novelraw Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95 Same Bed, Different Dreams (8)
‘The Sword Demon's disciple?’
I stared blankly at the Alliance Leader with an absurd expression.
“Alliance Leader. Just what are you talking about right now? Does that mean this brat is a person of the Demonic Cult?”
As Mad Dragon asked with a bewildered expression, the Alliance Leader turned her head to face him.
“He is a person of the Demonic Cult, but he is not affiliated with the current cult. He is merely a renegade of the Demonic Cult with a clever scheme to use the Murim Alliance and the Sado Alliance to drive out the Blood Demon and place the Sword Demon on the cult leader's throne.”
“Ha. A rat-like Demonic Cult fellow dares to try and use the Sado Alliance?”
As Mad Dragon huffed, the Alliance Leader waved her hand.
“That fact is not bad for us. Compared to the Murim Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which are solid fortresses built upon a long history, our Sado Alliance is like a castle built on sand that has rapidly expanded its power recently. If the Demonic Cult causes internal strife and gives us time in this way, it is something to be welcomed.”
The Alliance Leader turned her head, glanced at me once, and continued her words.
“Moreover, since the Demonic Cult has accepted the martial arts of the Blood Cult, we cannot just sit back and watch either, can we? It is not bad to join forces with the Murim Alliance fellows this time and completely break the power of the Demonic Cult fellows.”
The Alliance Leader gazed straight into my eyes.
“Afterward, once this brat settles into a position within the Demonic Cult with the Sword Demon, we will be able to check those Murim Alliance fellows through him.”
Mad Dragon, hearing the Alliance Leader's words, fell deep into thought.
“Thinking about it this way, the Murim Alliance's intention is immediately understood. Those fellows must have the same thought as us. They will turn a blind eye and crush the Blood Cult first, then try to stab us in the back using this fellow, the disciple of the Sword Demon.”
The Alliance Leader looked at me with a meaningful smile.
“Anyway, that Jegal fellow, his way of thinking is no ordinary thing. His courage to send this child to our side and try to persuade us in this manner is also admirable.”
‘……She is weaving quite the tale of imagination on her own. By the way, how did it come to this?’
I looked at the Alliance Leader with a flabbergasted expression. In the Sado Alliance Leader's speculation, I had become the disciple of the Sword Demon and an important key that could move the Demonic Cult in the future.
I already knew that Ice Rakshasa had reported the minimum amount of information about me.
So, although I expected some distortion, I never even imagined that the Alliance Leader's thoughts would unfold in this way.
A meeting of only a few days.
And the conclusion reached by the Sado Alliance Leader within limited information was quite far from the truth.
In that process, I had not made any mistakes or told any lies. It was just that the Sado Alliance Leader, after seeing the Sky Severing Thunder Sword I performed, had spun a tale of delusion on her own.
I scratched my head with a troubled expression.
“What, did I hit the nail on the head?”
The Alliance Leader chuckled as she looked at me scratching my head.
‘What is with that expression that says she knows everything…….’
I was about to open my mouth to clear up the Alliance Leader's misunderstanding, but I suddenly fell silent. Thinking about it, the Alliance Leader's misunderstanding was not bad for me at all.
I had not told any lies, and everything the Alliance Leader had said so far stemmed from a unilateral misunderstanding.
If this misunderstanding continued, the Sado Alliance Leader, who harbored ambitions to change the current landscape of the Jianghu, would sincerely lend her strength to the task of striking the Demonic Cult.
‘In that case, is there a need to clear up the misunderstanding?’
Since I was not at fault, even if the truth were revealed later, there was plenty of room for me to slip away.
Furthermore, once my father's revenge was over, the landscape of the Jianghu might indeed flow according to the Sado Alliance Leader's thoughts.
‘Perhaps Strategist Jegal really has such thoughts as well.’
I let out a smirk and shook my head.
Those who played the role of heads of the forces dividing the Jianghu into three.
They were each drawing a future much further ahead than I had intended.
However, I had absolutely no intention of taking on such a bothersome task.
I had never been properly affiliated with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and not a single lingering attachment to the cult existed.
What I wanted now was to punish the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for my father's revenge.
Nothing more, nothing less, exactly up to that point.
‘It does not matter what misunderstanding they have. I just need to focus on my own work.’
I decided not to think about it in a complicated way.
Regardless of what misunderstanding the Murim Alliance and the Sado Alliance had, it was enough as long as the two organizations lent me sufficient strength.
Therefore, I made up my mind to utilize this situation to the fullest.
And while I was contemplating what words to use to unfold the situation, the Alliance Leader stepped forward and spoke first.
“I also fully understand your cautious attitude. It would be difficult for you to say with your own mouth that you are the Sword Demon's disciple and are currently using the Murim Alliance and the Sado Alliance.”
As I looked at her without any answer, the Alliance Leader thought for a moment and then continued.
“……Yes. Thinking about it conversely, leaving the Murim Alliance would not be easy either. If things go according to your plan, you must use the Murim Alliance as well, so if you suddenly changed your affiliation to the Sado Alliance at this point, it would hinder your plan. Hmm.”
The Alliance Leader, weaving yet another tale of imagination, nodded.
“Fine. Then let us do this. Maintain your affiliation with the Murim Alliance as it is. Instead, take a position in the Sado Alliance as well. Since you have shown what you can do in the Life-and-Death Tournament, it will not be difficult to create a position for you. For now, I will list your name as a martial artist affiliated with the Alliance Leader's Palace, so keep that in mind. We will strike the Demonic Cult, and we can talk about the aftermath among ourselves again.”
The Alliance Leader, looking at me with a meaningful expression, turned her body.
The martial artists surrounding us began to whisper something to each other.
‘Well, it seems things are working out on their own.’
I had done my best to move the Alliance Leader, and using the Sky Severing Thunder Sword in that process had luckily brought the situation this far.
Since I now had affiliations with both the Murim Alliance and the Sado Alliance, it had become much easier to move while utilizing both organizations in the future.
At the not-so-bad result, I grinned at Ice Rakshasa.
Ice Rakshasa, seemingly more pleased than anything else that I had gained an affiliation with the Sado Alliance, tightly gripped my wrist with a face full of smiles.
“Now that we have made up our minds, there is no need for us to drag our feet. We clearly know what a nuisance those Blood Cult fellows will become if they properly settle in. It would be better to clean them up quickly.”
Mad Dragon nodded at the Alliance Leader's words.
“I do not know about the complicated things. It just means we need to catch and crush all those Blood Cult fellows before they grow any larger, right?”
“Correct. However, the Blood Cult fellows are also moving cautiously, so it is no easy task to find and crush their traces. We have no choice but to sweep through the Sado Alliance in general to see if there are any suspicious movements.”
“Hmm. That sounds bothersome.”
Mad Dragon scratched his head and looked around.
“That is why I called all of you. The sooner we finish, the better. Everyone must join forces to move the Sado Alliance so that we can end this matter without great damage. I have looked through the reports that have come in so far, and by looking closely, I was able to discover several suspicious-looking matters among them. The Green Forest King played a big role.”
At the Alliance Leader's words, I and Ice Rakshasa turned our heads simultaneously.
“The one that bothers me the most is this. Pan Bing-yeong. The Gold Clothes Sect case. You remember it, right?”
When the Alliance Leader suddenly pointed her out, Pan Bing-yeong stepped forward, bowed deeply, and answered.
“Yes, Alliance Leader. You mean the place that was destroyed ten years ago after being raided by the Butcher of Diancang?”
‘Eh? If it is the Butcher of Diancang…… is that Elder Tak Mu-bin?’
Ice Rakshasa, turning her head, confirmed my gaze and nodded.
“Yes. That place that was completely ground away by that damned fellow. Their manor has remained a deserted house for ten years, but a report came in recently that someone was seen moving large boulders to that manor.”
I and Ice Rakshasa looked at each other.
“At first, I simply thought someone was trying to establish a sect on that spot, but somehow it feels a bit suspicious. Since it is the most important geographical strategic point in the south of Hunan Province, I cannot just pass it over easily.”
“I would like to go there.”
I stepped forward and spoke. The Alliance Leader, looking at me and Ice Rakshasa, nodded.
“Yes. It was a task I was going to ask of you anyway. You said that Scholar Taoist fellow, who knows well about the altars of the Blood Cult, also came along? Looking at it in many ways, it seems best for you two to investigate this.”
“I understand.”
As I nodded, the Alliance Leader picked up one of the reports lying on the table and tossed it to me with a flick.
While I received the report and was reading it carefully, Mad Dragon, standing beside the Alliance Leader, opened his mouth.
“Then, I shall follow those fellows too.”
At Mad Dragon's words, the eyes of everyone in the grand hall gathered on him at once.
“You?”
As the Alliance Leader tilted her head, Mad Dragon shrugged his shoulders once.
“Yeah. Everyone said they had fun. I want to follow these guys and watch for a bit too. It seems much more interesting than staying here and rummaging through various places in the Sado Alliance with old folks.”
The Alliance Leader, looking at Mad Dragon, burst into a chuckle.
“Heh. Fine. If you follow those children, there is no reason to stop you. Since you are going anyway, do not just play around and search properly. We need to completely erase the scent of the Blood Cult fellows from the Sado Alliance.”
“I am going strictly to watch. The brats will do the work well on their own.”
Mad Dragon turned his head, looked at me and Ice Rakshasa, and grinned.
****
“Um…….”
“Call me Lord Mad Dragon.”
At Mad Dragon's words, Ice Rakshasa scratched her head with an awkward expression.
“Yes, Lord Mad Dragon. Our plan is to depart immediately this evening and move to the Gold Clothes Sect as quickly as possible. If by any chance you are uncomfortable or need anything…….”
Mad Dragon turned his head, looked at Ice Rakshasa, and let out a sigh.
“I told you not to pay any mind to me. Just think of me as a person who is not there and do your work. I will follow along on my own.”
When Mad Dragon replied without even turning his head, Ice Rakshasa bowed her head politely and trudged over toward me and Ban Cheol-hwi.
“Look at that. He seems to care nothing at all, so why are you making such a fuss?”
“Young Hero Ban. He is a great martial artist who has written the legends of the Sado Alliance. How could I not care?”
Ice Rakshasa glanced back at Mad Dragon once more and continued.
“He said he would not interfere or step forward at all in what we do, but…… I would like us to pay as much attention to him as possible if we can.”
“Sigh. It feels like an unnecessary burden has just increased.”
At Ban Cheol-hwi's words, Ice Rakshasa's face turned pale and she hurriedly looked back, but although Mad Dragon had clearly heard those words, he showed no movement.
“Please watch your words. Show at least the minimum amount of courtesy.”
“Tsk. I understand.”
Ban Cheol-hwi replied as if it were bothersome and packed his belongings, slinging them over his back.
“There is not much time left until the carriage departs. Let us go.”
I stood up after confirming that everyone's preparations were finished.
Since we had spent about fifteen days here while conducting the Life-and-Death Tournament, we had booked a carriage departing in the evening to move as quickly as possible.
Though unexpected, Mad Dragon's joining was quite welcome to me.
It meant a reliable supporter who could protect the party from any dangers that might occur had been gained, so it was not a bad thing.
I turned my head, glanced at Mad Dragon, and began walking toward the entrance of the inn.
Once the party left the inn, after a short while, Mad Dragon trudged out of the inn as well.
Confirming that all members of the party, including Mad Dragon, had left the inn, I began walking toward the place where the carriage was waiting.