Chapter 14
Chapter 14:
5. Western Alliance (2)
"Once you sign and affix your seal, the 'Western Alliance' will be established. Will you accept our alliance?"
Ajung Mak-sang, the envoy of Potala Palace, said while looking at Hyeok Je-un.
A sudden proposal of alliance.
Hyeok Je-un was flustered, as this was something he had never considered before.
He had always focused solely on martial arts, and forming an alliance between factions was something he had never done before.
Hm.
Hyeok Je-un held the document in his hand for a moment, lost in thought.
Why had Potala Palace suddenly paid this visit so early in the morning? Even a fool would know the reason.
Because Qinghai Escort Bureau has fallen.
With the Qinghai Escort Bureau collapsing overnight, various factions throughout Xinjiang and Xizang had begun to stir.
The one that had acted fastest was none other than Potala Palace.
They had come to tell the Heavenly Demon Cult—who had toppled the Qinghai Escort Bureau that had long coveted Tianshan—we have no ambitions in Xinjiang, so do not provoke us without cause, before they themselves could be targeted.
And the one responsible for bringing down Qinghai Escort Bureau was……
None other than the young master Hyeok Jeong-min, standing far in the back, watching their every move with keen eyes.
Hyeok Je-un smirked at the sight of the little child peeking around curiously. That young one.
"Ah, one more thing."
At that moment, Ajung Mak-sang's voice broke through Hyeok Je-un's thoughts.
True to his title of Tea Master, Ajung Mak-sang took a sip of tea, then lowered his voice and continued.
"This alliance takes effect the moment you affix your seal—however, it will only come into force once I have returned to Potala Palace and reported to the Dalai Lama."
"Meaning?"
"If Forest Bandits were to launch an attack before I have reached the Dalai Lama, our Potala Palace will not assist the Heavenly Demon Cult."
A clever way with words.
The Forest Bandits would surely come soon. And when they did, Potala Palace was saying they would not help.
In other words—show us another display of force like the one against Qinghai Escort Bureau?
The arrogance of it, looking down from some lofty height, was thoroughly disagreeable.
And yet.
"Very well."
After brief deliberation, Hyeok Je-un answered without hesitation.
The help of Potala Palace was not needed against mere Forest Bandits. On the contrary, what mattered here was demonstrating their own strength even more forcefully.
Hyeok Je-un signed the document. And with seal, he proclaimed the alliance with Potala Palace before all the world.
Ajung Mak-sang let out a quiet chuckle.
"Our Potala Palace will support the Heavenly Demon Cult to the best of our ability."
"But of course. Let us maintain this Western Alliance firmly."
With a handshake that concluded his meeting with Ajung Mak-sang, the envoys of Potala Palace departed.
Several hours later, Hyeok Je-un called Jeong-min separately to his personal quarters.
Jeong-min stood fidgeting, wearing the face of someone who knew exactly what he had done wrong.
"Why are you standing like that?"
"I have something to say in my defense."
"I haven't scolded you for anything yet."
"It seemed like you were about to."
This was the same Jeong-min who, after killing the bandit Bae Hang-yeop, had received a harsh tongue-lashing and beating from Hyeok Je-un—and had even been sent into closed-door confinement.
Well, the confinement wasn't all bad.
But once was enough. The training inside had been blissful, yet he had no desire to have his field of vision swallowed by darkness again.
He had received such punishment for killing just one person. This time he had killed more than twelve, so Jeong-min thought it was only right that Hyeok Je-un punish him severely.
Yet something was strange. Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un was completely calm toward Jeong-min.
"Grandfather. If you're going to scold me, please do so. Seeing you with such a serene expression frightens me more."
"I will not scold you."
"Pardon?"
"There is something I realized after hearing your words."
Hyeok Je-un looked at Jeong-min with deeply sunken eyes.
"You asked what peace had ever gained us."
"……"
"Nothing, it turned out. You were right. Our Heavenly Demon Cult, under the banner of martial arts established by the First Cult Leader, has been too preoccupied with merely protecting ourselves. I had not realized that would become the very root of our troubles, with enemies lurking on all sides. No—I knew, and yet I chose to look away with clouded eyes."
"Grandfather."
"You have cleared my eyes. Thank you."
Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un smirked and continued.
"And did you not make a promise? That our family would be the ones to protect our own."
Hyeok Je-un knew well why Jeong-min had gone to raid Qinghai Escort Bureau alone.
He must have decided he had to face them himself. Because if the Heavenly Demon Cult had marched with the full Main Hall, it would have become all-out war.
Even so, Jeong-min had gone alone and brought the entire Qinghai Escort Bureau to its knees—and Hyeok Je-un could not help but feel proud.
"It seems the Heavenly Demon Divine Art has truly taken root within you."
"Yes."
"Even so, going alone was reckless. From now on, let us go together. Let us protect things side by side."
"Yes……. I will do so."
Those words struck deep in his chest.
Together.
Protect things side by side.
Yes—wasn't that the very path he had been walking all along?
As Jeong-min held that stirring feeling within him, Hyeok Je-un drew closer.
"Has the Demon Vein Affliction truly been fully cleared?"
"Grandfather. There is something I would like to show you."
Jeong-min made up his mind to reveal it all at once.
When Jeong-min said he had something to show, Hyeok Je-un half expected the boy to perform some amusing trick. But Jeong-min abruptly rolled up his sleeve, then extended his left wrist and told him to read his pulse.
"Would you check it?"
"……?"
Hyeok Je-un, not knowing what to expect, took his hand.
He pressed his fingers to the pulse—and Hyeok Je-un was startled.
"This is……!"
"Yes. The Heavenly Martial Physique."
He had only suspected it.
That to suppress the Demon Vein Affliction with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, one would need at least the Heavenly Martial Physique.
But it had been nothing more than suspicion—he had thought Jeong-min's mastery of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was simply a stroke of heaven's fortune.
To think it had actually been true.
"You were…… a martial prodigy born once in a thousand years."
And I possess Peerless External Martial Arts on top of that.
Those words, Jeong-min chose to leave unsaid for now. Giving Grandfather too much information at once could get him overly excited, and that would be troublesome.
"So please do not worry. I will take responsibility for the actions I have taken."
"Responsibility?"
"There is still a long road ahead."
A nod. Hyeok Je-un was not ignorant of what Jeong-min meant.
Qinghai Escort Bureau was not the problem. A trivial escort bureau like that could have been swept aside at any time.
What truly mattered was—
"The Forest Bandits who have spread through Xizang will soon swarm upon us. I hear they are even joining forces from Gansu."
"Yes."
Jeong-min knew what that meant.
A full month had already passed.
"It will be an all-out battle."
.
.
.
The next morning, a night watchman patrolling the outskirts of Tianshan spotted something and filed an urgent report.
"The Forest Bandits, the Forest Bandits are attacking!"
So it has come, Hyeok Je-un thought, gazing beyond the mountain ridge.
The marching column of Forest Bandits, stretching on like a swarm of ants, had no end in sight.
At least several thousand, easily.
"We descend the mountain."
At Hyeok Je-un's command, the Heavenly Demon Cult organized the Main Hall and all descended together.
Making Tianshan the battlefield would only leave the Heavenly Demon Cult in ruins—that much was obvious.
The cult members of the Heavenly Demon Cult numbered fewer than three hundred. Every last one of them came down from the mountain.
And then, on the vast plains of Dongji, with nothing between them, the two factions came face to face.
Separated by a distance the size of a single village, the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Forest Bandits stared each other down.
"……"
"……"
No wind blew, and all was still in every direction.
With this many people gathered and not a single word spoken, the silence made for a strangely imposing sight.
How strange.
So it was for Jeong-min as well.
He had been an assassin. This kind of grand battle was something he had never witnessed, and honestly, he found it strange and stirring.
"There are far too many of them."
Those were Hyeok Mun-ha's words, filled with dread.
And not just Hyeok Mun-ha. The other cult members, too, all seemed deflated by the sheer overwhelming numbers of the Forest Bandits.
"Didn't you say an alliance was formed with Potala Palace? Will they not come to help?"
"……"
Jeong-min knew those words were pointless.
Potala Palace would not come to their aid. The envoy had said so—until they reached Potala Palace, the alliance would not take effect.
Beyond that, Potala Palace had simply not wanted to become enemies of the Heavenly Demon Cult. Jeong-min understood that well enough.
To swallow the other territories in Xinjiang, an alliance would eventually be necessary anyway.
The Forest Bandits were not the end. The Blood Cult still remained.
Just then, someone stepped a few paces forward from among the Forest Bandits—visible only as a small dot in the distance.
At the sight of them, Hyeok Je-un stepped forward as well.
Behind Hyeok Je-un stood the renowned, steadfast pair of elders, holding their ground.
Behind them, likewise, were the other notable elders, each in their place.
That alone was enough to fill the cult members with a sense of reassurance.
The cult members checked where they themselves stood.
Even among practitioners of the Heavenly Demon Cult who all pursued martial arts alike, each had been given a different station.
The Demon Martial Corps—those who leaned more heavily toward martial arts.
The Inscription Martial Corps—those who revered formation and discipline.
The Cult Corps—those more devoted to the Heavenly Demon Cult's doctrine than to martial arts.
And then the general cult members who had yet to belong to any of these groups.
Hyeok Je-un glanced back once, then turned his gaze forward again and set his expression with firm resolve.
"Are you the leader of these bandits!"
Boom—boom—boom—
Hyeok Je-un's booming voice rang out and set the plain ablaze.
His voice carried to the opposite side, and the distant figure standing like a dot raised their own.
"I am Heo Do-yun, Great Forest King! And you must be Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un!"
"That is correct!"
A brief silence—then the Great Forest King Heo Do-yun opened his mouth.
"I have heard about what happened at Qinghai Escort Bureau!"
That was all.
There was nothing to say in return, and after a moment of quiet, Heo Do-yun continued.
"I must avenge my dead brother!"
Again, there was nothing to say in return.
Hyeok Je-un finally called out.
"I must protect my Cult."
"Do as you will. We intend to tear it apart."
"Do you know the other name for this Dongji land?"
When no answer came, Hyeok Je-un continued.
"It is the Crossroads. These lands have been defended from northern nomads for hundreds of years."
"Anyone listening might think it was you who defended them."
"At least for now, that will be the case. Withdraw! We are not idle enough to deal with bandits."
There was force behind the warning.
At some point, Heo Do-yun and Hyeok Je-un had stopped speaking with their voices. They were conversing with internal energy-channeled transmissions, audible to all around them.
It was something only possible because both were extraordinary masters.
The Great Forest King Heo Do-yun spoke.
"Another of my brothers says he has something to say."
With that, someone stepped out from beside Heo Do-yun.
Gripping a long spear with a faint green sheen in one hand, he bellowed out in a great voice.
"I am Yang Sung-man, the Verdant Illusion Spear! Who was it that killed our dear little Hang-yeop!"
Hyeok Je-un turned to look back. At that, Jeong-min stepped forward.
The ones who grabbed Jeong-min's wrist were Hyeok Jang-ho and Hyeok Mun-ha.
"Brother. There is no need for you to step out."
"That's right. It was they who started this."
He knew. He knew that Bae Hang-yeop had been the one to come to Tianshan making unreasonable demands.
But the fact that Jeong-min had killed him was also true. Jeong-min nodded to reassure the two of them, then stepped forward once more.
"It was me!"
Ah—should he give his name?
Yang Sung-man's voice followed.
"Hear me, Heavenly Demon Hyeok Je-un! Hand over your third young master, Hyeok Jeong-min! Do so, and we will withdraw without incident!"
In other words, since only Jeong-min had done the killing, there would be no all-out battle if they stood down here.
Perhaps the bandits assumed Hyeok Jeong-min would simply be handed over. It was something they had often done during their years of plunder—hand over the women and we will spare the men. And the men, without hesitation, would hand the women over.
But the Heavenly Demon Cult was not like that.
"Enough of your nonsense!!!"
—Waaaah!
Beginning with Hyeok Je-un's roar, the cult members of the Heavenly Demon Cult all cried out together in a surge of fierce energy.
From the other side, the scorn of the Forest Bandits was almost palpable. With just a few dozen of you against thousands of us?
The cult members numbered fewer than several hundred. So it was true that the Forest Bandits' numbers had shaken them.
And yet.
We have Heavenly Demon, Cult Leader Hyeok Je-un, and the elders. And—young master Jeong-min, who brought down Qinghai Escort Bureau entirely on his own!
The cult members leaned on that conviction.
"Pass the orders down through the lieutenants. Drive every last one of these worthless bandits into the underworld!"
With Hyeok Je-un's words as the signal, the battle began.
The great clash had commenced.