novelraw Chapter 26 : Chapter 26
Chapter 26 : Chapter 26
Chapter 26 - Anti-Demon Squad (1)
Late at night.
Ice Rakshasa revealed herself in a forest quite far from the Murim Alliance.
“Il-ho.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
A man in black, his entire body wrapped in black martial attire, appeared beside Ice Rakshasa and knelt.
“It seems that winning Young Hero Jaun over isn’t something that can be finished in a short period. Tell the Immortal that I will be residing at the Murim Alliance for the time being.”
“You, Young Lady? The duties of a Resident Official are a position treated with contempt and disdain by the dregs of the Murim Alliance. Why would you go so far as to…….”
“It can’t be helped. The prevailing atmosphere isn’t good. We can’t lose Young Hero Jaun like this.”
The man in black, who had been lost in thought for a moment, bowed his head deeply.
“I will obey your command. However, even if it is that child, is it really a matter you need to concern yourself with to this extent…….”
“I made my name in the Murim by being the only one in this generation to reach the Peak Realm at the age of twenty, but this child surpassed the First-Rate Realm at fifteen.”
Ice Rakshasa quietly looked around her surroundings.
“They say most martial artists get blocked and fail to cross from First-Rate to the Peak Realm, but Young Hero Jaun doesn’t seem to belong to that majority. He might become the martial artist who reaches the Peak Realm at the youngest age. We cannot helplessly lose such a talent to the Murim Alliance like this. No matter how I think about it, this is something I must watch over from by his side.”
Having finished speaking, Ice Rakshasa took a step closer to the man in black and whispered in a quiet voice.
“Furthermore, he is the child who has inherited the will of the previous Heavenly Demon. It is a thousand fortunes that the place Wi Jeong-cheon settled in was the Black Dragon River area, on the outskirts of the Central Plains. It seems the Murim Alliance’s information network hasn’t reached there yet. We must make every preparation to ensure he isn’t exposed to the Murim Alliance, even belatedly, and be careful in everything. So, I will continue to monitor the movements from here.”
“Understood, Young Lady.”
“You properly erased all the Demonic Cult’s secret codes discovered at Mount Daeheuk, right?”
“Yes. I have cleanly erased all the secret codes remaining in the vicinity. Even if the Demonic Cult arrives late, they won’t be able to find anything. The same goes for the Murim Alliance.”
“Good. For now, only we should know about this.”
Ice Rakshasa, who nodded slightly at the man in black’s words, continued speaking.
“Search the surroundings thoroughly once more and handle it so that absolutely no traces are missed. And have the Dark Shadow Ghost, who is currently residing in the Murim Alliance, return to the unit.”
“Yes. Then I will report that Young Lady will be staying here.”
“Speak well to the Immortal. And lastly, send a message to each of the spies in the Anti-Demon Squad. Agitate the members and tell them to create the most uncomfortable situations possible for Young Hero Jaun. You must make sure that ill feelings towards the Murim Alliance accumulate, no matter what.”
“I will follow your orders.”
Ice Rakshasa’s eyes trembled anxiously as she looked at the man in black who was bowing deeply at the waist.
‘I had requested a background check on Young Hero Jaun solely out of personal interest, but…….’
She had started the investigation with the intention of getting a little closer to Jaun, but while chasing Jaun’s traces in the Sado Alliance, a completely unexpected fact began to come to light.
Secret codes left by the Demonic Cult’s pursuit unit were accidentally discovered around the straw cottage where Jaun had lived with Wi Jeong-cheon, and as she deciphered those codes, Jaun’s hidden secrets were revealed one by one.
“There is no benefit in staying here long. Return now, and if there are any more facts revealed about Young Hero Jaun, report to me immediately.”
“Understood.”
Having finished speaking, the man in black silently vanished from his spot.
Left alone, Ice Rakshasa looked around the empty forest where darkness had settled heavily.
A bleak wind blew and stirred around Ice Rakshasa’s body.
Biting her lips tightly with a bitter expression, Ice Rakshasa lowered her head.
‘You should have just…… been ordinary. If your martial arts and background had been ordinary, things wouldn’t have grown this big. Why, of all things…….’
Heaving a deep sigh, Ice Rakshasa turned her body toward the Murim Alliance.
‘I can’t stop now. For various reasons, it has become a situation where I must not lose you even more.’
Ice Rakshasa’s retreating figure, lost in thought, seeped deeply into the darkness.
***
“It’s today, right? The day the youngest comes in.”
A man with a sturdy physique spoke while wiping his sword with a thin cloth.
“Yes, Squad Leader. It is about time for him to come. How long has it been since we received a member?”
A young man, who had thrown off his upper garment and was throwing punches nearby, grinned.
“Don’t get your hopes up too high. He might not last a few days and run away like the last time. From what I heard, he seems quite young too.”
A woman with pale skin scratched her head in a half-lying position.
“Baek-myo. You’ll get hurt big time if you let your guard down. If you don’t practice your martial arts properly, you’ll be beaten by the youngest in no time, you know? According to rumors, he has gone well beyond the First-Rate level.”
“Yaaawn. First-Rate or Peak, a kid is a kid. What experience would he have at that age? If the Demonic Cult bastards just blast out their Demonic Energy once, he’ll probably sit right down and wet his pants first. Doesn’t it look exactly like a scenario where I have to carry him on my back and escape? If that happens, he won’t treat me, his lifesaver, carelessly.”
“Kuku. True enough. Since the last recruit also started vomiting while crying as soon as he felt the Demonic Cult bastards’ Demonic Energy.”
The young man, who winked once at Baek-myo, roughly wiped the sweat glistening all over his body, came over to the side, and sat down with a thud.
“Anyway, we have to soothe this youngest one well somehow and make him stay. The Demonic Cult bastards are running wild more and more, but getting personnel reinforcements on our side is like plucking stars from the sky. According to regulations, one squad is ten people, but our squad only has three left. If it goes on like this, the three of us really have to keep doing this alone, you know?”
The woman, who yawned loudly once more, raised her body.
“I know, I know too. I don’t know how it will turn out, but I’ve made up my mind to adore him like a younger brother this time. So you shouldn’t train him too unreasonably either.”
“That’s a bit difficult. If we don’t train him properly, he’ll die right away in the first battle. No matter how much the Squad Leader protects him from the side, there is a limit. I’ll train him hard, so you soothe him well from the side. That’s the only way.”
The young man tapped the woman’s shoulder once and rose from his seat.
Just as the young man stretched his body out, walked toward the wall, and started extending his fists again, the door to the dormitory creaked open.
‘……The smell of sweat.’
Jaun, who frowned while waving his hand at the smell permeating the dormitory, turned his gaze to the three people gathered in one corner.
‘Their level is…… not bad.’
Jaun, who briefly examined the three people’s energy, bowed his head slightly and walked into the dormitory, quickly scanning his surroundings.
In one corner of the not-so-spacious dormitory, beds and a table were stuck closely together without even room to set a foot.
Because the furniture had been jammed tightly to one side, a small amount of space was secured, and numerous footprints along with drops of sweat were stamped on that floor.
‘……It seems they made a small training area inside the dormitory?’
It was an unusual arrangement.
The young man, who was watching Jaun tilting his head and looking around here and there, whispered toward the woman.
“I heard he was young but……. He’s really a kid?”
The woman, who poked the young man in the ribs, tidied her clothes.
“Be quiet. When we’re in a situation where we even need to borrow a cat’s paw, what does it matter if he’s a bit young? Just straighten your face first.”
The woman, who came forward wearing a slightly awkward but bright smile, extended her hand toward Jaun.
“Nice to meet you. You’re the new recruit, right? I’m Baek-myo Gwak Ye-ryeong. Welcome to the Anti-Demon Squad’s Squad 30.”
“Hello. I am Han Jaun.”
Jaun returned the greeting.
The man with the sturdy body groaned as he got up from the floor and slowly walked forward.
“I am Yeon Seung-il, the Squad Leader of Squad 30. In the Jianghu, I am called the Sword Ghost of Hainan. I heard about you from Elder Divine Wind Sword.”
Jaun, who grasped the hand the man offered with a brusque expression, made his eyes shine.
‘This person is a Peak Master. Certainly, the surrounding energy is stable.’
Jaun felt Yeon Seung-il’s energy, which rippled heavily like the ocean and occupied the surroundings.
Following that, the young man who had been staring blankly at Jaun from one side also opened his mouth.
“You can just call me Hyeon-dam. Nice to meet you, youngest.”
Jaun looked at the young man waving his hand with a grin and bowed his head slightly to offer a greeting.
The energy extending around Hyeon-dam’s body was clean enough to be blinding.
‘These people are Squad 30 of the Anti-Demon Squad.’
Baek-myo emitting warm and bright energy, and Yeon Seung-il’s calm energy like the ocean. And Hyeon-dam’s clear energy.
Jaun quite liked the stable energy of the three people filling the dormitory.
‘They seem like decent people.’
Jaun, wearing a smile, took a step forward and performed a deep fist-and-palm salute.
“I greet you once again. I am Han Jaun. I look forward to working with you. I will learn a lot from now on.”
At Jaun’s energetic greeting, the three people looked back at each other and nodded.
***
The group, having exchanged brief greetings, moved their steps outside the dormitory.
The Anti-Demon Squad’s dormitories were situated in a circle surrounding a large training ground.
Therefore, as soon as they left the dormitory, a wide training ground unfolded before their eyes.
“As you know, the Murim is currently in a situation where three powers—the Murim Alliance, the Sado Alliance, and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—are in fierce confrontation over the Central Plains. Since the martial power levels of the three organizations run parallel, they cannot move rashly, but in truth, it is a situation like a powder keg that could explode at any time. In this situation, the Anti-Demon Squad is tasked with stepping forward first to confront the Demonic Cult if a conflict arises.”
Yeon Seung-il continued speaking with his sword resting on his shoulder.
“Recently, the conflict between the two organizations, the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult, is getting worse, so you will experience frequent actual combat just as much. You must be ready to fight at any time, and this is especially true for the Reconnaissance Squad, which operates at the very front even within the Anti-Demon Squad.”
Yeon Seung-il turned his head to Jaun.
“We, who do not know when we will face battle, must know each other’s martial arts down to the roots. Otherwise, we cannot execute proper combined attacks in emergencies, and in the worst case, it could even lead to losing our lives.”
Yeon Seung-il looked around at the squad members in the area.
“That is why we always verify each other’s martial arts and familiarize our bodies with them through sparring. That means you have no choice but to reveal all your martial arts to your squad members. If you feel resistance to this method, say so now.”
“I am fine with it.”
Yeon Seung-il, who looked down at Jaun nodding as if it were no problem, smirked.
“You said the martial art you learned is the Three Talents Sword Art, right?”
Yeon Seung-il paused for a moment and smacked his lips.
“Well. Leaving the truth aside, let’s say that is the case for now. The Combat Squad, where the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families belong, gathers by sect and conducts training in individual training grounds, but……. The Reconnaissance Squad doesn’t have the conditions for that. For now, we train together here, and if you want, we will let you train alone inside the dormitory, so tell us in advance if you need to.”
Yeon Seung-il swung the sword resting on his shoulder left and right once, sheathed it back into the scabbard hanging at his waist, and lowered his stance.
“I am a swordsman of Hainan. Hainan’s sword techniques, where battles on ships are frequent, take the lowest possible stance to maintain the body’s center of gravity. Speed and irregularity are the characteristics of Hainan swordsmanship.”
Yeon Seung-il, who swung his sword in the air a few times, looked at Jaun.
“You won’t be able to know just by hearing it in words, so just watch for now. Hyeon-dam, step forward.”
Hyeon-dam, who was tapping the ground from the side, glanced at Jaun and walked out with heavy steps.
Yeon Seung-il, who watched Hyeon-dam for a moment, continued speaking.
“Hyeon-dam is an apostate monk. He once belonged to Shaolin, but due to circumstances, he is with us now. Despite how he looks, he is a talent to whom the Abbot of Shaolin intended to entrust the future.”
When Jaun opened his eyes wide, Hyeon-dam winked one eye.
“There was a certain incident so he had no choice but to be excommunicated, but under the special permission of the Shaolin Abbot, he uses Shaolin’s martial arts despite being an apostate monk. However, there is a condition attached that he can only use them when clashing with the Demonic Cult.”
Hyeon-dam brought one hand up in front of his chest and playfully performed a half-palm salute toward Jaun.
“Watch and feel. And get used to it with your eyes. You have to properly know each other’s strengths and weaknesses to survive.”
Having finished speaking, Yeon Seung-il brought his hand to his waist. And Hyeon-dam, who took a few more steps forward, stood in front of Yeon Seung-il and bowed his head slightly.
“Squad Leader. Is this simply for show, or are we doing it for real?”
“Since when did we do training just for show? Don’t mess around and come at me properly.”
“It might be a little rough, so don’t be too surprised. Then, I’m starting.”
Yeon Seung-il glanced back at Jaun and laughed.