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Chapter 229
Chapter 229. Tomorrow’s Fortune (4)
I had tried to attend the banquet with only Dang Seo-hui, my poison taster, but Il-myeong stepped forward as well.
“All the rising stars of the Black Path have gathered there, so it may be dangerous for Benefactor Jin to go alone.”
Gun Yu-hyeon also agreed with Il-myeong, saying that would be better, and we followed Gun Yu-hyeon’s guidance toward a pavilion on the outskirts of the Black Thought Alliance.
The pavilion located north of the main building had clearly been given considerable attention in its exterior design, unlike the other pavilions, and its luxurious finish alone made it clear that it was a space meant for distinguished guests.
Е ǹ u mа̇
When we entered, attendants with disciplined manners guided us to our seats, and we were led to the great hall located deepest inside the pavilion.
At the center of the enormous great hall stood a long table, and all sorts of delicacies from mountains and seas were laid out on it.
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Since only that table existed in the large hall, the noisy voices of people talking echoed loudly throughout the entire space.
Then, after we entered the great hall and approached the table, the atmosphere, which had been as noisy as a marketplace, abruptly—
cut off.
Their gazes contained clear hostility, as if asking why we were here.
Ӗ ň ú m а̃
“……I wonder if I have done something unnecessary.”
A shadow fell over Gun Yu-hyeon’s face, who had invited us.
Thinking that nothing would work if I simply stood still, I stepped forward and clasped my hands in greeting.
“I heard there was a place where good connections could be formed, so I came. May we join you? If our presence displeases you, we will leave.”
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When I spoke politely yet confidently, the people looked at one another, seemingly unsure what to do.
Then all of their gazes gathered in one direction.
Е̄ nu m̀а
A sharp-eyed man seated in the center, holding a wine cup.
Tap.
Dam Ak set down his wine cup and said,
“I apologize for not inviting you first. Had I known you possessed such an open mind……. I would have invited you long ago.”
It was plainly visible that he did not mean that at all.
I smiled brightly.
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“Is this not how we narrow the distance between each other?”
At my composed attitude, Dam Ak smiled brightly as well.
“If you do not mind, would you join us and grace this place with your presence?”
Then he pointed to the seat beside him.
Those seated near Dam Ak rose from their seats and personally cleared the place for us.
“Looks like the wine is about to taste foul.”
Ẅ ĕ bñо̊v̇е́.l Е̄ ṅ û_m̀ а̄
“Kikik.”
“Kuk.”
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Someone spoke as if muttering to himself.
There was no way martial artists, myself included, could fail to hear it.
However, Il-myeong, who possessed Immovable Mind, would never fall for such a provocation.
I was the same.
W е̇ b̃ n о v̆e l̀ _Е́ n ūm̈а̄
As for Dang Seo-hui…… I did not know.
She was simply fixing her gaze on the food and not looking anywhere else.
Although we took our seats, the atmosphere still did not return to what it had been before.
Some felt awkward, while others were like that because of hostility.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
At that moment.
A man seated opposite us smiled meaningfully and said,
Ê n̄ ǔm̌а̊ . іd̊
“Thinking about it, we were in the wrong. If he is the Black Flame Dragon, is he not a renowned Black Path Rising Star Murim?”
“Wahahahaha!”
“Euhehehe.”
At the man’s words, a group of people opened their mouths wide and laughed.
The noise had returned, but I still felt as though everyone’s eyes were focused on us.
“But I heard a strange story. They say that very Black Flame Dragon is mediating an alliance between the Black Thought Alliance and the Murim Alliance.”
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The man looked around, seeking agreement.
“Do you think that makes any sense?”
As if he were watching to see what we would do.
The man licked his lips and stared fixedly at me.
As I was trying to gauge his identity, Gun Yu-hyeon’s Sound Transmission reached me.
-He is Jegal Cheon-gi, the fourth disciple of the Yellow Sand Sect Leader. Like the Yellow Sand Sect Leader, he is an extreme pro-war advocate.
Еń ù m̊ă . і d̂_
Was Evil Bear Jegal Cheon-gi originally from the Yellow Sand Sect?
Black Path bastards changed their affiliations like changing clothes every time, so I could not tell what their roots were.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
In any case, thanks to Gun Yu-hyeon, I could understand what the other party intended more clearly.
I looked straight into Jegal Cheon-gi’s eyes.
“What is impossible about that?”
“Hm?”
Wе̊ b̀n̊о̇ v̄е̊ l Е̇ nu m_á
“Surely the Black Thought Alliance was not organized solely to fight the Murim Alliance.”
He leaned back and laughed.
“Wahaha! That is true.”
Then his eyes flashed sharply.
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“To be precise, it was to resist the Murim Alliance’s oppression.”
Haa, look at this bastard boasting with his meager skill without even knowing what the horrors of war are like.
Ŵ еb̆n̈о v̂е̃ l̄ Ěňū_m.ā
It was because of bastards like this that pro-war arguments always gained strength.
Rotten bastards who would slip to the rear whenever there was actually fighting to be done.
Trying to persuade a bastard like this would only drain my strength. I had to avoid him not because I was afraid, but because he was filthy.
From the beginning, I had come here to persuade Dam Ak.
“You seem to like fighting.”
“I do not avoid fights that come to me.”
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“Then…… do you know about the crime of inducing a beating?”
“What?”
Wow, look at those fierce eyes.
“Even if you did not start the fight first, if you do something worthy of being hit, then you deserve to be hit.”
“……Ha, this bastard. What the hell are you saying?”
I looked around and provoked him.
Е̄n u ḿ a
“Is there anyone here who can defeat Senior Il-myeong?”
“…….”
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“Even if one hundred warriors of the Yellow Sand Sect attacked all at once, they probably could not defeat Senior Il-myeong.”
“You bastard!”
BOOM.
When Jegal Cheon-gi crudely rose to his feet, the table shook, the food spilled, and wine cups overturned.
Е̄ ǹu m̆ а
“Do you look down on the Yellow Sand Sect?”
“You seem desperate to go to war with the Murim Alliance. ……I am asking whether you have the confidence to fight a Life-and-Death Battle against Il-myeong.”
“…….”
“Why are you saying nothing? Are you planning to go to war while avoiding masters like Senior Il-myeong?”
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I examined the faces of those who had laughed along with Jegal Cheon-gi.
“Among those who advocate war, there has never been anyone who steps forward and says they will fight at the very front.”
Ẇ еb̂ ǹ о̀ v e l̂ En̊umå
Every one of them had built a notorious reputation with talent far superior to others of their age.
However, that was only possible in an era of peace.
Once war broke out, regardless of age or gender, everyone would be placed in a situation where they were judged by the absolute measure of strength and weakness.
“War is not a Martial Duel. No opponent will appear while matching your level. If war breaks out between the Black Thought Alliance and the Murim Alliance now, the people here will probably be driven to the very front of the battlefield, will they not?”
Once one stood on such a cold battlefield, mercy disappeared from the opponent’s blade.
In a place where humans were not seen as humans, the merciless sword that had once cut trees and straw cut human beings.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Do you know how many people die on the first day after war breaks out?”
When battle occurred after both sides had completed thorough preparations, countless victims appeared in an instant.
Some wars were so overflowing with momentum that they ended before even a week had passed.
If that was true of ordinary wars, would a war between martial artists be any less?
“War is not a fight that ends with injuries. At minimum, you must be prepared to lose arms and legs, and fundamentally, you must be prepared to lose your life.”
At my words, the atmosphere grew even more sunken.
Eňu mӑ
Jegal Cheon-gi ground his teeth and said,
“……Do you think our Black Path would wage war without even that much resolve?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“I am not asking about the Black Thought Alliance’s resolve.”
“What?”
“I am asking whether you possess that resolve.”
I looked straight into his eyes.
Е́ ň umӑ .ĭd
“The resolve to face Senior Il-myeong on the first day and fight a Life-and-Death Battle.”
“…….”
Jegal Cheon-gi glanced at Il-myeong, then was about to look at me again and shoot me a sharp glare.
Then Dam Ak, seated at the center, spoke.
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“In that case……. Are we supposed to watch the Murim Alliance’s mood and wait for death?”
What was this all of a sudden?
W̌ еb n̊о̀ v́ е̇ l _Enu m̃ а
Dam Ak drank his wine and continued speaking calmly.
“At present, due to the Blood Cult’s rise in Sichuan, the Murim Alliance’s gaze is turned elsewhere. But once the battle with the Blood Cult ends, where will that arrow point?”
Every organization needed goals and justifications of its own.
An organization that pursued only dominance and power was no different from a carriage without horses.
An organization always pursued goals and justification.
That was why Dam Ak was asking about the Murim Alliance’s justification and goals.
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“I think missing this moment, when the Murim Alliance has weakened, would be the same as throwing away an opportunity bestowed by heaven. What does Lord Black Flame Dragon think?”
Of course, Dam Ak was right.
This was the best time for the Black Thought Alliance.
Of course, that was under the premise that they could subjugate the Murim Alliance.
However.
“That is probably impossible.”
Е̌n̊ um̄ӓ
“Do you believe the Black Thought Alliance’s strength is insufficient?”
I shook my head.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The Murim Alliance’s strength did not come merely from the size of the Murim Alliance.
“The roots are different. Does the Black Thought Alliance have the confidence to subjugate the Murim Alliance while simultaneously dealing with the Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Clans, the One Hundred Eight Peaks, and countless other sects supporting the Murim Alliance?”
The Murim Alliance’s true strength lay in those sects that had grown together with it.
No matter how much the Black Thought Alliance filled its numbers with headcount alone, sects that had not even been open for a hundred years would have limits in supplying strength.
E n̈ um ã
“If you attack the Murim Alliance, it will surely be felt as an attack on all Orthodox Path sects. Is the Black Thought Alliance prepared for that?”
For an instant, I saw Dam Ak’s eyes waver slightly.
He looked at me for a moment, then slowly continued speaking.
“The Murim Alliance and the Black Thought Alliance are like water and oil. The Murim Alliance will certainly not wait until the Black Thought Alliance has laid its foundation.”
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Dam Ak’s gaze as he looked at each of us was full of hostility.
How had someone who had even served as the Murim Alliance’s Grand Strategist in my previous life come to harbor such strong hostility toward the Murim Alliance in this life?
Ẽ ňum̃ а̂
Dam Ak tapped the tabletop with his fingers and asked me,
“Since they say Lord Black Flame Dragon’s wisdom and schemes are outstanding, I shall ask one thing.”
His sharp gaze turned toward me.
“Should the Black Thought Alliance wait for death until the Murim Alliance subjugates it?”
The Dam Ak I had known in my previous life was not someone so mad for blood.
Moreover, although he sought others’ opinions, he was always someone who made his own judgments.
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The reason he was asking like this now was probably not because he truly did not know, but to sound out what intentions we held.
I did not avoid his gaze and said,
“Even if the war with the Blood Cult ends, the Murim Alliance will not attack the Black Thought Alliance or do anything of that sort.”
“How can you be so certain? Lord Black Flame Dragon is merely an Academy Representative, are you not?”
Well, that was true.
As merely the Academy Representative, I could not predict the Murim Alliance’s actions.
Е n̈um̀ а̃.іd.
However, I had already experienced a future everyone else did not know.
“The Blood Cult is not the only group that uses bizarre Witchcraft. There are even more frightening beings.”
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“…….”
“And ‘they’ are now aiming for all under heaven. Monsters who do not care about human lives.”
Dam Ak rubbed his chin and leaned back.
His attitude seemed to say he thought my argument was baseless nonsense.
W̌е_b̈_ǹ о̃_vе̂l Ẽǹ ūm̌ a
“Are you speaking of a conspiracy theory?”
A conspiracy theory, huh…….
I asked Dam Ak directly,
“Have you perhaps heard that Iron Corpse Puppets appeared in Sichuan?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“……Those who use Witchcraft naturally use such beings.”
I shook my head.
Е̄ ň ŭm а̊. і́ d
“During the Murim Regular Exam, I saw beings far stranger than them.”
“How strange do you mean?”
I recalled the memory of that day.
Beings that could not be seen by the eye, whose forms could not be grasped, and who hid in the darkness as they stole people’s lives.
“Their skin was as hard as steel, they carved their bones and used them like swords, and they melted into darkness to devour everything.”
“…….”
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His eyes showed that he could not possibly believe such beings truly existed.
“For us to fight each other would be no different from a signal telling them we are handing all under heaven over to them.”
“Do you have proof?”
“……I do not.”
Dam Ak immediately cast his gaze beside me.
“Did the others see the same thing?”
Ẽñũm ӑ
Il-myeong and Dang Seo-hui, who received Dam Ak’s gaze, shook their heads.
Then those who had been listening to our conversation with a somewhat tense air exhaled and began snickering.
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Well, I would not have easily believed it either if I had only heard it as a story.
Just as the sunken atmosphere was about to become noisy again.
“……They also emit something similar to Poisonous Qi.”
A man’s voice flew out coldly.
Е nu ṁ ă .і̂d
“……?”
“Hm?”
Everyone’s gazes gathered toward the owner of the voice.
The man standing where all their gazes gathered was none other than Gun Yu-hyeon.
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He trembled as if afraid.
“They were definitely beings that were human, yet not human.”
Е n̆u mа̄. і d̂
I barely swallowed a groan and asked,
“……You saw them?”
“From far away, but I saw them clearly.”
As the two of us exchanged glances, Dam Ak looked at Gun Yu-hyeon for a moment, then shook his head.
“Even so, we cannot place our hopes on something we have not actually seen.”
Dam Ak shook his head as if making a firm declaration.
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“We cannot trust the Murim Alliance.”
Dam Ak’s resolute words echoed through the great hall.
My impression of Dam Ak from my previous life was that he was quite an outstanding person.
Perhaps he had only seemed relatively outstanding because the people who had handled military strategy before him were incompetent.
But through this meeting, I realized it clearly.
Dam Ak was an extremely difficult person to deal with as an enemy.
Ẅ e b̈ṅ о̆ v е̂ l Ë n um̂ а́
‘He really doesn’t show what he’s thinking.’
Realistically, Dam Ak should also know that it would be difficult for the Black Thought Alliance to wage war immediately.
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Unless he wanted the Black Thought Alliance’s downfall, he should also know that even if they aimed for the Murim Alliance now, they could not bring down the entire Orthodox Path.
Then why?
Why did Dam Ak continue to express hostile opinions?
“This has become difficult.”
Еn̈umа
Gun Yu-hyeon, who had left the great hall with us, also had a face full of worry.
The composed look he had shown at the gambling table was nowhere to be seen.
Compared to a gambling table, war carried an entirely different weight.
I clasped my hands in greeting toward him.
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“You gave us your consideration, yet I could not show you a good result.”
At my words, Gun Yu-hyeon shook his head.
Е̂ ňū m а̄.іd̈
“No. For now, from what you said today alone, some people will have grasped reality to some extent. If we gather them and form a general consensus, those above will also reconsider.”
Gun Yu-hyeon, who had at some point formed a smile on his lips, continued speaking.
“What do you plan to do from now on?”
“For now, I think I need to meet a few more people. There should still be some time before the Founding Ceremony ends.”
First, my priority was to speak with Cha Seok-du, the Alliance Leader, and the people I had met at the Demon Spirit Plateau.
Gun Yu-hyeon nodded.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“I see. If you need any help, please tell me at any time.”
“I am grateful for the offer alone.”
As we conversed like that, we arrived before the lodging where we were staying before we knew it.
Just as I was about to say farewell to Gun Yu-hyeon and turn around.
Gun Yu-hyeon asked,
“Would you answer one question for me, as payment for today’s matter?”
Е̊ n ǔ ṁã
An answer? What answer?
When I tilted my head, Gun Yu-hyeon opened his mouth without delay.
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“When the Five Heavenly Kings came out in the final round…….”
He asked me with a more serious face than ever.
“Was that real?”
He looked utterly earnest, as though waiting for the answer of a lifetime.
Ẃ е́ b̂n̊ о̀ vе̄l Е̂ n̂ ŭṁ.а̀
He must really like gambling.
So much that I even felt a prick of conscience for no reason.
Instead of answering, I smiled at him.
Then, perhaps satisfied with that alone, he nodded.
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“I see. So that is how it was. Truly, truly! What a relief.”
Gun Yu-hyeon returned to his lodging with steps so light it seemed he might fly.
Ẅ е bǹо̌v̈ еl Ėnü m̊_а
Looking at that excessively transparent back, I somehow found myself laughing.
When I turned my head and looked beside me, Dang Seo-hui was also continuing to chase his back with her gaze.
“He is truly a strange person. To smile like that after being deceived.”
It seemed even Dang Seo-hui could not easily understand the mental state of gamblers.
Well, who in the world could understand a gambler’s mind?
I stretched and looked back at my companions.
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“Let us go in as well. For now, I think we need to discuss our future course.”
Like that, we entered the lodging, and the moment we stepped into the inner room, we all stopped moving at once.
‘The scent of blood?’
The smell of blood, mixed with a fishy iron scent, was clearly filling the inner room.
At length.
“Benefactor Jin!”
Ën̈u m̀å. і d̄
Il-myeong, whose eyes had widened, pointed to one side and shouted.
In the place his finger pointed.
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Ak Byeong-bi lay dead, covered in blood.
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