19

Cheol Gunjang stepped forward, lowered his body, and gripped Heukya.

The blood of the Demon Cult and the extreme fire energy began to flow, creating a strange vitality that spread throughout his body.

“I’ll do it my way.”

Cheol Wooseng, as though waiting for this moment, lifted his heavy iron club. He released a wave of killing intent toward Cheol Gunjang.

“I’ll crush your heart. We’ll see if there’s black blood inside.”

“Then I’ll aim for your neck. Your words stink with decay.”

Cheol Wooseng, the lord of the Manbyeongcheol family, raised his club, while Cheol Gunjang slowly lowered his stance, sharpening his intent.

In the space between these two, the son and father were about to clash, weapons drawn.

Im Segyeol, seeing the tension between them, anxiously paced back and forth.

It was clear they weren’t enemies, but the weaponry aimed at each other indicated a rift far deeper than he could have imagined.

Spotting Halmeom Song Ok in the corner, he rushed over to her and asked, “Is there no way out of this? At this rate, either the father will kill the son or the son will kill the father!”

“It’s too far gone to turn back now.”

Halmeom Song Ok shook her head heavily.

At least, when Lady Yesolyeong was still alive, she could have mediated.

But Lady Yesolyeong had died due to Geum Myeonghwa’s tricks, and Cheol Wooseng didn’t even allow a proper funeral.

The old Halmeom and the young Cheol Gunjang were left to perform a crude cremation in the abandoned forge of the Manbyeongcheol family.

The stench of her decay.

The flames that burned Lady Yesolyeong’s body still hadn’t died. Even in Cheol Gunjang’s heart, and in Song Ok’s.

“Dae Gongja seemed to have prepared himself at the last funeral.”

That’s why Song Ok could accept the changes in Cheol Gunjang.

There was nowhere to retreat now; they could only fight.

Her gaze turned to the broken Green Jade ornament lying on the floor.

She had hoped to keep it for her entire life.

But if it meant saving Cheol Gunjang, she would lay down her pride a hundred times. Even so, this broken ornament somehow felt like her life.

“Indeed, it seems like the mountain people of Mukbaegim are the same. Like their ancestors, they’ve all fallen to the Demon Cult.”

Cheol Wooseng alternated his gaze between Cheol Gunjang and Song Ok, sneering.

The mountain people of Mukbaegim.

There was no place called Mukbaegim in Bukcheon.

‘It’s beyond the Extreme North.’

Beyond the northernmost front, the white and black forests and mountains were called Mukbaegim.

And it was there that people had lived for centuries.

Bukcheon referred to them disparagingly as ‘mountain people.’ These people weren’t entirely Bukcheon’s, nor were they completely part of the Demon Cult of the Extreme North. They existed in a strange middle ground for centuries.

‘In Bukcheon, they’re called Demon Cult-affected people, and in the Demon Cult, they’re seen as half-bloods and distanced.’

These people lived in dark and harsh winds, which is why they were taller and had slightly pointed ears compared to normal humans.

Halmeom was also from the mountain people’s clan, being tall with slightly pointed ears.

‘To ensure the safety of the Extreme North Expedition, they had to go through Mukbaegim.’

They never communicated with the outside world, but during the Extreme North Expedition, they began to interact with Bukcheon.

Since other lands in the Extreme North were blocked by the Moonless Legion or the Four Great Demon Beasts, the only remaining path was Mukbaegim.

And that’s when they met with the expedition forces. The soldiers, who had barely made it through, agreed to pass by Mukbaegim after making a pact with the mountain people.

‘We are not here to harm you, but only to eradicate the demons in the Extreme North.’

‘How can we trust that?’

‘We’ll prove our sincerity through marriage.’

‘At least bring a man of the level of Bukcheon’s Sixth Disciple or the Eight Grandmasters.’

However, none of the men in the Six Disciplines or Eight Grandmasters were suitable at the time.

So, after much deliberation, Bukcheon suggested Cheol Wooseng, the second son of the Manbyeongcheol family.

‘How about the next generation’s Third Grandmaster?’

‘The Manbaeksun family refuses.’

‘The Manbyeongcheol family?’

‘We’ll accept them.’

Thus, the loveless, strategic marriage began between Ye Solyeong and Cheol Wooseng, and the end result was what it had become.

Cheol Gunjang brushed his rain-drenched hair back with his left hand.

“Pathetic.”

“What did you say?”

“You can only mock me for being born the way I am.”

Swish.