Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 284

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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 284
Gravity settled into Bang Jong-san’s eyes.
“Junior. I hold my junior in great affection and care, but that remark just now seemed rather discourteous.”
Dokgo Myeong was now discussing the realm and the way of hegemony—words not befitting one who had once spoken of righteousness and the righteous path.
Dokgo Myeong spoke.
“Senior. I too respect and admire you, but I don’t believe I’ve overstepped in what I’ve just said.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because I’m not sitting here as a subordinate of Jang Mun Baek, nor as ally or enemy—merely as someone neutral.”
“How can you be neither ally nor enemy? Are we not comrades sharing a common foe in the Jeongheol Sect?”
“The enemy of my enemy is not a comrade, merely someone who is not an enemy. That is what Jang Mun Baek is to me now.”
“…!”
“Besides, I’m in no position to make pleas. Am I not correct?”
Bang Jong-san’s eyes grew distant and deep.
After a moment of silence, he exhaled a long breath.
“I’ve spoken foolishly. My apologies, junior.”
“Not at all. I was the one lacking courtesy toward you, senior.”
“No. That’s not it.”
Despite the titles of senior and junior, Bang Jong-san possessed greater standing than anyone. Yet he admitted his fault and apologized with surprising ease.
Was this why he was the Gae-bang leader? Or did such a man become the Gae-bang leader because of this?
Then Baek Mu-heun, who had remained silent, burst into hearty laughter.
“I think I should have sought you out immediately when you said you wished to meet me.”
“….”
“Yes, the realm. The realm, indeed….”
The corners of Baek Mu-heun’s mouth curved softly upward.
“You proposed we each share one secret, yet you’ve asked two questions. How is that?”
“….”
“But it’s fine. What difficulty is there in answering? I….”
Baek Mu-heun spoke with a gentle smile.
“Do not dream of conquering the realm.”
“Is that truly your heart?”
“It is.”
“….”
“Only that someone must guide it forward, I believe.”
“Do you intend to do so yourself?”
“I believe I could do so better than anyone.”
Dokgo Myeong stared at him intently.
Those were words he had once spoken to himself.
“Now, might I hear your story?”
“Very well.”
Dokgo Myeong drew a long breath and opened his mouth.
“My involvement with the Twin Horse Alliance stretches far back—much further than you two might imagine.”
“But you’re not even thirty years old yet?”
“Which is why it happened when I was very young.”
“….”
Suspicion flickered across Baek Mu-heun’s eyes, but he held his tongue and waited to hear more.
“I came to understand them more precisely after I began pursuing them, encountering them one by one.”
“Are you referring to what happened at Guhua Mountain?”
“Before that. After that, my household became entangled, and I began facing the lords. I learned much under the Household Head.”
“…Geom-jon.”
At Dokgo Myeong’s words, Baek Mu-heun’s extended sword eyebrow drooped slightly.
Something seemed to connect in his mind. The suspicion and worry that had clouded his expression appeared to dissipate.
‘When telling lies, all you need do is plant plausible clues. It falls to the listener to fill in the gaps.’
That’s what you taught me, Baek Mu-heun.
It works remarkably well.
“Does this have any connection to your notorious reputation as a dullard?”
“That seems unrelated to clearing away the suspicions cast upon me.”
Baek Mu-heun burst into laughter.
“Hah, flawless indeed.”
Silence settled between them.
Baek Mu-heun’s smile deepened. He kept his gaze fixed on Dokgo Myeong as he spoke.
“…Though the circumstances are hardly appropriate, I must make a request of my Sect Leader.”
“Speak, Jang Mun Baek.”
“Would it be possible for me to have a private conversation with Dokgo Myeong Sohyeop here?”
* * *
No matter how much I drank, intoxication would not come.
Part of it was due to my resistance to poison, built up from consuming the inner essence of Iron Net, but it also seemed to stem from the man drinking alongside me.
And it appeared Baek Mu-heun was equally unaffected. He gazed out the window where night had already fallen, then spoke.
“I’ve wanted to have a serious conversation with you alone for some time.”
“What brings this on so suddenly?”
“No one has shocked me as much as you have recently. So I felt the need to clear away even the smallest suspicions. If the blood of the Jeongheol Sect were on your hands, it would truly be troublesome.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly.
“Should I call that an honor?”
“No need. It was merely my personal sentiment.”
The two men took another drink.
Neither touched the side dishes. For now, only alcohol was needed for their throats.
“Not content with dragging the Moyong Family into war, you’ve even pulled in the Martial Alliance. Each time I hear the tale, I cannot help but marvel.”
“I am grateful for it.”
“For what?”
“For the voices raised on my behalf in that ‘gathering,’ allowing things to proceed smoothly.”
“It wasn’t done with the intention of helping you, mind you.”
“It must be because I’m accomplishing exactly what you envisioned, Master Jang Mun.”
Baek Mu-heun’s eyes gleamed with light.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t you know? There’s only one method that works in the martial world these days.”
“….”
Baek Mu-heun’s throat felt parched, so he took a sip of wine before speaking.
“How far ahead are you seeing?”
“Simply a bit further than most others.”
Baek Mu-heun nodded.
“I’ll ask again. Why did you want to see me?”
This question carried a different weight than before.
Dokgo Myeong spoke.
“To prepare.”
For war.
And for you, and for the matters beyond the veil that my former self could not foresee.
“Isn’t that what you desire as well, Master Jang Mun?”
Dokgo Myeong suppressed his passion and spoke.
“Why would you think such a thing?”
“Because you desire the realm under heaven.”
“I’ve said it before—I harbor no such ambitions.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a soft laugh.
“To govern the realm under heaven better than anyone else and bring order to the chaos—that is no different from coveting it.”
“Your thoughts differ from mine.”
Baek Mu-heun’s eyes flashed with a cold gleam.
Yet soon he nodded and opened his mouth.
“Very well. Then let us see if we can align our thoughts. You didn’t push for the creation of the Martial Alliance merely because of the war between the Dokgo Household and the Moyong Family, did you?”
Dokgo Myeong and Baek Mu-heun drank deeply in unison, as if by prior agreement.
As the wine went down, their eyes burned even more brilliantly.
“The foreign invaders that will appear in the age of chaos… No, since we both know their true identity, let us simply call them the Twin Blood Sect.”
“The Twin Horse Alliance would be more fitting. That is the more accurate designation.”
“I see. As you say, that is indeed the better term. The strategy of the Twin Horse Alliance is ultimately quite simple.”
Through the Jeongheol Sect, they bring chaos to the Central Plains, and the Shinblood Sect becomes the spear that pierces through that chaos.
“However, the martial world of the Central Plains today is formidable. Extraordinarily formidable. An unprecedented concentration of powerful forces is positioned there. No matter how strong the Twin Horse Alliance is, they cannot easily topple it.”
“That’s correct. So I went the opposite direction.”
“The opposite direction?”
“To win in war, what must those cunning ones do?”
This was something I could know not because my insight was exceptional, but because I had seen the future, because I had reflected upon it countless times in this life.
“There are only two ways to win any battle. Either I become stronger than my enemy….”
“Or my enemy becomes weaker than me. Their true strength ultimately stems from faith, so as the age of chaos arrives, false teachings will flourish and their sect will grow.”
But that was not something resolved in a single day.
So they aimed for both.
“A method to drain the enemy’s strength without expending my own. In other words, to plunge us into internal strife.”
“Since Paedobyeon revealed its fangs in the west, the Moyong Family can establish an alliance in the east and drag the Central Plains into a great conflict.”
In the minds of both men, pieces began to be placed one by one across the vast map of the Central Plains.
“And you crushed one of their strategies quite simply at Dengyongji.”
“What were you originally thinking, Jang Mun Baek?”
“I was targeting Paedobyeon. But…”
“Wi Mu-jin is an unpredictable figure, and the Moyong Family surfaced at precisely that moment.”
“Exactly. Thanks to you, the board has shifted.”
I had drawn out Moyong, and the Jeongheol Sect had seized control of them.
Now I had to counter the enemy’s next move.
That was why the Martial Alliance was necessary.
“To resolve internal discord, one must turn that gaze outward.”
“Yes. If the Twin Horse Alliance’s true strength is revealed, we can unite the forces of the Central Plains.”
“The Martial Alliance.”
“We must form an alliance and destroy the Jeongheol Sect’s grand strategy. Only then can we prepare for the New Blood Sect.”
“After sweeping away the Jeongheol Sect, we could even dream of counterattack while consolidating our foundation.”
With those words.
The rapid exchange between the two men came to an abrupt halt.
Baek Mu-heun, who had been staring intently at Dokgo Myeong, let out a hollow laugh.
“…It’s as if you’ve peered into my very mind.”
“Perhaps I learned it in a past life.”
“You jest well.”
It was no jest—it was the truth.
But in my past life, Baek Mu-heun had made a mistake. He had failed to prevent the Moyong Family from establishing their alliance.
Whether that was truly a mistake, I could not say…
I had researched and researched to correct it, and even put it into practice.
“Is that why you shackled the Dokgo Household and loosened the grip of the Three Great Families?”
“Yes. Someone like Jegal Mun should be sufficient to check the main family’s monopoly.”
“Hah, this…”
To place a leash upon one’s own clan.
From the start, even the greatest family under heaven was not this youth’s domain.
‘Is he a sword demon? Or was he raised directly by Geom-jon? Either way, the Dokgo Household has truly produced a remarkable figure.’
Baek Mu-heun pushed aside his wandering thoughts and continued.
“The preparations are complete up to that point. But ultimately, the greatest problem remains.”
“The main family’s victory, you mean.”
“What do you think?”
“I’ll give an answer similar to when you asked me earlier if I had calculated the odds.”
Victory or defeat may cease to matter.
Whether the Dokgo Household triumphs or the Moyong Family does, only great wounds may remain.
Baek Mu-heun’s eyes gleamed at those words, laden with such meaning.
“If he doesn’t achieve the Great Ascension, things will spiral beyond control. Unpredictable chaos will descend. If by some chance the enemy’s full strength….”
“Then you must lend your aid.”
Baek Mu-heun hesitated.
Dokgo Myeong spoke calmly.
“Master Jang Mun must also lend a hand. The stones have already been placed on the board. Please seal the back door so we don’t stumble at the finish.”
Baek Mu-heun crossed his arms and gazed out the window, his expression lost in deep contemplation.
Leaving him to his thoughts, Dokgo Myeong lifted the wine bottle.
The bottle felt light. There was little wine remaining.
“This is the last. If we drink, we must share it.”
“….”
“Will you accept?”
A subtle smile played at the corners of Baek Mu-heun’s lips.
Dokgo Myeong’s figure was reflected in those profoundly deep eyes.
‘There it is again.’
That enigmatic smile. Those eyes seemed to pierce through to the very depths of his opponent, gleaming with some profound and inscrutable wisdom as they fixed upon him.
Just as Dokgo Myeong felt a chill settle in his chest, Baek Mu-heun spoke.
“I’ll take it.”
Baek Mu-heun accepted wine in his cup and took the bottle. Soon Dokgo Myeong’s cup was also filled.
Thunk.
The empty bottle was set upon the cluttered table.
Now the wine rested only in the two men’s cups.
“I’ll handle the Jeongheol Sect Leader myself.”
At Baek Mu-heun’s words, Dokgo Myeong’s fist—not holding a cup—clenched tightly.
“You must also take responsibility for the Shinheol Sect.”
“Should they bare their fangs even slightly, I’ll seal them off as much as possible.”
Done.
The greatest variable had been removed.
“But you must emerge victorious. Why not become a hero of this chaotic age?”
“I have no interest in being a hero.”
“All heroes say the same thing.”
Baek Mu-heun and Dokgo Myeong raised their cups.
The two men drank deeply.
* * *
The moment the drinking ended, Dokgo Myeong left with Namgung Sohwa.
Though Baek Mu-heun urged them to stay the night, it was to no avail. Instead, Dokgo Myeong made a request.
“Might I impose upon you with a small favor later?”
“What sort of favor?”
“I possess several divine weapons that have lost their efficacy due to some mysterious sorcery. Could you dispel that sorcery?”
“I’m afraid not. The teachings of Jeon Jin reject sorcery and dark methods. We emphasize cultivation and refinement instead.”
Dokgo Myeong smiled meaningfully.
“You’re being harsh to those on the same boat as you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know what you said is the teaching of the old Jeonjin.”
Baek Mu-heun’s eyes gleamed.
“How on earth did you know?”
“I ask of you. It shouldn’t be difficult for Jang Mun.”
“…Very well. I’ll do so. But in return, you must grant me one favor as well.”
“What sort of favor do you intend to ask?”
“Answer one question for me.”
“An easy request indeed.”
“But unlike before, you must speak the truth rather than evade the matter.”
At those words, Dokgo Myeong’s expression hardened.
Baek Mu-heun saw him off with a profound smile.
“Go carefully. It’s late in the night, so mind your step on the way.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a chuckle.
He had known. I hadn’t deceived him.
Yes, this was Baek Mu-heun.

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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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