321. Time Attack (Complete)
[ Only we… Were able to save our lives… I’m sorry, soldier… ]
A pitiful voice heard through the crystal sphere.
Heavy breathing, as if he was scared.
Occasionally, groans could be heard as if there were some people injured.
Soon Biryu, who was holding his forehead, finished calculating and opened his mouth.
“Did you say six?”
[ Yes, both of them were injured. ]
“With the numbers so low, raids would no longer be considered meaningless.”
[It’s okay. I don’t know about the others, but everyone here is prepared to sacrifice their lives if they can fulfill the leader’s will. ]
“I’m sorry. I’m making you suffer because you have a bad soldier.”
[ Please give me orders. ]
In response to his subordinate’s concise answer, Biryu immediately points to the location on the map and continues his explanation.
“The goal is simple. There is a beacon to the west of Jihwaseong Fortress. Occupy the place and then raise the beacon. It is expected that government troops who will be suspicious of this will flock in, so you need to buy as much time as possible. Beacon All you have to do is hold on until you reach the beacon tower near Saeju Palace. It will be roughly a corner.”
[ We will do everything possible to hold on. ]
“Whether it’s creating chaos by wearing the skin of a government soldier or setting up traps at every corner, all you have to do is be able to light a beacon. Please.”
[ We will leave immediately. ]
The believer’s trustworthy voice, on the other hand, is a very poor plan that is not at all like that.
Biryu tilted his stiff neck back and was immersed in his agony.
The occupation of Beacon Tower was the last bastion.
For him who pursues perfection, the last bastion means the last plan of an incompetent commander packaged in plausible words.
The reason was that there were many variables due to the high risk and unnatural nature.
“Was it me who was making a fuss?”
Biryu smiles ecstatically.
He was basking in the bitterness of his first defeat.
In the meantime, an unknown believer opens the door and enters the room in a huff.
“Gu, soldier…!”
“What’s going on? Ah, two unknown intruders have appeared?”
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Immediately, Biryu glances at Shindo, who is out of breath, and guesses what happened.
“…Yes? How can that…”
“That’s it. How many people are left in the Black Sea Castle?”
“That’s… Less than a dozen people…”
“Okay. What about the blood stones? I guess the leader took them with him?”
“…Yes? Yes…”
Despite the tense situation, Shindou reacts with shock to the sight of the boy remaining strangely calm.
Biryu’s eyes showed such emptiness and deep despair that it was hard to believe they were the eyes of a young boy.
“That’s it. Go ahead.”
“That’s how to deal with intruders…”
“It’s impossible. We can’t deal with it with the current number of people. So just get out there.”
“……”
At Biryu’s gesture, Shindo closed the door with a puzzled look on his face and walked out.
“……”
The door closes and silence returns.
It is truly an unreasonable world.
I never thought my first loss would be my last.
Anyway, where did the information leak out?
Was there any room for information to leak out?
“…A prophecy? Or is that really a myth?”
Biryu muttered as he was going through many thoughts.
The boy, unable to find an answer even after thinking for a while, quietly stood up and picked up the crystal ball that was ringing beyond him.
“What happened?”
[ Luckily, we were able to occupy the beacon tower without any major damage. We have just raised the signal fire. ]
“What do you mean? You mean there was no medical history?”
[ It seemed like he was away for a while because it was a festival, but… ]
“……”
Lucky?
Is this an issue that can simply be dismissed as luck?
Biryu couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was going according to the plan of the blind man who massacred the believers.
But there was no other choice.
‘No, I might just be really lucky. Don’t be swayed by the situation. Since it is not a war situation and a festival is being held inside the castle, it is not surprising that the beacon tower was left empty.’
Regardless of the post-war situation, there seemed to be no way for him to physically stop the beacon fire.
After making a decision, Biryu picked up another crystal ball on the other side.
***
A man dressed in black was looking intently at the huge pillar erected on the plain and the building built to surround the pillar.
Nowadays, there is only a small village and a palace with a particularly luxurious style compared to its size, but it is said that in the past, this land was the capital of a patriotic nation.
Saeju Palace.
Once upon a time, the conquering king of the Yue Dynasty, who unified the East, tied a chain to a pillar that was said to never be loosened. This palace was built as a result.
Seeing as there were carriages and soldiers lined up around the palace, it seemed like the leaders of the East had gathered to try to break the chains again this cycle.
“What do you think?”
“Yes? What do you mean…”
When the man in black asked that question, one of his subordinates next to him lowered his head and asked again.
“Do you think a blood demon can untie the Conqueror’s knot?”
The person who asked the question was ‘Guhwi’, the second generation blood demon of the blood religion.
‘Whoever unravels this knot will take control of the East.’
It is said that the Conqueror prophesied while tying a knot to a pillar with a chain.
Even though hundreds of years had passed since then, the knot remained untied.
Perhaps the knot was waiting for a ‘true conqueror’.
If several leaders of the East, who were in the palace built on that spot, died all at once, it would not be too far off for the blood religion to take over the East.
As Gu Hwi was looking at the Saeju Palace, such a thought briefly passed through his mind.
In fact, he did not come to this position because he had any special ambition.
Guhwi hated humans.
He had always hated himself, and all that was left to him was destruction and hatred.
All he wanted to do was burn this disgusting world to the ground.
Is the cause important?
Crush it.
Trample on.
As the strong, they despise and plunder the weak.
Those without strength die, and only those with strength survive.
Just like everyone else, we just follow the old rules and laws engraved on this land with the sweat of the strong and the blood of the weak.
“Actually, I have no interest in unification. If people-eating ghosts establish a country, who would want to become a citizen of that country?”
“Didn’t the Demonic Cult try to establish a country?”
“That’s why he disappeared. Of course, the opponent may have been too strong. What did the Heavenly Demon know? He would never have dreamed that the man who came to subdue him would be a madman who would later unify the East.”
“……”
The subordinate quietly nods his head in agreement.
“Anyway, it’s almost time to contact me… But for some reason I can’t make it on time.”
Gu Hwi glanced sideways at the crystal ball placed on the other side of him and muttered.
“Shall we contact you first?”
“That’s it. He’s not the kind of guy who’s going to sleep peacefully. Things must have gone a little crazy. I had expected from the beginning that the operation wouldn’t proceed so easily…”
The time when Gu Hwi was slurring his words.
The crystal ball rings.
Guhwi, who was soon handed the crystal ball by his subordinate, opened his mouth.
“What is the situation?”
In response to his brief question, the boy’s weak voice comes out from the crystal ball.
[ The beacon went up safely. I think you will see a reaction there by now. ]
“Yes, one of the pabals is rushing into the Saeju Palace. Is there anything more to say?”
[ …I wish you good luck. ]
“I understand. Thank you for your hard work.”
Gu Hwi handed the crystal ball, which had lost communication, back to his subordinate and stood up.
“…You’re hiding something.”
Gu-hwi notices a change in Biryu’s despondent voice. Soon, his subordinate responds to his mumbling.
“You’re hiding it?”
“The plan must have gone awry. Since the results have been released, it doesn’t matter what the process is… Let’s see their reaction first. If the troops don’t leave, we can withdraw.”
As it was a diversionary operation from the beginning, one side was able to avoid taking risks.
‘But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to miss this opportunity.’
How common is it for Eastern leaders to gather in one place? After this one, the next cycle would be decades at the most.
Guhwi hoped that there would be no more variables, but soon he caught a red horse entering the palace.
***
At the same time, inside Saeju Palace.
A luxurious jade table was hung around a huge pillar to which a chain was tied, and leaders from various countries were sitting there.
Who will untie the knot on the pillar?
Will the knot be resolved this cycle?
That was the main purpose of the meeting, but that was not the only topic discussed.
Hundreds of years have passed since the knot was untied. As a result, it was not uncommon for these meetings, which were held periodically, to hold meetings with specific agendas.
“So what do you have to say? Head of the Namgung family.”
The King of the Flower Country, who was sitting on the oktak and shaking his legs as if he was bored, asked his man on the podium a question.
He was Namgung Jin of the Namgung family, who took on the position of temporary governor of Cheonseon Hakgwan.
Soon, Namgoong Jin lowered her head slightly, cleared her throat, cleared her voice, and opened her mouth.
“I have come here because I have something to tell you regarding the disappearance of Wei Zihan, the head of the Cheonseon Academic Hall.”