Chapter 431: Civil War Within the Divine Cult (2)
“Heavenly Demon Seal… is it.”
Nung Jahyeon’s eyes narrowed.
“This is truly… an unexpected statement.”
One of the sacred treasures representing the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, alongside the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.
However, compared to the other sacred treasures, the Heavenly Demon Seal was generally considered to be of significantly lesser importance.
It had the power to subjugate nearly all beings within the confines of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
But only three people in the thousand-year history of the Divine Cult had ever been able to activate its power.
After staring directly into my eyes for a while, he let out a small sigh.
“You truly mean that, don’t you?”
“Would I come all the way here just to jest?”
“That’s true… but it’s such a difficult story to accept.”
He had realized that I had not brought up the sacred treasure of the Cult merely for the sake of recovering it.
“The Heavenly Demon Seal, the Heavenly Demon Seal…”
Nung Jahyeon folded his hands together and sank into thought.
“According to legend, the Heavenly Demon Seal is a demonic object with a will of its own, one that chooses its own master.”
What he knew wasn’t far from the truth.
“And I’ve heard that it grants that master the authority to command all demons.”
Indeed, if it didn’t at least have that kind of power, it wouldn’t have been revered as a treasure of the Cult when, by appearance, it was no more than a mere stamp.
Frankly, the three great treasures of the Illusion Clan were likely much more practical.
“But there are a few issues with Your Grace’s goal.”
“What are they?”
“First, for a victor to overlook their spoils is sheer foolishness. That fiend who attacked the Cult Leader and overthrew the Divine Cult…”
“Grand Heavenly Lord.”
“Yes, that one—Grand Heavenly Lord. In any case, there’s no way that person would’ve missed the existence of the Heavenly Demon Seal.”
I readily acknowledged it.
“That does make sense.”
Even if there were mechanical devices installed beneath the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, they wouldn’t be enough to stop the Grand Heavenly Lord.
“Second, even if the Heavenly Demon Seal is still intact…”
A sharp gleam flickered in Nung Jahyeon’s eyes.
“Does Your Grace truly have the qualifications to wield the Heavenly Demon Seal? That too is a problem. In fact, it’s probably the biggest issue.”
“Alright, what’s the third?”
“The final, third point.”
His tone shifted slightly, sounding somewhat resigned.
“The ones we have to face now… are not merely ‘humans’.”
“……”
“This Ten Thousand Great Mountains region has practically become a Demonic Realm. The situation is entirely different from when Your Grace set out.”
As things stood, even high-level masters considered it suicidal to travel alone through the region.
“One hundred elite warriors from the Sajawon Family, acknowledged even by the Divine Cult, recently set out to support the Heavenly Demon Pavilion. But they were annihilated by demonic beasts before they even reached fifty li.”
The Sajawon Family was one I remembered.
It had been one of the families backing Yura since her days as the Young Cult Leader.
“The biggest issue right now is that… the monsters are distinguishing between friend and foe.”
Strange birds flew in the sky, beasts roamed the mountains, and earth dragons slithered beneath the ground.
“Even though Your Grace has returned, the Six Great Demonic Clans can’t easily move. With the Cult’s members all scattered in search of safe havens, the major families, including the Six, are weighed down more than ever.”
“……”
To think the situation had changed so drastically just from my absence over a few months.
I lightly closed my eyes.
‘If I charged ahead without thinking of the aftermath, I might still manage to contain it.’
No matter who the opponent might be—right now, I could handle it.
But precisely because of that, I was in a position where I had to think of the aftermath more than anyone else.
‘Even if the grand strategy remains unchanged, meticulous execution without a single mistake is required. If I want to reclaim the Divine Cult with minimal casualties…’
To do that, I would first need to consolidate our forces in one place.
At that moment—
“Your Grace.”
Clap!
Nung Jahyeon placed his hands together in a martial greeting before me and spoke in a solemn tone.
“If Your Grace truly possesses the qualifications to become the master of the Heavenly Demon Seal…”
“To become?”
“Would you permit me… to take on the role of Military Advisor?”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words due to the unexpected offer.
Nung Jahyeon raised his voice and continued.
“I’ve yet to receive a chance to fully display my talents, but I do have some skill in commanding troops.”
…Of course he did.
The position of External Commander was essentially the overseer of all external affairs of the Divine Cult.
Unlike other roles, it demanded versatility across virtually all disciplines.
That’s why I, too, had learned much from him in my past life.
“A Military Advisor, huh…”
I stared directly into Nung Jahyeon’s eyes.
A single emotion was vividly embedded within them.
It was ambition.
‘Nung Jahyeon’s loyalty is beyond doubt.’
Even in my past life, he had commanded the Four Demon Squads at the frontlines and resisted until the very end.
The question was whether he was truly a talent I could entrust this grand campaign to…
‘Pa Yeongyeong, Ma Chulsoo, Sa Biyeon… all are excellent talents, but none of them are yet qualified to serve as a Military Advisor.’
If anything, they would shine far more as generals or in internal affairs, but their capabilities as strategists remained unproven.
“Very well.”
“……!”
I slowly rose from my seat.
“As the External Commander of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, will you pledge your loyalty?”
At this point, reaffirming loyalty could be seen as meaningless…
But Nung Jahyeon bowed his head to the floor without hesitation.
With a loud thud, his voice echoed.
“To Cult Leader Cheon Yura, the rightful ruler of the Divine Cult, I pledge my unwavering loyalty for all eternity.”
Grin.
Seeing Nung Jahyeon showing such perceptiveness brought a satisfied smile to my face.
“Good.”
I reached out my hand toward the back of his head.
“I will prove it.”
At that moment, a fragment of the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art flowed from my fingertips and entered through Nung Jahyeon’s Baihui acupoint.
Boom!
“……!!!”
As the whites of his eyes turned pitch black in an instant—
Before he realized it, a black giant with three heads and six arms radiating golden light stood before Nung Jahyeon’s eyes.
“Ah, ah…!”
Though there was also a black wolf tinged in blood nearby, Nung Jahyeon was too overwhelmed by the giant’s presence to notice it.
The moment he saw the true form of that giant, Nung Jahyeon knew instinctively—
That it was something infinitely close to a god.
Drip.
Blood began to trickle from his nose and eyes, and Nung Jahyeon snapped back to his senses.
“Haah! Haah!”
“…Are you alright?”
I sensed that he had suffered more overload than expected.
In truth, this method of transmitting a fragment of inner energy to demonstrate one’s level was surprisingly well known even across the orthodox and unorthodox factions.
It was used to avoid causing widespread destruction when gathering energy indoors…
But even for one as advanced as he, it seemed it was too much to endure a fragment of the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art.
“I-I’m fine…”
Nung Jahyeon wiped the blood from his face while stabilizing his internal injuries.
“As expected… there was a reason for Your Grace’s boundless confidence.”
His gaze, as it turned to me, was filled with inexpressible admiration and reverence.
“I want to minimize casualties. Is there a way?”
“Of course, if Your Grace were to charge in bravely, the casualties would naturally be reduced… but I suspect that’s not the answer you seek.”
“Obviously not.”
Nung Jahyeon nodded and offered his first piece of advice.
“First of all, you must establish a base at the starting point of Eunru Valley.”
A base… to be precise, the construction of a main stronghold.
“I apologize, but this battle absolutely cannot end in a swift campaign.”
“Why not?”
“A swift campaign aims to quickly strike the enemy’s leader and neutralize the whole. But the problem is, we don’t know the location of that leader.”
“I heard the coronation ceremony for Cheon Jumyeong is to be held soon at Soaring Demon Peak.”
Nung Jahyeon shook his head firmly with certainty in his eyes.
“That Grand Heavenly Lord would never attend such a ceremony.”
“Why?”
“From what I’ve observed, that man has no interest in the internal affairs of the Divine Cult.”
At least in Nung Jahyeon’s view, that was the case.
Though the Ten Heavenly Lords under his command had entrenched themselves in the Cult, he himself had never once shown up at the Elders’ Assembly or any other meeting.
Not even a proxy had been appointed.
“If he desired power over the Cult or wished for its destruction, if he truly had a purpose tied to the Cult itself, there’s no way he would act so loosely.”
“That makes sense.”
I agreed with his words.
Now that he had seized Cheon Yura, everything else must seem trivial to the Grand Heavenly Lord.
“But now that I’ve returned, he will move—one way or another. To him, I am the final obstacle he must remove.”
Nung Jahyeon internally agreed with that statement.
From the moment of Cheon Yura’s coronation, the Demonic Faction Lord had wielded such overwhelming authority that he was often called the other Cult Leader.
At first, I thought it was merely because the Cult Leader favored him.
But now, I realized it was because his abilities genuinely surpassed even the Cult Leader’s!
“And one more thing. There’s no need to include the Grand Heavenly Lord’s head as a victory condition.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s just a hunch… but I feel the final battle with him won’t take place in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.”
“……”
I accepted it for now.
A Military Advisor’s role was to craft strategy aligned with the Liege’s intentions.
“Let me go through things in reverse order. If Your Grace secures the Heavenly Demon Seal, you’ll regain control of the Divine Cult, including the Cheon Clan. Naturally, the enemy will desperately try to prevent that. But before any of that, there are two things that must come first.”
“What are they?”
“One, securing the whereabouts of the missing Cult Leader.”
“Of course.”
In truth, Nung Jahyeon didn’t even need to prioritize that objective.
The person before him was already more than capable of replacing the Cult Leader.
But for some reason, he had a strong gut feeling that saying such a thing aloud would get him killed.
After a brief cough, Nung Jahyeon continued.
“If the Cult Leader hasn’t ascended, she must still be somewhere within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.”
“…! How can you be sure?”
“We’ve established a surveillance network across the entire range using those loyal to the Cheon Clan personally, including the Heavenly Thunder Corps.”
“A surveillance network…”
“Officially, it’s to prevent rebels—like those from the Six Great Demonic Clans—from escaping the mountains.”
Even the demonic beasts that could distinguish friend from foe did not touch them.
“If battle begins in earnest, they’ll try to conceal the Cult Leader’s whereabouts even more thoroughly. We must identify her location and act before then.”
Those words were certainly correct.
However—
“Easier said than done…”
To search the entire Ten Thousand Great Mountains for Yura would be no different from informing the enemy of our objective.
But if we moved covertly with only a few people, how long would it take to find Yura in a mountain range spanning thousands of li?
But then—
“Oh, don’t worry about that.”
“……”
“……!”
Creeaak!
Suddenly, the door opened, and Gu Chil, who had been standing guard at the entrance, appeared.
But it wasn’t just Gu Chil who had entered.
I stared at the woman clinging to Gu Chil’s arm.
“So Soryu?”
“Who else would I be if not So Soryu?”
Looking ragged and disheveled, So Soryu, who had clearly suffered much, said with a slightly tired expression—
“I know the Cult Leader’s location.”