Chapter 302

"Calmheart County... isn’t that the place you mentioned earlier that borders Pure Fragrance County?"

"It is."

"Mm... do you require support?"

"I’ll take Division Chief Wei Tianhu of the Martial Righteous Unit, twenty of his men, and Han Murin here."

"Understood. I approve them all."

Unhwi brought his fists together.

"Thank you."

***

Outside, Unhwi could see the imposing Wei Tianhu and his unit.

He looked at Wei Tianhu and asked, "Can you handle it?"

"Yes, Heavenly Arbiter. It’s within reach."

"You seem better suited to the court’s army than to the martial world."

At the sudden remark, Wei Tianhu tilted his head.

"...Sir?"

Unhwi smiled faintly.

"I said it because your steadfast loyalty is the same as a government soldier’s. And—just in case—are there any survivors?"

"None. You said we needed no prisoners, so we cut off every head."

Wei Tianhu carried the confidence of a man who had completed his mission perfectly. It wasn’t a bad look.

"Good work. We depart immediately for Calmheart County of Un’guk. Draw twenty members from the Martial Righteous Unit, split them into two squads, appoint two squad leaders, and prepare wagons and horses."

"Ah... yes. Understood."

As Wei Tianhu left with the Unit, Han Murin, who had been watching his retreating back for a moment, approached Unhwi.

"As you instructed, I showed my face briefly to Han Cheolsu of the Mixed Path Demon Flame Palace."

"Did he recognize you?"

"He wore a doubtful expression, but I don’t think he was certain."

"Is that regrettable?"

Han Murin shook his head.

"It’s fine. It only made clearer what it is I have to do."

Once, Unhwi had told Han Murin:

The moment would come when he would have to choose.

To erase the Mixed Path Demon Flame Palace from the world, or to remove only the direct targets of his revenge and become the Palace Lord himself.

And Han Murin had chosen.

"The one who will be the next master of the Mixed Path Demon Flame Palace must not waver in the slightest."

Exactly so.

Han Murin had chosen the latter.

"Seo Hyo will soon draw up the list of those who helped kill your father back then and bring it to you. Go over it with Flame King Hwa Munyeom and revise it—add those who should be added and remove those who should be removed."

"I will."

After that, Unhwi conveyed a few things to Han Murin by sound-transmission, then waited for Wei Tianhu.

***

Royal capital of Un’guk.

Crown Prince Unmu came to audience with King Unmu.

There was no one left who could stop Unmu, who already held real power in Un’guk.

The ministers of the court, the eunuchs of the palace— even the king’s intimates— all moved according to the Crown Prince’s will.

Silently entering the king’s sleeping chamber, Unmu looked upon his father lying there.

His condition was not good.

The majestic figure who had once commanded Un’guk had vanished; only a body as withered as a dry twig lay buried under a silk quilt.

Unmu spoke with care.

"Father."

At that, King Unmu slowly lifted his head and looked at his son. The sharpness once in his eyes was gone, clouded now.

"Unmu... What have you come for today?"

"I have matters to report to Your Majesty."

Unmu said with formality.

"My uncle, the Prince of the Blood, and the Chancellor An Wigwan have passed away."

"...I see?"

King Unmu’s response was placid. As if hearing of a stranger.

"And we have established a new relationship with the Heavenly Alliance."

"The Heavenly Alliance..."

"Seol Unhwi, the Heavenly Arbiter, is a son of Snow Palace, and I rate his potential highly. It may be improper for a Crown Prince to put it this way, but he will stand atop the martial world in time. However, how long he remains with the Heavenly Alliance, I cannot be cert—"

He got no further.

Suddenly King Unmu shouted.

"The Heavenly Alliance!! Vice Alliance Lord Mae Wuidong...!!"

Startled, Unmu stepped back.

"You fool! He is not a man to be taken lightly. Absolutely not!"

The king struggled up from the bed, thrashing. His eyes were full of fear.

"The Heavenly Alliance...! The Heavenly Alliance!! You must distance yourself from them at once. No—don’t merely distance yourself. You must bring them down! Especially that Mae Wuidong—kill him at once and—"

Abruptly the king’s body went rigid.

His lips opened and closed, then he smiled gently.

"My Crown Prince. What have you come for today?"

Unmu looked at his father, bewildered.

"...Father..."

"Don’t tell me this is about Unsang again. When will that brat come to his senses... tch."

Unsang.

As the Prince of Yang, he was Crown Prince Unmu’s younger brother.

And roughly twelve years ago, he had died of a chronic illness.

"Father, Sangi died twelve years ago."

Unmu’s voice carried deep sorrow.

"...Heh... Now you tease your father. Twelve years, you say? Only five days ago we were in the garden togeth— hm...?"

The king’s expression turned grave.

He stared through Unmu for a long moment, then suddenly cried out.

"Who are you...! Who are you, to dare mimic Unmu’s face! The Unmu I know has not aged this mu— urk!"

The king pushed himself up from the bed and, panicked, scuttled backward.

"Left Guard General!! Right Guard General!! Is no one out there! There is one here who seeks to harm Us!!"

Unmu covered his face with both hands.

His father’s state was truly poor.

It had gone beyond drifting in and out— he no longer recognized his own son or the passage of time.

Then the king murmured in a trembling voice:

"Mae... Mae Wuidong...? Ah... no, that can’t be. I have never defied you... Go. Tell him this. Something has gone wrong..."

As he said that, the king suddenly smiled.

"Unmu... you’ve grown well."

Unmu walked over and gently embraced his father.

"...I have grown well. Father, I will take ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ charge of Un’guk now."

Even as he said it, one doubt rose.

Mae Wuidong.

He was certainly the Vice Alliance Lord of the Heavenly Alliance.

But the words that just fell from the king’s lips were not ordinary. As if some weakness had been seized.

No—beyond a weakness. It sounded like fear.

What in the world did "I have never defied you" mean?

However unsound of mind, it was strange that a king would fear a single martial artist so deeply.

It was the first time the name Mae Wuidong, whom the Crown Prince had met a handful of times, had ever come from his father’s mouth.

And of all times, paired with words tinged by such terror.

‘Mae Wuidong... the man said to have raised the pillars of the Heavenly Alliance, praised as gentle and mild— does he harbor some secret?’

Unmu shook his head, clearing the thought away.

This was something to tell Unhwi separately.

In any case, the one Unmu had chosen to stand with was not the "Heavenly Alliance" but Unhwi.

At any rate, there was more to do right now.

All preparations were complete.

The king’s condition worsened by the day; the palace stewards said he would not last beyond a fortnight.

A glance was enough to see it was true.

Within a fortnight, Unmu would ascend the throne.

Looking upon his father with pained eyes, Unmu let out a sigh.

***

Unhwi’s column bound for Calmheart County passed through the southern wall of Cheonsu.

Travel time: about two days.

Reins in hand, Han Murin glanced sidelong at Unhwi.

Unhwi rode with a calm face, and beside him ran Wei Tianhu.

The distance between them was quite close.

In Han Murin’s mind, the sound-transmission Unhwi had given before departure resurfaced.

—Not long after we set out, when you, I, and Wei Tianhu are within close distance, pose me a question.

—A question, sir?

—There is a question not only you but everyone is curious about, is there not?

There was no need to strain for specifics. It was the most fundamental question.

He urged his horse faster, moved to Unhwi’s left, and asked carefully.

"Total Comma— no, Heavenly Arbiter."

At Han Murin’s address, Unhwi turned his head.

"If it doesn’t sit well on your tongue, just call me Commander."

"Understood, Commander. May I ask one thing?"

"Go ahead."

"How do you intend to end the fight with the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect?"

It was, as Unhwi had said, the question that "everyone" wanted answered— Wei Tianhu included.

Whether one called it a battle between the Heavenly Alliance and the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect, or between Cheonrim and the Mukse Society, none of that mattered.

The one at the front was Unhwi.

And the opponent Unhwi had to face was Yeon Songbaek, Sect Master of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect.

Then what realm did Yeon Songbaek stand in?

At the Realm of Martial Divinity.

No matter that Unhwi had created a new system, the Triple Profound Realm, and climbed it— to fight a master of the Realm of Martial Divinity was suicide.

A fight could not even be said to exist.

With a single flick of his fingers, Yeon Songbaek—who used Heaven-Earth qi—could blow off one of Unhwi’s limbs.

An absolute inevitability.

One that countless experiences could not evade.

Then what should be done?

It was simple.

Bluntly put— whether by the martial way or the military way— all of it is a struggle over how to find a point of agreement.

"How will I end it?"

"Yes."

"Through a courteous, formal conversation, I will take all that is Cheonrim’s and receive Yeon Songbaek’s blood-written pledge that no martial artist of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect will ever again interfere in Cheonrim."

Han Murin blurted, as if he had misheard.

"...Pardon?"

Wei Tianhu doubted his own ears as well.

What was he saying?

"...Can that... be done with conversation?"

Unhwi let out a soft snort.

"Do you judge that it cannot?"

"...It’s just... we annihilated the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect’s Deputy Sect Lord who had entered under the Heavenly Alliance, and their entire envoy; wiped out two of their branch halls; and beheaded another branch lord. In this situation, to speak of a conversation... I don’t understand."

There was genuine puzzlement in Han Murin’s voice.

Unhwi asked, "Do you know why Jo Taehwa became the Deputy Sect Lord of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect?"

"...Because of his attainment in Unity of Heaven and Man, wasn’t it?"

Unhwi shook his head.

"The Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect has one more master at Unity of Heaven and Man. And he had belonged to the Sect far longer than Jo Taehwa. As Deputy Sect Lord, he would, if anything, be more suitable than Jo Taehwa. Yet the deputy’s seat went to Jo Taehwa."

Han Murin and Wei Tianhu pricked up their ears.

"On hearing that such a Jo Taehwa is dead, Yeon Songbaek will, rather, be pleased."

"...Sir?"

Han Murin’s expression grew complicated.

"You look unconvinced."

"I... do not understand."

"Then I will tell you one thing. What kind of man Yeon Songbaek is."

Han Murin and Wei Tianhu focused.

Unhwi looked up at the sky for a moment, then opened his mouth.