Chapter 400

Chapter 400 – The Age of Blood Chaos Begins (4)

Nam Hyeon-so looked at the Namgung Family with a cold gaze.

The Namgung Family had been thoroughly destroyed. Countless pavilions had been burned or broken, with only a few maintaining their intact form.

There were those secretly gathering in the pavilions that had maintained their intact forms. They were precisely the followers of Middle Heaven who spread the Demon Cult's doctrine.

Since the military force led by Nam Hyeon-so and others had subdued Anhui Province, it was now their turn to spread the Demon Cult's doctrine throughout Anhui Province.

The doctrine newly established by the Demon Cult over time was extremely volatile and easily spread to the general public. In that regard, Nam Hyeon-so thought the role of Middle Heaven was extremely significant.

Because of them, places occupied by force could definitely be made into the Demon Cult's territory. Though he didn't want to admit it, the role of Middle Heaven in spreading doctrine was that important.

Nam Hyeon-so decided to return to the main group, leaving only the minimum personnel to protect Middle Heaven. Their role was to destroy the enemies of the Demon Cult, not to defend occupied territories.

Golden Demon Pavilion and Blood Wheel Witch Yo Sa-ran, who had together attacked the Namgung Family, had long since left this place. And now it was Divine Fire Hall's turn.

The Divine Fire Hall martial artists who had been scattered throughout the Namgung Family gathered one by one. Nam Hyeon-so treated his subordinates extremely strictly. He especially applied discipline strictly and never forgave those who were late to the designated time. Therefore, Divine Fire Hall martial artists were never late for assembly time.

Nam Hyeon-so's eyebrows twitched. He had clearly ordered them to assemble on time, but there were empty spots that caught his eye.

"What's going on?"

Naturally his voice became sharp.

"Some of those tracking the survivors of the Namgung Family haven't returned yet."

His adjutant answered hastily. Because he knew that hesitating even for a moment would cost him his head.

"Are you saying you still haven't finished dealing with all the survivors?"

"I'm sorry. There are a few who slipped away cunningly like rats, but they'll be dealt with and return shortly."

"Hmm!"

Nam Hyeon-so looked at his adjutant with his arms crossed. His face was completely frowning.

It was because of an uncomfortable feeling like having food debris stuck between his teeth after enjoying a delicious meal.

"If you wait a moment, they'll join us soon."

The adjutant answered while sweating profusely.

He too was one of the famous masters within the Demon Cult, but he couldn't help but read Nam Hyeon-so's mood.

Nam Hyeon-so was an incomparable master compared to him and was also his direct superior. He kept his head down and only watched Nam Hyeon-so's mood.

That's when it happened.

"They will never be able to return."

Suddenly a cold voice flowed from behind them.

A strange light swirled in Nam Hyeon-so's eyes. Because he hadn't even detected his presence until he heard the voice.

He slowly turned his body around. Then he saw a strange figure who looked as if his entire body was wrapped in black wings.

The black wings writhing like living creatures were precisely the Dragon Blood Robe.

"Black Lion."

"It's been a while, Hall Master Nam."

The owner of the Dragon Blood Robe was precisely Black Wing Death King Jin Do-hwi. At his appearance, Nam Hyeon-so tilted his head.

"Did you follow us all the way here?"

His face clearly showed displeasure.

The Black and White Lions could be called the left and right wings of the Cult Leader. They assisted at close range to the Cult Leader and performed the role of eyes and ears. That meant they were essentially no different from surveillance agents.

Everyone dislikes being watched. Especially strong people like Nam Hyeon-so inevitably hate being watched and controlled by others.

Therefore his attitude toward Jin Do-hwi had to be prickly.

Jin Do-hwi's eyes sank deeply. Because he understood Nam Hyeon-so's attitude toward him. But he didn't intend to make excuses. Because Nam Hyeon-so's guess was true.

"Ha! Does the Cult Leader distrust us so much?"

"Watch your words. He doesn't distrust, but wants to confirm."

Jin Do-hwi's voice became cold. In an instant, even the air in the area turned chilly. Nam Hyeon-so's expression hardened at his formidable power. Because he felt the gap between them.

His voice naturally softened.

"I understand! But why did you reveal yourself? Instead of just secretly observing as usual and leaving covertly."

"Because I have something to tell you."

"What is it? Are you going to tell me what happened to our boys?"

"That's right."

"Then tell me. Why can't our boys return?"

"There's a high possibility they were dealt with by the Fist Demon."

"Fist Demon?"

Instantly deep furrows formed in Nam Hyeon-so's brow. The moment he heard the word Fist Demon, all the blood in his body suddenly turned cold.

Jin Do-hwi nodded.

"That's right! The Fist Demon appeared at Overlord's Stronghold."

"Overlord's Stronghold?"

"Yes! He appeared while we were extensively subjugating Overlord's Stronghold to clean up after you."

"So what happened?"

"What do you think happened?"

"I suppose you didn't win."

"Correct!"

"Did you give it your all?"

"Well!"

Jin Do-hwi trailed off.

At this, Nam Hyeon-so intuited that Jin Do-hwi hadn't used his full power.

"Why didn't you use your full power?"

"I couldn't be confident!"

"Confident?"

"To subdue him, I too would have had to stake everything."

"He was that much?"

"The Fist Demon is that kind of martial artist."

"Hmm!"

Nam Hyeon-so's face hardened even more at Jin Do-hwi's words that seemed to acknowledge Dam Ho. Because the Jin Do-hwi he knew was extremely arrogant and never easily acknowledged others.

Even within the Demon Cult, the martial artists he acknowledged weren't many. At most the Four Great Military Commanders, Seven Great Demons, and leaders of the Inner Circle, and among them he evaluated the Four Great Military Commanders most highly.

"To summarize, he appeared at Overlord's Stronghold and there's a high possibility he clashed with my subordinates who were pursuing the Namgung Family remnants."

"That's my thought."

"So what are you trying to say? Should I lead all my subordinates in a joint attack?"

"The opposite. I wanted to tell you never to touch him."

"……"

Nam Hyeon-so's face, which had already been hardened, cracked greatly. But Jin Do-hwi was ruthless.

"This isn't a request or suggestion but an order. Until there are separate orders, absolutely don't clash with him."

"What do you mean? Are you saying this Nam Hyeon-so is no match for the Fist Demon?"

"I mean there's no need to have unnecessary conflict with him."

Even with Jin Do-hwi's explanation, Nam Hyeon-so couldn't relax his hardened expression. No, he couldn't. Because his pride was already hurt to the extreme.

Though the Black and White Lions were directly under the Cult Leader in the Demon Cult hierarchy, that didn't mean they had absolute superiority over all Demon Cult martial artists.

Someone at Nam Hyeon-so's level as Hall Master of Divine Fire Hall couldn't be taken lightly by anyone.

Nam Hyeon-so glared at Jin Do-hwi. But he couldn't read Jin Do-hwi's expression wrapped in the Dragon Blood Robe.

"Remember my words. Absolutely don't rashly clash with him. Even without you stepping forward, he won't last long. So don't waste your strength unnecessarily."

"……"

"Answer me."

"I understand!"

Nam Hyeon-so had no choice but to answer. His expression and eyes still didn't show agreement. But Jin Do-hwi decided to be satisfied with this much.

Though he had given the order, it was impossible to completely force someone at the level of Divine Fire Hall's Hall Master.

The Dragon Blood Robe wrapped around Jin Do-hwi's body rippled more fiercely.

'The Fist Demon isn't someone who can be dealt with impromptu. To hunt him requires meticulous planning and extensive preparation.'

This was a conclusion reached after directly exchanging moves.

The Fist Demon was strong.

Most of all, he was young.

Being young was a great weapon. Because it allowed unleashing endless stamina and infinite fighting spirit.

The greatest weakness of masters who had reached Jin Do-hwi's level was being old. The reason he didn't have a life-and-death battle with Dam Ho was the same. Because he couldn't guarantee victory, he didn't want to create a situation where he had to risk his life.

When someone reaches Jin Do-hwi's age, they never take risks in situations where they can't guarantee victory. He only moved when he had at least an eighty percent chance of winning.

Jin Do-hwi saw his chances at about sixty percent if he truly fought Dam Ho with everything at stake. Though in his favor, it was an ambiguous figure that could be overturned at any small variable. So he withdrew.

"Hunting the Fist Demon will proceed after consulting with military advisors and establishing a flawless plan. So be extremely careful not to clash with the Fist Demon."

"I understand!"

"Then know that and withdraw. You too should return to the main group as quickly as possible."

Jin Do-hwi turned without even listening to Nam Hyeon-so's answer. A humiliated expression clearly appeared on Nam Hyeon-so's face as he watched his retreating figure. But Jin Do-hwi didn't see such an expression and flew away and disappeared.

Whoosh!

The Dragon Blood Robe covering his body seemed to spread wide like huge black wings then instantly disappeared from sight.

Nam Hyeon-so couldn't take his eyes off the direction Jin Do-hwi had disappeared.

He opened his mouth long after Jin Do-hwi had disappeared.

"Jung-o."

"Yes! Hall Master."

Adjutant Yu Jung-o bowed his head and answered.

"Release the boys."

"Pardon?"

Yu Jung-o unconsciously raised his head to look at Nam Hyeon-so, then quickly closed his mouth after seeing bloodshot eyes and demonic energy. Nam Hyeon-so's voice filled with killing intent pierced his ears.

"Find the Blood Wheel Witch immediately."

"Do you mean Commander Yo?"

"Yes! Since she's directionally challenged, she couldn't have gone far. Find her and deliver my message."

"Wh-what should I say?"

Yu Jung-o unconsciously asked then swallowed dry saliva as he looked at Nam Hyeon-so.

The demonic energy in Nam Hyeon-so's eyes became even thicker.

"Tell her to repay her debt."

Namgung Seon-hwi glanced sideways. At the end of his secret gaze was precisely Dam Ho.

Dam Ho was riding Black Ghost while looking only ahead.

Roughly disheveled black hair, robes as black as darkness, and the pitch-black horse carrying him.

All of it felt truly terrifying.

Shudder!

Namgung Seon-hwi recalled the scene he had witnessed last night.

It really happened in the blink of an eye.

They were such ferocious martial artists who had charged with such tremendous momentum. They were incredible masters who had killed countless Namgung Family martial artists. Such masters became bloody pulp and flew in all directions before his eyes. And they never moved again.

Namgung Seon-hwi thought he was dreaming. What happened before his eyes was that unrealistic.

The Demon Cult martial artists weren't weak. Dam Ho was excessively strong. Namgung Seon-hwi thought he had glimpsed through Dam Ho the limits of how strong a human body could become.

'It wasn't strange at all that the Family Head was defeated by him. How could anyone deal with such a person?'

To him, Dam Ho was a terrible nightmare.

Just the fact of being in the same space made him feel suffocated. Still, he thought he would stubbornly stick by Dam Ho's side.

Namgung Seon-hwi looked at Namgung Yeong-hwi who was staying close to Bang Jin-bo. Namgung Yeong-hwi particularly followed Bang Jin-bo well.

For whatever reason, Dam Ho didn't drive away the Namgung brothers. He didn't give them any attention, but he didn't stop them from following either. In place of such Dam Ho, the one taking care of the brothers was precisely Bang Jin-bo.

He dismounted his horse and said.

"This won't do. I'll walk so you boys ride my horse."

"Really?"

Namgung Yeong-hwi was delighted.

Because he was exhausted from following the two people on horseback. Namgung Yeong-hwi, who was about to mount Bang Jin-bo's horse, suddenly stopped moving and looked at Namgung Seon-hwi.

"Brother?"

"You ride. I won't ride."

Namgung Seon-hwi bit his lips hard.

"Why?"

Namgung Yeong-hwi blinked his large eyes. Even after experiencing the calamity of losing their family, his young brother couldn't shed his innocent appearance. He had to protect such a brother.

"Because I need to become strong."

"What do you mean?"

"Anyway, I won't ride so you ride."

"Brother?"

"Hurry and ride."

"Okay!"

At Namgung Seon-hwi's urging, Namgung Yeong-hwi nodded and mounted the horse. Namgung Seon-hwi took the horse's reins in place of Bang Jin-bo.

"Brother, if it's okay, I'll lead it."

"Alright!"

Bang Jin-bo unconsciously nodded at Namgung Seon-hwi's bold spirit.

'I'll steal all the secrets of his strength. Then I'll revive the Namgung Family again.'

Namgung Seon-hwi swore he would follow Dam Ho even to the ends of hell.