Chapter 359
Chapter 359
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 359
>Chapter Title: Intelligence (4)
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Upon hearing the news that Seo Wan-pyeong had awakened, Il-mok hurried to see him.
"Come in, little brother."
"Senior Brother, are you feeling better?"
"I'm fine. Besides, there's something more important than my condition right now, so let's talk about that first."
With those words, Seo Wan-pyeong rummaged through his black robes, which he had removed for treatment, and pulled out a letter, handing it to Il-mok.
"What is this?"
In response to Il-mok's question, Seo Wan-pyeong replied.
"It's a secret letter sent by Martial Alliance Leader Cheok Pae-myeong to the imperial court."
* * *
A little over a month ago.
Boom!!
"It's been months since we sent people north, so why is there still no word?!"
The Martial Alliance Leader slammed the table in fury, his voice booming.
Gong Son-hyeon watched him for a moment before responding calmly.
"It seems the Maitreya Cult has taken precautions."
"Frustrating. Utterly frustrating. Perhaps I should go myself."
"...The situation in the northwestern plains is practically Maitreya Cult territory already. Going alone into enemy lands would be far too dangerous."
"Are you saying you don't trust this Alliance Leader?"
"Of course not. As your Chief Strategist, I'm merely considering the worst-case scenario."
The Alliance Leader glared at his Chief Strategist for a moment before asking.
"Then give me a solution. And don't just say to send another messenger like last time."
Not long ago, the Martial Alliance had dispatched messengers to several sects.
It had been regarding the Blood Cult.
Thanks to the Open Faction, Azure Forest, Mount Wudang, and even the Huangbo family investigating the Blood Cult, the source of the information had inevitably been revealed as the Maitreya Cult.
The messengers had been sent to warn them not to be deceived by the Maitreya Cult's schemes, but there had been no gains.
- We are merely preparing for possibilities.
- Why dismiss it as false solely because the information came from the Maitreya Cult?
That was all the responses they received.
When the Alliance Leader brought up the matter, Gong Son-hyeon gritted his teeth before answering very carefully.
So softly that even the guards surrounding the Alliance Leader's hall could not hear.
"What if we ask for help?"
"Help...? You mean ask Him for help?"
"Yes. With His power, couldn't He tear through the veil the Maitreya Cult has cast over the north?"
"...Not content with the aid He gave during the Blood Cult incident, you want to beg for more? Are you serious?"
Cheok Pae-myeong openly showed his discomfort.
Constantly asking for help would clearly make Him doubt his competence.
Gong Son-hyeon understood the Alliance Leader's thinking but had no intention of withdrawing the suggestion.
"Alliance Leader, asking for help might cause some disappointment, but failing this task would leave us with nothing at all."
"......"
Cheok Pae-myeong fell silent for a moment, let out a deep sigh, and then replied.
"Prepare my letter."
* * *
While the Martial Alliance was digging into the Maitreya Cult's misdeeds.
Seo Wan-pyeong and the Shadow Pavilion warriors were traversing the Central Plains, pursuing traces of the imperial court.
The trail had originally gone cold, but thanks to the information from Il-mok, they had reignited the pursuit.
Starting their investigation anew from Gwiju Fortress, the site of the massacre, they discovered several traces presumed to be from the Eastern Depot.
The massacre at Gwiju Fortress was now almost certainly the Eastern Depot's doing, but the Shadow Pavilion did not stop there—they continued tailing them.
To obtain irrefutable proof that it was the imperial court's work. And above all, to uncover why they had done it—their true purpose.
But as always, the Eastern Depot, sensing the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's pursuit, began swiftly cutting off its tail.
Just as the trail was about to vanish once more.
Seo Wan-pyeong raised a question to the Shadow Pavilion Leader.
"Pavilion Leader, no matter how I think about it, there's something strange."
"Something strange? Speak freely, Deputy Pavilion Leader."
With the Heavenly Demon ascended, Seo Wan-pyeong was now called Deputy Pavilion Leader instead of Young Master. He replied.
"It's the imperial court's purpose. They disguised the massacre as the Blood Cult's doing, so there are only two real possibilities, right? Either the imperial court is performing some bizarre sorcery like the Blood Cult and covering it up, or they're moving to aid the Martial Alliance."
Having worked in the Shadow Pavilion for so long, experiencing various secret missions, Seo Wan-pyeong had now become something of a veteran with keen insight.
"I agree with you, Deputy Pavilion Leader. That's why we're digging into their tracks to confirm their purpose, isn't it?"
In response to the Shadow Pavilion Leader's words, Seo Wan-pyeong made a proposal.
"Since the Eastern Depot has started cutting its tail anyway, we'll likely lose them like last time if we continue as is. So how about we make a bold gamble?"
"A bold gamble?"
The Shadow Pavilion Leader, realizing something from the question, looked at Seo Wan-pyeong in surprise.
"You're suggesting we surveil the Martial Alliance?"
"Yes."
"That's dangerous. The Martial Alliance is already thrashing about trying to uncover the Maitreya Cult's secrets. If we're caught lurking around, what then?!"
"That's why I'll handle it personally this time to avoid detection."
"......"
The Shadow Pavilion Leader gazed at Seo Wan-pyeong in silence.
Ever since overcoming his Demonic Deviation last time, Seo Wan-pyeong had advanced another step, wearing an expression of trustworthiness.
The dark shadows under his pale face from years of paranoia and insomnia lingered, but his eyes burned with resolve.
After a moment's deliberation, the Shadow Pavilion Leader nodded.
"Very well, we'll do it together. The Martial Alliance grounds are too vast for you to surveil alone, aren't they?"
And so, the Shadow Pavilion split into two large groups and moved out.
The majority of the Shadow Pavilion warriors continued pursuing the Eastern Depot's traces.
Only the Shadow Pavilion Leader, Seo Wan-pyeong, and a minimal retinue broke off and headed toward Dongjeong Lake.
They monitored the area around the Martial Alliance.
They did not venture as far as the Alliance Leader's hall.
Cheok Pae-myeong was one of the top experts in the entire Central Plains, so approaching too close risked their stealth being detected.
They spent about a month surveilling the Martial Alliance perimeter.
On a night when even the moonlight had vanished, deep into the night, a shadow slipped out of the Alliance.
It was a movement deeply versed in stealth techniques, but Seo Wan-pyeong did not miss it.
- I'll pursue.
Sending a transmission to the Shadow Pavilion Leader, Seo Wan-pyeong gave chase.
He closed the gap bit by bit for a while.
Then, at a chilling sensation, Seo Wan-pyeong halted.
Slash.
A sharp blade qi flew straight toward him.
For Seo Wan-pyeong, who hadn't even sensed the shadow drawing its blade, it was a moment that sent chills down his spine.
"Tch. Just a bug."
The shadow, who had instantly drawn and swung its blade, clicked its tongue lightly and resumed walking.
Where the blade qi had passed, the bisected bug's corpse twitched.
Seo Wan-pyeong had barely escaped danger, but he did not abandon the pursuit.
He instinctively knew something crucially important was afoot.
'No way the Alliance Leader himself is moving.'
Seo Wan-pyeong realized the one he was tailing was Martial Alliance Leader Cheok Pae-myeong.
To avoid the previous peril, he kept a greater distance while following.
Though the Alliance Leader's stealth was one or two levels below that of an assassin like Seo Wan-pyeong, his martial prowess and senses far surpassed it.
'...I've never heard he trained in stealth arts.'
Harboring such thoughts, he trailed the Alliance Leader from maximum distance for quite some time.
The Alliance Leader stopped before a small shrine built somewhere on a low hill.
From the shrine's shadow—unclear whom it enshrined—someone rose.
The Alliance Leader handed a letter to the figure that emerged from the shadows.
With no further conversation, the man turned and vanished into the shadows.
Only after he departed did the Alliance Leader turn back toward the Martial Alliance.
Seo Wan-pyeong, who had been watching breathlessly from afar, waited until the Alliance Leader was completely gone before moving.
Pursuing the one who had received the Alliance Leader's letter.
'Damn.'
Tailing him was no easy task.
While waiting for the Alliance Leader to leave, the man had already traveled far, and being skilled in such matters, he left almost no traces.
For days, Seo Wan-pyeong followed faint, barely discernible traces after the one who had taken the letter.
After untold hardships, Seo Wan-pyeong finally caught up.
As he had suspected, the man was indeed a eunuch.
Only.
"Who's there?"
The problem was that the man noticed Seo Wan-pyeong approaching before he could launch a surprise attack.
Perhaps due to the secretive mission of rendezvousing with the Martial Alliance Leader, he seemed a considerable expert even within the Eastern Depot.
Deep into the night, in the dark forest, the two men faced off at about a zhang's distance.
Both versed in stealth-specialized martial arts, their clash proceeded in eerie silence.
They cautiously shifted through the woods.
The moment trees or bushes obscured their view.
Clang!
Hidden projectiles they flung collided, sparks flying, or a sudden sword swing from an ambush rang out with metallic clamor.
In this silent battle of assassins, where a single mistake meant life or death, they exchanged several bouts.
Seo Wan-pyeong once more used the forest shadows to unleash a strike from the Shadowless Fourteen Hands toward the Eastern Depot agent.
Clang!
As their swords clashed, sparks flew with the sound of metal.
"!!!"
Seo Wan-pyeong felt an inexplicable chill.
He couldn't say why. The Eastern Depot agent he was facing had no posture for a counterattack.
But trusting his experience and instincts, Seo Wan-pyeong leaped aside without hesitation.
Slash.
A horrifying slicing sound followed.
Ignoring the wound on his side, Seo Wan-pyeong swiftly pressed acupoints with his left hand, not uttering a groan.
Having quickly stanched the bleeding from his side wound, Seo Wan-pyeong spotted the man emerging from the darkness.
'When?'
He hadn't even noticed the man's approach. Even while fighting the other Eastern Depot agent, failing to sense this attack until it came signaled a grave issue.
'He's several levels above me.'
Swallowing hard, Seo Wan-pyeong eyed the two Eastern Depot agents.
The one he had been fighting circled to his right, blocking his retreat, while the ambusher advanced step by step, pressuring him.
'...Is this where I die?'
In the overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation, Seo Wan-pyeong shoved aside the grim thought rising in his mind and gritted his teeth.
'At least I'll take one down with me.'
The moment Seo Wan-pyeong contemplated mutual destruction.
Flash.
The Eastern Depot agent approaching from the front burrowed in with a Phantom Shift technique.
He thrust a straight, swift, covert strike at Seo Wan-pyeong, but.
Clang!
He had to hastily alter his sword path to block a suddenly flying projectile.
Seo Wan-pyeong seized the opening to unleash Shadowless Fourteen Hands at the agent, but the man effortlessly evaded with ghostly footwork, stepping back.
At the same time, someone appeared from the direction the projectile had come.
- Deputy Pavilion Leader, I'll handle this one. Grab what you need in the meantime.
It was the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Shadow Pavilion—and Seo Wan-pyeong's superior—the Shadow Pavilion Leader.