Chapter 314
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 314
Chapter Title: Please Help
Half a bowl of rice.
Three side dishes.
A bit of soup.
A simple meal.
The side dishes were all preserved foods.
Dried vegetables, mushrooms, or moss rehydrated in water.
The lord of the Ice Heaven Palace, Bing Chwi-seol, silently gazed down at her meal.
"Chief Steward. Everyone else is eating the same, right?"
"Yes, Palace Lord."
Ji Heon-wi, who served as chief steward of both the Palace Lord's Residence and the Bing Clan, bowed politely in response to her question.
He had the same meal brought to his own room.
"The timing was truly exquisite, wasn't it?"
The chief steward could only nod at the Palace Lord's follow-up question.
The Palace Lord's Residence operated independently in all things.
However, it received monthly supplies for that purpose.
The supply of food ingredients and daily necessities for this month had come ten days ago.
And the Tang Clan had sealed off the Palace Lord's Residence eleven days prior.
They had suddenly blockaded it one day before the supplies arrived.
If there had been any prior hint from the Tang Clan, they could have rationed their stores.
But it had been far too abrupt.
Even the Tang Clan hadn't planned it in advance.
Tak Mu-jeon.
They had used the news he brought back from the Dragon Training Pavilion as their pretext.
Who could have foreseen it?
In the end, with shortages all around, everyone had no choice but to conserve.
Even the Palace Lord was no exception.
The one silver lining was the abundance of water, thanks to the nature of the North Sea.
All they had to do was melt the snow piled high within the walls of the Palace Lord's Residence.
The problem was...
'Fuel has its limits, too.'
Still, they had stockpiled quite a bit of fuel.
Black coal.
Black stones that burned.
This was the primary fuel of the Ice Heaven Palace.
Thanks to the black coal, the people of the Ice Heaven Palace could stay relatively warm in the cold, harsh North Sea lands.
"What nonsense."
The chief steward replied in an anger-filled voice.
"They must have been waiting for a chance all along. The matter with Seol-bing just gave them a convenient excuse."
Bing Chwi-seol picked up her spoon as she spoke.
"Even so, we gave in too easily. With the strength of the Palace Lord's Residence—or the Bing Clan—we could have avoided such a humiliating blockade. If we had fought back against the Tang Clan, we surely would have gotten support from the Han Clan."
Ji Heon-wi spoke with a mix of grievance and fury.
"It would have been a fight we'd lose anyway. It would only mean more needless sacrifices for our warriors. Pointless."
"Even so... for the Tang Clan to treat you, Palace Lord, so lightly..."
Ji Heon-wi looked like he understood logically but couldn't accept it emotionally.
"They might even be hoping for armed resistance from the Palace Lord's Residence. It would give them the chance to pour in more forces and exhaust ours."
"......"
It was a perfectly reasonable argument, leaving Ji Heon-wi to clamp his mouth shut.
"More importantly, how much food do we have left?"
"At current rations, we can hold out another three days."
"That's a relief. Any discontent among the people in the Palace Lord's Residence?"
"Thanks to you leading by example, Palace Lord, all is well."
"And no one is going hungry without rations due to shortages, I hope?"
Her voice was chilling.
"Not as far as we've checked so far. But I'll look into it again."
Bing Chwi-seol nodded.
"It's a meager spread, but you should eat too, Chief Steward. You may go."
At Bing Chwi-seol's consideration, Ji Heon-wi bowed deeply and left her office for his own, where his meal awaited.
"Hah... this again today?"
A middle-aged laborer sighed as he received his meal tray from the workers' quarters.
"Considering our remaining food, we should be grateful for this much. Eat up—it's good enough. Even the Palace Lord eats the same."
The cook's words drew another sigh from the laborer, who asked skeptically,
"Really?"
He looked utterly unconvinced.
And understandably so.
Middle-aged as he was.
The years he'd lived made it hard to believe.
The higher-ups he'd known had only cared about filling their own greed, ignoring the likes of him.
Especially those Tang Clan bastards.
He didn't even want to think about them.
"This may not even qualify as a proper meal, but I'm in charge of all meals in the Palace Lord's Residence. The Palace Lord's is exactly the same. Not a single grain different."
The cook reiterated.
"He's right. I bring her meals every time."
The office maid chimed in.
"And that's not all. She ordered workloads reduced because the laborers might lack strength without proper food."
Another worker added.
The middle-aged laborer fell silent.
He himself had benefited from the lighter duties.
It was just that this was his first such experience, making it hard to believe.
"Those damn Tang Clan bastards anyway. How long do they plan to keep this blockade up with their bullshit?"
The cook muttered irritably.
"We're here..."
Han Seol-bing, looking haggard, murmured as she reached the walls of the Ice Heaven Palace.
After her last words, there had been no more response from Ma Si-jang.
So she had run with all her might, again and again.
And finally, she had arrived.
She hadn't foolishly gone to the main gate.
If the Tang Clan truly had that much power, they'd already be guarding it.
Instead, she headed to one of the many side gates—one directly connected to the Han Clan.
Right below the walls here.
'Well, they might be watching this spot too?'
With that thought, she finally returned to the Ice Heaven Palace.
"You're back? You must have had a hard journey."
Han Go-jeok welcomed Han Seol-bing.
"It's been a while, Family Head. What do you mean the Tang Clan is stirring?"
She asked urgently upon seeing him.
"Exactly that. They've stirred."
Han Go-jeok replied.
Chief Steward Na Hong-ryeon supplemented from the side.
"They've blockaded the Palace Lord's Residence."
A chill spread across Han Seol-bing's face.
The Palace Lord's Residence, of all places?
That was her expression.
"Family Head—no, Uncle. You just watched it happen?"
Han Go-jeok's face hardened gravely.
"Even combining our forces with the Bing Clan's, we can't match the Tang Clan's. They've already seized half of the palace's forces."
Han Seol-bing was stunned.
How could that be?
Ten years was a long time, but still.
She looked at Han Go-jeok and Na Hong-ryeon in disbelief.
"The Great War of the Martial World. That's why."
"What do you mean, Sister?!"
So shocked was she that a familiar term slipped from Han Seol-bing's lips.
"The Tang Clan held back their true forces for the Great War as much as possible. They opposed participation from the start."
"And we just let them preserve their strength?"
"The Central Plains situation was that dire. And we did send enough numbers."
Han Go-jeok answered.
"Numbers?"
"North Sea vagrants and orphans. They scraped those together to fill the ranks."
Han Seol-bing's face stiffened.
She knew that group well.
The Fierce Dragon Corps.
Just like the one where she was an instructor.
Sent off to be meat shields.
"They disguised it well enough at the time, and with the Central Plains in crisis... we didn't investigate properly. The Tang Clan filled the numbers that way while hoarding their real strength."
"Those damn bastards."
Perhaps because of the Fierce Dragon Corps.
Han Seol-bing spat her fury at the Tang Clan's scheme even more deeply.
"But even with their power, how dare the Tang Clan blockade the Palace Lord's Residence? On what pretext?"
At Han Seol-bing's question, Han Go-jeok and Na Hong-ryeon exchanged glances.
They looked reluctant to speak.
Na Hong-ryeon was the one who opened her mouth.
"Tak Mu-jeon returned to the palace."
A curt statement.
"Why would that bastard's return... Ah! No way?"
"Yes. He claimed humiliation at the Dragon Training Pavilion and accused us of scheming through you."
Han Seol-bing ground her teeth and clenched her fists at Na Hong-ryeon's words.
"Officially apologize and forfeit half of the Han Clan's forces. And hand over your person as well."
Han Go-jeok said, his voice strained with suppressed rage.
Just voicing such absurd demands fueled his anger.
"So that's why they want me..."
Han Seol-bing could guess what came next.
It was a demand they could never accept.
An official apology.
To avoid conflict, they might swallow even that much.
But honestly, even that made no sense.
Officially apologizing would mean admitting the Han Clan had schemed, which they absolutely could not.
Which left...
All-out war.
"Yes. We're preparing for all-out war with the Tang Clan."
Han Go-jeok stated calmly.
Han Seol-bing.
Her presence or absence made a huge difference.
Not just her martial arts, but her unparalleled expertise in formations for the Ice Heaven Palace.
"Moreover, the Tang Clan has Tak Pung-geon. Without him, it might be different."
He was second only to her in formations at the Ice Heaven Palace.
Not on her level, but skilled enough.
Facing the Tang Clan without her could mean heavy losses to Tak Pung-geon's formations.
Thus, her return was essential.
"But they waited for my return?"
Striking the Han Clan without her would be far easier.
Yet they waited.
"You're their pretext."
Na Hong-ryeon answered her doubt.
"They waited for you to return to the palace. Then, refusing an official apology despite your return—that becomes their justification. Even if they control half the palace forces, the remaining minor families hold about twenty percent. They fear those siding against them without cause."
The situation was graver than she'd thought.
If half the Ice Heaven Palace forces had gone to the Tang Clan.
The Han Clan's strength was barely ten percent of the palace's total.
They faced an enemy five times stronger.
"Then what about the Palace Lord..."
"She can't move easily. The blockade timing was perfect. They sealed it off the day before food and supplies were due."
Na Hong-ryeon said gravely.
"So supplies right now..."
"Just barely enough."
Na Hong-ryeon continued for her.
"The Tang Clan is holding the Palace Lord hostage. To keep the Bing Clan out. One move, two gains."
Even Han Go-jeok looked profoundly grim.
"To supply the Palace Lord's Residence, the Tang Clan would have to lift the blockade... If we force it, the ones blockading could just take the Residence outright."
With Na Hong-ryeon's follow-up, Han Seol-bing understood everything.
"Even with the Bing Clan joining, the disadvantage remains. Their strength has weakened too—barely over twenty percent of the palace forces."
Han Clan plus Bing Clan: just over thirty percent. Tang Clan: fifty.
The rest—under twenty percent—were opportunists waiting to see the winner before picking sides.
"Then they already know I've arrived."
Even entering via the Han Clan's side gate.
With the Tang Clan's current power, such surveillance was trivial.
"Probably tomorrow. Someone from the Tang Clan will come."
At Chief Steward Na Hong-ryeon's prediction, Han Seol-bing bit her lip.
"War starts tomorrow. Rest well."
With that, Han Go-jeok rose.
To prepare himself.
Resolve settled on Na Hong-ryeon's face as well.
Han Seol-bing headed straight to her room.
It had been ages.
Perched on her bed, she sank into deep thought.
"If you need help, send Baek-a."
Ha Mu-baek's words at parting.
Han Seol-bing slowly assessed the situation.
Was it time to ask him?
The Family Head and chief steward estimated the enemy five times stronger.
Overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
Eggs against a boulder.
They had likely calculated without her.
Even with her added...
It wouldn't change drastically.
Maybe stretch three days of endurance to four.
To overcome this gap required an incalculable factor.
Someone like Ha Mu-baek.
No matter how she thought, no other way.
Even Bing Clan participation was blocked.
They wouldn't abandon their Family Head and Palace Lord, Bing Chwi-seol.
'Sister Bing...'
Suddenly, worry for her welled up.
The Bing Chwi-seol she knew would hold firm, but still.
"Hah..."
Han Seol-bing sighed.
She had no choice but to send Baek-a.
After war began and disadvantage confirmed would be too late.
The distance from Wu-chang to this North Sea.
No short trip.
Considering that, she needed to send Baek-a now.
Decision made, Han Seol-bing took up brush and ink.
She scribbled the rough situation in one go.
The final line:
-Please help, Corps Leader.
A black pigeon seemed to alight on the window of Han Seol-bing's room.
Then it soared vigorously into the dark sky.