Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 148

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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 148
The head of a major sect’s intelligence organization had made his move.
Elite warriors under his command had infiltrated the situation. Even if the Gaebang exerted all their strength to block them, it would be difficult to seal their eyes and ears and ascertain their whereabouts.
The Gaebang alone couldn’t manage it.
So Dokgo Myeong drew upon the strength of another force besides the Gaebang.
“Is everything proceeding well?”
Wi Baek, the Inner Hall Master and administrator of the Dokgo Household, opened the door and entered.
“Welcome, Inner Hall Master.”
The ordinary-looking man absorbed in documents was none other than Jang Pyeong, the Sect Leader of Cheonieach, the intelligence organization of the Dokgo Household.
“What’s the situation?”
“Members have been dispatched from our Shanxi and Hubei branches. We’ve established an encirclement they cannot escape.”
“Cooperation with the Gaebang won’t be smooth, will it.”
“We haven’t cooperated. We’ve dedicated ourselves to establishing communication networks and forming the encirclement.”
“So they’re the primary force and we’re the secondary. Was this the Young Master’s request?”
“Yes, it was.”
Wi Baek grasped the situation perfectly from just the brief information and nodded calmly.
Not only the Gaebang but Cheonieach had mobilized as well.
In truth, it was only natural. Dokgo Myeong was of the direct line and, though still merely holding the title, was the Master of the Warrior Corps. Originally, a Warrior Corps Master had the authority to receive support from Cheonieach.
Of course, an ordinary Master wouldn’t be able to conduct such a large-scale operation like this, but….
“Was this board set up by the Outer Hall Master?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“The Young Master sent word. He said he’d kindle the flames properly and return, so support him generously.”
“So the Family Head approved it as well.”
“How is the overall situation developing?”
“According to reports that arrived just now, it seems we’ve succeeded in identifying the locations of most of the intelligence agents who infiltrated Shanxi.”
“The hunt will begin soon then.”
Jang Pyeong nodded with a subtle smile.
“Dokgo Myeong is the first Warrior Corps Master to deploy Cheonieach’s support on such a grand scale. Remarkable.”
“I’m the one who finds it remarkable. I provoked him, but to think he’d orchestrate taking Am Seong-ju’s head.”
Wi Baek spoke with an expression that showed no surprise whatsoever.
Then he examined the map drawn along the border between Shanxi and Hubei and nodded.
“We’ve caught the big fish.”
The full support of the intelligence organization of the greatest sect in the world and the Gaebang.
An unprecedented alliance of two forces had occurred. The Moyong’s Am Seong-ju alone could not respond effectively.
From the start, the Moyong Family and Am Seong-ju should never have set foot in Shanxi.
It was a swamp that swallowed everything, and a trap already prepared.
* * *
Namgung Sohwa walked lightly down the street.
Passersby of all ages—young and old, men and women—let their gazes linger upon her before looking away.
Her prayer held a certain mystique to it.
Though her appearance was that of a cold beauty, the vital energy she emanated was endlessly pure and weighty. Even her gait was so confident that people before her unconsciously parted to let her pass.
Whoooosh!
Azure vital energy from the vast sky rippled across Namgung Sohwa’s entire body.
It was the aura of the Heavenly Spirit Pill, not yet perfectly consolidated. With a bit of focus, she could have organized it, but she deliberately refrained from tempering that momentum.
There were eyes following her.
“Heh, remarkable. Innkeeper, do you know the name of that beauty?”
A Moyang Sect Warrior at the inn spoke while feigning dissipation.
The innkeeper who approached him tilted his head.
“She appeared in the neighborhood a few days ago. She seems to be from out of town, so I don’t know her name.”
“A few days ago, you say? Could she be alone?”
“Why do you ask?”
“If such a beauty is alone, one must at least try to strike up a conversation.”
“Yes, I believe she is alone?”
The man’s eyes gleamed.
‘Found her. A woman of the Namgung Family. But why is she alone?’
At that moment, the innkeeper set down the liquor he had ordered and spoke.
“But are you certain? Judging by the sword at her side, that woman appears to be a martial artist as well.”
“Heh, it is the bold who seize the beauty.”
The man slowly drank the liquor.
Then he tilted his head.
“Hmm? What is this liquor?”
“You ordered white liquor, didn’t you?”
“This is bamboo leaf green liquor?”
“Ah, this is my first day working as an innkeeper.”
“What?”
That was when it happened.
Veins bulged on the man’s forehead.
“Gasp!”
He began to choke, clutching at his throat.
The innkeeper standing beside him with an expressionless face suddenly pulled off his wig, then rubbed away the large mole beside his nose with his sleeve.
The innkeeper had instantly become Geum Seok-du.
“Are you rather foolish? Your acting is truly terrible. Well, that’s why you gulped down the strong liquor so readily.”
“You, you! How could you….”
“Would Namgung Sohwa walk around openly claiming madness? Of course this is bait.”
“…Ugh!”
The moment the man desperately reached toward the window frame for help.
Crash!
From outside, Namgung Sohwa’s figure wielding her blade like a beam of light entered his vision.
Scrape! Scrape scrape!
Her blade mercilessly cut down his colleagues who had been tailing her.
“Gasp!”
“Ugh!”
The man was shocked as he watched his comrades fall.
‘Has the daughter of the Namgung Family reached such a level?’
Her swordplay was terrifyingly refined.
It was only natural.
The Heavenly Spirit Pill had filled her gaps. Now, a swordsman’s blade advancing past the first rank into absolute peak perfection could not possibly be lacking.
‘I’ve been had.’
The man’s eyes widened.
In that instant.
Crack!
Geum Seok-du drove his blade into the back of the man’s head.
The man went limp.
Simultaneously, Outer Hall members rushed in from somewhere and finished the rest.
One of the Outer Hall members approached Namgung Sohwa, who was catching her breath.
“Where next?”
The Outer Hall member looked at her and Geum Seok-du with slightly surprised eyes.
They had already captured twelve of Moyong’s soldiers.
Yet they showed no signs of fatigue. Most of those who had infiltrated were elite members of the Moyong Family’s warrior corps.
‘How is this possible? Even if the main hall provided support…’
The Outer Hall member belonging to the Hugu Party hesitantly opened his mouth.
“The next location is the Northern Patrol District. We have horses prepared.”
“We’ll head out immediately. Geum!”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
Namgung Sohwa paused before leaving and asked the Outer Hall member.
“How are Cheolmu-baek and Dokgo Ak doing?”
* * *
“Cover the rear.”
“Don’t give me orders!”
Boom!
Slash!
Cheolmu-baek and Dokgo Ak didn’t move with any particular cunning.
One became a hammer, the other became a blade.
Unlike Geum Seok-du and Namgung Sohwa, where one served as bait to lure enemies in, they simply destroyed whoever they found head-on.
The Outer Hall members supporting them felt astonishment.
‘What are these people?’
They were different.
Dokgo Myeong and his companions operated outside the common sense of the martial world.
By simple calculation, Moyong’s forces were considerable—forty-five in total, excluding those intercepted midway.
Moreover, most of them were masters of the second rank reaching first-rank level, and they were the elite forces of Moyong who had completed training in Am Seong.
In contrast, what about Dokgo Myeong’s companions?
Of course they were strong.
Strong, yes, but if you asked whether anyone could fell Moyong’s forces like autumn leaves falling in the wind, no one would answer that they could.
Yet they were doing it.
I had no idea how they were managing it, but they were simply getting it done.
‘The number of enemies our Hugu Party has captured has only just exceeded ten, yet these five alone have already captured more than twenty-five.’
Thud!
In the end, they subdued three more of Moyong’s forces.
Their opponents used poison, surprise attacks, and threw hidden blades, yet they were subdued without any difficulty whatsoever.
“How on earth are you doing this?”
A spirited Hugu Party Member asked as if entranced.
Dokgo Ak spoke.
“What do you mean?”
“No, this doesn’t make sense. No matter what, how can it be like this….”
Dokgo Ak replied with a resolute expression.
“We do it to survive.”
“Ah!”
Gab exclaimed with an impressed face.
So they display such overwhelming martial prowess while wielding their blades with the mindset that they could die at any moment!
Gab interpreted the words that way.
Of course, that wasn’t it.
“If I get injured somewhere, or make a mistake, or if the results aren’t good, ugh! That demon-like bastard won’t leave me alone.”
“Pardon?”
“He’ll grind me down until I die, saying I couldn’t even do what I was told properly, and I can’t endure that. Absolutely cannot endure it.”
“Our hearts are aligned. I’m thinking the same way.”
Cheolmu-baek interjected with a resolute expression.
“This isn’t the time for….”
“Gasp! This isn’t the moment for that! Quickly, where do we go next?”
Gab snapped back to attention and spoke.
“Leave the remaining ones to us. We’ve now pinpointed the location.”
“You’ve pinpointed the location?”
“Am Seong-ju. We’ve identified the location. Young Master Dokgo Myeong has sent word to gather quickly.”
* * *
“The Third Squad has also gone silent!”
“There was a battle with mysterious martial artists in Sunyang County, and three people were subdued and dragged away by the Gab forces.”
“Urgent report. Those who infiltrated along the southern waterway have been subdued by the Gab forces.”
Am Seong-ju’s expression grew increasingly rigid.
Subdued, subdued, subdued.
All the reports were coming in that way.
‘What in the world has happened?’
Even so, I revealed no emotion.
I simply gazed calmly into the void, retracing the situation in my mind.
Had they come with the intention to fight?
No. They had concealed their identities and infiltrated quietly.
Then had they left traces?
No. They hadn’t even followed openly; they’d scattered in small numbers just to gather information.
They had been cautious to an almost impossible degree. So why had they been caught?
‘Could it be… they simply monitored all personnel entering from outside?’
Did that even make sense?
But there was no other explanation.
‘The Kaebang’s support has been excessive. Unless the Kaebang Master himself granted permission? And Cheonil Pavilion’s movements are strange too. They’re helping this thoroughly?’
Am Seong-ju felt his stomach twist.
‘The mistake was entering Shaanxi in the first place.’
I had been careless. But what could be done now?
Who in all the world would think anyone would target them with the full support of both Cheonil Pavilion and the Kaebang?
Am Seong-ju made his decision.
“We retreat. We must flee. Tell all survivors to withdraw, then scatter and escape.”
After only days in Shaanxi, we had to withdraw?
Though my heart burned with frustration, I chose a clean retreat.
But then it happened.
Thump, thump, thump!
Heavy footsteps ascending the stairs echoed from beyond the door.
Whoosh!
A thick stench of blood accompanied an overwhelming aura of power.
Am Seong-ju sighed.
“Ah, so I had already set foot in the den.”
Thump! Whoosh!
From beyond the door, a viscous, suffocating wave of energy crashed through.
The warriors guarding Am Seong-ju sprang to their feet.
I gestured for them to sit, then spoke calmly.
“Come in.”
“Very well.”
Screech!
A man pushed open the door and entered.
Tall frame, lean yet muscular, sharp eyes, and an overwhelming aura of power.
Thud!
Dokgo Myeong planted himself directly in front of Am Seong-ju and sat.
Blood dripped from his entire body. It was impossible to tell how many people he had beaten down.
Dokgo Myeong opened his mouth.
“It’s good to meet you.”
Am Seong-ju asked.
“You must be Dokgo Myeong?”
“That’s right. And I heard you’re the Seong-ju of Am Seong, the intelligence division of Moyong.”
Am Seong-ju let out a hollow laugh.
“So you knew that much.”
“When the Outer Hall’s intelligence combines with the main family’s, it’s hard not to learn such things.”
“So Seomseo itself was a trap?”
“Yes.”
“The movements of the Shadow Blade Assassins, your head, the whereabouts of the Namgung woman—you used it all as bait to set this trap.”
“That’s also correct.”
I nodded and continued speaking.
“I’ve answered enough questions, so may I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you raise the Shadow Blade Assassins?”
Am Seong-ju blinked before nodding.
“If you ask whether I raised them, it’s ambiguous. However, I did command them.”
“I see.”
“Why are you curious about that?”
“You don’t need to know.”
I reached for the wine cup placed before Am Seong-ju.
Without even checking if it was poisoned, I drained it in one gulp and set it down with a sharp clink.
“You have two choices. Surrender to me quietly, or resist and be captured anyway.”
“There’s a third option too—I could take your head and escape.”
I smiled wickedly.
It was a chilling smile, with blood smeared here and there across my face.
“Try it if you can.”
Thud, crash!
With a thunderous sound, Am Seong-ju charged forward.

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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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