Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 262

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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 262. The Great Demon’s Immortality (2)
“Did you enjoy the alcohol?”
Meng Ha Sung chuckled softly.
“I’ve never been much of a drinker to begin with, but drinking with that repulsive old man, I didn’t get drunk as small as eye crust.”
In the meantime, he had expelled the alcohol energy with his Internal Power, remaining perfectly sober.
Gong Sun Baek asked seriously.
“How should we proceed?”
“Trust him. But we won’t sit idle either.”
He had already been pushed forward to take the lead in capturing Yul Baek of the White Faction and several Elders, whom Jong Mu Seok had testified against.
In other words, he had obtained a rather distinguished position, so it would be foolish not to believe in him.
Still, Jeon Chil Sung would harbor doubts until the end. Not because he was truly foolish, but because he had never genuinely trusted anyone in his entire life.
“Then, where should we begin our assault?”
“The White Faction.”
Gong Sun Baek’s eyes gleamed.
“If Elder Jeon Chil Sung doesn’t completely trust the Alliance Leader, he would be vigilant about the movements of the White Faction Elders as well.”
Meng Ha Sung shook his head.
“That won’t be the case.”
“Pardon?”
“Tambi Ryeong-ju said so.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before meeting Jeon Chil Sung, we discussed how he would move. That fellow said that, given I’ve provided sufficient trust, Jeon Chil Sung would plant his ear in the Black Faction, not the White Faction.”
Gong Sun Baek’s eyes widened.
“The Black Faction?”
“Indeed.”
“If it were me, I’d be concerned about sowing discord and would pay attention to the White Faction instead. Of course, there’s a risk of scattering manpower and failing to gather information, so I’m certain he would target one of the two—Black or White.”
“Tambi Ryeong-ju said the same. But he also said this.”
Meng Ha Sung flipped an empty tea cup upside down.
“They will never know they are standing upside down.”
“What does that mean?”
“I asked the same question. I said, if he wishes to harbor suspicion, shouldn’t he target the White Faction instead, and wouldn’t he worry about inducing mutual destruction or even orchestrating a hunt on the White Faction while launching a counterattack?”
“I think the same way.”
“That is the thinking of those who stand upright, and among them, those with some experience in strategy and tactics.”
Gong Sun Baek’s eyebrows twitched.
“Then?”
“Those standing upside down think they could suffer the same fate, but they regard themselves as equally formidable.”
“…?!”
“They only acknowledge factions that rival their own power as true enemies. They could never imagine that a lethal blade would sweep away everyone.”
Gong Sun Baek’s mouth slowly opened.
“They couldn’t imagine sweeping away everyone…?”
“They believe their vision is broad, but they cannot examine themselves. Thus, while they can commit bold atrocities, they lack true wisdom and possess only cunning, so they cannot easily imagine that I would sow discord among them.”
Gong Sun Baek pondered the meaning behind those words.
A moment passed.
“…Now I understand why Tambi Ryeong-ju said such a thing.”
A sound escaped him—whether a sigh or an exclamation, he couldn’t say.
“For over a decade, they’ve fought for power from the highest positions. They were cautious yet bold. But even the most cunning strategist cannot overcome arrogance. They likely believe that only someone of comparable strength could stand against them.”
“That’s precisely what Tambi Ryeong-ju said. They trust each other to join hands whenever the very foundation of the Elder Council trembles, but when such a crisis actually arrives, they won’t trust their allies and will tear each other apart completely.”
How terrifying.
Gong Sun Baek thought to himself. Moyong Bi’s judgment and experience were truly frightening.
Whether the Elder Council would actually move in such a manner remained uncertain. It hadn’t become reality yet.
Yet the mere fact that he could think in such a manner deserved praise for Moyong Bi’s intellect.
‘No matter how much I think about it, I cannot comprehend it. What kind of life must a mere twenty-year-old youth have lived to read such intricate details?’
His admiration for Moyong Bi exceeded his anger toward the Elders.
No, it went beyond admiration—he felt a faint terror.
‘They say many are born geniuses, but can someone this exceptional truly exist at such a young age?’
Elders are respected not because they possess greater strength or mere intelligence.
They are respected for the wisdom and judgment gained through navigating life’s trials. The experience they’ve endured becomes treasure—blood and flesh—for the next generation.
Yet here was a youth not even thirty, let alone forty, effortlessly pointing out details that surpassed even No Gang Ho and escaped the notice of the Martial Alliance Leader himself and the Alliance’s supreme strategist.
‘Dangerous.’
It wasn’t excellence—it was an overwhelming ability that felt dangerous.
Respect for the Alliance Leader who had perceived such a youth’s capabilities, and simultaneous doubt about whether that youth could truly dedicate himself to serving the Alliance Leader for the good of All Under Heaven.
“In the end, we must meet not with the Black Faction, but with the White Faction.”
“The White Faction… If it’s the White Faction….”
“Indeed.”
Meng Ha Sung’s face hardened.
“It means we must meet with the Original Owner of the Elder Council.”
The leader of the White Faction was none other than the leader of the Elder Council.
Of course, the title was merely that of Original Owner—he didn’t actually control and command the Elder Council. The Elders of the Martial Alliance each wielded tremendous power, and those not of his faction felt no sense of belonging.
Still, the Original Owner of the Elder Council was not someone to be taken lightly.
“He seemed like someone with no intention of actively building a faction. Yet before long, many Elders had entered his service and formed a faction.”
“That’s true.”
“In a sense, he is like the king of the Elder Council. No words, no orders, yet everyone cannot help but watch his every move. Even the Vice Original Owner, Jeon Chil Sung, does the same.”
Gong Sun Baek’s face grew tense.
“This will not be easy.”
“How could facing Jeon Chil Sung ever be easy? We have no easy opponents now.”
If we were to resolve everything with fists without hesitation, it would feel satisfying immediately.
The problem lies after that.
The Orthodox Sect values military might above all, yet considers it crude to solve problems through force—such is their contradiction.
In truth, politics cannot be solved through force. Politics is directly connected to life itself. To solve it through force would be to become the Unorthodox Faction or the Demonic Path.
‘I must use force when the moment demands it, but at least not now.’
Gong Sun Baek exhaled deeply.
“Events are unfolding with remarkable urgency. When have you decided Jong Mu Seok will expose Yul Baek of the White Faction?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Then we must meet with him immediately.”
“Indeed we must.”
Meng Ha Sung stretched languidly.
“This will be a long night for us both—and for Tambi Ryeong-ju as well.”
“Tambi Ryeong-ju?”
“Ah, I hadn’t mentioned that yet.”
Meng Ha Sung smacked his lips thoughtfully.
“That old dog Jeon Chil Sung has brought some truly troublesome characters into the Alliance.”
* * *
Moyong Su Hyang, her eyes alert as she surveyed her surroundings, whispered a question.
“Where are we?”
“Elder Council Vicinity.”
A place where even a jest would feel out of place.
Though not within the Elder Council itself, merely being near it caused her shoulders to stiffen involuntarily.
The alien pressure emanating from the Elder Council was genuinely formidable. Each of the Elders who made their home there possessed martial prowess equal to or exceeding that of Great Sect Sect Leaders.
A gathering of monsters, truly. Without even revealing their Energy Waves, the presence of these supreme masters collided against one another, spilling beyond the building’s walls.
“Y-you’re saying we fight here?”
“Not so much fight as undergo a form of training. Training that must be concluded in a single strike.”
“What exactly am I supposed to do?”
“I’ll explain after it’s finished. But don’t forget what I told you before we came.”
What had he said before coming?
Her anxiety was so overwhelming that her mind felt frozen.
‘Ah!’
Her Elder Brother’s grave voice echoed in her memory.
‘You’ll instinctively know the moment when you must draw and swing. Don’t miss that moment. Not for anything.’
His tone had been so serious that she hadn’t dared ask why.
“Isn’t Jin Gwang needed here?”
“He’s not necessary for this.”
The answer was unusually blunt.
More than blunt—it felt as though he were searching for something. Moyong Su Hyang dared not interfere with her Elder Brother.
‘Let me see.’
A deep hum resonated.
The Brain Gate True Energy leaking from beyond the gate amplified his five senses terrifyingly.
‘It must be somewhere nearby.’
He had reason for his certainty.
‘They’re forming a slightly modified Death King Small Formation.’
The Death King Small Formation was an assassination formation technique bearing the name of the legendary assassin Death King, where groups of five to twenty would form a unit to practice concealment.
Renowned for its exceptional sophistication among assassination circle formations, it proved effective whether facing small elite groups or larger numbers.
‘The Formation Technique was so perfectly executed that even Assassination techniques would struggle to penetrate it. It had changed somewhat, but the framework remained intact.’
The Death King naturally came to mind.
‘That damned old woman, I wonder if she’s still alive and well.’
Of course she would be alive.
She was someone I couldn’t imagine falling to anyone’s hand. If nothing went wrong, she looked like the type of vicious person who could easily live another hundred and twenty years.
‘Come to think of it, if we met now, it would be incredibly dangerous.’
I had broken through all the assassins and driven her to the brink of death, but if luck hadn’t been on my side, I might have been the one who died.
‘Now that I’ve returned, the day will come when we meet again eventually.’
It was then.
‘….’
Moyong Bi’s eyes stopped at one particular location before naturally moving away.
Though his gaze had moved, he remembered that position with perfect accuracy.
‘As expected.’
They were definitely people properly trained under the Death King.
I could be certain just from the fact that they had deployed the Sa Wang Small Formation, but especially that impossible Stealth Technique—it would be difficult to use unless one was from the Death King’s direct lineage.
‘Each one is watching a different direction. They’re guarding the area around the eastern side of the Elder Council, where the Blue Faction is gathered.’
Moreover, they weren’t even using sound transmission.
While they were well-trained enough not to need sound transmission, they were avoiding generating any flow of True Energy itself to prepare for the possibility of an ultra-master capable of eavesdropping on transmissions.
‘That’s why you’re suffering this today.’
They probably never anticipated that someone would know the Sa Wang Small Formation.
Whoosh.
Moyong Bi’s ears perked up.
A small wound began to appear on the tree at the location where I had fixed my gaze.
There was almost no sound. The sound of fallen leaves brushing against the tree was perfectly synchronized, and the wound’s size continued to grow.
It was even invisible.
Someone was clearly marking the tree with a dagger, yet no person was visible. If someone unfamiliar with this saw it, they would mistake it for the work of a ghost—such was the incredible Stealth Technique.
‘The moment that mark is completed, the personnel will be rotated.’
The density of Brain Gate True Energy grew increasingly stronger.
My ears buzzed and one corner of my head throbbed as if it would shatter. But the sound I was concentrating on came through crystal clear.
A moment later.
Whoosh.
Moyong Bi’s eyes flashed.
‘Personnel rotation!’
At that instant, I grabbed Moyong Su Hyang’s hand and leaped into the shadows.
Moyong Su Hyang was startled, but her hand was already on the Sword Handle.
Moyong Bi amplified the Brain Gate True Energy further within the shadows of the Elder Council’s stone wall.
‘They’re coming here as expected!’
The range was far wider than anticipated. Someone invisible from that distance was approaching toward these shadows.
I utilized the instinctive habit of assassins who move hidden in shadows.
‘One, two.’
Zing!!
The Qi Sensitivity of the Brain Gate True Energy resonated sharply.
– Now!
Whoosh!
A blade extended with a gust of wind, severing something. The Infinite True Qi’s energy concealment prevented even the sound of the sword being drawn.
Splurt!
Before a single drop of blood could fall, Moyong Bi seized the acupoint channels. A drop of blood seeped into his sleeve.
Whistle.
Moyong Bi, thickening his energy concealment further with Infinite True Qi, disappeared with Moyong Su Hyang and the wounded assassin.
He had barely managed to slip beyond the range of the Night Butterfly’s Qi Sensitivity.
Of course, the assassins would realize that the Moyong siblings had been lurking nearby.

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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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