"What did you say?!" Song Gyeong (松敬) shot up from his seat. "Something happened at the Fourth Prince's residence?!"
"That's right..." The brief and concise explanation from the Jinma Corps member made Song Gyeong's face twist in frustration.
"So, the Black Crow Guards intervened and resolved the situation?"
"That's correct."
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
Though it was a situation that should have brought relief, Song Gyeong was instead seething with anger.
'If only he had died there... or at least been injured badly enough to require months of recovery!'
In truth, Song Gyeong had little interest in the Third Prince. His focus was entirely on the Fourth Prince.
If the Fourth Prince were to fall, he would no longer have to play the role of a puppet.
"When is the next operation scheduled?"
"Exactly fifteen days from now."
"...Understood. Due to personal matters, I may be absent frequently during this period. Inform the battalion commander to handle the training as he sees fit."
"Understood!"
As the Jinma Corps member disappeared, Song Gyeong stood up abruptly.
"He’s going to summon me again."
He grabbed the wine jar placed beside the table and downed it in one go, letting out a deep sigh.
'How did the great Song Gyeong end up in such a state?'
He was an ambitious man, but also a realist.
He had the desire to reach the top, but he also knew how to be content with his current position. All he wanted was to live comfortably, enjoy small pleasures, and grow old peacefully.
'...How long do you plan to toy with me, Fourth Prince?'
His insides were boiling with rage. The thought that he had become a obedient dog to the Fourth Prince because of 'that incident' made him so furious that he would wake up in the middle of the night, seething.
"Ugh!"
Overcome with anger, Song Gyeong hurled the wine jar across the room.
Crash!
The shattered pieces of the jar scattered in all directions.
At that moment—
"Ugh!"
Song Gyeong turned his head toward the source of the sound.
"You’ve come to your senses."
Surprisingly, in the direction he was looking, a dozen demons were writhing on the ground, crawling in pain. They were so badly beaten that there wasn’t a single unscathed spot on their bodies.
"Truly vicious bastards."
Song Gyeong pulled on a mask he had set aside. It infuriated him that, as the commander of the internal combat unit, he had to wear such a mask.
And he hated the fact that he had to put on this cringe-worthy act of deception.
"If you’ve come to your senses, then leave now. And remember this: I will come for you again. If I think about what you did to the Third Prince, I’d want to rip your heads off right now, but I’ll hold back because of his order not to kill you."
Twitch!
A terrifying killing intent momentarily erupted from the demons. Despite their battered bodies writhing on the ground, the intensity of that killing intent was enough to make even Song Gyeong flinch.
'Vicious bastards.'
If only to avoid ending up like them, he had to retrieve that evidence from the Fourth Prince.
At that moment—
A man approached from the distance. His movements were swift, yet his breathing remained steady, which was astonishing.
Song Gyeong frowned.
"What brings you here?"
"I’ve come to deliver the Prince’s orders."
"...Orders, you say? Well, what orders has he given?"
The man, Shin Hwe, glanced at the demons before speaking.
"Capture the woman you despise so much."
"...!"
"Bring her to the Punishment Hall. I guarantee your safety and her downfall. In addition, you’ll receive double the payment you received before."
Song Gyeong clenched his fist without realizing it.
Taking money and acting under someone’s command—it was the kind of thing assassins in the martial world would do.
But when the amount of money increased, the story changed. Double the previous payment, plus the chance to capture that madwoman who had been a thorn in his side—there was no reason to refuse.
Throb, throb.
Pushing aside his anger toward the Fourth Prince for now, a sinister killing intent rose from Song Gyeong as he smirked.
"How long do I have to capture her?"
Shin Hwe turned his body.
"Before dawn tomorrow."
Seo Ryang entered his residence and sat cross-legged in the training hall.
Ma Dong-pil, who had been guarding him from a distance, glanced at him.
'What is he thinking about?'
It wasn’t meditation. By now, he could tell just by looking at the Prince’s face.
But that was as far as his understanding went. He had no way of knowing what the Prince was thinking or what plans he had in store.
'Is he feeling conflicted?'
Though their relationship had soured now, there had been a time when the Prince and the Fourth Prince had laughed and conversed without any ulterior motives. Perhaps the current situation was weighing heavily on his mind.
Of course, his thoughts were completely wrong.
Seo Ryang was inwardly sighing deeply.
'Will this even work?'
Whether that bastard Hong Wei-mun lived or died didn’t matter.
His goal wasn’t Hong Wei-mun—it was escaping the Divine Sect. All this complicated and annoying business was for that one purpose.
Of course, the fact that the bastard had provoked him first was also a big reason he couldn’t just let it go.
'If it weren’t for those Black Crow Guards and their meddling, I could’ve captured him cleanly and boosted my reputation.'
Based on the information So Yeon-sim had provided, after reviewing the Divine Sect’s history and laws, he found that life-and-death duels between candidates weren’t against the rules.
He didn’t have to end it there, but he had planned to resolve the situation on the spot. Of course, he had no intention of actually killing him. Seo Ryang knew where to draw the line.
Even if it wasn’t a fatal injury, he planned to inflict enough damage to keep him bedridden for at least a year, ensuring he wouldn’t dare provoke him again.
In other words, there was no reason to back down just because the Black Crow Guards had intervened.
Yet, he had retreated because he had to consider the future.
'There’s no guarantee that this one act of attention will set me free. Picking a fight with the Punishment Hall won’t do me any good.'
Whether it was the Military Affairs Bureau, the Joyful Garden, or the Punishment Hall, depending on the situation, they could become the most fearsome organizations in the Divine Sect. A little friction was one thing, but he couldn’t afford to make enemies of them.
'Damn it... I hate overthinking things like this.'
If only he had the strength to smash everything without a care and walk out of the Divine Sect unscathed.
Everything else was manageable, but he doubted the Sect Leader would just let him go. The thought of ending up rolling around with only his head free, instead of gaining true freedom, was horrifying.
'Anyway, the pieces are in motion. Since the game has started, I’ll use this situation to take a step forward.'
The one saving grace was that his martial prowess was growing day by day.
Even without dedicated training, he was becoming stronger at an astonishing rate. His internal energy was increasing, his demonic arts were reaching new heights, and the sword in his hand was becoming one with his soul.
'At the very least, I won’t be beaten up wherever I go.'
That was an understatement. At his current level, he could easily take on a high-ranking elder, if not a sect leader.
Judging by his growth rate, in a few months, he’d be able to face even sect leaders without breaking a sweat.
'The preparations are done. I’ve cast the fishing line—now I just need the fish to bite.'
Swish.
As Seo Ryang opened his eyes, Ma Dong-pil bowed his head.
"Has your meditation ended?"
"Meditation? No, just idle thoughts."
So I was right after all.
Though he sighed inwardly, Ma Dong-pil didn’t show it.
"Everything will work out, Your Highness."
"It better."
Seo Ryang stood up.
"Alright, let’s get moving."
"Huh?"
"What? Do you want to rest? Fine, you’ve been running around too much lately. Go back to the residence and take a break."
"No, that’s not it..."
"Then what? Hungry? Want to grab a bite before we go?"
Ma Dong-pil felt his head spinning.
"Wherever Your Highness goes, I will naturally follow. But I’m not sure what you mean by ‘getting moving’..."
"Huh? Oh, right. We’re going fishing."
Seo Ryang was the type to get so absorbed in his own world that he’d forget to explain things. Naturally, Ma Dong-pil couldn’t make sense of his words.
"Fishing, you say...?"
"Of course, the Jinma Corps Commander. What’s his name again? Song Gyeong?"
"Ah, yes!"
"I sent Wei Hong-ryeon to that tavern to have a drink and keep an eye out. Song Gyeong will definitely make a move. Once we locate the Jinma Corps Commander, things will proceed..."
"..."
"...Wait, why are you here? I told you to go and locate the Jinma Corps Commander, didn’t I?"
"It wasn’t me—Wei Hong-ryeon went."
"Huh?"
"Wei Hong-ryeon said she’d personally locate the Jinma Corps Commander and left. She should’ve found him by now."
Seo Ryang’s face went blank.
"Hey, what are you talking about? I clearly told Wei Hong-ryeon to just sit at the tavern and have a drink. What do you think that meant? That Song Gyeong would come to her on his own, right?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"I told you to keep an eye on the Jinma Corps Commander’s movements so we could intervene at the right time..."
Suddenly, Seo Ryang’s eyes widened.
He recalled his conversation with Wei Hong-ryeon.
- Just sit at a decent tavern and have a drink.
- A drink?
- Yeah. The Jinma Corps Commander will likely make a move soon. He might even act tonight.
- ...Oh, I see.
- You’ve sobered up by now, right? Go have a drink.
- Does the order of things matter, Your Highness?
- What are you talking about?
- Ah, never mind. Anyway, if I run into the Jinma Corps Commander, I’ll be happy.
- You little troublemaker.
- Hehe, I’ll head out first then.
- Alright. Don’t cause any trouble!
The image of Wei Hong-ryeon skipping away cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear.
'Wait, the order of things?'
If she just sat and drank, the Jinma Corps Commander would come to her.
But if Wei Hong-ryeon decided to change the order...
"...No way?"
Did she mean to capture the Jinma Corps Commander first and then celebrate?!
"That damn woman!!"
Whoosh!
Seo Ryang dashed out of the gate at an incredible speed. Ma Dong-pil scrambled to follow him.
Yawn!
Geum-ho, who had been lying on the side of the training hall, stretched lazily before suddenly perking up.
A faint multicolored glow emanated from Geum-ho’s body, and then—
Flash!
Geum-ho disappeared.
No one saw where or how he went.
Huff, huff.
Song Gyeong, who had been struggling to control his breathing due to excitement, finally closed his eyes.
'Don’t get too worked up.'
Today was the day he would attack that woman who was not just a thorn in his side but someone he wanted to tear apart piece by piece and feed to the dogs.
His face was already flushed red. His heart was beating three times faster than usual. He was so heated that he could barely speak.
'Is this the place?'
He peered down the alley at the tavern. It was clearly a 'high-class' establishment, or at least it had been.
'...It’s completely wrecked.'
The repairs had stopped due to the late hour. One wall was completely smashed, and the first floor of the tavern, though large, was in ruins, resembling an abandoned building.
'They caused this much destruction here? And yet they came back to drink?'
She was truly insane. That woman clearly lacked even the most basic sense of decency.
'Well, it doesn’t matter.'
Song Gyeong smirked coldly.
She was a formidable opponent, so the place was bound to get wrecked again. In that case, a ruined tavern was better than a new one.
'Time to move.'
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice.
Just as Song Gyeong began to sneak toward the tavern—
"Hey."
Whoosh!
Reacting instinctively, Song Gyeong drew his sword and slashed at incredible speed.
Clang!!
The sound of his sword clashing against a wide blade reverberated, shaking his eardrums.
Song Gyeong’s eyes widened.
'This sword...?'
A bizarre sword, short in length but with a blade width of ten inches.
Behind the sword, a woman with a scar running diagonally across her face grinned ferociously.
"Got you, you bastard."