Chapter 374: Mobile Unit Sortie (4)
Yeon Ho-jeong, Murong Yu, and Muk Bi participated in the modestly prepared drinking party.
Murong Yu asked.
“What about Strategist Zhuge?”
“The Strategist is in the Strategist Pavilion.”
“No, I mean the Strategist of the Evil-Annihilating Army. Miss Zhuge.”
“Right. She went to the Strategist Pavilion because she had something to help her father with.”
“Is that so?”
“Because it’s so hectic lately. The Evil-Annihilating Army handles their own training well, so she just drops by once in a while to check the formation techniques or review the military strategies they’ve devised. She will tag along when we go on a sortie though.”
Murong Yu spoke as if he was envious.
“I’ve been really envious since a long time ago. The existence of a strategist, I mean.”
“There will be no need to be envious anymore.”
“Will she become the unified Strategist?”
“Of course.”
“……Have you told Miss Zhuge?”
“I haven’t? But wouldn’t she have already foreseen her own destiny?”
Murong Yu clicked his tongue.
“You really are something.”
Yeon Ho-jeong raised his cup.
“Enough of that, shall we have a drink first?”
“Sounds good.”
The three people who clinked their cups drank the wine refreshingly.
Murong Yu asked Muk Bi.
“Then, what will happen to Vice Commander Muk?”
Muk Bi shrugged her shoulders.
“Well. I haven’t heard anything separately from Young Master Yeon yet.”
The two people looked at Yeon Ho-jeong.
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“The superiors told me to rearrange the personnel at the Grand Commander’s discretion. So I have thought of something in my own way.”
“What is it?”
“For the time being, the Righteous Justice Army will maintain a two-army system. So you can just do as you have been doing. Older brother will take charge of the Demon-Sweeping Army, and Muk Bi will take charge of the Evil-Annihilating Army. Ah, in the case of the Evil-Annihilating Army, I can move together with them depending on the situation.”
Murong Yu’s face clouded over.
“Of course, since they are units with very distinct characteristics, it would be good to utilize their respective specialties, but…… will it be alright?”
“In fact, the Righteous Justice Army is not much different from when we went to smash the Gray Wolf Squad in the past. It’s a joint army of the Demon-Sweeping and Evil-Annihilating, so to speak. The only difference is that it was temporary back then, and now it’s permanent until an order for separation is issued.”
“That difference is the problem.”
“Even so, I have no intention of forcing a merger. It might be a different story if the sortie date was far in the future, but the superiors seem to be planning to send the Righteous Justice Army outside the Alliance soon.”
“Mhm.”
Looking at Murong Yu’s expression, Yeon Ho-jeong asked as if tossing the words.
“You knew about it, didn’t you?”
“Rather than saying I knew about it, there was something I told older brother separately.”
“Shall I listen to it?”
Murong Yu conveyed the exact conversation he had with Murong Jun a while ago.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“The Black Dragon Manor?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm.”
“It was a conclusion I reached after weighing this and that in my own way. I am sorry for not telling you first, younger brother Yeon.”
“I said it before, didn’t I? Since the environments we stayed in are different, let’s move according to our own thoughts. There’s nothing to be sorry about at all.”
“Thank you for saying that. By the way, what do you think about it, younger brother Yeon?”
“The Black Dragon Manor?”
“That’s right.”
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded his head.
“Not bad. No, rather, it’s fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
“There are various intentions behind the Murim Alliance trying to send the Righteous Justice Army on a sortie. There’s the intention to have us roll in the dirt together and quickly build camaraderie, and there’s also the intention to send us out on this occasion since we were tied to the Alliance for most of the time despite being moving armies. And…….”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone.
“It’s also to let the world know.”
“The existence of the Righteous Justice Army?”
“Right. Actually, in terms of head count, it’s just adding fifty more to the Demon-Sweeping Army, so it’s nothing new, but what’s important is the symbol.”
“Symbol…….”
“Yeah, symbol.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked up at the ceiling.
“Since its initial establishment until now, the Murim Alliance has been growing smoothly. I’m not just saying this, it’s really growing well. But there is still a majority of people in the world who live without knowing how great the Murim Alliance’s power is.”
“I also think so.”
“The Evil-Annihilating Army and the Demon-Sweeping Army went out to Jianghu a few times and showed their active roles, but that alone is not enough. In the first place, there has never been a fight that all the people of the Central Plains watched.”
“Didn’t the Evil-Annihilating Army eliminate several Black Path factions? Moreover, the Black Path groups the Evil-Annihilating Army eliminated were all true villains who sucked the marrow of the commoners.”
“That’s right. Thanks to that, our reputation went up. But that’s it.”
“I think there is no greater merit than that. In this era where the Empire has lost its power and lost its ability to maintain public order, the Evil-Annihilating Army punished the villains with drastic processing of matters. For the commoners, scattered small evils inflict greater damage than a massive evil.”
“Do not try to commit a great good, but melt into the world and commit small goods. Yes, that is correct. True Chivalry is, like that Gi Wu-hui, silently doing good even if others do not recognize it. I also think so.”
“That is why the Evil-Annihilating Army is amazing.”
“That’s why the Murim Alliance thought it was insufficient.”
“……What do you mean?”
Yeon Ho-jeong sighed.
“For a massive organization like the Murim Alliance, dividing good and evil and performing chivalrous deeds is not that important. No matter what happened, what moves the world is power and money. And those two things demand reputation as a price in the unreasonable world called Murim.”
“…….”
“They would need a bigger, stronger, and more definite reputation. That’s why they’re sending the Righteous Justice Army.”
Murong Yu’s eyes deepened.
“For the reputation of the Murim Alliance?”
“Yeah. The likes of the Gray Wolf Squad is not even close. The Three Cults? They are the most dangerous enemies, but the world doesn’t know about them yet. Not to mention the mediocre Black Path factions.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Murong Yu and said.
“You said you told Murong Jun that the Black Dragon Manor should be dealt with? Perhaps that proposal will be approved in some way before tomorrow passes. Why? Because what the Murim Alliance needs in the end is reputation.”
“Such……!”
He had never thought that far. The reason Murong Yu proposed to Murong Jun that the Black Dragon Manor should be sorted out was because of the Evil Lust Cult, not for reputation.
“I…… thought that proposal would not be easily passed. The reason being, the Black Dragon Manor is a massive organization. If handled incorrectly, a war could break out.”
“That could happen.”
“The reason I said that to my older brother was to catch the strings of the Three Cults. I didn’t have such a perilous thing in mind.”
“I know. I know, but this is a world that comes up with a hundred interpretations even for a single poem. Let alone the Murim Alliance, do you think they will move according to your older brother’s intentions?”
“……!”
“At least regarding this matter, there’s a high probability they won’t.”
“This can’t be…….”
Murong Yu could not believe it.
“Are you saying my proposal could ignite a war with the Black Path?”
Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.
“That’s another issue. The Honored Guests of this Alliance are not fools. Starting a war first in the current situation? That’s nonsense. They will absolutely not do such a reckless thing.”
“I suppose so?”
“However, since sending the Righteous Justice Army out of the Alliance is confirmed, they will try to utilize us as best as they can. And it’s an obvious fact that the Black Dragon Manor is the best prey for us to cast our presence.”
“……!!”
Murong Yu’s face hardened.
“Just as you said, the Honored Guests are all wise people. It’s natural that power and money are important to an organization, but that doesn’t mean they will forcefully try to provoke the Black Dragon Manor.”
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded his head.
“That’s why I said it will be approved in’some way’. Touching the Black Dragon Manor directly isn’t everything. An order might be issued to attack illegal businesses or vicious sects associated with the Black Dragon Manor.”
Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.
“And regarding that, I personally infiltrated and dug up information. If it’s approved, there’s a high probability we’ll be striking them based on the information I brought from the Black Dragon Manor.”
“……Huu.”
Murong Yu sighed heavily as if the ground would collapse.
“Worldly affairs truly do not go as my heart desires.”
“When was the world ever comfortable? Because it doesn’t go as my heart desires and doesn’t roll the way I want it to, each person rushes in to create the world they desire.”
Murong Yu, who had been looking down at his cup with a complicated face, filled Yeon Ho-jeong and Muk Bi’s cups.
“Anyway, for this time at least, we have no choice but to trust the superiors’ decision.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone.
‘For this time at least?’
Those words meant that Murong Yu had been feeling skeptical about the superiors’ orders since a certain period.
‘Hmm.’
Yeon Ho-jeong examined Murong Yu’s eyes.
He looked confused and frustrated. He looked worried, and a glimpse of anger toward this lamentable world also seemed to be seen.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been blankly examining Murong Yu’s face, asked as if tossing the words.
“Are you frustrated?”
“I am frustrated.”
“Still, you have to fight. What other choice is there.”
“Do not say that. Orders from superiors are absolute, but at least in the White Path, there is a grand principle prioritized over orders.”
“What is that?”
“Chivalry.”
Murong Yu’s eyes shone.
“Sacrifice the few for the many? An organization might do that. But the White Path shouldn’t be like that. Everyone lives well at the cost of making a single person unhappy? That’s an absolutely unacceptable story.”
“But that’s the reality. Everyone cries out such words, but in the end, the world hasn’t flowed according to ideals. For a whopping thousands of years.”
“Even so, we must pursue it. The reason being, that is the right path. If we do not pursue and strive for it just because it’s not realistic, how can we call ourselves the White Path, and what are we to teach the future scholars?”
Murong Yu’s face distorted.
“So what if reputation is lacking? So what if power is lacking and money is lacking? If it’s to make even a single person live more like a human being, if that is the right path, it is only proper that we must pursue it.”
It was still a confused face. However, Murong Yu’s voice did not shake.
Although he was moving while hiding his true intentions to set the clan right, that could not be a reason to disparage the person named Murong Yu.
Murong Yu was originally this kind of person. He was a person who knew what values should not be abandoned until the end even if the world were to fall. And he was a person ready to risk his life for that conviction.
Yeon Ho-jeong said.
“But we alone cannot change the survival principle chosen by that long history.”
“That is not a survival principle. In the end, it was people who made that history!”
“Then try changing it yourself.”
“What……?”
“I will help you, so try completely fixing the absurdity and un-White Path-like actions you felt, older brother.”
Murong Yu’s eyes shook violently.
Yeon Ho-jeong spoke calmly.
“There are more evil people in the world than good people. And more than good or evil people, there are ten thousand times more people who don’t even know whether the deeds they commit are good or evil.”
“…….”
“I don’t think I can reform all of them. Nor am I in a position to do so. But if you feel frustrated, older brother, if you want to create such a world, I will willingly risk my life.”
“Younger brother Yeon.”
“Of course, the Three Cults must definitely be smashed though.”
The two people looked at each other wordlessly.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“Since we’ve had a drink, it should be enough. You seem to have a lot of separate things to think about, so let’s break it off here for today.”
“Younger brother Yeon.”
“I’ll come over to play tomorrow, so buy me a meal. Muk Bi, let’s go.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who got up from his seat, added while looking down at Murong Yu.
“Keep it in mind. We had a bout with the Divine Fire Cult, but the full-scale fight hasn’t even begun yet. Think carefully about how you should move and how you should live within it.”
“…….”
“I’m going. See you tomorrow.”