Sword God Reborn

Chapter 298 : The Stage Where Everyone Watches

A headless organization is inevitably bound to falter.

It was Zhuge Seol-ah and the Demon Repelling Squad who first felt the strange atmosphere.

The Demon Repelling Squad, led by the Vice-Leader in place of the absent Cheon Mubaeck, had been active in accordance with the reason for its establishment.

To find the most dangerous battlefield and to fight on the front line.

Although it was a strategy to crouch and defend at the core bases, the Demon Repelling Squad, as a strike force, had gone back and forth and had experienced the most battles.

Now, they had accumulated quite a few achievements that no one could ignore, saying it was just a strike force made up of rising stars.

Therefore, Zhuge Seol-ah realized that the flow had strangely changed.

"It's strange."

"What is, Vice-Leader?"

Hwangbo Sung asked, wiping his sword. As if to prove that he had just fought a fierce battle, his whole body was drenched in blood.

It wasn't just Hwangbo Sung.

Tang Su-gun, So-hang, Gyo Mun-cheok, and even Namgung Jincheon.

All the key members of the Demon Repelling Squad were tidying themselves up with tired expressions.

While everyone was resting and reorganizing, Zhuge Seol-ah did not stop thinking.

Because while Cheon Mubaeck was away, she was the one who had to lead the Demon Repelling Squad.

So Zhuge Seol-ah did her best.

'He said he caught the Blood Buddha. I heard he also left the escort agency, but there's no word on where he went yet.'

Although she thought he would come to the Righteous Alliance soon, there was no way to know where he was and what he was doing.

But when she heard that he had sometimes obtained information through the Beggars' Sect.

He was surely fighting his own battle somewhere.

"Isn't this flow too strange?"

"The flow, you say?"

"The movements of the demonic people have become strange."

"Hmm."

Hwangbo Sung tilted his head for a moment. As he had just been fighting recklessly on the front line, he didn't know much about such things. But the one who was surprisingly sensitive was Tang Su-gun.

As a descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan, he, who had a sensitive sense, agreed with Zhuge Seol-ah's words.

"The Vice-Leader is right. Their movements are strange. Even if they're not in perfect order, they're collapsing too easily."

"Well, isn't it because they're weak and we've gotten stronger?"

Hwangbo Sung said quite confidently. The skills of the Demon Repelling Squad had improved in an instant through numerous real battles. It was as if a dam had broken and it was flowing coolly.

He knew well where that feeling came from.

It was Cheon Mubaeck's training.

Although he hadn't realized it when he was receiving the training, when he was actually in a fight, the results of the training shone. He could feel his skills improving by leaps and bounds, as if he were jumping over a wall.

So Hwangbo Sung's confidence was perhaps natural. But Namgung Jincheon, who had approached him at some point, warned him in a low voice.

"Remember. We are not strong. We have only caught the lower-class demonic people of the demonic path. If we meet a master like the Blood Buddha, we will all die."

He, who had experienced a crisis where he had almost died after being chased by the Blood Buddha before, trembled in shame as if he would not forget it.

Then he looked at Zhuge Seol-ah and said.

"It seems the Vice-Leader is thinking the same thing as me."

Namgung Jincheon was as smart as his swordsmanship. So he understood at once what Zhuge Seol-ah was saying.

"It seems something has happened inside them, right?"

"That's right. It's as if they're a tail that has lost its head, and their purpose is not visible."

"Purpose."

"Before, the attack targets of the demonic people were clear. Although it was done simultaneously here and there, it was not messy. Rather, only thoroughly calculated attacks continued. But not now."

"It's happening sporadically, or battles are breaking out in useless places that are beyond our expectations."

"Yes. It seems the head that was planning and moving this plan has disappeared."

"The head."

"Cheongwangma."

"That demonic person was moving the whole flow of this battle? I heard he was just a madman."

"To be precise, there must have been someone who used his head next to Cheongwangma. Anyway, the demonic people are now shaken as if they are in chaos. This is clear. Something has happened to Cheongwangma's personal safety."

At those words, the gazes of the Demon Repelling Squad all turned.

"If it's a problem..."

"He's either dead, or in a serious situation where he can't even move."

Hwangbo Sung, who had been listening, made a face as if he couldn't believe it.

Cheongwangma.

His notoriety had become famous in a short time. How many sects and absolute masters had already collapsed at his hands? Moreover, there was a time when three elders of Wudang, who could not stand it, had pursued him, and only their heads had returned.

"You're saying that Cheongwangma is dead? How can you be so sure, Vice-Leader?"

"...Young Master Cheon, no, the Squad Leader must have done it."

"The Squad Leader?"

"Because there's a story that he recently inquired about Cheongwangma's movements through the Beggars' Sect."

The Commander-in-Chief of the Righteous Alliance was none other than Zhuge Seol-ah's father, Zhuge Yeogang.

Zhuge Seol-ah had easy access to the core information of the Righteous Alliance, and naturally, she had also obtained the fact that Cheon Mubaeck had found out about Cheongwangma's movements through the Beggars' Sect.

After that news was delivered, the movements of the demonic people had changed as if by magic.

It was the reason why Zhuge Seol-ah had become almost certain of her inference that something had happened to Cheongwangma.

"Good heavens. Don't tell me he even caught Cheongwangma?"

"He caught the Blood Buddha and the Ghost Demon and brought down the Blood Demon Valley, and now even Cheongwangma?"

"What on earth..."

The crowd was in shock.

Hwangbo Sung said as if it were a hollow laugh.

"It's as if he's fighting the demonic path alone."

At Hwangbo Sung's muttering, everyone implicitly nodded their heads.

There was also a rumor that it was Cheon Mubaeck who had killed the Poison Demon. Until now, the common opinion was that the Sword Empress had killed him, but the Sword Empress, who had recently joined the Righteous Alliance, had implicitly stated that she had not killed him.

So in fact, Cheon Mubaeck had killed the leaders of four sects alone.

A silence lingered for a moment.

How much time had passed? Zhuge Seol-ah clapped her hands and woke everyone up.

"First, let's return to the Righteous Alliance. It seems things are going to get unusual."

If Cheongwangma were dead, how would the demonic path react?

She needed to put her head together with her father and discuss it.

* * *

The death of Cheongwangma was an opportunity.

Cheon Mubaeck moved without rest. Unlike Neung-heo, who had to rest to recover, Cheon Mubaeck, who had fought a more intense battle, moved energetically, as if he were fine.

"Anyway, he's a monster-like guy."

Cheon Mubaeck's movements were truly fierce.

The death of Cheongwangma and the departure of Bigwang.

This meant that the attack system of the demonic path, which had been turning the Central Plains upside down as a vanguard, had been shaken at once.

Cheon Mubaeck aimed for this opening.

"Jang No, kill the madmen belonging to the Mad Sect as much as possible. The new demonic path must be a world of only sword-crazy sword ghosts like the Sword Sect."

It was a golden opportunity to annihilate the demonic path, which was in a chaotic atmosphere without a head, and to pick out a person who could be recruited into the new demonic path.

Cheon Mubae-ck moved here and there himself. He was not alone. The Ghost Demon, who had grasped that Jang No had a deep connection with Cheon Mubaeck, became anxious.

'He's a guy who even caught the great Cheongwangma! Perhaps, it will really go according to his plan!'

A new demonic path.

Although it was not a huge single force that dreamed of conquering the Central Plains and creating a demonic path world, it was a natural thing that it would wield an enormous power as a foreign sect.

To become the Heavenly Demon of such a new demonic cult, the Ghost Demon instinctively realized that Cheon Mubaeck's help was essential.

Of course, he firmly believed that that position was his.

Because there was no one with his skill, no one who could communicate with Cheon Mubaeck, and no one with his authority and fame.

But the reason he had brought in Jang No was.

'He's probably planning to make me compete with him. To tame me.'

But that was all. The Ghost Demon firmly believed that the position of the Heavenly Demon of the new demonic cult was his.

'Yes, if he wants, I will crawl and roll. I will act like a thoroughly tamed dog. To achieve my ambition.'

As the Ghost Demon moved with fire in his eyes, Cheon Mubaeck's movements gained momentum.

The number of demonic people that Cheon Mubaeck had recruited in an instant was four hundred.

Considering the scale of the entire demonic path, it was a small number, but.

"It's quality over quantity."

They were all guys that Cheon Mubaeck had chosen.

There was no madness, and no fanatical aspect. They were demonic people who were so blindly engrossed in only the sword and the martial path.

They were people who had lived in the demonic path, captivated by the charm of the strong.

If it were them, they could be absorbed into the new force of the Sword Sect.

And so, as Cheon Mubaeck quickly handled the work and it gradually got on the right track, he appropriately entrusted all the work to Jang No and the Ghost Demon.

Although the Ghost Demon's inference that he was inducing a competition between the two was correct, Cheon Mubaeck's mind was already made up.

Jang No would become the new Heavenly Demon, and the Ghost Demon would die someday.

"Then I will be on my way. Jang No, I'm counting on you."

"I understand. Uh, Young Master."

"...?"

"Please take care. What I felt while rubbing shoulders with the demonic people is that the current Heavenly Demon is no ordinary person."

Rather than worrying about his lord, it was like the gaze of an old man worrying about the young Cheon Mubaeck of the past, so Cheon Mubaeck smiled without realizing it.

"Don't worry. Jang No, the one who is worried a lot right now is not me, but the Heavenly Demon, who is probably on edge, not knowing when we will attack."

Certainty was reflected in Cheon Mubaeck's eyes.

* * *

Bigwang's face turned pale.

Cheongwangma would be dead. Although he wanted to stay by his side, he was not stupid. While Cheongwangma was holding him back for a moment, he had to deliver the news to the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, Cheon Mubaeck.

That he was a stronger guy than expected.

He had to deliver in detail what he had seen and felt.

Was it because of that?

"This, this."

"Tsk, tsk."

Bigwang's heart sank at the sound of the tongue clicking.

Who was the man in front of him?

The Great Elder Yeomwang Gun-goe.

Although he was not the leader of a sect, he was an absolute master who was one of the top in the Demon Sect.

And the one who served the Heavenly Demon the closest.

"You were hit by a shabby trick."

"I, I didn't know."

"Cheongwangma must be dead. To think he would send only his subordinate in such a bewildered state. But still, you didn't even know that the tracking scent was on the guy who fought on the front line?"

Bigwang was silent. Because he was at a loss for words. He realized what a big mistake he had made.

This was a sacred place where the Heavenly Demon was.

Its location had been exposed to Cheon Mubaeck.

However, Yeomwang Gun-goe's expression was not that serious. He clicked his tongue and made an annoyed expression.

"What should we do now?"

It couldn't be helped.

In any case, he would come. To this den of demons. To the whole of the demonic cult.

He was a madman. It was certain from what he had heard. He was surely a guy who would come to catch the Heavenly Demon.

Then.

At that moment, as if he had read Yeomwang's mind, a voice that was like scraping iron flowed out from the darkness.

"...We have to catch him."

A chilling voice that made his whole body freeze just by hearing it. Bigwang trembled without realizing it and prostrated himself. Gun-goe also bowed his head.

"I will prepare. So that we can catch him as soon as he enters. I will not be careless and will make full preparations. Your Holiness."

"No, no. There's no need for that."

"...?"

"We're going to the battlefield."

Gun-goe's expression became strange. Going to the battlefield? Did he mean he would face Cheon Mubaeck on the battlefield?

"Although it is a truly bewildering statement, I will risk my life and offer my advice. The sect leaders who had looked down on him and had rushed in have all died. Catching him on the battlefield is more dangerous and more troublesome than waiting for him here."

"I know."

"Then why...?"

"He reminds me of the Azure Sky Sword God."

"......!"

"He is a symbol and a hope. If such a guy is alive, the orthodox path will not collapse. But, in a single decisive battle, if he dies at the hands of the Heavenly Demon in front of all the orthodox path."

"......!"

Only then did Gun-goe's eyes flash, as he realized what his intention was.

"If the one hope, the new Azure Sky Sword God, the person who they believed could lead the Righteous-Demonic War to victory, dies miserably in front of everyone."

Then.

"The orthodox path will end."

And the war will end.

Gun-goe did not argue anymore and bowed his waist.

"I will prepare."

A single decisive battle.

The Heavenly Demon would catch the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero in front of all the orthodox path and all the demonic path.

Gun-goe nodded his head at the bold plan. If it was the Heavenly Demon. If it was the current Heavenly Demon who had brought down Gun Cheon-ak, who he had served his whole life, and had sat on that supreme position. It would be more than possible.

Unlike the last Righteous-Demonic War.

But suddenly, an incomprehensible question came to mind.

Forty years ago, the current leader was not in the Righteous-Demonic War.

At that time, the leader was Gun Cheon-ak, and the one who had driven him out and had taken his place was the current Heavenly Demon.

Gun-goe, who had also been active in the Righteous-Demonic War, knew for sure.

That the current Heavenly Demon was not there during the Righteous-Demonic War, and was a person who was born around the time the war ended.

But.

'How can he remember the Azure Sky Sword God? A person who has never even seen the Azure Sky Sword God on the battlefield?'

But a deep question should be careful.

No, there was no need for a question.

'The demonic path world is right in front of me.'

The Heavenly Demon himself was stepping forward.

Just by that, it seemed as if the demonic path world, which he had not seen even forty years ago, was appearing before his eyes.

(End of Chapter)