Black and White Martial Emperor

“Night Lord, urgent report.”

Even as he said it was urgent, his voice was calm. The assassins under the Yin God’s command were all that numb.

Yayul Jeok spoke with a languid face.

“Report.”

“A unit believed to belong to the Martial Alliance has entered Guangdong. Their exact numbers are unknown, but judging by their light armor and the horses they are leading, they are presumed to be the Evil-Smiting Corps, one of the field-force units.”

“The Evil-Smiting Corps.”

Yayul Jeok had heard of the Evil-Smiting Corps as well. It was said they had once swept through vicious Dark Path gangs the moment they were established, despite being a small elite force.

“The Martial Alliance has two field-force units. Did the Demon-Sweeping Corps come with them?”

“We are currently investigating, but for now, the Dark Bird Band says that is highly likely.”

“Of course.”

Yayul Jeok’s eyes gleamed.

The Demon-Sweeping and Evil-Smiting field-force units.

The Three Creeds could not possibly be unaware of the Demon-Sweeping and Evil-Smiting field forces. Especially not the Perverse Lust Cult.

They were the ones who drove back those hungry wolves, I heard.

By hungry wolves, he meant the Corridor Band. Infamous as the worst band of horse bandits beyond the frontier, they had become a force possessing the military strength of a major sect under the outstanding demon Pasareuk’s direct command.

And the ones who had crushed that major-sect-level force were none other than the Demon-Sweeping Corps and the Evil-Smiting Corps.

Soh Bang said, “We expected them to come, but better ones than I thought showed up.”

“That they did.”

“But their commanders are brats.”

Soh Bang smiled coldly.

“Yeon Hojeong and Mo Yong-woo, was it? Those younger-generation masters called the Twin Tiger-Sword Seats.”

The Twin Tiger-Sword Seats was the title used for Yeon Hojeong and Mo Yong-woo, the strongest younger-generation masters in the martial world of the current era.

Of the two, the one whose name was held higher was naturally Yeon Hojeong.

Mo Yong-woo had reached thirty, while Yeon Hojeong was only a little past twenty. Despite being younger, he had broken through the Wall of Martial Arts before Mo Yong-woo, so of course the world’s evaluation of him was higher.

Of course, that did not mean many people called Mo Yong-woo second-best either.

Whatever the case, from Yayul Jeok and Soh Bang’s perspective, they were nothing but brats.

Yayul Jeok said, “You were the one who told me not to let my guard down.”

“I know. I’m just saying. I’m not being careless. The Martial Alliance may not be stupid, so it wouldn’t have sent actual brats to a place it considers an important battlefield.”

“True.”

“Still, no matter the organization, when the commander is taken down, the morale of those below him falls.”

Soh Bang rubbed her chin.

“So wouldn’t it be better to take the commander first?”

Yayul Jeok also agreed with Soh Bang. That was why he had trained the assassin bands under him even more thoroughly. So they would not waver even if their leader died, training that ground their emotions down to the extreme was essential.

“For now, we will watch carefully.”

“Of course, that would be best.”

Soh Bang rose from her seat.

“You do it your way. I’ll do it my way.”

Yayul Jeok frowned.

When he frowned with that corpse-blue complexion, the atmosphere turned cold in an instant.

“Are you planning to interfere?”

“What do you take my words for? I said I’d do it my way.”

“Guangdong is my territory.”

“No. It’s merely the area this Cult assigned you responsibility for. It is not your territory.”

“Whatever it is, I will not allow rash action.”

“Sorry, but I’m not your subordinate. If anything, I’m the one who came here under orders from the leadership. You’re the one in a position to follow my orders. But I’m saying I won’t bother you, aren’t I?”

Killing Intent fell over Yayul Jeok’s eyes.

“Do not complicate this, Soh Bang.”

Soh Bang’s smile turned chilly.

“I’m doing this to simplify it. I’m saying I’ll help a moron who gnaws away at his own flesh under the excuse of caution, so why are you stopping me?”

“......”

“I have no intention of interfering. I’ll catch either Yeon Hojeong or Mo Yong-woo and come back, so you handle the other one. Isn’t that enough to satisfy you?”

Her words were infuriating enough to make the back of his neck grow hot. Yayul Jeok seriously considered executing Soh Bang right here and now.

But only for a moment.

“Then again, you are not wrong. Even if you fail, I will be able to gauge the enemy’s strength.”

“Your head finally started working? If you won’t move personally, there’s no better person to use as a scouting spearhead than me. Of course, I don’t think I’ll lose.”

“Fine. I will leave one of them to you.”

Soh Bang slowly rolled her neck.

Crack.

The brutal sound ringing from her neck made the room’s atmosphere even colder.

“Hey, kid.”

The person Soh Bang spoke to was not Yayul Jeok, but the assassin prostrating himself before Yayul Jeok.

The assassin bowed his head without the slightest movement. To begin with, unless it was Yayul Jeok, the Night Lord, he obeyed no one’s orders and did not answer anyone.

Soh Bang continued.

“If the Demon-Sweeping Corps hasn’t been seen, then the one who has shown himself for now must be Yeon Hojeong.”

“......”

“Where is Yeon Hojeong?”

The assassin did not answer.

A contemptuous smile formed on Soh Bang’s face.

“Well, look at this.”

Whoosh!

A horrific Killing Intent erupted from her body.

Her quiet aura explosively increased in an instant. The change was so dramatic that the assassin’s mask and back became damp all at once.

But that was all. Though his body had reacted first to Soh Bang’s terrifying Killing Intent, the eyes of the assassin with his head bowed did not waver at all. He had been thoroughly brainwashed by Yayul Jeok.

Soh Bang looked at the assassin with surprised eyes.

“Not bad. Yayul Jeok, you trained him properly.”

Yayul Jeok nodded.

“In assassination, a stirring of the mind is absolutely forbidden. That much is natural.”

“......Hmm.”

Yayul Jeok said, “Dark Eight. Report the location of Yeon Hojeong, Commander of the Evil-Smiting Corps.”

The assassin, Dark Eight, immediately opened his mouth.

“Currently, Yeon Hojeong, Commander of the Evil-Smiting Corps, is taking the official road down from Yangshan. As the commander, he is at the front, while moving with his troops hidden at set intervals.”

Yayul Jeok nodded.

“He knows tactics. Proof that he did not rise to that position on martial arts alone.”

He said to Soh Bang, “You heard him?”

“I heard him well.”

Soh Bang, who had been silently watching Dark Eight, let out a soft laugh and passed beside him.

Srrrk.

Standing behind the prostrated Dark Eight, Soh Bang turned her head with a smile.

“He’s a tempting talent. How many of these men do you have?”

“That is not something I need to report to you.”

“Well, true.”

Soh Bang placed her hand on Dark Eight’s shoulder.

Flinch!

Dark Eight’s body trembled for an instant.

Soh Bang said with a delighted face, “You’re very decent. If you ever get sick of working under that one, come to me anytime. I’ll make good use of you. I thought Central Plains people were all soft without exception, no matter the region, but there was a remarkable one like you?”

Yayul Jeok glared at Soh Bang with sharp eyes.

“Soh Bang.”

“Yes?”

“......Do not.”

“Do not what?”

“I told you not to.”

Soh Bang smiled brightly.

“Do not what? Are you telling me not to tempt your subordinate? Or......”

“For the last time, I said......!”

It was then.

Drip, drip, drip.

Thick blood flowed from Dark Eight’s eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Shudderrrrr!

After trembling once as if in convulsions, Dark Eight collapsed where he was. His eyes had already clouded like the eyes of a rotten fish.

He was dead.

“Are you telling me not to devour him?”

“......Soh Bang.”

Hwaaaaaak!

Flame-like Killing Intent spread from Yayul Jeok’s body.

His Killing Intent was quite different from Soh Bang’s. If Soh Bang’s Killing Intent was sticky and indescribably turbid, Yayul Jeok’s Killing Intent was fierce as fire and accompanied by an intense scent of blood.

Soh Bang shrugged.

“If you can remove the commander of a Martial Alliance field-force unit with the life of one subordinate, isn’t that completely profitable?”

“......You bitch.”

“Think of it in a good way. Since you trained this toy, it ultimately belongs to this Cult too. There’s no need to get so prickly just because one of this Cult’s possessions broke, is there?”

Arguing any further here would be meaningless.

Yayul Jeok spoke in an icy voice.

“Remember this one thing. From this moment on, if you displease me even once more, I will execute you immediately.”

Soh Bang let out a laugh.

“Scary. How scary.”

“If you think I am lying, go ahead and act out. Before I catch those Martial Alliance dregs, I will tear your limbs off and throw you to the dogs.”

Soh Bang’s face slowly turned expressionless. She had sensed sincerity in Yayul Jeok’s words.

“You’re getting too angry over one broken object. Unlike you.”

“I have said all I need to say. Now go catch Yeon Hojeong.”

Soh Bang silently looked at Yayul Jeok, then snorted and turned away.

Before leaving the room, Soh Bang left behind one icy sentence.

“I’ve never liked you, not since long ago.”

Bang!

The door closed.

Yayul Jeok’s aura, which had been bursting with fierce Killing Intent, quieted in an instant.

“Hmm.”

Returning to his usual impassive expression, Yayul Jeok brought his hand to Dark Eight’s collapsed corpse.

Wooooong.

Strange gray-black True Qi rippled like smoke from Yayul Jeok’s hand.

A moment later.

“She has improved.”

Yayul Jeok’s eyes narrowed.

“She perfected the Blood-Drinking Palm...... At this rate, she may truly be taught the Yin Desolation arts as well.”

Her talent alone was certainly exceptional. In the history of the Perverse Lust Cult, there had been few who perfected the Blood-Drinking Palm at Soh Bang’s age.

“Then again, even if it is only half, she is of ‘that person’s’ bloodline, so perhaps it is only natural.”

But the limits of that bloodline were also clear. Even if someone inherited that person’s blood, if lowly blood was mixed in, that person did not see them as human, but as a beast.

That was precisely why Soh Bang had become twisted, and why Yayul Jeok could treat Soh Bang roughly.

Yayul Jeok smiled coldly.

“It is better to remove competitors in advance.”

*****

“Supreme Commander.”

Mookbi moved up beside Yeon Hojeong.

“We have stationed most of the troops along the road, excluding Okcheong and Yeoguk.”

“Good.”

“Should we station Okcheong and Yeoguk as well?”

“No.”

After thinking briefly, Yeon Hojeong said, “I’ll take those two with me.”

Tension appeared on Mookbi’s face. She remembered what Yeon Hojeong had said before they entered Guangdong Province.

“......Is the enemy appearing?”

“I’m not certain. But I smell it.”

“Smell?”

“Yes.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled coldly.

“A thick stench. Someone is likely coming this way. And......”

Whooooong. Whooooooong.

White haze rose from Yeon Hojeong’s body.

The combative White Tiger Qi heated terrifyingly. The Vermilion Bird Qi was controlling his heartbeat and blood flow, the Black Tortoise Qi sharpened his senses to an extreme, and the Azure Dragon Qi loaded into his two legs made his body light so he could react at any time.

“A strong one. At least not below me.”

Mookbi’s face hardened.

“Already?”

That was why Okcheong and Yeoguk were needed. With three or more people including Yeon Hojeong and Mookbi, they could open the killing formation.

Is it Yayul Jeok? Whoever it is, this is a wise decision.

The intention was to send out the spearhead immediately, without weighing this and that, to break their momentum.

And before entering Guangdong Province, Yeon Hojeong had anticipated most of the enemy’s possible reactions and prepared countermeasures.

If it were Yayul Jeok, there would have been a high probability he would attempt assassination. In other words, if the opponent is coming while directly spreading Killing Intent like this......

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

Bang!

His foot struck the earth.

“They’re starting hot from the very beginning.”

Paaaaaaang!

Yeon Hojeong, Mookbi, Okcheong, and Yeoguk all looked in the same direction.

Far away, a woman was running toward them at terrifying speed. The sight of her running almost as if she were flying was savage as a ghost.

A smile of joy formed on Yeon Hojeong’s face.

“......Perverse Lust.”