Chapter 58

Chapter 58

“Haa…… Haa…… Haa…….”

Namgung Sohye drew rough breaths, unable to even think about shaking the blood off her sword. She had cut down so many of the unidentified figures who had suddenly appeared that her hands felt numb.

Glancing around at other areas, she saw that the Demonic Cult's Gu Hwang and Wudang's Go Dam-jin were also gasping for breath with heavily exhausted faces.

The strength of the opponents exceeded expectations.

In fact, if they had pushed a little harder, they would have been annihilated.

“Why do you think they suddenly retreated?”

Go Dam-jin gazed intently across Dongting Lake. Many had died, but even more were seen disappearing aboard boats.

He wanted to pursue, but they could not leave the island carelessly.

Although they had captured some as prisoners to make them talk, they also thoroughly erased their traces, such as committing suicide by biting down on poison.

This was no ordinary matter.

“A signal flare…….”

Namgung Sohye muttered softly.

Come to think of it, just before they retreated, a sound was heard from somewhere. At the same time as that strange sound, which seemed to announce something, they began to flee.

“The secret cave!”

Gu Hwang raised his voice and began to run. His complexion was not very good, as if he had received some ominous feeling.

Not to mention Go Dam-jin, Namgung Sohye, and even the Murim Alliance branch leader.

Every single one of them ran with anxiety in their minds.

Passing the entrance, they dashed fiercely inside the secret cave.

The sight of them running without anyone speaking showed how urgent the current situation was.

Only after running like that for a long time did they look inside the cavern that finally revealed itself, and everyone there gasped.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”

“…….”

Nothing existed.

Specifically, the three remains that should have originally been there. It was impossible to know what else had existed, but there was no doubt that the secret cave had been thoroughly ransacked.

Gu Hwang ground his teeth, raising his voice roughly.

They should not have neglected the guard here. At the very least, he should have remained to guard it himself, but because the situation was so urgent, he had not thought of it at all.

“There is nothing.”

Namgung Sohye also let out a hollow laugh.

The sword marks on the walls, and the writing carved just as the destiny hunter had said. Except for those things, nothing presumed to be the remains of the Three Heavens could be found.

Laughs of disbelief came from here and there.

When they finally entered the place they had tried so hard to find, all that remained was dust. That made their hearts feel even more hollow.

If they had at least seen the remains, they wouldn't have complained.

“Pursue them immediately!”

Gu Hwang shouted loudly and turned around.

As he began to lead his subordinates out of the secret cave in a rush, Go Dam-jin of Wudang and his party left the secret cave as if they had been waiting.

A determination not to let those bastards escape could be felt.

Left alone, Namgung Sohye slumped down to the floor. She let out a long sigh without even thinking about properly looking around the place she had barely entered.

The sense of loss was that great.

“Nothing has been going well lately…….”

From where did it start?

She was someone who had always succeeded in whatever she set out to do. Yet, not a single one of the incidents breaking out in this Hunan Province had been properly resolved.

She had failed to even guard properly, allowing the intrusion, and ultimately lost the three most important remains of the Three Heavens.

Just returning to the Murim Alliance like this felt like a huge burden.

“This is really driving me crazy…….”

The moment she let out another long sigh and turned her head, she saw something fallen on the ground. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she reached out and grabbed it.

“A memorial tablet……?”

It was undoubtedly a memorial tablet in appearance.

It felt very different from modern ones and was quite worn, but the fact that it was a memorial tablet with a person's name written on it remained unchanged.

“Hyun?”

Judging by the broken shape, it seemed to be the character written at the very bottom.

What could she deduce from just that, but she began to search the surroundings to see if anything else had fallen.

However, it was hard to see.

The inside of the cavern was quite dark, and judging by the broken state of the memorial tablet, fragments had flown everywhere, so it was bound to take a considerable amount of time to find them.

After searching the cavern thoroughly for about two quarters of an hour, Namgung Sohye succeeded in finding the three remaining fragments. It felt as though she had exhausted all her energy to find them.

At last, the moment she piece by piece fit the fragments together.

Namgung Sohye lost her words and kept her mouth tightly shut.

“Dan Woo-hyun…….”

* * *

“No, just where on earth did you take a nap to only show up now?”

Jang Sam-tae, who came running panting, raised his voice when he saw Dan Woo-hyun appearing after the whole situation had ended.

If only Dan Woo-hyun had been there, it wouldn't have been so hard, and thinking of that made him feel even more aggrieved.

“I fell into a slightly deep sleep.”

“What do you mean, for a man who wakes up even to a cockroach moving…….”

“If I say so, then know it to be so. More than that…….”

Dan Woo-hyun looked around.

Quite a lot of corpses were littered here and there. Some had sustained light wounds, but most had suffered significant, serious injuries.

Because the artillery shells had flown in, the damage was bound to increase by that much.

Dan Woo-hyun nodded as if he had roughly grasped the situation.

“You did well to not die.”

“Hmph! I, Jang Sam-tae, do not die from something like this. Do not worry, as I plan to live tenaciously and suck the master dry to the bone.”

“That is indeed a relief.”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded as he watched Jang Sam-tae speak boisterously. Seeing how much he had changed compared to when they first met, a smile naturally broke out.

“But seeing this state of affairs, I am worried about the inside of the secret cave.”

Gwon Mu-jin, who had approached Dan Woo-hyun's side before he knew it, muttered.

The purpose of those who launched the raid was undoubtedly the secret cave of the Martial God.

It bothered him that they had retreated so easily, but seeing Namgung Sohye disappear in a hurry made it somewhat understandable.

There was undoubtedly a possibility that a detached force had intruded.

No, it was certain.

“Do not worry about this side and let us return. Since there is some work to be done.”

“Was there work?”

Jang Sam-tae looked at him, tilting his head.

The only things he did were staying at the manor and taking Dan So-mi away or going to pick her up.

Other than that, it was quite amusing that a man whose only hobby was fishing said he had work to do.

Dan Woo-hyun quietly stared at Jang Sam-tae.

“I do not mean myself, but you all.”

“…….”

Of course.

Jang Sam-tae and Gwon Mu-jin smiled awkwardly. They did not know what it was, but in the end, it seemed they had to step forward.

“What should we do?”

“First, return to the manor. I shall follow behind.”

Gwon Mu-jin nodded.

Whether he liked it or not, he was a man who had sworn to follow. If he gave an order, going that path without a word was also the role of a guard assisting his lord.

Furthermore, Dan Woo-hyun was not a person to do bad things.

“Then we shall see you at the manor.”

Gwon Mu-jin led the remaining two toward the manor.

A dark night.

It was a place where not a single drop of moonlight fell due to the thick dark clouds.

A place somewhat distant from Gunja Island.

It was also a place where people were scarce and human footsteps did not reach.

On such a night, and even in such deep mountains, it was a chilliness that would make a person feel frightened in one way or another.

To such a place, dozens of men were moving secretly.

Although they looked as if they were combing the forest, they were relentless as if they had known a certain destination from the beginning.

Before long, at the same time as they arrived at a location.

A man frowned.

“Strange. They should have returned by now?”

The man could not suppress his doubt. The signal flare indicating success had been fired, and because of that, they had come to the prearranged meeting place.

Yet the people who should have been there were not seen.

Just what on earth had happened?

“Any news?”

“None. Looking at the surrounding traces, it seems no one has entered.”

“Did they…… fail?”

“I checked before coming, and those who were waiting in other places said they definitely received the signal flare of success. Also, their boats have disappeared from Gunja Island.”

“…… If so, they ran away with the items from the secret cave?”

“That cannot be. Do you not already know their loyalty?”

The man was silent for a moment.

Indeed, he knew their loyalty well.

However, who would not waver in front of treasure? Even more so, if they had obtained something from the Martial God's secret cave, it was not strange to harbor other intentions.

As he was thinking such thoughts.

Sss-

The sound of rustling bushes broke the man's thoughts.

“It must be hollow to have come all this way and gained nothing.”

“……!?”

Surprised by the sudden situation, the man opened his eyes wide. It was not just him, but the subordinates around him were the same.

Clearly, not even a presence had been properly felt, so how could a person be in such a place?

“You rolled your head quite extraordinarily. Even if there is some sacrifice, to have everything perfectly, a bold plan is sometimes necessary.”

“…….”

The moment the muttered remark ended, the thick dark clouds cleared and the figures of two people were revealed.

Dan Woo-hyun stood still with a smirk on his face.

And in front of him.

Gu Hwang, who had come as the representative of the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance, stood there.

“Are you a figure of the Murim Alliance?”

“Do I look like one?”

No, that wasn't it.

Gu Hwang shook his head.

The Murim Alliance was completely fooled. That was clear just by looking at their behavior and way of speaking. Even that highly suspicious Go Dam-jin had fallen for it, so what was the need to say more.

Furthermore, if this man were truly a person of the Murim Alliance, there was no way he would step forward alone in this situation. It would have been his mission to immediately return to the Alliance and report.

Unless he was a fool seeking honor.

“Did you kill the people who were here?”

“No, from the beginning, there was no one here.”

Dan Woo-hyun did not even know that such a place existed. He had merely followed secretly behind the man named Gu Hwang.

“They became corpses in the cave and were discarded.”

“…… How did you know it was me?”

“Just because one does not display their signature arts does not mean they cannot be identified. No matter how much one hides it, the original energy one possesses cannot be hidden.”

Watching the surprised Gu Hwang, the corners of Dan Woo-hyun's mouth curled up.

In any case, this situation was extremely favorable for him.

“Now, the Demonic Cult drew up a plan to seize everything from the Martial God's secret cave. They perfectly fooled everyone and succeeded. But the things that came out of it are great enough to turn one's eyes. So you kill your subordinates and run away. Taking everything with you.”

“What…… nonsense are you……!”

Crack!

Dan Woo-hyun struck out with his hand.

A disgusting sound like a watermelon breaking echoed, and the head of a black-clothed man was shattered. In that brief moment before he could even register in his mind what had happened.

Crack-!

Another black-clothed man sprayed blood and lay on the ground.

“Is it not a good plan? Furthermore, you bastards…… created a disturbance in the place where they sleep. There are more than enough reasons for you to die.”

Clang, clang, clang!

All of them, including Gu Hwang, drew their swords.

The opponent was a master.

However, they were also strong men who had crawled and rolled within the Demonic Cult. They would at least take an arm or a leg with them to the underworld.

Such conviction settled in their eyes.

“Good eyes. The Demonic Cult…… I shall remember you.”