Chapter 749: This World is Full of Detestable Bastards

TL: FoodieMonster007

Geom Mugeuk couldn't remember the last time he'd been this surprised. He never dreamed he'd see Ak Gunhak in this room.

"Ak-hyung!" he shouted, his cheerful voice echoing through the chamber.

Geom Mugeuk's eyes trembled as he looked at Ak Gunhak. He couldn't hide his delight and had to force himself not to run over and throw his arms around him. When they last met, they'd agreed to be friends. That meant he was no longer the Sword King, but Ak-hyung.

Do you remember what I said? We should see each other when we want to, help each other when we must. Please be a friend who can sometimes even throw his shoes at me.

Geom Mugeuk had truly missed his friend. This, however, wasn't the place they should have met.

"I thought when we met again, we'd be grilling meat in a field. Or maybe we'd bump shoulders, drunk in some tavern. I even thought it'd be fine if we never met again." Geom Mugeuk sighed deliberately. "So why are you in a gloomy place like this again? Just how much do you like the underground? This is ridiculous, isn't it?"

He referred to the time they broke through the Yellow Dragon Academy's underground tunnel. The moment they surfaced together to gaze at the stars and ate their fill of miracle herbs came back to him as if it were yesterday.

"I'm sorry," Ak Gunhak apologized.

How could Geom Mugeuk not know? There must have been a reason Ak Gunhak couldn't leave.

"Is it because you haven't paid off your debt?"

After a brief pause, the Sword King answered, "I've repaid my debt in full."

"Then why can't you leave?"

The Sword King remained silent.

What on earth is holding him back? What could possibly shackle a powerful master who dreamed of freedom so badly?

"When a man says he's leaving, he should leave. You should've just left, smacking anyone who stood in your way with those shoes." Geom Mugeuk's gaze fell to the Sword King's shoes hanging on his waist. They were brand new, as if he'd never worn them. "I bought you those shoes to wear, but you didn't even put them on. I even held a gathering for our friends, but you didn't come. You knew I was hosting it, right?"

Surprisingly, the Sword King nodded. He had been paying attention to Geom Mugeuk. "I was afraid you'd ask me to dance, so I didn't go."

"You can't dance, and you can't leave. What's wrong with you?!" Geom Mugeuk whined. Despite his words, though, his face filled with delight. How could he possibly hide his joy? "Still, I'm really happy to see you again."

Everything he'd said was just a prelude to this one sentence.

The two men looked at each other and smiled brightly. No matter their circumstances, their happiness was real.

In contrast, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's expression hardened as he watched them. He'd guessed the other man's identity.

So it's him.

Since Geom Mugeuk always told him about his adventures upon returning to the Cult, he could tell that this swordsmaster was the one who had survived the battle at the the Yellow Dragon Academy.

He could feel it just by looking. He sensed the barefooted swordmaster's immense strength. The man exuded the most powerful presence of any enemy he'd ever met.

[Yes, that's right. It's him.]

The Flower Sword Supreme had met the Sword King during that battle, along with the Fist Demon. A fight had nearly broken out because Ak Gunhak emerged from the underground first. In that tense, hair-trigger situation, Geom Mugeuk followed him out, and thankfully, a fight was averted.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon frowned. Geom Mugeuk's friendships with Jin Hagun or Bi Sayin were one thing, but this was different.

[He looks dangerous.]

[Well, he is strong.]

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon shook his head. He didn't call Ak Gunhak dangerous because he looked strong. He said it because he felt Geom Mugeuk was opening his heart too carelessly to an enemy.

[That barefoot man is dangerous.]

The Flower Sword Supreme glanced at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. He was seeing something she could not.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King continued.

"Looks like our Ak-hyung even gained a woman who likes him in the meantime."

"Me?"

"You have no idea how much we talked about you, Ak-hyung. A woman's life has changed because of you."

Geom Mugeuk thought it was a real shame. Cha Yiran should be here for this. Would she be shy? Flustered? Or would she handle the mood with surprising skill?

"Is she pretty?"

"You should be asking who she is!"

The two men laughed together.

Of course, the Sword King knew the woman he meant was Cha Yiran. After all, she was the one who left the organization after fighting Geom Mugeuk.

"Let's go meet her together after this is over."

The Sword King didn't agree. Geom Mugeuk knew this silent response wasn't because he disliked her, so he persisted.

"You're gonna be this shameless after turning a woman's life upside down? No, absolutely not! I'm definitely taking you with me."

Still, the Sword King said nothing.

I don't know how you see the end of this fight, but I'm taking you to our Cult. Even if you leave, you'll leave from there.

After his reunion with Geom Mugeuk, the Sword King turned his gaze to the two Demon Supremes and clasped his hands in greeting, showing his respect.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon glared at him without hiding his displeasure, while the Flower Sword Supreme returned the gesture with a light greeting of her own.

Geom Mugeuk asked the Sword King the most important question. "So? Why are you here?"

A surprising answer came from the Sword King's lips. "To protect the one who wants to kill you."

Geom Mugeuk wasn't very surprised. He'd anticipated it the moment he saw him. "Well, that's a big problem. If Ak-hyung protects someone, no one can kill them."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's cold voice came from behind. "I will kill him."

Geom Mugeuk knew he was serious. "Okay! While I hold this man down tight, please kill him quickly."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon retorted, "Please, make friends with normal people!"

Geom Mugeuk turned to look at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and replied, "But my very first friend was already not normal."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew the comment was about him and shook his head.

Meanwhile, Tae Su watched the scene unfold, his heart pounding. It wasn't because Geom Mugeuk had met some unknown person here. For some reason, his heart raced as he watched the puppet being ganged up on.

He'd seen Geom Mugeuk in action several times, but he'd never felt this kind of palpitation, probably because he'd dispatched them too quickly. However, seeing him stand so alone against such fearsome masters made him seem like a man from a heaven beyond the heavens, someone Tae Su could never hope to approach.

He'd originally planned to meet his father after this and tell him he was quitting thievery. Now, a different thought crossed his mind.

Would it be okay to ask to become this person's subordinate?

He felt as if he'd been looking up at a sky he could never reach, chasing an impossible dream all by himself.

Tae Su glanced at Ji Han. Don't you feel the same?

Ji Han, however, watched the situation with calm eyes. He knew Geom Mugeuk's identity, so this situation didn't surprise him at all.

A puppet being ganged up on? Of course, the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult should be the main character among those puppets.

Nevertheless, he was inwardly tense. He had no idea how this situation was unfolding. Was it really okay for the first battle he fought while serving the Young Cult Leader to be such a grand one?

If these two felt this way, the other martial artists were even more shaken by the unexpected situation. They'd thought opening this room would reveal a new trap and that treasure would be waiting for them. They'd expected a scene with dozens of skeletons, with all sorts of treasures scattered beside them.

Reality, however, didn't forgive those who dreamed.

We've been tricked!

They thought Geom Mugeuk had deceived them and brought them here. The puppet, and the warm way he greeted the person already here, all pointed to it.

They soon realized, however, that Geom Mugeuk hadn't been the one leading them.

The man in the iron mask revealed his identity by respectfully greeting the Sword King. "It's been a while."

"Isn't it hot wearing that mask all the time?"

"It is fine."

Their casual conversation made it clear that the iron mask man's position wasn't low.

"The person you're looking for?"

"He should be among them."

The iron mask martial artist walked toward the group of martial artists, took an incense stick from his robes and lit it.

"This is the Scent Visualization Incense. It will react to the person we are looking for."

Smoke flowed from the incense, slowly spreading through the surroundings.

The martial artists all felt a sense of dread as they watched the smoke approach. A situation they could have never imagined was unfolding.

Geom Mugeuk suddenly realized that the iron mask man was looking for Dan Sojin, the one who'd contacted him via telepathy.

"……"

The smoke, which had been drifting slowly, coiled around one person as if it were alive.

The person the smoke chose was, as Geom Mugeuk expected, Dan Sojin.

Geom Mugeuk prepared for a worst-case scenario. If the iron mask man tried to kill Dan Sojin, he planned to save him first. Of course, that didn't guarantee Dan Sojin wasn't an enemy. All he knew about him was his name. Still, he felt an instinctual need to save him.

Fortunately, the iron mask man had no intention of killing him.

"Come over here."

Dan Sojin trembled, terrified. He'd been acting quite well from the very beginning. "Why are you doing this?"

His acting, however, was now too late.

"Stop it and come out. You have to come out from there to live."

The remaining people were startled by those words. Did that mean he intended to kill everyone else?

The iron mask man pointed out one more person. "You, come out as well."

It was the man with the sword scar on his face. According to Dan Sojin, he was a martial artist from the Evil Alliance.

The iron mask martial artist also knew his identity precisely.

"This man was sent by the Evil Alliance Chairman. He ordered that this man be kept alive as well."

The designated man with the sword scar walked forward and stood next to Dan Sojin. This wasn't a situation or atmosphere for resistance.

After picking out those two, the iron mask man walked toward the remaining martial artists, clearly intending to kill all the rest.

Just then, the Sword King said calmly, "I just reunited with my friend after a long time. Don't spread the smell of blood."

The iron mask man was flustered, knowing this meant he shouldn't kill them. "You cannot do this."

The Sword King stared silently at the iron mask man. He wasn't glaring or revealing any killing intent, but the iron mask man immediately bowed his head low.

The Sword King spoke to the martial artists who stood around awkwardly. "Get out, and don't look back."

The martial artists scrambled back the way they came.

"If I build up some good karma like this, maybe they'll put me in a slightly less hot pit of fire in hell later, right?"

He said it as if he'd saved them for his own sake, but Geom Mugeuk knew. He'd let them go for him, because he knew his friend hated indiscriminate slaughter.

SHWAAAAAAK!

Suddenly, the sound of raging enhanced qi came from the direction they'd fled. Screams were heard, and the thick scent of blood wafted from that direction.

Soon after, four men entered the room, wearing peculiar attire. Two wore black martial arts uniforms with black cloaks and had black daos at their waists, while the other two wore red martial arts uniforms with red cloaks and had red daos at their waists.

A man walked in between the two pairs. He was a man with an absolutely overwhelming presence. Tall and powerfully built, he wore twin daos at his waist.

The left and right daos he carried were different from each other. The left dao was a black dao, as dark as jet, while the right dao was a blood dao, as red as blood. The black dao had a moon drawn in pure white lines, and the blood dao had a sun drawn on it.

His features were sharp, as if carved with a knife, and his jet-black eyes shone like the gleam of a blade. His gaze was so sharp that just looking at him felt like having a blade pressed against one's throat.

The moment Geom Mugeuk saw him, he knew who he was. The second king of the Twelve Zodiac Kings, the Blade King, Naeng Musang.

He'd risen to the position of the greatest master of blade techniques during the era of the Twelve Zodiac Kings with those twin daos. His martial arts were said to be so profound that rumors claimed his blade techniques were strong enough to rival the Sword King. Everyone feared him, not just for his formidable blade techniques, but more so for his cruel and sometimes near-maniacal personality.

The four martial artists who entered before him were the Blade King's limbs, absolute masters known as the Four Dark Blood Bladesmen.

Now, following the Sword King, the Blade King had also appeared. The first and second kings of the Twelve Zodiac Kings were in the same place.

The Sword King looked at the Blade King and said, "Your hellfire just got a little hotter."

Their gazes locked in mid-air. There was no fear in the Blade King's eyes as he looked at the Sword King. Nor was it a look of disrespect.

"No matter how hard I tried to understand you, I can't." The Blade King's voice was as sharp as a midwinter wind, yet also low and dry.

Then, as if to say this person was the reason, the Blade King turned his head and looked at Geom Mugeuk.

SWOOOOOSH!

A single thread of killing intent flew toward Geom Mugeuk. The killing intent was laden with emotion, full of displeasure and hostility.

SLAM!

Before that killing intent could reach Geom Mugeuk, however, the Heaven Destroying Dao embedded itself in the ground in front of him. The energy radiating from the Heaven Destroying Dao, still wrapped in cloth, repelled every last shred of killing intent, allowing none of it through.

The aura of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who'd suddenly stepped in front of Geom Mugeuk, was colder than ever. This wasn't the gentle man who usually read books and drank tea.

"Ultimately, this world is full of detestable bastards."

SRRRRK!

He untied the knot that bound the Heaven Destroying Dao. As the cloth unwound, the true form of the blade was revealed.

"Let's just say I lost this bet."