Chronicles of the Demon Faction

Episode 91. Grow (6)

“So it happened.”

“That’s right.”

Kiyang sighed.

Not long after I returned from my mission, I heard a sound like lightning. Who would have thought that Ma Dong-pil would be suspended indefinitely and selected as the personal guard of the Three Dukes?

“If it’s an order from above, there’s nothing we can do…”

“Hmm? “What does that mean?”

“yes?”

“Order from above? “The higher-ups didn’t say anything?”

Kiyang was embarrassed.

“Are you saying that sending the three commanders to the three princes was not an order from above?”

Gunseong Lee chuckled.

“I wonder if the leader himself gave the order.”

“Then… Could it be Wonju?”

“As you know, the Court of Protection does not have the right to transfer personnel to other organizations. “It’s the same for Wonju.”

“…!”

Giyang’s face hardened in shock.

“So, did you send the three squadrons at your senior’s discretion?”

Lee Gun-seong looked at the window.

Kiyang couldn’t even imagine what his tired eyes were pursuing.

“Leader Sam has changed.”

“senior.”

“To be exact, I have changed since I went to the Gojuk Forest with the Three Princes.”

Lee Gun-seong smiled.

Is it an illusion of pride that a hint of bitterness is visible beyond the proud smile?

“Do you remember? It was when I was quite busy with the Demon Sword Family Case. To be exact, it was not long before the Three Princes came out.”

“…I remember.”

“At that time, a group of three came to get tea leaves for oyster tea.”

“I did.”

“If you do that, you will also remember what the three leaders showed back then.”

Kiyang nodded without realizing it.

The change in Ma Dong-pil, who returned with large scars on his rough hands and face, was shocking.

The change in appearance was a change, but the liveliness it exuded was truly overwhelming.

“I don’t want it, but Lord Won will retire someday. “Regardless of my abilities, he will most likely choose me as the next Wonju.”

“Of course.”

“I don’t dare compare you to Wonju. If I think about my qualifications as the next Wonju, I also need endless polishing.

However, it is an undeniable fact that, excluding Wonju, I am the strongest demon in the defense court.”

Gunseong Lee looked back at Giyang with a calm face.

“I froze as soon as I saw the death of the three leaders. “It wasn’t something that was done intentionally, but just the murderousness that was secretly released was enough to make me nervous.”

“…!”

“I guess you did too, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“But what was it like when Captain Sam returned from his mission in Gojuk Forest?”

“He was in perfect control of his life. “It must have taken a lot of effort.”

“You must have put in a lot of effort. “I try too hard, to the point where it actually causes harm.”

“yes?”

“We must sacrifice our lives for the safety of those we escort. Even if I die, the person being escorted must live. To do that, we must quickly respond perfectly to external intrusions.”

“…!”

“I don’t know what kind of experience they had there, but the life of the three leaders was so great that even saying it was explosive would be an understatement.

“Living like that inevitably attracts the attention of enemies.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“okay. “If you think about the safety of the person you are guarding, such behavior is a fatal flaw as a guard warrior.”

“In other words, does this mean that the three chieftains controlled their lives for the sake of their identity as guardians of the law?”

Gunseong Lee sipped tea. I felt like my aching head was clearing up a little from the heavy scent of oyster tea.

“It’s just a guess. However, it is also true that after mastering the technique perfectly, his skills were not much different from before he entered Gojuk Forest.

“The potential was explosive, though.”

“But I saw the sword skills of the three generals.”

“Are you talking about the sword that pierced the rock with the goma sword style?”

“That’s right.”

“If you do, I will ask you. Do you think it makes sense that a master of such skill with the sword would suffer enough to sacrifice more than twenty members of his team in this transport case?”

For a moment, Kiyang’s eyes wavered.

Yes. I don’t know how strong the enemies who attacked were, but given the level of Ma Dong-pil they had seen at the time, it was unclear why they suffered that much damage.

“I was controlling my life and constantly suppressing it. “Your skills and potential.”

“….”

“Perhaps there was a great event in the Gojuk Forest, and the power that could not be dissolved by internal force spread throughout my body.

However, if you consider the period after the release, you should have achieved about one-fifth of your potential through internal power. But Captain Sam couldn’t do that.”

“It’s not that you failed to do it exactly, it’s that you didn’t do it.”

“I think so.”

Lee Gun-seong quenched his appetite.

“I unconsciously turned away from a path that could help me become stronger for my mission.

“I don’t know whether to express this as being overly responsible or stubborn, since he is even suppressing growth because of his identity as a protector of the law.”

Listening to his words, Kiyang recalled that time again.

In front of Ma Dong-pil, whom he had not seen in several months, Lee Gun-seong and himself were so shocked that they could not even speak properly. And in that awkward atmosphere, Ma Dong-pil said this.

– I think I picked the wrong time. I’ll just leave now.

‘Such a fool…’

A look of self-reproach appeared on Giyang’s face.

Whatever it is, the courthouse is home to Ma Dong-pil.

He returned home after a long time and his family was very nervous seeing him. It was truly sad.

When my family returned from home, I couldn’t greet them with a smile, but I was so shocked that I couldn’t say a word.

How much of a hurt it must have been to Ma Dong-pil. Reading that rigid atmosphere, how did Ma Dong-pil accept his own changes?

Maybe Ma Dong-pil’s change of mind, which turned away from growth, wasn’t their fault.

“So I sent it to the Three Dukes.”

“….”

“At least the three princes judged that he knew well about the three masters.

“I also thought that, excluding the guardians, the person the three leaders trusted the most was Samgongja.”

“I see.”

Lee Gun-seong smiled.

“I’ll be back again. Someday, definitely. “When we come back, the three leaders will be just as we remember them, but they will be much more grown-up warriors.”

Kiyang nodded. Now I finally understand why Ma Dong-pil was sent to the three princes.

“Dongpil will do well.”

“I have no doubt that it will happen.”

The two people sigh with a mixture of frustration and relief.

Giyang asked as if something suddenly occurred to him.

“But you don’t have the right to transfer personnel, so what are you going to do if you get caught?”

“I am the assistant manager of Wonju. Even though they do not have the right to externally transfer personnel, they do have the right to internally transfer personnel as well as the right to exercise disciplinary action.

So, we were able to handle the suspension of the three leaders indefinitely.”

“But to the Three Princes….”

“There wasn’t much to say from there?”

“…ah?”

“Whether you guessed it or not, it’s okay if you accept it. “Isn’t that so?”

Giyang looked at Lee Gunseong as if he was astonished.

Gunseong Lee shrugged his shoulders.

“I also gave you high-quality tea leaves, but I hope you’ll look at this. “Maybe you’ll like it more.”

“….”

“Two people are better than being alone, right?”

Lee Gun-seong didn’t know much about Seoliang.

* * *

“It’s almost time for the sun to set.”

Seoliang, who was looking up at the sky, glanced at the training ground.

Ma Dong-pil was sitting cross-legged in the center of the training hall. There were numerous icons carved all over his body and his complexion was quite pale, but his expression was calm.

Xu Liang smiled.

“If you do it, you’re the one who does it.”

The life that Ma Dong-pil instinctively suppressed.

It was a life that had been accumulated during his duty to protect the law and was fully developed during the battle in Gojuk Forest.

The nobles of Gojuklim were so dangerous that even the best masters would die if they made a mistake.

However, they are not beings with reason equal to that of humans. Words were precious, but they were closer to animals.

In other words, Seo-ryang and Ma Dong-pil survived a bloody battle for eight months in the most dangerous wilderness in the world.

The only time animals kill sight and hide is when they are hunting. However, they had to fight to become strong, not to hunt for valuables.

Of course, I had no choice but to sharpen my momentum and make them nervous with my extreme killing skills.

In particular, Ma Dong-pil, who had less fighting skills than Seo-ryang, had to drive out the nobles at all costs.

That deadly force grew stronger day by day thanks to the power of Youngjuk. This is because, unlike Seoryang, Ma Dong-pil’s primary task at the time was ‘survival’ rather than ‘growth’.

Now is the time to use all that increased survival as a driving force for growth. It would have been better if he had realized it himself, but this method may not be a bad idea.

The important thing is not how you grow, but how you use the power you have grown.

“Well, let me get some rest while that bastard wakes up… okay?”

I could feel the strong pulse of real energy coming from beyond the gate.

Normally, I would have said all sorts of things, such as saying that I don’t have anyone to rest with or why there are so many people looking for me.

But he couldn’t complain.

This was because I knew who the owner of that energy wave was.

“…another interesting person came by.”

After a while, I heard someone getting off the carriage.

Rattling!

Seoryang also opened the door in advance.

Beyond the open door, a blunt Gogu twice as tall as Ma Dong-pil appeared.

“For what reason?”

“Can I come in?”

Seoliang swept the gogu up and down and said bluntly.

“I can’t give you tea.”

That’s how Gogu came inside.

He glanced at the training hall.

“It’s Captain Ma Dong-pil of the Protectorate.”

“I guess you could say he was a former leader of three. “He has now been suspended.”

“I didn’t know that our friendship was so deep that we were living together with someone who was suspended and had nothing to do.”

“I’m just doing my job. “I was selected as a personal escort.”

“Personal escort?”

Gogu nodded.

“It’s a bit inadequate to serve as a personal escort for a powerful person like the Three Dukes… hmm?”

Wooooow.

As if he had been waiting, a strong pulse of demonic energy began to pulsate from Ma Dong-pil’s body.

All of the latent life and death energy is being melted into magical energy.

It was difficult to find the starting point of the process, but if you could find it, you could quickly make it your own.

Xu Liang grinned.

“Yes, I thought it wasn’t enough, so I forcibly pulled it up.”

“….”

“So, why did you come all the way here in person?”

“Three Confucius.”

“why.”

“I feel this once again… but you are truly amazing.”

There was still no pitch in the voice. But it was clear that those words contained sincere admiration.

Seo-ryang asked, ‘Why is this guy acting like this all of a sudden?’ He made an expression like this.

“It’s not that I’m great, it’s that guy that’s great. “Because he was the one hiding that much potential in the first place.”

“It’s great to know how to bring it out.”

“If you think deeply about Qigong, it is a method that anyone can apply.”

“That’s why it’s amazing. Because most demons don’t worry that much about the use of qigong.”

“That is also true. So what do you want to say? Do you want to say that it is as dangerous as it is great?”

“I think it’s so obvious that there’s no need to say it.”

Xu Liang chuckled.

“Isn’t it okay if you say hello to someone like this? It’s not like we’re just joking around, right? “Get to the point.”

Gogu looked at Seoliang intently.

Seo-ryang’s face suddenly became uncomfortable. The expression on his face made me wonder why this guy was talking nonsense when he came without any message.

After a while, Gogu opened his mouth.

“I’m sure the Three Dukes know that the Emperor of Fasun is just around the corner.”

“Pasunje?”

I’ve heard of it, but what is it like?

Gogu said with a particularly serious expression.

“I’ll get to the point first. Please lend me your strength.”

…Oh, what else?