The Incompetent Hero and Cheonsan (4)
"Bwahahahaha!!!"
The moment my words ended, a booming laugh filled the entire tent.
Turning toward the source of that laughter, I found a rough-looking martial artist with his arms crossed, chuckling as if thoroughly satisfied. The same emblem I'd seen on the Kunlun martial artists earlier was embroidered on his robes, so I could reasonably guess he was either an Elder or the sect master of Kunlun.
In any case, after laughing so heartily, he rose from his seat and approached me.
"So you're the man His Majesty the Emperor of Yeom spoke of. The qi I sense from you is anything but ordinary! No wonder His Majesty praised you until his tongue wore thin!"
"And you are?"
"Ah! How rude of me to forget the introductions. My apologies. This one is Taeharyun, sect master of Kunlun. A pleasure."
"Taeharyun, is it. Pleasure's mine. As I said earlier, I'm what's called a Hero in a foreign land. My name is Leon, but if that's hard to say, Jang Cheon-woo works fine."
At my words, Taeharyun laughed heartily and clapped me on the shoulder.
"Nonsense! A name is a precious gift bestowed by one's parents. Changing it on a whim simply won't do."
Gesturing around the tent, he continued.
"Well then, there are faces you won't know, so allow me to make some introductions. You already know His Majesty the Emperor of Yeom, I take it?"
"Yes. I do."
For a moment, my eyes met the Emperor of Yeom's. He said nothing, merely offering a slight smile with his eyes.
"The one standing to His Majesty's left, glaring at you with that sour look, is the head of the Namgung clan — Namgung Doryong."
"…Tsk."
Indeed. Just as Taeharyun said, a man was staring at me with an openly displeased expression. And Namgung Dogun, who had come here with me, had somehow already taken position behind Namgung Doryong and was watching me as well.
"Behind him is the young master, Namgung Dogun. You already know him, I imagine? I heard you two met at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering."
"Yeah… well. That's right."
Please stop looking at me with that bright, refreshing smile…
"Next to him is the head of the Jegal clan, Jegal Hyeon."
"A pleasure. I am Jegal Hyeon, head of the Jegal clan. I've heard much of your feat in defeating Fukhaedaeseong. I hope you'll display that same prowess without reserve in this war as well."
Jegal Hyeon was relatively calm and courteous. At least with this man, it felt like conversation might actually go somewhere.
Behind him stood a woman of such striking beauty that she wouldn't lose even when compared to Seollin or Baekryeon, demure and composed.
Noticing where my gaze had drifted, Taeharyun twitched the corner of his mouth and murmured in a low voice.
"Pretty, isn't she? That's Jegal Seohyeon, Jegal Hyeon's daughter."
"She is pretty, but… this hardly seems the place for that conversation."
"Ahaha~! Fair enough!!"
After briefly introducing the remaining key figures from each sect, Taeharyun returned to his seat looking satisfied. I took a place at the outermost edge of the gathering.
Once the atmosphere in the tent had settled, Jegal Hyeon, head of the Jegal clan, resumed the discussion.
"Then let us pick up the discussion that was interrupted. Since our arrival at Cheonsan, several battles have already taken place. In the first engagement we held the advantage, but in the successive battles that followed, the enemy's offensive grew steadily fiercer. In particular, the technique they call Divine Beast Transformation proved more threatening than we anticipated."
"I heard Divine Beast Transformation is similar in nature to the Dan family's secret art, Blood Awakening?"
Namgung Doryong frowned as he spoke. Jegal Hyeon nodded readily.
"Yes. It appears Dan Seollyun, the former young master of the Dan family, handed that secret art over to the Beastman Alliance. Using it as a foundation, they developed the technique known as Divine Beast Transformation and have been refining it ever since."
"Tsk…. They strutted around so stiff-necked in Sichuan, only to have everything important stolen out from under them."
At Namgung Doryong's barbed remark, Baekryeon, standing behind me, flinched. Fortunately — or rather, with admirable composure — she quickly steadied herself. As someone who had only been permitted to attend this council as part of my retinue, Baekryeon had no right to speak here. She understood that well enough to rein herself in, but it was only natural that she would seethe when the family of Seollin — a dear friend she now held precious — was being insulted right in front of her.
So Baekryeon looked at me, hoping I would say something. But the fact remained that Dan Seollyun's betrayal had given the Beastman Alliance the Divine Beast Transformation technique. However grating the tone, it was still the truth, so there was little I could say against it. Instead…
"That is why we intended to wait for the Dan family's forces to arrive and confirm the weaknesses of Divine Beast Transformation. However, after confirming the resolution of the Dan family's civil war, Yun Mugyeol of the Yeom family's Jaryong unit captured a Beastman Alliance spy and obtained critical intelligence from him."
Critical intelligence — that would be it.
"The existence that can be considered the leader of the Beastman Alliance — the one called the Heavenly Demon — is not yet complete."
"Heavenly Demon… Heaven and Demon…. Quite a grandiose name."
Hyeondo, the sect master of Hwasan, stroked his beard calmly as he spoke. True enough, "Demon of the Heavens" was about as grandiose as names came.
"But is that information reliable?"
"Whether it is true or not remains to be verified, Sect Master Hyeondo. However, judging by the Beastman Alliance's current movements — prioritizing guerrilla tactics that bind our feet rather than engaging in direct combat, deliberately avoiding a full-scale war — we can at least conclude that they are currently avoiding a direct frontal confrontation with us."
Having said that much, Jegal Hyeon cleared his throat and continued.
"Therefore, there is only one matter I wish to put before you all. Do we wait for the Dan family to arrive before commencing full-scale war against the Beastman Alliance — or do we press the attack now, while the enemy is unprepared, and end this in short order? I have gathered you all to deliberate on that judgment."
As he finished, Jegal Hyeon's gaze shifted to me.
"However, having heard that the Heavenly Demon is a fated existence that the foreign Hero must defeat, and given that Hero Leon has fortuitously arrived at this very hour, I would first like to hear his thoughts on the Heavenly Demon and on our subsequent course of action. Would that be acceptable?"
At Jegal Hyeon's words, every gaze in the tent fixed on me.
So that's how it is…. They're using this to size me up, huh? Interesting.
"Hmm, fair enough."
"That seems reasonable."
The consensus seemed to settle on at least hearing me out once. When they laid the table this nicely, it'd be unmanly not to eat.
"Then I'll say a few words. Precisely speaking, those I must face are what we call the fragments of the Demon King. There are exactly four such fragments, and even I do not know their locations in detail. As for the Beastman Alliance of Yeom Kingdom here — I only happened to discover that they are connected to one of the Demon King's fragments I must find: the Heavenly Demon."
So I spoke calmly.
"I can kill every single person in this room."
The moment the words left my mouth, everyone looked ready to snap back — but I continued before they could.
"But while I can win a battle, I cannot win a war. Crafting strategy against the Beastman Alliance is better left to those more capable than I — for instance, the head of the Jegal clan here, or others among you who excel at strategy and tactics. So I have little to say on matters of strategy. There is only one thing I want you all to understand. The enemy's Heavenly Demon is mine. So you all craft a strategy that can defeat the Beastman Alliance."
The Sword King's domineering aura that crushes all enemies.
Everyone present was far weaker than I, so of course none of them escaped its effect. Without another word, I used that pressure to make them thoroughly aware of my presence.
"…You've gotten even stronger than the last time I saw you."
Juzaku's voice lightly broke the silence that had blanketed the tent. Only then did the rigid atmosphere begin to ease, little by little.
"R-right. We've heard what you had to say. In that case…"
"Ah, and there's one more thing I'd like to say."
Just as Jegal Hyeon was about to draw the discussion to a close, I cut him off.
"I heard that at the previous national council, the Beastman Alliance launched an attack to disrupt the proceedings. And that as a result, Dan Seolpung — known as the Poison Sovereign — was killed. Every one of you was present at that time, weren't you…? So what exactly did all of you do?"
At my provocative tone, everyone present except the Emperor of Yeom flinched and glared at me.
"Of course, I have nothing to say about Dan Seollyun's betrayal, or about the failure to notice that betrayal…. But when every powerhouse of Yeom Kingdom was gathered in one place, and you cowards left everything to the Poison Sovereign alone to face Fukhaedaeseong — I have to wonder what right any of you have to say a single word about the Dan family."
"…Are you talking about me?"
"Yeah. I'm talking about you."
"Wh-what…"
As long as my sword can reach her, I promised to protect Seollin…. If you're going to trash-talk Seollin in front of me, you'd better be ready to get roasted yourselves.
"Dan Seollin, the current head of the Dan family, is also a dear friend of mine. Even in the grief of losing her father, even knowing her own family member was a traitor, she fulfilled her duty to her clan — she is a woman I respect. Anyone who insults her will answer to me."
With that, I rose from my seat. Of course, not a single person present could stop me as I walked out.