WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

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◈ The Martial Alliance Rulebook Archives ◈

Chapter 40: The Gap Between the Records Office and the Anomaly Destruction Hall (4)

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"Captain Jaksu, when do we leave?"

"The Martial Alliance representative assigned to negotiate with the Murong Clan hasn't arrived yet."

"Negotiations? If they need people like us as escorts, the goods can't be worth much anyway."

"Quiet. Do you think the higher-ups will look kindly on that attitude?"

"No, I mean..."

The White Sword Squad member who had been grumbling about the departure soon trailed off and backed down.

The White Sword Squad members' goal was to join one of the Martial Alliance's reasonably decent martial forces and live with at least some respect.

There weren't many with enough nerve, or enough of a rebellious streak, to keep complaining when their captain said he would report their work performance exactly as it was.

Still, negotiations.

I recalled the transport list Jade Scale had sent ahead. Alongside the usual items one would expect for a bandit-subjugation operation, such as arrows and padded vests, there were several special items, including tracking incense.

Was this meant to extract concessions from the Murong Clan in exchange for providing tracking incense and specialists to handle it?

A few things were rather puzzling. For one, was special equipment like tracking incense really necessary just to subjugate a mountain stronghold?

Iron-Headed Fire Axe was a Peak realm expert. If Iron-Headed Fire Axe escaped and bore a grudge, it could become a serious nuisance later.

How much of an eyesore would a vengeful Peak realm expert be if they lurked at the clan's events and launched ambushes whenever they could?

Since the Murong Clan, one of the Five Great Clans, likely already had plenty of enemies, perhaps this was simply an attempt to uproot such a grudge completely.

Nodding to myself, I waved to Jaksu.

"Captain Jaksu."

"Hm?"

Jaksu stared at me, then tilted his head with a quiet "Huh."

"Yeok Cheonmyeong? Are you supervising this mission?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

This time, I was the one tilting my head.

My official identity was that of a messenger.

I was to warn the Martial Alliance branches around Iron-Steel Mountain that bandits might escape, and deliver a rulebook setting the limits of how far they were to comply with the Murong Clan's request for cooperation.

It was an identity that allowed me to easily separate from the group and begin investigating the Anomaly under the pretext of visiting nearby branches.

I shook my head and explained the assignment. I would travel with them, but split off once we arrived.

"That's strange. I was told headquarters was sending a supervisor..."

"Hahaha, I'm late! Sorry to keep everyone waiting!"

A figure approached from afar, waving. Their sturdy build showed beneath their blue martial uniform.

"Captain Jaksu of the White Sword Squad. And you are?"

Jaksu reacted warily to the unfamiliar person's approach. There were hardly any members of the unorthodox sects who would loiter before the Martial Alliance's gates, but not none.

'Human-Skin Chef was the same...'

Perhaps there was another reason, though. Jaksu did not trust the Alliance.

"I'm Lamp-Extinguishing Executioner, assigned as supervisor of the Iron-Steel Mountain supply transport mission. I look forward to working with you."

The writ of command they displayed bore the seal of the department that managed supplies, making it easy to tell it was genuine. Jaksu glanced at me for a moment before nodding.

"Then we'll depart."

* * *

The sun had vanished behind the mountains, and darkness had fallen.

As I crumbled dried rations into porridge heated over the campfire, a shadow fell over me.

I looked up and saw familiar faces.

"Huh, why's someone who got promoted to headquarters back doing sweaty work like this?"

White Sword Squad members I knew had crept over and gathered around me. From their perspective, I had received a promotion by joining the Martial Alliance headquarters.

"I lost out because of seniority, that's all. This job has me running all over the place, so do you think those scholars who sit around reading and writing wanted it? Once they found out I knew you lot, they kicked me out here to deliver writs of command."

Amid the snickering, a pleasant voice, clearly distinct from those of the other White Sword Squad members, joined in.

"Didn't you say you'd been assigned to the Formation Array Research Department?"

Jaksu approached, his red hair swaying. I gave him a small wave.

"Welcome, Captain Jaksu."

I wanted to say, "Welcome, Jaksu," just once, but we weren't close enough for that.

Jaksu returned the greeting with a light nod and continued in the same casual tone.

"Does even a department full of scholars get assigned field missions?"

It was a sharp question, but I wasn't flustered.

"My affiliation is with the research department, yes, but I told you already. My job is to enter completed formation arrays and test them firsthand. So what do you think I do while a formation array is still being developed?"

The Anomaly Records Office had already compiled and bound model answers for most questions like that.

"Oh, don't tell me you sit around doing nothing?"

A White Sword Squad member beside us cut in. Their voice was full of hope for an easy assignment.

"If that were true, would I be marching alongside you and preparing to sleep outdoors? They can't leave people idle, so I end up taking on every odd job."

As an example of those "odd jobs," I told them about the Purification Rite.

"After climbing up and down famous mountains across the martial world, I've realized why the Nine Sects One Gang are so strong."

"Why?"

"Mountain climbing is damn brutal. One wrong step and you fall to your death. Even hiking a mountain near your home trains your stamina, reflexes, agility, and balance. How could they not become strong?"

"Huh!"

Jaksu silently listened to that pointless story, then nodded.

"True. The mountains with especially pure qi are all deep mountain valleys."

The normally quiet captain had actually responded to the small talk. My old companions and I spent the first night of the transport mission in a fairly convivial atmosphere.

* * *

"Ugh-ha."

A yawn escaped me.

My old companions showed the kind of friendship that didn't care about whatever post I had received after being promoted to Martial Alliance headquarters, and put my name into the night-watch rotation.

"Of all times, I got the middle shift. Is that better than second from last?"

The first or last shift would have been nicer.

In the deep pre-dawn hours, with no sign of daylight, I relieved the previous guard, stretched, took the lamp, refilled it with oil, and lit it.

Once the flame went out, I would change shifts with the next guard.

Some time after I lit the lamp, the person beside me left to find the next guard.

Night watch was done in pairs. Yet both couldn't leave at the same time to change shifts, so the rotations were staggered by about half a quarter-hour.

'Who will it be?'

I hoped it would be someone interesting. At this hour, conversation was the only way to pass the time.

We had been warned about an attack by Iron-Headed Fire Axe, but I wasn't particularly tense. We hadn't even entered the mountain range where Iron-Steel Mountain stood.

The chance of an attack today was therefore vanishingly small. The night watch was required by regulation, but in truth, it was little more than a formality.

Unless some scum ready to throw away their life, or the Black Lotus Society itself, came after us, who would attack a procession full of martial artists?

Tap.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

"Captain Jaksu."

It was a welcome face.

"Yeok Cheonmyeong."

Captain Jaksu wasn't exactly a talkative person. It wasn't that he couldn't speak well. He simply didn't speak often.

Still, those who stood watch with him usually spoke highly of his character.

Because...

"Take it."

Jaksu pulled something from his robes and tossed it to me. I caught it easily. When I unwrapped the paper around it, its identity was revealed.

"Oh, a potato."

"I salted it well."

He shared snacks he had picked up somewhere with those who stood watch with him. For wandering martial artists, anyone who fed them was a good person.

The potato had long gone cold, but it still crumbled softly when I bit into it.

"Huh, do they not feed you well at the Formation Array Research Department?"

"They feed me quite well, but everyone except me is a senior, so it's hard to eat comfortably."

That was half true. When I had chosen a place to eat without thinking, the host had turned out to be a very difficult person.

As I crunched on the potato, I asked, "What do you think of Deung?"

"The supervisor? I don't know. They look like someone without many thoughts. They seem to be the type who just does their job."

When he asked, "You're from headquarters too, but you don't know their face?" I answered jokingly, "How many people do you think there are in the Martial Alliance? Do you expect me to remember them all?"

Jaksu subtly rebuked me, saying that I had lost all discipline after leaving the White Sword Squad. Yet he also nodded, saying, "I'm glad you seem to be doing well."

"If you don't remember anyone's face and only fool around like that, when are you going to train?"

It was half a joke.

I grinned and answered, "I keep encountering strange and unusual techniques, so it seems my martial cultivation is improving quite well."

In truth, it was because I kept meeting things that were not merely strange and unusual, but downright Anomalous. Jaksu went, "Hoh?" and looked doubtful.

As I wondered what martial art I could show him here, I casually demonstrated Drifting Cloud Step.

"...Ha. So it really is true. Your form is sharp."

We began discussing martial arts, starting with how I had come to gain insight. I playfully bragged that I was an expert now, then suddenly remembered something I wanted to ask Jaksu.

The hallmark of a First-rate expert, something Second-rate martial artists couldn't even dream of.

Yet it was a martial art that had remained completely beyond my reach, even after I stepped into the Peak realm.

"By the way, Captain Jaksu, could you teach me how to use voice transmission?"

"...They don't teach you that at the research department either?"

Jaksu looked dumbfounded, but nodded. He said he would teach me whenever our night watches overlapped like this, or when we had spare time during meals.

As I listened to the basic principles of voice transmission and how to carry one's voice through internal energy, time passed quickly.

My lamp went out.

I said my goodbyes and went to find the next guard before turning in.

* * *

On the morning of the third day, one of the White Sword Squad members was found dead.

Footnotes:

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