122 – The First Shot (2)

Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon
Chapter 122 – The First Shot (2)
Translated by : moonchildkhz

***

As soon as he heard the news, Woon-seong ran for the Heavenly Mountains without a moment’s rest. 

Nanchang, where the King’s Court was, was many thousands of miles from the Heavenly Mountains, where the Demonic Cult’s headquarters lay. 

It wasn’t an easy route for Woon-seong, even though he was in the realm of Semi-Divinity. 

On the way, Woon-seong threw away the iron bracers weighing him down. With a burst of speed, he flew towards the west. 

However, as time passed, fatigue began to build up. 

Soon his entire body was tingling. 

He tried to decrease his fatigue using his qi and the Heavenward Soul Earthen Body, but it was not easy. 

It was only natural for him to burnout without proper rest. 

However, Woon-seong was able to reach the Heavenly Mountains within seven days and seven nights. 

I feel sorry for those kids I promised, but I don’t have enough time right now.

It would take time to pick them up and then they would slow his travels even more. 

Woon-seong could not spare even a second. 

It was because the Martial Alliance had attacked the Cult of the Heavenly Demon first, a sudden shot signaling war. 

In such a situation, the Heavenly Demon could not be absent. 

Some might say that instead of returning to the Cult, it would be better to assist the attacked branches first. 

But that was a bad choice. 

A total of eighteen branches had been attacked.

It was as if all the branches the Alliance knew about had been ambushed. 

Also, Woon-seong was only one person. 

Unless he had eighteen bodies, there was a limit to what he could do by himself.

It was better to return quickly and find a way to help everyone. 

Woon-seong actions were a reasonable choice as the leader of a large organization. 

“I was waiting for you. Please step inside.”

When Woon-seong arrived, Sang Gwan-chuk was waiting for him outside. 

As he went inside, the Demonic Masters, Demonic Kings, and some Great Demons were gathered in the palace. 

Their expressions were serious. 

They had never been in this situation before. 

Historically, it had always been the Cult of the Heavenly Demon who attacked first. 

But the Martial Alliance had attacked first this time…

Woon-seong swiftly walked to his throne and sat down.

The Demonic Masters were once again ten, as the two empty seats had been filled by the Demonic Kings. 

But there was no time for introductions. 

Searching the crowd, Woon-seong asked Sang Gwan-chuk. 

“So, what is the situation?”

“We have been attacked, but the damage is minimal.”

“There’s not much damage…”

Sang Gwan-chuk nodded. 

“For this attack, I ordered them to flee instead of defend. We destroyed supplies and burned documents so the enemies wouldn’t get their hands on them. Most of your people escaped and are currently in hiding.”

“What about the Demonic storages and the secret lines?”

The storages held the necessary materials and supplies needed to sustain the cult. 

The secret lines referred to the guides and informants the Demonic Cult had placed in Murim. 

Managing these two was the main task of each branch. 

It was only natural to worry about these two, since if it was serious, the Demonic Cult would have some problems in the war. 

Sang Gwan-chuk replied, “One of the storages has been attacked, but it was a small one.”

“So the supplies we have are sufficient?”

“What about the secret lines?”

“Some of the secret lines at Hubei and Sichuan have gone silent, but we already prepared their replacements. I was able to manage it.”

“That’s a relief.”

Woon-seong breathed out a sigh of relief, the tension in his chest relaxing a little. 

For an ambush, the damage was pretty minor. 

It was at that moment that the Wind Demon Fist King, Koo Jong-byuk, stepped forward. 

“Leader, may I say a few words?”

The Fist King was frowning, as if ashamed that the Martial Alliance had been the ones to strike preemptively. 

He was a feisty figure. 

“I’m sure the Martial Alliance thinks our cult is weaker than them, so they attacked us. I think it’s right for you to declare a holy war and show them the power of the Demonic Cult.”

“I also agree.”

“I also think the Fist King is right.”

The Demonic Masters and Demonic Kings shouted out in agreement. 

Woon-seong glanced at Sang Gwan-chuk, who met his eyes and nodded. 

Woon-seong raised his hand and the noisy palace immediately quieted down. 

Once the commotion subsided, Woon-seong spoke. 

“You probably didn’t know, but I was outside for the last few months.”

There was some chattering. 

“Is the Leader saying that he was not in the Demonic Cult?”

“Then who was it that we saw then?”

Probably no one outside the very inner circle had realized that Woon-seong was gone, since Sang Gwan-chuk’s replacement had imitated Woon-seong’s behavior and habits well.

Woon-seong raised his hand to silence them once again. 

He then continued. 

“While I was gone, I was in Zhongyuan. Do you know why I went there?”

Sang Gwan-chuk said nothing. He was the only person who knew why Woon-seong had left for Zhongyuan. 

The others shook their heads and looked at each other, not knowing the answer. 

Woon-seong told them the shocking reason: 

“I went because of a rumor that an outsider was involved in the death of the previous leader, who was also my master.”

The palace was stunned into silence. 

The Heavenly Demon had lost his life through an outsider’s intervention. 

That was blasphemy. 

The Heavenly Demon was a god to them. 

His dignity could not be sullied by an outsider. 

Frostily, Woon-seong continued, “I went to Zhongyuan to find out the truth for myself. And the rumor was true.”

Perhaps, on the inside, all of those gathered were also raging. 

“Then do you know who the villain is?” Woon-seong asked. 

Those gathered raised their heads, eyes burning with anger and hatred.

It was as if as soon as Woon-seong revealed the culprit, they would attack the man on sight. 

And so Woon-seong told them: 

“The villain is the Emperor.”

Suddenly, the fighting spirit froze, as if struck by lightning. 

It was because of the weight of the word ‘emperor’.

But wait a minute…

Their eyes changed once more.

Even if it was the emperor, he had to pay for his sacrilege. 

The Fist King raised his fist, shouting, “Even though he is an emperor, he has no right to murder a god of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. He must pay for his sin!”

The other Demons echoed the cry. 

Woon-seong nodded, “I also agree with that.”

At his words, the Demons raised their voices. 

“Please allow us to go to war!”

“Please allow us to go to war!”

“Give the Heavenly Demon’s punishment to the unbelievers who have insulted our god!”

“Give the Heavenly Demon’s punishment to the unbelievers who have insulted our god!”

Speaking to them, Woon-seong continued: 

“The villain is not only the Imperial Court. There is a group hiding behind the Emperor’s back, controlling him. The same group that instructed parts of the Alliance to attack our cult.”

The voices of the gathered demonic practitioners echoed louder and louder.

“Punish them, too!”

“Punish them, too!”

“Retribution!”

“Condemnation!”

Woon-seong nodded. 

“The current emperor has gone crazy. He became their puppet, and instead of being an exemplary ruler, he’s killing people. His sin is insulting your cult! Even though he’s an emperor, I shall not forgive him!”

Woon-seong growled and released his demonic energy. 

Burning with determination, the others also released their demonic energy. 

Soon, the Divine Palace was filled with demonic qi and flickered with the Divine Flame. 

It swirled and roared. 

At the center, Woon-seong cried out:

“King Jinseong has decided to help us! Some of the Orthodox sects, who are not yet controlled, will also be with us.”

As the Demonic Cult, they had never thought the Orthodox would also be on their side. 

But help was help. 

Woon-seong grabbed the White Night Spear and lifted it up, the spearhead shining brightly. 

“Therefore, we are going to attack the Emperor!”

“Therefore, we are heading to Zhongyuan!”

Pointing his spear, Woon-seong yelled one last command: 

“Prepare for war!”

As soon as Woon-seong spoke, the preparations for war began in earnest. 

The Senior Strategist had expected this and had long started the preparations. 

At Mount Heaven, the Order of the Divine Flame was issued. 

The Order of the Divine Flame was the Heavenly Demon’s call, summoning all people from the sects which obeyed the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. 

As soon as the order came down, demonic practitioners gathered in the name of the Divine Flame. 

There were about 50,000 people gathered from across the land. 

It was decided that at the lead would be two young martial artists, rallying for chance. 

Gwan Tae-ryang would lead the Charred Dragon Unit and Chun A-young would lead the White Ape Unit. 

Woon-seong had kept his promise to A-young, establishing the Divine Maiden as a leader of the war effort. 

Eight of the Twelve Supporting Units would be active. 

Two of the remaining four would be in charge of supplies and supporting the rear. The final two would be left to defend the Heavenly Mountains. 

The rest of the practitioners would be divided into four large units. 

On top of that, the Ten Demonic Masters would each lead their own forces, serving as independent military units. 

The only thing left after that was inspection of the various consumables, ranging from food and medicine to ammunition. 

Woon-seong soon stood in front of all the prepared Demons and said:

“We will go to Zhongyuan and punish the sinners.”

He pointed to the distance, where Zhongyuan was located.

“The war begins!”

TN: I did the math to see how fast Woon-seong was running. The distance between Nanchang and the Heavenly Mountains is about 2,250mi. Given that he made it within a week, he ran at least 13mph for seven days straight. Basically, mans ran 85 marathons back-to-back at a sub-2-hour pace. (Actually faster than the world-record by almost 2 minutes, as Woon-seong’s marathon time would be about 1:56.96)