Return of the Sword Emperor - Chapter 24

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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 9: Chamhoeyok (2)

The escort party, protected by guards of the Naeyokbu, arrived at Chamhoeyok in less than half a day’s journey.
The Prison Warden Sunjak and many others awaited their arrival.

“Welcome, welcome. When word came of the Madoryeon’s assault, I was beside myself with worry. To succeed in your mission despite such hardship—I cannot thank you enough.”

Prison Warden Sunjak came out to the entrance of Chamhoeyok to greet them, his eyes reddened with emotion as he consoled each member of the escort party and offered his welcome. At his warmth, every exhausted member of the escort, having succeeded in their mission against the odds, was moved beyond words.
Yet Dokgo Jin knew better.
He knew the serpent’s nature hidden beneath that benevolent facade.

‘A snake of an old man.’

A chill rose in Dokgo Jin’s eyes as he regarded Sunjak.
In truth, there was little connection between them, and they had never directly clashed. It had been the same even when he served as Unit Leader of the Milgeomdan.
But he remembered clearly the cowardly conduct Sunjak had shown when trouble erupted at Chamhoeyok.

Months after the escort party had suffered disaster en route to Chamhoeyok, an unprecedented mass escape of prisoners occurred within the prison itself.
Dokgo Jin’s gaze shifted to Heuk Do Byeong, who laughed heartily nearby.

‘If I have no memory of him, he likely lost his life then. That too, a consequence of that man’s incompetence.’

When the prisoners escaped, Sunjak did not fight alongside his subordinates as they battled to stop the fugitives—he fled first. Afterward, until Chamhoeyok returned to order, the human and material losses suffered by the Jeongmumeng were so severe they scarcely needed description.

‘Yet he emerged unscathed.’

Dokgo Jin bit his lip hard.
Led by the Ghost-Faced Divine Executioner, a substantial number of prisoners succeeded in their escape, and countless guardians of Chamhoeyok were killed or wounded.
It was one of the worst catastrophes imaginable, yet Sunjak, who should have borne the heaviest responsibility, received no meaningful punishment. Instead, he returned to his post as Supreme Leader of the Jeongmumeng and inherited the rank of elder.

‘A filthy hypocrite.’

Knowing the truth beneath the mask, Dokgo Jin found every word Sunjak spoke, every gesture he made, utterly sickening.

“My, I’ve kept these heroes who broke through death’s gate standing far too long. Forgive me. Come, let us proceed.”

With exaggerated courtesy, Sunjak praised the escort party and led them into Chamhoeyok.
The wounded were moved to the hall used as a barracks for soldiers, while the remaining personnel unpacked their belongings in Cheongyungak, the separate quarters for guests. The prisoners were then immediately dragged down into the valley—into hell.

* * *

Clink.
Gwimun Ja set down the teacup with trembling hands.

“You’re saying… failure?”
“Yes. Word has just come from my subordinates who surveyed the battlefield.”

Na Do Ryang, Unit Leader of the Yahondan, wore a grim expression.

“The casualties?”
“The Unit Leader and Vice Unit Leader of the Cheonrangdan, and some thirty others lost their lives, it is reported.”
“Nak… Nak Wol is dead?”

Gwimun Ja’s voice grew hollow as he asked.

“Yes.”

Na Do Ryang lowered his head as if bearing responsibility for the failure himself.

“…….”

Gwimun Ja bit down hard on his lip, fighting to suppress the anger that threatened to boil over.

“How in the world did we fail? We completely deceived Jeongmumeng’s attention, and Cheonrangdan reached the designated location safely, didn’t they?”

Vice Unit Leader Eon Sa Gyeong sprang to his feet, his face flooded with rage.

“We even committed Hanamosal to support the operation.”
“That’s precisely the problem, sir. Hanamosal was defeated by a single man.”
“What? That doesn’t——”
“Cheonrangdan performed their role perfectly. They overwhelmed Bogmadan and crushed those who came to reinforce from Chamhoeyok. The real problem was Milgeomdan.”

Gwimun Ja’s eyes snapped open at the mention of Milgeomdan, abandoning the pretense of calm he’d maintained with closed lids.

“That new recruit?”

Na Do Ryang’s eyes widened—he hadn’t anticipated that response at all.

“Yes, sir. That one.”
“Ever since I heard of that dog’s exploits before, I’ve felt uneasy—like a bone caught in my throat. Now this disaster has befallen us.”

Gwimun Ja spoke in a hollow voice.

“Not only Hanamosal, but Unit Leader Nak Wol was also taken down by him. He suffered grave wounds facing the Combined Attack of Bogmadan’s vice leader and several other enemies, but——”
“Yahondan’s leader.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How would you objectively assess Hanamosal’s strength?”

Na Do Ryang collected his thoughts before speaking.

“I believe I’ve mentioned this before, sir. Based on the reports that have come in and what common rumor says, regardless of individual skill, the power of the Combined Attacks they deploy is formidable. Examining those who lost their lives facing them, my assessment is that one must reach at least the level of our Dharma Protectors to stand against them.”
“Right, that’s what you said. So we sent them against insignificant opponents—and they were defeated by a newcomer from Milgeomdan. By your own measure, Hanamosal should require an opponent at the level of our Dharma Protectors. And at that strength, Unit Leader Nak Wol couldn’t have managed even in his normal state, could he?”
“That is——”

Na Do Ryang could not bring himself to answer.

“A new star has risen in the Martial World. And on the side of Jeongmumeng, no less.”

Gwimun Ja drained the cold tea in one breath and set the cup down hard as he continued.

“We must keep careful watch. If such a man grows properly, he’ll become more troublesome than any opponent we’ve faced.”
“I will bear that in mind, sir.”

As Na Do Ryang acknowledged with a grave expression, the door opened quietly, and Sa Gong Ye—who had stepped out moments before—appeared.

“Master.”

At his disciple’s cautious tone, Gwimun Ja offered a bitter smile.

“Has the Madoryeon Leader called for me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very well.”

As Gwimun Ja rose, Na Do Ryang quickly handed him a letter that had arrived from his subordinates.
Gwimun Ja chuckled softly, received the letter, and proceeded at an unhurried pace.

Gyeongcheonjeon, the seat of Sa Gong Hwi—the Heavenly Demon, the Leader of Madoryeon and sovereign of the Demonic Path—was already filled with the highest masters of the organization.

“The Strategist has arrived.”

At the sound of a voice from outside, the old man who had been reaching for his cup turned his head.
His posture, straight in defiance of his years, and his white hair combed back neatly were more than enough to justify calling him a retired scholar.
Yet the rough hands exposed beneath his sleeves looked harder than steel, and his heavy-lidded gaze held a sharpness that seemed to pierce through to the soul itself.
This was Sa Gong Hwi, the Heavenly Demon—the apex of all those who pursued the Demonic Path.

“Show them in.”

The door opened and Gwimun Ja, Eon Sa Gyeong, and Sa Gong Ye entered.

“Welcome.”

Sa Gong Hwi raised his hand lightly in greeting.

“It is an honor to meet you, Unit Leader.”

Gwimun Ja bowed respectfully before taking a seat in the empty chair, and Eon Sa Gyeong and Sa Gong Ye settled into the lower positions.

Phew.

Eon Sa Gyeong, now seated, had to draw several deep breaths against the suffocating pressure that bore down on him.
There had been no sharp words exchanged, no rebuke—yet merely the presence of these men in the room was enough to generate such oppression.

“Have a drink.”

A cup brimming with wine rose from Sa Gong Hwi’s hand and drifted toward Gwimun Ja.
Gwimun Ja caught the cup spinning lazily before him and drained it in a single draught.
Though the wine was potent yet smooth, with a depth of aroma, Gwimun Ja could not truly savor its taste.

“Bitter.”

Sa Gong Hwi clicked his tongue at the sight of Gwimun Ja frowning even after drinking the wine that everyone had praised.

“Tsk, tsk—the shock must be considerable if you’ve forgotten the taste of wine altogether.”
“……”
“I hear the operation to secure the Dharma Protector Deung has failed.”
“I am ashamed.”

Gwimun Ja handed over the letter he had received from Na Do Ryang to Sa Gong Hwi.

“It comes from the agents of the Yahondan who observed the battlefield at the time.”

Sa Gong Hwi took the letter and read through it swiftly, then at some point showed signs of interest.
Gwimun Ja, as if anticipating what had caught Sa Gong Hwi’s attention, added his explanation.

“There have been prior reports as well. A new recruit who has only recently entered the Milgeomdan has demonstrated remarkable abilities that hardly qualify as merely noteworthy exploits.”
“Yet if this letter’s account is accurate, it seems far too extraordinary to call it merely noteworthy performance.”

All present showed curiosity at Sa Gong Hwi’s reaction, which differed from his usual manner.

Ahem!

In the Eunmajeon, the sanctuary of retired Demonic Path elders, its master—Guyang Cheon, the Poison-Eyed Demon Sovereign—quietly picked up the letter that lay on the table.
The Grand Elder and the Supreme Dharma Protector, who had approached unnoticed, leaned their heads close to his.

“Hanamosal? I’ve heard the name before, I think.”

As the Poison-Eyed Demon Sovereign tilted his head in puzzlement, the Grand Elder, Ban Tak—the Blazing Fire Divine Demon—furrowed his brow.

“A pack of trash. Murderers, arsonists, rapists—they’ve committed every conceivable crime and are fugitives fleeing the hands of the Jeongmumeng.”
“Eh? Now listen, strategist. Why in the world did you let such garbage get involved in an operation of this magnitude?”

Gwimun Ja responded calmly to the rebuke from the figure known as the Sovereign of Poisons.

“We conscripted them with the intention of discarding them once they’d served their purpose. If we can spare even a drop of our own blood, we should use such trash without hesitation.”
“Ah, well then, that’s another matter.”

The Sovereign of Poisons clicked his tongue as if regretting his intrusion, then fell silent.

“Be that as it may, it’s remarkable that Milgeomdan’s newest recruit has already claimed the lives of Hanamosal and the Cheonrangdan Unit Leader. He seems like someone we should watch carefully.”

To Geom Ma’s words, the Supreme Dharma Protector, the Sovereign of Poisons, and the New Blazing Demon showed only lukewarm reactions, but Sa Gong Hwi was different.

“A tree that will grow properly shows promise even in its first leaves, strategist.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Elevate him to priority watchlist status and gather proper intelligence. If what the strategist says is true, his growth rate is far from ordinary. He could become a great headache for our organization down the road. We should nip the bud if at all possible.”
“Understood.”

Gwimun Ja, who held the same view as Sa Gong Hwi, accepted the order without question.

“But here’s what truly matters—Deung Bi cannot remain where he is.”

Sa Gong Hwi’s grip tightened around the wine cup in his hand.
Deung Bi, the Flame-Eating Tiger, possessed considerable skill and showed strong loyalty to the Demonic Path organization. Yet he was hardly important enough for the leadership to gather and discuss a full-scale rescue. Men of his caliber were as common as pebbles underfoot in the Demonic Path.
The problem was that he possessed a map—one that granted access to the secret teachings of the Unnamed Guest, who had shaken the Martial World profoundly five hundred years ago.
The Unnamed Guest had emerged in the Martial World wearing a dull iron mask and carrying a single sword. Without distinction between just and unjust, he sought out and engaged in Martial Duels with a hundred masters reputed to possess the greatest skill of that age.
Hundred Victories Undefeated.
The Unnamed Guest had triumphed in every single duel without a single defeat, then quietly vanished, leaving the glory of being the Greatest Under Heaven behind.
Afterward, countless theories about the Unnamed Guest circulated, but none were ever properly confirmed.
Yet traces of the legendary figure had surfaced.
Jo Poong, the mad Grand Thief who boasted he could even deceive the heavens themselves, had obtained a map left by the Unnamed Guest while plundering the imperial palace treasury.
But after Jo Poong fell miserably to his pursuers from the palace and met his end, the map’s existence vanished, and the very matter of the Unnamed Guest became mere hearsay. No one had ever confirmed that the map truly existed.

‘The map existed. It was real. And Deung Bi secured it.’

Sa Gong Hwi was bewildered that Deung Bi had been swept up in some unrelated affair and become a prisoner of Jeongmumeng. The only consolation was that Jeongmumeng still didn’t know that he possessed the Unnamed Guest’s map.

‘I moved as cautiously as I could to avoid Jeongmumeng’s suspicion, but those days are over now.’

As his emotions surged, the wine cup in Sa Gong Hwi’s hand crumbled to dust and vanished.

“Rescue Deung Bi.”

At Sa Gong Hwi’s words, the atmosphere around the room, which had been somewhat unsettled, solidified at once.

“It is Chamhoeyok. We will need to accept the risk of conflict with the authorities.”

Sa Gong Hwi spoke with finality in response to Gwimun Ja’s report.

“Accept it we must. Only—leave the facilities intact. My inclination is to grind everything to dust, but that’s not an option. As for the trash locked away there, leave them as they are. Take only those we need and withdraw. Move as quickly as possible.”

At Sa Gong Hwi’s order, everyone bowed their heads.

“By your command!”

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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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