was the Poison King, whom even the Poison Tyrant had feared. No matter how brave he was, he wanted to avoid a death where his internal organs melted away.

Geom Mugeuk felt it anew. He understood why martial artists feared the Poison King most and why the Poison King possessed the most powerful deterrent to war.

The Brawling King's gaze now turned to Baek Jagang and Bi Sayin. It was a shame. If he had killed those two, the Evil Path would have been his. Losing the fight, and losing everything with this defeat, was a true shame.

His resentful gaze finally landed on Geom Mugeuk.

It's because of that bastard.

The Poison King would not have come if it were not for that Young Cult Leader. From the very beginning, everything had gone wrong because of the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. A deep hatred welled inside him. He felt he had to kill that bastard, even if it meant his own death.

"I have one last request. Let me fight the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult."

Baek Jagang refused flatly.

"Nonsense."

The Brawling King provoked and taunted Geom Mugeuk.

"Are you going to remain a cowardly Young Cult Leader?"

Geom Mugeuk looked at him and smiled. When Bi Sayin, standing next to him, also smiled, Geom Mugeuk asked.

"Why are you smiling?"

"I smiled because it seems that man knows far too little about you. Ah, how wonderful it would be if you were the type of person to fall for such a simple taunt."

Would it really be wonderful? Bi Sayin's head asked, and his heart answered. No.

"How shameless. How can you even utter the word 'coward' after seeing those children?"

Despite Bi Sayin's mockery, the Brawling King only provoked Geom Mugeuk.

"Geom Mugeuk, fight me!"

Everyone looked at Geom Mugeuk. With clear, deep eyes, he shook his head.

"I can't do that, because the Poison King here isn't someone who would stand by if something happened to me. It would be less painful for you to just die by the Chairman's sword. If you're hit by the Poison King's poison, you'll die feeling the agony of your whole body melting. Isn't that right, the Poison King?"

When Geom Mugeuk looked back, the Poison King was no longer there. He was squatting in front of a martial artist from the Extreme Army some distance away.

"Move your foot, please."

The startled martial artist moved his foot, revealing a plant behind it.

"Ah, I saw correctly."

The Poison King carefully dug up the poisonous herb.

Geom Mugeuk smiled faintly as he watched the Poison King, who had returned to his own world. Everyone else might think there was some other meaning to the Poison King's actions, but no one would know. Right now, he was genuinely engrossed in digging up a poisonous herb.

Just then, the Brawling King launched a surprise palm technique.

An explosion erupted.

The Brawling King's palm technique was aimed at Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk extended one hand, neutralizing the attack while still looking at the Poison King. The Poison King was still digging up the herb, and Geom Mugeuk was watching him do it. The two of them completely ignored the Brawling King.

"You bastard! I'll definitely kill you!"

The Brawling King's composure shattered. He threw the knife he wore at his side. He displayed truly astonishing knife-throwing arts, but the weapon failed to reach its target.

Baek Jagang deflected the throwing knife. He would no longer tolerate the Brawling King's desperate struggles.

"Look. Is there anything as grand as the Invincible you believed in here? There is only greed and regret."

With the Poison King present, Baek Jagang had no intention of dragging out the fight any longer. He immediately pressed his attack.

SHWAAAAANG!

"……"

The Brawling King suffered a large wound on his arm. He could not withstand Baek Jagang's assault and was helplessly pushed back after a hard strike disrupted his true qi.

Tyrant's Heaven-Shaking Fifth Technique, the Rotating Destruction Stance.

Baek Jagang's flying sword qi split into dozens of blades, surrounding the Brawling King from all directions. There was nowhere to escape.

Just as the final move was about to strike the Brawling King.

SHWIIIIING.

A black hole appeared beneath the Brawling King's feet, and he vanished as if sucked into it. Everyone was startled by the sudden event.

Left on the ground were his severed Invincible divine armor, tattered protective gear, blood-soaked clothes, and the God of War gauntlets. He had vanished completely naked, leaving all his gear behind.

Someone rescued him!

Baek Jagang raised his qi and scanned his surroundings, but he could not feel any other presence. Someone had used a surprising evil art to extract him.

Baek Jagang looked at Geom Mugeuk. His gaze asked if Geom Mugeuk could feel a presence, but Geom Mugeuk also shook his head.

"The secret art used to rescue him is no ordinary one."

No one among the Twelve Zodiac Kings used such martial arts. Unless the Illusion King were alive.

Then who could it be?

One thing was certain. The mastermind behind this incident had clearly been watching the Brawling King. Perhaps it was only natural. After all, our Cult, the Murim Alliance, and the Heavenly Wind Cult had all failed before.

It's someone who knows the Brawling King's personality. They watched until the very end and rescued him at the last moment.

He could not figure out who it was. He did not know what situation 'they' were in at this time.

Though the Brawling King had escaped mid-fight, Baek Jagang showed no unease. His confident expression showed he believed he could simply kill the Brawling King again if he ever returned.

"His grudge against you is deep, so be careful."

"It seems that man was fated to die by my hands."

Just then, the Poison King sent Geom Mugeuk a telepathic message.

[That won't happen.]

[Pardon?]

[I don't know where that hole leads, but it would have been better for him to die here.]

Geom Mugeuk could tell. The Poison King had already poisoned him with a terrible and frightening poison.

[I thought he would die by the Evil Alliance Chairman's hand before the poison spread.]

It seemed the Poison King simply could not forgive the Brawling King. He had delivered a symbolic punishment to the man who used children to deploy poison, but it had become a practical one.

If the Poison King said he would die, he would definitely die. Geom Mugeuk trusted the Poison King's skills. He also believed in the karmic retribution for using a forbidden poison in a forbidden way.

[As expected! Our Poison King is a man of foresight.]

Just then, someone nearby shouted.

"Come on! I'll kill at least one of you before I die!"

Flustered by his master's disappearance, Sahon swung his sword in a final, desperate struggle.

At that very moment, someone approached him silently from behind and wrapped an arm around his neck.

UDUDUK.

Sahon's neck broke without a chance to resist.

The person who appeared from behind him as he collapsed was the Evil Eccentric. He had belatedly arrived after meditating to recover from his injuries where the fight first broke out.

"Are you all right?"

At Bi Sayin's worried question, the Evil Eccentric nodded.

"I'm fine."

"That's a relief."

Bi Sayin looked at him with a sincere heart. From now on, he would no longer make cursory judgments about people. He had desperately wished for this moment. He vowed that if he survived, he would build all his relationships better.

When the time comes to put it into practice, I will not make the mistake of succumbing to annoyance and laziness. From now on, I am Geom Mugeuk. I will follow at least half of his effort.

Left alone, Hyeok Sagun's only way to avoid pain was to bite his tongue and commit suicide, but he could not do it. He believed the Brawling King would come to save him. No, he had a premonition that he would not come, but dying was too frightening.

Bi Sayin told him coldly.

"You will have to pay the price for dreaming a futile dream."

The martial artists of the Extreme Army dragged Hyeok Sagun away. The children were also transported to the Alliance.

And so, the long battle with the Brawling King came to an end.

Baek Jagang said to Geom Mugeuk.

"First, let's return to the Alliance together. Even if we must part ways, we should have a farewell drink."

He could not just send away Geom Mugeuk, who had saved them. Geom Mugeuk readily followed.

"Yes, let's go. Please give me the most delicious liquor in the Evil Alliance."

Baek Jagang extended his hand, and the God of War gauntlets flew from the ground into his grasp. He then gave the God of War to Geom Mugeuk.

"This is the only thing that's somewhat useful. You take it."

He said it casually, but the God of War was the finest of all gauntlets. It was a precious artifact of incalculable value, a truly great gift. He did not regret it at all. It was terrifying to think what would have happened without Geom Mugeuk.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"You came a long way, so sell it for travel expenses. What? You don't want it?"

"Of course not!"

Geom Mugeuk quickly took the God of War.

"I'll return in a golden carriage."

This time, Baek Jagang spoke to the Poison King.

"Demon Supreme, you should also come to the Alliance with us."

"I have business to attend to, so I must take my leave now."

The Poison King bid farewell to Baek Jagang. Baek Jagang did not press him further. He also did not wish for the Poison King and his poison users to enter the Evil Alliance.

Geom Mugeuk sent a telepathic message to the Poison King.

[Go to the safehouse and wait! I'll be there soon. Don't leave first, let's go back together!]

He could go to the safehouse where Jo Cheonbae's family was resting, and they could return together.

[Let's dig up some poisonous herbs together on the way.]

[Why didn't you bring your exclusive collector? I'm talking about that precious person for whom you even prepare separate meals, something you don't even do for the Young Cult Leader.]

[That person is busy these days.]

The Poison King led his subordinates and left. Watching his retreating back, Geom Mugeuk wanted to follow.

Please wait a little longer. I will go as soon as I finish things here.

After parting with the Poison King, Geom Mugeuk headed for the Evil Alliance with Baek Jagang.

As they walked, Baek Jagang asked as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him.

"You said you had a favor to ask of me after this was over, didn't you?"

Baek Jagang was curious what kind of favor it could be. Bi Sayin, walking alongside them, was just as curious. Geom Mugeuk had said he had a favor to ask of him as well.

"Do you want a martial arts manual or an artifact stored in the Alliance's treasury? Or perhaps you want miracle herbs?"

"No, that's all right. What I want is for you, Chairman, to go somewhere with me."

"Where?"

Geom Mugeuk then said something Baek Jagang could never have imagined.

"I'd like to buy you a drink at my regular tavern in front of our Cult."