Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 161

The Red Dragon King and Luke’s Clash

1

Belfar received a report from an Argos agent a few days prior.

The agent, disguised as a merchant, was conducting reconnaissance at a port in the western part of the Livia Kingdom.

According to the agent, the ‘Grain Merchant Guild,’ one of the top ten merchant guilds on the continent, had suddenly amassed a large number of transport ships and sent them towards the Southern Continent.

For a major merchant guild like the Grain Merchant Guild, trading with the Southern Continent was normal, so sending a trade fleet wasn’t unusual in itself.

The problem was that the Grain Merchant Guild’s transport ships heading to the Southern Continent were empty.

Although the agent hadn’t boarded the ships, the fact that the ships’ draft lines were clearly visible above the water was proof enough.

Merchants are a group that hates even the slightest loss in their business.

Therefore, trade fleets usually leave for the Southern Continent fully loaded with goods from the Rhodisia Continent and return fully loaded with specialties from the Southern Continent.

But a large merchant guild, one of the top ten on the continent, went to the Southern Continent with empty ships?

‘I heard that the Grain Merchant Guild recently moved its headquarters to the Livia Kingdom, right? And perhaps it’s related to the change in the Livia Kingdom’s actions.’

Belfar, having made that assessment, decided to investigate further.

Unlike Sebastian, who acts as a proxy when the king is absent, Belfar generally worked in the shadows, using his familiars for intelligence gathering.

‘Anyway, His Majesty is absent, and I don’t have much to do, so I should go and take a look myself.’

Belfar, having tracked the Grain Merchant Guild’s trade fleet, successfully boarded a transport ship by transforming into a bat off the coast of the Grenada Kingdom.

However, the atmosphere of the trade fleet was very strange.

The number of sailors was less than expected, and a faint magical energy emanated from the bodies of those who appeared to be merchants and captains.

‘What is this? Is there a black magician behind the Grain Merchant Guild?’

Some black magicians were known to operate while cleverly disguising their identities.

Moreover, the Grain Merchant Guild’s growth rate was extremely fast compared to other competing merchant guilds, leading to much speculation in the business world.

‘If a black magician was pulling strings behind the scenes when making deals or investments, rapid growth wouldn’t be impossible. If these guys going to the Southern Continent are also related to a black magic force…’

Luke had been constantly urging the intelligence department to find out where the remnants of Veritas [a magic tower] were hiding.

‘If I’m lucky, I might find a clue.’

However, the trade fleet did not arrive at the Southern Continent after a week of sailing.

Surprisingly, it was the Hellish Archipelago located in the Sea of the Dead.

The Sea of the Dead was a place where sailors never ventured due to the constant thick fog, reefs, strong whirlpools, and attacks by unidentified sea monsters, 365 days a year.

Therefore, no one had set foot there for the past few hundred years.

However, the trade fleet entered such a place without fear.

Seeing their skill in navigating the ships, skillfully avoiding fog and reefs, Belfar could tell that the Grain Merchant Guild had been in and out of the Hellish Archipelago more than once or twice.

‘Was this their hideout?’

Belfar, knowing that the more suspicious the group, the more difficult the place they would choose to hide, thought so.

On the island where the fleet arrived after passing through the Sea of the Dead, a huge pyramid towered above the forest.

It seemed to be an ancient ruin, and he could feel the mana of another dimension gathering in the air, as if it was still functioning.

‘Huh! There’s a ruin like this in the Hellish Archipelago!’

Just as Belfar was inwardly surprised by the sticky and evil feeling, he heard the sound of approaching carriages.

Clatter! Clatter!

Carriages driven by black magicians were approaching from the forest.

They kept coming one after another, endlessly pouring out.

The carriages were loaded with stone coffins, and surprisingly, they contained undead that seemed to be in the process of being created.

‘As I thought…! They’re the remnants of the Veritas Magic Tower!’

Familiar undead and black magicians.

Belfar immediately recognized their identities.

Gritting his teeth inwardly, he approached the pyramid to investigate further.

But he was caught.

One of the two black magicians standing on top of the pyramid fired a dark bullet at him, who was hiding among the branches.

“Cough!”

The dark bullet was faster and more powerful than he had expected.

Injured, Belfar immediately fled, and one of the black magicians chased after him.

“You rat-like bastard!”

Contrary to his expectation that he would be able to catch him quickly, the spy slipped through Alber’s pursuit like a loach.

Alber became furious when he failed to catch him, even after reaching the rocky area near the southern coast after the forest.

So, he unleashed his 8th circle magic power and cast a Lightning Web at him.

Zzzzzzzzz!

As a powerful net of electricity covered a space of 20 meters in width and length, a scream erupted from the spy who was wearing a black hood.

“Kuaaaak!”

Thud.

The figure who had been flying away finally fell to the ground.

Alber, who landed next to him, said with a sinister smile on his face.

“Hehehe, did you think you could escape from my grasp? Now, reveal your identity.”

As he approached the spy, he was about to roughly pull off the hood he was wearing.

Ssssh!

With an eerie feeling, something flew in sharply.

Startled, Alber quickly used blink magic [a short-range teleportation spell] to avoid it.

However, the blade, imbued with aura blades [a technique where a swordsman enhances their blade with their life force], quickly cut through the air and beheaded him.

“Keok!”

Completely unprepared for the counterattack, Alber’s head and body were separated.

He, like his father and the previous Meister [master] of the Veritas Magic Tower, Nesta, was a great magician who had mastered not only white magic but also black magic.

But who would have thought that the spy was a swordsman who had reached the intermediate level of Sword Master!

“Kekeke! Even an 8th circle archmage is nothing when ambushed.”

Belfar, who had pulled back his hood, said with a triumphant expression.

Frankly, an 8th circle archmage is a powerful figure comparable to a Sword Sage as a swordsman.

Moreover, the opponent had even mastered black magic.

Belfar, knowing that he could not win in a 1-on-1 battle even though he was a demon, pretended to be caught in the spider web and succeeded in ambushing him by leading him to lower his guard.

Belfar was wearing a triumphant expression when suddenly.

Ssssk!

Alber’s separated head and body began to reattach.

Alber, who got up from his spot, frowned as he touched his severed neck here and there.

“It hurts quite a bit, probably because it was an unexpected blow.”

‘W, what is this…!’

Belfar was dumbfounded by the unbelievable sight.

Alber, who glanced at him, smiled and said.

“You seem surprised that I didn’t die. Well, it’s understandable. You wouldn’t know that I have a black magic that deals with resurrection and regeneration.”

It wasn’t just white magic that had recovery magic.

There was also recovery magic in black magic, although it was not common.

Among them, the 7th circle ‘Dark Resurrection’ had the tremendous effect of automatically reattaching severed heads or hearts if there was enough magical energy.

Of course, there were several conditions required to perform this.

It required a significant amount of magical energy and bio-energy, as well as a sacrifice and pre-casting a spell on the body, so it was not something anyone could do.

However, Alber was not just anyone.

He was a great magician who had mastered 8th circle white magic and 7th circle black magic, one of the most outstanding in the history of magic.

Moreover, being very cautious, he periodically performed a ritual of casting Dark Resurrection on his body.

Thanks to that, he was able to survive.

However, as Alber carefully examined Belfar, his eyes widened in surprise.

“You, you’re not human! Are you a demon? Why did a demon come to the middle realm? Who summoned you?”

“Hmph, I have no reason to tell a lowly human.”

Alber’s face turned red in an instant at Belfar’s arrogant reply.

“You’re being arrogant for a low-level demon. I’ll make you regret that arrogance a thousand, ten thousand times over!”

Alber, gritting his teeth, unleashed a massive fire magic attack at Belfar.

Fwoooosh!

Belfar, who narrowly avoided the attack, charged at Alber and thrust his sword.

Stab!

The sword with a pale white light pierced Alber’s heart accurately.

However, at the same time, Alber’s hand, imbued with electric magic, struck Belfar.

“Kuaaak!”

“Hmph, you lack the ability to learn. I told you that I had mastered the black magic of resurrection and regeneration, didn’t I?”

Alber, triumphant, stretched out his palm towards the fallen Belfar to cast a binding spell.

However, his face suddenly turned pale, and he coughed up blood.

“Cough, n, no way…!”

He looked down at his chest with an expression of disbelief.

Blood was pouring out of his heart, which he had thought would have been restored by Dark Resurrection!

Moreover, the dark circle [a magical mark] was damaged, and the wound was burning as if it had been seared by fire.

“Cough! W, why…? What did you do?”

Belfar, who struggled to get up, chuckled as he looked at Alber, who had a bewildered expression.

“Puhahahaha! You were so arrogant, and now you look ridiculous! You may have mastered great black magic, but you didn’t know your opponent well enough. My aura blade just now had a bit of divine power imbued in it!”

“D, divine power?!”

“That’s right. That’s your downfall. Because of that divine power, your precious black magic was nullified.”

The opposite of magical energy is divine power.

Alber knew that fact, but he couldn’t understand this situation at all.

“H, how… a demon with divine power…!”

“Hehe, you could say it’s the result of painful training?”

The reason why Belfar was able to handle even a little bit of divine power was because of Luke’s atrocity(?).

Thanks to Luke forcing him to train constantly while teaching him the Silver Sword [a sword style], Belfar was able to imbue a bit of divine power into his aura, even though he was a demon.

Of course, he had to endure the pain of his internal organs twisting countless times to get to this point.

Still, the result of his hard work was very sweet.

Because he was able to subdue a powerful enemy who was difficult to face alone like this.

“D, damn it… this is impossible… Keoeok!”

Alber, clutching his chest, let out a frustrated scream before slowly collapsing backward, his bloodshot eyes rolling back in his head. Belfar, confirming that Alber’s breath had completely ceased, let out a sigh of relief. Killing Alber was truly a stroke of luck. If that guy had known a resurrection spell from the white magic school instead of black magic, it would have been him, not Belfar, who died on the spot. “Whew, honestly… even if it’s boring, I should make the underlings do this kind of work next time.” While healing the wounds he had received from Alber, Belfar suddenly shuddered. A tremendous killing intent and a terrifying aura surged from the direction of the pyramid. And that aura began to fly directly towards where he was standing. ‘Crap! That black magician must have noticed his subordinate died!’ The black magician who had shot the Dark Bullet earlier was at least two, if not three, levels stronger than him. An opponent that he could never overcome, whether by ambush or anything else. With his heart sinking, Belfar squeezed out the last of his strength, transformed into a bat, and hurriedly flew towards the sea. Kwaaaang! With a tremendous explosion, the ground where Belfar had been standing was shattered, and a cloud of dust billowed up. A figure appeared in that spot. It was Nesta, wearing a flamboyant robe. “Tsk, he got away.” Gritting his teeth as he looked towards the sea, he quickly scanned his surroundings. He sensed that Alber’s magical power, who had been chasing the spy, was rapidly dissipating. Shortly after, he discovered Alber’s body, his chest torn open, lying dead in the dust, and his face was filled with shock. “N, no way!” Shaking his hands in disbelief, he shook Alber’s body. But no matter how much he tried to wake him, Alber, who had already passed away, did not open his eyes. “Ugh! Which bastard did this…! Who the hell did this to my son! Uwaaaaaaah!” The magical energy surging from Nesta’s body, as he wailed while holding Alber, was incredibly fierce. Along with that, a cry of grief that burst out echoed like thunder, loud enough to hurt Belfar’s eardrums, who had already escaped far out to sea. “Whew, if I had been a little later, that would have been a disaster… Whoops!” His body plummeted towards the surface of the water as he glanced back at the island and let out a sigh of relief. The injuries he had sustained from Nesta and Alber were severe, but the aftermath of forcibly squeezing out divine power with a demon’s body was also considerable. He barely flapped his wings to rise, and he frowned as he spoke. “Damn it, I’m going to drown at this rate.” If only there was a passing merchant ship, but there wasn’t even a common fishing boat around the Hellish Archipelago. Staggering. Belfar, who was flying with difficulty, discovered a monstrous object peeking its head above the foggy surface of the water. It turned out to be a sperm whale that had surfaced to breathe. At that moment, Belfar’s mind flashed, and he immediately squeezed out the last of his strength and chanted a spell. Dominate Eye, a specialty of the vampire race. He used his ability to charm lower life forms, and fortunately, it worked on the sperm whale. “Carry me on your back, you cute thing!” Phoo-ooo! The sperm whale, as if understanding, forcefully spouted water from its blowhole and approached Belfar, offering its back. He barely escaped the danger of drowning and let out a sigh of relief. After that, he steered the whale north to return to the Symphonia Kingdom. 2 Clang- Clang clang! Swee-ee-eek-! Boom! Boom! Boom! Each time a spear and sword flashed, the surrounding air exploded with a thunderous roar. As befitting the strongest warriors representing the northern and southern continents, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred every time they took a step. Occasionally, when the two men’s weapons collided, a shockwave that spread into the air with a sound like a cannon exploding reached even the soldiers of both armies who were far away. The soldiers at the front, overwhelmed by the continuous, fierce shockwaves, involuntarily stepped back. “Incredible! I could believe that a Hero-class Gigant [a giant humanoid monster] is fighting.” Count Lenard, a Lycanthrope hybrid with extraordinary senses, shuddered as he watched Luke and Yi Yungmu’s fight. Even if Sword Masters or Sword Sages are called one-man armies or superhumans, they cannot display such power in hand-to-hand combat. It seemed like only the battles of giants or dragons mentioned in legends or myths could be like this. ‘The fight is evenly matched. No, His Majesty is slightly pushed back, but he can reverse the situation in an instant if he uses magic.’ In the fierce battle, Luke was gradually being pushed back. However, Lenard and the knights of the Symphonia Kingdom were not worried at all. Their lord was a Rune Knight, who had reached the pinnacle of both magic and swordsmanship. Such a lord was currently using only half of his abilities. Perhaps he was trying to assess his own skills, as he was purely facing Yi Yungmu with swordsmanship alone. “Now that he has grasped his opponent’s abilities to some extent, it’s about time he started using magic…” “Count, if His Majesty uses magic, this fight will be over soon, right?” “Of course. His Majesty is the strongest Rune Knight in history!” It was when Lenard was making bold statements to the knights. Hwang Boseong, who was listening from the side, shook his head. “It’s still too early to tell.” “No, why? If His Majesty uses magic, he can overwhelm him in an instant, right?” “It’s not a situation where he can easily use magic as you say.” Hwang Boseong, seeing that Lenard didn’t seem to understand his words, added a more detailed explanation. “Can you read a book or do mental arithmetic while clashing swords with a strong opponent of similar skill?” “That’s…” “The Red Dragon King Yi Yungmu is different from the opponents His Majesty has fought so far. He is not a novice who can leisurely use magic in the midst of a chaotic battle.” Hwang Boseong’s judgment was accurate. At first, Luke wanted to see how good his swordsmanship was, so he faced Yi Yungmu solely with swordsmanship. However, that was his misjudgment. Because Yi Yungmu did not give Luke any time to use magic at all. To block his spear, which was flying like a downpour, he had to swing his sword diligently without taking his eyes off it for even a moment. ‘Tsk, he’s not giving me any time to use magic at all.’ The Red Dragon King Yi Yungmu was stronger than he had expected. He had heard that he had narrowly lost to the Sword Saint Yeon Garam, who was the absolute master of the Southern Continent in the past, but now he seemed to be even more skilled than Yeon Garam. ‘Moreover, he’s a born martial artist. His combat sense is incomparable even to Arsen.’ The strongest opponent Luke had fought so far was the Lich Arsen. He was an excellent War Mage and possessed terrifying magical power accumulated over 500 years. However, his combat sense and experience were somewhat lacking compared to his hundreds of years of life. This was because he was a mage who was far from close-quarters combat in the first place. Unlike him, Yi Yungmu had trained in martial arts day and night, fought like he ate meals, and roamed the battlefields. Naturally, he was exceptionally skilled in combat, second to none, and he did not have the arrogance and gaps that Arsen had. ‘That guy knows it too. The fact that he will be at a disadvantage if I use magic.’ Yi Yungmu had also learned about Luke through his subordinates’ informants. He didn’t know the details, but he knew that he was a strong opponent who should not be underestimated. Therefore, he swung his spear with all his might from the beginning, just like when he faced Yeon Garam in the past. ‘It’s definitely a difficult situation… but why am I so excited?’ Luke’s specialty is magic. He gained fame as a Rune Knight, but his essence is that of a mage. But now, he was not able to use his specialty at all. Of course, he could have reversed the disadvantage in an instant by using the power of the demons or divine power. However, he thought it was not desirable to reveal those two abilities in front of hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides. Therefore, all he could use was the swordsmanship passed down from the Rakan family. Luke had mastered the latter part of the Gold Sword style. However, he had not completely mastered it like Yeon Garam or Grand Duke Gregory in the past. He had only focused on mastering the parts that suited him and a few techniques. Therefore, despite the disadvantage of fighting with swordsmanship alone, Luke felt excitement rather than fear. Because his body knew it before his head. That this fight was making him grow even further. Woo-oong-! Woo-oo-oong! As Luke was engrossed in the fight, the holy sword Valiant in his hand cried out and emitted a bright light. Reacting to its owner’s heart, it unleashed the anti-demon and extermination aura imbued within the sword. Yi Yungmu was momentarily distracted by the holy sword’s mysterious aura. Luke did not miss that opening. Clang-! “Huh…!” With a loud metallic sound, the blade of the spear that Yi Yungmu was wielding was cut in half. Yi Yungmu could not help but be flustered when the spear blade, which had been repeatedly reinforced with aura, was cut off so easily. He took three steps back and assumed a defensive stance, then asked Luke. “That’s no ordinary sword.” “It’s the sword that ended the life of the one who was called the Demon King in the past.” The person whose life was ended was himself 500 years ago. Because of that, Luke could only smile bitterly along with his pride. However, Yi Yungmu, who did not know even that situation, could not help but look troubled. “Tsk, if I had known you had such a sword, I would have brought the Cheon-ae-ji-gak [Heaven’s Edge] as well…” “Cheon-ae-ji-gak?” Luke tilted his head at the unfamiliar name. “It is a divine weapon used by my ancestor, who was called the Divine Spear in the past. He used it to defeat the betrayers.” The spear that Yi Yungmu is currently using is the Bangcheon Polearm, which was bestowed by the emperor in the past. It is a masterpiece made of ten-thousand-year-old cold iron, but it was not as good as Luke’s Valiant. However, he could not turn back now to get the Cheon-ae-ji-gak that he had left at his residence. Whether it worked or not, he had to settle the matter with the Bangcheon Polearm he was currently holding.

“By the way, I thought you’d use magic right away since there was an opening, but you’re surprisingly not doing that.”

“I was thinking about it too… but somehow, I didn’t feel like it.”

At Yi Yungmu’s words, Luke shrugged and chuckled.

Even if he didn’t use powerful attack magic like Hellfire, just occasionally throwing fireballs or magic arrows would have troubled Yi Yungmu.

The reason Luke didn’t do so, despite having the opportunity to use magic, was because he secretly wanted to defeat him purely with martial arts.

Moreover, unlike the wicked Arsen or Guigokja, he also wanted to treat Yi Yungmu, a loyal subject of the Song Empire, with respect as a martial artist.

“Hahaha. It seems you’re feeling competitive towards me.”

Luke smirked, then, with a smile, asked as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, by the way, are you not displeased that I’m not using magic?”

There were occasionally those among proud knights or mages who were like that.

Those who were only satisfied when their opponent displayed their full power.

“Not at all. Whatever the means, Your Majesty is fully displaying your swordsmanship.”

“Hah. I guess so…”

Luke, letting out a hearty laugh, raised his sword again and pointed it at Yi Yungmu.

“Then, now that we’ve taken a breather, let’s continue our match.”

“Very well.”

Yi Yungmu nodded and readjusted his spear.

At that moment, an aura that seemed capable of collapsing even a mountain rose from his body.

If it were someone else, they would have been easily knocked down by that aura alone.

But his opponent was Luke.

He also emitted a golden aura and took the initiative.

He rushed towards Yi Yungmu and thrust his holy sword.

Clang!

Yi Yungmu, having slightly stepped back, blocked Luke’s attack with the severed tip of his spear.

Then, he deflected the continuous sword strikes that followed by spinning the spear shaft.

‘Huh? This is…?’

Luke, who was launching a series of attacks, couldn’t help but be surprised by the different result than before.

The attacks he was currently making were much stronger than when Valiant first resonated.

Yet, Yi Yungmu was easily blocking them with his spear. The spear blade wasn’t being cut or broken like before.

At this, Luke carefully examined him, wondering if he was protecting his spear with a powerful hyper aura or using some hidden power.

But that wasn’t it.

At that moment, Yi Yungmu launched a sharp counterattack.

Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!

The spear, which seemed to split into dozens in front of his eyes, rushed in fiercely like a dragon from the southern continent.

It was dazzlingly flashy, yet each strike contained a powerful blow that could pierce through even rocky mountains.

It was amazing and wondrous, but Luke soon figured out Yi Yungmu’s method.

‘I see! He’s condensing his ki, no, his hyper aura, into a single point.’

Even flowing water can become strong enough to cut through stone if it is passed through a small hole with strong pressure.

Among attack magic and black magic, there were methods that used such principles to create strong power with a relatively small amount of magic.

The dark bullet that Luke often used was one such type.

The problem was that controlling the condensation of aura or magic like this was absolutely not easy.

Doing so with the hyper aura that sword sages and above handled was even more difficult.

Yet, he was condensing it into a point so small that it couldn’t even be seen every time the blades collided!

‘Is the strongest in the southern continent different for a reason?’

Luke, with a smile on his lips, decided to change his approach as well.

The golden aura from his sword vanished in an instant.

At that sight, exclamations of concern flowed from the Symphonia and Yemaek armies.

It seemed as if Luke’s mana had run out.

But Yi Yungmu’s expression became much more serious.

‘Could it be that he’s using the same method as me?’

Kwaaaang!

The moment the spear and sword crossed once, a clear flame bloomed in the air.

The blade of the Bangcheon Polearm [a type of spear] was shorter than before, and a sound like a painful groan came from Luke’s Valiant.

“It’s not something that can be easily stolen and learned…”

At Yi Yungmu’s words, which seemed to be filled with disbelief, Luke shrugged and retorted.

“It’s because I know how to use a similar method with magic.”

“Even so, you’ve overdone it. You received a great shock in a state where your ki was suddenly condensed, and you almost ruptured your meridians, didn’t you?”

At Yi Yungmu’s accurate point, cold sweat trickled down Luke’s forehead.

As he said, his heart’s ether globe was spinning as if it was going berserk, and the mana roads and mana holes throughout his body were boiling.

It was a natural reaction since he had used something he hadn’t even practiced properly in a real battle against a strong opponent.

“Tch, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m so tough that I’ve died and come back to life.”

At Luke’s blunt words, Yi Yungmu smiled faintly. He had taken the truth as a joke. And it wasn’t just Luke who felt competitive towards his opponent.

He too was excited about the fight itself, apart from the fact that it was an important match. He had never met a strong opponent like this since the Sword Saint.

3

Luke and Yi Yungmu were enjoying their duel, but those watching were not. The morale of their respective armies was at stake.

At least on the allied forces’ side, many generals, including King Biryu, were watching patiently.

But it wasn’t the same in the Song Empire army camp.

Especially Huang Bo-kwang’s subordinates were even more so.

“Damn it, does that Yi Yungmu have any intention of fighting properly or not!”

Yang Gwi, who held the position of Dodok [Commander], was furious as he watched Yi Yungmu fight.

At first, he seemed to be fighting seriously by unleashing his ki, but now he was just dabbling like a low-level martial artist.

Of course, this was his misunderstanding. Both Luke and Yi Yungmu were carefully controlling their ki and exchanging fierce blows.

However, there was no way that Yang Gwi, who was a civil official, could recognize this.

His adjutant explained to him.

“It may look insignificant on the surface, but General Yi Yungmu and the enemy commander are displaying martial arts of considerable skill.”

“Hmph, is that what you call the realm of the ascended! Even if that’s the case, it’s a fact that he’s fighting half-heartedly!”

Yi Yungmu was currently revered as the strongest martial artist in the southern continent.

Moreover, when fighting a war, he did not hesitate to use tricks such as ambushes or assassinations.

But now, he was leading the army in a frontal battle, even engaging in a one-on-one duel, dragging out the time.

“What do you think? Am I wrong?”

At Yang Gwi’s claim, the faces of the military supervisors dispatched by Huang Bo-kwang changed.

“If the Red Dragon King is fighting half-heartedly as Commander said… it’s possible that he’s colluding with Jo Won-rak.”

“That’s right.”

Yang Gwi argued that if the Red Dragon King was at his usual skill level, he should have cut down a master from the northern continent with a single blow.

“Hmm, then that’s a big problem.”

“If he’s really colluding with Jo Won-rak, then there’s no way for us to do anything, is there?”

There were many soldiers in the military who revered Yi Yungmu as the God of War.

The 100,000 soldiers present here were no different.

With just one word from Yi Yungmu, the subjugation army could fall into internal strife, or even change their banner to a rebel army.

As the military supervisors’ faces turned pale, Yang Gwi wore a sinister smile.

“Do you think the Prime Minister would have released that old monster without any countermeasures? He sent him after preparing a way to subdue that old hag.”

With that, he took out a wax doll from his pocket.

This doll, which was densely covered with bizarre incantations, was a magical tool used to control or assassinate humans through sorcery. And inside it was a strand of Yi Yungmu’s hair, which he had offered as proof of his loyalty.

“The impact applied to this doll is directly transmitted to the subject. No matter how absolute a master he is, he won’t be able to survive if his heart or brain is messed up.”

As he said that, Yang Gwi pretended to stab the doll with a needle.

Of course, he had no intention of executing Yi Yungmu right now. It wouldn’t be too late to use it after his betrayal was confirmed.

“Even if this doll is not effective, Yi Yungmu’s family members are staying at the general’s residence in the capital. Considering those hostages, Yi Yungmu won’t be able to move recklessly.”

At the explanation of Yang Gwi, a minister favored by Huang Bo-kwang, the military supervisors looked relieved.

“I feel relieved to hear that. But one question arises.”

“A question?”

“Yes, if he’s already colluding with Jo Won-rak, why would he drag out the time like this? Could it be that he has other intentions?”

The military supervisor’s thought was this.

While the two armies were facing each other here, wouldn’t it be possible for a separate enemy force that had secretly split off beforehand to attack the capital?

It was certainly a plausible opinion, but Yang Gwi shook his head.

He had already worried about this fact and had sent out scouts in all directions to closely observe the enemy’s movements.

As a result, he could see that the enemy had not yet divided their forces.

This was because the allied forces had come to conquer the Song Empire, but with the justification of defeating the rebellious traitors in the capital.

There was no strong resistance in every area that would require them to divide their forces.

“What on earth is his intention…”

While Yang Gwi and the military supervisors were lost in thought, the adjutant, who had been listening to the conversation next to them, opened his mouth with a cunning look in his eyes.

“Commander, whatever it is, if the Red Dragon King has decided to collude with the rebels, wouldn’t it be a good idea for us to interfere first?”

“Interfere first?”

“Yes, if we launch a preemptive attack, wouldn’t those guys think that Yi Yungmu has deceived them?”

Of course, the enemy command might see it as an accidental situation.

However, the soldiers who had actually suffered damage would not think so, and if they were attacked on a large scale before orders from above were delivered, they would surely retaliate in order to survive.

If it became such a chaotic mess, the secret agreement made beforehand would become a piece of scrap paper.

In addition, the enemy command might also fall into confusion.

“Good, have the adjutant prepare for a surprise attack. We must move quietly so that Yi Yungmu or the enemy doesn’t notice.”

“Yes, but if there are soldiers who don’t follow, what should we do…”

At the adjutant’s concern, Yang Gwi wore a sinister smile.

“What’s there to worry about? If we say that it was a plan that the great General Yi Yungmu had planned in advance, they will follow without a shred of doubt.”

“Hehehe, I understand.”

Huang Bo-kwang’s subordinates, who did not know that Yi Yungmu and Luke were purely fighting as martial artists.

Following their schemes, which were as suspicious as their masters, the 100,000 soldiers of the Song Empire began to move.