82. Let’s Try It Out
“Lord Sirius, long time no see!”
A man with a rascally appearance ran up to Sirius.
It was Phanteon Yuterus, the man who had become the head of the Yuterus family thanks to Sirius.
He was now also the leader of the 侠员堂 (Warriors’ Hall), which managed all the members of the alliance.
“Have you been well? And you and Lady Justitia are getting along well… Ow!”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
After giving Phanteon a light blow, Sirius asked,
“Is the East running smoothly?”
“Of course. The Black Tortoise Squad is doing its job well.”
Originally, the martial arts alliance of the White Tiger had been organized into one hall, two academies, three halls, four pavilions, and five groups.
But now, it was a one-hall, two-group system.
There was the Warriors’ Hall, which managed the members; the Azure Dragon Sword Group, which was Sirius’s direct attack force; and the Black Tortoise Squad, which maintained治安 (public order) in local communities.
Of these, the Black Tortoise Squad was made up of troops provided by various families.
“Phanteon, the Black Tortoise Squad is about to double in size.”
“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“The Southern families have decided to join the alliance.”
“What…?”
Phanteon couldn’t believe his ears.
“The Southern families… are joining the alliance?”
“Yes, we’ll make a formal announcement soon.”
Sirius’s calm statement made Paltheon dizzy.
“No, when did that happen… You should have told me in advance!”
“I can just tell you face to face.”
“But shouldn’t I prepare myself mentally!”
“Prepare yourself mentally? Not preparing to run away?”
“Why, why would I run away?”
“Because you’ll be too busy.”
“Ugh…”
It was an accurate observation.
“No, Sirius, to be honest, I’ve been so busy lately.”
Paltheon complained.
“It’s hard enough to manage the people in the east, but now you want me to manage the people in the south?”
“Being the leader of the Allied Forces must be tough.”
“Yes, it’s harder than I expected. I just want to go back to the Uterus family.”
“I entrusted you because I believe in your abilities.”
“Ugh… Even if you say that…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll add more people. I heard that the Southern Union will send someone to help with personnel management.”
“Yes? The Southern Union?”
“The Strauss family has also decided to send someone.”
Paltheon frowned at the mention of the Strauss family, the most prestigious family in the south.
“Does that mean the Allied Forces will be managed by those people?”
“Why?”
“Well, they’re a prestigious family that can’t even be compared to our Uterus family…”
“You worry too much about useless things.”
Sirius snorted.
“Paltheon, you’re the leader of the Allied Forces. Anyone from a prestigious family is your subordinate within the Allied Forces.”
“……!”
“If anyone gives you a hard time, tell me anytime. I’ll make sure to sort out the hierarchy.”
Sirius highly valued Paltheon’s work ability.
In particular, he thought Paltheon was better at managing people than Justitia.
That’s why he gave him the position of leader of the Allied Forces.
He intended to step on the hand of anyone who tried to hold Paltheon back.
“Oh, I understand. So… from now on, I should accept troops from the southern families and expand the Black Tortoise Squad.”
“You shouldn’t just expand it. You need to overhaul it so that you can take charge of the entire south.”
The southern region is much larger than the eastern region, and the population is also larger.
So, you can’t do things the same way you did in the east.
“You need to properly divide it into squads and teams, and decide on the areas they’re responsible for. Discuss it with people who know the local conditions and make a decision.”
“Hmm… I understand.”
“I’ll do that with the Black Tortoise Squad… Now, I want to create one more new organization.”
“A new organization?”
“Yes, the Steel Pavilion.”
Within the Murim Alliance, there were four pavilions that operated independently.
One of them was the Steel Pavilion in charge of weaponry.
“There’s a place called the Egret Workshop which gathers excellent blacksmiths. I plan to centralize production and supply standardized weaponry there.”
“Oh, now that you mention it….”
“What is it?”
“Entroville’s Mr. Schmitz asked me to deliver a sword to you.”
Schmitz was a master blacksmith and a member of the Entroville Council of Six.
Sirius had once asked Schmitz to make a sword for him.
“It’s here.”
“Hmm….”
The sword of this world was different in shape from the swords used in Murim.
That’s why he had asked Schmitz to make it in a certain way….
“It’s not quite to my liking.”
The shape was reasonable. The center of gravity seemed to be well-balanced.
However, now that he had acquired the Wave Sword from the Egret Workshop, he couldn’t be satisfied with this level of sword.
“I should have Schmitz bring his subordinates to the South. Tell him to learn techniques from the Egret Workshop.”
“Won’t that hurt his pride?”
“I don’t need anyone who refuses to improve their skills because of pride.”
“I understand.”
Sirius planned to entrust the Steel Pavilion to its original owner, Atillan Egret.
Atillan felt indebted to Sirius for saving him from the persecution of the Nineth Guild.
If he was given enough support, he would be able to supply quality weapons for the Cheonrang Sword Corps and the Hyeonmu Defense Corps.
“Then we’ll have the Allied Forces, the Steel Pavilion, the Cheonrang Sword Corps, and the Hyeonmu Defense Corps…. This is how the system will be.”
“No, I’m going to create one more pavilion.”
“What?”
“I’m going to add the Muyeong Pavilion.”
Muyeong Pavilion.
It was an organization that carried out the most secretive missions in the Murim Alliance.
The Muyeong Pavilion even carried out assassination operations, which were not typical of the Murim Alliance.
“The Cheonrang Sword Corps fights the enemy head-on, and the Hyeonmu Defense Corps protects the community and maintains peace. But the Muyeong Pavilion fights secretly, without anyone knowing.”
“Oh, secret agents?”
“I’m going to put Andres Retirued in charge of the Muyeong Pavilion.”
“Oh, him…. Huh?”
Paltheon’s eyes widened.
“The young master of the Retirued family?”
“That’s right.”
“But how can he fight secretly? He’s a flashy young master.”
“Because he’s a flashy young master, it’s easy for him to deceive others.”
“Huh…?”
The Southern Branch of the Alliance was completely fooled.
They could never have imagined that the noble son of the Retijud family would put on a mask every night and go around setting fire to the dens of evildoers.
“What’s more, that boy… it seems to suit his nature.”
“Gasp… is that true?”
Andres enjoyed the activities of the Black Knight.
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It worried him a little that he was getting too into it, but… if it suited his nature, it might be good to leave him to it.
“If there are any villains who need to be dealt with stealthily in the south or east, leave it to Andres.”
“Then who should we assign besides Andres?”
“For now, we’ll just have Andres do it. If there are too many people, it will only hinder our covert operations.”
We’ll add more people later if we find anyone suitable.
“We’ll also keep the existence of the Obsidian Knights a secret. Only you, as the deputy leader, need to know.”
“Oh dear, I’ll have to keep my mouth shut.”
Paltheon said with a smile.
“Understood. I will meet your expectations since you have entrusted me with such confidential information.”
“Yes, and…”
“What is it?”
“We have some loot from the evil loan shark, Urkel Battlefield. I’ll leave that to you as well.”
“What? You want me to have it?”
“It’s a considerable amount of money, but I don’t think it’s right to give it to the Theocracy of Ruford.”
Some of it had been used, but there was still quite a lot left because the amount was so large.
“Use it as a secret fund for the Obsidian Knights. Buy yourself something nice every now and then.”
“Gasp…!”
Paltheon looked touched.
“I will be loyal to you in the future!”
“Loyalty, huh? Just do your job properly.”
Sirius laughed and patted Paltheon on the shoulder.
* * *
A few days later, Shadien Strauss made an official announcement.
He announced that he would dissolve the Southern Alliance and join the Alliance that had started in the east.
Not only the Strauss family, but also the main members of the Southern Alliance decided to become part of the Alliance.
Of course, there were families who refused to join the Alliance.
The Lassen family, who had close ties to the Francid Knights, was one of them.
But they would soon realize that it was in their family’s best interests to join this new order that was being created.
On the contrary, the later they joined, the more they would lose.
Meanwhile, the Black Societies of the south became completely disorganized after the Southern Branch of the Alliance was destroyed.
The larger organizations had already been destroyed by Sirius and Andres’ attacks.
Now, with the Obsidian Knights patrolling the south and maintaining治安, the remaining Black Societies would not be able to breathe properly.
“Truly… the south has changed in the blink of an eye.”
The Crown Prince watched the changing situation in the southern region with mixed feelings.
A month ago, I couldn’t have imagined the South would turn out like this.
I couldn’t have imagined I would turn my back on the Alliance and join a conceited brat……
“This is just the beginning. There are more changes to come.”
Shadien, who was sitting across from me in the backyard of the villa, spoke in a leisurely voice.
While Sirius was organizing the South, Hwanwang stayed with Shadien.
As the only two 9-circle Great Mages in the South, they shared many stories.
Hwanwang had been humiliated by Shadien in the past, so he wanted to get his revenge this time…… but things didn’t go as planned.
“Hwanwang, what are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Sirius will soon leave the South. And he will move to the next battlefield.”
“……”
Even if Sirius doesn’t go to the battlefield himself, the battle will come to him first.
The Alliance in the East wouldn’t just sit back and watch as Sirius, who had destroyed both the Eastern and Southern branches, remained at large.
“Hwanwang, I am getting too old.”
“……”
“Fighting doesn’t suit my temperament anyway. It is difficult to follow Sirius around and fight alongside him.”
Shadien said in a serious voice.
“You should follow Sirius and help him.”
“Huh… I have no intention of helping Sirius.”
Hwanwang said, turning his gaze towards the sea.
“Unlike some people, I don’t agree with his ideology.”
“Hmm…”
“The only reason I’m traveling with him is to get hints on reaching the 10th circle. Don’t get me wrong.”
Shadien smiled as he grumbled.
“Yes, that’s enough for now.”
“Somehow, that sounds like a backhanded compliment.”
“Hwanwang, I’ve changed a lot since meeting Sirius. I’ve only met him and talked to him.”
Shadien said in a calm voice.
“If you travel with Sirius, you will experience even more changes. And those experiences will… help you grow more.”
“……”
“You will also be able to reach the 10th circle faster.”
10th circle.
The uncharted territory that a Great Mage who has reached the 9th circle seeks.
It was a dream for both Shadien and Hwanwang.
“If you reach the 10th circle first, you can say that you have defeated me.”
“……!”
“Let’s end our rivalry with that.”
Hwanwang bit his lip.
Shadien’s attitude, as if he had mastered everything, made Hwanwang feel defeated.
Even though they were both 9-circle Great Mages, Shadien had a deeper understanding of the truth.
“Don’t die before I reach the 10th circle, old man.”
“You better watch out so you don’t follow Sirius to an early grave.”
As they were exchanging words, someone appeared in the backyard.
It was Sirius.
“It’s time for me to leave the Southern Region, Lady Shadien.”
“Did you come here just to say goodbye? Thank you.”
Shadien smiled as she spoke to Sirius.
However, Sirius immediately shook his head.
“I have another matter to discuss.”
“Matter?”
“I would like to ask for your guidance, Lady Shadien.”
“Guidance?”
Up until now, Sirius had never acted like this before.
So Shadien and Hwanwang were both surprised.
“What kind of guidance do you seek?”
“I just want you to teach me a move.”
“….”
There was a brief silence.
“Hey, Sirius, don’t tell me… Are you challenging Shadien to a fight?”
“I want to experience the power of a 9th circle Great Mage.”
“This guy, Shadien is not the kind of person who…”
As Hwanwang was scolding Sirius.
Shadien nodded her head.
“I understand. Let’s have a go.”
“What!”
“Don’t stop me, Hwanwang.”
Shadien stood up from her rocking chair with a smile.
“I also want to learn a move from you. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
“How should we do this?”
“How about we each attack once? I’ll let you go first.”
“That’s not fair. Let’s start attacking at the same time.”
Watching the two of them chattering away, Hwanwang made a dumbfounded expression.
“Tch, do whatever you want.”
Hwanwang retreated to the roof for the time being.
It was because he didn’t want to get involved in their fight.
“These guys are really crazy. If one of them dies, what will happen…”
Despite her dislike for fighting, Shadien’s eyes sparkled like a child’s.
Sirius also had eyes that showed his anticipation, just like Shadien’s.
“Tch….”
Continuing to click his tongue, Hwanwang glared from the roof.
In this match, which was likely his first and last, to gain as much as he could.
“Begin!”
Hwanwang declared the start as if he was the referee even though no one asked him to.
Sirius and Shadien moved at the same time.