WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 260: Brocade-Clad Night Journey

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The vice head of the Alliance Leader’s Hall reviewed the report once more while heading to the Alliance Leader’s office.

The delegation had entered Wuhan.

Most reports forwarded through the Mantong Office concerned only the most important or urgent matters.

Minor news, such as an ordinary delegation arriving in Wuhan, would normally be screened out by Cheonmok Pavilion before it ever reached the Mantong Office.

Even so, this report had been delivered all the way to the Alliance Leader’s Hall because Hyeok Mugang, the current Martial Alliance Leader, had personally ordered it.

“Alliance Leader, the delegation is said to be arriving shortly.”

The office door opened the instant the vice head reported from outside, startling the vice head.

Then...

“Is that true?”

The Alliance Leader’s expression looked oddly excited.

It was the sort of expression someone might wear if a nonexistent grandson brought home a bride.

...After entertaining that thought for a moment, the vice head came to their senses and answered.

“Yes. Cheonmok Pavilion has sent word.”

“I see.”

Hyeok Mugang immediately began preparing to leave.

The vice head tilted their head.

“Are you thinking of going out personally?”

Even having the head of the Mantong Office greet a delegation would be an extraordinary courtesy.

Yet the Alliance Leader intended to step forward personally.

Hyeok Mugang even snorted and answered firmly.

“They are heroes who have rendered great service. We cannot let their accomplishments go unrecognized.”

“...”

Leaving the utterly baffled vice head behind, Hyeok Mugang dashed toward the Mantong Office like an arrow.

Clack.

When Hyeok Mugang entered through the suddenly opened door, the Mantong Office members jumped in surprise and quickly lined up.

“Eugh...”

Watching them, Jegal Somyeong frowned.

“Did I not say that I would go receive them myself?”

It was understandable that Hyeok Mugang found the delegation commendable and was glad to see them, but there were people watching.

If the Alliance Leader moved about so freely, how could the Alliance Leader maintain any authority?

Yet Hyeok Mugang looked as though authority and appearances were unnecessary.

“They are heroes who accomplished something great. If they are not treated accordingly, who will devote themselves to the Martial Alliance in the future?”

Even Jegal Somyeong had no choice but to give in.

“Please come inside first. It will not be too late to move once we hear that the delegation has entered the Alliance.”

“B-but...”

“Now!”

At the Chief Strategist’s shout, Hyeok Mugang awkwardly took a seat.

In the meantime, one Alliance member brought Hyeok Mugang tea, while Jegal Somyeong began working through the reports still piled up like a mountain.

“Do you still have that much work to...”

Crumple.

Before Hyeok Mugang could finish, the report in Jegal Somyeong’s hand crumpled. Jegal Somyeong’s brow furrowed along with it.

“What did you just say...?”

“Hm?”

“You call that something to say?”

“N-no, I only meant...”

Jegal Somyeong held up the crumpled papers one after another.

The reports went on and on.

Seeing the madness in Jegal Somyeong’s eyes as they displayed each one, Hyeok Mugang unconsciously leaned back.

“I-is that so?”

Realizing the wrong thing had been said, Hyeok Mugang tried to calm Jegal Somyeong down, but Jegal Somyeong had no intention of stopping once they had started.

“Handling the countless formations and traps the Blood Cult bastards left behind!”

“Supporting the return of dispatched martial artists and resolving supply issues!”

“The scale of the new branches that must be established in Shanxi Province because of the Black Alliance’s founding!”

Jegal Somyeong rattled off the tasks loudly enough for the Mantong Office to ring.

But Jegal Somyeong was not finished.

“These are only the urgent matters that need immediate attention! But do you know what?”

As Hyeok Mugang froze at the sudden question, the madness in Jegal Somyeong’s eyes deepened.

“Once these are done, I must deal with ten times as many tasks that have been put off! And you ask whether I have a lot of work???? Yes?? You ask whether I have a lot of work????”

“I-I apologize, Chief Strategist... I have placed too great a burden on you...”

“Do not just say it. Give me practical help! Practical help!”

Jegal Somyeong’s bloodshot face loomed close, an intimidating sight even for Hyeok Mugang.

Hyeok Mugang barely managed to force out a reply.

“A-all right. I-I will speak with the Elders’ Council and have them increase the budget allocation.”

“That is not all! Talent! No, I do not even need talent! People! We do not have enough people!”

“T-that is because the Chief Strategist sets the minimum standard too high...”

“What did you just say?”

“...”

Jegal Somyeong suddenly went cold, and Hyeok Mugang could only swallow without answering.

To be honest, there was no shortage of talented people who wanted to join the Mantong Office.

The one who had turned them away was none other than Jegal Somyeong.

Still, if Hyeok Mugang picked at that now, something was bound to go seriously wrong.

Hyeok Mugang let out a long sigh.

“I-I will see to it.”

“Please. Do.”

The shadows beneath Jegal Somyeong’s eyes looked darker than ever. It truly was time for change.

For now, they maintained their agreement with the Black Alliance because they shared the Blood Cult as a common enemy, but no one knew when conflict with the Black Alliance might arise.

More importantly, there were ‘those things’ threatening the martial world.

The Black Path might have clashed with the righteous path, yet it had coexisted with it for centuries. ‘Those things,’ on the other hand, were beings with whom coexistence was impossible.

Even from the brief occasions when they had revealed themselves in the martial world, it was clear enough that their common sense differed from that of the martial world.

Looking at it that way, it was not only the Mantong Office. The entire Martial Alliance was short of capable people.

‘Should I go kidnap people from a Confucian academy?’

As Hyeok Mugang, the Martial Alliance Leader, entertained such an utterly absurd thought...

One of the Mantong Office members approached the two and reported.

“The delegation has entered the Martial Alliance.”

It was the news Hyeok Mugang had been waiting for.

#

“What?”

I picked at my ear and asked again.

Judging by the Alliance member’s sour expression, though, my attitude must have looked quite arrogant.

No, that was not it. I only picked at my ear while asking again because I thought I had heard wrong. Tch.

The Alliance member repeated themself with a sullen expression.

“Everyone has been summoned.”

“...”

I looked at Ak Byeongbi.

We were a delegation selected in secret, after all.

Wouldn’t reports like this normally be given by the delegation leader, then relayed to the rest of the group afterward?

Besides, we were in a slightly difficult situation right now.

“I’m so... sleepy. Mmm, mmm.”

Dang Seohui was asleep on my back, soaking it with drool.

...And I had to report to the Mantong Office looking like this.

I showed Dang Seohui to the Alliance member and asked again.

“Does everyone have to attend?”

But there was no warm consideration to be found.

“...Wake her. What are you doing?”

Tch, as expected, the Martial Alliance was cold and rigid beyond measure.

I bounced the arm supporting Dang Seohui.

“Senior, wake up. They say we have to go to the Mantong Office now.”

“Mmm, mmm, snore... I’m tired. I did too much work.”

...You barely did anything! All you did was eat and sleep!

Senior Ilmyeong and I had taken care of the horse bandits we encountered along the way and saved the slash-and-burn settlers suffering from famine.

“Haa...”

When I let out a long sigh, Ak Byeongbi spoke as though it were no big deal.

“Let us go. The Chief Strategist will know about Dang Seohui as well.”

Right, I would not be the one receiving the scolding.

Dang Seohui needed to learn about ‘society’ through this opportunity, too.

‘Still, can’t something be done about this drool?’

I tried to ignore the warm sensation at the back of my neck and followed Ak Byeongbi.

The escort warriors, who had originally been meant to part with us here, ended up accompanying us inside because of the luggage.

“It feels strangely quiet.”

Normally, the Martial Alliance should have been packed with people, yet it felt oddly empty.

It was probably because martial artists had been dispatched to Sichuan...

Still, the worry on the Alliance members’ faces was not that deep.

That alone told me that things in Sichuan had been resolved well.

‘This has changed from my previous life again.’

The events in Sichuan had ended more than a year sooner than they had in my previous life.

The Martial Alliance’s strength had been preserved, and none of the sects based in Sichuan had suffered severe losses.

No Academy students had shed blood, and above all, no one had used this matter as a tool for political infighting.

Everything had changed for the better, but new elements of uncertainty had also taken root.

‘The Yin-Yang Twin Demon.’

I had not expected the Fiend Lord, the Yin-Yang Twin Demon, to already be active in the martial world.

It might be good that I knew something I had not known before, but from another perspective, the altered events might have caused beings that had not originally moved to begin moving.

These changes were both positive and negative.

If the Demonic Cult rose to power now, the Martial Alliance would be destroyed once more, and hell would unfold across the martial world.

‘A more drastic change is needed.’

A drastic change great enough to completely twist the past.

Even if blood had to be shed in a different way, a major change was necessary.

As I was thinking that, the Alliance member stopped in front of a pavilion and looked toward me.

“You should wake her now. It is not as though you can commit such disrespect.”

“...”

It was not that I did not want to wake her.

If I had to choose between being marked by this Alliance member and being poisoned by Dang Seohui’s toxins when she threw a tantrum after being woken...

I would choose being marked by the Alliance member.

I ignored the words and stood still. The Alliance member frowned, then finally opened the door.

“The delegation that went to the Black Alliance has arrived.”

With the Alliance member’s report, our group entered.

A single table stood alone in the small audience hall, with two people seated on either side.

Hmm, I expected the Chief Strategist to be here, and the person beside Jegal Somyeong was...

‘Hyeok Mugang!?’

I thought Jegal Somyeong would be waiting because they had sent the delegation and wanted to hear the outcome, but I had not expected even Hyeok Mugang, the Alliance Leader, to be waiting for us.

“Delegation Leader Ak Byeongbi reports that we have returned today.”

As Ak Byeongbi clasped his hands in salute, Ilmyeong, the personal guards, and the escort warriors followed suit. With Dang Seohui on my back, I settled for bowing my head.

“You have all worked hard. Rest comfortably.”

When Jegal Somyeong nodded, the escort warriors finished their greetings, carefully set the boxes on the floor, and left the audience hall.

Once the Alliance member who had guided us there also left and the door shut, Jegal Somyeong spoke.

“The Alliance is still in turmoil, so I deliberately did not announce your mission. I ask that you understand why we could not arrange a grand welcoming reception.”

The relationship between the Black Alliance and the Martial Alliance had not yet been defined.

They needed to hear the opinions of the Elders’ Council and each hall, then reach a decision after gathering the views of the sects supporting the Martial Alliance.

Maintaining friendly relations was the natural course for now, but the Martial Alliance’s system required such a process.

Ak Byeongbi respectfully lowered his head.

“We did not do this seeking merit or reward. You need not concern yourself with it.”

Jegal Somyeong nodded as though satisfied, then began examining each of us.

When Jegal Somyeong’s gaze passed over Ilmyeong and the personal guards before fixing on me...

...I briefly wondered if I should wake Dang Seohui even now.

Fortunately, though...

“...She must be very tired.”

Jegal Somyeong glanced at Dang Seohui and let it pass without another word.

Jegal Somyeong was really letting this slide?

Was it because she was from the Tang Clan?

That would be too sad.

“What you accomplished this time was no different from saving the Martial Alliance from a great crisis. Do not worry. We will not simply let it pass because it cannot be made public.”

“Thank you.”

“Hm. Still, I arranged this meeting because I wished to hear the details of what happened.”

For an instant, Jegal Somyeong’s brow furrowed slightly.

“...Information did not reach us properly while you were in the Black Alliance, after all.”

Jegal Somyeong glared at the personal guards, then quickly smoothed their expression and continued in an even voice.

“From what Cheonmok Pavilion reported, I heard that many within the Black Alliance argued that they should strike the Martial Alliance from behind during this opportunity. How did you persuade them?”

Ak Byeongbi answered the Chief Strategist’s question at once.

“We did not persuade them.”

“Hm?”

“Rather than persuading them, we were framed and nearly died.”

“Framed?”

They had said all information from the Shanxi Province region had been cut off. It seemed that information had not been delivered properly from then on.

Ak Byeongbi calmly nodded.

“Yes.”

“No, then how?”

Jegal Somyeong tilted their head, clearly unable to understand.

The same was true of Hyeok Mugang, who had only been listening from the side.

“It was all Jin Sowoon’s accomplishment.”

“...Jin Sowoon’s?”

“...”

Jegal Somyeong and Hyeok Mugang’s gazes fell on me.

Ah, I wanted to clasp my hands in salute and act as if it were nothing.

...But Dang Seohui showed no sign of waking up on my back.

As though she knew nothing of my inner turmoil...

“Mmm, mmm, I’m the boss.”

...Dang Seohui was engrossed in playing leader in her dreams.

Ah, wake up already. Stop saying weird things in your sleep!

Footnotes:

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