So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon? Chapter 371 : Who Is the Villain Here? (1)

Chapter 371: Who Is the Villain Here? (1)

The old man's words sent a prickle of instinctive dread down Cheok Pae-myeong's spine. He brushed past the old man without a word and hurried into Pingliang County.

Pingliang County had exploded in popularity recently as a hub for tourism, music, art, and massive martial arts tournants. But contrary to its booming reputation, the county currently felt like a desolate ghost town.

Sure, you could still spot a few traveling bards who had settled in town, or ordinary locals who had recently picked up an instrunt or a paintbrush, playing music or putting on small skits in the streets. But no matter what they did, they couldn't shake off the empty feeling hanging over the village.

It was all because the Maitreya Luminous Cult had completely shut its door.

"It looks like the Demonic Cult rats actually packed up and fled."

When Chief Strategist Gongsun Hyeon carefully stepped up and whispered his report, the Alliance Leader nodded. Masking his frustration, he infused his voice with internal energy and roared for the entire army to hear.

"It seems those Demonic Cult rats tucked their tails and ran in fear of our might! We must march west imdiately and wipe every last one of those cowards off the map!"

Cheok Pae-myeong led the Orthodox Faction warriors westward for several days, until they finally arrived at Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu.

The grand scripture hall serving as the Maitreya Luminous Cult's main headquarters was located right in the city, but there wasn't a single person left inside who knew even an ounce of Demonic Arts.

The Cult's warriors, the missionaries who preached their doctrines, and even the physicians who treated the locals were completely gone. All that remained were the locals from Lanzhou who had occasionally filled in as teachers for pay, along with forr courtesans-turned-nurses and musicians.

Even though the Maitreya Luminous Cult mbers who had once paid their wages had all disappeared, they were still helping the people around them. And the common folk themselves were still gathered inside, passing the ti in quiet conversation, reciting hymns, or murmuring the cult's teachings to one another.

That was, until the Orthodox Faction warriors crashed the party.

When an army of over a thousand heavily ard n suddenly surrounded the hall, the innocent locals huddled together in terror.

Watching the scene, Cheok Pae-myeong ground his teeth and shouted, "They can't have gotten that far!"

He turned to push westward again, but soone chose that mont to disagree.

"Alliance Leader, aren't you being a little too hasty?"

It was Mokseonja, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua Sect.

"Hasty? What are you talking about?"

"It's pretty obvious the Demonic Cult rats have already fled into Xinjiang. Don't tell you seriously plan on chasing them into that wasteland?"

"If it ans putting them down, then of course we should."

"Hahaha. Your spirit is admirable, Alliance Leader, but courage without strength is just recklessness. You seem to be underestimating the Demonic Cult quite a bit."

Cheok Pae-myeong had to swallow a string of curses.

‘So it cos to this after all.’

The Orthodox Faction only ever ca together under the Martial Alliance's banner when there was a common enemy to fight. Now that the enemy had run, the coalition was already showing signs of fracturing before it had even accomplished anything.

"The Mount Hua Sect Leader speaks wisely. If we really want to strike at the Demonic Cult, it would be better to wait for those who haven't joined us yet and reorganize our forces."

Taoist Master Amgak, the Sect Leader of Zhongnan, stroked his beard and sided with Mokseonja, and Cheok Pae-myeong felt a chill he couldn't quite explain.

Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan were bitter rivals by nature.

So seeing those two taking each other's side made Cheok Pae-myeong imdiately suspicious of what they were really after.

"So what the two Sect Leaders are saying is that we should just sit here and wait for our allies to arrive?"

In response to Cheok Pae-myeong's sharp question, the two Taoists simply offered benevolent smiles and let their gazes drift over the Maitreya Luminous Cult's ground.

"Hohoho. Who said anything about just waiting? There's actually a mountain of work to be done right here, Alliance Leader."

"Exactly. Isn't it our sacred duty to save all these misguided souls who were brainwashed by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's lies?"

But behind those pleasant smiles, the flas of greed were burning bright.

'Son of a bitch...'

Cheok Pae-myeong didn't need to think hard to figure out what they were really after.

Shaanxi Province shared a border with Gansu.

Which ant that with the Maitreya Luminous Cult out of the picture, Mount Hua and Zhongnan were perfectly positioned to swallow up all of this land for themselves.

It was painfully obvious that instead of fighting each other, the two sects had struck a backroom deal to carve up the Maitreya Luminous Cult's empty territory right down the middle.

As if to confirm his suspicions, Mokseonja and Taoist Master Amgak both turned to their disciples at the sa mont and barked, "Seize everyone here who served the Demonic Cult and interrogate them at once!"

"Do not miss a single word of information on the Demonic Cult bastards!"

The mont the Mount Hua and Zhongnan disciples drew their weapons to carry out the orders, Hwangbo Ak couldn't stomach it anymore and stomped forward.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! These are innocent civilians!"

"What do you think you are doing, Family Head Hwangbo? Innocent civilians? These people were swayed by the Demonic Cult's teachings."

"Since when does getting swindled make the victim just as guilty as the swindler?"

Faced with Hwangbo Ak's pointed logic, Mokseonja replied with a smile, "Hahaha. A common swindler and the Demonic Cult are nothing alike. How could you trust people who fell for the Demonic Cult's doctrine?"

"But these people don't even know a shred of martial arts!"

"Just because they don't know martial arts doesn't an they can't act as spies and leak our troop movents to the Demonic Cult, now does it?"

After making his slimy excuse, Mokseonja flashed a sinister smirk and laid his trap. "I must admit, your constant attempts to hinder our righteous work are becoming incredibly suspicious. Tell , is the Hwangbo Family secretly still working with the Demonic Cult?"

Every Orthodox Faction warrior in earshot snapped their gaze to Hwangbo Ak.

Feeling the weight of all those suspicious eyes on him, he bit down hard to keep his temper in check and forced his anger down.

He thought for a mont and decided to use their bias against them.

With a sharp snort, he put on his most furious expression and bellowed, "Hmph! I don't care about any of that complicated shit! All I know is one thing! You don't ss with people who haven't done anything wrong!"

The mont Hwangbo Ak made it clear he was ready to throw hands if it ca to that, the tension in the air went taut.

Right then, Yangmuja, the Sect Leader of Mount Heng Sect, stepped up beside Hwangbo Ak and spoke. "This Sect Leader also agrees with the Family Head Hwangbo."

He didn't step in because Hwangbo Ak's moral grandstanding touched him. Rather, it was purely because he saw right through Mount Hua and Zhongnan's greedy little sche.

‘As if I'd let you two have this pri piece of at for yourselves.’

Mount Heng Sect had only recently secured its place at the bottom of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang. There was no way they could allow Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan to grow any stronger.

While they were fine ignoring Hwangbo Ak when he was just one isolated master, the Taoists imdiately looked troubled the mont Yangmuja backed him up.

The two elderly Taoists exchanged a glance, then spoke. "Then you two stay here and keep an eye on these people. We need to determine whether they're truly innocent civilians or Demonic Cult lackeys who were corrupted by false teachings."

"As for us, we will sweep the surrounding counties for Cult remnants while we wait for the rest of our forces to arrive in Gansu."

It was as good as saying they were going to claim the other counties first.

Without giving Hwangbo Ak or Yangmuja a chance to protest further, they turned on their heels and walked straight out of the Maitreya Luminous Cult's ground with their disciples in tow.

Cheok Pae-myeong and Gongsun Hyeon could only grit their teeth as they watched a full third of their army walk right out the door.

With their grand alliance fracturing into two factions before the war even properly began, it felt like everything was falling apart.

***

Gulang County, Gansu Province.

The place where Il-mok had first given the Maitreya Luminous Cult its na.

Right now, the commoners living there are trapped in a state of dilemma.

Word had spread all across the Central Plains that the Maitreya Luminous Cult had in fact been the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult all along.

The reaction among the locals split into roughly three camps.

So wandered around in a daze, not knowing what to think.

Others seethed with rage at having been deceived.

And then there were those whose faith hadn't wavered one bit.

"Haah..."

"What are we supposed to do..."

"What do you an, what do we do?! You want to get lumped in with those traitors?!"

"Don't give that traitor nonsense! When we were being bled dry by those mongrels from the Red Serpent Gang, did anyone ever lift a finger to help us? The so-called heroes of the Orthodox Faction ignored us, and the governnt just sat back and watched!"

A handful of these loyalists were actually people who had attended the Faith Education Center and already knew the Cult's true identity.

"I don't care if they're the Maitreya Luminous Cult or the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult! They're the ones who made sure my daughter wasn't sold off! How could I betray people like that?!"

"They taught uneducated peasants like us how to read, and they gave us food when the spring famine hit! They kept my children from starving to death, and you want to turn my back on them?!"

Hearing their desperate shouts, the other residents of Gulang County went red with sha and bowed their heads.

And this wasn't just happening in Gulang County.

The sa scenes were unfolding everywhere the Maitreya Luminous Cult's influence had reached, across Gansu and the northern parts of Sichuan alike.

Those who felt a pang of conscience at the faithful ones' cries split into two groups as well.

So went back to the Maitreya Luminous Cult's branch halls every day to bow in prayer alongside the devoted. Others couldn't bring themselves to act out of fear, but walked around with their heads hung low in sha.

Then one day, Taoist priests dressed in robes bearing plum blossom patterns appeared in Gulang County. They marched straight to the Maitreya Luminous Cult's branch hall and imdiately drew their weapons on the worshippers inside.

"They're in league with the Demonic Cult filth. Don't let a single one of them escape."

On Mokseonja's orders, the Mount Hua Sect disciples swung their blades without rcy. Getting struck with the flat of a sword and breaking a bone was getting off easy; so had limbs cut, and a few were even killed outright.

The Mount Hua Sect aggressively interrogated the captured believers and began combing through every inch of Gulang County while ransacking civilian hos.

"How dare you hoard wealth handed out by those filthy Demonic Cultists! You heretics are no different from them!"

Using that as an excuse, they began indiscriminately plundering all the money and rice the Cult had graciously given to the poor.

Under that kind of brutal treatnt, the people being robbed all had the sa thought:

'O Maitreya!! Please, we beg you, save us!!'

'The Advent of Maitreya. Salvation for All. The Advent of Maitreya. Salvation for All.'

All they could do was pray desperately for the return of their savior.

***

Hami, Xinjiang.

It was the closest village to Yun Pass, the official border separating Gansu Province and Xinjiang.

Il-mok and the warriors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had set up camp right there.

The plan was to hold position here, keep an eye on what was happening in Gansu, and if the Orthodox Faction bastards were reckless enough to push into Xinjiang, to fall back and draw them deeper and deeper in.

On the other hand, if they stayed put on their side of the border, Il-mok intended to stay in contact with the Beggars’ Gang, Wudang, and the Hwangbo Family side to shore up their alliance before making any moves.

They spent a few days resting and watching Gansu from a distance, but when the latest intelligence report arrived, Il-mok's face violently contorted.

'I completely misjudged those bastards.'

Il-mok had always known that the so-called Orthodox Faction was crawling with hypocrites.

But because they were hypocrites who cared about their public image, he expected them to at least pretend to act decently.

He fully expected them to seize and run the businesses the Maitreya Luminous Cult controlled, like the grand temple in Lanzhou, the Hall of Art in Pingliang, or the various brothels scattered across the counties.

But never in his wildest dreams did he think that those scums would torture civilians without distinction and loot every last bit of the grain and goods he had given out to help those people.

Il-mok squeezed his eyes shut for a mont at the grim contents of the ssenger's report. When he opened them again, he looked around at his companions.

His four loyal maids, Seo Wan-pyeong who had returned under Wi Jin-hak's orders, Ouyang Mun and Dam Bin who had stuck with them since Lanzhou, and Baek Cheon who had been dragged away from his beloved stage in Pingliang.

Every single one of his executives had heard the news, and they were all staring back at Il-mok with the sa burning emotion in their eyes.

In answer to their gaze, Il-mok rose to his feet and spoke.

"Tell them to prepare for battle imdiately."

The mont Il-mok spoke those words, smiles crept onto the faces of every single person in the room.

They were smiles brimming with killing intent and Demonic Qi.