Chapter 98: The Master-Level’s Scheme (1)
"Ah, no. It's only natural for me to work hard for Young Master, but that's not what I meant..."
"Hm? Then what?"
"To raise an assassin unit on the level of the Underworld King’s Unit, it would require an astronomical amount of money."
Given the covert nature of the assassin profession, even hiring instructors was a monumental task, and securing a place where they could be secretly trained was equally essential.
Above all, it couldn’t be done in just a few days. It required steady investment over years, making it a money-devouring beast with an insatiable appetite.
"Ah, it's fine. The money, I mean."
"Excuse me? Even if it’s you, Young Master, there’s no way your father—no, the Inner Administrator—would give you that kind of money. Especially if you start using the Jin Clan’s funds..."
"Then it wouldn’t be my own unit, it’d be subordinated to the Jin Clan. Don’t worry about that."
I covered my mouth with a fan and smiled contentedly.
"I’ve built up a little secret stash this time, and it’s quite the sum."
"......"
"......"
"Plus, the collection isn’t even complete yet. There’s still plenty more to come."
Uh… is that good?
Sure, the idea of rebuilding the Underworld King’s Unit or acquiring a large number of subordinates was exciting, but the one men and women couldn’t bring themselves to smile—mostly because their master’s grin was far too villainous.
"As you said, Young Master, the restoration of the Underworld King’s Unit is something for later. Do we have any urgent tasks to handle now?"
"Yes. And for a while, it’ll have you running so much your feet will blister."
I turned my gaze toward Myeong-oh.
"Myeong-oh."
"Yes, Young Mas—no, my Lord."
"If the restoration of the Underworld King’s Unit happens, it’ll take place in the secret region hidden by the Yin-Yang Fist Demon."
"Understood."
Myeong-oh responded calmly, knowing this was only the preamble.
"You can tell me, right? Every single stronghold and group of the Heaven-Defying Society within our cult that you know of."
"......Of course. I can tell you everything."
Even if the Heaven-Defying Society operated in cells within the cult, they still needed some means of communicating orders.
And Myeong-oh had been one of those communication agents.
She might not have the knowledge of a top-tier leader like a Ten Heavenly Lord-level figure, but she surely knew more than the average member.
"Since returning to the cult, I’ve heard of many strongholds being taken down. But after some investigation, I confirmed that there are still active lines and remnants lurking throughout the Demonic Cult."
"Good, very good."
"Honestly, I don’t know every contact, but with just the information I do have, I’m confident I can deliver a fatal blow."
Myeong-oh seemed proud of how helpful she was being.
"Shall we set a trap to wipe them out in one stroke? With luck, we could even gather them all in one place."
"No, just leave them be."
I shook my head.
"Excuse me? Why…?"
"Even if I wiped out a bunch of small fry, I wouldn’t gain much. Frankly, it’s just annoying. I’ve got martial arts to train, secret scheming to manage… I’ve got mountains of work."
"S-Secret scheming?"
"You two are my loyal hands and feet, helping with all that scheming."
Until now, I only had Gu Chil, but with Myeong-oh—someone of comparable skill—joining, the possibilities would increase exponentially.
"You only have one task this time."
"Anything, just say the word."
As they knelt before me, I revealed the crux of this operation.
"Fabricate evidence."
* * *
Five Great Halls, Elder Hall.
The Elder Hall—known as the summit of power in the Heavenly Demon Cult, where all major and minor matters were handled.
Of course, final authority rested with the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, but nearly every other policy and plan was conceived in the Elder Hall.
The Elder Hall was composed of fourteen individuals.
Starting with Cheon Taejong, the Cult Leader and Heavenly Demon himself.
Then Cheon Yeongha, the Thousand-Handed Witch, who led the Elder Council as the grand elder with an honorary seat.
And below them, twelve more elders from First Elder to Twelfth Elder completed the group.
"You’re late today, Third Elder."
With the Heavenly Demon’s seat set aside separately, Cheon Yeongha, seated in the highest position of the Elder Hall, turned toward the entrance and spoke.
A graceful middle-aged man just passing through the entrance lowered his head to her.
"My apologies. I had too much to take care of."
His identity was none other than the Third Elder and the Head of the Black Gold Sa Clan—Sa Myeongrin, known as the Thunder Essence Fiend, the Golden Demon.
"I suppose. With treason pinned on your clan, you must’ve been running around like a mad dog trying to destroy evidence."
"......"
Only one person would dare to mock the Third Elder like that.
The Asura King, Jin Gun-ak—also known as the Battle Demon.
Sa Myeongrin ignored Jin Gun-ak’s words and quietly took his seat.
"Not all the elders are present, but the heads of the Six Great Demonic Clans are, so I think we can proceed with the meeting."
"Impudent bastards. How dare they skip a gathering like this?"
The one who growled that out in a low voice was Ma Seonghwan, the Lord of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan—praised by many titles, such as the Heavenly Piercing Demon Sword, the Sword Demon, and the Demon Sword Supreme.
Responding to that, a giant man seated next to Cheon Yeongha—rivaling even Jin Gun-ak in size—shouted out:
"Yama Blade is allowed! This is the busiest time for his sword technique training!"
Ma Seonghwan’s expression instantly twisted.
"That sword-mad bastard… do you even remember that you’re the First Elder of our cult?"
The man who’d made such a baffling comment was none other than Pa Wooryang, head of the Saber Demon Pa Clan.
"Hmph. I don’t need to hear that from a sword-freak like you."
"What did you say?"
As the atmosphere turned tense in an instant, Cheon Yeongha stepped in to mediate.
"Alright, that’s enough. I’ll issue warnings to the absent elders later. For now, hold your tongues."
Once the two clan heads fell silent, Cheon Yeongha finally turned her gaze to Sa Myeongrin.
"I’m sure you’ve guessed it, but today’s meeting might be a bit uncomfortable for you."
"......"
"The information that Sa Cheongmun from your Black Gold Sa Clan blurted out might’ve been tacitly tolerated to some extent. But in truth, it was a strictly forbidden secret that should never have been spoken aloud. And worse, the timing and place were terrible."
The authority to access information and the authority to disclose it were two entirely different things.
And Sa Cheongmun had disastrously violated the latter.
"Kuhuhuhu! The Six Clans and even ordinary followers were crowded around, and he shouted it out with his internal energy—what more needs to be said?"
Jin Gun-ak openly chuckled, deliberately provoking Sa Myeongrin.
"Hoo, well, he’s not wrong. So, after discussing it with the Cult Leader, we’ve decided on the level of punishment to impose on the Sa Clan."
Ordinarily, such decisions would be made by a full gathering of the elders. However, things were different when it concerned one of the Six Great Demonic Clans.
One wrong word or move could shift inter-clan relations dramatically and trigger a political storm.
"I hope the punishment’s nice and fiery."
…Of course, that didn’t apply when they were already on bad terms from the start.
"Well, I wouldn’t know anything about that."
As expected, Sa Myeongrin feigned ignorance.
"Sure, you can say that, Sa Clan Head. But you can’t block out the sky with your palm. I’ll now share the Cult Leader’s judgment."
Cheon Yeongha calmly announced the sanctions placed on the Black Gold Sa Clan.
"……!"
At first, Sa Myeongrin listened quietly, but as Cheon Yeongha’s explanation dragged on, his expression began to shift dramatically.
"Wait a moment! Dismissal of the Chief Administrator? And even stripping part of our shares in the Mysterious Gold Merchant Company and reclaiming our rights in Southern Mongolia?!"
There were five total sanctions imposed on the Black Gold Sa Clan, but those three were especially fatal to the clan’s interests.
"That’s how it’s been decided."
"I can’t accept this! Especially the dismissal of the Inner Administrator—it’s far too much!"
The reason he was so livid about the dismissal was that the current Inner Administrator bore the surname ‘Sa.’
"Kekeke, and what’ll you do if you can’t accept it? Run off crying to the Cult Leader and beg for mercy?"
"Jin Gun-ak! Do you have a death wish!?"
Sa Myeongrin finally glared at Jin Gun-ak as though he’d kill him.
He had tried to ignore him, but he kept needling at every opportunity, making his blood boil.
Naturally, Jin Gun-ak, who feared nothing, replied cheekily.
"Oh? Is it okay for you to be this angry at me? If it were me, I’d be using this time to get back and come up with a countermeasure."
"You… you…!!"
Sa Myeongrin, seasoned as he was, clearly understood that losing his temper here wouldn’t help him in the slightest.
As his face flushed red with fury, clicks of tongues echoed from around the hall.
"Lord Asura is really going after Lord Thunder Essence today."
The Eleventh Elder, Gwang Rahee—known as the Mad Naked Princess, Yeojin—clicked her tongue lightly.
"Heh heh heh, it’s not like this is anything new. Let it go."
The Ninth Elder, King Garak of the Bloody Yin Claws, shrugged as if it couldn’t be helped.
"Seems the matter’s settled. Can we go now?"
The one who made the brief but heavy remark was So Munyak, head of the Hidden Shadow So Clan—known by the name Ten Thousand Killer and the moniker Killing Demon.
"Go where? We’re not done yet."
As the atmosphere in the Elder Hall suddenly turned noisy again, Cheon Yeongha let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
"Now that things have gotten this far, even for the Sa Clan, we can’t just let it slide. Even if it was entirely Sa Cheongmun’s doing, can we really say his words are only his responsibility?"
"But still, the punishment is far too severe! You’d wipe out nearly one-fifth of our clan’s strength just because of a single brat’s slip of the tongue?"
For Sa Myeongrin, it was completely unacceptable.
If they accepted this, the entire power balance among the Six Clans would collapse instantly.
But Cheon Yeongha was immovable.
"The Cult Leader has already made the decision. I can’t overturn it. However…"
"…However?"
Cheon Yeongha looked at Sa Myeongrin with a strange glint in her eye and continued.
"The Cult Leader has granted the Sa Clan one week to make an appeal. Depending on the contents of that appeal, the intensity of the punishment may be revised."
"……?!"
Sa Myeongrin stared at Cheon Yeongha with a baffled expression.
The Black Gold Sa Clan had already submitted a long written appeal to the Cheon Clan, clearly stating their position.
They had thoroughly pinned the blame on Sa Cheongmun, to the point that nothing more could be added or manipulated.
And now they were being given an extra week?
"The Cult Leader is far too lenient with the Sa Clan."
"Silence, Jin Gun-ak."
Snapping back to his senses at Jin Gun-ak’s grumbling, Sa Myeongrin grew serious.
Regardless of the reason, he now had one more week. He had to make something happen.
"We’re grateful for the Cult Leader’s generous opportunity. In that case, I’ll take my leave to make the most of it."
"See you in a week. I hope you come back with a bigger palm this time."
You can’t cover the sky with your palm—but the palms of the Six Great Demonic Clans were big enough to rival the heavens.
Whether Sa Myeongrin understood his meaning or not, he quickly bowed to those present and exited the hall.
After that—
"If it’s over, I’ll be heading out too."
"Same here."
"……."
Ma Seonghwan, head of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, along with the heads of the Hidden Shadow So Clan and Illusion Clan, promptly rose to their feet.
In contrast, the Pa Clan, Jin Clan, and the lower-ranking elders were more relaxed.
"What’s the rush? You look like a dog desperate for the loot."
A cheap provocation, hardly worth a response.
Still, Ma Seonghwan snorted and replied.
"You wouldn’t understand. You leave everything to your underlings and just wave a sword around."
"Hmm? Not because your house is on fire?"
Ma Seonghwan’s eyes cooled instantly.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
Pa Wooryang shrugged.
"Nothing in particular? I just figured something must be up if even your heavy ass is suddenly moving so fast."
"……."
"Hmm? Was I wrong?"
Ma Seonghwan stared at him deeply for a moment, then muttered.
"Not you. You wouldn’t have the brains for that anyway."
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"See you in a week."
Done with the conversation, Ma Seonghwan abruptly turned his head and strode out of the hall.
Immediately, the masters of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, who had been waiting outside, carried him off in a palanquin and vanished from the Elder Hall in a flash.
"Hm, maybe something really is going on?"
Watching him go, Pa Wooryang blinked in genuine confusion.
Cheon Yeongha burst into hearty laughter.
"Kukukuku, you may be a blockhead, but sometimes your intuition is frighteningly sharp."