The Extermination Unit led by Jeonha-gun entered the Martial Alliance’s Junggyeong Division.

Juwol, who had rushed out at the news, saw eight Extermination warriors escorting a single man into the Training Ground.

He recognized the prisoner in their midst as the man from the sketch.

“So you’ve caught him!”

The Alliance martial artists watching erupted in cheers of triumph.

Their cheers quickly turned to murderous intent aimed at Seodaeryong. Were it not for Jeonha-gun and the Extermination Unit, they would have showered him with curses and jeers.

Juwol hurried to Jeonha-gun, his gaze toward him far kinder now.

“Well done.”

He’d feared that Geom Mugeuk’s friendship might spare the Demonic Martial Artists—yet here was Jeonha-gun, bringing Seodaeryong in by force.

‘Maintain strict separation of personal and official matters,’ he reminded himself.

Juwol was guilty of mixing the two. These incidents unfolded in Junggyeong under his responsibility, and he had ties to both Yunmyeong Manor and Daejeongmun. His personal feelings ran deep.

He leveled a fierce glare at Seodaeryong.

But Seodaeryong ignored it, staring only at the back of the warrior who led him in.

“Little Pill Master, you truly experience everything in life,” he thought.

He’d heard celebratory roars when he won the Little Dragon Tournament—and now he received these intense waves of hatred.

They entered the investigation chamber of the Junggyeong Division.

Once the investigator at Hwangcheong Pavilion, he now sat here in the prisoner’s seat.

Seodaeryong sighed softly, surveying the room. Though this was all part of the operation, being inside the Alliance’s chamber made his heart pound.

He must stay sharp. The Extermination Unit surrounded him now, but an opening could appear at any moment, and they might attempt to kill him.

First through the door strode Jeonha-gun.

“Thirsty?”

“I’m fine.”

Despite Seodaeryong’s higher rank by title—investigator versus Grandmaster—he bowed politely. Jeonha-gun was the next likely Alliance Leader and, above all, his friend.

“I appreciate your concern.”

Jeonha-gun was the one to be thanked. Rumors of the fiend’s capture would spread, boosting his renown.

“Are you afraid?”

“You promised, Little Pill Master. Even if I’m swallowed by a monster’s belly, you vowed to rescue me. All I have to do is play the part of delicious bait.”

Had he heard that before meeting Geom Mugeuk, he would have scoffed.

You’re being used.

Now, he envied Seodaeryong’s faith. And he came to a conclusion—this gaze was no mere seven in trust.

“Soon the investigators will arrive. They will try every means to extract a confession.”

“I am prepared.”

Seodaeryong worried for Jeonha-gun.

“Excellency, please do not stay with me.”

“You worry for me?”

“There is no need for you to risk yourself in dangerous circumstances.”

He wasn’t thinking of himself. He knew how deeply Jeonha-gun would mourn if he lost a friend.

At that moment, the investigators entered.

Jeonha-gun addressed them.

“Uncover the full truth.”

“Yes, sir.”

He cast Seodaeryong a final glance and departed.

Outside, branch chief Juwol waited.

“That man is the Blood Heavens Saber’s disciple. The Demon Lord may come to rescue him, so reinforce the Division’s defenses.”

“They won’t dare enter our Division.”

Reinforcements from the Western Shaanxi Division and neighboring branches were arriving.

“Still, are you not on guard?”

Juwol corrected himself.

“We won’t let our guard down.”

He was confident none would dare strike here.

Jeonha-gun left the building.

Hand in hand with Geom Mugeuk, he had thwarted their expectations.

‘Now let’s see how they respond.’

In a corner of Junggyeong’s marketplace sat an elderly fortune-teller. His face was etched with time’s storms, yet his eyes watched passersby as though he knew all of life’s secrets.

On the mat before him lay his tools: lit candles and incense, a tortoiseshell painted with strange hues, special divination coins, talismans inscribed in red, and a bamboo jar full of fortune sticks.

Despite the traffic of the street, no one paid him any heed. The old man carried himself with the indifference of one who needn’t sell his services to survive.

At last, a customer appeared.

A man in plain garb crouched before him.

The old seer studied his face.

“Your countenance is filled with trouble.”

“That much you guessed. If my life went smoothly, would I be here?”

Bystanders overheard and chuckled.

“Let’s see how dire it is.”

Shaking his bamboo jar, the seer closed his eyes. In that moment, their fates intertwined.

A secret report flew to the old man.

—The Blood Heavens Saber’s disciple has been seized by the Extermination Unit.

Though unexpected, the seer remained unmoved.

—The Little Pill Master surrendered his right arm? Clever.

He knew Seodaeryong to be Geom Mugeuk’s right arm and that it had been a deliberate capture.

He opened his eyes and offered the jar.

“Your future lies within. Choose a stick.”

The man selected one that protruded slightly.

—“With blood, carve a new history.”

Amazingly, the seer had foreseen the disciple’s capture and already laid plans for the aftermath.

The man grasped the stick’s meaning: assault the Junggyeong Division, leave a sea of blood.

If such an attack occurred, righteous martial artists’ hatred of the Demonic Sect would peak.

—“Reinforcements have arrived at the Junggyeong Division’s outskirts. They will be off-guard. This surprise strike will be most effective.”

A larger force meant greater confusion.

But the man feared heavy losses.

—“The Extermination Unit stands in our way.”

True—the experts could quell chaos in an instant.

The seer offered the jar again.

“Is one omen insufficient? Pick another.”

Once more, a protruding stick beckoned.

The man withdrew it.

—“The vanished shall guard the living.”

He understood instantly.

“Does that satisfy you? Is your path to survival clear?”

Their eyes met, then they reverted to fortune-teller and client.

“This is promising. Thank you!”

The man left a few coins and rose.

“Give more alms!”

“If I succeed, I shall return to offer them.”

“No one ever does!”

The seer shouted after him, but the man melted into the crowd. Observers on the opposite sidewalk laughed.

The seer reclaimed the sticks. From the tip of his fingers or the man’s, the inscribed characters had vanished.

Yawning, he watched the throng before dozing off.

Geom Mugeuk and Jeonha-gun stood side by side.

They were atop a hill overlooking the Junggyeong Division.

“He must be suffering.”

“His mind is stronger than he appears.”

Seodaeryong endured questioning all day, save for meals and sleep—yet he persevered.

“Former Hwangcheong investigator,” Mugeuk murmured, “he sees through other investigators’ minds.”

Though he said this, worry shadowed Mugeuk’s eyes.

“Does he know you guard him without turning a moment’s gaze away?”

“He must.”

“How so?”

“He’d notice.”

“I should cultivate a right arm of my own.”

Jeonha-gun’s jest drew a shared laugh.

Then ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) an Extermination warrior dashed up to them, reporting by secret transmission.

—We’ve located Yunmyeong Manor’s lord.

Jeonha-gun started. At Yunmyeong Manor lay only blood—no body.

—He is alive?

—Yes. A band of martial artists holds him prisoner.

Jeonha-gun ordered:

“Prepare the Extermination Unit at once.”

“Yes!”

After his aide departed, Jeonha-gun relayed the news to Mugeuk.

“Yunmyeong Manor’s lord lives.”

Mugeuk’s gaze sharpened. He had half-expected no bodies, but the timing of this discovery?

“I shall lead the unit to rescue him.”

Jeonha-gun felt doubt, yet he had to act. If the lord lived, they must save him.

Three possibilities came to Mugeuk’s mind:

Jeonha-gun dies on the rescue.

Alliance investigators kill Extermination guards.

Seodaeryong dies.

All were dire.

He had prepared for this moment.

“I ask two favors.”

“What are they?”

“First, allow our enemies entry into the Division.”

Jeonha-gun knew whom Mugeuk meant—reports had arrived from the Alliance.

Jeonha-gun hesitated. Mugeuk persuaded him.

“I understand how burdensome that is. Yet consider the fallout if you refuse. I will move them with utmost secrecy.”

Jeonha-gun’s hesitation was brief.

“Very well. But only until we return.”

“Of course. Once this is over, we will withdraw quietly.”

A request no one else could have made.

“And the second?”

“Allow me to accompany you.”

Jeonha-gun realized Mugeuk’s worry: that a major crisis would erupt on both sides.

“Why follow me?”

“I cannot bear to lose you.”

A Demon Lord protecting an Extermination Grandmaster—who would believe it? He would have refused on pride alone, yet after all they endured, he was no longer foolish.

If Mugeuk felt such urgency, the danger was grave.

“You rightfully feel that my right arm will resent this.”

Mugeuk smiled knowingly.

“If you knew who’s coming, you would not resent it.”

Jeonha-gun descended the hill to find Juwol awaiting him in the office.

“I’ll go with you to rescue him.”

Jeonha-gun stopped him.

“I know your heart, Chief Juwol, but I will lead the Extermination Unit. They may employ a deceptive ruse—you should guard the Division.”

Juwol did not press the issue. Though the Division needed defense, rescuing a kidnapped lord required the elite.

“Return safely.”

“Thank you.”

Before departing, Jeonha-gun stopped at the temporary prison below.

Its defenses were formidable, despite “temporary.”

He dismissed the guards around Seodaeryong.

“What is it?”

Seodaeryong’s surprise came from seeing his own saber in Jeonha-gun’s hand.

“I must depart swiftly with the Extermination Unit.”

Seodaeryong’s face stiffened. Why leave so abruptly?

Had it been Mugeuk, he might have said:

—Ah! You betray me at last! Thanks—no! Spare me! Save me!

But before Jeonha-gun, he was composed.

“Please take care of it.”

Jeonha-gun’s gaze deepened.

Both Mugeuk and Seodaeryong made him forget he fought Demonic Martial Artists.

“Come closer.”

He released Seodaeryong’s restrained inner power and handed him the saber.

“Hide it where these guards cannot see.”

“Thank you.”

Taking his blade, Seodaeryong’s heart raced. A dire premonition of great events to come.

“There is a reason I leave you here.”

Jeonha-gun revealed astonishing news.

“The Tongcheong Pavilion has sent reinforcements for you.”

“From Tongcheong Pavilion?”

He had reported the situation there upon arriving in Junggyeong—enough to merit a call to the Grandmaster’s private residence.

Believing Seodaeryong’s safety compromised, Sima Myung had dispatched aid before Mugeuk and Geom Woojin even reached Junggyeong.

“Their forces awaited on the outskirts.”

Rumors blaming the Demonic Sect for the Daejeongmun massacre soured the Alliance’s mood, so they held back beyond the city.

“The Little Pill Master asked me to admit them into this Division.”

Seodaeryong understood Jeonha-gun accepted that request; otherwise it would never have been mentioned.

“My own Extermination Unit guards will covertly usher them in. They will appear as outsiders summoned by the Extermination Unit, not as sect members. I hope to see them again unharmed.”

With that, Jeonha-gun departed. The urgency allowed no more detail.

Seodaeryong wondered,

‘Who could they have sent?’

Clatter, clatter.

Carriages rolled along.

Large freight carriages with tiny windows hid their cargo from view.

Inside, martial artists rode.

Their plain uniforms concealed affiliation, but their faces were unforgettable.

Fierce, battle-hardened features, eyes sharp from countless trials, and builds twice that of ordinary men.

Packed into carriage after carriage, they raced toward the Junggyeong Division.