Episode 272: Return to the Demon Sect
Sabikang frowned deeply, scrutinizing the figures blocking his path.
“What is the meaning of this?”
He wasn’t accusing them; he was genuinely curious.
As soon as he descended the mountain, dark shadows loomed before him. Churyang quickly raised a torch to get a better look and realized it was Dobicheon and his group.
Initially, Churyang tensed up, thinking it was an assassination attempt, and glared at them.
“Is this really necessary? I’m exhausted from the long journey.”
But the response was unexpected.
“Please help us!”
To Churyang’s astonishment, Dobicheon and his three companions suddenly dropped to their knees, bowing low.
Caught off guard, Churyang could only look back and forth between Dobicheon’s group and Sabikang with a bewildered expression.
Sabikang spoke again.
“I asked what you’re doing.”
“Please save Elder Maeng.”
“Elder Maeng?”
Dobicheon quickly explained. Maeng Gasook had resolved to assassinate Sabikang, but it turned out to be another trap. Dobicheon detailed how they discovered this.
**
At the same time, Maeng Gasook felt a cold sweat trickling down his back.
“Damn it. What’s going on?”
He glanced sideways, but Jin Jo-young seemed just as bewildered.
The figures approaching through the narrow gorge were not Sabikang’s group. Instead, they were the last people Maeng Gasook wanted to see.
“Elder Maeng. How have you been?”
The man approaching with a sinister smile was someone Maeng Gasook knew all too well—Woo Yeom-deuk, the former squad leader of the Heavenly Ghost Squad, where Maeng Gasook once served.
Maeng Gasook gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath.
“It’s been a while, Squad Leader Woo.”
“Squad Leader? Do I still look like a squad leader to you? Stuck in the past, aren’t you? Pathetic.”
Woo Yeom-deuk sneered.
Maeng Gasook struggled to suppress the murderous intent rising within him.
Pathetic?
How dare you speak to me like that?
But knowing it was a provocation, Maeng Gasook took a deep breath and glared silently.
Woo Yeom-deuk chuckled as he brushed the dust off Maeng Gasook’s shoulder.
“Once fear takes root in the mind, it’s hard to escape it. You must have been terrified, Elder Maeng.”
Maeng Gasook knew it was no consolation and ground his teeth.
“What brings you here, Squad Leader Woo?”
A man beside Woo Yeom-deuk suddenly stepped forward, glaring.
“Speak respectfully to the Lord.”
Indeed, Woo Yeom-deuk was no longer a mere squad leader but a lord. His insistence on past titles was a way to emphasize his current status.
It was a childish tactic, but Woo Yeom-deuk knew it would provoke Maeng Gasook further.
Maeng Gasook’s brow furrowed deeply.
“So, you set a trap.”
“Calling it a trap is generous. I didn’t expect you to fall for something so simple.”
Maeng Gasook glanced at Jin Jo-young.
“Who gave you that information yesterday?”
“I heard it from Beom Dal of the Thunder Wolf Squad. I didn’t think he’d betray us…”
Maeng Gasook let out a bitter laugh.
Beom Dal was someone Jin Jo-young would trust without question, having once been a comrade in arms.
But even he had switched allegiances.
As if reading Maeng Gasook’s thoughts, Woo Yeom-deuk smirked.
“Think about it. Once a promising candidate for lordship, now a rogue leading a troublesome new squad. Who would still trust you?”
”…!”
“And you’ve changed, Elder Maeng. You once had the skills to make even the lords nervous. Is it age?”
“You bastard… How dare you…”
“And now, as a rogue, you’re tasked with killing an instructor… Betraying the organization suits you.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Maeng Gasook exploded.
“Shut up! Who betrayed whom first, to spew such nonsense?”
Woo Yeom-deuk’s expression turned cold.
“Elder, have you forgotten? Who killed the Heavenly Ghost Lord? In front of everyone.”
“That was because…!”
“No excuses.”
Woo Yeom-deuk cut him off with a curt voice and signaled with his hand.
Moments later,
Shadows began to emerge, surrounding the narrow gorge.
About a hundred men in total.
It seemed Woo Yeom-deuk, now the Lord of the Ink Ghost Squad, had brought all his men.
Considering they were once part of the Heavenly Ghost Squad, it wasn’t surprising.
“You bastards…!”
“Damn, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have trusted Beom Dal so blindly.”
Jin Jo-young gritted his teeth.
Maeng Gasook, feeling the murderous intent closing in from all sides, muttered quietly.
“It’s fine. This was bound to happen sooner or later. It’s better this way. Let’s settle it once and for all.”
“That’s what I like about you, Elder.”
“Change your tone. Today, I’m the squad leader.”
“Understood, Squad Leader!”
Jin Jo-young shouted boldly, and Woo Yeom-deuk chuckled derisively.
“Elder, what do you plan to do with that body of yours? Do you still think you can act like you did in the past?”
“You scoundrel!”
Maeng Gasook roared, gripping his spear tightly.
His hand trembled slightly, just like that day.
**
Two years ago.
Maeng Gasook’s hand, clutching his spear, trembled like a leaf.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
He panted heavily, watching Lee Dal die before his eyes.
“Squad Leader… Am I… dying? Heh…”
Tears of blood streamed down Lee Dal’s cheeks.
“Who’s dying? Damn it, you fool!”
Maeng Gasook shouted irritably, but he knew.
The youngest, Lee Dal, was dying.
His throat was torn, and his side was half-slashed.
The blood loss was too severe; his face was as pale as a sheet.
He had potential.
He had planned to train him well.
But now, the youngest was dying.
“Damn it…!”
Watching Maeng Gasook’s fiery eyes, Lee Dal spoke with difficulty.
“Don’t… be angry… I’m sorry… for going first…”
Before he could finish, Lee Dal breathed his last.
“Foolish kid…”
Maeng Gasook gently closed Lee Dal’s tear-filled eyes.
Around him lay a hellscape of corpses and blood.
The sky was a deep red, as if it had absorbed all the bloodshed.
“Damn it, this is hell. Spit!”
Maeng Gasook spat out the phlegm rising from his throat.
The ground squelched with every step, soaked in blood.
Among the countless bodies were many from Maeng Gasook’s Heavenly Ghost Squad, including Lee Dal.
It was inevitable.
Thirty squad members had fought against five hundred righteous warriors.
Yet, miraculously, six or seven were still alive.
On the other hand, the righteous alliance had lost about a hundred.
The problem was the four hundred warriors still advancing through the gorge.
“Damn it! They said it was a mission to chase down remnants!”
Jin Jo-young, drenched in blood, shouted angrily.
Dobicheon growled, watching the enemy swarm like ants.
“Can’t you see? We’ve been deceived. Those bastards have been wary of the squad leader for a while…!”
Maeng Gasook gritted his teeth.
It started a year ago when he gained a fortuitous encounter, consumed a rare elixir, and mastered the spear’s secret techniques.
He had become too strong for a squad leader, even for a lord.
He had always been the strongest among the squad leaders.
As such, he sensed the lords and squad leaders were wary of him.
But he thought, being in the same organization, nothing would come of it.
And yet, they plotted this?
They said it was a mission to chase down remnants of the righteous alliance.
But it was bait.
Four hundred righteous warriors advancing through the gorge.
What would happen next was obvious.
‘The explosives…!’
Just before the mission, he saw the Heavenly Ghost Squad transporting explosives.
He hoped he was wrong, but ominous predictions rarely missed.
Maeng Gasook gritted his teeth and turned sharply.
The four hundred righteous warriors had to climb over a wall of corpses to reach them, giving them a moment’s respite.
In an instant,
Swish!
Tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap…!
A movement as swift as lightning.
The exhausted squad members couldn’t even lift a finger before their acupoints were struck.
“Squad Leader, what’s going on?”
Dobicheon widened his eyes.
“It’s all my fault. I’m sorry. Survive.”
“Damn it! I asked what you’re doing!”
However, instead of answering, Maeng Ga-suk hoisted the unconscious members of the O Squad onto his shoulders and began tossing them into the cave nestled between the cliffs.
Once all the squad members were inside, Maeng Ga-suk swung his spear, causing the entrance to collapse.
Crash! Boom!
Dust billowed into the air.
Someone had to stay outside.
Only then could they prevent the cave from being completely buried.
All the explosives near the cave had to be cleared away.
Turning quickly, he saw the warriors of the Jeongdo Alliance breaking through the wall of corpses and advancing.
They must have assumed there were far more Blood Lotus warriors here than there actually were.
Then it happened.
Thud, thud!
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Explosives rained down like hail!
“Damn! Explosives!”
“Take cover!”
Suddenly, shouts erupted from all around, followed by a cacophony of panic.
Explosives landed near Maeng Ga-suk as well.
Fortunately, the fuses were still burning.
There was time.
He quickly kicked away the explosives near the collapsed cave entrance.
If the O Squad were completely isolated, their chances of survival would plummet.
Next, he used his spear to fling the scattered corpses over the explosives.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In an instant, the bodies piled up, covering the explosives.
And then,
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The entire canyon shook with a deafening roar.
The four hundred warriors of the Jeongdo Alliance, who had filled the canyon, were torn to shreds, scattering in all directions.
Lying flat on the ground, Maeng Ga-suk barely escaped with his life.
But it wasn’t over.
Hiss…!
A yellow mist began to fill the canyon.
The explosives had released a poisonous gas.
“Damn it!”
There was no escape from the dead-end canyon.
Maeng Ga-suk bit into the antidote he carried for emergencies and sat cross-legged on the spot.
**
“I clawed my way out of that hell. And I took my revenge on the Heavenly Ghost Leader with my own hands. For being abandoned by the organization.”
Maeng Ga-suk muttered, recalling that day.
That day, he became a Poison Ghost.
With half of his body’s meridians poisoned, he could now only wield half of his former strength.
Appearing like a ghost, Maeng Ga-suk drove his spear into the heart of the Heavenly Ghost Leader.
It was a sudden act upon returning to the base, leaving no one able to stop him.
The members surrounding Maeng Ga-suk hesitated, weapons drawn.
Drenched in blood, Maeng Ga-suk bared his yellowed teeth in a wide grin and said,
“Did you think I’d just smile and let it go after you sent us to our deaths?”
“Leader Maeng…!”
“Farewell.”
With those final words, Maeng Ga-suk pulled the spear from the Heavenly Ghost Leader’s heart.
At that moment, Woo Yeom-deuk, who was present, shouted for the traitor to be captured and killed.
Had it not been for Yeon-ju’s intervention, Maeng Ga-suk and the O Squad would have met a gruesome end at the hands of the Heavenly Ghost members.
“It’s infuriating, really. To think we were nearly buried by our own former comrades. And that you pointed your blades at us, who barely survived. The murderous intent you showed us then is something I can never forget.”
Understanding the circumstances, Yeon-ju sentenced Maeng Ga-suk and his group to probation.
“Inhale, exhale!”
As Maeng Ga-suk took a deep breath, his trembling hands finally steadied.
The green glow in his eyes, a result of the poison, faded back to their original color.
Looking up, the burning sunset over the canyon was no longer visible.
‘Yes, today is different from that day.’
Maeng Ga-suk faced Woo Yeom-deuk and his subordinates.
A confrontation two years in the making.
“This is much better. Compared to back then!”
With a swift motion, Maeng Ga-suk launched himself forward.
Simultaneously,
“Kill him!”
Woo Yeom-deuk’s sharp voice rang out, and the warriors of the Black Ghost Unit surged toward the two of them.