Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 240

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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 240. Mud Puddle (4)
Muk Hyeong was flustered, but he spoke without letting it show too much.
“My apologies, but might you be descended from a prestigious family?”
Rather than anger, he adopted a deferential tone.
Moyong Bi let out a soft chuckle and looked toward Jung Hui.
His expression was truly displeased. The gatekeepers were merely ordinary warriors and still ignorant of much, but Muk Hyeong was different.
The very act of brazenly asking where someone came from revealed Muk Hyeong’s character. Jung Hui’s mood could not have been worse.
“The Alliance Leader personally invited you as a distinguished guest.”
“Ah, I see? Perhaps you’re from one of the Six Families…?”
Before Jung Hui could open his mouth, Moyong Bi spoke with biting sarcasm.
“Why? If I were a distinguished guest from the Six Families, would you fawn over me like a fly, or would you boast if the Alliance Leader personally afforded me such treatment?”
At such blunt words, Muk Hyeong could no longer maintain his facade.
“That’s, that’s not quite what I meant.”
“Then why are you so curious about it? Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m just an ordinary person who lived like a beggar in a distant mountain village, got lucky enough to learn Martial Arts, and got lucky enough to become a distinguished guest of the Alliance Leader’s Faction.”
Moyong Bi lifted his chin.
“Now disregard me. I don’t mind.”
Muk Hyeong’s face flushed crimson. Only then did he realize how the other saw him.
Yet he didn’t think it shameful. He was simply startled and angered.
“I apologize for my rudeness. I’ve caused you considerable trouble.”
His words rang hollow, filled instead with the determination to discover his origins by any means.
Moyong Bi sighed and spoke to Jung Hui.
“Though it may be difficult, henceforth fill your unit with courageous and righteous warriors rather than petty, scheming subordinates.”
Jung Hui smiled wryly without speaking.
“I shall endeavor to do so.”
Given his nature, he would never have given such an answer before the senior Squad Leader of the First Unit. It was clear that Jung Hui was equally angered.
Muk Hyeong, clenching his teeth, bowed his head and headed toward the Training Ground. It seemed he believed there was nothing to gain by remaining in this place.
With only the two of them remaining, Jung Hui spoke.
“I apologize for showing you nothing but incompetence from the start.”
“Why would you apologize for that? Reality is simply reality. That doesn’t mean the Alliance Leader hasn’t made efforts, does it?”
“What makes you think that?”
“You mentioned having warriors who follow you? Even if their minds were properly set, if the upper echelon is corrupted, it’s only a matter of time before they become complicit. Otherwise, they’d simply leave the organization.”
“….”
“Still, you must try harder.”
“Yes.”
No elaborate excuses.
An outsider might ask what an Alliance Leader had been doing all this time. An insider might counter that you know nothing, that you’ve never lived within this organization yourself.
Yet the two men did not cross that sensitive line.
Both understood. How organizations of people truly function.
It is easy to move one’s mouth on any matter; action is what proves difficult.
“By the way.”
Moyong Bi, who had been observing the training for some time, tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
“That Swordsmanship… it seems as though a portion of it has been severed, doesn’t it?”
Jung Hui turned to Moyong Bi with startled eyes.
“You can perceive that?”
“Looking at the flow of the Swordsmanship, there should be more delicate and swift Martial Forms for responsive techniques, yet I see none of them.”
Even without knowing the Uicheon Swordsmanship, Moyong Bi’s judgment was astute enough to raise such questions. All the more so, since he was someone well-versed in the Uicheon Swordsmanship.
Jung Hui, unaware of this, could not help but admire him.
“Your judgment is truly remarkable.”
“I’ll accept the compliment. My eyes are quite keen.”
“Precisely. That Swordsmanship is called the Uicheon Swordsmanship, which the Previous Alliance Leader adjusted to suit group combat.”
“Is that so?”
“To maximize the combat methods of group warfare, we excluded two Martial Forms responsible for delicacy and swiftness, and instead maximized the Incantation that overwhelms enemies through Aura and raw power.”
Moyong Bi furrowed his brow.
“So you sought to maximize your advantages.”
“That is correct.”
These foolish bastards.
‘You idiots, your advantages are already overflowing—shouldn’t you also cultivate Martial Forms that serve as individual safeguards so that even when separated, you can respond to any situation?’
Emphasizing group combat was sound, but that did not mean one should completely extinguish individual character.
True strength could only be achieved when both individual and collective abilities could be wielded freely. Yet these fools had discarded two Martial Forms from the Uicheon Swordsmanship, reducing Warriors to mere components serving only the collective, stripping away their individuality.
‘Do they not understand the Middle Path?!’
Moyong Bi, his emotions stirring beneath the surface, asked Jung Hui.
“What is your opinion, Alliance Leader?”
“On the Uicheon Swordsmanship?”
“Yes.”
“I believe it is a magnificent Swordsmanship.”
“What I meant to say was…”
“But I think excluding the delicate and swift techniques was a grave error in judgment.”
Moyong Bi’s eyes widened.
“You understand that, so why?”
Jung Hui let out a soft chuckle.
“When you say you understand, you mean you concluded the Uicheon Swordsmanship was flawed after observing it just once.”
“I wouldn’t call it flawed.”
In truth, even at this level, it would prove formidable in group combat.
“It was the Alliance Leader himself who removed those Martial Forms from the Uicheon Swordsmanship.”
This damned fool.
“I have proposed countless times that he reconsider, but he would not hear my counsel. He even suggested we settle the matter through a one-on-one Martial Duel to determine who was right.”
Moyong Bi’s eyes grew sharp.
“Did he indeed.”
There was no doubt he had refused because he lacked confidence in victory. Yet Jung Hui was a man who would prioritize the greater good over his own honor, even in a battle with a predetermined outcome.
Jung Hui shook his head.
“That was impossible.”
“Why?”
“I believe you understand, but the discipline of our organization cannot be shaken. While I don’t think the likelihood is high, if by some chance I were to defeat the Alliance Leader, the problem would only grow larger.”
Moyong Bi exhaled deeply. He could understand Jung Hui’s words.
Yet even so, he believed Jung Hui was wrong on this particular point.
“There are times when discipline must be shaken for the sake of everyone.”
“I am willing to sacrifice my life for my moral convictions and beliefs. However, if others suffer harm because of my actions, that becomes an entirely different matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“Given the Alliance Leader’s temperament, if I were to win, he would surely seek retaliation against me. Of course, I’m not afraid of that, but….”
Jung Hui trailed off.
Moyong Bi understood.
“You mean he could subtly disadvantage the warriors who follow the Alliance Leader.”
“If it were merely disadvantage, we’d be fortunate.”
He wondered if anyone could truly be so petty.
‘Fine, good.’
The more his anger rose, the colder his mind became.
‘If things are already this chaotic, it might actually be better.’
Part of him had hoped someone would provoke this. If the situation was like this, he could afford to be more aggressive.
“Let’s move closer.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes, of course.”
The two men closed the distance in the Training Ground to less than a Long Blade’s length.
Most of the warriors who had been training intently became aware of the two men. They didn’t stop their training because of the Squad Leader’s shout, but all of them showed curiosity about Moyong Bi.
As their concentration wavered, their breathing became subtly uneven.
Moyong Bi spoke in a calm voice.
“The Righteous Protection Squad is quite famous even within the Martial Alliance, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“If you’re elite, then you’re elite, but I don’t understand why your concentration scatters so easily just because one stranger has arrived.”
“….”
“This is rather disappointing.”
The warriors’ faces hardened.
With their minds shaken, their breathing became even more uneven and their exchanges began to fall apart.
Baek Sang Ho, the Third Squad Leader who was directing the training, shouted.
“Stop!”
Over a hundred Swordsmen halted their movements in unison.
Baek Sang Ho, who had been glaring at the Swordsmen with fierce eyes, approached the two men.
Jung Hui remained standing calmly while Moyong Bi stood with his weight shifted to one leg, regarding Baek Sang Ho with a displeased expression.
Baek Sang Ho bowed his head once to Jung Hui without speaking, then immediately questioned Moyong Bi.
“Who are you?”
“None of your concern.”
Fine wrinkles formed on Baek Sang Ho’s forehead.
“This place is forbidden to those without authorization! Whoever you are, leave at once!”
Moyong Bi pointed at Baek Sang Ho with his finger while looking at Jung Hui.
“Is this truly the Squad Leader? How absurdly incompetent.”
Baek Sang Ho’s face flushed crimson.
“What, what did you say?”
“It’s not merely stupidity—you walk around as though your brain has been removed entirely. Anyone with eyes can see you arrived with the Alliance Leader’s deputy, which means you received authorization from above. Yet you possess caution no greater than the grime beneath an infant’s toenail?”
“…!”
In that instant, Baek Sang Ho froze in panic.
Jung Hui smiled wryly and spoke.
“Squad Leader Baek is indeed renowned for his fiery temperament.”
“Ah? So fiery that you don’t even greet the Alliance Leader’s deputy whom you haven’t seen in ages, and you charge forward without the sense to discern whether someone is a guest or not?”
Disappointment flickered across Moyong Bi’s face.
He expressed his emotions so genuinely that everyone witnessing it became absorbed in his sentiment.
“When did the Martial Alliance become like this….”
He didn’t even finish his sentence.
Baek Sang Ho, unable to contain himself, cried out.
“You’ve ruined the Warriors’ training! Regardless of who you are, this matter…!”
“A true Warrior should remain unshaken and continue training even if the Martial Alliance Leader himself arrives. That is true elite.”
Moyong Bi shook his head as he spoke.
“I cannot fathom how you’ve been conducting training all this time. You should be ashamed, yet you speak so boldly? Is this peculiar to the Righteous Protection Squad alone, or do all units conduct themselves this way?”
Baek Sang Ho’s face flushed as though he’d drained an entire bucket of alcohol in one gulp.
“This…!”
“Furthermore.”
Moyong Bi’s face, which had been colored with disappointment, became expressionless.
A brief but unmistakable shift. That change alone caused Baek Sang Ho to flinch involuntarily.
“Before you wonder who I am, shouldn’t you first apologize to your superior?”
“…?!”
“The Righteous Protection Squad appears to have no hierarchy whatsoever.”
“That’s…!”
“Yet you won’t tolerate your subordinates disrespecting you, will you? Excessively strict with those below, dismissive of those above—what kind of damn fool behaves this way?”
Baek Sang Ho’s jaw dropped.
The sudden barrage of crude language startled the Warriors, and even Jung Hui couldn’t hide his shock.
Moyong Bi did not stop.
“There’s always one like you. Someone who cares only about their own feelings. To hold the position of Squad Leader with such a temperament, one must possess either exceptional skill or powerful backing—one of the two….”
Moyong Bi, having assessed Baek Sang Ho from head to toe, laughed coldly.
“So, does the Six Major Sects provide your backing?”
The implication was clear: this man lacked even basic skill.
“You bastard!”
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Baek Sang Ho’s hand moved toward his sword without thinking.
Whoosh.
At some point, an ice-cold sword blade came to rest against Baek Sang Ho’s throat.
The sword was drawn without a sound. The sharp energy flowing along the blade was truly menacing.
Even the foul-natured Baek Sang Ho instinctively swallowed hard in that instant.
Jung Hui spoke coldly.
“Drawing a sword against the Alliance’s honored guest is, at minimum, disrespecting me as your superior, and at maximum, disrespecting the Martial Alliance Leader himself.”
“…!!”
“Third Squad Leader, do you wish to face summary execution?”
Baek Sang Ho’s body trembled with rage and panic as he clenched his teeth.
It was then.
“What is all this commotion?”
Along with a languid voice, two men approached from the distance.
One was Muk Hyeong, the First Unit Leader I had seen earlier, and the other was a lean middle-aged man dressed in luxurious garments.
Moyong Bi’s grip tightened on the spear in his hand.
‘So it’s that bastard.’

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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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