The moment I locked eyes with the cruel Soma, a chill ran through my entire body.

It was the kind of fear that comes when one evil recognizes another, so overwhelming that it made me forget even the intense pain in my shoulder.

“I asked if it was you.”

I had forgotten what the question was, and Soma didn’t wait for an answer.

Piiing! Purrk!

As the cruel Soma fired a blood arrow, my opposite shoulder was pierced.

“Ahhhhhh!”

I screamed in agony. No matter how tough a warrior you were, the pain of having your flesh pierced was unbearable.

Watching this, I jumped down from the wall and walked toward Soma.

“Don’t kill him. I have something to ask.”

I looked down at the injured figure and asked, “Who offered you a position in the Demon Alliance?”

Of course, I knew who it was. But I needed to hear that name while Soma was around, so I asked.

The black soul slave clenched his teeth, clearly unwilling to answer.

“Please move your foot.”

Soma had his foot still pressing down on his shoulder.

Once he moved his foot, the mangled, crushed shoulder was revealed. His martial prowess aside, he wouldn’t even be able to hold chopsticks at this point.

I pressed on the blood points around his shoulders to stop the bleeding and ease his pain, making it clear that it wasn’t out of goodwill.

“You can die here without saying a word. But since you’ve been a bother to us, you will die in agony. Speak up, and I’ll spare you.”

The black soul slave glared at me with a mix of pain and distrust.

I wasn’t in a hurry. Given that both he and Soma were here, he had ended up like this because of his choices. He had been through many hardships and wouldn’t open up easily.

I picked up the throwing knife he had dropped earlier. It was his poison-tipped wind wheel.

The master may have been terrible, but this wind wheel was an excellent weapon.

I tossed it toward the wall.

Shhrrrrrrrk!

The wind wheel spun rapidly, scraping the wall as it passed and returning to my hand. The deep marks left on the wall looked like something a monstrous bird had made with its claws.

The black soul slave was horrified as I handled the wind wheel so easily. A person unfamiliar with it would have their fingers sliced off if they tried to touch it.

He asked in a trembling voice, “Who are you?”

“Now, you’re starting to feel like speaking, huh? It seems like you have the leisure to ask my name now.”

“Who are you!”

He shouted angrily, already accepting that he wouldn’t survive.

“Geom Muguk.”

Upon hearing my name, the black soul slave’s face went pale. Given that I was with Soma, he couldn’t help but believe me.

I turned to Soma and asked, holding the wind wheel, “Can I keep this?”

“That weapon is useless. Don’t bother with it.”

“Thanks.”

I kept the wind wheel. It would be useful when dealing with opponents who were too lazy to draw their swords or when I met someone who used throwing weapons—another gift for the right time.

I squatted down again beside the black soul slave, looking down at him silently. His face was filled with despair and emptiness. Just a moment ago, he was dreaming of a bright future, only to fall to the depths of ruin in an instant. The sense of loss must have been unbearable.

“As long as you’re alive, there’s always a chance. Who knows? You might transcend and become a master, or meet a beautiful woman and change your life. Just give me the name.”

Does he not want to live? Even with his shoulders destroyed, there must be some way for him to rise again. That’s the human heart.

“If I give you the name, he’ll kill me.”

“If you give us the name, we’ll kill him.”

“How can I trust that you’ll spare me?”

“I’m sorry to say, but you’re of no value to me. Whether you live or die doesn’t matter.”

This seemed to convince him. I could feel him hesitating. Then, he finally named someone.

“Naengyeop (冷葉).”

Naengyeop, the leader of the Ghost Hand Corps of the Demon Alliance, was the strongest and most respected figure in the alliance.

It was a lie. This was just the black soul slave’s vengeful deceit to make us believe he was being truthful, in hopes of revenge.

“Sure, you’re free to lie, and I’m free to tear off your arm.”

I stood up abruptly, stepping on his shoulder and pulling his arm.

“Aaahhhhh!”

I pulled with the intent to truly tear his arm off.

Snap, snap, snap.

No matter how much the black soul slave tried to suppress his mind, he couldn’t endure the pain of his arm being ripped off.

“Stop! Please, stop! Ugh, Seok Gwan Chu (석관추), Seok Gwan Chu!”

Finally, a real answer came. The mastermind behind everything was Seok Gwan Chu, the Grand Elder of the Demon Alliance.

“Is it really Seok Gwan Chu?”

The black soul slave clenched his eyes shut, not saying anything.

Seok Gwan Chu was a revered ancient master who had been in the Elder Council for a long time, almost forgotten. It was unimaginable that he would enter into a power struggle.

Had the black soul slave not been approached by someone like Seok Gwan Chu, he would never have given up his organization to join the Demon Alliance.

“You’ll keep your promise to spare me, right?”

“Of course…”

And then!

Purrk!

The black soul slave’s head exploded as if struck by a watermelon.

Soma’s palm was facing him, and the deadly martial art was released, killing him instantly.

I finished the sentence I had been about to say to the black soul slave.

“Of course, he won’t keep it. The one stepping on you is the cruel Soma.”

Soma didn’t say a word. The dead black soul slave was of no concern to him.

I searched through the black soul slave’s belongings and found a thick envelope. Inside, there were many promissory notes, totaling one million nyang. It seemed that he had received the full payment in advance, which meant the success or failure of the assassination didn’t matter to him.

I handed the money to Soma.

“This is the money he received for the contract to kill you, Soma. It belongs to you.”

Soma took fifty thousand nyang for himself and handed me the remaining fifty thousand nyang.

“We almost died together, so we should split it.”

“Then I’ll accept gratefully.”

Soma wasn’t someone overly greedy. If he had been, he would be someone else standing in front of me right now.

The black soul slave’s luggage was filled with treasures. Given his line of work, it looked like he had exchanged the money for rare treasures to keep safe instead of leaving it on the battlefield.

“Selling these would get a good amount of money. When Cheongmyeon comes, let’s sell them.”

“Take them, Soma.”

“No, this is yours.”

“Consider it a prize for losing the light step race.”

“That’s too big of a prize. It’d be cheaper to just share a drink.”

“My drink costs more than that.”

I laughed happily. I didn’t force the gift.

Go Wol once told me, money has no label. Its value is determined by how it’s used at the moment.

Soma asked me, “Do you really believe it’s Seok Gwan Chu behind this?”

“That’s why you didn’t ask further and just ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) killed him.”

“No, I killed him because I didn’t want to look at him anymore.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“I don’t think he was lying.”

“Seok Gwan Chu, huh? It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name. He must be in his nineties. I can’t understand why he would be coveting the Demon Lord position.”

“Seok Gwan Chu has a grandchild he dotes on. I’ve heard they have very big ambitions.”

“Is it because of family affection?”

“The love for his bloodline in an elderly master nearing death is something we can’t really comprehend. But if Seok Gwan Chu is behind this, taking him down won’t be easy.”

Soma nodded, agreeing. But instead of being worried, he seemed pleased. From the small glint in his eyes, I could tell he was enjoying the challenge.

About half an hour later, I arrived with Cheongmyeon.

“It must have been a difficult trip, but let’s take care of this first, then rest.”

I took Cheongmyeon and went to a few shops, selling the black soul slave’s treasures.

Even though I sold them below market price, I still made a total of 400,000 nyang.

“If he had just lived well with this money, why did he need to be so greedy? This much would be enough to live a lifetime without wanting.”

“Human greed has no end, right?”

“Cheongmyeon, if I ever get too greedy, stop me. If I’m like that, just think back to what I said about the black soul slave.”

“I might not even notice if I get too caught up in it.”

“You?”

“As I train in martial arts, I realize how greedy I am. I’m constantly tormented by the desire to fight strong opponents after achieving great success.”

“That’s not your greed, it’s the Radiant Sword Art’s influence.”

“The sword art’s influence?”

“Martial arts of extreme ascent, like the Radiant Sword Art, tempt and provoke the practitioner. If you fall into that temptation, you know what happens.”

Cheongmyeon nodded. She was smart enough to understand what I meant.

I took her to the Continental Battlefield.

Of the 900,000 nyang we had earned, I entrusted 600,000 nyang to myself and gave 300,000 nyang to Cheongmyeon. She was shocked at how much I gave her.

“Master, I can’t accept this money.”

“It’s not for you to buy alcohol with.”

“Then?”

“When you manage the Ghost Shadow Corps later, there will be times you need money for your subordinates. Use it then.”

“It’s too much money.”

“You need to know how to handle large sums.”

“This is the first time I’ve had such a large amount of money.”

“From now on, at least 300,000 nyang will be needed to buy you.”

“No matter how poor I am, I won’t be bought with that money.”

“Then how much would it take?”

Cheongmyeon paused, then held up three fingers.

“Three million nyang?”

She shook her head.

“Thirty million?”

She shook her head again.

“...Thirty thousand nyang? Surely three thousand nyang?”

Finally, she laughed and said, “Three hundred million nyang. Get that for me, and you can buy me.”

“If I gathered all the money in the world, that wouldn’t be enough.”

“That’s me.”

We both laughed. Honestly, I felt good. She was willing to risk everything for me, something money couldn’t buy.

“If there’s extra, buy something nice to eat.”

“There will be plenty left.”

“You can keep it all.”

On the way back, I casually asked Cheongmyeon, “How about Cheongmyeon?”

“He seems like a good person.”

“No, how would he do as your subordinate?”

“Huh?”

Cheongmyeon was surprised.

“Your subordinate, huh?”

“Cheongmyeon, the leader of the first squad in the Ghost Shadow Corps. He seems like a good fit, especially with his blue mask. He’d fit right in with the name ‘Ghost Shadow.’”

I said this because I knew Cheongmyeon’s loyalty.

“It’s not about whether it fits or not. Cheongmyeon is someone aiming to be the next Demon Lord. He’s actually the most promising candidate.”

But he could never become the Demon Lord. The cruel Soma had survived too long.

A life spent supporting that foul person seemed far worse than starting as the leader of the Ghost Shadow Corps.

He could rise to become the commander and who knows what else.

The current life seemed to have a fixed conclusion, but a new life held endless possibilities.

“If you really find it too burdensome, just ask him to serve as squad leader until the Ghost Shadow Corps is established.”

“Would he do it?”

“No reason why he wouldn’t.”

“Still…”

“Cheongmyeon, do you think being the squad leader of the Ghost Shadow Corps is lower than being the Demon Lord’s heir?”

“...Of course, it’s lower.”

“Cheongmyeon!”

“Yes!”

“As my direct subordinate and the leader of the Ghost Shadow Corps, you’re in a higher position than the Demon Lord’s heir. I’m destined to be the Heavenly Demon.”

Hearing my sincerity, Cheongmyeon lowered her head.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disrespect you. I just thought the position of Demon Lord sounded too distant.”

“I know. From now on, we’ll change that perspective. So, getting Cheongmyeon as a squad leader won’t be as burdensome.”

“Yes.”

“And right now, Cheongmyeon is likely to refuse. I can’t force him, and Soma won’t let it happen easily. We’ll have to work on it slowly.”

You won’t know yet how difficult it is to win someone’s heart.

“Since he’s your subordinate, you work to win him over.”

“Yes.”

And so, we returned to the black soul slave’s hideout.

The cruel Soma, waiting for me, asked about our next move.

“What are you planning now?”

“If we go directly against Seok Gwan Chu, a war between the main sect and the Demon Alliance could break out. I’m thinking of sending someone to fight him first.”

“Who’s that?”

“Bisa In.”

If the heir of the Demon Alliance, Bisa In, was leading the charge against Seok Gwan Chu, he’d be the perfect person to take the lead.

I looked at Soma and quietly said, “We’re going to intervene in the Demon Alliance’s heir succession.”