The second investigation team, composed of Lee Tae-sung, Volkran, and Lucy, was actually making slow progress.
“This is the place where we found traces presumed to be from the Nameless Blood Cult. From now on, we need to find out whether those bastards really exist, and if they do, where they are.”
The place Lucy guided them to was a mountain range filled with numerous peaks, arriving after heading far north.
The continent had learned the fear of the Nameless Blood Cult the hard way, so they had a lot of information about their attire, characteristics, magic, and martial arts.
Therefore, when the first investigation team was annihilated by the attack of the strange beings, Lucy, who barely escaped, felt the characteristics of the Blood Cult from their energy.
Based on that, she set out again on the investigation with strong military support.
However, the search and tracking process was not easy.
Once they arrived at the place where the first investigation team was wiped out, all traces of the enemies had completely disappeared.
There were Volkran, a Transcendental Realm master, and Lee Tae-sung, a Peak Realm Hybrider.
These two people with great combat power…
Unfortunately, this time they were of no help at all.
“Heheh. Well, I’m just a practitioner who trained in the mountains, so I have no talent for finding things.”
Volkran shrugged apologetically.
Volkran, who had lived only pursuing martial arts, had not learned anything like search magic.
“It’s fine. The ability we expected from you, Lord Volkran, wasn’t this anyway.”
From the beginning, Volkran was a combatant to face the Nameless Blood Cult if they actually existed.
And Lee Tae-sung was similar.
“I have learned True Sight magic.”
“True Sight is a decent magic. How long have you been practicing it?”
“Hmm. Not long.”
“And your proficiency?”
“That’s also almost…”
Unfortunately, since he had almost no opportunity to use it after obtaining it, his True Sight proficiency was level 1.
“Then it would be better for you to just stay still to conserve mana. My magic is actually one rank higher than True Sight.”
The reason Lucy joined this investigation team was not only because she was a survivor of the first team, but also because she had specialized in search, exploration, detection, and support magic.
Rather than having Lee Tae-sung interfere with the search, it would be more efficient for him to rest.
From then on, Lucy took the lead.
As long as her mana allowed, she walked around with detection magic activated all day, while Volkran and Lee Tae-sung obediently watched her work.
But the results were not very good.
If traces could be found so easily, other Magic Towers would have sent mages to find them long ago.
‘Maybe the Nameless Blood Cult hasn’t actually revived, but the large factions just misunderstood.’
This thought crossed Lee Tae-sung’s mind when nothing had been caught by detection magic for several days.
Could the attack on the first investigation team have been the work of a competing faction?
They might have framed the Nameless Blood Cult to cover it up.
As he was thinking that and taking a break, he received a message from Baek Woon-ho.
[Long time no see. I’ll keep it brief. I found the Flame Emperor’s legacy. I’m currently unlocking the seal placed on the outside, and it should be released soon. I’ll send you the coordinates, so come here. But there are remnants of the Nameless Blood Cult, so be careful not to be seen by them…]
The magic scroll he had left for contact turned into a letter.
After reading it, Lee Tae-sung was dumbfounded.
‘What… when did he even go to the Nameless Blood Cult?’
It had been quite a while since they parted ways when he said he was going to find the Flame Emperor’s legacy, but to think he had even entered the Blood Cult in that time?
But surprise aside, finding their traces was a significant achievement.
“Lady Lucy. Lord Volkran. I think I’ve found where they are.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There was someone I knew from before, and it seems he’s gotten involved with the Nameless Blood Cult this time. He says he’s at their hideout now.”
“…! He must have been taken as a sacrifice for a blood offering!”
Lucy nodded as if she had guessed.
“It’s a relief that he could contact you, Lord Tae-sung. Let’s go rescue him quickly before a victim occurs!”
“……”
Lee Tae-sung couldn’t bring himself to say that it wasn’t a sacrifice victim but that the person had become a cultist.
He just moved quietly.
*
The seal blocking the Flame Emperor’s legacy was extremely powerful.
They had tried for a long time to analyze and open the seal, but with little success.
Then, not too long ago, Baek Woon-ho, who had entered as an external cultist, played a major role and discovered the solution to the seal.
The unique martial art he had learned reacted to the seal, and based on that, he was gradually unlocking it.
“Is it still far off?”
“I’m in the final adjustment stage now.”
“Do it as quickly as possible. We can’t waste time forever.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll do my best.”
The mage cultist who was manipulating the seal release array apologized and began focusing again.
Blood Hand Ju-rip couldn’t say anything more to the cultists.
They were extremely engrossed in their work because they believed that through this task, they could devote themselves to the god.
Since efficiency couldn’t be improved beyond this, Ju-rip chose to watch quietly rather than keep nagging.
‘Tch. We really don’t have much time left now.’
He just clicked his tongue inwardly.
While focusing here in an attempt to acquire the Flame Emperor’s legacy, they had been discovered on the continent.
They failed to kill all the members of the first investigation team, and one survived to return.
Of course, the survivor might not be certain that they were the Nameless Blood Cult, but they would be suspicious.
That alone was a huge risk.
Therefore, personally, Ju-rip was opposed to this mission.
‘Sure, the Flame Emperor stopped the main cult back then, but that was just because he was a genius with incredible talent.’
The legacy left by the Flame Emperor would surely be excellent.
But mastering it completely wouldn’t necessarily create a second Flame Emperor.
If that were the case, major factions that had once produced the world’s best should have continued to produce one every generation.
What matters is not the technique, but the person who masters it.
Of course, regardless of Ju-rip’s opinion, the higher-ups had high expectations for this ruin.
‘Still, I should take comfort in the fact that the chance of this ruin being discovered from outside is nearly zero.’
The cultists discovered the Flame Emperor’s ruin because the ceiling of the ruin had collapsed due to natural weathering.
Later, when the cultists began to explore, they found the main entrance of the ruin, but no matter what they tried, they couldn’t open it.
It was the same from the inside.
In other words, if they holed up here, there was no chance of being caught from outside.
Ju-rip wanted to finish the work as quickly as possible and return to the main unit.
“Lord Blood Hand! Urgent news!”
“What is it?”
Just then, a hooded figure approached with an urgent voice and prostrated himself, making Ju-rip frown.
“An outsider has been spotted nearby.”
“An outsider? In this northern wilderness?”
“Yes.”
“…They caught our scent already. Those bastards from the continent.”
A red light flashed in Ju-rip’s eyes.
Then a doubt occurred to him.
‘But how?’
This location, surrounded by layers of mountains, was not an easy place to find.
The place where they annihilated the investigation team last time was quite far from here.
He believed they had left no traces, so a new investigation team shouldn’t have found it easily, and even if they did find something, it should have taken a long time to get here.
‘Could it be… Baek Ho-beop?’
Ju-rip’s gaze fell on Baek Woon-ho, who was standing near the seal with his arms crossed, watching the unlocking process.
The investigation team had approached suspiciously fast.
Naturally, the suspicion fell on the existence of a traitor who leaked information.
Other cultists had built trust by devoting themselves to the cult for a long time, but Baek Woon-ho was an external cultist who had joined not long ago.
He was naturally suspicious.
But that was only for a moment.
‘…No. Baek Ho-beop is not stupid enough to have told them about this place. The continent bastards would just take it with their eyes wide open.’
Baek Woon-ho’s obsession with the Flame Emperor’s legacy was nearly insane.
He didn’t even care about being a public enemy of the continent, and he wanted to join the cult just because he saw the possibility of unlocking the legacy’s seal.
The Blood Cult also saw that and accepted him as an external cultist.
The chances of him betraying the Nameless Blood Cult and selling information to the continent side were extremely low.
Because the Nameless Blood Cult had agreed to share the legacy with him in the name of the god, making it trustworthy, whereas the continent bastards would most likely take the Flame Emperor’s legacy for themselves.
“Lord Blood Hand! The magic circle is ready. Now just infuse it with mana!”
Just then, the mage cultist urgently shouted.
‘Of all times.’
Ju-rip felt that things were not going his way.
Once the magic circle was ready, it had to be activated immediately by infusing power, so it couldn’t be delayed.
But he also couldn’t completely ignore the enemies that were presumably approaching.
“White Tiger Dharma Master.”
“Yes.”
After thinking, Ju-rip called Baek Woon-ho.
“It seems the continent’s investigation team is near here. Just in case, could you lead the cultists and stand by near the entrance? The barrier at the entrance is strong, but the continent bastards might break through, so we need to be prepared.”
“……”
Instead of answering, Baek Woon-ho stared at Ju-rip.
When he joined the Nameless Blood Cult, he helped with unlocking the seal, and in return, they promised to share the contents inside after the seal was released.
And now the seal was about to be broken.
But now they were telling him to go somewhere else?
“Lord Blood Hand. This seems a bit different from what we promised.”
“These are difficult circumstances. You heard the report just now. If the continent bastards find this place, things will become much more complicated and troublesome.”
“…Hoo. I understand. But keep your promise.”
“Of course. We have no intention of breaking a contract made in the name of the god.”
If Baek Woon-ho, a master, led the cultists to guard the entrance, even if the entrance was breached, he could intercept the enemies to some extent.
‘And even if he dies when the entrance is breached, it will buy enough time for us to retreat with the legacy.’
Ju-rip considered it a perfect plan and smiled inwardly.
*
The place Lee Tae-sung and his party arrived at was the middle of an inactive volcanic area.
It was a place where it was presumed a valley once existed, but now it was dry, leaving only traces.
Volkran tapped the high cliff of the valley with his hand.
“Amazing. Even I can tell there’s a strong seal here only after coming this close.”
Even Lucy’s magic couldn’t detect the seal on this cliff.
However, Volkran, who had surpassed the wall of the Transcendental Realm, noticed that the natural energy was twisted in a peculiar way and realized there was some kind of barrier.
“Can you break through?”
“Hmm. It doesn’t seem easy.”
Volkran shook his head at Lucy’s question.
“It’s such a strong barrier that even with my full power, I don’t think I can break it easily. Even if I do, it will take too much time and make a lot of noise.”
If the Nameless Blood Cult was inside, they would notice the intrusion and flee immediately.
“Hmm. Then shall we look a bit more around?”
“That would be better. I don’t know how much time we have, but let’s think of a way…”
Just as Lucy and Volkran were earnestly discussing what to do.
Lee Tae-sung was quietly touching the cliff by himself.
‘This is where my master’s legacy is…!’
Every Flame Emperor’s hideout he had discovered so far had reacted to him, his successor.
Remembering that, he activated the Heavenly Fire Holy Law Art.
He infused a small amount of energy into his hand and tapped the vicinity of the cliff…
rumble
crash!
The cliff moved with a loud noise and split in half.
“Ah. It opened.”
“???”
“????”
Volkran and Lucy stared at Lee Tae-sung with dumbfounded expressions.