Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 1

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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 1
There was a man.
The leader of the Twin Demon League, a heretical organization that plunged the common people into misery, and the Sect Leader of the Cult of the Divine Blood, which harbored the twisted ideology of painting the world in blood.
Hyeokwisang the Blood Demon.
He had ignited war across Zhongyuan, claiming countless lives—civilians and martial artists alike.
-The world is filled with hypocrisy and sin. Only purification through blood can resolve this.
Wherever Hyeokwisang passed, only blood and death remained.
People spoke of him.
Surely no human could unleash such horrific bloodshed; he must be a demon descended into this world.
“…Demon, huh? Just a crazy bastard.”
Thud!
The headless corpse collapsed to the ground.
This was the end of Hyeokwisang the Blood Demon. Whether demon or man, it seemed death came just the same when your neck was severed.
“Finally dead. Haa….”
Dokgo Hyeon slumped down onto a pile of rubble.
As I released the breath I’d been holding, my darkened vision gradually brightened, and the surrounding landscape came into focus.
Red. And black.
From one end of the landscape to the other, everything was painted in crimson and obsidian.
Collapsed and burned structures, corpses scattered in all directions, countless arrows and weapons embedded in the ground, all adorned with ash and blood.
The colors of a battlefield were always the same.
Dokgo Hyeon gazed upon the ruins and spoke bluntly.
“Get up, all of you.”
No answer came.
Of course not. The ruins held only corpses.
Caw! Caw-!
The cry of crows echoed from somewhere in the distance.
“Are they all dead….”
Dokgo Hyeon muttered in a hollow voice, staring at the pile of bodies.
“…or so I thought? You bastards better not be dead!”
Dokgo Hyeon’s eyes gleamed as I gripped the sword hilt.
“Ahhh! I’m awake!”
“I’m conscious! Don’t swing that blade!”
From among the corpse piles, blood-soaked figures began scrambling to their feet.
“Hey! Wake up that guy before the captain loses it! Looks like it’s over!”
“Ugh, I’m dying!”
The silent battlefield erupted into chaos in an instant.
Figures so mangled they looked like moving corpses.
They were none other than the Martial Arts Alliance Secret Strike Force, the Chammaedae.
“These bastards are playing dead while the captain dances between life and death?”
Dokgo Hyeon glared at the Chammaedae members, grinding his teeth.
The members of the Chammaedae shouted indignantly.
“What? Do we look like we were playing around?”
“I took several sword strikes in place of the captain!”
“I waded into the Samdocheon with my own feet!”
“Look at this! Look! I nearly had my insides spill out after taking a sword strike!”
Thwack!
Dokgo Hyeon drove his sword tip into the ground with a sharp thrust, a faint smile crossing his face.
“So now that it’s all over, you think you can match me?”
The Chammaedae members flinched and trembled.
“P-please calm down, Captain. Let’s put the sword down and talk. We have wounded!”
“And what about me?”
True to his words, Dokgo Hyeon was in the worst condition among them all. Several arrows protruded from his back, and even as he spoke, blood streamed from the gaping wound across his abdomen.
“B-but that! That ghost-like bastard—is he really dead?”
“Right! That ghost-eyed bastard—where is he!”
The Chammaedae members, who had been making a fuss, tensed and swallowed hard.
“You bastards and your deflections… Fine, I’ll humor you just this once.”
Dokgo Hyeon chuckled and gestured with his chin toward his feet.
“See for yourself if you don’t believe me.”
A severed head rolled across the dirt ground.
Pale skin drained of blood, with eyes as crimson as blood itself.
It was the head of Hyeokwisang the Blood Demon.
“We really… we really did it!”
“I knew the captain could take that bastard’s neck!”
“You’ve worked hard, Captain.”
“Thank you for your hard work, sir!”
The Chammaedae members erupted in bright laughter and cheers.
Hard work, hard work indeed…
Yes, we’ve certainly suffered enough.
Even now that the battle had ended, my limbs wouldn’t move properly. I’d lost so much blood that my vision blurred.
But we won.
I, and the Chammaedae, had taken the head of the Sinheol Sect Leader.
“It’s over! It’s finally over!”
“Phew… at last it’s done.”
“What will you do first when we return?”
“I’m drinking first! What about you, Jang Cheol?”
“I’m going back to Sahmun. Now I can finally receive a pardon.”
The Chammaedae members gathered in small groups, speaking brightly about their futures.
“A pardon… I wonder if I can return to my family too.”
“I’m thinking of founding my own sect and becoming a sect founder! Hahaha! Anyone with ambition, follow me! I’ll even make you an elder!”
“A sect? We’re in no position for that. We should be grateful just to live quietly. Don’t you agree, Captain?”
“….”
Dokgo Hyeon silently swept his gaze across the Chammaedae members.
They were modest wishes compared to what I had accomplished. The grandest dream among them was merely to establish a martial sect.
It was understandable. The Chammaedae was a unit where not a single member came from a distinguished background.
Disciples expelled from their sects, adopted sons of noble families raised as expendable tools, criminals bearing guilt, slaves from despised outer regions….
Wretches from the bottom of society, each sent to the battlefield after being promised some form of compensation.
The Chammaedae was a ragtag group bound together by tragic circumstances.
But.
“What’s impossible about it? Establishing a sect? If you want to, then do it. Since you’re going to do it anyway, build something grand.”
Being from the bottom was only yesterday’s story, wasn’t it?
From today onward, the Chammaedae are heroes who severed the Bloodfiend’s neck and ended the war.
“Hahahaha! Did you hear that! The commander said so!”
Then, someone approached from behind and sat down lightly beside Dokgo Hyeon.
“What will you do first when you return, Commander?”
It was a delicate voice unsuited to the battlefield.
A woman with a sword broken in half casually slung over her shoulder.
None other than Namgung Sohwa, one of the four vice-commanders.
“Won’t you secure a high position once you return to the Alliance?”
“Come to think of it, that old man from the Council also said he’d give you a position.”
The Chammaedae members nearby chimed in with interested expressions.
“Could it be… you’re returning to your family?”
At that cautious question, all the Chammaedae members’ gazes turned toward Dokgo Hyeon.
“Family.”
Dokgo Hyeon muttered quietly while wiping blood from his face.
Just as each Chammaedae member carried their own story, so did I.
The Dokgo Family.
The place that accepted me when I lived like an outsider as a branch member, and at the same time, the place that sent me to this cursed battlefield.
Dokgo Hyeon turned over that name he had long forgotten, then suddenly let out a laugh.
“What good does knowing that do?”
“If you have nowhere to go, come with us.”
“What? Why?”
“Who else would accept the commander with that ridiculous personality?”
Namgung Sohwa said, brushing her sweat and blood-soaked hair back.
That was when it happened.
“Oh! If the commander and vice-commander are going, I should follow too!”
“Shut up! Jang Cheol, you’re going back to Sahmun!”
Namgung Sohwa shouted sharply.
“What? Where are you going?”
“The commander is following the vice-commander?”
“Then we should go too!”
“What the hell are you all talking about!”
“What do you mean! The commander will become the Supreme Elder of the Chammagun! Deputy Chief Namgung should be the one to step aside!”
“Wait, you’ve already named the sect?”
Dokgo Hyeon narrowed his eyes as he watched the Chammaedae members chatter away among themselves.
These fools weren’t even thinking about the fact that they were still in the heart of enemy territory… No, more than that.
“Shut your mouths! You disloyal bastards! Where do you think you’re going!”
“Loyalty? Why are you bringing up loyalty now?”
“You should be thinking about building memorial tablets or graves for the ones who died along the way! All you’re doing is thinking about yourselves!”
At Dokgo Hyeon’s roar, Namgung Sohwa and the Chammaedae members let out awkward coughs.
“That’s, of course something we should do.”
“R-right! We were definitely thinking about it!”
“Hmph! It’s obvious, so there’s no need to mention it! What do you take us for…”
Dokgo Hyeon clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Really, here I am with these kinds of people…”
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Then, suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats thundered from far along the horizon.
Whoosh!
The Chammaedae members who had been laughing and chattering naturally gripped their weapons and formed ranks as if nothing had happened.
However, Dokgo Hyeon remained relaxed and smiling.
“They’ve arrived right on time.”
At those words, the Chammaedae members opened their eyes wide and looked toward where the hoofbeats were coming from.
On the chests of the warriors riding toward them on horseback.
The character for “Alliance” was clearly emblazoned there.
“Hey! Over here! Over here!”
“Ah, we’re saved. I never thought I’d be happy to see those gentlemen.”
Color returned to the faces of the Chammaedae members.
They were reinforcements. The rescue unit that had been arranged to create an escape route for them as soon as the Chammaedae’s battle ended had arrived.
“Whoa, whoa.”
Soon the horses stopped, and a middle-aged man leaped down from the front of the group.
“The Alliance Leader?”
Dokgo Hyeon frowned upon seeing him.
A middle-aged man dressed in a pale blue robe with a gentle expression.
It was the Martial Arts Alliance Leader, Baek Mu-heun, who had come in person.
“The sun rises in the west, it seems. What brings you here personally?”
“So you’re alive.”
“And so are you.”
Baek Mu-heun was in terrible condition, having traveled through rough terrain.
Baek Mu-heun approached Dokgo Hyeon and spoke.
“Did you really pull it off?”
At that question filled with disbelief, Dokgo Hyeon laughed with casual confidence.
“Can’t you see for yourself?”
“What of Hyeok Wi-sang?”
“His head’s rolling around over there—go find it yourself.”
“The Eight Dharma Protectors and the Six Body Masters?”
“Just as you said, most of them were away. That’s how we managed it.”
“Hah… even so, I can hardly believe it.”
Baek Mu-heun exhaled in amazement, his expression hollow.
Understandable, really. The long war with the Twin Demon League had ended today.
And by the Chammagun, no less—an organization born from the lowest ranks.
“How are you holding up?”
“As you can see.”
I was gravely wounded. In this condition, even a few steps felt impossible.
But I was alive.
Alive was enough. Wounds like these would heal in a few days of rest.
“Sigh…”
Baek Mu-heun let out a long breath.
At that subtle shift in his demeanor, Dokgo Hyeon’s eyes twitched.
“Honestly, I never thought you’d come this far.”
“What are you suddenly saying?”
“You’ve worked hard. And I’m truly sorry.”
Flash!
In an instant, a brilliant blade light erupted from Baek Mu-heun’s scabbard.
Dokgo Hyeon’s eyes widened in shock.
I instinctively retreated, but my injuries made me a step too slow.
“Gahhh!”
Slash!
Blood erupted from the gash torn across my chest.
It was only the beginning.
“What are you—!”
“Commander! Commander!”
“Ahhhhh!”
Blood sprayed from all directions. The martial artists who had come with Baek Mu-heun began slaughtering the Chammagun members.
Namgung Sohwa, the other captains, Deung-pyeong, Geum Seok-du, Jang Cheol—every survivor of the Chammagun was bleeding.
Dokgo Hyeon’s eyes filled with blood.
“What is this…!”
Baek Mu-heun smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“You’ve done far too well.”
“What?”
“From the start, your role was only to drain Hyeok Wi-sang’s power. We were supposed to finish it.”
At those words, Dokgo Hyeon felt his heart turn to ice.
Surely it wasn’t just some absurd order to strike the headquarters alone, nor was it mere coincidence that Hyeok Wi-sang awaited them as if he’d been expecting their arrival….
“Regardless, it’s already done…!”
“It’s done. It’s finished. But… think about what comes after.”
Baek Mu-heun muttered bitterly.
“Surely it wouldn’t do for the unit that took down the enemy commander to be something like the Demon Slaying Unit.”
“…!”
At those words, Dokgo Hyeon’s eyes widened as if they might tear open.
Whoosh!
Baek Mu-heun flicked the blood from his blade and approached Dokgo Hyeon.
“Don’t worry about what comes after. I’ll pay handsomely for your lives and those of the Demon Slaying Unit. The families of the members will be taken care of, and your honor will be preserved. You’ll be revered as heroes.”
“Spouting nonsense to the very end….”
Dokgo Hyeon ground his teeth.
What problem? There won’t be any problems—he’ll simply erase them.
Even if that bastard genuinely intended to keep his promise, in the end the name of the Demon Slaying Unit would belong to the prestigious Great Gate Sect and the heirs of the Noble Families.
Wasn’t it always like this?
These people would steal without hesitation—even from the dead if they could.
“I harbor no personal feelings. Go in peace.”
Baek Mu-heun spoke calmly and swung his blade once more.
In a single instant.
Dokgo Hyeon’s eyes, which had been drooping, blazed with a sickly blue light.
Splurch!
A chilling sound of flesh and blood being severed echoed through the air.
It was the sound of Baek Mu-heun’s blade tearing through Dokgo Hyeon’s body, and simultaneously the sound of Dokgo Hyeon’s blade piercing through Baek Mu-heun’s heart.
“Kugh! Cough…!”
Baek Mu-heun spat blood and glared at Dokgo Hyeon with trembling eyes.
Dokgo Hyeon twisted his blood-stained lips into a smile and withdrew his blade.
“…I have personal feelings, you bastard.”
Baek Mu-heun’s eyes remained wide open as he collapsed where he stood.
Thud!
Dokgo Hyeon too released his grip on his blade and fell to the ground, all strength drained from him.
The sky that filled my vision was murky, as if rain might pour down at any moment.
To see such a sky in my final moment.
‘Perhaps… I always knew it would end this way.’
My vision gradually narrowed.
Through the closing darkness, I gazed up at the sky and let out a bitter laugh.
Wasn’t the world always like this?
From the beginning, those born with privilege—people like me and the Demon Slaying Unit from the bottom—were nothing more than hunting dogs to be devoured once we’d outlived our usefulness.
‘But… did you bastards ever think that hunting dog would take down the Martial Arts Alliance Leader as well?’
A person who killed both the Bloodfiend and the Martial Arts Alliance Leader on the same day.
In all the long history of Gangho, where could one find a hunting dog that left such a brilliant achievement?
“Cough! Hack!”
My body felt impossibly heavy. Even sound had begun to fade from my ears.
Cheonma Sect Leader Dokgo Hyeon slowly closed his eyes.

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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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