A Madman's Declaration
It was a polite greeting, flawless in its execution.
Yet Dang Maeng made no effort to hide his blatant displeasure.
"You seem to be leisurely touring the Central Plains. What brings your footsteps to a place with nothing to see?"
The title Moyong Geon held within the Alliance was the Leader of the Heavenly Righteousness Fragrance.
The Heavenly Righteousness Fragrance was an internal affairs unit that answered only to the Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist. Their mission was to root out and eliminate corrupt members of the Martial Alliance who committed evil deeds throughout the Central Plains.
Due to the nature of their work, they always had to operate in secret. It was a highly dangerous and grueling department, as those guilty of corruption rarely accepted their punishment quietly.
A man of Dang Maeng's standing could not possibly be ignorant of the grueling nature of their duties.
Yet, he had deliberately belittled it as a mere sightseeing tour.
Anyone else, no matter how good-natured, would have frowned at such disrespect, but Moyong Geon remained perfectly composed.
"It is a heavy burden, one almost too difficult for me to bear. However, for a renowned figure like yourself, Branch Leader, I am sure it would be child's play. I can only look upon your capabilities with awe."
Moyong Geon clasped his hands together in a polite fist-and-palm salute.
Unlike the volatile Dang Maeng, his demeanor befitted the scion of a prestigious clan, showing both patience and quiet dignity.
At this elegant counterattack, Dang Maeng's eyes grew even sharper.
Hmph! A mere barbarian living on the fringes of the Central Plains, in the lands of Liaoning.
The Moyong Clan was situated in Shenyang County, Liaoning Province, far north of Hebei Province.
They traced their ancestry back to the ancient state of Yan, and indeed, tracing the Moyong lineage revealed Xianbei blood.
Thus, the claims of foreign descent and living on the fringes of the Central Plains were not entirely baseless.
Yet, even in a Central Plains dominated by the Han people, no one dared to look down on the Moyong Clan.
Or rather, they simply could not afford to.
Following the Namgung Clan, which had produced the current Alliance Leader, the Moyong Clan was ranked second among the Seven Great Clans in terms of both martial prowess and influence.
Having been a pillar of the Seven Great Clans for so long, they were no longer considered rising stars, but rather deeply rooted giants of the Orthodox faction.
In truth, the martial world generally evaluated the Moyong Clan's strength as far superior to that of the Sichuan Dang Family. Thus, Dang Maeng's insolent attitude toward Moyong Geon was the anomaly.
"Hmph. State your business and leave."
"The Chief Strategist contacted me, stating that unusual movements have been detected between the two major unorthodox factions. He dispatched me to Tongseong County."
At Moyong Geon's explanation, a brief flash of relief crossed Dang Maeng's face before vanishing.
Facing the Heavenly Righteousness Fragrance as a subject of investigation was a massive headache, so he was relieved to hear they weren't here for him.
However, his brow soon furrowed for another reason.
"Ha! Jegal Mun sent you to help me?"
"...Yes, that is correct."
Moyong Geon's expression stiffened at Dang Maeng's casual disrespect in using the Chief Strategist's name instead of his title.
But Dang Maeng was only filled with irritation.
Although Moyong Geon explained that Jegal Mun had detected ominous signs in Tongseong County and sent him to warn and assist, Dang Maeng saw it differently.
Typical of a Jegal. He's just looking for an excuse to find fault with me.
He completely misinterpreted the gesture as a political attack against him.
"Heh, does the Divine Strategist truly possess the Heavenly Eye to see the future, as the rumors claim? Impressive, truly impressive."
Dang Maeng sneered, making no effort to hide his disgust.
A blatant smirk accompanied his words.
"But it is rather strange. If he had minded his own business instead of worrying about a place I am guarding perfectly well, and focused on his own son's future, none of this would have happened. Wouldn't you agree, Fragrance Leader?"
"...!"
Moyong Geon's brow twitched.
It was common knowledge throughout the Martial Alliance that Moyong Geon deeply respected and followed Jegal Mun.
"If this junior may offer a word of caution, you should not let your obsession with the Tragedy of Black and White blind you to the dangers ahead, Branch Leader."
"What?"
At the mention of the Tragedy of Black and White, Dang Maeng's face contorted, and the deputy standing beside him turned pale.
The Tragedy of Black and White was a taboo subject, a dark history that should never be spoken of in front of anyone from the Dang Family.
The Tragedy of Black and White referred to a bloody conflict between the Orthodox Martial Alliance and the unorthodox Black Hegemony Castle.
It was no exaggeration to say that this conflict drew the current boundaries between the Martial Alliance and the Black Hegemony Castle.
However, for the Sichuan Dang Family, a far deeper grudge was tied to it.
During the conflict, Dang Chu-rang had died, and with him, the family's sacred relic, the Snow Soul Gauntlets, was lost.
Dang Chu-rang had drowned in a river while wearing the Snow Soul Gauntlets, making recovery seem impossible.
Yet, in a cruel twist of fate, intelligence later revealed that a martial artist from Sadocheon had recovered the corpse and claimed the Snow Soul Gauntlets.
Naturally, the Dang Family demanded that they retrieve their relic, even if it meant waging war against Sadocheon.
However, the Jegal Family, who led the Strategist Division at the time, refused to permit it.
The Martial Alliance had already suffered heavy casualties from the Tragedy of Black and White.
To wage another war against Sadocheon immediately after?
Expanding the front lines would exponentially drain their human and material resources. The losses would far outweigh the gains.
For the sake of the Alliance, abandoning the relic was the logical choice.
Thus, Jegal Taek, the Chief Strategist at the time and father of Jegal Mun, had denied the request.
The Dang Family never forgets a grudge!
From that moment on, the Sichuan Dang Family directed all their grief and fury over losing their relic and their kin toward the Jegal Family.
That grudge had been passed down through generations. By now, members of the Dang Family loathed even standing in the same room as a Jegal.
The current Martial Alliance was divided into the Alliance Leader's faction and the Elders' faction. While this roughly aligned with the power struggle between the Seven Great Clans and the Nine Great Sects and One Association,
the Sichuan Dang Family, despite being one of the Seven Great Clans, aligned themselves with the Elders' faction.
This was solely due to their animosity toward the Jegal Family, which showed just how deep the Dang Family's grudge ran.
Under these circumstances, it was obvious how Dang Maeng would react to Moyong Geon bringing up the Tragedy of Black and White.
"Are you trying to lecture me, boy?!"
Dang Maeng growled.
A tempest of terrifying poison energy and internal qi erupted from his body.
Startled by the sudden surge, the martial artists training in the courtyard sheathed their weapons and turned to look.
The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Yet, Moyong Geon calmly bowed his head.
"I apologize if I caused offense. It was merely a word of concern from an inexperienced junior. Please forgive my presumption."
Although the junior had admitted his mistake and backed down,
Should I just kill him?
Dang Maeng wanted nothing more than to snap the neck of the boy who had dared to expose his weakness.
However, he barely suppressed the urge to strike, recalling the orders of his elder brother, the Family Head.
Damn it!
The order was strict: avoid any unnecessary conflict while the family's grand plan was underway in Sichuan.
Had it not been for that, given Dang Maeng's volatile temper, he might have truly unleashed a lethal strike.
"I heard you recently became the disciple of the Alliance Leader. You would do well to guard against arrogance. If you keep acting this insolently, it wouldn't be surprising if you ended up dead in this ruthless Jianghu."
"I will keep that in mind."
As Moyong Geon stepped back, the tension seemed to dissipate, and the onlookers let out a sigh of relief. But at that very moment—
Whoosh!
Snap!
Wait!
What is this?!
Suddenly, both Moyong Geon and Dang Maeng whipped their heads around in unison.
It was as if their heads had been physically yanked.
Wrooooooom...!
A massive, overwhelming wave of energy.
Both men had reacted to the sudden appearance of this mysterious, powerful aura.
And then—BOOM! A deafening explosion shook the air.
"Is anyone home?!" a booming voice echoed.
* * *
"Enemy attack!"
"It's the front gate! The front gate!"
The moment the explosion rang out, the martial artists in the training courtyard, along with everyone else in the branch, rushed toward the front gate.
What kind of madman dares—!
Naturally, Dang Maeng and Moyong Geon were at the very front. They were the first to arrive.
What greeted them was the sight of the double gates blown to splinters.
The gates, each as thick as a child's palm, had been torn apart like wet paper.
"Ugh..."
"Cough..."
The guards who had been stationed at the gate lay groaning on the ground, battered and bloody.
And standing over them was a young man who looked barely twenty.
"Who are you...?"
"Tsk. When someone asks you to call your master, you should just do it. Your hospitality is absolute garbage."
The young man spoke without sparing a glance for either Dang Maeng or Moyong Geon.
Though he had barged straight into the heart of enemy territory, there was not a shred of fear in his demeanor.
He was the very definition of a madman.
"This seat's esteemed name is Jeok-un! To celebrate becoming the new master of Tongseong County, I have come to deliver a message in person!"
"!!"
Jeok-un's voice rang out clearly in the sudden silence.
Indeed. Upon arriving in Tongseong County, Jeok-un had not headed to the Sadocheon branch or the Black Hegemony Castle's Geukrak Island.
He had come straight to the Martial Alliance branch.
The reason was simple.
If I retrieve the relic, the Martial Alliance will likely target me?
Then I just need to beat the crap out of the Martial Alliance first before I leave.
To execute a plan that Jeok-un deemed "genius," but which Jang Bo-heum—whom he had sent away on another mission—would have called "utterly insane."
Is that him...?
Unlike the infuriated Dang Maeng, Moyong Geon showed no emotion as he stared at Jeok-un.
His eyes were calm and steady.
Yet, strangely, there was a faint hint of goodwill in his gaze rather than hostility.
"Ha."
Dang Maeng let out a hollow, incredulous laugh.
The other Alliance martial artists, finally realizing who the intruder was, shared similarly dumbfounded expressions.
"I heard you were kicked out of your family because you were born simple-minded, but I didn't realize you were so brain-dead that you couldn't even find your own home."
Dang Maeng stepped forward, dripping with murderous intent with every stride.
Dang Maeng's immense internal qi tainted the air with poison, slowly closing in on Jeok-un.
Jeok-un smirked.
Yet, Jeok-un shrugged off the poison energy with ease.
Compared to the poison of the Beast Poison Demon he had faced before, this was pathetic.
What...?
As Dang Maeng faltered in surprise, Jeok-un shot back.
"Given how you spout absolute garbage the moment you open your mouth, you must be the Dang Family dog running this place."
"W-what?"
Dang Maeng was stunned by the sheer audacity of the insult.
In his fifty years of life, no one had ever dared to speak to him in such a manner.
"Now, what this seat has to say is simple."
Ignoring his reaction entirely, Jeok-un continued.
"Now that I am here, there is no room in Tongseong County for anyone but Sadocheon."
Jeok-un declared.
"So, pack your bags and get the hell out today."
He was declaring that Tongseong County would be unified under Sadocheon.