𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟕𝟒
“Who are you? This is a region controlled by our Hawon Clan. No one is allowed to enter without proper qualifications.”
“My comrades’ traces were lost here last night. Do you happen to know anything about it?”
“Comrades. . . . . . ? You’re the lackeys of the Third Faction!”
The middle-aged man who heard me uttered an exclamation that I couldn’t understand and gave off a hostile vibe, and we also responded by observing the enemies’ faces.
「𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.」
Ting!
【O Pan-so】
▶Level 56
【Wi Yeon-ung】
▶Level 52
【Yeon Li Jeong-hong】
▶Level 54
「. . . 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩.」
Of course, they were nothing compared to us, but all eight of the enemies had levels near 50.
If we were to compare them to modern exorcists, they would be people who had earned the title of 1st-grade or 2nd-grade exorcists, so it was really surprising.
「𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙬𝙤𝙣 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩?」
Anyway, O Pan-so, who was enraged by our unwavering stance, was the first to make a move.
“How dare you! Attacking us without discrimination, do you really think we’re pushovers?”
Chak!
With a sharp grinding noise, three talismans flew from O Pan-so’s hand.
A mysterious spell was about to unfold from them.
However, it was unfortunate for him, who had stepped forward heroically. None of us were at a level where we could be affected by this level of spell.
“Azure Sky Wall.”
“Taesanmun!”
Kwakakak!
Bang!
O Pan-so’s talismans were all broken by Arietta’s hand, and the remnants of spiritual power that scattered from them couldn’t overcome my defensive spell.
In addition, Yoo Ha-on’s advanced binding spell, Taesanmun, which was deployed in just two breaths, instantly bound O Pan-so and the two enemies nearby.
“Keuk!”
“W-What kind of powerful spell is this. . . . . . .”
“Keuk, I can’t get out!”
The enemies started to panic and shrink visibly as they watched us completely suppressing them, not to mention overpowering them.
O Pan-so, who felt it, opened his mouth while bound.
“You’re this skilled! W-What on earth are you guys!”
“We’ve just been searching for traces of our lost comrades. Don’t you know anything about them?”
Unlike a while ago when they were very angry, they started to mutter something among themselves.
Just then, I felt someone who had been hiding their presence approach us.
“Come out without hiding.”
“. . . Oh, I apologize. I didn’t intend to be vigilant.”
Swish.
The one who revealed himself was a young man wearing a strangely shaped hat and Buddhist beads around his shoulders.
O Pan-so and his colleagues who saw him exclaimed in surprise.
“General! How did you know about this place. . . . . . .”
“I came because there seemed to be a bit of a commotion, but this is a really confusing sight.”
The young man, who was called the general, was really looking at us with an expression that seemed to say he was embarrassed, not just talking nonsense.
“Why are there such strong people again. . . . . . . Is something happening in the clan?”
I couldn’t help but be surprised when I checked the young man’s information during that gap.
His name was Ha Sa-dam, and his level was as high as 66.
I expected it when I saw the level of O Pan-so and his party, but it seemed that there were stronger people than them here.
We were waiting while observing Ha Sa-dam’s unconventional aura, and he bowed his head and started to speak.
“I apologize for my rudeness first. These people were only trying to do their duty and protect the territory of our Fifth Faction, and all responsibility lies with me. You seem to have come from outside, so would you be able to stop fighting?”
“We don’t know who you are. We’re just looking for the whereabouts of our separated comrades.”
“Hmm, comrades. . . . . . .”
O Pan-so began to tell Ha Sa-dam, who was lost in thought, something.
“I see. The force that fought here last night was indeed our Fifth Faction. Are you saying that their opponent was your comrade?”
“Could you tell us a little more?”
“I’ll tell you, but there weren’t many casualties. Your comrades seemed to be helping the Third Faction. So they came into contact with our territory with them.”
I don’t know for sure, but it seemed that Cheong Juhwa and her party were acting in cooperation with someone in the Hawon Clan.
“What do you mean by Third Faction and Fifth Faction?”
“They’re factions within our Hawon Clan. There are a total of six factions, from the First Faction to the Six Faction.”
Now I could finally understand the situation a little.
In other words, Cheong Juhwa and her party met with the Third Faction and were helping them.
“To put it bluntly, we have no intention of fighting you. So put away your hostility.”
“Yes. We don’t know the situation either, so we don’t want to waste our energy on unnecessary battles.”
A temporary truce was made like that, and I had a light thought.
I don’t know for sure, but the fact that Cheong Juhwa and her party are cooperating with someone is probably because they found a clue related to Sophia here.
In that case, it would be better for us to join them.
As I was about to turn around, Ha Sa-dam made a suggestion to me.
“Wait! If you’re trying to get to the Third Faction, I can go with you?”
“Aren’t you hostile to them? I can’t trust you.”
“It’s not like that. The battle last night wasn’t about killing anyone in the first place. I’m not sure, but maybe. . . . . . They must have sensed a change within the clan and tried to confirm our intentions.”
He seemed to have his own circumstances, but to be honest, I had no reason to accept it.
Ha Sa-dam must have sensed that and hurriedly continued speaking.
“If you allow me to accompany you, I will tell you everything I know. You need information from each other anyway, don’t you?”
“. . . Okay. Let’s go together.”
Anyway, with our overwhelming numbers, he wouldn’t be able to do anything rash.
We moved to the territory of the Third Faction under Ha Sa-dam’s guidance and listened to his story.
“Our Hawon Clan is divided, but we weren’t originally that distant. But that started to shake a while ago.”
Conflicts between them became more intense, clashes occurred frequently, and an ominous atmosphere began to circulate everywhere.
At first, Ha Sa-dam also thought it was just temporary confusion.
“But it wasn’t. Before we knew it, each faction started to break the clan’s taboos one by one, and now they’re even bringing in outsiders to check each other and take care of their own family’s safety.”
And during such a time of great chaos, we visited here.
“I’m not sure, but I think there’s someone behind this situation. Maybe the Third Faction also thinks the same way, so they’re bringing in your comrades to check on the other factions.”
“. . . I understand the situation roughly. But why are you cooperating with us?”
“I’m not bragging, but I’m pretty good at reading people. And you guys gave my men a break even though you had the overwhelming advantage. I just thought you were the ones I could trust in this chaotic time.”
In other words, it also meant that he couldn’t trust his own clan members that much.
I nodded in understanding because I could feel Ha Sa-dam’s deep concerns from those words.
“Anyway, I’m going to take this opportunity to check the intentions of the Third Faction and try to create a complete cooperative structure. If we keep getting played by someone we don’t know, we’ll really lose the future of the clan. . . . . . .”
“So that’s why you wanted to come with us. I understand your situation.”
Like that, we continued to walk, and soon we were able to enter the area of the Third Faction.
“Who are you! Identify yourselves!”
“It’s me. Ha Sa-dam. I have something I want to discuss with your leader.”
The moment we invaded the territory, the Third Faction members surrounded us just like before, and Ha Sa-dam stepped forward as a representative and continued the conversation.
His face seemed to be widely known, so the Third Faction taoists looked at each other and asked Ha Sa-dam a question.
“I’ll pass on the message. But who are those behind you?”
“They’re the comrades of the taoists you recently recruited. I guided them because they wanted to make contact.”
But for some reason, the Third Faction taoists changed their expressions and started to show anger when they heard that.
“You mean those bastards’ comrades! No, you were Ha Sa-dam’s lackeys in the first place! Subdue them all!”
No, didn’t you say you were cooperating?
In a situation that was falling into a labyrinth again, my colleagues and I started to subdue the taoists of the Third Faction one after another.
“Keu-eok!”
“W-What the heck!”
After subduing and binding a few taoists, we tried to talk again, but at that moment, several strong auras quickly approached and appeared in front of us.
“You bastard, Ha Sa-dam! I knew you would do this.”
“. . . You’ve done a good job bringing in this many taoists from outside.”
“Disgrace of the clan! We will question you about your crimes one by one!”
I hurriedly used my sentiment function and immediately became tense with embarrassment.
All three of them were strong people who had reached the mid to high 60s. Even though we still had the advantage, they weren’t opponents to be ignored.
“Are there many strong people like this in the clan?”
“They are the great generals of the Third Faction. You could say that half of the faction’s power is gathered here.”
Even so, it’s really an amazing level. As Ho-chung said, the Hawon Clan really seemed to be a group of truly secret people who were cut off from the outside world.
I glanced at them and asked them a question.
“Did my comrades commit any crimes against you?”
“Y-You bastard! You dare to ask that shamelessly! You secretly came in pretending to cooperate and stole all the faction’s treasures and information!”
I don’t know for sure, but it seems that Cheong Juhwa and her party did something terrible.
I let out a small sigh and asked Ha Sa-dam, who was holding a Buddhist rosary on his shoulder.
“Will it be okay if I subdue them?”
“. . . We have no choice. It doesn’t seem like they’re going to listen to us right now.”
Then there’s nothing to hesitate about.
I stabilized my breathing and recited the incantation to spread the shadows wide.
Swish.
Whoosh!
Ha Sa-dam, who looked at me in surprise, and the bewildered enemies.
Facing them, I decided to unleash my full power for the first time in a long time.
“Come out, all of you.”
Like that, all four sides were covered in pitch-black darkness.
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