Chapter 277 : Chaos (2)
Chapter 277: Chaos (2)
While the Blood Cult Leader was drowning in confusion, a strange silence had settled over the Alliance Leader's quarters at the Murim Alliance Headquarters.
The Alliance Leader observed his Chief Strategist seemingly lost in thought before finally coming to a decision.
"Forget about whether it's true or not for now. How about we just steer this information in whatever direction benefits us?"
The Chief Strategist, sharp as ever, caught on to the Alliance Leader's intention immediately.
"I shall disseminate the news to all sects affiliated with the Alliance. I will inform them that the Blood Cult is preparing a terrifying Jiangshi and that they raided the Hao Clan for this very purpose."
The more threatening the Blood Cult appeared, the easier it would be to rally the righteous sects under the Alliance's banner. In the end, their goal was to unite all the righteous martial artists, so whether the information was true or not didn't really matter.
After they'd more or less sorted out how to handle the situation, the Alliance Leader suddenly thought of something and asked his Chief Strategist.
"By the way, how's the investigation going? Any tracks from the Hao Clan’s massacre?”
"We found traces all the way to the outskirts of Nanning, but beyond a certain point, the trail just... vanished."
"Sounds just like that Jiangshi incident."
"Exactly. I've already ordered our men to keep searching that general area."
"Good work. While we're at it, it might be worth sharing the information with the Hao Clan as well. They're probably hunting for the Blood Cult as well, aren't they?"
The Chief Strategist let out a laugh he couldn't quite suppress, but he soon apologized for his slip in decorum.
"Ahem. My apologies. I wasn't laughing at what you said, Alliance Leader. It's just... the Hao Clan's behavior has been so ridiculous that I couldn't help myself."
"The Hao Clan's behavior is ridiculous? Explain."
"The Hao Clan is tracking the Blood Cult because of their Clan Lord's death, yes... but that's just for appearances."
"Just for appearances? What do you...? Oh!"
The Alliance Leader realized what was happening and looked at him with a face that said, 'You've got to be kidding me.'
"They're having internal conflicts?"
"Correct. There's a full-blown war happening between the Hao Clan’s Elders. They're all accusing each other of colluding with the Blood Cult and attacking one another."
The Alliance Leader made the same expression his strategist had worn moments earlier.
"Ha."
The Alliance Leader let out a wry laugh and clicked his tongue lightly.
"I've always known this about them, but damn, they really are like a bunch of rats."
"Aren't all those low-life villains like that?"
The Alliance Leader nodded at his Chief Strategist's words.
"Then forget about cooperating with the Hao Clan. Just keep tracking the Blood Cult's trail. No matter how well they erased their tracks, a big move like that is bound to leave something behind.”
"I'll see to it."
And so, after several days of mocking the Hao Clan's idiotic behavior while hunting for traces of the Blood Cult, new information reached the Murim Alliance.
"Chief Strategist! The Taiyi Sect in Taigang County of Guizhou Province has attacked the Heavenly Sword Sect!"
The Chief Strategist frowned at his subordinate's report.
Both sects were small to mid-sized sects based in Taigang County.
He only remembered them because his memory was exceptional. In the grand scheme of things, they were so insignificant they hardly warranted attention.
Basically, this wasn't something the Chief Strategist needed to be bothered with.
Normally, they'd just send a few Alliance martial artists to mediate and call it a day.
With that thought in mind, the Chief Strategist asked with the hope that he was wrong.
"Don't tell me... we don't have enough manpower to send mediators because of the Blood Cult investigation?"
The Murim Alliance was originally created to stop the Demonic Cult from Xinjiang. Even after that passed, the Alliance continued to exist to stand against heinous forces that threatened the peace and security of the martial world.
But now that the balance of power had shifted heavily in favor of the righteous sects, mediating conflicts between righteous factions had become their main job.
Now that the Blood Cult has reared its ugly head, this was a transitional period where they were trying to return to the Alliance's original purpose.
"Haa. To think there is internal strife in the face of a great enemy like the Blood Cult."
As the Chief Strategist muttered to himself with disdain, the officer who'd come to report cautiously reported. "I-It's not just a simple internal conflict, sir. The Taiyi Sect claims the Heavenly Sword Sect was colluding with the Blood Cult."
"Colluding with the Blood Cult?" The Chief Strategist's eyes sharpened, thinking there might be some useful leads here.
Just then, another officer came looking for him.
"Chief Strategist! We have news about the Blood Cult!"
"Come in."
The man burst through the door the moment he got the permission. He glanced at the officer who’d arrived first before giving his report.
"An urgent letter has arrived from the Buddhist Heart Sect! They say the Yu Family Manor of Xiushui County in Jiangxi Province has been colluding with the Blood Cult! The Buddhist Heart Sect says they'll attack the Yu Family Manor before Alliance reinforcements arrive to prevent their escape."
"The Yu Family Manor in Xiushui County was colluding with the Blood Cult?"
While the Chief Strategist frowned at this strange feeling, yet another person came looking for him.
"Chief Strategist! News about the Blood Cult!"
"...Let me guess. Some small sect is working with the Blood Cult, and another sect is attacking them?"
When the Chief Strategist shouted his question from inside the room, a flustered voice came from beyond the door.
"H-How did you know, Chief Strategist?"
It was absolutely ridiculous, but the Chief Strategist couldn't bring himself to laugh.
Far from laughing, an ominous possibility occurred to him, causing a cold sweat to run down his spine.
***
Taigang County, Guizhou Province.
Deep within a manor bearing the plaque that read [Taiyi Sect], the key figures of this mid-sized sect had gathered to discuss the future and safety of the martial world.
"Haa. Why do they keep making us do this useless crap? Who cares about the Blood Cult?"
"Exactly. Didn't they get wiped out ages ago?"
"It's always been like this. The Murim Alliance never does anything for us, but they're always getting in our way."
"They're definitely trying to keep our Taiyi Sect from growing bigger."
They had plenty of complaints about the Murim Alliance.
Taigang County was a small pond compared to the big cities, but the Taiyi Sect was the biggest force here. Still, they couldn't completely claim Taigang County as their own.
Because another sect called the Heavenly Sword Sect existed.
But the Heavenly Sword Sect wasn't stronger than the Taiyi Sect.
While they boasted a whopping seventy members, the Heavenly Sword Sect had a mere forty or so.
Their martial arts were also superior to the point that if they really wanted to, they could have wiped out the Heavenly Sword Sect easily.
The problem was that since the Heavenly Sword Sect claimed to be an Orthodox sect, they couldn't attack them without good reason. Plus, the Murim Alliance would step in to stop the fight.
The Alliance kept getting in the way of their plans to completely dominate Taigang County, and now they were issuing pointless orders about catching the Blood Cult rats which made everyone frustrated.
As complainers tend to do, their trash talk continued.
"I heard the Blood Cult bastards are making some kind of Jiangshi."
When the Sect Leader said that, everyone jumped in to agree.
"I heard about that too. They even staged a massacre at the Hao Clan to make those Jiangshi."
"Tsk. Look at them sending out official notices while trembling in fear just because someone raided those rat bastards from the Hao Clan. Makes you seriously question the Alliance Leader's competence."
"Exactly. We wouldn't even need the Sect Leader for those Jiangshi or the Hao Clan rats. Our disciples could wipe them out in seconds."
They talked trash about the Alliance Leader for a while, then switched targets.
"By the way, did you hear about the Hao Clan? Those idiots are actually having a civil war among themselves by using the Blood Cult as an excuse. They're attacking each other, claiming the other side is working with the Blood Cult."
"Hahaha. Typical rats."
They were busy laughing at how stupid the Hao Clan was when—
"Ah!!"
Suddenly, the Taiyi Sect's Chief Steward gasped as he’d just had a brilliant idea.
When everyone looked at him with puzzlement, the Chief Steward turned to the Sect Leader and spoke, "Sect Leader, this is an opportunity."
"An opportunity? What kind of opportunity?"
"Why haven't we been able to attack the Heavenly Sword Sect? Isn't it because we need a good excuse so the Alliance won't stop us?"
"That's true, but what does that have to do with what we were just talking about?"
"Think about what the Hao Clan is doing, Sect Leader."
The Sect Leader frowned, thinking it was nonsense, but then it clicked.
"Hahahaha! If we claim the Heavenly Sword Sect is colluding with the Blood Cult, everything will be solved!"
Everyone in the room looked amazed and started cheering.
"What a brilliant scheme, Sect Leader!"
"Now we can drive out that eyesore of a Heavenly Sword Sect and become the rulers of Taigang County!"
"With an excuse like that, we can start from Taigang County and keep expanding our Taiyi Sect's influence!"
"Hahaha. Who knows? In a few years, maybe you'll be the Alliance Leader!"
The Sect Leader tried to look serious and cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Settle down. And watch your mouths. Listen to me. This is not a scheme. The Heavenly Sword Sect really is colluding with the Blood Cult. Understand? This is all for the peace of the martial world."
"We'll keep that in mind."
Everyone present answered with solemn expressions.
"Go find a Taoist immediately and have them prepare a fake cursed object. It doesn't matter how much it costs. Once we wipe out the Heavenly Sword Sect, we'll loot enough money to make it back."
"As you command, Sect Leader."
Following the Sect Leader’s instructions, they left the manor immediately. And a few days later, the Heavenly Sword Sect, which had shared control of Taigang County for so long, suffered complete annihilation. And incidents like this started happening all across the Central Plains.
***
After traveling and covering their tracks for who knows how long, Il-mok and his crew finally made it from Nanning to Lanzhou in Gansu Province.
Since they had taken so long hiding their trail, a lot of news was waiting for them when they arrived.
"The Murim Alliance sent urgent notices throughout the Central Plains about the Hao Clan incident. The message said they're creating a terrifying Jiangshi, so all the righteous martial artists need to unite their strength."
Hearing the report of Dam Bin who'd been managing Gansu Province in his place, Il-mok nodded with a satisfied expression.
'Good. It looks like they didn't catch on.'
But his satisfaction was short-lived as the next piece of news made Il-mok drop his jaw.
"Because of that, fights are breaking out everywhere. Cases of both the Hao Clan and Orthodox sects attacking factions supposedly colluding with the Blood Cult have been skyrocketing."
"...Wait, were there really that many sects working with the Blood Cult?"
Dam Bin shook her head and answered, "The Blood Cult collusion is just an excuse. It appears that they are blinded by greed and are using the Blood Cult as a justification to swallow up neighboring factions."
"...."
Il-mok was left speechless by this news to the point where he could only respond with a dumbfounded laugh.
'Are these fuckers crazy?'
He just wanted to get revenge on the Hao Clan Lord and set a bait for the Murim Alliance, and just wanted to frame the Blood Cult for something they didn't do to basically give them a middle finger.
But the little snowball he threw just for fun was now turning into an avalanche.