I stood with the Four Great Villains, watching the demonic sect forces gathering around the Cheonri Inn.

It wasn’t clear how many had arrived, but they began unraveling a massive roll of crimson cloth and erecting posts to seal off the area around the inn.

“What are they doing?” I asked.

The Sword Demon replied,

“It means the Red Human King’s forces have arrived.”

Of course, I’d heard that title before.

Only four martial masters in the Demonic Cult carry the title “King,” ranked just below the Left and Right Guardians—known as the Four Heavenly Kings. The crimson tent started from the east and soon halted in the north.

It wasn’t much of a sight, but I’d never seen such a massive tent before. Though it was some distance from the Cheonri Inn, it looked like someone had painted the northeast with a giant red brushstroke.

Only then did flags start fluttering above sections of the crimson tent, bearing the word Human King.

But soon, a snow-white tent appeared and began spreading from the north toward the west.

They had painted red—and now were painting white.

The freshly deployed white tent stopped in the west.

Seeing the Red Human King’s appearance, I could already guess the identity of the white faction.

I turned to Third Young Master, watching with us, and asked,

“Is that the White Heaven King’s faction?”

“That’s right.”

“Do the Four Heavenly Kings all show up at once sometimes?”

Third Young Master replied,

“Never. Whether they’re here to fight or to exert control, we’ve never had all Four Heavenly Kings mobilize at once. If they’re here to contain something, then maybe all four came.”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

“This is excessive. Isn’t it just an overblown display?”

Considering the Four Heavenly Kings are right beneath the Left and Right Guardians, aiming for their positions wouldn’t be strange.

Still, this force seemed far too excessive.

We were only six people.

From the west came a blue tent that ended in the south, and from the south emerged a black tent, which finally completed the circle in the east.

Cheonri Inn was now encircled on all four sides by tents of red, white, blue, and black.

From each tent, banners soared skyward bearing the names: Human King, Heaven King, Earth King, Underworld King.

From the banners alone, it meant all four Demonic Protectors of the cult had arrived.

Matching names to colors:

Red Human King, White Heaven King, Blue Earth King, Black Underworld King.

A combination of Heaven, Earth, and Man—plus the Underworld.

From the beginning, I had assumed the coming battle at Cheonri Inn wouldn’t be easy.

That’s because in my previous life, around this time, the Sword Demon had somehow suffered defeat by the Demonic Cult and was never heard from again.

The Bright Sword was recovered by the cult.

The Sword Demon vanished from the world.

The Lecher wasted away with booze and women, ultimately cornered into becoming a cultist.

These were the general events I expected.

But even then, the appearance of the Four Heavenly Kings’ armies was far too much.

“Senior, this mission to recover the Bright Sword has escalated beyond belief. Did you expect this?”

The Sword Demon replied,

“No. Not like this.”

“Hmm.”

I scratched the back of my head.

I couldn’t exactly ask, “So how did you get crushed in your past life?”

Meanwhile, I could hear the arriving forces making a ruckus, and just as I expected, their numbers were vast.

Everything just kept getting more absurd.

Even the Drunk seemed shaken and asked his master,

“There’s too many. Master, wouldn’t it be disadvantageous to face them all at once? What if we break out from one side and fight them there? I doubt they’ll stick to formal one-on-one duels.”

The Sword ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Demon replied,

“With this many, the collateral damage would be immense. They’re probably trying to avoid clashing with Baekdo, so they’ve limited the battlefield themselves. There’s no need for us to break out.”

The Drunk added,

“Who knew they’d send such a force just to retrieve a sword?”

As the Four Great Villains fixed their gaze on the Sword Demon, he shook his head.

“They’re here to kill me. The Bright Sword is just the excuse. If they truly want me dead, then yes, they’d need this much.”

“Did you expect all Four Heavenly Kings to show up from the beginning?”

“Even if not the Kings, plenty of Elders would’ve come.”

When it comes to Demonic Cult Elders, it means former Giant Demons.

If Im Sobaek showed up with the Martial Alliance now, this would practically be a scaled-down version of a war between Righteous and Demonic paths.

The stakes had become too high.

I stood, hands on my waist, pacing around while scanning the army sealing off all directions.

Then I spoke to Chilgyeom.

“Chilgyeom.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Too many showed up, huh?”

Chilgyeom nodded.

“I didn’t expect this either.”

“When is your lord arriving?”

“That... I don’t know.”

At that moment, a man from the Demonic Cult approached holding something like an official document.

He stopped near the inn and called out.

“I have a message for the former Left Guardian. May I approach to deliver it?”

The Sword Demon nodded.

“Come.”

The messenger came to the front of the inn and addressed him.

“It has been reported to the Cult Leader that you are detaining the Third Young Master. Is this true?”

The Sword Demon replied,

“It is not.”

The messenger turned to Third Young Master.

“That’s good to hear. Young Master, please return. A carriage is prepared.”

Third Young Master answered,

“I may not be detained, but I also have no intention of leaving.”

The messenger said,

“If you remain here with heretics and continue opposing the cult, the Cult Leader said you will be dismissed from your position.”

“Who said that?”

“The Human King.”

“Tell the Human King this—whether I die as a Young Master killed by my brothers or as a heretic, the outcome is the same.”

“Understood.”

The Sword Demon asked the messenger,

“What’s that decree?”

Only then did the messenger open it and read aloud.

“Message from the Cult Leader: Former Left Guardian, return the Bright Sword to the cult. If you surrender it peacefully, your life will be extended by five years, after which your sins will be judged. If you return holding the Bright Sword yourself and beg forgiveness, your past contributions will be considered, and the Elders and Heavenly Kings will help avoid a death sentence. Also, to those staying with the heretic: if you escape the encirclement and flee, the survivors of the Mong family, Haomun, and Yukhap Sect will be treated the same as heretics. The Cult hopes you three will not aid the former Left Guardian in his defiance.”

With that, the messenger rolled up the decree.

“That is all.”

The Sword Demon asked,

“Did many Elders come as well?”

“Yes. If you flee, the troops gathered here will march on the Mong family next. Everyone except the former Left Guardian may go and beg forgiveness before the Elders now.”

I replied to that.

“Well, we’ve been properly marked.”

The messenger turned to me and responded,

“Yes, Haomun Lord.”

“Tell the Nomad Devils I’m sorry.”

“That I cannot do.”

“Noted.”

After glancing around, the messenger spoke again.

“You have one quarter of an hour. Please respond. I will take my leave.”

I waved at him.

“Farewell.”

“Yes.”

After the messenger left, I looked at the Four Great Villains.

“It’s escalated. So, if we flee, they’ll attack our factions?”

The Drunk replied,

“I’ve got no faction. It’s a figure of speech. Really, they’re threatening to kill everyone around us.”

The Sword Demon spoke in a bitter tone.

“If capable warriors settled things among themselves, this wouldn’t be so distasteful. But they keep using the one thing I loathe most—pressure through others.”

I scanned the vibrant tents surrounding us and asked,

“What are the odds the Cult Leader himself is already here?”

The Third Young Master shook his head.

“This force is far too excessive. They deliberately sent more than ten times what anyone would expect just to apply psychological pressure.”

Everyone turned to the Sword Demon.

He spoke with a cold smirk.

“Even with all this, they won’t be able to kill me. What’s more curious is why they built this encirclement if they know it’s useless.”

It sounded odd, but I had to ask.

“Even this much is no threat to you, Senior?”

The Sword Demon nodded.

“Indeed.”

As I stared hard at the demonic forces, I thought things over.

Even seeing the calm look on his face, I still couldn’t relax.

“Is this... a siege?”

The Lecher replied,

“There’s no fortress. What siege?”

“They said they’d attack Haomun and Mong family if we flee. So we’re trapped. And if food runs out, that’s like being besieged. If we want to end this before we starve, we’ll have to kill them all. No walls, sure—but it’s got the feeling. These guys didn’t come here for a short skirmish. They’re going to wait us out. If the Sword Demon or I start rampaging, the Elders will join forces.”

The Lecher nodded.

“Then we’ll just have to kill them all.”

I asked the Drunk.

“What do you think?”

Same answer.

“Then we’ll just have to kill them all.”

I turned to the Third Young Master.

“You know you’ll have nowhere to go if we fight, right?”

“I already have nowhere.”

Finally, I confirmed with the Sword Demon.

“Senior, seems like we’ll have to kill them all to end this.”

The Sword Demon nodded.

“If none of you regret it, then let’s do that.”

At that moment, a voice rang out from the cult side.

“One quarter hour has passed. Former Left Guardian and company, surrender!”

As we didn’t respond, suddenly there came the sound of many things being drawn in unison.

From outside the tents, a thick black rain of arrows soared into the sky.

Stunned, I stared at the sky, my mouth agape.

“Wait… arrows?”

I drew my wooden sword and tried to act, but there were too many.

I had no choice but to stand still and deflect only the arrows about to strike me.

In a flash, hundreds of arrows embedded themselves all around the inn.

Then I heard bowstrings being drawn again.

“Let’s get inside for now.”

Together, we rushed back into Cheonri Inn and watched through the windows.

Bowstrings snapped like thunder—this time, it was flaming arrows that flew skyward.

“Haha.”

I burst into laughter from disbelief.

“Wow, flaming arrows now.”

I took one last look around the Cheonri Inn.

It was sure to burn to the ground soon.

Inn buildings I stay in always seem to end up on fire.

Soon, arrows crashed into the ceiling, and flames began to spread.

I cursed, yawned, and then stepped outside.

Flames danced ever higher, engulfing the roof of Cheonri Inn.

Still caught in disbelief, my head spun from it all.

We watched the burning inn, then scanned the surroundings.

All we could see were the tents swaying red, white, blue, and black.

Then, a voice I didn’t recognize echoed out.

“Guardian, you could just hand over the Bright Sword. Must you be so prideful?”

It was a voice filled with immense internal energy, ringing clearly.

The Sword Demon replied,

“Elder Byeok. Long time no see. What’s with the arrows? Come out and duel me yourself.”

This time, an old man’s voice rang out from the west.

“Sword Demon, even now, pretending to be calm? You’re so damn fake.”

It wasn’t just the old man.

From beyond the southern tent came a younger voice imbued with energy.

“Sword Demon the Invincible... I once respected you. But that was only while you were still part of the cult. No matter how great you are, your strength came from the cult’s guidance and support. Return to us, Guardian.”

From all directions, threats, ridicule, envy, and malice poured down on the Sword Demon.

The attack paused momentarily.

But I felt as if I were being mocked.

As soon as the voices stopped, I clapped with all my might.

My palms crashed together like they were slapping each other.

“Haha! The Demonic Cult’s banter is fiery. That’s more like it. This is what our cult’s all about.”

I barely got a word out before the Sword Demon turned to the Lecher.

“Third, restrain him. He’s losing his mind again.”

“Yes.”

I had just taken a few steps toward the demonic army when the Lecher grabbed me and dragged me back.

The Drunk rushed in, wrapped an arm around my neck, and shut me up.

“Let me go, damn it.”

The Drunk shouted,

“Sect Leader, calm down. Don’t fight alone. Eldest Brother surely has a plan. Stay calm. Stay calm. This fight will take time.”

I lifted both hands as if surrendering.

“Got it, got it. Okay.”

Dragged back into the ruined inn, I looked at the Sword Demon.

“I’ll go first,” he said.

Since Eldest Brother volunteered, I had to yield.

I was also curious how he fought.

But as he stepped alone into the wide open field, there was no Bright Sword on his body.

I turned to the Lecher.

“Where’s the sword?”

He smirked with a strange expression.

“Get it together. It’s a demonic sword.”

“Really?”

As the Sword Demon walked toward the demonic army, he spoke.

“Come out, Elders. If you want the Guardian seat, you’ll have to beat me.”

From beyond the tents, someone responded.

“Well, of course.”

From behind the red tent, an old man with flowing white hair suddenly shot up and landed without a sound.

Judging by his voice, he was the one the Sword Demon had called Elder Byeok.

As Elder Byeok slowly approached the Sword Demon, he asked,

“Where’s the Bright Sword?”

The Sword Demon folded his arms and silently stared at him.

Then suddenly, everyone turned as something shot up from the ruins of Cheonri Inn.

Shwaaang!

The Bright Sword, buried in the wreckage, shot into the air by itself and flew toward the Sword Demon.

Even as I saw it with my own eyes, I had to laugh at the ridiculousness.

The Lecher exhaled briefly and muttered,

“Heart Demon Sword.”

The paradoxical term referring to one who commands a sword while trapped in a heart demon.

I nodded.

So, the Sword Demon’s actions until now...

...meant he didn’t want to fall into heart demon.

That’s why he trained with a wooden sword.