Chapter 580:
“……Demonic Cult?”
“Yes.”
Zhuge Mun-in spoke decisively.
“The forces sent to Anhui could not have been defeated so easily. The elite forces of the Righteous Martial Alliance formed the main force, and didn’t Wudang and Namgung join as well?”
“That’s right.”
“But a crushing defeat is impossible. Even if Baek Sword Castle’s military strength exceeds what we know by several times, it wouldn’t be enough to cause a crushing defeat.”
Shin Gi-sua nodded.
Common sense dictated it didn’t make sense. It would be difficult without someone like Zhuge Liang on the opposite side.
No, to be precise, even if Zhuge Liang came back to life, it would be hard for him to exert as much influence as his reputation suggests on a battlefield where warriors face warriors.
This is because the strange and mysterious strategies that form the basis of great victories don’t work on Jianghu people. Fire attacks don’t work either. Warriors run faster than flames can spread. And you can’t use terrain to your advantage either.
For warriors who can leap across rivers with their bare bodies and climb up cliffs, terrain doesn’t mean much.
So the strategies that can be used are inherently limited.
Of course, a strategist of Zhuge Liang’s caliber would find other methods, but such strategists aren’t common. If Baek Sword Castle had such a strategist, rumors would have spread by now.
‘Unless there was external intervention.’
Shin Gi-sua frowned slightly. Zhuge Mun-in’s words made sense. The whereabouts of the Demonic Cult elites who moved to the Central Plains were mysterious. If they had joined the battle in Anhui?
‘Timing-wise, it’s nearly impossible. Even they couldn’t cross the Central Plains in such a short time.’
But if they had succeeded in joining the battlefield through some method Shin Gi-sua didn’t know about?
Then……
“That’s unlikely.”
A firm voice flowed out.
People’s gazes focused on one spot. Surprisingly, the owner of that firm and calm voice was Wei Yan-ho.
Wei Yan-ho spoke calmly while receiving everyone’s attention.
“No matter how strong the Demonic Cult elites are, they’re few in number. If a small number had jumped in and the battle situation became unfavorable, they would have retreated. They couldn’t catch all those many people fleeing. Especially Alliance Leader-nim would have retreated without lingering attachment. He’s not someone who puts forward his pride.”
“Ah……”
“The Demonic Cult’s intervention might be a condition for defeat, but it couldn’t create a crushing defeat. And it couldn’t create a situation so urgent that not a single scout could fly in like now. Rather, if Dok-ma had been there, a similar situation might have occurred.”
Shin Gi-sua nodded.
That was correct.
If Dok-ma had self-destructed on the Anhui battlefield, a similar incident would have occurred. In such a situation, no one would be leisurely enough to send scouts.
But Dok-ma was here.
‘Is there someone who could cause the same incident as Dok-ma?’
None came to mind.
‘To miss such a simple thing.’
Shin Gi-sua realized he was very agitated right now.
If it had been his usual self, he would have reached the same conclusion as Wei Yan-ho as soon as the word “Demonic Cult” came up. The fact that he couldn’t reach that conclusion was evidence that Shin Gi-sua wasn’t thinking normally right now.
Though he was pretending to be calm, Shin Gi-sua was more flustered by the scout report than anyone else.
“Then what do you think happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hmm……”
Thinking the explanation was insufficient, Wei Yan-ho elaborated.
“I don’t know what happened, but it wouldn’t be something obvious. Above all, if that Alliance Leader-nim returned without being able to establish any countermeasures, something truly unimaginable must have occurred.”
“That would be so.”
“Then there’s only one thing to do. Find out what happened.”
“But those we send keep not returning.”
“We must send someone certain to return.”
Someone who can return?
Shin Gi-sua narrowed his brow. That meant they needed to send someone who could definitely complete the mission despite any interference. And right now in the Righteous Martial Alliance, there was only one person who could do that.
“Then……”
“I should go.”
“……”
Shin Gi-sua’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“There’s no other choice. It’s not like we haven’t sent people, and when everyone we send has unknown life or death status, if we carelessly send someone else again, it’ll only lower morale.”
Wei Yan-ho shrugged his shoulders.
“I have no choice but to go.”
Shin Gi-sua stared at Wei Yan-ho with blank eyes.
‘What did that guy eat wrong?’
Actually, Wei Yan-ho was the only person who came to mind. This was something Shin Gi-sua wanted to ask him to do first.
But who would have thought that Wei Yan-ho would volunteer himself? Wasn’t Wei Yan-ho the one whose life motto was that he’d rather die in bed than take on troublesome work?
But that Wei Yan-ho?
‘Something is definitely strange today.’
He was clearly different from usual.
It wasn’t just his words that were different, but his every expression and action was unlike the usual Wei Yan-ho. Should I say his frivolity had disappeared and he’d become more mature?
‘Something did happen.’
This change might end as a temporary change, but in any case, it was a positive development.
‘He should do it.’
Kwon Geuk’s death was shocking.
Everyone wasn’t properly realizing what those words meant right now. Once some time passes and they come to understand the meaning of those words, they won’t be able to maintain their composure like now.
Kwon Geuk was a figure like a symbol to the orthodox martial world.
Though he couldn’t be definitively called the number one under heaven, he was someone who had shouldered and led Jianghu for decades from the position closest to that title. The organization called the Righteous Martial Alliance largely depended on Kwon Geuk’s prestige.
But Kwon Geuk died?
‘It will collapse.’
Those who had been dissatisfied with the Righteous Martial Alliance would begin to defect. Since a great enemy stood before them, they might not defect immediately, but they couldn’t expect the same unified movement as before.
Shin Gi-sua looked at Wei Yan-ho with a shadowed face.
Wei Yan-ho had to do something.
The fact that Kwon Geuk died was important. But the fact that they were defeated in Anhui was more important. Moreover, if it was a crushing defeat, if the forces that went there all perished, the outlook had to be considered grim.
With the Righteous Martial Alliance having Namgung, Wudang, and Shaolin, it should be considered more than thirty percent of the Central Plains’ total military strength. Moreover, didn’t the Beggar’s Sect also send support? If all these many people couldn’t return alive?
He didn’t want to think about it.
No matter how much he racked his brain, no strategy came to mind for facing them with the remaining forces. If internal division occurred among allies in this situation, it would truly be the end.
“Let’s think about it for a moment.”
“What is there to consider?”
“There are things to think about.”
“If you say so.”
Wei Yan-ho didn’t press further and stepped back.
Seeing that cautious attitude, Shin Gi-sua nodded. He didn’t know what had happened, but Wei Yan-ho’s behavior was definitely different from the past.
‘Is it right to send him?’
What they needed most right now was information. They needed to properly understand what had happened and how the situation was unfolding before they could discuss countermeasures.
In that sense, having Wei Yan-ho go directly would be certain. If Wei Yan-ho’s insight couldn’t grasp everything, they could send Wei Jeong-han along with him.
But Shin Gi-sua was hesitating.
Wei Yan-ho had now become too big a card to use for such tasks. The fact that Wei Yan-ho would leave headquarters and go to the enemy camp was beginning to become a burden.
As he pondered slightly while trying to organize the situation, a loud voice reached Shin Gi-sua’s ears.
“Reporting!”
Shin Gi-sua’s eyes snapped toward the entrance.
Even though he had said it was an emergency meeting, the fact that a report was coming in meant something extremely serious had happened.
“What is it!”
“The Beggar’s Sect Leader has arrived at the gates!”
“Beggar’s Sect Leader?”
Shin Gi-sua bolted up from his seat.
“Wang Geo-ji!”
Jang-il also startled and turned around.
Given the situation, he couldn’t show it openly, but from the moment he heard the word “crushing defeat,” he had been restless with worry about the Beggar’s Sect and Wang Geo-ji who had gone to the battlefield.
“Bring him at once! At once! No, I’ll go there myself!”
The moment Shin Gi-sua pushed aside his desk and rushed toward the entrance, an aged voice was heard.
“There’s no need for that, Military Strategist. I’ve already come.”
The door opened and one person entered.
And the moment they confirmed who had entered, the faces of those present became horribly distorted.
“……Branch Leader.”
Beggar’s Sect Branch Leader Chil Ji-sin-gae was entering.
“Hey, Wang Geo-ji!”
Jang-il’s voice calling Chil Ji-sin-gae trembled.
After blinking several times, Jang-il bit his lips tightly. Then he shouted loudly.
“Where did you sell one arm! Your arm!”
Chil Ji-sin-gae turned his head with a dumbfounded expression to look at Jang-il.
“What brings you here?”
“Is that important right now?”
“You beggar bastard! Is an arm important right now?”
One of Chil Ji-sin-gae’s sleeves was empty and fluttering.
“If losing one arm let me survive that place, I got off cheap. My arm isn’t the problem.”
Chil Ji-sin-gae’s appearance was shabby beyond measure. While it was natural for a beggar to be shabby, it went beyond that level. His fluttering sleeve was stained with blood, and various parts of his body were cut with dried blood darkly stained.
Just from Chil Ji-sin-gae’s appearance, one could easily guess how fierce the battle he had fought was.
And now it felt real.
‘We were defeated.’
‘Completely.’
If Chil Ji-sin-gae had returned in that state, the others wouldn’t have been safe either. Those who had been holding onto a glimmer of hope that perhaps the scout report was wrong began to let go of hope and started being colored by despair.
“Over here!”
Shin Gi-sua guided Chil Ji-sin-gae to a chair. Normally, Chil Ji-sin-gae would have joked about what chair a beggar needed, but given the situation, he sat down without a word.
Then he looked around at everyone present.
“Let’s just talk about the main point. This isn’t something to drag out.”
“Before that……”
Shin Gi-sua took a deep breath and asked.
It was something he didn’t want to ask, but he had no choice. It was such a serious and important matter.
“What happened to Alliance Leader-nim?”
“He couldn’t avoid the enemy’s blade.”
“……”
Seeing Shin Gi-sua’s dismay, Chil Ji-sin-gae sighed.
“To be precise, I didn’t see him pass away. But it wasn’t a situation where I could hope he was somehow still alive. He must have died.”
“……What on earth happened?”
Chil Ji-sin-gae’s face was shadowed.
“I don’t know where to start explaining this……”
His fingertips were trembling slightly. Shin Gi-sua’s heart sank as he didn’t miss that sight.
Chil Ji-sin-gae could be said to be the person with the most experience among them. For someone who had been worn down by rolling around in Jianghu to show such a reaction, what on earth had happened in Anhui?
Chil Ji-sin-gae opened his mouth with a heavy voice.
“When we arrived at the battlefield, combat had already begun.”
“Then?”
“I thought it was an ordinary battlefield. We tried to join without question. But…… that’s when it happened.”
“When what happened?”
“……The world shook.”
After shaking his head a couple of times, Chil Ji-sin-gae looked at everyone once and began to unfold the story of what he had experienced.
