Chapter 147
“Yaaawn…”
Mayu, a Strategist of the Martial Alliance’s Dark Hall, barely suppressed a yawn as he headed to the Murim Alliance Strategist’s Office.
This was because cooperation was required between the Murim Alliance Strategist’s Office and the Dark Hall.
‘I’m tired…’
Since the Anhui Raid, the Dark Hall had been just as busy as the Murim Alliance Strategist’s Office.
No, the Dark Hall had to be even busier, held responsible for the Demonic Cult’s Raid, having left their security vulnerable.
Most of the agents in the Dark Hall had set out to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains for spy activities, and all the Strategists in the Dark Hall had to stay up all night formulating counterintelligence strategies against the Demonic Cult.
“Still, once I handle this matter, I should be able to rest a little…”
It was the moment Mayu, half-asleep, stepped in front of the Strategist’s Office.
“You Bastard!! Get over here!!”
“…Hmm?”
Loud shouting was being exchanged in the Strategist’s Office, where usually only the sound of orderly work could be heard.
Curious, Mayu carefully opened the door and saw…
“In a situation where we’re already short on military funds and begging all over the place, what? 2400 Gwan of gold?! You fucking Demonic Cult Spy-like Bastard. I will execute you today!”
“Ge, Overall Strategist! Please calm down…!”
…General Strategist Jegal Tak, known for his usually Gentle demeanor, had lost his temper and was swinging his iron fan wildly.
“I-I’m sorr…, keuhuk, I’m sorry…!”
The target of that anger was the Second Son of the Dokgo Noble Family, Wunyo Pavilion Lord Dokgo Jun, and the other Strategists around them were blocking Jegal Tak, who looked ready to kill him at any moment.
“Eek, everyone move!!”
“Aaaagh-!”
But there was no way the Strategists, with their fragile bodies, could stop someone who had lost his temper.
When Jegal Tak even used his Internal Power to push them away, the Strategists trying To Block him flew away like twigs.
Thud.
‘…He’s really going to kill someone at this rate.’
Whatever it was, if the General Strategist was going on a rampage like that, the Wunyo Pavilion Lord must have made a massive mistake.
Still, he couldn’t just watch someone die in the sacred Murim Alliance Strategist’s Office, so Mayu let out a sigh and rushed at the General Strategist.
“General Strategist! Please calm down! It’s me, Mayu of the Dark Hall!”
“Move! I said move!”
Mayu had developed a good friendship with Jegal Tak while handling various Murim Alliance matters together.
However, his current state was already such that he couldn’t even recognize the people around him.
At this, Mayu pondered for a moment before recalling Jegal Tak’s thoroughly rational side and shouting loudly.
“We are in desperate need of every single Martial Artist right now, so why are you trying to kill the Unyo Pavilion Lord here! Think of the greater cause!”
“…”
At the mention of the greater cause, Jegal Tak stopped his rampage. Considering this an opportunity, Mayu quickly continued speaking.
“A messenger just arrived from Qinghai requesting more Reinforcements. No matter how big a mistake he made, the Unyo Pavilion Lord is a valuable asset.”
“Huu…”
Only then did Jegal Tak seem to regain his senses, lowering the iron fan he was about to swing and giving an order to Dokgo Jun.
Even though he had regained his senses, his voice was still full of anger.
“…Unyo Pavilion Lord.”
“Y-Yes! General Strategist…!”
“…Go to Qinghai right now and join your Subordinates. If you are held responsible for this matter, the Unyo Pavilion will have to fight the Demonic Cult on the Front Line.”
“…U-Understood.”
“If you Understand, then hurry up and go!”
“L-Loyalty-!!”
At Jegal Tak’s bellow, Dokgo Jun bowed his head and left the Strategist’s Office.
“Haa…”
Watching that pathetic retreating figure, Jegal Tak let out a sigh and turned his gaze to Mayu.
“…Strategist Ma. Thank you. Thanks to you, I didn’t cross the final line.”
“Not at all. More importantly, why was the Unyo Pavilion Lord…”
“…My head hurts, so I’ll explain later. Right, what brings you here?”
After that, Jegal Tak personally gathered the things Mayu needed, then went into the General Strategist’s Office and slumped into his chair.
His head hurt so much that he was in no condition to stand.
“…2400 Gwan of gold.”
Right now, the Murim Alliance is squeezing out everything it has and focusing it on Qinghai, specifically the Kunlun Sect.
Because if Kunlun, which was at the Vanguard of the Defense against the Demonic Cult, was breached, the Demonic Cult would flood into the Central Plains like a tidal wave.
‘When we’re already short on money for Defense preparations…, haa…’
Jegal Tak clutched his throbbing head, but still felt relieved that he hadn’t killed Dokgo Jun.
Even if he was incompetent, he was still a Murim Alliance Pavilion Lord. His existence would definitely be of help in the upcoming war situation.
‘Huu…, right. Let’s think positively…’
Even though the Heavenly Demon Sword was in the hands of the Green Forest, wasn’t it acknowledged as ultimately belonging to the Murim Alliance?
And the Heavenly Demon Sword was an item whose value would plummet once the Righteous-Demonic War ended.
‘Though I don’t know how long the Righteous-Demonic War will take…’
In truth, the Murim Alliance wasn’t entirely lacking confidence in the war.
Of course, the martial prowess of the Leadership was Superior on the Demonic Cult’s side, but…
‘Even so, aren’t they just a small elite force?’
The Demonic Cult’s territory was confined to the barren Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, whereas the Murim Alliance’s reach extended all over the World.
It meant that all the supplies and talent of the Central Plains were gathered in the Murim Alliance.
And all of the Murim Alliance’s strength was currently gathered at the Kunlun Sect, which shared a Border with the Demonic Cult.
‘No matter how strong the Demonic Cult is, it won’t be easy…’
No? Perhaps even without the Green Forest’s help, the Murim Alliance could immediately suppress the Demonic Cult and subjugate the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
‘Right…, let’s think positively…’
The Green Forest’s military power was an unknown variable. Its strength might not even be necessary.
And 2400 Gwan of gold?
Of course, it was a huge sum and it was a painful loss, but it wasn’t to such an extent that the Murim Alliance’s financial power couldn’t compensate for it.
In this way, Jegal Tak maximized his positive thinking and swallowed his anger.
Still, thanks to Dokgo Jun, it was a rest he had gotten for the first time in a while.
* * *
The day after Dokgo Jun left, the Haomun boss immediately exchanged the Murim Alliance’s promissory note for cash.
“Heeya…”
“They said it was the first time since opening that the Continental Exchange had withdrawn this much cash at once.”
It was an amount that would surprise even the Haomun Leader, who handled all the black money Under Heaven, a whopping 2400 Gwan of gold.
“…Seeing this makes my heart feel very warm.”
“With this amount, it won’t be easy to store. What will you do?”
“For now, move it all to the Haomun Hunan Branch.”
Storing this much gold in the mountains would definitely be too much. Besides, no matter how deep their loyalty was, all the Subordinates under my Command were Bandit Bastards.
They could be blinded by the gold in front of their eyes.
On the other hand, Haomun was extremely thorough when it came to money.
“Yes, then I will have Haomun manage all this money. But where do you plan to use this huge sum?”
“A war is going to break out soon, so we should slowly prepare our defenses too. I have it all thought out. Just store it for now. Ah, and…”
I whispered intimately into the Haomun Leader’s ear.
“Did you do everything I told you to?”
“Ah…, what you ordered back then.”
The day the Haomun Leader said Haomun would stay with the Green Forest until the end.
I had given an order to the Haomun Leader in addition to Yongyong’s task.
That order was exactly…
“…Disposing of assets isn’t such an easy task… Even though we put them up for quick sale, we’ve only recovered about half.”
…to dispose of and liquidate all of Haomun’s assets in the regions near the Demonic Cult.
Since that entire area would be laid to waste once the war broke out, turning buildings and fields alike into worthless assets, this was quite important…
“Half, huh…, that’s a shame…”
It was inevitably a shame that we could only recover half of it.
When I didn’t hide it and showed my regret, the Haomun Leader immediately replied.
“Still, we’ve lowered the prices and put them all up for quick sale, so we should be able to dispose of everything in a month or two at the latest. Please don’t worry too much.”
“A month or two, huh…”
I clutched my head and somehow tried to recall the knowledge of the original work I had read in the past.
‘In the original, didn’t Kunlun get annihilated within a month of declaring the Righteous-Demonic War?’
You could say it was only a month, but that was also the result of the Kunlun Sect putting their lives on the line and putting up a desperate resistance.
Furthermore, the Righteous-Demonic War hadn’t even officially started yet, so I felt I still had some time to spare.
I nodded and followed up with an additional question.
“That guy from the Mount Hua still hasn’t regained consciousness?”
“According to the report from the Haomun Shanxi Branch…, it seems so.”
“Weak Bastard…”
Among the things I had previously ordered the Haomun Leader to do were to monitor the original Protagonist, Ha Jinseong.
But from what I heard, he had been lying in bed ever since he collapsed during the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
“This is a bit of a variable.”
No, at this point in time the fact that a war was about to break out was a variable to begin with.
“They say it’s a highly volatile situation in Qinghai right now. The Murim Alliance has fully mobilized its Martial Artists and is pressuring the Demonic Cult by surrounding the Border in multiple layers.”
“…And on the Demonic Cult’s side?”
“They aren’t showing any particular reaction, but the atmosphere suggests they are ready to respond to the battle.”
To think the Righteous-Demonic War, which was originally supposed to happen a few years later, is happening now…
The original Protagonist wasn’t fully prepared yet, and he was even bedridden.
Considering that countless martial artists had been retired after being hit by the Cheonma Divine Art, the Murim Alliance was in a much weaker state than in the original.
“If I think about it that way, is the Demonic Cult not much different?”
Above all, judging from her last condition, it was obvious Cheon Ye-Seo wouldn’t be able to participate in the war, and the Great elder had even lost his Right-hand Man.
If you had to weigh it, the current Righteous-Demonic War was a fight between a nerfed Demonic Cult and a nerfed Murim Alliance.
No, if anything, the side that was weakened more was probably the Demonic Cult. The Demonic Cult had suffered major damage to its main forces.
But why…
“Hmm…”
“What is it? Great Hero?”
“No…, should I say I have a somewhat uneasy feeling…?”
Even in the original, the Heavenly Demon was a secretive existence, so their absence was one thing…
It bothered me that the Demonic Cult was starting a war while being far more ruined than expected.
‘They aren’t the type to ever fight a losing battle, though?’
In the first place, it was Strange that those guys were showing movements different from the original.
I was the only one who had intruded in the middle of the novel, but my existence alone caused such an unstable Righteous-Demonic War to break out?
“Something is Strange…”
But even though I agonized over it all day, I couldn’t think of any particular brilliant idea.
There was also the fact that Qinghai, the Border between the Demonic Cult and the Murim Alliance, was so far North that it felt like a story from a distant country.
However, the next day.
“Great Hero!”
“Hmm?”
I ended up hearing a surprising fact from the Haomun Leader, who came running in a hurry.
“…They say the Murim Alliance was heavily defeated by the Demonic Cult in Qinghai yesterday.”
“…Eh? Already?”
Wait, didn’t those Murim Alliance Bastards say they fully mobilized their martial artists…?
“…The Murim Alliance hasn’t officially announced it yet, but according to our spy, it’s true. They are currently pulling the Front Line out of Qinghai…”
“…Pulling the Front Line out of Qinghai? Wait a minute…, then what about Kunlun?”
“…”
When I asked urgently, the Haomun Leader hesitated for a moment before answering.
“The Kunlun Sect…, they say that they refused to retreat and put up a Fight to the Death before all dying in battle on Kunlun Mountain.”
“…”
This was the Maginot Line of the Martial Arts World. This was the Nakdong River Defense Line of the Martial Arts World. This was the Righteous-Demonic War starter of the Martial Arts World. It was that Kunlun had been annihilated. The situation was unlike the origin of the Martial Arts World.
The Nakdong River Defense Line of the Martial Arts World.
The Righteous-Demonic War was the starter of the Martial Arts World.
That Kunlun had been annihilated, unlike the original, in just a single morning.