Chapter 173: I Will Count to Three (2)
Yeon Seo-hwa was organizing the clothes in her residence. Since we were moving soon, we wanted to prepare in advance.
“You don”t have to take everything.”
Even if the residence was moved, this place had to continue to be used as a place for the child’s martial arts training.
Above all, So-so’s Dragon Dragon Lion’s Hu, who has reached the eight-star level, was powerful enough to instantly kill those who have not learned martial arts. There was no place to practice other than this deserted place.
While I was getting ready, I sensed someone behind me.
“What are you doing?”
It was So-mu. His clothes were different from usual. He was dressed in civilian clothes and had a bamboo hat on his head, disguising himself as a shaman.
“As you can see. But where are you going?”
“I”m going to go on a reconnaissance trip to Hwi Country for a while. It”s been so quiet these days. I need to find out what”s up with it.”
Seolhwa remembered what she had heard earlier while interrogating Baek Myojin.
“I heard the emperor is transferring the capital to Gaebong? Isn”t that why you”re so crazy?”
“That may be true. But it doesn”t make any sense. The guard has been strengthened, and movement has completely stopped. The Divine Demon that was attacking the Martial Alliance has also made no movement for a while. Anyway, it”s suspicious.”
“I”m more suspicious of my friend? What are the subordinates doing and why is the general going there himself?”
So-mu said with a bitter smile.
“All the spies are dead. Even the information from the public has been blocked. Rather than continuing to take risks, I think it would be better for me to go once.”
“Now there are four days left.”
With four days left before the wedding, you cross the border and spy on the enemy? There was no way she was comfortable.
“You know. You can travel to the end of the Central Plains in four days. If you put your mind to it.”
So-mu once covered Lin’an in Zhejiang Province, the former Song capital, in just two days. There was no way Seolhwa didn”t know his abilities.
“By the way. So-so said she wanted to invite her friends. I told her to do so.”
“That”s right. We don”t have much time, so we should leave right away. Please talk to So-so in moderation.”
“Don”t worry. I will take good care of my daughter. And”.”
Seolhwa”s red lips breathed a cool breath into So-mu”s ears.
“You know what happens if you”re late, right?”
“That won”t happen. I don”t want to die from Yeon-mae either.”
The two hugged for a moment and then said their brief goodbyes. Seolhwa stared at the direction where So-mu disappeared.
Just as the scent he left behind was completely gone, someone familiar approached me.
A woman wearing elegant clothes embroidered with red plum blossoms. It was his younger sister, Yeon Cho-hee. It seemed like he had finished his class at Seolwhawon.
“I finished early today.”
“Yes. Are the wedding preparations going well?”
“What is there to prepare? We”re just going to quietly formalize it here.”
Seolhwa had not even prepared formal clothes. Since both So-mu and he were not young, it was only going to end as a formality rather than a grand ceremony.
But Cho-hee tilted her head as if she couldn”t understand.
“What do you mean, sister? So-so invited her friends today.”
“I know. When the kids come, I plan to feed them delicious food.”
Cho-hee sat on the floor and spoke with a puzzled expression.
“They said everyone should come?”
“””huh?”
“I told all my friends from Snow Flower Garden to come.”
Yeon Seo-hwa”s eyes shook slightly.
“””what?”
If you add up all the children at Seolhwawon, there were roughly over a thousand.
While Yeonseonghwa was making a blank expression, another shout was suddenly heard.
“Are you there?”
“Excuse me~”
Seolhwa was also confused because there was no way a customer would come here.
After a while, a group of people appeared. One of them was someone I knew. The head of Taewoongbang”s Jangan branch came in person.
“I”m sorry for coming by unexpectedly. This is Taewoong”s room.”
Behind the branch Commander, four people were holding a decorated box. Since I haven’t requested a transaction recently, I couldn’t understand the the local language.
“What”s going on?”
“After hearing the news of the wedding, I brought you a congratulatory gift. This is a small gift for a special customer of Taewoongbang, so please do not feel burdened and accept it.”
“”How did you know?”
The branch Commander tilted his head once and answered cautiously.
“Today, my daughter came to our branch” and went to brag.”
“””.”
Yeon Sung-hwa’s lips opened slightly, but no sound came out of his mouth.
“Perhaps we made some mistake”?”
Seonghwa Seo guessed the situation and nodded once and said.
“…I understand. Please leave it.”
“Yes. And perhaps”.”
“Please speak.”
“On the way, I heard that everyone in Guard Battalion, except for the working staff, will be attending. Is it okay if we attend that day as well?”
It was expected that at least 300 people would come from Guard Battalion. If the situation were like this, thousands of people might come to the pavilion. The situation has already gotten out of hand.
The water had already spilled. What difference will it make if you add a few more dropped of water?
“That”s right.”
“Thank you. I”ll see you in four days.”
Taewoongbang’s group, having achieved their goal, went down with light steps. When Seol-hwa said nothing even after they disappeared from sight, Cho-hee, who was next to him, asked.
“oh my god?”
Seolhwa took a deep breath and spoke softly.
“I can”t help it. From now on, I have to show my daughter the abilities of a mother. I need you to help me, Cho-hee.”
“Hmm” I guess we should change the location first.”
***
A ray of light was racing across the water of the Yellow River like a swallow.
It was a place where the current was so strong that most experts couldn’t even dare to open the water, but So-mu was running as if it were flat ground.
The destination was Luoyang. I wanted to go beyond Luoyang to Gaebong, the capital of the Hui Dynasty, but I didn’t have enough time.
It was about two hours later. The sight of scout ships stationed here and there came into view.
“They were converted fishing boats.”
Most of them were too small to be considered government ships. Perhaps the fishermen’s boats were confiscated by the military of the Hui Dynasty. This was because the Hui Dynasty had not built ships on the Yellow River until now.
So-mu quickly broke through their gap, hiding himself from the rough watered of the Yellow River.
On the scout ship, the soldiers of the Hui Dynasty were on fire, but no one could spot him.
After a while, Maeng Jinhang came into So-mu”s field of vision.
What caught his eye was the newly built shipyard inside the port. Surprisingly, many large battleships were currently being built here. Dozens of ships had already completed construction and were waiting to be launched.
“I expected it, but it was beyond my imagination. “Once these ships were built, Changan will become dangerous.”
The Son Dynasty had established a defensive line by defending Hamgok-gwan and Dong-gwan. It was somewhat expected that the enemy would attack through the waterway. However, I did not expect that preparations would be made on such a large scale.
“Tonight we destroy the shipyard.”
This was So-mu”s conclusion. He first scouted the surroundings.
Ships being built together and watchtowers built around them. And over a thousand soldiers were stationed everywhere.
As a result of inspection during the inspection, no significant risk factors were found.
In the meantime, there was almost no precedent for the country of Hui’s territory to be attacked by surprise. Perhaps that’s why there were more sloppy parts than it looked.
After confirming the ship’s location, So-mu hid nearby and waited for it to get dark.
It’s three o’clock to sit cross-legged, fall into a trance, and have a breathing exercises. Her eyes slowly opened and sank like a beast.
He drew his sword, took a deep breath, and took a stance. Since he had confirmed that there was no threat to him here, there was no need to hesitate.
Paang-!
His body, running like a flash fire, approached with all its might towards the side of the ship waiting to be launched.
Kwaaang-!!!
With a loud explosion, one side of the ship was destroyed, and debris flew in all directions.
“W-what!?”
“what’s the matter!”
The guarded rushed out and looked around. After a moment, their eyes widened as if torn.
About 40 completed battleships lined up in a row. This was because these precious ships, which were about to be formed into a fleet, were being released one after another.
Kwaang-! Kwakwang-!! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-!!!
I couldn’t understand the English text. There was just a flash of electricity speeding along, splitting the side of the ship.
At that time, one of the generals came running and shouted with a pale face.
“Dang, stop it now!!!”
He screamed loudly, but it was difficult for the soldiers to catch up with his movements. So-mu had already destroyed about half of the completed battleships.
So-mu turned and flew towards a place where ships under construction were concentrated. Thankfully, they were all gathered in one place, so there was no need to wander around.
“Oh, this can”t be happening.”
“Who the hell is like that”.”
It was truly a disaster. The biggest problem was that ships were built concentrated in one place.
The soldiers on the watchtower pulled the bowstring, but his movement was faster than his aiming speed. Of course it couldn’t have been right.
Papapapot-!
Arrows began to fall on the ground following So-mu’s traces. And, as always, the wreckage of the destroyed ship was scattered where he passed.
The cool sword energy emanating from his sword cut through anything that stood in its way. The damaged hull was so badly broken that it could not be repaired. No one dared to stop him.
The inferior general blew his whistle and signaled to the soldiers. It was to spread out the camp and fight back.
Beep profit-!!!
At the signal from the commanders, soldiers began to surround the shipyard. However, there was no way to attack as the opponent was swimming around like a fish, squeezing between the gaps between the ships.
Kwaaaaang-!!!
It was the sound of another ship being destroyed.
There were about twenty ships remaining. So-mu, who was about to destroy it, stopped moving for a moment and looked to the side. A large barracks was seen not far away.
He stopped what he was doing and quickly moved towards it.
Buaaaagh-!
The tent of the barracks was torn open, revealing the inside. Hundreds of people were crowded together in a barracks that looked like a pigsty. It was a lodging for shipyard engineers.
If you kill them, your country will be able to buy more time. The tip of So-mu’s sword pointed forward.
“Save me, please save me.”
“Please””
So-mu, looking at them, sighed and put away his sword. This was because they saw the patterns of slaves scorched with irons on their bodies.
“Are you saying these were people who were forcibly brought in and forced into labor?”
It was impossible to kill innocent people. So-mu turned his back and tried to leave, but stopped again.
“…If there are people who want it, I will send them to Changan.”
The technicians flinched but were unable to respond. Because I couldn’t believe it.
“You don”t have to worry, I will stop the soldiers. There are still about twenty warships left, so if you want, you can ride the rapids of the Yellow River and enter Chang”an.”
While So-mu was speaking, the technicians were also assessing the situation. Judging by the sight and noise outside the barracks, there was no doubt that something was up. If I wanted to escape this hellish place, I would never have another chance like this.
Although there were scout boats, most of them were small fishing boats. If you go on a battleship and use the rapids, you can easily beat them.
“I heard that you can eat well in Shaanxi. I want to go there.”
“Boo, please.”
“My entire family is already dead. I have no regrets about this place anymore.”
More than 8 of the technicians were upset. There were some who wanted to stay, but they could not be forced. It can only be left to each person’s own judgment.
“The representative among you, please come forward.”
A middle-aged man with a strong look approached So-mu.
“It”s me”.”
So-mu took out his nameplate from her pocket and held it out to him.
“If you find the soldiers of the Su Dynasty and show them this, they will support you.”
It was a golden jade tablet that looked precious at first glance. The middle-aged man was astonished when he saw the phrase engraved on it.
“Great, General…?”
The military’s highest commander was alone in an enemy country? I couldn’t help but be surprised. When he received the name plate, he didn’t know what to do.
So-mu nodded once and urged him on.
“Don”t worry about the soldiers, get ready quickly.”
With those words, So-mu turned around and came out of the barracks.
A large number of soldiers had already gathered around, but there were so many obstacles that they could not spread out their camp and seemed to be keeping an eye on what was happening.
So-mu escaped from the area where ships were concentrated and trudged toward a wide open space.
The soldiers measured the distance and moved in the same direction with him. The generals commanding them smiled in conversion. I can’t help but be thankful that they came into the siege on their own.
After a while, So-mu stopped walking and looked around silently in the middle of the clearing. More than a thousand soldiers were forming a camp, surrounding the enemy in layers.
At that moment, her eyes, revealed beneath the bamboo ribs, shone coldly.
“I am So-mu, the general of the kingdom of So. People in the world call me the Demon Sword Invincible.”
At that moment, a look of tension appeared on the soldiers’ faces. I had heard rumors about him. Some had even personally witnessed his martial prowess during the Battle of Yangyang.
As So-mu twisted the sword, the blade shined brightly in the moonlight. The sword vibrated and rang out a clear and refreshing sound.
Jjiiiiijing-!
I had no desire to take too long. Now that the signal has been raised, news will reached Luoyang Castle within two days at the latest. Before that, I had to infiltrate the castle and complete reconnaissance.
“If any of you were forcibly conscripted, put your weapons down on the ground. If you give up being a soldier of the State of Hui, you can live.”
“””.”
It was the soldiers who were surrounding them, but on the contrary, all of them were weighed down by the overwhelming force.
There were no troops here trained to deal with the superhuman, and no general capable of stopping him.
“I will count to three.”