Rebirth of the Heavenly Demon

Chapter 24 – The Message My Death Conveys (2)

Gal Saryang was looking out the window.

He had finally announced the Alliance Leader’s death after postponing it repeatedly.

At first, he couldn’t believe his death. How could the Alliance Leader, who he had been talking to just moments ago, be dead? He was certain he had been murdered.

He immediately called for a divine doctor to examine the body.

But they couldn’t find anything unusual. It was determined to be a natural death.

The Alliance Leader’s behavior had been strange on the day he died.

But it wasn’t strange enough to be connected to his death.

He never imagined Cheon Hajin would die so anticlimactically. He was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even shed tears when he saw his corpse.

He wasn’t given time to properly grieve and dwell on his sorrow. Tasks piled up like mountains. Things he hadn’t even considered until yesterday.

Of course, the most important task was selecting the next Alliance Leader. Even though the Leader was dead, the Martial Righteous Alliance had to keep running.

“We can’t postpone the vote any longer.”

Gal Saryang didn’t respond to the low voice behind him.

After standing like that for a moment, Gal Saryang turned around.

The man sitting at the table drinking tea was like a well-forged sword himself. Even though he was holding a teacup, he looked as dangerous as if he were holding a sword.

He was the central figure among the heads of the ten major organizations of the Martial Righteous Alliance.

To briefly introduce the ten organizations, first, there were three organizations that were directly under the Alliance Leader and only followed his orders.

The first was the Bright Moon Regiment[1], the second was the Iron Cavalry Regiment[2], and the third was the Thousand Bow Regiment[3]. These were called the three crucial groups of the Martial Righteous Alliance.

The Bright Moon Regiment was an organization of masters using various weapons, known for their incredible individual martial arts prowess.

It was also the only organization among the ten whose numbers and scale were unknown to outsiders.

The man sitting and drinking tea now was Ju Cheol-ryong[4], the head of the Bright Moon Regiment.

Next, the Iron Cavalry Regiment was literally an iron cavalry unit. Five hundred martial artists armed with long spears, riding horses covered in iron armor.

They weren’t just relying on armor and horses, but each was a master, and they used perfect formation techniques, making them an incredibly powerful organization.

The Thousand Bow Regiment was, as the name suggests, an organization of archers. They had selected only the best archers, and their number was a whopping one thousand. Imagine a thousand trained archers firing a thousand arrows.

These three organizations were the three crucial groups of the Martial Righteous Alliance. It was known that they never moved without the Alliance Leader’s orders.

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The remaining seven organizations were as follows:

First, the Righteous Thought Pavilion[5], a strongly information-oriented organization led by himself as the Commander-in-Chief; the Alliance Protection Regiment[6] for guarding the Alliance Leader, led by Baek Pyo.

Next, there was the White Tiger Regiment[7] in charge of the Alliance’s defense, and the Crimson Dragon Regiment[8] in charge of external support.

Generally, when people referred to Martial Righteous Alliance martial artists, they meant the martial artists of these two groups. They were the organizations with the largest numbers, with the White Tiger Regiment having three thousand members and the Crimson Dragon Regiment having a massive eight thousand.

The Law Enforcement Hall[9], responsible for inspection and law enforcement, and the Treasury[10], in charge of the Martial Righteous Alliance’s finances, were also included in the ten major organizations.

Finally, there was the Council of Elders, where retired old masters gathered. Because there were many potential issues, it was difficult to enter the Council of Elders, and even if one did, they were bound by the most regulations.

These ten organizations’ heads would elect the next Alliance Leader.

At first, everything was going smoothly.

Although the Alliance Leader hadn’t designated a successor, he had someone in mind. Someone he thought could manage things reasonably well.

The person he had in mind was Yeop Mu-gil[11], the head of the Lightning Blade Sect[12].

He had good character, his sect had a good reputation, and above all, he was strong in martial arts.

Although the Lightning Blade Sect wasn’t one of the Five Great Sects of the Central Plains, it was generally agreed that in terms of individual martial arts, he was the strongest.

He thought everyone would naturally follow if he recommended him, but a variable emerged at the last minute.

The figure present here now.

Ju Cheol-ryong, the head of the Bright Moon Regiment, had put forward a new candidate. He never dreamed that the head of the Bright Moon Regiment would nominate a candidate without discussing it with him.

The bigger problem was that the person he recommended was someone who absolutely should not become the Alliance Leader, in his judgment.

It was Ma Bonggi, the head of the Heavenly Blade Sect, one of the Five Great Sects of the Central Plains and known as the top sect of the Northern Region.

Ma Bonggi’s complicated issues with women were an open secret.

He strongly opposed, saying that one could tell everything from this, but Ju Cheol-ryong pushed forward regardless.

He postponed the vote for now. He had a bad feeling about it.

As expected, he had already secured six votes.

The Bright Moon Regiment, Iron Cavalry Regiment, Crimson Dragon Regiment, Law Enforcement Hall, Treasury, and even the Council of Elders.

He had co-opted all the core organizations.

He postponed it two more times after that. He used every method he could to delay the vote.

In the meantime, he tried to change their minds. But the result was failure. Instead, one of his votes went over to their side.

While he was failing to turn their hearts back, they brazenly co-opted even the head of the White Tiger Regiment.

Now their votes had become seven. It was a perfect defeat.

How could this happen?

Now Gal Saryang was certain.

Everything had been prepared long ago.

The Alliance Leader must have been assassinated.

Ma Bonggi.

Was it his doing?

But the Ma Bonggi he knew wasn’t meticulous enough to commit such an act. Had he misjudged him?

If there was another mastermind behind this?

Then why Ma Bonggi? If they were this capable, they would have put forward a more plausible figure than Ma Bonggi.

It was truly full of incomprehensible things.

“It’s time to make a decision.”

If the vote proceeds like this, Ma Bonggi will become the Alliance Leader.

Ju Cheol-ryong was someone who had sworn life-or-death loyalty when the Alliance Leader was alive. He never dreamed he would lead such an affair.

‘Saryang, Saryang. You still have a long way to go.’

He thought that his pride in helping Cheon Hajin achieve unification of the Central Plains might have become old and turned into arrogance.

He had thought Cheon Hajin’s later years were the most stable period in the history of the martial world, but while they were intoxicated with peace, the roots of the Martial Righteous Alliance had been rotting.

Hiding his bitter self-reproach, Gal Saryang smiled leisurely.

“While principles are important, I think it’s also important to uphold the late Alliance Leader’s will.”

“The late Alliance Leader’s will. What do you mean?”

“As you know, the Alliance Leader was someone who dedicated his life for ordinary martial artists. He was particularly wary of the Five Great Sects of the Central Plains disturbing the martial world. You know that, right?”

Although he showed a displeased expression, it was undeniable, so Ju Cheol-ryong nodded slightly.

Gal Saryang calmly continued.

“If we decide to select the next Alliance Leader from among them, wouldn’t that be going against the Alliance Leader’s wishes?”

But Ju Cheol-ryong had no intention of backing down.

“Your words have some merit, Commander, but doesn’t the Alliance have clear rules that must be followed? I think it’s right to select the Alliance Leader according to the principles.”

“I will consider it carefully.”

“If you delay any further, we will proceed with the vote excluding the Commander.”

After spitting out these words like a declaration of war, Ju Cheol-ryong left the room.

At last, Gal Saryang sighed. With two of the three crucial groups turning their backs, there was nothing more he could do now.

He turned his head back to the window. He could see martial artists busily coming and going in the training grounds. They were all wearing white martial outfits and white headbands, mourning Cheon Hajin’s death.

The master of this place was now dead, but the Martial Righteous Alliance was running as usual. No, it was now writhing and struggling even more than when he was alive.

‘…Alliance Leader, you shouldn’t have left like that.’

***

Baek Pyo stood in the middle of the Alliance Leader’s hall.

This place had been empty since Cheon Hajin died.

Baek Pyo walked to one side of the wall. The history left by the Alliance Leader was recorded on the wall.

The legendary battles left by Cheon Hajin.

He didn’t know how many times he had looked at it now, which he had only glanced at casually when he was alive.

When a new Alliance Leader is chosen, this wall will be erased and a new history will be recorded. As the head of the Alliance Protection Group, he too will have to protect the new Alliance Leader.

Will that make him forget Cheon Hajin?

After circling around the walls once, he stopped in front of the throne.

The throne where the Alliance Leader used to sit was empty.

He recalled Cheon Hajin’s face laughing heartily. It felt like he might walk in laughing at any moment.

“Hahaha, Baek Pyo. Come here and have a drink with me. You’ll get sick if you’re always so tense, you’ll get sick.”

“With you here, I can sleep with both legs stretched out, can’t I? Thank you, really thank you.”

“I heard your wife is very ill. I’ll give you a few days off, so go take good care of her. Haha, this is an order! An Alliance Leader’s order!”

“Remember when we used to fight like crazy in the old days? Do you remember? I still remember those times. Though you all suffered terribly. Hahaha.”

The Alliance Leader’s words were still vivid in his ears.

Tears welled up in Baek Pyo’s eyes and then rolled down his cheeks.

“Alliance Leader!”

Once the tears started, they kept flowing.

“Ugh… Alliance Leader.”

The tears kept pouring. He felt guilty for not being able to protect him. He felt remorseful that he should have taken better care of the Alliance Leader’s health.

Sitting on the floor, Baek Pyo continued to cry. His whole body trembled and his throat choked up.

“…I want to see you again… Alliance Leader.”

In that place where no one answered, only Baek Pyo’s sorrowful cries echoed.