Chapter 110 Triumphant Return (3)

Chapter 110 Triumphant Return (3)

Three days later, I was doing my morning meditation as usual when a sharp voice called out.

“Senior? Senior!”

“Snore, cool… Huh?”

Looking toward the window where the sound came from, I saw Jik Hwa-ran standing atop the wall, her cheeks puffed out.

“…Didn’t you see the notice posted outside?”

“That’s exactly why I’m standing on the wall instead of going through the gate. And the tofu vendor comes and goes freely, so why am I the only one banned?”

“You don’t know?”

“Would I ask if I knew?”

Her behavior made him sigh involuntarily, and explaining became too much trouble.

“…Should I let you out?”

“Yes!”

“No.”

“Why?!”

“I’m not ready yet.”

“What does that even mean!”

“Anyway, I was meditating, so go away.”

Faced with my firm refusal, Jeokhwaran twisted her body and tried to be cute.

“Whyyy? We promised to go to Guryongsan once my injuries healed, right?”

“They haven’t healed yet, that’s why I was meditating.”

Of course, her feeble attempts at cuteness didn’t work on me.

“I knew you’d say that, so I brought something good for your injuries.”

“……What is it?”

At my question, Jik Hwaran held up a small red bottle.

“It’s liquor steeped with Hwari’s liver. It’s 30 years old this year. I stole it from Grandfather’s safe to give to you, Senior. Hehe.”

“Oh my! You came empty-handed, and now you bring this! Come in! Come in quickly. “

We have to drink that.

As Jeokhwaran entered, Myohyang served simple refreshments and tea.

”Thanks, Myohyang.“

”You’re welcome.”

Myohyang, tall for a woman of this era, and Jeokhwaran, petite even by the standards of her time, looked like an older sister and a little sister together.

Jik Hwaran sipped her tea and snacks while chatting about trivial matters, then soon shared important news.

“It seems the Ten Demon Clan will retreat soon.”

“Already?”

“Thanks to you and Lord Bukgung.”

“……?”

“I heard the North Palace Head and the senior member joined forces to kill the Demon King and sever the Blood Clan Leader’s left arm?”

Jik Hwaran explained it thus.

Some sects, determined to betray the Demon Clan that had held the position of Demon King for generations, started a war to gain the support of the Demon Cultists living within the Ten Demon Alliance’s territory.

However, the forces of the Slaughter Sect, Blood Sect, and Flame Sect that had advanced to Jianchang Mountain suffered heavy losses and were forced to retreat.

While the Flame Sect only lost a few warriors, the situation for the Slaughter and Blood Sects was dire.

The Slaughter Sect’s Deputy Sect Leader, Xianshan Yue, had died, and the Blood Sect Leader was gravely wounded, hovering between life and death.

Naturally, the strength of these two sects plummeted.

Particularly devastating was the defeat of the Blood Sect leader, Blood Demon—one of the Ten Great Masters of the World and a top-tier expert of the Ten Demon Clans. This delivered a tremendous shock to their ranks.

Consequently, the sects supporting the Demon Sect gained relative strength. Predictions arose that even the sects stationed in Hanzhong would retreat.

“Wow…”

The butterfly effect, huh.

As I couldn’t help but marvel, Jihwa-ran chuckled proudly.

“Helping kill Blood Demon and Flesh Demon Madman? That’s truly a tremendous contribution.”

“Nah, well… I just hit them a few times, and they ran off on their own.”

“Wow… That’s awesome…”

Jik Hwaran blushed and covered her cheeks with both hands.

Faced with this unresponsive reaction, I dismissed her.

“Alright, alright. If you’ve finished your tea, you should go. I need some sleep… No, it’s time for meditation.”

“Got it. But once my internal injuries are fully healed, we’re going out to play, right?”

“Geez, you never say two things at once, do you?”

“Hehehe. See you next time then.”

Jik Hwaran opened the door, glanced back at me briefly, and said.

“Ah! Right. If Lord Seongju asks what you want, tell him you want land.”

“Land?”

“They say such things exist.”

Jie Huaran left the room with a meaningful smile.

* * *

A few days later.

As Jie Huaran had said, the four factions of the Ten Demon Alliance besieging Hanjung—the Dark Clan, the Demon Clan, the Color Clan, and the Throwing Clan—decided to retreat.

It was a decision that left the warriors of Jeong Do-maeng, who had been rushing to the scene, utterly disheartened.

And then.

Shocking news arrived.

The Blood Clan Leader, who had fled after being gravely wounded by North Palace Baek, was dead.

It seemed the old man, Baek Iksip, simply couldn’t withstand the Black Flame Dragon’s heat.

After all the Ten Demon Clans’ forces had withdrawn, the Castle Lord ordered all divisions of Nine Dragon Castle to post enormous numbers of notices throughout Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.

They proclaimed the victory of Guryongseong in grand terms.

A decisive triumph with almost no casualties on our side.

It was right to spread the news far and wide to boost Guryongseong’s morale and crush the Ten Demon Alliance’s.

Thanks to this, the mood among the people living in Sichuan and Yunnan soared sky-high.

Because the quality of life changes drastically depending on which faction rules.

For instance, Nine Dragon City, which had the highest fiscal self-sufficiency among the Five Powers, had the lowest tax rate and was thus the most favored by the people.

Conversely, the Ten Demon Alliance, where crossing into their territory meant facing a massive tax hike and being forced to believe in the heretical religion known as the Demon Cult, was the least favored.

Once the outcome of the war became known to all under heaven, the gossipmongers began to murmur.

Shouldn’t the Ten Demon Alliance, previously rated as one of the ‘Two Strong, Two Medium, One Weak’ factions, be downgraded to ‘Medium’, while the Nine Dragon Fortress, rated as ‘Medium’, be upgraded instead?

Such talk was understandable. Looking solely at the number of Flower Realm-level masters, the Ten Demon Alliance had possessed three, now reduced to two, while the Nine Dragon Fortress, which had two, now increased to three.

The upheaval didn’t end there.

Bukgung Baek ascended as the new Heavenly Ten Great Masters, replacing the deceased Blood Demon.

It was the moment an alcoholic who guzzled liquor since morning stood atop the martial world.

‘A world where only fighting prowess matters, where one’s conduct is irrelevant yet still commands universal respect. Tsk tsk tsk.’

Truly, it was hardcore hell-like martial arts.

Anyway, the City Lord bestowed a new title upon North Palace Baek, now one of the Ten Great Masters.

Heaven and Earth Fighting King.

It meant he had no equal in combat throughout the entire world.

It seemed incredibly grandiose, but it wasn’t necessarily just that.

When he ascended to the Flower Realm, the City Lord was eighty years old, and the Great Qing Immortal was over ninety.

In contrast, North Palace White hadn’t even reached forty yet.

Barring any unforeseen events, he would dedicate another forty years to honing his martial arts. Thus, becoming the most skilled warrior under heaven, as his title suggested, might not be such a far-fetched prospect.

The residents of Guryongseong rejoiced at this double celebration.

After all, security was directly tied to their quality of life.

Meanwhile, the warriors dispatched to Hanjung and the Jianchang branch began returning one by one.

The entire task force dispatched to Jianchang had returned, but a quarter of the warriors sent to Hanzhong remained stationed there, prepared for any potential provocation.

Frankly, this wasn’t great news for me.

Why?

Because while I’d been enjoying paid leave under North Palace Baek’s tacit approval, the return of the garrison meant I’d have to resume my duties.

‘The honey’s run out.’

Still, the war ending was cause for celebration, so I didn’t show my disappointment.

And so, half a month passed.

Waaah!

The warriors stationed on both fronts arrived at Guryong Fortress on the same day, at the same hour, as if by prior arrangement.

The only difference was the gate through which each group entered: those coming from Hanjung passed through the North Gate, while those from Jeomchang entered through the South Gate.

With victory parades happening at opposite gates, the city’s residents had to choose which one to watch.

Naturally, everyone flocked to the South Gate to see the side that had achieved the most glorious feats, filling the area so tightly there wasn’t room to stand.

Climbing the south wall to see those who had fought alongside them, the resolute squad entering in triumph became visible through the dense crowd of residents.

Though everyone was heavily bandaged from injuries, their demeanor was supremely dignified, befitting those who had achieved great feats.

Seeing some even smile faintly, it seemed they felt a kind of pride.

Once they all passed through the gate, Commander Inhyeonjin ordered the unit to disband, and every member of the special forces unit saluted him with a crisp, precise salute.

Gyu! Ryong!

Seeing their booming voices and disciplined movements filled me with renewed pride.

‘Huh.’

Indeed, the effort I put into teaching them bit by bit paid off.

* * *

The next day.

Wearing the neatly pressed ceremonial robes Myohyang had prepared, I headed toward the inner city.

“La la la la.”

A hum escaped me.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap.

My feet moved in a playful, carefree rhythm without my even realizing it.

Why?

Today was the day of the merit assessment, so of course I was happy.

Arriving at the Seongju Hall in high spirits, I saw dozens of people seated on chairs flanking the main hall.

They were my comrades from Jemchang Mountain, including Inhyeon Jin-in, who had shared life-and-death experiences with me.

As I entered, everyone rushed out with delighted expressions.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Catching the 살마광귀! I figured our squad leader Jin was holding something back.“

”You mean this? Different from the start, right? Our Turyong is no ordinary man.“

”Uwahahaha, I’ll take you somewhere nice after this.“

Starting with the older warriors.

”You’re here? I heard you suffered internal injuries from Hwarani, but you look surprisingly fine?“

”Your martial arts have improved. I’d love to spar with you sometime.“

”Hahaha, you met the Extermination Sect’s Master?“

Young warriors like Jikil, Danun, and Wijiung offered their greetings.

A moment passed.

Creak.

The main hall doors opened, and the City Lord and Mun Sang entered.

Everyone inside stopped what they were doing and bowed their heads.

”We greet the City Lord.”

We greet the Lord―.

Exuding an aura like a king of a nation, the Lord took his seat. Everyone returned to the seats prepared on either side of the main hall.

“You’ve all worked hard.”

Such simple praise, far too simple for the effort expended.

‘Is he a sociopath?’

I began to suspect the Lord might be a martial arts sociopath, but upon hearing Mun Sang’s explanation that followed, I couldn’t help but nod.

“The Lord has bestowed a reward upon all present here, separate from the official commendations.”

The Lord was a man’s man, showing his worth through actions rather than words.

As that true man nodded, Mun-sang signaled to the warriors of the Lord’s Hall.

Soon, a box filled with money was passed to each person gathered in the great hall.

Thirty taels of silver—equivalent to thirty million won in modern value. And this was a reward paid entirely separate from the official commendation ceremony.

The moment the wooden box was in his arms, his heart felt reassured.

Indeed, just as he had known all along, the Lord of the Province was truly magnanimous—perhaps even excessively so.

Just as he was feeling the warmth of the box in his arms.

“Now, the commendation ceremony shall begin. Those whose names are called, step forward.”

The distribution of rewards began.

First, the Third Class Merit.

“…To the above 62 individuals, I bestow the Second Grade Martial Gear of the Nine Dragons Spear and the Second Grade Martial Arts of the Nine Dragons Shield. I will distribute the tokens; come anytime to claim your rewards.”

One might think, “Is that all?” But Second Grade Martial Gear and Martial Arts meant masterpieces crafted by skilled artisans and high-grade martial arts.

They held immense value.

From the second-class commendations onward, the numbers dropped sharply.

“…The following 17 individuals are awarded second-grade weapons from the Nine Dragon Weaponry and second-grade martial arts from the Nine Dragon Martial Arts.”

Finally, the first-class commendations.

Only four names remained uncalled.

In Hyeonjin, who had brilliantly led the defense force.

Kwangcheol Daeju, who fought relentlessly at the forefront without sparing himself.

Bukgung Baek, who defeated the Blood Clan Leader and delivered the final blow to the bloodthirsty demon I had already weakened.

And me, the maestro of strategy who made all this possible, the master of the battlefield.

Thump, thump.

Just thinking about receiving the divine armor and peerless martial arts to sell them off made my heart race already.