Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 20

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 20

Morning had dawned.

Branch Chief Zhuge Cheong stood before the people gathered at the training ground and shouted loudly.

“Form teams of two Military Strategy Hall scholars with three escorts each. Since Honyeon Territory is also reacting sensitively to this matter, there might be attacks. If you encounter danger, immediately blow your horn and retreat! There must be absolutely no direct confrontations!”

“Yes!”

After the lengthy speech ended, the teams were divided.

Thanks to those who had dined with the branch chief last night having already finished the assignments, it didn’t take much time.

“Team Ten! Team leader is Military Strategy Hall Scholar Oh Sangmun, assistant is Yeo Mungi. Escorts are Zhuge Gwan, Zhuge Pyeong, and Zhuge Hwi.”

“…”

“Munhyeon, you’ll join as an apprentice. Watch your seniors from behind and learn a lot.”

“Yes.”

Zhuge Munhyeon politely answered Mun Ilseok’s words.

Since I’m an apprentice, I should make a good impression.

“Please take good care of us all.”

“Huh?”

“Haha, you people. Why are you so surprised? The repairs will finish quickly only if you escort us well, won’t they?”

“Ah… that’s right.”

At team leader Oh Sangmun’s words, Zhuge Pyeong looked at Zhuge Munhyeon with an unpleasant expression.

Should I poke at that guy?

Should I give him another jab?

When Zhuge Munhyeon raised one finger and glared at him, perhaps because the memories(?) from the previous night had been quite shocking, he immediately coughed and turned his head away.

A guy who can’t even handle a ‘poke’ dares to glare at me.

Still, his mouth seemed quite heavy.

Judging by how he hadn’t said a single word about what happened the day before.

“Deputy Branch Chief!”

“Yes!”

“Go to the border line with Honyeon Territory and monitor their movements while the formation is being repaired.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t forget that safety is the most important thing. This repair is a very sensitive matter for them as well.”

“Yes!”

Zhuge Munhyeon chuckled at the sight of Zhuge Munho answering with discipline and then glancing over at him.

“Now then, each team move to your assigned areas.”

After the branch chief finished speaking, the Zhuge Family’s repair unit began moving, divided into their respective teams.

The place where repairs were to be carried out was at the southern edge, the disputed territory closest to Honyeon Territory.

“Phew, I really thought my heart was going to burst from nervousness.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? I was worried the incident from the day before might become a problem.”

“I didn’t even leave any injuries.”

“Are injuries what matter? There were several people watching.”

“It worked out fine, didn’t it? Those guys probably didn’t say anything because they were embarrassed too.”

“Well, that’s fortunate… Sigh, anyway, please be careful. Okay? I really think I’m going to have a heart attack because of you.”

“Don’t worry, people don’t die that easily.”

“Ugh, if only you couldn’t talk…”

Yeo Mungi shook his head at the sight of Zhuge Munhyeon, who didn’t show even a speck of worry.

But inwardly, he was quite surprised.

He knew his skills weren’t ordinary since he carried around iron rings weighing two hundred geun, but he hadn’t expected him to take down four martial artists from the Hyeonho Unit in one go.

Just what level had he reached…

However, after his training at Cheonseong Pavilion, having chosen the path of a scholar, it wasn’t easy for him to gauge Zhuge Munhyeon’s level.

“Well, setting that matter aside. Let me explain what we need to do.”

“Repairing the illusion formation?”

“Right.”

“Do I need to know about it? They just told me to watch, didn’t they?”

“Even if you’re watching, you should watch while understanding. Please show some interest, will you? You’re not an escort right now, you’re an apprentice scholar of the Military Strategy Hall, you know?”

“Tch.”

Zhuge Munhyeon frowned at Yeo Mungi’s explanation.

Even without hearing the explanation, he already knew the purpose of installing illusion formations.

The Yanghyeon Branch was in a situation where they didn’t know when Honyeon Territory’s forces might cross the border and attack.

But that didn’t mean they could monitor the entire mountain range.

It would require too much manpower and cost.

So they installed formation techniques or mechanisms everywhere except for a few passable roads.

After that, they only needed to monitor the key passages, making it very cost-effective.

Of course, this was only possible for the Zhuge Family.

‘Come to think of it, it was like that in the past too.’

The places that served as borders between the Demon Cult and the Central Plains.

Occasionally, with the Zhuge Family at the center, they would conduct large-scale civil engineering projects to install mechanisms and formations everywhere.

‘Back then, the Zhuge Family’s prestige was tremendous…’

Without them, too much funding would have had to be poured into blocking the Demon Cult.

It was impossible to defend all that vast territory.

However.

‘Crazy bastards, too busy with civil war to think straight?’

Thinking about it made him angry again.

Those idiots…

Look how arrogant they still were.

Would the Zhuge Family have ended up in this state?

With the Demon Cult in that condition, their usefulness decreased, and with even the Murim Alliance dissolved, their path as military strategists was blocked, causing the family to shrink this much.

It sounds nice to say the brush defeats the sword.

But a brush is useless against force that won’t listen to reason.

What a pitiful situation…

This is why you should build up your strength in normal times.

“Hmm, but what if people from the village accidentally step into the illusion formation after it’s set up? They might get trapped in the formation and lose their lives…”

“It’s fine. There’s no lethal effect.”

“Huh?”

“It’s just a simple illusion formation. You know, right? Something like the Returning Mist Formation.”

“Ah…”

The Returning Mist Formation.

A formation that surrounds all directions with mist, making it impossible to find the way.

“After installing the formation, we have to set up safety marker stakes. We also educate the villagers.”

“What if someone still gets trapped?”

“It’s fine. It only lasts about one or two hours at most. Branch office martial artists patrol periodically and rescue anyone who gets trapped.”

“I see.”

Even though he had decided to live as a son of the Zhuge Family, hearing this made him feel strangely bitter.

Safety marker stakes? Patrols?

Then why the hell did they do that to the Demon Cult?

No matter how many sins they had committed before, during my time they weren’t even conducting subjugations, yet countless kids died after accidentally stepping into those damned formations.

Damn bastards… It’s not like they’re discriminating against people.

“Ah, it seems we’ve arrived.”

Just as he was grumbling inwardly, the lead cart stopped as Yeo Mungi had said.

“Please begin the repair work. We will guard the surrounding area.”

“Yes.”

After finishing his words, Zhuge Pyeong led the guards and scattered in a-shaped formation, while Oh Sangmun surveyed the terrain.

The rain that had poured down recently seemed to have dealt quite a heavy blow.

Various places were dug up and collapsed, leaving no trace of where the formation had been installed.

“Team leader, it looks like we’ll need to install it anew.”

“Right. It’ll take quite a long time. Can’t be helped. I’ll take charge of the center for now, so you handle the left side. As for the right side… we’ll install it after the other areas are completed.”

Yeo Mungi, who had been pondering Oh Sangmun’s words for a moment, glanced at Zhuge Munhyeon.

It seemed like a good opportunity to show off his talent.

Even if yesterday’s incident became a problem later, he thought there would be a way to get leniency if he achieved merit in formation repair and had his talent recognized.

“How about letting Munhyeon handle the right side?”

“Munhyeon?”

“Yes.”

When he was suddenly mentioned, Zhuge Munhyeon’s face contorted with displeasure.

Why are you dragging me into this?

The mission he had received was to ‘observe.’

But Yeo Mungi spoke without caring about Zhuge Munhyeon’s murderous glare.

“He’s more outstanding at formation construction than I am. You can trust him with it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. However, if he does well, please make sure to report his contribution to the higher-ups.”

“Of course? Naturally that should be done. An apprentice is offering to lend a hand.”

Oh Sangmun smiled brightly, perhaps thinking he had gained a reliable ally for what would be lengthy repairs.

“Munhyeon, can you handle it well?”

“…”

“Good. Then come here. I’ll explain how you should configure the formation axis.”

Zhuge Munhyeon, who had followed as an apprentice and suddenly found himself doing formation repairs, glared at Yeo Mungi while his eyelids trembled.

I should smash that guy!

But then.

“Haha! Just trust us, young master.”

“That’s right. We have a lot of experience with this kind of work.”

The workers smiled brightly and offered encouragement.

He held back because of them.

Right, if I achieve merit, it’ll be useful later.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

“Yes.”

The discussion he had been half-listening to ended, and the three people scattered to their assigned areas with several workers each.

Soon, formation construction began.

The Returning Mist Formation they were installing had a simple structure, but because the installation range was wide, it was absolutely impossible to construct alone.

The distances had to be precisely matched and the axis angles had to be consistent. It took a long time because verification calculations had to be completed perfectly for it to function stably.

But while it was called a formation, the type installed in the wilderness was pure labor.

Unnecessary stones had to be dug out, the ground had to be leveled, and stakes to be used as axes had to be driven deep.

Doing all this digging made him irritated for no reason.

Mun Ilhwa had just told him to watch and learn, but somehow it felt like he was doing work he didn’t need to do.

Because of Yeo Mungi…

Here I am, the Heavenly Demon in name, doing nothing but digging.

Should I just bury that guy while I’m at it?

The ground was dug up chunk by chunk from his digging that was no different from venting frustration.

“Huh? Young master, you’re really good at this? You’re much better than us who’ve done nothing but work our whole lives.”

“Oh my, the other gentlemen just give orders… but you’re leading by example like this.”

Hmm… Is that so?

Being told that made his irritated mood ease slightly. He seemed to feel good inside too.

Come to think of it, despite living quite a long time, he couldn’t remember when he had last received such sincere praise from someone.

But this is just this once.

Next time, he absolutely wouldn’t do anything like digging.

“We’ll finish first, won’t we?”

“It’s all thanks to the young master.”

“At first, when we heard you were an apprentice, we worried that a precious young master might interfere with the work… Haha! This fool was short-sighted.”

“…”

The workers not only praised him but also brought him water and handed him cloths to wipe his sweat.

Goodness, these people.

What’s so great about digging?

“Move aside.”

“Oh my!”

Zhuge Munhyeon, who had been starved for praise, directly handled even the parts the workers should have done.

He worked so diligently that the right formation he was in charge of was constructed fastest among the three.

Now all that was left was to install safety stakes engraved with “Formation Zone, Detour” and hang the red boundary rope.

“What, you’re already finished? My goodness! And it’s accurate too? You’re really amazing. Formations created by multiple people working together are much more difficult than formations deployed alone.”

“…”

Shut up.

I’m still not over being angry at you.

I dug a deep pit besides the formation, you know? That one’s for you.

“Hmm, but our side still has a long way to go… Since you’re finished, could you help us out a bit?”

At the awkward request made with a smile, Zhuge Munhyeon’s eyes narrowed.

Has this bastard gone crazy? Help out?

I worked myself to death to finish my assigned task!

“Do you really want to die?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been treating me so nicely because of Father, and now you keep trying to make me do work? Did I come here as an apprentice or as a formation specialist? I’m already annoyed to death from doing nothing but digging.”

The moment Zhuge Munhyeon glared with surging irritation, Yeo Mungi flinched in surprise and stepped back.

“W-wait a minute, Munhyeon.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll bury you after making you feel only pain without leaving any wounds. You saw last night, right?”

Just as he was approaching Yeo Mungi with a sinister expression while holding up one finger.

Piiiiiik!

A sharp horn sound was heard from the distance.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————