Moon-Shadow Sword Emperor

Special Side Story Episode 17

“Ugh!”

A stream of fresh blood flowed from the mouth of the old man, Dokgokju.

His face, clutching his staff tightly to avoid falling, instantly looked like the Beast Palace’s left-hand protection technique.

I sat cross-legged at the head table where he had been sitting just a moment ago and looked around.

A terrible scene came into view.

Walls and floors cracked and collapsed.

Poisonous substances that are burned by thunder energy and emit a foul odor.

The broken Yamyeongju was rolling on the floor and the fallen men were groaning.

‘Has it been roughly sorted out?’

Dokgok also followed a similar path as Yasugung.

The leadership, enraged by the blatant provocation, threw away their memorized weapons and attacked, and Dokgokju, feeling a sense of crisis, belatedly joined in.

The person who helped us the most to reach the current situation was none other than Confucius.

Thinking about him forgetting how harshly he was treated and actively arranging a meeting with Gokju, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You…”

I felt sad as I watched Dokgokju growl while wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

He was a person who persevered for a long time with the single intention of taking over the hegemony of the South.

Will he be able to achieve his dream before his short life ends?

“You’d better be careful what you say.”

“what?”

“Didn’t you hear about it from your disciple over there? I should have warned you. “I ask you to set a different standard from now on.”

In the past, there was a time when the Lord of Dokgok sent someone to me to instigate the assassination of Wu Ga-jin.

A person in black who is believed to have followed the progress of Dokgokju, who did not even reveal his name until the end.

The man most likely to be the next Gokju.

The conversation I had with him instantly flashed through my mind.

[Don’t you think that refusing a request could cause a rift in the relationship?]

[Are you threatening me now?]

[Did it sound like a threat? If that’s the case, I’m sorry.]

[That’s right. I seem to be easy-going because I use the honorific expression.]

Among the proverbs handed down in the martial arts world, there is this one.

Do not hold a grudge against Sacheondanga and Dokgok.

The person who was targeted by the two martial arts forces was unable to sleep with his legs stretched out for the rest of his life.

Because you never know when and where a wild beast with sharp fangs might come out and bite the back of your neck.

However, it was a feeling I only felt when I wasn’t confident enough to handle fear.

Now, I have the strength to take my time even after turning the poisonous grain into a mess.

It was not just about military force.

Identity, status, influence, money, and even subordinates.

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Everything I had built up during that time was the element that supported my feet.

“…….”

Dokgokju gritted his teeth.

To the residents of Namman, he was a figure synonymous with fear.

Where else would he have been treated like this?

“Judge wisely. “You know that, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I have an archduke under my command.”

Dokgokju’s face hardened.

I could feel the fallen assassins of Dokgok flinching, unable to hide their embarrassment.

Although he spoke in a humorous voice, the meaning behind his remarks was by no means light.

‘The minimum safety measures should be installed.’

What if Dokgok’s side holds a grudge over this incident and seeks revenge?

It didn’t matter if they were targeting me directly with a sneak attack.

Just defeat it and that’s it.

We have already achieved immunity to poison from all poisons a long time ago.

It is safe to say that now that he has achieved great mastery of the White Thunder God, he is completely free from the threat of poisoning.

Even if I were to fall victim to the intangible poison of the Tang family, I would be confident that I would recover if given just a little time, so what more can I say?

‘No matter what I do, there’s no way they’ll harm me as I am now. But…’

If the target was not me but the people around me, the story had to be different.

Of course, it was unlikely that he would do such an extreme thing.

I’m not a childish person who can’t discern between right and wrong.

Would you scrape and make a mess even though you clearly know that there will be unbearable aftereffects?

‘Still, there’s no harm in being careful.’

Dokgokju was also human.

There was no way to always act rationally.

In particular, those in power who did not have much time left to live deserved to be on guard.

So now I am warning you.

If that side does not accept the current result.

Furthermore, if you try to commit nonsense.

That day will be the day I bring Wu Ji-jin and replace the ruler of Namman.

‘It’s just a bluff, but it’ll work well against Dokgokju.’

Of course, I didn’t mean it.

Are you crazy enough to send high-quality personnel like Wu Ji-jin back to Nanman?

There was not even the slightest thought of letting go of the talent that was once in my arms.

‘You can’t just look down on this and ignore it.’

It was Dokgokju who dreamed of a future where he would reign as the supreme ruler of the South.

There is no threat more terrifying to him than this.

Especially since the gap in power was so clearly imprinted.

“……Damn it.”

Dokgokju mumbled as if chewing and lowered his head.

I thought to myself as I watched him finally choose to give in.

This concludes our itinerary in Namman.

* * *

Heavenly Mountain.

The residence of the Demon Cultist located in the center of the inner garden.

A middle-aged man entered the room and threw himself on the bed.

‘I’m tired.’

A moaning sound came out as I pursed my lips.

Perhaps because I had been working hard just before, I felt muscle pain that I didn’t even know I had.

‘It was going to explode someday.’

Suramaje’s recent actions have been unusual.

I knew this day would come.

The problem was timing.

The Demonic Cult has finally entered the stage of stabilization.

I felt like I was going crazy as factions suddenly formed and they started fighting for their own interests.

If I made a mistake, all my efforts might have been in vain.

‘If he were the leader of the squadron, he would have stamped them all with overwhelming force.’

Sosalma, a middle-aged man, let out a bitter smile.

Unfortunately, it was impossible for me.

Today, the place where my right arm used to be felt empty.

Thanks to the prosthetic hand that the craftsman put a lot of effort into, it didn’t cause much of a problem in my daily life, but I couldn’t help but feel regretful at times.

‘Sword Emperor (劍帝) That damn bastard interferes with me at every turn.’

The special task force sent to Seojang to obtain the legacy left behind by the first Cheonma returned empty-handed.

That’s where I met Yeonsun.

It can be considered fortunate that they came back safely, but for the Sosalma army that had high expectations for them, it couldn’t help but leave them with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Because even the foundation for the revival of the Demonic Cult was lost in vain.

‘no. It was an item that I had no idea whether I could use it properly or not. ‘There’s no need to feel too sorry.’

A gem that guarantees the bearer’s survival even if thrown into an extreme environment.

The existence of Jewel was learned through records left at Cheonmagung that only the religious leader could read.

Ancient shamans and demons who made pacts with them.

Although the information written there was difficult to believe, Sosalma found a ray of hope there.

[By the way, is it impossible to manufacture a jiangshi?]

[I am not a god. I don’t know of any convenient method of manipulating a corpse to do what I want.] [

According to tradition, the Demonic Cult of the past used many powerful tricks…] [

Tradition is just tradition. There are a lot of absurd stories that have no reality.]

I remembered a conversation I had with Sima Seohwan, the head of the previous Sima Sega family.

Although he had twisted ideals, he was a person whose ability could only be acknowledged.

Even he expressed disapproval when he saw the recipe for Gangshi provided by the Demonic Cult.

[That being said, when I provided the recipe for making raw ginger, there was an immediate positive response.] [

Because I judged it to be quite possible. Raising the dead is God’s domain, but brainwashing the living is no different.] If

you think about it, it was a strange thing.

Because the answer given by Sima Xuhuan was completely contradictory to the tradition handed down in the Demonic Cult.

Ginger poetry was different from ordinary ginger poetry.

To put it simply, he was a much higher being.

‘Of course, it is more difficult to produce than regular steel, and requires a huge amount of manpower and cost. It was definitely written like that in the book handed over to Sima Seohwan.’

There was an assumption that came to mind only after I had discovered Cheonmagung.

Sima Seohwan said:

They say that bringing the dead back to life is beyond what humans can do.

What about the numerous lectures said to have been performed by demonic cultists in the past?

Are all records about him just fantasies?

‘It’s just a guess, though.’

In the first place, it may be impossible to create a jiangshi without borrowing the power of a special being.

For example, demons who were said to have made a contract with the shamans of Seojang in ancient times.

Records of the First Heavenly Demon When we gather together all the miscellaneous information in addition to the story we heard from Sima Seohwan, we came to this conclusion.

‘It’s surprising to think that way. Surely Sima Xuhuan was not an ordinary person.’

An ominous power lent by the existence of another world.

According to his assumption, that power was the key to making jiangshi.

However, Sima Seohwan showed off his ability to reproduce ginger poetry entirely with his own abilities.

To use a metaphor, it was a master chef who created the best taste in the world with his amazing cooking skills even though he left out key ingredients.

‘anyway.’

I pursed my lips again and let out a sigh.

The branch of thought that had been branching out changed direction and returned to the starting point.

Even the legacy of the first religious leader, on which he had placed a ray of hope, was taken away by the Geomje.

The future of the Demonic Cult was truly dark.

‘It won’t collapse like this.’

Sosalma slowly raised his upper body and his eyes became harsh.

It was a position of supremacy that was achieved with great difficulty.

It was a position he obtained by surviving all kinds of conspiracies and even betraying his teacher.

[I am the tail of an Imoogi preparing for ascension. It is not even right to say that I am the tail. I don’t want to live and die as a skin that will be discarded when the moment of shedding comes someday. It would be better to become the head of a snake crawling on the ground.]

‘I knew from the beginning that I would never become the head of a dragon.’

I couldn’t change anything just by blaming the situation and environment.

I could not tolerate lamenting my situation, despairing, and meeting a meaningless end.

I will struggle until the very end.

Even if I get criticized and pointed at for being ugly, I will stand firm until the end.

A struggle to survive.

Isn’t that the driving force that made me who I am today?

‘Whether it takes ten or twenty years.’

Even if it takes much longer than that.

Sosalma-gun pledged that he would definitely place the Demonic Church on a rock.

The prosthetic arm stretched over the head made a clanking noise.

The night in Cheonsan deepened.