Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 278

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 278. Horse’s Hoof Gives Itself Away (3)
This lunatic!
If the Alliance Leader hadn’t been standing right there, he would have cursed loudly enough to shake the walls of the interrogation room.
‘Even by his standards, this is going too far!’
Fine, killing his own elder brother might be understandable. But on top of that, he violated his sister-in-law and then played with his nephews before killing them?
There was no way to excuse this, no matter how you twisted it. Even Jeon Chil Sung felt a chill run down his spine at the sheer lawlessness of what Jong Mu Seok had done.
And that chill brought with it a sharp sense of danger.
‘There’s no way to cover this up. If this information leaks, I and several of the elders will…’
Anyone who knew anything knew that Jong Mu Seok was one of his faction’s people.
Even if they didn’t know which faction color he wore, quite a few people were aware that the two of them had been close.
Of course, this alone wouldn’t cause serious trouble for him or for Ha Sang Il, but for someone who meant to become the head of the Martial Alliance’s political arena, it would undoubtedly be a huge blemish.
‘Until I’ve taken that seat, this absolutely must never get out…’
Just then, Jeon Chil Sung recalled Meng Ha Sung’s words.
A prickling unease that needled the back of his neck.
“Did you say he was one of my faction’s people?”
“Wasn’t he?”
Jeon Chil Sung’s eyes grew deep.
“Alliance Leader.”
“Go on.”
“Surely you aren’t now…”
He had been about to ask whether this was a ploy to cut off our deal, but he swallowed the rest of the sentence.
Even in a room with only the two of them, there are things one can say and things one cannot.
Besides, the man before him was the Martial Alliance Leader, and Jeon Chil Sung’s own position was hardly a comfortable one.
‘I need to stay calm.’
He must not lose his temper. The worse the situation, the more so!
“I deeply regret troubling you, Alliance Leader. I failed to keep proper watch over my own people.”
“I wish that were all it was.”
“Pardon?”
“Managing people is no easy task, is it? If the Elder had merely made a mistake in managing his men, I would have laughed it off. These things happen.”
“…?!”
“But a lack of caution is a grave problem.”
Meng Ha Sung’s gaze grew steadily colder.
Cold enough to wildly shake the composure Jeon Chil Sung was trying so hard to hold on to.
“Do you know why I reached out to the Blue Faction under your leadership? Of all the elders I know, I believed you were the most capable, the one with the greatest potential.”
“…!”
“To have drawn Jong Mu Seok into your ranks and not even known of his past crimes. I must say, I’m more than a little disappointed.”
Jeon Chil Sung’s fist clenched without his realizing it.
Meng Ha Sung was genuinely disappointed in his ability.
‘This… bastard!’
Anger surged up in him.
He could smile through being cursed at or slapped, no matter the circumstances. But having his competence questioned was an insult he could hardly bear.
If anyone were to mock his abilities, it should at least be someone on the level of Yi Ja Gyun.
“What can I possibly accomplish with someone who lacks even that much caution? Can you take the Black and White Factions in hand and become head of the Elder Council? Can you help me grip the Martial Alliance and wield it as we see fit?”
“…Alliance Leader.”
“Caution and mistakes are two different things. In the end, that too is a kind of ability, but if you show me this at the very start, how am I supposed to trust you, Elder?”
Jeon Chil Sung spoke in a voice that had turned noticeably colder.
“I have nothing to say in my defense regarding my past mistakes, Alliance Leader. But if you have truly resolved to join hands with me, then perhaps it would not be so bad to bury our old transgressions and press forward toward the future.”
What he meant was that such a matter was easily handled, so there was no need to be petty; let’s just get on with the work.
The corners of Meng Ha Sung’s mouth lifted.
“Have we accomplished anything yet?”
“Pardon?”
“Is there anything you and I have ever settled together, Elder?”
“I’m not sure what you mean…”
“As I understand it, Jong Mu Seok was going to expose something about Yul Baek of the White Faction. Yet you sent an assassin after him without consulting me at all.”
“That was…”
“I know. It was because of Yi Ja Gyun. Given the circumstances, the matter could have waited until later.”
Meng Ha Sung’s gaze shifted once more.
A coldness as clear and colorless as water.
“Provided it succeeded, that is.”
“…!”
“Everything is judged by results. If a rebellion succeeds, it becomes a restoration. If a revolution fails, it becomes high treason. Surely you know that?”
“Alliance Leader.”
“Everything is a double-edged sword. Truth be told, even this matter—though you claimed urgency—could have been supported from behind if you had sent just one of your men to inform me.”
Jeon Chil Sung ground his teeth.
On that point, he had nothing to say. Frankly, it had never occurred to him that he might fail.
Meng Ha Sung, who had been watching him in silence, spoke in a voice that had softened considerably.
“Between us, there is nothing left. If anything, we’re worse off than before. If we were strangers who knew nothing of each other, that would be one thing. But I know your flaws, Elder Jeon, and you now know what sort of man I am.”
“…”
“I’ll give you one last chance.”
Jeon Chil Sung’s eyes gleamed.
‘A chance?’
Being addressed like this by a man who was far his junior in politics was far from pleasant, but at a moment like this, he knew he had to keep his composure.
“What would you have me do?”
“Make Jong Mu Seok a spy.”
“……!”
“Frame him as a spy sent by the Black Faction. Leave the rest to me.”
“You intend to target the Black Faction rather than the White Faction?”
“Don’t even mention the White Faction right now. If anything, Yi Ja Gyun will use this incident as a pretext to prepare a counterattack against the Blue Faction.”
He wasn’t wrong.
In fact, Jeon Chil Sung himself had been considering sinking his teeth into the Black Faction as one of several ways to break this deadlock.
He had only been doubtful whether it was even feasible.
“There is one problem.”
“Speak.”
“Framing him as a spy sent by the Black Faction isn’t difficult. But if we do, the moral standing of the Elder Council will become the talk of the people.”
Meng Ha Sung let out a scoff.
“Do you not know that the moment Jong Mu Seok applied outside pressure, and the moment he hinted he would expose the misconduct of the elders, the Elder Council’s reputation hit rock bottom?”
“I’m aware. But even morality has a line one can tolerate. Isn’t the reason you’re so furious the fact that Jong Mu Seok’s wickedness has gone too far?”
Meng Ha Sung admitted it with surprising ease.
“That isn’t wrong.”
“People sense it without thinking. The more power a person holds, the more easily they’re tainted by corruption.”
Meng Ha Sung wanted to curse him out under his breath.
‘It’s precisely because of people with ideas like yours that so many can’t trust those in power!’
That such words could be spoken so casually was not just exhausting but genuinely shocking.
Of course, Meng Ha Sung didn’t let any of it show on his face.
He had already dragged himself into this filthy game in order to set everything right. There was no point in being shocked anew.
“Go on.”
“What I mean is that public opinion will matter when, in the future, I help you hold sway over the Martial Alliance.”
“With our lives hanging by a thread right now, what good is thinking about the future? What matters is breaking through the present crisis, not preparing for a future that hasn’t even arrived.”
“What if there were a way to satisfy both the present and the future?”
“Say it.”
Jeon Chil Sung spoke in a sly, insinuating tone.
“All we need to do is draw in a third force.”
“…A third force?”
Surely this man isn’t—?
“Simply link the Black Faction’s elders to the demon who has been running wild these past few days.”
Damn you!
For once, even Meng Ha Sung couldn’t keep his expression in check.
‘How utterly vile…!’
The thinking of villains is simple.
But the moment that simplicity begins to be infused with wisdom beyond mere cunning, it inevitably evolves into the worst simplicity under heaven.
Jeon Chil Sung was now invoking even the Demonic Dao, all to satisfy the selfish desire to gain power and ensure that he alone survived.
In a certain sense, it was a move beyond all imagination.
‘Are those who rely mainly on their heads all like this?’
Even Gong Sun Baek, who was not even worth comparing to men like this, had considered making use of demons.
It was a line of reasoning Meng Ha Sung could never understand.
Even in battle there is a line one must not cross. Jeon Chil Sung had now overstepped that line by a wide margin.
“…The elders of the Black Faction were lackeys of the demons?”
“Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. What matters is public opinion.”
Meng Ha Sung growled before he could stop himself.
“Elder Jeon. Do you intend to drag the demons themselves into an internal power struggle to settle your score?”
Jeon Chil Sung remained composed.
“Alliance Leader. However we proceed, we cannot simply leave the Demon be. And if that’s the case, eliminating our rivals while stoking the members’ fighting spirit by emphasizing the Demon’s vileness is by no means a poor strategy.”
“….”
“With your permission, I’ll begin the groundwork immediately through Elder Ha Sang Il. If you simply lend your support, we can bring down the Black Faction in no time.”
Meng Ha Sung, who had been studying Jeon Chil Sung in silence for a long while, finally spoke.
“Can you handle the fallout?”
“From now on, the fallout will be shared between you and me, Alliance Leader.”
Even while his own position was precarious, he drew his lines with unflinching precision.
He was a true master of the art of factional maneuvering. Had Meng Ha Sung been the man he was before learning so much from Gong Sun Baek, he might well have been swept off his feet by Jeon Chil Sung’s silver tongue.
Fortunately, the Meng Ha Sung standing here now was no longer that man.
“I’ll summon Elder Ha to the Interrogation Room within half a day.”
* * *
Moyong Bi’s reaction to Meng Ha Sung’s words was unexpected.
“What an absolutely fascinating proposal.”
Meng Ha Sung’s brow twitched.
“Fascinating, you say?”
“To drag the Demon in and still aim to tear down the Black Faction and secure his own safety… Jeon Chil Sung is certainly no ordinary man.”
In his days as Alliance Leader, there had been no one so reckless as that. Men like that had been crushed in the bud.
“Tambi Ryeong-ju. Let me be clear, this method is something I absolutely cannot permit.”
“And why can’t you permit it?”
“Are you seriously asking me that? Even battle has its boundaries. If the enemy crosses the line and we follow them into that chaos, what becomes of the world?”
“Then die as a defeated general.”
“What?!”
Gu Wol, standing off to one side, said nothing and simply looked from one to the other.
Moyong Bi spoke with utter seriousness.
“Alliance Leader. Do you want to defeat your enemy while keeping to the line?”
“Boundaries are absolute limits! Even if we win by ignoring them, what will be left for us?!”
“Victory. And the future.”
“……!”
“Have you forgotten how many people met a wretched end during the six years you and Chief Military Strategist Gong Sun Baek spent stockpiling your strength?”
“……!!”
“Don’t look for morality in battle. Don’t speak of boundaries. Whether good or evil, the only thing that matters the moment you step onto the battlefield is victory or defeat.”
“But!”
“If anything, we must go further. If your opponent in a sword fight intends to throw hidden weapons, then you must shoot arrows. If they press in with sheer numbers and no honor, then you must have cannons ready in advance.”
Moyong Bi raised a hand toward the sky.
“If the villains who ought to be eliminated are invoking the Demon, then we must drag out even a god and smash them all to pieces.”
The strength drained from Meng Ha Sung’s shoulders.
“Is that truly the only way?”
“There are plenty of ways, if you look. But do we have the time?”
Moyong Bi rapped his knuckles against the Gwangma Wall Blade.
“Behind this shield stands the Alliance Leader, and behind the Alliance Leader stand the myriad people of All Under Heaven. Do not fear wallowing in filth for the sake of ten thousand lives.”
“….”
“Do not hope to become a hero. Simply carry the virtues of a hero on your back. That is what we must do now.”

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