The Winner of the Shadow War (4)
The winner of the shadow war (4)
“As you probably know, a Provincial Military Commander like myself naturally keeps several exceptional experts as hidden guards. They may not be on your level, but I had a few warriors comparable to the elders of your family.”
“……”
“All of them were defeated. Those things were monsters that wouldn’t die. Even if their limbs were severed, they kept moving. Even after spilling enough blood to fill several basins, they refused to fall.”
“I see.”
“The only way to kill them is to sever their heads or completely destroy their bodies. I’ve always prided myself on having experienced every kind of hardship in my rise to this position, but those monsters were a first.”
Yeo Sang-do was not normally a man of many words.
The fact that he was speaking in such detail meant the shock he had received was that great. ‘It’s not surprising.’ Even the one listening found it hard to believe.
Of course, they weren’t truly immortal—if their heads were cut off or their hearts ripped out, they couldn’t endure. But to suffer fatal wounds like severed limbs and still show no significant drop in combat ability… that was truly a formidable weapon.
‘Still.’ Their bodies weren’t made of steel. As long as one didn’t let their guard down, killing them shouldn’t be too difficult.
The experts under Yeo Sang-do had likely been defeated not because of the enemy’s strength, but because they had been careless.
“Since Lord Yeo is concerned, I will leave them be for now.”
It was tremendous confidence.
He could kill them all, but he would refrain out of consideration for the other man. It was the confidence and pride befitting the ruler of Hubei.
Yeo Sang-do opened his mouth.
“Yes, setting that matter aside, the reason you came to see me is…”
“Indeed. I have already made contact.”
“……”
“Who did you say you made contact with?”
“They called themselves the Eighteen Martial Generals of the Shinhwa Sect. I clashed with the one known as the Twelfth Martial General.”
Yeo Sang-do’s face twisted.
“Gyu Jeok.”
“You know him?”
“I do. I believe I know most of the ones lurking in the Provincial Government Office, the Military Commission Office, and even inside the Seungseon-pojeongsasa.”
“How did you find out?”
“I haven’t exactly been sitting idle.”
He truly was an impressive man.
Even while surrounded by eyes of surveillance from all sides, he had somehow operated an intelligence organization to gather information on them. Setting aside ability, such boldness was not something just anyone could display. Moyong Gun could see that Yeo Sang-do had not changed at all from when they had met ten years ago.
‘Perhaps Lord Yeo possesses even more information than that bastard Yeon Hojeong.’
Moyong Gun spoke.
“I have something to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
His attitude was far more flexible than expected.
It made sense. In a situation where he was under threat from external enemies, unexpected reinforcements had arrived. That was why Yeo Sang-do had become so generous.
“Before that, let me tell you one fact first. Gyu Jeok is dead.”
“……!!”
Yeo Sang-do’s face flooded with shock.
“He’s dead?!”
“Yes.”
“How… surely you didn’t…?”
“No. There is a young expert in our alliance. He died at that man’s hands.”
“Nonsense! Gyu Jeok is the Twelfth Martial General! Though I am no expert in martial arts, I heard his skill had reached the level of a grandmaster. He was said to be more than qualified to lead a major sect as its leader.”
“That young expert’s martial arts have already reached the grandmaster level.”
“……!”
“From what I heard, he hacked the man’s entire body to pieces. That was how they managed to kill him.”
“Just who is this person?”
“His name is Yeon Hojeong.”
“Yeon Hojeong…”
“He is the eldest son of the Yeon Family of Byeoksan in Gangdong.”
For a moment, Yeo Sang-do’s eyes flashed.
“The greatest rising star under heaven?”
“You know of him?”
“How could I not? He is called one of the two greatest rising stars of the Jianghu alongside the young talent from your family. Even I have heard such rumors.”
“I see.”
“Impressive. To kill Gyu Jeok at that age.”
“That is precisely the problem.”
Moyong Gun’s expression grew serious.
“o matter what, that man was a Jinmu of the Weisuo. In other words, a Jianghu warrior has killed a government official. Can we simply let that slide?”
Only then did Yeo Sang-do understand why Moyong Gun had come to see him.
There were many reasons, but this was the most important one.
“You want me to cover it up?”
“Yes.”
“……”
“If the Shinhwa Sect is monitoring you, Lord Yeo, they probably won’t welcome this incident blowing up either. That is my prediction.”
Yeo Sang-do nodded.
“You’re not wrong.”
If the Shinhwa Sect had completely swallowed the entire Henan provincial government, they would not have bothered monitoring Yeo Sang-do, nor would they have left him alive in the first place.
In other words, the Shinhwa Sect was currently moving in secret to devour all of Henan Province. They would not want any incident to escalate in any form.
“The matter has already grown quite large, however.”
“It will grow even larger.”
“Hm?”
“A man wearing the uniform of a high-ranking government official has appeared near Mount Daibie. He is said to be at least at the level of Provincial Military Vice-Commander or higher—a large, middle-aged man.”
Yeo Sang-do’s eyes shook.
“Yo Roe…!”
“Currently, one expert has moved to capture him.”
“To capture Yo Roe?!”
“Yes.”
“Do you think that’s possible? Yo Roe is a greater expert than Gyu Jeok. To catch someone of that caliber…”
“It is possible. I sent the beast.”
“The beast?”
“The patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family.”
Yeo Sang-do’s face twisted slightly.
“The Tang Family Head, Dang Gwan?”
“Correct.”
Even if one was not from the martial world, the mere mention of poison and hidden weapons tended to evoke a dark and unpleasant feeling.
The Sichuan Tang Family was one of the strongest powers in Sichuan, notorious for controlling poison and hidden weapons. Hearing that its patriarch had taken action left him both relieved and somewhat uneasy.
“In your opinion, do you believe the Tang Family Head can defeat Yo Roe?”
“I cannot say for certain. I have never experienced the martial prowess of the one called Yo Roe.”
“I heard he is a step above Gyu Jeok. They say that among high-level experts, even a single step in difference is an enormous gap.”
“That is correct.”
“And it is not just Gyu Jeok. The ten Martial Generals from First to Tenth each possess their own outstanding specialties. I heard that the Fifth Martial General, Yo Roe, is simply an overwhelmingly powerful fist fighter. Against an expert of that level, even the Tang Family Head…”
“His skill is a step above the one killed by Yeon Hojeong. And if he is a fist fighter, no matter how proficient he is in external energy techniques, defeating the Tang Family Head will be difficult.”
“Why do you think so?”
Moyong Gun remained silent for a moment.
Why did he think so? There were many reasons. But there wasn’t enough time to explain them all.
Finally, Moyong Gun spoke.
“Assuming the environment and circumstances are in his favor, the Tang Family Head could hold out for half a day even against the combined assault of the heads of the other six great families.”
“……!!”
“It is not because he is stronger than us. It is because the very nature of his martial arts is unique.”
“Is that true?”
“It is. Of course, the fact that he can endure for that long is proof that he is an extremely outstanding warrior. He is not the leader of one of the six great families for nothing.”
Their relationship had already gone completely sour.
Yet Moyong Gun knew it. He believed it.
That Dang Gwan would never fall to some insignificant outsider from beyond the Central Plains.
Setting aside their personal enmity, Dang Gwan was a man who could claim a high chance of victory against any expert except those in the Sacred Heavens Thirteen Seats. Even a supreme expert who had mastered both powerful poison arts and blazing yang energy would find it difficult to escape from Dang Gwan’s demonic hands.
“What matters is not that. If the Tang Family Head kills that man called Yo Roe, This becomes an issue on an entirely different level than just killing a Jinmu of the Weisuo.”
“……”
“Can you block it for us?”
Yeo Sang-do stared directly at Moyong Gun.
“I understand what you are thinking, but it will not be easy.”
“I know. That is why I am asking you.”
“Even if we conceal the incident for a while, it will only be a temporary measure. Not only my own life, but the livelihood of the entire Henan Province could be shaken. The Shinhwa Sect bastards are as insidious as they come, yet every single one of them possesses a ferocious and explosive temperament.”
“……”
“……”
“You… surely you don’t mean…?”
“Exactly.”
Moyong Gun smiled. It was the smile of a demon.
“Please inform the Shinhwa Sect of the whereabouts of the two who killed their experts—Yeon Hojeong and the Tang Family Head.”
“……!!”
“They will come to deal with it themselves.”
Yeo Sang-do’s eyelids trembled violently.
“Are those two your political enemies?”
“They were, until a few days ago.”
“And now they are not?”
“Before settling internal family disputes, we must first deal with the external threat.”
“But how can you say such a thing? No matter how strong those two are, if they become targets of the Shinhwa Sect…!”
“We will catch them all.”
Moyong Gun’s eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
“The Eighteen Martial Generals are the mid-tier experts of the Shinhwa Sect and the ones holding the lifeline of the Henan provincial government. If we take the heads of just four or five of them, wouldn’t that give you some breathing room, Lord Yeo?”
“……”
“Remember this. We must deal with our common enemy. No matter how wildly we rampage in all directions, we cannot uproot them on our own.”
“……”
“You must support us properly. If you wish to restore the Henan provincial government to its original state.”
Yeo Sang-do asked in a heavy tone.
“Truly… you believe you can catch them?”
“Of course.”
Moyong Gun smiled bitterly.
“I don’t want to admit it, but both Yeon Hojeong and the Tang Family Head are the kind of people I least want to meet in actual combat. I don’t know how much force they will dispatch, but if we prepare in advance, there is no chance we will be the ones to fall.”
“……”
“Will you join us?”
“You’re telling me to stake my life and the fate of the Henan provincial government on you people?”
“It may be presumptuous, but if I had not come here today, the only thing you could do, Lord Yeo, would be to play with your intelligence organization, would it not?”
He was not wrong.
Yeo Sang-do stared at Moyong Gun for a long time before finally closing his eyes.
“What pride do I have left at this point to act stubborn? My life is already held hostage by those bastards anyway. If I think of burning it for His Majesty, there is nothing left to fear.”
“……”
“I will block it for you. Furthermore, I will leak the information as you said.”
“Thank you.”
“There is no need for thanks. If you people fail to deal with them properly, for the sake of Henan Province, I will have no choice but to target you instead.”
“I understand.”
Yeo Sang-do nodded.
“There is a tavern called Yeonjo-gak in Kaifeng. Go to the third floor’s Golden Room, turn three wine cups upside down. My intelligence agent will come find you.”
“I will visit in three days. I need time to contact my comrades.”
“Do as you wish.”
“Then I will take my leave now.”
“Very well.”
“Ah, before that…”
“Hm?”
Moyong Gun looked around the room with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you conducting your work here instead of in your office?”
Yeo Sang-do answered readily, as if it were no great secret.
“Because this place is the base of my intelligence organization.”
“……”
“The Shinhwa Sect bastards probably think I’m just slacking off. It’s more convenient for me if they continue to think that way.”
Moyong Gun smiled.
“I will be going.”
“Patriarch Moyong.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“I wish you good fortune in battle.”
“Look forward to the news of victory. Soon, Henan Province will become clean once more.”
Whoosh!
With those final words, Moyong Gun vanished.
Yeo Sang-do let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair.
“……Even so, it seems one is not fated to die just yet.”
Moyong Gun’s claim that he needed time to contact his comrades was a complete lie.
For three days, Moyong Gun observed Yeo Sang-do’s movements. He could not trust him.
Three days later, he headed to the Yeonjo-gak that Yeo Sang-do had mentioned.