Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 345 – To Offer (6)

It was a hideous and utterly miserable end.

The death of Clan Leader Tang In-hae.

When the head of a clan, the greatest elder and leader, dies, it would be common for the shock, grief, and anger to spread throughout the entire clan.

However, this death brought about a sense of dejection instead.

Despite the worst enemy threatening the Tang Clan’s existence killing the Clan Leader, none of them could express their rage.

‘…’

There were two reasons for this.

The first was that the root of all this lay in Clan Leader Tang In-hae’s hidden secrets.

Upon learning this truth, despite being a martial clan centered around blood relations, they couldn’t hide their disappointment in the Clan Leader to the point where opinions were sharply divided between the main family, branch families, and side families.

And the second.

This was the most decisive factor. The Clan Leader had not only tried to abandon them and flee but had also driven the Tang Clan members to death even more than the enemy.

It was evident just by looking at the miserable scene in the rear courtyard.

As a result, none of the Tang Clan members stepped forward to avenge the Clan Leader’s death.

Of course, there was a third reason that prevented them from taking action.

-Gulp!

The Tang Clan members looked at Mok Gyeong-un with tense expressions.

Thanks to Clan Leader Tang In-hae’s confession, they knew why he had invaded the Tang Clan.

Therefore, they understood where his vengeance stemmed from and how great it was.

‘The killing intent… hasn’t died out.’

‘This is ominous.’

The atmosphere surrounding Mok Gyeong-un, who had his eyes closed and was looking up at the sky, was unsettling.

Even though he had killed Clan Leader Tang In-hae, who could be considered the root cause, the killing intent emanating from him was still ominous, making it impossible for them to lower their guard.

-Swish!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un lowered his head and opened his eyes.

Seeing this, the Tang Clan members’ hands naturally reached for their weapons and hidden weapons.

Until now, all the anger had been directed at the Clan Leader, but now that he was dead, there was no telling how Mok Gyeong-un would act.

The best-case scenario would be for him to stop his revenge here.

It was at that moment when they were tense with a glimmer of hope.

“Is there anyone here who was with the Clan Leader when he killed my grandfather or heard something about it?”

‘…’

At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, everyone fell silent.

That’s because they had also just learned that the Clan Leader had secretly committed such a brazen act behind the backs of the Tang Clan members.

Moreover, even if they had known this fact, who would dare to reveal it?

That would only provoke that monster’s anger.

As everyone remained silent, Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue as if disappointed and spoke.

“I wanted to torment him a bit more since he had done something and hear directly from his mouth about the circumstances at that time, but I didn’t expect him to die so easily after drinking the Blood Poison.”

Mok Gyeong-un’s original plan was like that.

He had intended to torment Tang In-hae both physically and mentally until he begged to be killed.

However, whether intentionally or to protect Mok Gyeong-un, thanks to his grandfather’s arrangement, Tang In-hae’s breath had been cut off after drinking the Blood Poison.

Of course, he had experienced extreme agony, but Mok Gyeong-un inwardly felt it was insufficient.

“Does anyone know? Hmm. Well, even if you do, it’s unlikely you’ll open your mouth easily. I would keep my mouth shut too if I were you.”

The air grows heavy.

Although he speaks in a light tone while shrugging his shoulders, the atmosphere is far from it.

It feels like it could explode at any moment.

Then, as Mok Gyeong-un grasped his sword fingers, the two demonic swords, Fearsome Slaughter and Fearsome Killing, naturally emerged from his waist.

-Float float!

‘!!!!!’

Seeing the two demonic swords floating like swimming fish, the Tang Clan members’ faces turned pale.

It was Sword Control with Energy.

Mok Gyeong-un looked at them with a smile and said,

“This is fortunate. I was just wanting to vent my anger a bit more. Let me offer a proper funeral song to my grandfather with your screams.”

-Shudder!

At those words, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, making their hair stand on end.

Was he determined to end things with the Tang Clan?

It was at that very moment.

-Thud!

Suddenly, something heavy fell from the sky.

Everyone’s attention was simultaneously drawn there.

The one who had abruptly landed, bending one knee before standing up, was none other than…

“Yoo… Yoo Clan!”

It was Moo-jin.

Moo-jin’s appearance brought a glimmer of relief to the faces of those who knew him.

They had been puzzled when they suddenly disappeared in the middle of their fight.

But now that he had appeared at this critical juncture, they couldn’t help but have a flicker of hope.

However, Moo-jin’s expression, receiving their expectation, was not very pleasant.

‘Ah…’

That’s because the rear courtyard was a miserable sight, reminiscent of a hell painting, filled with blood and unrecognizable corpses.

Frowning as he looked at this, Moo-jin’s gaze naturally turned to Mok Gyeong-un.

His appearance, smiling amidst this hellish bloodbath, was utterly chilling.

-Grip!

Seeing this, Moo-jin bit his lip tightly.

After learning the circumstances, he had considered it an internal matter of the Tang Clan and had decided not to interfere further.

Since the culprit was clear and there was some connection, he had no doubt that this person would end his revenge at an appropriate point.

However, that had led to the worst outcome.

Moo-jin regretted his own judgment and choice.

“My judgment was wrong.”

-Click click click!

Moo-jin turned the ratchet of the Force Suppressing Bracelet.

As the ratchet reached the fourth stage, his muscles swelled and turned red, and white steam rose from his skin.

-Whoosh!

Moo-jin intended to keep turning it without stopping.

However…

-Clank!

The ratchet wouldn’t turn.

It seemed to be because the injury to his heart hadn’t healed.

‘…No other way.’

He knew that just the fourth stage of the Force Suppressing Bracelet release was insufficient to deal with Mok Gyeong-un, but there was no other way for now.

Mok Gyeong-un spoke to him,

“I remember we agreed that you wouldn’t interfere.”

“If you had ended it at an appropriate point, that would be the case. But from what I see now, it seems you’ll have to kill all the Tang Clan members to end it.”

“Whether it will be all of them or not, who knows?”

“…I was stupid to trust you even a little. Regardless of whether you were related to the Tang Clan or not, I should have settled it somehow earlier.”

“If you had, you wouldn’t be breathing until now.”

‘…’

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Moo-jin closed his mouth.

Indeed, if it hadn’t been about the Three-Eyed, he might have lost his life at Mok Gyeong-un’s hands.

So he had nothing to refute.

However, as long as he was alive, he couldn’t leave the Tang Clan members to be slaughtered.

-Crack! Creak!

The biceps and forearms of Moo-jin’s right arm bulged greatly.

In his current state, if Mok Gyeong-un used that technique of concentrating power into a single point, it would be difficult to block it properly, so he had no choice but to quickly decide the match with all his might.

-Rumble!

Watching him focus his strength into his right arm, Mok Gyeong-un spoke in a dispassionate voice,

“If you unleash your power without proper control like that, you’ll commit the same fault as the Tang Clan Leader.”

“The same fault?”

“You can see it, can’t you?”

Mok Gyeong-un swept his gaze around the surroundings.

Seeing this, Moo-jin’s eyes wavered.

“…What do you mean by that?”

“I haven’t done much yet, to be honest. Almost all the blood staining this place is the Tang Clan Leader’s work.”

‘!!!!!’

At those words, Moo-jin displayed an expression of disbelief.

Why would the Tang Clan Leader do such a thing?

Moo-jin denied those words.

“Lies! No matter what, why would the Tang Clan Leader do that to his own clan members…?”

“He abandoned them all and tried to flee, so why would he make a fuss about some of them dying?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Moo-jin looked at the Tang Clan members.

He hoped at least one of them would deny it, but they all remained silent.

Thanks to that, Moo-jin realized it was the truth.

‘Ha…’

What an incredible guy.

To think he would do such a thing until the very end.

It made even the family precept of protecting them feel futile.

Should he say it made him lose motivation?

But then…

“Well, what’s important isn’t really who killed them, right? Since you came to stop me anyway, there’s no need to drag this out.”

-Rumble!

Moo-jin’s eyes moved.

He could feel energy gathering in Mok Gyeong-un’s two demonic swords floating with Sword Control with Energy.

He was blatantly gathering power with the demonic swords.

This was a kind of threat.

But what surprised Moo-jin even more was…

‘…He has already recovered his energy to this extent?’

He clicked his tongue inwardly.

Unlike himself, Mok Gyeong-un had been moving without a moment’s rest.

Yet he had recovered his energy to nearly half the level of when they had fought with all their might.

If they were to fight now, he would be defeated before long.

However, there was no choice.

If he left, they would all die.

It was at that very moment.

“Please stop.”

At that moment, a middle-aged man among the Tang Clan stepped forward.

Mok Gyeong-un, without taking his eyes off Moo-jin, asked,

“Who are you?”

“I am Tang In-hu, the commander of the Clan Leader’s guard.”

“The commander of the Clan Leader’s guard? Ah. Then you must be quite close to the Clan Leader.”

“…You could say that.”

“Then you must have always been by the Clan Leader’s side.”

“Not always. That’s why I only learned about everything the Clan Leader did now.”

“The Clan Leader’s guard commander only learned about what the Clan Leader did now?”

“…It may be hard to believe, but whenever the Clan Leader carried out something in secret, he didn’t trust anyone around him. So there were many things he hid even from me, the guard commander.”

Mok Gyeong-un scoffed.

“Then what do you even know?”

At that question, Guard Commander Tang In-hu hesitated for a moment before carefully speaking.

“I heard that the Clan Leader used the Formless Poison on Jang Mun-no.”

“…And?”

“The Clan Leader was a man of many secrets, but when practicing martial arts, he needed a training partner, so I had to watch over him.”

“…”

“That’s why I know that after the Clan Leader used the Formless Poison, perhaps due to the aftereffects, red spots would appear on his neck.”

‘!?’

-Swish!

As soon as he finished speaking, Mok Gyeong-un’s figure had already reached in front of him.

Suddenly appearing before his eyes, Guard Commander Tang In-hu flinched under the pressure, but he endured it and didn’t avoid his gaze.

“Please continue.”

“Before that… Please make an agreement first.”

“An agreement?”

“Yes. The Clan Leader’s actions were truly unknown to all the Tang Clan members.”

“So you’re not responsible?”

“If being of the same blood is a crime, it could be considered a crime, but we were practically abandoned by the Clan Leader. How distraught do you think we are? But if a supreme master of the great master level like you says you’ll kill us, we Tang Clan members have no choice but to fight for our lives. However, to be honest, we don’t want the entire clan to be sacrificed because of the Clan Leader’s faults.”

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes glinted at Tang In-hu’s words, revealing his true feelings without deceit.

“Hmm.”

With that, Mok Gyeong-un, who had been staring intently at him, looked at the Tang Clan members who were extremely tense.

They were genuinely terrified of Mok Gyeong-un.

He had considered killing the rest of them to offer as a funeral song for his grandfather, but he soon lost interest.

-Swish!

He withdrew the energy he had been gathering in the two demonic swords.

Noticing this first, Moo-jin let out a sigh of relief.

If Mok Gyeong-un had been determined to kill them to the end, a massive slaughter would have occurred, making it impossible for the Tang Clan to recover.

‘Should I say it’s fortunate?’

It was a strange feeling to be included in that fortune.

But then, Mok Gyeong-un spoke.

“Alright. If you tell me what you know, let’s wrap things up here. But…”

“But?”

“I don’t really like leaving loose ends.”

“Loose ends? What can we possibly do to make you say that…”

“There’s a saying that a gentleman’s revenge is not too late even after ten years. That’s how I came this far too.”

Less than half a year ago, Mok Gyeong-un hadn’t even practiced martial arts.

But now, he possessed tremendous martial prowess that could determine the fate of the entire Tang Clan.

With his own greatest example, he had no intention of taking this lightly.

“What exactly do you want us to do?”

“I learned something from somewhere. It seems like a good method.”

“…What is it?”

“Seal your gates. For about sixty years.”

‘!!!!!!!!’

As soon as those words were spoken, the Tang Clan was in an uproar.

They had wondered what he would demand, but they never expected him to tell them to seal their gates (封門).

Sealing the gates literally meant closing the gates, signifying that a sect or martial clan acknowledged their defeat and severed their activities with the outside world.

Moreover, sixty years meant a full cycle of the sexagenary cycle and nearly two generations.

Going this far was no different from severing all possible future repercussions.

‘H-How can he make such a demand…?’

Guard Commander Tang In-hu couldn’t hide his perplexity.

He had only been concerned about saving everyone’s lives from a supreme master of the Six Heavens (六天) level, even if he was just one person. Who would have imagined that he would make a demand as if they had fought and lost to an entire organization?

At Mok Gyeong-un’s tremendous demand, even Moo-jin was surprised and tried to speak…

‘…Ha.’

In the end, he closed his mouth.

If Mok Gyeong-un decided to kill them all right now, there was no way to stop him.

Pride might be hurt, but that wouldn’t substitute for their lives.

The decision was solely up to them.

-Swish!

At this moment, Guard Commander Tang In-hu, who had been perplexed by Mok Gyeong-un’s words, looked at the Tang Clan executives with difficulty.

Their faces were twisted with humiliation and bitterness.

However, if they refused to accept this demand, the outcome was predetermined.

Thus, the executives nodded their heads.

“Ah!”

Sighs escaped from here and there.

How could the Sichuan Tang Clan, a part of the Righteous Alliance, one of the Seven Great Families, and known as the Overlord of Sichuan, suffer such humiliation?

Leaving behind their bitterness, Guard Commander Tang In-hu opened his mouth with difficulty.

It was hard for him to continue speaking, but as the current representative of the negotiation, he had to bring it to a conclusion.

“We will… accept your… demand… and conditions.”

“Then, make the declaration of defeat first.”

-Grip!

Tang In-hu bit his lip tightly and spoke again.

“We still… don’t know… who you are. So what should we call you?”

At his question, Mok Gyeong-un paused for a moment.

Should he say Jeong (正) since this was a place to tie up the grudge with his grandfather?

Or should he use the name Mok Gyeong-un, which he used in the Heaven and Earth Society?

However, once the declaration of defeat was made, that name would quickly spread, so using both wouldn’t be appropriate.

Therefore…

“Heavenly Demon (Cheon-ma).”

He said Cheon-ma, just like at Shaolin.

At this, Tang In-hu took a deep breath with a bitter face and shouted loudly, infusing his internal energy.

“We, the Sichuan Tang Clan, acknowledge our defeat to Sir Heavenly Demon and declare that we will seal our clan for sixty years as the price!”