Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 484

Tang Gwan openly frowned.

“Do you think I’m some student at a village school? You want me to read all this and submit my thoughts?”

“Please do so within two days.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong said without even looking at Tang Gwan. He was focused on the mountain of documents.

It wasn’t just him.

Yeon-wi, Jeagal Ayeon, and even Gang Ryang were all reading the documents they had each transcribed. As if they knew the situation was urgent, everyone was completely immersed in analyzing the documents.

Tang Gwan closed his eyes.

A vein bulged on his forehead.

“Fine, it’s to help catch the spy, so I can do that much even if it’s annoying.”

“Thank you.”

“But… why is that guy even here!”

Tang Gwan’s eyes flashed open as he pointed to where Moyong Gun was.

Moyong Gun also didn’t look at Tang Gwan. In some ways, he was the most focused person there.

Yeon Ho-Jeong said,

“We need to mobilize everyone we can.”

“Mobilize? Does that mean you’ve told the leaders of the Nine Great Sects too?”

“No, it’s not like I can ask even the most virtuous people to read through a detailed investigation of their private lives. Of course…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong pointed to one side of the thick stack of documents.

“There are also documents for the heads of the Six Great Clans.”

“What exactly are you trying to do now… !”

“There’s no time to explain all this. If you’re willing to help, please start analyzing them, Clan Head.”

Tang Gwan, who had been staring at Yeon Ho-Jeong, turned his gaze to Moyong Gun.

Moyong Gun didn’t seem to care about Tang Gwan. No, he really didn’t. He was reading and rereading the documents with his eyes practically popping out, trying to figure out who the spy was.

“Hmph!”

Tang Gwan snorted and sat down in a seat.

Everyone was diligently doing their job. There was no point in getting worked up over nothing.

“Is this it?”

“Yes. They’re folded by sect, so it should be easy to distinguish them.”

Tang Gwan inwardly clicked his tongue.

‘It’s more extensive than I thought.’

There was a lot of information, ranging from twenty to over a hundred pages per sect leader.

It was a moment where he could feel Jeagal Mun-Ho’s obsession and madness. He must have gone through a lot of trouble investigating the leaders of the Nine Great Sects and the Six Great Clans.

Eventually, Tang Gwan, who had taken a seat, suddenly felt something was off.

‘They’re scattered?’

Of course, they didn’t need to read together, but did they really need to be so spread out?

The most suspicious one was Yeon Ho-Jeong. He was sitting in the furthest corner of the large room. It was as if he was monitoring the people inside.

‘Is he trying to see our reactions?’

They had gathered people with insight, but to be blunt, there could be a spy among the people here.

The Byeoksan Yeon Clan, the Moyong Clan, and even the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Except for the clan heads, Yeon Ho-Jeong was the only one who could transparently observe their reactions.

Yeon-wi and Moyong Gun willingly allowed that frank surveillance. That probably meant they were confident.

‘Whatever it is, they’re both impressive. Yeon Clan Head, I can understand, but even Moyong Gun.’

They were temporarily joining hands for the common good.

Even if they had the same goal, it wasn’t easy to be monitored by someone who was once an enemy, and even younger than him.

Yet, Moyong Gun had readily accepted it. He could tell just by looking at his eyes and posture.

‘That means he’s being recognized.’

Tang Gwan looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Yeon Ho-Jeong was also focused on the documents, but part of his awareness was directed towards his surroundings.

‘I can’t deny it anymore.’

The leaders of the Nine Great Sects didn’t know. But at least, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s influence, trusted by both the military strategist of the Martial Alliance, Jeagal Mun-Ho, and his rival, Moyong Gun, could be considered top-tier within the Martial Alliance.

‘So, do I acknowledge that guy?’

Tang Gwan smiled.

It was a strange smile that seemed both mocking and bitter.

“You brat.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I’m telling you in advance, I’m not the spy.”

“I think so too.”

“Really?”

“Yes. About nine out of ten.”

“…You annoying bastard.”

“There’s no time. If you’re going to help, please do it quickly.”

Tang Gwan grumbled and picked up the documents.

“How did I get tangled up with a guy like that?”

Two days later.

“Hmm.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho, having read the documents where Yeon-wi, Moyong Gun, Tang Gwan, Yeon Ho-Jeong, and Jeagal Ayeon had each written down their thoughts, let out a groan.

“As expected, everyone’s thoughts are different. But different…”

Jeagal Mun-Ho looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“There are exactly two people who are suspected by multiple people. Everyone had the same thoughts on this part.”

“Yes, that’s what it seemed like.”

“What do you think about those two? Do you also suspect them?”

“Yes, I do.”

“What kind of people are those two in your eyes?”

“One is easy to understand, and the other is difficult to understand.”

“Yes, that’s an accurate assessment.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s index finger tapped the table. It wasn’t a meaningful action, just a habit. A habit when he was deep in thought.

After a while, Jeagal Mun-Ho opened his mouth.

“Let me ask you something.”

“Please do.”

“You said this back then. You said you would catch the spy within five days.”

“I did.”

“That deadline is three days away.”

“It’s tight.”

“Then, how did you plan to find the spy?”

He hadn’t explained his method to anyone yet.

Yeon Ho-Jeong said,

“As you know, Military Strategist, it’s rare for an infiltrated spy to act alone.”

“It’s not just rare, it’s almost non-existent. Especially in a large organization like our alliance.”

“That’s right. Of course, there are cases where they send just one spy to a huge organization. Knowing the risks, they use them as a sort of ‘plant’ so that even if they fail to deliver information, they won’t get caught.”

“That’s right.”

“But no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like the Three Teachings would try such a timid spy operation in our alliance.”

“Of course not. From the start, this spy must be someone they’ve cultivated for a long time. They would have infiltrated them without any trouble, so there’s no reason to be nervous about getting caught.”

“In other words, there’s a very high probability that there’s a contact person connected to the spy.”

“So, you were planning to move based on that contact person, not the spy.”

“That’s right.”

“And the method?”

“It takes some time for the spy to send the information they’ve gathered. It can be seen as a cycle, and if that cycle is broken, the contact person will definitely move.”

“That’s true. The problem is that we don’t know how long that cycle is.”

“That’s why we needed this.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong pointed to the documents.

“This contains not only the private lives of the leaders of each sect but also all their habits and activities since joining the Martial Alliance.”

“Hmm.”

“And I’ve narrowed it down. To two people.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes deepened.

“You’re going to monitor those two?”

“Yes. But we need to make it seem like someone else is the spy.”

“… !”

“The people we will secretly monitor are the two who were narrowed down in the report. And we need to either confine or imprison everyone else except those two.”

“…That’s a dangerous operation.”

“It is.”

“There’s no guarantee of success either.”

“Of course not.”

“And there are only three days left. With that method, it wouldn’t be easy to catch them even after a month, or even half a year, would it?”

Wasn’t it too passive of an operation, Jeagal Mun-Ho was asking.

“That’s not true.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because there will be another shadow besides the contact person.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes wavered.

“Another shadow?”

“Yes.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s tone was certain.

“In this kind of operation, a decisive assumption is needed. There’s nothing we can be completely sure of, but the two assumptions we are making and acting on are: one, that the spy has been with the Three Teachings from the beginning, not someone who was recruited in the middle. And the second is…”

“That there is a contact person.”

“That’s right. Based on that assumption, there will be another person between the spy and the contact person.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes wavered.

“Are you sure?”

“If that assumption is certain, then we can be 100% sure of the shadow’s existence.”

“May I ask why?”

Because they’ve always been like that.

Yeon Ho-Jeong swallowed those words. The only people he had confessed his past life to were Yeon-wi and Muk Bi. He couldn’t tell even Jeagal Mun-Ho about that.

“Just know that I have my reasons for being sure. For example, even the Umshin [a shadowy organization], who had devoured the assassin world of the South for a long time, had a shadow attached to them.”

That was Sobang.

“This is also the first time the Three Teachings are doing an infiltration operation. They can’t help but be anxious. Especially in the Martial Alliance. They have to consider the possibility that the spy might betray them.”

“So, a manager, then.”

“That’s right. And there’s one more reason why such a manager has to be attached.”

“The Shin Hwa Cult [a mysterious cult].”

“You’re correct. After we killed several of the Shin Hwa Cult’s warriors, they must have dispatched managers to each region. And they did it urgently.”

And that was the way of the Three Teachings.

It wasn’t just because of this incident. In the past, during the era of the Black Demon Emperor, he had seen countless managers in the process of catching the spies they had sent.

Some were disguised as ordinary people who had not learned any martial arts, and some were masters of stealth who could easily deceive even the eyes of a supreme expert.

The Martial Alliance spy manager would definitely be the latter. Yeon Ho-Jeong believed that without a doubt.

“In other words, instead of catching the contact person, you’re trying to narrow down the people related to those two as contact person candidates, and then find out if there’s a manager between them and the spy.”

“That’s right.”

“With poison?”

“We’ve decided to borrow the Tang Clan’s power.”

It seemed like he had even thought of the specific methods.

Jeagal Mun-Ho stroked his chin.

“It’s not bad… but it’s an operation that’s not easy to deploy manpower for. Of course, there won’t be many contact person candidates related to those two.”

Even so, Yeon Ho-Jeong was going to push ahead.

If you start by catching even the smallest, seemingly meaningless parts, you can naturally reach the root. It was Yeon Ho-Jeong’s way of persistently digging, even if it was a bit rough, when the situation was hopeless.

“A contact person… and a manager connected to the contact person…”

Jeagal Mun-Ho, who had been muttering several times, suddenly lit up his eyes.

“How about combining your plan with mine?”

“What…?”

“While catching the spy, let’s also resolve some sensitive issues related to you at the same time.”

“Excuse me?”

Jeagal Mun-Ho gave a deep smile.

“Of course, I’m saying this because I trust your insight. Whatever it is, you’re going to have to work hard on this one.”

* * *

The next day.

“I apologize for calling another sudden meeting.”

It was a sudden meeting, but all the Bonggong [a secret organization] members had gathered. It was because they had the expectation that Jeagal Mun-Ho had found something out about the spy issue.

As if reading that, Jeagal Mun-Ho said with an embarrassed face,

“I’m sorry, but today’s meeting is not about the spy.”

Yong Hwa Jin-In asked bluntly,

“Then what is it?”

“Regarding the Mukryong Unit, I have a matter to persuade the Bonggong members about, so I’ve arranged this meeting.”

“Persuade? Did you cause another accident?”

“It’s not an accident, but a reasonable operation, although it might seem a bit extreme.”

“What exactly are you talking about?”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes flashed.

“I’d like to talk about sending Yeon Ho-Jeong, the general commander of the Yugun Unit, to the Mukryong Unit.”