Chapter 125: A Reversal Move (1)
To provide support personnel to Ma Chulsoo, there were three conditions that had to be met.
First, they couldn't be related to the Six Great Demonic Clans.
Second, they had to be of a certain level of skill.
Third, they had to be trustworthy.
In truth, the first condition alone eliminated most of the potential candidates.
Even if one could hire someone from the underworld or the black society, there was no way a lunatic who wanted to clash with the Six Great Demonic Clans inside the Heavenly Demon Cult existed.
However, unexpectedly, there were people who satisfied all of these conditions.
They were none other than my subordinates.
“From now on, you lot will be assigned under Ma Chulsoo’s command after graduating from the Thousand-Day Pass.”
“What kind of nonsense is that, Young Master Jin?”
Baek Sang-ah raised her hand high and expressed her doubt.
“It’s a kind of smoke and mirrors tactic. You and your subordinates will temporarily fall under Ma Chulsoo’s command.”
“And why, exactly, should I do that?”
To her resistance, I made her a quiet offer.
“I’ll grant you any wish within my power later.”
The deal was struck instantly.
“Please take care of us, Master Ma.”
“……”
Ma Chulsoo simply blinked, not understanding what the hell was going on.
The moment he realized where these so-called reinforcements came from, he looked utterly shocked.
“Th-The Thousand-Day Pass?”
“Yeah, they’re fresh third-years who just moved up this semester.”
“You want me to fight with students, not even graduates?”
“That bastard dares….”
The members of the Black and Red Societies immediately showed displeasure at the disrespect.
“Well, those second-years you’re mocking are probably a lot stronger than the three behind you right now.”
Especially since there was one borderline cheat-level monster among them.
Sure enough, a protest erupted from behind Ma Chulsoo.
“Don’t be ridiculous! We graduated from the Thousand-Day Pass with top grades, and you think we’d lose to some measly second-years?!”
Ma Chulsoo also chimed in to back his subordinate.
“Hold on, Jin Yeomyung. This isn’t the time for jokes. Even if Ma Jeongcheon can’t use the power of his main family, all of his private soldiers are from Demon Dragon Hall!”
“Ohh, Demon Dragon Hall?”
At those words, I grinned slyly.
Was it just my imagination, or did sparks flicker in the eyes of my subordinates at the mention of “Demon Dragon Hall”?
“Of course! Their total number is fifty. Ma Jeongcheon personally selected them over several years. All of them are between the Master Level and First-rate!”
I stroked my chin and asked,
“Master Level to First-rate, huh. Any chance there’s a Transcendent among them?”
“W-What kind of bullshit is that? Of course not!”
Ma Chulsoo truly treated my question as complete nonsense.
Even if they graduated from Demon Dragon Hall, given Ma Jeongcheon’s age, his people would be in their late twenties to early thirties at best.
To reach Master Level at that age already meant being called a genius.
‘Tsk, looks like my standards have become way too high.’
Considering someone like Pa Yeongyeong, who was around that age, still hadn’t reached Transcendence, my question had definitely been nonsense.
‘Well, it's not like such a cheat-level existence would pop out so easily.’
My eyes briefly brushed past Baek Sang-ah.
She was now fidgeting with her sword hilt, clearly riled up just from hearing the name Demon Dragon Hall.
‘The woman once called the Sword Flower… how did she end up like this…’
My karma with Baek Sang-ah really ran deep.
Well, whatever.
“If you’re that skeptical, then why don’t we confirm their skills first? How about a light spar?”
“This is not the time for games…!”
“If my subordinate loses, I’ll grant you any request. No matter what it is.”
Flinch!
Ma Chulsoo’s expression hardened as I came at him with full force.
“Are you serious?”
“I’m serious.”
Though he probably couldn’t afford to waste even a minute if he wanted to go save Ma Jinyoon right away… he had no choice but to take this deal.
“Im Gabyeok.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Show the Thousand-Day Pass juniors the difference in skill.”
“By your command!”
The one called Jang Han, who had previously been subdued by a member of the Ghost Command Unit, stepped forward.
He had been completely drained earlier, but now he was close to full recovery.
Immediately, my subordinates—including Baek Sang-ah—started glowing with anticipation, begging to be sent in.
‘Now then, who should I pick?’
Present here were Baek Sang-ah, the Three Attendants, and even San Dojeon—five in total.
Sending Baek Sang-ah or San Dojeon would guarantee an easy win, but…
My choice was—
“Baeksa.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Baeksa, leader of the Three Attendant, leapt forward with excitement.
“If you lose, you die.”
“Of course! I shall dedicate the glory of victory to my lord!”
Baeksa drew his sword, practically trembling with excitement.
‘After pouring rare medicine and teaching him the Supreme Tyrant Art along with a whole bunch of martial arts, it’s about time for a mid-term test.’
If the opponent was a graduate of the Thousand-Day Pass, it would be a fair comparison.
“A second-year junior, huh…”
The one called Im Gabyeok, who had remained by Ma Chulsoo’s side until the end, seemed to have the best skills among his group.
“My lord is in a hurry, so let’s finish this quickly.”
Tsssss!
A reddish Sword Qi began to form on his blade.
Judging by the color, it seemed he had inherited part of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan’s martial arts.
Im Gabyeok shouted confidently at Baeksa.
“A brat who can’t even use Sword Qi dares to step up—wait, what?!”
Im Gabyeok’s eyes widened in disbelief.
From the sword of the junior he’d just looked down on, brilliant black Sword Qi was surging forth!
Moreover, even at a glance, the purity of that Sword Qi was clearly far superior!
“W-What is this?! Not even from Demon Dragon Hall—how does a second-year from the Thousand-Day Pass have Sword Qi?!”
“Hah, senior~ Ready to get humiliated?”
Baeksa charged at Im Gabyeok, wielding the Supreme Tyrant Art.
Caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events—his mental defense crumbled.
Baeksa, who knew the nature of back-alley fighting better than anyone, relentlessly pressed his opponent, not allowing even a sliver of opportunity to show off any skill.
And the result—
“……”
“……”
“T-Ten seconds flat?!”
Baeksa, a full head shorter than his opponent, had gone absolutely wild, overwhelming Im Gabyeok and forcing him to surrender.
Since he constantly carried Black Iron Balls on him, he could easily overcome ordinary differences in external energy.
More than anything—
‘The amount of resources I’ve poured into him is on another level. It’s only natural.’
With his own desperate effort added to that, the result was obvious.
I casually reviewed the match between Baeksa and that Im-whatever fellow.
“T-This can’t be happening!”
Ma Chulsoo stared blankly at his subordinate’s defeat, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Im Gabyeok was his only dependable card in this situation, and he had lost so easily?
“So, do you get it now? The rest of them are all at that level too.”
“I-I can’t believe it!”
“Yeah? Want to try again?”
Ma Chulsoo nodded and sent out another subordinate.
I shrugged and sent out San Dojeon.
“……”
“……”
In just a single second, Ma Chulsoo’s subordinate was sent flying by San Dojeon’s punch—a result even more brutal than before.
***
After my subordinates had thoroughly ‘soothed’ the seniors from the Thousand-Day Pass,
I turned to the still-stupefied Ma Chulsoo and began explaining the general plan.
“No matter how many private soldiers Ma Jeongcheon has, the truth is—they’re not what matters.”
I sketched a rough image of the Ma Clan’s main estate with a twig as I spoke.
“The real threat is the elders behind him.”
Considering the scale of the Ma Clan’s main house, it wasn’t feasible to maintain surveillance with just a few dozen people.
But the moment Ma Chulsoo attempted to infiltrate the estate, his movement would be instantly detected by the eyes and ears of those elders.
“Even a little interference would result in immediate failure.”
Only then, snapping out of his shock, Ma Chulsoo let out a frustrated groan.
“Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”
“To be honest, even with this force, the odds of you breaking through to the Clan Head’s quarters are slim.”
“……!”
“And if Ma Jeongcheon goes all-in with his forces, you’re finished.”
Even if Baek Sang-ah could break through Ma Jeongcheon’s private army, there was no way to also defeat the elders operating within the main house.
“Then there’s no way?”
I shook my head.
“No. There is a way.”
Among the Thirty-Six Stratagems in military strategy, there’s one called Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain.
“You’re not going to the Clan Head’s quarters.”
The core of this method is—
“You draw the Clan Head out.”
***
The Clan Head of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan. The Heaven-Piercing Demonic Sword. The Sword Demon. The Number One Sword of the Demonic Faction.
All of these referred to one man—a middle-aged individual named Ma Seonghwan.
He had built the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan into one of the strongest forces among the Six Great Demonic Clans, rivaling even the Pa Clan. Accordingly, his prestige and power were immense.
Despite seemingly lacking for nothing, Ma Seonghwan had recently begun to think that he had failed in raising his son properly.
“I’m disappointed.”
In front of Ma Seonghwan lay his eldest son, Ma Jeongcheon, bowing in apology.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“To think… that I would ever feel envy toward the Jin or Pa Clans.”
Flinch.
Tremble.
His tone was calm, but the comparison to none other than the Supreme Leader of the Pa Clan made the message clear.
Ma Jeongcheon understood just how enraged his father truly was.
“You weren’t given little. Even if you’d done nothing, you were already the next head of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan.”
“T-That is…”
“And yet, what were you lacking that you dared bring in the Cheon Clan bastards—even going so far as to violate the Blood Law?”
The involvement of the Cheon Clan elders during Ma Jeongcheon’s ambush on Ma Chulsoo had long since been exposed.
Even if he hadn’t relied on them directly, trying to cover the sky with his palm was something Ma Seonghwan would never tolerate.
“Fine. Let’s say—if I were being extremely generous—that bringing in the Cheon Clan could be overlooked.”
If the process and the result turned out well, even outside help could be forgiven.
But—
“Because of your stunt, our Blood Dragon Demonic Clan now looks like it’s playing both sides within the Cheon Clan.”
The problem wasn’t the outcome, but the fact that the process had become a tangled mess.
That was the real issue.
“You do understand that Jinyoon is currently the closest to becoming the Demonic Faction Lord, filling the spot left by the fallen son of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan?”
“Y-Yes, I do.”
“Even if he doesn’t become the Lord, by simply supporting Jinyoon, we’ve already made our stance clear in support of the Young Cult Leader.”
And yet, this grand family strategy had been arbitrarily altered by a mere acting heir.
“The Cheon Clan elders you sided with are the ones trying to install someone else as the Young Cult Leader. If the Cult Leader finds out about this, what do you think he’ll believe about me? About our Blood Dragon Demonic Clan?”
If you’re going to switch sides, you might as well do it decisively.
The current Cult Leader was absolute. At least until the end of his reign, it was suicide to bare one’s fangs.
“Everyone in Ten Thousand Mountain will call us fools.”
“T-That will never happen!”
“Do you want to end up like the eldest son of the Black Gold Sa Clan?”
“……!!”
Ma Jeongcheon’s face twisted in fear as he remained prostrated.
The story of Sa Bihwan, eldest son of the Black Gold Sa Clan, being utterly outdone by his much younger sister was currently well-known within the Six Great Demonic Clans.
What the Clan Head was saying was a veiled threat: “Do you want to be discarded?”
“N-No! I won’t let that happen!”
Ma Seonghwan’s voice suddenly turned gentle.
“Jeongcheon-ah.”
“Yes, Father!”
“You are the eldest son.”
Because of that, he had been entrusted with much even before officially becoming the successor.
Because of that, he had yet to be punished, despite violating the clan’s code.
Ma Seonghwan’s favoritism toward his eldest son ran deeper than one might expect.
“This is your final chance.”
His voice drilled into Ma Jeongcheon’s ears.
“Erase all evidence within two days. And bury all traces of your wrongdoing.”
Erasing the evidence meant cutting all ties to the Cheon Clan.
To bury his wrongdoings meant—
“Do whatever it takes.”
“……!”
“If you can’t even manage that… the next heir of this clan will be someone else.”