Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 239

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 239. Mud Puddle (3)
“This is where the Ho Jeong Clan resides.”
Perhaps, having brought him as a guide, Jung Hui intended to fulfill his duty to the end.
No trace of bewilderment or discomfort crossed Jung Hui’s face.
“The Ho Jeong Clan.”
Moyong Bi’s eyes gleamed with interest.
‘It has been quite some time.’
The Ho Jeong Clan had existed in those days as well.
But back then, the Ho Jeong Clan functioned as both a combat unit and a protective force, placing greater emphasis on Inner City security duties.
‘I wonder if that remains the case now.’
Come to think of it, I had never discussed this matter with Jung Hui before.
‘Still, the location appears unchanged from before.’
The building maintenance seemed to be well-kept.
Even before entering, the sound of warriors’ training shouts echoed from within. They appeared to be in the midst of drills.
“Shall we enter?”
“Of course.”
Jung Hui walked toward the main gate of Jeong Ui Gak, the Ho Jeong Clan’s building.
Two warriors standing guard at the gate bowed their heads.
“We greet the Alliance Leader.”
“How have you been?”
“Well, sir.”
Moyong Bi’s eyes sparkled.
‘Look at them.’
They were clearly respectful to Jung Hui, the Alliance Leader, yet they showed no particular signs of fear.
‘It doesn’t seem to be because they’re close.’
Jung Hui spoke calmly.
“A distinguished guest of the Alliance has come to observe the training. Open the gate.”
“A distinguished guest?”
“That’s right.”
The two men glanced at Moyong Bi and displayed different reactions. One furrowed his brow while the other showed surprise.
They were likely astonished that such a young man was a distinguished guest of the Alliance, and by his handsome appearance. Meanwhile, the notion that a young nobleman from a prestigious family would observe training seemed to displease one of them.
“Perhaps there is some authorization document from the higher-ups…?”
The left warrior’s question was quickly cut off by the right warrior.
“Understood. You must have had a long journey.”
Jung Hui nodded silently in acknowledgment.
Creak.
The gate opened.
Moyong Bi, now standing beside Jung Hui, studied his face.
Jung Hui’s face bore no particular expression. There was no hint of bitterness, no sign of anger, nor did he appear pleased.
Moyong Bi smiled and spoke.
“Alliance Leader Jung Hui.”
“Speak.”
“Right now, you serve as our escort and guide under the Military Affairs Department, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Then I shall ask not the Deputy Alliance Leader of the Righteous Protection Squad, but a warrior of the Military Affairs Department. Does the Righteous Protection Squad perhaps lack a hierarchy?”
The warriors’ expressions shifted dramatically.
Jung Hui shook his head.
“How could that be? No organization functions without hierarchy. Especially not the Righteous Protection Squad—the pride of the Martial Alliance’s Inner City combat forces.”
“I see.”
Moyong Bi gazed up at the name plaque of Jeong Ui Gak.
Beneath the three characters of Jeong Ui Gak, smaller script read: “Protectors of Justice, Forever Undefeated”—meaning those who safeguard righteousness shall always prevail.
“Righteous Protection means upholding correct principles and law… yet, tsk, this too is where people dwell, I suppose.”
The warriors’ faces flushed crimson.
Jung Hui smiled.
“Please refrain from troubling our men with such pointed remarks.”
“Trouble them? I merely state what is.”
“Is that so?”
“Those who claim to protect justice surely possess respect for their superiors and military discipline, do they not? And they would not be bound by political machinations.”
It was a statement meant for all to hear. The warriors’ faces turned completely rigid.
Jung Hui laughed bitterly and spoke.
“Shall we enter?”
“Indeed.”
Once inside Jeong Ui Gak, Jung Hui asked in an awkward tone.
“Why did you do that?”
“I dislike it when anyone but myself lacks manners.”
The statement was so utterly selfish that it could only be a jest.
Jung Hui sighed.
“These men are innocent souls.”
“Innocent and pure youths who aren’t corrected in their habits grow into monsters in an instant.”
“…What did you mean by political machinations?”
Moyong Bi chuckled softly.
“Did I not ask you before? What manner of person is the Alliance Leader?”
“You did.”
“Your answer was rather evasive. Had he been a good man, you would have had no need to deflect so.”
Jung Hui stopped walking and sighed.
“To speak frankly, our Alliance Leader is no easy man to underestimate.”
“You mean he is corruptly formidable?”
“…That interpretation is not entirely without merit.”
He was being quite cautious.
It was not fear of the Alliance Leader that made him so. Jung Hui was a man who knew how to respect his superiors, not one who trembled before an unrighteous man wielding great prestige.
“I’m not sure what the Main Headquarters intends to do, but our Alliance Leader commands considerable forces. Have you heard of the White Tiger Sword Sect?”
Moyong Bi’s eyebrows twitched.
“The White Tiger Sword Sect of Shandong?”
“You know of them. Indeed. Our Alliance Leader is affiliated with the White Tiger Sword Sect and is the Younger Brother of the current Sect Leader.”
Look at these bastards.
‘A member of the White Tiger Sword Sect has brazenly infiltrated the upper echelons of the Martial Alliance?’
During Moyong Cheon’s era, the White Tiger Sword Sect was a corrupt sect that faced seventeen counts of illegally embezzling Martial Alliance Supplies during wartime.
Even if one or two incidents could be overlooked, seventeen exposed cases meant the sect itself—beyond just the Sect Leader—was actively complicit in the corruption.
The number seventeen was so staggering that the memory remained vivid even now.
“I understand they possess strength, but I believe the sect is quite controversial.”
Jung Hui sighed.
“Controversial as they may be, the White Tiger Sword Sect certainly has power.”
Moyong Bi was furious.
‘How was the Martial Alliance even managed that these dogs are openly thriving here?’
The crimes were so grave that five principal offenders, including the Sect Leader, were summarily executed, and all sect members were treated as accomplices, receiving a thirty-year ban from external activities—such was the White Tiger Sword Sect’s fate.
In other words, they had been sealed away, yet this sealed sect was already operating.
‘If they’ve been exerting influence and even planted one of their own as the Alliance Leader of the Righteous Protection Squad, I wonder if a mere ten-year seal would have sufficed.’
It was absolutely infuriating.
‘No matter how long the Alliance Leader’s position remained vacant, this is too much!’
I had been dead for twenty-one years, and Meng Ha Sung had assumed the Alliance Leader position six years ago.
In other words, the Alliance Leader’s seat had been empty for fifteen years.
The reason could be roughly inferred, but even so, the fact that those who had received legal punishment from the Law Enforcement Hall at that time were now running rampant was a grave problem.
“The Alliance Leader dislikes me.”
“I know.”
Jung Hui’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
“Isn’t it obvious? How could a corrupt superior ever favor a righteous and principled subordinate?”
Jung Hui’s face flushed. It was difficult to bear Moyong Bi’s words—criticizing his superior while praising him in the same breath.
“I’m hardly such a remarkable person….”
“If he at least possessed competence, he might manage a subordinate whose principles don’t align with his own out of necessity, but judging by the conduct of these gatekeepers, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
One cannot know ten from seeing one, but occasionally one can glimpse eighteen.
The current Righteous Protection Squad was such a case.
“You’ve managed to avoid dismissal and hold your ground quite well.”
“Fortunately, there are quite a few Warriors who follow me.”
It meant the Righteous Protection Squad had not completely rotted.
The corners of Moyong Bi’s mouth rose subtly.
‘I’ve caught something worthwhile.’
I had hoped to find something to grasp, and this was like diving into a lake that was half water and half meat from the very start.
“Let’s go.”
“…Understood.”
A moment later.
“By the Righteous Sword Great Hero’s technique!”
“Yes!”
The Training Ground was quite spacious.
Over a hundred Swordsmen were simultaneously wielding their blades across the well-laid blue stone floor.
‘So this is the Righteous Sword Swordsmanship.’
Moyong Bi felt a wave of nostalgia wash over me once more.
‘How long has it been since I last saw this? Yet it feels fresh again.’
The Righteous Sword Swordsmanship was the ultimate technique of the Righteous Sword Great Hero, a true master of chivalry who had once fought the Demon People of Seonghyeol Palace single-handedly before joining the Martial Alliance.
He had been older than I was at the time when I served as Alliance Leader, and as a Peak Master, he had lived his entire life for chivalrous justice—a genuine paragon of virtue.
Without children or disciples, he had bequeathed his Swordsmanship and Internal Energy Cultivation Method to the Martial Alliance before his death.
The Internal Energy Cultivation Method required no modification, but the Swordsmanship had aspects unsuited to group combat, so I, as Alliance Leader, had personally corrected several Martial Forms.
‘So that Swordsmanship has been passed down to the Righteous Protection Squad.’
It was a technique that suited the organization’s name perfectly.
The problem was….
“What do you think?”
Moyong Bi shook my head at Jung Hui’s question.
“The angles are certainly well-defined. The movements have discipline, but in actual combat, they’ll respond with sufficient flexibility. They are truly worthy Warriors of the Martial Alliance.”
It was an honest assessment.
Compared to the Fire Sword Group, they weren’t even in the same category, and they held their own against the Second Generation Disciples of the Wudang Sect.
Especially given the Martial Alliance’s emphasis on group combat, in a unit-versus-unit engagement, they could overwhelm the Second Generation Disciples of the Wudang Sect.
Even in decline, the Martial Alliance remained the Martial Alliance. It wasn’t called the federation of the Orthodox Martial World for nothing.
‘But….’
Still, it was disappointing.
That assessment came not as Moyong Bi, but as the Former Martial Alliance Leader.
‘Compared to the Warriors of those days….’
I shouldn’t make the comparison, yet I couldn’t help but do so.
The Martial Alliance of that era, composed of reversal warriors who had survived war, boasted a military strength that ranked among the top ten in Martial History.
In every regard—age, experience, realm—these Warriors fell short of those from back then. To put it bluntly, if we deployed just twenty members of the Righteous Protection Squad from that time, these hundred would be annihilated entirely.
‘How frustrating this is.’
If the world had continued in peace, it would be bitter but understandable.
‘There are limits to being substandard. Only twenty years have passed, merely twenty years.’
As time progresses, interpretations of Martial Arts become refined, and more powerful techniques emerge.
Yet the Righteous Protection Squad had grown weaker.
‘The enemies aren’t limited to Seonghyeol Palace alone.’
Beyond Seonghyeol Palace, there are also enemies in the northern regions of the Martial World.
While not as formidable as Seonghyeol Palace, they too are like time bombs waiting to detonate. If we weren’t going to strike first and crush them, we should have at least maintained our full strength.
‘Could it be that the Martial Alliance branches established in Shaanxi and Gansu have also been dismantled…?’
A sigh escaped involuntarily.
“Why the troubled expression? Does it still not satisfy you?”
“No.”
Even as I said it, I couldn’t help but let a curt edge slip into my tone.
Jung Hui, who had been glancing at Moyong Bi’s displeased expression, turned his gaze back toward the Training Ground.
Time passed in silence.
“Ah? Alliance Leader, is that you?”
A Warrior approached the two of them.
He appeared to be several years older than Jung Hui—a man on the cusp of his forties with a sturdy, well-built frame.
Jung Hui spoke flatly.
“Squad Leader.”
“When did you join the Alliance? I had no idea you’d arrived.”
His tone was light enough to be called overly enthusiastic.
“By the way, did you complete your mission successfully?”
“Yes, I did.”
“The higher-ups really are too much. Sending someone of Alliance Leader caliber on such a trivial task—I’d say this is disrespecting the Righteous Protection Squad.”
Jung Hui’s expression hardened.
“Now listen here, Squad Leader Muk.”
Muk Hyeong, the Squad Leader of the Righteous Protection Squad, smiled as he looked at Moyong Bi.
“And who might this person be? A guest?”
Before Jung Hui could speak, Moyong Bi answered.
“An unnecessary person who came along with someone who handled an unnecessary task well.”
“…?!”
“No need to apologize.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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