Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

Chapter 137: Fear Behind the Wall

“Ugh…”

A moment later.

The four late-stage Qi Practitioners were lying on the ground in a forest slightly away from the city, moaning in pain. 

But before they had time to ease their agony, a cold voice came from above their heads.

“This place should be quiet enough for us to have a conversation.”

It was Eurius’s voice.

Shiver!

The four late-stage Qi Practitioners, who had lost consciousness for a while, felt a chill down their spines. 

They had been beaten up in the inn and then moved to this deserted forest.

‘There’s no way he wants to talk in this situation.’

‘How could he be so powerful that even the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect couldn’t handle him?’

‘He must have brought us to this forest to kill us without any witnesses!’

They never dreamed that Namgoong Hwang would be defeated so easily. 

Who was he? 

He was the Grand Elder of the Namgoong Clan, who was known as the Heavenly Sword and ranked among the top five in power in the Five Continents.

Their faces turned pale as they didn’t know when Eurius’s sword would cut off their necks.

On the other hand, Eurius, who was staring at them, was still sighing inwardly.

‘I was careless. I shouldn’t have treated this place like the Western Continent. I had some doubts, but I didn’t expect them to attack me without hesitation just because of a slight misunderstanding.’

He had let them go even though he knew their hostility, because there was no one else around and more importantly, they firmly believed that Eurius was an expert from the Demon Sect and didn’t have any suspicions.

“…”

[Namgoong Ho]

Current state: Hostile, Fearful, Resigned

And even now, they seemed to still think that Eurius was an expert from the Demon Sect. It was a headache-inducing situation.

‘It’s already too late to fix this misunderstanding, but since they mentioned the Demon Sect, it’s the only clue I have in this situation. Then…’

He relaxed his expression and opened his mouth.

“I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but let me say it again. I have nothing to do with the Demon Sect.”

“…”

“Let’s say I’m from the Demon Sect. Then why would I bother to guide you? It would be easy for me to take your lives, just like him.”

Eurius pointed his chin at Namgoong Hwang, who was clearly still breathing.

“Hmph! You think you can fool us with such tricks!”

“Peng Hyung, stop for a moment!”

“…!?”

Peng Lyeok, who had the most fiery temper among the four late-stage Qi Practitioners, was about to sneer again, but Namgoong Ho stopped him.

“Then what is your identity? You have the appearance of a Westerner and such powerful martial arts. How can you not be from the Demon Sect? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Hmm… It’s a bit hard to explain, but can’t you think of me as someone related to the Jegal Clan?”

“…”

‘Are these Easterners always so stubborn? Or did the Demon Sect cause so much trouble in this continent?’

The eyes of the four late-stage Qi Practitioners were still full of doubt. 

Eurius noticed that and clicked his tongue as he drew his sword again.

‘Damn! I’ll have to use some force to get some answers. It’s not the time to be picky.’

Swoosh.

As soon as the Yellow Dragon Sword was drawn, the faces of the four late-stage Qi Practitioners turned white. 

But before the sword moved, a shout came from behind.

“Wait!”

“Hmm?”

The owner of the shout was none other than Namgoong Hwang, who had been unconscious until then. 

Thanks to Eurius’s mercy, he had recovered a bit and got up.

He struggled to stand up and looked at Eurius with a blue face.

“Who are you?”

At his words, the four late-stage Qi Practitioners tilted their heads. 

Was he not an expert from the Demon Sect?

“Now we can talk.”

Eurius sheathed his sword and turned his feet toward Namgoong Hwang.

“I have a question for you. Why did you attack me out of the blue?”

“First, I need to know your identity.”

Eurius shook his head with a cold expression.

“I asked first.”

Kwaaa!

“Huh!”

Namgoong Hwang stepped back in surprise at the sharp aura.

Eurius was already in a hurry after being separated from his subordinates due to the shipwreck, and this incident made him even more impatient.

He wanted to find Je Gal Se Ga as soon as possible, so he deliberately raised his aura and pressed him down.

“Kuh… It’s because you are a foreigner and a master of martial arts. And the testimony of those kids who were chased by the Demon Sect was decisive.”

Namgoong Hwang finally spat out the reason, struggling against the pressure. But it was not the answer Eurius wanted.

“Do you draw your sword at innocent people just for that reason in the East?”

Eurius, who was still pressing Namgoong Hwang, was going to ask him more details, but this time he gritted his teeth and endured.

“It’s your turn to answer. What is your identity and why are you looking for Je Gal Se Ga?”

“Hooh…”

Namgoong Hwang showed his dignity as an elder of the world. 

He looked like he would kneel at any moment, but he persisted stubbornly. 

Eurius paused for a moment as he saw him.

‘I like his spirit. But would he believe me if I told him that I’m the crown prince of another continent?’

Tuk

“Huk… Huk…”

As soon as the aura stopped, Namgoong Hwang was barely able to catch his breath. 

Eurius opened his mouth. 

He had thought of a plausible identity to disguise himself.

“Do you know that Je Gal Se Ga has recently expanded to the Western Continent?”

“I heard that he sent people there under the pretext of business…”

Eurius smiled faintly here.

“I heard that Je Gal Se Ga is in a very precarious situation this time. So they asked me for help from their branch there.”

Namgoong Hwang still had a doubtful look. 

Judging by how he easily defeated him, a peak master, he must be at least a fourth stage. 

A transcendent master who crossed the continent?

“So you were hired to come here?”

“Well… You can say that. I’ll find out more when I join them.”

Eurius answered calmly, and he quickly calculated.

“I apologize for my rudeness.”

“Elder!”

“Leader!”

“Are you saying that he is not from the Demon Sect?”

The late masters were all flustered. But Namgoong Hwang rather frowned.

“Look at his peculiar outfit and hand speed. And if he was from the Demon Sect, would he have spared me?”

Namgoong Hwang had expected death when he fell to Eurius’s sword. But when he checked his body condition, he found that all the vital parts were barely missed.

‘If he can afford to do that against me, he must be at least in the top five in rank among the Demon Sect, even if they are trembling with fear. But none of them have such a appearance.’

And there was one more decisive reason.

“More importantly, I have fought with a noble family of the Demon Sect who have wall eyes. They don’t use swords, and their aura is completely different.”

The late masters might not know, but he had some experience in fighting with a transcendent master of the Demon Sect who had wall eyes.

“…”

The late masters were all speechless. 

Then they had been picking a fight with such a terrifying master from the beginning.

“We apologize for our rudeness!”

They all bowed their heads and stiffened.

Eurius waved his hand as if annoyed. 

He didn’t care about that right now.

“If you cleared up the misunderstanding, hurry up and guide me to where Je Gal Se Ga is.”

Namgoong Hwang quickly made a calculation here.

‘You don’t seem to be a completely ruthless person, since you spared me and these kids. In that case…’

He snapped his fingers and called out to Namgung Ho and the other three.

‘They started the trouble, so they should take responsibility.’

A moment later.

“These kids are about to leave for the place where Jegal Se-ga’s people are. Do you need someone to guide you along the way?”

According to his explanation, the four late-stage Qi Masters had left the Righteous Alliance for a scouting mission, but they were attacked by the Demon Sect and barely escaped. 

That’s when they encountered Eurius.

Eurius widened his eyes slightly. That meant he was entrusting the four late-stage Qi Masters to him.

“You’re asking me to protect them safely, even though we had a fight just now?”

“If it weren’t for your mercy, those kids would have been dead twice over. If they go missing, you’ll be immediately suspected, but if they join up safely, won’t that be better?”

Eurius confirmed that he was sincere and was quite surprised inwardly.

‘He’s surprisingly cold-blooded.’

But it was a good offer for Eurius as well. He didn’t know the geography of this area at all, and if he moved alone, he was likely to get lost.

Having a guide would help him arrive much faster.

The late-stage Qi Masters cautiously urged Eurius.

“Then, Great Master… can we leave now?”

“I’m fine with that. Show me the fastest way possible. But what does this title of Great Master mean?”

“Hehe… It’s a kind of honorific we give to senior experts.”

Eurius seemed to think for a moment and nodded.

“It’s an unfamiliar title, but it doesn’t feel bad. Just call me that.”

“Yes, Great Master!”

They smiled on the outside, but they were inwardly grimacing. Namgung Huang had scolded them harshly and gave them a new mission.

‘There’s no way such an expert would appear out of nowhere. Even if he’s not from the Demon Sect, we can’t let our guard down.’

They were ordered to observe Eurius’s every move as they headed to where the Righteous Alliance was gathered.

Namgung Huang sighed inwardly as he gave them the mission.

‘But how can such an expert suddenly appear, even if he’s a rogue cultivator? And why now of all times?’

The martial world was in a tense state, as if a war between the Righteous and the Demonic was about to break out. 

And at this point, a rogue cultivator supreme expert appeared?

But he couldn’t figure out why. 

He said he was related to Jegal Se-ga, but he couldn’t trust that blindly.

However, judging by the fact that he couldn’t last even ten seconds against him, who was the strongest among those left in Se-ga, it was impossible to force him with strength.

After sending off the late-stage Qi Masters and Eurius, he had no choice but to come to a conclusion.

‘I have to inform the leader first and discuss countermeasures. What is going on here, damn…’

His worries deepened as he had a new source of trouble after the Demon Sect.

***

A day passed since then.

Unlike Namgung Huang’s worries, the journey of Eurius and the late-stage Qi Masters who accompanied him was surprisingly smooth.

Eurius was not someone who picked fights for no reason, and the late-stage Qi Masters also tried not to provoke him by treating him respectfully, so there was no room for trouble.

“So you guys are from Jegal Se-ga?”

“Yes. The four of us here are all affiliated with Jegal Se-ga.”

“I made a mistake by only hearing the name of your group. I wouldn’t have been so harsh if you had told me earlier.”

“How can that be your fault, Great Master? Haha…”

Namgung Ho, who was sweating nervously, had become Eurius’s personal travel guide. 

Who in the world wouldn’t think of Jegal Se-ga when they heard the name Namgung Se-ga?

But whether he liked it or not, Eurius was diligently asking questions and absorbing information in his head.

‘I should have gotten more detailed information from Jegal Se-ga. I guess it’s easy to misunderstand when I only know the basics.’

The reason why Eurius took them with him was not only because he didn’t know the way, but also because he realized how ignorant he was about this continent after this incident.

‘You should at least learn some common sense in this place called the martial world.’

The information he had learned beforehand was that there was a separate world called the martial world in the Eastern Continent, which had nothing to do with the central government or the royal family of the Western Continent.

And that there was a group called Jegal Se-ga, which led the Righteous Alliance, an organization that opposed the Demon Sect.

Eurius asked another question with a sudden look of curiosity.

“By the way, if you guys are from Jegal Se-ga, why were you running away in such a remote mountain?”

It was a mission, but their skills were not bad. 

They seemed too valuable to be wasted on scouting or something like that, so he wondered.

Namgung Ho answered casually, as it was not something to hide.

“Did you hear about the clash between the Righteous and the Demonic over a secret cave that was discovered a week ago?”

“A week ago? What is a secret cave?”

“…!?”

They tilted their heads at Eurius, who didn’t know the rumor that had spread widely in the continent, but then opened their mouths.

“Come to think of it, you might not know if you just arrived.”

The situation of the martial world now, as explained by Namgung Ho, was this.

“First of all, the power of the Demon Sect is more expanded than ever. As evidence, a month ago, Yongjung, the base of Jegal Se-ga, which was attacked fiercely, turned into ruins.”

“What?”

Eurius was quite surprised. 

He had heard reports of fierce battles in the east, but did they mean that they were wiped out?

But he was relieved when he heard the next words.

“Of course, many of the leaders joined the Righteous Alliance. Among them are Great Master Jegal Unhyeon Shinchang, one of the four great experts, and Lord Ga-ju.”

‘Looks like they chose to retreat and preserve their forces while waiting for me in the middle.’

If Jegal Unhyeon and the other leaders survived, most of the secret forces they had brought would still be intact. 

And it made sense why they pointed their weapons at him when he asked for Jegal Se-ga’s location.

‘Tsk! They must have thought I was a tracker from the Demon Sect.’

It was an incredibly unlucky situation. But Namgung Ho, who had no idea what he was thinking, cautiously spoke again.

“And about the secret cave…”

Namgung Ho’s eyes were looking at Eurius’s eyes.

“Do you know the legend of Byok-an-geop?”

“Byok-an-geop?”

It was a natural reaction for Eurius, but the late-stage Qi Masters looked at him with a strange expression.

‘Does he really not know?’

But they couldn’t just stare blankly. Namgung Ho decided to explain what was obvious common sense.

“Byok-an-geop (碧眼劫). Also known as Byok-an-geop-ma, he was a supreme expert of magic who appeared two hundred years ago.”

He is said to have fallen by the hand of Lee Cheongmun Daehyup, who was known as the best healer in those days.

‘Lee Cheongmun?’

Eurius widened his eyes slightly. 

It was a familiar player’s name.

“Can you tell me more about that incident? And what about that secret cave?”