Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 

The surname of the imperial house currently leading this world was Yu.

The Yu Empire.

The empire possessed administrative regions divided into a total of twenty-three vast provinces.

Each and every province that made up the empire was about the size of an average kingdom.

The Yu Empire boasted a fairly long history of roughly eight hundred years.

The founder of the Yu Empire, the first to unify the continent, had been the first to use the title [Emperor], and even now, among the common folk, he was revered almost like a demigod.

As soon as the Yu Empire unified the continent for the first time, it standardized all weights and measures (the methods of measuring distance, weight, and so on).

It poured every ounce of the nation’s strength into reorganizing the local administrative system into a centralized structure, and indeed, it succeeded in maintaining that centralized system.

Yet for all the Yu Empire’s imposing history.

Eight hundred years had already passed since the empire was founded.

The Emperor’s authority was no longer as absolute as it once had been.

In that situation, when the current Emperor suddenly collapsed from a grave illness.

The nobles of the capital reacted immediately and began putting their weight behind the successors supported by their respective factions.

The problem was the current Emperor’s children.

There were twenty of them in all.

Under imperial law.

Every one of them had the qualifications to become the Emperor of the next generation.

Thus, the empire’s future was chaos itself.

Among the twenty-three administrative regions of the Yu Empire was a place called Ming.

Tvalier, who had opened his eyes here in Ming Province, was quite lucky in a certain sense.

The central city of Ming Province was casually called the Ming provincial capital by the people.

But its true name was Cheonjung City.

And the Namgung Clan, which had grown with Cheonjung City as its base, was the most renowned martial clan in the present Murim.

***

“Uncle. We found traces of the Blood Cult bastards!”

“Oh? Then that rumor must have been true. Where did you find them?”

“At the border between Giyang County and Pingyao County.”

“Hm? That’s not far from the branch estate, is it? Then those lunatics really caused trouble in the main clan’s territory? They’ve really decided to get themselves killed.”

The current Clan Head of the Namgung Clan was Sword King Namgung Jin-cheon.

He was one of the twenty-four Absolute Experts counted among the strongest under heaven.

The younger brother of that Absolute Expert, and one of the five strongest masters in the Namgung Clan.

Namgung Hyeok, known in the martial world as Thunderbolt Swordsman.

He stroked his dark-red beard once with flair and smiled darkly.

“So what did the Pursuit Squad say? If we track them now, can we catch them?”

“Even so, according to the letter from the Captain of the Pursuit Squad, too much time has already passed, so tracking them will be difficult.”

“Tsk…… Well, those rat bastards have probably already tucked their tails and run.”

The group called the Blood Cult in the martial world.

Their original name was the Thousand Blood Sect.

They were a group that handled swords as skillfully as martial artists.

But they used bizarre evil arts, and to grow stronger, they ground human flesh into pills and ate them—madmen of the worst kind.

They even abducted people, burned them alive, and offered them as human sacrifices, so the Martial Alliance had long ago called the Thousand Blood Sect the Blood Cult and declared them public enemies of Murim.

“Did you contact the Martial Alliance?”

“Yes. We sent word through the Beggars’ Sect, but…… it will be difficult for them to arrive in time.”

“Hmm, what should we do? It would be a shame to let them slip away like this.”

It had been nearly fifteen years since the Blood Cult had shown its tail.

It would be far too great a pity to let them go now.

Fortunately, there was more to the story.

“Actually, the Captain of the Pursuit Squad said something a little strange.”

“Something strange? Gwang-sik did?”

“Yes.”

Namgung Hyeok tilted his head and looked at the young man before him.

A rising talent of the Namgung Clan.

Thunderclap Sword Namgung So-jin lifted his characteristically dazed eyes and looked up at his youngest uncle.

“The thing is, the Captain of the Pursuit Squad said that, while chasing the Blood Cult, he discovered traces that appeared to belong to the Mansi Sect.”

“What? Those trash mongrels from the Mansi Sect showed up too?”

This was a colossal affair.

The moment Thunderbolt Swordsman Namgung Hyeok heard the words Mansi Sect, he could not restrain himself and shot up from his seat.

What in the world was going on?

The Mansi Sect, of all things!

“So we finally found those whoreson bastards under heaven! Well done, Gwang-sik!”

His dark-red hair and eyebrows, the outward hallmark possessed only by direct descendants of the Namgung Clan, quivered incessantly.

With eagle-like, glaring eyes, he stared at his nephew.

“Where were the traces found? Those bastards are worse than the Blood Cult. We need to tear them apart right now!”

As if failing to grant the dead rest were not enough.

They turned the bodies into Jiangshi and drove them like slaves—fiends who provoked the wrath of Heaven and man alike.

Those were the Jiangshi Masters of the Mansi Sect.

Naturally, the Mansi Sect was also a public enemy of Murim designated by the Martial Alliance.

“We did find traces, but, well…….”

“Argh, how frustrating! Stop dragging it out, you bastard. I told you last time, didn’t I? When you drag your words out, it drives people insane!”

“It’s such an important matter that I can’t organize it properly in my head. And once I tell you this too, Uncle, I’m sure you’ll cause trouble…….”

“Trouble, my ass. What is it? What the hell are you making me wait for?”

Though his uncle, famous for his fiery temper, pressed him with rough words.

Namgung So-jin hesitated for a long while even after that, then squeezed his eyes shut and said.

“He said it looked as if the Blood Cult and the Mansi Sect had clashed.”

“Hm? The Mansi Sect and the Blood Cult fought? Gwang-sik really said that?”

Gently pushing away his uncle, who had grabbed him by the collar and was shaking him as if he would devour him on the spot, Namgung So-jin reluctantly continued.

“Yes. The Captain of the Pursuit Squad even judged that, in the course of the clash between the two forces, many of the Mansi Sect’s Jiangshi Masters were likely killed or abducted. Based on the traces alone, he believes the Mansi Sect was completely thrashed by the Blood Cult…….”

“……Hah! Why would that be? The Mansi Sect bastards may be sons of bitches, but they should have had Jiangshi with them, right? There’s no way they would have gone down that easily to the Blood Cult lot, is there?”

Namgung Hyeok looked momentarily flustered.

Just what sort of bastards was the Mansi Sect?

They survived like cockroaches no matter how many times one killed them.

The Mansi Sect were the bastards who inflicted every kind of harm upon the martial world.

So much so that, whenever a fairly large incident had erupted in the martial world over the years, people would say the Mansi Sect’s Jiangshi must have been behind it.

Their infamy and the actual damage they caused were both truly enormous—utter bastards through and through.

“But surely that isn’t all? Our adorable Gwang-sik stopped there? He’s absolutely not the sort to do that.”

“Ah, actually, the Captain of the Pursuit Squad has already moved elsewhere.”

“As expected! Where did he go?”

“He moved to the county-seat fortress in Giyang County. He said some rather concerning traces were connected to that place.”

“So what traces?”

“They appear to be traces of Jiangshi, but he said he wasn’t certain. He said he would submit a report as soon as he found them.”

“I see!”

Namgung Hyeok nodded, then naturally opened the door and tried to go outside.

At that, Namgung So-jin swiftly blocked his path and asked.

“Where are you going, Uncle?”

“You said our Gwang-sik is at the Giyang County seat, didn’t you? I should go there.”

“This is exactly why I hesitated to answer you. If you leave like this, Uncle, who is supposed to oversee the clan’s upcoming Autumn Gangnam Murim Assembly?”

“There’s Second Brother, isn’t there?”

“Second Uncle is busy. He went to Shaolin Temple this time because of another urgent matter.”

“Then what about Third Brother?”

“Did you forget? He went to the Mount Hua Sect last time and still hasn’t returned. He said he was attending something called the Plum Blossom Discourse there.”

“Ah…….”

“For reference, you know the Clan Head is too busy to leave his post, right? So, right now, the only dignified direct. blood. relative. in the main estate with enough authority to oversee this event is you, Uncle.”

Thunderbolt Swordsman Namgung Hyeok looked stunned for a moment.

Then, still standing, he quickly dragged both hands down over his face once and muttered.

“Why didn’t Father have more siblings for us? It would have been nice if he had at least three more.”

“With four sons and five daughters, didn’t he already try hard enough? I heard it’s an all-time record for the main clan estate.”

“I’m saying it because even that wasn’t enough! What kind of family is so busy even its youngest son gets worked this hard?”

“This one! Think of it positively. It means the main clan estate’s influence here in Ming Province has grown that much. And it would be best to leave this matter entirely to the Captain of the Pursuit Squad.”

“No, but this is a major incident involving the Mansi Sect bastards and the Blood Cult, of all people. Wouldn’t it carry more weight if someone of my caliber went? It’s too dangerous. You actually think so too, don’t you? Hm?”

When Namgung Hyeok asked this, his characteristic blazing gaze fixed on his nephew Namgung So-jin, one of the finest among the rising talents.

Namgung So-jin sighed and answered.

“For reference, the Clan Head gave me separate instructions. If you leave your post without permission one more time, Uncle…….”

“If I do?”

“He said he would really beat you to death this time.”

“Oh, Eldest Brother said that himself? Then you should have told me that first, you bastard! You always have this rotten habit of saying the most important thing last, don’t you?”

Namgung Hyeok’s eyes, which had been filled with pounding excitement and anticipation just moments earlier.

Softened in an instant, then flared again like flames.

He smacked the back of his cheeky eldest nephew’s head and huffed.

But Namgung So-jin calmly brushed aside his uncle’s rough affection and said.

“Hehe, doesn’t this make it nicely suspenseful?”

“Nicely? It’s perfect for pissing people off, you bastard!”

“Ow, ow, let go of me and talk, Uncle. Anyway, the Captain of the Pursuit Squad went in person, so take your mind off this matter. You already have a mountain of work to do. You see those things on the table, right? Ev~ery single one of them must be checked and approved by you today, Uncle.”

“I…… A magnificent talent like me has to be trapped here helplessly over a mere family event? This is a tremendous loss to the entire martial world!”

“That’s why you should have been more moderate with your troublemaking!”

The direct descendants of the Namgung Clan had to shoulder enormous obligations commensurate with the abundant benefits they received.

Until now, because Namgung Hyeok was the youngest son, he had been relatively free from those obligations.

Yet given that descendants were scarce in the Namgung Clan, the number of direct line members was so lacking that he was ultimately fated to be squeezed dry one way or another.

Namgung Hyeok had been called a man of storm and cloud in the martial world since his youth, piling up rough tales of valor wherever he went.

But within the family, he was merely the powerless youngest son.

After that, whenever Namgung Hyeok, in the middle of tedious paperwork, suddenly searched for an excuse to escape the office by any means like a man having a fit.

Namgung So-jin brandished the Clan Head’s name and perfectly suppressed him once again, then spoke as if coaxing him.

“Come now. Word from the Captain of the Pursuit Squad will arrive soon, so try to endure it.”

“How am I supposed to endure it?! I’m this curious! Think how much fun Gwang-sik must be having right now!”

“You aren’t a child. Why do you go this far every time, seriously? You’re driving me insane.”

And in truth, at that very hour.

The Namgung Clan’s hunting dog.

Bright Moon Sword Song Gwang-sik, Captain of the Pursuit Squad, was facing the owner of the traces he had been searching for over no less than ten days.