My Younger Siblings Are the Greatest Masters in the World - Chapter 116

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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116.

Seol Mujin was confident, but from the listeners’ perspective, it only sounded plausible with no basis in reality.

Jeong Cheonho said.

“I apologize to Ch’ŏmsa-nim for saying this, but battlefields don’t flow as expected. The enemy’s defenses might be unexpectedly strong, and finding Ju Hyeongwang could take a long time. There are countless other variables. If even one of those many variables goes against our expectations, the five hundred allied troops charging into enemy lines will inevitably be annihilated. Who would want to rush into such a dangerous battlefield?”

“I will.”

“Pardon?”

“I will take the vanguard, and I will eliminate the variables Jeong Cheonho mentioned.”

Most were dumbfounded, but three people couldn’t dismiss Seol Mujin’s words.

They knew that Seol Mujin had killed Hwang Byeonsu, one of the Ten Great Military Masters, with a single sword strike.

If it was Seol Mujin, who possessed martial arts they couldn’t measure, he might be able to turn this absurd plan he just mentioned into something that made sense.

So Baek Gangju asked.

“Are you truly confident?”

“Why would I step forward for something I’m not confident about?”

Everyone agreed with those words.

If someone achieved the rank of Geumeuiwi Ch’ŏmsa at such a young age, his future path was surely smooth sailing.

Such a person wouldn’t deploy an operation that would clearly cost him his life if it failed.

“Would five hundred men be enough?”

“General!”

“You’re not seriously thinking of approving this operation, are you?”

“This is an absurd operation!”

Voices of opposition erupted from here and there, but Baek Gangju raised his hand to suppress their objections.

For Baek Gangju, approving Seol Mujin’s operation was like holding a winning hand.

If Seol Mujin went and died, he could hide his own disgrace, which was good, and if he succeeded, he could gain the trust of this person called Seol Mujin, which wasn’t bad either.

And somehow, it seemed like Seol Mujin would succeed in that reckless operation.

If that happened, the credit for suppressing the rebellion would come to him as well.

Seol Mujin said.

“With more men, we won’t be able to reach Seojin Plain in three days.”

“Understood. When will you depart?”

Seol Mujin looked at the map for a long while before speaking.

“The end of the Yin hour tomorrow (3 AM to 5 AM) would be good. They must be soldiers skilled in horsemanship.”

“I’ll select the five hundred most skilled in horsemanship from the garrison.”

“Then.”

Seol Mujin left the meeting room.

After he left, there would probably be heated arguments.

Seol Mujin also knew his operation was reckless.

But he didn’t think it would fail.

“A spear would be better than a sword on horseback, right? I should ask Changho to teach me some spear techniques.”

Seol Mujin first went to the warehouse.

As expected, the spear of the dead Hwang Byeonsu was stored there.

The spear, broken in half at the middle, was rolling around carelessly on the warehouse floor.

The spear was too heavy, so even if repaired, no one but Hwang Byeonsu could use it.

Seol Mujin removed the broken middle section and connected the remaining two parts of the spear.

Since it was originally a massive spear measuring one jang, even with the middle section removed, it still reached seven ja, longer than ordinary spears.

He liked the heavy spear.

Whoosh―! Whoom―!

Seol Mujin’s swinging, thrusting, and spinning movements were as natural as a master who had learned spear techniques.

Since Seol Changho often used a spear when sparring with Seol Mujin, his eyes were familiar with it.

“As expected, it’s not as easy as I thought.”

The triplets, who had been talking about something in the courtyard, looked puzzled when they saw Seol Mujin coming with a spear.

“Brother, what’s that spear for?”

“The spear that military master used.”

“I know that, but what are you going to do with it?”

“I’m going to learn some spear techniques from Changho.”

Seol Changho asked.

“Why spear techniques?”

Seol Mujin briefly explained his plan to suppress the rebels.

“I think a spear would be better for fighting on horseback at the front.”

“That’s right, but unfamiliar weapons can be dangerous.”

“If it doesn’t seem to work, I can just fight with my sword.”

Seol Mantong said.

“Learning anything isn’t bad. And we’re fighting a ragtag bunch, so wouldn’t it be enough to just master thrusting, swinging, and striking?”

Seol Mujin said.

“Since I’m leaving at dawn tomorrow, I can’t learn anything complicated anyway.”

“Alright. Give me that spear.”

Seol Mujin learned spear techniques from Seol Changho for three hours.

Everything from the weight was different from a sword, but Seol Changho said at the end, ‘Brother really is a genius.’

After finishing his training, Seol Mujin wrote a letter to send to Ju Cheonmyeong.

Since it would be sent by carrier pigeon, he couldn’t write it long, but all the necessary content was included.

After sleeping for about two hours, the triplets were waiting in the courtyard.

Seol Mujin gave the letter to Seol Changho.

“Go to Wuhan and give this letter to Elder Bang, and he’ll send it to Beijing.”

Seol Changho, who tucked away the letter, said.

“You’ll return within seven days at the latest, right?”

“That should be right.”

“If you don’t come back, we’ll come looking for you.”

“Let’s make it eight days.”

The triplets chuckled.

“Alright.”

Seol Ryeoseon took Seol Mujin’s hand and said.

“You have to be careful. If it seems too difficult, just give up.”

Seol Mantong also grabbed Seol Mujin’s sleeve.

“Right. The scariest thing on a battlefield is a blind blade. Should I just come with you?”

Seol Changho pulled Seol Ryeoseon and Seol Mantong back.

“Don’t make brother anxious when he’s leaving.”

“You guys should be more careful than me. Since we don’t know when enemies might come, you absolutely can’t let your guard down.”

“Alright.”

Before leaving, Seol Mujin hugged each of the triplets once.

It was a separation of less than ten days, but because of the name ‘battlefield,’ the farewell somehow felt poignant.

The triplets stood there blankly until Seol Mujin was out of sight.

Upon leaving Naeseong, the first thing he saw was brightly lit torches.

Between them, he could see horses and people moving about chaotically.

“Reduce the weight on those horses! Only load provisions!”

“Hey! The horseshoe came off! How did you manage the horse! Put it on quickly!”

“Hurry up and prepare! We’re departing soon!”

As he walked through the noisy training ground, he heard someone calling Seol Mujin from the left.

“Ch’ŏmsa Seol-nim!”

When he turned his head, he saw Baek Gangju running over with his adjutants.

Baek Gangju stood before Seol Mujin and asked.

“Has your intention to go remained unchanged?”

“If we weren’t going, why would we come out at this dawn? The preparations seem almost finished.”

“We should be able to depart after this moment.”

A booming voice was heard from somewhere.

“Five Hundred Death Squad, assemble!”

As soon as the order was given, the soldiers mounted their horses in unison.

‘Five Hundred Death Squad.’

He thought it was a fitting name.

“I should go as well.”

The adjutant standing beside Baek Gangju said ‘I’ll bring the horse’ and disappeared.

The horse the adjutant brought was much larger than ordinary horses.

Neigh—!

Its voice was also powerful.

They had chosen the best horse among them and given it to Seol Mujin.

“I have to give a pre-battle speech, so I’ll be going.”

After saying that, Baek Gangju climbed onto a platform fifty zhang away.

The common and typical pre-battle speech fortunately ended briefly.

Baek Gangju left final words that empowered Seol Mujin.

“Ch’ŏmsa Seol is the greatest master under heaven! If you just follow his orders, you’ll be able to kill the rebel leaders and return! Not a single one of you shall die!”

“Waaa—!”

Seol Mujin chuckled.

That fellow seemed to have definitely made up his mind to make a good impression on Seol Mujin.

Seol Mujin slowly rode his horse and took position at the head of the Five Hundred Death Squad.

With the large horse and Seol Mujin’s tall stature, he was about a head higher than the other soldiers.

Seol Mujin stood at the front, and three soldiers carrying flags positioned themselves right behind him.

Seol Mujin silently rode his horse and exited the fortress.

Behind him, five hundred horses followed at matching speed.

The early-rising sun cast their shadows long.

***

The Triplets had finished two hours of sparring and were catching their breath.

“Brother should have almost arrived by now, right?”

Seol Ryeoseon picked up Seol Changho’s monologue-like words.

“Should we have gone together too?”

Seol Mantong jumped up abruptly.

“Let’s go even now! If we hurry…!”

“Stop talking nonsense and sit down.”

As Seol Mantong plopped back down, Seol Changho asked the two.

“Did you feel any strange presence last night?”

“You felt it too?”

“I also felt something.”

“If we all felt it, then someone came by.”

A smile appeared on Seol Ryeoseon’s lips.

“Faster than expected. If things go well, we might catch the tail of either the First Prince or the Demonic Cult before brother returns.”

Seol Mantong said.

“I’d prefer it to be the Demonic Cult. I really don’t like what those bastards are doing. I’m very curious about what’s happening inside the Demonic Cult.”

“We have to go there soon anyway.”

After speaking, Seol Ryeoseon asked Seol Changho.

“Do you think the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is still there?”

“Of course it’s there. Even if it’s the Cult Leader, they can’t take the leader’s martial arts out of Cheon-ui Jonju.”

“When should we go?”

Seol Ryeoseon’s question brought a moment of silence.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art wasn’t something that could be stolen as simply as Seol Changho stealing books from the bookstore.

Even for them, it was an adventure that required risking their lives, with a much higher probability of failure.

“How about in six months or so?”

Seol Changho didn’t choose it for any particular reason.

It was just a vague choice, but Seol Ryeoseon and Seol Mantong agreed with their silence.

Seol Changho looked in the direction where Seol Mujin would likely be and muttered.

“Brother will be fine, right?”

***

If he continued riding like this, he could reach Seojin Plain in half an hour.

Nevertheless, Seol Mujin at the front didn’t hurry and pulled the reins.

When Seol Mujin stopped, the five hundred cavalry also gradually slowed their pace.

Twenty stragglers had fallen behind during the journey here.

Six soldiers couldn’t endure the forced march, and fourteen fell behind because their horses couldn’t endure it.

Seol Mujin said to Jeong Cheonho behind him.

“One hour of rest.”

When Jeong Cheonho ordered the rest, the exhausted soldiers first fed their horses.

Standing on the two-zhang-wide official road, Seol Mujin turned his eyes west.

The sun was gradually approaching the western mountains.

After resting and arriving at Seojin Plain, it would be night.

It didn’t differ much from the time Seol Mujin had calculated.

Jeong Cheonho, who had quenched his thirst with water, asked.

“Shall I send scouts?”

“No, I’ll go.”

“What? You’re going personally?”

Seol Mujin said while looking at the soldiers sprawled on the ground.

“I seem to be the most energetic.”

“But there’s no case of a commander going on reconnaissance.”

Strictly speaking, Seol Mujin wasn’t a military figure.

Yet the Five Hundred Death Squad recognized Seol Mujin as their commander.

“There’s always a first time for everything. Give this fellow some feed.”

Seol Mujin patted the horse he had ridden and deployed his light body technique toward the north.

Seol Mujin disappeared from the soldiers’ sight at a speed much faster than horses.

From that light body technique alone, they could guess Seol Mujin’s martial arts level.

“They say he killed Cheon Yeong-mangeunchang with one sword strike.”

Originally it should have been a secret, but there were as many as two hundred fifty people present at the scene.

It was natural for the secret to leak out.

Bu Cheon-ho, who had quietly approached, asked.

“Is the rumor about killing Cheon Yeong-mangeunchang with one sword strike true?”

“That’s what they say.”

“Why? Was there a reason for them to fight?”

Jeong Cheonho didn’t know the detailed circumstances either, but he sensed that knowing might be dangerous.

“There must have been a reason.”

“Shaanxi Provincial Command won’t stay quiet about this.”

“It’s not for us to worry about. We might die today anyway.”

“I, I see.”

Seol Mujin climbed to the top of a mountain where he could see Seojin Plain at a glance in just one moment.

Ju Hyeon-gwang’s rebel army, busy preparing to make camp, appeared to number around ten thousand as expected.

They weren’t wearing proper military uniforms and their armaments were poor.

Seol Mujin observed the positions where tents were being set up, grasping the formation of the encampment.

As expected, the largest tent was being erected in the center.

Though he couldn’t make out faces from this distance, Ju Hyeongwang would likely be among those moving around in that area.

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