Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God Chapter 21

Well, where else would it be

I let go of the Evil Spirit Battle Robe I had been wearing all this time.

Then it faded away into a faint shimmer and vanished.

“Phew— not easy at all.”

My first battle using both martial arts and sorcery together... and since it was a life-or-death fight, I even brought out the Evil Spirit Battle Robe to make sure there were no gaps.

Real combat was definitely very different from imagination.

The inner energy that originates from the lower dantian and the sorcery that descends from the upper dantian—

Handling these two at the same time was by no means easy.

If not for the fact that I was born with a large capacity of consciousness, the two forces would have clashed long ago and caused a disaster.

Of course, I am the genius of geniuses, the one who appears perhaps once in several hundred years even in the sorcery lineage—no, a super-genius beyond geniuses, none other than Little Heavenly Demon Yeon Woon-hwi. So this much was like eating porridge.

「He’s fallen into self-admiration again. Let’s just pretend not to notice at times like this.」

I swallowed a Spirit Ring to calm the bubbling dantian, then turned my gaze toward the Sword Assassin whose head had been smashed.

Above the corpse, the Sword Assassin’s spirit floated with a vacant expression.

「W-what happened? Don’t tell me I’m dea—」

As with all the dead, he too couldn’t adapt to the reality of his own death.

Since he was killed directly by me, chains of gold locks were bound around his neck and wrists as a bonus.

「Boys, we’ve got a newbie!」

「Kekeke! Normally, you’d be nothing more than a pitiful little novice who couldn’t even sit at the same table as us, but since you’re just another slave like us, I’ll graciously cherish you and grind you down to the bone!」

The spirits circled around the Sword Assassin, jeering and mocking him.

One of the traits of spirits that couldn’t pass on to the afterlife was that they took great delight in finding others who ended up in the same miserable state as themselves.

Tch, with such a wicked nature, it’s no wonder they’re nothing but spirits. Truly, people should have a pure and gentle heart like mine.

I was planning to personally show them right now an example of such a “pure and gentle heart.”

“Bow your head. Begin.”

“Your movements are too slow. Begin.”

「What are you even saying—」

「You fool! Do you not hear the solemn command of the Young Lord!?」

「A mere spirit like you! Bow your head at once!」

Still unable to fully grasp the situation and hesitating, the sorcerer’s head was struck by the clubs of the other spirits.

The Sword Assassin covered his head with both hands, but what good was that? There were plenty of other places to strike besides the head.

He even tried to make a run for it.

「What is this chain now!?」

He didn’t get far before collapsing onto the ground, shackled by the golden locks.

「A criminal dares try to run away before the Young Lord!!」

「You’re a wretch who won’t reincarnate even in death!」

Naturally, the more he resisted, the fiercer the spirits’ clubbing became.

They were all desperately trying to please my eyes, truly desperate.

「S-stop! Please, stooop!」

Thwack! Thwack-thwack!

「A-alright! I’ll do as you say, oww—」

In the end, only after the Sword Assassin sprawled flat on the ground and slammed his head down did he escape the hell of the clubbing.

The spirits clicked their tongues regretfully, but still watched intently, waiting for the next chance that the sorcerer might falter.

Their persistence was like predators lying in wait for prey to stray from the herd.

The Sword Assassin trembled, his face gone pale.

「Why ask for a name—aaagh!」

"Hey! You punk! Can't you answer properly?"

「Answer! I-I'll answer! Please spare my life!」

After another round of clubbing, the Sword Assassin's face had straightened into disciplined fear.

Ha. Indeed, nothing makes people obey like a club.

I crouched beside his head and glared.

"I won't ask twice. Name."

「M-Mok Ga-il is my name—」

"No. You are neither Mok Ga-il nor Mok Ga-i.”

“Don't you understand what I'm saying?"

The ghost beside me raised its club again.

「Ah, no! You are right! I, I am not Mok Ga-il!」

"Alright. From now on you're simply 'Ghost No. 15.' Understand?"

There were exactly fourteen ghosts left now.

「Ah, understood. I am now No. 15—」

"Don't give long answers. Summarize briefly so it's easy to understand."

Truly simple-minded. Who on earth would believe these were once elders of the former Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?

“As you can see, you’re completely screwed right now. If you want even a chance at reincarnation, you’d better listen to me very carefully.”

I gave the chain looped around his neck like a dog collar a shake, and the look on his face was priceless.

「I-I’ll keep that in mind!」

“You, you’re from Black Bone Ghost Valley, aren’t you?”

「Ah, n-no! Yes! That’s right!」

“From now on, don’t stutter when you speak.”

“Your rank was about third class, wasn’t it?”

“It looked like you came here at the request of Namgung Sanyeong. So there must be a branch of Black Bone Ghost Valley nearby, right?”

“Their strength? Where are they located?”

Fifteen, afraid he might get clubbed again, eagerly spilled out even things I hadn’t asked.

I was able to gather quite a lot of interesting information.

“Hm! So there are five main sorcerers dispatched from Ghost Valley. And their leader is White Bone Forgetting Death, that old fossil, huh?”

“Pahahaha! He kept whining that he was bored to death stuck outside the world, singing about wanting to wreak havoc in the Central Plains—looks like he finally pulled it off!”

White Bone Forgetting Death was one of the Twelve Black Ghosts, the Dharma Protectors representing Black Bone Ghost Valley in that era.

He was especially skilled in corpse arts, and I had even personally learned sorcery from him once.

But within less than a month I’d already mastered everything he had to teach, so we parted ways.

On top of that, White Bone Forgetting Death was a madman who enjoyed torturing the living and conducting all sorts of experiments.

I hadn’t been fond of him, so I kicked him away rather quickly.

Still, even that short month counted as a master-disciple bond, however brief.

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to find an old teacher so close by.

“And on top of that, Blue Bone Loves Funerals, Red Bone Twisted Evil, and Green Bone No Return too? If as many as four of the Twelve Black Ghosts have shown up, they must have something big planned, don’t they?”

No matter how much the Nine Dragons Branch was boasted of as the pride of the Tang family’s branches, it wasn’t the kind of place Black Bone Ghost Valley would devote such effort to.

They were clearly aiming for something much bigger.

But then Fifteen, who had been answering so well until now, hesitated for the first time, his eyes darting nervously.

When I silently tugged on the chain, he immediately slammed his head down again.

「I-it’s not that I don’t want to answer! It’s just… there’s one thing I wish to ask—」

“It had better not be something useless. I’m not exactly a patient man.”

「A-are you really… truly… the Y-Young Lord…?”

“Then what do I look like to you?”

“Yeah. That’s right. Clearly dead. Thanks to some bastards.”

The spirits hastily turned their heads aside, afraid to meet my eyes.

“And your Black Bone Ghost Valley surely has a large share in that, doesn’t it?”

As I thought — right on the mark. I was only prodding.

The sorcerer’s head was shoved deeper.

It was plain to see that a whirlwind of countless worries was churning inside his head.

He must be afraid. Now that the long-cherished wish of all sorcerers — the revival of the dead — has been fulfilled, how terrified of me must he be?

Fear of me, envy at the success of the resurrection, terror at possibly being unable to reincarnate, loyalty to his sect, and so on; his thoughts must be terribly tangled.

But I knew these kinds of men very well.

Worrying means hesitating.

If he truly were someone who would honor the sect’s loyalty, he wouldn’t be fretting like this.

「…At Ghost Valley, they are planning an assassination of the Dark Lord.」

「What? Assassinate the Dark Lord?」

「Those lunatics! What does some measly Black Bone Ghost Valley think it is, talking about assassinating one of the Ten Great Masters of the world!」

The elder spirits openly scoffed at him.

They thought it nonsense for a group that couldn’t even make it into the Nine Great Demonic Sects to talk like that.

Even if the Twelve Black Ghosts were indeed formidable experts, it wasn’t as if all of them were coming. Trying to take down an absolute master with only four of them was sheer absurdity.

But it wasn’t entirely without something nagging at me.

“So reinforcements are scheduled to arrive soon, is that it?”

The elder spirits’ eyes widened.

「The four Black Ghosts are nothing more than vanguards. The main force is scheduled to join at the secret branch at midnight, half a month from now.」

“Who is scheduled to come?”

「I-I don’t know tha—」

「B-but I h-heard… someone is coming down f-from Tianshan!」

This too was not something to take lightly.

“Wasn’t the Divine Cult in the middle of a civil war?”

「I left Tianshan long ago, so I don’t know the details. But I’ve only heard that the civil war is nearly over, and so they can now turn their eyes toward the Central Plains—that’s all I know.」

“Makes sense enough.”

「B-because of this, Elders Blue Bone Loves Funerals, Red Bone Twisted Evil, and Green Bone No Return have temporarily left to greet the guests coming down from Tianshan.」

“They’re clearly determined to see this through.”

If there’s a sect or faction backing the Hui, a civil war would be a piece of cake.

This made one thing clear.

The assassination of the Dark Lord was somehow related to the Hui.

Whether they’re directly involved or merely implicated is something we’ll find out by interrogating them slowly.

However, if the Hui are involved, the Nine Dragons Branch will soon be swept by a huge bloodstorm. They must have prepared everything for that.

Namgung Sanyeong is being used without even realizing it.

“After the Dark Lord’s assassination they’ll pin all the blame on Namgung Sanyeong, right? They’ll stage a clash between the Tang family and the Namgung clan.”

“Hmm? I’d do that if I were them.”

"Why? What? Anything to say?"

When I narrowed my eyes, the spirits all shook their heads in unison.

「Y-you truly are impressive, Young Lord!」

「Indeed! Young Lord! You possess an extraordinary mind unlike us old men!」

It was obvious they'd be thinking about 'virtue' inwardly again, but I left them be.

Right now I was busy sorting out how to make use of these facts.

Running off to tell Tang Hosan right away would be one option, but I didn't give it the slightest consideration.

I had no way to prove what I’d discovered to others,

and even if I did, I doubted anyone would believe me.

If I claimed Namgung Sanyeong was being preyed upon by the Demonic Sect, would they punish the Madam, or would they punish me?

Telling the Dark Lord the truth was also a poor choice.

If they went into hiding, I’d be letting go of the rope I had finally caught.

In the end, there was only one best method.

—To launch a counterattack before they realized I had captured their assassins.

Then I’d dig up evidence proving their connection to Namgung Sanyeong, and pull out the links tied to the Society.

The only problem was, with my current strength, attempting such a counterattack would just as likely get my head chopped off…

Yes. Baekgol Mangsa and Heuk-gwi were not forces to be taken lightly.

The question was, how could I thrash them so thoroughly that word of it would spread far and wide?

As I sorted through my thoughts, I picked up the black sword that Fifteenth Guard had dropped. Spoils of war were always welcome.

From what I knew, all the demonic weapons of Heukgol Gwigok came from the Iron Demon Workshop, famous for forging exceptional demonic arms.

Since I was planning to resume sword training soon, this seemed like a fine opportunity to secure a decent blade.

Just as I was about to grip the black sword—

I suddenly felt a gaze, as if someone were watching me from somewhere. I turned my head in the opposite direction.

「What’s wrong, Young Master?」

I let out a dry laugh.

“Just feels like things are turning out more absurd than I expected.”

Far, far away, there was the gaze of a master.

“Woon-hwi, that boy… Even if he’s changed, he seems to have changed quite a lot.”

“Yes. That is correct. He said his goal is to succeed the Gale Division.”

Dangon bowed low with his head lowered. He was in the middle of reporting to his lord about his recent meeting with Woon-hwi and everything that had happened.

He couldn’t understand why his lord had suddenly taken an interest in Woon-hwi.

It might have been because of the martial contest, but it didn’t seem like that was the only reason.

Perhaps he was simply checking on the state of his children before the Dark Lord’s visit… or maybe he was beginning to prepare for succession.

His lord’s intentions were still far too difficult to read.

“I see. The Gale Division, huh—”

His lord’s gaze remained fixed on the window.

Had he perhaps hidden something out there?

“Come to think of it, earlier in the day things were too hectic, so I wasn’t able to speak deeply with my second son. Now seems like the right time to have a proper conversation.”

The lord turned his body in the opposite direction.

“Where else could it be?”

With the same inscrutable, expressionless face, the master of the Nine Dragon Branch, Tang Hosan, spoke.

“To the White Battlefield.”

Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God