At present, within the allied encampment of the Third Young Master’s faction, confusion reigned.
“No, I mean…”
A disciple from the Huashan Sect’s main unit beat his chest in frustration as he spoke.
“So, are we supposed to set up camp or not?”
The people around him, regardless of their affiliation, nodded in agreement.
“This isn’t just taking a short break, nor is it an order to fully rest. What are we supposed to do…?”
“They were acting like we were going to fight the Sword Clan’s Grand Young Master right this second!”
“What on earth are the higher-ups thinking?!”
The march had halted, yet no proper instructions were coming down from the top. The martial artists of the allied camp could not help feeling frustrated by their stagnant situation.
“A-ah, so…!”
The tacticians belonging to the Military Strategy Bureau broke out in a cold sweat as they tried to calm the martial artists.
“For now… there won’t be a battle immediately. Everyone can relax and get some rest…!”
“The higher-ups will reach a conclusion shortly—”
However, the dissatisfaction of the martial artists did not easily subside.
“If we’re going to rest properly, shouldn’t we at least cook some food?!”
“The horses can graze on grass if we let them loose! Are we supposed to lie on our stomachs and eat grass with them?!”
The allied forces of the Third Young Master had been rapid-marching, consisting mainly of martial artists, cavalry, and carriages. It was their best move to counter the Grand Young Master’s main unit.
“P-please calm down!”
The tacticians’ voices grew more urgent and hurried in the face of the increasingly volatile atmosphere.
“For now, due to the difference in marching speed, we are temporarily separated from the supply unit…?”
“That couldn’t be helped! So at least let us eat our emergency rations for now—”
“That’s not right!”
A seasoned-looking martial artist from the Wudang Sect pointed a finger at the tacticians.
“If we consume the emergency rations we’ve been carrying and an unexpected battle breaks out, what are we supposed to eat then?!”
“That’s why the Military Strategy Bureau predicts there won’t be an immediate battle—”
“I’ve spent my entire life wandering battlefields, and things have never gone according to the predictions of you petty tacticians!”
“B-but…!”
When a high-ranking Wudang martial artist stepped forward, those who had been quietly observing also began to stand up one by one. Fierce glares burned in the eyes of martial artists from various sects.
“P-please calm down!”
“The Military Strategy Bureau is doing its utmost to minimize the margin of error in our predictions based on reliable information—!”
The tacticians could only flounder before the martial artists. This clearly demonstrated the reality faced by the Military Strategy Bureau of the Third Young Master, which, after the dissolution of the Martial Righteous Alliance, had been reduced to serving the limited, restricted faction of the Luoyang Sword Clan’s Third Young Master rather than the entire Martial Righteous Alliance.
“Right now, this very moment.”
A terrifying pressure descended.
The high-ranking Wudang martial artist stepped forward, gripping his scabbard, and spoke in a low voice.
“If you cannot provide an acceptable explanation for the current situation.”
He did not say anything further. Instead—
Click.
The sound of the sword being pushed up from its scabbard by the martial artist’s thumb sent shivers down the tacticians’ spines.
“……”
At that hair-trigger moment—
“Should a senior martial artist, who ought to lead his juniors calmly above anyone else, be the one inciting and unsettling them instead?”
At that voice, the high-ranking Wudang martial artist released his thumb from the sword he had been pushing up and said quietly,
“…It’s been a while since I saw you at the Martial Righteous Alliance.”
Clack.
With the blue blade hidden once more, the owner of the voice who appeared was a senior tactician of the Military Strategy Bureau.
Instead of exchanging useless pleasantries, he said, “Orders just came down from above.”
He went straight to the point the martial artists wanted to hear.
“First, consume your emergency rations. If the supply unit arrives before the meeting ends, we will set up camp, rest, and have a proper meal.”
He spoke quickly, before the martial artists could voice their dissatisfaction.
“Even in the worst-case scenario, we will only move after distributing the emergency rations secured internally by the Third Young Master’s faction.”
“But—”
As someone tried to argue, he cut them off immediately.
“Not a single report has come up from any long-distance reconnaissance unit about spotting even a shadow of the enemy. There won’t be any sudden battles, so rest assured.”
This wasn’t coming from some greenhorn tactician of unknown origins. It was the word of a senior tactician they had known since the days of the Martial Righteous Alliance.
“…Understood.”
When the high-ranking Wudang martial artist accepted it like that, the other martial artists also sighed and scattered, as if they had no choice.
“Phew…“
“That took ten years off my life…”
Watching the young tacticians sigh in relief, the senior tactician clicked his tongue softly.
“Tsk.“
He wasn’t displeased with the young tacticians. It was a lament for the Military Strategy Bureau, which had lost the glory of its past Martial Righteous Alliance days.
“…By the way.”
The high-ranking Wudang martial artist approached the senior tactician and asked in a low voice,
“What on earth is the reason for taking an unplanned rest in a place like this?”
“…That is.”
The senior tactician checked to make sure no one was watching, then opened his mouth to answer.
“Currently, the whereabouts of the Grand Young Master’s main unit are completely unknown.”
The Third Young Master and the leaders of the allied forces had decided to target the Grand Young Master’s main unit. They had marched for that purpose.
However—
The Grand Young Master’s main unit had vanished.
“What does that mean…?”
The high-ranking Wudang martial artist looked confused.
“I definitely heard that Mount Hua Sword Dragon Gam Woo-hyeon escaped with his disciples, didn’t I?”
Tsk.
…Damn this so-called alliance. At those words, the senior tactician momentarily clicked his tongue internally.
I’ve never once seen secrecy properly maintained.
They had banded together for profit, but it was only temporary. Among those who did not fully trust each other, such confidentiality held little meaning.
“No?”
If he flatly denied the claim here without even knowing the source of the other party’s information, what little trust existed would obviously shatter.
“…That is true, but.”
The senior tactician swallowed a sigh and lowered his voice even further.
“I heard the Mount Hua Sword Dragon merely escaped from a temporary facility for holding prisoners.”
“Hah…!”
The high-ranking Wudang martial artist did not bother to hide his scoff.
“The world-renowned Mount Hua Sword Dragon is of no help at all. Losing the entire vanguard force, no less.”
Mount Hua and Wudang: the deep-rooted hatred and contempt between the two massive Daoist sects, which had clashed over every little thing since ancient times, would not disappear so easily.
“He escaped from the enemy camp and didn’t even confirm where the enemies were?”
Meanwhile, Wudang’s vanguard had also been annihilated. Furthermore, unlike the Mount Hua Sword Dragon, the survivors of Wudang’s vanguard had not even returned.
If he were still a senior tactician during the Martial Righteous Alliance days, he would have sharply pointed that out.
“…It’s not that he didn’t, but that he couldn’t, isn’t it? Anyway.”
He concluded the conversation that was dragging on longer than he wanted.
“Until we find a clue about the whereabouts of the Grand Young Master’s main unit, or—”
“…Until the endless meeting to avoid taking responsibility for decisions is over, we’ll be stuck here getting hit by the night dew.”
The Wudang martial artist shrugged.
“At least it’s fortunate that this terrain is easy to defend.”
He turned and walked away without waiting for a reply.
“…Damn it.”
As the martial artist had said, the senior tactician found the chill rising from the damp night dew terribly unpleasant.
…How long do they plan on meeting?
His gaze, full of dissatisfaction, turned toward the brightly lit command tent.
Inside the command tent—
“No?!”
Bang!
A Mount Hua elder slammed his fist on the table and shouted,
“Is it our fault that we don’t know the location of the Grand Young Master’s main unit, which even the long-distance reconnaissance units scattered everywhere haven’t found?!”
“That’s why I’m not saying it’s Mount Hua’s fault—”
A Wudang elder continued, glancing toward the Mount Hua Sword Dragon sitting near the fire in the corner.
“I’m saying this in the hope that Mount Hua will share some information, no matter how small.”
“Exactly.”
Another Wudang elder chimed in.
“Isn’t the scale of the Grand Young Master’s main unit large enough? Yet the world-renowned Mount Hua Sword Dragon escaped without finding a single trace of such a massive force moving?”
The Mount Hua elder beat his chest in frustration.
“Then he should say he didn’t see what he didn’t see. Should he report it falsely?!”
“That’s—”
Before more could be said from the Wudang side, he quickly pointed toward the Namgung Clan and shouted,
“In the first place, isn’t the operation of the long-distance reconnaissance units the responsibility of the Namgung Clan?!”
The Namgung Clan’s representative, who had been sitting quietly only to be suddenly attacked, sprang to his feet.
“How is that a problem the Namgung Clan’s long-distance reconnaissance units should be responsible for?!”
Figures from the Namgung Clan all shot up from their seats.
“The cause is that the Grand Young Master’s main unit ended the battle too quickly and vanished from the battlefield without cleaning up, isn’t it?!”
“If you want to place blame like that, why don’t you ask the Grand Young Master of the Sword Clan?!”
It seemed like a fierce debate, but in reality, their arguments were meaningless.
That much was evident from the fact that the true leaders, such as the Sword Monarch of Mount Hua and Immortal Master Taechong of Wudang, were simply sitting there without saying a word.
If, here—
Immortal Master Taechong of Wudang narrowed his eyes and thought,
If our Wudang is the first to argue that we should move to the expected frontline before the Grand Young Master’s location is pinpointed…
The Sword Monarch of Mount Hua also closed his eyes tightly, harboring the same thought.
If that unpredictable Grand Young Master does something extraordinary again, our Mount Hua will be the one to take the blame.
In that case, rather than…
Even if it meant being a step behind, it was better to move after the Grand Young Master’s main unit was located.
And above all, decisively, the stagnation in this decision-making process was also due to Grand Strategist Sima, who maintained his silence.
What was he thinking? The figures in the room could not fathom the inner thoughts of Grand Strategist Sima, who sat with his back to them, sunk deep into his chair.
But coincidentally—
Grand Strategist Sima was currently…
The direction Grand Strategist Sima faced, turned away from the crowd, was also the direction where he could see Mount Hua Sword Dragon Gam Woo-hyeon sitting in the corner.
Is he watching me…?
At first, Gam Woo-hyeon thought he was mistaken.
However, as time passed, Grand Strategist Sima’s gaze blatantly and persistently tracked him.
Damn it…
Mount Hua Sword Dragon Gam Woo-hyeon broke out in a cold sweat, keeping his eyes fixed on the bonfire.
There shouldn’t have been anything suspicious in the explanation of the situation at the time of my escape that I gave…
Gam Woo-hyeon had said that he had escaped not from the Grand Young Master’s main unit, but from a temporary facility for holding prisoners. Since the other disciples had definitely been knocked unconscious by the Grand Young Master’s side, there was no reason for them to say anything strange when they woke up on the cart Gam Woo-hyeon had been pulling later.
But why? Why is Grand Strategist Sima looking only at me like that…?
In reality, Gam Woo-hyeon was the one who was supposed to secretly monitor and investigate the command of the allied forces to find the hidden Demonic Cultist. Yet right now, he found himself pinned down under Grand Strategist Sima’s gaze.
Was there something strange in my statement…?
While Mount Hua Sword Dragon Gam Woo-hyeon was constantly reviewing what he had said—
Screech.
Amidst the commotion disguised as a meeting, the sound of Grand Strategist Sima rising from his chair cut through the noise.
Step, step.
The sound of footsteps approaching Gam Woo-hyeon echoed unusually clearly.
“Mount Hua Sword Dragon.”
At first, Gam Woo-hyeon pretended to doze off, acting exhausted from his injuries.
“Mount Hua Sword Dragon.”
But such a shallow makeshift excuse would not work.
…Damn it.
Gam Woo-hyeon cursed inwardly and answered,
“…I am listening, Grand Strategist.”
The opponent was Grand Strategist Sima. Afraid his mind might be read if their eyes met, Gam Woo-hyeon did not even lift his head.
Grand Strategist Sima spoke to him.
“You…”
Gulp.
Gam Woo-hyeon, buried deep in his blanket, swallowed dryly without showing it.
And to him, Grand Strategist Sima approached closely, reached out his hand, and said,
“You look excessively cold.”
“…Excuse me?”
Grand Strategist Sima adjusted the blanket, wrapping it more thickly around him, and said,
“Your internal injuries seem deeper than expected. I will call a physician, so it would be best for you to be examined again.”
“…Ah, yes.”
So that was it.
“I will do as you say…”
The moment Gam Woo-hyeon was breathing a huge sigh of relief internally—
That moment—
[You.]
Grand Strategist Sima’s close-range telepathic message flew into his ear.
[By any chance, have you heard about the Demonic Cult recently?]
“…?!”