Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: War King Gate (2)
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Public auditions.
A gateway for aspiring singers, these programs once swept across South Korea, depicting contestants competing on pure talent to become stars.
Though their popularity eventually waned, no one can deny they made countless viewers laugh and cry.
The problem was.
“A public audition in the martial world? Does that even make sense?”
I was the one who had to participate.
The original plan was to use the Red, Black, and Gold Dragons, along with Master Bukgung, to secure the bid safely. But if they were going with a public audition format, it meant they intended to select based on pure skill.
Many parts of the plan would have to be revised.
“Hmm…”
I quickly checked the information sheet Jeok Il had brought.
The competition would be judged on three conditions: the sect's military strength, its financial stability, and the capabilities of one high-ranking executive besides the sect leader.
The conditions were somewhat understandable.
Taking charge of Hanzhong's defense meant being responsible for the northern border of Nine Dragons Fortress, so naturally, a sect's military power would be crucial.
And since they were guaranteed ninety percent of the taxes from Hanzhong, if some financially unstable group took over, they would obviously exploit the people.
However, the one thing I didn't understand was the capability of one executive besides the sect leader.
‘Are they looking for a jack-of-all-trades?’
The capabilities required of a commander, a sect leader, and a warrior were all different. How they planned to evaluate them was the biggest question.
If one had to satisfy all three criteria.
“Then aside from me, no one could possibly pass.”
Excluding myself—the greatest commander, strategist, and a Transcendent Master in Nine Dragons Fortress—it would be difficult for anyone to pass.
After confirming the conditions, I left Jinmu Hall immediately.
A sect's military strength couldn't be enhanced overnight.
As for financial stability, with the Hanzhong Merchant Guild, we had more than enough.
With nothing else to do for now, I decided to go to the Outer Hall and submit my resignation.
With the sect's founding ceremony just around the corner, I had to shed the shackles of being a warrior of Nine Dragons Fortress.
Ga Rip, whom I hadn't seen in a while, was even more irritable than usual.
“…I heard about it from the Hall Master, but seeing it for myself is still disconcerting. It's a shame, too.”
“Haha, thank you for everything.”
Taking the resignation letter, Ga Rip sighed with a complicated look in his eyes.
“Hey, don't worry too much. If you ever need my help, I'll come and assist anytime.”
“It's not about that. Besides, things ran just fine for the past six months without you.”
“…”
“The problem is the restless atmosphere in the Outer Hall because of your resignation.”
“Ah… it's about promotions, isn't it?”
It was unavoidable.
A superior's departure being a subordinate's opportunity and happiness was a truth that transcended worlds.
However.
“That's not it.”
Completely unexpected words came from Ga Rip's mouth.
He pulled out a drawer full of resignation letters and showed them to me.
“Fifty warriors from the Outer Hall have submitted their resignations, saying they want to follow you. If I process all of them, we won't be able to maintain our work rotations.”
“Hmm… that is a serious problem.”
“So, what I'm saying is…”
“Ah, don't worry. I won't be taking any Outer Hall warriors for the time being.”
To the seven hundred disciples currently undergoing intensive training, the Outer Hall warriors would just be outsiders.
Pointlessly increasing our numbers would only create discord, not strengthen the sect's power.
Of course, it couldn't stay that way forever.
“F-For the time being? Doesn't that mean you'll take them eventually?”
“How can I stop them if they want to quit and come? I'm just saying I have no plans to recruit disciples right now.”
“Ahem, I suppose it can't be helped. I'll just have to prepare in advance.”
Just as he nodded with a look of resignation.
“Huh?”
I saw it.
“…Isn't that Je-jun's?”
The resignation letter of an excellent, S-class employee.
As if sensing my burning desire, Ga Rip frantically tried to hide the letter.
“N-No! I was going to promote him to Squad Leader!”
“Yes!”
I could let the others go, but not Woo Je-jun.
Setting aside his first-rate martial arts, his leadership and administrative skills were second to none among the Outer Hall's Squad Leaders.
Thanks to him, I was able to come to work late every day as the First Squad Leader.
“Je-jun! Your big brother is here!”
“I told you, no!”
And just like that, I was able to scout the Outer Hall's ace for the War King Gate.
* * *
From the instructors to the regular disciples, everyone at Jinmu Hall... no, the War King Gate, warmly welcomed Woo Je-jun.
It was only natural. Not only did he look overflowing with competence, but he was also a master at the peak of the first-rate, capable of manifesting sword energy. That was a level worthy of being called an expert.
In particular, his diligent attitude toward martial arts promised future growth.
However, even with him joining, the War King Gate's mid-tier ranks were still weak.
The number of masters who could act as reliable mid-level leaders was still insufficient.
Of course, there was something I was counting on.
‘Hmm, why are these guys taking so long?’
The five prisoners of the Dark Shadow Cave.
If they, all Peak Masters, were to join, the War King Gate's mid-tier ranks would become solid.
Seven hundred disciples trained in the superior Black Mist Spear Technique. Eight masters ranging from the peak of the first-rate to the Peak level.
And finally, me.
With this much power, even if we couldn't be called a great sect, we could certainly pass for a mid-sized one.
After all, each of the Eight Halls had only two hundred members.
Though, of course, most of them were masters.
Anyway, with the date for the fortress's 'Show Me the Murim' fast approaching, I decided to get the five prisoners out of the Dark Shadow Cave.
“I have no choice.”
A month was still left on my promise with them, but what could I do?
We needed some time to sync up to be able to participate in the 'Show Me the Murim'.
Just as I made up my mind to go see the Grand Chancellor and stepped out the main gate.
‘Hm?’
I sensed unfamiliar presences.
They were so stealthy that I wouldn't have noticed them if I hadn't expanded my energy sense through training the Seventh Sense Blade.
I raised my fingers and drew lines in every direction.
The energy lines of the Seventh Sense Blade shot out haphazardly—forward, backward, left, and right.
A method only possible because the Seventh Sense Blade consumed almost no internal energy.
Thanks to the reflected energy lines, I could identify the owners of the presences.
“Well, well... to think you'd actually break out. So I wasn't scammed after all, huh?”
“You're like a ghost. It's been a while, big brother.”
“Hahaha, you said I'd be surprised when I got out. To think you were a direct disciple of one of the Ten Great Masters!”
It was the First Prisoner, Jong Geuk-rin, and the Second Prisoner, Man Pung.
“Where are the others?”
“The younger brothers have just recovered their internal energy and will be here shortly.”
“You just got out?”
“That's right. But where were you headed? If you're busy, we can come back tomorrow.”
“Just taking a walk. Ah! Wait a moment. I'll go get some friends you'll be very happy to see.”
Leaving Jong Geuk-rin and Man Pung with quizzical looks, I went inside and brought out Yang Gang, Ha Jin-hyeong, and Lee Dang-pal.
“Ah, I was just about to take a break, what's this bullshit now… huh?!”
“B-Big brothers!”
“W-Woah…”
I had given them a heads-up, so they must have expected it to some degree, but seeing it in person seemed to dumbfound them even more.
Because I hadn't told them these men were my subordinates, Jong Geuk-rin and Man Pung were even more bewildered.
“W-Wait. How are you guys with our big brother?!”
But that bewilderment was short-lived.
“You rascals!”
“Big brothers!”
Coming to their senses, they embraced each other.
“Waaaaah!”
Yang Gang, in particular, was crying like a child, which was unusual considering his usual character was a mix of a spoiled brat and a complete hooligan.
Moreover.
“W-Wait! Aren't you benefactor Jin-hyeong and benefactor Pal?!”
As the others joined in, a scene like a reunion of separated families unfolded in front of the War King Gate.
‘Well…’
Still, it was a good thing that people who had missed each other were finally reunited.
“Sniffle.”
* * *
A short while later.
All the executives of the War King Gate, including Yu So-pyeong, gathered for a meeting.
With the addition of Jong Geuk-rin, Man Pung, Seo In-cheong, Deok-san, and Lee Geum, we could finally reorganize our structure as a proper sect.
In truth, it wasn't much of a meeting.
“You can choose one of two options. Either we separate the elite from the rest.”
Yu So-pyeong would handle it all anyway.
“Or we can distribute our forces evenly.”
All I had to do was pick the best option he presented.
“What does everyone think?”
Of course, it was better to use the power of collective intelligence than to decide alone, but there was no way these warriors, who had barely managed to memorize the six or seven hundred essential characters from the Thousand Character Classic, would offer any opinions.
“…”
“…”
Woo Je-jun was the best of the bunch.
“Both methods have clear pros and cons.”
“Go on.”
“The former would be powerful in small-scale battles but risky in simultaneous engagements. The latter would be the opposite.”
I nodded instinctively, as I had been thinking the same thing.
“Let's go with evenly distributing our forces. The War King Gate will only grow stronger with time.”
“Yes.”
Yu So-pyeong nodded and fixed a large sheet of paper to a wooden board set up beside him.
It was the martial world's version of a PowerPoint presentation, a method he'd learned from me.
“The Nine Iron-Blood Paths?”
“It's a temporary name I came up with. It means the nine paths that pierce through the battlefield.”
“Hmm…”
A bit too cool for a temporary name, isn't it?
As expected of a scholar, Yu So-pyeong had an excellent naming sense.
“Let's see… Nine paths means you intend to entrust the disciples to everyone here except you and me, right?”
“Precisely.”
“Alright. So how will the hierarchy work? By martial skill? Or by seniority?”
Hierarchy was a system used by all martial sects. Given the nature of warriors who lived with their lives on the line, it was a necessary choice; without a hierarchy, the chain of command would be a mess.
However, the way this hierarchy was determined varied slightly from faction to faction.
The Martial Emperor Fortress, Ten Demon Alliance, and Lion's League used martial skill, while the Righteous Path Alliance used age and seniority. Nine Dragons Fortress was somewhere in the middle, mixing the two.
But the method that came from Yu So-pyeong's mouth was a little different from what I knew.
“I believe determining the hierarchy in the traditional way would be inefficient for the War King Gate.”
“Why is that?”
“Because, as everyone here knows, in the worst-case scenario, our War King Gate will have to fight against the Ten Demon Alliance's ten thousand demonic practitioners.”
The mood in the room instantly grew heavy.
Us fighting the Ten Demon Alliance was like Krillin trying to take on Frieza.
“Of course, such a thing is unlikely to happen easily. It's hard to imagine the Ten Demon Alliance abandoning their sacred ground, the Heavenly Mountains. However, as the strategist of the War King Gate, I cannot ignore even the slightest possibility.”
*Flip.*
Yu So-pyeong flipped to the next page of his presentation.
“My idea is to turn all Nine Iron-Blood Paths into elite units. By drastically twisting the existing hierarchical system.”
“…You certainly have a point. But since when did you become the strategist?”
“…”
After chiding Yu So-pyeong for getting ahead of himself, I reviewed the presentation he had prepared.
“Divide the seven hundred disciples into ten groups of seventy, with one attached to headquarters and the other nine forming the Nine Iron-Blood Paths… And naturally, everyone present here will become the Path Master of their respective path.”
“Precisely. The hierarchy will be determined through competition between the paths. Constantly.”
“So we move away from individual strength and pursue the strength of the group?”
“That is correct. Individual strength is important, but to fight against a powerful enemy, strength as a group is more crucial. That is my judgment.”
“Hmm…”
A system just like a modern military.
It certainly seemed fitting for our current situation.
From now on, we would have to defend our territory against nation-level powers.
I looked around and said.
“Does anyone have any other opinions? Ah, for the record, I completely agree with So-pyeong's… no, the Strategist's opinion.”
“…”
That day's executive meeting concluded with the amicable result of a unanimous decision.