Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 289

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

Chapter 289
“That one—have you heard anything about what he’s scheming?”
“That’s precisely what I intended to ask you, Alliance Leader.”
“You didn’t exchange any words with him during this conference?”
“Do you truly regard me, Dokgo Un-hak, as such a shallow diplomat?”
Dokgo Un-hak and Dokgo Hwi-hwa walked side by side.
Their respective subordinates followed behind them.
Dokgo Hwi-hwa cast a subtle glance, and only after Dokgo Un-hak waved his hand in response could the two finally broach the main subject.
“It’s overstepping to make such demands of you, who has become the left commander at the White Horn Conference of all places. The position you had planned for can absolutely not be granted.”
“That one is well aware of it, I’m sure.”
Tap!
Dokgo Hwi-hwa’s cane struck the ground with force.
“Surely you don’t think that one abandoned his scheming out of fear of war?”
“It’s not worth a moment’s consideration.”
“It seemed somewhat odd to dismiss it as mere performance, but… in any case? Do you think he’s abandoned his merit?”
“I cannot be certain. There have been times when that one conducted himself quite clearly.”
Dokgo Un-hak’s gaze turned toward a distant place—the direction where the Discipline Department stood.
Dokgo Hwi-hwa clicked her tongue.
“A creature harboring hundreds of serpents in his belly wouldn’t rampage so recklessly without restraint… the signs of defeat, the signs of defeat indeed.”
“I have already reviewed the two documents and am making preparations accordingly.”
“Hmm, we’re doing the same. It’s not something to simply ignore and overlook.”
Yet it was content that could not be openly acknowledged on a large scale.
“Is it because you cherish your own forces so? Or are you drawing some other scheme?”
“Regardless, both the Chamshin Corps and Myeong-i cannot participate in the war. Perhaps it’s turned out for the better.”
Dokgo Un-hak valued Dokgo Myeong’s intellect and eloquence more than his martial prowess. If he joined forces with the Inner Sect Leader and Dokgo Hwi-hwa, the burden on the front lines would decrease considerably.
That one would prove useful not on the battlefield, but in the rear as well, and in educating martial artists.
‘Was that his aim?’
It couldn’t be…
Dokgo Un-hak’s eyes narrowed.
* * *
Dokgo Yeon-sin accommodated Dokgo Myeong as he had promised.
He removed the iron shackles that had bound his limbs for a season and had him sit in a chair to face Wi Baek.
Of course, the location was the interrogation chamber, and the chair was one designed for interrogations. Dokgo Myeong stared at the bloodstains on the armrest with a grimace before opening his mouth.
“Since you’ve come to visit, shouldn’t you at least bring some provisions? Prison life is so arduous…”
Wi Baek stared fixedly at Dokgo Myeong.
Wi Baek’s expression was as faint as Dokgo Yeon-sin’s. If Dokgo Yeon-sin possessed an expressionless face as though trying to suffocate someone, Wi Baek’s was one that regarded people like stones—the difference lay in that distinction.
“It has not yet been a full double hour since your imprisonment. I judged the time too brief to speak of experiencing hardship.”
“Ah, you speak with such certainty despite never having been confined yourself?”
“I have.”
“What?”
“I spent a long time imprisoned many years ago. That’s when I came to serve the Household Head.”
Caught off guard by this unexpected backstory, I fell silent for a moment. Wi Baek then withdrew something from his robes and placed it on the table.
“You’ve written quite a fascinating book.”
Two volumes—the Records of Contention and the Treatise on Twin Horse Bloodline Techniques.
I let out a scoff.
“I didn’t write it for fascination’s sake.”
“I didn’t mean it in that sense. If I’ve offended you, I apologize.”
I shook my head lightly.
“So you came because of these books?”
“You distributed these two volumes throughout the household. For any other martial family it might be acceptable, but for the main branch, it was an unwise choice.”
I laughed at his measured tone.
“Have you also come to prattle on about that fool’s justifications?”
“No.”
“…?”
“I’m uncertain about the Records of Contention, but this Treatise on Twin Horse Bloodline Techniques—written through your research of the Twin Horse Alliance—possesses sufficient merit and validity.”
My eyes widened.
Wi Baek lightly brushed the book’s cover as he spoke.
“I’ve already made certain preparations on my end—antidote pills, various medicinal materials, weapons, and armor among them.”
“If you believe it’s sound, prepare more extensively. Don’t skulk about in the shadows.”
Wi Baek remained unperturbed by my sharp tone.
He met my gaze calmly and continued.
“Are you aware that despite the Young Master’s elevated position in the main branch, they still regard him as an excessively bold and unconventional upstart?”
A needle in a bundle of hay.
Normally, what stands out gets trimmed down, but I had become so conspicuously prominent that I’d turned into an awl no one dared touch.
“Surely you haven’t come to say that whether my writings are right or wrong doesn’t matter?”
“Of course not.”
Wi Baek gazed down at the two volumes.
“The Outer Hall Master and the Elder Council Leader don’t regard these books as entirely worthless. Their judgment isn’t that shallow.”
“That much is obvious. So what are you trying to say?”
“That while those two wield many subordinates as they wish, they are simultaneously forced to listen to their subordinates’ opinions.”
Every faction has its leaders.
And there are forces supporting those leaders, with additionally complex factions intertwined throughout.
Tap, tap.
Wi Baek lightly tapped the book’s surface.
“Everyone is certain of victory. Yet this book contains content that completely denies that certainty. It also denies the martial training that these proud martial artists have accumulated over time.”
“….”
“But what if their lord were swayed by this book’s contents?”
“Is that all? Concern over a shaken support base?”
“It’s not trivial. The seat of the greatest household under heaven is at stake.”
“That damned greatest household under heaven.”
“Then does that make you more accepting of the possibility that the main household’s discipline will deteriorate as war looms?”
I let out a soft chuckle.
“With war at our doorstep, you’re saying it’s right to obsess over political maneuvering?”
“I never expected to hear such words from you, sir.”
Wi Baek spoke with evident surprise.
“Where in this world does a war ever occur without political calculation?”
“….”
I fell silent.
After a brief pause, Wi Baek continued.
“I understand that you see further and broader than the power struggles of the main household. So if you were to weigh this war against the household’s authority, you would inevitably tip toward the former.”
“….”
“But the Outer Hall Master and the Elder Council Leader are different. For them, the household’s power is paramount—not the peace of the realm.”
I opened my mouth to speak.
“I don’t harbor hopes for the realm’s peace either. My nature keeps me rather distant from such ideals.”
“I see.”
“Then speak plainly. Why have you drawn this out so long before revealing what you came to say?”
Wi Baek opened his mouth slowly.
“In truth, not long ago, I received a message from the Household Lord.”
“…!”
“I cannot share the full details, but the message conveyed that regardless of how the war unfolds, the Household Lord will not intervene in the main household’s affairs.”
My eyes widened.
“Has something happened to the Household Lord himself?”
Crack!
Without warning, a fissure split across the table where my arm rested. My emotions had surged, and qi had unconsciously leaked out.
“That too, I cannot disclose.”
“What if I insist on knowing?”
“The Household Lord did not wish it.”
Veins bulged across my forehead.
‘Damn it, this old man really knows how to get under my skin.’
Was it mere whimsy?
Or had he actually taken a blade somewhere? No, that couldn’t be it. How many people in this realm could even land a blade on him?
‘Then what does “not wishing it” mean?’
I exhaled sharply and gestured with my chin.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“It is not easy to repair the spokes of a wheel already in motion. Only the Household Lord could manage it, yet we cannot expect his intervention.”
I regarded Wi Baek with a lukewarm gaze.
“But preparing a new wheel is not difficult—is that what you’re saying?”
“If you truly care about the future of the household’s martial artists and the course of this war, do not waste time in helplessness. Instead, become the hidden blade the main household has yet to reveal.”
“….”
“Should the war unfold in an unexpected manner, as you suggest, I pledge to order a sortie at my discretion. The Inner Sect will provide support as well, so you will have sufficient preparation….”
Wi Baek trailed off mid-sentence, his voice gradually diminishing. Soon he fell completely silent, studying Dokgo Myeong’s expression intently.
Dokgo Myeong’s face remained unchanged. He simply stared back at Wi Baek with unwavering eyes.
Wi Baek asked.
“Did you intend to remain in the rear from the very beginning?”
“….”
“Rejecting the strike force was merely an excuse—you planned to refuse any proposal from the start, didn’t you?”
“….”
“Even if the Demon Suppression Force had been approved for deployment from the beginning, you had no intention of going, did you?”
A faint smile played at the corners of my lips.
“One might think you were employing mind-reading techniques.”
“….”
Wi Baek’s eyes grew cold.
I exhaled deeply and opened my mouth.
“I never believed the Demon Suppression Force could deploy from the start. Even if they could, I judged they needed more time to prepare.”
I relaxed my posture slightly, gazing into empty space rather than at Wi Baek, and spoke calmly.
“No matter how hard I push, no matter how much I lead the strike force across the battlefield, no matter how much the Demon Suppression Force suffers—it won’t be easy to change the greater tide of events.”
A sharp gleam flashed through Wi Baek’s eyes.
“Was it for these two books?”
“Hardly. I’m not the type whose mind works that intricately. It was simply a fortunate coincidence.”
Was it truly so?
Wi Baek pierced me with an intense stare.
I murmured, my voice laden with complex emotions.
“The main household must experience defeat eventually. Whether for the clan’s sake or for the realm’s sake…. No transformation occurs from lessons learned without bloodshed.”
“….”
“Still, I must reduce it somewhat. That way, I’ll have fewer sleepless nights. So I tried using them. I didn’t scatter them with any grand intention.”
I straightened my posture and spoke to Wi Baek.
“I understand what you’re saying. Don’t worry. I never intended to sit idle from the beginning.”
At last, the battlefield opened.
Dokgo Myeong and the Demon Suppression Force still turned away from the battlefield, and the battlefield turned away from them.
But soon the battlefield would have no choice but to call upon them.
The time was not far off.
* * *
The realm lay quiet.
The commoners were exploited by sects and martial families throughout the land, suffering hunger despite abundant harvests as if famine had struck, smuggling ran rampant, and the authorities merely observed it all—yet still, no one easily engaged in great conflict.
The slash-and-burn farmers in the mountains, the beggars spreading mats to beg, the innkeeper at the roadside tavern, the third-rate ronin—all felt the calm before the storm. All eyes turned southward.
Honan, the Dokgo Household.
And soon the first arrow was released.
“Have you heard the news?!”
“Of course! The wall proclamation posted last night?”
“Hah! So it finally begins.”
Winter’s chill had retreated, and by the time warmth gave way to heat, the proclamation came.
Wall notices appeared across every region.
The notices were lengthy, yet their meaning was simple.
A declaration of war.
Words that would end an era of peace were plastered on every wall throughout the realm, wherever Cheon I-gak’s reach extended.
“War, you say?”
“At last…!”
“Withdraw from Gangseong! It will become a battlefield!”
“What of Zhejiang’s control? How has the Moyong Family responded?”
The great sects disciplined their disciples, local magnates barred their gates, and merchants hurried back and forth, lowering their heads and seeking advantage.
For a mere clash between two households, the turmoil engulfing the realm was far too severe.
It resembled the chaotic age of ancient warlords vying for supremacy. It was as if the feudal lords across the land were battling one another for dominion.
Perhaps a rotting pillar had been all that supported the roof. With the declaration of war, the precarious state of the realm began to spiral beyond control.
This was no longer merely a conflict between the Dokgo Household and the Moyong Family.
Now, no one could stop it.
The age of chaos had begun.
* * *
The central training grounds of the Dokgo Household.
The entire force of the main family was arrayed in that place, used only during the household’s greatest ceremonies.
War.
Though no blood had yet been spilled, the thick scent of slaughter seemed to hang in the air.
“The conflict will not be prolonged.”
The Sword King, acting Household Head and now commanding general Dokgo Un-hak, stood before the elite warriors of the greatest household under heaven.
“Let all under heaven know the weight of the Dokgo name. March forth!”
Thus the forces of the Dokgo Household departed from their home.
From a distance behind, I watched the sight unfold, my heart heavy with concern.

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