Betrayal (6)
No spies suspected of being members of the Shadow Clan?
It’s hard to say. The events happened too suddenly.
I handled the entire mangled Haeryong Clan territory and answered his question.
The inquiry regarding the Shadow Clan was being conducted in various locations.
It was an incredibly large Shadow Clan.
They resembled lions, yet sported three massive horns.
When the Shadow Clan howled, thick black mist erupted, and within that fog, something scarlet-colored gushed forth before they lost consciousness.
…
I stood beside a Nascent Soul Haeryong Clan member being interrogated by a Four Pillars inspector and had no idea what expression I should wear.
What had I witnessed? Three horns? Like lions?
It was clear that Yu Hwa had lulled them to sleep and somehow induced strange visions from the boundary between dreams and reality.
Did the Shadow Clan you saw resemble that description?
Well… yes. That’s correct.
I distorted Yu Hwa’s appearance in every possible way to match the Haeryong Clan’s expectations and answered.
The horns were enormous and vicious, the faces purple-hued, and the eyes flashed with lightning, terrifying to behold.
Hmmm… What kind of race is that?
It’s not the race’s characteristic per se, but rather a signature of the Shadow Dao Technique.
The Shadow Clan’s Shadow Dao Technique is said to be incredibly insidious.
Indeed it is.
The Four Pillars inspector collected distorted information about Yu Hwa from me and several other Haeryong Clan members, then assisted in healing the wounded members.
Kuuuung! Kuuuung!
In the meantime, a golden lightning-filled cloud raced toward us.
Kugugugu!
From within the cloud, a dragon with golden scales leaped out and transformed into a woman clad in a brown cape adorned with golden horns.
It was Gyu-ryeon.
I heard you were attacked by a vicious Shadow Clan and came to check on you. Are you all right?
Moved by her concern, the Haeryong Clan elders responded with great excitement.
Yes, thanks to the senior elders of other races arriving, there was no major damage.
Oh my… Be careful. Shadow Clans are vicious through and through.
That aside… Seo Eun-hyun, please come here a moment.
The Integration-stage elder, Gyu-ryeon, called me over.
As far as I know, you’ve also trained in the Heavenly Race Dao Technique.
Can you read your Heavenly Aura?
Yes, I can.
Have you noticed any changes in your Heavenly Aura?
Yes, there have been.
I wore a dark expression.
Everyone has only heard rumors about the Shadow Clans, and none have truly faced them.
Moreover, since this is near the heart of the Haeryong Clan territory in the central region of Bongmyeong-ju, no one has explained the Shadow Clans properly to us.
She began explaining to us.
Listen carefully. From now on, you must learn about the Shadow Clans.
Monsters who reach the level corresponding to the Heavenly Person stage within the Shadow Clan cause the exact same effect as having been struck by Heavenly Tribulation the moment their attack lands.
What…?
Gyu-ryeon’s explanation regarding the Shadow Clans continued, and after a while, the Haeryong Clan elders listening to her grew pale.
These were beings no one had ever properly encountered, only hearing rumors about.
Because they had settled near the headquarters of the Jinryong-maeng, the core of the Haeryong Clan territory, the Haeryong Clan had lived without facing any major external threats.
It must have been a shocking revelation to them that Gyu-ryeon had just described the Shadow Clans’ characteristics.
All of them stared at the sky in bewilderment.
And a short while later.
Hatred and terror for the Shadow Clans clearly surfaced in their eyes.
In that case… when we advance our realms, we’ll have to face two types of Heavenly Tribulation.
The Heavenly Tribulation we originally faced, plus the one that came into being because of the Shadow Clans!
Yes.
Hah… Hahaha!
These men, who relied on their powerful physiques and believed even ordinary Heavenly Tribulation was nothing, accepted it with a shrug.
But the weaker ones, who had barely survived Heavenly Tribulation before, erupted in frustration.
Especially those who, since the Nascent Soul stage, had faced a Heavenly Tribulation upon reaching each sub-stage: early, mid, late Nascent Soul, and Integration.
In short, even Heavenly Person cultivators like them had to face Heavenly Tribulation every time they advanced one realm.
The Haeryong Clan elders, who barely had the next realm within reach, were so furious their eyes spun.
They forgot they were standing before Gyu-ryeon and the Four Pillars Haeryong Clan members and unleashed every vulgar insult at the Shadow Clans.
Everyone, please calm down!
Those who suffered damage from the Shadow Clans this time will be granted access to the Jinryong-maeng’s missions and allowed to use facilities in Bongmyeong-ju in the future!
I, the inspector of the Jinryong-maeng, Gyu-ryeon, hereby swear it!
At her suggestion, the rage-filled dragon races’ eyes finally returned to normal.
There must be a place in the lower depths of Bongmyeong-ju where one can receive aid when breaking through Heavenly Tribulation.
Gyu-ryeon held the position of elder in the Jinryong-maeng and the title of inspector.
The inspector title allowed her to manage various locations within Bongmyeong-ju as needed and, if necessary, utilize facilities located there.
The Haeryong Clan elders thanked Gyu-ryeon, and I smiled at them.
In that case, since the inspector has granted us the opportunity to use Bongmyeong-ju’s facilities, to repay this favor, I wish to apply as an attendant assisting the inspector’s duties?
Great… Master…
My title was, in truth, little more than a name.
If anything, it is more fortunate that I can serve the Haeryong Clan with this opportunity.
Or do the elders find it distasteful that I, who serve as a liaison between the inspector and the Great Army, would enter as an attendant and serve the inspector as repayment for this favor?
Ah, no. There is no such thing…!
Despite their faces twisted with distaste, the elders accepted my proposal.
Gyu-ryeon, too, accepted my suggestion without hesitation, believing that through the blood I had previously accepted from Seo Hyeul, I could communicate with Seo Hyeul.
By doing so, I successfully broke free from the social constraints that had bound the Haeryong Clan elders and distanced myself from their territory.
***
From now on, please communicate well with Seo Hyeul, Seo Eun-hyun.
Gyu-ryeon smiled brightly and took me to Bongmyeong-ju.
As an attendant to the inspector, I came along, but there is nothing for me to do…!
Hmmm. Then, at least take on a few clerical tasks.
I followed her to check her duties and descended to the lower depths of Bongmyeong-ju.
Hoo…
I swallowed dryly at the familiar darkness before my eyes.
Haha, are you nervous?
Indeed I was.
I wore a tense expression while gazing at the pitch-black darkness of the lowest layer, the Dark Layer of Bongmyeong-ju.
As inspector, Gyu-ryeon primarily managed the Dark Layer of the lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju.
She also handled duties as the progressor of the Guiding Blood Fusion when necessary.
My main duty is to manage the spatial cracks in the lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju.
She took out several documents from Jeomuldo and continued explaining.
Bongmyeong-ju was originally a stopover for travelers leaping over worlds, so the lowest depths were filled with power to cross worlds.
The power to cross worlds…
Of course, it was now dormant and had little meaning, but such powers occasionally created spatial cracks in the lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju.
Those spatial cracks had a high probability of connecting to lower realms.
Lower realms?
Yes. If not properly managed, those who enter the lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju by mistake might randomly be hurled toward the Star Realm or Sub Sea Realm.
It is my job to manage the spatial cracks.
…Was it fine during the Guiding Blood Fusion?
Of course! During the Guiding Blood Fusion, I monitored the entire spatial domain with burning eyes.
There was no threat from spatial cracks.
…
I recalled the incident in which I had met [that person] during the Guiding Blood Fusion.
The lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju were easy to connect to other worlds, so I must have been drawn there by that person’s influence.
That said, if it is a spatial crack connected to lower realms… could we not turn it into Gongryeong-ji and use it as a non-sacred platform?
I questioned her after hearing her explanation of the lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju.
Non-sacred platforms cannot be created from such spatial cracks.
We must create stable spacetime entrances.
Creating a non-sacred platform from a spatial crack would cause it to close easily.
Even in the long history of the Gwanghan Realm, the only case of a non-sacred platform created from a spatial crack lasting long was one incident from 120,000 years ago involving the Thunder Immortal.
…
I nodded, assuming I knew what the Thunder Immortal was.
Then, does the senior inspector usually stay here?
There is no such thing. Why would I stay long in such gloomy places?
Uwoong!
She extended her hand to me.
On the back of her hand shone the word “Bong” in light.
This is the brand received as inspector managing the lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju.
Using this brand, I can be instantly transported to the lowest depths of Bongmyeong-ju at any time.
If a signal indicating a spatial crack in the lowest depths appears, I only need to rush there and close it.
In fact, excluding the Guiding Blood Fusion period, the lowest layer is the most inactive for the inspector.
I see…
What you must do is, whenever I have a task to close a spatial crack, record my actions on the documents I provide and submit them to the Jinryong-maeng elders’ assembly.
It is not difficult, but tedious.
In truth, since closing spatial cracks happens rarely, your main role will be as a liaison between the Great Army and myself.
I will work hard.
Yes, I rely on you.
And at that spot, Gyu-ryeon wrote a letter to Seo Hyeul and showed it to me.
I used the bloodline I had received from Seo Hyeul and delivered her letter through my blood.
After a while, a reply from Seo Hyeul arrived, and I showed Gyu-ryeon the reply.
In this way, I became a human postman for a while, delivering love letters between Seo Hyeul and Gyu-ryeon.
***
After receiving the inspector’s attendant duties.
Using the pretext of repaying the favor, I entered as an attendant to the inspector Gyu-ryeon.
From that day, I poured my all into preparing the wedding between Gyu-ryeon and Seo Hyeul.
It was not as though the attendant needed to do much; there was ample time to assist with the wedding.
Seo Hyeul will return, and there will be no chance to react when he is launched at us to force the marriage of Gyu-ryeon and Seo Hyeul.
My goal was to bring him to the ceremony venue without any political space to intervene the moment Seo Hyeul returned.
In that case, I must first create a situation in which Seo Hyeul cannot refuse to marry Gyu-ryeon.
Of course, the moment Gyu-ryeon reached the Integration stage, Seo Hyeul would have no choice, but I began working to ensure she could claim him more securely.
First, gather the opposition faction against Seo Hyeul.
Seo Hyeul’s actions had always seemed perfect, but as with any force, there were opposition factions.
Primarily, those Haeryong Clan members and weak races forced to have their names managed by the Jinryong-maeng suffered losses from Seo Hyeul’s proposals.
Of course, Seo Hyeul had always cleverly shifted his complaints onto others, so among those who lost and weak races, few directly opposed him.
At most, a handful.
Then, gather all of that handful.
After settling in Bongmyeong-ju, I secretly contacted Seo Hyeul’s opposition faction and united them.
Over several days, I spread Seo Hyeul’s unfavorable information and rumors, subtly urging them to spread slander against him within their own forces.
Seo Hyeul would be absent for a short time of a decade or two, or a long time of a century, so no one could refute them anyway.
But it was not only that he could not refute directly; there were many who would defend his side.
The Black Dragon Clan appeared as a fate-shared community with him for some reason, and the other dragon races maintained excellent relations with him, led by Gyu-ryeon.
Furthermore, the other thirteen large races, who had always maintained closeness with Seo Hyeul, would defend him if weak races were used to slander him.
And I exploited that opening.
I concentrated the weak forces that could be called the opposition faction, swelled their numbers, and had them repeatedly point out Seo Hyeul’s identity limitations.
Seo Hyeul appeared as a Great Army on the surface, yet he was truly the leader of the Haeryong Clan, a collateral branch of the Black Dragon Clan.
Therefore, it was unsuitable to entrust him with the central duties of the Jinryong-maeng, led by the thirteen large races.
Yet during that time, Seo Hyeul had manipulated the Jinryong-maeng elders’ assembly with his unique charm.
However, the identity of the leader of the Haeryong Clan as a collateral branch of the Black Dragon Clan did not fit the level of the Jinryong-maeng elders’ assembly, which was dominated by noble saint-bloodline dragon races.
Moreover, being from the lower realms rather than the mainland, Seo Hyeul’s origin was not particularly noble.
In that case, the Jinryong-maeng’s thirteen-race elders’ assembly would raise Seo Hyeul’s identity to defend him.
The thirteen races had no better candidate than Seo Hyeul at present, so he would naturally be employed.
Seo Hyeul would surely have manipulated things so he could be employed and then left.
In that case, at that time, he would claim to want to marry.
The counterpart would naturally be Gyu-ryeon.
Gyu-ryeon was a perfect match to fill Seo Hyeul’s insufficient identity.
If she became a Dragon King, she could even become his perfect shield.
Of course, while serving as a shield, she would also become an enormous prison for him.
Furthermore, her title was inspector.
Since she was inspector of Bongmyeong-ju as a direct member of the Jinryong-maeng, not belonging to the Yellow Dragon Clan, the thirteen large races would have less worry that Seo Hyeul would be treated unfairly.
The inspector title of Bongmyeong-ju would remain with her even after she reached the Integration stage.
Moreover, as the region she managed in Bongmyeong-ju expanded, she would drift farther from the Jinryong-maeng’s power struggles.
That would not concern me as a liaison either.
In this way, after becoming a Dragon King at the Integration stage, according to Gyu-ryeon’s will to take Seo Hyeul, he would have to marry her no matter what.
While assisting Gyu-ryeon’s duties, I spread slander against Seo Hyeul through the opposition faction that disliked him and helped them vent their ill feelings toward Seo Hyeul into their own forces.
In this way, as the net slowly tightened around Seo Hyeul, he would eventually be caught.
It was almost over, Seo Hyeul.
Wait for it.
In this manner, I carried out groundwork for Seo Hyeul’s marriage and spent another three years.
We had entered the tenth year of regression.
***
Have you found Seo Hyeul’s weakness?
Yes, Brother Seo.
I questioned the Heavenly Person inspector, Cheon-ryang, the head of Seo Hyeul’s opposition faction, the anti-Seo faction, who had come to find me.
Three years.
It had taken three years to unite the opposition faction and carefully advance the plan for Seo Hyeul’s marriage.
And within that, the head of the opposition faction, Cheon-ryang, had come to find me claiming to have discovered Seo Hyeul’s weakness.
Cheon-ryang was a boar dragon race.
He stuck out his tongue to cool his burning mouth and continued explaining.
Hoo… Please do not be surprised and hear my explanation.
One of the Nascent Soul elders of our Heavenly Vision Clan has come seeking a fact that could become Seo Hyeul’s weakness.
Hmmm… a fact that could become a weakness…
But conversely, it may not become a weakness.
What fact is it? Is the source of the information reliable?
Very reliable. I even obtained a witness.
Cheon-ryang leaned in and whispered to me.
It is that Seo Hyeul has some connection with the Blood Yin Realm.
Whether it proves to be true or not, it could deal a significant blow to him.
Cheon-ryang smiled lewdly.
The Blood Yin Realm…
It was certainly not strange that Seo Hyeul had connections with the Blood Yin Realm.
The witness is reliable?
If I bring in unreliable information to shake Seo Hyeul and end up counterattacked, I will be in trouble.
Seeing my concern, Cheon-ryang grinned and clapped his hands.
Clap clap!
At his clapping, after a while, a middle-aged man entered the room where Cheon-ryang and I were talking.
He was a plump human-form dragon race who had been roasted, with protruding fangs at the corners of his mouth.
With red hair and a belly-baring outfit, he greeted Cheon-ryang and me.
Cheon-ryang introduced him.
This man is Hong-guk.
As you see, he is a master who fought against the Haeryong Clan invaders during the time when the Blood Yin Realm Heavenly Demons invaded the Haeryong Clan territory seven hundred years ago.
Recognizing his achievements, he has worked in the territories of the inspector Gyu-ryeon.
Ah…!
Only then could I identify him.
The Nascent Soul boar dragon race I had been beaten by Baek-nyeong back at Gyu-ryeon’s territory.
(The end of chapter 200)