Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 257

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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 257. The Great Demon’s Immortality (2)
“Captain. We’ve arrived.”
Black One, the first of the Five Black Swordsmen, spoke, and Black Hand nodded in acknowledgment.
“I can sense it. The aura is quite pure.”
Black One let out a bitter laugh.
“Still, a master from the Taoist Sect associating with someone like Jong Mu Seok—it’s truly beyond comprehension.”
“What about our master then?”
“Well….”
“Don’t waste breath on such matters. In the end, the logic of this world is simple—the strong take all. It’s laughable to concern ourselves with morality or ethics.”
Black Hand drew a dark long sword from his waist.
Though unnamed, it was a fine blade with excellent strength and elasticity. More than ten Peak Masters had fallen to this sword, and it even bore the blood of a supreme master.
Black Three trembled slightly.
“This is thrilling.”
“Have you done this once or twice before? Let’s go.”
The moment six swordsmen emerged from the thicket.
“You there. Look at me for a moment.”
The six swordsmen felt a chill run down their spines.
Black Hand slowly turned his head.
By a rather large tree beside the thicket, an elderly man was leaning against it, reading a book.
Shock washed over Black Hand’s face.
‘Could it be?!’
The man spoke without lifting his gaze from the book.
“Why do you hesitate? I called for you, yet you don’t come.”
Black Four and Black Five faltered, raising their swords toward him. Their bodies reacted first upon sensing a formidable presence.
Black Hand shouted in a low voice.
“Lower your swords!”
The two hesitating men sheathed their blades.
Meng Ha Sung, the middle-aged man, smiled and turned a page of his book.
“Indeed. The Vice Alliance Leader certainly values his subordinates well.”
“…Alliance Leader.”
“Hmph, knowing I am the Alliance Leader, would you still keep your head held high?”
Black Hand, glancing around at his subordinates, slowly knelt.
“Warrior Black Hand pays respects to the Alliance Leader.”
“We pay respects to the Alliance Leader.”
The six swordsmen knelt where they stood.
Meng Ha Sung nodded and closed his book.
Snap!
The sound of the book closing was unusually loud.
Yet Meng Ha Sung did not look at them. With his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes gazed up at the sky beyond the thicket, filled with indifference.
“Swift action indeed. Cutting off the tail first before beginning… It seems the Elder Council has already reached a decision to expel Jong Mu Seok.”
Black Hand fell into deep contemplation.
‘Why? Why is the Alliance Leader here?’
Meng Ha Sung had always kept his distance from political machinations.
He was a legendary martial artist who had built his legend in Jianghu with nothing but his fists, yet since becoming the Martial Alliance Leader, he had earned a reputation for being content with peace and failing to properly manage the Alliance—such was Meng Ha Sung.
And yet, Meng Ha Sung had appeared at this place.
‘Could it be that he intends to spare Jong Mu Seok?’
Black Hand, unaware of the true situation, could only draw this conclusion.
Only then did Meng Ha Sung, turning his body, gaze upon Black Hand.
In that instant, Black Hand felt his entire body stiffen.
‘This… this cannot be!’
His mind seemed to bleach white.
As though struck by lightning, his limbs froze like wooden logs and his back went rigid. He could not so much as lift a foot, let alone wield his sword.
A mere glance had stopped his thoughts and petrified his body. Black Hand, who had been confident that alongside the Black Five he could capture even the Sect Leader of the Nine Great Sects, now realized that Heaven Beyond Heaven truly existed.
Meng Ha Sung walked slowly forward and spoke.
“I hear you’ve done quite a bit of cleanup work under the former Vice-Leader. Assassinations of important figures, bombings, destruction of evidence, even fabrication of evidence?”
“…?!”
“Impressive—better than most Special Forces. Had you come under my command, I would have found excellent use for your talents.”
Black Hand forced his lips to move.
“Did you… know we would come?”
“Hmm? How could I?”
Meng Ha Sung chuckled softly.
“I merely knew of your existence, not that you would come here. It seems the timing simply aligned by chance.”
The timing aligned by chance?
‘Could it be that the Alliance Leader is also after Bong Mu Geom?!’
Meng Ha Sung’s smile deepened.
“Intelligence reached me that Bong Mu Geom has been accepting considerable bribes lately. Not quite significant enough to call a major figure, but certainly not someone to dismiss lightly either.”
“….”
“Since he apparently has connections with Jong Mu Seok, I wondered if there might be some link to the criminal, so I came personally—and here I find you instead.”
Black Hand was bewildered.
‘Is it true?’
Contrary to Meng Ha Sung’s words, Bong Mu Geom was certainly a significant figure.
Yet simultaneously, it was also accurate to say he was ambiguous in stature. At least, from Meng Ha Sung’s perspective, this would be so.
‘Even if he’s just an idle man of leisure, would someone of the Alliance Leader’s rank really bother…?’
Then, Meng Ha Sung opened his mouth.
“Why? Don’t you believe me?”
“How could that possibly be, sir!”
“Your arrival means the former Vice-Leader is pruning those connected to Jong Mu Seok. It seems his people know things they shouldn’t.”
Meng Ha Sung grinned wickedly.
“Are you close with your subordinates?”
“Pardon?”
It happened then.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The heads of the five Black Hand subordinates bowed in submission exploded simultaneously.
“Gasp!”
It was a sight that would make even the most iron-hearted person recoil in horror.
Black Hand’s face turned ashen.
‘What… what just happened?’
The moment his right arm, which had been clasped behind his back, loosened slightly, the heads of subordinates he had fought alongside for nearly a decade shattered into pieces.
‘Could it be… Formless Fist Wind?!’
He hadn’t even sensed the approach of the fist wind. It was the ultimate technique of absolute mastery—controlling the very flow of Qi itself, a bare-handed combat prowess ranked among the top three in all the realm.
‘Incredible! Truly incredible!’
He felt no sorrow or regret at his subordinates’ deaths. The martial prowess Meng Ha Sung had displayed was simply transcendent.
Meng Ha Sung clicked his tongue and spoke.
“It would have been better had we never met.”
“…!!”
“Do you have any last words?”
Black Hand’s frozen mind suddenly raced with frantic clarity.
‘I’m going to die!’
By any measure, the Alliance Leader seemed intent on killing him.
He didn’t know why. But judging by that gaze and the way he had slaughtered his subordinates without revealing even a hint of Killing Intent, Black Hand would surely die as well.
Yet Black Hand clung to a thread of hope.
‘The fact that he’s asking for my last words means he expects something from me, at least!’
Black Hand dropped to his knees on the spot.
“If you spare my life, I will devote myself to loyal service!”
It was a rapid calculation followed by instinctive judgment.
Meng Ha Sung spoke coldly.
“Devote yourself to loyal service?”
“Y-yes, that is so.”
You are a member of the Martial Alliance. As an Alliance Member, you should naturally devote yourself to loyal service for the Alliance Leader. Don’t tell me you’ve harbored treacherous thoughts all this time?”
“Never, absolutely not! I meant only that I live and die for the Alliance Leader alone. Please, I beg you to understand the sincerity of this humble one!”
Cold sweat dripped steadily from Black Hand’s forehead as he kept his head bowed.
Meng Ha Sung, who had been looking down at Black Hand with eyes full of contempt, soon smiled.
“You see, I do favor people like you—perceptive and quick-witted.”
He lived!
Goosebumps erupted across his entire back before vanishing. His heart pounded wildly, and a sharp wave of relief made his limbs tingle.
“But then again.”
Meng Ha Sung tilted his head.
“Didn’t you work under Elder Jeon Chil Sung for over a decade?”
“Y-yes, that is correct.”
“A decade is enough to change mountains and rivers, yet you switch your lord for such a simple threat? That’s hard to believe.”
Black Hand grew desperate.
“Please believe me! If you wish it, I will even take a poison pill!”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Y-yes! In fact, if I become the Alliance Leader’s limb rather than a member of the Elder Council, there could be no greater honor!”
“Then do it.”
“…Pardon?”
Thud.
A small silk pouch fell before Black Hand.
Meng Ha Sung spoke with chilling coldness.
“I’ve always carried this poison pill with me, wondering when such a day might come. I trust what my own eyes have seen, but I know there is no creature more treacherous than man.”
“…!!”
“A poison pill that dissolves the Five Organs Six Bowels slowly over two hours unless you take an antidote once a month.”
Black Hand’s eyes widened dramatically.
He wanted to ask if such a poison pill even existed in this world, but his counterpart was the Martial Alliance Leader. Whether through deception or otherwise, this man held a position where he could obtain countless rare treasures beyond Black Hand’s knowledge.
“Why? Does the poison pill give you pause now that it’s before you?”
“…No, sir.”
Black Hand shut his eyes tightly, opened the silk pouch, and placed the small pill inside into his mouth.
‘Ugh!’
The moment it touched his tongue, the medicine dissolved like water, releasing a truly vile taste and odor. The very scent was enough to make one instinctively understand this was a poison never to be taken lightly.
Only then did Meng Ha Sung smile.
“Good. From now on, you are my man.”
“Y-yes, it is an honor.”
“Then tell me—how many people did Elder Jeon Chil Sung send?”
Black Hand spoke with even greater deference.
“I apologize, but this humble one received only orders to kill Bong Mu Geom and burn his residence.”
“Hmm, I see.”
It was not a lie. There had been no opportunity to lie in the first place.
Meng Ha Sung nodded and spoke.
“I will capture Bong Mu Geom myself. You will return to Elder Jeon Chil Sung.”
“…Pardon?”
“Go and tell him Bong Mu Geom is dead. Tell him your subordinates fell in the process of eliminating him.”
“W-will that work?”
“Don’t worry. Fabricating a few corpses is nothing. Oh, and—”
Meng Ha Sung swept his right hand through the air.
In an instant, Black One’s sword rose into the Empty Air, then descended like lightning, slashing across Black Hand’s body in multiple places.
“Kugh!”
Even with his mind sharp, the pain was considerable. Particularly the sword scar carved along his ribs ran quite deep.
“W-why?!”
“If only you remained unscathed, wouldn’t Elder Jeon Chil Sung grow suspicious? All seeds of doubt must be eliminated.”
When Meng Ha Sung clasped his hands behind his back again, the sword that had been floating in the Empty Air fell to the ground.
At that sight, Black Hand forgot his pain and swallowed hard.
‘Sword Mastery!’
The legendary realm that every Swordsman dreamed of achieving even in their sleep—Meng Ha Sung, a master of the fist arts, had demonstrated it far too effortlessly.
As the saying went, all rivers return to the sea; at the pinnacle, the boundaries between different Martial Arts blurred. The realm Meng Ha Sung had reached was precisely that supreme.
“He won’t die. I adjusted the cross-section of the wound appropriately, considering Bong Mu Geom’s level, so there will be no suspicion.”
“….”
“Go back now and treat your wound. Don’t act rashly until I give you further orders.”
He wasn’t even giving him an antidote pill before sending him off.
Black Hand felt his throat burning dry, but he dared not defy Meng Ha Sung’s words.
“Thank you.”
“I will never forget your promise to serve me with unwavering loyalty from this moment forward.”
“Yes.”
Thus Black Hand staggered back along the path he had come.
Whoosh.
The moment Black Hand disappeared, Gu Wol emerged from the shadows beside Meng Ha Sung.
Meng Ha Sung’s cold expression immediately softened.
“Goodness, trying to act an expression I’ve never worn before—my facial muscles feel completely paralyzed.”
Gu Wol glanced at the corpses of the Black Five Assassins.
“Shall I dispose of them immediately?”
“Yes, do that. And find me another corpse to replace Bong Mu Geom.”
“I accept your command.”
Meng Ha Sung immediately entered Bong Mu Geom’s residence.
A moment later.
Meng Ha Sung, carrying the stripped Bong Mu Geom over his shoulder, soared toward the Alliance Leader’s Residence.
Gu Wol, watching from a distance, shook his head.
‘The fight itself never truly took place.’

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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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