A cart heading towards Gangso.
While Master Un-jong was meeting with Hyeok Gi-rin and Miss Yeo Il-ye, Tang Do-yeon spoke up.
“Something feels off.”
“Well, that’s true,” Tang So-yeol agreed.
“From our perspective, those cryptic inscriptions were hidden in a way that only the Blood Sect could manage to conceal. So we can trust the information to some extent, but from the Martial Forest Alliance’s point of view, it’s just secret information tucked away at a stronghold.”
Tang So-yeol turned her gaze to the Black Cat.
“Don’t you know anything?”
“It’s true that the Martial Forest Alliance’s attitude is reckless, but regardless of that recklessness, the Blood Sect’s headquarters, or at least a major facility, is definitely where we’re heading.”
“Oh?”
“No matter how shady the Blood Sect is, they still need supplies. Especially to establish a proper stronghold, they’ll need a lot of wood and metal.”
“Hmmm. That’s true.”
“They might be able to source wood and other materials, but metal has to be supplied from somewhere. I haven’t looked into it deeply yet due to time constraints, but there are quite a few missing metals in the area. If I add in the quantity smuggled in a way that’s hard to trace, I’d say they could easily build a fortress.”
It was clear that the Martial Forest Alliance was working hard to uncover the identity of the Blood Sect.
Open.
If you ranked the amount of doors in the world, the beggars of Open would come second; they weren’t even glimpsing the investigation team of the Martial Forest Alliance.
They were probably mobilizing all resources to collect information.
It was already a suspicious place, and if I think about adding the secret documents of the Blood Sect on top of that, it might be hard to criticize the Martial Forest Alliance’s hasty actions.
The real problem was whether the Blood Sect anticipated that I might discover that secret space and documents.
The fact that my party had been active in Botamun had already spread widely. Could the Blood Sect have missed that news?
The Blood Sect must have recognized that I was completely hostile toward them.
In such a situation, would they stupidly leave information in a secret location that I might find?
It was enough to doubt it was a bait.
However…
“In the end, it’s confirmed that it’s the core stronghold of the Blood Sect.”
Dokgo I-seol’s statement was why the Martial Forest Alliance’s investigation team had no choice but to head to Gangso despite the risks.
“As the current Martial Forest Alliance, they have no choice but to achieve results.”
“Hmmm. But isn’t the Martial Forest Alliance’s situation not that dire?”
Tang So-yeol asked back, but Dokgo I-seol shook her head.
“The Martial Forest Alliance probably doesn’t have much time left.”
“Hmm?”
“Miss Dokgo I-seol is right,” the Black Cat sighed and agreed with her.
“What if the perception spreads that the Martial Forest Alliance, which has all the major forces of the Righteous Faction, can’t properly deal with the Blood Sect? And if the Blood Sect is active all over the world? Naturally, the enemies of the Martial Forest Alliance would want to ally with the Blood Sect, wouldn’t they?”
“Ha, is that so?”
“I think that, with time passing, the existence of the Alliance itself will be in jeopardy. Right now, is there any way for the Alliance to protect each sect while the Blood Sect is attacking them? Even a righteous faction can’t bet the fate of a sect just on ideals. Don’t you think sects will line up to declare neutrality and withdraw from the Martial Forest Alliance to protect themselves?”
Dokgo I-seol snorted, perhaps thinking of Sadoryeon.
It might be unreasonable to compare the current Martial Forest Alliance with Sadoryeon, but Dokgo I-seol’s predictions were plausible.
In the end, it was the sects affiliated with the Martial Forest Alliance that would incur damage.
The damaged sects and those in similar situations would inevitably voice their anxieties, and the Martial Forest Alliance had to comfort them.
If they couldn’t soothe that dissatisfaction in time, as Dokgo I-seol said, sects would start withdrawing from the Alliance.
And given the current situation, it was likely that the Martial Forest Alliance had failed to address the complaints of its members properly.
When they attacked the Blood Sect stronghold near Go Sang-mun, there was a commotion when the local martial artists charged into the Blood Sect’s base.
If that commotion hadn’t occurred, would we have faced the Blood Sect forces? Probably not.
From the Blood Sect’s perspective, avoiding conflict with the Martial Forest Alliance was advantageous.
If the Blood Sect ambushes the weak sects of the Martial Forest Alliance and escapes, how would the Alliance’s position and reputation change?
Though the existence itself was considerable, one could say that the true activities of the Martial Forest Alliance began only after the Blood Sect incident.
The reputation sustaining the current Martial Forest Alliance isn’t built on accumulated trust from results, but rather an expectation that it would be incredibly powerful given that it includes the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans.
But what if the sects of the Martial Forest Alliance suffer from the Blood Sect’s ambushes, while the Alliance can’t even track the Blood Sect properly?
The expectations supporting the Martial Forest Alliance would vanish like bubbles.
Just like what the Black Cat and Dokgo I-seol said, the Outcast Faction Forces that are on bad terms with the Martial Forest Alliance might be tempted to ally with the Blood Sect, or the sects might withdraw from the Alliance, seeking to preserve their influence.
In the conflict between the Martial Forest Alliance and the Blood Sect, it could already be said that the Blood Sect had the upper hand.
The Martial Forest Alliance was in a position where it had to grasp at any remnants of the Blood Sect to justify its existence while the Blood Sect continues to gain from striking the sects, erasing traces behind them.
In such a situation, was there any reason to throw out bait involving secret spaces and secret documents, revealing a heavily invested stronghold?
If.
If there was a reason to set a trap, was it for my sake?
I glanced at Dokgo I-seol and the Black Cat. Both seemed to have reached a similar conclusion, glancing at me without saying a word.
Perhaps they were too worried about me to voice that possibility.
Ever since I learned Oh Seong-jin’s techniques, sometimes I felt like I could sense their inner thoughts even without speaking.
I nodded at them, implying that I was considering that possibility.
Well, it wasn’t anything like a grand plan, but I completed everything I needed to do before stepping out, so I was fine.
The Black Cat turned her head with a slightly worried expression, while Dokgo I-seol nodded, as if she suspected this all along.
Even though they expressed it differently, was their reluctance to ask about how I prepared showing me their trust or consideration?
The Bicheongmacha shook violently, interrupting my thoughts.
Chirp.
Not pleased with the jolting of the rickety Bicheongmacha, Seo Gong crawled onto my knee.
As I brushed down Seo Gong, who was squirming to find a position, he instantly turned into a sticky rice cake. Right now, he had truly become a unique familiar, but I still didn’t know why he followed me.
I could only vaguely guess it was because of my maternal grandfather’s blood.
The Blood Sect probably understood better than I did why this little guy followed me.
So then.
Was the secret space at the stronghold where information was placed, a trap laid by the Blood Sect expecting I would discover it?
I didn’t know.
I had communicated with the Blood Sect only once.
It was merely receiving a message from the Blood Ancestor before the Heavenly Demon.
Despite investigating the Blood Sect and even defeating one of its Entities, I still knew nothing about the Blood Sect.
And the Blood Ancestor didn’t know much about me either.
Between me and the Blood Ancestor, there had been nothing but passing notifications to become the Blood Sect’s successor, and I hadn’t even exchanged a proper conversation.
Yet here we were, opposing each other; it was indeed a ridiculous situation.
Would we just continue to fight silently until one side fell?
I didn’t know.
Somehow, my heart felt unsettled.
Clop, clop, clop.
Regardless of my feelings, the Bicheongmacha was just heading towards Gangso.
*
As the investigation team got closer to the presumed stronghold of the Blood Sect, they joined forces with the martial artists who had left their stronghold, increasing their numbers several fold.
The Mosan Sect, the local heavyweights of Gangso, seemed shocked to learn about the Blood Sect’s stronghold and provided considerable support in martial artists.
And that wasn’t all.
Hwae-seik’s martial artists from Namgung Clan and lastly, the Array Formation Teams of the Shandong House which had suffered serious damage along with the Blood Sect’s upheaval— even the Bipungsanhae group joined in.
The forces of the Martial Forest Alliance were divided into two groups.
The initial strike team and the encirclement team.
Originally, they intended to leg it with the same force of the investigation team into the Blood Sect’s stronghold, but…
“Please give our faction a chance to restore our honor!”
At the request of the Array Formation Team representative, Ikseo-pung, the Eighteen Arhats stepped back into the encirclement team, and the Bipung-san-hae stepped in to take their place.
Our party was divided into two groups as well.
“See you all soon,” I waved goodbye.
Chirp!
This time, as there were martial artists from the Martial Forest Alliance in abundance, Tang Do-yeon and Tang So-yeol decided not to join us and stayed behind to guard the Bicheongmacha.
After all preparations were made, the martial forces of the Martial Forest Alliance advanced toward the Blood Sect’s stronghold.
Aside from a river flowing nearby, it was an ordinary mountain that could be anywhere in the Central Plains.
“This is it.”
A considerable-sized cave entrance.
The Hwa-gyeong Martial Artists entered first to scout for dangers, while the primary force of Bipungsanhae and my party entered behind the Master Un-jong and the remaining Hwa-gyeong Martial Artists.
As we opened the well-hidden stone door inside the cave, we were met with a passageway leading downward.
“This cave is quite deep,” someone muttered, tension gripping their voice as we walked further in.
The rock quality of the downward passage was quite firm.
Ordinary people without inner power wouldn’t even dare to carve such a solid rock, and indicating that a considerable number of martial artists must have been involved in digging this passageway.
Given the effort put into excavating this seemingly endless underground passage, one could only wonder how much labor had been invested.
It’s likely the martial artists of the Martial Forest Alliance instinctively thought such thoughts.
There is no doubt if this level of effort was put into hiding a stronghold, something unusual awaited at the end.
Although we were walking through a passage devoid of any enemies or traps, the tension within the martial artists of the Martial Forest Alliance only escalated.
As we made our way through the long passage, the lead stopped at last.
Moyong Seo, who was in front, perceived that there were no people and lifted the Nightlight high.
As the light spread, a large iron door blocking the passage was revealed to us.
“There’s no sign of anyone.”
“It looks like an entrance leading to the stronghold, but the absence of a gatekeeper means…”
The Hwa-gyeong Martial Artists standing at the front murmured in agreement.
Could it be that they fled again?
As that thought flickered through my mind…
“It seems we’ve found the right place,” Master Un-jong stepped forward, speaking up.
“There’s a very strong blood energy emanating from inside.”
“Master, what do you mean?”
“Yes, it means a Hyeong-gyeong Martial Artist is beyond that door.”
With Master Un-jong’s confirmation, a calm tension spread among the investigation team.
“At least I don’t sense any other Blood Persons nearby this door.”
With the Master’s further comments, the Hwa-gyeong Martial Artists exchanged glances and drew their weapons.
“Then we should forcibly open it.”
Zzzzzz!!
Moyong Seo was the first to channel her Qi and pushed her sword into the door. As her Qi slowly penetrated the iron door, an expression of strain crossed her face, hinting that this door was quite thick.
“Better to have us work in turns rather than exhausting yourself.”
“I’ll do it.”
The Hwa-gyeong Martial Artists took turns stepping up, and soon a hole large enough for one person to pass through was carved onto the iron door.
With Master Un-jong at the front, we began to enter.
Everyone was tense, taking a defensive stance just in case a surprise attack came during our entry, but instead of an ambush, an eerie silence filled the interior of the stronghold.
The inside of the stronghold was laid out simply, as if part of a planned city, featuring a spacious cross-section and several spaces aligned along the cross-section.
The path we walked upon was filled with signs of many people coming and going and various items being transported, but within the stronghold itself, there were no signs of life to be felt.
Because of that.
We all seemed to look at the area that the Nightlight couldn’t fully illuminate, as if it were agreed upon.
A subtle blood fragrance could be sensed from within, something that stimulated the instincts of martial artists, indeed any man.
At the unseen end of that cross-section, could it be my maternal grandfather, the Blood Ancestor?
My thoughts grew tangled, but there was no time to settle them.
“I will lead the way.”
Master Un-jong, drawing his sword, stepped boldly forward.
Following closely behind, the martial artists of the Martial Forest Alliance formed ranks, drawing out their Nightlights as well. As we neared, the blurry end of the cross-section became more visible.
A massive hollow chamber with iron doors moving up and down.
Was this chamber a space to imprison an Entity?
As that thought crossed my mind, a chilling hissing sound echoed from within the chamber.
A noise sufficient to send chills down one’s spine caused all the martial artists of the Martial Forest Alliance to draw their weapons, and my party, along with the Array Formation Team, activated their formations as well.
Noticing that everyone from the Martial Forest Alliance had positioned themselves after crossing the open door, Master Un-jong turned his gaze towards the yet-illuminated darkness and spoke.
“I am Un-jong of the Jeomchang Faction. In a time when bloodshed fills the air, it would be better to introduce ourselves than to hide.”
Sssssss!!!
Deep within the chamber, reptilian slit-like eyes gradually emerged reflecting the light of the Nightlight, glimmering brighter as they floated up higher.
“Hmm…”
Seeing that, someone let out a low groan.
The two enormous eyes, floating closer to the ceiling of this immense chamber, hinted at the alarming size of the snake’s body.
“Khahh, yes. You lot deserve to know by whose hands you will meet your end,” two pairs of eyes edged ever closer to us, as a flicking tongue slithered over the space illuminated by the Nightlight before the enormous black snake’s form gradually revealed itself.
“Whoa…!”
“Look out!”
When the head of the snake fully emerged, astonished gasps erupted among the martial artists of the Martial Forest Alliance.
“I am the leader of the Blood Sect, Blood Ancestor Seo Gwang-hoe.”
The cause of their astonishment wasn’t merely the overwhelming presence of the giant snake’s head.
Sssssssss!!!
The presence of the Blood Ancestor was so formidable that being wrapped in a red mist of blood around him was enough to suffocate anyone witnessing his might, including Master Un-jong, who couldn’t hide his tension.
However.
That wasn’t even the reason for the Martial Forest Alliance’s shock.
I have always harbored doubts about the Blood Ancestor’s actions.
No matter how much I anticipated that the possibility of me becoming Ho Cheon-an would disappear, why didn’t the Blood Ancestor envy or covet me?
Even if he had acquired the power to command an Entity, as a mere martial artist, he would have a desire to attain a realization.
Thus, it would be normal for him to at least check whether my potential was entirely closed off.
Yet after the Blood Ancestor became aware of my existence, he merely extended a ceremonial invitation to become his successor, and thereafter, he didn’t care about me at all.
As I now witnessed the Blood Ancestor, that suspicion washed away completely.
“Meet the King of Hell, and make sure to convey that name clearly.”
For at the place of the left arm and right leg, which should have been his, there were prosthetic limbs entwined in blood.
Even though the Blood Sect utilizes numerous sinister techniques, with two of his limbs completely damaged like this, he could no longer develop as a martial artist.
Therefore, he had no lingering expectations regarding my “potential.”
My maternal grandfather, the Blood Ancestor, stood atop the snake’s head, looking down at me and the martial artists of the Martial Forest Alliance, laughing ominously.
“Today, this place shall be your tomb.”
As soon as that statement concluded, the blood surrounding him shot forth like shotgun pellets.
I didn’t expect anything particular, but truly, my reunion with the Blood Ancestor was indeed the worst.
