Chapter 309: Murim and Players (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 309: Murim and Players (2)
Outside the inn, the companions of the two factions were waiting side by side.
The Taoists from the Wudang Sect let out snickers.
So Young-ho. So Se-ryung. So Wun-gun.
The three, who had barely passed twenty, were So Yu-myeong's junior martial brothers and sister, and all of them were masters who had surpassed the Peak Realm.
"Picking a fight with our Eldest Senior Brother. The opening of the Tower has certainly given us some bizarre experiences. Then again, who else but those from outside the Tower would ever do something so foolish?"
"They're just stupid."
"Hey. Aren't you guys worried over there? You might have to clean up a corpse soon."
Yet, despite the blatant mockery...
The people on the other side showed little reaction.
Or rather, to be precise, they were worried, but in a completely different way.
"Is that 'Eldest Senior Brother' guy even going to survive? Jinhyuk did seem to be in a pretty good mood today, though..."
"He might have been brutally killed by now."
"My contractor probably won't kill him. He might let him off with just a missing limb. Besides, he said he'd borrow the strength of even the weaklings to fight those Jiangshi."
"Oh my. Young Master Kang is indeed very thoughtful."
They chatted so casually.
The content of their conversation was so absurd that the members of the Wudang Sect were left wondering if they were hearing correctly or hallucinating.
"A-Are you people out of your minds? Brother Yu-myeong is the 'Little Dragon' of the Wudang Sect, the greatest of the Nine Sects and One Gang! He's even expected to become the youngest to reach the Transcendental Realm!"
So Se-ryung shouted in disbelief.
"Huh? Transcendental...? Is that strong?"
Alice tilted her head.
"What? They don't even know how strong the Transcendental Realm is?"
"Ha! There was no point in talking to them in the first place."
"Leave them be. Soon enough, they'll regret picking a fight and beat the ground in despair."
Alice's reaction made the three of them certain.
Their opponents were complete ignoramuses who didn't know the first thing about martial arts realms.
A few minutes passed.
Clack!
Finally, the one-sided education came to an end.
The one who opened the door and stepped out was none other than So Yu-myeong.
"As expected of Senior Brother! I knew you could do it!"
"Since it took so long, you must have completely pulverized him, right?"
"Did you not even leave a corpse of that arrogant bastard?"
The three cheered.
However...
"..."
So Yu-myeong's complexion was terrible.
His face was pale, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.
And in his right hand, he clutched a sheet of paper.
Though they couldn't read it because it wasn't written in Hanja, it looked like some kind of contract.
"Wow. The sunset in Murim is really something else. The cool breeze is nice, too."
Jinhyuk stretched as he emerged from behind him.
"E-Eldest Senior Brother?"
"What is going on?"
Jinhyuk, who should have been beaten to a pulp, was smiling leisurely.
Meanwhile, their Eldest Senior Brother, who had always seemed as vast as the heavens, looked like a puppy with its tail tucked between its legs.
No matter how they looked at it, this made absolutely no sense.
"Please say something... Yes? Please, anything..."
His junior brothers and sister pleaded, but So Yu-myeong couldn't bring himself to speak.
Right then.
As if they had expected this all along, Alice and Teresa approached.
"Hey. I'm your senior by a long shot, so let's get along from now on, okay?"
"Once you get used to it, it's actually not that bad. The benefits... aren't terrible either."
"It's not too late. It might be better to just end your own life. If you want a painless way out, let me know anytime. I can specially formulate a few types of sleeping pills for you."
Finally, Cheon Yu-seong patted So Yu-myeong's shoulder with a look of pity.
* * *
-After careful review, we have concluded that if we stand by and do nothing, Luoyang may be isolated and fall.
Unlike the notoriously proud Murim Alliance, a conclusion was reached in just a single day.
Swiftly and decisively.
Based on the information Jinhyuk provided, the elites of each sect prepared to mobilize.
Instead of a defensive siege, they decided to preemptively occupy the vast strongholds and main roads around Luoyang, completely blocking off all routes leading to the city.
At the same time, on the outskirts of Qinghai Province, where the main camp of the Heavenly Demon Cult was located.
A sharp-eyed hawk flew down and perched on Shimmasaryong's arm.
"...This is."
Reading the message tied to the hawk's ankle, Shimmasaryong's expression darkened slightly.
"Supreme One, they have changed their approach. The place they are heading to now is..."
"I know."
Sitting on his throne, Samaja tapped his fingers against the armrest.
His gaze was fixed on a mound of dirt in the center of the room.
It was a military map marking various strategic points in Murim.
Hummmm!
As Samaja channeled his inner qi into his fingertips, several of the Jiangshi models heading toward Luoyang began to shake.
Thud. Thud... Thud.
One, two, three.
The models fell to the left and right.
They were the exact three locations Jinhyuk had predicted.
"You are correct. They are reportedly heading to the exact spots you pointed out. But, Supreme One, how did you know...?"
"Last night, I received word that the Dark Emperor's disciple had entered Luoyang. There is no way those fools of the Orthodox Faction could have seen through my intentions on their own. In other words, he must have intervened."
"The true value of those strongholds... only reveals itself once they are fully secured. Did someone from outside the Tower really see through that?"
"Well, it means his ability to read the situation is quite impressive. Still, it is surprising."
He hadn't expected his move to be read before things even began.
This was information he hadn't shared with the other Demonic Cult masters, let alone Shimmasaryong.
'Hmm...'
The corners of Samaja's mouth curled upward.
Clearly, his opponent was a greenhorn who had barely spent any time here.
Normally, it would take years just to grasp what kind of place Murim was.
Yet, for him to read the situation so sharply...
'As expected of the Dark Emperor's first disciple.'
Perhaps they were facing a variable more troublesome than the entire Murim Alliance combined.
Shimmasaryong, also wishing to eliminate this variable beforehand, added a word.
"Supreme One. The disciple is one thing, but shouldn't we also eliminate the Dark Emperor? If he bares his fangs at us under the pretext of saving his disciple... we risk being attacked from both sides along with the Murim Alliance."
"Strike the Dark Emperor now?"
"Yes. Now that our Cult's power has reached its peak, I believe it is the perfect time to eliminate him."
"If we provoke that old tiger carelessly, our peak power could be cut in half. I have no desire to waste the forces we've painstakingly gathered."
"Is the Dark Emperor... truly that formidable? If you are concerned, I will personally lead the Heavenly Cold Jiangshi and Yin-Yang Jiangshi to deal with him."
"No, that is unnecessary."
While others looked down on the Dark Emperor, who had lived as he pleased for so long...
...Samaja alone knew the truth.
The reason the Dark Emperor could rise to the position of Left Dharma Protector despite possessing only a small shadow unit.
It was because he simply had no need for others.
The Dark Emperor alone was stronger than thousands of masters gathered together.
And because the depths of his martial arts could not be measured by any standard.
That was why the Dark Emperor, as the Dark Emperor, had supported the pillars of the Heavenly Demon Cult until now.
"More importantly, wiping out the Murim Alliance is our priority. Since things have turned out this way, let us strike where it hurts. I wonder how he will counter this move."
He had prepared solely for this day.
A small muddy stream could never defy the ocean.
Samaja altered his tactics.
In the most fatal way possible for the Murim Alliance.
* * *
Of the three options, the place Jinhyuk chose was a low mountain located 100 kilometers away from Luoyang.
To be precise, it was a location the Wudang Sect was supposed to take charge of, but that was merely on the surface.
In reality, Jinhyuk, who had essentially put a leash on So Yu-myeong's neck, was the one leading the Murim martial artists.
"Is this the place where the ley lines are unstable?"
Jinhyuk looked around.
The biggest reason he had chosen this place was because there was something he needed to find here.
"Yes. Recently, the flow of qi became unstable, causing several landslides. Thanks to the villagers reporting it to the local government, we only found out about it a few days ago."
So Yu-myeong nodded.
Just as he thought.
Natural disasters were occurring due to the clash of Yang and Yin qi.
The soil, which had an unnaturally yellow tint, also caught his eye.
Good.
He had arrived at the exact right place.
"By the way, aren't you speaking a bit too casually?"
"What?"
"Meat. Yum yum."
"W-Wait! Th-that is correct. As you said... sigh. I will... be careful."
So Yu-myeong clenched his fists, his face looking as if he had chewed on a piece of crap.
"Control your facial expressions. Even if you're cursing me out on the inside, you shouldn't let it show on the outside. That's how social life works."
"I will... keep that in mind."
This seemed like enough to establish the hierarchy.
The other three still didn't seem to understand what was going on, but...
...there was no need to educate them as well.
As long as he kept a tight grip on So Yu-myeong, the rest would fall into line on their own.
"Now, shall we go recruit some people?"
For this operation, the Murim Alliance had brought in two other factions besides the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families.
One was the Players, like Jinhyuk, Teresa, and Cheon Yu-seong.
The other consisted of assassins unaffiliated with the Orthodox Faction, the Green Forest, or third-rate common martial artists.
They were lured with money rather than honor or a grand cause, but that was the most effective method for them.
'The money I received from the Alliance is more than enough to hire about thirty people.'
There was a fairly large village nearby, so he could gather more people there.
"But why do we need other people? If we're just dealing with Jiangshi, aren't we more than enough?"
Alice's eyes widened.
That was true, but...
...there was another reason he was trying to recruit talent here, following the Murim Alliance's suggestion.
'He must be somewhere in the village right now.'
To regain the power he lost after leaving the Heavenly Demon Cult.
One of the absolute beings of the Tower was wandering through Murim.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
The time to meet again had finally come.
Under the heavens.
The pinnacle of martial arts, who bowed to no one.
"Let's hurry down before the sun sets."
Jinhyuk quickened his pace.
How long had they walked?
By the time they reached the village, the group realized something was terribly wrong.
"The... the village..."
So Se-ryung's voice trembled faintly.
A burning village.
In the wake of the Blood Jiangshi's rampage, only blood, smoke, and death remained.
"How could this be..."
Teresa covered her mouth with her hand.
"..."
Cheon Yu-seong silently navigated through the corpses.
He was searching for any survivors to treat them.
"They say the weak are always the victims in war, but this is too much..."
Alice murmured, as if reflecting on her own past memories.
"So this is how they want to play."
Jinhyuk stared at the corpse of a mother who had died while clutching her child.
The Heavenly Demon Cult, which had previously pursued swift battles, had changed its direction.
Instead of moving quickly, they had begun raiding the villages along their path and slaughtering civilians.
For the Orthodox Faction, which valued righteousness above all else, ignoring this was out of the question.
They would have no choice but to abandon their advantageous positions to save the people.
'It's a cold-blooded but highly efficient tactic.'
Not only would it disperse their forces, but depending on where they focused their strength, they could completely seize control of the situation.
Jinhyuk bit his lip.
The residents... were just inhabitants of the Tower.
He had drawn a line, telling himself they were nothing more than that.
He had constantly told himself that a certain amount of sacrifice was inevitable to climb the Tower.
But...
...he couldn't just draw a line while witnessing such a tragedy.
'...Samaja.'
Jinhyuk slowly repeated the name in his mind.
He had to deal with that bastard quickly.
If only to prevent more innocent people from dying.
Right then.
Boom!
"Aaaah!"
"H-Help me!"
Screams echoed from afar.
There was still a survivor.