Feeling his daughter’s warmth, Maeng Jong crushed her in a hug and choked up.“Hrk—! Hrrk—! M-my daughter, you suffered so much, didn’t you?”“No, Daddy. I’m fine. Don’t cry. Stop!”“R-right. I’ll stop.”When Maeng Hwa-yeon wiped his tears, Maeng Jong started sniffling again.Nights had gone sleepless with the fear he might never see her again.And yet here she was, back in his arms.“Oh—Daddy! They’re the ones who saved me.”At “saved,” Maeng Jong turned to where she pointed.Yeon Cheon Baek, Buk Mu Gyeol, and Ya Yul Geuk stood there.Maeng Jong rose to greet them.“Thank you! Truly, thank you! I will repay this debt without fail!”Ya Yul Geuk replied,“No thanks are needed. We were already on our way to your people on other business and had the good fortune to rescue your daughter en route.”“Come, come. Let’s take this inside and talk properly.”Maeng Jong led the three into the Southern Wilds Beast Palace.Then he raised his voice:“A banquet! Throw open the granaries and welcome our benefactors!”“Wooaaah!”Only moments ago the air had crackled with killing intent; in an instant, it turned festive.A spread like a compendium of every Southern Wilds dish filled the tables.The Palace Lord, Maeng Jong, laughed boisterously and seated his guests at the head.Even as he guided them, he kept offering thanks.They were the benefactors who had returned his daughter alive.Nothing would feel too precious to give.“Please—sit.”At his urging, the three took their seats.No sooner had he sat than Maeng Jong spoke:“Come to think, I was so overjoyed I forgot proper introductions. I am Maeng Jong, Palace Lord of the Southern Wilds Beast Palace.”Ya Yul Geuk grinned.“I am the Great Khan of the Gale Sect, Ya Yul Geuk.”“T-the Great Khan of the Gale Sect is you?”“That’s right.”“Heh heh heh. One of the Four Frontier Powers they whisper about in the Central Plains—what brings you all the way out here?”“I’m not the only one who came.”“What do you mean?”Ya Yul Geuk glanced at Buk Mu Gyeol.“I am Buk Mu Gyeol, Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”“Northern Sea Ice Palace! That’s… unimaginably far. And the climate here is the exact opposite of yours. Are you all right?”“I am not all right. I’m roasting.”“What in the world is this? Two of the Four Frontier Powers seeking me out—what business brings you both here?”“We merely followed this man.”This man?For the Great Khan and the Ice Palace Lord to use honorific deference—who could he be?“He is also the one who saved your youngest. If he hadn’t heard your daughter’s voice, we wouldn’t have found her.”“May I have your name?”Yeon Cheon Baek smiled.“I am Yeon Cheon Baek, Heaven Lord of Martial Deity Heaven.”“Mu—Martial Deity Heaven!”SHOOT—Maeng Jong’s reaction was worlds apart from when he’d learned the other two men’s identities.He shot to his feet in shock.“Th-the Heaven Lord…?”He still couldn’t quite believe it.Who was the Heaven Lord?Even in this far Southern Wilds, his name resounded.The First of the Central Plains.The One Martial God.The man who alone annihilated the Blood Sect.When he’d reluctantly committed to march on the Central Plains, the faction he’d most feared was Martial Deity Heaven.And now its sovereign stood before him.“Sit. You’re making the room jittery.”The casual command didn’t sting.It felt… natural.He was the real thing.Instinct tagged him as the apex predator.Was this how a fox felt before a tiger?He trembled without meaning to.Seeing it, Yeon Cheon Baek smiled faintly.“So you tame beasts, and your instincts are on a beast’s level.”“Y-yes.”“Curious about my strength?”“N-no. I can tell without seeing it.”“Then sit.”“Yes.”Maeng Jong obeyed without a flicker of resistance.His animal sense insisted on it.Yeon Cheon Baek held out a cup; Ya Yul Geuk naturally filled it.SLUUURP—“Ahh! What wine is this?”“Hu—Hua Wine, my lord.”“Oh! The famous Hua Wine. Excellent.”“Th-thank you. But… what brings you all the way here?”“Were any strange men stoking you to invade the Central Plains?”“Eh? Y-yes. We were preparing for that very reason.”“And to force it, they kidnapped your daughter.”“That’s right.”“Now that she’s back, you’ll stand down.”“That’s right.”“Don’t you want payback on the ones who took her?”“Is there a way?”“Join us.”At that, Maeng Jong looked to Ya Yul Geuk and Buk Mu Gyeol.When both nodded, the shape of things became clear.“You two were wronged as well.”“Ahem! Not… wronged, exactly…”There wasn’t much to say.Their situation was different from a palace forced to mobilize by kidnapping a daughter.“Do you know who took my child?”“The Demonic Cult.”“What?”“The Demonic Cult did this. They want the Frontier powers and the Central Plains to tear at each other, plunge everything into chaos, then step into the world.”“The Demonic Cult… they’ve returned?”“They have, but we haven’t yet found where they’ve emerged.”“Well, the Central Plains is vast. Not easy to find a nest.”“I doubt they’re in the Central Plains proper. If they were, there’d be anomalies. We’ve seen none.”“Then do you have a guess?”“Mm. There is one place that draws suspicion.”“Where?”“The Hundred-Thousand Mountains. If they’re there, they’re hard to find.”At that, Ya Yul Geuk nodded.“If it’s there, indeed. You can’t exactly search every peak.”“Right. My sense says that’s the place.”“If only we knew how to use the Demonic Tiger Relic, we could pinpoint them.”“Exactly. If they erupt into the open first, that’s moot. We also need to be ready if they show themselves before then.”At Yeon Cheon Baek’s words, Maeng Jong clenched a fist.“We’ll aid the Central Plains. We won’t let the Demonic Cult—who dared kidnap my daughter and try to use us—walk away.”Then something else occurred to him.“Wait—then the last remaining Frontier power by any chance…?”“That’s our next stop anyway. Podalap Palace.”“Podalap Palace. I know of them. I want to go with you, but I’ll stay here and prepare for a battle with the Demonic Cult.”“Heh heh heh, do that. We’ll handle Podalap Palace.”“They won’t yield easily.”“I hope they don’t.”He hoped… they wouldn’t?A CHILL—A shiver ran through Maeng Jong’s body.A chill—in this heat.“And… if they don’t, what happens?”“Hm? Then I’ll have some fun.”Ah.“Fun.”Would the other side think so?‘They’ll call it a natural disaster.’If Yeon Cheon Baek had arrived without saving his daughter first?Of course the palace would have attacked him with everything.What would the result have been?The Southern Wilds Beast Palace would have ceased to exist.He had thought that if Yeon Cheon Baek was the apex predator, the whole Southern Wilds together might still have a chance.It didn’t take long to realize how wrong that thinking was. ****KWA-KWA-KWANG—RUMBLE—“What now?”A sudden barrage of explosions shook the entire palace.Those drinking inside jolted to their feet.“I should take a look. Someone capable just arrived.”At Yeon Cheon Baek’s words, Maeng Jong rose.Yeon Cheon Baek added,“You two go help as well. He’s no pushover.”“Understood.”At the thought that even those two should lend a hand, Maeng Jong grimaced.“There’s no need—please stay and finish your drink.”“Still, there may be a need. Let’s go together.”After a moment’s thought at Ya Yul Geuk’s words, Maeng Jong nodded.“Very well. Together, then.”He hurried out with Ya Yul Geuk and Buk Mu Gyeol on his heels.Watching them go, Yeon Cheon Baek smiled as he filled his cup with Hua Wine.“Looks like someone from the Demonic Cult. As expected—nothing about them is easy.”For all that, his face brimmed with a boyish joy.SLUUURP—He drained the cup in one pull and rose slowly.“They won’t be enough, will they?”How strong was this opponent, that three who each represented Frontier powers wouldn’t suffice?Yeon Cheon Baek smiled.“If he’s that strong, he’ll know a lot.”If he could catch him, it would be a trove of intelligence.With luck, perhaps even the location of the Demonic Cult’s main den.Then there’d be no need to hunt blind.For that, he had to take him alive.A strong opponent, and a live capture—he would have to move himself.And he was curious.About the Demonic Cult’s martial arts. ****“Halt!”BLARE— BLARE—Maeng Jong burst outside, spotted the enemy, and roared.The enemy didn’t care; they were already cutting down the Southern Wilds Beast Palace’s warriors.SHEEEARRR—Beasts bounding at the enemy were ripped apart.Seeing it, the palace warriors erupted.“Those bastards!”They charged in fury—and were helpless.CHING—“Guhk!”“Gyaaaah!”Screams rose on all sides.Snarling, Maeng Jong launched himself at the grotesques butchering his men.“You sons of bitches!”WHOOOM—A massive sphere of fire bloomed in his palm.“I’ll melt you all—Solar Annihilation Sphere!”Call → the blazing orb shot like a comet toward the enemy.But the grotesques didn’t even look. They stayed intent on their work.They didn’t even try to dodge.Madmen?The thought had barely formed when—SHEEEARRR—Someone appeared, split the Solar Annihilation Sphere clean in half, and landed.He rose slowly.Seeing him, Maeng Jong flinched.Horns sprouted from the man’s head.It was no human form.Which left only one thing.“A… Demon?”Resting a sword across his shoulder, the creature spoke.“Damn nuisances. Truly, you’re a pain.”A pain—how?“Are you the Palace Lord?”“I am.”“You came out sooner than I expected. I thought I’d have to kill more to draw you.”“What the hell are you babbling, you bastard!”“Listen first.”“Speak. I’ll accept it as your last words before you leave this world.”“Heh heh. Humans—always with the bravado.”Humans.“I have a proposal.”“Say it.”“On the agreed date, attack the Central Plains with your full strength. Do that, and I walk away.”“So it was you? The dog who kidnapped my daughter?”“Answer me first.”“Grrrk. And if I say no?”“No? Then I kill you and take this palace.”“You think my men would follow you?”“If they don’t, I’ll hypnotize them until they do. You needn’t worry yourself.”“I refuse. Not worth hearing, let alone accepting. Now answer me. Are you the dog who took my daughter?”The creature smirked.“You’re about to die, and that’s what you care about?”“Yes.”“Well, call it a last wish—I’ll grant it.”He looked Maeng Jong in the eye.“Yes. I gave the order. I should have killed her cleanly. Leaving her alive is what tangled this up.”“What?”“I never planned to return her anyway. Should’ve killed her. Then you wouldn’t have come sniffing around to make my life difficult.”“You son of a—!”

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