Absolute Regression Chapter 679

679th It’s Just the Beginning of a Long Journey

The first person that Geommugeuk met when he returned from hunting was Gowol.

“Your Majesty!”

Go-wol was embarrassed when Geommu-geuk came to his residence.

“If you had told me, I would have come to see you.”
“I came running because I wanted to see you as soon as possible.”
“I’m glad you got back safely.”

Geommugeuk expressed his sincere gratitude to Gowol.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to stride so freely across endless distances. Thank you.”

This time, Eunwol’s help was really great in this infinite operation.

“You seem to have lost some weight since I last saw you. Are you sick anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”

Then a harsh voice was heard from behind.

“It’s strange that you don’t lose weight when you work so hard.”

When Geommugeuk turned around, the leader of the Pungcheon sect was standing there.

“And when the leader asks if you are sick, you say no. I am sick! Where are the subordinates who can help you? If it were you, you would have listed all the illnesses you have and don’t have.”
“Of course, if it were me, I would have joked. I don’t even know where my body hurts, so how would others know? If you don’t tell them, they will never know. But how did the leader know I was coming and come at exactly the right time?”

Then, the leader of the Pungcheon sect approached Geommugeuk and glared at him with narrowed eyes.

“When I came back from hunting, I was watching to see if you would come to see the high-ranking military officer or not.”
“Somehow. My survival instinct made me turn my steps this way.”

The Fengchun sect leader wanted to nag at him more, but Go-wol said with his eyes. Stop there!
Go-wol asked Geommu-geuk.

“How was the hunt?”

Geommugeuk answered with a pleasant smile.

“It was the best hunt I’ve ever been on.”

Go-wol knew how difficult this hunt was.
He had to win the battle for succession without shedding blood, and he had to open the heart of the Archduke who had been pushed out in that fight. He also had to move the heart of the Demon Lord.

If he had been asked to do it himself?
It would have felt easier to defeat the Murim Alliance. Geommugeuk had done that difficult task.

“Your Majesty, I know you’re busy, so please take care of your business.”

How could he be the only one who should see it? All eight of the Demon Lords would want to see the sword dance. And Ian, Seo Dae-ryong, and Jang Ho.
It was such a touching and thankful thing that they were the first to come.

That’s why there was something I really wanted to say.

“Little Master. From now on, you don’t have to worry about me.”

The leader of the Pungcheon cult tried to step forward with an expression that said something useless again, but Go-wol subdued him with a look. Leader, don’t step forward!

“I am not someone that the cult leader should be concerned about. Rather, my job is to resolve the issues that the cult leader should be concerned about. That is the job of the military.”

Eventually, the leader of the Pungcheon sect could no longer bear it and stepped forward.

“Are you a slave? Say you’ll work hard even if I don’t pay attention to you.”

Since there was a sword dance in front of the castle, Gowol spoke politely to the leader of the Fengtian sect.

“I am paid well.”
“What?”
“Don’t you get paid a salary?”

At those words, the leader of the Pungcheon Church snickered.

“How much is that?”
“I get paid a lot. As far as I know, I’m right under the General.”

For a moment, the leader of the Pungcheon sect was startled.

“Really?”
“Of course. I’m not someone who works for free. I’m someone who tries to get the best treatment possible, no matter what.”

When the leader of the Pungcheon Church asked again with a look of confirmation, Geommugeuk nodded.

“I would like to give you the most, but I can’t do that when the Commander-in-Chief is here.”

The leader of the Pungcheon Church, who had been blinking for a moment, asked Geommugeuk a question.

“Why aren’t you giving it to me? I suffered a lot by the side of the high priest.”
“I know, our leader suffered a lot.”
“But why are you giving it to me?”
“If I receive a monthly salary, I will officially be under your command. How could I dare to do that?”

The leader of the Pungcheon Church thought for a moment, licking his lips.

“I’m going in, so give it to me too.”

Of course, I was only joking. No matter how much I received, my wealth was still so great that it was nothing more than a pittance.

“That’s difficult.”
“Why? Why are you saying you’re going to swallow your pride and join?”
“You’re the master of the Demon Lord, so you can’t receive a salary from me. Instead, I should receive an allowance. Young Master, you’ve worked hard. It’s not much, but please use it. While we’re on the subject, please give me some allowance.”
“Enough! Enough!”

The leader of the Pungcheon cult, who almost got more attached while trying to take it off, spoke to Gowol with a dumbfounded expression.

“Did you see? Did you hear? Trying to squeeze every penny out of me. This is how ruthless the leader is.”

Geommugeuk and Gowol looked at each other and smiled.

“Okay, Private Go. There is a place I can go with you. The leader, please come with me.”

The sword dance led the two men into the inner courtyard.
A little distance from the residence of the Sogyoju, a building was built.
It was a recently completed building, and the main entrance sign was covered with a black cloth.

“Where is this place?”

In response to Gowol’s question, Geommugeuk raised his hand and shook it slightly.

Swish.

Then the black cloth covering the signboard was removed.

Two letters engraved on the signboard.

Silver moon.

The moment he saw it, Gowol opened his eyes wide.

“This is the Silver Moon headquarters.”

At those words, even the leader of the Pungcheon Church was surprised. He had not known that a sign saying “Eunwol” would be hung inside the Cheonmasin Church.
The most important issue had already been resolved by the Geommu Church.

“Since Father has already given his permission, Eunwol has become an official organization of our school. It is my direct organization.”

This was something that Geommu-geuk had been preparing for since the time when Go-wol and the Pungcheon religious leader were traveling around the Central Plains to establish the Eun-wol organization.

Go-wol was moved. He had no idea that Geommu-geuk had prepared something like this for him.

“Well, should we take a look around?”

Two people entered following the sword dance.

“It may not be as large as Tongcheon-gak, but it has everything it needs.”

As I opened the door and entered the hallway, the leader of the Pungcheon Church looked at the walls on both sides and spoke.

“This wall is no ordinary wall.”
“Yes, you saw it well. The organs are placed there. It is not yet operational, but when it is officially operational, no one will be able to enter without permission. Since it is a place that handles information, security must be tight.”

It wasn’t just any ordinary institution. It was an institution for the highest level of vigilance. Just looking at this one thing, you could tell how much care Geommu-geuk put into it.

After passing through the long hallway where the organs were installed, a large space appeared.

“This is the operations room.”

It wasn’t just a newly built building. The interior facilities were also perfect.
One wall was made to process information flying in from all over the Central Plains through the organ device.

“This is your office.”

There was a nice desk, a comfortable chair, and a bookshelf, and it was structured so that the entire operation room could be observed from there.

The swordsman opened the door inside the office.

“This is your room.”

In the middle of a fairly wide space, there was only one bed.

“Don’t read books here, don’t sit and think, just sleep.”

It was a room filled with the thoughts of Geommugeuk, who cared about Gowol’s health.

Gowul was truly grateful for such detailed consideration.

“Thank you for your concern.”

Gowol’s voice trembled.

The facilities weren’t the only ones there.

“We’ve also prepared a rest area for the unmanned staff working here. There will be dedicated hosts who will be on hand to cook for you.”

It was perfectly furnished with not only a work space, but also a place to eat, sleep, rest, and wash.

“Just in case, there’s a secret space where you and the soldiers can hide. Of course, there’s also an emergency exit so you can escape the building.”

If Eunwol in Naewon was attacked, it would mean that Cheonma Shingyo had already been breached, but Geommu Geuk had considered even the worst case scenario. After all, Gowol and his soldiers were people who did not know martial arts.

“If there is anything in Eunwol that requires force in the future, contact the Guiyeongdae led by Ian. They will actively help you.”
“Understood, Young Master.”

Go-wol was truly moved. Now he had a place within the Cheonmasin Church. It was the moment when he saw the fruits of his labors in creating the Eunwol organization in the Central Plains.

Go-wol silently and politely expressed his gratitude by giving him a round of applause.
He also accepted the greeting by giving him a round of applause as if asking him to take good care of the sword dance.

‘Military, this is only the beginning of a long journey.’

Geommu-geuk plans to entrust the military to Gao-wol when he becomes the leader.
He plans to honorably step down from the position of military leader and let Sima Ming, who has devoted his entire life to the sect, rest comfortably and spend the rest of his life. Of course, he, who has worked all his life, will not easily adapt to such a comfortable life, but after playing, he will feel the joy of playing again.

The leader of the Pungcheon cult, who had seen the sword dance just a moment ago, asked with an awkward expression.

“Isn’t there a room for me?”

* * *

After meeting Go-wol and the Pungcheon sect leader, Geom-mu-geuk headed to Ak-ingok.
When he entered Ak-ingok, the masked guests passing by greeted him politely.
They weren’t just greeting him because he was the successor. The eyes under the masks were smiling brightly. They were genuinely happy. It
was thanks to the masked guests who had become close during the last fight with the Dark King. Geom-mu-geuk was also happy to see them now.

While being welcomed by the innocent guests, Geommugeuk entered the residence of the evil soma.
The moment he entered the room, Geommugeuk watched the evil soma without saying a word.

The evil Soma stood in the center of the room.
A single dagger was floating in front of him. It was the Eternal Iron Dagger that the Sword Master had given him earlier.

The moment when the evil Soma snatches the dagger.

Chock! Chock, chock, chock, chock! Chock, chock! Chaaaaak!

The evil Soma swung his dagger repeatedly. Stabbing, cutting, blocking, and stabbing again.
The dagger created short sword lines in the air.
The shape created by these continuous lines was truly unique.

‘It’s a trajectory I’ve never seen before.’

What if a dagger were to fly in that direction? Would it be easy to dodge?

The extremely evil Soma, who had been swinging his sword like that, slowly caught his breath and looked towards the sword dance.

“Are you here?”

As always, Geommugeuk smiled brightly at the polite greeting.

“Yes, I’m back.”

The swordmaster walked towards the evil soma and asked.

“What was that martial art from earlier?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s the Sohyang Secret Art.”

The sword dance could tell that he had deliberately shown the secret art of Sohyang upon hearing the news of his visit.

“It’s fantastic!”
“It’s still not perfect, but I’m getting the hang of it.”

If the unfinished Sohyang Secret Technique is like this, then the completed Sohyang Secret Technique will have indescribably powerful power.

“It is thanks to the Little Leader who gave me the secret recipe for the Little Hyang Art.”

Then, the evil Soma lifted his mask over his head.
In the past, when he wore his mask, he often lifted it over his head like this, facing the sky.

Now, the evil Soma has revealed his face with his mask up.

“I think hiding this handsome face behind a mask is like keeping the Heavenly Demon Sword in a treasure chest.”

The evil Soma felt slightly embarrassed by the excessive metaphor. All these years, such expressions must have been hidden behind the mask.

“Even when I’m alone, I sometimes take off my clothes like this. I try to be as comfortable as possible.”

The evil Soma was gradually changing. He used to take off his mask only in front of the sword dance, but now he started taking it off when he was alone.
In particular, taking off his mask completely felt different from putting it on his head like this. He felt freer.

“Soma-sama. You look different since the last time I saw you.”

It was not a change in the way he took off his silk mask.
The prayer felt from the evil soma was different.
It was the evil soma whose martial arts had improved through two days of non-combat and actual combat with the enemy.
However, the prayer he was seeing now felt different from that time.
Then the evil soma smiled.

“As expected! The young sect leader knows.”

Even after Geommu-geuk left the school, Geuk-ak-soma devoted himself to martial arts training.
Geuk-ak-soma faithfully followed Geommu-geuk’s advice to become stronger.

As the Sohyangbisul was newly combined with the Ma-geuk-gwang-bok-jang and the Blood Ang-ji, his martial arts began to move toward a new realm.
If these three martial arts were to be harmonized, he would be able to display truly powerful divine power.

“It’s all thanks to you, Soma-nim.”
“Of course, it’s because of me that our Soma-nim has saved my life every time!”
“Doesn’t it seem like you’ve saved me more often?”

The two people looked at each other and smiled brightly.

“By the way, how are you, sister-in-law?”

It was a sword dance that had already called Cheonhwaruju ‘sister-in-law.’ Yeojeong was greatly moved by the word ‘sister-in-law.’

“I’m doing well. I was planning on meeting you sometime soon anyway.”
“Oh, that’s good.”

Geommugeuk took something out of his bosom.

“When you go, please give this to your sister-in-law.”

What Geommugeuk took out was one of the three things chosen from the Murim report, namely, the Shinnyeojimong.

The moment I saw the dream of the goddess, I thought that I should give it to Cheonhwaruju Yeojeong. I will try to follow that instinct faithfully.

Originally, I was going to meet Cheonhwaruju in person and deliver it to him, but I was away from the school for too long and couldn’t stop by Cheonhwaru. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t be able to entrust it to him, but if the evil Soma goes in person, I can trust him and leave it to him.

The gaze of the evil soma turned to the goddess Ji-mong.
It was an ordinary cloth that made her feel nothing. That was why it was considered more important. If it wasn’t an important item to her, she wouldn’t have asked Geommu-geuk to give it to her.

“Can I just bring it to you?”
“Yes, if my hunch is right.”

Geommugeuk said while handing over the Shinnyeojimong.

“You will definitely know what it is.”