Chapter 452 : Revenge (2)

Even ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍with his blade buried in the heart of Eunuch Bang, Seo Wan-pyeong's face remained as gloomy as ever.

It ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍wasn't that he was brooding over the emptiness of revenge or anything like that.

'Late ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Pavilion Lord. I did it.'

He ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍felt a profound sense of fulfillment.

The ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍shadow that clung to his face was simply… his face. That was just how it had always been.

He ‍​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍had entered Transcendence, but twenty-odd years of paranoia, depression, and insomnia don't just pack up and leave overnight. The aftermath of all that still lingered in his bones.

They say a man gets his face from his parents when he's young, but by the time he hits forty, his face is a reflection of the life he's lived.

So there was Seo Wan-pyeong, savoring his triumph with the expression of a man at a funeral.

A beat later, he snapped back to reality.

'Oh shit.'

The other members of the Dark Shadow Pavilion were still out there, fighting the remaining Eastern Depot agents.

Shelving his post-revenge celebration for later, Seo Wan-pyeong kicked off the ground and dove back into the fray. Like the shadow itself, he moved from target to target and killed them all silently.

By the time he'd dealt with the last of the Eastern Depot agents, he sensed movement beyond the treeline. It was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's warriors, led by the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord.

The Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord slipped out of the darkness and approached him.

"Well now. It looks like we missed the party."

"I apologize for rushing off without a word. How are things on the main front?"

"The Buddha Venerable and those Shaolin monks were there, but the Cult Leader dealt with them all personally. Judging by how quickly you moved, there must've been someone important here."

"One of the Eastern Depot's Brush-Holding Eunuch was making an attempt at escape. I gave chase."

With that, Seo Wan-pyeong turned to look at Eunuch Bang's body. The Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord followed his gaze and gave a slow nod.

"The Divine Monk, the Buddha Venerable, and now the last Brush-Holding Eunuch. I believe the tide has finally turned completely in our favor."

***

Several hours earlier, around the time word reached the Buddha Venerable's unit that the Divine Monk had fallen in battle.

The same news reached the Supreme Eunuch's unit as well.

"What a useless idiot."

Though he cursed the Divine Monk for getting himself killed, the Supreme Eunuch’s response to the crisis was entirely different.

"Order every unit to prepare for combat immediately."

The enemy had definitely heard the news by now. The Supreme Eunuch knew that if he didn't act fast and bleed the enemy a little more, the morale shift would crush them. The moment his decree was heard, the Eastern Depot agents and the commanding officers scrambled to move.

Before long, the troops had arranged themselves into something resembling a battle line and began advancing toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's position.

Meanwhile, just as the Supreme Eunuch predicted, the Demonic Cult Allied Forces stationed across from them had just received the breaking news. 

Inside the command tent, Zhuge Mun and the Beggar King both reacted with stunned expressions.

"Three people killed that monster? Just three?"

"…The more I think about it, the more it seems like the Left Guardian must have done something."

Seeing the two of them so baffled, Ouyang Pae threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"Hahaha! That’s the Left Guardian for you! I knew he was a once-in-a-millennium genius, but I never in my wildest dreams imagined he'd already found a way to deal with that old monster!"

They had heard that he paid a heavy price for the kill and retired to the rear, but that hardly mattered right now. What mattered was that he'd survived and the Divine Monk is dead.

While Ouyang Pae was busy beaming with pride, Zhuge Mun and the Beggar King were racking their brains trying to reverse-engineer Il-mok's impossible victory.

That’s when a soldier burst through the tent and shouted, "S-sirs! The enemy forces are on the move!"

Zhuge Mun turned the question back on him as if he'd been waiting for it.

"Are they retreating, or are they advancing?"

"They're advancing toward us!"

Hearing that, Ouyang Pae and the Beggar King both lit up.

"Chief Strategist! Now's our chance."

"Since it is confirmed that the Divine Monk is out of the picture, isn't it worth taking them head-on?"

Zhuge Mun shook his head firmly. "We have to assume they know the Divine Monk is dead. If they know they lost their strongest weapon and are still charging at us... doesn't that imply they have something just as terrifying up their sleeve?"

"…Which means either Supreme Eunuch is over there, or all of the government's remaining experts have consolidated in one place."

"Exactly. We need to fall back immediately."

Perhaps because Zhuge Mun had proven his exceptional abilities as a military strategist throughout this war, the two masters did not argue further and readily accepted his proposal.

Soon after, the heavy sound of drums signaling a retreat echoed throughout the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's encampment. 

Unlike a mob of panicked conscripts that filled the imperial army, the Divine Cult’s army was packed with blood-forged veterans. They executed the retreat with discipline and fell back in perfect formation at a speed that easily matched the enemy's charge.

"These cowardly bastards!"

Seeing the enemy army flee the very moment he ordered a charge, the Supreme Eunuch’s face twisted into an ugly scowl. To make matters worse, his hastily assembled soldiers were actually running slower than the retreating cultists. Meaning the gap wasn't closing; it was widening instead.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Supreme Eunuch let out a piercing shriek and stepped forward.

"Follow me!"

He took off at a blistering pace with the Eastern Depot agents and the government's top martial artists following after him.

The Beggar King spotted the old man closing the distance at a terrifying speed and shouted urgently. "The Chief Strategist was right on the money! That has to be Supreme Eunuch!"

Without missing a beat, Zhuge Mun swept his fan wide and bellowed. "All units! Scatter!"

Zhuge Mun wasn't suicidal enough to try to surround the eunuch. It would be a different story if their only goal were to kill the Supreme Eunuch. But with the imperial army marching behind him, choosing the first option would only lead to a certain death.

They must have drilled this exact maneuver a hundred times, because the moment Zhuge Mun's command fell, the unit fragmented and dispersed in every direction.

And before long, the Supreme Eunuch reached the Divine Cult army’s position.

SLASH!

Like a wolf unleashed upon a flock of helpless sheep, every casual swing of his flexible sword sheared through several soldiers at once, sending blood and body parts scattering in all directions.

Knowing exactly what was at stake, the Divine Cult’s martial artists stationed in the rear guard stopped running and drew their weapons.

"Keep moving! Don't look back!"

"We buy them time! Every second counts!"

Like moths throwing themselves into a flame, they charged straight at Supreme Eunuch to buy the rest of the retreating forces even a moment more of distance.

SLASH!

The cutting sound rang out without pause, and the bodies of Divine Cult warriors piled up around the Supreme Eunuch.

To a bystander, throwing their lives away against a monster looked entirely pointless. But those stolen seconds allowed the rest of the army to slip out of striking distance.

"Worthless insects!"            

The Supreme Eunuch let out another piercing shriek and launched himself at the next target. Each time he did, someone else willingly threw themselves in his path to slow him down, and bit by bit, the Divine Cult's forces had fragmented and scattered to the winds.

By the time he finished cutting down the last martial artists, the Divine Cult's forces had splintered and vanished over the horizon.

"Damn it."

Finding no one left nearby, Supreme Eunuch cursed under his breath and recalled his soft sword.

An Eastern Depot agent stepped up to him shortly after with a report.

"A great victory, Your Excellency. Our own casualties are almost nil, and it appears we've eliminated at least a third of the enemy forces."

Supreme Eunuch dearly wanted to lash out with his soft sword at that tone-deaf report, but he swallowed his anger for now.

'Right. We killed at least several thousand. That's better than just standing around.'

He tried to console himself with that thought.

But two days later, another piece of devastating news arrived.

A piece of news arrived that completely dwarfed his little consolation prize.

"The team we sent to Heyang was wiped out? Explain yourself! What happened to the Shaolin monk and Eunuch Bang?!"

"…There is a witness who claims to have seen the Buddha Venerable burned to death by the Demonic Cult Leader. As for the Brush-Holding Eunuch, we have been unable to confirm his fate, Your Excellency."

Before the report was even finished, a terrible killing intent erupted from every inch of the Supreme Eunuch's body.

"God damn it. Useless, every last one of them!!"

He wasn't even sure himself whether he meant his own incompetent allies or the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

First the Divine Monk, and now the Buddha Venerable.

Ironically, this was exactly the picture the picture Supreme Eunuch had always wanted to see.

And it was not just those two.

Yangmuja and Namgung Jin had died long before them, and now there were almost no martial artists left fighting alongside the government forces at all.

The Nine Great Sects and One Gang, the Seven Great Families, the Martial Alliance that had been their backbone, all of the thugs that once swaggered around and preached about righteousness and that useless pact are all gone.

Almost everyone who had once strutted around calling themselves one of the Twelve Heavenly Pillars was currently rotting in the dirt.

Everything was playing out exactly as the Supreme Eunuch had hoped, yet he was not pleased in the slightest.

Of the four surviving Twelve Heavenly Pillars, two of them—the Fist King and the Beggar King—were currently playing lapdog to the Demonic Cult. The other two—the Beheading Sword Immortal and the Black Staff Martial King—were busy tearing the southern provinces apart in a massive rebellion.

And it didn't stop there. Massive powers like the Zhuge Family and the Qingcheng Sect had completely defected to the Cult.

Meanwhile, what did the Han Dynasty have to show for it?

All three Brush-Holding Eunuchs were dead. Both the Western and the Southern Military Commander have fallen in battle. Every one of the ruffians who had allied with them was dead as well. Even the missing Mo Gyu-pil was almost certainly dead.

‘I poured my sweat and blood into this plan. Just where... where in the world did it all go wrong?’

He had thought everything was proceeding according to his design, right up until the day he'd received word that the previous Heavenly Demon had died of old age.

That monster of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult finally died. But as he traced back over the sequence of events, his thoughts converged on a single name.

The man who had uncovered his design for the martial world.

The man who somehow convinced the notoriously stubborn Orthodox Faction’s sects to team up with their mortal enemies just to fight the Han Dynasty.

The man who had just miraculously killed the Divine Monk, an old monster of the same caliber as he himself.

"This is all... because of that little rat, Il-mok."

At that, a storm of killing intent poured into the name of a man whose current whereabouts were unknown.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country.

Il-mok suddenly gave a full-body shudder, which earned him curious looks from the Demonic Physician and Seo Jae-pil.

"Oh my. It seems your vitals are in quite a poor state."

“I suspect it’s the Yin Qi in his Upper Dantian, Elder Demonic Physician.”

"Hahaha. It might be that the Yang Qi in the Middle Dantian has depleted. We'll have to check directly to know for sure."

At that exchange, Il-mok took a step back.

"D-directly? What do you mean by that? You're not planning on cutting into my brain and heart, are you?"

Listening to the casual banter of those two insane physicians was more than enough to give anyone goosebumps and make their body tremble.

"Hahaha. Of course, we wouldn't do such a thing."

"We don't have the technique to bring someone back after doing that, so that would be a bit difficult, Left Guardian."

The way they said it, it sounded like they absolutely would do it if they had the means.

‘Thank fuck they can’t dissect me right now.’

Il-mok tried his best to focus on the bright side.

'I-it's fine. They're definitely skilled, so I'll just trust them for now. As long as I keep them from putting a knife to my body, I should be fine... right?

Once the nightmare of a medical exam had finally concluded, the Demonic Physician cheerfully handed Il-mok a highly suspicious decoction of indeterminate composition.

"The state of your internal injuries is quite severe, so it is certainly not a situation that will heal in a day or two. Thankfully, time will heal your injuries just fine.”

"W-well. That's a relief."

"Also, you'll need to rest as comfortably as possible for the foreseeable future. This entire building is essentially a ward set aside specifically for high-ranking members of the Divine Cult, so it should be a fine place for you to recover.”

"Understood."

With that, the Demonic Physician left to attend to his other patients.

Il-mok sat there blankly resting in his room for a while, but lying around grew tedious, so he got up and went for a walk.

As he wandered around the building's exterior, a familiar face appeared from the opposite direction,

It was Yeom Ga-hwi.

'Come to think of it, I'd heard Halll Master Yeom was also here in Xi'an recovering from serious injuries.'

As it happened, Yeom Ga-hwi had spotted him too and gave a slight bow in greeting.

"Hall Master of the Demonic Way Yeom Ga-hwi greets the Left Guardian."

"It feels like it's been ages, Hall Master. How are you feeling?"

As he asked, Il-mok's eyes drifted to the bandages wrapped around both of Yeom Ga-hwi's hands.

"When I lost to the Divine Monk and had to retreat, I thought right then and there that it was all over. But I'm recovering little by little now."

As Il-mok had heard it, both of Yeom Ga-hwi's arms had been broken in the fight against the Divine Monk.

If it had been a clean snap, standard medicine could have fixed it. But with the bones splintered into dozens of fragments, treating it was supposed to be impossible in this day and age. 

For a fist fighter like Yeom Ga-hwi, it was a death sentence for his martial career. He was doomed to live the rest of his life as a cripple.

"The Demonic Physician decided to perform surgery on me. Thankfully, the bones are actually starting to fuse back together. Though I have to admit... I never imagined a physician would literally flay my arms open with a scalpel and manually set every fragment of shattered bone back in place, and then stitch it all shut again."

Il-mok felt his skin crawl at those words.

"D-did you endure that surgery while conscious?"

They were using narcotics as anesthetics, but the effect was nowhere close to what modern medicine could achieve.

"Better than living as a cripple, isn't it? It stung quite a bit, but it was more bearable than I expected."

"…You sound like Guan Yu right now."

"Hahaha! Now that you mention it, I suppose I am a bit like the legends!"

Il-mok smiled wryly at Yeom Ga-hwi's easy laughter.

‘Whoa, Hall Master Yeom sure loves postering.’

No matter how he thought about it, the man must have been absolutely screaming his head off the entire time.