Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Part 2: Laying the Stones (1)
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The strategists swallowed dryly at Yeom Baek-ha's explanation of the special task force.
"All of them are masters...?"
"Individuals with the potential to become Top Swordsmen? The entire group?"
It wasn't strange for the strategists to be surprised.
One had to be born with talent for internal energy to begin with. No matter how superior the internal energy cultivation method, without that innate gift, one could never become a martial artist.
Thus, among them, those who 'broke through the wall' to reach mastery were exceedingly rare.
Yet these people weren't just any masters—they possessed the qualities to become the Sword Clan's signature Top Swordsmen.
"But... something feels off."
One strategist stroked his short goatee and continued.
"If an organization gathered such talents, we should have at least heard their name by now."
The response came from right beside the White Tiger.
"That's likely due to their origins."
The hoarse, phlegmy voice hinted at the speaker's advanced age.
"Their origins, you say?"
"Old Strategist, please share your wisdom with us juniors."
The one called the old strategist was an elderly man with snow-white hair and a face etched deep with wrinkles.
His small frame was hunched over severely, precariously holding himself atop a donkey.
Given his extreme age, even in the Sword Clan where everyone walked on their own two feet barring special circumstances, he seemed an exception.
"...By 'Nameless Warriors,' do you mean the Shadow Division, perhaps?"
At the mention of 'Shadow Division,' all the strategists fell silent, murmuring thoughtfully.
Yeom Baek-ha, who had suspected the same, was no different.
It had to be that way.
The weight and depth carried by the name of the Sword Clan's Shadow Division was not something anyone could handle lightly.
Shadow Division.
The collective term for the group that handled tasks for the Luoyang Sword Clan's benefit—tasks they could never undertake in the clan's name.
Those deeply entrenched in the Shadow Division left behind no aliases, no names, no fame—nothing at all.
Such people were called the Nameless Warriors.
"Well, this is just an old man's baseless speculation, so don't think too deeply on it."
Lightening the mood casually, the old strategist turned to Yeom Baek-ha.
"More than that, this old man can't help but admire the young lady's discernment in recognizing they were the Council of Elders' direct special task force."
Yeom Baek-ha gave a wry smile beneath her veil.
"I only noticed because they were wearing the uniforms from the Enforcer's practical training materials."
The old strategist stroked his white beard at her words.
"...Come to think of it, uniforms. Why would a special task force that answers only to the Council of Elders be wearing uniforms while guarding the Eldest Young Master's Won-gak Pavilion?"
That was precisely Yeom Baek-ha's own question.
"Does the old strategist have any insights...?"
At her query, the old strategist smiled kindly.
"This old man knows nothing about clan politics. Not my business, you see."
His tone was absurdly irresponsible, but Yeom Baek-ha paid it no mind.
She well knew that anything short of blood-and-guts warfare was outside this old man's interests.
The old strategist gave Yeom Baek-ha a subtle glance.
"Rather, this old man is curious about the young lady's insights."
"Insights might be too grand—merely the shallow views of a foolish girl..."
Yeom Baek-ha stroked the tense White Tiger's back and spoke.
"...The Council of Elders rarely interferes in worldly affairs. They involve themselves in clan politics even less. Yet for masters who answer only to the Council to be guarding the Won-gak Pavilion..."
Yeom Baek-ha's gaze turned toward the Shadow Division masters.
"It could be an indirect expression of the Council's support for the Eldest Young Master in the succession struggle, or it means the Eldest Young Master has earned their loyalty. And either way..."
The two spoke in unison.
"It's frightening."
"The Eldest Young Master is a frightening man."
Yeom Baek-ha's sword unit—one of the Sword Clan's top elite sword units.
Though their true power was only fully realized once fully staffed with soldiers to complete their formation, that didn't mean the individuals lacked skill.
Yet the Eldest Young Master was casually overwhelming such forces.
And this, on the very first day after ending his long seclusion and opening the Won-gak Pavilion.
"Just who is the Eldest Young Master...?"
Yeom Baek-ha's eyelids trembled.
Though not openly, she had long admired Yeon So-hyeon from the shadows.
She prided herself on understanding his genius better than anyone.
A solitary genius unrecognized.
Unsupported by followers, unacknowledged by others, yet an existence none could ignore.
But she had never once considered 'power broker' Yeon So-hyeon.
A genius in medicine, strategy, character, insight—in every aspect a person could display.
Now, that Eldest Young Master was revealing his ability as a 'leader.'
He was openly flaunting the power he personally wielded.
The Eldest Young Master had shaken the Inner Court—one of the deepest cores of power in the Luoyang Sword Clan.
She didn't know the details, but he had forced the Supreme Executive Conference to lift the seclusion order and even invoke an emergency command.
The streets were still packed with crowds.
Behind Elder Yeom's procession stretched a long line of congratulatory delegations.
'Even His Imperial Majesty issued an edict personally, they said.'
And it was she and her father, Elder Yeom, who had to face such an Eldest Young Master.
The man she had admired now stood before her as an immense, insurmountable wall.
'Father...'
Her gaze turned to her father's calm back, standing at the forefront of the procession.
* * *
"...It's been a while."
Those were Elder Yeom's first words after standing silently for a long time.
Several faces from his memories were among the special task force.
"Well, well, long time no see. Look at you, an elder now—your aura's shining bright."
"Even so, you still recognize a fellow disciple's face, eh."
The responses came with smiles, but they weren't particularly warm or friendly.
Elder Yeom's subordinates, who would never tolerate such attitudes normally, focused silently on enduring the pressure upon hearing 'fellow disciple.'
Elder Yeom gave a wry smile and spoke.
"I get wanting to test the juniors, but that's enough now—how about withdrawing your auras?"
His contemporaries then bantered playfully.
"Oh dear, an order from the main clan's elder—we'd better obey."
"No, no. We answer only to the Council of Elders, so even an elder's words can't be followed, right?"
Elder Yeom shook his head.
"This isn't an order—it's a request."
Elder Yeom's subordinates, overhearing the exchange faintly, once again felt the weight of those standing before them.
These were people to whom even a Luoyang Sword Clan elder didn't issue orders but made requests.
"Uh, ahem. When the renowned Elder Yeom asks so nicely..."
"What do the other brothers think?"
"We've shown enough that our uniforms won't shame us in front of the juniors, haven't we...?"
As Elder Yeom's contemporaries subtly checked the other special task force members' reactions,
"What do you think you're doing in front of our guests?!"
A roar like midwinter frost flew at the special task force members, who had been exchanging sly glances.
It startled not only Elder Yeom's subordinates but even the White Tiger.
All eyes turned toward the Won-gak Pavilion's main gate interior at the voice that seemed to extract souls.
A woman emerged, her golden eyes blazing, flanked by several maids.
She possessed a beauty as if haloed in light and a presence that pressed upon everyone's spirit.
But the greater shock came next.
"Oh dear, Lady Jeong-a, it's not like we meant to..."
"We've got our pride too, you know, in front of the juniors..."
Their auras vanished in an instant, and the fearsome masters were grinning ingratiatingly at the beautiful woman, bowing and scraping.
But the woman called Lady Jeong-a roared once more.
"Lady? I am the Head Maid of this Won-gak Pavilion!"
The declaration of Head Maid caused another stir among the onlookers.
Yeom Baek-ha, who had seen Jeong-a at the Walnut Village orphanage before, was all the more shocked.
'I thought she was no ordinary person back then... but commanding such masters?'
The Won-gak Pavilion's Head Maid fixed her sharply honed gaze on the flustered masters and declared.
"You've been rude to the master's guests, so today's snacks made by the maids for the special task force? Consider them nonexistent."
The special task force members' faces turned deathly pale.
"N-No, Head Maid! Then the other members will eat us alive!"
"P-Please hear us out, Head Maid! Head Maid!"
Yeom Baek-ha, raised alongside warriors since childhood, knew well.
"Quiet, all of you!"
The attitudes these special task force members displayed weren't mere affection—they were infused with the respect only accorded to a warrior they acknowledged.
They treated her intimately as a young lady, feared her as the Law Enforcer Maiden, yet respected her as an unattainable warrior.
That respect enabled such casual familiarity.
Yeom Baek-ha couldn't help but feel dazzled by the sword belt at the Won-gak Pavilion Head Maid's waist—and the sword hanging from it.
In her ear came the strategists' whispers.
"...That Head Maid must be the one the Second Young Master and Third Young Master openly coveted."
"Heh heh, with that beauty, demeanor, and grace, I can somewhat understand the Second and Third Young Masters' feelings."
The other strategists nodded in agreement with the young one's words.
But Yeom Baek-ha was shocked anew by their talk.
'That Head Maid is the rumored protagonist...?!'
Sharing her thoughts, the old strategist muttered, his long eyebrows twitching as his eyes gleamed.
"According to intelligence, that Head Maid was definitely not a warrior..."
Meanwhile, the Won-gak Pavilion Head Maid had decisively dismissed the special task force members' desperate pleas and bowed deeply to Elder Yeom.
"I dare to apologize for the rudeness shown by Won-gak Pavilion's 'guards.'"
Elder Yeom's response left Yeom Baek-ha and the old strategist shocked once more.
"Please raise your head. This was merely a private matter between this elder and his old acquaintances—there's no need for the Head Maid to bow."
Elder Yeom's courteous gesture, hands clasped in resolution, undoubtedly carried respect toward a fellow warrior.
Yeom Gwak-chu, the Sword Mountain Breaker—one of the Luoyang Sword Clan's undisputed Top Swordsmen.
It meant the Head Maid was a warrior worthy of such respect from him.
'Just what...'
What on earth had happened to this woman, known to lack martial arts knowledge and any talent for internal energy?
And how had the Eldest Young Master transformed a mere maid into a warrior recognized by the Sword Mountain Breaker?