Chapter 97: First Military Commander (4)

"It seems like the Blood Sect will rise soon."

'...?!'

I became speechless when I heard the name Blood Sect being said here. I wasn't sure how to react to this.

-I am more surprised that they have spies in the Blood Sect.

Short Sword mumbled.

She wasn't joking either. Zhuge Won-myung then spoke as if he felt sorry for me.

"I know it must be a huge shock. And this is the truth."

'Hm...'

He first talked about the man with the golden eye and then shifted to the Blood Sect. Was there a connection between the two of them?

My insides felt as if it was twisted in themselves.

"Is the golden-eyed man related to the Blood Sect?"

"We are not sure, but we think it is likely."

"...why?"

"The Grand Heavenly Blade and..."

Uh?

-Someone you know?

How could I not know that man?

Only two people had a strong enough reputation and could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the South Heavenly Swordsman as his peers.

-Then why?

The reason for my shock was simple, two of the warriors he spoke of were already dead.

"And your teacher and this man too."

'No!'

"All four warriors have two things in common."

I figured out what he wanted to say.

"These four people are not strangers to us. No matter how they grew, they were touted to be part of the next generation of Eight Great Warriors and be part of the future of Murim. However, just one person managed to defeat all of them."

"... the man with the golden eye?"

Zhuge Won-myung nodded.

"Yes. To be honest, this had just been speculation on our part as your teacher had gone missing for a long time, but your words had confirmed it."

To summarize what he was saying, the golden-eyed man had taken down the four warriors who had been likely candidates to become the next generation of leaders of the Murim Alliance. As a result, the alliance was now lacking in power.

-That is right.

But the problem wasn't that.

He spoke of this secret as something that was only known to the elders of the alliance.

This meant that the current Murim Alliance and its high-ranking people believed that the golden-eyed man was from the Blood Sect.

And they did have a point.

From the point of view of the Blood Sect that wanted to revive itself, lowering the power of its opponent was only logical.

But I knew that the Blood Sect did not do that.

'... are they simply taking advantage of this?'

That was a possibility that I couldn't rule out. The current Murim Alliance was having issues with low morale due to the recent departure of many warriors.

To overcome that, they were holding a tournament with the purpose of inspiring its members to move as one again.

A Blood Sect that tried to kill their best warriors. What better story was there to unite people for the Murim Alliance?

Zhuge Won-myung stood up and pointed to a wooden board covered by a cloth in the center of the wall. The cloth was then removed, revealing the woodblock under it.

'...?!'

The map on the wooden block had red dots and some familiar locations.

'The Six Blood Valley?'

I gulped unknowingly at this. As he continued, I tried to hold back my shock as much as I could.

"After the war, I have been collecting the information for a very long time in search of the Blood Sect remnants. Doesn't your heart tremble when you see all these red dots?"

A dozen dots. Some of them were places I knew.

Just like the Murim Alliance, which was currently under a strong leader, the capabilities of their intelligence group were also shocking.

"The Blood Sect that had been divided after the war is slowly growing its strength like worms that would dig and eat anything to grow."

Tak. Tak!

Zhuge Won-myung pointed to several places with a wooden stick. One of them was the Six Blood Valley. It was several small and medium-sized places belonging to the Blood Sect that the Murim Alliance had recently attacked.

"Though it is bright above the lamp, it is dark below. A swarm of cunning Blood Sect people ready to stab us from under our chins."

It felt like I should react here.

I opened my mouth with a serious expression on purpose.

"... I thought the Blood Sect was destroyed 20 years ago? I never dreamed they were hidden around like this. We can't just let this happen, right? Shouldn't this be announced to force them to appear?"

-Amazing.

Short Sword mumbled her awe at my acting that made it seem like I had nothing to do with the Blood Sect.

I could understand Short Sword, but Zhuge Won-myung also paid close attention to my reaction.

'... even though I am the disciple of South Heavenly Swordsman, he still seems to hold doubts about me.'

This man was dangerous. I would be dead if I acted just a little out of character.

"You are right. This is a serious matter, but they will only go into hiding if we announce it too early."

"Then how?"

"Do you know how many places on the map have even been touched?"

I gave no answer to that, prompting him to continue.

"We have only dealt with three of them. They were skilled enough that they kept slipping out of my hand. Do you know what that means?"

"..."

I knew the meaning behind Zhuge Won-myung's question. However, it was difficult to say it with my own mouth, though I ended up saying it anyway.

"... the information is being leaked. The Murim Alliance might have a spy within it."

-You are too daring.

To think there would be a situation where I would have to talk about the possibility of someone being a spy with my mouth.

This had never happened in the past. When a spy was mentioned, Zhuge Won-myung's expression changed.

"Truly an insight expected of that man's disciple."

I feel slightly relieved now. Even if it wasn't complete confidence, I felt he had some trust in me.

It seemed like he was testing me differently than Kwak Hyung-jik. Zhuge Won-myung then smiled.

"Seeing the waves of the rivers growing like this, is reassuring. The South Heavenly Swordsman deserves everything in this world."

"No. Please don't say that. I am afraid of bringing his honor down."

"Too much modesty does no good."

"... thank you."

"Just as you said, I have noticed three spies of the Blood Sect. There might even be more than a dozen that we don't know of. Perhaps even more as well."

"That many?"

"Would it make sense for an organization with tens of thousands of members to use just a few spies?"

I probably know the identity of some of the three he mentioned. Unlike the Blood Sect that hid itself, the Murim Alliance was open to all.

It wasn't that difficult to plant spies here. It was just difficult to plant spies at the higher levels of the organization.

"Aren't we all supposed to catch the spies then?"

Jang Myung, who was listening quietly, spoke. At this, Zhuge Won-myung shook his head and said.

"Even if we catch people, new ones will inevitably come."

"Then, without leaving..."

"The information would then become confusing for us."

After hearing my words, Zhuge Won-myung and Kwak Hyung-jik looked at me with shining eyes.

The reason for keeping the spies alive was simple. It was because they could use a known spy to leak false information.

A distraction.

"Hmm."

Zhuge Won-myung looked at me. He must have thought I would have stayed quiet.

I had to do this to at least avoid them becoming suspicious of me, but...

"A talented person. If only you weren't aiming to be a warrior, I would have wanted to recruit you for the military division right away."

"You praise me too much."

Fortunately, he was praising me. However, I was still alert in case something happened.

"If you are this talented, I would like to ask a favor of you."

'Favor?'

Things were becoming difficult for me. Zhuge Won-myung then spoke with a serious face.

"It would be very important for us. And this is a request I would like you to take."

"Me too?"

Jang Myung looked at Zhuge Won-myung with a puzzled expression.

Seeing the young man's expression, it seemed he wasn't informed of this. What would this man ask of us?

"Do not worry. It is related to the tournament you will be participating in."

"What do you mean?"

"There is a high chance that at least three members of the Blood Sect would be participating."

"..."

That's right. One of them was right in front of you. You really can't miss him.

"We can make a guess as to their purpose in two ways."

"Two ways?"

"If they are skilled and receive a high position in the tournament, they would likely make an unexpected move for my position. The second..."

I didn't like this.

What would he say? I hoped it didn't come down to information or...

"They might aim for the Blood Demon Sword in the armory."

'Ahh...'

I sighed inside.

Difficult things just kept coming up. As these people were aware of the Blood Demon Sword, taking it would be more challenging.

I will have to use my head even more.

To take advantage of this situation to find a way out.

"The armory will be opened during this tournament, so they might be aiming for it. Likely, they will not want to miss this chance."

I then carefully said.

"If they are aiming for the sword, then we cannot be careless now. Does your request have something to do with the Blood Demon Sword?"

He shook his head at my words.

"No, you do not have to worry about that."

"What do you mean we do not have to worry?"

"Even if they are lucky enough to win the tournament, they will not be able to take the sword. In five days, the Blood Demon Sword will be transferred to Wudang mountain."

'...!!'

"Elder Jeong Seon will take charge of it and move it, so we don't have to worry about it."

Important information came out of his mouth.

The Blood Demon Sword would be moved from here. Furthermore, one of the Eight Great Warriors would be accompanying it.

The man then continued.

"Then what do you want us to do?"

"What you have to do is to find the questionable people in the tournament."

'...this is.'

Insanity.

He asked me to spy on the same sect I was working for. Sima Young seemed to share my thoughts.

Zhuge Won-myung smiled.

"If possible, I would like you to take the highest positions in the tournament so that any spies do not get the chance to do anything around here."

Hearing his words, Jang Myung bowed.

"How could we reject this as members of the Murim Alliance? I will not disappoint you."

...shit.

His words forced me to do the same thing, and I ended up making my move.

After So Wonhui left the office, Kwak Hyung-jik, who had stayed still, opened his mouth.

"Military commander. Is it the truth?"

"Which one?"

"The words you said before, when you told the disciple of South Heavenly Swordsman that you would let the Blood Demon Sword leave with the Wudang sect leader."

At that question, he smiled.

"Huhuhu."

'...?!'

Kwak Hyung-jik asked.

"... you. Did you deceive the child?"

"It is because we had to be sure."

"You do not believe the child?"

Kwak Hyung-jik had tested Wonhui and, as a result, believed in the child. However, it felt like Zhuge Won-myung did not.

"Great warrior Kwak personally confirmed it, so how can I not believe it? I believe in him but want to see my heart be at ease."

"You mean?"

"This is something I had to do for the sake of my heart."

"Why?"

"In addition to that child, there are children who have disappeared for a year and returned."

"Who are they?"

At that question, Zhuge Won-myung stood up from the table and went through his books.

"Children of the Song family. They belonged to the Hunan Murim branch."

"The Song Family? Is that true?"

Kwak Hyung-jik frowned at Zhuge Won-myung's words.

"Then shouldn't we be checking them out as well?"

"I will do it."

"How?"

"I already threw the bait."

"Bait?'

"If they are lured by the false information about the Blood Demon Sword, then wouldn't it be a good chance for us to strike them in one go?"

Zhuge Won-myung smiled as Jang Myung mumbled.

"Flanking!"

"Huhu. Do you get it? This is why we didn't move to catch the spies."

Jang Myung felt fear fill him with these words.

He learned that martial arts weren't the only form of power in this world. If So Wonhui was a spy, then he would be defeated.

After they finished talking, the men exchanged their greetings and were about to leave when Kwak Hyung-jik turned.

"Uh? What is this?"

Zhuge Won-myung, who had seen the thing, looked at the dagger that had fallen between the chairs.

Jang Myung, who also saw it, said.

"That dagger. I think it belongs to So hyung?"

The dagger was none other than Short Sword.