Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 428

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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 428
“How dare a mere wanderer of the martial world threaten me, the Imperial Sword…!”
The Instructor’s eyes trembled finely.
Dokgo Myeong shook his head.
“Threats are something only those who have no intention of actually doing it would make.”
“What, what did you say?”
“I’m saying I act first and ask questions later.”
Boom!
With a terrifying explosion, Dokgo Myeong stomped the ground.
The Instructor cried out in alarm and extended his blade.
“Cough!”
Crash!
The sword force burst like fireworks, sending the Instructor tumbling backward.
‘His inner strength is considerable. Is this the level of martial arts from the imperial government?’
Boom boom boom!
In that instant, his senses sent a warning.
The guards stationed near the Instructor rushed forward in unison, overwhelming Dokgo Myeong.
Light blazed from Dokgo Myeong’s eyes.
‘Look at these bastards.’
Dokgo Myeong stamped his feet and swung his fists.
‘Orthodox martial arts. And on top of that, formation techniques?’
Crack! Boom! Clang!
Three men simultaneously swung their blades to block the strike.
In that moment, two more rushed from behind, cutting off the follow-up attack.
Their coordination was decent. No, it was excellent. They were specialized in fighting masters.
“Kill without mercy! Execute the traitor! There’s only one enemy regardless!”
The Instructor, rising with blood dripping from his lips, gave the command, and those hiding in every corner of the building rushed out simultaneously.
“Bare hands might be a bit troublesome.”
Dokgo Myeong drew the two Hyeonchul Blades hanging from his waist.
Boom boom boom boom!
An explosion erupted.
The blades of the charging guards shattered into pieces, their bodies spinning like tops as they were sent flying.
Rumble! Boom boom boom boom!
Eventually, the manor, unable to withstand the tremendous sword force Dokgo Myeong unleashed, began to collapse.
The Instructor and his guards had no choice but to break their encirclement and retreat.
Whoosh!
Within the dust cloud, Dokgo Myeong swung his right blade, scattering the dust.
The Instructor’s eyes wavered.
“This, this monster… just how much inner strength does he possess…!”
Though the manor’s ruins lay scattered all around, Dokgo Myeong bore not a single scratch. He had released his vital energy to push away all the falling debris.
Could such power of inner energy truly exist in this world?
Thud!
As Dokgo Myeong took a step forward, the foundation stones beneath his feet crumbled like sand.
“What, what are you all doing! He’s just one man! Attack!”
The soldiers who had retreated surged forward once more in unison.
Dokgo Myeong’s foot struck the ground.
Boom!
The shockwave from his footwork was like a typhoon.
Several soldiers were sent flying as if struck by a carriage.
“Iron Net! Deploy the Iron Net! Archers, fire at will!”
The Instructor did not remain idle either.
He hurled chains targeting the upper and lower body, while simultaneously thrusting his spear to block left and right.
A good combination.
But I was someone long accustomed to fighting multiple opponents at once.
Crack!
With a light kick, a burly man flew over three lengths and crashed into the wall.
Clang!
The steel longsword met the curved iron blade swung horizontally, and it snapped with a dull sound.
Boom!
Striking the opponent’s hamstring with my left blade to topple him, I drove a palm strike into his chest, and both his chest and the ground sank deeply, creating a large crater.
Patter-patter-patter!
The hidden weapons were ineffective.
The steel projectiles that struck my back bounced off weakly as if hitting a boulder, rather than embedding themselves.
Crash!
“Gasp!”
The Instructor rolled across the ground from my single strike.
Rising hastily and lifting his head, he met my cold gaze.
‘That… that man…’
Though unspoken, he understood.
I could have killed him but deliberately spared him. To kill him later.
Clang!
By now, I had joined my curved iron blades together into a single weapon.
Boom!
Heaven and earth trembled.
Countless soldiers lay scattered in all directions.
Some crashed against walls, spitting blood; others collapsed unconscious; and between them, countless weapons lay strewn about haphazardly.
“Exhale.”
I took a deep breath.
Breathing and energy accumulation proceed in tandem. As I expend my inner energy, it replenishes in real time.
Thud, thud.
Dokgo Myeong stepped before the Instructor, whose lips were already bleeding.
“You, you….”
“Whose orders were you following?”
“…?”
“I arrived far sooner than expected, which is why everything went awry. So then, whose orders were you following?”
“Whose, whose orders? What do you….”
“If you keep your mouth shut even now… well then, I’ll take that as your answer. But.”
The tip of the Crimson Blade touched the Instructor’s crown.
“Then you die too.”
The Instructor cried out.
“No! If you harm me, you’ll face consequences you cannot undo!”
Dokgo Myeong’s lips curled upward.
“I’ll worry about that after I’ve done it.”
This man was serious.
A clear murderous intent swirled in both his eyes.
“Would you really drag an entire organization into danger just to vent your anger? Surely they…!”
“Are you still saying that? I’ve told you those men aren’t so easily dealt with.”
At that very moment.
The Jeonmu Army was finding breakthroughs in entirely different ways.
Cheolmu-baek, suddenly stopped at a checkpoint, easily evaded them by leading a Hanxue treasure horse that his clan had bestowed upon him as a war reward.
Baek Song, caught at a relay station, borrowed a horse from a merchant caravan that Huashan operated independently and moved on.
Some dodged pursuit through lightness of body, while others broke through by force.
All of them were rushing forward in their own ways, following orders.
“From this moment on, there is only one thing you may speak.”
“…?!”
“Whose orders you were acting under. If you speak anything false.”
Shing.
“The last sound your voice makes in this world will be your death cry.”
* * *
Late morning—Yang Xiong, the Provincial Commander of Gansu, furrowed his brow upon arriving at the Provincial Commander’s office.
“The Embroidered Uniform Guard? What does that mean?”
“About an hour ago, a secret inspector from the Imperial Guard’s Embroidered Uniform Guard came and requisitioned one hundred infantrymen.”
“Not the Censorate or Provincial Censorate, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard? And a secret inspector at that?”
Secret inspectors were a collective term for covert forces operated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, not an official position.
“One hundred infantrymen? I’ve heard nothing of this.”
“That, well, it seems the commander of the North Gate requisitioned the troops at his own discretion.”
“Ma Wei, the North Gate Commander? And you simply allowed this?”
“That, well, I only received the report after he had already taken the troops….”
Something preposterous had occurred.
Not only had a mere thousand-man commander arbitrarily requisitioned troops, but he had also failed to report anything to him.
“Where have the troops been dispatched?”
“To search the estate owned by the Gonggong Sect north of the inner city.”
Yang Xiong’s face finally contorted completely.
“They touched the Old Sect? What madness! For what reason!”
“Th-they claimed it was for treason, sir.”
“Truly mad. Isn’t this very act the real treason?”
No matter how much authority the Gold Embroidered Robe commanded as the imperial court’s assassins, this was an outrageous overreach of power.
‘A mere secret inspector at that!’
Only generals granted the Emperor’s military seal could mobilize troops.
In other words, this action violated proper procedure.
Something felt suspicious.
I had a premonition that something absurd had occurred.
“What is the current position of the troops? Has the Gonggong Sect shown no separate reaction?”
“Th-that is… The North Gate Commander Ma Wei and one hundred soldiers have already returned….”
“I must go at once. Have the troops stand by.”
“The troops, sir?”
“We must seal this internally before the matter grows. Quickly!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
The captain jumped up in alarm and rushed out.
The moment Yang Xiong entered his office, he didn’t even sit before attempting to don his armor.
But suddenly, he froze.
‘The scent of blood.’
Whoosh!
A sudden wind blew through.
How strange. He had just entered, and he had opened no windows.
“…Who comes from where?”
Yang Xiong turned his head.
“Now that I think about it, you’ve been here all along. You revealed yourself only after my captain left—it seems you have business with me. Reveal yourself.”
Soon a human silhouette emerged from the shadows in the corner of the office.
It was a young man emanating a chilling aura.
“I am Captain Dokgo Myeong of the Jeonmu Army under the Murim Alliance. I pay my respects to Governor Yang of Gansu.”
“What business does a man of the martial world have with me?”
“I have brought the Instructor of the Gold Embroidered Robe who attempted to frame me for treason.”
Thud!
The young man casually dropped a blood-soaked corpse onto the floor.
Yang Xiong’s eyes gleamed.
* * *
“What of the guards?”
“Those behind the ceiling and walls, sir? I regret to say I put them to sleep temporarily.”
“You killed them?”
“Surely not. I was pointing out the mixed blood.”
“…Dokgo Myeong. That reputation of yours—I’ve heard it well enough. You’re far more perilous than the rumors suggested.”
“….”
“Right now you’ve brought a secret instructor of the Imperial Guard’s Golden Robes to the office of the Provincial Military Commander—one of the empire’s highest military authorities—beaten to a pulp. Do you understand how grave this is?”
“Of course.”
“Well water does not intrude upon river water. You’ve violated the custom of official non-interference. The moment I raise my voice even slightly here, you and your entire house become traitors.”
“That’s precisely why I’ve come to turn myself in.”
“…Turn yourself in?”
“Wouldn’t you at least offer me a seat?”
Yang Xiong narrowed his eyes and sat down.
“Half a quarter hour.”
“…?”
“I’ll give you half a quarter hour. If you can’t persuade me before my captain arrives to collect me, you’ll face grave consequences.”
“That will suffice.”
Dokgo Myeong also took a seat.
Just then, a faint groan escaped from the instructor beside them—a pitiful “ugh.”
With his jawbone and front teeth completely knocked out, he wouldn’t be joining this conversation.
“As I am but a wanderer of the martial world, I beg your understanding regarding my ignorance of official protocol.”
“I too am a military officer. Directness is welcome.”
“This man colluded with forces of the martial world to obstruct the Martial Alliance’s proceedings. Was this an official operation of the government?”
He’d said directness was welcome, but I hadn’t expected him to strike so bluntly.
Yang Xiong paused to collect himself, then spoke.
“It was not.”
“Precisely. Because this was not an official action of the Golden Robes, but rather the personal transgression of this man during his journey home.”
“…Evidence?”
“I have it, but does it truly matter?”
“What?”
“Even without it, wouldn’t matters ultimately conclude as I’ve stated?”
Yang Xiong’s expression hardened.
His mind immediately began racing.
‘For decades, the court’s policy toward the martial world has been one of non-interference and silence. Yet now the government has become involved. And in the Martial Alliance’s proceedings, no less.’
The greater problem was that the target was Dokgo Myeong.
A prodigy who had risen like a comet in the martial world. Even he, a government official, had heard the stories countless times—the strongest martial artist of the new generation, representing the current martial realm’s elite.
And they had touched him.
Through illegal means, for unjust reasons.
When such situations arose, the government had only one method.
‘Cut off the tail.’
Had they actually suppressed Dokgo Myeong, the matter might have been simpler, but the opposite had occurred instead.
‘This makes no sense. Why would the Golden Robes do this?’
Yang Xiong exhaled sharply and spoke.
“Why did you bring this one here?”
“The movements of the hundred guards who first detained me—I won’t make an issue of it.”
“Are you asking me to handle it instead?”
“They’ll die anyway if left alone, but it’s simply inconvenient for me to keep them.”
Yang Xiong exhaled a quiet sigh.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“Tomorrow at dawn, my subordinates and I will remain quietly and depart quietly. That alone is sufficient.”
“…Is that truly so?”
“It is.”
That was when it happened.
“Preparations are complete!”
A captain’s voice came from outside.
Yang Xiong fell silent for a moment, studying Dokgo Myeong.
“The surrender—it was the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s Instructor who did it, not you.”
Dokgo Myeong smiled.
“Yes, one could say it that way.”
* * *
The disciples I sent to investigate the situation returned.
The Gonggong Sect seemed to know nothing of it. It appeared I had notified the commanding officer in advance about using the estate to prevent any prior issues.
“Captain, your prediction was correct. The river route is also blocked. Those managing the ferry have been causing trouble.”
“That’s not all. There are Black Blades suddenly rampaging in the vicinity, it seems. I subdued one and investigated, but he only spoke of receiving orders through an anonymous voucher….”
Dokgo Myeong clicked his tongue.
“Since they don’t know where or how we’ll move, they’re simply trying to block every route.”
“It appears so.”
We protected the rendezvous point at the estate and the equipment prepared there, but ultimately the Jeongheol Sect had intervened with clear intent.
“Rest for now. Eat as abundantly as possible and take your ease.”
“Yes!”
We arrived earlier than the Sect’s expectations, so it ended at this level. Perhaps they were already bewildered upon encountering the empty estate.
‘More sinister than I thought. And the Embroidered Uniform Guard is moving too.’
Some time later.
The other disciples arrived at the estate one by one.
Most wore faces full of things to say. Each had apparently overcome various obstacles to arrive.
“It seems everyone was obstructed in similar ways.”
“We moved so carefully hidden—how on earth….”
The disciples seemed to grasp the situation without needing to speak.
I summoned Moryong Sohgyo and the captains separately, along with the Demon Slayer Commander Baek Song and her three subordinate captains.
“The enemies seem to have noticed from the beginning.”
“…!”
“It seems they’ve mobilized every method available to obstruct us. Far more cunning than I anticipated.”
“At this rate, they discovered us the moment we escaped from Myeong, or perhaps even before we managed to slip away.”
Moryong Sohgyo’s expression darkened.
“This is absurd. Our information control was airtight.”
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
Baek Song slowly opened her mouth.
“Are you suggesting there’s a spy within our ranks?”
Silence descended.
But Dokgo Myeong shook his head.
“That won’t be it. I’ve verified everything myself.”
“Pardon? When exactly did you….”
“Just know that I did.”
Baek Song inwardly admired him.
She believed Dokgo Myeong, as the leader, had made that judgment to minimize confusion.
But it was the opposite. He had thoroughly examined everything during the training beforehand.
“Actually, this is fortunate. Being overwhelmed in numbers to this extent means the enemy’s supreme commander has moved.”
“You mean the Jeongheol Sect Leader?”
“Yes.”
That Jeongheol Sect Leader could see a thousand miles ahead from where he sat. It was more reassuring to think that he had made his move.
Baek Song asked.
“What will you do then?”
“Of course, we proceed with the operation.”
Dokgo Myeong turned back to Moryong Sohgyo.
“The waterways will certainly be blocked, and the land routes as well. But time is running short. What are your thoughts, strategist?”
Moryong Sohgyo, who had been lost in thought while staring intently at the map, lifted her head.
“If time is short, then strategy no longer matters.”
“Then?”
“If the enemy already knows, there’s no need to hide anymore. In a situation like this, all I can do as a strategist is make a request.”
Moryong Sohgyo’s eyes gleamed.
“Break through with force.”

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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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