Chapter 54 Dispatch-4

Chapter 54: Dispatch-4

Frustrated that he couldn’t pursue the enemies due to Seonwoojin’s insistence, Manjongim frowned and asked him.

“Why tell us not to pursue?!”

Earlier, Seonwoojin had anticipated that those from Maeng would try to block their path, and had demanded that Manjongim follow his orders if that prediction proved correct.

Moreover, Seonwoojin had anticipated this ambush as well and warned Manjongim.

Given that it was Seonwoo Jin speaking, Man Jong-im now found herself unable to simply ignore his words.

But he couldn’t help feeling resentful.

Glaring at the attackers who had vanished in an instant, Man Jong-im shouted in frustration.

“If you let those bastards go now, they’ll come back next time in even greater numbers! Don’t you understand that?!”

At Manjong-im’s fierce shout, Seonwoo-jin merely smiled faintly and nodded obediently.

“Yes, that’s right. The Lord’s words are correct.”

Surprised by the ease of his agreement, Man Jong-im pressed further.

“What? What did you say? But why let them…?”

“If we pursue them immediately, won’t they flee farther? Now they’ll think we’re not chasing them, so they’ll stop soon enough.”

“…What?”

Manjong-im’s expression twisted.

I couldn’t understand what the hell he was talking about.

We’d already lost sight of them. What good would it do if they stopped right away somewhere out of sight?

But Seon Woo-jin, seemingly uninterested in resolving that confusion, still smiled as he looked around at the people nearby and said.

“Alright, let’s start moving slowly now. There’s no need for everyone to go together; only those who’ve reached their peak need to move.”

Though skeptical of Seon Woo-jin’s words, the martial artists who had reached their peak among the current group—Man Jong-im of the Twelfth Division, Jo Jang Do Mu-gon of the Eleventh Division, and Jo Jang Je Won-yeong of the Eleventh Division—began to follow Seon Woo-jin along with Seol Pung and Hae Cheong-yeon.

Even just the foresight Seon Woo-jin had shown in such a short time made them feel, somehow, that there was more to come.

***

Hyu Jasung had realized long ago that the enemies were not pursuing them. But just in case, he kept running for quite a while longer, changing direction again and again, until he was certain the enemies could not track them. Only then did he stop his footsteps.

Behind him, seven members of the Shadow Corps landed one after another.

Watching them, Hyujaseung muttered in utter disbelief.

“Only seven… In that brief moment, we went from twenty-two to seven?”

It was devastating.

It was an outcome he had never even imagined, let alone experienced.

The other members felt the same.

Faced with this unbelievable, devastating outcome, all the Shadow Corps members hung their heads, swallowing their tears.

Hujaseung silently stared at the remaining unmanned units for a moment.

It was now clear that dealing with the enemy solely by their own strength was impossible. But…

“Whoosh!”

The monk whistled toward the sky with eyes blazing fiercely.

Moments later, his personal messenger bird flew down from the sky.

Thud!

Hyu Jasung gritted his teeth and thought.

‘If we cannot avenge ourselves with our own strength, I will borrow the power of the Myeong. Though we are eight remaining now, none of you will survive!’

He was certain.

Their lives would not last even a month.

Even with the strength to defeat two Shadow Army squads, they couldn’t possibly survive once marked for death by the Martial Alliance.

The monk intended to exaggerate their actions and the danger they posed to request the dispatch of a formal military force.

Given that two units of the Shadow Army had suffered fatal casualties, it wasn’t exactly an untrue claim.

The monk who wrote the dispatch tied it to the leg of a carrier bird and sent it flying.

Flutter!

Watching the pigeon soar skyward, the monk let out a cruel laugh.

‘It’s over now!’

That was when it happened.

One of the shadow agents standing at the very back suddenly darted out like the wind and snatched the carrier pigeon.

Swoosh!

“Squeak!”

To snatch the flying messenger pigeon mid-air—it could only be an incredible martial art technique.

But even more startling than that divine technique was the sudden, unexpected action that made the monk cry out in shock.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Judging by the fact that the monk didn’t know who he was, he was probably a surviving member of the old faction.

But why would a member of the old faction try to stop the flying messenger?

Moreover, to possess such divine technique that he could snatch the flying letter at a speed he couldn’t even react to?

That level of skill seemed comparable even to the late Yang Wong-dang, the leader of the old squad.

The monk shouted at the shadow agent staring at the sealed letter in his hand with a furious glare.

“Aren’t you going to ask what you’re doing?! Which unit are you in?!”

Hearing this, the Shadow Corps member chuckled softly.

Seeing that mocking curve of his lips beneath his hood, Hyujaseung’s face twisted even more.

Then, one of the Gu Jo members standing behind him spoke, his face pale.

“That… that man isn’t from the Ninth Division, Eighth Division Leader.”

“…What?”

“There’s no one like that among the old squad members. I thought he was from the eighth squad…”

“What?!”

Just as the monk was about to shout back, the image of the Shadow Corps member who had ruined the ambush earlier suddenly flashed through his mind.

The one who had charged out alone, ruining the ambush completely…

Hujaseung’s eyes widened.

What if it wasn’t a mistake caused by miscommunication?

What if someone deliberately ruined the ambush to expose them?

Now with a look of horror, Hyujaseung shouted.

“Who… who the hell are you?!”

Then, Sakmuhun, his face concealed by a hood, smiled faintly and replied.

“Now is not the time to be wondering about my identity.”

“What?!”

Sakmuhin pointed his finger toward the monk’s back and said.

“Look behind you.”

But Hyujaseung gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Where the hell did that come from…?!

It was at that moment.

Led by Seolpung, the peak masters of the Boryong Squad surged from the rear like a tidal wave, overwhelming them.

POW!

“Kraaah!”

Seolpung, Manjongim, Je Wonyeong, Seonwoojin, Haecheongyeon, Domugon.

They were all the peak masters currently assigned to the expeditionary force.

Veterans hardened by countless battles on the front lines.

They were slaughtering the Shadow Corps members with the sheer force of a tidal wave.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

“Gyaaah!”

Shhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

“Guh!”

The Shadow Corps members died without even putting up a proper fight.

They simply didn’t have the strength left to fight against six peak masters.

No, to be precise, they didn’t even have the strength to resist.

They were mentally shattered by the utter helplessness of being completely overwhelmed and the confusion that fellow Shadow Corps members had led them into a trap.

Puhwaak!

“Kraaah!”

“Aaargh!”

Seolpung, who had turned the two Shadow Corps members into a storm of blood, was charging at Hyujaseung like a fierce tiger.

But the monk, who hadn’t even considered stopping it, suddenly turned around in a daze.

By then, the Shadow Corps agent who had deceived them had already vanished.

And that was the last sight Hyujaseung could see.

Puuuuk!

“….”

***

“So you’re saying the Blood Sect’s minions have infiltrated our reporting system?”

“I can’t be certain either, but if that weren’t the case, how could they have identified themselves as warriors of the Alliance, verified the Grand Lord’s report, and launched an attack? The Alliance, the pillar of the righteous faction, wouldn’t want to kill us, would they?”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

I was currently swindling the Twelfth Lord, Manjong-im.

There was little chance this stubborn fool would readily accept talk of Zhuge Zhijiang and the Shadow Brigade, and investigating it would only increase the danger. So I chose to tell him only what he wanted to hear.

“I suspect the Blood Sect’s forces, like the Giant Strength Demon, have infiltrated the front lines and are intercepting reports there. That’s precisely why I asked the Grand Master not to report to you yet.”

“Indeed! If they weren’t such scoundrels, they wouldn’t have been able to see my report, nor would they have attacked us. For the Blood Cult to infiltrate the reporting system between the Myeong and Jeon lines—it’s truly deplorable.”

“Yes, I agree.”

After cursing the Blood Cultists for a while, Man Jong-im turned to me again.

“So what do you suggest we do now?”

All eyes immediately focused on me. Those bright, piercing gazes felt unbearably heavy.

After the Shadow Legion’s attack this time, people seemed to have started thinking of me as a soldier from this expeditionary force.

It was incredibly embarrassing.

Truthfully, it wasn’t so much that I was particularly outstanding, but rather because of my memories from my past life, the information about the Shadow Brigade, and Sakmuhun’s help.

Honestly, if we’re talking pure wisdom, wouldn’t Lady Cheongyeon be far more outstanding than me?

But when I looked at Miss Cheongyeon, she just smiled and shook her head.

It seemed to mean she didn’t want to step forward herself and wanted me to do it instead.

She was truly remarkable, somehow knowing what I was thinking even though I was just staring.

A young lady like that should be the one leading people.

Anyway, I decided not to step back either.

After all, it was easier for me to take the lead on this matter anyway.

So I composed myself properly and began speaking.

“First, regarding the reporting system issue, I requested that reports be submitted to the genuine warriors of the Myeong, not impostors like them. An investigation from the Myeong will likely commence soon. So, let’s leave the rest to the Myeong and focus solely on the Georyeokma for now.”

The true blind warrior referred to Brother Sakmuhun.

I had asked Brother to alter the contents of the dispatch that the former leader of the Shadow Brigade had intended to send last time, then have it sent again.

The dispatch unit had returned to the front lines, and the message requested an investigation into what appeared to be the Blood Sect’s infiltration toward Guizhou Province.

I also sent word to the Biyong Squadron to report the same information.

I asked Squad Leader Je Won-yeong of the Eleventh Squad to send back the squad member with the weakest martial arts skills and relay that information to the Eleventh Squad and our Thirteenth Squad. Since the leader was here, the Twelfth Squad had no problem submitting their report.

Manjong-im now follows my words perfectly.

‘Well, now I’m rather curious about the Martial Alliance’s choice.’

He had relayed that the Goryeokma had gone to Guizhou City, but hadn’t mentioned where exactly within the city they might be.

Therefore, if Zhuge Zhijiang had the will to capture them, he would likely comb through every corner of Guizhou City.

I wondered if he would reach the same conclusion as me, and thus turn his attention toward the Zhengxie Sect, the Yun Clan, and the Mountain Sword Sect.

‘If they don’t investigate, that would be truly serious. It would mean the Martial Alliance either stood by while the Blood Sect invaded the north, or perhaps even cooperated with them.’

But that’s for later.

First, I began explaining our course of action to the group.

“As I mentioned before, we expect the Demon Lord to be at one of the three factions currently in conflict: the Zhengxie Sect, the Yun Clan, or the Mountain Sword Sect. So our first task is to determine which of these three is the Blood Sect’s forward base.”

At that, Man Jong-im snorted derisively.

“Hmph! Then the answer is clear. It certainly can’t be the Zhengxie Sect, so it must be either the Yun Clan or the Mountain Sword Sect. Especially since the Mountain Sword Sect’s situation is reportedly very dire right now, the odds are high it’s the Yun Clan.”

I smiled faintly at his words.

I had already anticipated he would say that.

“Is that your assessment?”

Man Jong-im replied confidently, as if questioning the obvious.

“Isn’t it obvious? The Zhengxiefang is the Zhengfailse. If the Blood Sect’s group used it as an advance base, it must be either the heretical sect, the Yun Clan, or the Mountain Sword Sect.”

“But the current situation is that Sichuan’s Zhengxie Sect first extended its influence toward Guizhou Province, prompting the Yun Clan and the Mountain Sword Sect of Guizhou to unite and block them. I’ve even heard the battle situation heavily favors the Zhengxie Sect. Given that, couldn’t it be the Zhengxie Sect?”

But Man Jong-im vehemently rejected my counterargument.

“That’s impossible! The Zhengxie Sect is a member of a great faction that even sends several martial artists to the front lines. Even our Twelfth Division has one martial artist from the Zhengxie Sect. He too is a great martial artist who has slain countless demons. If they were a Blood Sect force, sending martial artists to defend their own base—does that even make sense?!”

He deliberately avoided mentioning that if they were truly the Blood Sect’s forward base, having their warriors on the front lines might actually be more dangerous.

Also, the ordinary members are affiliated with the faction, but there’s talk that the leadership’s inclinations might differ.

That’s all he said.

“I see. Then how about doing it this way?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve already been discovered by the Blood Sect’s forces. Moving together like this is dangerous. We’ll draw too much attention and risk another ambush like last time. So, I suggest we split into three groups again, each investigating a different location discreetly. What do you think?”

Of course, the talk of another attack was untrue.

The Shadow Brigade who knew us had been wiped out, reports blocked, and even the attention of the Martial Alliance’s higher-ups had been diverted toward the powerful forces infiltrating Guizhou Province.

But it was true that splitting into smaller groups was the right way to avoid drawing attention in the future.

And above all, I wanted to move separately from Grand Master Man Jong-im. His exceptional martial prowess was a bit of a waste, but aside from that, he seemed like he’d only be a hindrance in every other way.

Above all, being with him made me feel suffocated.

Manjongim Daeju, unaware of my true intentions, readily nodded in agreement to the proposal.

“Sounds like a good idea. Then I and the Twelve Masters will investigate the Yun Clan.”

I gave him a bright smile at his words.

Success.