novelraw Chapter 178 : Your Thoughts Are My Thoughts
Chapter 178 : Your Thoughts Are My Thoughts
Chapter 178: Your Thoughts Are My Thoughts
Half an hour earlier.
A plain pavilion located in the center of Guiyang County.
Inside the dark room, despite it being midday, a single gust of wind blew in from somewhere.
Along with the incoming wind, a thick stench of blood rose into the air.
A horrific sight unfolded.
“Keuheu, keu.”
“Cough, khk.”
The warriors of the Guiyeom Society, who had been lying in ambush here, were sprawled everywhere, drenched in blood.
Those who barely clung to life writhed and crawled toward the door, trying to escape.
“P-Please, spare me.”
“Keuheu.”
Slash!
Slice-slash!
With the chilling sound of blades cutting through flesh, every last warrior of the Guiyeom Society met their death.
It was the result of the black threads of Heavenly Net surging like a vast ocean wave.
In the end, the only ones left breathing in this place were the two people sitting across from each other before a janggi board on the table.
“Hm, with this, the Killing Tower and the Rakshasa Sect are confirmed wiped out. Because of the distance to the mountain stronghold, subjugating the Tiger-Pacifying Stronghold will take the longest.”
“Yes, but since elder sister went personally, it will be resolved quickly once she arrives. Do Hayeong also said she would join us immediately after dealing with the Wind Spirit Group.”
“The Wind Spirit Group is the weakest among the Six Pillars, so there’s no need to send reinforcements.”
The smiling man scratched his bushy hair as he spoke.
Shabby clothes, and a slow, dull tone that lagged a beat behind with every sentence.
Yet on the janggi board, the move he made carried a strange sharpness.
He was Yeoseon, the chief instructor responsible for training the Sichuan Tang Clan, and Sewoon’s one and only strategist.
“Now then, it’s about time for my lord to step in.”
At that moment, Yeoseon spoke while looking at his master seated across from him.
Sewoon, who had been idly rolling a janggi piece engraved with the character for ‘salt’ of the Guiyeom Society in one hand, placed the piece onto the board.
Into a formation where the opposing general was surrounded, with no escape from death.
“Yes. Since the subordinates have been annihilated, the owner should be erased as well.”
“Yes, my lord.”
It meant Ho Daewon.
As Yeoseon nodded, Sewoon narrowed his eyes and added a remark.
“So the problem is what comes after that.”
Sewoon picked up another piece.
On it was engraved the character ‘martial’ of the Martial Exalt Union.
“The Martial Exalt Union, and Gong Taemun.”
“Correct. And that piece must, by all means, fall into my lord’s hands.”
“Why?”
“……!”
Sewoon asked suspiciously at Yeoseon’s words.
“No one knows when the Outer Regions will stir, and once news spreads, the forces of Gansu will immediately invade the main house. Wouldn’t it be better to sweep away the Martial Exalt Union quickly as well, just like the Guiyeom Society?”
Yeoseon quietly watched Sewoon, then once again scratched the back of his head and spoke.
There was a strong hint of mischief in his master’s eyes.
“Tsk, my lord. You know everything already, yet you still test me like this.”
“Hm, a test?”
Sewoon grinned foolishly, feigning ignorance.
All right, let’s hear your view.
Having grasped his master’s intent, Yeoseon straightened his posture.
Then, his eyes shining, he began to speak.
“Ho Daewon is, for example, Yuan Shu, a ruined lord. He’s nothing more than a rotten tree not even worth cutting down. But Gong Taemun is different.”
Yeoseon placed Gong Taemun’s piece upright at the very center of the janggi board as he spoke.
“Gong Taemun is Zhang Fei of Yan. He’s stupid and only knows how to charge straight ahead. But in return, he’s foolishly solid and loyal.”
Zhang Yide.
For the sake of Liu Bei, his lord and sworn brother, he would throw himself into death under any circumstances, always charging forward and seizing victory—a valiant general among valiant generals.
“If my lord were to take him in and show him the path, he would become a reliable ally, a match for ten thousand men.”
“And although the Martial Exalt Union is pointed at as a group of madmen, in truth, on this board called Guizhou, there is no wedge as large and heavy as them. The substance they’ve accumulated is different. If war with the Blood Cult breaks out, they will become my lord’s sharp blade.”
This time, a strange light appeared in Sewoon’s eyes as he looked at Yeoseon.
‘He’s already grasped things to that extent.’
Despite not possessing memories and information from before regression like himself, Yeoseon spoke smoothly, as if he were the incarnation of Zhuge Liang.
Yeoseon’s talent was not limited to training martial arts.
His true gift lay in accurately pinpointing and reading the ever-changing flow and political situation of the murim in real time, just as he was doing now—an astonishing foresight.
“That being the case, how should I obtain him?”
“You must show him, just as you showed me.”
Yeoseon answered without the slightest hesitation at Sewoon’s question.
“That the incarnation of martial might they worship is my lord himself.”
“……!”
The moment Gong Taemun witnessed his master’s power, he would recognize its caliber and kneel of his own accord.
Hearing Yeoseon state such a plan—one that anyone else would have called absurd and reckless—with utterly serious eyes, Sewoon finally let out a small chuckle.
“Then it’ll end easily. Just like how you came over so easily yourself.”
“Th-That is.”
As Yeoseon felt embarrassed—
“Yeoseon.”
“……!”
“The true current of change is about to begin. As you said, this isn’t merely a fight over territory.”
“……!!”
Now it was Sewoon’s turn.
“If I only intended to end things by wiping out trash like the Guiyeom Society, the Rakshasa Sect, and the Tiger-Pacifying Stronghold, there would have been no need for this conversation.”
Tap.
Sewoon picked up the Martial Exalt Union piece from the board and placed it before Yeoseon.
“The unorthodox path is nothing but heresy, every existence within it is an irredeemable villain…… The orthodox always say such things.”
“But the real world isn’t like that. Evil that deserves to be destroyed exists both in the orthodox and the unorthodox. Among those I’ve seen in the unorthodox, there were countless who simply wanted to become strong but had no path within the orthodox, or who took up the blade simply because they wanted freedom.”
It was as if flames had ignited in Sewoon’s eyes, hot heat pouring forth.
Focused on his words, Yeoseon seemed to realize something and let out a faint gasp.
“……Half of the unorthodox path. You intend to embrace all of them……!”
“Yes. And the first flag to be planted in Guizhou will be the Martial Exalt Union, just as you said.”
That was right. The way Sewoon intended to unify the unorthodox path was not by exterminating everyone who opposed him.
He would exterminate only evil—evil like the Qingcheng Sect and the Guiyeom Society—transcending the boundary between the orthodox and the unorthodox.
However, those like the Martial Exalt Union and Gong Taemun—those worth protecting, those worth embracing—he would show them a path so that they would follow him with genuine hearts.
“Just as the meaning of ‘between orthodox and unorthodox,’ I will walk the jianghu on a new path that is neither orthodox nor unorthodox. Anyone who pursues strength and freedom will be able to stand by my side.”
“……Not simply winning, killing, or such things, but showing a new path.”
Yeoseon said, truly moved.
“Young Master, if we obtain the Martial Exalt Union, this will no longer be merely gaining a piece of Guizhou land. It will announce to the entire jianghu that our Sichuan Tang Clan is walking the path of dominion.”
“Yes, that’s right. This isn’t just the takeover of Guizhou. It will be the work of solidifying our sphere of influence so we can stand against every enemy targeting us, and the beginning of dominion that will swallow the entire unorthodox path.”
Sewoon said this as he removed the pieces of the Martial Exalt Union and the Guiyeom Society that had been placed on the janggi board.
Then, only the three pieces placed in advance remained on the board.
A strange light appeared in Sewoon’s eyes.
‘Now the real war begins.’
As stated earlier, gaining Guizhou was merely the beginning of a grand saga.
After this, there were as many as three great enemies piled up before Sewoon.
The ‘evil’ of the Demonic Alliance.
The ‘white’ of the White Path Union.
The ‘blood’ of the Blood Cult.
Sewoon reached out his hand.
Screech!
The Heavenly Net flew forth, seized the Demonic Alliance piece, and sliced it into dozens of fragments.
Watching this, Yeoseon spoke in a solemn voice.
“After obtaining the Martial Exalt Union and Guizhou, we must immediately follow up with the next attack before the enemy regains their senses.”
The next target would be a single place.
“Heaven-Piercing Sect.”
One of the Five Evils that composed the Demonic Alliance—the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.
It was the general headquarters of every horrific curse and spell.
It would never be easy.
In an instant, Yeoseon’s eyes sharpened.
“It won’t be as easy as Guizhou.”
“But if we destroy the Heaven-Piercing Sect, we’ll definitely deal heavy damage to both the Demonic Alliance and the Blood Cult.”
“That is correct.”
Yeoseon continued after observing proper etiquette.
“Once they learn that Guizhou has been seized, the Heaven-Piercing Sect will construct defensive formations using their signature bizarre arcane techniques and spells. We must break through those defenses as quickly as possible. We cannot afford to spend much time on a siege.”
“If support from the Southern Sea Sun Palace, which has fallen into the Blood Cult’s hands, comes rushing in, the damage to our camp will grow.”
“Yes. As my lord expects, there’s a high chance they’ll launch a surprise attack on the Mount Hainan Sect, but once urgent news spreads that the Heaven-Piercing Sect has been annihilated, they will certainly devise some way to provide aid.”
“Ending it with swift battle and swift resolution should be our top priority.”
At Sewoon’s words, Yeoseon nodded.
Watching him, Sewoon spoke again.
“War begins with blades, but righteousness and reason determine the outcome. Not many know that.”
“…….”
“But you know it.”
“……!”
Yeoseon was silent for a moment.
His face soon flushed.
He was deeply moved.
How could he not be pleased?
For a strategist, what joy could surpass having one’s use and worth acknowledged by one’s lord?
Unable to hide the surge of emotion welling up, Yeoseon’s eyes were clearer than anyone’s.
Yeoseon also looked at Sewoon and murmured inwardly.
‘As expected, it has to be this person.’
Even if he could not read the will of heaven, he could understand how the world turned and flowed.
The world was racing toward the extreme of chaos.
He could feel that the age of turmoil the Blood Cult would create—spoken of by Sewoon—was right before them.
‘My lord is not merely a martial artist.’
Yeoseon continued thinking to himself.
The only one who could pacify such an age of chaos was an ‘hero.’
‘One who possesses power, yet knows where that power must be directed. One who cuts people down, yet can divide the murim not with a blade, but with intent.’
Blade and wisdom.
Fire and wind.
A being who possessed both forces, each difficult to obtain even one of.
The Sewoon Yeoseon judged was precisely such an existence.
‘……Am I now witnessing the first paragraph of the myth that hero will write?’
Watching Sewoon slowly rise to his feet, Yeoseon held that thought.
“Then shall we take the first step, according to our strategist’s will?”
To defy fate, Sewoon began to move.
It was to head to the brothel where Gong Taemun and Ho Daewon were located.
“My lord, I will be waiting.”
“Heh heh, all right. I’ll be back shortly.”
Whooosh.
The candle flame flickered in the wind that blew in once more.
The shadow of war that would split the night sky of Guizhou was slowly approaching.