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152 – The Black Way (2)
Ta-da, ta-da.
Under a shaking lantern, there were men facing each other with serious faces.
“Have you heard the story? ”
“Yes. They say that both Qinghai and Gansu have fallen to the Demonic Cult.”
“Whoa, so the Demonic Cult is really coming?
They were the leaders of factions near the cities of Barkham, Guangyuan, and Jiuzhaigou [1].
Now that Gansu Province had fallen into the hands of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, their goal was to discuss what to do, since it was clear the Cult would be coming.
The Demonic Cult was strong enough to take down two provinces with minor damage.
Now matter how united they were, their factions would not be able to confront the Cult.
There had already been attempts where the sects gathered to fight against the Cult, both in Gansu and Qinghai.
There was the Qaidam Basin and the Qinghai Alliance. But both failed to overcome the tyranny of the Cult.
Their defeat proved that the medium-sized factions could not stop the advancement of the Cult, no matter how united they were.
It was natural for everyone to worry.
“Don’t worry so much.”
There was someone who spoke.
He was the oldest and most experienced of the ones gathered.
It was Nok Ho-kyung, the leader of Jiuzhaigou Gate in Jiuzhaigou. He was sitting near the top of the sect leaders.
As he spoke, everyone else went silent.
“We are the people of Sichuan. There are two elite factions in Sichuan that cannot be compared to others.”
“The Sichuan Tang Clan!”
“The Qingcheng Sect!”
The Sichuan Tang Clan, renowned for its control of poison and silent assassination. And the Qingcheng Sect, one of the major Toaist swordsmanship sects. They were the powerhouses of the Sichuan Murim, pillars that had never been broken before.
Recalling them, the sect leaders gathered relaxed.
“I hear they are working together to prepare for the Cult of the Heavenly Demon’s arrival. Are we not martial artists of Sichuan? If we join the battle, even the Cult of the Heavenly Demon will not be able to advance easily.”
“We shall march. We must show them the poisons of the Sichuan Tang, desolating their blood.”
Several of the sect leaders nodded. Poison was a weapon that allowed a third-rate to kill a second-rate and a second-rate to kill a first-rate.
Among others, the poison of the Sichuan Tang was special. If used well, they could defeat the Demonic Cult.
We see power in that

The eyes of the Sichuan cultivators twinkled.
Nok Ho-kyung focused on these thoughts.
“In addition, there is a special relationship between the Sichuan Tang and Namman Yasu Palace, which has agreed to send 500 beasts, including memorandums and statues.”
The Namman Yasu Palace was a sect that spanned Kangho, from Inner Mongolia to Yunnan Province. Since ancient times, it held a special relationship with the Sichuan Tang.
Among the poisons that the Sichuan Tang made, some ingredients were only grown in very special places, which only the Namman Yasu could obtain.
Plus, the Palace trained beasts.
The memorandum referred to a rhinoceros, which had thick leather that swords could not cut.
The statue was a war elephant. With it’s massive stature and force, it could kill a man in an instant.
The beast squad dealt with such rhinos and elephants.
If 500 beasts were dispatched, then about 100 rhinos and elephants would be sent.
Hearing Nok Ho-kyung’s words, the sect leaders shouted in joy.
“If they join, we’ll be able to show just how poisonous this province is.”
“Come on, let’s get ready to join the Sichuan Tang and Qingcheng Sect! ”
Several hasty sect leaders shouted, immediately looking like they were going to run and join.
Nok Ho-ryung stopped them.
“Now, calm down. Even if we join them, we are martial artists. We can’t just run in, can we?”
“
.?”
Some sect leaders titled their heads.
“It would be nice to fight the demons, but how should we do it? Hand to hand combat is a must, but is that the only tactic?”
Several sect leaders blinked; they were good at fighting but not very good at strategy.
One of the faster sect leaders exclaimed, “Scorched earth tactic!”
Nok Ho-ryung nodded, “That’s right. ”
“Wow, what a trick.”
Even if they retreated, it was a tactic that burned and poisoned, leaving the enemy with nothing to use.
At that, the people gathered around the table had excited expressions.
“Hey!”
It was then that a loud noise was heard from outside.
Nok Ho-ryung frowned at the commotion. He opened the door of the room, screaming, “What’s with the noise?”
A guard respectfully bowed and answered, “The Black Law is here to see you.”
“Black Law?”
His eyebrows twitched.
At that time, a group of people poured into the room.
It was the Black Law Sect. They shouted as they rushed inside.
“What are you talking about?”
“What are you talking about?!”
Nok Ho-ryung chewed on his lips, finding them annoying.
One of the Black Law Sect members shouted, “I heard that Barkham, Guangyuan, and Jiuzhaigou will be abandoned.”
Nok Ho-ryung flinched. Now that I think about it, how did they know we were here?
Nok Ho-ryung turned and glared at the other sect leaders.
Several flinched. They were the ones who had been preparing to flee, and it seemed the rumor had gotten out.
Idiots. There’s no reason to hide now.
“So what does that have to do with you? ”
“Huh, you’re just going to abandon us?” the Black Way exclaimed.
That aroused Nok Ho-ryung’s anger. “Bullshit, abandoning? Someone would think that we were taking care of your Black Way horde!”
At his words, the Black Way members shouted back with righteous indignation: “When I doubled my protection fees, more than half of that money went into your pockets. We ransacked merchants in the marketplace, since you said you needed to build a store. You wanted a woman, so I kidnapped her. We’ve worked so hard, how can you abandon us?”
Nok Ho-ryung looked ready to collapse. “Bastards!”
His blade shone in the room.
It looked like he wanted to split the people into nine ribbons, but he only slashed one of them.
Sobbing-
“You’re talking nonsense with your useless mouths. If you don’t get out of here right now, I will have your heads. ”
“Ugh
 ugh
 ”
The Black Way members trembled
Everything the dead man just said was true.
The complete truth, with not one lie
Nok Ho-ryung and the others had supported the Black Way for their own interests. Under the pretext of defending his cause, he had not rooted out the weeds.
“Hey, what are you doing? Go away! If you don’t leave by the count of three, I’ll kill you all!”
At Nok Ho-ryung’s words, the other sect leaders also drew their swords
Clang-
The Black Way trembled; they were not the kind of people who could deal with the sect leaders.
In the end, the Black Way had no choice but to return trembling at the actions of the so-called Orthodox faction.
The fear tactics were as expected.
But there was something the Orthodox couldn’t stop.
It was a rumor.
Rumors began to spread that the Black Way had been raised by the Orthodox faction themselves.
The Demonic Army, which had seized Barkham, Guangyuan, and Jiuzhaigou without battle, had settled nearby.
Even the demonic knew about the rumors going on in these three cities.
“Scorched earth
 What an interesting move.”
Woon-seong heard the rumors and laughed.
“Don’t worry.” Sang Gwan-chuk said, “Most of our supplies have been replenished and our secret lines are still intact. Even if the enemy goes the scorched earth route, it won’t be a big deal.”
Woon-seong nodded.
“The other problem is the Black Way. The rumors spread publically that the Orthodox factions were raising them, so they’re crying out about justice.”
“The factional bastards are just that hypocritical.”
Woon-seong looked down at the map of Sichuan as he said so. Of course, there were those who were not, but for the sake of profit, many would close their eyes to injustice.
It was corruption due to the sweetness of money.
Nevertheless, Woon-seong despised those who prided themselves on being self-righteous.
Sichuan Tang, Qingcheng Sect.
And many other minor factions.
In fact, Sichuan could be said to be the hotbed of factions Woon-seong hated.
I can’t forgive any of you.
Those who were faux righteous drove him and his master to their deaths. Woon-seong could not forgive those people.
Then a soldier approached the tent and called out, “My lord.”
At the call, Sang Gwan-chuk walked out to hear the report. He then came back inside and repeated the information.
The content was simple.
“The Black Way people who have been tossed aside by the Orthodox faction wish to see the Leader. I do not know what it is about, so I will deal with them.”
Woon-seong nodded, then stopped.
He then got up.
I wonder what they’re thinking

“No, I’ll go and meet them for a while.”
[1] Barkham, Guanyuan, and Jiuzhaigou are all cities in Sichuan Province, but near the border with Gansu Province