Return of the Sword Emperor - Chapter 52

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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 19: Ho Gul (1)

“I shall enter.”
“Come in.”

As Hwang Rip stepped into the room, Nok Rim Tu Wang rose from the bed and settled into a chair.
Hwang Rip, noting the pallor of Nok Rim Tu Wang’s complexion, asked with concern.

“Are you well?”
“It’s been more than a day or two—I’m managing.”

Yet despite the ease in his words, Nok Rim Tu Wang’s hands trembled as he lifted the teacup.
But only for a moment.
The instant he took a sip, the tremor vanished as if it had never been.

“The look on the strategist’s face suggests this isn’t about my condition. Has something arisen at this late hour?”
“A report has come in regarding the Divine Sword.”

At the mention of the Divine Sword, Nok Rim Tu Wang’s eyes sharpened.

“Speak.”
“The traces of the Divine Sword have vanished.”
“What?”

Nok Rim Tu Wang’s eyes widened.

“The Divine Sword… has disappeared?”

Since his illness had deepened, Nok Rim Tu Wang had rarely shown emotion, but now, fury flashed across his face for the first time in months—and Hwang Rip bowed his head.

“I am remiss.”
“Explain in detail.”
“The Divine Sword was first discovered by someone gathering medicinal herbs on Mugong Mountain. It has since passed through three hands. We confirmed it last reached Ha Hu Goong of Dae Woong Chae—but when we found him, he was already a cold corpse.”

Hwang Rip exhaled slowly, as if already foreseeing the chaos to come, and his already-hunched shoulders seemed to bow even further today.

“So you’re saying you don’t even know who took it?”
“That is correct.”
“What’s the chance that bandits from other Sanchae seized it?”
“We’ve thoroughly questioned and inspected every Sanchae around Mugong Mountain but found nothing. All confirmed Sanchae were wholly ignorant of the Divine Sword’s very existence. Their attention lies entirely on the Succession Battle soon to come. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that they concealed their knowledge of obtaining the sword.”
“Are you containing the rumor from spreading outward?”
“We are attempting to, but as you know, such matters can never truly be controlled.”

Hwang Rip offered a wry smile and shook his head.

“True enough. Heaven-sent treasures shine of their own accord and draw people like moths to flame. Still, do your utmost. Whatever it takes, keep word of the Divine Sword from crossing the mountains into Jungwon.”
“I shall delay it as long as possible.”

He accepted the order, yet his tone remained uncertain.
But neither of them knew.
Even before word of Divine Energy manifesting in some ravine of Mugong Mountain reached their ears, the rumor had already spread across every great and small sect throughout Jungwon, and all who heard it were rushing with fury toward the Naso Mountain Range.

* * *

“From here on, you can consider this proper territory of Heukgol Chae.”

Ju Gangwoo pointed to the watchtower that had come into view between the trees.

“Quite a journey, that was.”

Jong Gak looked up at the sky.
A full moon hung at its zenith, though clouds obscured a considerable portion of it—yet what remained was bright enough to see by without difficulty.

“The detour made for a long journey, and bandits were crawling all over the place. We had no choice in the matter.”

Yu Seollan gestured toward the watchtower, her face bearing the signs of weariness.

“The trail of the missing Amhyang Dae members went cold here, didn’t it?”
“Yes, they all sent a Cheonmok Seo from this point before communications ceased, but they likely ventured further inward.”
“A Cheonmok Seo, you say?”

Yu Seollan tilted her head in confusion, and Ju Gangwoo drew a white rat from his breast.

“Eek!”

Yu Seollan yelped and stumbled backward.
Here was Yu Seollan, the cold-faced warrior who seemed to fear nothing under heaven, suddenly rigid with terror at the sight of an adorable creature—and the others could not suppress their laughter.

“Out here, we use these rather than messenger birds. The ones sent skyward are hunted too often. Lord Yu domesticated this species as a last resort, I believe.”

As Ju Gangwoo explained, Jong Gak reached out and gently stroked the head of the Cheonmok Seo, which was sniffing about with its tiny nose.

“There are many creatures that serve in place of messenger birds, but I’ve never seen one so endearing.”
“Thank you.”

With a light smile, Ju Gangwoo tucked the Cheonmok Seo back into his breast and pointed toward the watchtower ahead.

“Shall we circle around and penetrate deeper, or…?”
“No need to go further in. We suppress them here and now.”

At Jong Gak’s command, Yu Seollan moved like a phantom, with Yu Geomha and Dokgo Jin close behind her.
The watchtower lay some thirty paces distant, and as they made their way through the undergrowth, none of the bandits noticed their approach.
At Yu Seollan’s gesture, all movement ceased and they surveyed the tower.
Three bandits occupied the modest watchtower—two were asleep, and the third stood watch, yawning continuously.
Yu Seollan flicked her eyes toward Dokgo Jin.
Dokgo Jin shot forward like lightning, hooked the drowsy bandit by the collar, and subdued him; Yu Seollan then burst through the entrance and swept away the sleeping bandits with a kick.

“Make a sound and die.”

The bandits jolted awake, saw the blades aimed at their throats, and froze in terror.

“Outside. Move carelessly and you die.”

Yu Seollan dragged the bandits outside and forced them to kneel before Jong Gak alongside the one Dokgo Jin had already subdued.
Jong Gak regarded the trembling bandits with an icy gaze.
Without a word, his mere stare was enough to drain the color from their faces.
When the bandits’ anxiety reached its peak, Jong Gak asked his first question.

“You.”

At Jong Gak’s summons, the bandit on the far left flinched and raised his head.

“Some time ago, companions disappeared from this place. Five first, then five more. Where are they?”

When Jong Gak saw the bandit’s pupils quiver at the word “disappeared,” he knew with certainty they were aware of Amhyang Dae.
But the interrogated bandit only darted his eyes about, his lips sealed—he knew too well what fate befell a traitor.
Jong Gak did not ask twice.
At his signal, Yu Seollan struck the hesitant bandit’s Ahyeol meridian and began moving without restraint.
Unable even to scream, the writhing comrade drove the remaining two bandits’ faces pale as chalk.
Jong Gak’s cold eyes did not linger on the tortured sanjuk, but fixed instead on the two bandits watching him.
After taking a beating for what seemed like an eternity, the sanjuk finally lost consciousness.
As Yu Seollan moved to revive him, Jong Gak raised a hand to stop her and turned his attention to the trembling second sanjuk.

“Where is it? Not that it matters if you don’t answer. There’s still one more of you left.”

Faced with the lethal warning, the sanjuk’s gaze wavered between Jong Gak and his motionless companion before he finally opened his mouth.

“Most of them are dead, I believe.”
“So there are some still alive.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Where?”
“At Ho Gul, I believe they’re being held there.”
“Ho Gul, is it.”

Jong Gak looked toward Ju Gangwoo, but the man shook his head—he didn’t recognize the name.

“Where is Ho Gul located?”

Just as the sanjuk began to answer, Yu Seollan kicked him squarely in the gut.
Watching the sanjuk collapse limply, Jong Gak furrowed his brow, but Yu Seollan was already seizing the last remaining bandit by the scruff of his neck and hauling him upright.

“We need to verify separately before comparing their stories. He could be spouting lies.”

Jong Gak nodded, acknowledging his own carelessness.

“You’re right. I nearly made a fundamental mistake. Take him away.”

As Yu Seollan led the sanjuk away, Jong Gak’s attention shifted to the one crawling toward them on his belly.

“You know what happens if your stories don’t match. Now—where is this Ho Gul?”
“It’s… it’s an outpost on the ridge to the northwest. About ten li from here, roughly.”

The sanjuk tried to gesture toward the northwest, but the thick woods obscured any clear landmark.

“Which ridge? Which peak?”

Ju Gangwoo asked the question.

“It has no particular name, but it’s easy enough to find. Follow this path and pass two outposts—you’ll see the ridge after that.”

Fearful that he might suffer for giving a less detailed account than his companion, the sanjuk spoke with desperate urgency.
In the meantime, Yu Seollan returned with the other sanjuk, having completed her verification.

“Ho Gul is on a ridge to the northwest, about ten li away.”
“He didn’t lie.”

At Jong Gak’s words, both sanjuk finally relaxed, their tension visibly draining away.
But the questioning was not yet finished.

“One more thing.”

The two sanjuk instinctively shrank back under Jong Gak’s cold stare.

“You had help, didn’t you?”

The sanjuk exchanged furtive glances with one another.

“Don’t waste my time.”

As Yu Seollan approached with a cold sneer, the bandits cried out in unison, trembling.

“Y-yes. There are collaborators. There are collaborators.”
“But we don’t know who they are.”
“You don’t know?”

Yu Seollan’s aura surged as though she might strike at any moment, her question cutting through the air.

“It’s true. We really don’t know. We only know they’re terrifying people.”
“That’s right. Only the Gang Master and the Young Master—and a few others—know their names.”

Watching the bandits, despite being prisoners undergoing interrogation, reveal genuine fear of another party entirely, both Yu Seollan and Jong Gak could discern that deception had no place in their words.

“It seems certain that the Madoryeon has become involved.”

Jong Gak nodded at Yu Seollan’s assessment.

“I was thinking the same. Just look at how they’re reacting.”

As he spoke, Jong Gak’s hands moved without hesitation.
The bandits never even managed to scream; they fell silent one and all, their breath stolen away.
Dokgo Jin and the others threw the corpses into the guard post.

“If there’s no one making rounds, we shouldn’t be discovered until dawn.”

At Ju Gangwoo’s explanation, Jong Gak let out a hollow laugh.

“In other words, we could be caught at any moment.”
“That’s true enough.”
“Then we move quickly. Even if no one’s patrolling, we need to finish everything before morning comes.”

Before Jong Gak’s words had even finished, Ju Gangwoo stepped forward, drawing in a deep breath.

“I’ll show you the way.”

* * *

The Milkgeom Dan reached Ho Gul exactly half an hour after leaving the first guard post they had encountered.
Despite their haste, the journey had consumed more time because other Heukgol Chae outposts stood at every approach to Ho Gul, forcing them to take detours at each one.

“It should be that one.”

Jong Gak nodded at Ju Gangwoo’s words.

“Now I understand why they call it Ho Gul.”

The entire group gazed at the cave behind the guard post. Though the night’s depth made it impossible to judge the cave’s full extent, its considerable scale was unmistakable.

“The guards here are definitely numerous.”

At Dokgo Jin’s remark, Yu Seollan tilted her head and asked.

“I can see there are a lot, sure, but I can’t pin down exact numbers. How many, roughly?”
“Two bandits standing watch outside, six sleeping inside the post, that’s eight total. Four more are sleeping further back in the cave.”
“Twelve, then—that’s quite a concentration. The first post we hit had no more than four guards, and every other outpost we passed was the same.”

Jong Gak’s expression hardened slightly.

“You don’t know where the Madoryeon people are, do you?”

At Yu Seollan’s question, Dokgo Jin let out a hollow laugh.

“If they were awake, perhaps. But asleep? Even the greatest master under heaven couldn’t tell.”

When Jong Gak and the other members exchanged bewildered glances, Yu Seollan spoke as if making excuses.

“I was just asking. I thought maybe you could pull it off. But I suppose it’s impossible after all.”
“I’m no god, Boss.”
“Maybe not a god, but you’re a monster. Looking at what you’ve shown us so far.”
“Enough. No more idle talk.”

Jong Gak, sensing the mood fracturing before an important operation, refocused the group’s attention.

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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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