Chapter 126: Blue and Red Twin Fiends. -01
One of the Escort Warriors, a middle-aged man who could be called one of her closest aides, sent a Voice Transmission to Nan Hui-ju with a grave expression.
He said that before she gave the order, he would move first.
And imdiately afterward, the middle-aged man stepped back and retraced the path they had co from.
He was heading toward the nearest village.
“Since you put it that way, it’s actually scaring .”
“There’s no harm in being cautious.”
“But aren’t you worried? What if, besides the Blue and Red Twin Fiends, another of the Eight Evils shows up?”
“Then that would be even better.”
“Huh?”
Nan Hui-ju’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.
She was flustered by the completely unexpected remark.
Yet whether she was startled or not, Ban Hojin continued speaking with perfect composure.
“It ans less trouble.”
“Wow. That’s so confidence.”
“I have the skill to back it up.”
At Ban Hojin’s confident declaration, Nan Hui-ju wore a dumbfounded expression.
It was the first ti she had seen him act so boastfully.
But she did not know.
It was not bluster.
“First ti I’ve seen you strutting like this. But you’ve thought it through, right? Or do you think that with our group and the Flying Sky Unit, we can handle it?”
“Think whatever makes you comfortable.”
Ban Hojin did not bother to explain.
Even if he told her the truth, it was unlikely she would believe him.
In fact, that was the realistic conclusion.
If he were to say right now that he had defeated the Yama King, not a single person here would believe him.
“By the way, did you hear about the Nine Heavens Gate?”
“What news?”
“The Nine Heavens Gate Leader gathered the unorthodox sects and demonic sects of Yunnan Province. Just like how the Sichuan Tang Family drew in the orthodox sects.”
“I see.”
“You’re not surprised?”
Nan Hui-ju looked puzzled.
His reaction was different from that of most martial artists.
Most had flown into a rage upon hearing that demonic practitioners and unorthodox sects had sided with the Nine Heavens Gate.
No matter how different their ideologies and ideals were, the unorthodox and demonic sects were still people of the Central Plains.
Yet when they placed themselves under the command of the Miaojiang people—who could be called a different race—most martial artists had been shocked and enraged.
But Ban Hojin’s response was different.
“From their perspective, it doesn’t matter which side they choose. To put it bluntly, they can’t exactly submit to the Sichuan Tang Family or the orthodox sects, can they?”
“Ah, that’s true.”
They would rather seal their gates or die than surrender.
So in a way, for the unorthodox and demonic sects, there had only been one option.
And Ban Hojin had personally witnessed in his previous life how the Four Tyrants of the World divided the Central Plains Murim. Rather than being flustered, he felt that what was bound to happen had finally arrived.
“The situation’s gotten complicated.”
“Contrary to expectations, the war will probably drag on. In terms of scale alone, they’re not that far behind the Sichuan Tang Family Alliance. After all, Miaojiang is the Nine Heavens Gate’s territory.”
“That’s true.”
One of the four sects that had conquered the Central Plains Murim had been the Nine Heavens Gate.
Although many sects and martial families had ford an alliance with the Sichuan Tang Family, if one considered pure military strength, the Nine Heavens Gate did not fall behind.
However, the Sichuan Tang Family was not without its own deep reserves of strength, and Ban Hojin believed in them.
For now, there was no choice but to trust the Poison Emperor and the Poison King of the Sichuan Tang Family.
‘If possible, I’d like them to slash down the Nine Heavens Gate’s strength drastically.’
Even if the Sichuan Tang Family won, it was unlikely they would advance as far as Miaojiang.
For one, the distance was great, and Miaojiang was the Nine Heavens Gate’s domain.
Fighting within the Central Plains and launching an expedition were entirely different matters. No matter how formidable the Sichuan Tang Family was, they would not march into Miaojiang to annihilate the Nine Heavens Gate.
Still, it was possible to inflict damage close to total destruction.
‘Enough that it would take them thirty years to recover.’
Even if they won the war nine years from now, it did not an there would be no further invasions by the Four Tyrants of the World.
Whenever they recovered their strength, they would surely harbor ambitions again.
So he had to delay that mont as much as possible while he could.
At the very least, he hoped there would be no more invasions until he could live out his natural lifespan in peace.
“Which side do you think will win?”
“Hmm. Who knows?”
“What? You won’t even tell sothing like that?”
“Does my opinion matter? In the end, the side destined to win will win. There are too many variables.”
“Variables? What variables could there be?”
Nan Hui-ju tilted her head.
In her estimation, no matter how formidable the Nine Heavens Gate was, the Sichuan Tang Family Alliance would ultimately prevail.
Since ancient tis, countless forces had invaded the Central Plains proclaiming conquest, but only a handful in history had succeeded.
Even then, they had not ruled for long before being driven out.
“Of course there are. There’s Tibet bordering Yunnan Province and Sichuan Province.”
“Huh?”
Nan Hui-ju’s eyes grew as large as oil lamps.
She had never even considered the Tibetan Murim.
The Nine Heavens Gate, ruler of Miaojiang, and the Potala Palace, ruler of Tibet, had never once joined forces—but that did not an they could not.
Had not the unorthodox and demonic sects of Yunnan Province already entered the Nine Heavens Gate’s shadow?
The possibility was there.
Slim, but present.
Gulp!
The mont she considered it, Nan Hui-ju swallowed dryly without realizing it.
If the Nine Heavens Gate and the Potala Palace joined forces, the current Sichuan Tang Family Alliance would not be enough to face them.
At the very least, all the orthodox sects of Sichuan Province, Gansu Province, and Shaanxi Province would have to unite to match them.
“The chances are slim, but it’s not impossible.”
“That’s true. But how did you even think of that?”
“I just thought that the Neo-Outer Murim might join forces. If one can’t do it alone, two can do it together, right? It’s not such an extraordinary thought.”
“That’s true… but why didn’t I think of it?”
“Because you were only looking at what was familiar and taken for granted.”
Ban Hojin shrugged.
Even so, this was a decent reaction.
If soone’s thinking had been more rigid, they would have dismissed his words as absurd and picked a quarrel with him.
At the sa ti, he had let that thought slip out on purpose.
“Impressive. I guess to beco a master on your level, you really do need a different way of thinking and a different perspective from others. I’m honestly shocked. In the past, I would’ve said that was nonsense, but now I think it’s entirely possible. If the Nine Heavens Gate starts to lose—if its fate hangs by a thread—it really might reach out to the Potala Palace.”
Nan Hui-ju’s expression turned grave.
In a way, it was nothing more than a conjecture.
It could even have been wild speculation.
But what if the two sects had already exchanged words?
What if they had ford a secret pact and no one knew?
If that were the case, the tide of war could shift in an instant.
“What I’m saying is that we should at least keep Tibet in mind. There’s no need to worry seriously just yet. Let’s deal with the imdiate problem first.”
“You’re right. The location I identified is over there. I heard they built a house beyond that hill and are living there themselves.”
“They’re living in quite a remote place.”
“They’re Public Enemies of Murim. They have no choice but to be cautious.”
As they walked toward the hideout of the Blue and Red Twin Fiends—situated in the very heart of a remote mountain with not a soul in sight—Nan Hui-ju muttered under her breath.
As if to say that only a place like this could evade the gaze of the Orthodox Martial World.
In truth, she had struggled greatly to uncover this location.
If not for a mber of the Hao Sect who had secretly been dealing with the Blue and Red Twin Fiends—if he had not told her—she would not have found this place so quickly.
“Is that why? There’s no one here.”
“Hm?”
“There’s no presence.”
“Really?”
Nan Hui-ju’s eyes widened in surprise.
But she was not doubting him.
Though she had not witnessed it herself, she had heard that Ban Hojin had tracked down and slain the Dark Moon Sect Leader even while he was in hiding. She did not doubt him in the slightest.
Creak!
Instead of answering, Ban Hojin lightly kicked off the ground.
In an instant, he flew toward the hideout of the Blue and Red Twin Fiends, now visible to the naked eye.
He opened the door of the thatched wooden dwelling, which had been built with considerable expertise.
“It doesn’t seem like they left long ago.”
“It doesn’t look like they’ve permanently left—more like they stepped out for a while.”
Seo Jo-woon, Jeong I-ryong, and Murong Cheok arrived at the dwelling after Ban Hojin and began examining the surroundings with sharp eyes.
In particular, they carefully inspected the traces of a recently lit fire.
“They were here as recently as half a day ago.”
Among them, the Flying Sky Unit Leader—who excelled in tracking—approached and spoke cautiously.
Though such matters were their expertise, he was mindful that Ban Hojin might take offense, so he chose his words carefully.
“Half a day isn’t long at all, is it?”
“Judging by their belongings and furniture, it doesn’t appear they’ve left for good.”
The Flying Sky Unit Leader let out a quiet sigh of relief inwardly.
Fortunately, none of the group seed offended.
“They’re pulling sothing interesting.”
“Hm? What do you an?”
Seonwu Bang asked Ban Hojin, who had muttered sothing cryptic.
The sudden remark about it being interesting puzzled him.
“It seems our information leaked. And on top of that, sothing we don’t know about is happening.”
Shhrrk!
No sooner had Ban Hojin finished speaking than dozens of presences surged from all directions.
In the blink of an eye, hundreds of people flooded in and ford an airtight encirclent.
At the sight, not only Nan Hui-ju but also the mbers of the Flying Sky Unit stiffened.
“Don’t the Eight Evils usually move alone? Except for the Blue and Red Twin Fiends?”
“That’s what I know as well.”
At a glance, there seed to be well over three hundred people. Seonwu Bang’s expression turned bewildered.
He simply could not understand the situation.
But one thing was certain.
They had fallen into a trap.
“Could they have joined hands with so faction without our knowledge?”
Unlike Seonwu Bang, Seo Jo-woon remained calm.
At the sa ti, he quickly examined the expressions of Nan Hui-ju and the Flying Sky Unit.
He wondered if the Hao Sect had betrayed them.
But judging by their faces, it did not seem so.
“They may have joined forces. Or they may have been recruited.”
Unlike everyone else’s tension, Ban Hojin’s expression did not change in the slightest.
Despite being suddenly surrounded, he remained composed.
“Recruited?”
“By whom?”
“They’re Public Enemies of Murim, so it wouldn’t be the Central Plains, would it?”
Seeing Ban Hojin answer with the sa calm face, Seo Jo-woon and Seonwu Bang tilted their heads.
Even with hundreds of killing intents laid bare around them, he seed far too at ease.
Step, step.
The Masked n in Black standing at the front parted to the left and right.
They made space for the Blue and Red Twin Fiends to step forward.
True to their epithet, they wore martial robes in blue and red, their respective symbolic colors, as they walked out with sinister smiles.
Yet despite being twins born on the sa day, their appearances were starkly different.
One was tall and obese, while the other was so small and thin that he could have been mistaken for a child.
Judging purely by physique, the larger one was easily three tis the size of the other.
“I heard that the Hao Sect’s Rumor Lord was exceptionally beautiful. The rumors weren’t exaggerated. Those eyes alone could lt a man’s insides.”
“Heh heh heh heh!”
At the words of the elder twin, the Lesser Fiend, the Giant Fiend laughed lewdly.
Nan Hui-ju’s beauty was such that calling her a peerless beauty under heaven would not be an exaggeration.
Even from a single glance, blood seed to rush downward, and the Giant Fiend scratched his crotch with his left hand.
“Was the target Hui-ju?”
“Oh ho. Close enough to call her by na? Are you lovers, perhaps?”
The Lesser Fiend’s gaze turned cold.
The way he stared at Ban Hojin was entirely different from how he had looked at Nan Hui-ju.
It was as though he wanted to devour him with his eyes.
But even under the Lesser Fiend’s killing glare, Ban Hojin’s expression did not change.
“And if we are?”
“This will be amusing. If we violate the Rumor Lord right in front of you.”
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