“We’realmostthere.”
“Yes.erysoon.”
hedisciplesofSouthernslandgatheredonthedeckandstaredatthelanddrawingnearer.
Southernands.
heirfaceshardenedmorethanever.
fcourse,thiswasn’ttheirfirsttisettingfootinSouthernands.BeforetheSouthernandson-AggressionPacttookeffect,theyoftenvisitedtheinterior.
Besides,hadn’ttheypassedthroughSouthernandsonthewaytoMountSongwhentakingpartintheWorldlyMurimMartialArtsournant?
ButitwouldbenoexaggerationtosaythattheSouthernandsofthenandtheSouthernandsofnowwereentirelydifferentplaces.
‘ntheend...’
wakwan-Sobithisliphard.
FromheretotheYangtzeriver,theywouldhavetotraversesoeighthundredkiloters.heyhadtobreakthroughthevilSectforcesthatweregrindingtheirteethtocaptureandkillthem.
‘sthatreallypossible?’
efelthisbackdampenwithcoldsweat.
hinkingwiththeheadandcarryingitoutwiththebodyaredifferent.ethoughthe’dsteeledhimself,butwithSouthernandsloomingaheadhiswholebodystiffenedwithtension.
wakwan-Soturnedtolookback.Asexpected,theotherSouthernslandSect’sdisciplesalsohadtense,hardfaces.hedisciplesontheothershipswereprobablymuchthesa.
‘Don’ttrytorelax.’
wakwan-Soconsciouslyclenchedandunclenchedhisfistsseveraltis.fhedidn’tmoveevenalittle,hefelthemightsuffocateintherigidatmosphere.
‘t’sperfectlynaturaltobetense.ryingforciblynottobetenseisthestrangerthing.’
Justaswakwan-Sowasabouttoexhalealongbreath.
“ookslikewe’renearlythere.”
mSo-Byeongstrolledontothedeck,snappedopenhisfan,andfannedhisfacelightly.amgungDo-Weiaskedquietly.
“Didwearriveatthetiyouexpected?”
“Ugh.”
mSo-Byeongletoutasmallgroanandsnappedthefanshut.Alongsighescapedhim.
“We’requiteabitlaterthanplanned.”
“...sthatso?”
mSo-Byeongnoddedlistlessly.
“Accordingtotheplanweshouldhavearrivedatleastsixhoursearlier...onlythencouldwehavemovedasintended.”
“...”
“Whydidtheheadwindpickup,ah...maddening.‘Doyourbestandleavetheresttoheavens.’omatterhowskilledamasastrategist,can’tbeexpectedtopredictaheadwind.”
“Zhugeiangoncecausedafavorablewindtoblow...”
mSo-Byeong’scheekstwitchedatamgungDo-Wei’soffhandremark.
“fwereZhugeiang,doyouthink’dbestandingherelikethis?”
“Ah,no.didn’tanyoulackability.t’sjust...”
“henwhyistheamgungfamily’syounglordonlycapableofthatmuch?fthepreviousfamilylordhadcoinsteadoftheamgung’syounglord,thoseenhousandPeopleClanbastardswouldhaveallbeenslicedtopiecesonthatshore!”
“Ah...”
“What?”
“didn’tknowthereenForestKingheldmylatefatherinsuchhighesteem.Muchappreciated.”
“...hislittle—?”
“Yes?”
“Ahem!”
mSo-Byeonggaveadispleasedcoughandsnappedhisheadaway.Sohowthismanwasgettinglessandlesseasytodealwithbytheday.
isgazefixedbackonSouthernands,andhisexpressionhardenedslightly.
Althoughitlookedlikeavastland,itwasactuallyabasinthatjuttedoutstraighttowardthesea.t’spreciselythekindofterrainyoushouldavoidwhenconsideringalanding.
Firstly,thelandingpointwasblatantlyexposed,andtoreachdeepinlandthey’dhavetobreakthroughabasinstretchingthreehundredriinastraightline.herewasnodetour,onlyasinglepath.
Strategistswouldlearnfromthisterrainandneverforgetit;itwouldhaunttheirdreams.
“Arewereallylandingthere?”
mSo-Byeongrepliedbluntlytothequietvoice.
“Why?sthereaproblem?Weswamfromtherebefore,didn’twe?”
“’mnotclaimingtoknoweverything,butthesituationisdifferentnow,isn’tit?Backthentheydidn’tknowweexisted...northedirectionoftroopmovents...”
“ooo?”
mSo-ByeongputonanexaggeratedlysurprisedfaceandlookedatamgungDo-Wei.
“Ah,youknowabitofmilitarystrategy?”
“...”
“Wow,impressive.Youknowmilitarystrategytoo.h,nowthatthinkofit’veheard:theroyalstudiestaughttoapersontobecotheordoftheamgungFamilyincludemilitarytactics.heysayonemustalsocultivateliteraryartslikepoetry,calligraphy,andpainting,yes?”
“t’snotthatgrand,justalittleknowledge...”
“sktsktsk.”
mSo-Byeong’sfanninggrewviolentlyrapid.
“hisiswhy!alf-learnedknowledgecausesmoretrouble!”
“...”
“fyoudon’tknow,keepyourmouthshutlikethefellowsbehindyouwho’djustsay,‘Ah,they’reprobablylandingthere.’Butthosewho’veskimdthesurfaceinsistthetastefromtherindisthetasteofthelonandpoketheirnosesintoeverything!”
“...Ah,no,that’snotit.”
“hat’showrulersruinnations!heyalwayssay,‘’velearnedthat!’Butthetacticslearnedaredifferentfromthat!”
“-wasjustofferinganopinion...”
“What?onestly!fjusttakingthatclassmakesyouamilitaryexpert,whatwasyourpreviouslordthinkingchargingallthewaytotheYangtzeriver!Didheskipthe✪оvеlіgһt✪(fficialversion)tacticschapterinthebook?”
“D-Don’tkeepgoingatmylatefather!eactednotwithhisheadbutwithhisheart!Withhisheart!”
“eart?Whatnonsense!”
“Donotinsultmylatefather!”
wakwan-So’seyesblurredashewatched.
‘veninthissituationthey’rebeinglikethat.’
ehadassudanyonewithheadwouldnaturallybetenseinsuchcircumstances.owhesawthatwasn’tnecessarilytrue.itherthat,orthosepeopleweren’tquitenormal.
“sk.”
mSo-Byeongclickedhistongueandfannedirritably.
“fyouthinkaboutitroughly,thatisn’tentirelywrong.”
“Right.So...”
“nlyifyouthinkroughly,onlyifyouthinkroughly!”
“...”
“Whyshouldn’twelandwheretheenemyexpectsus?Becausetheycanprepare,laytraps,orsetupdefenses,right?”
amgungDo-Weinoddedvigorouslyinagreent.mSo-Byeongsnappedinreturn.
“heydon’thavetheforcesthererightnowtosetupthatdefensiveline!hosetroopsareallpacingtheirfeetaroundinSouthernslandatthemont!”
“Ah...”
“fwehesitatetolandandwastetiinthatsituation,thenon-existentdefensivelinewillbeford,yousee?hemostimportantthinginmilitaryartisn’tprinciplebuttiming,timing!Sotisrightnowiscorrectandlaterit’swrong—that’showstrategyworks.Understand?”
amgungDo-Weinoddedasifhenowunderstood.Butoneunresolvedquestionstillsatinhischest.
“...h-thenwhydidyousayearlierthatyouweregoingcrazy?”
“utofregret,that’swhy,outofregret!”
“h?”
mSo-ByeongtwistedhisfaceirritablyandsnappedhisgazetowardSouthernands.
“fwe’darrivedjust6hoursearlierwecouldhaverushedtouangdongandburneddownthemainheadquartersofthoseenhousandPeopleClanbastards.”
“...”
“henJanglso’sfacewouldhavebeenasighttosee!Ah,evenheavenisheartless.Whydoestheheadwindhavetopickupatatilikethis...”
“Areyouindulginginfantasieslikethatatthisti?”
“Whynot?Aren’tstrategistsstillhuman?verytithatJanglsodeliberatelyestablishedalongfrontwiththereenForestandpokedatus,myschemingtwistedtoo!alfmypoorhealthisthatbastard’sfault!”
“Andtheotherhalf?”
“BecauseofMountua’sSwordSaint,ofcourse.”
...twasnonsense,butsohowalsooddlyconvincing...
“Ugh.hat’sasha.”
mSo-Byeongsigheddeeplyinregretandcomplained.
houghhespokelikethat,burningdowntheenhousandPeopleClan’smainheadquarterswasnotrelytolifthisspirits.RegardlessofJusticefactionorvilSect,asect’smaincompoundburningcarriesgreatsignificance.
JustlookatMountuaasanexample.
venafterMountualostallitsupperranksatoptheen-housandreatMountains,nobodydeclaredMountuaruined.twasn’tconsidereddevastateduntilremnantsoftheDemonicCultinvadedShaanxiandburnedMountua’spavilions.
heyarenotrebuildings;amaincompound’spavilionscarrysymbolism.ftheyhadtakentheopportunitytoburntheenhousandPeopleClan’sheadquartersclean,itwouldhavedealtaclearblowtoJanglso’ssolidcontrol...
“sk.othingwecando.”
herewasnowaynow.ftheyclumsilytriedtoburntheheadquarters,thepeopleherewouldgetroasted.Disappointingasitwas,theyhadtogiveupcleanly.
“istenup!”
WhenmSo-Byeongraisedhisvoice,everyone’sattentionfocused.
wakwan-Soswallowedhard.obehonest,hedidn’treallytrustmSo-Byeong,whohailedfromthevilSect.e’dneverfelttheeffectivenessofmSo-Byeong’ssches.
Yetthereasonwakwan-Sostilllistenedwassimple:ChungMyung,BaekCheon,amgungDo-WeiandtheothernotablembersoftheeavenlyFriendsAlliancewerealllisteningtomSo-Byeong.
hemlisteningtohiswords—justthataloneantmSo-Byeonghadalreadypassedakindofverification.
‘Sosogreatstratagemmustbecoming.’
famanfromthevilSectcouldmaketheheadsoftheJusticefaction’ssectslisten,surelyhemusthavesoremarkabletrick...
“nceweland,militarytheoryandallthatwon’tmatter.”
“Uh...”
o...hewassupposedtobecunningandelusive...
“Don’toverthinkit,rununtilyourfeetsweat.WemustadvanceasfaraspossiblebeforethosedamnedvilSectbastardscanputaproperheavenandearthnetinplace!”
wakwan-Sogaveastartledshout.
“W-wait!fwedothat,won’ttheylearnourentiretrail?”
“tdoesn’tmatter.”
“What?”
“veniftheyknow,itdoesn’tmatter.hey’llfindoutanyway;ifso,it’sbettertomoveonestepfaster!”
wakwan-Sodroppedhisjaw.
‘sheinsane?’
omatterhowhethoughtaboutit,itwasn’tasanethingtosay.Butwhenheturnedtoseekagreent,deepdespairthim.
“Finally,youhavesothingsensibletosay.”
ChungMyungofMountua’sSwordSaintgrinnedbroadly.
“Conciseandgood.”
BaekCheon,theActingSecteaderofMountua,noddedinagreent.
“t’srational,atleast.”
venamgungDo-Wei,theirlasthope,expressedagreentasiftherewerenootheroption.
Watchingthis,wakwan-Sofelthisownmindgostrange.
‘hey’rereallygoingtodothis?’
hisinsanestunt?
“W-wait!”
“Ah,whatnow?”
wakwan-Sorackedhisbraindesperately.ehadtosaysothingsensible.
“W-whatifwepenetratesodeeplyintoenemyterritoryandgetencircled?henthere’snoturningback!”
“Whatareyoutalkingabout?”
hereplycanotfrommSo-ByeongbutfromChungMyung.
“DoyouthinktheFourSectsAllianceiseasy?Doyouthinkyou’llavoidencirclentbyhidingyourbuttaway?”
“h-that’s...”
“fyou’regoingtobreakintosoone’shouseandwreakhavoc,youshouldbepreparedtobeencircled.hat’sonlynatural.”
“o,cansteelmyselfforthat,butifwereallydogetencircled,whatwillyoudothen?”
“Dowhat?Whatdoyouthinkwe’ddo?”
ChungMyungproudlypuffedouthischest.
“We’llthinkaboutitwhentheticos!”
Despairsettledonwakwan-So’sface.Buttheothersseedtothinkdifferentlyoncemore.
“Definitelyrational.”
“Agoodplan.”
“oroomforobjections.”
mbersoftheeavenlyFriendsAlliancenoddedrepeatedly.earswelledinwakwan-So’seyes.Wouldn’titbebettertoturnbackevennow...?
“henfirstweland?”
“fcourse.But...”
mSo-Byeongsmirkedandlookedtowardtheshore.
“heymaylacktroops,butthey’llhaveeyes—soweshouldgivethemalittlepresent.”
“uh?Apresent?”
mSo-Byeong’sfaceinstantlytookonamaliciousglint.
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