Chapter 207: Hainan Sect Patriarch Meeting-1
Chapter 207: Hainan Sect Patriarch Meeting-1
"Welcome, Yu Gaju! Oh Gaju! I've already heard that you two set sail to capture that beggar called the White Wolf Sword!"
By the time Yu Hae-eung and Oh Ik-deok arrived at the Haenam Sect's sect leader chamber, all the other family heads except them were already gathered and seated.
Eight family heads sat around the round table, and at the very center, the Haenam Demon Sword Jin Tae-do greeted the two with a hearty laugh.
His welcome carried the warmth of greeting old friends.
But Yu Hae-eung and Oh Ik-deok merely gave a silent nod and took their seats without acknowledging his hospitality.
It was a cold reception, the kind that would have embarrassed not only the one receiving it but also anyone watching.
Yet Jin Tae-do paid it no mind.
Despite their chilly response, he continued to smile like a good-natured man and asked them,
"So, did you have any success? I too am very curious now what that beggar actually looks like."
At that, Yu Hae-eung finally fixed him with a cold gaze and spoke.
"We did not find the White Wolf Sword. However, we did find the pirates belonging to the Naval Force who were committing acts of piracy in the villages under the pretense of searching for the White Wolf Sword."
Jin Tae-do paused for a moment at those words.
But it was only for an instant.
Immediately, he shouted with a look of fury on his face.
"Such men still existed?! After all the warnings I gave them! What did you do with those bastards?! Please, hand them over to me! I'll grind them to dust and make an example of them for the entire Naval Force!"
With his good-natured face and dignified voice, anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was genuinely enraged.
But at his reaction, the family heads who had not yet submitted to Jin Tae-do exchanged incredulous looks and dry laughs.
That was because they knew full well that he had effectively been turning a blind eye to the Naval Force's atrocities all along.
At that, Yu Hae-eung, still wearing a cold expression, answered Jin Tae-do.
"That won't be necessary. They've already been ground to dust."
Jin Tae-do immediately brightened and praised him.
"Oh! As expected of Yu Gaju! Well done, well done! Men like that deserve to die! In fact, I'm worried that a man as upright as you, Yu Gaju, may have let them die too easily. You should have made them suffer a truly painful death."
Jin Tae-do wore an expression as though he was genuinely delighted.
Yu Hae-eung stared at him with a sharp gaze for a moment, then spoke.
"What do you make of the fact that the men I have killed alone—men who supposedly deserved to die—now number in the triple digits? At this point, we can only conclude one of two things: either Jin Gaju's claim to have warned those men is a lie, or Jin Gaju's words are having absolutely no effect on them. Whichever is closer to the truth, I believe it is time we discussed the very existence of the Naval Force."
It was an exceedingly direct demand.
Yu Hae-eung had cut straight to the point, demanding that the fate of the Naval Force be decided.
At last, Jin Tae-do's expression hardened.
No matter how slippery a man he was, even he could not laugh off a statement of this magnitude.
But then it happened.
Just as the atmosphere had frozen cold, the head of the Chuk family, who had been watching from the side, suddenly erupted in fury and shouted.
"Yu Gaju! What is the meaning of this insolence?! To address Jin Jangmun-nim—the rightful sect leader of our Haenam Sect—as Jin Gaju?! Is that not excessively disrespectful?! Apologize at once!"
Immediately, the heads of the Hae, Mi, and Chuk families, along with the other family heads who had fallen under Jin Tae-do, chimed in with fervent agreement.
"Indeed! How dare you show such disrespect to the sect leader?!"
"Apologize this instant!"
"Since when has the hierarchy of our Haenam Sect fallen into such disarray?! This is utterly intolerable!"
The atmosphere in the chamber grew chaotic in an instant.
It felt as though no other business could possibly proceed until Yu Hae-eung first apologized for his insolence.
Yet as he observed the uproarious scene, a faint smile crept across Yu Hae-eung's lips.
That was because he was now certain that this commotion was being orchestrated at Jin Tae-do's direction.
This was far from the first time Yu Hae-eung had referred to him as Jin Gaju.
Yet only now, suddenly, were they acting as though the term Jin Gaju was an offense they could no longer endure.
And whenever an unfavorable topic arose, turning the discussion in another direction to muddy the waters—that was a signature tactic Jin Tae-do had employed time and again.
"Apologize at once!"
"Indeed! If you do not apologize this instant, I shall absolutely refuse to continue this council...!"
Just as they were shrieking at Yu Hae-eung as though ready to rise and draw their blades—
Yu Hae-eung suddenly unleashed his momentum toward them.
Hwaaaak!
"Apologize at... hurggh!"
"Heuk!"
"Wh-what is the meaning of this!"
Under the crushing force of that momentum, the faces of the Hae, Mi, Chuk, and other family heads immediately drained of color, and they could do nothing but stop speaking.
This was only natural—the only ones who could withstand the momentum of Yu Hae-eung, a transcendent peak master, were other masters of the same transcendent peak level.
And the transcendent peak masters of the Haenam Sect, aside from Jin Tae-do, were all family heads who had not yet submitted to Jin Tae-do.
Put another way, it was fair to say that every family whose head had not reached the transcendent peak level had already been subjugated by Jin Tae-do.
As the family heads of the Hae, Mi, Chuk, and other families staggered, unable to endure Yu Hae-eung's formidable momentum, Yu Hae-eung gazed steadily at Jin Tae-do and Oh Ik-deok—who were withstanding his pressure—and at the heads of the Ja, Shin, and Myo families, and slowly began to speak.
"For some time now, as a member of the Haenam Sect, I have repeatedly petitioned Sect Leader Jin to resolve the problem of the Naval Force, which has been gravely damaging the honor of our sect. Yet as time passed, the situation only grew worse."
Jin Tae-do smiled his slippery smile and replied.
"On that point, even I, as sect leader, have nothing to say to you, Yu Gaju. But is it not inevitable that there will be some side effects in the process of building our strength? You may not have heard, but recently the Demon Sovereign sank several more of our Naval Force's ships. So for the safety of our Haenam Island, we need even greater power than before."
Having said that much, Jin Tae-do swept his gaze over the other family heads with an arrogant expression and continued.
"As for the minor deviance of a handful of Naval Force members, I will make a greater effort to address it. However, I absolutely cannot accept any proposal to disband or reduce the Naval Force. While the deviance of a few is something that can be corrected, if we weaken the military strength of our Haenam Sect, we cannot guarantee the survival of our sect going forward. Therefore, today I have come to seek your approval for the expansion of the Naval Force—so that we may build a fleet powerful enough to overwhelm the Demon Sovereign's armada."
At his words, the heads of the Chuk, Mi, Chuk, and Hae families who followed Jin Tae-do all nodded in agreement, while the other family heads furrowed their brows with discomfort.
The deviance of a few. The threat of the Demon Sovereign. The survival of the Haenam Sect.
These were the three justifications that Jin Tae-do always trotted out to push through his agenda.
Excuses that had become far too predictable by now.
Yet despite how transparent those excuses were, the family heads could not refute them.
Because while the claim about the deviance of a few was pure nonsense, the other two justifications both related to the Southern Sea Demon Sovereign Man Hak-sung, one of the Four Demons Under Heaven.
Everyone in the Haenam Sect knew all too well just how terrifying the Southern Sea Demon Sovereign Man Hak-sung was.
There had been a time, when Man Hak-sung was not holed up on Daenam Island as he was now, when they had clashed with him head-on.
Jin Tae-do spoke through gritted teeth.
"Man Hak-sung. You all remember that man's martial prowess. That monster who sank ten ships in an instant, simply by hurling his ganghwan from the deck of his vessel."
Every family head listening to those words could not help but let out a low groan.
"Umm."
"Hmm."
For the family heads who had fought in that battle, Jin Tae-do's words evoked nothing less than nightmare-like memories.
At the very moment they had routed Man Hak-sung's fleet and encircled him with over thirty ships, thinking they might at last capture the Demon Sovereign renowned throughout the world—Man Hak-sung had stepped onto the prow of his ship, hurled a ganghwan, and in an instant, ten of their vessels had sunk.
The warriors of the Haenam Sect had no choice but to retreat helplessly.
For there was simply no way to stop Man Hak-sung's ganghwan.
'If the fish are dead, you swarm in to devour them—if they're alive, you flee with your tails between your legs! You lot remind me exactly of a school of minnows! How about you call yourselves the Minnow Sect instead of the Haenam Sect?! Kuahahahaha!'
That voice of the Demon Sovereign, roaring with laughter and mockery as they retreated swallowing bitter tears with only twenty-odd ships remaining—it remained an unforgettable humiliation.
Jin Tae-do spoke with a sharp glint in his eyes.
"I do not think everyone will like all of my methods. But! I believe you will all understand that everything I do is solely for the sake of our Haenam Sect! Right now, that Demon Mirror bastard is holed up on Daenam Island, but if he ever sets foot on our Haenam Island, what do you think will happen?!"
Having said that much, Jin Tae-do swept his gaze across the assembly.
But no one could answer that question.
Because everyone knew that if the Demon Mirror landed on Haenam Island, it would be the end of everything.
Confirming that no one could answer his question, Jin Tae-do then spoke firmly, as if driving a nail in.
"The only way we can oppose him is one! Our overwhelming naval power! There is no other way but to build that and stop him at sea! So...!"
The Southern Sea Demon Sword Jin Tae-do was indeed a hero worthy of occupying one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World.
His powerful momentum and speech once again inevitably overwhelmed the family heads.
At least, all but one were.
And that one finally opened his mouth and spoke quietly, cutting off Jin Tae-do's passionate shouting.
"Our Haenam Sect..."
It was a voice that, despite being quiet, possessed a presence that commanded everyone's attention—the voice of the Yu Family Head, Yu Hae-eung.
At that, everyone's gaze focused on him.
Amidst those gazes, Yu Hae-eung slowly opened his mouth.
"I am curious about that. Whether the current Haenam Sect is truly our Haenam Sect, or whether it is Jin Family Head's Haenam Sect."
At those words, Jin Tae-do's eyes blazed and he shouted.
"What do you?!"
But unlike the enraged Jin Tae-do, Yu Hae-eung's expression was the same as before.
A demeanor as calm and solemn as a rock. He spoke in a low voice, slowly and weightily.
"If what Jin Family Head truly wants is the power of the Haenam Sect, then fine. If so, entrust the command of the naval force to me. Then within a month, I shall weed out all the trash and make it the finest elite. I will make it the greatest force that no one can oppose, while never again committing such disgraceful acts in the name of the Haenam Sect. What say you, Jin Family Head? If it is truly for the sake of strengthening the Haenam Sect, is that not acceptable?"
At that question, Jin Tae-do flinched for a moment.
But soon he answered with a leisurely smile.
"Is Yu Family Head saying he wants to take control of the sect's military forces from me, the Sect Leader? You surely know that it is entirely different for me, the Sect Leader, to hold command of the naval force, versus Yu Family Head, the head of a single family, holding it? Are you perchance thinking of raising your family's power to challenge the position of Sect Leader?"
Then Yu Hae-eung also smiled faintly and answered.
"If the problem is that I am Yu Family Head, I am also willing to step down from the position. I will pass the family head position to someone else and enter under the Sect Leader's command as the naval force commander. How about that? Then there would be no problem, would there?"
"Heo, Yu Family Head!"
"Hyung-nim!"
It was a shocking proposal.
Because the head of the Yu family had proposed cutting ties with his main family and abandoning the honor of being a family head to enter under Jin Tae-do's command.
The other family heads could only stare at him with surprised faces.
And Jin Tae-do's face had no choice but to harden as well.
That he would abandon the Yu family head position and enter under his command to manage the naval force—he had never even imagined he would say such a thing.
For an instant, Jin Tae-do could not find a reason to refuse.
Because on the surface, Yu Hae-eung's words were a remarkably noble self-sacrifice.
But he could not accept his words either.
Jin Tae-do could not hand over command of the naval force to anyone else.
Especially not to someone like Yu Hae-eung, who was not one of his own men.
"That is..."
Jin Tae-do urgently racked his brain but ultimately failed to find an immediate answer.
So, as always, he was about to send a telepathic transmission to the other family heads to intervene.
- Now, interrupt...!
That was when.
This time, without waiting for Jin Tae-do's words, Yu Hae-eung spoke first.
"I have just said I would abandon even my family and live only for the Haenam Sect. Yet Jin Family Head cannot answer. That is, even though there would be no reason to refuse if the naval force were truly a power for the Haenam Sect."
And then he spoke as if making a declaration.
"Now I shall make my final demand. If you will not appoint me as commander of the naval force, then disband the naval force. If this demand of mine is not accepted this time either, I will consider that the Haenam Sect is no longer our Haenam Sect, and therefore the Haenam Yu Family will secede from the Haenam Sect."
They were very quiet words.
But the destructive power of those words was not.
It was like a giant meteorite falling into the sea.
The shock he caused swept over the assembly like a tsunami.
The horrified family heads could not restrain themselves and shouted.
"Wha, what did you say?!"
"Yu, Yu Family Head!"
"What do you?!
It could not help but be an utterly shocking statement.
Because the Haenam Yu Family was a member of the Haenam Sect that had been together for hundreds of years, and a family that formed a major pillar of the Haenam Sect's naval combat power with its outstanding archery.
Yet now Yu Hae-eung was warning that the Haenam Yu Family might secede from the Haenam Sect.
This was an extreme move that not even the other family heads, let alone the veteran Jin Tae-do, had ever imagined.
The family heads could now realize why Yu Hae-eung had called Jin Tae-do 'Jin Family Head.'
It was a choice of wording that implied he might no longer consider him the Sect Leader.
It was when the various family heads, struck speechless by Yu Hae-eung's shocking statement, could not find the words.
The most senior elder and the one who had always served as the strategist of the Haenam Sect, Myo Cheong-ju, the head of the Haenam Myo Family, suddenly stroked his white beard and opened his mouth.
"Yu Family Head, I understand your feelings. However, it seems your remarks were somewhat excessive. It has been our long-standing tradition to decide pending issues by vote at the family head council, but if you react in such a manner just because your assertion is not accepted..."
That was when.
Oh Ik-deok, the head of the Haenam Oh Family, cut him off and spoke in a loud voice.
"I, Oh Ik-deok, also completely agree with Yu Family Head's decision! If the naval force issue is not resolved, our Haenam Oh Family will also secede from the Haenam Sect! If this Haenam Sect is no longer our Haenam Sect, then there is no reason to remain within it!"
Now even Myo Cheong-ju, the head of the Myo family, had a bewildered expression.
Even Oh Ik-deok, who had always been like a brother to Yu Hae-eung, had aligned himself with that shocking statement.
This was the most troublesome possible development.
Because within the Haenam Sect, the importance of the Haenam Oh Family was arguably even greater than that of the Haenam Yu Family.
The Haenam Oh Family was the family with superior shipbuilding and navigation skills that had built all of the Haenam Sect's warships and produced and continued to produce the navigators who steered them.
So, it was no exaggeration to say that if the Haenam Oh Family seceded from the Haenam Sect, the Haenam Sect's naval power would completely collapse.
Myo Cheong-ju now reddened his face and raised his voice.
"You people, this is going too far! No matter how close you are like brothers, in this manner...!"
That was when.
The second most senior elder after Myo Cheong-ju, and the head of the Haenam Ja Family, Ja Gae-chu, who was responsible for the Haenam Sect's finances through activities closer to a merchant guild than a martial family, slowly opened his mouth.
"Hmm, it does not appear to be solely due to the friendship between the two, Myo Family Head. I, too, am confused as to whether the place we now belong to is truly the Haenam Sect. If this is not the Haenam Sect, is there a need for us to be affiliated here?"
It went without saying that the words of Ja Gae-chu, the man responsible for the Haenam Sect's finances, carried tremendous weight.
Myo Cheong-ju was now completely bewildered and unable to continue speaking.
At that moment, Shin Doo-wol, the head of the Haenam Shin Family, who was responsible for the production of all Haenam Sect weaponry with his superior crafting skills, also opened his mouth in a hearty voice.
"It is utterly shameful. That while the other family heads were thinking this way about our Haenam Sect, I was merely hammering away at iron. But it seems I can no longer afford to be ashamed even in this situation. Our Shin Family will also follow Yu Family Head! If the Haenam Sect is no longer the Haenam Sect, then we too have no need to be within it."
With the agreement of the other family heads erupting from all over, Jin Tae-do's face had no choice but to completely contort now.
Killing intent was now emanating in streaks from his usually gentle eyes.
The situation was clear.
Excluding those subjugated to the Jin family, virtually everyone except the Myo family had declared their intention to secede from the Haenam Sect.
No longer able to maintain his good-natured facade, Jin Tae-do had no choice but to grit his teeth with burning eyes.