Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Part 1 Sword Mountain Breaker, The Visit
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Even in the short time Elder Yeom's procession waited at the entrance to Yuanjue Pavilion, the gathered merchants' chatter continued unabated.
"No one back then could have predicted that a mere squad leader would defeat the famed Sword Lord of Mount Hua."
"And yet, that victory propelled him all the way to elder. It must have been the turning point."
"As a result, Shaanxi effectively became Sword Clan territory. Following the Zhongnan Sect, which was already under Sword Clan influence, even the pinnacle of Mount Hua's martial arts fell in defeat..."
"And not to some promising new star meticulously groomed by the Sword Clan, but to an unknown warrior scraping by in the north."
"No one was left unshaken by it."
As they buzzed excitedly recounting the events, a voice from the corner, listening silently until then, openly scoffed at them.
"You lot only know one side and are blind to the rest."
His voice carried no great power due to his advanced age, yet amid the clamor, it held a strange presence that pricked everyone's ears.
"Regardless of which esteemed senior you may be, don't whisper from the shadows—step forward."
"If you're so confident in your views that you voice them aloud, come before us and enlighten us properly."
The merchants—dispatched from various trading companies and puffing out their chests—glared and spoke with strained necks, prompting the onlookers to quickly back away and clear space.
"Tsk tsk. Are all the young trading companies these days so lacking in talent? Or have the endless plains and overflowing wealth of northern China blinded their eyes and ears?"
The brazen remark flushed the faces of those at the front.
But upon seeing the old man who stepped forward, they could only stand there dumbfounded, mouths sealed like they'd swallowed honey.
He was a diminutive figure, barely reaching others' shoulders, with a back already beginning to stoop.
Yet the massive cloak of northern wolf pelt and the sword-red staff of unknown material marked him as anything but ordinary to any observer.
Someone recognized him and cried out in shock.
"The Northern War Merchant...!"
"Why would the master of that caravan, said to mine gold from rivers of blood, come here in person...?!"
None gathered here lacked status or position—at least not at the level of trading company representatives.
But this was the caravan master himself, the head of a supply firm infamous and renowned in equal measure.
"It seems not everyone here is blind and deaf."
As murmurs spread among those who recognized him, the old man flashed a grin, revealing gleaming gold teeth.
"Yes, do you wish this old man to personally impart some wisdom?"
Those who had flushed earlier merely bowed their heads, not daring to utter a word.
But that applied only to them; the representatives from other companies moved swiftly.
One fetched a chair for the elderly merchant, another a table, some snacks, and yet another a teapot.
Then they all watched him with eyes brimming with curiosity.
"...."
Yet the old man's mouth showed no sign of opening easily.
Instead, he simply sat there blankly, as if nothing had happened.
At that, one quick-witted fellow placed his money pouch on the table before the old man.
"This is for the information, sir."
In the merchants' world, nothing came free.
Only then did the others catch on, hurriedly adding their own pouches to the table one by one.
Soon, pouches of every color and fine silk piled up.
As the old man's attendants politely collected them, he didn't spare them a glance and slowly began to speak.
"You all. Do you know what role Elder Yeom played in the recent Northern War?"
No one spoke up easily.
"...We only know he earned great merit in the Northern War and was hailed a hero for it."
They nodded awkwardly, faces red.
"Yes, quite so. There's no reason men like you would know tales of a war even the imperial court shuns mentioning."
But the old man knew those deliberately buried war stories and faded heroic tales all too well.
After all, he was the Northern War Merchant.
"Among the power brokers of the northern lands, they call Elder Yeom this."
The old man flashed his gold teeth in a chilling smile.
"The foremost expert in resolving military disputes by force. The undefeated Conscription Legion Commander. And the name most often heard..."
Everyone swallowed dryly, eyes fixed on him.
"War Advisor."
As they mulled over his words, the old man pointed his staff at Elder Yeom's procession.
"Do you see those warriors of Elder Yeom?"
Eyes turned to the warriors.
Their movements were exceedingly precise, discipline ironclad, and the heavy armor notable, but otherwise, they seemed no different from other Sword Clan Sword Units.
"You can't tell from appearances alone, but those are warriors utterly unlike any ordinary Sword Unit."
The cryptic statement was quickly clarified.
"In training grounds, each one serves as a combat instructor; on the battlefield, each becomes a captain of a hundred."
The old man's voice lowered.
"The conscripts assigned under them, through training and combat, surpass the capabilities of regular standing armies."
His staff pointed to Elder Yeom's side.
"And you can't overlook the roles of his direct advisors there."
Like the other warriors, the scholars stood rigidly in perfect formation, their postures alone setting them apart from typical scribes.
"The advisors here scheme for political gain. But Elder Yeom's are fundamentally different."
"...."
"Those are military strategists who seize enemy blood and flesh, burn their supplies, shatter their morale, topple fortresses, and scale walls."
The old man's voice held no sweetness or softness.
"The court and northern generals deployed Elder Yeom and his warriors wherever the front lines wavered."
His tone was rough as wind scouring northern mountains and plains, blunt without flourish.
Yet everyone hung on his every word.
"He was always given the cold, the hunger, the poorly armed, low-morale conscripts. But..."
A bloody smile tugged at the old man's lips.
"He never lost a single battle. Not once. Every front, every conscript unit handed to him, he led to victory."
It was as if he knew the formula for triumph.
Train the given forces, harden them body and mind, secure needed supplies by any means.
Buy them, loot them, plunder them—his conscript units always had what they required.
Wherever his units appeared, they outnumbered the foe, yielding ever more than needed in gains.
"At first dismissed like any Sword Unit, Elder Yeom's soon earned this name."
The old man turned his gaze to the procession, and all followed.
"The Undefeated War Advisory Group."
No one who had been on the northern front denied it.
They yearned for more of the old man's tale, but his mouth stayed shut.
Only then did they notice his attendants had cleared away all the pouches from the table.
Considering the wealth of those gathered, the sum must have been considerable.
And it vanished for a mere story.
Yet no one begrudged it.
Information's value lay not just in rarity, but in accuracy and reliability.
Paying the Northern War Merchant for northern war intel outstripped the trustworthiness of two or three ordinary informants.
"...So that's why Elder Yeom was called a hero of the Northern War."
"With the court burying that history outright, it's no wonder few in Henan know the truth..."
The dispatched representatives murmured among themselves, unable to tear their eyes from Elder Yeom's procession.
What had been vague curiosity at sighting one of the famed Sword Clan Sword Units had changed.
In their ears rang Elder Yeom's battlefield roars and the enemy's death rattles; their noses filled with the stench of blood and the dust of men and horses.
"By the way, Master, why venture here in person? Do you have an appointment with the Eldest Young Master...?"
A young man asked, but the old man waved him off.
"I heard there'd be a feast, thought I'd snag a bite, maybe make an impression. What tricks does an old codger like me have to snag a meeting with Luoyang Sword Clan's Eldest Young Master?"
The old man grumbled.
"But they say the famed feast has no food—didn't expect even a Sword Clan Eldest Young Master to skip throwing a party."
Onlookers chuckled at his grumbling, but none took it at face value.
As all pondered his words and ogled the "Undefeated War Advisory Group," the old man harbored a doubt no one else noticed.
'But why... does that War Advisory Group's morale seem suppressed?'
Eyes honed over decades on battlefields could faintly discern the battle-tempered aura generals alone perceived.
The old man habitually masked his puzzled expression.
Beneath skin toughened and wrinkled by knife-sharp northern winds, his suspicions stayed hidden from all.
His gaze aligned with others' direction but fixed elsewhere.
The old man's deep eyes turned toward the mysterious warriors guarding Yuanjue Pavilion's main gate.
'Who in the world are they...?'
Vast as his experience was compared to those around him, he couldn't even guess at these uniformed warriors he'd never seen before.
'Is this old man's eyes deceiving him...?'
* * *
The War Merchant's eyes did not lie.
The warriors of Elder Yeom—so-called "Undefeated War Advisory Group," terror of foes and respect of allies—barely held amid a situation unlike any before.
Only the killing intent and murderous resolve honed beyond battles and fields kept them in formation.
Otherwise, they would have scattered like a ragtag mob long ago.
Just eight men.
The eight unidentified warriors guarding Yuanjue Pavilion's main gate overwhelmed the Undefeated War Advisory Group.
Gathered near White Tiger, one young strategist—breathing easier under the spirit beast's protection—let out a hollow laugh.
"...Feels like facing a naked charge from northern tribal heavy cavalry."
Another strategist sidled closer to White Tiger and asked.
"Just who the hell are those warriors?"
The answer came from Elder Yeom's only daughter, Yeom Baekha.
Veiled in cloth, she pressed down on White Tiger's scruff—as if he might bolt any second—and continued.
"The Council of Elders' direct Special Task Force."
"Each one a transcendent master who could have been called a Top Swordsman of the main house, had they suffered no physical or mental wounds."