Chapter 157
Sreung-.
Seeing the people fighting each other, Yoo Somyung hurriedly drew her Sword.
Even if they weren’t in an Alliance with the Green Forest, she couldn’t just stand by and watch them in trouble.
`[Even if my participation won’t change the tide of battle, still…!]`
If she could be of even a little help, she would gladly assist.
But…
`[But…, who is the Demonic Cult…?]`
No matter how closely Yoo Somyung looked, she couldn’t distinguish who was from the Demonic Cult.
Everyone was wearing similar clothes, and she couldn’t feel the demonic energy unique to the Demonic Cult.
`[Did the Demonic Cult disguise itself as the Green Forest and launch a Surprise Attack…?]`
It was a situation she couldn’t Understand at all.
Even so, she couldn’t jump in without any information, so Yoo Somyung first observed the battlefield and began Friend-or-Foe Identification.
And then…
“Ah…!”
…she finally spotted a Familiar face and leaped toward it.
“Uh…, what was that person’s name again…?”
She remembered seeing him, one of Muyeon’s early Subordinates, in passing whenever she met Muyeon.
But she couldn’t recall his name.
`[Ah…, surely…]`
The other Green Forest people didn’t call that person by his name either. Instead…!
“Youngest Young Master!”
He was called by the title Maknae.
Since he was definitely Muyeon’s Subordinate, those facing him must be Demonic Cultists.
Making that judgment, Yoo Somyung charged forward with her Sword raised.
“Youngest Young Master! I will assist you!”
“…Hmm? Uh…?”
Only then did Maknae spot Yoo Somyung and shout in surprise.
“Uh-huh? Young Lady Yoo Somyung of the Shanxi Yu Family?! What brings you here?!”
“I will explain later. So for now, the enemy in front of us…!”
“Enemy…? Ah…”
At the word enemy, Maknae tilted his head, looked forward once, and soon nodded in understanding.
“There’s been a misunderstanding. I’ll take care of this quickly.”
“…Pardon?”
A misunderstanding…, what did he mean?
Instead of giving Yoo Somyung a direct answer, Maknae used his right hand to pull out something at his waist.
`[A Saber…?]`
Seeing that, Yoo Somyung paused for a moment.
`[Was this person originally a Saber wielder…?]`
No…, he already had a Sword in his left hand to begin with, didn’t he?
`[Left Sword, Right Saber…!]`
Weapons are not as light as one might think. And most people do not have both hands equally developed.
Furthermore, a Sword and a Saber.
Though they look similar, they are strictly different weapons.
They require different enlightenments and have different realms of mastery.
Wielding two such weapons at the same time was a task that required immense effort and considerable talent.
And yet…
Pabababat-!
…Maknae pulled off such a feat as if it were nothing.
Sword and Saber. Despite wielding different weapons simultaneously, there was no awkwardness in his movements at all; instead, he simply cut down his opponents with profound effectiveness.
“Aaaagh-!”
“…”
Yoo Somyung could only stare blankly at the sight.
`[…Was this person always this strong?]`
It was to the extent that he could show considerable performance even if he were deployed right now to the anti-Demonic Cult Front Line.
However, even after showing such an absurd display, Maknae merely smiled as if it were nothing.
“These folks seemed to lack basic stamina, so I was giving them a little workout.”
“…Pardon?”
Against the Demonic Cult…, a workout…?
Yoo Somyung felt her brain failing to keep up with the current situation.
As she blankly stared only at Maknae’s face, Maknae commanded the fallen guys.
“Everyone, please get up. This person is our Leader’s guest.”
“Ughhh…”
At Maknae’s Command, the fallen martial artists dropped their weapons and stood up from their spots.
“Hello-!!”
“…?”
They bowed toward Yoo Somyung just like that.
Wait…, they weren’t enemies…?
“…Huh?”
Then why were they fighting earlier…?
Yoo Somyung could not easily Understand this situation.
* * *
“So…, that was Training…?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…”
Heading to find Muyeon with Maknae and hearing the circumstances, Yoo Somyung truly could not close her mouth easily.
`[No, seriously… I thought a war had broken out…]`
Even if no one had died, the Killing Intent in their eyes had been genuine, hadn’t it.
Seueuk-.
As one looked around, the gazes of the other Green Forest Members staring this way were truly no different from beasts.
`[They must all be looking at that Executive identification tag hanging on Youngest Young Master’s chest…]`
Following their gazes to Maknae’s tag, the character for four (four) was written on it. [They must all be looking at that Executive identification tag hanging on Youngest Young Master’s chest…]”If so, Youngest Young Master…, does that mean you are 4th among the Executives?””You could say that.”The martial prowess Maknae had just shown. It was truly enough to make Y.
“If so, Youngest Young Master…, does that mean you are the 4th among the Executives?”
“You could say that.”
The martial prowess Maknae had just shown was truly enough to make Yoo Somyung’s palms sweat.
And yet, to think there were people stronger than such a Maknae…
Furthermore…
“But this isn’t the end. This Executive ranking doesn’t even include the Haomun people, and there’s also Lord Imugi who is completely beyond the usual standards…”
The existence of Haomun, the largest Faction Under Heaven of the Demonic Path and an Imugi…
`[Perhaps…]`
Yoo Somyung had an intuition then.
The fact that if the Green Forest just helped the Murim Alliance, they might be able to win this seemingly hopeless Righteous-Demonic War.
But to do so, there was a great mountain she had to cross.
“Leader. A guest has arrived!”
“Hmm? A guest? Uh, what’s this?”
Tak.
Facing Muyeon’s face for the first time in a while…, she immediately straightened her posture.
Muyeon was currently in the only position to provide help to the Murim Alliance, and she couldn’t let her Personal Feelings ruin such a great cause.
Therefore, she…
“What, I wondered who was coming, and it was Somyung-i…”
“Yoo Somyung, daughter of the Shanxi Yu Family…”
“Hmm?”
“Greet the Green Forest General Stronghold Master.”
…erased all her Personal Feelings and greeted Muyeon with a polite demeanor.
* * *
“Daughter of the Shanxi Yu Family, Yoo Somyung, greets the Green Forest General Stronghold Master.”
“Oh, really?”
When Yoo Somyung, whom I was seeing for the first time in a while, showed utmost courtesy and bowed politely to me, my eyebrow twitched for a moment.
She had been calling me this and that all this time, so why was she suddenly acting like this?
“Why don’t you act like you usually do? Why the sudden change?”
“…This young girl has come to see the General Stronghold Master as an Emissary of the Murim Alliance. How could I not show my utmost courtesy?”
“…”
She was Serious.
I felt like I could see the Murim Alliance’s current situation through her attitude.
They must be that desperate.
“Shall we take a seat first?”
“Yes.”
“And drop the pointless formalities.”
“…”
At my words, she nodded and sat down.
I poured a cup of tea in front of her and asked.
“You came because of support, right? Are you asking us to fight together in Shaanxi Province?”
“…Yeah.”
Horok.
I took a sip of tea and paused.
“Well…”
“Wait…! You clearly said you would help us once when the Murim Alliance wanted it! There’s even a written oath. You have to fulfill your promise…!”
“It doesn’t specifically state how many Troops I have to send or by when. You should know this too, right?”
“…Damn it.”
For a moment, her brow furrowed. She also looked as if she was resenting Dokgo Jun for making such a stupid oath.
But she soon gave up on pressing the issue and began to persuade me.
“…Muyeon. But now is not the time to argue about such things. Without the Green Forest’s help, the Murim Alliance will definitely lose this battle, and if Shaanxi Province falls, this Hunan Province will no longer be a Safe Zone either.”
“Aren’t you being too pessimistic? Still, for the Murim Alliance to fall so vainly…”
“…She came in person.”
“She…?”
“…Deputy Cult Leader Cheon Ye-Seo.”
“…”
“…She is personally leading the other Demonic Cult Elders and marching out this time.”
At Somyung-i’s words, I couldn’t help but pause for a moment.
Cheon Ye-Seo is coming in person…
If that happens, just as Somyung-i said, the Murim Alliance will inevitably lose.
“…You guys have a Hero too, don’t you, like Ha Jinseong of the Mount Hua Sect?…”
The Original Protagonist had come to his senses two months ago and is currently making great contributions based on his Memories of Past Life.
However…
“…It’s true that he is fighting hard against the Demonic Cult…, but he’s not at the level to face Cheon Ye-Seo.”
…Because the war had broken out earlier than in the original work, his strength was not as great as it was in the original.
“…Muyeon.”
Somyung-i spoke to me in a calm voice.
“I don’t have the justification to tell you what to do. Still, I hope you make the right judgment. If we fall, you guys won’t be safe either, right?”
“…”
Her eyes were calm as she said that, but…
`[She’s changed.]`
…there was a dark Poisonous Qi contained within them.
The Somyung-i in front of me right now was not the naive Somyung-i of the past.
It must be because of the war. The war has already changed many things and will continue to change many things in the future.
“…I’ll think about it. Wait outside.”
I immediately sent Somyung-i out.
Someone was calling Maknae who was outside…
“Maknae-ya.”
“Yes, Leader.”
“Go out right now and bring the Haomun Leader, Yongyong, and all the Executives. Tell them that fighting is forbidden for today because we’re going to have a Serious talk.”
…I summoned all the Executives.
* * *
For the past two months, all the Green Forest Executives had been so busy dealing with their Subordinates that they had no time to meet each other.
However, when I exceptionally forbade fighting and called the Executives, everyone came in with tense expressions.
“Leader…, everyone is here.”
“Alright.”
Along with Dongryong-i’s words, after confirming that all the Executives had arrived, I spoke to them.
“A Request for Support has come from the Murim Alliance.”
“Does that mean…!”
As Jongrimun Leader Yeon Mae-Hyang reacted in surprise, I nodded.
“They’re asking us to fight the Demonic Cult together with them.”
“…!”
At the sudden news, all the Executives murmured.
“We are going to decide what to do through a vote here.”
“A vote…, you say?”
“Yeah, each of you raise your hand and say what you think we should do.”
“…”
As expected, the concept of a vote seemed unfamiliar, so everyone hesitated and couldn’t speak their thoughts.
Therefore, I took the initiative, raised my hand, and spoke.
“I cast one vote for opposing.”
“…”
“I think we just need to live well among ourselves, regardless of how they bicker and fight up there.”
When I said that, Bang Sam-i tilted his head and spoke to me.
“No…, can’t we just go with your thoughts as usual, Leader? If it’s your opinion, we would follow it unconditionally…”
“It’s because I’m not certain either. That’s why I want to hear your thoughts too.”
“Ah…”
At my words, caution settled on everyone’s faces. And amidst the heavy silence that followed, the first to break it was…
“I share the same opinion as elder brother.”
…Dongryong.
“The reason?”
“There has never been a time when following elder brother’s words led to a bad result. I will follow you this time as well.”
It was an answer that seemed full of trust in me.
As I nodded at this…
“…I am in favor of going to Shaanxi Province.”
“…the Haomun Leader.”
This time, the Haomun Leader countered my opinion.
“The reason?”
“Is it not a case of “If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold”? If we fight the Demonic Cult alone after the Murim Alliance is completely defeated, it will take twice, no, three times the effort. It is better to fight together while the Murim Alliance is still maintaining its form.”
It was a truly rational answer. I also thought so in my head, so I nodded at her opinion.
Next to raise her hand was the Jongrimun Leader.
“If it’s Shaanxi…, then isn’t the Zhongnan Sect in a dangerous situation? Of course we must go help!”
As a Lay Disciple of the Zhongnan Sect, she made her decision based on Personal Feelings.
As they began to speak their inner thoughts one by one like this, the others also raised their hands and started to speak.
Eventually, everyone had spoken their opinions, and now only two people remained.
Seueuk-.
This time, Yongyong-i, who had been keeping quiet, raised his hand.
“I think it’s right not to go.”
“The reason?”
“…A feeling.”
“…”
It was a very simple answer, but the atmosphere grew heavy.
And rightly so, because the feeling of an Imugi that had lived for hundreds of years was not something to be ignored.
“Is it then 7 to 7 now?”
12 Green Forest Executives, plus me, Yongyong, and the Haomun Leader, made 15 people.
Now, how this would be handled would be decided by the choice of the last person.
Therefore, everyone’s gaze gathered on the person who held the final deciding vote.
“Uh…, then am I the only one left?”
“…Yeah.”
“Haha…, this is quite troubling.”
Maknae, who was the only one who hadn’t raised his hand until now, scratched his head as if burdened.
It would certainly be hard to decide if the final choice was left in his hands.
Perhaps this was too harsh a position for Maknae.
At this, as I tried to give Maknae some help…
“If it’s too difficult to decide…”
“No.”
“…Huh?”
“I’ve decided, elder brother.”
…He stopped me instead and held me back.
“Huu…”
Then he closed his eyes once and seemed to think for a moment, before…
“I…”
…Maknae immediately opened his eyes and spoke.