Chapter 109 : Judgment (1)

Chapter 109: Judgment (1)

Namgung Baek could not sleep properly every night, plagued by endless nightmares.

As his face grew thinner by the day, his retainers worried and fretted, but no one could resolve it.

For the nightmares did not come from a physical ailment, but from an illness of the heart.

-My son. Whether the Demonic Alliance is the enemy, or the underlings hiding in the shadows are the enemy, it matters not.

-What matters is that this is the perfect opportunity to create a new order in the world, and that opportunity is within our grasp! No, in my grasp!

Every night, the image of his father consumed by madness became the content of his nightmares.

In the jianghu that was rushing toward uncontrollable chaos, his father Namgung Myeong smiled as if he welcomed it.

Even if Heaven itself had tied their bond as father and son, how could he silently watch when it was certain that the world would be drenched in blood?

Yet, with only his own feeble strength, he could not block the entire Namgung Clan. Thus, he sank deeper into anguish and contemplation.

Then, two days ago, a letter from the Alliance Leader appeared in his quarters, having pierced through seven layers of defense.

Ah… the Alliance Leader knew everything.

And that day, Namgung Baek steadied his wavering heart and set a new resolve.

Sssaaa—

At the same time, his clouded mind began to clear, like fog slowly lifting.

Pushing past the dull pain, Namgung Baek slowly opened his eyes.

‘What…?’

Yet the same darkness still blocked his sight.

A piece of cloth was covering his eyes.

He tried to remove it, but his limbs carried no strength. Nor could he force out a single word.

‘The Dumb Acupoint and the Numb Acupoint have been sealed.’

When those two acupoints were sealed, one could neither speak nor move.

It seemed to be the action of the ‘Masked Man’ after the duel had ended.

Namgung Baek calmly gathered the other details he could sense.

He heard rattling jolts and faint neighing of horses.

He realized he was loaded into the carriage’s freight compartment.

A strip of cloth bound his eyes, and a gag sealed his mouth.

It was as though he had been abducted.

“Tsk, only just waking up now? And none of you could even use your martial arts properly, yet you sure sleep soundly.”

At that moment, a rough voice he recognized reached his ears.

It was none other than the voice of the Masked Man.

“Remove the cloth.”

Sssk.

At the Masked Man’s order, someone pulled away the cloth covering his eyes.

A vicious-looking middle-aged man appeared before them.

‘That man…!’

Everyone, including Namgung Baek, instantly realized that this middle-aged man was the very Masked Man who had subdued them.

Seeing their eyes spitting curses at him, the man let out a laugh.

“Kkulkul, don’t bother trying to guess who I am. I’m wearing a Human-Skin Mask anyway.”

“Unlike you lot, I cannot allow my identity to be exposed outside.”

The middle-aged man swept them with a cold gaze as he continued.

“And you brats couldn’t even last five exchanges. Why did you act so arrogantly?”

Everyone’s pupils, including Namgung Baek’s, trembled violently.

The result had been so miserable they couldn’t even argue.

Instead of anger, they could only feel awe at his strength.

It was immediately clear why the Alliance Leader had chosen this man as their Captain despite his flawed character.

“Now do you understand how much you were drunk on your hollow reputations?”

“If I had been a Demonic Practitioner, you would all have been slaughtered.”

“To flaunt yourselves with such pathetic skills… ha, are you not ashamed before the Alliance Leader?”

His words pierced their hearts like daggers.

Namgung Baek too sank into thought.

‘He is right. Even if the difference in realms was vast, we could not even resist properly…’

For him and the other young successors, the anger at the man’s rudeness had long since disappeared.

The middle-aged man—no, their Captain—possessed strength that overflowed far beyond the position he held.

All that remained for the young successors was regret and a lingering sense of loss.

It was clear that once they reached a desolate area near Kaifeng, they would be cast aside.

The thought of squandering the chance given directly by the Alliance Leader weighed heavily on their hearts.

But then—

“Truthfully, I want to disqualify all of you and leave. The fact that the situation is so urgent I have to use half-wits like you… that alone disgusts me.”

“Hoo, I will give you one last chance.”

One last chance?

Words they had never expected spilled from the Captain’s lips.

As hope flickered in the eyes of Namgung Baek and the others—

The curtain covering the coachman’s seat was lifted, and a young man appeared.

He seemed to be the masked man who had left the letter in their quarters.

Like the Captain, he too wore a Human-Skin Mask.

“Sir, it is ready.”

“Good. Begin.”

“Yes.”

At the Captain’s command, the young man returned to the driver’s seat.

Uwoong!

At the same time, a faint resonance gathered at the Captain’s index finger, as a small amount of qi condensed there.

“The ride will get rough. Endure the pain.”

Wait—what?

Shweeak!

The Captain suddenly shot his qi, piercing one of the carriage’s wheels.

Clatter!

Crash!

The wheel shattered, and the carriage shook violently.

The young successors, still sealed at the Numb Acupoint, suffered in agony inside the rattling carriage.

Screeech!

But soon after, the carriage came to an abrupt halt.

‘…What is this?’

As Namgung Baek reeled in confusion—

“Well now, what should I do about that.”

“Kuuk, are you badly hurt?”

Soon, the sound of commotion came from outside.

From their voices, one could sense the simple honesty of ordinary commoners.

“Hey there! Are you alright?”

A voice filled with worry and concern was heard.

The source of the voice had come close to the carriage.

“Ugh, ah… I-I am fine.”

At that moment, the Captain lifted the curtain and stepped outside.

Sighs of relief burst out here and there.

“It seems you all rushed over in surprise. Are you perhaps villagers from nearby?”

“Yes. It looks like the wheel broke. Truly, is no one hurt?”

“Yes, yes. Fortunately, it seems we made it through without injury.”

“Phew, that is a relief.”

The young successors could only see shadows cast against the carriage.

Before the Captain, the shadows of over a dozen commoners were reflected.

“Oh dear, the wheel and its joint have been completely shattered. This will not be easy to repair.”

“Gasp! Is that so?”

“Would you wait a moment? We will quickly return to the village and fetch tools.”

“Ah, if you would do that, I would be most grateful.”

“Hehe, of course. You must want to leave this barren countryside quickly.”

“Yes.”

“Now then, Heo Sam, go swiftly to the village and bring the things.”

“Ah! But come to think of it, that won’t be necessary.”

“Mm? What do you mea—?!”

At the sudden words, the villagers tilted their heads in confusion.

Puk!

Pupuk!

Suddenly, chilling sounds of flesh being pierced resounded.

To the villagers, it was a sound they had never heard before.

‘What?!’

But to the young successors, it was a sound far too familiar.

Thud.

Boom.

The villagers’ shadows reflected against the curtain collapsed lifelessly at the same time.

The mysterious sound was that of flesh being pierced by blades.

Yet from the Captain, there had been no surge of qi, no manifestation of martial power.

But all the heartbeats of the villagers had vanished.

Pababat!

Only then were the Numb Acupoints released, and the young successors all rushed out in haste.

And like they had been struck by lightning, they froze in place.

A ghastly massacre unfolded.

Before their eyes lay the corpses of villagers, dead with their eyes still wide open.

“W-what is this?”

Peng So-hye covered her mouth with her hand in shock.

To suddenly slaughter innocent villagers…

It was beyond comprehension.

“What in the world are you doing!”

“Even if you received orders from above, such a deed cannot be tolerated!”

Peng Daeho and Nam Mujin shouted with veins bulging in their necks.

But the Captain, despite the carnage he had wrought, remained utterly calm.

Gazing at them, the Captain slowly spoke.

“Do not act rashly. Do you wish to alert the enemy that the sentry unit has been wiped out?”

“…Sentry unit?”

“What do you mean?”

Sseojeojeok.

Startled by a strange sound, they all turned their heads.

Namgung Baek was bending over one of the villagers’ corpses.

As the others looked on in confusion, Namgung Baek rose to his feet.

‘That is…!’

In his hand was a Human-Skin Mask, the same as the one covering the Captain’s face.

Once removed, a scar-ridden martial artist’s face was revealed.

Those who had been shouting at the Captain fell silent.

Namgung Baek, with a grave expression, asked the Captain slowly,

“…Who are these people?”

“Truly, you people’s eyes are nothing but ornaments.”

Clicking his tongue, the Captain tapped the acupoint of the corpse beside him with his foot.

Sssaa!

“They are Demonic Practitioners.”

From the villager’s corpse whose acupoint had been released, demonic qi seeped out clearly.

Indeed. Just as the Captain said, they had all been Demonic Practitioners.

The young successors were thrown into shock.

As silence descended around them, the Captain spoke again.

“When you look, doubt everything and see properly.”

“Look closely at their temples. They hid it with headbands, but if you look carefully, you can see the Sun Acupoint bulging.”

Checking revealed it was true.

The Sun Acupoint, located at the temple, inevitably bulged when one’s inner qi deepened.

Since they outwardly looked like villagers, it was easy to overlook. But the Captain had noticed.

“Furthermore, though their clothes are shabby, strangely none of them show any trace of sweat. And unlike their worn clothing, their shoes are spotless. It means they were indoors, merely disguised.”

The more the Captain explained, the more the young successors were left speechless.

Only after hearing his words could they recognize the signs—clues none of them would have detected on their own.

Beyond their sight, a small village appeared, smoke rising peacefully from cooking fires.

Before, it had seemed like nothing more than a tranquil mountain village.

Now, it looked terrifying.

“…Where exactly are we?”

Namgung Baek spoke in a low voice.

Everyone turned to look at Sewoon.

Their gazes carried the same question.

Sewoon said,

“The ones we are pursuing…”

The Blood Cult’s.

“This is their forward base.”