WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 578: Dragon Hunting (6)
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After their great victory on the Puyang Plains, the Southern Forest Alliance’s momentum soared higher than ever.
Not only the Southern Forest Alliance’s Green Forest bandits, but even those who had surrendered and joined them believed that it would not be long before Green Forest became one.
Yet the Southern Forest Alliance moved slowly.
Bang Duchil, the Gale Unit, and the Southern Forest Alliance’s Stronghold Leaders were all wary of the Demonic Cult.
Anyone with sense would not blindly call for a charge when they knew how greatly the Demonic Cult’s abnormal martial arts and sorcery could shake the Southern Forest Alliance.
Fortunately, Bang Duchil had that much sense.
“Brother, why didn’t my martial arts work on that bastard?”
More than anything, Bang Duchil had been badly shaken by the previous battle.
His fists had solved most of the problems he had faced throughout his life.
Yet those fists had not been the answer to Gu Do-cheong.
It was only natural for him to be deeply shocked.
I felt smug satisfaction at his first true ordeal. No, I felt sorry for him. Still, I answered carefully so I would not hurt his feelings.
“The world is wide, and there are many strong people. Even you, the strongest man in Green Forest, are nothing but a fucking nobody somewhere else.”
Naturally, my considerate words did not touch the heart of someone who had lived his entire life as an overlord.
“A fucking nobody.”
“...”
His expression twisted.
“Brother, your words are truly irritating.”
I understood how he felt.
I had felt that way throughout my previous life too.
And I knew the name of that feeling.
“The reason my words irritate you is because of your inferiority complex.”
“...”
“Do you understand now? Even you are nothing more than a fucking... No, a frog in a well.”
I still regretted my battle with Gu Do-cheong, but everything had something to teach.
This was a chance for this bandit uncle to learn that he was not the sole supreme one under heaven...
“Brother, why do you look so pleased?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? I’m deeply upset that we let him get away.”
“I saw your lips twitching just now!”
That could not be true. My heart was still racing because I had nearly encountered the Blood Demon Madman.
“It’s a symptom of demonic qi poisoning. My nerves twitch on their own.”
Bang Duchil let out a long sigh.
“If we can’t deal with them, then even if this war ends, we can’t say Green Forest has truly been unified, can we?”
He was right. If the Demonic Cult interfered at the last moment, Green Forest’s unification would ultimately fail.
Even if it succeeded, it would not be on the scale I had expected.
But.
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
“Hm?”
“You fought that giant head-on from the beginning, didn’t you?”
“...That’s right.”
“Then leave those snake eyes to me. If you take care of the giant, the war will end well.”
Bang Duchil gripped his chin and thought deeply.
He seemed displeased with his own weakness.
After a while, he spoke.
“Come to think of it, what was that golden energy you used when you first appeared?”
Even though I had not used the Jade Clarity Celestial Phenomenon Force after recognizing that bastard as Gu Do-cheong, it must have left quite an impression.
“Sorcery creates discord in the present world by going against the natural order of all things. And the natural order does not forgive such beings.”
“Then... can we kill them if we use that energy?”
“I can’t say it is absolute, but its effects are certainly...”
“Teach me.”
“...?”
This man was starting to get on my nerves.
Did he think the Three Purities were some hoe sold at a village blacksmith’s shop?
Anger rose in me, but I recited the Taeul True Scripture and maintained clear mirror and still water.
Wasn’t it only natural that a frog in a well did not know how wide the world was?
I calmly soothed his heart.
“The energy of the Three Purities is among the highest Taoist disciplines. You must comprehend even a fragment of the principles of all creation before you can use it.”
I elaborated because he did not seem to understand.
“It is a discipline on the level of Shaolin’s Muscle-Tendon Change Classic. At the end of that enlightenment, you must understand the essence of the original form and feel the exact energy within the natural order. It is not something some strong village idiot can learn just because he wants to.”
“...By a strong village idiot, are you referring to me?”
“You are rather perceptive...”
“Brother...?”
As expected, the once-bold Bang Duchil was gripped by a huge inferiority complex.
Every word made him bristle like a chestnut burr.
Taking his appearance as a warning to myself, I raised one finger with an even more considerate attitude.
“It is a discipline that is difficult for just. Any. One. To learn.”
“...”
Clack.
“Not just anyone, but me. You have to be at least this capable.”
“Is that so...”
Bang Duchil’s broad shoulders slumped.
Honestly, he was pitiful.
Still, what could not be done could not be done.
The Gale Art was not meant to attain the Dao. It was a strange martial art focused on gaining more internal energy than anyone else.
With a cultivation method bordering on an unorthodox art that did not contain even a trace of a superior martial art, and Bang Duchil’s training philosophy that contained barely a speck of enlightenment, he could not learn the energy of the Three Purities.
Though it could not be helped, my considerate heart filled with guilt, and I could not simply ignore his drooping shoulders.
“Brother, don’t be too upset. You have this younger brother who possesses the energy of the Three Purities, don’t you?”
Besides, we were sworn brothers.
When he lacked strength, it was only natural for me to help.
Shing!
I drew the Scarlet Radiance Sword and raised the Jade Clarity Celestial Phenomenon Force.
Soon, the surroundings began to turn golden.
“This is the Jade Clarity Celestial Phenomenon Force.”
Bang Duchil’s eyes grew dazed.
“Huh...”
Only now did he recognize the true worth of this power.
I raised my internal energy even further.
Wooooong!
Even the chilly air around us began to warm pleasantly.
“Can you see it, brother?”
His jaw now hung low enough to touch the ground.
“This younger brother is! Such. A. Special. Person! So you don’t need to worry about anything, brother! Hahahahaha!”
I still felt uneasy because I did not know what the Demonic Cult bastards were plotting.
“But this is how capable I am, brother! Hahahahaha!”
For some reason, I felt better than I had since coming to the Southern Forest Alliance.
#
At one side of the encampment, the members of the Yuseong Unit shared liquor and meat around a blazing bonfire.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Then Hwa Jeongsan approached them.
“Oh! Deputy Stronghold Leader, come sit over here. New members have joined Black Phoenix Stronghold.”
Dang Seohui pointed at Dongryong and Moyong Jaehwa.
“...”
For some reason, each of them held a piece of candied fruit that was clearly not part of the war supplies.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
“Talk here. All the Black Phoenix Stronghold members are here.”
“Dang Seohui, this is important!”
As Hwa Jeongsan raised his voice, the temperature around the bonfire dropped sharply.
“It is important.”
“...”
Dang Seohui did not take her indifferent eyes off Hwa Jeongsan.
A strange tension filled the air between them, and Moyong Jaehwa cautiously tried to appease Dang Seohui.
“Stronghold Leader, we’ll be fine, so you may go...”
Dang Seohui raised a hand, stopping Moyong Jaehwa.
“It’s fine. I already know what he wants to say.”
“Dang Seohui!”
“Are you worried about Baeksong Sect?”
Hwa Jeongsan hesitated.
“Things are not proceeding normally. We need to quickly learn what is happening...”
“Did you tell the Hall Master?”
“That bastard...”
Hwa Jeongsan stopped when he noticed Dongryong.
“Say what you mean.”
“...”
Dang Seohui held her small, pale hand near the fire and spoke quietly without looking at Hwa Jeongsan.
“Did you come here to say something you cannot even bring yourself to say aloud?”
“That bastard is our enemy!”
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Only the sound of the bonfire remained in the heavy silence.
“Young Master Hwa, that sounds like something that needs explaining.”
At last, fighting spirit flowed from Moyong Seol.
Dang Seohui was no different.
That only made Hwa Jeongsan angrier.
“Do you think only our Orthodox Society will suffer from this? The White Path Society will suffer too in the end. How long are you going to stand by with your hands behind your backs as if this were someone else’s problem?”
Then Dongryong, who had been quietly listening nearby, stood up.
“There is a flaw in that statement.”
“...This is not something a brat should interrupt. Just stay quiet...”
“You seem to have a poor memory.”
The atmosphere grew even colder at Dongryong’s words.
“The Taeul Sect is not a sect that accepts insults and lets them pass...”
Shing!
“Have you forgotten?”
Dongryong drew the sword he had held in his arms.
He even set down his scabbard.
He was prepared for a fight to the death.
The Yuseong Unit members, who had only ever seen Dongryong’s gentle side, could not hide their surprise.
“You intend to face me now?”
“No.”
Dongryong shook his head and poured energy into his sword.
“I mean that we do not endure insults.”
“What insult have I given? I only spoke the truth.”
“Our eldest senior brother has never once said that the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Clans are our enemies. If he had...”
The face of the man who always smiled turned chillingly blank.
“Several sects would have already disappeared from the martial world.”
“How dare you...”
“Stop it.”
Dang Seohui cut off the conversation in a cold voice.
“Hwa Jeongsan, what are you worried about?”
“...”
“What are you so worried about that you forget your duty as a member and say you must return at once? Even if you return, will anything change?”
Would anything change?
No, could he change anything?
Hwa Jeongsan had never considered that.
He had only thought that something was happening within the Orthodox Society.
He had wanted to return quickly because he did not know what it was.
“The Hall Master never told you to kill members of the Orthodox Society. Then what are you so afraid of?”
“...”
“Is Jin Sowoon truly your enemy?”
Dang Seohui’s indifferent gaze swept over his whole body.
“Or do you want to make Jin Sowoon your enemy?”
As she said, Jin Sowoon had neither ordered the deaths of the Orthodox Society’s members nor done anything against them.
He had even said they could leave whenever they wanted.
Then why?
“...”
Hwa Jeongsan could not understand why he had acted this way either.
He only knew that there was a problem in the Orthodox Society, and that Jin Sowoon must not find out about it.
‘Is Jin Sowoon really not my enemy?’
Then, a scream erupted some distance away from the Yuseong Unit.
“Argh!”
“What is this?!”
“Who the hell did this...?!”
Green Forest bandits gathered like a swarm of bees, and the disturbance grew larger.
The Yuseong Unit members, including Dang Seohui, began to move.
Dongryong sheathed his sword and moved with them.
As Hwa Jeongsan, left alone, was about to return to his quarters in shame, Dang Seohui’s sound transmission reached him.
- Deputy Stronghold Leader, come over here.
“...”
Hwa Jeongsan turned away, intending to ignore it.
- Deputy Stronghold Leader, there is something you need to see for yourself.
After hesitating for a moment, Hwa Jeongsan slowly headed toward the Green Forest bandits.
As he drew near, several of them pushed through the crowd and vomited.
When he passed through the crowd and reached the center, he flinched at the sight of a wooden box the Yuseong Unit members were examining.
Inside the wooden box were severed heads, their faces twisted in horror.
“Th-this...”
“Aren’t these members of the Orthodox Society?”
At Dang Seohui’s question, Hwa Jeongsan came to his senses and looked into the box again.
“...”
“Are they or not?”
They were.
They were unmistakably members of the Orthodox Society.
Though he gave no answer, Dang Seohui seemed to have already received one through his silence and asked again.
“Do you still...”
Her eyes were terribly cold.
“Do you still see Jin Sowoon as your enemy?”
Once again, Hwa Jeongsan could not answer at all.
#
The Southern Forest Alliance members who had been resting were thrown into chaos by the wooden box the scouts brought back in the middle of the night.
Hwa Jeongsan confirmed their identities.
Every one of them belonged to the Nine Sects One Gang.
They were members of the Orthodox Society we had encountered on the battlefield.
“Brother, are you all right?”
I was not all right at all.
We had confirmed that the Orthodox Society and the Demonic Cult were not working together, but it also meant the Demonic Cult had been playing with the Orthodox Society.
What I understood least was why those Demonic Cult bastards had done this.
It was not as if I had understood the thought processes of those lunatics before, but this time made less sense than ever.
“Brother. Let’s crush Jungak Stronghold.”
“Hm?”
“No, we have to crush it before it is too late.”
“What do you mean...?”
If the Orthodox Society and the Demonic Cult had become aware of each other, we had to deal with the Demonic Cult before they killed every remaining member of the Orthodox Society.
We needed to request support from the Martial Alliance as well, but there was no telling when they would move.
“Brother, I agree. The best course is to end the war as quickly as possible and reduce the damage. If this war drags on, all of Green Forest could be weakened.”
At Baek Soryeong’s words, Bang Duchil made his decision.
“I will end this war!!!”
The Southern Forest Alliance immediately headed for Hebi by way of Huaxian.
Perhaps the Northern Forest Alliance had lost too many people on the Puyang Plains. The Northern Forest Alliance in Hebi collapsed helplessly.
Neither the Demonic Cult nor the Orthodox Society appeared, and my unease slowly tightened around me.
Those bastards were the calm before the storm.
They were the slight discomfort before diarrhea.
They were a small win before being conned in a rigged gambling game.
The quieter things became, the greater the disaster that followed. The stiller things became, the worse the damage would be.
We advanced to Linzhou and arrived at Jungak Stronghold.
As the Northern Forest Alliance’s main headquarters, it had a crude wall instead of a wooden palisade.
“Charge!”
“Stronghold Leader of Black Dragon Stronghold! We have no siege weapons!”
“The Stronghold Leader of Black Phoenix Stronghold is right here!”
“Black Phoenix! I’m here!”
The Stronghold Leader of Black Phoenix Stronghold used my hand as a foothold, leaped, and crossed the wall in one bound.
At the same time, I unleashed the Mad Heaven Divine Palm.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwang!
The Mad Heaven Divine Palm blasted a huge hole in the crude wall.
“Charge!”
“...Ch-charge!”
The Southern Forest Alliance’s Green Forest bandits rushed inside as if sucked in.
“Aah! What is this?!”
“Th-the enemy!”
“R-run!”
Shouts and cries tangled beyond the wall.
Screams were heard now and then, but the sounds of fierce fighting did not last long.
Creeeak!
Only after the gates in the wall opened did we learn why.
“Why are there so few people?”
Far too few Green Forest bandits remained at the Northern Forest Alliance’s main headquarters.
“When we entered, there were already not many people left.”
“...”
At least ten thousand.
That was the number we had expected.
Yet fewer than a tenth of that number remained at Jungak Stronghold.
Bang Duchil and I immediately headed for the place where the Stronghold Leaders stayed.
Bang!
When we threw open the door and entered, three middle-aged Green Forest bandits stared blankly at us.
“They are the Northern Forest Alliance Stronghold Leaders.”
The strange thing was that, despite our entrance, they only stared at us blankly before lowering their heads.
I grabbed one of them by the collar.
“What the hell are you doing? Didn’t you pull all this nonsense because you wanted to capture Alliance Leader Bang Duchil? Bang Duchil is right here. Kill him.”
“Hey, brother...”
“Keuk. Kuhahaha!!”
The man I had grabbed by the collar suddenly started laughing like a madman.
“Keuk, keuk, keuk. You brought people from the Martial Alliance just to become the neighborhood boss. It is absurd beyond words.”
What the hell was this bastard saying?
Then he muttered in a voice full of despair.
“We are all going to die anyway. What does it matter now whether someone is the Alliance Leader or a Stronghold Leader?”
“Where did the others go? Why are there so few Green Forest bandits?”
“Keuheuheu. Who knows? You will die too anyway. Keuheuheu.”
“...”
There was no reasoning with him.
But I had no intention of backing down.
I knew the best treatment for rehabilitating someone like this.
Thud!
“Huh?”
Thud! Thud!
Thudthudthudthud!
“W-wait, urgh!”
He wildly flailed his hands, but so what?
“W-wait! Aah! It hurts...! It hurts, keugh! I said it hurts!!!”
“Huh? You are going to die anyway... so what does it matter, you bastard?!”
Thudthudthudthudthudthud!
As I drove the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist into him as painfully as possible, his eyes rolled back and foam began spilling from his mouth.
I quickly struck his acupoints and brought him back to his senses.
“Don’t worry. I am very skilled at emergency treatment.”
After waking, the man slammed his head against the floor.
“I-I’m sorry. I’ll tell you everything.”
“I don’t need it!”
Only after he repeated fainting and waking about three times did I stop the treatment.
“So. The bastards using dark arts who were helping you suddenly started killing you?”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
They answered at once, and I covered my ears.
“Shut up, you bastards!”
“...”
“So what did they make you do?”
“Th-they made the people from the Martial Alliance leave the battlefield.”
“And?”
“And... they took the bandits... No, the Green Forest bandits with them.”
They had pulled every member of the Northern Forest Alliance out while the Southern Forest Alliance and Northern Forest Alliance were locked in fierce battle...?
I could not understand any of it.
It seemed I was not the only one.
“W-we do not know either. We were not in a position to dare ask questions...”
The Green Forest bandit frantically answered without being asked.
“B-but...”
After hesitating several times, the Green Forest bandit opened his mouth.
“Dragon.”
As if certain of what he had heard, he said it.
“I heard they were going dragon hunting.”
Footnotes:
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