Chapter 417: War Between the North and South (7)
“Ba, Baek Sang-ah…?”
“Sou, Southern Mist Sword Flower?!”
Those who were well-informed of the Central Plains’ affairs let out cries of shock.
Saber King and others who knew the circumstances also looked at Baek Sang-ah with expressions of disbelief, as if ready to pierce her with their gaze.
“U, Unnie?”
Jegal Eun’s astonishment was plain to see.
She herself had nothing to lose, so revealing her identity no longer mattered—but Baek Sang-ah was different.
It happened then.
Gooooo!
“Keuk!”
“Hup!”
Baek Sang-ah fully unleashed her presence, pressing down upon the entire assembly.
Only a few, such as Saber King, Plum Blossom White Sword Jo Gongmyeong, and Venerable Myeong Un—those who had surpassed the Transformation Realm—could remain relatively unaffected.
Even so, they could not hide their shock at Baek Sang-ah’s pressure.
‘If it's just pure strength, she’s not beneath me.’
Plum Blossom White Sword trembled at her potential.
‘Is there anyone among the Eight Armies who could handle her? Even that old Namgung might struggle…’
Namgung San, known to be the foremost among the Central Plains’ Eight Armies.
Yet Baek Sang-ah’s fighting spirit now seemed to surpass even what he once displayed.
‘Could it be… if we fought, I might lose? No way, right?’
Saber King shook his head, hiding his sense of futility.
He had proudly watched her growth by her side, yet the little fledgling had grown into a great roc, soaring far out of his reach.
As silence fell over the assembly, she spoke again.
“As you all know, I practice demonic arts.”
Flinch!
Several people involuntarily tensed.
It was a well-known, yet purposefully unspoken, truth.
“You may blame me. Even if you leave the Northern Murim Alliance in disappointment, I shall bear no resentment. However…”
Her gaze swept across the hall.
“If any of you covet my position, stop your petty politics and challenge me openly. I will accept anytime, anywhere.”
“……”
No one spoke.
Among those gathered, there were indeed several who had been eyeing the Alliance Leader’s seat.
But their ambitions were for a time after the chaos had settled—not now, when her authority was firm as bedrock.
After all, the highest masters of the Central Plains, like Saber King Heon Yanghu, Dao Zun Jin Ryeong, and Plum Blossom White Sword Jo Gongmyeong, upheld her rule without desire for her throne.
Most of all, the fanatical loyalty of the Black Lotus Hall toward her was well known.
Gulp.
‘If I were to challenge the Alliance Leader… I might end up assassinated like the Evil Overlord.’
The assassination of the new Evil Overlord, who had clashed with the Black Lotus Hall, had become common knowledge.
Few knew the full truth, but everyone acknowledged that the Overlord had indeed been assassinated after conflict with the Black Lotus Hall.
“Let’s return to the beginning.”
Tak!
She slapped her knee and continued.
“The Namcheon Baek Clan will join our alliance. It may take some time, but I give my word. Also, the Namgung Clan will never join the Southern Murim Alliance.”
“Mmm!”
Expressions eased at her confident declaration.
If Namcheon and Namgung joined, then victory in this war was nearly guaranteed.
“Venerable Myeong Un.”
“Speak, Alliance Leader.”
“I intend to widen the front as much as possible.”
“A, Alliance Leader? What do you mean…?!”
They barely had enough strength to compress and end the war swiftly, yet she wanted to widen the front?
“Deploy the martial artists as widely as possible and relocate the Northern Murim Alliance’s main division to the south of Luoyang.”
“……!”
“Let Shaolin take the lead in reestablishing the spirit of ‘Suppressing Demons and Eliminating Evil’.”
Her declaration was clear.
She aimed not for war, but for stabilizing the livelihood of the people by exterminating the demonic beasts appearing across the Central Plains.
Realizing this, Myeong Un joined his hands in reverence, unable to hide his admiration.
“The people of the Central Plains shall praise your virtue, Alliance Leader.”
“Let the military department handle the distribution of our forces. It must be done delicately to avoid needless deaths.”
“I shall keep that in mind, Alliance Leader.”
Jegal Eun and Wisdom Talent nodded with grave expressions.
When the lord made a decision, it was the strategist’s duty to realize it—no matter what.
That was the very purpose of a military advisor.
At that moment, several people raised objections.
“Alliance Leader. No matter the reasoning, if we divide our forces carelessly, we may be defeated in detail…”
“More than anything, relocating the main division is something that must be considered with the utmost caution.”
Leaving Luoyang and moving the main division not to the north, but further south, closer to the front lines.
“If we do that, the Southern Murim Alliance will seize the chance and launch a surprise atta—huh?!”
Those with some tactical thinking quickly realized the true intention behind the order.
The Alliance Leader had no intention of prolonging the war.
Rather, she aimed to provoke the Southern Murim Alliance into a short-term decisive battle!
The problem was, this strategy could only work if one had absolute confidence in their own power.
“C-Could it be?”
“That’s exactly what it is.”
Baek Sang-ah nodded.
“If they attack, taking advantage of what they see as a vulnerability, we’d be grateful.”
Those to be left behind in the Northern Murim Alliance’s main division would number fewer than five hundred.
No—even five hundred was too many.
In her judgment, the outcome of this war would be determined solely by Jin Yeomyung and one of the Four Atrocities, Gunggi.
The result of that duel would decide everything.
“Hoo…”
The meeting, which felt like it spanned eternity, finally ended.
Baek Sang-ah collapsed mentally exhausted onto the floor of her office.
So Cheon approached and helped her up.
“Are you alright?”
“What do you mean?”
So Cheon, who laid her head on his thigh, asked her.
“Namcheon Baek Clan… you decided on your own, didn’t you?”
At those words, Baek Sang-ah’s eyes widened slightly.
So Cheon, who always seemed indifferent to the world, had made such a sharp observation?
“It’s fine.”
“Really?”
“What could Grandfather possibly do? If he’s that upset, he can go join the Southern Murim Alliance for all I care.”
“……”
Had her past self from a few years ago heard that, she would have been utterly horrified.
That was how much she had grown—enough to cast off the shackles of her clan.
“Just…”
“Just?”
“I’m a little worried. These bold actions we’ve taken—what if they’re rendered meaningless by something far greater than we imagined?”
As Jin Yeomyung had said many times before, a great calamity was approaching this world.
And now, even without those words, she felt it instinctively.
Something massive was coming.
Something that would be of no benefit to this world.
Part of the reason she had impulsively revealed her identity was to protect Jegal Eun, but the main reason was because she sensed a threat so overwhelming that such concerns no longer mattered.
“Don’t worry.”
So Cheon clenched his fist.
“No matter what happens, I’ll protect you, my lady.”
“Hehe…”
Baek Sang-ah smiled gently.
His determined face was a far cry from the lazy good-for-nothing he had been during their days in the Black Lotus Hall.
Looking closely, he even seemed… kind of cute.
“Maybe… he’s grown a little.”
She reached out and gently toyed with So Cheon’s neatly combed hair.
“……!”
Overwhelmed by the tenderness she’d never shown before, So Cheon leaned in for a kiss.
However—
His lips were stopped by Baek Sang-ah’s palm.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“……”
Until she was certain that So Cheon had completely changed, Baek Sang-ah had no intention of allowing him her lips.
After all, this type had a high chance of reverting the moment you let your guard down.
So Cheon’s face drooped in disappointment.
***
Hupeong County, Henan Province.
“M-My lords, please help us. A-A demonic beast took my son and—”
“You’re such a nuisance. Get lost already!”
Thwack!
The old man who had been clinging to a martial artist’s leg was mercilessly kicked aside.
Gong U-gwi of the Evil Path Castle, a first-rate master, grumbled as he shook his leg.
“Damn it, why are elites like us being assigned to some rural backwater?”
Hupeong County was located north of Jumajeom, a fairly large city even within Henan Province.
Naturally, given that it was at the county level, its value as a forward base was considerable, and thus the deployment of high-level martial artists was a given.
But to Gong U-gwi and the other masters from the Evil Path Castle, this place was nothing more than a barren backwater with nothing to gain.
The bald giant paired with Gong U-gwi, Cheol Wang-gwi, responded.
“I heard that demonic beasts have been popping up around here too.”
“Peh, no wonder the government troops were being overly cautious. Even here?”
“Didn’t you hear what that old man you kicked earlier said?”
“How would I know that?”
Gong U-gwi clicked his tongue in irritation.
He wasn’t the kind of person who had the leisure to listen to an old man’s ramblings.
“Damn it, with the local hicks watching us like hawks, we can’t even loot… It would've been better if we were sent to the Southern Murim Alliance’s main division instead.”
“True. I’ve heard the orthodox lot over there are at least somewhat reasonable to talk to.”
In the case of branch clans or local orthodox sects, there were still many idiots blinded by a useless sense of justice.
In contrast, the Southern Murim Alliance’s main division was known to tolerate any means necessary as long as it led to victory.
“If things go south, we can just loot everything and run—”
“B-Bad news!”
It was then.
“A-A demonic beast has appeared!”
“……What?!”
Gong U-gwi and Cheol Wang-gwi were startled.
Far off in the distance, a commotion was breaking out along with screams.
“W-What the hell? Why would a demonic beast be out during the day?”
Normally, demonic beasts only caused trouble at night, quietly appearing and disappearing.
And they rarely came near populated areas like this.
“Besides, this is a county. Even in the worst case, there should be at least a hundred government troops gathered here…”
No matter how much they disliked it, there were two reasons they hadn’t left this place.
One was fear of retaliation from the Evil Path Castle, and the other was that they didn’t want to deal with the demonic beasts now appearing throughout the Central Plains.
Monsters said to be capable of turning even first-rate masters into a mere meal if approached carelessly.
The sects in Hupeong County and its surroundings had attempted large-scale subjugation efforts, but all had failed.
“S-Should we run?”
“Are you crazy? Don’t you know it’s even more dangerous outside the county?”
Recently, merchant caravans and escort agencies across the Central Plains had drastically reduced their operations.
Even bandits and pirates affiliated with the Seventy-Two Forts and Eighteen Strongholds were reportedly closing early or hiding, so for just the two of them to leave the county would be a matter of risking their lives.
“Huh?”
“What now?”
Gong U-gwi frowned at Cheol Wang-gwi’s sudden reaction.
“Doesn’t it look like the sky’s turned a bit red?”
“You drunk again? It’s nowhere near sunset yet… huh?”
Gong U-gwi scolded his partner and looked up at the sky—only to widen his eyes.
“Y-You’re right!”
Even though the sun was still high, for some reason, the sky was red.
No, it wasn’t just red.
Even they, who were only first-rate, could feel it on their skin—a mysterious and ominous presence creeping over their entire bodies.
“W-What the hell is that?”
“How would I know?”
The two instinctively knew—
Something major was about to happen in the world.
It was then.
A massive shadow suddenly appeared in the once-clear sky.
It wasn’t a cloud.
At some point, dozens of massive monstrous birds had gathered above Hupeong County.
“……”
“……”
One of them looked down at the two with crimson eyes.
And then, the monstrous bird dove straight down toward them.
“Huh? Huhh?!”
“It’s… way bigger than… I thought…”
Crunch!
That was the last thing Gong U-gwi and Cheol Wang-gwi ever saw.