Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Why Did You Come to My House? (3)
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I had just declared that I would go support the isolated Fragrant Orchid Unit.
That's when Zhuge Seolji posed a question.
"Young Master Yong-un, hold on a moment. You're saying you're heading east with just the three of you right now?"
"That's right."
"...So, your plan is to head to the scene first, bring the Fragrant Orchid Unit under your command, and direct them? Have I understood correctly?"
"You have."
After I answered her question,
Yin Xia Lian furrowed her brow and spoke up.
"Will people who couldn't even follow the cardinal rule of holding their assigned positions obey Young Master Eon's command?"
"They probably won't. That's why I'm taking the Command Flag with me."
The Command Flag wasn't just any ordinary banner.
It symbolized the authority of the academy superintendent himself.
Yin Xia Lian nodded at my words.
"Ah! If you bring the Command Flag, even the stubborn Fragrant Orchid Unit won't have a choice but to obey!"
Jeong Hyeon chimed in as well.
"Come to think of it, the superintendent didn't entrust us with the flag just to prop up headquarters. It's for rescuing Fragrant Orchid Hall cadets who ignored the defense plan. There shouldn't be any issues with that."
However, sensing something off, Zhuge Seolji started to add a comment.
"Young Master Yong-un, but..."
Just in case, I cut her off with a mental transmission.
[If it's about what might happen when the Command Flag is moved, now's not the time to voice it.]
[Ah, so you anticipated it too, Young Master Yong-un? You're right, saying it out loud would ruin the momentum. But then, the decoy... ?]
As expected, Zhuge Seolji had grasped my plan perfectly.
It was already an urgent situation, and skipping the explanation was a relief.
With that, I could immediately assign them to headquarters.
"Please take good care of headquarters. With Miss Yin and Miss Zhuge putting your heads together, I trust you'll handle things 'appropriately.'"
After entrusting headquarters to the two of them, I told Nangong Yun and Tang Ok-gi to grab the Mara Pepper Bombs.
"You two, come with me and each carry one box of Mara Pepper Bombs."
"Got it."
"Understood."
Once prepared, the three of us folded up the Command Flag last and galloped toward the troubled eastern front.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
We arrived at the tent set up in the rear of the eastern front.
They hadn't even noticed our arrival and were in the midst of an emergency meeting to rescue the isolated Fragrant Orchid Hall cadets.
"For now, Professor Nangong Jeong-ho and Squad Four are holding out, but they're gradually getting farther from us. We need to rescue them quickly."
The hastily formed units to counter the Demonic Cult had supervisors as squad leaders, alumnus professors as squad captains, and student council officers as vice captains.
Listening to the voices in the meeting,
'No professors at the captain level here.'
It seemed the professors were up front fighting the Demonic Cultists, while the vice captains—student council officers—were discussing the details.
"Professor Chang-ryang and Squad One will open a path. Then our squad secures it, and Squad Three maintains the defensive line. The line will thin out a bit, but if we swiftly rescue Squad Four..."
But listening to them, if left as is, not only would the rescue fail—they'd make a monumental blunder.
'If that goes wrong, the entire eastern defensive line could collapse.'
I immediately told Nangong Yun to pull back the curtain at the tent entrance.
"Yun, pull that back."
"...Got it."
And halted the meeting inside.
"Hold it right there."
The Fragrant Orchid Hall student council president, Mae Jin-ak, who sat at the head, scowled and spoke.
"...Nangong Yun, Tang Ok-gi, and Eon Yong-un? What brings you here?"
"Fine, Squad Four from Fragrant Orchid Unit disobeyed the hold-the-line order. But why are you seniors making rescue plans on your own without reporting to headquarters?"
"It's true Squad Four ignored the defense plan and acted out, but we can't just abandon comrades in a pinch, can we?"
I scowled right back at Mae Jin-ak.
"I'm asking why you didn't report, and you're giving me irrelevant excuses."
"In an urgent situation, we can't report every little thing. Surely not everything you've done on your own initiative was reported either?"
"Then report now. It's urgent, so headquarters has come directly."
Mae Jin-ak snorted derisively.
"Hey, Junior Eon Yong-un. Looks like just three of you showed up, yet you claim headquarters has moved? We have five professors here. On paper, special detachments outrank Fragrant Orchid Unit, but that doesn't put you above us. Unless you bring the superintendent or someone of equal..."
At Mae Jin-ak's words,
I pulled out the Command Flag I'd brought and hung it on the pole.
Then slung it diagonally over my shoulder and spoke.
"Something like this?"
"......"
Mae Jin-ak was speechless at the sight.
I pressed him.
"Fragrant Orchid Unit Vice Captain Mae Jin-ak. Will you report now? Why you were making unilateral rescue plans?"
That was it.
Mae Jin-ak made a bitter face but properly complied with my request.
"...Professor Chang-ryang said headquarters wouldn't have the manpower, and since it was urgent, Fragrant Orchid Unit had no choice but to operate independently."
"As you say, it's urgent, so we'll address minor errors later. From now on, I'll command the rescue operation. Any objections?"
"...No objections. We'll follow headquarters' will."
The Command Flag's effect was potent.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ With Mae Jin-ak at the lead, Fragrant Orchid Unit's vice captains acknowledged my command.
Having seized command of Fragrant Orchid Unit, I issued new rescue orders.
"Squads One and Two will hold their original positions and roles. The rescue of Squad Four will be handled by us three from headquarters and Squad Three."
But Mae Jin-ak questioned my plan.
"We were planning to mobilize over a hundred men, but you're saying just around forty—less than half?"
Fragrant Orchid Unit's Squad Three was led by Vice Captain Tang Jun-gi, Tang Ok-gi's older brother.
Without lengthy explanation, I called Tang Jun-gi forward.
"Vice Captain Tang Jun-gi, come check the contents of the crates Nangong Yun and Tang Ok-gi are carrying."
Tang Jun-gi stepped up, inspected what we'd brought, and immediately grasped my plan.
"Mara Pepper Bombs? You're suggesting poison arts?"
Poison was expensive to produce and counter.
Creating even a handful of potent venom required grinding massive amounts of toxic materials.
Antidotes and countermeasures weren't cheap either.
Not to mention body-tempering elixirs or blood-cleansing pills.
Yet, the vast majority of the Demonic Cult's forces were Black Path martial artists who'd tasted Phantom Haze Pill's effects or freaks warped by spirit medicine side effects.
The Demonic Cult wouldn't waste antidotes on such rabble.
In truth, if Demonic Cult Black Path soldiers were rats, poison arts were rat poison.
'The only reason we can't use poison freely is one thing.'
"Our allies and enemies are mixed together, right?"
Just as Tang Jun-gi said—our own forces could suffer too.
But for this isolated Squad Four and the Mara Pepper Bombs, that wasn't an issue.
'The cadets from Fragrant Orchid Hall gathered here held their assigned posts—at least somewhat—while Squad Four defied them due to stubbornness and pointless pride.'
They deserved a taste of the Mara Pepper Bombs.
"Come on, how is Mara Pepper Bomb poison? It's just something that makes your eyes tear up and nose run a bit. Right, Tang Ok-gi?"
So, deny it outright.
"...Huh? Well, you could see it that way?"
"Ok-gi, you've been totally brainwashed by that guy..."
And remind them there's no better alternative.
"Besides! Whether it's classified as poison or not, isn't this better than a plan that'd get a bunch killed or wounded?"
No further objections.
The other vice captains returned to their posts per my plan.
Squad Three, popping antidote pills,
began hurling the Mara Pepper Bombs with us as they sizzled and belched acrid smoke.
Sizzle—
"Keh! Cough hack!"
"Ack! Heuk heuk!"
In the ensuing hell of tears and snot,
my master sent a transmission.
- Giving the Demonic Cult minions and Fragrant Orchid Hall's rebels a lesson at once—now that's killing two birds with one stone, isn't it?
'Killing two birds? This is a proper rescue operation.'
- Hmm? Isn't that the Un Hyeok guy or whatever? The snout-faced Wudang Sect punk always picking on Hyeon.
Among the tear-streaked, snot-dripping crowd, a familiar big-nosed face appeared.
'Oh. Yeah, it is.'
Now that I thought about it, Un Hyeok's crew hadn't been at the meeting.
'I was focused on breaking Mae Jin-ak's spirit, but that guy's the Fragrant Orchid Hall publicity chief?'
Squad Four of Fragrant Orchid Unit: Captain Nangong Jeong-ho, Vice Captain Un Hyeok.
'No wonder they wormed their way in and got isolated.'
I gritted my teeth and charged at Un Hyeok.
Then struck the back of his neck with feeling.
Smack!!!
"Kek?!"
Thus, grabbing the napes one by one of Un Hyeok and the rest of Fragrant Orchid Hall's Squad Four members,
I muttered inwardly.
'Song Gil-joon. You watching?'
You can't stand this, right?
Man up and watch, dude?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Gazing at the back-and-forth battlefield, the Roving Demon General Song Gil-joon stroked his chin.
'No clear opening for gain. Is there reason to commit main forces?'
If the stalemate dragged on, Wudang Sect and Zhuge family's reinforcements would join Righteous Martial Academy.
'Hmm. Time to pull back?'
Truth be told, it fell far short of the original plan,
'Factoring in time and cost invested, it's actually a loss.'
Still, they'd scarred the Righteous Martial Academy, cradle of the Orthodox Murim.
'Made their boasted outer walls and trap formations useless, burned their prized Four Great Dormitories.'
With a bit of rumor-mongering, the ignorant masses and Black Path scum would think the academy had crumbled.
'The world will know Orthodox Murim's power isn't absolute.'
Cracks would form in their order,
Creating fertile soil for Heavenly Demon Divine Cult to take root in the Central Plains, while sowing internal strife in Orthodox Murim.
'And since the damage isn't devastating, they won't unite tightly.'
Meanwhile, the main force—Black Thread Palace troops—remained unscathed, not a drop of blood or sweat spilled.
For a stretch in sixty years, not a bad showing.
'Not bad.'
Regrettable, though.
Without securing Taewon Merchant Group, meant to be the invasion's supply hub, he craved bigger gains.
'...But from here, it's a gamble.'
Unlike expectations of panic once walls and traps failed,
defenses were meticulously handled.
Main and auxiliary assault flows shifted seamlessly, coped with cleanly.
'Special detachments barely keeping up with the flow—like that Ma Bang-ryeon? At least the east held by Fragrant Orchid Hall got caught in our trap. ...Hmm. Watch the east battle and decide advance or retreat?'
The isolated Fragrant Orchid Hall group looked like a big dragon on Song Gil-joon's Go board.
'Capture it, and we can unwind the siege. Fail, then retreat...'
As that thought crossed Song Gil-joon's mind,
the Righteous Martial Academy's Command Flag suddenly rose on the eastern front.
'The Command Flag?'
At the abrupt appearance fluttering in the east,
Song Gil-joon's brow furrowed unconsciously.
'That nun Gyeonghye's face is proof enough; no need to show that. Means someone borrowing her authority is there?'
That instant.
From the Orthodox defensive line, the isolated Fragrant Orchid Hall group—surrounded by Black Path soldiers—suddenly billowed pale poison-like smoke.
Not just Black Path soldiers, even the Orthodox lads collapsed, hacking and coughing.
The sight was enough to split Song Gil-joon's face in a grin.
"Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha. Self-proclaimed Orthodox using poison like that?"
Eon Yong-un must be there.
"Real deal, huh. Looks like I gotta kill or capture him here."
Song Gil-joon's eyes curved into arcs.