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Episode 208:  Every Action Has Consequences (2)

“Ugh!”

The leader’s mouth gaped open as his body trembled.

It felt like his entire body was being disassembled. But the pain was just beginning.

Dam-ho pressed down on his left knee.

Crack!

The knee cartilage shattered.

“Argh!”

The leader’s painful groan echoed in the night sky.

Dam-ho knelt with one foot on the leader’s chest and looked down at him.

“Who sent you?”

His voice was indifferent, but the leader could sense the anger within it.

“Ugh!”

A metallic sound came from the leader’s mouth. It was a strange noise, part laughter, part heavy breathing.

“If I tell you… will you spare me?”

“No!”

“Heh! I figured. That’s why gave up on living.”

Crunch!

The leader bit down on his molar. The tooth broke, releasing hidden poison that flowed down his throat.

His complexion turned black instantly. It was a fast-acting deadly poison.

The leader smiled.

“I may die, but your end won’t be good either. Your hell is just beginning. Everyone connected to you will be targeted. Can you imagine? You’ll be completely isolated.”

Even as he was dying, the leader cursed. But Dam-ho’s eyes showed no wavering.

“Know this before you die.”

“What?”

“I will uncover your identity. And I will kill everyone connected to you. Wife, children, parents, anyone with even a drop of your blood. I will find them and kill them brutally.”

“You?”

The leader’s eyes widened.

The poison was making him delirious, but Dam-ho’s voice was enough to wake him.

“Who will be faster?”

“Ugh!”

The leader foamed at the mouth.

The poison caused extreme pain, but what hurt more was knowing Dam-ho would keep his word.

Dam-ho always kept his promises, no matter what.

The leader realized he had messed with the wrong person.

“No, no!”

He reached out to grab Dam-ho, but his hand had long lost its movement.

The leader’s eyes lost their light. Even in death, he couldn’t let go of his attachment.

“Please… spare my family…”

“Then answer. Where?”

“Demonic… Demonic… Cult. Spare my family…”

With those words, the leader died.

Even in death, he worried about his family.

Dam-ho removed the leader’s mask, revealing a middle-aged man with a strong impression.

Dam-ho memorized his face.

“Are you okay?”

Cho Yeon-woon, who had arrived late, asked.

He looked incredulous. This had happened within the Shouzhou branch.

Thousands of martial artists were guarding the place, yet dozens of attackers had managed to strike without being noticed.

The surviving attackers had already fled.

“Where did they come from?”

“Can you identify him?”

“If we draw a sketch, we can find out.”

“Find out. By any means necessary.”

“Got it.”

Cho Yeon-woon nodded.

Dam-ho walked towards Sage Hyeon-so, who was already attended by Jong Ri-yeon.

Sage Hyeon-so looked pale. He hadn’t regained his senses even with Dam-ho’s arrival.

“How is the master?”

“He survived, but…”

“What is it?”

“The dagger was coated with a deadly poison.”

Dam-ho’s face hardened at Jong Ri-yeon’s words. She quickly continued.

“We removed the dagger quickly, but a significant amount of poison had already entered his body.”

“Can you detoxify it?”

“It will take time, but it’s possible. However…”

Jong Ri-yeon hesitated.

“Speak.”

“We need to induce a state of suspended animation before the poison reaches his brain and heart.”

“Suspended animation?”

“Yes, we need to force him into a coma. Lowering his body temperature and slowing his bodily functions will weaken the poison. We can treat him during that time.”

“How long will it take?”

“I can’t say for sure. But I’ll do my best.”

Jong Ri-yeon looked at Dam-ho with determined eyes.

Dam-ho nodded.

“Please.”

“Don’t worry. I’m known as the Divine Doctor.”

“Alright.”

With Hae So-wol’s help, Jong Ri-yeon moved Sage Hyeon-so inside.

“Grandpa!”

“Grandfather.”

The children followed, crying. Dam-ho’s eyes briefly showed a murderous intent.

Woon Gyung approached.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect the master. I have no face to show you.”

“……”

“I’m truly sorry.”

Woon Gyung bowed his head, filled with guilt.

Dam-ho knew Woon Gyung had done his best to protect Sage Hyeon-so. He didn’t blame him.

Dam-ho was angry at himself for letting his guard down in the Shouzhou branch.

His heart burned with anger, but his mind remained cold.

Cold anger sharpens the mind.

Dam-ho was in such a state.

He walked out of the annex. Cho Yeon-woon followed.

“Where are you going?”

Dam-ho didn’t answer, just kept walking.

His steps and expression were the same as usual.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

But the martial artists who saw his face were terrified.

“Friend, calm down.”

Sensing the tension, Cho Yeon-woon tried to stop him, but couldn’t.

“Stop.”

The martial artists of the Shouzhou branch blocked Dam-ho’s path, their faces tense.

“This is the branch leader’s residence. No one can enter without permission.”

“Move!”

At Dam-ho’s command, the guards froze. Their eyes filled with fear.

They had stepped forward out of duty, but they knew they couldn’t stop Dam-ho if he went on a rampage. He was a terrifying figure in their minds.

Dam-ho walked past the frozen guards into the branch leader’s residence.

“Damn!”

Cho Yeon-woon, following behind, clicked his tongue.

Bang!

The door shattered, and the people inside, including Branch Leader Gong Son-jeong, looked at Dam-ho in shock.

“W-what is this?”

“Who is it?”

“Did you collude with them?”

“What?”

Gong Son-jeong’s face turned pale at Dam-ho’s aura.

Just meeting his gaze made his whole body feel like it was being pricked by needles, and his heart shrank.

“How dare you cause a ruckus here? Can’t you calm down?”

A Taoist sitting opposite Gong Son-jeong shouted. He was Sage Hyeon-geom.

Dam-ho’s gaze turned to Sage Hyeon-geom, who exuded a formidable aura. As the best swordsman of Mount Hua, his presence was sharp like a sword.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

The people in the room groaned under Sage Hyeon-geom’s pressure. Their faces turned pale, caught between Dam-ho and Sage Hyeon-geom.

Dam-ho spoke, staring at Sage Hyeon-geom.

“We were attacked in the annex.”

“We just heard.”

“How is that possible?”

“What do you mean?”

“With so many martial artists from the Murim Alliance guarding the place, how could we be attacked? Is that possible?”

“That…”

Sage Hyeon-geom couldn’t answer.

Thousands of martial artists were guarding the Shouzhou branch, creating an impenetrable defense. Yet Dam-ho and Sage Hyeon-so had been attacked by dozens of enemies. It didn’t make sense.

Dam-ho’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“It’s one of two things. Either there’s an insider, or they infiltrated the Murim Alliance from the start.”

“……”

Everyone in the room understood the implications of Dam-ho’s words.

Either a traitor existed, or the enemies had infiltrated from the beginning.

A chill ran down their spines.

Dam-ho walked towards Gong Son-jeong.

“Which is it?”

“What?”

“Did you collude?”

“N-no. I would never…”

Gong Son-jeong waved his hands in panic.

Dam-ho looked at him coldly.

“Find out! Where the breach is.”

“How dare you threaten the branch leader of the Murim Alliance.”

Sage Hyeon-geom couldn’t hold back his anger any longer. Dam-ho’s actions were a direct challenge to the order and authority of the Murim.

Without rules and discipline, the Murim would be no different from a world ruled by brute force. Dam-ho’s actions were a denial of the Murim’s order and authority.

Sage Hyeon-geom’s killing intent enveloped Dam-ho. Dam-ho turned his head towards him.

His already dark eyes grew even darker.

“Stay out of this.”

“Do you think you can defy me and get away with it?”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll teach you a lesson. Foolish boy, thinking you can control the world with your meager power.”

Sage Hyeon-geom’s anger exploded, and his sharp aura surged towards Dam-ho like a tidal wave.

Dam-ho clenched his fist.

The aura rushing towards him scattered with a loud noise, as if hitting a massive wall.

“If you want to fight, I’ll oblige.”

Boom!

With Dam-ho’s chilling voice, a thunderous sound erupted.

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