Disciple of The Three Kings [EN]: Chapter 50

The Three Kings’ Disciple (51)

050

The war between Haenam and the Iron Sword Alliance.

However, unlike the situation where they had retreated after the battle in the East Sea, the spark of war ignited in an unexpected place.

An internal conflict suddenly broke out within the Iron Sword Alliance.

Cheon In, who, along with Do-cheon, controlled Gyeonggi Province, attacked Do-cheon.

Do-cheon was caught off guard by the sudden attack, and their vice guild leader, Do Sang-mok, was captured. They soon launched a counterattack, but Cheon In had already completed all preparations and was besieging Do-cheon.

It was the worst possible situation for the Iron Sword Alliance.

However, it was the best possible situation for Haenam.

Haenam, which had temporarily retreated, was starting to advance again.

***

Clench.

Cheol Jong-hwi’s hand, gripping the sword hilt, trembled uncontrollably.

‘Is that report true?’

His hand, gripping the sword hilt, trembled even more as if he couldn’t believe the report he had just heard.

‘Do Sang-mok… he testified.’

‘Ha.’

Cheol Jong-hwi released his grip on the sword hilt and ran a hand over his face.

This was the worst.

He had thought that Cheon In’s sudden attack on Do-cheon was due to some secret agreement with Haenam, but that wasn’t the case.

‘Do Sang-mok… that bug-like bastard…’

It was revealed that Do-cheon’s fire chief, who had been causing problems frequently, had assaulted and killed the young lady of the Cheon In Guild.

Given the importance of justification in the Silver Union [a powerful organization of martial artists], Cheon In’s cause was clear.

‘Why on earth did that madman testify to his own crime?’

‘It seems that the term ‘madman’ isn’t just a figure of speech, but that he’s truly insane. They say he’s a complete lunatic.’

‘And you can believe the testimony of such a lunatic?’

A glimmer of hope seemed to appear on Cheol Jong-hwi’s face.

‘That is…’

However, his expectations were soon shattered.

‘A lot of evidence has been found. Do Sang-mok himself showed that his words were not false.’

‘Madman.’

‘Haenam has engaged Hwangpae. The East Sea has already been lost, they are pushing into Gangwon Province, and the Samshin Guild in Chungcheong is also being pushed back.’

‘Send the Iron Sword Unit to protect Chungcheong. Hwangpae should be able to hold out.’

‘Understood.’

The war situation was flowing strangely.

Still, it was fortunate that Gyeonggi Province, where the internal conflict had occurred, was behind the walls of Chungcheong and Gangwon Provinces.

And that the Iron Sword Clan was in Gyeonggi Province.

‘Is there any possibility of reconciliation…’

Do-cheon and Cheon In would have been better off reconciling, given their already dwindling forces.

Ideally, they would have defeated Haenam first and then held Do Sang-mok and Do-cheon accountable, but…

‘There won’t be any.’

It was none other than Cheon In-mok of the Cheon In Clan.

He was a man who cherished his child as much as Do-cheon-hu of Do-cheon.

But now that he had found the real culprit who killed his daughter, there was no way he would listen.

‘How did…’

How did things turn out like this?

The Iron Sword Clan, which was not a very prestigious force in the Silver Union in the past, seized an opportunity by catching the right time and luck.

Under the name of the Iron Sword Alliance, they stood shoulder to shoulder with the renowned Hwasan and Haenam.

But Cheol Jong-hwi thought that all of that was like a fleeting dream.

‘It’s like someone is behind it all.’

It felt like he was riding in a truck that he couldn’t control.

It was as if some invisible hand was constantly pushing the Iron Sword Alliance into ruin.

‘Where did it start…’

The beginning was a minor provocation from Haenam.

However, such things had happened often, and he thought it was a power struggle by Haenam over some control of the Incheon area.

He had prepared for war, but he thought that after a moderate power struggle, the Iron Sword would retreat or, depending on the situation, they might even seize Haenam’s sphere of influence.

Up to that point, there was no problem.

‘It started from there.’

When Do-cheon attacked the East Sea.

That sudden move ignited the fuse between Haenam and the Iron Sword.

Cheol Jong-hwi couldn’t stop the fuse that had begun to burn.

In fact, he had even seen an opportunity in a fight that started with a clear cause.

But after that, everything had fallen apart in less than a month.

Drip.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had become a mere pawn on someone’s giant chessboard.

‘Haenam?’

Or was it Hwasan?

Or maybe…

‘The Assembly?’

Who on earth was orchestrating this?

‘It’s not Hwasan.’

They wouldn’t be interested in such trivial matters.

Moreover, they needed the Iron Sword Alliance.

And if Hwasan hadn’t yet shown their hand.

‘There’s a way to survive.’

Cheol Jong-hwi’s eyes shone once more.

‘There’s still, still a chance.’

A chance to fix this whole situation.

‘It’s better this way.’

It was a time when the subordinate guilds within the rapidly growing Iron Sword Alliance were showing signs of rebellion.

He had been racking his brains over the situation where Hwangpae of Gangwon and Samshin of Chungcheong had been caught making some kind of secret agreement.

‘Hwasan can’t abandon the Iron Sword, or rather, Gyeonggi Province.’

Cheol Jong-hwi tapped the table with his finger and began to calculate.

Gyeonggi Province was Hwasan’s castle and mountain.

They preferred that the ruler of Gyeonggi Province be in their grasp.

In other words.

‘As long as we don’t lose Gyeonggi Province.’

The rest of the territory could be regained at any time with Hwasan’s help.

It seemed that even Haenam didn’t know the true nature of Hwasan.

‘Withdraw the attack units, including the Iron Sword Unit.’

‘Yes? Then Samshin and Hwangpae will be defeated by Haenam in vain.’

‘Just protect Gyeonggi Province.’

Cheol Jong-hwi reversed the order he had given.

Gyeonggi Province, that was the most important place.

‘Between Cheon In and Do-cheon, which one has a better chance?’

‘………’

The subordinate, who had been silent, opened his mouth.

‘It’s Cheon In. Do-cheon suffered quite a bit of damage in the East Sea, and Do-cheon-hu also has severe internal injuries. On the other hand…’

‘Cheon In hasn’t suffered any damage.’

The two forces were evenly matched.

Considering that the existence of a master was more important than anything else in the Silver Union’s battles, the existence of the internally injured Do-cheon-hu was too big of a penalty.

‘Support Cheon In.’

‘……!’

‘That’s also better in terms of justification.’

Help Cheon In and eliminate Do-cheon.

Even if they lost Gangwon and Chungcheong in the meantime, it didn’t matter.

Just keep Gyeonggi Province safe.

‘Good. Let’s set up a new game.’

The flow was turning back to him.

That’s what Cheol Jong-hwi thought.

* * *

‘Let’s set up a new game.’

Kang Eun-ha, Jeong Chi-soo, Do Mu-seong, and Bondeno nodded at Lee Ro-woon’s words.

They had already heard the general plan.

At first, they thought the plan was just to hide under the Iron Sword Alliance.

After grasping Do-cheon’s weakness, they thought it was to strike down Do-cheon and take over their role.

But it wasn’t.

Lee Ro-woon’s plan was bigger than that, and they couldn’t shake the feeling that even that was just a part of it.

‘We.’

As Lee Ro-woon opened his mouth, a silence as if the air had disappeared hung in the air.

‘Will replace the Iron Sword Alliance.’

Not Do-cheon or anything like that.

One of the three major forces in Korea.

Replacing the Iron Sword Alliance, that was Lee Ro-woon’s plan.

‘The preparations are complete.’

When did Lee Ro-woon come up with this plan?

When he grasped Do-cheon’s weakness?

When Haenam showed signs of war?

Or when he took over the Blood Cult?

Kang Eun-ha could roughly guess.

‘The moment he found out that the entrance to the Blood King’s Castle was in Namyangju.’

She thought that Lee Ro-woon had already made this plan at that time.

Or maybe even before that.

She thought that he would have swallowed Gyeonggi Province even if he had used a different place other than the Blood Cult.

No one was surprised.

To the Blood Cult members, Lee Ro-woon’s will was the will of God.

To Bondeno.

‘You’re that kind of guy.’

Lee Ro-woon was that kind of person.

‘You were the leader of Dank. There’s no way the plan you make would be small. Maybe…’

Kang Eun-ha thought that Lee Ro-woon had drawn this plan after escaping from Hwasan.

But Bondeno thought differently.

‘He might have been thinking about this plan a long time ago.’

He thought that he might have been planning this since he was the leader of Dank.

Lee Ro-woon didn’t answer.

Instead, he explained what preparations had been made for this game.

‘Gyeonggi Province is a wall that protects Hwasan.’

The Iron Sword Alliance exists for that purpose.

To extend their influence as Hwasan’s hands and feet.

Hwasan never moves directly.

They just set up a wall to stay out of the conflict with Haenam, and the Iron Sword Alliance takes the blame for their sins.

Hwasan, with only the small city of Seoul, effectively controls half of Korea.

‘Haenam didn’t like that, and the war with the Iron Sword Alliance is essentially a warning to Hwasan.’

Chungcheong and Gangwon Provinces had to be abandoned anyway.

The Iron Sword Alliance could never handle Haenam.

In the end, what was left was Gyeonggi Province.

‘At that time, Hwasan will appear, sort out the situation, and tame Haenam.’

Haenam, you are also just under Hwasan’s shadow.

That would be the plan that Hwasan had drawn.

Even though there was an internal conflict between Cheon In and Do-cheon, the ending would eventually be drawn according to Hwasan’s plan.

The Iron Sword still had potential and could protect Gyeonggi Province, and Haenam would be satisfied with taking Chungcheong and Gangwon.

Even if it only went this far, the Eunha Guild would be able to grow its power in Gyeonggi Province along with the Iron Sword Alliance.

The collapsed Iron Sword Alliance, their shortcomings would be clearly visible to Hwasan, and they would need people to strengthen the wall.

But that wasn’t enough.

That’s why Lee Ro-woon had prepared a few more things.

‘The achievement in the East Sea.’

Eun-ha had made an achievement in the East Sea by defeating Haenam.

At the same time, through the Beggars’ Sect, she revealed the skin they had been wearing.

‘Jeonjin.’

A Taoist lineage like Hwasan.

Moreover, it borrowed the name of Jeonjin, who could be called Hwasan’s teacher.

Of course, since Eun-ha was not Jeonjin, the relationship between Hwasan and Eun-ha would not be established so easily, but it didn’t matter.

To Hwasan, Eun-ha, who had the same roots as them, would be more attractive than the Iron Sword, a force without history or tradition.

In other words, Hwasan had found someone to replace the Iron Sword.

From now on, only two things were needed.

And those two things led to one conclusion.

Swoosh.

In this place, which was in a state of emergency due to the war, men in black uniforms appeared in Hanam, where the Iron Sword Alliance was located.

They walked down the street with their faces proudly exposed.

People began to avoid them, whispering and bowing their heads.

Baaang!

Due to the cars moving at the sight, there was a brief traffic jam.

Even so, no one expressed any dissatisfaction with the men in black uniforms.

As they walked further, men in gray uniforms appeared.

‘Who…’

Just as they opened their mouths towards the black uniforms.

A bright red line was drawn across their necks.

Thud.

A head fell to the ground.

‘The cleanup is complete.’

An Dark Blood Guard member appeared in front of Lee Ro-woon and knelt on one knee.

They had been sent in advance and had cleaned up the area around the target.

Flash! Flash!

Light was entering the target.

It was clear that they were moving quickly, as if they had sensed something unusual.

Woo-oong.

But soon, a cluster of light began to spread from the floor.

Bondeno and the mages of Armo were breathing light into the magic circle drawn on the floor.

‘What we have to do is the same as in the East Sea.’

Before they knew it, a large building was sealed off, wrapped in bright light.

It was a magic circle created by Armo’s mages, who were second to none when it came to light mages and magic circles.

It would take at least a day for anyone to break through or enter that.

‘Show overwhelming power.’

Lee Ro-woon said as he first entered the barrier.

A huge iron sword covering the windows of the building, several floors.

The headquarters of the Iron Sword Clan was right here.

‘Today.’

The Eunha Guild members, led by Lee Ro-woon, had already entered.

‘The Iron Sword Clan will be erased.’

Overwhelming power, and the existence of the Iron Sword.

It was a way to end everything in one go.