Rebirth of the Heavenly Demon

Chapter 110 – Into the Fragrance of the Sword (3)

Jong Cheon-rak revealed the top-secret information he had not disclosed until now.

“You know that the Demonic Cult has been revived.”

“There are such indications.”

Gal Sa-ryang subtly pointed out that this wasn’t a fully confirmed fact.

“No. It’s certain.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because this time, one of the Demonic Cult’s masters has expressed their intention to defect to us.”

Gal Sa-ryang was shocked.

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know either. But it’s certain that they’re a figure in a considerable position within the Demonic Cult. Now do you understand why I didn’t give up on this operation?”

“Even if that’s true, doesn’t the fact that they’re attacking us mean they’ve already noticed we’re trying to make contact with him? He’s probably already dead.”

“That won’t be the case. He said he activated a powerful formation in Sword Fragrance Forest so that no one could enter. He promised to disable the formation for us at the agreed time. He won’t be able to hold out for long, so we need to get there as quickly as possible and bring him back.”

“How can you trust those words?”

“He sent definitive proof that he’s a Demonic Cult member.”

“Did you see the proof?”

“The Alliance Leader saw it. That’s why this order was issued.”

“Ah!”

Like Gal Sa-ryang, I realized this was a perfect trap.

With an operation of this nature, no matter what happens along the way, we have to arrive at the promised time. It’s an operation where we can’t turn back even if we’re attacked. Rather, we have to increase our speed recklessly.

Whoever it is, they’ve set up the trap properly. They have someone as smart as Gal Sa-ryang on their side.

“If the Demonic Cult comes out into the world again, countless people will die. If we can rescue him, we might be able to eradicate the Demonic Cult members and prevent a war beforehand. So our mission is truly of utmost importance.”

It was a perfect trap for Jong Cheon-rak, who had a strong will to protect the martial world and high loyalty to the Martial Righteous Alliance. It’s a deception. The Demonic Cult has absolutely not been revived.

“He said he would disable the formation spread over Sword Fragrance Forest for exactly one hour from 5 to 7 PM for three days, starting yesterday until tomorrow.”

“It’s dangerous to go without a plan.”

“I’m not going to turn back. So if you’re thinking of persuading me, don’t waste your time.”

Gal Sa-ryang turned to look at me once. He asked for my opinion with his eyes. I nodded once, expressing that it was right to follow his decision.

If his mind won’t change anyway, it would be beneficial to move quickly.

Gal Sa-ryang said to Jong Cheon-rak,

“Let’s go.”

He didn’t make this decision because I said to go. Gal Sa-ryang was also planning to follow Jong Cheon-rak’s opinion, but he asked for my opinion to save face for me.

“Good!”

Jong Cheon-rak called his subordinates and gave them a few instructions.

The nearest Martial Righteous Alliance branch was too far away to hope for support. Moreover, Jong Cheon-rak didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.

I took out an item from my pouch and handed it to Gal Sa-ryang.

“Please wear this.”

It was a heart-protecting armor. It wasn’t a full upper body armor, but a small, portable protective gear that only protected the heart.

“Where did this come from?”

“It’s something I had.”

This heart-protecting armor was one of the few items I had bought in the marketplace during the Golden Grand Banquet. Was it two thousand taels? It was too cheap for a heart-protecting armor, but I bought it because it was quite well-made for its price.

It won’t be able to block an attack from a real master, but it should be able to stop a blind sword strike at least once.

“You wear it. You’ll be the one fighting, won’t you?”

“No, Military Officer must wear it. That way I can fight with peace of mind.”

I was wearing something far better than any protective gear. I was wearing an arm guard wound with the special heavenly silkworm thread used in the South Sea Fisherman’s fishing line on my wrist.

“You?”

“At least for this matter, please follow my words.”

Gal Sa-ryang looked at me. Although he tried not to show it, I could tell he was slightly moved.

“Alright.”

He put on the heart-protecting armor. I personally placed it over his heart.

Later, I’ll make you wear something really good.

Right now, I was in a position where I couldn’t give him such things even if I wanted to. Even if I had the intention, I couldn’t carelessly give out something worth tens of thousands of taels.

The martial artists watched as I fastened the heart-protecting armor for him. They all had somewhat envious looks. They weren’t envying the heart-protecting armor itself, but the fact that there was someone to fasten it for him.

“How is it? Is it comfortable?”

“It’s very good.”

“I’m glad. Please keep wearing it until you return after completing the mission.”

“I will.”

At this moment, Gal Sa-ryang felt a strange feeling. He had thought he was protecting and bringing along a young military officer, but since departing, he felt a sense of reassurance from being cared for by him.

Jong Cheon-rak, who had finished preparations for departure, walked ahead and said,

“Hurry!”

***

An old man stood on a gentle hill with his hands behind his back, gazing at the forest visible in the distance. It was the place where the Thousand Bow Regiment had just begun to move.

“You failed even with the shields?”

“Yes.”

The middle-aged man standing behind lowered his head as if ashamed.

“That could happen. What are our losses?”

“Fifty dead and twenty severely injured.”

“How many of them did we take out?”

“Well… we couldn’t kill a single one.”

The old man slowly turned his head back. The middle-aged man shrank his neck like a turtle at the sharp killing intent the old man emitted.

“How could that be possible?”

He had to answer well. One wrong move and his head would fly. The old man was a very frightening person.

Yes, how could that be possible?

It was a thought he had had several times while pushing his subordinates to get to this position.

Failure was possible. After all, the opponent was the elite Thousand Bow Regiment of the Martial Righteous Alliance.

But how could they not have killed even one?

This was the answer the man found:

“The military officer who came along this time is Gal Sa-ryang, the former Commander-in-Chief.”

“So? Did Gal Sa-ryang quit being a military officer and become a peerless master?”

When the old man asked coldly, the middle-aged man bowed his head deeply.

“I’m sorry.”

The old man turned his head again to look at the distant scenery.

“Deal with it by the end of today.”

“I receive your command.”

The middle-aged man leapt away, inwardly relieved.

Feeling this was his last chance, he gritted his teeth.

‘If I fail this time, I’m really dead.’

***

Swiiish!

That’s why the sword the middle-aged man thrust out contained all the skill of his lifetime.

‘I can kill him!’

A chaotic battle broke out, and he lost dozens of subordinates again. He had thoroughly prepared for the fight with the Thousand Bow Regiment. He had prepared various methods to break their archery.

But for some reason, it didn’t work.

At first, he had mentioned Gal Sa-ryang’s presence as an excuse, but now he was beginning to think it really might be because of that guy that they couldn’t break through.

Anyway, by pouring in even more subordinates than in the previous attack, he succeeded in approaching Jong Cheon-rak.

‘If I can just kill this guy!’

If he could just kill Jong Cheon-rak, he could annihilate them all. At least he could survive. Although he wouldn’t receive a reward due to the great sacrifice of his subordinates, he could achieve today’s goal.

Jong Cheon-rak drew his sword to block his sword.

A look of elation flashed across the middle-aged man’s face. He had succeeded in approaching Jong Cheon-rak up close, avoiding and deflecting those powerful arrows.

How could he block with a sword what the archery master couldn’t stop with arrows?

As if to prove this, a Thousand Bow Regiment martial artist nearby urgently shouted to be careful.

‘If it could be blocked by being careful, I wouldn’t be the Black Hand Sword[1].’

The man was indeed the Black Hand Sword. He was once one of the most successful mercenary masters. It was seven years ago that he abandoned his identity and was recruited by the old man he had seen earlier.

Just as the Black Hand Sword’s sword was about to pierce Jong Cheon-rak’s heart.

Shing! Clang!

A flying dagger came from somewhere and deflected his sword.

Considering the momentum of the sword and the magnificent internal energy contained in it, the flying object should have been deflected. A mere flying dagger from afar couldn’t interfere with his attack.

But pain surged through his wrist as if it would break, and his sword was deflected sideways.

Puk!

The sword that was aiming for Jong Cheon-rak’s heart stabbed his right arm instead.

The opponent presumed to have thrown the flying dagger rushed towards him quickly.

He pulled out his sword and swung it towards the opponent. But the opponent was much faster than he had thought.

Swiiing! Slash!

That was the last sound the Black Hand Sword heard, and the last sensation was something unpleasant cutting his throat. It didn’t hurt at all.

Thud.

I, who had cut off the man’s head, shouted towards Jong Cheon-rak.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Jong Cheon-rak nodded while applying pressure to his arm.

I didn’t have time to check on him further. Another Thousand Bow Regiment martial artist nearby was in danger.

I threw myself towards him again.

Swiiish!

Puaak!

The chest of the man who was about to cut down the Thousand Bow Regiment martial artist split open from my sword as he fell.

The Thousand Bow Regiment martial artist, having escaped the crisis, shot arrows again.

Ping! Ping!

Men charging from the front fell as they were hit by arrows.

Flying daggers also flew consecutively from my hand.

Shik shik shik!

A man approaching Gal Sa-ryang fell as he flipped over.

Gal Sa-ryang looked at me in surprise, but I had no time to receive his grateful gaze.

I shouted, infusing internal energy into my voice.

“The enemy leader is dead! The leader is dead.”

The shout was effective. The momentum of the charging men died down, and when I rushed in and cut down a few more while shouting, they all retreated at once.

It was the moment when the frenzied attack that lasted for an hour ended.

“Take care of the wounded!”

Unfortunately, two of the Thousand Bow Regiment martial artists had died. They died when the battle started, caught in a surprise attack, so I couldn’t protect them.

Eight people were injured, and three of them were severely wounded.

I fed them internal injury medicine and applied wound-closing medicine. Everyone was deeply moved by the sight of me using expensive medicine I had been storing without hesitation.

“Thank you, if it weren’t for you, we would have suffered a great loss.”

I humbly said it was nothing to Jong Cheon-rak’s praise, but his words were true.

If I hadn’t been darting around coordinating the battle, there wouldn’t have been a single Thousand Bow Regiment martial artist surviving here.

That’s how persistent and powerful the enemy’s attack was. Because everyone knew this, their eyes and attitudes towards me became very respectful and friendly now.

Of course, Gal Sa-ryang was safe. Even in the midst of fighting, I had prioritized Gal Sa-ryang’s safety above all.

“We should leave this place for now.”

Jong Cheon-rak accepted Gal Sa-ryang’s suggestion.

“Let’s do that.”

We gathered the wounded and moved again.

We safely arrived at Sword Fragrance Forest.

According to Jong Cheon-rak’s original words, there should be a formation set up here, and it would be deactivated at 5 PM.

But there was no formation in Sword Fragrance Forest. There was no one to greet us either.

It was the moment when it became certain that this mission was intended to kill Jong Cheon-rak.

Gal Sa-ryang smirked. It was also the moment he confirmed that Sima Cheon had tried to kill him too. Of course, if questioned about this later, he would deny knowing anything.

But Gal Sa-ryang knew. Sima Cheon might be incompetent, but he had an uncanny sense of things. There was no doubt that he had tried to eliminate him along with this mission.

On the other hand, Jong Cheon-rak wore a more serious expression.

“What on earth is going on here?”

“It seems we’ve been deceived.”

“If we’ve been deceived?”

How could he not understand the terrible meaning contained in those words?

“Their goal is to kill us.”

“Why would they want to kill us?”

“Regiment Leader Jong, you’re the only one among the three important units who could oppose the Alliance Leader’s will.”

“I can’t believe the Alliance Leader would try to kill me for such a reason.”

“You must believe it.”

“Why on earth?”

“Because I’m here in this place.”

Jong Cheon-rak was startled.

Himself and the former Commander-in-Chief Gal Sa-ryang, yes. They could certainly be thorns in the Alliance Leader’s side. But even so, if he’s trying to eliminate them like this, then… doesn’t that mean Ma Bong-gi is truly the worst villain?

“Since we’ve come this far, let’s go to the promised place and confirm.”

Jong Cheon-rak didn’t give up hope until the very end. Gal Sa-ryang complied with that proposal.

“Let’s do that.”

Anyway, we couldn’t return immediately now because of the wounded. It made no difference whether we went a little further or retreated a little.

Everyone entered Sword Fragrance Forest.

Sword Fragrance Forest was a vast forest. It was a place with such treacherous paths that one could easily get lost if not careful.

We carefully walked towards its center.

At the center of that Sword Fragrance Forest was the Life and Death Tower, a holy site of the Blood Heavens Divine Cult. The Life and Death Tower[2] was known as the place where the sacred objects of the Blood Heavens Divine Cult were kept, but apart from me and Gal Sa-ryang, almost no one knew the details about it.

We had come here a very long time ago, and Gal Sa-ryang remembered the path accurately. Even though my memory had improved, I was confused by this complex forest path, but Gal Sa-ryang was finding the way accurately. Indeed, his intelligence was incomparable to mine.

We supported and took care of the wounded as we followed Gal Sa-ryang.

How long had we walked like that? In the distance, the shape of a seven-story tower appeared.

It was the Life and Death Tower, one of the three great holy sites of the Blood Heavens Divine Cult.