Chapter 28

Walga Walbu.
There was always a lot of talk, but in the end, I was the winner.
I’m definitely the winner.
Before me stood a group of people more excited than I was.
“Looks like everyone wants to roll on the battlefield.”
I gave them an incredulous look.
“Only the Grand Duke would do that.”
“The ones who bother to buy it…….”
I closed my mouth, realizing I was talking about myself.
“Does the thought of the Grand Duke sting you?”
Black Ho’s words made me shut up.
Unlike some drunks, Black Ho hadn’t even touched alcohol to his mouth from the beginning.
Maybe that’s why.
He was just a good talker.
At this rate, I was a lost cause if I tried to wrestle with him.
Anyway.
Three people entered the room at the same time.
First was Donghwi. Donghui had a puzzled look on his face, but it seemed that he had agreed to participate in his uncle’s argument.
“It’s because I couldn’t use my skills then. Next time, I’ll definitely……!”
Yeah. Of course you will.
I closed my ears, grumbled, and turned to the next person. It was an unexpected one.
“Are you feeling better?”
It was the young man, Kang Woo-moon of the Rainmaker, who spoke cautiously.
“Weren’t you the one who blamed me?”
“It seems that human relationships are so shallow. I judged that the path you walked would be a royal path, and a flower path.”
Yes, the flower path. You will walk it.
The fire that burns hotter than anyone else, the Flower Path.
“Well, well. Didn’t I ask you to go?”
“Of course you did. I’m going because I want to.”
“I’ve never met anyone who’s willing to join me on the road.”
He said that he had learned a lot from me, and he wanted me to teach him more.
I bluntly replied that I would never do that. Of course, he was right, but it didn’t hurt my feelings.
As we headed for the battlefield, if he hadn’t come to me, I would have taken him myself, judging by his temperament and his efforts, he had plenty of potential for growth.
The road ahead would be too hard for me alone. Maybe the path I need to take is indeed the path of hardship.
It was my duty to cherish the connections I would make and establish relationships to gain the strength to get through the hardships.
If one of them was Kang Woo-moon, I would feel secure inside.
At the same time.
“I’m in this journey with you, too.”
I thought that was the end of the foolishness, but there was more.
“Why are you coming?”
The drunkard announced his intention to join in.
“He’s your guardian, isn’t he?”
“That’s not a very convincing reason at all.”
“I don’t care what you think of me, but I’m sure the big boys of the Green Forest shudder at the mere mention of my name.”
He puffed out his chest, and I wrapped my arms around my forehead.
Someone had said.
Men don’t grow old. They just get older.
Maybe they were referring to my aunt.
In any case, it was unlikely that she would be persuaded by words. As Pangak said, he’s his uncle’s nephew. He would be just as stubborn.
“……That aside. There’s something I need you to do for me, uncle.”
“What is it?”
I wiped the smile off my face and turned to face my uncle. His smile faded, his eyes calmed, and he looked at me seriously.
“If we go on like this, we’ll all die.”
His expression hardened, and silence replaced the unspoken affirmation. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally speaking.
“Anyone who gets hit by a blind sword is bound to get hurt anyway.”
No.
It wouldn’t end in injury.
In his previous life, Namgung Wall had spent most of his life in the military, and he’d dealt with the Hongjian Reds, the Wagons, the Immigrants, and the Green Forests.
The Hong Qian Enemy was a trooper who knew how to harass Da Myung relentlessly and make him suffer with his pincer tactics, while also knowing how to attack key strongholds.
The dwarves and migrant tribesmen were also a favorite target, and they were skilled at unleashing poisons, burning food, and paralyzing people.
They were all tricky to deal with, but I thought they were even trickier.
Unlike their predecessors, the Green Forest, the Water Streamer, and the Great Shroud never came into direct conflict with the military, and so in my previous life, I had pushed them to do so, but rarely directly.
Each and every one of them was a bunch of crazy people with a high level of martial arts, brutality, and a willingness to burn for profit.
Not all of them were strong, but the bandits could move in and out of mountains like they owned the place, and they knew the terrain and geography. As a former military man, I found myself in a lot of trouble and in a lot of trouble.
“They’re not just like that, you know.”
The members of the Green Forest, as they are commonly known, make their living by looting, kidnapping, and terrorizing the people.
“……The Green Forest Seventy-Eight, the Jianggang Suro, and the Daimak are dangerous men.”
It’s a different world, a different mountainous evil.
“Therefore, if I want to survive, I must improve my skills.”
“That’s not enough. Who would want to stick it up their nose?”
I shook my head. Of course, it would be impossible to dramatically improve my martial arts level in the Dalporan time.
But.
“Tension. A sense of alertness, of being on the edge of life and death. I need to make them feel that. On the battlefield, only those who can come to terms with that reality faster than my martial arts level will survive.”
Developing a sense of realism.
That was the most important thing.
“Are you going to …… visit the elder in the meantime?”
“Yes, I should go.”
“Come on, then I’ll meet you behind Dal Po.”
I turned around expectantly behind Dal Po.
* * *
“Elder, there’s no need for you to congratulate me as the winner, even if it’s only for the bitterness of losing.”
“That’s right. Why did you go out of your way to shake the board that the four elders made?”
The Three Elders Namgung Hua Min and the Five Elders Namgung Dek wore puzzled expressions. They were uneasy inwardly. The winner of the sword tournament, and the reputation of the Grand Duke who had shown promise.
For the winner of the sword tournament, Namgungban, there would be banners all over Anhui Province, symbolizing that he had been treated well and had earned the reward he deserved.
It was obvious that this was going to be a troublesome affair, as a scoundrel who would not dare to compete for the jiaju would emerge as a prominent candidate.
The two elders, unable to understand Elder Li’s behavior, demanded an explanation.
“Elder Li, don’t just stand there, say something.”
“We need to know what’s going on.”
Under the scrutiny of the two elders, Elder Li smiled lightly.
“It’s been quite a time.”
Looking at the smiling elder, the two elders’ discomfort reached a fever pitch.
“You’re going to stifle us like this.”
“You’re suffocating us when you’re not.”
Just as cooking rice requires time to ponder. When the patience of the two elders was at its limit, the elder held up three fingers as if to summarize his thoughts.
“First, there are three perspectives we need to look at in this meeting.”
“Three?”
“You mean three different things?”
“That’s right.”
Holding up only his index finger, Elder Lee smiled coyly.
“First, there is the matter of those whom the Elders support.”
“……hmm.”
Elder Nangong Hua Min and Elder Nangong Duo were stunned into silence, as Elder Li’s words broke the flow of the Confucians they had supported for so many years without bending or changing.
“It seems that not only Elder Ten, but even Elder Nangong Ho and Elder Nangong Shu are wavering. Perhaps a faction will quickly form to support the Grand Duke.”
“Do you think it will be that easy?”
“If that’s all there is, it won’t be.”
Elder Nangongbon sighed lightly.
“First Elder Nangong Yue.”
Elders Three and Five’s expressions stiffened at the name. The name of someone they hadn’t thought about, and didn’t want to think about, had come out of Elder Lee’s mouth.
“He has taken up the sword again.”
“I knew no one would support …… him.”
“What reason do you have to support the Grand Duke now?”
Elder Namgungduk was furious.
“Elder Hana has no power base, and Elder Nine and Elder Ten are just beginning to establish themselves, so it’s too late for them to support someone within the clan, which is already divided between us and the Third Duke.”
Whereas the third elder, Namgung Hua Min, was expressing anger, the elder Namgung Bon shook his head and twisted the corners of his mouth.
“It will be …… because there is a centripetal point.”
“The pivot point? You mean the Grand Duke?”
Elder Namgungdeok’s words caused Elder Li to shake his head.
“An Bai, the existence of the iron-blooded An Bai, this is the second perspective. Depending on how he centers himself, the Grand Duke’s supporters will also find stability.”
As they thought about it, Elders Sam and Wu’s minds became complicated.
“With the support of Elder Sun, Elder Nine, and Elder Ten, in addition to the Iron Blood Sword Confession, we’re already forming quite a force.”
“That’s right. How could such a faction be formed so quickly by a bastard?”
Elder Yi shook his head at the two elders’ words.
“The most important thing is the third perspective.”
“You mean there’s something more important than them, the third?”
“Yes. It’s Gaiju’s opinion of the Grand Duke.”
“Gaju?”
“Are you afraid he might open his heart to the Grand Duke?”
“Gaju has never opened his heart to the princes, but for the first time, he has responded to the Grand Duke’s idea.”
“Of course, it’s also because of the pressure from the imperial family…….”
“The imperial story is not so important. A gold council? That’s just something the imperial family can talk about when it’s not already in place. If we could afford it, we wouldn’t have made the move long ago.”
Elders Three and Five shook their heads at that.
“So, now that we’ve made up our minds, think carefully about what path we should take. Unless you all want to be duck eggs on the Yangtze River.”
As he spoke, Elder Nan Gongbon’s expression turned sour.
“Put a smokestack on the Four Elders’ side, and also on the Eight Elders’ side.”
The Four Elders were the faction that supported the Third Duke Namgungal.
The Eight Elders were the only faction that supported the Fourth Duke.
“Ah, I see.”
Elder Five looked over at Elder Three, who was about to pant, and then looked at Elder Lee.
“However, is it because of the elixir you offered as a reward that Jia Zhu opened his heart to the Grand Duke? If it’s an elixir, it’s already enough for the others…….”
Elder Li stared at the two elders in disbelief. His ears seemed to be filled with an aura of dread.
“They’ve taken the Thunderbolt.”
“What, Thunderbolt?”
“Didn’t you say it was a suitable elixir?”
Elder Five, who was about to open the door, and Elder Three, who asked the questions, were instantly turned to ice.
“The Thunder Clan.
How could it be a top-notch spirit pill.