I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 71
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 71
And at that time, his older brother Zhuge Jun was quite confused.
‘Those two arrived, and suddenly Father decides to perform a live operational check on the formations.’
But as it turned out, all Three Great Formations were indeed cleverly sabotaged.
Naturally, it had to be the work of Demons.
‘Then, could it be that those two came to deliver this information to Father?’
To have uncovered a plot that even the clan itself was unaware of beforehand…
‘Could they be from the Yuelongwei?’
Did the Imperial Family subtly assess the situation and bestow a favor upon their family?
‘Hmm, it’s too early to tell; there are only a few circumstantial pieces of evidence.’
To firmly believe a theory pieced together like this makes one a fortune-teller, not a strategist.
And a frequently mistaken one at that.
Still, it was something to keep in mind as a possibility.
‘However, this makes it far more likely that their true identities are greater than what appears on the surface.’
And if that organization chose his younger brother as the contact instead of himself…
‘It’s not very amusing… but to move rashly now, repairing the formations is too urgent.’
If he neglected this, he would lose his standing.
He, too, moved to get to work.
* * *
Looking at his son Lee Jun, who had come to help with the work, the Zhuge Clan Head sighed.
‘How can he be so ignorant of the gravity of the situation?’
“Go back this instant and stay by the Prince’s side.”
“What? Father, I should help too. There aren’t even ten people in the family who understand formations as well as I do.”
That was true.
Though he was barely at the Capping Age of twenty, Lee Jun’s understanding of formations was easily within the top single digits of the clan.
He wasn’t called the Jiryong Prince for nothing.
“Is that what matters right now! The rest of us can manage that without you! But who else but you can attend to His Highness and express our gratitude for this matter! It would be proper for me to go, but I must supervise the entire operation!”
“But His Highness also granted my request to help with the household affairs…”
“It’s not as if His Highness offered it first and you readily accepted, but you requested it from His Highness yourself?”
“Anyway, the important thing is that I received permission.”
The family head was utterly dumbfounded.
‘Why does His Highness dote on that rascal so much?’
And why does this son of his act so thoughtlessly, relying on that favor?
The more favored one is, the more prudent and cautious one should be.
He doesn’t even know the principle that the higher you climb, the deeper you fall.
I thought he was a clever son, but while his knowledge of formations is outstanding, is he really this ignorant of the psychology of serving a lofty figure?
I know the two are different abilities, but to think the gap would be this wide.
“I will take care of that, so regardless of permission, go back and stay by His Highness’s side immediately! And apologize for our lack of prudence in being unable to show him the formations.”
“If I show him a medium-scale one that functions perfectly instead of the Three Great Formations…”
“Would that suffice! Just follow my orders.”
Muttering complaints, Lee Jun had no choice but to return to Seonwu’s side.
* * *
“You said you were going to help, so why are you back already?”
“Father told me to stay by your side since you’re a guest.”
“I’m fine, though.”
Seonwu was truly fine, but Lee Jun shook his head.
“I’m fine too, but I guess Father isn’t.”
“Since things turned out this way, why don’t you just give me a simple lecture on formations? Can’t you do something basic even in this lodging?”
“Alright, fine.”
Giving up on persuading his father, Lee Jun pulled out some simple formation artifacts.
“The Three Great Formations that protect the clan are tremendously powerful and can even hold back a Master of the Realm of Creation, so they require an immense number of artifacts. But even simple formations have many practical uses in daily life. It’ll be good for you to learn a few this time.”
“Right, that Soundproofing Formation from earlier was actually more efficient than deploying an energy barrier.”
“Then I’ll teach you the Isolation Formation, which is a step up from the Soundproofing Formation. You’ve seen how this can hide not just sound, but also vision and scent, right?”
Seonwu’s eyes gleamed.
If they traveled together, he could just order Lee Jun to do it, but wasn’t it better to know these things?
Of course, honestly speaking, once he returned to his position as a king, he would have plenty of subordinates to do it for him…
Even so, he wanted to know how to do simple things himself.
And who knows?
Could the knowledge gathered from things like this one day connect to a higher realm and become a clue to enlightenment?
While Seonwu was playing around with Lee Jun like that, another plot was unfolding outside.
* * *
A merchant selling fruits and vegetables in the village attached to the Zhuge Clan smacked his lips.
‘Tsk, the rebellion was close at hand, yet those Zhuge Clan bastards had to notice right now.’
His true identity, disguised as a merchant, was Sima Muyue, the Demon Brain of the Nation.
Contrary to his middle-aged appearance, he was an eighty-year-old Great Archdevil, a wretched old monster.
If they restored the formations, there would be no way to deal with them.
‘And Xiuluo Xuemozon hasn’t even arrived yet.’
If they had discovered it just two days later, they could have slaughtered them all.
Although he was treated as an equal to Xiuluo Xuemozon due to his strategy and knowledge of formations, his own martial arts were merely at the Transcendence Realm.
Striking the Zhuge Clan now without Xiuluo Xuemozon, who was in the Realm of Creation, was insufficient to guarantee a absolute certainty of victory.
Then, would he give up on this matter just like this?
To do so, the countless efforts he had poured in so far were far too wasteful.
‘Hmm, if we strike now with only what is prepared, without Xiuluo Xuemozon…’
If there were absolutely no chance of victory, he would retreat and plan for the future, but it wasn’t to that extent either.
It just wasn’t a absolute certainty.
‘It’s insufficient to completely destroy the Zhuge Clan, but…’
He could still deal them a major blow.
And he could just retreat appropriately himself.
He made his decision and sent out a signal.
At that, those who had been in hiding began to move.
* * *
The Zhuge Clan Head lamented.
“They are coming.”
“Clan Head, what do you mean?”
“I hoped the enemy would just retreat after realizing their scheme failed, but it seems they didn’t want to lose this opportunity.”
Only then did the First Elder sense the defensive formation activating.
“It’s an enemy raid.”
“The enemy must also be underprepared.”
If they were fully ready, they would have raided sooner.
Aside from cleverly sabotages the Three Great Formations, they must have been preparing something additional.
That part must still be incomplete.
Since he hadn’t taken the alias of the Heaven’s Heavenly Calculator lightly, Zhuge Ganyun accurately grasped the current situation.
He didn’t know that the incomplete preparation meant Xiuluo Xuemozon hadn’t arrived yet, but that was something utterly impossible to know.
He judged the circumstances precisely.
‘We have no choice but to report the situation to His Highness, tell him to evacuate, and fight the enemy at the Main House.’
At least the medium-scale formations would activate.
They couldn’t cover the entire clan with that, but it could serve as a strategic point.
‘The Main House will not fall so easily.’
“Furthermore, quickly send up a signal to announce the enemy raid and call for reinforcements.”
The Zhuge Clan busily went into motion.
* * *
Seonwu, who was receiving a brief lesson from Lee Jun in the room, also felt the situation.
‘Uh? This is Demonic Qi.’
“Hey, hold on. It’s Demonic Qi.”
“…Really?”
Lee Jun didn’t feel it, and Dan Suyeong didn’t feel it either, but both believed Seonwu’s words.
“It seems the enemy decided to strike even if they weren’t fully prepared.”
As the Jiryong Prince wasn’t an alias obtained through favoritism either, Lee Jun reached the same conclusion as his father regarding the situation.
“I have to go. You should evacuate…”
Lee Jun stopped himself mid-sentence.
‘There’s no way he would.’
Even before considering things like touring the Wulin or a Chivalrous Journey.
While he was fighting, there was no way Seonwu would leave him behind and flee alone.
On top of that, would the guy whose very goal in coming out to the Wulin was a Chivalrous Journey sit out?
“Do as you please.”
“Right, I’ll move as a separate unit. Junior Disciple, move out first, grasp the situation, and come back.”
“Yes, Senior Disciple.”
Dan Suyeong immediately took the order and dashed out.
“Wait just a moment before you go.”
After that, Seonwu stopped Lee Jun.
Once Dan Suyeong was sufficiently far away, he pulled out the Brahma Bell from his ring.
It was small enough to hold in one hand, but the auspicious energy emanating from it caused Lee Jun’s mouth to fall open.
“What is this? Just looking at it, it seems like a formation artifact of a grade that would be counted on one’s fingers even in the Imperial Court?”
“The Brahma Bell from the West. They say the True Body Sarira of Tathagata is inside, and a large one at that.”
“The True Body Sarira…”
Lee Jun swallowed hard.
Some things required no detailed explanation.
With just that single phrase, one could immediately tell what grade this was.
‘My goodness, it’s of a higher grade than Shaolin’s Green Jade Buddhist Staff.’
“I’ll lend it to you. Speak well with your father so the world doesn’t find out it came from me.”
“Is it really alright?”
“What’s between us? You might not be able to use the Imperial Seal, but use this.”
“I know I’m not in a position to be stubborn either.”
Lee Jun accepted it without hesitation.
After sending his friend off like that, Seonwu assessed the overall situation rather than moving immediately.
‘They said there are two Transcendental Experts in the Zhuge Clan, right?’
The Clan Head and the First Elder.
Now that the Three Great Formations protecting the entire territory were completely paralyzed, those two and the Jeoljeong Gosu beneath them were the core military force of the Zhuge Clan.
In addition, High-class Masters like Lee Jun were also an effective force since they had numbers.
‘First-class Martial Artists who are below that level would find it hard to make a big impact if the enemy is of a grade to target the Zhuge Clan.’
He opened his senses wide.
He spread out his network of energy.
The Demon-Subduing Divine Dragon Sword chimed in to assist him.
“Oh, the Ghost Gate is opening over there.”
“Right. Are there three large Demonic Monsters?”
“Yeah, all three are large Inmyeonjo of the Transcendence Realm.”
Three massive birds with sinister human faces began to take to the sky.
A black, foul wind blew around them, following the flapping of their wings.
“With three against two, it’ll be hard for the Zhuge Clan to intercept them.”
“If they play defensively, they should be able to handle it? The Three Great Formations are broken, but they said the lower-grade ones are working, right? Even with just that much, the Zhuge Clan isn’t one to fall to that level of threat.”
“I agree with that too, but I don’t think the enemy would move without knowing that.”
Seonwu thought deeply.
‘The enemy doesn’t know that I am an existence capable of defeating even a Transcendental Expert.’
If there is a variable in the enemy’s calculations, it is himself, a hidden ambush.
And an ambush isn’t something to be revealed recklessly.
‘To repel the enemy with minimal damage, I need to watch the entire battlefield and strike the enemy’s weak point.’
The best thing would be to cut off the enemy’s leadership.
A so-called rear-assault decapitation strike, perhaps.
“However, there’s also the possibility that the enemy leadership will take the lead.”
In the Wulin, the role of a leader isn’t just to solemnly command from the rear.
The leader himself is the strongest and best combat asset, so saving him indefinitely would only ruin the battle.
However…
“If that Ghost Gate didn’t open by chance but was opened by Demonic Practitioners, where would the leader of those who opened it be?”
“I’m looking for them too, but I can’t tell right away. In short, you want to find the one commanding those Demonic Monsters and launch a sudden attack, right?”
“Yeah, look around a bit.”
When Demonic Monsters move simply according to their instincts versus when they move under proper command, they become a completely different army.
One of the greatest victims of that was Dan Suyeong’s family.
‘Since I saved them when their family was on the verge of total ruin.’
Then what about these Demonic Monsters raiding the rear?
If the Ghost Gate opened by chance, they would run wild according to their monstrous nature, but what if a Demonic Practitioner opened it intentionally to raid the Zhuge Clan?
‘In that case, there must be a commander.’
For now, since the medium-scale formations are supposedly intact, the Zhuge Clan won’t collapse abruptly.
First, let’s observe the battlefield.
He himself was the reserve force that even the enemy didn’t know about.
Dan Suyeong ran a lap and came back to stand by his side.
“Your Highness, I have grasped the general situation.”
“How is it?”
“The Zhuge Clan martial artists were flustered at first, but the Clan Head, Elders, and executive-level members calmly commanded them to assume a formation and activate the formations. It appears that at least the Main House will not fall easily.”
“Right, I am also sensing the area with an expanded Qi sense from here, and the defense doesn’t look lax.”
“However, the evacuation of the surrounding people who follow the Zhuge Clan has not been completed yet.”
“That’s the problem…”
To use a metaphor, the castle has taken a defensive posture, but the evacuation of the citizens hasn’t been done.
There was no way the Demonic Monsters would hesitate to slaughter the citizens out of concern for their reputation, so they were completely exposed.
Seonwu focused on the movements of the Demonic Monsters.
Just how would they move?
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————