Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: Lakeshore Ironworks (1)
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The subordinates of Baek Gwang-ho sprang into action at the sight of the approaching fleet.
"Alliance Leader! A fleet has appeared from the east!"
Some of them scampered up the masts like monkeys, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"The flag fluttering on the flagship reads 'Left Strategist of a Thousand Ri, Jeon-gal Hye'! The other ships bear the banners of the Murim Alliance!"
"There's a figure in crane-patterned robes standing at the bow, holding a white crane fan. It looks like the Murim Alliance's Grand Strategist herself has come!"
The rest scattered with disciplined precision, grabbing ropes or drumsticks.
Or drawing their weapons.
Sun Woo-uk, who had been standing close to Baek Gwang-ho, furrowed his brow.
"I figured it would take at least two more days. How did they get here so fast?!"
Baek Gwang-ho spoke up in response.
"Repair the plank road openly, cross Chen Cang in secret."
"Pardon?"
"Jeon-gal Hye herself must have arranged a separate ship and set off early. She had the Wuchang naval forces launch their ships late, under someone else's command, to mislead us. That woman Jeon-gal Hye played a clever trick..."
He trailed off, then let out a hollow chuckle as he looked at me.
"...No, that's not right. The moment I came looking for you, the Paeryong Blade popped out. She must have already gotten her hands on it and was just stalling for time. Was it your scheme, Eon Yong-un?"
I smirked and replied.
"As I mentioned just a moment ago, a lowly martial artist like me is quite the coward."
"A guy with the guts to come meet me alone is calling himself a coward? The trick itself was something anyone could think of, but you exquisitely struck at my blind spot with the Paeryong Blade in captivity."
Baek Gwang-ho let out another hollow laugh.
"And to think those heavy-assed White Path bastards moved this swiftly. If we had really killed you in our hands, just as that old crone from the Hao Sect said, it might have sparked a righteous-evil great war."
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
"Yeah. This Baek Gwang-ho got outplayed by you."
With that, Baek Gwang-ho turned to his surroundings and barked.
"Turn the ships around! If our allies shed blood against the Murim Alliance here, it'll just make the other schemers in the Evil Young Lords' Alliance rejoice! We're pulling back!"
The large ship creaked as the oars reversed, slowly turning its hull.
As it pulled away, Baek Gwang-ho tossed one last remark my way.
"We'll cross paths 'once' more. See you then."
"I'll be waiting."
I formed a fist salute toward Baek Gwang-ho, thinking to myself.
'Emphasizing 'once' there.'
Once becomes twice, twice becomes three times, and so on.
'I've at least stuck the straw in, so I'll make sure it turns out that way.'
As I pondered this,
Chun-aeng spoke up to me.
"Hero Eon?"
"?"
"I'll go chase after the Evil Young Lords' Alliance Leader now."
"Ah, of course."
I lifted my sleeve toward Chun-aeng.
"Thank you. Thanks to Deputy Leader Chun-aeng, I avoided a bolt from the blue. Please pass on my gratitude to the Hao Sect Leader as well. It seems the situation that nearly turned bloody has been resolved peacefully."
"Not at all. The Heavenly Maiden is the one who should be grateful. I stepped up to help Hero Eon, but ended up owing you my life instead. I'll repay this favor someday."
"See you again. Take care."
The boat carrying Chun-aeng slowly pulled away, pursuing the Evil Young Lords' Alliance Leader's fleet.
That was about when Jeon-gal Hye's fleet arrived before us.
Clunk-
The flagship arrived first and lowered its gangplank.
Jeon-gal Hye stepped down, dressed in white crane-patterned robes with her hair pinned up in a jade hairpin, holding a white crane fan. She bowed toward Mo Yong-rin.
"Sword Phoenix. You're safe."
"Thanks to the Grand Strategist arriving just in time."
Murim Alliance warriors in alliance uniforms followed Jeon-gal Hye down.
Among them were two familiar faces.
Dang Ok-gi and Jeon-gal Seol-ji.
"Eon Yong-un! Ha-yeon!"
"Lord Yong-un!"
I gave them a nod.
After finishing her greetings with Mo Yong-rin, I formed a fist salute toward Jeon-gal Hye.
"Greetings, Grand Strategist."
The other Eon family juniors chimed in after me.
"Greetings, Grand Strategist!"
"Everyone's safe. Glad we weren't too late."
Jeon-gal Hye smirked upon seeing the altar we had set up to stall for time and our ritual attire.
"Stalling with a fake ritual? You all look quite convincing."
"And aren't you the picture of it yourself, Grand Strategist? You're the epitome of what one imagines for a Jeon-gal strategist. It suits you perfectly."
At my words, Jeon-gal Hye cleared her throat, her face flushing red.
"...Ahem. Just some old lady caution—it works well on black path folks, that's why I dressed like this. It's not my taste. Didn't you see those Wicked Lord Sword Punishers fleeing?"
True enough, they had made a fuss upon seeing her attire, proclaiming the Grand Strategist had come personally.
It made sense, so I nodded.
At that moment,
Jeon-gal Hye shot me a glare.
"By the way, you asked me to assemble a force big enough to make the Evil Young Lords' Alliance Leader tuck tail within six days, and bring it without being detected. Do you think I'm some fairy godmother's wand?"
"I trusted that you had it under control from the start. And you arrived right on time, meeting all the conditions, didn't you?"
"Meeting conditions? Those ships over there? Only the flagship is real—the rest are dummies with just flags. I brought only one warrior per ship from the alliance. If a real fight had broken out, it would've been disastrous."
As she said, the ships Jeon-gal Hye led were just fluttering flags with no warriors aboard.
She must have come down with just the flagship and requisitioned nearby ships, sticking flags on them to head here.
I grinned and said,
"You know Baek Gwang-ho's character well, that's why you came like this. You foresaw that if the timing was right, no fight would break out."
"......"
"In the end, your divine foresight made all the black path scum hightail it."
Jeon-gal Hye shook her head.
She swept a pitying gaze over the Eon family juniors and spoke.
"...You've got some nerve. Serving a guy like this as lord must be tough."
The Eon juniors nodded in unison.
"What's with those nodding heads?"
- ...You asking because you don't know?!
* * *
We dismantled the altar and boarded Jeon-gal Hye's flagship.
In the flagship's cabin, she served us tea.
"This has a nice aroma. Seol-ji, pour everyone a cup."
"Yes, Aunt."
I asked Jeon-gal Seol-ji as she poured tea one by one.
"Where are Ha-seong and Gong-yun?"
But Jeon-gal Seol-ji was pouring for Dang Ok-gi at the moment,
So Dang Ok-gi, meeting my eyes, spoke up.
"You don't know? I got a letter from Seol-ji, came down the Yangtze from Sichuan to Wuchang, and then the Grand Strategist asked for help, so here I am. Aren't they at the Namgung family?"
Jeon-gal Seol-ji, standing behind, answered.
"Yes. Ha-seong and Yun should be at the Namgung family. We didn't send the coded letter there to begin with."
"True, nowhere safer than the Namgung family. So you two just stuck with the Grand Strategist and came?"
Jeon-gal Hye answered this one.
"Yeah. Ok-gi and Seol-ji were with me, but when you suddenly changed plans, Yong-un, I figured I needed every pair of hands I could get, so I brought them along. Your deadline was ridiculously short."
Her tone at the end suggested it hadn't been easy,
So Jeong-hyeon, who had been listening, spoke up.
"I was too busy earlier to comment, but hearing the Grand Strategist now brings back the sight of Baek Gwang-ho and the Evil Young Lords' Alliance reinforcements retreating from your fleet. Amid such tight time and scant manpower, you bluffed a grand show of force to drive off the black path. Isn't it like recreating Zhuge Liang's Empty Fort Strategy on the water?"
Yong-myeong, So-neung, and the others chimed in agreement.
"They had at least twenty ships—overwhelming superiority—and you still repelled them. Impressive."
"Right!"
But Jeon-gal Hye bit her lip, looking frustrated.
"Empty Fort Strategy? It was a desperate measure. I should've brought the Murim Alliance's elite forces to show real might."
Meanwhile, So-cheon leaned his massive frame toward Cheon Jang-ho and whispered.
"No idea what she's talking about. Let's just stay quiet, Cheon Jang-ho."
But it was audible.
"This bro always treats me like an equal. I got it! Empty Fort—wait, Success Strategy!?"
"Hey, Jang-ho. It's Empty Fort Strategy, not Success..."
"Right! Empty Fort Strategy!"
This sparked a burst of laughter.
Jeon-gal Hye waved it off and said,
"Enough of that. Let's hear the details. Start from the county office and tell me everything step by step."
"Yes."
At Jeon-gal Hye's request, I recounted everything from reuniting with Chun-aeng, meeting Baek Gwang-ho, to plucking out one eye from the Paeryong Blade.
"...She saw through it in an instant, and just as they were about to attack, the Grand Strategist arrived right on cue."
Dang Ok-gi gaped at my words.
"...You're probably the first righteous faction guy to scam the Evil Young Lords' Alliance Leader and fleece him. And what? You plucked the dragon eye from the Evil Young Lords' Alliance token? You're insane. Balls of steel!"
"Scam? How could I trust a verbal promise with a guy like Baek Gwang-ho?"
Mo Yong-rin let out a hollow laugh, recalling the moment.
"I'm no nun, but training in the Buddha Sword Sect has distanced me from worldly desires for ages... In that instant, I couldn't help thinking the kid had lost his mind."
And Jeon-gal Hye, the one who asked for the story, asked sternly.
"I wasn't there, so I can't gauge the mood... but that green jade you plucked from the Paeryong Blade—is it really worth it?"
"I think so. We'll keep our mouths shut among ourselves. If word spreads that he got outplayed, it'll only damage his own authority, so Baek Gwang-ho will clamp down on his Evil Young Lords' Alliance side."
"True, the Wicked Lord Sword Punishers are fiercely loyal to Baek Gwang-ho, so rumors won't spread. Scratching it hard would inflame it into a righteous-evil war, ignoring it would mean some future generation talent dies for sure—a real dilemma... And you resolved it like this. The Evil Young Lords' Alliance will stay quiet for a while."
"Exactly. They'll be busy using the Paeryong Blade to suppress the infighting factions for the time being."
"Yeah, thanks to you, one worry off my chest. Good work. ...Ha, but you really should join the strategist bureau."
Jeon-gal Hye smacked her lips looking at me, then suddenly spoke as if remembering something.
"Yong-un, let me see your sword. Regret, right?"
I wondered why she suddenly wanted my sword,
But figuring there was a reason, I drew Regret and handed it to her.
Shing-
Jeon-gal Hye took Regret, hefted it lightly, then returned the sheath to me and said,
"The Ice Palace sent envoys not long ago with a gift: an ingot of millennia cold iron, enough to forge a single sword. I don't need it..."
"You're giving it to me?"
"...Why do I suddenly not want to now?"
"You must shake off such demonic thoughts swiftly."
"Jeez. I was going to give it if you joined the strategist bureau. Your merit's too great, and I can't praise you openly. Guess I have no choice. I'll have someone send it to Wuchang."
* * *
We ascended the Yangtze, passed through Wuchang, and arrived at the Righteous Martial Academy.
Clack! Clack!
Bam! Bam! Bam!
About half a month before the semester started, the academy was in the final stages of reconstruction.
That day, staying at the Deep Lotus Number One Inn,
Yin Ha-yeon and Namgung Yun returned, their eyes somehow deeper.
"Why didn't you two come while we were dying and living on Lake Poyang?"
"Pardon? Was there such an incident?"
"Yeah. Why didn't you come?"
"How could we go if we didn't know?!"
"...I'm the one who wants to ask. Why didn't you call us?"
Back to routine, I checked if the dormitory construction site was progressing as planned.
And tended to the gazette business.
The gazette was nearly complete, just waiting for Senior Man, who would serve as chief editor and publicity director, to return.
"Whew. Looks like we can start the gazette business this semester. Silver Secretary, good work."
"Lord Eon's great-uncle handled the details meticulously, making it possible."
"How's the Lakeshore Ironworks coming along? Why no word?"
"Ah. Well, we can't hand it over until the forge stabilizes, but it's been dragging on through the break."
"No weirdos causing trouble?"
"Doesn't seem like Four Evils outsiders, but there are some entangled interests."
"...Guess I should look into it."