Episode 198. The Whale’s Back Breaks in a Shrimp Fight
Just before departure, General Shin Gi-su and General Jegal Seung-un held a separate meeting with the major generals.
“I would like to once again express my gratitude to the many great men who willingly took on the role of the Great Leader for the sake of justice in the martial arts world. I asked to see you before we depart because I have something important to tell you.”
At Zhuge Liang’s words, Jang Mu-deok, the great general of Cheonchu-dae, opened his mouth.
“It must be a pretty important story, seeing as they gathered only the major shareholders before departure.”
“Yes. This war with the famous religion would have been impossible without the Emperor’s permission.”
“Are you saying that the imperial family has cut ties with the famous religion?”
“You could say that. It is said that in the beginning, many royal figures were recruited through bribery by famous religious figures. However, it seems that they felt a sense of crisis when the power of the famous religious figures grew too much.”
“Are you planning to commit murder in the end? Tsk! This is why I said you shouldn’t trust the royal family.”
Jang Mu-deok shook his head.
Zhuge Liang continued speaking with a faint smile.
“Of course, I don’t trust the imperial family either. I don’t know when I’ll be thrown into the mud. But the reason we were able to hold such a large-scale gathering in Nanjing was because the emperor gave his permission. However, there are some restrictions on this event by the Justice League.”
“Restrictions? What do you mean by that?”
Yi Ui-jeong, the great general of Cheokmadae, looked at Jegal Seung-un with a puzzled look.
Because it is a word that has never been said before.
Zhuge Liang answered with a bitter smile.
“Actually, the commander of the Royal Guard, Mo Yang (毛驤), came to visit me last night.”
“Shape? Are you talking about that warrior who is said to be the Emperor’s closest confidant?”
Jang Moo-deok pretended to know.
Since the Wujimun was in Nanjing, he could often receive news from central government officials.
The story about the appearance of the commander of the Golden Guard was one of them.
The Jinyiwei is the emperor’s personal military organization that carries out inspections, arrests, and interrogations. Because of its immense power, there was no martial arts school in Nanjing that did not know about the Jinyiwei.
“Yes. He came secretly last night and made two requests. First, he told me to leave Nanjing quickly because the Emperor was worried.”
The four major shareholders nodded.
With over 1,500 armed men gathered in Nanjing, it is understandable to be concerned.
“And secondly, he said not to move together as a whole, as the people might be surprised. The second problem is to invite the great lords.”
Namgung Byeok, the Grand Master of the Royal Family, frowned and said.
“When you say we shouldn’t move together, does that mean the four of you should act separately?”
It was an awkward situation for the already small-scale organization.
“Yes. In fact, he is not wrong. If 1,500 unmanned people gather together and move around, it will be thought that there is a rebellion. That is why the four groups should move along separate routes.”
“… … .”
Namgung Byeok had nothing to say in rebuttal, so he just sighed.
The emperor, the most powerful man in the country, said so, so there was no choice but to follow.
Lee Ui-jeong, who had been watching quietly, comforted Namgung Byeok.
“Sword King, don’t worry too much. It doesn’t seem like there will be any major problems until Hanamseong anyway.”
“Yes, I also heard that there is a famous church in Jeongju.”
Namgung Byeok was the youngest of the ten greatest martial artists in the world, so he answered politely.
Originally, Namgung Byeok’s distribution corresponds to the eldest son of the Chilpai family.
But everyone else was a hermit who had withdrawn from the front lines.
When everyone was convinced, Jegal Seung-un stepped forward.
“So yesterday, I hurriedly created four routes with the commander of the Royal Guard. The first is the route of the Cheokmadae. Go north, pass through Hongtaekho, pass through Seoju, Sanggu, and Gaebong, and enter Jeongju.”
“Okay.”
Lee Ui-jeong nodded.
Zhuge Liang saw the Great Master of the Mysterious Sect, Wujiang Merchant.
“The second is the route of the Extermination Corps. Head northwest. Pass through Juche, Bangbu, and Bakju and enter Jeongju.”
“That’s right.”
The Mugeuk merchant nodded as if he understood.
This time, Jegal Seung-un’s gaze turned to Jang Mu-deok.
“Thirdly, Cheonchu-dae is to the northwest like Myeolsa-dae, but the course has changed slightly. It remains the same until Juche, but after that, go through Hoenam, Buyang, and Jugu and enter Jeongju.”
“Okay.”
The gazes of the major shareholders turned towards Namgung Byeok.
The remaining direction is west. It is a road that turns sharply to the left via Hapbi.
In Hapbi, there is a famous church called Musan Sochuk.
It seemed that Jegal Seung-un would give Namgung Byeok the western route to take revenge, but he had too few men.
Namgung Byeok looked at Jegal Seungwoon with strange eyes.
He was of the same age as Zhuge Liang, but was older and was always called senior.
This time, I learned that Jegal Seung-un was not very cooperative with me and Namgung Se-ga.
The sects that originally ran the destroyed Uigidae were Shaolin Temple and Uicheonmun. However, since Zhuge Liang did not reorganize, Shaolin Temple and Uicheonmun were separated into Cheokmadae and Cheonchudae.
If the squad had been reorganized, it wouldn’t have been so noisy from the beginning.
In such a situation, Jegal Seung-un left the free choice to the sects. To be honest, even he himself would have avoided the Uigidae without the support of the Chilpai sect.
‘Hey, are you trying to take care of me or are you trying to give me water?’
Namgung Byeok was not particularly angry because he knew that Jegal Seungwoon’s actions were the way of the world. The reason was that Namgung Sega had risen to the position of a powerful family in the martial arts world by suppressing the weak.
It may be natural that the Jegal family would covet the Namgung family’s position.
“The fourth expedition took the westward route. Go up to Jeongju via Heopi, Sinyang, Jumajeom, and Heochang.”
“Okay, then.”
Namgung Byeok smiled as if he had known this would happen.
There is an oxygen-free zone between Hapbi and Heochang, and the famous Milky Way between Heuchang and Jeongju.
He threw the Milky Way sword that destroyed the Musan Sochuk and Uigi Dae that led to the destruction of the Namgung Se family.
Yi Ui-jeong looked back and forth between Jegal Seung-un and Namgung Byeok with complicated eyes.
Anaerobic digestion and galaxy field are impossible with the current level of expectation.
However, Namgung Byeok did not raise any objection to such an unreasonable decision.
My head hurts just watching Jegal Seung-un openly trying to kill Namgung Se-ga and Namgung Byeok calmly accepting it.
‘It looks like the whale’s back will break in a shrimp fight. What are you going to do if the shamanists bring up the issue later?’
Yi Ui-jeong did not understand Jegal Seung-un.
Even if the Namgung Sega clan, which has become ineffective, passes quietly, the shamanist faction is different.
If the Wudang faction feels resentful, the Taoist sects of the Chilpai faction will also try to push out the Zhuge Liang faction.
‘You’re not trying to get even the nonpartisan group to back down, are you?’
It’s unlikely, but even if it were, it couldn’t be stopped. Even if there were some sacrifices, as long as the results were good, no one would blame him.
Zhuge Liang looked around at the great lords and urged them to be careful.
“The route I just told you was relayed to the Commander of the Royal Guard this morning. If you deviate from this route, it may be considered that you have changed your mind, so you must follow it.”
The shareholders nodded silently.
Although Zhuge Liang expressed it in terms of ‘different minds’, there was no one who did not know what it was.
Imperial cooperation is a double-edged sword.
It’s better to enjoy the benefits now, but not do anything that will get you caught when you’re in trouble.
After the emergency meeting was over, the four major shareholders returned to their seats.
Soon after, about 1,500 armed Justice League members left Nanjing.
***
release.
Hwasangchon.
There are people who are good at adapting even in extreme environments.
For example, there were bulls and stone men.
When I was first suddenly thrown into the Yellow River, I swallowed so much water that I almost fainted.
But after that I got the hang of it and it wasn’t as hard as it was at first.
It was his waist that was tied with rope, not his hands and feet.
When the ox and the stone man jumped into the Yellow River, they diligently moved their hands to pull themselves out, head first.
As long as Nokdampyeong held on to the rope from above, there would be no problem.
Surprisingly, only Nokdam-pyeong is suffering.
After finishing breakfast, Yeonjeokha and Gucheonnodo Simtong went out to Hyojaam.
Nokdam-pyeong, who had been waiting, tied the waists of the ox and the stone man with a rope.
The bull and the stone man jumped into the Yellow River by themselves before Nokdam-pyeong could push them away with his foot.
These movements are somehow familiar and natural.
Simtong tilted his head.
There was no fear or terror on the faces of the bull and the stone man.
On the first day, those guys who cried, blew their whistles, and clung to me with pale faces were strange.
Simtong approached the edge of the rock, stretched his neck, and looked down.
“What the hell!”
Swear words just came out of my mouth.
The two swindlers were floating in the whirlpool, holding onto the rope with their hands.
Nokdampyeong thought it meant to stop pulling up, so he diligently turned his wrist.
Then Simtong kicked Nokdampyeong.
“You idiot! Who told you to pull me up?”
Nokdampyeong untied the rope again and slowly looked at Simtong’s expression.
“Master, I see some swindlers hanging from a rope and playing.”
Yeonjeokha frowned as he looked down from the edge of the rock.
“Wow! Those swindlers. Those guys came up and pretended to be dead and lay there? Wow. That’s scary. Old Man Shim, take care of it.”
I left the bothersome task of dating behind and returned to my folding chair.
“Nokkaya. From now on, don’t pull up the rope until the old man says so.”
“yes.”
Simtong squatted on the edge of the rock and looked down.
About half an hour had passed?
The heads of the swindlers dipped under the water and then rose again, as if their strength had been drained.
It’s not just the scammers who have it tough.
Nokdampyeong, who had been holding the rope with both hands for half an hour, was already covered in sweat all over his body.
After a while, the heads of the scammers who had gone under the water did not come up.
Only then did Simtong get up from his seat.
“Pull it up.”
“Yes? Yes.”
Nokdampyeong started wrapping the rope around his wrist.
But it wasn’t an easy task for Nokdam-pyeong, who had already exerted himself for more than half an hour.
He gritted his teeth, but it didn’t take long for the strength to leave him.
Knock knock knock.
The rope I had finally wrapped came loose.
Nokdampyeong pulled the rope again with trembling hands.
But once the strength was lost, it was not recharged.
He tried to wrap the rope around his arm somehow, but the rope became heavier and heavier.
Now it’s a situation where it’s burdensome to even hold the line.
Simtong, who had been watching him struggle while holding onto the rope, approached the edge of the rock.
Simtong, who had been craning his head and looking down, spoke in an indifferent tone.
“Nokkaya. I think we can stop now.”
“You want me to let go?”
“Do you have the strength to pull?”
“Oh, no.”
“Then let me go to the afterlife, brat.”
“ah!”
Only then did Nokdampyeong realize that the two conmen were already dead.
Come to think of it, it was already past time for me to drown.
He took the strength out of his hands.
In the blink of an eye, two ropes were sucked under the rock.
“… … .”
Nokdampyeong stared blankly at the Yellow River.
The weight of the life he had let go of with his own hands pressed down on his chest.
Did you ever develop any feelings of hatred during the three days you spent with the two conmen?
A feeling of coolness and emptiness came over me.
A strong kick to his buttocks as he was momentarily lost in the futility of life.
“You son of a bitch! Get out of my way! Where the hell are you getting your money’s worth? You’re only alive because the prince has a soft heart. If I were you, I would’ve killed you twelve times over.”
Wuxia,
