2
9.
“Since this is where all the Divine Beings of the Black Path are gathered, it could be dangerous for Master Jin to go alone.”
Gun Yu-hyeon also agreed with Il-myeong’s suggestion, saying that would be better, and we followed Gun Yu-hyeon’s guidance to a pavilion located on the outskirts of Saheukryeon.
Unlike the other halls, the pavilion located to the north of the main building features a luxurious finish, suggesting that considerable attention was paid to its exterior appearance; that alone makes it worthy of a noble.
It was letting people know that it was a space for them.
As we entered, courteous servants guided us to our seats, and we were led to the main hall located in the innermost part of the building.
In the center of the large hall, a long table is placed, and on it are laid all kinds of delicacies.
In the large hall, only that table existed, and the sound of people talking noisily echoed loudly throughout the entire hall.
And as we entered Daejeon and approached the table, the atmosphere, which had been as noisy as a marketplace, suddenly stopped.
– It was cut off.
Stares filled with obvious hostility asking why you guys are here.
“……
I wonder if I did something unnecessary.
A shadow fell across the face of Gun Yu-hyeon, who had invited us.
Thinking that nothing would work out if I just stayed still, I stepped forward and grabbed the bow.
I have come because I heard there is an opportunity to form a meaningful connection. May I join you? If you are displeased, I will leave.
When I spoke politely yet confidently, people looked at each other nervously, unsure of what to do.
Then, everyone’s eyes turn to one side.
A man with a sharp gaze sitting right in the center, holding a glass of alcohol.
widely.
Damak lowered his wine cup and said
“I apologize for not inviting you first. If I had known you were this open-minded… I would have invited you long ago.”
It’s obvious right in front of my eyes that you don’t mean it.
I smiled.
“Isn’t this how we are narrowing the gap between us?”
Damak smiles sweetly in response to my calm attitude.
If you don’t mind, would you be willing to join us and grace us with your presence?
Then he pointed to the seat next to him.
Those who were sitting near Damak rose from their seats and personally vacated the spot.
It looks like it’s going to ruin the taste of the drink.
“Kit-it.”
Heh.
A story told as if someone were talking to themselves.
There is no way that those of us who have mastered martial arts, including myself, would not understand.
However, the unwavering Il-myeong would never fall for such a provocation.
I feel the same way.
Dang Seo-hee… … I don’t know.
He just kept his eyes fixed on the food and didn’t even look anywhere else.
We took our seats, but the atmosphere still hadn’t returned to how it used to be.
There were those who did so because they felt awkward, and conversely, there were those who did so out of hostility.
at that time.
The man sitting opposite us said with a meaningful smile.
“Come to think of it, we were wrong. Isn’t the Black Flame Dragon a renowned divine being of the Dark Path martial arts world?”
“Hahahaha!”
Hehehe.
A group of people open their mouths wide and laugh at the words the man threw.
The commotion had returned, but it felt as though everyone’s eyes were still focused on us.
“But I heard a strange story—that the Black Flame Dragon is brokering an alliance between the Black Alliance and the Murim Alliance.”
The man looks around and asks for consent.
“Do you think this makes sense?”
As if to see how we would handle it.
A man licking my lips while staring intently at me.
When I was trying to figure out his identity.
Gunyuhyeon’s telepathic voice was heard.
I am Gal Jeon-gi, the fourth disciple of the Hwangsa Sect Leader. Like the Hwangsa Sect Leader, I am a staunch war enthusiast.
Was Saung (Evil Bear) Galjeon-gi originally from Hwangsamun?
Those Black Sect guys change their affiliation as often as changing clothes, so I don’t know what their roots are.
Anyway, thanks to Gun Yu-hyeon, I was able to understand the opponent’s intentions even more clearly.
I looked straight into Galjeon-gi’s eyes.
What is there to stop it?
“huh?”
“You didn’t necessarily organize the Black Alliance just to fight the Murim Alliance, did you?”
He arched his back and laughed.
“Hahaha! That’s right.”
Then, his eyes immediately flash.
“To be precise, it is to resist the oppression of the Murim Alliance.”
Haa, to think he acts all high and mighty with his meager skills when he doesn’t even know the horrors of war.
It is because of guys like this that the hardline stance always gains strength.
Rotten bastards who will back out at any moment if there is actually a fight.
Trying to persuade a bastard like this will only drain my energy. I have to avoid him not because I’m scared, but because he’s disgusting.
After all, I came here to persuade Damak in the first place.
It seems you like to fight?
I do not avoid a fight that comes my way.
“Um… do you know about the crime of inciting assault?”
“what?”
Wow, look at that fierce gaze.
It means that even if you didn’t start the fight, if you do something that deserves to be hit, you deserve it.
Ha, this bastard. What is he even saying?
I looked around and provoked him.
“Is there anyone here who can beat the so-called senior?”
“…….”
“Even if a hundred warriors from the Hwangsamun sect attacked at once, they probably wouldn’t be able to defeat Il-hyeong, the senior.”
“You bastard!”
bang.
As Galjeon-gi stood up roughly, the table shook, food spilled, and wine glasses tipped over.
Do you think Hwangsamun is a joke!
It seems like they are dying to go to war with the Murim Alliance. ……
I am asking if you have the confidence to face Il-myeong in a life-or-death battle.
“Why are you silent? Even if you go to war, do you intend to avoid masters like the so-called ‘Senior’?”
I examined the faces of those who had laughed with Galjeon-gi.
Among those who advocated for war, none of them stepped forward to fight at the forefront themselves.
These individuals, one by one, were building a notoriety for their talents that were far superior to those of their age.
However, that is only possible in times of peace.
After war breaks out, everyone will be placed in a situation where they are judged by the absolute standards of strength and weakness, regardless of age or gender.
“War is not a duel. Nor will an opponent match my level. If war were to break out between the Black Alliance and the Murim Alliance right now, those of you here would likely be driven to the very front of the battlefield, wouldn’t you?”
When you stand on such a ruthless battlefield, mercy vanishes from the opponent’s blade.
In places where humans are not regarded as humans, the heartless sword that used to cut trees and straw cuts humans.
“Do you know how many people died on the first day of the war?”
When a battle breaks out after both sides have made thorough preparations, numerous casualties occur in an instant.
Some wars are so full of energy that they end before a week has even passed.
If that is the case for ordinary warfare, wouldn’t a war between warriors be even worse?
War is not a fight that ends with injuries. You fight with the resolve to lose at least limbs, and fundamentally, your life.
My words made the atmosphere even more gloomy.
Galjeon-gi growled and spoke.
Do you think our Black Dao would wage war without even that much resolve?
I am not asking about the resolve of the Black Alliance.
I am asking if you have such determination.
I looked him straight in the eye.
On the first day, I am prepared to face off against the so-called senior in a life-or-death battle.
When Galjeon-gi, having glanced at Il-myeong, looked at me again and was about to shoot a sharp glare.
Damak, who was sitting right in the center, said
“Then… must we just wait for death while watching the Murim Alliance?”
What is that sound all of a sudden?
Damak took a gulp of alcohol and continued speaking calmly.
“For now, the Murim Alliance’s attention is directed elsewhere due to the rise of the Blood Cult in Sichuan. But once the battle with the Blood Cult is over, where will that arrow be aimed?”
Every organization needs its own goals and justifications.
An organization that pursues only power and influence is like a carriage without horses.
Organizations always pursue goals and justifications.
That is why Damak is questioning the justification and goals of the Murim Alliance.
“I believe that missing this moment when the Murim Alliance is weakened is tantamount to throwing away a heaven-sent opportunity. What do you think, Lord Black Flame Dragon?”
Of course, Damak is right.
Now is indeed the best time for the Black Alliance.
Of course, on the premise that the Murim Alliance can be defeated.
but.
That would probably be impossible.
Do you think the Black Alliance’s power will be insufficient?
I shook my head.
The power of the Murim Alliance does not come merely from its size.
“Our roots are different. Does the Saheukryeon have the confidence to simultaneously subjugate the Murim Alliance and face the Nine Great Sects, the Five Great Clans, the Hundred and Eight Peaks, and countless other sects that support it?”
The true strength of the Murim Alliance lies in the sects that have grown alongside it.
No matter how much the Black Alliance fills its ranks with sheer numbers, there will be limits to the supply of power from sects that have not even been open for a hundred years.
“If you attack the Murim Alliance, it will undoubtedly be perceived as an attack on the entire White Path Sect. Is the Black Alliance prepared for that?”
For a moment, I saw Damak’s eyes waver slightly.
He looked at me for a moment, then slowly continued speaking.
The Murim Alliance and the Dark Alliance are like oil and water. The Murim Alliance will certainly not wait for the Dark Alliance to lay the groundwork.
Damak’s gaze, as he looked at us one by one, was filled with hostility.
How is it that someone who served as the supreme military commander of the Murim Alliance in his previous life harbors such high hostility toward the Alliance in this life?
Damak tapped his fingers on the table and asked me.
Lord Black Flame Dragon’s wisdom and strategy
Since you say he is outstanding, let me ask you one thing.
His sharp gaze turns toward me.
“Will the Black Alliance have to wait for death until they are eradicated by the Murim Alliance?”
The Damak I knew in my past life was not a person driven by such bloodlust.
Moreover, although he sought the opinions of others, he was someone who always made his own decisions.
It is likely not that they are asking this because they really don’t know, but rather to gauge what our intentions are.
I spoke without avoiding his gaze.
Even after the war with the Blood Cult ends, the Murim Alliance will not attack the Black Alliance.
“How can you be so confident? Lord Black Flame Dragon is merely the representative of the academy, isn’t he?”
Well, that is true.
As someone who is merely a representative of the academy, I cannot predict the actions of the Murim Alliance.
However, I have already experienced a future that no one knows.
“The Blood Cult isn’t the only one that practices bizarre sorcery. There are beings even more terrifying.”
“And ‘those guys’ are now aiming for the world. I mean monsters who don’t care about human life.”
Damak strokes his chin and leans back.
An attitude that seems to consider my argument to be baseless nonsense.
Are you talking about a conspiracy theory?
A conspiracy theory… … .
He asked straight toward Damak.
“Have you heard the story that a steel city has appeared in Sacheon?”
Those who practice sorcery use such beings as a matter of course.
I shook my head.
“Amidst the Martial Arts Era of Righteousness, I saw beings even stranger than them.”
“Just how strange is it?”
I recalled the memory of that day.
An invisible and formless being that hides in the darkness and takes people’s lives.
Its skin is as hard as steel, it carves bone like a sword, and it melts into the darkness to devour everything.
It is a look of utter disbelief that such a being actually exists.
Our fighting each other is no different from a signal that we are surrendering the world to them.
Do you have any evidence?
doesn’t exist.”
Damak casts his gaze straight to my side.
Did others see the same thing as well?
Ilmyeong and Dang Seohui shook their heads after receiving Damak’s gaze.
At that, those who had been listening to our conversation with a slightly nervous look let out a sigh and began to snicker.
Actually, I wouldn’t have easily believed it either once I heard the story.
Just as the calm atmosphere was about to become noisy again.
They also emit something similar to venom.
A man’s voice blew in chillingly.
“……?”
People’s eyes turn toward the owner of the voice.
The man standing where everyone’s eyes were focused was none other than Gun Yu-hyeon.
He trembled as if he were afraid.
They were clearly beings who were human but not human.
I barely managed to swallow my groan and asked.
Did you see that?
I saw it clearly, even from a distance.
While the two of us exchanged glances, Dam-ak looked at Gun Yu-hyeon for a moment and shook his head.
“Even so, you can’t pin your hopes on something you haven’t actually seen.”
Damak shakes his head as if asserting.
We cannot trust the Murim Alliance.
Damak’s resolute words echoed throughout the main hall. My impression of Damak from my previous life was that he was quite an outstanding being.
It might have seemed relatively superior because the people who were in charge of military strategy before him were incompetent.
I realized it for sure through this meeting.
Damak is a very difficult person to deal with when he is an enemy. ‘He never reveals his true intentions.’ Realistically, Damak must also be aware that it would be difficult for the Saheukryeon to wage war right now.
If he does not wish for the downfall of the Black Alliance, he must also know that even if he targets the Murim Alliance now, he cannot bring down the entire White Path.
Then why.
Is Damak continuing to express hostile opinions?
That’s difficult.
Gun Yu-hyeon, who had come out of Daejeon with us, also had a face full of worry.
The composure he displayed at the gambling table is nowhere to be seen.
Compared to a gambling game, the weight of war was entirely different.
I held the fist to him.
You went out of your way to help, but I wasn’t able to show my best.
Gun Yu-hyeon shook his head at my words.
“No. Just based on what you have said today, there will be people who grasp the reality to some extent. If we gather them and form a consensus, the higher ups will likely reconsider.”
Gun Yu-hyeon, with a smile on his lips, continued speaking.
What do you plan to do going forward?
“For now, I think I need to meet with a few more people. There will be some time until the inauguration ceremony ends.”
First, the priority is to have a conversation with the leader Cha Seok-du and those I met at the Maryeong Plateau.
Gun Yu-hyeon nodded.
I see. If you need any help, please let me know anytime.
Thank you for your words alone.
As we talked, we arrived at our accommodation before we knew it.
The moment I was about to turn around after saying goodbye to Gun Yu-hyeon.
Gun Yu-hyeon asked.
“Could you please give me just one answer, considering it as payment for your work today?”
Answer? What answer?
As I tilted my head, Gun Yu-hyeon spoke without hesitation.
“The Five Heavenly Kings appearing in the last round…….”
He asked me with a more serious face than ever before.
Was it true?
An appearance of unparalleled desperation, as if waiting for the answer of a lifetime.
He must be someone who really likes gambling.
It makes me feel guilty for no reason.
I smiled instead of answering.
Then, as if satisfied with just that, he nodded.
I see. So that is how it was. Really, really! That is a relief.
Gun Yu-hyeon returned to his quarters with light, flying steps.
As I gazed at that incredibly transparent figure from behind, I found myself laughing for some reason.
Turning my head to look to the side, I saw that Dang Seo-hui was also continuing to follow his retreating figure.
“What a truly strange person. To think he’s laughing like that after being tricked.”
It seems that even Dang Seo-hee cannot easily understand the mental state of gamblers.
Then again, who in the world could understand the mind of gamblers?
I stretched and looked back at my companions.
We will go in as well. For now, I think we need to discuss our future whereabouts.
As we entered the lodging, the moment we stepped into the inner room, we all stopped moving at once. ‘The scent of blood?’ Clearly, the smell of blood mixed with the metallic scent of iron filled the room.
yet.
“Jin Siju!”
Il-myeong, with his eyes wide open, pointed to one side and shouted.
Where his finger pointed.
Akbyeongbi lay dead, covered in blood.
