The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 33

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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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Episode 33. The First Approach
For this was Ryu’s true nature.
The members of his unit loved him for it.
They moved without hesitation to do things that would be considered betrayal of their affiliations, all for him.
And they wished to emulate Ryu, who would stake his very life for the sake of his comrades.
It was this that compelled Yi Song to step forward—a man who despised owing debts to anyone as much as Ryu did.
“If that’s the case, I’ll make a move through the Gwichek instead. There’s a senior intelligence officer I know well in the Chamminggak. Through him, I can gather more detailed information.”
To the Chamminggak, where all the world’s information converged, a master of intelligence had been dispatched.
Ryu, well aware of this fact, silently nodded to Yi Song.
After that, the two gathered and began drawing up tactics—once information arrived, discussing how to move, what needed to be done.
Ryu’s gaze as he watched them had grown far softer than before.
Through this affair he had initiated alone, Ryu had gained certainty.
They were… family.
The Jeoksajo members, who had been chattering among themselves for some time, hastily gathered their food when a kitchen worker warned them that the meal period would soon end.
Just as they were about to put the gathered food into their mouths, a new group entered the dining hall.
Since there were not many people, it was natural for the gazes of both sides to meet.
The gazes that had briefly crossed soon parted ways.
One side consisted of those who had received the Uigiryeong, and the other of those from the Uigidae who managed such people.
Yet among those dressed in Uigidae garb who had passed by so unremarkably, Jeoneum signals flew busily back and forth.
-Neither Maenguidan nor Uigidae garb.
Yeo Jeong gave a small nod at Yong Hyeon’s Jeoneum and took a seat in one corner.
Yong Hyeon and So Yeo Un positioned themselves on either side of her.
And so, comically, all three sat in a row.
To ensure Yeo Jeong’s safety, they each took a flanking position—but the embarrassed Yong Hyeon soon relocated himself across from Yeo Jeong instead.
Now So Yeo Un and the cross-dressed Yeo Jeong sat side by side.
Though gender distinctions were freer in their world than in the mundane realm, even martial artists did not sit beside someone of the opposite sex unless they were lovers or family.
Yong Hyeon’s Jeoneum, belatedly recognizing this, prompted the cross-dressed Yeo Jeong to shift to his side instead.
Only once the seating was properly arranged did Yong Hyeon’s Jeoneum continue.
-Free clothing. It’s the Jeoksaecho.
That was right.
Those who belonged anywhere wore uniform attire.
The reason was to easily distinguish allies from enemies in the midst of battle.
This unification of dress, which had begun for practical purposes, took on the additional meaning of displaying affiliation, thus creating an unspoken rule: if you belonged to the same sect or organization, you absolutely had to wear identical clothing.
Accordingly, each unit of the Maenguidan was equipped with uniform dress.
They wore Mubok of a color matching the name of the group they belonged to.
The Nogandae wearing green Mubok and the Hwangsandae wearing yellow Mubok were prime examples.
However, the Maenguidae, which formed the core force of the Maenguidan, all wore white Mubok and the distinctive Younghunggeon marked with the character for “Alliance.”
In sharp contrast to such unified dress, the Jeoksaecho alone wore freely chosen clothing.
Their duties were mostly vanguard operations: reconnaissance, infiltration, surprise attacks.
They were permitted to change freely into darker or brighter garments suited to their missions, and this permission eventually evolved into complete freedom of dress.
Because of this, eight or nine times out of ten, if you encountered people in the Maenguidan dressed in all manner of colors and styles, they were members of the Jeoksaecho.
Yeo Jeong nodded at Yong Hyeon’s Jeoneum, which drew on pre-gathered intelligence about this very fact.
And Yong Hyeon’s Jeoneum continued to Yeo Jeong.
-If they are Jeoksaecho, it will be easier to extract information from them than from the others.
Yong Hyeon’s assessment was based on intelligence obtained beforehand about the composition of the Maenguidan.
In truth, unlike other military units of the Maenguidan, the Jeoksaecho had extremely few members from major sects belonging to the Cheolhyeolmaeng.
This was because the casualty rate was several times higher than elsewhere, so the major sects of the Cheolhyeolmaeng had tried hard not to send their disciples to it.
Indeed, send three disciples and two would die; one would return crippled.
As a result, the Jeoksaecho, the most critical fighting unit of the Maenguidan, had been forced to fill its ranks mostly with members from minor sects under pressure from the major ones.
And inevitably, this brought a loss of combat power.
Even the minor sects, compelled to contribute, sent not their most capable disciples but mediocre ones, merely to meet their quota.
Within those ranks were hired ronin employed by minor sects or outright amateurs selected from the start for deployment to the Jeoksaecho.
Yet no one could fault them for it.
The major sects at the heart of the Cheolhyeolmaeng sent only a handful of disciples for appearances’ sake; one could not demand that minor sects furnish direct disciples in massive numbers.
Unable to bear it any longer, at the petition of the Maenguidan’s lord, the Cheolhyeolmaeng began cultivating warriors at the alliance level and deploying them to the Maenguidan.
This relieved the chronic manpower shortage of the Maenguidan somewhat, but for one place alone it was insufficient: the Jeoksaecho.
More died there than were newly deployed.
Yet they could not endlessly pour manpower into the Jeoksaecho.
Even those dispatched to the Maenguidan did whatever they could to avoid being sent to the Jeoksaecho.
Some even deserted and fled.
Ultimately, to make up for the shortage of personnel, the Maenguidan obtained permission from the Cheolhyeolmaeng and began hiring external martial artists.
What had started as a desperate measure to solve the chronic staffing problem of the Jeoksaecho had, by now, completely established itself as the standard method for recruiting more than half of the organization’s members.
Of course, those hired underwent multiple layers of verification.
No matter how urgent the need, it was obvious they had to prevent spies of the enemy Gunmarim from infiltrating, and they also had to remain vigilant against agents from the Baekuiyeon, which was rising rapidly as a competitive force.
Even now, the external martial artists brought in through this process numbered well over five hundred in the Jeoksaecho.
Because of such a complex personnel composition, the Baekuiyeon anticipated that the sense of belonging and cohesion among Jeoksaecho members would be looser than in other military groups of the Maenguidan.
It was clear that extracting information would be far more manageable than from the others.
Yeo Jeong, who had already grasped these circumstances, nodded readily and signaled agreement with Yong Hyeon’s assessment.
Yet they did not immediately act on it.
Easier was not the same as certain.
Moreover, even if these people were indeed Jeoksaecho members, the situation would be entirely different if they hailed from minor sects affiliated with the Cheolhyeolmaeng.
As they continued their observation, members of the Jeoksajo, including one named Ryu, noisily finished their meal and departed the dining hall.
Yong Hyeon, watching them go, caught Yeo Jeong’s eye before quietly rising and following after the departing Jeoksajo.
The first day of the Uigiryeong was a sort of free time devoted to assignment notification, lodging arrangement, and familiarization with the geography of places like the dining hall.
No restrictions had yet been placed on one’s Naeryeok, and freedom was not suppressed.
It was the only time martial artists assigned to the Uigidae after receiving the Uigiryeong could spend at leisure.
Naturally, the Jeoksajo moved about at ease.
Yong Hyeon, who had hurried after them, offered a cheerful greeting.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I take it you are members of the Uigidae—shall we introduce ourselves and become familiar? I’m Yong Hyeon, newly arrived.”
In the Maenguidan, only one class of people wears the dark blue Mubok with a “Organization” character embroidered on the chest.
The security teams of the Uigidae, and the instructors.
Yi Song, observing Yong Hyeon as he took up a respectful stance, answered gently.
“You’ve mistaken us. We are not Uigidae members—we are those who have received the Uigiryeong.”
“Ah! My apologies. You seemed so relaxed, I thought…”
“It’s our first day. No harm done.”
Yong Hyeon drew a little closer in response to Yi Song’s continued courtesy.
“All the same, I can still introduce myself, can’t I?”
Truthfully, it was better not to exchange pleasantries at all.
Those who received the Uigiryeong were a kind of criminal.
There was nothing to gain from becoming familiar with the Uigidae members who disciplined them or stood guard to prevent their escape.
It was certain they would cross paths awkwardly time and again.
However, seeing that this man seemed entirely ignorant of what anyone who had spent even a few days in the Uigidae would know, Yi Song deduced it must be his first day as well, and he smiled softly.
“Very well. I’m Yi Song of the Jeoksaecho. And these are my comrades.”
He offered the greeting but introduced the others only as “comrades,” withholding their names.
It was his signal that the introductions should end there.
But Yong Hyeon, either missing the hint or ignoring it, took a respectful stance toward each of them in turn and offered his greetings.
“I’m Yong Hyeon, who left a post as a guard at the Iljaseowon to come here. I look forward to working together.”
There was no way to refuse now.
Reluctantly, Jwa Ryang and Dong Pil, along with Jang Min Su and Seong Hee Jun who wore faint smiles like Yi Song, introduced themselves one by one as they returned his greeting.
“Jwa Ryang.”
“Dong Pil.”
“Jang Min Su. Let’s get along.”
“Seong Hee Jun. Much obliged.”
Finally, Yong Hyeon’s gaze fell upon Ryu.
“Let’s go.”
Ignoring his approach, Ryu spoke, and Yi Song, grinning despite himself, replied.
“Perhaps we’ll meet again next time.”
Yi Song and the Jeoksajo turned to leave, but Yong Hyeon’s voice hurriedly called after them.
“Wait, just a moment…”
Yi Song turned back with a look of bewilderment, and Yong Hyeon asked with an embarrassed expression.
“If it’s not too much trouble, might I trouble you for some Yeonccho?”
So he had been approaching them from the start to obtain Yeonccho.
As if finally grasping his intention, Yi Song let out a small laugh and shook his head.
“None of us smoke Yeonccho.”
“Truly? No one indulges in something so fine?”
Yeonccho, which had begun spreading throughout Jungyeon only recently, had become so fashionable that even children had taken it up, bolstered by rumors of its health benefits.
Physicians were even prescribing Yeonccho in some cases.
Though some physicians did argue it was entirely without merit, their views remained a minority and were disregarded.
Recently, however, opinions against Yeonccho were spreading among masters of Chojeoljeong-level Naeryeok and above.
Masters capable of observing their own internal state had discovered that it caused harmful effects to the lungs.
Of course, there were still more who didn’t believe it yet…….
In truth, even Jeoksajo had members who smoked Yeonccho when they first joined.
Yi Song had, and so had Jang Min Su.
But after entering Jeoksajo, they quit.
It was because of warnings that smoking Yeonccho harmed the lungs and would put them at a disadvantage in a fight.
Of course, it hadn’t been phrased so gently.
To put it bluntly…….
‘If you don’t mind gasping for breath on the battlefield and keeling over dead, then by all means keep smoking.’
That was the gist of it.
No one had the nerve to keep smoking after hearing such words in Sajapyeong, where the man who smiled and greeted you today would be carried out tomorrow as a cold corpse.
And come to think of it, the fact that Jwa Ryang and Dong Pil had never taken to Yeonccho in the first place seemed to be because they were masters of Chojeoljeong capable of observing their own inner workings with meticulous precision.
In any case, by such reasoning, there was no one in Jeoksajo who smoked Yeonccho.
Judging from Yong Hyeon’s startled expression at those words, Yi Song could tell he was at least not a master of Chojeoljeong.
Of course, Yi Song didn’t know at the time that this was his own misunderstanding.
In any case, amused by his own habit of gauging an opponent’s level even in such a situation, Yi Song replied with a wry smile.
“Many say it’s not good. You should pay close attention to the fact that most of those people are masters of Chojeoljeong or above.”
“But there are quite a few masters of Chojeoljeong who dismiss such matters as irrelevant.”
Indeed, there were masters of Chojeoljeong who spoke such words while smoking Yeonccho.
But their number was not large.
Yi Song wanted to point that out, but seeing the figure already walking far ahead, he shook his head.
“We believe what we each choose to believe……. In any case, we have no Yeonccho. So…….”
Having spoken only those words, Yi Song followed the figure walking ahead, and the remaining members of Jeoksajo, who had been standing still with him, resumed their march.
Watching Jeoksajo’s members recede into the distance, Yong Hyeon muttered softly, his expression tinged with regret.
“This might prove more difficult than I expected…….”

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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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