Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 366

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

Chapter 366
News of the Dokgo Household’s victory swept across the realm.
“The Dokgo Household has triumphed! The Moyong Family has been exterminated, and the head of the Moyong Family’s severed head is displayed at the gates of the Grand Hall!”
“It appears the Moyong Family Head and all the principal masters have perished.”
Amid the chaos, those with foresight worried about what lay ahead.
“This is only the beginning.”
“The sound of weeping will not cease for some time.”
The end of war did not stop the flow of blood.
The victor claimed everything, while the defeated lost all.
“Moyong Euntae, Elder of the Moyong Family! Surrender all your assets and yield!”
“I will surrender! Please, I will yield peacefully if you spare my family….”
“There will be no negotiations!”
Every asset of the Moyong Family’s clan—direct line, collateral branches, elders, and retainers alike—was confiscated.
Wi Jang-chun, who had defected, provided all manner of records to the Dokgo Household, and those documents were soon organized through the enforcement division, military affairs division, and inner hall scribes.
But they were not the end.
The Dokgo Household’s sharp blade turned toward all who had aided the Moyong Family’s wickedness, those who closed their eyes and ears despite witnessing it, and those who grew fat riding on the Moyong Family’s coattails—anyone with even the slightest connection to them.
“Quickly, gather only silver and promissory notes and flee!”
“If we’re careless, they’ll charge us with aiding them too! Burn the documents at once!”
“Damn it! I thought I could make a tidy profit…!”
Crash!
“All of you, don’t move! Those who don’t stop will be executed on the spot!”
“Ah, how did they arrive so quickly…!”
“You wretches, you sold weapons to those mad dogs of the Moyong Family? Don’t think you’ll escape so easily.”
“Hehehehe! Hehehehehehe!”
Anyone who had cooperated with the Moyong Family even to the extent of a single grain of rice was dragged to the Grand Hall, now occupied by the Dokgo Household. And soon, what they called “proper interrogation” commenced.
The fortunate ones lost all their assets and nothing more.
The moderately unlucky ones lost their lives.
And the truly unfortunate ones….
“I, I did sell weapons, but I never sold explosives or poisons! This is unjust!”
“And what of it? If you find it so unjust, go complain to the afterlife. There’s no hope for you in this world.”
“Th, that’s not what I meant! Please! I beg for mercy…!”
Even things they had not done became crimes they were charged with.
Though it was unjust for them, no one took their side. Even the righteous wandering heroes turned their gaze away from Hangzhou.
Amid such turmoil, those without guilt discerned a new opportunity.
“The great tide of the realm now belongs to the Dokgo Household. Especially, we must not overlook the rising masters who distinguished themselves this time!”
“Attempt to make contact with the Black Dragon. This may be our last chance.”
“Try to approach the Cheonma Sect. Prioritize those closest to them. We must forge a connection with the Great Hero Dokgo Myeong.”
Geom Wang Dokgo Un-hak, who led the war to victory, was already a high-ranking figure in the martial world and could not easily form connections.
But the generation below him was different.
Dokgo Gun, who had steadily accumulated victories without major setbacks.
With fewer than a hundred soldiers, I had accomplished extraordinary feats.
In particular, the heroic exploits of the Cheonma Sect under my command had shaken the confidence of countless martial artists throughout the realm. My reputation grew by the day.
And now, that very same Dokgo Myeong was….
“P-please… save me….”
“You won’t die from doing a little work. Please just sign off on these documents.”
I lay groaning, buried beneath a tower of paperwork.
* * *
The day we returned to the Moyong Family’s main compound after the funeral rites.
Dokgo Un-hak gave me a brief welcome before assigning me an administrative office. Not a room—an administrative office.
What I mean is:
“Commander, the acting Household Head inquired about supply procedures for the western region of Kangso.”
“Cheonma Sect Leader! The right flank reports insufficient supplies. The General asked if cooperation from Geumsan Pavilion is possible!”
“Young Master. When will the cooperation with the Zhejiang martial artists imprisoned in the Thunder Prison be finalized?”
“The Zhejiang Merchant Association just sent a request for a meeting!”
“Young Master! First of all….”
“Captain!”
Commander!”
Crash!
“Arrrgh! Get them away! Get them away from me! I’m not doing this!”
“Hey! He’s having another episode! Grab him!”
“Ah, ah! Don’t throw the inkstone! The ink will splash on the documents!”
The aftermath of abandoning all responsibilities was catastrophic. Absolutely catastrophic.
That insufferable Dokgo Un-hak, the Chairman, had bestowed upon me the title of “Provisional Outer Hall Master”….
Alas, I—the rising master swordsman whom all under heaven watched—had to exchange my brilliant blade for a brush and remain confined to an administrative office, drowning in paperwork.
“Damn it! Me, an Outer Hall Master?! Does this make any sense?! The Outer Hall Master is that old man!”
“To speak of that gentleman as ‘that old man’ when he is your uncle…. And the Chairman currently serves as both Chairman and acting Household Head.”
“I’m a patient! A patient! Can’t you see my complexion?! My internal injuries haven’t even fully recovered yet, and you’re asking if this is right?!”
“Even Geom Wang bears bandages over his abdominal sword wound while enduring arduous duties.”
“You bastard Jo-ryang! Whose side are you on?! Your commander is speaking, yet you keep talking back!”
I shouted with such fury it seemed flames would burst from my mouth.
“Did I say something wrong, Commander?”
“…!”
“If you believe I misspoke, tell me plainly. If not, then hurry and get back to work. It’s not just you who hasn’t slept in days and is at death’s door.”
Jo-ryang, hastily dispatched from the main family, also had a darkened complexion. His eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion.
Eventually, I sighed and sat back down, whereupon Jo-ryang carefully reorganized the documents and placed them back on my desk.
Then, from somewhere, came a sinister laugh.
“Hehehehe! How pathetic. That arrogant nephew of mine. Kehehehe….”
It was none other than Dokgo Jo-hak.
Though laughing, even Dokgo Jo-hak moved his brush with a complexion suggesting he might collapse at any moment. He too had not slept properly for days.
“No matter what, I’m merely the leader of a martial force….”
“A mere Sect Leader who sees through all the frontline situations, commands a faction, earned the greatest merit in war, never loses ground in negotiations with those he meets, and has connections with the Three Great Household Masters…”
“So whose side are you on, damn it!”
The other Cheonma Sect disciples had belatedly entered recuperation to recover from their injuries.
Thanks to this, I couldn’t even manage a proper breathing exercise and had become a bound spirit handling accumulated work.
‘At this rate, I’m going to die.’
I need rest, rest!
At this rate, I’m truly going to die. This isn’t exaggeration—I’m genuinely going to perish.
‘I… I, who wield such overwhelming power that even the Sect Leaders of the Nine Sects can’t utter a word… why am I…?’
Something was terribly, terribly wrong.
Even my own subordinates weren’t kneeling before this overwhelming power—they were simply mistreating me!
“This won’t do. I should test my subordinates’ loyalty today.”
I muttered while my eyes gleamed.
Dokgo Jo-hak wore an expression that seemed to say ‘this is ridiculous,’ while Jo Ryang-ui glanced at me with a look like he’d bitten into a worm before refocusing on his work.
That was when it happened.
Click! Tap!
“Commander, I have returned.”
Moryong Sohgyo entered carrying another armful of tasks.
My eyes gleamed.
“Yes, you! Moyang Soldier! You’ve arrived at the perfect time!”
“Yes?”
“What does this painting look like to you?”
“Isn’t that the Ten Symbols of Longevity? That’s a deer, sir.”
“No, that’s a horse.”
“Yes?”
Surely, faced with my words as one wielding absolute power, the response should burst forth as ‘Ah! Of course, a horse, sir!’
But instead.
“Have you been drinking this afternoon?”
“…?”
“Hmm, you wouldn’t have had time for that. Or perhaps you’re sleep-talking… a deer? A horse?”
Then, suddenly recalling the ancient tale of pointing at a deer and calling it a horse, Moryong Sohgyo chuckled as if I were being cute.
“Ah, what am I saying.”
“You, you! How dare you…!”
As I struggled to speak through the shock, Moryong Sohgyo suddenly turned serious and spoke.
“Rather, Commander, the Chairman requested that you report to him urgently.”
“…!”
My shoulders sagged.
Was this right? Was this how it was supposed to be?
Rather than enjoying power from behind the scenes, I was being dragged about here and there, laboring like a beast of burden.
“Go report in my place. I’ve truly reached my limit.”
“Just go yourself, sir.”
“These… these heartless people…”
In the end, I trudged toward the household master’s residence, dragging a bundle of documents with sagging shoulders.
* * *
“It’s me. I’m coming in.”
Crash! Thud!
Without waiting for a response, I pushed the door open, and the stale air that had accumulated in the room rushed out in a gust.
“You’ve arrived?”
Dokgo Un-hak’s gaunt appearance from consecutive all-nighters resembled a legendary corpse demon from ancient tales.
The thick smell of dust and staleness assaulted my nostrils. In one corner of the desk piled high with documents, rice bowls and water cups were scattered haphazardly.
“…How many days have you been like this?”
“Not that long. About a week?”
I’d found the culprit.
It was this man! This very man!
“Anyway, what about the matters I told you to handle?”
“They’re here.”
“Then when will you wrap up the negotiations with the Zhejiang Merchant Association…?”
“I can’t! No, I won’t! I’m taking a break until today—no, tomorrow at the latest, so please understand!”
“Who asked for it immediately? Besides, you’re becoming increasingly insolent. Just bring it by tomorrow.”
Dokgo Un-hak clicked his tongue and waved his hand dismissively.
Speaking as if bestowing a favor, saying only until tomorrow. This man clearly had neither blood nor tears.
Thud!
I roughly swept aside the various reports piled on the chair and collapsed into it.
“Why do you keep assigning work to me when there are so many capable talents available? Please, let me go now.”
“Capable talents? What talents?”
“The Right Army Commander, the Left Army Commander, the General…”
“Gun has taken command of the reconstruction efforts across Zhejiang, which suffered the greatest damage as Left Army Commander, and Commander Seo has assumed responsibility for security in the Jiangxi region. That leaves only you. The General is already overwhelmed with work.”
“As the Cheonma Sect Leader guaranteed independent authority…”
“Now that the war has ended, I’ll reclaim that autonomy. Haven’t you enjoyed running wild and having your fun all this time?”
Dokgo Un-hak flashed a sinister smile like the leader of the Black Blade.
So that’s his true intention! Taking revenge in this manner!
Rustle. Swish, swish.
Soon after, he skimmed through all the documents I’d brought and nodded in approval.
“You whine plenty, yet your work is handled quite well.”
“It’s all thanks to having capable subordinates. Cough! Ugh, my internal injuries are acting up. I should head back to the main residence now…”
I needed to escape this place immediately.
Unfortunately, our merciless Chairman showed no sign of releasing a slave once he’d caught one.
“By the way, it seems you intimidated the Hwangsan Sect Leader this time.”
“…Intimidated? How could a Sect Leader of the Nine Sects be intimidated by me?”
“An apology letter arrived from Hwangsan. It contained detailed accounts of the matter.”
“…Don’t these bastards have any pride? An apology? Ha, unbelievable!”
“And through my investigation, I discovered that the Geumsan Pavilion lined their pockets quite generously during this war. Perhaps we should look into it…”
“Do you have another task for me? I will handle it with utmost dedication. I will break my bones and shatter my body for the family.”
Dokgo Un-hak’s expression grew serious.
“Do it moderately. Moderately.”
“….”
“If you understand, stop wasting time with nonsense. If you whine again, I’ll report the Geumsan Pavilion’s corruption directly to the Enforcement Bureau.”
In other words, as long as I don’t whine, I can do more.
“So, tell me how far things have progressed.”
This position of Outer Hall Master that I had temporarily assumed.
My first task as Dokgo Myeong was none other than…
“The Moyong Family. Is it possible to absorb them into the main household?”
The most critical primary objective.
To roast the Moyong Family—now that the blades had finished their work—until golden and swallow them whole.
“It’s not a matter of possibility, but rather something that has become necessary.”
“Why is that?”
“Upon investigation, there are considerable hidden assets registered under the Moyong Family name. If we completely annihilate them, all that vast wealth would vanish into thin air.”
“I see. However, if the main household accepts the Moyong Family as a vassal clan, we would face fierce opposition not only from the Three Great Families but from the entire martial realm.”
“Well, those complicated negotiations are something our family head’s representative must handle.”
“Cunning…”
Dokgo Un-hak, who had been frowning, soon let out a soft chuckle and continued.
“Then what do you intend to do about that most important matter?”
“We are currently maintaining contact. It seems the full-scale progress will begin once the Gae-bang situation is resolved.”
“Hmm.”
Dokgo Un-hak’s expression became peculiar.
He tapped the table with his index finger—tap, tap, tap—and spoke of one matter that had the entire martial realm on edge.
“The Martial Alliance…”

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