A short while later, the troops led by the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner came down from the mountain.
“Lord Commissioner.”
I approached him, cupped my hands in salute, and gave my report.
“As you ordered, we managed to rescue everyone who was being held captive.”
“Well done.”
“And…”
I turned a cold gaze toward the Hundred-Man Commander who had been bound beside us.
“I've also brought you the man responsible for this entire incident.”
“I'm truly grateful. If that man had died, I would've been left wondering how in the world I was supposed to clean up this mess.”
He immediately gave the soldiers an order.
“Gag him and lock him up. Make sure he can't take his own life.”
“Yes, sir!”
Then he looked past me toward the people I'd rescued.
“You've all suffered greatly. You can rest easy now, so focus on recovering.”
At that moment, Cousin Hyang-ok, who had been standing with Divine Nun Haecheong, stepped forward.
“I am Hyang-ok, a disciple of the Emei Sect.”
“Ah! So you're the one they call the Gale Fairy. Very well, what is it?”
“Please give me a chance to erase the disgrace of our failure to subjugate those Forest Bandits.”
I looked at Cousin Hyang-ok.
Her face was filled with frustration.
Come to think of it, Cousin had always been fiercely competitive. Losing was something she simply couldn't stand.
And this time, her opponents hadn't even been martial artists from an Orthodox Sect, but mere Forest Bandits.
No wonder her pride had taken quite a beating.
The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner turned to the Crown Prince with a troubled expression.
His eyes clearly asked what he ought to do.
If he granted Cousin Hyang-ok's request, the others would inevitably insist on joining her so they could wipe away their own humiliation as well.
Yet if he refused, there was no telling how much resentment they might harbor over it.
The Crown Prince, having received that questioning look from the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, also looked troubled before turning toward me.
What? M-me?
Are you telling me to deal with this?
There's no one else left to pass it on to… Damn it.
I inwardly sighed before speaking to the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.
“Lord Commissioner. In my humble opinion, I believe it would be best to grant Cousin Hyang-ok's request.”
“Is that so?”
“However, you should impose several conditions.”
“And what conditions would those be?”
“First, anyone a physician determines to be unfit for combat must be prohibited from participating in the subjugation. Second, no one may allow personal grudges or emotions to dictate their actions. If those feelings take precedence, joining the subjugation would do more harm than simply staying behind.”
“We'll do as you say. Is there anyone besides the Gale Fairy who wishes to participate in the subjugation?”
“I'll join as well.”
“So will I.”
Several martial artists stepped forward.
The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner then summoned his deputy and gave an order.
“Go bring a physician.”
“Yes, sir.”
Before long, a physician from the Sichuan Tang Clan arrived.
Except…
“Huh? Elder?”
It was the Sichuan Tang Clan's Grand Clan Lord.
“Oh! I heard what happened. You rescued everyone who was being held captive, didn't you?”
“Yes. I was fortunate, and I had a great deal of help from everyone.”
“Hoho, I knew that was what you'd say.”
“But what brings you here?”
“I heard someone was asking for a physician, so I came.”
His epithet was the Myriad-Cure Divine Physician.
He was such an accomplished physician that he had earned the title of Divine Physician, so I understood why he'd come when he heard someone was looking for a physician, but…
The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner spotted him and hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects.
“I, Geum-yeong, pay my respects to the Grand Clan Lord of the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
“Oh! Geum-yeong, you're here too!”
“Yes.”
“Yes, yes.”
He regarded the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner almost as fondly as one might look at a child.
Once again, I was reminded just how extraordinary the Myriad-Cure Divine Physician's standing was here in Sichuan.
“Elder, this is His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Ah!”
The old man respectfully greeted the Crown Prince.
“This old man pays his respects to Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“It's an honor to meet a living legend of the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
The Crown Prince continued.
“The reason we asked for a physician is…”
After hearing the Crown Prince's explanation, the Myriad-Cure Divine Physician nodded and readily agreed.
“Understood. Leave it to me.”
The Myriad-Cure Divine Physician then turned toward Cousin Hyang-ok and the others.
“Anyone who wants me to determine whether you're fit to fight, form a single line!”
“Yes, sir!”
They immediately formed one perfectly orderly line. The old man then began examining them one by one.
First came Cousin Hyang-ok.
“Hmm… You pass.”
“Thank you.”
He didn't even check her pulse. He simply gave her entire body a quick once-over and reached his conclusion.
“You need to rest and recover.”
“Why? I'm perfectly fine.”
“You have a hairline fracture in your left arm.”
“N-no, I don't.”
Whenever someone tried to argue, he simply pressed a finger firmly against whichever area he believed was injured.
“I'm really fi… Aaaaargh!”
“Tsk! And you dare lie to me?”
Just like that, he examined dozens of people in no time at all, and in the end, only fifteen passed, including Cousin.
The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner spoke.
“You fifteen, come with me.”
“Yes, sir.”
At that moment, I stepped forward.
“We didn't suffer any serious injuries either, so we'll participate in the subjugation.”
“Thank you.”
A short while later.
I was inside the meeting room with the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.
It was a strategy meeting for the upcoming subjugation of the Forest Bandits led by Blood-Eyed Sword Demon.
The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's deputy spread out a map at the front and began his explanation.
“Blood-Eyed Sword Demon is known to be a Peak Realm martial artist. At that level, our current subjugation force should be able to handle him without much difficulty. The problem is this man's peculiar ability.”
Tap!
He struck the map with his pointer.
“According to testimony from those who participated in the previous subjugation, whenever this man's eyes glow red, his strength suddenly surges past the Profound Realm and reaches the Transcendent level.”
Something immediately came to mind.
The Extreme Martial Awakening Pill Young Lord Maeng Hyeon had taken when I'd visited Zhurong Palace.
After taking that pill, even a Peak Realm warrior could temporarily display Transcendent-level strength.
Could Blood-Eyed Sword Demon have taken one as well?
There was something else bothering me too: his epithet, Blood-Eyed Sword Demon.
He had received that epithet because his eyes were red.
And red eyes reminded me of something.
Back at the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group, the Merchant Lord's grandson, Seong Yu-jin, had witnessed a woman named Hwang Min's eyes turn red. Someone had tried to silence him by throwing him off a ship, only for Brother Jeong-ho to save him.
That woman's ability had been the Soul-Bewitching Art, which she activated through her red eyes.
If so, there was a real possibility that Blood-Eyed Sword Demon possessed the same ability.
“Lord Commissioner, may I say something?”
“Go ahead.”
“I'd like to take the vanguard in this subjugation.”
“You?”
The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner tilted his head for a moment before asking.
“Are you perhaps trying to earn military merit?”
“Not at all.”
“Then why do you want to take the vanguard?”
“Because I suspect Blood-Eyed Sword Demon may be using an Evil Art.”
“An Evil Art?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“From what I know, when someone uses an Evil Art, their eyes sometimes glow with an unnatural color.”
“But what does that have to do with you taking the vanguard?”
“It's because I've mastered the Heavenly Flow Ice Sword.”
“The Heavenly Flow Ice Sword?”
“Yes. Those who master the Heavenly Flow Ice Sword possess exceptionally pure and righteous Qi, making them resistant to most Evil Arts. That's why I wish to stand at the front.”
“I see. In that case, you may take the vanguard.”
“I'll give it everything I have.”
In truth, I was absolutely not the kind of person who willingly went looking for danger.
– Kui?
What was that supposed to mean? Was Geumryeong asking what exactly it had been watching me do all this time?
Geumryeong. Be quiet.
Even so, there was a reason I was volunteering to take the vanguard this time. I thought there was a chance I could obtain valuable information through Blood-Eyed Sword Demon.
After all, that man was most likely connected to the Asura Blood Cult as well.
* * *
A mountain stronghold in northwestern Sichuan.
Blood-Eyed Sword Demon, Chieftain of the stronghold, was in an exceptionally foul mood.
Every last person he'd lured into the cave and held hostage had escaped.
The losses this would cause weren't what mattered.
What mattered was that he'd failed to properly carry out the orders from his superiors.
There had been a reason he hadn't simply killed everyone who came to subjugate him and had instead kept them imprisoned inside the cave.
His superiors had ordered him to do so.
As the Chieftain of a Forest Bandit stronghold, it was true that the King of the Forest Bandits stood above him, but he had another group of superiors as well.
They were the people who had helped an otherwise unremarkable Forest Bandit rise all the way to the position of Chieftain.
He didn't know who they truly were.
They had given him several orders over the years, and judging from those orders, he could at least tell that they hadn't supported him for any benevolent purpose.
But that didn't matter.
All he cared about was securing his own interests.
This time, however, his superiors had given him a rather strange order.
“A subjugation force, just because we stole a few coins? What in the world are we supposed to do?”
“Don't worry. I've already prepared a countermeasure for exactly this situation.”
“Really?”
“Simply follow the instructions written here. Since the Crown Prince has come in person this time, the current Hundred-Man Commander will most likely take command of the force. That man lacks ability but is overflowing with a desire for glory, so he'll fall into the trap easily enough.”
The man who had come to meet him continued.
“Lure them into a nearby cave and drive them inside. Once they're trapped there, the manpower of your stronghold alone should be more than enough to keep them imprisoned.”
“Then should we use them as hostages and demand money or rice?”
“No. You'll demand something else.”
The man smiled.
“Demand slaves and the right to govern yourselves.”
“What?”
Blood-Eyed Sword Demon stared at him in confusion.
“There's no chance they'll agree to something like that, is there?”
“That's exactly why you must demand it. Their refusal is inevitable.”
The man's lips twisted into a sinister smile.
“Once they refuse, kill everyone you've trapped inside the cave.”
He had no idea why they had given him such an order, but he had no choice except to obey.
They were the people who had elevated him to his current position.
So, as instructed, he sent a letter containing those demands to the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner and casually slipped in an additional demand for thirty thousand sacks of grain while he was at it.
But then…
Today, without warning, the troops led by the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner had begun advancing toward the stronghold while making an enormous racket.
He immediately ordered his men to kill everyone being held inside the cave.
And then.
“C-Chieftain! Disaster! The people we imprisoned inside the cave have escaped!”
“What did you say? Those bastards!”
Soon afterward, he heard the whistle of a signal arrow and watched the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's forces suddenly retreat, leaving him with no choice but to grind his teeth.
He'd realized that their loud, conspicuous advance had only been a diversion meant to help the prisoners inside the cave escape.
A suffocating weight settled over his chest.
He had no idea how he was supposed to report this failure to his superiors.
He knew better than anyone just how terrifying those people were.
They had taken him, a man who had once been stuck at the Peak Realm, and raised him all the way to the Transcendent Realm.
In other words, if their support disappeared, there was every chance he could be reduced to what he had once been.
Just then.
“Chieftain! Chieftain!”
One of his subordinates came rushing in.
“What is it?”
“Look at this! There's a letter tied to this arrow!”
And sure enough, there was a letter tied to the arrow he held out with both hands.
“But Chieftain, this is the same arrow we used earlier when we shot over our negotiation terms.”
“…”
Blood-Eyed Sword Demon bit his lip, untied the letter from the arrow, and read it.
[Blood-Eyed Sword Demon, read this well.
You’re not getting a damn thing from us. Go drink some cold water and come to your senses.
There’s nothing more to discuss.
Surrender by one o’clock tomorrow afternoon.
Hang one hundred of your weapons from poles as proof of your surrender.
If you refuse, don’t blame us for what happens next.
Whatever follows, you’ll have brought it upon yourselves.
And keeping this arrow around feels like bad luck, so we’re sending it back.]
Blood-Eyed Sword Demon tore the letter to shreds and roared.
“Aaaaaaargh!”
Ordering them to hang one hundred weapons from poles was a warning not to try something foolish like pretending to surrender, luring the subjugation force in, and then suddenly attacking.
In other words, they were openly mocking him, saying that no cowardly trick he tried would ever work.
Every single line of the letter seemed perfectly crafted to infuriate him.
“Um, Chieftain. What does the letter say?”
“What did they write?”
The Forest Bandits, nearly all of whom were illiterate, cautiously asked him.
Blood-Eyed Sword Demon forced himself to suppress his rage and looked around at them.
Being furious was one thing, but he still had something he needed to do.
He recalled what the man who had come to meet him had said.
“You've been stuck in this mountain stronghold for far too long, haven't you?”
“…Why do you ask?”
“It's about time you stepped out into the wider world. If this stronghold ever becomes endangered by a subjugation force, simply escape to the safe house I told you about.”
Remembering those words, Blood-Eyed Sword Demon spoke.
“They wrote nothing but insults, mocking us.”
“What?”
“They're calling us the vilest scum under heaven.”
“What?! What did we ever do to deserve being cursed like that?”
“We can't just sit here and take this!”
“I heard they're staying in a temporary camp farther down the mountain. Let's go teach them a lesson!”
“As long as you're with us, Chieftain, we have nothing to fear!”
Listening to them, Blood-Eyed Sword Demon grinned.
“If that's how you all feel, then I suppose I have no choice but to act.”
“We'll follow you, Chieftain!”
“We'll follow you!”
As he looked at them, Blood-Eyed Sword Demon thought to himself.
‘Come to think of it, I really have been here too long.’
Just as those people had told him, it was finally time for him to step into the wider world and make his name known.
And for that to happen, all these troublesome men who knew about his past needed to disappear.
The fact that the hostages had escaped still bothered him, but he would probably be able to smooth that over somehow.
According to the letter, the deadline for surrender was 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.
He looked around at his subordinates and spoke.
“Two days from now, that will be the day of our final battle.”
–TL Notes–
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