The God of Death and the God of War - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Evil Hegemon Martial God

 

Chapter 42

 

Clatter, clatter!

 

Expensive porcelain dishes and ivory chopsticks busily collide.

 

Crunch crunch, gulp!

 

The sounds of chewing, tearing, tasting, and swallowing continue without pause.

 

“…Did they graft a hungry ghost from Noe-ok onto you?”

 

Seeing how well he was eating, Sadocheonju Dokgo Cheon asked his opponent with a mixture of wonder and disbelief.

 

Then Jeok-un glanced at Dokgo Cheon and swallowed what was in his mouth before speaking.

 

“About half right. So why don’t you change the food in Noe-ok to something tasty? Do you know how hard it was enduring that shit porridge?”

 

“What’s the point of making prisoners’ food delicious?”

 

“Hmm, that’s also a fair point. I’ll give you that.”

 

Jeok-un nodded his head refreshingly, and Dokgo Cheon shook his head back and forth.

 

More than ten days had already passed since the Ya-ju incident occurred.

 

During that time, Jeok-un had initially been sentenced to imprisonment as punishment.

 

However, after Ya-ju was revealed to be Saekma, public opinion formed that while his methods were excessive, imprisonment might be too harsh.

 

“Do you know you’re currently being punished?”

 

“Gulp. Geez, they say even dogs aren’t bothered when eating.”

 

“…”

 

Having anticipated this, Dokgo Cheon changed Jeok-un’s punishment from imprisonment to house arrest in his office, and secretly arranged this private meeting late at night.

 

There was one reason for avoiding other people’s eyes.

 

If Dokgo Cheon openly summoned him, it would appear to outsiders as expressing his intention to protect Jeok-un.

 

That wasn’t what either Jeok-un or Dokgo Cheon wanted.

 

“Sigh, how many incidents is this now? Ever since you arrived…”

 

“Hehe, calling this little thing an incident. You’ll be in for many more surprises ahead.”

 

“Good grief.”

 

At Jeok-un’s nonchalant response, Dokgo Cheon shook his head and got to the main point.

 

“So now you’ve become complete enemies with that Doyecheon bastard?”

 

“Well, you could say that. Being a son of a bitch, he threw quite a fit when his hidden rice bowl was taken away.”

 

Jeok-un readily admitted it.

 

Dokgo Cheon also needed to know about becoming enemies with Bucheonju.

 

“Hidden rice bowl?”

 

“There was a slush fund.”

 

“…A slush fund?”

 

“Yes.”

 

His reaction showed he had no idea.

 

This was proof of how thoroughly Doyecheon had hidden it.

 

Jeok-un slowly explained the relationship between Bucheonju and Ya-ju.

 

“Jidong Tak is a puppet raised by Bucheonju. The grandiose title ‘Ya-ju’ being attached to someone like Jidong Tak is in the same vein.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Dokgo Cheon groaned softly.

 

It seemed quite shocking that Bucheonju had made such moves without his knowledge.

 

Moreover, given how terrible and vile Ya-ju’s actions had been, the deep relationship between the two seemed to be a great shock as well.

 

‘He must have thought he at least maintained some line of decency.’

 

And now it was time to reveal reality to Dokgo Cheon with his own hands.

 

Jeok-un took out a bundle of receipts and a book from his chest and handed them to Dokgo Cheon.

 

“Laundered funds and a secret ledger.”

 

“…!!”

 

“The circumstances of money flowing to Bucheonju are clearly organized, so it should be easy to read.”

 

Dokgo Cheon couldn’t hide his trembling eyes upon seeing the secret ledger he received.

 

This was evidence that Dokgo Cheon and Jidong Tak were deeply connected, just as Jeok-un had said.

 

“What kind of ridiculous amount is this…”

 

“Now do you understand? Sadocheon was rotting from the roots.”

 

Moreover, he was even more shocked when he confirmed the scale of the slush fund.

 

The scale of the slush fund far exceeded his imagination.

 

But Dokgo Cheon would never know in his dreams.

 

‘You naive fellow, that’s only about ten percent.’

 

The fact that what Jeok-un handed over was only one-tenth of the acquired slush fund.

 

That’s right. The remaining nine-tenths of the slush fund was still in Jeok-un’s possession.

 

It wasn’t for personal embezzlement.

 

This cleanly laundered money would be needed to resolve the many incidents that would erupt in the future.

 

‘Right, now that it’s come to this, the schemes against the old man will also pick up pace.’

 

Jeok-un carefully observed Dokgo Cheon’s complexion while thinking to himself.

 

‘No signs of poisoning yet. But judging from Ya-ju’s behavior when I probed, it seems to already be progressing. Then my intervention might make events progress faster than before my regression. I need to move quickly too.’

 

Before his regression, Lion Emperor Dokgo Cheon had fallen victim to an unprecedented poison never before seen in Gangho history.

 

It seemed strange that a master of the Transcendent realm would fall to poison, but that’s what actually happened.

 

‘Strictly speaking, it’s not even certain if it was poison. It’s a secret technique of the Six Souls Sect.’

 

The Six Souls Sect was a special Sapa faction that belonged neither to Sadocheon nor Heukpaesong.

 

They specialized in all sorts of wicked and bizarre heretical techniques.

 

In short, they were the Sapa version of Mosan Sect.

 

Unlike Jeongpa’s Mosan Sect, which studied magic and spells for the peaceful rest and return of the dead, the Six Souls Sect explored all forbidden realms including human experimentation in their Ten Thousand Demons Hall, driven purely by private desires.

 

In the process, they would sometimes emerge or accept commissions irregularly.

 

However, commissioning something from the Six Souls Sect was extremely difficult.

 

First, no one knew where their base was located.

 

Even if one succeeded in making contact, they only accepted payment in objects they desired, not money.

 

‘For now, it’s better to keep quiet about the poisoning and Six Souls Sect.’

 

Given Dokgo Cheon’s personality, if he knew he was poisoned, he’d draw his sword first.

 

Bucheonju had a cunning and meticulous personality.

 

If Dokgo Cheon rashly stepped forward and made the mistake of alerting the enemy…

 

‘It would be like opening the lid without letting it simmer and ruining the dish.’

 

So until he gathered solid evidence like the secret ledger, Jeok-un had no intention of mentioning the poison at all.

 

However, that didn’t mean he was sitting idle.

 

‘That’s why what I’m about to discuss is important.’

 

He had already planned out a method to save Dokgo Cheon long ago.

 

But then.

 

Dokgo Cheon looked intently at Jeok-un and spoke.

 

“Phew, anyway, I’m worried about you.”

 

At Dokgo Cheon’s words, Jeok-un inwardly burst into laughter.

 

He was worrying about Dokgo Cheon’s safety, but Dokgo Cheon was actually worrying about him.

 

“Bucheonju has a persistent personality. Once he bites, he never lets go.”

 

“As expected of a son of a bitch.”

 

“From the day after he visited you, he’s been openly trying to kill you.”

 

Jeok-un nodded as if he had expected this.

 

“That bastard…”

 

“He tried to use Jichaldan to send you on a mission, right? Where to?”

 

“…How did you know that too?”

 

Dokgo Cheon made an expression of disbelief.

 

He was reacting as if he already knew everything before being told.

 

But that was only momentary, as Dokgo Cheon spoke in a serious voice.

 

“He’s insisting on giving you a Red-level mission.”

 

The warriors of Sadocheon receive missions periodically.

 

And missions are distinguished by five different colors according to their difficulty levels.

 

From easiest: White, Yellow, Blue, Red, Black.

 

Among these, Red, the second highest level, was a top-grade mission with a survival rate of thirty percent or less.

 

Even when they sent people on missions they judged would succeed, only three out of ten returned, so you can imagine how difficult they were.

 

“I hear you’re thinking of sending him to Uichun County.”

 

“Ho.”

 

Uichun County is the border between Honam and Jiangxi Province.

 

Looking at this alone, it might seem like nothing more than a backwater village, but the story changes when you consider that Sadocheon and Heukpaesong are growling at each other along the border.

 

“You mean for him to die fighting Heukpaesong.”

 

“But don’t worry. I’m thinking of having Hu Seong arrange it so we can agree on about a Blue-level mission.”

 

Blue was a level below Red, but the survival rate was much higher.

 

It would still be dangerous, but it would be much safer than being on the front lines against Heukpaesong.

 

“No.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

But Jeok-un shook his head and said.

 

“Instead of that, please give me a Black mission.”

 

“…What?”

 

Dokgo Cheon asked back in surprise.

 

Black was the highest grade mission, even higher than Red.

 

Right now, Jeok-un wasn’t asking to lower the difficulty, but to raise it.

 

Moreover.

 

‘Black missions are originally a collection of missions that are expected to be impossible to succeed…’

 

If the survival rate for Red missions was thirty percent, then ten percent would be generous for Black missions.

 

As Dokgo Cheon was dumbfounded, Jeok-un continued speaking.

 

“I’ll go to Tongseong County.”

 

“Tongseong County, you say…?”

 

Geographically, Tongseong County belongs to Hubei Province.

 

But as we can see from previous examples, in the world of Dosan Geomrim, there are invisible boundary lines.

 

Tongseong County was the same.

 

It was a three-way junction existing in Hubei Province.

 

That place was an extremely dangerous region every day, as it was entangled with Sadocheon, Heukpaesong, and even the Martial Arts Alliance.

 

Moreover, because it was such an extremely sensitive region, it was common for all three forces to hush up and cover things up even when someone died.

 

This made it all too easy for Bucheonju to pull strings.

 

To voluntarily go to such hell.

 

‘Not asking to be sent to dangerous territory, but to a death trap. What is this…?’

 

Though Dokgo Cheon had such doubts, Jeok-un had his own reasons for needing to go there.

 

‘It’s about time to obtain the next one of the Seven Divine Weapons.’

 

It was because the second divine weapon to follow Il-cheon and Wol-ha was sleeping somewhere near Tongseong County.

 

“Whew, your thoughts are really hard to follow.”

 

Just as Dokgo Cheon was shaking his head as if he couldn’t guess his intentions at all.

 

“Ah, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask. Please give me about a month before I set out on the mission.”

 

“Hmm, the scheduled period of house arrest is about that long anyway. But why do you ask?”

 

“There’s something I need to take care of in the meantime.”

 

Jeok-un smiled meaningfully.

 

Even when he left, he had to show the true nature of the abandoned mine before going.

 

At that moment, seeing Jeok-un’s smile, Dokgo Cheon shook his head as if fed up.

 

* * *

 

The Baekya Division naturally has the Baekya Division Leader’s office.

 

But if you looked at the office now, it would feel somewhat disorderly.

 

It would feel somewhat messy and not fully cleaned.

 

It couldn’t be helped.

 

The Baekya Division Leader’s office was originally located outside.

 

After the Baekya Division fell into decline, the previous Baekya Division Leaders complained that both the manor and office were shabby and set up their offices outside entirely.

 

But Jeok-un didn’t care about such things.

 

And judging it better to always be together, he had moved back in.

 

And mostly only Jeok-un, who had received a month-long house arrest, was filling the empty office.

 

But today was different.

 

“Don’t you like tea?”

 

“…It’s fine.”

 

An awkward silence flowed after Hae-yeon’s answer.

 

As could be seen from her presence, Hae-yeon had completely recovered.

 

Also, immediately upon returning, she had requested a meeting with Jeok-un.

 

Jeok-un had naturally accepted gladly, feeling pleased.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

Whoosh.

 

After exchanging one awkward word, such moments of silence continued.

 

‘Tsk, this is maddeningly awkward.’

 

Moreover, there was another reason for the awkwardness.

 

‘Come to think of it, is this the first time we’ve met while both in our right minds?’

 

Jeok-un had memories from before his regression, so he was very glad to see her.

 

But those were only his own memories.

 

Officially, the two were essentially meeting face-to-face for the first time.

 

Jeok-un couldn’t show any sign or hint of it.

 

‘Looking at it this way, regression is a bit bitter, indeed.’

 

Though she lived and breathed as memories in his mind.

 

The fact that she remained only in his memories alone made it hard for even Jeok-un to hide his sudden bitterness.

 

As Jeok-un was thinking this, Hae-yeon carefully opened her mouth again.

 

“…Daeju, may I ask you one thing?”

 

Jeok-un, emerging from his thoughts, slowly looked at Hae-yeon.

 

Before his regression, Hae-yeon’s expression, which had always been as cold as the snow winds of the North Sea, was now mixed with countless emotions.

 

“Of course. Go ahead.”

 

At Jeok-un’s words, Hae-yeon opened her mouth with difficulty.

 

“…Why did you help me?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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