VIP Early Access
Eksklusif untuk member VIP
Password Protected
Chapter ini dikunci dengan kode khusus
Chapter 276
Chapter 276. Those Who Break Walls (2)
The Red Army... no, every academy student present was still unable to regain their senses under the current circumstances.
A single battle could not greatly affect a grand strategy.
That was the accepted doctrine taught at the academy. No, not only at the academy; they had learned the art of war in the same manner from their sects and clans as well.
Grand strategy moved the entire board.
W̄ е̄b̈ǹ ov̆ е l Ё n̂u m̀ a
For that reason, those who would one day become commanders or rise to the highest posts had always been taught to look at the greater picture rather than the smaller one.
They had to secure the benefits of a larger strategy rather than cling to the victory or defeat of a minor battle.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
That was what they had learned, and it was what they were supposed to consider from now on as well.
Viewed from that perspective, the Red Army was certainly supposed to lose.
Every academy student had their internal energy completely sealed, and they fought while gathered into small and medium-sized units.
Although this was called a strategy and tactics evaluation, if it was treated as a small war in which three armies kept one another in check and fought, then by the grand strategy Cheol Sun-jik had devised to defeat Jin So-un, it had been practically certain that the White Army and the Red Army would clash, both sides would suffer grievous losses, and the Blue Army would triumph.
Еṅ úm̃ а
And yet, looking at this sorry state of affairs now...
“Ah, every bone in my body aches.”
...would even Sun Tzu, who had written The Art of War, not spring up from his grave and say, “Do not spout nonsense”?
The Red Army had sacrificed everything to defeat the White Army.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
And then the Red Army’s ambush unit had struck the rear of the Blue Army, which had moved to capture that very Red Army.
A course that could not be predicted even one step ahead had, in the end, produced an utterly unforeseen result.
W еb̌ n о v̀ ёl̀ Еn̈ ů m а
‘What sort of exam is run like this?’
‘Who fights this way?’
‘Ignorant bastards, every last one of them...’
The words, ‘What a damned ridiculous exam,’ rose all the way to their throats, but there were none who could easily say them aloud.
“What are you staring at, you bastards? Lower your eyes.”
Of course, the greatest reason was the instinctive warning that they must not provoke that lunatic... no, that academy representative who had made all of this possible.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“...”
The White Army had been thrashed by the Red Army despite the Red Army being at a disadvantage, and within the Red Army, there were plenty of people who had betrayed them and now had only retribution left to await.
At least the Blue Army had the right to say, ‘What a damned ridiculous exam,’ but the Blue Army, composed mostly of members of the Nine Sects and One Gang, felt immense shame over the fact that they had ultimately lost to the Red Army.
“What in the world were you doing?”
“You failed to stop those ten people, and we lost in the end?”
“What were you doing instead of guarding the base?”
W̊ӗb́n̈ о̄ v̂ е̌ l̂ Ėń u m ã
Those who had climbed White Mountain poured out fierce criticism, but those who had remained near the base were not without things to say either.
“Do you not know that bastard Yayul Geuk? Once that vicious wretch gets his hands on you, your bones break!”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“And is Lee Eun-ho any different? Among the Iron Wall Three Dragons, he is the one in charge of the brain!”
“If you were that confident, then you should have defeated the White Army or the Red Army yourselves long ago!”
While accusations flew back and forth between them, the academy students were not the only ones making a commotion.
Countless words were also exchanged among the instructors and assistant instructors, who now had to end the practical exam and give their evaluations.
Ŵ ẽb̃n о̃ v̂еľ Еṅ û m̈а
“This cannot be recognized. This was never meant to be the kind of exam conducted in this manner from the outset.”
“What do you mean? In any case, did the Red Army not win?”
“This is strategy and tactics. It is not a crude brawl.”
“Do you not know that the success or failure of a grand strategy ultimately requires the accumulation of victories in smaller battles?”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Amid the stark division between those who argued that the Red Army’s final victory had to be recognized and those who insisted that an exam conducted in such an absurd manner must not be accepted...
“Everyone, enough.”
Еn̂ u m̂ а
In the end, Buk Won-pyeong stepped forward and settled the matter.
“Knowing an opponent’s weakness and using it is also an extremely important matter in actual war. From the beginning, no condition was set that they had to fight only by orthodox theory, and since we allowed the alliance between the White Army and the Blue Army, there can be no issue with the Red Army’s victory.”
At Buk Won-pyeong’s words, the instructors all closed their mouths.
After all, the biased judgment they had made in permitting the initial alliance had come back to bind their own feet.
“The end-of-term strategy and tactics evaluation... is, beyond any doubt, the Red Army’s victory.”
At Buk Won-pyeong’s declaration, the instructors and assistant instructors completed the rest of their evaluation sheets all at once.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Watching that scene, Buk Won-pyeong turned his gaze toward White Mountain.
There...
“Ahem...”
...he saw Jin So-un teasing Il-gak, who had his head bowed low with tooth marks left on his scalp.
‘Truly... he is a man beyond prediction.’
Buk Won-pyeong let out a chuckle as he looked at his utterly irreverent senior brother.
W̃ е̄b̆ n о̃ v̌e.l̀ Ė ň uḿа
The end-of-term evaluations were all over.
By the time all the Gentleman Powder they had taken during the final practical exam had been digested, and the academy students had begun adapting to their bodies once more...
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The list of eliminated students was announced.
“Hrk...”
“This cannot be!”
“Please! Please!”
W ėb̌ ǹ о v̊ е ĺ Enū mа̇
The academy students who confirmed their names sank into frustration and despair as though the heavens had collapsed.
There were fewer than ten of them, but considering the sects connected to each of them, their elimination was no light matter.
The companions of the eliminated students wept with them in heart-rending anguish and pain, but that did not mean the results could be overturned.
“This cannot be! Th-this is a lie!!!”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Among them, the eliminated student who caused the greatest uproar was none other than Ak Ju-pyeong.
He was a descendant of the Shandong Ak Clan, which belonged to the Five Great Clans, and within the Ak Clan, he had been regarded as a promising talent. Since even the other academy students had not expected Ak Ju-pyeong to be eliminated, the shock was all the greater.
Е n̊ů_m̊ а
Of course, the one most shocked was Ak Ju-pyeong himself.
“That is right! Th-this is a conspiracy! A conspiracy! Do you know who I am? Huh?! I am Ak Ju-pyeong of the Shandong Ak Clan! I will inform my uncle in the Inspection Pavilion and have this absurd incident investigated until the truth is revealed!”
Having lost his reason, Ak Ju-pyeong caused an uproar, smashing the furnishings in the instructors’ office.
He was certainly shouting himself hoarse about a conspiracy, but since the Education Pavilion was also an organization directly subordinate to Mantongbu, there was no possibility of corruption in the evaluation.
Ak Ju-pyeong’s behavior ultimately caused the Execution Pavilion to step forward.
“Uncle...! Call my uncle! My uncle is the Hall Master of the Third Hall!”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
He cried out desperately as he was dragged away to the Execution Pavilion, but in the end, no one from the Inspection Pavilion came forward.
After the Execution Pavilion began its investigation of Ak Ju-pyeong...
Ak Ju-pyeong, realizing that he could not receive Ak Byeong-bi’s help, eventually grabbed one of the Execution Pavilion’s personnel and poured out his grievances.
“There is clearly a conspiracy! How could I, a descendant of the Shandong Ak Clan, possibly be eliminated?”
The Execution Pavilion investigator reading the investigation documents furrowed his brow.
“Five Grade E evaluations? You call this a score?”
En̂ u̇ m̆ а̌ . і d̈
“...Th-that was only because of the harassment from a man named Yayul Geuk...”
“Come to think of it, there is also a record here stating that you founded a delinquent organization within the academy and harassed one academy student with meticulous planning.”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Ak Ju-pyeong’s face turned deathly pale.
“Th-that cannot be! I, I...!”
The investigator slammed the desk and thundered at him.
“This is an investigation report written by your uncle, the Third Hall Master of the Inspection Pavilion. Are you still going to call it false?”
En u ḿ а
“What?!!!”
“Ak Byeong-bi... he is indeed a man of character. To think he would cut off even a member of his own clan this coldly. Shall I say it is worthy of the Third Hall Master’s reputation?”
“Wh-what do you...”
The corner of the investigator’s mouth curled upward.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“You may look forward to it. When the Inspection Pavilion cooperates this readily, it makes our Execution Pavilion quite eager to work.”
Ak Ju-pyeong felt as though he had fallen into hell.
W̌ е b̈ nо v̌еl̀ Е̇ñ û m̀а̀
After the eliminated students packed their belongings first and left the academy, vitality began returning to the slightly subdued academy once more.
The winter break provided twice as much time as the summer break.
Even academy students who had been unable to return home during the summer break because of the great distance received support from the academy and went back to their sects or hometowns.
“I am so excited.”
Eun Seol-ran spoke in a buoyant voice.
Since she was now able to return to the hometown she had not visited during the previous summer break, it was perhaps only natural.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Bukhae is cold, is it not? It is cold here too, so is it not even worse there?”
When Seong Mo-ran tilted her head, Eun Seol-ran answered with a smile.
“It is not that cold! You have no idea how beautiful the scenery is in winter. Everything is white everywhere, and the horizon stretches endlessly. Ah! What do you think of coming with me during this break? The people of our palace would be happy as well.”
Eun Seol-ran said this, but Seong Mo-ran shivered.
“I am not even planning to go back to my hometown this time. I am just going to train fiercely in the quiet academy.”
“Why are you saying that while looking at me?”
Е̂.n u_ḿа̃
Seong Mo-ran glared resentfully at Jin So-un.
“Just what did you eat to become that strong, Young Master Jin?”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“Ha, what a thing to say! Eat, indeed. I merely built one day upon another through repeated training every single day.”
“If only you were not so glib!”
As Jin So-un brought his hands together as though Il-gak himself had possessed him, Seong Mo-ran snorted.
“Hmph. But from what I heard, besides what I gave you, you have been picking up and eating plenty of things from here and there, have you not?”
Еň ū må
“Ahem. I have no idea what you are talking about.”
In the end, Eun Seol-ran stepped in to mediate.
“Oh, honestly...! Please stop fighting. What about the rest of you? This time, with me to the Ice Palace...!”
“This time, it seems we must all visit our sect.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Jin So-un and the rest of the Taeul Sect people also declined Eun Seol-ran’s proposal.
Murong Jae-hwa alone agonized over it for a long while before letting out a sigh.
Е n ùm а . і d
“I am sorry, Lady Eun. Grandfather insisted that I must come back this time...”
Eun Seol-ran herself, who had made the proposal, was perfectly unbothered, yet Murong Jae-hwa gazed at her with eyes dripping with regret.
“A thug... no, if Grandfather said so...”
As expected, people were moved less by one who beat her chest than by one who beat their entire body.
While most of the students made plans either to return home during the break or remain behind and train, like Seong Mo-ran...
“Sun-jik, do you not intend to go to the sect?”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Cheol Sun-jik was still swinging the sword he had newly bought.
The weather was cold enough that white vapor poured from his mouth with every breath, but Cheol Sun-jik’s entire body was soaked in sweat as though he had been standing in the rain.
Cheol Hyeon-jik, who had been watching him with pity, parted his lips heavily.
“Everyone is waiting for you.”
“...I am still lacking.”
He did not say much, but as his elder brother, Cheol Hyeon-jik knew best what Cheol Sun-jik was looking toward.
Ě ń u má
He took a step back and comforted his younger brother.
“I know. But will it not take a long time? Let us at least show your face to Father and Mother first.”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“I do not wish to.”
“We have already waited three hundred years. What difference would it make if it were delayed a little longer?”
A brief silence followed.
Cheol Sun-jik, who had only been staring at the tip of his sword, exhaled a heated breath.
Е nùṁ ӓ.
“...I am too ashamed to show them my current self, Elder Brother.”
“Father and Mother will be happy simply to see your face.”
“...”
Silence descended upon the training ground once more.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Whether they remained at the academy or returned home, the academy students each came to bear a great burden.
This break would be an important period that would decide whether they made that burden into their own strength or into shackles.
Wеb̀n ov́ е̇ l̄ Еṅ ū m̌ å
Even so, the break also brought a different kind of excitement.
Especially for the disciples of the Taeul Sect.
The disciples of the Taeul Sect had missed the summer break, when they could have returned home in glory and been doted upon as wonderful children. They had therefore waited for this winter break longer and more desperately than anyone else.
Moreover, it had been a full year since the Regular Exam, a year in which they had run without a single rest.
Was this not the first time they could take a rest truly worthy of the name?
While Jin So-un busily turned over in his mind how he should fill this long-awaited rest...
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Eldest Senior Brother, this is the schedule for going to Hefei.”
“Hm?”
Jin So-un accepted the schedule Eun-ho held out to him.
“We will take a carriage from Yuhan Escort Agency heading toward Zhejiang, then transfer to Seonghyeon Escort Agency in Anhui. Throughout the journey, all lodging and meals will be prepared by the escort agencies.”
It was a commonly used group travel package.
It was also a method frequently used by academy students returning to their hometowns.
Е n̂ ūm̆ а ..і̄ d
Above all, it was a very popular service because there was no need to change horses every time or sleep outdoors.
As academy break approached, such tickets sold out day after day, making reservations difficult, yet Eun-ho had prepared everything in advance.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Jin So-un lowered his brows and patted Eun-ho on the shoulder.
“I feel so sorry about this. It must have been hard to make the reservation.”
At his Eldest Senior Brother’s acknowledgment, Eun-ho rubbed his philtrum with his finger.
“Oh, please, it was nothing. This much is something I, as your junior brother, should prepare...”
W ёb ṅ o v̂ еl̃ E n̆ǔ mа
“Hm? No, that is not what I meant when I said I was sorry.”
“Pardon?”
RIIIP.
At the sight of their Eldest Senior Brother tearing apart the ticket along with the schedule, the disciples of the Taeul Sect could not hide their horror.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Wh-what are you doing!”
Jin So-un calmly dangled the torn ticket and grinned.
Еn̈umа̀. ïd
“Sorry, but we have something to do, so we cannot use this.”
“...”
Before their Eldest Senior Brother’s vicious, Yama-like smile, the junior brothers could only open and close their mouths like carp, unable to say a word.
Konten Bab Belum Tersedia
Bab ini belum memiliki konten teks atau sedang dalam proses penyuntingan.
