The Seat of Honor
Northern Luoyang.
The highlands.
Rumble.
The rainy season seemed to be drawing near at last. Torrential rain poured down in sheets.
To the farmers it was water of life—but to those the Third Young Master's faction had dispatched to the site, the downpour was nothing short of loathsome.
"The damage to the site is far too severe...!"
"Moreover, the risk of a landslide is growing...!"
The military bureau's on-site investigation lead shouted from beneath a rain cloak that had long since ceased to function.
"Under these conditions any further evidence collection is meaningless! Evidence or not, everything was washed away ages ago!"
But—
An old man of ethereal, sage-like bearing stood taking the downpour full on.
"Grand Military Advisor...!"
Sama Dae-gunsa did not so much as flinch from where he stood. Where his gaze fell lay the wreckage of an armored carriage.
"Grand Military Advisor! At least an umbrella...!"
A military officer tried somehow to shelter Sama Dae-gunsa with an umbrella, but the grim-faced advisor shoved him aside and stepped forward.
"...Have they still not found his body?"
Whose corpse that hoarse voice meant—there was no need to say. It was glaringly obvious.
"...I-I'm sorry."
The investigation lead bowed his head, ashamed, but Sama Dae-gunsa did not even glance at him.
"...Grand Military Advisor."
Unable to watch any longer, a senior officer stepped forward.
"As you know, no trace whatsoever related to Grand Military Advisor Jegal has been found." He put force into his voice, pushing through the rain as he tried to persuade Sama Dae-gunsa. "Under such circumstances, to be certain that he has passed—"
"Nonsense."
Sama Dae-gunsa's hoarse voice cut him off at once.
"Even the Jegal clan's final measures were activated. The carriage was destroyed and burned." When the old man turned his gaze upon the senior officer, it held nothing but gleaming murderous intent and madness. "And every last soldier of the escort was slaughtered. Yet you say the Jegal brothers could still be alive?"
"...I-I'm sorry."
What more could he dare say? The moment the senior officer shut his mouth and bowed his head—
Rumble.
With a tremor, far off along the ridgeline, a landslide began under the torrential rain. Trees toppled and were swept away in the mud and debris.
"A-a landslide...?!"
"It could be dangerous here as well! We must evacuate at once...!"
Even martial artists with inner energy were powerless before the might of nature. As those around him scrambled, a voice was heard.
"The situation is clear."
Alone, without the slightest movement, Sama Dae-gunsa spoke as though nothing were amiss.
"The Jegal brothers seized their opportunity—and that opportunity was the Eldest Young Master's trap."
As the investigation team hurried to withdraw, Sama Dae-gunsa slowly stepped forward through them.
"The Jegal brothers..."
The officers of the military bureau, who dared not leave their Grand Military Advisor behind, could do nothing but watch him.
"That child..." Sama Dae-gunsa's age-worn hand stroked the frame of the carriage. "Was not a child who should have died like this, in a place like this."
The blackened frame his hand touched crumpled and collapsed into nothing.
"That child... was meant to move and coordinate the Jungwon Kingdom in this old man's place someday..."
Was it rainwater streaming from the old man's eyes? The grief of a man who had lost both the heir he would entrust with the future and a bosom friend he could call a kindred spirit overflowed from every hoarse, ragged word.
"Was not a child who should have met a wretched, untimely death in some remote place like this..."
"Grand Military Advisor!"
The perimeter security lead came running, shouting.
"The landslide's range is expanding beyond control! We must withdraw immediately!"
"I," Sama Dae-gunsa said to his officers, ignoring those words, "will proceed north as I am."
"Grand Military Advisor?!"
"What do you mean...?!"
The officers were aghast.
"That's impossible! If you leave your post now, what of the situation at the main house?!"
At present, what was delaying the departure procedures of the Eldest Young Master's main force—including the War Department—was purely the capability of Sama Dae-gunsa himself. If he left Luoyang, there would effectively be no further means of delay.
"We cannot begin to fathom the grief and rage you feel at the loss of Grand Military Advisor Jegal, but for you to head north now—!"
"What do you think will happen if the Eldest Young Master succeeds in the northern campaign and returns to the main house?"
Faced with that sudden, weighty question, the officers could not easily answer and fell silent.
"Perhaps... until now, I had grown complacent." In the end, it was Sama Dae-gunsa who spoke again. "Even after clashing with the Eldest Young Master to the point of bloodshed, most of the Second Young Master's core figures survived."
The Second Young Master was imprisoned. His mother, Lady Guyang, was confined. Most of the elders bore responsibility—but that remained a matter within the bounds of judicial procedure.
"The Eldest Young Master's course thus far has been less a hardline policy than a conciliatory one—meant to draw the clan's forces to his side."
So they had grown complacent. Even when Grand Military Advisor Jegal had warned of the Eldest Young Master's danger, they had not truly listened.
"But from now on, the Eldest Young Master will be different."
The officers' gazes followed Sama Dae-gunsa's to the wreckage of the armored carriage.
"After he succeeds in the northern campaign and returns?"
Though much of the evidence was damaged, from the traces that remained alone one could more than guess what a catastrophe had unfolded here.
"That scene... is our future."
A single word rose in every officer's mind.
Purge.
Sama Dae-gunsa said, "The Eldest Young Master must be stopped now. Right now." He turned. "This may be our last chance."
Taking the pouring rain full on, he walked toward the carriage waiting for him.
"Tell Elder Namgung Hyeok-cheon that I leave affairs at the main house in his hands."
The northernmost front of the Jungwon Kingdom.
The Great General Headquarters.
"Preparations for the meeting are complete, but..." Moyong Un-jeong's younger brother, Moyong Ho, trailed off and asked Yeon So-hyeon, "Eldest Young Master, would it not be better to rest from the journey first?"
It was a considerate suggestion in many ways, but—
"The sun is at its zenith, and the situation is far from good." Yeon So-hyeon, who had not even changed his clothes, was firm. "My travel fatigue is of no concern. Lead the way."
A gleam entered Moyong Ho's eyes.
"Understood, Eldest Young Master."
His first appearance had been far from ordinary—and given that he was a noble young master by birth, and had even received the Emperor's letter of authority, Moyong Ho had wondered whether he should treat him like one of those "exalted personages."
"From now on, unnecessary consideration will not be needed."
Behind him, his elder sister, who had been following, smiled silently at those words.
"I will keep that in mind."
Indeed. Even more so than the rumors—this Eldest Young Master did not seem like an ordinary man.
"The Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword House and the Acting Northern Great General have arrived!"
When Moyong Ho opened the meeting hall doors ahead of them and announced thus, the generals and administrative officers stopped what they were doing, rose as one from their seats, and received the Eldest Young Master and the Acting Great General.
But a problem arose immediately after.
"...Ah, well."
Moyong Ho, about to guide the Eldest Young Master to a seat, hesitated.
Naturally, there was only one seat of honor. And that seat was originally for the Northern Great General—until now, it had been occupied by Moyong Un-jeong, the Acting Northern Great General.
And it was not merely a seat. From this moment forward, it was tantamount to deciding who the supreme commander of this Northern Great General's camp would be.
"Eldest Young Master, please sit here."
"Mm. Thank you."
But in that moment, Moyong Un-jeong stepped forward and naturally guided the Eldest Young Master to the seat of honor—and the Eldest Young Master just as naturally accepted her guidance and took it.
What did that action mean?
While everyone was trying to read Moyong Un-jeong's intent, she herself opened her mouth first to address those assembled.
"The Eldest Young Master is not here merely as the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword House." Before any potential discord or subtle friction could arise, she drew a clear, knife-sharp line. "Having received His Majesty the Emperor's command, he is as good as appointed here as His Majesty's proxy." With an attitude that allowed no rebuttal, she looked down upon the assembly with imposing force. "It is clear: the final decision-maker of this Northern Great General Headquarters is the Eldest Young Master."
At those words, Moyong Ho scratched his chin in a sheepish manner, careful not to let others notice.
I thought the two of them were spending time together in the private chambers like long-separated lovers...
Clearly, the two had already coordinated all such matters in private beforehand.
"Therefore, should anyone hereafter disobey the Eldest Young Master's orders—I shall personally and severely punish that offense under military law."
"Loyalty!"
Who would dare raise an objection to that iron command? Her father, the Northern Great General, was known for his fairness and integrity, and so was she—no one was unaware of it. Put another way, once she had made such a public declaration, no one could dare seek special leniency.
Of course—quite apart from the line she had drawn—in the gazes of those looking upon Yeon So-hyeon in the seat of honor, disbelief and doubt toward a youth still in his teens remained intact.
We've heard the rumors of the Eldest Young Master's exceptional ability, but...
...Exceptional in martial arts, that is.
Rustle.
As Yeon So-hyeon flipped through the documents before him, those assembled exchanged glances.
Even if he is His Majesty's fully empowered proxy...
Handing over the entire military authority is—
"The document handling is a mess."
Suddenly, the Eldest Young Master's words burst out. Those assembled clicked their tongues inwardly.
Oh dear.
Starting by finding fault to establish discipline, is he?
It was a common tactic of newly appointed superiors, so they could hardly fail to recognize it.
"The prose is long-winded and far from clear. In a military administration that should pursue efficiency alone, such empty formalities still remain?"
As the Eldest Young Master's words continued, the face of the officer responsible for the documents grew visibly worse.
"I-I'm sorr—"
"Enough."
But the Eldest Young Master's next action defied expectation.
"Take this." He drew a document from his robes and handed it to the officer.
"Th-this is...?"
"It is the report format actually used in my administrative wing. From now on, refer to that report and prepare every document that comes to me accordingly."
Thinking, I'm done for—the officer, pale, stammered.
"Th-that means...?"
From beyond the papers, Yeon So-hyeon's gaze turned upon him.
"Did I make myself difficult to understand?"
How chilling that gaze was—that even this officer, hardened on the brutal front lines, reflexively straightened his back and answered in a ringing voice.
"No, sir!"
"Good. Next."
For a moment, those who failed to understand stared blankly at the Eldest Young Master.
"...Eldest Young Master. Next what, sir?"
The Eldest Young Master clicked his tongue quietly, closed the documents he had finished assessing, and said, "When I say next, you move on to the next agenda."
Then, once more, he addressed the assembly.
"Next."