Chapter 268: Head On (5)
“T-this atmosphere seems a bit…?”
“I don’t think this place is so comfortable.”
The atmosphere changed with the move of the Warlord. The 20 or so members seated on one side were agitated.
The Blood Strong Troops’ collective training was notorious in and outside of the sect. Because the difficulty of it was so high, there were countless dropouts.
Because of that, it was a great honor and would give them great success if they succeeded by competing with them, regardless of whether it was a senior or a simple warrior.
The elders, who stepped into today’s ceremony had ties with many troops. With the consent of the Warlord, they can recruit the selected people.
For example, recruit men from another troop.
That was something the warriors get with their skills, but anyway, compared to the warriors who were recklessly put into the game, it was a position with a good status and good salary. For example, it was great to be given the qualification to enter this place.
Because of this, the recruitment should have been enjoyed in a comfortable manner, but it was intense.
“Isn’t it because of them?”
“Surely. Now that the direct subordinates are dead, the Heavenly Demon’s disciples…”
“Now, now, everyone be silent. If they hear this they will lose their minds.”
The people talked. They too were sensitive about this. In this training too many people got killed or injured. In particular, the fact that there were not just trainees but even instructors in it, made everyone stay on their toes.
It will not be forgotten so easily.
Among the members who were very sharp, Seol-Hwi was also quietly looking at the other side—
At the disciples of the Heavenly Demon.
Originally, they were the ones who politely reached out to embrace the Warlord. They boldly stepped into his conditions but such things happened.
Rather than taking the defeat, they were ones who wanted to argue about this issue since their own subordinate had died.
So, on the one hand, he wondered what to do.
What is the Warlord thinking?
Originally, it would not be enough to avoid it and cover things up, but the person was wanting to drag this situation—
Into a place where everyone can see.
“The first is Yo Su-gwang. They joined the sect on the recommendation of the First Disciple, and tried to attack an instructor during the training!”
The Bloody Death Warlord… The voice was full of internal energy and made everyone in the room hear it.
“Instructor Heo immediately countered, but was mortally wounded by the ambush of the enemy and died. Well, to the point of killing an instructor the guy was surely great.”
Whisper
There was commotion in the hall.
Yo So-gwang was the disciple to the First Disciple. And some had already heard of this during training, but those who were hearing it for the first time were quite shocked.
“Hmm.”
Surprisingly, the First Disciple did not show any anger or frustration, he just stared at the Warlord.
Was it because of that?
Even as the commotion died down, no voices or questions were raised.
“The second one is Ghost Incarnate. This man also killed numerous trainees, his own colleagues, and even the instructors. Then, when he was aiming for the target within the temple, he started a huge fire in the forest.”
The Warlord looked at the audience and said,
“A man who didn’t take the lives of his own team or instructors into consideration, and used the most dangerous means which caused multiple people to get wounded, of course, we don’t think the Second Disciple had given such instructions.”
“Huh…”
“M…”
The elders all looked uncomfortable.
What the heck was this man thinking? He was putting it subtly, but it was a more blatant way of asking ‘Did you order that?’
The Warlord was cleverly putting these thoughts ahead, and the other side was the disciples of the Heavenly Demon—
Whether they were put into training with bad thoughts or it was just an accident.
But since there was a difference in their positions, there would be consequences for treating them like this.
“These are men who will be punished severely.”
“…”
The crowd went silent.
There was no mention of Ju Seorin. Even so, everyone waited. And silence fell within the room.
Shhh
As expected, of the disciples, the First Disciple was giving out this angry energy which made the elders around move away.
“If everything the warlord said is true…”
At that time, the Second Disciple stood up. And unlike the First Disciple he had a smile on his face.
“There should be proof to it, right?”
“…”
“You said that it was unsure if my subordinate came in with unclear intentions and you say he went after his own team and instructors. I don’t think you should say that without clear evidence.”
Shhh
The Second Disciple walked ahead, and everyone’s attention all fell on him.
“The deaths that my subordinate, Ghost Incarnate caused. And the words that it was from impure intention. There should be ample proof for it. If not…”
The eyes of the Second Disciple changed, and looking at the First Disciple he said,
“Not just me, but even the First Disciple will not stand still.”
Those present recognized the intentions of the Second Disciple.
The first way was to capture the Bloody Death Warlord, and now they planned to kill him.
At the same time, the guy brought in the First Disciple as if he had foreseen this happening.
“Shall we put aside our ranks and speak?”
The Second Disciple nodded at the question of the Warlord.
“I will speak right here in front of everyone.”
“Do as you wish.”
As if waiting for that, the Warlord unfolded this huge scroll in front of the audience.
Swish.
The scroll contained things in detail, probably because many people had prepared it.
“There are a total of three martial arts that Ghost Incarnate used. Among them, two traces of martial arts were on the dead instructors and troops.”
Drawn images of human bodies and the figures of the dead with sword marks on them… the cause of death, the martial arts were all drawn.
But the Second Disciple did not care and asked,
“Where is that guy?”
“He is dead.”
“Where is the body?”
“It was burnt and damaged badly, so we placed it in another place.”
“Well, that is interesting. It means that you saw the traces alone. And you decided that right away?”
“…”
The Warlord did not respond. What the Second Disciple said was not a question. He was making sure the words of the Warlord would not be accepted.
-You are telling me to accept this one sided argument without showing proof?
And then Ghost Incarnate’s body was also not around.
A lot of time had passed, and the traces of sword marks would change with decomposition. And even if that was not the case the intention of the other people was too obvious.
What was this, what happened to this, it was clear that he would find fault with everything happening.
“I do not doubt the words of the Warlord. But, from my side, I am just curious. They are highly skilled warriors and are close to being resistant to flame. If such a person got burned then… I think you should understand who did that.”
“That…”
When the Warlord did not answer swiftly, the Second Disciple continued with a smile.
“This… the investigation wasn’t fully done? Then, would you like us to observe it? We cannot be sure if the subordinate killed them or if someone else was pretending to be my subordinate?”
The Second Disciple said, and about 20 members who passed the training were around.
“The investigation is being done by the Warlord. There can be no interventions,”
The Bloody Death Warlord said coldly.
How could he back down now? It was not good if the other people’s men were added into the investigation of their pavilion.
It was a matter of reference to the things, and those with loud voices would twist the direction. Needless to say, it was obvious that disciples of the Heavenly Demon’s intentions would change.
“Doesn’t that mean that a proper investigation wasn’t done?”
It was then—
A woman who was listening got up and spoke.
It was the Third Disciple.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“My subordinate, Ju seorin also died. What is the outcome of the investigation into that?”
The eyes of the Warlord went colder, but the Third Disciple didn’t care.
“On the body of trainee Ju Seorin, there were traces of the Ghost Incarnate’s martial arts. It is presumed that they died after the clash.”
“Is that so? What is the time of death of Ghost Incarnate?”
“As I said, the fire in the temple…”
“The timing isn’t right then. Ju Seorin’s death was half a day later.”
“…?”
Her words broke down the composure of the Warlord. Even if she was a disciple of the Heavenly Demon, they could not possibly have this much of an upper hand, and it would be impossible for her to plant a spy in this short time, so how did she accurately find this?
“Isn’t it strange? If Ghost Incarnate didn’t come back alive and kill her, how does her death get explained?”
“…Can I hear the basis of making such a claim?”
“Twin instinct. I have twins born at the same time. Ju Seorin’s younger sister sensed her death, so I was able to know it.’
“Huh…”
This was an unexpected situation.
While it felt unusual, there are many cases where the twins know the death of their sibling. Based on that, judging from the fact that now she is asking, it seemed like the Third Disciple already knew of the death.
“The investigation will have to be done again. There are many questions unattended by this.”
As she spoke out strongly, the eyes of the academy head twitched.
This was their pavilion, their Warlord was who was in charge. Even if there was logic being used, they could not dictate how another lived in their home.
Were they not questioning the deaths of members and instructors, and were these disciples denying all that and asking for their own subordinates?
At this point he decided to speak,
“Huhuhu…”
Among all the doubts, the Warlord laughed—
Because the polite form he was using was being destroyed by those with power. and revealing their intentions.
“What is that laugh supposed to mean? Did we say something wrong?”
The Second Disciple asked.
But the face of the Warlord was relaxed. It seemed as if he had already expected this to happen.
“Well. It isn’t that. Actually, it is true that the warlords tried to bury this incident, but everyone here is misunderstanding something.”
He turned around with an expression of bitterness and a chuckle.
“The investigation results were put as such not because of our pavilion but for the sake of the Heavenly Demon’s disciples. If I reveal everything in detail, it will be difficult for you people to hold your faces around, I was being considerate of that.”
“… What?”
While the Second Disciple frowned, the Warlord looked confident. He turned to the Earth Demon who did not get up from his seat and continued,
“The person who received the highest points in this training was Seol-Hwi, the subordinate of the Earth Demon. He completed the training course with outstanding grades, and during the training, he dealt with all the competitors, such as Yo Su-gwang, Ghost Incarnate, and Ju Seorin, all who caused us trouble. It was amazing.”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
“If you remember the bet placed with me before, you will understand what I mean. If you don’t believe it, you can try it. At least from the people in here.”
The warlord looked around and said,
“Because there will be no opponents.”
Seol-Hwi was taken aback when everyone’s eyes suddenly focused on him. He never imagined that the fight between those who had been fighting for that man would draw attention to him.
“As expected, that guy…”
“As we thought.”
The crew members next to him mumbled. They already knew who was at the peak.
Those who normally kept their eyes and ears open heard of Seol-Hwi being the Earth Demon’s subordinate.
Papat!
At that time, the First Disciple moved. He who had been silent until now was approaching Seol-Hwi as if he were about to explode in anger.
“You… killed my subordinate?”
He was giving out killing intent without another thought. While the eyes gathered on him, Seol-Hwi said,
“That thoughtless man served you?”
“…”
If it was intended to provoke him, then it worked perfectly.
Jsssss
As the End Demon gave out intense killing intent, a powerful exhilaration lingered. It had changed into a situation where one would fight any moment.