Monopolizing Fortunes (219)
Monopolizing Fortunes (219)
"I apologize, Master."
"Stay in the Meditation Chamber until your mind is clear."
"I will obey."
Once Jo Hui-jin had bowed and left the room, the master's white eyes turned to Jeong Un-ju.
"Tell me everything about the one who fought you."
"He looked about our age, and his appearance was unremarkable."
The master's white eyebrows drew together.
"You mean Hui-jin lost to someone barely your own age?"
"That is correct."
"Was there such a figure in the martial world? Perhaps he could be from the military. But I have never heard of anyone like that in the military."
The master, who had been muttering to himself, asked.
"What martial art did he use?"
"It was a blade art, but he seemed to favor speed and weight over variation. The unusual thing was that the color of his sword aura was red."
"A red blade aura, you say?"
"The blade itself also had a red tint. It also gave off enough heat to singe my senior sister's hair."
"A red sword aura and heat besides...... Surely not!"
"Does someone come to mind?"
"No, that cannot be. It cannot be. You say the blade itself had a red tint?"
"Yes. It was no ordinary blade, strong enough to shatter my senior sister's sword."
"If it is a famed blade with a red blade, the first thing that comes to mind is the Makya Blade. At present, the Makya Blade is held by Hwangmi Dal, the Alliance Leader of the Northern Unorthodox Alliance."
"It was not Hwangmi Dal."
"It would not have been. Hui-jin would not have lost so one-sidedly to Hwangmi Dal. No matter how much the Makya Blade helped him, that would be impossible. Very well. You may leave."
When Jeong Un-ju was dismissed, a rumbling sound came and the wall split open, revealing a person.
It was an elegantly aged old woman seated in a wheelchair. Her white hair was neatly tied back, and she rolled her wheels toward the master.
"Do not scold that child too harshly. She is still young, is she not?"
At the old woman's words, the master shook his head.
"What worries me is that she does not yet understand the weight of the power she holds. I am concerned that power will make her arrogant."
"As it happens, she has suffered a defeat that will break that arrogance, so it is rather fortunate."
"Who could it be who defeated Hui-jin?"
"If you wish to know that, you would have to go to the Northern Unorthodox Alliance. Are you intending to set foot in worldly affairs?"
"If someone her age is that strong, he may be someone we must kill."
"If he were someone we must kill, a Divine Oracle would have come down."
"However fine the net, there are always fish that slip through."
"So you intend to go to the Northern Unorthodox Alliance?"
"I will have to think it over."
* * *
"The Prince of Yeongun is dead?"
Jang Yu-seom asked in surprise, and Do Tong-dal explained the circumstances. After listening for a long while, Jang Yu-seom's expression turned puzzled.
"So you are saying that the woman who killed the Prince of Yeongun has martial arts rivaling the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven?"
"She might even surpass them."
"Then what about the martial arts of the Hall Master Do who subdued that woman?"
Do Tong-dal shrugged.
"Perhaps the greatest master under heaven?"
"Sometimes I cannot tell whether you are joking or serious, Hall Master Do...... Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"You became the greatest master under heaven through three years of closed-door training?"
"It was a little over three years, and I also encountered a fortuitous opportunity."
"What kind of fortuitous opportunity?"
Jang Yu-seom was one of the few people to whom Do Tong-dal could open up about everything. So he explained the Ascension Cave in detail.
After hearing the whole story, Jang Yu-seom asked again with a surprised expression.
"That story is not a joke either, right?"
"Have you ever seen me tell such a long joke?"
"That is why I wondered if it was a new kind of joke. There, some strange internal cultivation method......."
"The Boundless Blazing Fire Art."
"Right. So you obtained the Boundless Blazing Fire Art and became the greatest master under heaven. And conveniently, the Ascension Cave collapsed the moment you came out, leaving not a trace."
"A pity. If things had gone well, several people could have become the greatest masters under heaven."
Jang Yu-seom sprang to his feet.
"Let's go outside."
"Where?"
"To spar."
"So you insist on testing my words."
"I believe you, Hall Master Do. When have you ever seen me doubt you? I simply want to confirm how much stronger you have become."
Do Tong-dal shrugged and lifted himself from the chair.
"If you insist on tasting defeat."
They left the inn and went to a nearby hill. The hill, just past morning, was full of warm sunlight.
They stopped at an empty clearing halfway up the mountain. No long words were needed.
"I may go all out, right?"
Do Tong-dal nodded at Jang Yu-seom's words.
"Of course."
While Do Tong-dal had been in closed-door training, Jang Yu-seom had not been idle either. The position of Protector had little to do unless a crisis arose, so training had become his daily routine.
Thus he had definitely become stronger than three years before. Even so, Jang Yu-seom went all out as he had said. The Do Tong-dal he knew was not a man who would ever talk nonsense.
Since Do Tong-dal had said with his own mouth that he was the greatest under heaven, he had to be at least at the level of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven.
Jang Yu-seom came to feel the truth of Do Tong-dal's words before ten moves had passed. The very sensation against his sword was different.
His full-strength attacks felt like striking an iron wall, not Do Tong-dal's blade.
After Jang Yu-seom's one-sided attacks went beyond thirty moves, his sword was suddenly shoved aside, and the Makya Blade appeared before his eyes.
It was so fast and sudden that he could not even think of dodging or blocking. While Jang Yu-seom flinched, the Makya Blade came to rest on his shoulder.
It was a complete defeat with no room for excuses. Even Hwangmi Dal could not have beaten Jang Yu-seom so easily. So Do Tong-dal's claim that he might be the greatest under heaven was absolutely no bluff.
"Astonishing."
He was not at all displeased. Rather, he was as glad about the fortuitous opportunity Do Tong-dal had found as if it were his own. Jang Yu-seom said with a smile.
"Now I no longer need to worry about you, Hall Master Do."
"Have you been worrying about me all this time?"
"You sometimes did reckless things compared to the martial arts you possessed."
"Now it is my turn to worry about the people around me."
"You have become absurdly strong, Hall Master Do, but we are not weak either."
Who would dare call Jang Yu-seom or Namgung Seol-rin weak? But Do Tong-dal thought differently.
"What if the people I met were enemies? The woman who killed the Prince of Yeongun was by no means weaker than the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven."
"Such people cannot be common."
"I met one, so there is no guarantee that Protector Jang, Seol-rin, or Protector Won will not meet one."
There was always the one-in-a-million chance, and if they were enemies as Do Tong-dal worried, the probability of meeting them was far higher.
"Do you have a countermeasure?"
"You all must learn the Boundless Blazing Fire Art that I have mastered."
"What? You would pass on such a peerless divine art to us?"
"Since the Ascension Cave is gone, it probably will not be as effective as what I learned. Still, you will definitely become stronger than you are now."
"But the Boundless Blazing Fire Art is your fortuitous opportunity, Hall Master Do......."
"You all becoming stronger is also a fortuitous opportunity for me. I expect you will become stronger, but since it is not the Ascension Cave, it may have no effect."
Jang Yu-seom let out a soft sigh.
"I am always only receiving from you, Hall Master Do."
"What are you saying? You know how much I rely on you, Protector Jang."
"Thank you for saying so. In any case, the Prince of Yeongun has died earlier than our plan, so what should we do from here?"
* * *
No Song-guk, who had collapsed from exhaustion, only barely regained his senses well past noon. Over a late lunch, he heard news from Do Tong-dal that jolted him wide awake.
"What? The Prince of Yeongun is dead? You said you were only going to scout, and then you went and killed him while you were at it?"
"I was not the one who killed him, but since he is dead, it is a good thing for now."
"If Lord Do did not kill him, then who did?"
"I could not identify them either. Anyway, since he is dead, we should skip the plan and take over Liaoning Province right away."
"So instead of going under another identity, you are going directly as Provincial Commander."
"Protector Jang here will assist the old Provincial Commander as Deputy Provincial Commander."
Jang Yu-seom and No Song-guk then formally greeted each other.
"Protector Jang previously served as an instructor in the military, so he will be helpful."
"Ah! Is that so."
"We will finish eating and depart for Heuksu County right away."
The mere thought of riding a horse again made the underside of his balls tingle, but he could not let on that he wanted to rest a little longer.
War could break out today, so this was no time to worry about his balls.
They hurriedly emptied their bowls and mounted their horses. Thanks to riding diligently, they were able to reach Heuksu County before nightfall.
The altitude rose the farther they went toward Mongolia, so both horses and people struggled.
"Huff, huff! Good grief, shouldn't someone at the rank of Provincial Commander normally take up his post in a carriage like a triumphant general?"
No Song-guk grumbled with the military camp visible in the distance. Do Tong-dal chuckled and said.
"If we win the war, you will become a real triumphant general, so let's receive the treatment then. And......."
Do Tong-dal continued as he looked at the camp.
"Our war has already begun."
Even though the Prince of Yeongun was dead, their attitude toward them would not change.
"Did you not say the Prince of Yeongun's son is over there?"
Do Tong-dal nodded at Jang Yu-seom's question.
"I heard he is there as a Commandant of the fourth rank, senior grade."
"Since the Prince of Yeongun is dead, he must have gone to Yeongju Castle."
As Do Tong-dal slowly urged his horse toward the camp, No Song-guk followed behind and asked.
"What happens to the Prince of Yeongun's family?"
They knew he harbored treasonous intent, but there was no proof yet, and he had not exactly bared his fangs. The Prince of Yeongun still remained the emperor's uncle.
So they could not charge him with treason and punish his family. Of course, that judgment was Do Tong-dal's to make on the scene.
Even if Do Tong-dal charged the Prince of Yeongun with treason and punished his family, the imperial palace would not blame Do Tong-dal for it.
The scale of the camp was enormous. A wooden palisade one jang high encircled a vast plain, and more than two thousand barracks stood within it.
The number of soldiers easily exceeded one hundred thousand and was steadily growing.
The closer they got to the camp, the stiffer No Song-guk's face became. The fact that he would have to command that many soldiers finally became real to him.
A single wrong order from him could push tens of thousands to their deaths.
Do Tong-dal glanced at No Song-guk and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Don't be too nervous."
"Pardon?"
"There is a reason an army has multiple commanders. If you decide everything alone, that is exactly what self-righteousness is."
Understanding Do Tong-dal's advice, the tension drained from No Song-guk's shoulders.
"You are right. But how did you notice my worry so quickly?"
Jang Yu-seom chuckled.
"That is why you should never think of lying to Hall Master Do or hiding anything from him."
"I would never dream of it."
As they neared the south gate, a booming shout rang out.
"Halt!"
Four soldiers guarding the gate shouted in unison, and two of them moved their spears forward, taking a stance as if to attack.
Do Tong-dal stopped his horse one jang in front of them. Showing hostility to people appearing from the south, not the north, was excessive behavior.
"Dismount and state who you are and where you come from!"
Do Tong-dal spoke without dismounting.
"Inform them that the new Provincial Commander has arrived!"
Two of the four soldiers looked surprised, and two frowned. Do Tong-dal took note of the two soldiers who frowned.
Both looked to be in their mid-thirties, somewhat old to be guarding the main gate.
Those two clearly knew the new Provincial Commander was coming. The two exchanged furtive glances, and then one of them disappeared into the camp.
"This is the first I have heard of a new Provincial Commander coming, so wait here."
The soldier was lying.
'So they mean to come out strong from the start.'
Do Tong-dal peered into the camp through the open gate. He could see four men who looked like high-ranking officers riding toward them from inside the camp.
Do Tong-dal whispered to No Song-guk.
"There may be a brawl, so if a fight breaks out, stay back."
* * *