Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 302

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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 302
“An Sim Gun… isn’t that the place bordering Jeong Bang Gun that you mentioned earlier?”
“That’s correct.”
“Hmm… do you not require reinforcements?”
“I will take Wu Yi Squad Unit Leader Wi Cheon-ho, twenty of his subordinates, and Han Mu-rin here with me.”
“Understood. I approve of all arrangements.”
Seol Woon-hwi performed the cupped fist salute.
“Thank you.”
* * *
Outside, I could see Wi Cheon-ho and his squad members, their bearing confident and imposing.
I regarded Wi Cheon-ho and posed a question.
“Can you manage it?”
“Yes, Cheon Ui Jung Jeong. We can manage it.”
“You seem better suited to government service than the martial world.”
Wi Cheon-ho tilted his head at my unexpected remark.
“…Pardon?”
I smiled faintly.
“Your unwavering loyalty mirrors that of government troops. And I ask merely out of curiosity—are there any survivors?”
“None. Since you said prisoners were unnecessary, we severed all their heads.”
Wi Cheon-ho carried himself with the confidence of one who had executed his mission flawlessly. It was an admirable sight.
“You have labored well. You will depart immediately for An Sim Gun in Woon-guk. Select twenty members from the Wu Yi Squad and divide them into two groups. Designate two group leaders, then prepare carriages and horses.”
“Ah… yes. Understood.”
Han Mu-rin, who had watched Wi Cheon-ho depart with the Wu Yi Squad, approached me and spoke.
“As you instructed, I briefly revealed myself to Han Cheol-su of the Hondo Maryeom Palace.”
“Did he recognize you?”
“His expression was uncertain, but it seems he did not identify me with certainty.”
“Does that disappoint you?”
Han Mu-rin shook his head.
“It matters not. It has merely clarified once more what I must do.”
There was a time when I had told Han Mu-rin something.
That a moment of choice would inevitably come.
Whether to erase the Hondo Maryeom Palace from the world, or to eliminate only the direct objects of his vengeance and become the Palace Lord of the Hondo Maryeom Palace himself.
And Han Mu-rin had chosen.
“The successor to the Hondo Maryeom Palace must not waver in the slightest.”
Indeed.
Han Mu-rin had chosen the latter.
“Soon, Seo Hyo will compile a list of those who contributed to your father’s death and bring it to you. Consult with Hwa Mu-ryeong to revise it, adding or removing names as necessary.”
“I shall do so.”
Afterward, I transmitted several instructions to Han Mu-rin through jeonum before waiting for Wi Cheon-ho.
* * *
Woon-guk Royal Fortress.
Crown Prince Woon Mu had come to meet with King Yun Deok.
There was no one who could stand against Woon Mu, who had already seized the true power of Woon-guk.
The ministers of the Imperial Court, the palace attendants, and even the King’s closest advisors—all moved according to Crown Prince Woon Mu’s will.
Moving silently to the King’s bedchamber, Woon Mu saw his father lying there.
His condition was not good.
The dignified bearing that once commanded Woon-guk had vanished entirely, leaving only a withered frame like a dried branch buried beneath silk quilts.
Woon Mu spoke carefully.
“Father.”
At those words, King Yun Deok slowly lifted his head to look at his son. His eyes had lost their former sharpness and had grown dim.
“Woon Mu… what brings you here today?”
“I have a report to make to you, Father.”
Woon Mu spoke respectfully.
“Uncle Prince Chin and Prime Minister An Wi-gwan have passed from this world.”
“…Is that so?”
King Yun Deok’s response was composed, as though hearing of someone else’s affairs.
“And I have established new relations with the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.”
“The Heavenly Righteousness Alliance…”
“Seol Woon-hwi, the Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, is an illegitimate son of the Eternal Snow Palace. I regard his potential highly. As Crown Prince, it may be inappropriate to say such things, but he is destined to stand at the peak of the Murim in the future. However, how long he will remain with the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance is uncertain…”
It was at precisely that moment.
Suddenly, King Yun Deok let out a violent shout.
“The Heavenly Righteousness Alliance!! Vice Alliance Leader Mae Wi-dong…!!”
Startled, Woon Mu stepped back.
“You fool! That man is absolutely not someone to be taken lightly. Absolutely not!”
King Yun Deok thrashed about as he rose from his bed. His eyes were filled with terror.
“The Heavenly Righteousness Alliance…! The Heavenly Righteousness Alliance!! You must distance yourself from them at once. No, do not merely distance yourself—you must destroy them! Especially that bastard Mae Wi-dong, he must be killed immediately…!”
Suddenly, the King’s body went rigid.
His mouth opened and closed awkwardly, then he smiled softly.
“Crown Prince. What brings you here today?”
Woon Mu stared at his father with a bewildered expression.
“…Father…”
“Could it be about ‘Woon Sang’ again? When will that fool ever come to his senses…? Tsk.”
Woon Sang.
He was the second prince and Crown Prince Woon Mu’s younger brother.
And he had died of chronic illness approximately twelve years ago.
“Father, Sang passed away twelve years ago.”
Woon Mu’s voice carried profound sorrow.
“…Heh heh… now you mock your own father. You fool. Twelve years? Just five days ago we were together in the garden… wait…?”
The King’s expression grew grave.
He stared intently at Woon Mu, then suddenly cried out.
“Who are you…! Who in the world are you! How dare you mimic Woon Mu’s face! The Woon Mu I know hasn’t aged to this extent… Ugh!”
The King rose from his bed and staggered backward as if possessed by madness.
“Left Guard General! Right Guard General! Is anyone outside! There is one here who seeks to harm me!!”
Woon Mu covered his face with both hands.
Father’s condition was truly dire.
Beyond mere fluctuations in clarity, he no longer recognized his own son, nor could he grasp the passage of time.
Then the King suddenly muttered in a trembling voice.
“Mae Wi… Mae Wi-dong…? No… it couldn’t be. I have never defied you… Go and tell him. Something has gone terribly wrong…”
The King, speaking thus, suddenly smiled faintly.
“Woon Mu… you have grown so well.”
Woon Mu walked slowly forward and embraced his father.
“…I have grown well, Father. From now on, I shall take charge of Woon-guk.”
Even as I spoke these words, a question arose in my mind.
Mae Wi-dong.
He was undoubtedly the Vice Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.
Yet the words that had flowed from the King’s lips moments ago were far from ordinary. As if he were being held by some weakness.
No—it seemed he was afraid, beyond mere weakness.
What could he possibly mean by “I have never defied you”?
Even with a mind not entirely sound, it was strange that a king of a nation would fear a single martial artist so greatly.
This was the first time I had heard Mae Wi-dong’s name spoken by Father’s lips since I became Crown Prince.
Yet it emerged alongside such fear-laden words.
‘Mae Wi-dong… one who established the pillars of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, yet is praised for his gentleness and benevolence. Does he harbor some secret?’
Woon Mu shook his head and cast the thoughts aside.
I had intended to tell Seol Woon-hwi of this separately.
After all, what I had chosen to stand alongside was not the ‘Heavenly Righteousness Alliance,’ but ‘Seol Woon-hwi.’
In any case, there was much to be done now.
All preparations were already complete.
The King’s condition worsened with each passing day, and the palace officials said he would struggle to survive beyond a fortnight.
Even a cursory glance now confirmed it.
Within a fortnight, Woon Mu would ascend to the throne.
Woon Mu gazed upon his father with sorrowful eyes and released a heavy sigh.
* * *
Seol Woon-hwi’s procession heading toward An Sim Gun passed through the southern fortress wall of Cheonsu.
The journey would take approximately two days.
Han Mu-rin, holding the reins as he rode, glanced subtly toward Seol Woon-hwi.
Seol Woon-hwi rode with a serene expression, and beside him rode Wi Cheon-ho.
The distance between them was quite close.
In Han Mu-rin’s mind, the transmission of sound Seol Woon-hwi had sent before their departure echoed.
-Shortly after we depart, when the three of us—you, I, and Wi Cheon-ho—find ourselves in close proximity, pose a question to me.
-A question, sir?
It’s not just you—everyone would be curious about this question.
There was no need to think specifically about what it entailed. It was truly a fundamental question.
Han Mu-rin, who had quickened his pace and moved to my left side, asked carefully.
“Supreme Commander… or rather, Cheon Ui Jung Jeong.”
At Han Mu-rin’s words, I turned my head.
“It doesn’t seem to roll off your tongue easily. Just call me Supreme Commander.”
“Understood, Supreme Commander. May I ask one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“How do you intend to end the conflict with the Ihwageomseonchong?”
This was a question that not only Wi Cheon-ho but truly ‘everyone’ would be curious about.
Whether it was the conflict between the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance and the Ihwageomseonchong, or the conflict between Cheon Rim and the Muk Se-hoe—none of that mattered.
I was the one standing at the forefront.
And my true opponent was Yeon Song-baek, the Sect Master of the Ihwageomseonchong.
Then where did Yeon Song-baek’s martial arts cultivation stand?
At the Limitless Divine Manifestation.
No matter how much I had created a new realm called the Three Mysteries Realm and ascended to it, fighting a master at the Limitless Divine Manifestation would be suicide.
A true battle couldn’t even be established.
If Yeon Song-baek, who wielded Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, merely flicked a single finger, one of my four limbs would fly off.
This was an absolute inevitability.
An inevitability that couldn’t be avoided even with countless experiences.
Then what should be done?
It was simple.
Frankly, whether through the ways of martial artists or the ways of military forces, ultimately all of it comes down to how one finds a point of agreement in conflict.
“How will you end it?”
“Yes.”
“Through respectful and formal dialogue, I will seize everything of Cheon Rim and obtain a blood oath from Yeon Song-baek that the martial artists of the Ihwageomseonchong will never again intervene in Cheon Rim.”
Han Mu-rin exclaimed as if he had misheard.
“…What?”
Wi Cheon-ho also doubted his own ears.
What was he saying?
“…Can that… be accomplished through dialogue?”
I let out a soft laugh.
“Do you think it won’t work?”
“…Well… you’ve annihilated the Vice Sect Master of the Ihwageomseonchong who entered the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, along with the entire envoy group. You’ve massacred two branches of the Ihwageomseonchong and beheaded the Division Leader of another branch. In such a situation, the idea of holding dialogue… I cannot comprehend it.”
Han Mu-rin’s voice carried genuine bewilderment.
I asked him.
“Do you know why Jo Tae-hwa became the Vice Sect Master of the Ihwageomseonchong?”
“…Wasn’t it because of his strength in reaching the Heaven-Human Unity?”
I shook my head.
“The Ihwageomseonchong has another master at the Heaven-Human Unity. And he had served the Ihwageomseonchong far longer than Jo Tae-hwa. He would have been more suited to the position of Vice Sect Master than Jo Tae-hwa. Yet the position of Vice Sect Master became Jo Tae-hwa’s.”
Han Mu-rin and Wi Cheon-ho perked up their ears.
“Yeon Song-baek would actually be pleased to hear that such a Jo Tae-hwa is dead.”
“…What?”
Han Mu-rin’s expression grew complicated.
“You look confused.”
“I am… confused.”
“Then let me tell you one thing. What manner of man is Yeon Song-baek?”
Han Mu-rin and Wi Cheon-ho focused intently.
Seol Woon-hwi gazed upward at the sky for a moment before speaking.

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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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