After spending a day there, the boy moved on towards his next place. His destination was where he was to et the other trainees for the group mission: Kashgur.
Whee! Whee!
The wind that ca from nowhere swept the boy roughly, swirling up the sand and stinging his eyes. The boy used his qi to shake off the sand, causing his clothes to flutter gently in the wind. Sighting to himself, he then started moving again.
The boy trudged through the desert, albeit a bit dejected.
I wish I had so more ti to visit the safehouse. Its a real pity.
The ti given for personal missions was one full month. Now, there was only about one day left in that ti. As he had originally planned, the mission should have taken less than a month.
The problem was that due to the climate of the desert, Woon-seong had to spend more ti traveling than he had expected.
Woon-seong was only able to travel during the day because at night, he was forced to huddle around a fire to stay warm. However, he couldnt move at top speed since the scorching sun ant that he had to conserve water. Unless he was soone who had reached the level of impenetrable to cold and heat, limitations to his traveling were inevitable.
Ill have another chance to visit the Spear Master Sects safehouse, Woon-seong comforted himself.
In addition to being located deep in the mountains, the warehouse was protected by genuine laws. Those who did not know the way would never find it. Of those currently alive, Woon-seong was positive no one else could touch the stuff in there but him.
The wind howled and sound whistled past his ear.
First, I should go to the promised location.
Although it was a pity, he should focus on what was at hand. Either way, completing the missions assigned by the Cult of the Heavenly Demon was beneficial towards his path for revenge. So he would go et the others for his group mission.
His target was in the southernmost region of the Cult of Heavenly Demon, adjacent to the realm of the Martial Alliance and Empire. In addition to the Cult in this area, there were a large number of smaller forces that were not tied with the Martial Alliance. Only, they had acknowledged that they were inferior to the Cult and had signed nurous treaties of nonviolence, so they were left as is.
Sotis, however, there were so people who were not in their right minds.
There was only one group mission and the details given to the trainees by the Cult were sparse. It was said they were criminals who committed cris at the Potala Palace and fled, blood lamas called the Five Evils.
These bastards were vandalizing the territory of the Cult, not caring about where they were. In his heart, Woon-seong considered them idiots who thought too highly of themselves.
Even the demonic cultivators who swore obeisance to the Cult were angered. The Cult could not ignore their duties to their followers. It is our duty to protect the commoners.
Woon-seong walked as he recalled more details about the mission. The mission was a kill order: get rid of all five of them.
At this ti, Woon-seong had long left the desert behind him and reached the branch of the Cult in Kashgur. Unlike Lop Nor, Kashgur did not try to hide its true nature it was definitely a branch of the Demonic Cult.
There were two guards at the gate to the town, who noticed the boy as soon as he got close. Maybe it was the weather, or maybe it was their occupation, but they were aggressive.
As soon as the guards had seen him, their hands were on the hilts of their swords.
Who goes there!
Woon-seong chuckled at them, not taking offense to their actions. He found their actions amusing, and seed to understand the instinctive reasoning for the disrespect. After all, he was quite young and had approached without sound.
Even if they had acted, the guards wouldnt have stood a chance against Woon-seong anyways.
Woon-seong threw a slate at them, the one that identified him as a Demonic General.
One of the guards caught the slate, using both hands. Looking at it, he began to tremble, possibly in fear or in shock. Despite his age, the young man before them was a Demonic General! Like in other places, it was considered a cri to act up against a higher ranked official, a cri that could cost you your life. Would he be unlucky today?
The other guard was put off by the seemingly arrogant boy in front of him and hadnt noticed his partners change in deanor. Hey! You cant just throw your slate like that!
When the first guard cried out with an Ah!, the second asked, Whats wrong?, confused by the startled expression of his companion.
The one holding the slate only awkwardly threw it back towards Woon-seong, still a bit shaken.
Woon-seong only smiled as he caught the slate, not unkindly, though it seed mocking to the guard. I heard the 1st Latent Demon Squad is supposed to gather here.
The guard who previously held the slate quickly changed his attitude and bowed, welcoming Woon-seong into the branch. Everyones here. Follow .
His companion mirrored his actions, partly out of habit and partly due to the look on the others face. Still, he could not hold his curiosity in until after Woon-seong had left the hearing range. Hey. Who is that guy?
Shhhh! His companion nervously put a finger to his mouth, shushing his companion and looking at Woon-seongs retreating figure. Hes just like Mok Dae-young, the Branch Manager of Kashgur, who we serve. A Demonic General, you idiot! He then hurried to follow Woon-seong and guide him towards the inner branch area.
Woon-seong walked along the streets, admiring the surroundings. While the streets werent unclean, it was bustling with activity. As he observed the people, he realized that many of them were martial artists, though their levels were too low to be of much use to the Cult.
Unlike in Lop Nor, the Kashgur had a whole division of officers stationed. Thus, there was no need for Woon-seong to hide his identity. In fact, if he were less loyal to the Cult, Woon-seong could use his identity to stage a rebellion and take over the branch.
Kashgur was territory firmly held by the Cult, so most of the people living in the area were followers of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Since this was the case, there was no reason to hide and put up pretenses.
At the sa ti, Kashgur was a much more militarized branch than Lop Nor. Since Lop Nor was so remote, the branch there was almost solely used for scouting and intel purposes. This could be seen in the way the branch doubled as a bookstore, where the branch manager couldnt even be considered Demonic General level. Here, not only had they outright checked his status in the Cult at the guarded entrance, the branch manager was a relatively fad Demonic General.
The two guards who had been at the entrance brought him to the inner branch area, where they opened a second gate for him. Much of the branch was organized like a fortress, with roofed walls and a few guarded gates.
This way, sir.
When Woon-seong walked in, he saw a young man waiting for him by a tall tree. The man had his hair cut short and multiple scars across his face, the most noticeable one a large scar running across his right eye.
Youve arrived. The man appeared happy to see Woon-seong, and lifted his hand awkwardly, as if to wave.
Its been a while, Gwan Tae-ryang. Woon-seong hadnt been so sure how to interact with this other trainee, who had been under the na Number 1 in the Cave of Latent Demons.
Back then, Woon-seong had beaten Gwan Tae-ryang until he passed out in the Strife of Life and Death and lectured him. They hadnt necessarily parted on bad terms, as everyone in the Cave at that point naturally understood the concept of survival of the fittest and winner takes all. Now, six months later, Gwan Tae-ryang was to be Woon-seongs Lieutenant, his second-in-command.
Its good to see you safe, Squad Master! The young man was almost beaming, as he welcod Woon-seong.
Naturally, as the strongest in the Cave of Latent Demons, Woon-seong had been tasked with the leadership position during the group mission, becoming the Squad Master for the 1st Latent Demon Squad. Although Gwan Tae-ryang technically also had the power to lead his own group, it seed the Cult wished to challenge Woon-seong and raise the difficulty of their group mission.
They smiled at each other as Woon-seong observed the other.
It seems like hes been through a lot ever since then. Hes a much more humble man than back at the Strife of Life and Death.
Woon-seong knew that Gwan Tae-ryang appearing here ant that his individual mission had been completed. As he knew the difficulty of the missions assigned and his own strength, he was sure that everyone else would have been given a relatively difficult mission as well. Though it would not be impossible, subjugating a faction by themselves wasnt a walk in the park. As they could be considered friends, partners at worst, Woon-seong was glad to see that Gwan Tae-ryang had earned a lot through his journey to the real world.
OhIt looks like I was the last to arrive. Waking up from his musings, Woon-seong turned his head to the otherside of the courtyard. There, nurous other trainees were sitting at tables, all gathered together, as if waiting for him.
Once these other trainees saw that he had arrived and acknowledged their presence, they simultaneously stood up and walked in front of the tables. As a group, they lined up in front of him, with Gwan Tae-ryang at the front, leading them. They bowed and greeted him in an orderly fashion.
1st Latent Demon Squad, reporting for duty, Squad Master!
Woon-seong chuckled at their actions, understanding that this was a required formality. This too, was a step towards gathering power and authority in the Cult, as well as a step towards revenge.
The 1st Latent Demon Squad was just as the na suggested.
For their training outside, the trainees of the Cave of Latent Demons were divided into three different groups. These were said to be temporary, but received missions much like actual forces of the Cult.
As Woon-seong was the strongest of the Cave, he was commissioned to command the 1st Latent Demon Squad.
Im glad to see that all of you are well. He waved his hand, motioning for them to stop. But why are you all here and not waiting inside?
There were only twenty or so of them; no way the branch was unable to give them a place to stay. If they had been random mbers of the Cult, it might have been understandable. But they were here with a mission of the Demonic Cult Headquarters.
I requested everyone to do so, Gwan Tae-ryang answered. Were about to carry out an important mission and we shouldnt relax too much.
Woon-seong was surprised at first, but soon let out an amused huff. Thats not a bad idea.
Right? Gwan Tae-ryang grinned, obviously quite proud.
Woon-seong only smirked and turned to the rest of his group mbers. However, resting and getting rid of fatigue is also important. Being in poor conditions and losing to people weaker than you is a common thing in the martial society.
The other trainees didnt look scared or worried, but they had awkward looks on their faces as they imagined losing to soone weaker to them.
You must maintain the best condition to perform at your best. I know you lived most of your lives disciplining yourselves, and resting might feel awkward, but its about ti you learn how to take care of your own bodies. Woon-seong massaged his own palms, still slightly swollen and bruised from pushing himself during his fight with the Sword of n. If you dont, you might just run into big trouble soti. For today, lets rest well.
The trainees seed startled at these words, as if rembering for the first ti that they had left the world inside the Cave of Latent Demons. They had spent almost half of their lives sleeping in a rundown cave and learning to torture themselves. They tried too hard to survive, too hard to keep going. It was ti to learn how to take care of their condition. Who knows when or where they were going to get attacked next.
They contemplated his words, schooling their previously excited auras.
You all must be tired because of your personal missions.
Woon-seong turned his head to the side, where a building with multiple floors stood. Although no person could be seen on the corridor, which was open to the air, he had felt a powerful presence in that direction.
Can we get assigned to so resting rooms?
The person behind the presence was startled that Woon-seong had noticed, as they had obviously been trying to hide. Since they had already been caught, they appeared in a flash, lting from the walls like a shadow.
Gwan Tae-ryang and another trainee who was close by were startled by the sudden movent and unfamiliar presence. With years of battle instincts kicking in, they moved quickly and approached the wall as they drew their weapons.
They were in a branch of the Cult, whoever was inside and could mask their presence was likely not an enemy but soone relatively high-ranked in the Cult!
Woon-seong quickly restrained the actions of his n.
Stop!
Hahaha. Rumors say that the current Cave of Latent Demons produced the best mbers in the history of Caves The shadow that had flashed into their view stepped into the sunlight. And it seems true.
It was a middle-aged man, obviously also from the Cult. There were nurous long, red scars covering both of his arms as well as his neck, which the man didnt try to hide.
Woon-seongs thoughts flashed through his mind as he rapidly tried to place the mans identity based upon his appearance. This man was at least Demonic General level! There was only one person skilled enough in this branch who could hide from the senses of the Cave of Latent Demon trainees.
When he appeared, the trainees bowed their heads. Good to see you!
Woon-seong did not bow, but he quickly greeted the other. Its an honor to et you, Fire Demon of Scars, Mok Dae-young. I am Hyuk Woon-seong, Leader of the 1st Latent Demon Squad.
Kashgurs Branch Manager, Mok Dae-young. The Cult has contacted in advance about you. I heard youre the strongest amongst the Caves trainees.
Im flattered by the overstatent.
It was true, but Woon-seong hoped to stay in the good graces of this branch manager. As a person, he also wasnt overly self-confident and did not like to brag. He was a bit interested in the way that the Cult spoke of him, but that wasnt sothing he could ask about.
Overstatent? Mok Dae-young leaped from the second floor, where he had been standing, to the floor in front of Woon-seong. You all are our fellow comrades who will lead the next generation of the Cult. I am excited to work with you. The man had decided that he approved of the young man before him, and stuck out his hand to shake.
too.
Hahahah! Although its not like so branch manager in the middle of nowhere can do much!
You dont need to be so modest, Spider of Thousand Ears.
Mok Dae-young was startled at being addressed by his lesser known nickna, especially by soone so young. So you even know about that?
Senior Sang told that you used to work at the Thousand Miles Communication Departnt.
The Senior Sang that Woon-seong ntioned was obviously Sang In-hyo, who worked as the General Director of the Cave of Latent Demons. Before Woon-seong had left the Cult, Sang In-hyo had described the branch managers and people that they could encounter if they needed information along their way.
Mok Dae-young smiled slightly, he rembered the guy. I see
The Thousand Miles Communication Departnt was an information organization run by the Demonic Cult; it was to be the eyes and ears of the headquarters. General Director Sang had been up there in the past, with a position as a middle-level executive.
The star at the ti though, was a Spider of Thousand Ears. That was man whose information channels wouldnt miss facts as thin as spider silk and had the ability to spread it delicately like a web.
Now, because of infighting, few still rembered this man.
However, General Director Sang obviously still rembered him, placing high importance on this man.
You are the Spider of Thousand Ears who worked as the eyes and ears of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Woon-seong clasped his fist in front of him, in a martial bow. Thats why I need help from you for this mission.
My help huhSince you ntioned Spider of Thousand Ears, I assu you want the information that only I could have. Mok Dae-young was silent for a mont, as the trainees waited apprehensively. Alright! Lets talk about it over a cup of tea. Ill tell my n to assign new accommodations for your squad.
You heard him. Woon-seong turned to the others as he followed Mok Dae-young into the building. Start resting well until we start the next mission. Of course this doesnt an to beco lazy. Maintain your condition while resting and keep yourself prepared so you can fight at your best at any ti.
Yes, sir!
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