Chapter 221: edited

The four men stared in disbelief at the claim that Jeok Wigang had become even stronger.

He could still get stronger than that?

“We have to admit it, don’t we?”

At Jeok Rigeuk’s words, Jeok Ripae gave a faint laugh.

“We do. How are we supposed to beat that? Even Father is struggling.”

Jeok Ripae looked at Jeok Wihwang and Jeok Wisin.

“What about you two? If you still want to challenge him, we’ll support you with everything we have.”

Jeok Wisin shook his head vehemently.

“I never understood the saying that you shouldn’t even look at a tree you can never climb. Now I do. I’ll be satisfied with what I achieved in seclusion.”

Jeok Wihwang nodded as well.

“I was already struggling under the pressure of having to become Lord of the Castle. Now I can finally live without that burden.”

“What are you talking about? You were feeling pressured?”

“Yes. I wanted to become a martial artist as powerful as Grandfather, but I know better than anyone that I could never reach that level. It weighed heavily on me.... But I don’t have to worry about it anymore. We have a new Lord who is so strong that even Grandfather can’t handle him.”

“I’m sorry. I thought this was what you wanted.”

“It was. I simply didn’t want Heavenly Martial Castle, which Grandfather built, to pass into someone else’s hands.”

“You’ve really grown up.”

While Jeok Rigeuk looked proudly at his son—

“You bastards! What are you doing?!”

Jeok Rigeuk grinned at Jeok Mugun’s shout.

“Father! You look like you’re having fun! We’ll leave so we don’t get in your way!”

“No! I’m not having fun! I said I’m not having fun!”

“Father! Your lifelong wish was to find someone worth challenging. Enjoy yourself!”

Seeing Jeok Rigeuk shout that with a broad smile, Jeok Ripae chuckled.

“What?”

“Brother, you’ve changed a lot.”

“How?”

“The way you’re talking and acting right now. You’re like the mischievous boy you were when we were children.”

“Am I? I don’t know. I just feel strangely at ease. Liberated, maybe.”

“Do you? I feel the same.”

“You do?”

“I’ve never seen Father like this either. It’s not bad.”

“I wish he’d shown us this side of himself sooner.”

“He probably had too much weight on his shoulders back then. I understand.”

“True. You’re right. Father now... looks as liberated as we feel.”

“He does.”

“What about you two?”

At Jeok Rigeuk’s question, Jeok Wihwang and Jeok Wisin smiled.

“We feel relieved too. Being Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle comes with far too °• N ?? v ?? l i g h t •° much to shoulder.... I feel sorry for Wigang.”

“That boy doesn’t seem like the sort to care about such things. How should I put it? Even sitting in the Lord’s seat, he’d still seem like a free spirit.”

“I agree with you, Brother. And Heavenly Martial Castle will probably grow far greater than it is now.”

“I imagine so.”

Jeok Rigeuk looked at Jeok Wigang.

“It’s strange. I don’t regret this at all.”

“It would be stranger if you did. How could you still say that after seeing this?”

A monster who could leave even the mighty Heavenly Martial Emperor struggling.

Regret or jealousy required the two sides to at least be somewhere near the same level.

When the difference was this overwhelming, there was no room for such feelings.

“I miss our youngest today.”

“Let’s pick a day and visit the True Martial Sect.”

Jeok Rigeuk chuckled at Jeok Ripae’s suggestion.

“Let’s do that.”

The four men left, abandoning Jeok Mugun to be mercilessly battered around by Jeok Wigang.

“You bastards! Come back!”

For some reason, Jeok Mugun’s desperate cry sounded particularly pleasant today.

******

With the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle and every department head gathered, Jeok Mugun made his declaration.

“Starting today, this bastard is Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle. Nobody objects, right?”

“No!”

And just like that, Jeok Wigang became Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.

Everyone had wanted him in the position, so not a single person objected.

If anything, the department heads were more anxious about delaying matters in case Wigang changed his mind.

Jeok Wigang frowned.

“Grandfather. Don’t I get to be Young Lord or something first? I barely know anything about Heavenly Martial Castle. Who puts someone straight into the Lord’s seat like this?”

“What do you mean you barely know anything, you brat? How many people sitting here don’t know you? And you turned every corner of Heavenly Martial Castle upside down while hunting those White Horse Heaven bastards. What do you mean you don’t know the Castle? You probably know more about it than I do.”

Jeok Mugun’s words finally made Jeok Rigeuk and Jeok Ripae realize that Jeok Wigang had spent time at Heavenly Martial Castle while they were in seclusion.

“Wigang... No, Lord of the Castle. You were here before?”

Now that he had become Lord, they could no longer casually call him by name.

“Was he merely here? He forged every weapon those bastards over there are carrying, fixed every problem Heavenly Martial Castle had, and even killed the White Horse Heaven demon hiding inside the Castle.”

He really had done a great deal.

Wait.

He had forged all those weapons?

“Don’t tell me the craftsman Master Smith Cheon acknowledged was...?”

At Jeok Rigeuk’s question, Master Smith Cheon nodded.

“That’s right. That bastard is the one... No, the Lord of the Castle is. At this point, I’m the one who ought to be learning from him.”

Good heavens.

“He also completely rebuilt the formations inside the Seven-Star Ascension Tower. There isn’t anyone who can beat that bastard when it comes to formations either.”

Formations too?

“Our new Lord really is extraordinary. Is there anything he can’t do? Next you’ll be telling me he’s an accomplished physician too.”

“Huh? He is. That bastard over there had severed meridians. Our Lord healed him, and now he’s serving as strategist.”

Jeok Rigeuk had only been joking.

“That is correct. The Lord cured my incurable condition, allowing me to serve as Heavenly Martial Castle’s strategist. I can only do everything in my power not to disappoint the faith he placed in me.”

Was there anything left that could possibly surprise them?

“Are you going to tell everyone?”

“We have to. We can’t hide it forever.”

The hall fell silent at Jeok Wigang’s words.

Hide what?

There couldn’t possibly be anything even more shocking than this.

Everyone focused on him.

“These four bodyguards of mine, whom I appointed as the Four Divine Guardians of Heavenly Martial Castle... are actually people all of you know quite well.”

Everyone tilted their heads.

No matter how closely they looked, those were faces they had never seen before.

“They were once known as the Four Divine Demons.”

The hall instantly fell silent.

“Return to your true appearances.”

At Jeok Wigang’s command, the Four Divine Demons restored their original forms.

No one knew how to react, so they glanced toward Jeok Mugun.

“Why are you looking at me? I already gave my permission.”

“Is... is this truly all right?”

“The Four Divine Demons no longer exist. There are only the Four Divine Guardians who serve our Lord. Is there a problem?”

Everyone shook their heads.

If they objected and Jeok Wigang decided he no longer wanted to be Lord, that would be a far greater disaster.

They were just about to answer that there was no problem when—

“Hey!”

A sharp voice rang through the hall.

Someone charged straight toward the Four Divine Demons, crimson robes billowing behind her.

The Nameless Star, Hong Yehwa.

The instant she rushed toward the Four Divine Demons, one man went deathly pale.

Kang Mujin, the Heaven-Conquering Divine Demon.

“Ghk! H-How are you here...?”

“Shut up!”

Whoosh—!

Whum—

Hong Yehwa’s dagger flashed past Kang Mujin’s cheek like lightning.

So startled that he reacted too late, Kang Mujin failed to dodge completely, and blood trickled down his cheek.

Drip—

Hong Yehwa’s face twisted when she saw it.

“What...!”

She shouted at him.

“Why didn’t you dodge that?!”

Kang Mujin stood frozen.

“...Because it was you.”

Hong Yehwa’s hand trembled.

“You...!”

She clenched her teeth.

“What is this? You should’ve dodged properly!”

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

Hong Yehwa stepped closer.

Their eyes met.

“Did you ever love me?”

The entire hall went silent at her question.

Kang Mujin lowered his head for a moment.

Then, as though giving an answer he had rehearsed countless times, he spoke carefully.

“I loved you....”

“Gasp!”

“Oh!”

Exclamations escaped from all around the hall.

Everyone was utterly absorbed as though it were their own affair.

Hong Yehwa did not look surprised.

She simply asked like someone who had endured all these years just to hear those words.

“Do you mean it?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you leave me?”

“Because there was something I had to do.”

“And that was... conquering the Central Plains?”

“Yes.”

Kang Mujin smiled bitterly.

“My subconscious kept compelling me to do it. I wasn’t in a position where I could resist.”

Hong Yehwa’s voice lowered.

“Then why aren’t you doing it now? If your subconscious told you to, shouldn’t you still be doing it?”

“After Big Brother beat the hell out of me, I came to my senses....”

“Ah....”

“That makes sense....”

“After taking that beating, there’s no way anyone could stay out of their senses.”

A solemn mood fell over the hall.

Everyone there had been punched by Jeok Wigang before.

If someone could take those fists and still fail to come to their senses, they probably were no longer among the living.

Jeok Wigang subtly stepped between the two.

“It may have been because of the Demon-Brain Divine Demon’s brainwashing.”

Hong Yehwa’s expression softened considerably.

“When I saw you again....”

Her voice trembled, thick with tears.

“...I wanted to kill you....”

“If that is what you wish, I won’t resist.”

Kang Mujin bowed his head deeply.

Hong Yehwa dropped her dagger to the floor.

“You idiot....”

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“At a time like this... you’re supposed to come over here and hug me....”

“What right do I have...?”

She threw herself into his arms.

Warmth—and the scent of her that he had forgotten for so long—brushed against Kang Mujin’s nose.

“...I’m sorry.”

Kang Mujin wrapped his arms around Hong Yehwa.

“If you’re sorry....”

Hong Yehwa buried her face against his chest.

“...then don’t leave me again.”

A smile touched Kang Mujin’s lips.

“We’re family now. Where would I even go?”

Family.

Hong Yehwa looked toward Jeok Wigang.

Thanks to him, she had reunited with the man she loved.

And she had gotten him back.

Seeing the look in Hong Yehwa’s eyes, Jeok Wigang gave a faint laugh.

“As Lord of the Castle, I’ll issue my first order.”

Everyone immediately lowered their heads with tense expressions.

Kang Mujin and Hong Yehwa separated and bowed as well.

“Kang Mujin. Hong Yehwa.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“I order the two of you to marry.”

Kang Mujin and Hong Yehwa jerked their heads up in shock.

“If you don’t want to, then both of you can leave Heavenly Martial Castle.”

“Th-That is....”

“Yes!”

Hong Yehwa’s answer rang through the hall.

Kang Mujin stared blankly at her before breaking into a hearty laugh.

Then he answered just as loudly.

“Yes! I’ll do it!”

Laughter and applause spread through the hall.

Two people driven apart by bloodshed and misunderstanding had finally found themselves standing on the same path again.

Watching them, Ye Yahyeon and Jin Muryang frowned and grumbled.

“Damn it. Maybe I should find myself someone too.”

“Tell me about it. Now I’m getting jealous for no reason.”

They glanced to the side and saw Baek Ryeongso clapping enthusiastically with a broad smile.

Their sighs only deepened.

Two of the Four Divine Demons now had partners.

“What an excellent beginning! Hahaha! We even have a new couple, and our Lord has already issued his first command. No one has any objections now, right?”

“None!”

“Then greet your new Lord.”

Rustle—!

Countless people prostrated themselves at once and shouted in thunderous unison.

“We shall serve you with all our hearts! Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle! Long live! Long live! Long live forever!”

Watching the sight with a deeply satisfied smile, Jeok Mugun thought that he no longer had anything left to wish for.