WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 249: The Black Flame Dragon Collects the Winnings (2)
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Cha Seokdu raced through the Black Alliance with an elite force.
He already knew assassins had swept through the Black Alliance once.
It had been a diversion, so they would not appear again.
Even so, he roamed the Black Alliance with dozens of fully armed men, issuing meaningless orders.
“Alliance Lord! Our Sect Leader...!”
“I will catch the culprit myself! Light every torch inside the alliance and collect all weapons. If anyone resists, act first and report afterward!”
This was an opportunity to show who the Black Alliance’s true Alliance Lord was.
It was also a chance to impress upon everyone that Cha Seokdu was not merely a temporary Alliance Lord.
Heroes were born in chaotic times, and trust came from capability.
People instinctively followed someone who told them what needed to be done in an unexpected crisis.
Even the Black Path, so full of rebellious spirits, was no different.
“Inform everyone in the alliance! We are pursuing the culprit, so rest easy!”
“Yes, Alliance Lord!”
“Yes, Alliance Lord!”
Those who had disliked Cha Seokdu began to like him, while those who had liked him came to worship him.
As that trust gathered, it gave birth to reverence.
The Black Path martial artists’ faith in the Black Alliance and Cha Seokdu, which had been no more than half-hearted until now, rose sharply.
Cha Seokdu was satisfied with the shift in public opinion as well.
“Will this be enough?”
“Let’s make another lap or two.”
“Again? Didn’t you say they’ve already run away?”
Cha Seokdu’s subordinate firmly shook their head.
“Alliance Lord, do you know how many busybodies have gathered here?”
“What busybodies? Why are you suddenly using difficult words? They’re just drunks.”
“...In any case, word of today’s events needs to spread across the entire realm through them.”
They had strengthened internal unity by inspiring reverence. Now, they needed to extend that influence outward. Only then could the Black Alliance take root as a proper organization.
Realizing his subordinate’s intentions, Cha Seokdu readily nodded.
“Fine.”
“Oh, and you should check on the wounded too. Why do you keep walking past them?”
“You saw it too. Those clearly aren’t wounds from the attack. They got hurt fighting each other. Those bastards don’t wound people. They just kill them.”
His subordinate’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Alliance Lord, who are those assassins? I’ve never seen skills like that before. They were far cleaner than the Assassin’s Guild.”
“...”
Cha Seokdu nearly answered without thinking, but stopped himself.
Would they even understand if he told them?
That organization had vanished five hundred years ago.
He himself could barely believe it.
If he had not discovered their identities with his own eyes...
He would have thought Jin Sowoon had finally gone mad.
Their martial arts had unquestionably belonged to the Four Emperors Association.
The assassin who had served as a guard had demonstrated those arts before Cha Seokdu several times whenever friction arose during the Black Alliance’s founding.
They had been identical to the Four Emperors Association’s arts beyond any doubt. Even after reviewing his memories, he could find no inconsistency.
Yet...
The moment that person peeled away a layer of skin, they became someone else.
If Jin Sowoon was right, they were the same people who had appeared on the Puyang Plains...
He regretted not investigating what had happened on the Puyang Plains more thoroughly.
His head was starting to ache.
He had thought he only needed to keep the Martial Alliance in check, but now there was another force.
The thought that he might have to redraw the Black Alliance’s future made his head throb.
Then...
“Alliance Lord...”
“Hm?”
His subordinate pointed somewhere.
“Over there.”
The place they pointed to was Dam Ak’s quarters. The delegation, excluding Jin Sowoon, along with Blood Brawl and Flame Ghost Consort, had gathered there.
He had received word that Dam Ak had been rescued, but... what were those people doing?
Cha Seokdu immediately headed over.
“Let’s go take a look.”
Once he reached them, he asked what had happened.
“What is it, Elder?”
The Martial Alliance delegation, Blood Brawl, and Flame Ghost Consort, all of whom deserved credit for saving the Black Alliance from danger, looked at Cha Seokdu with despondent expressions.
“Jin Sowoon...”
Blood Brawl began to answer, then fell silent.
Something felt wrong. When Cha Seokdu looked around, Dang Seohui was shedding great, fat tears, while Ak Byeongbi and Ilmyeong’s faces were filled with worry.
No one could bring themselves to speak.
At last, Flame Ghost Consort continued.
“...That boy, Jin Sowoon, is dead.”
“What?”
Cha Seokdu asked again, needing to make sure he had heard correctly.
“What do you mean?”
Jin Sowoon was dead?
That bastard?
Who was Jin Sowoon?
He was the tenacious bastard who had survived both the Demon Spirit Plateau and the regular examination.
He had clung to life in places where even ten lives would not have been enough for anyone else to survive.
And now someone like that had suddenly died?
“...Has it been confirmed?”
Flame Ghost Consort and Blood Brawl both frowned at Cha Seokdu’s question.
“Then how do you think those people came out of there?”
In one corner of Dam Ak’s quarters, where Blood Brawl pointed, an ominous red wall rippled.
It was as red as the flames of hell, and Cha Seokdu let out a groan before he realized it.
As Blood Brawl said, perhaps the answer was obvious even without seeing it.
Still...
“I need to see it with my own eyes.”
Cha Seokdu’s eyes hardened.
#
The first thing Cha Seokdu had done after founding the Black Alliance was gather formation masters.
He never wanted to suffer through the nightmare of the Demon Spirit Plateau again.
Yet the Black Alliance’s nature itself posed a problem.
Would formation masters, scholarly types who already avoided involvement in the martial world, come to a Black Path Alliance that could not even guarantee their safety?
Cha Seokdu did not give up.
When you had no teeth, you made do with gums.
He gathered gamblers from among those who had belonged to martial sects associated with mystic formations, such as the Jegal Clan and Mount Mao Sect.
Like gamblers everywhere, most had accumulated enormous debts and feared for their lives, so winning them over was not difficult.
All he had to do was pay their creditors and take their debt notes.
Because Cha Seokdu held their debts, the members of the Black Formation Hall displayed skills beyond what they had shown in their original sects.
They found both the Living Gate and the Death Gate in only two hours.
“But this is only the beginning. To conduct formation breaking, we must first perform a careful analysis...”
“I heard that if you strike the Living Gate and the Death Gate at the same time, a weak mystic formation will collapse. Is that right?”
“Y-Yes, but we don’t know how powerful this mystic formation is, and if anything goes wrong, the people inside...”
Cha Seokdu did not listen further.
It was a mystic formation hastily set up for an attack.
How powerful could it be?
There was one problem, though. One person could not destroy both the Living Gate and the Death Gate at once.
Then...
“I’ll join you.”
Blood Brawl stepped forward.
“Aren’t you exhausted?”
“Do you think I can be compared to the likes of you?”
Blood Brawl and Cha Seokdu struck the mystic formation at the same time, and just as Cha Seokdu had expected, it shattered.
Inside...
“Hngh...”
They found Jin Sowoon lying there, bleeding.
“S-Save me... fuck.”
Jin Sowoon was unconscious, yet he still made a faint plea for help.
A chill ran through Cha Seokdu’s entire body as he shouted.
“...He’s here!”
“What?”
Cha Seokdu shouted again.
“He’s alive... That bastard is alive...!”
At once, the members of the delegation dropped to their knees in relief, as though their legs had given out.
“I knew it! Jin Sowoon, the Stronghold Lord of Black Dragon Stronghold and Vice Alliance Lord of the Black Alliance, wouldn’t die so easily!”
“Namu Amitabha...”
The Black Alliance members gathered at Dam Ak’s quarters also burst into cheers.
The sight of the selfless, devoted Martial Alliance delegation member who had rescued Dam Ak, a man who enjoyed the absolute support of the young Black Path martial artists, had stirred their hearts.
“Jin Sowoon!”
“Jin Sowoon!”
“Black Flame Dragon!”
“Black Flame Dragon!”
Before long, the epithet Jin Sowoon hated so much began to echo far and wide through the Black Alliance.
#
Jegal Somyeong visited Hyeok Mugang’s office.
“I received word from Muyeong.”
“What happened?”
“It seems unidentified beings had been blocking carrier pigeons and human messengers around the Black Alliance.”
“Unidentified beings?”
Hyeok Mugang frowned.
Had Jegal Somyeong ever spoken so vaguely before?
Jegal Somyeong nodded.
“Muyeong said he could not find any trace of what organization they belonged to.”
At Jegal Somyeong’s bitter reaction, Hyeok Mugang could guess who those unidentified beings were.
Jegal Somyeong was likely thinking the same thing.
Still, as someone who handled information, Jegal Somyeong would not speak of something unless it was certain.
“On top of that, culprits who had mastered the martial arts of White Path sects were hiding within the Black Alliance.”
“What did you say?”
Hyeok Mugang’s body jolted.
Information had been cut off, and now there were culprits using White Path martial arts.
Hyeok Mugang urgently asked, “Shouldn’t we clear up any possible misunderstanding? We need to let them know they were not sent by us.”
This was the perfect situation for the hostility built up over so many years between the White Path and the Black Path to explode.
There was no telling whether the Martial Alliance delegation would be safe.
Not only was the delegation at risk, it could even lead to war.
“Is the delegation safe?”
Hyeok Mugang looked ready to run to Shanxi at once, and Jegal Somyeong let out a quiet sigh.
“They are safe.”
“Could they be under detention?”
Even if such an opportunity had presented itself, the Black Alliance would not be able to start a full-scale war.
Still, they might use the delegation as scapegoats to calm the Black Path martial world’s anger.
“That does not appear to be the case, so you need not worry.”
“I need not worry?”
Hyeok Mugang’s eyes filled with doubt.
Even from the brief report, it was clear that something serious had happened.
If Hyeok Mugang could see that much, Jegal Somyeong surely understood how grave the situation was as well...
Why was Jegal Somyeong so calm?
As if aware of the question, Jegal Somyeong added, “The delegation found the culprits hiding in the Black Alliance.”
“What?”
What was that supposed to mean?
It was not even the Black Alliance’s own people who had found the culprits. The delegation dispatched by the Martial Alliance had found them.
...If the culprits had been using White Path martial arts, would that not make the delegation the most obvious suspects?
“To be precise, Jin Sowoon found the culprits hiding in the Black Alliance.”
“Jin Sowoon? Why? No, how?”
“...”
Jegal Somyeong’s lips moved as though they did not even want to say it aloud.
That only made Hyeok Mugang more anxious.
“Chief Strategist.”
At Hyeok Mugang’s urging, Jegal Somyeong finally spoke.
“...He found them with the Mind-Reading Art.”
“...What?”
Silence filled the room.
Hyeok Mugang frowned without realizing it.
Had Hyeok Mugang heard wrong?
“The Mind-Reading Art?”
“Yes.”
“...But isn’t the Taeul Sect a Daoist martial sect?”
“Alliance Leader...”
Whether it was a Daoist or Buddhist martial sect, should Hyeok Mugang not first find it strange that Jin Sowoon had found the culprits with something as absurd as the Mind-Reading Art (?)?
“Ah, right. That’s not the point. What on earth does that mean?”
“I do not know. That was all that was written in Muyeong’s letter.”
“...”
Hyeok Mugang was glad that information was flowing again, but fragmented reports, especially reports this absurd, did not give a clear picture of the situation.
On top of that, Muyeong had written about something as ridiculous as the Mind-Reading Art without even including a proper explanation.
Jegal Somyeong decided that once Muyeong returned, they would need to teach the personal guards how to submit intelligence reports.
“In any case, since they captured the culprits, they have cleared up the misunderstanding that the Martial Alliance planted spies there.”
“...That was close.”
The Blood Cult was still in Sichuan.
If a war with the Black Alliance broke out as well, the Martial Alliance might face an unprecedented crisis.
Even if it had been unintentional, clearing up the misunderstanding was truly a great achievement.
“But...”
After falling silent in thought for a moment, Hyeok Mugang spoke.
“Did he truly use the Mind-Reading Art?”
“...Alliance Leader.”
Hyeok Mugang felt as though they would go mad from curiosity.
If that was not the case, how could Jin Sowoon have found hidden culprits after suddenly landing in the heart of enemy territory and becoming a suspect himself?
“Aren’t you curious too, Chief Strategist?”
“...”
Hyeok Mugang could tell from Jegal Somyeong’s trembling lips that they were just as curious.
“Now is not the time to discuss that.”
The addition of the words “now is not the time” made it clear that Jegal Somyeong intended to question Jin Sowoon when he returned.
Thinking so, Hyeok Mugang nodded.
“You are right. The situation in Sichuan is lasting longer than expected.”
Winter was coming.
If they dragged the war out any longer, the Martial Alliance could be shaken to its foundations.
Yet they could not retreat with the Blood Cult right before them.
There was no telling what might happen if they left behind those who used such bizarre dark arts.
Hyeok Mugang cautiously asked for Jegal Somyeong’s opinion.
“Even if the misunderstanding with the Black Alliance has been cleared up, we cannot make the Black Path sects in Sichuan withdraw, can we?”
They could neither advance nor retreat.
Hyeok Mugang knew there was little hope, but facing it again left them deeply frustrated.
After a moment of thought, Jegal Somyeong spoke in a firm voice.
“Alliance Leader, eliminate the Blood Cult.”
“...Will that be safe? The Black Path sects in Sichuan will target our rear.”
“The Black Alliance says it will support the efforts in Sichuan.”
“What?”
Hyeok Mugang’s eyes widened.
Jegal Somyeong continued calmly.
“The Martial Alliance delegation entered into an agreement at this founding ceremony. They declared the Blood Cult a public enemy and promised to maintain peace with the Martial Alliance until the Blood Cult is eliminated.”
Hyeok Mugang’s mouth fell open.
They would have been grateful enough simply not to have enemies at their back on the battlefield, but a declaration of the Blood Cult as a public enemy?
The Black Path martial world’s support might be limited, but it would still allow them to wipe out the Blood Cult far more quickly.
“What in the world does that mean?”
People said that when you heard news that was too good, it sounded like a lie.
That was exactly how Hyeok Mugang felt now.
Even Jegal Somyeong gave a disbelieving laugh.
“It is true. Jin Sowoon apparently brought about the agreement.”
“Jin Sowoon?”
“The report was submitted by our friend Ak Byeongbi, so it should be reliable.”
“Ak Byeongbi...”
Hyeok Mugang had heard about what had happened between the Ak Clan and Jin Sowoon.
Considering the deep resentment that incident must have caused, Ak Byeongbi’s report could not be a false one filled with empty praise for Jin Sowoon’s achievements.
“What in the world happened in the Black Alliance?”
“I do not know.”
Because Ak Byeongbi was also from the Inspectorate, he did not seem to understand what information the Mantong Office needed.
Jegal Somyeong keenly felt the need to standardize reporting formats across halls and departments while there was a chance.
“In any case, that is what happened. Watch the Black Path sects in Sichuan for a while, then eliminate the Blood Cult. A harsh winter will soon arrive.”
After a long silence, Hyeok Mugang nodded.
“We owe that child, Jin Sowoon, a debt.”
“...Yes. Though the process was deeply suspicious.”
Jin Sowoon had achieved unimaginable results through completely unexpected means.
Jegal Somyeong could not compare Jin Sowoon with the other divine prodigies.
Not even with the remarkable Yong Soa.
Yong Soa’s martial arts could not accomplish something like this.
“Hm... I should not say this, but after hearing about the agreement, I find myself wanting more.”
“What do you mean?”
“An alliance. Should not the Martial Alliance, no, the entire martial world prepare for a great war ahead?”
The Demonic Cult kept revealing its traces in both the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance.
What was happening now was only a prelude to what was to come.
When that time came, the distinction between the White and Black Paths would mean nothing.
Until then, Hyeok Mugang wanted the Martial Alliance to sail in the same boat as the Black Alliance.
Jegal Somyeong slowly shook their head.
“Many of those gathered in the Black Alliance came because they wanted war with the Martial Alliance. I do not believe Cha Seokdu has them all completely under his control.”
“Hm... As expected, it is too much to hope for?”
“Yes.”
Despite Jegal Somyeong’s immediate answer, Hyeok Mugang continued.
“If I ask for more at this point, I would be a thief, would I not?”
“...”
“Even Jin Sowoon would find that too difficult, right?”
This person...
For some reason, Jegal Somyeong felt that Hyeok Mugang truly was acting like a thief.
Footnotes:
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