Book 9: Chapter 17: Blood Rain

The deepest part of the encirclement.

The underground shelter.

There were people trying to survive.

Hundreds of poor workers were hiding their bodies in a massive and complex underground space.

This space, where construction to connect with the underground grand waterway was underway, was perfectly suitable for taking refuge to avoid the execution squad of the Third Young Master's side.

“The others also—” the righteous warrior, who opened his mouth to talk to the one guarding the passage with him, inhaled sharply.

These underground passages echoed sound so well that it was goosebump-inducing.

Perhaps because of that although there were hundreds of people here, the sound of sharing conversations could not even be heard.

Only occasionally, the murmuring of those offering prayers inside could be heard faintly through the passage.

[Have the others also taken refuge well?] he chose sound transmission instead, and the fellow righteous warrior who received the sound transmission nodded.

[It must be so. The workers knew best that there were underground spaces being constructed in various places.] he looked around and continued the sound transmission.

[If only these waterways had been properly completed and connected to the underground grand waterway…] at those words, the other party shook his head.

[No. If that had been the case, we would have had to collapse the underground passage with our own hands. Since they would have used it as an intrusion route.] he swallowed hard and said.

[Moreover, haven't you heard that story about Luoyang's underground grand waterway?] a terrible fishy smell.

[What story do you mean?] the wind blowing through the passage, which was extremely dark due to the blackout, was chilling.

[There is a rumor that 'all sorts of things' gather in this underground grand waterway of Luoyang.] as they drew closer, the one guarding the passage pinched his nose.

[…I have heard such rumors, but isn't it just a groundless rumor?] they did not know.

[Uh, no it isn't.] the other party waved his hand.

[Last month, three righteous warriors…] just as he was about to elaborate on his words, into the passage where they were standing, a group of people was rushing in while carrying someone on their back.

“Step aside, there!”

“A physician! Is there no physician?!”

[They are comrades from the Spring of Luoyang…!] he pushed his colleague, sending him to find a physician, and asked.

[Aren't they the ones who were standing guard?!] they were the righteous warriors who had been hiding and standing guard at the entrance connected to the ground.

“Did the enemies discover us?!”

“No! This person just fainted! But he hit his head while falling!”

“Fainted? What happened that—?!”

“We do not know what happened either!”

“…Ugh!”

It was a smell of blood so strong that it twisted one's nose.

“Wh-What is this…?”

“You must have a lantern! Please light it! At this rate, we will trip!”

He fumbled at his waist, took out the lantern that was hanging there, lit it, and joined them.

“……?!”

Under the shaking light of the lantern, his pupils contracted.

“Wh-What is this?”

The people he welcomed while holding the lantern were, without exception, completely red all over their bodies.

They were drenched in blood.

The righteous warrior who came close and took the lantern said to him.

“Right now, outside…”

His blood-soaked gaze was trembling in uncontrollable confusion.

“blood rain is falling.”

* * *

The Luoyang Sword Family.

The Third Young Master's Tactician Department.

There were those who had only now learned of the situation.

The entrance of the Third Young Master's Tactician Department, where carriages were waiting in a long line.

“What do you mean by that?! Under the circumstances where the Supreme Executive Council intervened, they organized an execution squad and entered?!”

It was thunderbolt-like news.

“Y-Yes. It is said that the Northern Hengshan Sect became the main pillar and entered the encirclement…”

“Did we not clearly instruct them to wait at the Tactician Department?!”

At the screaming prompt from the high-ranking tactician, the messenger of the Tactician Department, who was drenched, gasped and bowed his head.

“We definitely delivered it like that, but…”

“Right now, the Grand Tacticians of the Left and Right were just about to visit the place in person to deliver instructions…!”

The high-ranking tactician stamped his feet.

“Just what on earth is going on…”

There was a thought that flashed through his mind.

“Who was it?!”

At his sudden shout, the messenger raised his head in confusion.

“There is no way the Northern Hengshan Sect, which has nothing to lose, would have stepped forward first just to achieve merit! There must be someone who instigated the leadership by holding them responsible!”

Indeed, it was a judgment worthy of a high-ranking tactician.

“That is…”

However, the answer that came back from the other party did not satisfy his expectations.

“The leadership was in such a chaotic state… There was someone who shouted about responsibility at first, but we do not know who it was. After that, without exception, everyone drove the Sect Leader of the Northern Hengshan Sect to be the one responsible for the situation…”

“Damn it! Those greedy, cursed old men…!”

* * *

The road entering the city area of Luoyang.

There was one who escaped after instigating confusion among his allies.

'…Whatever happens to the rear is none of my business.'

The former Sect Leader of the Diancang Sect thought as he cleared the hair tangled on his forehead.

'But why are the forces of the Main Family here…? Don't tell me the forces dispatched by the Supreme Executive Council are already here?'

He looked at the forces passing them.

They did not even pay attention to the Diancang warriors who were returning like defeated soldiers, but only marched silently in the rain.

He concentrated his vision and rolled his eyes here and there, but it was not easy to find the person who looked like the one in charge in this rain and darkness.

'…Whatever it is, it must surely be the arrangement of Yeon So-hyeon, that devil-like bastard, and the Supreme Executive Council!'

* * *

“Is that story true?”

Behind the high-ranking tactician and the messenger, surrounded by the personnel of the Tactician Department who were thoroughly prepared, the Grand Tacticians of the Left and Right revealed themselves.

“Oh, you have come!”

Ignoring the high-ranking tactician who hastily bowed his head to express respect, the Grand Tactician of the Left asked the messenger.

“Is it certain that the Supreme Executive Council issued a temporary ban on the use of force?”

“Yes, it is definitely so according to what was heard at the leadership.”

“And that the Supreme Executive Council will intervene?”

“Although that is not something the tacticians of the field leadership have clearly confirmed—” the high-ranking tactician, who was bowing his head, answered instead.

“So, the Northern Hengshan Sect, which was pressured to take responsibility for the situation, and the personnel of some small and medium sects who wanted to achieve merit, entered the encirclement to resolve the matter before the Supreme Executive Council intervened?”

“Yes, you are correct.”

“Was there an official announcement from the Supreme Executive Council?”

“There has been no official announcement yet, but…”

“According to the intelligence that just came in, the Administrative Office of the Supreme Executive Council was extremely busy. And…”

“And?”

“There is information that the War Department of the Main Family secretly sent out a 'large-scale force'.”

The Grand Tactician of the Right's eyebrows furrowed.

“Has the Supreme Executive Council already moved its forces?”

“It means that the Supreme Executive Council has secured a way to wrap up this matter.”

The Grand Tactician of the Left reached a conclusion.

Although he did not know that the order form of the Luoyang Governor existed.

By putting the remaining pieces together, he could reach a conclusion that was almost close to the truth regarding the current situation.

“…We have been cleanly played here.”

The Grand Tactician of the Right also reached the same conclusion.

“Brother Zhuge is right.”

The Grand Tactician of the Right continued as he took off the raincoat he was awkwardly wearing.

“This is a trap set targeting us.”

At those words, the high-ranking tactician's eyes widened.

“A-A trap, you say?”

The Grand Tactician of the Left said with a bitter expression.

“Yes. It is a trap. The Supreme Executive Council has already moved, but they did not make an official announcement that they would intervene. However, our side broke the prior order and showed movement.”

The Grand Tactician of the Right picked up the words like a sigh.

“Since we broke the order first, the Supreme Executive Council now has a justification for the forces they had moved to 'immediately' intervene in this matter.”

They almost guessed Yeon So-hyeon's aim, who had sent Elder Yu to the leadership in advance to bring about the theory of responsibility along with a warning.

“And they will wrap up the matter with a method we do not know yet.”

The Grand Tactician of the Left also took off his raincoat and threw it harshly to the ground.

“Whoever it is, it is a scheme devised by someone who thoroughly saw through the nature of our leadership!”

He shouted, unable to suppress his boiling anger.

“I feel like we have been played with from beginning to end! At this point, there is nothing we can touch! We have been completely beaten!”

The Grand Tactician of the Right, while listening to the shout of the Grand Tactician of the Left, asked the messenger.

“Who brought the Supreme Executive Council's order to temporarily stop the use of force?”

The messenger hastily bowed his head.

“We heard it was an elderly woman who smokes tobacco. There was also testimony that they heard she was an elder, but…”

With only that, there was no way to specify.

“…Now, what we can believe in is.”

The Grand Tactician of the Left, who held his head in his hands, picked up the words of the Grand Tactician of the Right.

“…Although it will be difficult, we have no choice but to pray that the execution squad of the Northern Hengshan Sect succeeds.”

“Indeed. Only then can we somehow manage to clean up. But as Brother Zhuge said, it will be difficult…”

They turned around and headed toward the stairs again.

Even if they went to the scene in person now, it was obvious that it would be of no use.

Rather, it was like throwing themselves into confusion.

Instead of that, it was better to prepare measures to reduce damage in case of emergency.

“Difficult, you say? Isn't the Northern Hengshan Sect composed of those who inherited the lineage of the Hengshan Sect, one of the former Nine Great Sects?”

At the pessimistic attitude of the Grand Tacticians of the Left and Right, the high-ranking tactician finally opened his mouth.

“If they stepped forward while accepting the bleeding, would they not surely succeed?”

“That would be good. But…”

The Grand Tactician of the Left, who stopped his steps, looked back at the high-ranking tactician.

His expression was very sour.

“If it is a person who devised a scheme of this level…”

The Grand Tactician of the Right sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.

“no matter who pushes in, they must have been fully prepared to handle it.”

* * *

The checkpoint outside the encirclement.

The path heading toward the camp of the Third Young Master's side.

Sitting on a horse saddle, there was also one who was blankly looking up at the empty sky.

He was Elder Son, who had volunteered to go out to grasp the situation despite receiving ridicule from the Second Young Master's side.

“What is this…?”

He touched the liquid hitting his face with his hand.

That stickiness and fishy smell were definitely not ordinary rain.

“It is blood!”

The warriors of the checkpoint outside the encirclement, whom Elder Son had just passed, made a fuss.

“Blood is falling like rain!”

Elder Son's expression was blank as he watched them trying to enter under the narrow roof of the checkpoint.

“…Blood?”

The moment he looked at his palm again, lightning struck in the sky.

In that brief moment when the light of the lightning illuminated the surroundings in his hand, it was not blood, but 'transparent rain' that seemed to be flowing.

“……?!”

However, after that moment passed, his palm looked bloody again.

“Just what on earth…”

It was not just his palm.

His entire body, reflected in the campfire of the checkpoint, and everything in all directions were getting soaked by the blood rain falling from the sky.

Elder Son, who had no faith, muttered without realizing it.

“…O Primordial Heaven Honored One.”

He had only come to check, but.

He had only tried to confirm whether the Eldest Young Master was intervening in resolving the riot at the construction site of the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering stadium, but.

Something he could not have even imagined was unfolding here. "……."

With his mind completely blank, he looked up at the sky pouring blood rain with a dazed face.

* * *

The fortune teller who was reading fortunes in a small shop at the corner of an alley.

The Daoist who was wandering the back alleys.

The sorcerers deeply rooted in the darkness of Luoyang.

The entities that had hidden their appearances and permeated into the cracks of human society.

Everyone who had even a bit of divine energy was looking in the same direction at that exceptionally ominous energy.

* * *

The blood rain was falling locally only on the construction site of the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering.

It was surely an abnormal phenomenon caused by the demonic qi of the Scripture of Controlling Darkness and Shaking the Heavens that soared as if to pierce the sky. "……."

Emitting a shallow groan, the last breath of a warrior who was clutching the ground flowed out.

The body that was slightly convulsing soon stopped moving.

And the corpse receiving the pouring blood rain was not just one.

Passing his clenched fist, there was the leg of a twisted warrior here and there.

Passing that leg, passing the arm, passing the torso, passing the head the corpses littered on the uncompleted street continued endlessly.

Whether it leaked from their bodies or fell from the sky, a stream of blood that could not be distinguished was flowing fully on the ground of the street.

Their swords were all submerged in blood, no longer even visible.

And at the point where the procession of dozens of corpses and the gradually rougher flow of blood ended there was an old man trembling all over.

“Heeuuuuh…”

The more he convulsed, the deeper the claws that pierced his stomach dug in.

“Keureuk kkeureureuk—.”

Even with bloody foam in his mouth, the old man raised his trembling hands toward the opponent's face.

Was it to confirm the identity of the opponent who was taking his life or did he want to leave something behind at the very end?

Although that blood-stained hand finally grabbed the mask, the mask did not budge, as if stuck to the face.

“Keureureuk—.”

In the end with the meaning of his last gesture also becoming unknown, the old man's hands left long finger marks on the mask and fell limply to the ground.

Splash.

Slipping from the Dark Venerable's claws, the old man's corpse rolled carelessly on the ground.

This old man the 'Sect Leader of the Northern Hengshan Sect,' was the last one the Dark Venerable had to deal with.

The Dark Venerable raised his head toward the sky.

Receiving the blood pouring from the sky, he spread his arms.

As if to fully enjoy the results he had created, the landscape that could be called a demonic realm.

The execution squad, annihilated.