The Supreme Who Rules the Boundless Sky - Chapter 53

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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 53

“Damn it, damn it, shit!”

Lee Cheolgun spat out curses continuously as if he couldn’t contain his rage.

The subordinates who were in the same place as him trembled in terror. The killing intent flowing from Lee Cheolgun was so intense that ordinary people could hardly endure it.

“Hell Blade Demon, that incompetent bastard! How the hell do you manage troops to lose so miserably to just five hundred men!”

He gritted his teeth and cursed the now-dead Hell Blade Demon.

He couldn’t endure it otherwise.

Though the relationship between the two wasn’t usually bad, the damage caused by Hell Blade Demon was too great.

A full two thousand.

He had taken two thousand troops and suffered a disgraceful defeat.

It wasn’t just a defeat, but complete annihilation.

The number of dead was too many to count, and the number of those who fled because they didn’t want to fight was even greater.

The number of those who returned alive to the Evil Path Alliance was barely six hundred. Only about thirty percent of the two thousand remained.

At this level, it could be called a strategic annihilation without question.

“Haah…”

Lee Cheolgun grabbed his head as if he no longer had the energy to be angry.

Feeling suffocated in his chest, he poured the strong liquor that had been prepared beside him down his throat.

The empty wine bottle shattered into pieces under his grip strength.

That was the moment.

“Please calm down a bit, Alliance Leader.”

“…”

Lee Cheolgun glared fiercely at the person who had spoken to him.

He was curious who dared to say such things.

But he had no choice but to suppress his anger.

The person before him wasn’t his subordinate.

“Hong Ikgeom. This isn’t something you need to concern yourself with.”

“You seem too angry, so I thought so. Please calm your mind a little.”

The man called Hong Ikgeom spoke with a bright smile.

Lee Cheolgun glared at him sharply and forcibly swallowed the curses rising from within.

Instead, he let out a sigh.

“Phew. Do you have something you want to say?”

“I just wanted to ask what you plan to do next as an ally of the Evil Path Alliance. Will you continue the war with the Namgung Family?”

“It’s a war that has already begun. I could start it at will, but I can’t end it completely at will.”

“But wouldn’t something like ceasefire negotiations be possible? The Evil Path Alliance hasn’t completely lost its strength yet.”

“…”

Hong Ikgeom’s words were true.

Although two thousand troops had been defeated, that was only part of the Evil Path Alliance.

They still had several times more troops remaining.

In comparison, the Namgung Family’s forces, even if they scraped together everything in their current state, would be about a thousand at most.

If the Evil Path Alliance decided to disperse their forces and attack various places, they could force damage upon the Namgung Family.

In other words, it was enough to bring them to the negotiating table.

“Moreover, though it’s unfortunate for you, Alliance Leader, the Namgung Family suffered almost no damage in this battle. Since they lost nothing, if we extend our hand first, they would gladly accept a ceasefire agreement.”

“Are you telling me to endure such humiliation?”

“I’m just saying to be patient for a while. While waiting for the opportunity for revenge that will come someday.”

Lee Cheolgun ground his teeth with a grinding sound.

He wanted to shout at him not to talk nonsense.

But the other party was a messenger sent by their ally.

He couldn’t treat such a person carelessly.

Moreover, there was a high possibility that those words weren’t Hong Ikgeom’s personal opinion.

“Is that… the Sect’s opinion?”

“That’s right. To be precise, the Flame Vermillion Bird directly expressed concern. The Evil Path Alliance is an organization that shouldn’t fall from just something like this.”

“…!”

Lee Cheolgun’s eyes widened greatly at the mention of Flame Vermillion Bird.

At the same time, his attitude became a bit calmer. Lee Cheolgun let out a light sigh and spoke to Hong Ikgeom.

“I understand. I’ll follow your words. General Manager.”

“Yes.”

“Send a messenger to the Namgung Family. Tell them we want to negotiate a ceasefire.”

“A-Alliance Leader!”

The Evil Path Alliance executives who were listening showed shocked expressions.

Even so, who would have thought he would really proceed with ceasefire negotiations?

This was an unbearable humiliation for the Evil Path Alliance.

Yet to decide on a ceasefire so easily…

“That’s impossible! Please entrust me with troops! I’ll smash those Namgung Family bastards and return!”

“If we make a ceasefire agreement like this, Murim will mock the Main Alliance.”

“We still have several times more forces than the enemy…”

“Shut up!”

Lee Cheolgun shouted angrily.

“I’ve made this decision once, so why dare you object? Do you really want to die?”

“…!”

“And you say we have several times more forces than the enemy? Certainly that’s true. But that’s only when considering just the Namgung Family. Remember that we border not only the Namgung Family but also the Ha Family, Hwangbo Family, Shandong Ak Family, and even the South Sea Sword Pavilion. Among them, the Shandong Ak Family has formed an alliance with the Namgung Family.”

“A-Alliance Leader…!”

“And if the Shandong Ak Family joins forces with the Namgung Family to attack us, other beasts who smell blood will also try to bite us. If that happens, our Evil Path Alliance is finished!”

Lee Cheolgun shouted with even his internal energy infused. No one could object to his terrifying appearance.

“Phew. This is why we should have brought down the Namgung Family in one blow and taken Anhui…”

Having lost the first battle, that had become an impossible dream.

Now Lee Cheolgun had to accept losses no matter what choice he made.

‘Right. For now, taking a step back here wouldn’t be bad.’

He thought while trying to control himself.

‘But Namgung Hyeok. Don’t think this is the end. If an opportunity arises, I’ll bite your throats anytime…’

And shortly after.

A messenger from the Evil Path Alliance departed toward the Namgung Family Estate.

It was to discuss the ceasefire agreement.

* * *

A few days later.

An emergency meeting was held in the Great Conference Room of the Namgung Family Estate.

It was a meeting about the ceasefire negotiations sent by the Evil Path Alliance.

Given the situation, all the senior members of the Namgung Family participated.

“We absolutely must not accept it!”

One elder slammed the table and shouted at the top of his voice. He looked around and spoke as if appealing.

“They attacked first with some trivial excuse, and now they want a ceasefire! Clearly they’re scheming because they’re at a disadvantage!”

“That’s right!”

“We should advance to Hangzhou and wipe out their seeds!”

Countless senior members agreed with him.

In a way, it was natural.

Weren’t they clearly the victims who had been attacked?

So they couldn’t accept the Evil Path Alliance, who had struck first, extending a hand of reconciliation as soon as the war situation became unfavorable.

Moreover.

‘Now is the perfect opportunity to make a name for ourselves.’

‘The Evil Path Alliance is nothing but a toothless tiger. They’re all just a ragtag bunch.’

‘If we can just get our share in this expedition….’

In their hearts, there was also a perspective that saw this situation as an opportunity.

Since Namgung Hyeok had easily crushed four times as many enemies with just five hundred men, the Evil Path Alliance seemed like pushovers.

Their hearts were filled with the desire to achieve such merit themselves. In other words, they planned to use the war against the Evil Path Alliance as a stepping stone for advancement.

“Are there no other opinions?”

At that moment, the Elder Council Head spoke as if to calm the excited executives.

He looked at Namgung Jangcheon, the Acting Family Head, as if telling him to speak first.

Namgung Jangcheon pondered for a moment before answering.

“I think we should accept this ceasefire agreement.”

“A-Acting Family Head!”

“What are you saying!”

None other than Namgung Jangcheon’s own faction members cried out in the greatest shock.

They had naturally expected Namgung Jangcheon to advocate for war.

“Are you planning to betray the family?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been frightened by those Evil Path Alliance bastards!”

“Did you perhaps receive bribes?!”

Harsh voices erupted from here and there.

However, Namgung Jangcheon firmly shook his head as if their opinions didn’t matter.

“Ending the war here is by no means a bad thing. No, rather, if we’re thinking of the family, I believe we should end it here.”

“I also agree with Uncle’s words.”

Namgung Hyeok, who had been quietly listening, stepped forward and spoke.

“Third Young Master…!”

“Why!?”

The family’s senior members showed reactions as if they couldn’t understand.

Namgung Hyeok was the very hero who had led the battle against the Evil Path Alliance to victory.

So they naturally thought he would continue the war. Even the Elder Council Head seemed to think the same, as he asked with a surprised expression.

“May I ask the reason?”

“There are several reasons, but since time is limited, I’ll briefly explain just a few.”

“Please speak.”

“First, while we can win battles, if we wage war, the possibility of defeat is high.”

“…!”

The eyes of those listening widened.

Win battles but lose the war?

What did that mean?

“The reason is that our family’s strength is still weak. Of course, as you all know, we achieved a great victory in this battle. But that was only possible because forces of hundreds and thousands clashed.”

“No, then shouldn’t we achieve even more victories? If we defeated so many enemies with so few numbers, we should be able to win other battles sufficiently.”

“Hmm, if you think so, then tell me this. Do you think the Namgung Family’s forces could have defeated the Evil Path Alliance’s army without my command?”

“Th-that’s….”

They couldn’t answer rashly.

The answer was obviously ‘no.’

The fact that Namgung Hyeok was the cause of the last battle’s victory was known by everyone who participated in that battle.

But what if Namgung Hyeok hadn’t been there?

No matter how weak the enemy, it would have been difficult to win so overwhelmingly at this level. Even those who looked down on the Evil Path Alliance knew that much.

“If we were to wage full-scale war with the Evil Path Alliance, they would learn from this battle and not try to engage in large-scale pitched battles. Rather, they would thoroughly disperse their forces to create as many battlefields as possible.”

“That means….”

“They would target our branch halls and affiliated sects. The enemy’s forces still number several times ours. Do you understand now? If they deliberately divide their forces and attack, the Namgung Family will have to bear great losses. I can only defend one place.”

“…!”

That’s exactly what it meant to win battles but lose the war.

Even if they won some battles, if the overall damage to the Namgung Family increased, winning would be meaningless.

“The second reason is that there’s no real benefit even if we win. Let me be frank. What benefit would there be if we took the Evil Path Alliance Leader’s head here? Would the Namgung Family’s reputation rise? Of course, there would be that effect. But since we’ve already achieved a great victory against the Evil Path Alliance, achieving more victories here would be meaningless.”

In contrast, attacking Hangzhou, the heart of the Evil Path Alliance?

That would be an extremely difficult task.

This time, they would have to face not two thousand, but well over five thousand enemies.

No matter how well they planned strategy and tactics, winning against such numbers would be impossible.

In other words, they might lose everything if things went wrong.

“So I think it’s best to accept their proposal and achieve a temporary ceasefire now. Uncle must have reached the same conclusion, which is why he spoke as he did.”

“B-but should we just let their atrocities slide like this?”

“Who said we’re just letting it slide?”

Namgung Hyeok turned his head toward the executive who spoke as if wronged and answered.

“Of course, we will gain sufficient benefit from this opportunity.”

“How?”

“Elder Brother, no, Young Family Head. Please call the messenger from the Evil Path Alliance and tell them this.”

Namgung Hyeok spoke with a twisted smile.

“If they want to conclude a ceasefire agreement, they must pay ten thousand taels of silver.”

“…!”

Everyone present dropped their jaws.

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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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