Chapter 521
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 521
Chapter Title: What Are You Doing?
Amid the chaos engulfing the Jegal Clan, Jegal Sorin holed up in her residence.
Her eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the array manual.
She was confident she could deploy it at seventy percent proficiency, but she felt that wasn't enough.
A burning desire welled up in her chest to perfectly execute the array in its complete form.
That was why she delved even deeper into the manual, building on the fresh insights she'd gained this time.
"Radiant Ring Lord Heaven's Radiance Array. I have a feeling there's definitely something more to it."
The array with nine overlapping layers, which she had partially experienced before.
She sensed there was something beyond even that.
Her eyes sparkled brightly as she murmured to herself.
They didn't carry the weary gaze of someone who had forgotten to eat or sleep while poring over books.
There was no trace of fatigue at all.
A strange energy flickered briefly between her brows as she turned her gaze back to the book, then vanished—but no one was around to notice.
She was alone in her study, and Jegal Sorin couldn't very well examine her own forehead.
There wasn't even a mirror in the study.
Winter was coming to an end.
As Ha Mu-baek headed toward Jiangxi Province, he felt the air had grown noticeably warmer.
Jiangxi was inherently mild and temperate, but even so, its winters were cold.
With the chill finally lifting, it seemed spring was on its way.
"This winter felt especially long."
Ha Mu-baek muttered as he basked in the sunlight.
It was only natural.
He had spent the entire winter in a frenzy of activity, accomplishing so much.
One might think constant motion would make time fly, but the sheer magnitude of his achievements made it feel endless instead.
He had met Mu-geuk and obtained the Abyss.
He had immersed himself in training for what felt like an eternity in his inner world, then gone to the Righteous Heaven Alliance to become the Fierce Dragon Corps Leader.
He had shattered the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest and soon after uncovered the Jegal Clan's conspiracy.
He had truly roamed the Central Plains far and wide.
As Ha Mu-baek reflected on the winter's events, he tilted his head.
'Maybe the training in the Abyss made the winter drag on...'
The world of his inner mind was warm and serene, but entering and exiting it during the cold winter meant it was still winter outside.
Perhaps that's why.
In truth, the time Ha Mu-baek had spent and endured that winter was extraordinarily long.
He had trained relentlessly in the inner world, where time flowed far faster than in reality.
Seobok in Jiangxi Province.
This was where the Fierce Dragon Corps was stationed to prepare for any provocations from Sahaeryeon.
Lying to the west of Anbok, it was a small city named for its location.
It had formed as a rest stop for travelers crossing from Hunan Province into Jiangxi on their way to Anbok.
Thus, though the city was modest in size, it had all the essentials.
Anbok was a fairly large city, and people heading there often paused here to rest, so inns were especially plentiful.
There were no grand estates of any note, however, so the Fierce Dragon Corps had set up a suitable encampment on the outskirts of Seobok, coming and going as needed for supplies.
"Seems quiet now, doesn't it?"
Today was no different from yesterday.
Dang Jin-san gazed toward Hunan Province in the west as he spoke.
"Yeah. No more crossing over."
Baek Ri-pyeong replied.
A few days earlier, common folk from Sahaeryeon's territory had trickled across sporadically.
Desperate faces, as if fleeing from something.
Unable to block civilian movements, they had let them pass, which occasionally led to minor incidents.
They still had to verify identities, after all.
"What do you think happened?"
Nak Woo-jin asked.
"Well, they say Sahaeryeon was massacring civilians, so they fled..."
Dang Jin-san muttered.
In the brief moments he checked them over, his natural affability had drawn out quite a few details in conversation.
"Evil sects gonna evil sect?"
Joo Woo-myeong said gravely.
Massacring civilians? Unthinkable.
"But isn't it too quiet for that?"
Dang Jin-san pointed out.
"If they're slaughtering civilians, shouldn't they hunt down the escapees and finish them off? That'd be more like evil sects."
It was a valid point, so Joo Woo-myeong fell silent.
"No one's over there at all."
Nak Woo-jin observed.
"Exactly. The civilians aside, this is weird too. I heard Dragon-Horn Unit and Dragon-Tail Unit mobilized and it nearly came to blows."
The positions held by Dragon-Horn and Dragon-Tail Units were about a day's march further west from here.
Right on the Hunan-Jiangxi border.
Han Seol-bing had chosen this spot because the other was too far from Seobok and inconvenient.
They hadn't been able to use the prior encampments and had to dig in and build anew here.
But Seobok's proximity was definitely better.
It was only half a shichen's walk away.
"They must've figured the Righteous Heaven Alliance couldn't commit fully here because of the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, but we cleared it too quickly."
Yeon Ha-min said.
Even so, Dang Jin-san tilted his head.
"But an Elder was there, right? Close enough to glare at each other. And the Elder withdrew first. Even against Dragon-Tail and Dragon-Horn... an Elder should..."
Dang Jin-san stared west, still full of questions.
He couldn't fathom why Sahaeryeon, having mobilized with such resolve, would retreat so anticlimactically.
And look now.
The Fierce Dragon Corps was guarding against further provocations, but there wasn't a soul—or even a rat—on the western side.
Hard to believe this was where Sahaeryeon's Protector Elder Hwa Yu-gun had led his army.
"Isn't that good for us? No danger."
Dan Mok Un-roe said, gazing west as well.
"Sure, but... it feels kinda deflating."
Dang Jin-san replied in a voice laced with mixed emotions.
"Does that mean you want to go back to battling zombies in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest?"
Yeon Ha-min teased, and Dang Jin-san shook his head vigorously.
"No, not that. Those horrors..."
"Haha. Yeah, truly horrific. Vice Squad Leader."
Dang Jin-san flinched at the sudden voice from behind.
Glancing around, everyone else was quietly facing forward as if nothing had happened.
He was the only one caught gossiping.
Now that the Heavenly Eye Pavilion's Fierce Dragon Corps included non-Dragon Training Pavilion cadets, even Squad Seven couldn't be made up solely of first-years.
Second-years had been assigned as squad leaders, and for Squad Seven, that was Kwan Ha-kyeong.
She had transferred from the Demon-Sealing Corps.
During the investigation, those with no suspicions were cleared first and reassigned.
Kwan Ha-kyeong had gotten her wish: placement in the Fierce Dragon Corps.
No other Demon-Sealing Corps member had requested it.
Even after their unit's disgrace, no one wanted to join the meat shield Fierce Dragon Corps.
Most hoped for key Righteous Heaven Alliance posts instead.
Especially not on the border with Sahaeryeon.
"Uh, I, um..."
Dang Jin-san, now vice squad leader under Kwan Ha-kyeong, fumbled for words in panic, but she spoke first with a smile.
"Not blaming you, don't worry. Can't even chat in a situation like this? That'd be torture. It's so peaceful, I can barely believe Sahaeryeon's territory is right there. Who'd think a righteous-evil clash could've erupted here just days ago?"
Kwan Ha-kyeong gazed west.
It truly was peaceful.
The Fierce Dragon Corps' sole duty was taking turns to watch the west from here.
Should Sahaeryeon try invading Jiangxi through this point, they would be the first line of defense.
Could they hold even an hour if it came to that?
In that light, they were still meat shields.
If Hwa Yu-gun were still opposite with his forces.
But he wasn't.
No one was.
Was there anywhere more relaxed?
They stood watch during shifts, trained as a unit, and had free time otherwise.
The catch was there wasn't much to do in free time.
"What do you think, Squad Leader?"
Dang Jin-san asked cautiously.
Kwan Ha-kyeong paused thoughtfully.
She glanced at him and answered.
"Don't you already know, Vice Leader? You've spent more time with him than I have."
Who "he" was went without saying.
The corps leader who hadn't shown his face once.
"Isn't that overthinking it? Even Sahaeryeon wouldn't back off because of one person..."
Kwan Ha-kyeong countered.
"That sight we saw that day. Was that just one person?"
"..."
Dang Jin-san had no reply.
It definitely wasn't.
Dragon-Horn Unit?
Dragon-Tail Unit?
Doubtful.
In Dang Jin-san's mind, that man could wipe them out alone.
"Sahaeryeon knows it too. Maybe even better than we do. I heard from seniors in the Demon-Sealing Corps that Black Mist Unit outclasses Heavenly Eye Pavilion."
Black Mist Unit.
Sahaeryeon's intelligence arm, counterpart to the Righteous Heaven Alliance's Heavenly Eye Pavilion.
"They surely got intel on what happened in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest. That's why they pulled back."
Hard to argue, yet it rang true.
"But without that amazing guy here... who knows what Sahaeryeon might try if they find out."
Dang Jin-san half-joked.
"Then we block them."
A voice suddenly from right beside him.
Startled like a ghost had appeared, Dang Jin-san stumbled back and plopped down.
"Tch. Looks like you've been slacking."
"I-Instructor... no, Corps Leader?"
Dang Jin-san muttered blankly.
"Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven Leader Kwan Ha-kyeong greets the Corps Leader."
Kwan Ha-kyeong immediately cupped her fists in salute.
The other squad members followed suit.
Only Dang Jin-san remained seated, staring dazedly at Ha Mu-baek.
"What are you doing? Still acting like you're at the Dragon Training Pavilion?"
Dang Jin-san scrambled up and saluted.
Ha Mu-baek chuckled at the sight.
He had come straight here without entering Seobok or stopping at the main camp.
Seeing these faces finally made it feel like home.
Ha Mu-baek looked at Kwan Ha-kyeong.
"Plenty of cushy spots available, yet you chose this one."
She smiled faintly at his words.
"I want to get stronger."
Ha Mu-baek nodded.
"You've gotten pretty strong."
Her lips curved higher at his acknowledgment.
"Situation report?"
"Occasional civilians crossing from Hunan into Jiangxi aside, nothing unusual."
Kwan Ha-kyeong replied concisely.
"Civilians?"
"Yes. They fled in panic from massacres in Sahaeryeon's territory. Detailed report sent to the Deputy Corps Leader."
Crisp response.
Ha Mu-baek had his suspicions.
Sahaeryeon wouldn't slaughter civilians without reason.
But as an evil faction, they spared no means for their ends.
'Looks like they've spread even into Sahaeryeon's lands.'
Not the Jegal Clan's doing.
Likely cultists from Guanyin Sect who had naturally overflowed during their expansion.
Impressive they'd proliferated in Sahaeryeon territory without Jegal arrays.
And now purging them wholesale.
Evil was evil.
"Nothing else?"
"No, sir."
Ha Mu-baek gazed west.
'Guess they don't want to tangle with me.'
Gong Ya Jang-cheon and Mun In Baek-song.
Sharp, and true to evil faction style, they eschewed pointless pride for pragmatic moves.
No reckless plays, so no provoking the Fierce Dragon Corps—or rather, Ha Mu-baek.