The Supreme Who Rules the Boundless Sky - Chapter 115

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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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Spear Heaven Martial Emperor Episode 115

“Peace treaty. Not bad.”

Now I could see why Gwichang Gate had made such a proposal.

They probably wanted to maintain their rights as much as possible while also securing safety.

Namgung Hyeok nodded his head.

As long as the other party didn’t act foolishly and kept their trust, it didn’t matter if they maintained good relations with Gwichang Gate.

“Then should I consider the negotiation concluded?”

“Not yet. I believe there are several important matters we need to discuss further.”

“What?”

“First is our response after we form an agreement. I personally think we shouldn’t create a harmonious atmosphere just because we’ve made a pact.”

“Is that because they would immediately notice?”

“Exactly. If that happens, negotiations and everything else would become meaningless. You must continue to remain hostile toward Seonghwa Sect.”

“Hmm…”

“Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to actually fight. I think the current relationship would be sufficient. Even now, it’s not exactly a good relationship, but you’re not fighting, right?”

“I understand. If that’s what you say.”

Ma Doil nodded his head.

Namgung Hyeok continued speaking.

“Second is what happens after we depart to subjugate the Yangtze Water Bandits. If you don’t attack us, they’ll immediately realize the betrayal.”

“So you want us to actually attack?”

“Of course not. It would be enough to just pretend to fight. It would be good to just face off without casualties and then withdraw. We’ll also dispatch forces in that direction.”

“In other words, you want us to stage it.”

“Correct. That way we’ll all get satisfactory results. Third is about our respective territories going forward. As promised, I’ll protect the influence you have in Northern Jiangsu.”

“That’s appreciated.”

“However, if the sects there come to us seeking peace on their own, that can’t be helped. You’re not planning to attack all such sects, are you?”

“That’s…”

“Don’t do that. I’d recommend against it. It might ruin the good atmosphere we have. Rather, it would be better if you also became our ally like Jiangsu Salt Association after everything is over.”

Ma Doil asked with a suspicious expression.

“You’re not trying to devour us, are you?”

“Seonghwa Sect is at least trying to pursue a direction where everyone benefits. You can just develop and manage trade routes with our main sect while earning reasonable profits. I promise that alone will produce sufficiently good results.”

“Hmm…”

Ma Doil hesitated for a moment.

He seemed displeased about submitting.

But Namgung Hyeok soothed him with a gentle voice.

“If you had no intention of joining hands with us, you wouldn’t have come here like this, would you? Trust me. I’m never cruel to those who extend their hand first. We’ll be able to face each other with smiles in the future.”

“How can you be certain that time will be better than now?”

To Ma Doil, who still couldn’t let go of his suspicion, Namgung Hyeok spoke calmly.

“If you really can’t believe it, imagine the worst case scenario. The case where you listen to Blood Heaven Cult and invade us. What do you think would happen then?”

“…”

“Seonghwa Sect would mercilessly erase you from the map. Wouldn’t this be better than facing such a future?”

“Certainly so.”

Ma Doil nodded and agreed.

I thought he’d hold out due to pride, but considering he came here on his own, he seemed quite capable of using his head.

“I don’t like having to depend on your goodwill from now on, but… it’s still better than being destroyed.”

“Trust us. With Seonghwa Sect, Gwichang Gate will become wealthier and stronger than now.”

“Hmm. Fine. I’ll try trusting you once. At least you guys are better than evil bastards like Blood Heaven Cult.”

Just like with Makriseoga, it seemed the fear and rejection toward Blood Heaven Cult was greater than expected.

But Namgung Hyeok didn’t ask for the reason separately.

What mattered was the result that Gwichang Gate had ultimately sided with them.

“Then I’ll take it as settled. Now let’s stop talking business and have a simple meal. Order whatever you want to eat. I’ll treat you today.”

“Hmph. Anyone watching would think we came to some high-class restaurant the way you’re showing off.”

Ma Doil grumbled but didn’t refuse the offer.

They shared a meal while discussing various topics.

Then the topic of the Sacred Spear faction came up.

“A gathering of spear users that hasn’t been discovered yet…”

“Do you have any leads?”

“None. But if it hasn’t been found until now, it might be good to approach it a bit differently.”

“What do you mean by approaching it differently?”

“Anyway, that Sacred Spear faction must be a gathering of spear users with great power. Then there should be at least one member who’s made a name in Murim. Start from nearby and investigate all the famous spear users. Find out where their schools are and everything. If a suspicious guy appears, then probe him.”

“Ho. That’s quite an interesting approach.”

Ma Doil’s words were unexpectedly quite useful.

Investigating like that would certainly lead to some new discoveries.

“Thank you for the advice.”

“For something like this… Rather than such thanks, pay attention to what you promised.”

“I will. Gwichang Gate is now an ally of our main sect.”

“Indeed.”

Ma Doil spoke with a serious expression.

“Since we’re allies, I’ll give you one piece of advice. Be careful of that guy called Seven Death Blade I mentioned.”

“From the way you’re talking, he must be quite strong?”

“He was skilled enough that I couldn’t even notice his approach. At the very least, he’s a master in the upper ranks of Harmony Realm. He might actually be even stronger.”

“Hmm. Thank you for the advice.”

“Enough. Then I’ll be going now. No matter how much we used Human Skin Masks, someone might be watching us meet.”

He and his party got up from their seats and disappeared without even saying proper goodbyes.

Namgung Hyeok didn’t bother to see them off.

Not only did Ma Doil himself not want that, but he had things to think about.

“Seven Death Blade. Jeon Wook, what do you think?”

“He’ll be quite threatening, I believe. If Seven Death Blade exists, that means Ilsado through Yuksado also exist. Moreover, if Seven Death Blade is such a skilled fighter…”

“The rest are probably strong too. Of course, they won’t act properly yet since they’re still watching Murim’s mood.”

Unlike Seonghwa Sect, which pursued righteousness and chivalry as an orthodox sect, Blood Heaven Cult and Four Directions Divine Cult were called evil sects and had earned Murim’s fear.

If their revival became known, they would certainly be declared public enemies of Murim and subjugation forces would be organized.

So Blood Heaven Cult was certainly still being cautious.

Without recovering their peak strength, they couldn’t withstand the power of the Murim alliance.

“The existence of Four Directions Divine Cult is also concerning. It seems those two are in an adversarial relationship.”

“That works out well for us. I hope their conflict continues.”

“Indeed. When we have time, we should try stirring things up.”

The two men spoke while exchanging wine cups. They got up only after all the food had disappeared.

Soon their figures also melted into the darkness like shadows.

* * *

A few days later.

“It’s been a while.”

Support came from their ally, the Namgung Family Estate.

Yaksha Sword Namgung Jihak had come to Seonghwa Sect leading Wind Cloud Unit Members who had somehow grown to over two hundred.

“We greet the Seonghwa Sect Leader!”

The Wind Cloud Unit Members shouted loudly and bowed.

Their faces were full of joy at meeting again after a long time.

They seemed happy to meet Namgung Hyeok again.

“Thank you for coming. Uncle.”

“The water bandits of the Yangtze have been a headache for us as well. Besides, we’re blood allies, so there’s no reason not to come.”

“Have you heard about the general strategy?”

“I heard talk of attacking several islands presumed to be strongholds of the Yangtze Water Bandits. Of course, it’s not something that can be finished in a single day.”

“Yes. Since we’ll be going upstream along the Yangtze while subjugating them, it will take quite some time. Even then, there’s a possibility we might not properly identify their strongholds.”

The Yangtze was a vast and long place.

This meant there were quite a few hidden geographical features scattered throughout.

They couldn’t search through every single one of those places.

No matter what, there were limits to manpower and time.

“Even doing that much should be enough to dry up the seeds of those threatening this area. Have you prepared the boats?”

“Yes. We received help from the Jiangsu Salt Guild. Please take a look.”

As Namgung Hyeok said, several sturdy boats capable of crossing the river were prepared at the dock.

These were boats for the three hundred troops of Seonghwa Sect and two hundred troops of the Namgung Family Estate’s Wind Cloud Unit to board separately.

Namgung Hyeok looked at those boats and continued his explanation.

“First, we’ll look at the map and move to the Zhenjiang Region, then slowly come down from there while exterminating the water bandits. We’ve packed sufficient provisions, and hired quite a number of boatmen with specialized knowledge for the subjugation. We’ve also finished training for fighting when ships collide with each other.”

“Five hundred elite troops. This should certainly be enough not to be defeated by mere water bandits. Well done. But isn’t this moving too many troops?”

“Don’t worry. We’ve already prepared defenses for the north and south.”

This time, Ho Young and So Geomlip among the Four Great Protectors were each assigned to defend the northern and southern strongholds respectively.

There had been warnings from Gwichang Gate, and they needed to be careful since the Northern Four Islands Alliance was also nearby.

‘Of course, we promised to immediately disembark and join the battlefield if we heard news of the Northern Four Islands Alliance advancing…’

Since there was almost no way to receive news while on the boats, it was questionable whether this could be properly carried out.

Of course, Namgung Hyeok had started raising a hawk to compensate for this weakness, but…

‘It’s still not trained enough to serve as a Messenger Eagle.’

So they had even made arrangements to spend money whenever ports or docks appeared to check the surrounding situation.

This was to grasp the movements in the area as quickly as possible.

After hearing the explanation, Namgung Jihak nodded.

“That should be sufficient. If a major battle breaks out, news will surely spread.”

“Yes. I don’t think there will be any major problems.”

“Then all that remains is to proceed with the subjugation.”

Namgung Jihak said this while looking at the vessels.

He too seemed quite excited, as if he didn’t have much experience riding boats.

“When are you planning to depart?”

“Since they just arrived today and the members must be tired, let’s rest for a day and depart tomorrow morning.”

“I think that would be good too.”

They held a simple banquet to welcome the Wind Cloud Unit Members and performed a pre-expedition ceremony.

And a day later.

“Then we depart.”

With Namgung Hyeok’s words, over five hundred warriors boarded the prepared vessels.

The target was the Yangtze Water Bandits.

More precisely, it was the place where their strongholds were located.

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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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