Silence flowed in the room.
With this, the purpose of the Martial Alliance was clearly revealed.
With the appearance of the mysterious force called Pacheongyo, this meeting was entering a new phase.
'As expected, there was a close relationship between the purpose of the Martial Alliance and Pacheongyo.'
From the moment he had first heard the name Pacheongyo at the banquet yesterday, Cheon Myeong had been thinking that way.
Although he had not found out anything about what kind of place it was until now.
It seemed that since Howonjae had mentioned the name, he was now thinking of telling them about Pacheongyo.
"Leader."
"..."
"Wouldn't you tell me about Pacheongyo first?"
Cheon Myeong asked Howonjae.
Although he had been mostly silent until now, from the moment the name Pacheongyo came out, Cheon Myeong's attitude had changed drastically.
After a brief silence, Howonjae opened his mouth.
"...To tell you the truth, this alliance also does not know much about Pacheongyo."
At that answer, a feeling of question arose on the faces of the people at the same time.
He had just said himself that he would destroy the place called Pacheongyo, so what on earth was that answer?
As everyone was looking at him as if they could not understand, Howonjae continued to speak.
"The reason is that it has not been long since we learned about the existence of Pacheongyo."
"..."
"But I can say this one thing for sure. Pacheongyo. Because of its existence, the balance of the martial world that has been maintained until now may be broken."
Gulp-
Hearing Howonjae's words, someone swallowed their dry saliva.
That much, the atmosphere felt from Howonjae's voice was solemn and serious.
"W-wait a minute!"
At that moment, breaking the silence, Wang Hyeon opened his mouth after a rather long time.
"Pacheongyo... are you saying that that place is a threat to the Sea King Family or the Martial Alliance?"
"It seems you have not understood my words well."
"...?"
"It's not just a threat. If we don't prepare, even this alliance will not be able to handle it."
"...!"
To think that Howonjae would say that.
Although Wang Hyeon had pride in his family, he had the thought that the Martial Alliance side was a little more powerful than the Sea King Family.
If even such a Martial Alliance could not handle it, wouldn't it mean that the Sea King Family was also the same?
Wang Hyeon found it hard to believe that such a force really existed in this world.
"That's absurd... In the first place, if such a force had existed, there is no way our side would not have known!"
Although the Sea King Family was located at the eastern end, it was not that they were not interested in other regions at all.
It could be said that they had always been watching the forces that could be a threat to the Sea King Family in the future.
Hearing Howonjae's words, it was felt that the place called Pacheongyo was equal to, or more than, the Martial Alliance.
But to think that the Sea King Family did not even know its name.
Although it was not that he could not believe Howonjae, it could be said to be a really absurd story.
"That's why it's more scary."
"...Pardon?"
"If a force becomes powerful, its existence will inevitably be revealed to the outside. But isn't it creepy that its existence has not been revealed to this extent?"
As soon as he heard those words, Wang Hyeon felt an indescribable fear.
A powerful force that was a threat to the Martial Alliance. But to think that its existence was lying on the floor like a shadow.
It is scary to walk when you cannot see what is in front of you.
This could also be said to be the same.
As he came to think that a powerful force that was all covered existed somewhere in the martial world, he could not help but feel a greater fear.
"We don't even know where its headquarters is located."
"..."
"Also, we don't know the purpose of the place called Pacheongyo."
Saying that, Howonjae raised his right hand.
The place where his right hand was first directed was Wang Hyeon.
As he was suddenly pointed out, Wang Hyeon's body flinched.
"The purpose of Pacheongyo may be to destroy the Sea King Family."
"...!"
"If not..."
Howonjae's hand slowly swept over the people sitting at the round table.
And finally, the place where Howonjae's hand stopped was the direction where Cheon Myeong was sitting.
In that state, Howonjae continued his words.
"Any one of these places could be the purpose of Pacheongyo."
"..."
"Of course, as I said before, I don't know for sure. But it's not a problem that can be overlooked."
Those words were right.
For example, even if the purpose of Pacheongyo were one of these places, the probability was 20%. It could not be said to be a low figure.
To put it bluntly, you can't entrust the fate of the Martial Alliance or the Demonic Cult to that 20%, can you?
Of course, it was the same for the other places.
'...In reality, there is a possibility that the place called Pacheongyo is not that much of a threat.'
Cheon Myeong was also considering that possibility.
However, it was unlikely that Howonjae would have brought up such words without any basis.
Even with Cheon Myeong's intuition, he could not just ignore the existence of Pacheongyo.
"Leader, how did you learn about the existence of Pacheongyo?"
"..."
"To the extent that you would say that, I think you have evidence that Pacheongyo is a threat to us."
A question that felt rather sharp.
At Cheon Myeong's question, Howonjae took something out of his bosom.
"...?"
Everyone's gaze turned to the place where Howonjae had placed it on the table.
What was placed there was a burnt letter.
At first, the letter was so badly damaged that it was impossible to even recognize what it was.
"It's a letter."
"..."
"As you can see, it is so badly damaged that we cannot know the full content of the inside... but this alliance has restored the content as much as possible."
"...Are you saying that this letter is the evidence?"
At Cheon Myeong's words, Howonjae nodded his head.
In fact, although the content was also the content, what was important would be the source of the letter.
Since Howonjae also knew that fact, he immediately spoke about it.
"An insider who had infiltrated this alliance."
"...!"
"This is a letter that that insider was trying to send to Pacheongyo."
In fact, it was not that surprising that there was such an insider in the Martial Alliance.
Usually, when a group becomes as large as the Martial Alliance, it is natural that it will be watched by the surroundings, isn't it?
Cheon Myeong knew that an insider sent from the Demonic Cult side was also hiding in the Martial Alliance.
However, hearing Howonjae's following words, even Cheon Myeong could not help but be surprised.
"The leader of the Blue Dragon Squad, he was the insider who was in contact with Pacheongyo."
The Blue Dragon Squad.
Cheon Myeong knew that the Blue Dragon Squad was one of the main units of the Martial Alliance, like the Twelve Demonic Squads of the Demonic Cult.
But to think that the leader of that Blue Dragon Squad was an insider of Pacheongyo.
Even if Howonjae had said it himself, it was a word that was hard to believe.
'The leader of the Blue Dragon Squad... even in this cult, we cannot make a person of that rank an insider.'
The higher the rank of the insider, the better.
Because the quality of the information that can be obtained will also be higher.
But if you think about it the other way, it means that that much time and money is needed to plant an insider in that rank.
No, rather, if it had been possible just by investing time and money, the Demonic Cult would have done so in the first place.
Since there were too many variables that could not be predicted, it was something that the Demonic Cult did not try to do rashly in the first place.
"..."
But to think that the leader of the Blue Dragon Squad, not just anyone, was an insider.
The leader of the Blue Dragon Squad was a person who could be counted on one hand even within the Martial Alliance.
The reason why such a person would volunteer to be an insider... would be because he thought that the place called Pacheongyo was stronger than the Martial Alliance.
In other words, Howonjae's words that Pacheongyo was a force that would threaten the Martial Alliance now had credibility.
"I was also really shocked. To think that the leader of the Blue Dragon Squad was an insider."
"..."
"If it hadn't been for a very coincidental opportunity, I would not have known until the end that the leader was an insider. And as a result of restoring the content of the letter he was trying to burn... I could not help but be more surprised."
Everyone was holding their breath and listening to Howonjae's words.
Even Wang Hyeon, who had thought that such a force would never exist, was quietly keeping his mouth shut.
Now everyone was feeling a threat about Pacheongyo.
"Pacheongyo... they are definitely plotting something. And the place that corresponds to that was not just this alliance."
"..."
"The entire martial world. In other words, it means that your headquarters here are also being targeted by Pacheongyo."
It was a really absurd story.
However, no one refuted those words.
The seriousness felt from Howonjae's voice, eyes, and expression.
Also, everyone was implicitly aware that if it were not for a reason of that extent, a place like this would not have been established.
"...You don't know what the purpose of Pacheongyo is, do you?"
Breaking the silence, Cheon Myeong asked.
Then, Howonjae lightly nodded his head at Cheon Myeong.
"I could not restore that part, no matter how much I tried."
"..."
"In fact, it would have been absolutely impossible to find out even this much if it hadn't been for the military strategist's ability."
As Howonjae said that, Cheon Myeong's gaze turned to Jegal Jeong.
Restoration would require the wisdom to infer the entire content from the remaining words.
If it were the content restored by a person of Jegal Jeong's level, it would be sufficiently reliable.
"Th-then, I mean!"
"..."
"The leader of the Blue Dragon Squad, can't you get more information by torturing that person?"
Wang Hyeon suddenly said with a rather urgent voice.
Although Cheon Myeong had not thought like Wang Hyeon, he had already concluded that that method was impossible at the point when the Martial Alliance had restored the letter.
"That is impossible."
"Wh-why..."
"Because he is already dead."
At Howonjae's answer, only an exclamation came out of Wang Hyeon's mouth.
"I also tried to fight in a way that would save the leader as much as possible."
"..."
"But the leader's skills were not so easy that I could fight while holding back. In the process, I had no choice but to kill him in the end."
An opponent that even Howonjae had to fight seriously to win.
That was the leader of the Blue Dragon Squad.
Hearing those words, it was not just Cheon Myeong who came to think that Pacheongyo was a more dangerous existence.
"With this, I think I have sufficiently explained how dangerous an existence Pacheongyo is."
"..."
"Then let's get back to the main point."
Although the story had gone around in circles, the purpose of this meeting was not to inform them about Pacheongyo.
That was just a process for the purpose.
Now that he had gone through that process and had informed the people of the existence of Pacheongyo, Howonjae was trying to get back to the main point.
"Although I have a feeling that you already know, the reason why I am proposing an alliance is because of Pacheongyo."
"..."
"But in this situation where we don't even know where the headquarters of Pacheongyo is, even if we form an alliance, we can't do anything right away."
Thump-
At that moment, Howonjae, who lightly placed his hands on the table, stood up from his seat. And he said with a voice that was a little louder than before.
"The conditions of the alliance are two."
"..."
"From now on, if information about Pacheongyo comes in, all the members of the alliance will share that information. And when the exact location of Pacheongyo is revealed, the members of the alliance will all participate in the subjugation together."
It could be said to be an alliance created for just one purpose.
The purpose of subjugating Pacheongyo.
It is beneficial to everyone here, and there is no other trouble, and the purpose is also clear.
At first, the people who had thought that this alliance could never be formed were gradually changing their minds as the meeting progressed.
"Those who agree to this condition and will participate in the alliance, raise your hand."
Due to Howonjae's words, it was now a situation where a decision had to be made.
At that moment, people began to raise their hands one by one.
Soon, all the people except Cheon Myeong had raised their hands.
"...Young Leader, only you are left."
Howonjae said, looking at Cheon Myeong.
Cheon Myeong, who was maintaining his silence with his arms crossed.
However, after a while, as he uncrossed his arms, Cheon Myeong raised his hand without a word.
Grin-
With this, all the representatives here had agreed to participate in the alliance.
As Howonjae had said, this could be said to be an unprecedented alliance in the history of the martial world.
As if he were happy about that historical moment, Howonjae's mouth was smiling.
(End of Chapter)