Chapter 1282: Who Came To Southern Lands Now? (2)

“We’realmostthere.”

“Yes.erysoon.”

hedisciplesofSouthernslandgatheredonthedeckandstaredatthelanddrawingnearer.

Southernands.

heirfaceshardenedmorethanever.

fcourse,thiswasn’ttheirfirsttimesettingfootinSouthernands.BeforetheSouthernandson-AggressionPacttookeffect,theyoftenvisitedtheinterior.

Besides,hadn’ttheypassedthroughSouthernandsonthewaytoMountSongwhentakingpartintheWorldlyMurimMartialArtsournament?

ButitwouldbenoexaggerationtosaythattheSouthernandsofthenandtheSouthernandsofnowwereentirelydifferentplaces.

‘ntheend...’

wakwan-Sobithisliphard.

FromheretotheYangtzeriver,theywouldhavetotraversesomeeighthundredkilometers.heyhadtobreakthroughthevilSectforcesthatweregrindingtheirteethtocaptureandkillthem.

‘sthatreallypossible?’

efelthisbackdampenwithcoldsweat.

hinkingwiththeheadandcarryingitoutwiththebodyaredifferent.ethoughthe’dsteeledhimself,butwithSouthernandsloomingaheadhiswholebodystiffenedwithtension.

wakwan-Soturnedtolookback.Asexpected,theotherSouthernslandSect’sdisciplesalsohadtense,hardfaces.hedisciplesontheothershipswereprobablymuchthesame.

‘Don’ttrytorelax.’

wakwan-Soconsciouslyclenchedandunclenchedhisfistsseveraltimes.fhedidn’tmoveevenalittle,hefelthemightsuffocateintherigidatmosphere.

‘t’sperfectlynaturaltobetense.ryingforciblynottobetenseisthestrangerthing.’

Justaswakwan-Sowasabouttoexhalealongbreath.

“ookslikewe’renearlythere.”

mSo-Byeongstrolledontothedeck,snappedopenhisfan,andfannedhisfacelightly.amgungDo-Weiaskedquietly.

“Didwearriveatthetimeyouexpected?”

“Ugh.”

mSo-Byeongletoutasmallgroanandsnappedthefanshut.Alongsighescapedhim.

“We’requiteabitlaterthanplanned.”

“...sthatso?”

mSo-Byeongnoddedlistlessly.

“Accordingtotheplanweshouldhavearrivedatleastsixhoursearlier...onlythencouldwehavemovedasintended.”

“...”

“Whydidtheheadwindpickup,ah...maddening.‘Doyourbestandleavetheresttoheavens.’omatterhowskilledamasastrategist,can’tbeexpectedtopredictaheadwind.”

“Zhugeiangoncecausedafavorablewindtoblow...”

mSo-Byeong’scheekstwitchedatamgungDo-Wei’soffhandremark.

“fwereZhugeiang,doyouthink’dbestandingherelikethis?”

“Ah,no.didn’tmeanyoulackability.t’sjust...”

“henwhyistheamgungfamily’syounglordonlycapableofthatmuch?fthepreviousfamilylordhadcomeinsteadoftheamgung’syounglord,thoseenhousandPeopleClanbastardswouldhaveallbeenslicedtopiecesonthatshore!”

“Ah...”

“What?”

“didn’tknowthereenForestKingheldmylatefatherinsuchhighesteem.Muchappreciated.”

“...hislittle—?”

“Yes?”

“Ahem!”

mSo-Byeonggaveadispleasedcoughandsnappedhisheadaway.Somehowthismanwasgettinglessandlesseasytodealwithbytheday.

isgazefixedbackonSouthernands,andhisexpressionhardenedslightly.

Althoughitlookedlikeavastland,itwasactuallyabasinthatjuttedoutstraighttowardthesea.t’spreciselythekindofterrainyoushouldavoidwhenconsideringalanding.

Firstly,thelandingpointwasblatantlyexposed,andtoreachdeepinlandthey’dhavetobreakthroughabasinstretchingthreehundredriinastraightline.herewasnodetour,onlyasinglepath.

Strategistswouldlearnfromthisterrainandneverforgetit;itwouldhaunttheirdreams.

“Arewereallylandingthere?”

mSo-Byeongrepliedbluntlytothequietvoice.

“Why?sthereaproblem?Weswamfromtherebefore,didn’twe?”

“’mnotclaimingtoknoweverything,butthesituationisdifferentnow,isn’tit?Backthentheydidn’tknowweexisted...northedirectionoftroopmovements...”

“ooo?”

mSo-ByeongputonanexaggeratedlysurprisedfaceandlookedatamgungDo-Wei.

“Ah,youknowabitofmilitarystrategy?”

“...”

“Wow,impressive.Youknowmilitarystrategytoo.h,nowthatthinkofit’veheard:theroyalstudiestaughttoapersontobecometheordoftheamgungFamilyincludemilitarytactics.heysayonemustalsocultivateliteraryartslikepoetry,calligraphy,andpainting,yes?”

“t’snotthatgrand,justalittleknowledge...”

“sktsktsk.”

mSo-Byeong’sfanninggrewviolentlyrapid.

“hisiswhy!alf-learnedknowledgecausesmoretrouble!”

“...”

“fyoudon’tknow,keepyourmouthshutlikethefellowsbehindyouwho’djustsay,‘Ah,they’reprobablylandingthere.’Butthosewho’veskimmedthesurfaceinsistthetastefromtherindisthetasteofthemelonandpoketheirnosesintoeverything!”

“...Ah,no,that’snotit.”

“hat’showrulersruinnations!heyalwayssay,‘’velearnedthat!’Butthetacticslearnedaredifferentfromthat!”

“-wasjustofferinganopinion...”

“What?onestly!fjusttakingthatclassmakesyouamilitaryexpert,whatwasyourpreviouslordthinkingchargingallthewaytotheYangtzeriver!Didheskipthe✪оvеlіgһt✪(fficialversion)tacticschapterinthebook?”

“D-Don’tkeepgoingatmylatefather!eactednotwithhisheadbutwithhisheart!Withhisheart!”

“eart?Whatnonsense!”

“Donotinsultmylatefather!”

wakwan-So’seyesblurredashewatched.

‘veninthissituationthey’rebeinglikethat.’

ehadassumedanyonewithheadwouldnaturallybetenseinsuchcircumstances.owhesawthatwasn’tnecessarilytrue.itherthat,orthosepeopleweren’tquitenormal.

“sk.”

mSo-Byeongclickedhistongueandfannedirritably.

“fyouthinkaboutitroughly,thatisn’tentirelywrong.”

“Right.So...”

“nlyifyouthinkroughly,onlyifyouthinkroughly!”

“...”

“Whyshouldn’twelandwheretheenemyexpectsus?Becausetheycanprepare,laytraps,orsetupdefenses,right?”

amgungDo-Weinoddedvigorouslyinagreement.mSo-Byeongsnappedinreturn.

“heydon’thavetheforcesthererightnowtosetupthatdefensiveline!hosetroopsareallpacingtheirfeetaroundinSouthernslandatthemoment!”

“Ah...”

“fwehesitatetolandandwastetimeinthatsituation,thenon-existentdefensivelinewillbeformed,yousee?hemostimportantthinginmilitaryartisn’tprinciplebuttiming,timing!Sometimesrightnowiscorrectandlaterit’swrong—that’showstrategyworks.Understand?”

amgungDo-Weinoddedasifhenowunderstood.Butoneunresolvedquestionstillsatinhischest.

“...h-thenwhydidyousayearlierthatyouweregoingcrazy?”

“utofregret,that’swhy,outofregret!”

“h?”

mSo-ByeongtwistedhisfaceirritablyandsnappedhisgazetowardSouthernands.

“fwe’darrivedjust6hoursearlierwecouldhaverushedtouangdongandburneddownthemainheadquartersofthoseenhousandPeopleClanbastards.”

“...”

“henJanglso’sfacewouldhavebeenasighttosee!Ah,evenheavenisheartless.Whydoestheheadwindhavetopickupatatimelikethis...”

“Areyouindulginginfantasieslikethatatthistime?”

“Whynot?Aren’tstrategistsstillhuman?verytimethatJanglsodeliberatelyestablishedalongfrontwiththereenForestandpokedatus,myschemingtwistedtoo!alfmypoorhealthisthatbastard’sfault!”

“Andtheotherhalf?”

“BecauseofMountua’sSwordSaint,ofcourse.”

...twasnonsense,butsomehowalsooddlyconvincing...

“Ugh.hat’sashame.”

mSo-Byeongsigheddeeplyinregretandcomplained.

houghhespokelikethat,burningdowntheenhousandPeopleClan’smainheadquarterswasnotmerelytolifthisspirits.RegardlessofJusticefactionorvilSect,asect’smaincompoundburningcarriesgreatsignificance.

JustlookatMountuaasanexample.

venafterMountualostallitsupperranksatoptheen-housandreatMountains,nobodydeclaredMountuaruined.twasn’tconsidereddevastateduntilremnantsoftheDemonicCultinvadedShaanxiandburnedMountua’spavilions.

heyarenotmerebuildings;amaincompound’spavilionscarrysymbolism.ftheyhadtakentheopportunitytoburntheenhousandPeopleClan’sheadquartersclean,itwouldhavedealtaclearblowtoJanglso’ssolidcontrol...

“sk.othingwecando.”

herewasnowaynow.ftheyclumsilytriedtoburntheheadquarters,thepeopleherewouldgetroasted.Disappointingasitwas,theyhadtogiveupcleanly.

“istenup!”

WhenmSo-Byeongraisedhisvoice,everyone’sattentionfocused.

wakwan-Soswallowedhard.obehonest,hedidn’treallytrustmSo-Byeong,whohailedfromthevilSect.e’dneverfelttheeffectivenessofmSo-Byeong’sschemes.

Yetthereasonwakwan-Sostilllistenedwassimple:ChungMyung,BaekCheon,amgungDo-WeiandtheothernotablemembersoftheeavenlyFriendsAlliancewerealllisteningtomSo-Byeong.

hemlisteningtohiswords—justthatalonemeantmSo-Byeonghadalreadypassedakindofverification.

‘Sosomegreatstratagemmustbecoming.’

famanfromthevilSectcouldmaketheheadsoftheJusticefaction’ssectslisten,surelyhemusthavesomeremarkabletrick...

“nceweland,militarytheoryandallthatwon’tmatter.”

“Uh...”

o...hewassupposedtobecunningandelusive...

“Don’toverthinkit,rununtilyourfeetsweat.WemustadvanceasfaraspossiblebeforethosedamnedvilSectbastardscanputaproperheavenandearthnetinplace!”

wakwan-Sogaveastartledshout.

“W-wait!fwedothat,won’ttheylearnourentiretrail?”

“tdoesn’tmatter.”

“What?”

“veniftheyknow,itdoesn’tmatter.hey’llfindoutanyway;ifso,it’sbettertomoveonestepfaster!”

wakwan-Sodroppedhisjaw.

‘sheinsane?’

omatterhowhethoughtaboutit,itwasn’tasanethingtosay.Butwhenheturnedtoseekagreement,deepdespairmethim.

“Finally,youhavesomethingsensibletosay.”

ChungMyungofMountua’sSwordSaintgrinnedbroadly.

“Conciseandgood.”

BaekCheon,theActingSecteaderofMountua,noddedinagreement.

“t’srational,atleast.”

venamgungDo-Wei,theirlasthope,expressedagreementasiftherewerenootheroption.

Watchingthis,wakwan-Sofelthisownmindgostrange.

‘hey’rereallygoingtodothis?’

hisinsanestunt?

“W-wait!”

“Ah,whatnow?”

wakwan-Sorackedhisbraindesperately.ehadtosaysomethingsensible.

“W-whatifwepenetratesodeeplyintoenemyterritoryandgetencircled?henthere’snoturningback!”

“Whatareyoutalkingabout?”

hereplycamenotfrommSo-ByeongbutfromChungMyung.

“DoyouthinktheFourSectsAllianceiseasy?Doyouthinkyou’llavoidencirclementbyhidingyourbuttaway?”

“h-that’s...”

“fyou’regoingtobreakintosomeone’shouseandwreakhavoc,youshouldbepreparedtobeencircled.hat’sonlynatural.”

“o,cansteelmyselfforthat,butifwereallydogetencircled,whatwillyoudothen?”

“Dowhat?Whatdoyouthinkwe’ddo?”

ChungMyungproudlypuffedouthischest.

“We’llthinkaboutitwhenthetimecomes!”

Despairsettledonwakwan-So’sface.Buttheothersseemedtothinkdifferentlyoncemore.

“Definitelyrational.”

“Agoodplan.”

“oroomforobjections.”

MembersoftheeavenlyFriendsAlliancenoddedrepeatedly.earswelledinwakwan-So’seyes.Wouldn’titbebettertoturnbackevennow...?

“henfirstweland?”

“fcourse.But...”

mSo-Byeongsmirkedandlookedtowardtheshore.

“heymaylacktroops,butthey’llhaveeyes—soweshouldgivethemalittlepresent.”

“uh?Apresent?”

mSo-Byeong’sfaceinstantlytookonamaliciousglint.