"Aaargh! You fucking dog bastards! Heok! Heok! Aaargh!"
Gung Tae-yeong, who was kicking the sandy beach with a roar full of anger, flinched his shoulders with a ssik! ssik! sound and looked around.
As the pier caught his eye, he, in his anger, struck the pier with his sword and broke it.
Thwack! Thwack! Boom! Boom!
As the sword energy flashed, the pier was shattered.
He looked at the shattered pier and let out a long sigh.
"It's been half a day."
It had been only a little over half a day since Lee Mak-jeong and his subordinates had entered the inn, not even a full day.
It wasn't that he had been negligent in his guard. He had been doing what he was supposed to do, but the guys had disappeared like ghosts.
The fact that so many people had disappeared in such a short time meant that many boats had come in.
But he couldn't understand how he hadn't known.
Everything had happened in an instant, and he was filled with the feeling of being had.
"What kind of bastard is it?"
Gung Tae-yeong was angry at the feeling of being played in someone's palm. It felt as if someone was sitting on top of his head, no, on top of the Martial Alliance's head, and was making fun of him.
"Is it Jin Sa-wol? But he's not here... Don't tell me?"
Gung Tae-yeong looked around and then shouted at his subordinates.
"Search the inn thoroughly right now! If there's a suspicious person, subdue him!"
"Yes!"
As the subordinates shouted and scattered, the Guguang branch master rushed in between them, panting.
"What happened?"
"Don't you see? There's no one. The guys all ran away during the night. No, they disappeared."
"It's clear they used a boat."
"I know that too!"
Gung Tae-yeong shouted without realizing it.
As the Guguang branch master was startled, Gung Tae-yeong, who had realized his mistake, changed his expression and calmed his chest.
"If they moved by boat, they couldn't have gone far. Prepare a boat right now."
At Gung Tae-yeong's words, the Guguang branch master answered with a difficult face.
"The Martial Alliance's boats are on the Yangtze River. It will take time to launch a boat on Poyang Lake."
They had to get a boat, but that was not an easy task. Moreover, if many people were to board, they needed a medium-sized or larger boat.
"Ah! The Jo family has a boat. How about we borrow it from the Jo family?"
"Don't ask, just move. Go to the Jo family right now and borrow a boat."
"I understand."
The Guguang branch master answered and then hurriedly retreated. Gung Tae-yeong looked at the bank of Poyang Lake beyond the pier and then turned his body.
***
In the evening, Son Muk, who was sitting in his office, crumpled the letter and frowned, hitting the table with a thump!.
The letter was crumpled in his hand. He threw the crumpled letter into the brazier and shook his head.
"You stupid bastard."
He let out a curse that was unclear whether it was directed at Gung Tae-yeong or the Guguang branch master, and then sighed and stood up.
The middle-aged man standing in front of him was silent.
"Did you find Wang Hong?"
"I'm sorry."
"All you know how to say is 'I'm sorry'."
"I'm sorry."
Son Muk, who was about to point his finger at the repeatedly apologizing middle-aged man and get angry, sighed and went outside.
His expression was dark because of the Alliance Leader.
***
"You fucking bastards."
At Namgung Min's low voice, the expressions of the three masters sitting at the round table stiffened.
The three masters, who were known to be able to make even flying birds fall, were now unable to say anything.
Ak Seon-eung, the master of the Law Enforcement Hall, was sweating, and Deok-yun, the new master of the Jeongcheonwon, quietly lowered his hand that had been stroking his beard.
Son Muk was silent.
But everyone was thinking the same thing. That the Martial Alliance Leader was in a bad mood.
Namgung Min drank his tea, put down the teacup, and slowly examined the three masters. His eyes turned to Son Muk, the master of the Martial Arts Garden.
"I never thought I would use the curses that low-class ruffians use. Understand. I couldn't think of anything else to say."
Namgung Min, as if he had regained his composure, spoke and then asked Son Muk.
"Did you miss all the Demonic Cult guys?"
"It seems they crossed Poyang Lake by boat."
"Where did they go?"
"I'm investigating. We are now launching a boat on Poyang Lake and searching the surrounding area. If we see the guys, we will immediately build a net."
At Son Muk's answer, Deok-yun opened his mouth.
"Isn't it that you have to build a net, not that you plan to?"
"Do you think Poyang Lake is a pond in the neighborhood? It's like a sea. If the guys go into the archipelago in the southern part of Poyang Lake and hide, it's not easy to find them."
"I didn't mean to surround the entire Poyang Lake, but to occupy important points and spread out a crane wing formation."
"That's the plan."
At Son Muk's answer, Deok-yun stroked his beard.
The warriors of the Martial Alliance, centered on the Blue Dragon Division, and the heroes of the orthodox sects were moving to the south of Poyang Lake.
They would set up several bases, spread out widely, and search for the Demonic Cult members, and they would gather again as soon as they were found.
If they fought the Demonic Cult members in a scattered state, there was a risk of being defeated individually. So the first was to search, the second was to gather, and the third was to subjugate.
It was something that the Blue Dragon Division Master could do.
"Leave that to the Blue Dragon Division Master, and Son Wonju, you go for support. We have to prepare for the unexpected."
"If I go down, what about the Jongnam Sect?"
"Deok Wonju will take care of that."
As Namgung Min's gaze turned to Deok-yun, Deok-yun cupped his fists and bowed his head.
"I will receive your command."
As he was given an important task for the first time after becoming the master of the Jeongcheonwon, a smile appeared on Deok-yun's face.
Although it was not difficult to protect Gwak Ji, it was not easy to find the missing Wang Hong. But Deok-yun already knew who the culprit was.
'The Hao Faction Master.'
Deok-yun thought he had to meet the Hao Faction Master.
"Son Wonju, hand over the work to Deok Wonju well."
"Yes."
Son Muk was in a bad mood because his work had disappeared, but he thought it couldn't be helped. Now, he had to focus on dealing with the Demonic Cult members.
"Ak Wonju, have you found anything about the God of Death?"
Ak Seon-eung, with a face that said 'what was coming has come', raised his sleeve, wiped the sweat on his forehead, and answered.
"That's..."
"Still no results?"
As Namgung Min's voice lowered, Ak Seon-eung, as if he had thought of something, said in a hurry.
"In Hangzhou, there is a Salmun, and although it is not known to the alliance, among those who do the killing business, the assassins of the Salmun are called the God of Death. It is said that their skills are so outstanding that they have rarely failed."
"Oh? Really? So?"
"So... I will subjugate the Salmun and capture all the assassins called the God of Death."
At Ak Seon-eung's answer, Namgung Min shook his head.
"There's no need to capture them. Kill them all."
"Yes?"
"The answer I want is 'kill all the assassins'. Capture and kill all the guys called assassins. Don't leave a single one."
"As you command!"
As Ak Seon-eung's voice echoed loudly, Namgung Min stood up from his seat.
"Go out."
At his words, Ak Seon-eung and Deok-yun stood up from their seats and quietly went outside. Son Muk also stood up and bowed his waist, but he did not retreat.
"I have one more thing to report."
"Speak."
"What about the Gangnam Grand Inn? The Demonic Cult members who were there have disappeared just like them. The inn and the disappeared Demonic Cult members are definitely related."
"Do as you wish and report. What I want is not the process, but the result."
"Yes."
When all the people of the inn, including Jin Sa-wol, had disappeared overnight, Namgung Min had ordered a search.
But their whereabouts were still unknown.
"Go."
Namgung Min said briefly and then waved his hand. Son Muk bowed politely and then left the conference room.
"Where did they go? It wouldn't be easy to move that much wealth..."
Namgung Min, who was muttering, recalling Jin Sa-wol, showed a slight smile.
"You cunning bastard."
Jin Sa-wol was a person who moved much more cleverly than he had thought. The moment the surveillance of Namgung Ji disappeared, he had moved the Thousand Gold Vault.
He must have taken it to a place that only he knew. It was clear that he had put a lot of effort into moving that much wealth.
"Did you find Jin Sa-wol?"
As his voice spread in the conference room, an unknown shadow appeared.
"There are no results yet. But since the Beggars' Sect has stepped forward, it seems there will be good news soon."
"If you find him, tell him I want to see him."
"Yes."
The unknown person answered and then disappeared without a sound as footsteps were heard.
Soon, Namgung Ji entered the conference room.
Namgung Ji approached Namgung Min, who was standing leaning against the window.
"I heard that the Demonic Cult members have entered the inn. I was worried about the inn people when I heard that news, but I heard they have all disappeared."
"It's the first time I'm hearing this. I heard that the people who were staying at the inn were all killed by the attack of the Demonic Cult members."
As Namgung Min said, there was a rumor that the people who were staying at the inn were all killed by the attack of the Demonic Cult members.
"They all ran away. You know that. There's no need to hide it from me. In the world of the Martial Alliance, is there anything that my father doesn't know? Isn't everyone in the palm of my father's hand? Didn't they run away because the Martial Alliance interfered with the inn in every way and created a bloodbath to get their hands on the Thousand Gold Vault?"
Namgung Ji showed a disappointed expression, creating a cold wind.
Seeing the frowning Namgung Ji, Namgung Min sighed as if it couldn't be helped and sat down in a chair.
Namgung Ji poured tea for Namgung Min.
"What happened?"
Namgung Ji asked again.
Namgung Min thought that Namgung Ji had grown very fond of the inn people.
"How much do you know about Jin Sa-wol?"
When Namgung Min asked, Namgung Ji recalled that she didn't know much about Jin Sa-wol.
What she knew was what Namgung Min also knew.
Namgung Min lowered his voice to the silent Namgung Ji.
"Did you say they ran away? They didn't run away. They left to find a place to live."
At the words that it wasn't an escape, Namgung Ji shook her head. Because she didn't want to believe those words.
She was very disappointed that they had left her behind.
"Jin Sa-wol is not an ordinary innkeeper. He is one of the top masters of the Demonic Cult. He is called the Demonic Sword Ghost in the Demonic Cult and is known as a master comparable to the former Cult Leader. The Demonic Cult members went to the inn all because of Jin Sa-wol. If they are loyal to Jin Sa-wol..."
"It will become a small Demonic Cult."
"Just because about six hundred Demonic Cult members have gathered, it doesn't become a small Demonic Cult. The problem is after that. At first, it's six hundred, but if the number increases over time and the power grows, it will surely become a threat in a few years."
"If the Demonic Cult members who are dissatisfied with the current Demonic Cult go to Jin Sa-wol, it will be so."
Namgung Ji agreed with the possible story.
"Forget about the inn for a while and help with the alliance's work from tomorrow."
"Yes, Father."
Namgung Ji answered with a disappointed expression.
***
The Martial Alliance warriors, who were on small boats, appeared in a line between the tall reed forest in the southern part of Poyang Lake, Linglin.
The Martial Alliance warriors were also seen on the reed field not far away.
They approached the cruise ships docked between the reed forest.
The master of the Nanchang branch of the Martial Alliance was also seen, and the warriors of the Namgung family were also mixed in.
"It seems there's no one."
"There could be an ambush. Be careful."
"We'll know once we go up. Attack the ships!"
The warriors of the Namgung family boarded the cruise ships first, and after that, the Martial Alliance warriors moved.
But there was nothing to be seen. The Demonic Cult members had abandoned the cruise ships and had fled.
The fallen reeds were drawing a long line in the southern direction. It was clear that people had passed over them.
In the forest not far away, Jin Sa-wol and Jo-rim were watching the warriors of the Martial Alliance and the Namgung family.
"What are you going to do if they come to Guryeon Mountain?"
"We have to kill them."
Jin Sa-wol answered briefly and then looked at the Beggars' Sect members who were gathered in the distance.
"The enemies have increased."
(End of Chapter)
