Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 295

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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 295
The martial world was engulfed in shock.
The Moyong Family’s defeat had seemed as clear as day.
The Dokgo Household alone would have been formidable enough, yet the Three Great Families and Gae-bang had pressed Moyong relentlessly.
But when the truth came to light, it was something entirely unexpected—the Dokgo Household was struggling.
“What? Dokgo Sang-un, the Phoenix Sword Master, is dead? One of the top twenty swordsmen under heaven?”
“That’s not even the worst of it. I heard that Dokgo Yeon, the Spear Saint, fell into a trap and was forced to retreat not long ago.”
“How is that even possible?”
“Because of them. The Jeongheol Sect.”
The Jeongheol Sect.
Unwavering conviction, bizarre martial techniques, and seemingly endless numbers.
Their intervention had put the brakes on the greatest family’s advance.
“Just who are these people anyway?”
“How are they pushing the Dokgo Family this far?”
With the Jeongheol Sect’s emergence, the Central Plains grew even more turbulent.
Rumors spread that an elder of a major sect thought long dead had appeared on the battlefield as a Jeongheol disciple.
Local branch sects that had vanished without a trace were said to have engaged the Dokgo Family in combat.
Tales circulated of corpses drained of all blood, withered like mummies, appearing on the battlefield.
Human suspicion and imagination knew no bounds, and rumors from across the realm gathered to amplify the Jeongheol Sect’s dark reputation.
“Could it be that…?”
“Hey, watch your tongue!”
“And they say the Yuktcheon Sect has dug in at Namchang and hasn’t budged an inch.”
“We don’t know yet. Neither side has revealed their top masters.”
Now no one dared predict an overwhelming victory for the Dokgo Household.
* * *
A bustling street.
A beggar naturally fell into step behind a man in white robes.
“Jang Mun. I’ve come from Gae-bang.”
The man, Baek Mu-heun, replied quietly without turning his gaze.
“Where has the Sect Leader gone?”
The beggar, feigning indifference, muttered as if to himself.
“He’s currently traveling urgently to meet with the Dan-du leaders in the Zhejiang region. He said he intends to help Cheon I-gak sever the information networks of Moyong and the Jeongheol Sect.”
“Hmm, is that so? But the Sect Leader wouldn’t have sent just anyone.”
“Forgive my rudeness. I am Ju Won-gwang, the Hu Gu-dangju who studied under the Sect Leader.”
At Ju Won-gwang’s words, Baek Mu-heun nodded.
“So you’re the Sect Leader’s prized disciple.”
“I still have much to learn.”
“Then let me give you a letter of introduction.”
Having said this, Baek Mu-heun suddenly purchased some meat skewers from a vendor and offered them to Ju Won-gwang as if bestowing charity.
“Here, stop bothering me and take this before you go.”
“Oh my! You’ll be blessed with good fortune, sir! Hehe!”
Ju Won-gwang bowed obsequiously while grasping the skewer, and in that moment, a neatly folded letter slipped into Baek Mu-heun’s sleeve.
With the skewer in hand, Ju Won-gwang vanished into the marketplace crowd. Baek Mu-heun continued surveying the market for some time before finally retrieving and reading the letter.
“…So the Moyong Family has finally made their move, following the Jeongheol Sect. That young man Dokgo Myeong has entered the battlefield after all.”
The letter contained a brief account of the military situation in Kangseong.
‘I never expected them to intervene to this degree. Are they truly intent on using the Moyong Family to bring this to an end?’
I had thought that since everything was already exposed, they could withdraw.
Yet they were committing this much force.
‘Either some upheaval has occurred within the Twin Horse Alliance, they’ve revised their strategy, or there’s some other hidden scheme at play.’
Whoosh!
Baek Mu-heun burned the letter in one breath and moved on.
‘The Moyong Family head and the military commanders holding their breath troubles me… I suppose I must entrust this to the Dokgo Family.’
Soon he entered a tavern. The moment the server saw Baek Mu-heun’s face, he immediately guided him to the top floor.
“This way, sir. Your guests have already arrived.”
“Much obliged. Please ensure no one comes up until I pull the cord, as usual.”
“Yes, sir.”
Slide! Click!
As the door closed, the outside noise diminished remarkably.
The room already held several guests seated within.
Baek Mu-heun bowed respectfully.
“My apologies. It seems I’ve kept everyone waiting.”
“We had only just arrived ourselves.”
Figures of uncommon ambition had gathered in one place—titans of the age whose names alone commanded recognition.
This was a gathering of the Secret Circle, an organization Baek Mu-heun had created, convening in this room today.
As Baek Mu-heun took his seat, he spoke.
“I am grateful that such busy individuals have gathered here.”
“But where is the Yongdu Sect Leader?”
“He appears to be in transit, intending to reinforce the battlefield.”
“The battlefield, I see.”
“By the way, I hear the Dokgo Family is struggling….”
At that moment, a burly-looking Taoist spoke up.
“Amitabha Buddha. It seems you possess accurate knowledge of the situation, Jang Mun. Would you share your assessment plainly?”
Baek Mu-heun nodded.
“The situation is not favorable. The Jeongheol Sect appears to have made a firm commitment.”
“Could it not be that the Dokgo Family was simply careless?”
“They may be arrogant, but they are far from incompetent.”
“Hmm.”
Baek Mu-heun began calmly recounting the military situation.
“The Dokgo Family chose to spread their forces widely across Kangseong rather than move as one concentrated power, launching offensives from multiple fronts.”
It was a strategy chosen because the Dokgo Household possessed both numerous masters and substantial military strength. Had the enemy been only the Moyong Family, the Dokgo Household would have overwhelmed them decisively.
“The Jeongheol Sect disciples would have found this situation absolutely ideal.”
“Indeed, by now small detachments are likely under constant assault, and the front lines are being torn to shreds.”
Baek Mu-heun spoke of the military situation with the fluency of a man accustomed to orchestrating grand schemes across the realm. Though he had not witnessed it firsthand, merely glimpsing abbreviated accounts in written reports, he seemed to perceive the situation with perfect clarity.
“What little holds the front together is the left flank commanded by Dokgo Gun the Sword Dragon—and only its main force at that. The right wing has fragmented into isolated small units, severing all coordinated movements entirely.”
“And amid all this, Moyong has drawn forth the hidden blade he kept concealed in Zhejiang…”
“The Pacheong Army, the Pacheong Force, as they call it.”
“Breaking the heavens?”
The middle-aged nun let out a hollow laugh.
Pacheong—breaking the heavens.
It was hardly unusual for martial artists to bestow grandiose names.
Yet considering the formidable reputation of the Dokgo Family they now faced, and the name of its patriarch, the choice of name carried a rather ominous significance.
“But was not the Moyong Family’s primary force originally the Yukcheondae?”
“They were those who had always disapproved of the Moyong Family’s transformation. It was inevitable they fell from the patriarch’s favor. The Yukcheondae’s officers themselves were reluctant to follow the patriarch’s commands.”
Baek Mu-heun spoke matter-of-factly.
“It appears he deployed them to the strategic stronghold of Namchang with orders to hold it. The Dokgo Household must inevitably breach that position, so the Moyong patriarch has made quite a shrewd calculation.”
“Hmm, I wonder if this might truly spiral into something catastrophic.”
Misfortunes had compounded upon the Dokgo Household.
Forces scattered across all directions found themselves isolated through the machinations of the Jeongheol Sect. Though the abundance of masters prevented outright annihilation, their capacity to maintain the offensive had been severed entirely.
Moreover, the Moyong Family had now committed substantial forces to the field. The extent of their military strength remained unknown, but there was a genuine risk that the Dokgo Household might face severe hardship.
“If matters go awry…”
“….”
“Should we not intervene?”
A peculiar silence fell over the gathering.
Baek Mu-heun shook his head.
“There is no need.”
“Why not?”
“It might only invite greater chaos, and by now the Dokgo Household has surely deployed their own trump card.”
Dokgo Myeong had taken to the field.
Though I had met him but once, an inexplicable certainty seized me that his emergence would bring profound transformation to the battlefield.
“A clever man learns from his own experience, but one even cleverer learns from the experiences of others. Our task is to observe carefully and absorb the lessons the Dokgo Household will earn through bloodshed.”
“Amitabha Buddha—it seems Master Baek perceives what we cannot.”
At that moment, an elder monk spoke.
The dharma marks upon his head and the half-moon seal—he was an elder of the Shaolin Temple.
“Yet it seems we did not gather here merely to discuss military matters. Might we hear your true purpose at last?”
“The Elder speaks wisely indeed.”
As Baek Mu-heun opened his mouth, all eyes turned toward him.
“Of late, I have received profound instruction. From a young man who has lived less than half my years, no less.”
“What manner of instruction, pray tell?”
“That hidden benevolence is ultimately but small benevolence. He meant that one must undertake deeds significant enough to surface and be seen.”
“….”
“The battlefield is the battlefield’s concern. It seems we too must rise from our seats. Would you be willing to lend us your aid?”
A heavy silence descended upon the gathering.
The Elder Monk opened his mouth.
“Surely this aid you speak of refers to the Jeongheol Sect Leader?”
“And also the blood demons that might emerge from their headquarters.”
“….”
“I have entrusted the battlefield situation to those I can trust. So let us support him from behind.”
* * *
“Now, focus.”
Even without those words, the Cheonma Sect disciples had been watching their commander from the start.
“You’ve waited long enough. Now it’s our turn to act.”
One hundred seventy-five pairs of eyes fixed upon Dokgo Myeong.
Yes, the time had indeed come.
They who had never become the world’s protagonists, who couldn’t even control their own lives—the dregs who never rose to the mainstream.
Gamblers, assassins, bastards, ronin, bandits, excommunicated disciples, traitors and fugitives—all gathered here.
That was the Cheonma Sect.
“But surely none of you are foolish enough to think ‘Finally, my chance has come!’ just because you trained a bit? If anyone is, quit now! Though I doubt any of you would!”
“…!?”
“You’re all dregs from the bottom, after all. How could you possibly defeat someone who’s eaten well and studied well their entire life?! Bitter about it? Then you should’ve been born into a good family like me!”
The faces of the Cheonma Sect disciples, who had expected an inspiring speech, darkened.
Dokgo Myeong continued shouting without hesitation.
“Even if you achieve merit, nothing will change much! At best, you’ll fill the bellies of those above you and gnaw on the scraps left behind!”
“Why are you saying such things now!?”
“Then what do you want!?”
Dokgo Myeong shouted back.
“That’s just how the world is! Accept it! There are only ever two kinds of people in this world. Those who hold the leash and those who wear it!”
“Ugh, not that again! Aren’t you tired of it!?”
“So we’re the ones wearing the leash? Just accept it and shut up!?”
Dokgo Myeong swept his gaze across the clamoring Cheonma Sect disciples and smiled wickedly.
“No. The truth is, we’re the refuse that neither side understands. That’s why we’ve been beaten, robbed, and abandoned all along.”
Dokgo Myeong stood not in front of the Cheonma Sect disciples, but among them, at their center, as he spoke.
Then someone asked.
“Then what should we do?”
“What are you trying to say?”
It was Yang Un-rang and Bang Dan-a.
The question came from a bastard of a prestigious family whom no one wished had been born, and a wanderer who had never known family.
“Fight until death. Even if nothing changes much, if we do nothing, we’ll remain as we are.”
“…!”
“We’re already born this way—what else can we do? Since birth is something I didn’t choose, even if it’s unjust, I have no choice but to fight while bleeding. Respect has always been earned only by those who fought while bleeding.”
The light in the eyes of the Cheonma Sect disciples began to change.
Excellent. A truly excellent gleam in those eyes.
What nonsense about righteousness and cooperation? In the end, the world exists to serve me.
“So this is where it begins! The blood spilled by these fanatics and those parasites clinging to them will become the measure of respect we claim! Do you understand!”
“Yes!!”
Ah, how scorching.
Their eyes burn so fiercely that the heat seems almost unbearable.
Dokgo Myeong cried out.
“This is the Cheonma Sect’s first battle. Let us go!”

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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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