Sword God Reborn

Chapter 257 : I expected this as well

Mr. Han didn't know where the main base was, nor did he know the contact who knew where the main base was.

But Cheon Mubaeck didn't regret catching Mr. Han.

Because he had done his part perfectly.

He was a person who had been in charge of communications, going back and forth between three bases in Sichuan, including the Yudang Medical Hall.

That meant he was a faithful guide who could lead Cheon Mubaeck to the other two bases.

Moreover, one of the other two places was a base that even Zhuge Seol-ah had not known about before.

"Even with the combined information network of the Hanamun and the Beggars' Sect, to think there's a base we don't know about like this..."

"They're old hands as the number one assassin sect in the world, so would they be so easy?"

Cheon Mubaeck continued to move.

Cheon Mubaeck, Zhuge Seol-ah, So-hang, and Gok Ji-heum. Although it was a small group of only four, they were that much faster and more secretive. They struck before the assassins could even react.

They raided, destroyed, and burned the bases before they could even prepare.

Here, Cheon Mubaeck's agile response shone.

Gok Ji-heum clicked his tongue.

"Is he bold? Or reckless?"

To be honest, in Gok Ji-heum's eyes, it looked reckless.

What if the things Mr. Han had said were lies?

There was a high possibility. Shouldn't he release people and watch the suspected bases for a few days? To see if they were actually bases or not.

But Cheon Mubaeck had checked a few times, and once he had somehow infiltrated inside with Gok Ji-heum's disguise skills, he was certain in less than two hours.

That this place was a base of the Wolya Faction.

For Gok Ji-heum, it was absurd. It even looked reckless at a glance. If it wasn't the Wolya Faction, it would be a big mistake.

But without fail, it was a base of the Wolya Faction.

"How on earth?"

It was to the extent that Gok Ji-heum couldn't understand.

Cheon Mubaeck said nonchalantly.

"It's a hunch. A hunch."

It was something Gok Ji-heum couldn't know.

That the experience of fighting countless assassins in his repeated past lives was now shining.

Gok Ji-heum could only admire with an uncomprehending expression.

"The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero is the natural enemy of assassins."

He didn't just stop at destroying the bases. He quickly found a contact like Mr. Han.

"Once you catch one, it's like a sweet potato vine..."

They came out in a line like a sweet potato vine. The contacts connecting the cell organizations existed at every base.

And he used the same threat he had used on Mr. Han.

Although the contacts had the guts of an assassin, that also had its limits.

Because they couldn't help but feel fear when they saw the bases being miserably crushed in Cheon Mubaeck's hands.

The rumor that the bases of the Wolya Faction were collapsing one by one would surely be reaching their ears quickly.

Now, even if Cheon Mubaeck didn't try to find them, it was a situation where contacts were approaching to grasp the situation.

Cheon Mubaeck just had to cast a net and wait to catch the fish.

Because they had entangled themselves in the net.

As Gok Ji-heum had said, they came out in a line like a sweet potato vine.

If you caught one, that one would call two or three, so from Gok Ji-heum's perspective, who was watching, it was just amazing.

'Good heavens, who attacks the Wolya Faction like this?'

There were certainly many instances in the history of the martial world where people had attacked the assassin sect, burning with resentment.

Although the vast majority had ended in failure, it was the first time he had heard of fighting assassins in this way.

The effect was certain.

If you beat up a contact, a base would pop out, and if you burned down a base, a new contact would roll in.

Finally, when they had crossed Sichuan Province and were approaching Qinghai Province, an unexpected name came out of the mouth of a new contact.

"The North Sword Society?"

Zhuge Seol-ah was startled.

Cheon Mubaeck tilted his head and looked at Gok Ji-heum. It was a silent gaze that said to tell him what he knew.

Gok Ji-heum scratched his chin with an awkward face.

"The influence of the Hanamun is weak in the Qinghai area... I don't know the details, but I heard that they have quite a bit of power as a sword sect in Qinghai Province."

"Is that all?"

"Ahem. Qinghai is not really seen as the same Central Plains by the people of the Central Plains, is it? It's quite far away, and... well, that's why I don't know much."

"Well. If the Hanamun had influence all the way to Qinghai Province, the beggars' pride would be a joke."

"Hmph. It can't be helped, can it? The feet of the Beggars' Sect beggars extend all the way to the foreign lands."

"There are places without shop assistants and courtesans, but there are no places without beggars."

Cheon Mubaeck nodded. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he could get any information about the North Sword Society even if he dug into the Hanamun more.

Because even the sect master, Gok Ji-heum, was readily admitting it, even mentioning the Beggars' Sect.

Then there was only one answer.

The Beggars' Sect. Then it would be fast to go through the Righteous Alliance.

When he glanced at Zhuge Seol-ah, it seemed she already knew about the North Sword Society.

"Do you know anything about the North Sword Society?"

Zhuge Seol-ah's face hardened slightly.

"The North Sword Society is a sect that has officially declared its entry into the Righteous Alliance."

"They've joined?"

Cheon Mubaeck's brow narrowed slightly. His indifferent gaze turned to the cowering man in the corner.

The man, whose body was covered in clear signs of beating, was the contact who had mentioned the North Sword Society.

If he had mentioned the name of a sect that had joined the Righteous Alliance...

Two assumptions could be made.

"One would be a scheme to divide the alliance from within with suspicion and doubt."

Zhuge Seol-ah's voice was cold. The gaze she cast down on the man was not just cool, but sharp.

"Suspicion and doubt. You think it's a divisive tactic?"

"The Righteous Alliance doesn't just allow any sect to join. If it were a disguised sect of assassins, they would have noticed long ago."

"It would have gone through the information network of the Beggars' Sect, and with my father's picky personality, they would have thoroughly investigated it within the alliance as well."

"That's right. The sect's history, its past, its successive leaders, its position within Qinghai Province, and even the truth of the rumors circulating in the martial world. All of it."

"Have you seen them in person? The greetings of the North Sword Society."

"I... haven't. It was when I had gone to Shandong to find you, Young Master, and also when we were in Henan together."

"Assassins are people who are best at hiding their own identities..."

Zhuge Seol-ah paused for a moment before shaking her head fiercely.

"That's right. But my father personally looked into it and gave his permission."

Cheon Mubaeck smiled bitterly. What was felt in Zhuge Seol-ah's cold voice was absolute trust. That was how much of a great object of trust her father, Zhuge Yeogang, was to her.

The belief that even if she were wrong, her father would not be wrong.

"If it's a divisive tactic, it's a very effective one. Perhaps that person has been racking his brain. It's just a single word, but..."

"The aftermath would be no joke."

"If a false claim that a sect that has joined the Righteous Alliance is actually a disguised sect of the Wolya Faction were to spread, it would cause confusion and noise within the alliance."

"An investigation team would also be dispatched. It would be a relief if the investigation revealed it was a misunderstanding, but..."

"A person's heart can't always be so magnanimous. They are people who have come all the way from the distant Qinghai to join the Righteous Alliance."

What if it were a misunderstanding?

The North Sword Society would be wronged. Even if it were revealed to be a misunderstanding, a feeling of disappointment would surely remain.

And what if such an incident were to spread to the outside?

Where would the trust of the small and medium-sized sects that had not yet decided to join the Righteous Alliance go?

Suspicion and doubt.

If a suspicion that there might be a spy within the alliance were to arise, there would surely be people who would really believe it.

It was Zhuge Seol-ah's thought that it might be a high-level stratagem to shake the alliance itself with a single word.

Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders.

"Or it could really be a disguised sect of the Wolya Faction."

"..."

"How long has it been since they joined?"

"Umm, it's been a little over a month."

"It's a coincidence."

"A coincidence?"

Zhuge Seol-ah's eyes widened. Because it seemed Cheon Mubaeck knew something.

"Isn't it close to the time when you and I were attacked by the Wolya Faction?"

"Ah...!"

"Perhaps they started their move from then. In case of an emergency, they would have infiltrated assassins into the Righteous Alliance and looked for a chance to kill."

"No way...!"

Zhuge Seol-ah's eyes widened. Her pupils shook violently for a moment. It was a very reasonable suspicion.

"Assassins assimilate anywhere. If they go to the market, they become merchants, if they go to an inn, they become shop assistants, cooks, and ordinary customers."

"..."

"Disguising themselves as the North Sword Society is not difficult for them. Assassins have killed numerous martial artists. They don't just receive the reward for the request. They take one or two of the martial arts manuals left by the dead martial artist. Because there may be times when they have to assassinate those who use the same martial arts, so they need to know the countermeasures for the martial arts accurately."

"Then..."

"The North Sword Society may have been dealt with by the Wolya Faction long ago, and the Wolya Faction may have been disguised as the North Sword Society for a long time."

Zhuge Seol-ah's face hardened.

If Cheon Mubaeck's assumption was not far from the truth.

So, to have infiltrated the Righteous Alliance in advance and looked for a chance to kill Cheon Mubaeck was one of the methods the Wolya Faction could use.

And at the same time, they would have planted a spy in the Righteous Alliance.

"There's an assassin inside the Righteous Alliance..."

Zhuge Seol-ah's words trailed off.

In fact, the warriors of the North Sword Society were staying in the pavilions of the Righteous Alliance, and they were divided into several strike forces.

Some of the more intelligent members of the North Sword Society had even entered the military affairs department.

The image of a scholar from the North Sword Society, who was doing simple office work next to her father, came to Zhuge Seol-ah's mind.

It wasn't that she didn't trust her father's martial arts skills, but...

The opponent was the assassins of the Wolya Faction, who had killed numerous absolute masters.

If they had come in, deceiving even Zhuge Yeogang's eyes, their skills were beyond question.

Zhuge Seol-ah's body trembled slightly.

It was then.

Cheok.

Cheon Mubaeck's pure white hand rested on Zhuge Seol-ah's small shoulder.

In an instant, as if by magic, Zhuge Seol-ah's heart calmed down. The tension that had been on edge calmed down.

Cheon Mubaeck's deep gaze was seen.

"Don't worry."

As if he were a person who could see right through her, Cheon Mubaeck's voice was calm.

"The one with the most experience fighting assassins in this world is me."

"...Yes?"

Zhuge Seol-ah was stunned for a moment.

The most experience fighting assassins in the world?

What kind of absurd statement was that?

A sound of a chuckle came from the side. Gok Ji-heum was looking at Cheon Mubaeck with an amused look. It wasn't just Gok Ji-heum.

"Oh my... as expected."

So-hang was covering her face with both hands and sighing softly.

"Well. Youth is good at times like this. He's the first man I've seen who boasts so arrogantly."

Gok Ji-heum nodded with a pleased look.

Naturally, to them, Cheon Mubaeck's words seemed like a rather cute boast to calm Zhuge Seol-ah down.

Should I say it was the boast of a childish man?

But Cheon Mubaeck was sincere.

Since humans had held swords, contract killing had been an inseparable history in human society.

Cheon Mubaeck had always held a sword and had walked through numerous grudges and favors.

And many swords had been aimed at him, and among them were the hidden weapons of numerous assassins.

Even if a person had fought assassins their whole life, it was only one life.

But Cheon Mubae't had lived countless lives, and in those lives, he had fought assassins every time.

So all the actions of an assassin...

"I expected that as well."

Cheon Mubaeck smiled brightly.

(End of Chapter)