After interjecting and telling Sung Ki-Jang to not torture Scarlett, the rest of the people there raised their eyebrows and motioned for Lloyd to explain further. Lloyd had no choice but to talk about his relationship with Lee Sungmin in that process.
After Lloyd’s story, everyone was stunned.
If they threatened and tortured Scarlett here, Lloyd would be forced to die for not protecting her due to the Oath he swore to Lee Sungmin.
“What a twisted situation.”
The Green Tower Master muttered with a creepy smile.
The Gold Tower Master, Lloyd, was someone crucial for this subjugation and they couldn’t afford to risk having him die.
Solely because they wanted to question Scarlett’s intentions, did not mean it was alright at the price of Lloyd’s life.
Scarlett, who finally grasped and understood the whole situation that Lee Sungmin had set up, smiled and looked at the Leader of the Holy Church’s forces.
“What will you do?”
“…… well.”
Sung Ki-jang frowned and furrowed his brows. He also understood that just because he wanted to interrogate Scarlett here, did not mean he could sacrifice a comrade’s life just for questions.
Eventually, he glared fiercely at Scarlett and turned away.
Scarlett laughed out loud at the of back Sung Ki-jang, walking away.
[It’s possible the Ghost Spear will appear once more in front of us.]
Murong Dae was already certain that it was a possibility, and that Chigweol didn’t need to tell him with a mental message. Nonetheless, he nodded and responded with a mental message back to Chigweol.
[He came here to save the Red Tower Master, even though he knew that the forces of the Murim Alliance were here and the Murong Family’s warriors. Things may have gone wrong and his identity has been revealed, but as long as the Red Tower Master is here…… He’ll definitely have to show up again for her sake.]
[I’m sure of it as well.]
Listening to Chigweol confirm his thoughts, Murong Dae pondered and looked down at his chest.
He frowned slightly in pain, rubbing the place where Lee Sungmin had kicked him in the chest.
With that blow alone, Murong Dae knew instinctively that Lee Sungmin could kill him easily. However, for some reason Lee Sungmin did not kill him. It didn’t make sense to Murong Dae. He then gathered his thoughts, and sent a message to Chigweol.
[The Ghost Spear… he- he’s beyond the Peak Realm entirely.]
[Are you saying he’s achieved Transcendence?]
[Yes, otherwise, there would be no other explanation for how he could toy with me like that.]
Murong Dae had a bitter expression on his face. His pride was hurt, but he had no choice but to acknowledge Lee Sungmin’s strength and form an accurate estimate of his level.
Lee Sungmin completely overwhelmed him with barely any effort at all, and crushed several Peak Realm and First Rate martial artists from the Murong Family and Murim Alliance, with his aura alone. Such a feat was only explainable if one had reached Transcendence.
Did that mean that Lee Sungmin had entered the same realm as the leader of the Black Dragon Association, Jehu? Although Chigweol knew merely because one was in the same realm as another, did not make them equals in strength, but Lee Sungmin was just as frightening as Jehu was in his mind.
Such thoughts caused Chigweol to feel rather complicated emotions.
He didn’t like Lee Sungmin very much. In fact there was nothing but bitter resentment and now, jealousy. Chigweol caressed his stump where his right forearm used to be.
He never imagined that Lee Sungmin, the Ghost Spear, would be here, but now that he was, he realized just how weak he was in comparison to him.
He may be powerful enough to capture Kim Jonghyun by himself, he thought, but definitely not strong enough to confront a master of Transcendence like Lee Sungmin.
‘But I’ve come to know a good fact.’
The Red Tower Master.
Chigweol glanced over at Scarlett.
It was a great job at the fact they were able to determine the relationship with Lee Sungmin and Scarlett. If Chigweol played his cards right, he could put Scarlett in a situation where she would be forced to call for help through the bracelet and have Lee Sungmin come to help her.
“Baek Sogo….”
Thinking of Baek Sogo, Chigweol felt a series of depressing emotions come up.
After the dungeon with Baek Sogo and the Ghost Spear, she had left the Murim Alliance and Chigweol had been trying to track her whereabouts whenever he had the chance.
However, after he tracked her last known location all the way to the Mountain of Mush, her traces abruptly disappeared without a trace.
‘If we can use the Red Tower Master’s bracelet and the situation properly, we can possibly get Baek Sogo to also come out here along with the Ghost Spear.’
Aside from the personal desire of Chigweol’s to meet Baek Sogo again, it was important news to hear that they had one more chance to catch the Ghost Spear, and that this time, it would be on their terms.
Chigweol gathered his thoughts together, put his left hand in his robe sleeves and pulled out a small crystal ball.
It was a magical artifact for long-distance communication. The crystal ball was connected to a small branch of the Murim Alliance located in Edor.
Chigweol delivered the information he had learned from their expedition briefly to the crystal ball and let the information travel to the Murim Alliance.
At the latest, the information would arrive at the Murim Alliance’s headquarters by tomorrow. By then he would receive further instructions on whether to retreat or pursue the Ghost Spear.
‘This could be very, very dangerous for me.’’
Chigweol felt a cold sweat trickle down the back of his neck as he realized he was playing with fire.
The Ghost Spear had shown mercy to them this time, but he would not show it a second time. If Chigweol screwed things up with Kim Jonghyun or the Ghost Spear, things could go dastardly wrong.
He steeled his heart and prepared in his mind to capture both if possible. However, if things turned dangerous, he needed to make sure he had a way out.
Murong Chae pondered on what Lee Sungmin had told him before he left. He had told him, clearly through a mental message, that he did not kill his sister.
Of course, he didn’t believe it, but he did know for a fact that Lee Sungmin had indeed shown them mercy. But that was what confused Murong Chae even further.
‘Why didn’t he kill us?’
He had plenty of chances to assassinate or kill the Murong Family. He recalled the troubled look Lee Sungmin had shown at the times they had shared dinner together.
In the end, though, what mattered was that Lee Sungmin was the killer and murderer of his sister. Everything else could be put before that, Murong Chae thought.
* * *
In the Lord’s office of the Murim Alliance Headquarters of the Black Dragon Association, Jehu clenched his jaw tightly at the information that had come through to him.
Recently, he had been having a lot of worrisome things to care about.
It was one of his tasks to watch over the whereabouts of Sima Ryunju who had recently reappeared and started taking charge over the Sama Order. Ordered by Musin, the strongest man behind Beyond the Heavens. Now it was something else
‘This time, it’s that annoying Ghost Spear again.’
He was constantly getting requests to get a grip and control the Ghost Spear. And this time, they wanted him to ‘handle’ him properly.
It was strange to Jehu. Beyond the Heavens had many chances through their own strength and his, through the Murim Alliance, to kill the Ghost Spear. Yet, for some odd reason they had always backed off, or the Ghost Spear had some sort of unreal luck.
They had given him the instructions to handle him, but Jehu couldn’t help be frustrated that they couldn’t properly deal with him already.
“Well, at least they gave me an option since, I don’t have to deal with him as long as Kang Seok decides to go to him first.”
[We will leave it to Kang Seok. If he decides to kill him, then he will.]
The Divine Maiden had given Jehu the message regarding the Ghost Spear’s situation. Kang Seok had displayed interest in the Ghost Spear, and if Kang Seok wanted to kill him, then they would leave it to him. The reason they wanted to deal with the Ghost Spear now, was because he was seriously becoming a hindrance in their plans.
Although he was the Lord of the Murim Alliance, only a select few knew that the Murim Alliance was secretly being controlled by the organization ‘Beyond the Heavens’. It had been a very long time since the affairs of the political factions had become nothing but a ploy of their organization.
Even if he wanted to deal with the Ghost Spear immediately because he was a thorn in his side, he had to go through Musin and the Divine Maiden in the end for approval.
“What did Kang Seok say about the Ghost Spear?”
[He is not far from the North where the Ghost Spear is right now. Kang Seok has quite a bit of interest in him, so we shall see what he does soon.]
“Then we can leave it up to him to decide what to do with the Ghost Spear’s involvement in Edor.”
Just in any case, Jehu wanted some reinforcement in the subjugation force in Edor with the sudden news of the Ghost Spear arriving there.
“Would it not be enough if I went myself?”
[You are the Lord of the Murim Alliance, do you not have anyone you can entrust the situation to?]
“The person I was thinking of is not that trustworthy of a person. He might find something off about this and notice the involvement of Beyond the Heavens, hence why I think it might be good if I go if things get dangerous. They said that the Ghost Spear has most likely entered the Realm of Transcendence fully”
[What do you mean by that?]
“I’ll send you the report that was sent to me, but it does seem to me like the Ghost Spear has indeed entered the Realm of Transcendence. But, just know if Kang Seok kills the Ghost Spear, Sima Ryunju will surely move.”
[That doesn’t mean you can leave your post as the Lord of the Alliance empty.]
“As far as I know, Musin has moved to secure the Minor Heavenly Demon. If Musin is tied up with securing her, who will you have ready to intercept Sima Ryunju if he does make a move?”
[It won’t take long for Musin to go out and retrieve the Minor Heavenly Demon. And…… if Sima Ryunju does happen to make drastic moves, Musin left a message for me to tell you that you should keep him in check in Musin’s place.]
Jehu smiled and shook his head at the Divine Maiden’s words.
“You want me to deal with that monster? I’m not confident in dealing with the Demonic Emperor. No matter how confident I am in my abilities, that old man is a monster in his own right.”
[That’s what Musin said.]
“That’s too much for me to handle.”
Jehu grumbled at the Divine Maiden’s firm answer.
“What do you want me to do with the Red Tower Master then?”
[I don’t know, so I think we should take her or at least confine her movements.]
“First of all, let’s give it to the Open Drunkard, Chigweol.”
Finally, Jehu put down the crystal ball. If the Spear King, Kang Seok moves, the Ghost Spear would inevitably be caught since it was likely he was only in the early stages of Transcendence.
Only because he was in the Realm of Transcendence and had most likely defeated the Mind Sword, Guan Zun, through luck, did not mean he would be able to handle Wolhu or Kang Seok for that matter. They were powerhouses in the Realm of Transcendence that would even give Jehu trouble if he had to fight either of them.
Jehu stood by the window in the Lord’s room of the Martial Alliance ruminating about the Ghost Spear. He had never met the Ghost Spear personally, but he did feel intrigued by this man’s existence.
“The Ghost Spear…. The Ghost Spear… Hm….”
He had many things he regretted, but it truly was a shame he would never be able to meet the Ghost Spear since he was certain he would be dead by the time Jehu got word back from the Divine Maiden.
* * *
‘He’s here yet again.’
It was definitely fate at this point. Kim Jonghyun laughed to himself as he thought of Lee Sungmin.
He couldn’t help but laugh. Strangely enough, he had often been entangled with Lee Sungmin in many ways.
All those encounters with Lee Sungmin were repeated coincidences for Kim Jonghyun, and now Kim Jonghyun was convinced that it was fate.
‘The timeline of your past life ended a few months ago. What a shame. I wanted to compare myself to the ‘me’ from your previous life.’
Would he be different? Kim Jonghyun tilted his head while thinking about it. It….it probably wouldn’t be much different, he thought.
He was sure that in Lee Sungmin’s previous life, he had betrayed Arbeth and stolen the Grimoire by now.
He was sure that Lee Sungmin knew that he was preparing a summoning ritual and couldn’t help but think Lee Sungmin would have prepared for it. It felt…rather unsettling.
It was because Kim Jonghyun desperately did not want to be the same as the version of himself in Lee Sungmin’s previous life.
‘I can’t help it. Because in the end I am, me. And it’ll be less than likely that I would be a entirely different person right now.’
It seemed inevitable considering how fate worked. Kim jinghyun nodded and felt a bit relieved at the fact the subjugation force was finally moving.
He was sure. That in two days, this forest would be filled with blood, screams and mass genocide.
“Yes… two days.”
Lee Sungmin was following behind the subjugation force from a reasonable distance to make sure of Scarlett’s safety. It was possible that the subjugation force already knew he hadn’t left completely and was tailing them.
‘You won’t be able to do anything about Scarlett right now as long as you value Lloyd’s life.’
It was fortunate for Lee Sungmin that Lloyd, the Tower Master of the Gold Tower, participated in the subjugation.
He felt sorry for Lloyd as he was a good man to Lee Sungmin, but he also valued Scarlett’s life more than anything right now.
However, if Kim Jonghyun’s subjugation ended, the oath that Lloyd was under, would lose its effect.
But likewise, the Green Tower Master’s oath that bound Scarlett, would also lose effect if the subjugation ended.
Lee Sungmin was sure that they would try to detain Scarlett after that.
If they took her hostage, Lee Sungmin was sure they would use her against him and try to kill him by holding her as collateral.
‘I’ll have to aim for the moment right before it ends.’
Once they arrived and were fighting with Kim Jonghyun, it would be difficult to hinder Lee Sungmin’s interference.
It still felt risky as Lee Sungmin couldn’t help but feel Kim Jonghyun was doing something dangerous, and that things might not go as smoothly as planned.
[Wouldn’t it have been easier if you just killed the Green Tower Master?]
Heoju murmured.
[If you kill the Green Tower Master, the oath binding that red-haired girl will be void. It would be easier to just have to avoid any kind of nuisances.]
‘The Wizard Guild has no reason to antagonize me. For that reason, I shouldn’t try and go seek trouble if there’s none to be found.’
Lee Sungmin replied.
[You don’t want to make pointless enemies?]
‘In the Elven Forest, the situation was inevitable. However, as of right now, I have the option to make a different choice to not kill pointlessly.’
Lee Sungmin opened the package of jerky he was planning to eat as he spoke to Heoju in their shared conscience.
[So, what are you going to do with the red-haired girl at the end of all this? Will you take her back to the Sama Order for protection?]
‘…… that’s the problem. Because of me, Scarlett will never be safe in the Red Tower again.’
Would the Wizard Guild protect her? To be honest, Lee Sungmin was skeptical about it. The Murim Alliance and the Wizard Guild had a long history of a symbiotic relationship.
No matter how brilliant Scarlett was, it seemed that the Wizard Guild would choose to hand Scarlett over to the Murim Alliance rather than to have a fallout with them.
‘I have no choice but to take her there, you’re right.’
Although he intended to respect Scarlett’s will as much as possible, Lee Sungmin first decided to take Scarlett to the Sama Order in order to protect her safety.