Love Ballad of the Tyrant King

Chapter 244: Woobin, Grapes the Situation

The carriage carrying Lee Jaseung and his party toward the Guizhou branch ran almost without rest. They only stopped briefly at Murim Alliance branches along the way to switch horses and drivers.

Naturally, Lee Jaseung, who stayed inside the carriage, gained time to focus on his martial arts training.

Even now, he was deep in meditative breathing.

His martial arts stage remained at the second sublevel of the Transcendent Peak Realm. There had been many realizations in the meantime, but he felt a vast distance still remained.

Of course, he was much stronger now than when he first reached the second level. The breadth of that second level was just that immense.

He told himself not to be impatient.

Worry and haste were the primary reasons most things went to ruin.

Lee Jaseung focused more on governing his mind than on the circulation of Qi.

His current inner Qi stood at two hundred years. It had increased by twenty years since reaching one hundred eighty years.

He hadn't taken any special elixirs during that time, nor had he been uniquely immersed only in meditation. His inner Qi had grown through his daily training and actual combat.

Once his inner Qi became high quality, the rate of accumulation was incomparably faster than before.

After finishing a session of meditation, Lee Jaseung practiced his forms. Since he was inside a carriage, he practiced through imagination, visualizing the forms in his mind.

He possessed two secret arts.

The Yama's Dagger Art, which used daggers.

The Ten Heavenly Secret Art, which used the body.

Both secret arts were complete, and he had been using the two martial arts interchangeably in combat as if they were one.

Added to that were the supreme footwork of Limitless Steps, top-tier two-hundred-year inner Qi, and one most important factor.

His vast combat experience.

His subordinates stated with conviction that the strongest person under heaven was Lee Jaseung.

Of course, Lee Jaseung alone knew that wasn't necessarily true.

He viewed a fight with the Asura Demon Sect Leader, Yao Hong, as a fifty-fifty toss-up. It was a fight he could win or lose. He had the confidence to win, but he feared the man's hidden trump card.

And then there was one more person.

The man who left a scar on his chest.

He was incomparably stronger now than when he was first defeated by that man, yet he still lacked confidence when he thought of him.

Of course, there could be people stronger than those two. The Jianghu was a place where eccentric masters as numerous as grains of sand lived.

Repeat, and repeat again.

Lee Jaseung believed in the power of repetition.

This repeated effort had made him strong, and it would continue to make him stronger in the future.

As if determined not to waste a single moment of the time given to him, Lee Jaseung silently lost himself in training.

The carriage that had been racing since morning stopped at a Murim Alliance branch toward evening. They decided to stay there for the night rather than just switching horses.

As soon as they finished dinner, Mujin and Ma Young-gi disappeared somewhere.

The place they headed was an empty clearing in a nearby forest.

They intended to have a duel after finding a rare bit of free time. The two had improved their skills once before through a duel.

Since that day, they enjoyed dueling occasionally. Mujin was a step ahead, but the skill gap wasn't so wide that he could handle Ma Young-gi easily.

It helped both of them. Especially since war had broken out, they knew better than anyone that a single mistake led to death.

The lazy ones were becoming diligent.

However, they didn't lose their sense of humor.

"That'll be three silver coins."

Mujin said with a smirk. The two had made a bet to pay based on the number of steps they were forced back during the match. In this duel, Ma Young-gi had retreated three steps.

Ma Young-gi searched his robes with a look of regret.

Mujin said with narrowed eyes.

"I'm declining money kept under your feet like last time. I'm also declining you making a pitiful face while calling it your pocket money."

"Why? Money is money! What's wrong with my face!"

"Hehe, why? Want to make this the final round?"

"No. I should pay up."

Ma Young-gi took the money from his robes and gave it to Mujin.

"Hahaha, good, good."

Watching the happy Mujin, Ma Young-gi pouted. But in his heart, he was truly grateful to him.

How could a duel with a master like Mujin be worth only three silver coins?

While it helped Mujin himself, Ma Young-gi was the one receiving the much greater benefit. He was in a position where he should be bowing in gratitude, but the betting made the atmosphere less heavy.

Ma Young-gi could tell. That's why Mujin suggested the bet. It was to tell him not to feel burdened or sorry.

So he felt even more grateful and sorry.

Meanwhile, Lee Jaseung and Baek Seolyoung took a walk around the branch office.

"Aren’t you tired?"

Baek Seolyoung replied with a smile to Lee Jaseung's question.

"I'm fine. I'm just sitting comfortably while we travel."

Actually, having to stay seated made the journey more stifling and difficult. Yet they couldn't race that long distance using lightfoot techniques in a state of war.

Everyone's lightfoot skill was different, and they never knew when they might need to use their inner Qi for a real fight.

"I just hope nothing bad happens before we arrive."

Baek Seolyoung was sincerely worried about the martial artists of the Guizhou branch. Now that war had officially begun, there was no telling when or how the situation might change and lead to the prisoners being killed.

Lee Jaseung didn't say anything.

A real war had broken out, and all these events were just the beginning.

There was no telling how many people would die in the future.

Only the effort to end the war as quickly as possible to minimize damage remained.

As the two walked with heavy steps, they came to a halt. Dan Woobin was sitting on a rock in a corner of the yard. His shoulders were slumped, and he looked worried for some reason.

"I'll head inside first, so have a chat before you come in."

She took the hint and left the area.

Lee Jaseung approached him.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, my Lord."

Dan Woobin started to jump up from his seat, but Lee Jaseung sat down beside him first.

"You don't need to worry about me."

Dan Woobin glanced at Baek Seolyoung as she walked away in the distance.

"You should be taking care of the Lady at a time like this."

"I already did."

"You could take care of her even longer."

"And you haven't been able to take care of yours for even fifteen minutes a day, have you?"

He was talking about Songhwa. She was currently at the Black Way Alliance headquarters. When the war broke out, Lee Jaseung evacuated those who didn't know martial arts to a safe place. He had issued a strict order to protect Songhwa specifically.

At the very least, she wouldn't face any trouble in this war. If such a thing happened, it would only be after he and all his subordinates were dead.

"Don't you miss her?"

"I do miss her."

Dan Woobin let out a sigh he had been holding back. He really missed Songhwa. Truly, some days he wanted to run back without looking behind him and collapse into her arms.

It was only because Lee Jaseung was there, and because of Mujin and Ma Young-gi, that he was enduring the burden of being the Chief Strategist.

"I just need to hold out a little longer."

"Yes, a little longer."

Just then, a subordinate from the Three Eyed Pavilion ran up and reported.

"The Demonic Cult has changed its troop deployment."

"Let's go. My Lord, please come with us."

Lee Jaseung and Dan Woobin boarded the carriage where the Three Eyed Pavilion martial artists were staying. In the middle of the carriage was a three-dimensional map of the Central Plains with dozens of flags pinned to it.

The flags were marked with unique characters representing specific groups. For example, the Divine Sword Regiment was marked with 'Divine Sword' and the Demon Soldiers were marked with 'Demon.'

The flag pinned at the Guizhou branch was marked 'Dark,' representing the Dark Noble Clan, and dozens of flags were lined up around it.

"This is their new troop deployment."

The enemies' movements were clearly revealed. The Demonic Cult's forces had begun moving toward the newly acquired Guizhou.

The current situation of both sides was as follows.

The Demonic Cult's strongholds were Guangxi and Guangdong. They exerted their influence over Yunnan and Fujian.

Above them, Guizhou, Hunan, and Jiangxi served as buffer zones, and further up were Hubei and ChongQing, the central territories of the Murim Alliance.

However, because the Guizhou branch had been lost, the fight had taken on a difficult aspect. Besides the geographical advantage of it being a strategic point, the previous troop deployments were now useless, and a new strategy was needed.

"Fortunately, the reason they can't move recklessly isn't because of the Murim Alliance, but because they know our Alliance exists."

It was because they knew well that if they exhausted all their strength fighting the Murim Alliance, they would be devoured by the Black Way Alliance. It was certain that the Demonic Cult was also in a position where they had to be cautious.

"They started a war knowing we were behind them. That's the Asura Demon Sect."

He didn't want to praise them for being impressive. But he had to acknowledge that they were.

This war was one they had started with an absolute advantage. It was a fight meant to push forward after letting Yeo Su-in and the Great Elder destroy each other.

Yet the Asura Demon Sect didn't avoid the war. They made no attempt or effort to stop it.

The confidence of the strong.

The corners of Lee Jaseung's mouth curled up slightly.

They would regret not avoiding it. They would regret trying to win this war using hostages.

Just then, Dan Woobin's gaze turned to one side of the map. After staring at it for a moment, he shouted in surprise.

"My God!"

"What is it?"

"It seems they're trying to pull a trick."

Dan Woobin pointed to the map and spoke.

"Look at this new deployment. At first glance, it looks like they're going to strike the Hunan branch based in Guizhou."

It certainly looked that way. Many troops were positioned as if targeting Hunan.

"But look here."

The place Dan Woobin pointed to was adjacent to Jiangxi. There were two flags there. The characters on the flags were 'Northern Sky' and 'Rapid.'

"These are the Demonic Cult's Northern Sky Regiment and the Rapid Unit. These two organizations don't fit together at all."

"Tell me more."

"The Northern Sky Regiment is a large scale organization of three thousand people. On its own, the Northern Sky Regiment can hold back Jiangxi to some extent. But the problem is the Rapid Unit. The Rapid Unit is the Asura Demon Sect's iron cavalry consisting of five hundred members. Since the number is small, it's composed of elites with extremely high mobility. There's no reason for the Rapid Unit to be stationed here in the current situation."

"Are you saying they'll make a breakthrough toward Jiangxi?"

"Yes. First, they'll strike into Hunan from Guizhou. While our attention is focused there, the Rapid Unit will move."

"A feint to the east while attacking the west?"

"Yes. I think they plan to rush in and strike the Jiangxi branch in an instant."

"When will they move?"

"They'll move as quickly as possible. They'll know the plan could be discovered if they delay."

"But isn't their number too small to occupy the Jiangxi branch with just the Rapid Unit?"

"Because occupation isn't the goal."

Lee Jaseung understood what Dan Woobin was trying to say.

"They intend to neutralize it and then vacate the area."

"Yes, exactly. It's a hit and run. And they won't return. They'll hide somewhere adjacent to Hunan again and wait for an opportunity to ambush the Hunan branch."

Dan Woobin was certain, and Lee Jaseung trusted his analysis of the war situation.

"What if we send reinforcements now?"

Dan Woobin let out a sigh and shook his head.

"It's impossible given the distance."

"What if I go?"

"It'll be close."

"It's worth a try. You all move as scheduled. I'll go save the Jiangxi branch myself."

He intended to send Baek Seolyoung, Mujin, and Ma Young-gi toward Guizhou as planned. It was a choice made just in case.

"But... what if information about the Guizhou branch comes in while you're away?"

The matter of the Dark Noble Clan was urgent.

They had to move the moment information arrived, but they wouldn't be able to if Lee Jaseung was away.

"Even so, I must go save them."

"Yes, that's the right decision."

Dan Woobin nodded. Yes, this was Lee Jaseung's way. Doing his best with the task at hand first.

"Please be careful. You must assume this might be a trap."

Lee Jaseung nodded and looked down at the flag pinned to the Jiangxi branch.

There could be no mistakes in judgment or action.

Though they were only represented by flags, hundreds and thousands of martial artists were actually breathing there.

...Because if they lost, it wasn't just the flags that would fall.