The Heavenly Demon Cult’s Strongest Maid - Chapter 296
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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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Chapter 50
Did Tam-rang really return to the Martial Arts Alliance?
What if Geumhwa Tower was a fake and he’s actually on the run?
‘Then catching that bastard would be completely out of the question.’
No matter how wide a net they cast, catching him in a large city like Wuhan wouldn’t be easy.
Moreover, Tam-rang was skilled in soul-stealing techniques and illusion arts.
Even if I wanted to mobilize Haomun, I couldn’t carelessly ask for help in case Tam-rang caught them and ripped out their hearts.
I felt once again how troublesome an opponent he was.
“Seolha, my niece!”
While I was deep in thought about Tam-rang on the fifth floor of Geumhwa Tower, Uncle Wang appeared.
“Uncle! How did you come here? I thought you went to Muhan Bunta.”
“I already went and came back. And I didn’t come alone—Millyeongdae came with me too.”
As Uncle Wang stepped aside, a figure silently ascended the stairs.
Millyeongdae, belonging to the Martial Arts Alliance Military Department.
Their job was information gathering and special missions when necessary.
In Korean terms, they’d be like black agents of the National Intelligence Service.
I remember reading in the original work that their true identity was classified information known only to the Alliance Leader and the General.
Perhaps that’s why even his face was covered with a mask.
‘Walking around the streets in broad daylight like that.’
In some ways, it was even admirable.
“I’m from the Military Department’s Millyeongdae.”
He didn’t reveal whether he was a leader or member, not even his name or alias. He was truly like a shadow, living up to the name Millyeongdae.
“I want to see the scene.”
“It’s that room.”
I pointed to the fire-damaged room.
“I tried to preserve it as much as possible, but some parts were inevitably damaged while suppressing the fire. You’ll have to take that into account.”
“Understood.”
As Millyeongdae carefully headed to the room, Uncle Wang immediately followed behind.
After a while, Uncle Wang came out shaking his head.
“Uncle, did you find anything?”
“No.”
“What about that faceless corpse? Tam-rang might have switched to that identity.”
“You think he used a human skin mask?”
“Yes.”
Since he wasn’t very surprised, Uncle Wang seemed to have some suspicion in that direction too.
“It’s certain he wasn’t a low-ranking martial artist.”
“What makes you think that?”
“The fabric.”
“The fabric?”
Both I and Yang Ha-rin beside me tilted our heads in confusion.
“Just looking at it, it seems like Martial Arts Alliance supplies, right?”
“Are you saying it’s not Alliance supplies? That can’t be right.”
When Yang Ha-rin objected, saying she had worn them a few times for fun, Uncle Wang calmly provided an explanation.
“Look closely at those clothes—the cut is different. The stitching is different too, and especially the lining has high-quality silk added.”
At first, I wondered what he was talking about.
What cut, why is the stitching different, and silk lining?
“Did someone alter them?”
“More money was spent on them. Seolha, have you heard of custom-made clothes?”
“Ah! You mean they were specially made at a high-end clothing shop to look like the standard supplies?”
Yang Ha-rin slapped her knee as if she finally understood.
“Right. Others might not notice, but Martial Arts Alliance martial artists would recognize it immediately. This actually becomes a point of pride among colleagues.”
So they had Martial Arts Alliance daily wear custom-made like luxury goods, with Italian craftsmen carefully embroidering every stitch?
Wearing the same clothes but saying, “I’m different from you.”
“I have some money.”
Something like that to show off?
Wow.
“What strange hobbies people have.”
“Thanks to this, we can narrow down our investigation scope, right? If we find the clothing shop that made this and get their customer list, we can get closer to him.”
“How long would that take?”
“…Huh?”
“There wouldn’t be just one or two, would there? Good things always get copied. Everyone probably got at least one set, even if they had to go into debt.”
Uncle Wang’s eagle-eyed discovery was good, but his psychological insight seemed worse than mine.
“Is that so?”
Uncle Wang scratched his head, seemingly not having considered that far. Trying to ignore the falling dandruff, I made a suggestion.
“So, how about this?”
“Seolha, do you have a good idea?”
“Yes, I’m thinking of becoming bait myself.”
I carefully revealed what I had been planning before Uncle Wang arrived.
Black Tortoise Unit Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, Wolf Fang Blade Choo Gwang-saeng.
His eyes blazed with fury.
It wasn’t just his eyes.
His reddened face and rough breathing made the quiet indoor air even heavier.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Each time he drummed his fingers on the table, the nine Black Tortoise Unit captains gathered there kept their mouths shut and watched each other’s reactions.
“Still no word?”
Bang!
Choo Gwang-saeng slammed his fist on the table in rage.
“Your minds have rotted! How long has it been since the emergency assembly order was issued, and there’s still an empty seat? Does this make any sense right now?”
“…”
“I repeatedly emphasized maintaining emergency contact networks so we could reach anyone at any time, right? And you’re making a fool of me like this?”
Unit Leader Choo Gwang-saeng made eye contact with each captain as he spoke through gritted teeth.
“If you have mouths, make some excuse! Is that position there for you to lord over your subordinates?”
“…”
“…”
“I’m asking if that’s what the position is for!”
Choo Gwang-saeng’s voice grew increasingly loud.
“Are your families on par with the Five Great Families? Are you as successful as the Nine Sects and One Alliance? Didn’t you join the Alliance to make a name for yourselves since you couldn’t rely on family connections? Then you should be even more alert!”
Unlike the White Tiger Unit composed of junior disciples from the Nine Sects and One Alliance, and the Blue Dragon Unit made up of people from the Five Great Families, the Black Tortoise Unit was a military organization composed of martial artists from small and medium sects.
Therefore, many of them had inferiority complexes about their origins.
“Even achieving merit wouldn’t be enough, but you’re doing great. Just great. Huh?”
“…We’re deeply ashamed.”
Vice-leader Thunder Twin Swords Hong Yu-chang bowed his head deeply in apparent remorse.
Creak—
Just then, the door that had been closed opened and someone entered.
It was Tam-rang, wearing the mask of Jeon So-cheol, captain of the Black Tortoise Unit’s Tenth Banner Qingfeng Banner, who was the cause of the recent commotion.
“What the hell are you doing?”
As soon as he saw Tam-rang, Choo Gwang-saeng burst out in anger.
In response, Tam-rang shrank his neck and rolled his eyes around.
“Where were you and what were you doing?”
“Th, that… well…”
Anyone could see he was desperately trying to come up with an excuse.
“This bastard is trying to use his brain in front of me? Won’t you speak properly?”
“I, I was wrong! I ended up drinking at the juru and fell asleep…”
“I’ve had my eye on you since I knew you were a womanizer.”
Though it was fortunate he told the truth, Choo Gwang-saeng’s eyes flipped at the mention of juru.
He grabbed a nearby inkstone and hurled it toward Tam-rang.
Whoosh—
Tam-rang instinctively covered his head and crouched down.
Just as the flying inkstone was about to hit the door, the closed door opened and someone entered.
Slash!
With one strike of his sword, the inkstone split in half and fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.
“My, my apologies.”
The flustered Choo Gwang-saeng immediately stood up and apologized.
The one who had come to the Black Tortoise Unit was a masked Mil-yeong-dae member.
“It’s fine.”
The Mil-yeong-dae member approached mechanically as if nothing had happened and handed over a sealed letter.
After hurriedly checking the contents inside, Choo Gwang-saeng put down the letter and commanded.
“Everyone stand up.”
At his sudden command, the gathered captains awkwardly rose to their feet.
“I’ll go first.”
Choo Gwang-saeng removed his upper garment and turned his body so the Mil-yeong-dae member could see clearly.
The Mil-yeong-dae member thoroughly examined his body, nodded, and moved on to the next person.
“Vice-captain Hong, remove your upper garment.”
“What?”
Though he didn’t understand, he had already witnessed Choo Gwang-saeng’s demonstration right before his eyes.
Hong Yu-chang obediently removed his upper garment and exposed his back.
The Mil-yeong-dae member signaled approval with a light gesture.
“There’s something to check, so everyone remove your upper garments. Execute!”
Since the captain and vice-captain had done it, the subordinates had no choice but to follow.
Everyone looked bewildered but began fumbling to remove their upper garments.
Crash!
Smash!
“What?”
“That crazy bastard!”
At that moment, someone who was undressing suddenly threw himself toward the window.
He succeeded in breaking the glass window and escaping outside, but another Mil-yeong-dae member was waiting there.
Slash!
He mercilessly swung his sword toward the opponent.
“Aaaaah! Let go!”
When they immediately subdued the one who fell screaming and stripped off his upper garment, a seven-star tattoo of the Big Dipper was revealed.
“Who is that person?”
“That guy is the Ch, Chilgi (Seven Flags) captain Yu Man-baek.”
Choo Gwang-saeng stammered as if surprised.
As if he never dreamed that a Bloodsky Sect spy would be hiding under his command.
“How could Yu Man-baek…!”
In the chaotic atmosphere, the expression of Tam-rang, disguised as the Sibak captain, hardened considerably.
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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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