Chapter 143: An Ominous Premonition
“Marriage?”
Baek Taek's eyes widened like a rabbit's as he stared at Yeop Hyeon.
“Yeah... I have a bad feeling about this.”
Yeop Hyeon nodded.
“Let's head back first!”
Yeop Hyeon and Baek Taek picked up their pace toward Yangjie City.
At that moment, atop a distant mountain peak, a middle-aged man watched Yeop Hyeon's retreating back with an expressionless face. Behind him stood a young man.
They were Maeng Cheonghyeon and Hahu Do from Changmok Academy.
Yeop Hyeon, Baek Taek, and their group of yosu vanished from sight.
“You leave Qingzhou immediately and head to Jungto Sinju.”
“Master...”
“Daeun Changmok Academy has no hope left. We must at least preserve a single ember!”
“Master! Is the situation that dire?”
“Does it look good to you?”
“But we've only lost a mere twenty dao soldiers. It's too early to despair!”
Maeng Cheonghyeon lifted his gaze to the distant sky.
“We haven't admitted defeat, but Yeop Hyeon is far too strong. And now he's allied with geniuses from Jungto Sinju. In a situation where no Myriad Laws Realm expert can step forward, no one can stop him.”
“Master, but didn't the Daeun Empire promise to help us?”
“That's because they've sensed the crisis too. Yeop Hyeon, the geniuses from Jungto Sinju, and even the yosu—Kanguk's forces are now strong enough to pressure the Daeun Empire. Their desire to form a marriage alliance with the former princess is a scheme to dissolve hostilities with Kanguk and, further, to control Kanguk using her prestige.”
“Hah! Kanguk isn't full of fools. Do you think they'll fall for such a shallow trick?”
“Haha. If Kanguk agrees, it's good for them. If not, they gain a pretext to attack Kanguk. How could that be called shallow?”
Hahu Do wore a puzzled expression.
“Master, why is the Daeun Empire acting like this?”
“Balance! The Daeun Empire wants equilibrium among the small nations around them. Kanguk achieved an easy overwhelming victory against Jeo Nation this time. If they don't suppress Kanguk now, a confident Kanguk will grow even stronger. That's not the picture the Daeun Empire wants.”
Maeng Cheonghyeon continued with a sneer.
“And one more thing: Cho Nation and Wol Nation are likely terrified of Kanguk's momentum right now.
If Kanguk refuses to send the former princess, the Daeun Empire will use that as an excuse to attack Kanguk, and at the same time, pull the frightened Cho Nation and Jeo Nation to their side for exploitation.
No matter which they choose, the great King Gosan of our Daeun Empire will profit!”
Maeng Cheonghyeon turned to face Hahu Do. After staring into his eyes for a moment, he lightly patted Hahu Do's shoulder.
“The war to come will be different from anything before. Jungto Sinju has also recognized the gravity of the situation. If war breaks out, Qingzhou's Changmok Academy will likely become the sacrificial lamb. So go! You are the last hope of Daeun Changmok Academy!”
With those words, Maeng Cheonghyeon's figure vanished without a trace.
Left alone, Hahu Do gripped his longsword tightly and stood there for a long while.
Yeop Hyeon and Baek Taek arrived at Yangjie City with the yosu in tow. A soldier on the watchtower spotted them and shouted loudly, prompting the gates to open swiftly as the soldiers below welcomed them fervently.
Yeop Hyeon's fame within Kanguk now pierced the heavens.
Entering the city, Yeop Hyeon handed the yosu over to Baek Taek and headed straight for Gang Gu's command tent.
Gang Gu, who had been reviewing reports inside, turned her head as Yeop Hyeon entered.
“You're back?”
Gang Gu returned to her documents.
“Heard an envoy from the Daeun Empire came?”
Yeop Hyeon pulled up a chair and plopped down.
Gang Gu nodded.
“Yeah. They wanted to bring me into the Daeun imperial family or something.”
“How did the Kanguk imperial family react?”
Gang Gu looked up from her papers at Yeop Hyeon.
“What do you think?”
Yeop Hyeon's voice grew more serious.
“You know their intentions, right?”
“And you know the Daeun Empire's power? They're the strongest force in Qingzhou. Without Daeun Changmok Academy, the Dark Society, or Jungto Sinju's help, we can't even show our face to the Daeun Empire.
The fame of their Black Flame Cavalry destroying a nation in less than two weeks is legendary. No matter how strong Jeo Nation's imperial guards were, they'd be mere kittens before the Black Flame Cavalry!”
Yeop Hyeon said,
“So Kanguk chose compromise?”
“Compromise? We don't have that luxury. Even if I enter the Daeun imperial family, they won't let Kanguk go. And this isn't just the Daeun Empire—Changmok Academy headquarters and the Dark Society main branch are deeply involved too. Intel says Changmok Academy and the Dark Society are in direct talks with the Daeun Empire. A secret pact between those three is inevitable soon.”
“What's your plan?”
Gang Gu met Yeop Hyeon's eyes squarely.
“We must subjugate Cho Nation and Wol Nation first, at minimum those two. We can't let them become the Daeun Empire's chess pieces!”
Cho Nation and Wol Nation!
Yeop Hyeon rested his chin in thought.
A moment later, he nodded.
“Yeah, I get it.”
Just then, a soldier reported from outside the tent.
“Commander, an envoy from the Daeun Empire has arrived.”
Gang Gu smiled at Yeop Hyeon.
“Must've been kicked out by Father Emperor and come here. Let's go see what a mess they are.”
Yeop Hyeon nodded.
As the two stepped out, a man resembling a eunuch came into view, flanked by a dozen elite guards with short swords at their waists—all Penetrating Nether Realm experts.
Seeing Gang Gu, the eunuch fixed her with a cold gaze and spoke.
“Former Princess, kneel and receive the imperial edict.”
Yeop Hyeon's eyebrow twitched at the eunuch's attitude.
Gang Gu stepped forward.
“Does your Daeun Empire not even consider our Kanguk? Just a petty little nation, barbarians not worth respect... is that it?”
The eunuch glared.
“Former Princess, are you challenging the Daeun Empire right now?”
“Haha, dare to? Speak your piece, eunuch.”
The eunuch approached Gang Gu and sneered coldly.
“It seems this exalted princess of mighty Kanguk lacks manners. I clearly said kneel. Or shall we educate you ourselves?”
Gang Gu chuckled and nodded to Yeop Hyeon. He stepped forward, palm open, and a steel crossbow appeared atop it.
“This from the Daeun Empire?”
The eunuch's face darkened upon seeing the crossbow.
“Top-grade steel crossbow...”
He looked up at Yeop Hyeon, eyes thick with killing intent.
“So it was you who killed them... You've got some guts...”
At that instant—
Slap!
With a crisp smack, the eunuch's body flew a dozen zhang.
The Daeun guards drew their swords in alarm. But in that moment, a flying sword flashed through the area.
Slash!
One guard's head soared, spraying blood.
The remaining guards froze.
One strike!?
Ignoring them, Yeop Hyeon strode past to the fallen eunuch and shoved his face close.
“I won't kill you, so go back to your master and tell him to stop cowering like a little girl. If you're going to war, bring it on. Get lost!”
The eunuch glared at Yeop Hyeon.
“You lowly cur! For this, your Kanguk will pay dearly one day...”
Yeop Hyeon gripped his sword and swung lightly.
Thud.
The eunuch's head hit the ground all too easily.
Sheathing his sword, Yeop Hyeon approached the stunned guards.
“You heard me, right? Anything to add?”
The guards stared at Yeop Hyeon's face, then turned and fled.
Speaking up here meant losing their heads!
Yeop Hyeon turned to Gang Gu.
“With them acting like this, war is inevitable. No point wasting energy on nonsense.”
With that, Yeop Hyeon walked away from Gang Gu.
Watching his back, Gang Gu's eyes held complex emotions.
She knew he hadn't killed the envoy just to show off. His action made it crystal clear to all of Kanguk: war was the only path left.
When the Daeun envoy first arrived, many ministers had sided with sending the former princess as the Daeun Empire wished. To them, a small nation like Kanguk provoking the Daeun Empire was too dangerous. But with Yeop Hyeon severing the envoy's head in one stroke, Kanguk had no choice but to prepare for war.
Of course, killing Yeop Hyeon and handing him over might resolve it, but who could do that?
Yeop Hyeon was Kanguk's most revered hero!
Moreover, Gang Gu had felt a secret relief when he beheaded the eunuch.
The Daeun Empire was Qingzhou's strongest nation.
And now, Changmok Academy headquarters and the Dark Society assassins seeking contact.
If those three allied, could Kanguk's forces hold?
But Kanguk had no choice. Kanguk and Yeop Hyeon were bound in the same fate. Even if they handed him over, the three powers wouldn't spare Kanguk. Without Yeop Hyeon, Kanguk would face an even more miserable end.
Besides, the Sword Immortal behind Yeop Hyeon deterred them from acting rashly. Without Yeop Hyeon and his master, the Daeun Empire would have already sent Myriad Laws Realm experts to raze the Kanguk imperial palace.
Either way, the current situation was a dire crisis for Kanguk.
Inside Yeop Hyeon's command tent.
At Yeop Hyeon's request, Yuk Ban Jang and the others sat around a long table.
With a grave expression, Yeop Hyeon met each of their eyes and spoke.
“I just asked Chwiseonru to procure Divine Fusion Pills and famed weapons. They'll arrive in a week to ten days. By the way, you all confident in reaching the Divine Fusion Realm with just the pills?”
Neung Han smiled and replied,
“Of course! We've been at the Penetrating Nether Realm for a while. We're already at the peak of Combined Cultivation Realm, so breaking through won't be hard with the pills.”
Yeop Hyeon nodded.
“Good, then.”
“Aaaagh—!”
Just then, a scream pierced from outside the tent.
Yeop Hyeon and the others burst out the door. Gang Gu was rushing toward them too. Instantly, countless soldiers surrounded them, on high alert.
“What happened!?”
Yeop Hyeon shouted.
Then, a group of soldiers carried a dozen corpses toward Gang Gu.
Gang Gu's face darkened upon seeing their faces.
“Our army's generals. Dark Society assassins, no doubt!”
As Gang Gu spoke, a soldier five zhang to Yeop Hyeon's right suddenly lost his head.
Everyone in the area was stunned.
They hadn't sensed a thing until moments ago.
Yeop Hyeon rushed to the dead soldier and scanned the surroundings but found nothing.
“Dark Society dao soldiers!”
Yuk Ban Jang yelled.
“Elite-grade ones, for sure!”
As she finished, three more soldiers' heads flew into the air.