Volume 5 Chapter 3 – Opening Move (2)

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Translated by Rain

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The personnel to accompany Elder Yeom inside Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment were called out by him.

Elder Yeom himself, Yeom Baek-ha, and the chief warrior who would guard Yeom Baek-ha.

Even though the Head Maid Jeong-ah said everyone was allowed to enter, Elder Yeom selected only the minimum number of people, saying, ‘There is no reason to cause trouble among family.’

It was the old military strategist himself who held back Yeom Baek-ha, who was about to tell her father that the old strategist had been left out.

“Lady.”

Taking advantage of the commotion as the procession began to be guided by Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment’s maids, the old military strategist spoke quickly.

“Taking this old man, who has spent his entire life digging only into military strategy, inside Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment—which is practically the Eldest Young Master’s inner chamber—is the same as starting a fight, unless it is by invitation.”

“But…”

The old military strategist quickly continued, cutting off Yeom Baek-ha’s words.

“The lord is not taking the lady inside just because you are a patient to be shown to the Eldest Young Master.”

The deep eyes under the old military strategist’s long eyebrows met Yeom Baek-ha’s eyes.

“The most important reason is that the lady is the lord’s ‘successor.’”

“…!”

Yeom Baek-ha felt as if lightning were running down her spine.

As one of Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment’s maids approached with a smiling face, the old military strategist chuckled and handed over the donkey’s reins to her.

“Old military strategist…”

Without even looking back at Yeom Baek-ha, the old military strategist rode away, leaving himself to the donkey guided by the maid.

‘Me, Father’s successor…’

It was a thought she had never had before.

She had considered it her duty as a child to marry a matrilocal husband chosen by her father and give birth to a child before her life ended.

But the old military strategist, who was practically her father’s right hand, said:

‘This Yeom Baek-ha is Father’s successor.’

That would soon be her father’s will.

Her spine straightened further, and her mind, which had been shrunk by the thought of facing the object of her admiration, cleared up at once.

The steps of the white tiger advancing toward her father, who was waiting right in front of the main gate, also moved vigorously in turn.

* * *

As Elder Yeom’s party disappeared inside Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment under the guidance of the Head Maid Jeong-ah, a member of the Special Task Force guarding the main gate let out a sigh without realizing it.

“Terrifying.”

At the words of his colleague who approached him, he nodded.

“Indeed.”

In his eyes, the calm yet intense energy of Elder Yeom, who had still been standing quietly, remained.

“Yeom Gwak-chu, no, Elder Yeom seems to be getting endlessly stronger.”

Stealthily wiping away cold sweat, one of his colleagues chuckled.

“Only to that extent can one indeed be called a guard warrior of the Main Family.”

Everyone nodded slightly as if in agreement.

The one who had been Elder Yeom’s training camp peer in the past looked at his right hand.

“If only this right hand had remained, would I have been able to become like him…”

The high-grade prosthetic hand provided by the Elders’ Hall rattled.

At that, a colleague next to him sneered.

“With your level, I think it would have been impossible even if you had one more hand, let alone if your right hand remained.”

“What?!”

At that moment, a maid ran up from the inside and said.

“The Head Maid said that chattering during duty is prohibited.”

Having finished speaking, the maid bowed her head and disappeared back inside Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment.

At the words she delivered, everyone wore hollow smiles.

“Does Lady Jeong-ah possess a thousand-li eye or something…?”

A colleague who corrected his posture because of the warning replied via sound transmission.

‘If it is a level of talent to be alongside Elder Yeom, it would refer to the talent of a warrior like Lady Jeong-ah.’

Another colleague cut into the sound transmission.

‘To think that at her age, a woman who has not even held a sword for long, learned the Flash of Shadow and Instant.’

‘She will probably join the ranks of experts within a few years, maybe even faster than that.’

‘Has another genius to succeed the Second Young Lady, who is called Seamless Heavenly Robe, been born in the Main Family…!’

* * *

Although they wasted time soothing the white tiger, which was frightened by the powerful barrier-class formation made by Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment’s forest, they eventually succeeded in entering the forest path.

“It is a tremendous formation…”

At the words that slipped from Yeom Baek-ha’s mouth without her realizing, the Head Maid Jeong-ah simply showed a smile and led the way.

‘I cannot even see a gate of life.’

Although she was as familiar with books on military strategy as she was with law books, it seemed impossible for her to even read this terrible formation, let alone find the gate of life.

She only followed behind Jeong-ah, who guided them along the path as it was.

Even if they brought the old military strategist who was said to be thoroughly versed in military strategy, she could not guarantee whether he could find the gate of life here.

‘Lady, did you see those maids?’

At the warrior captain’s sound transmission, Yeom Baek-ha, who could not transmit sound, only nodded her head slightly.

Without exception, the maids of Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment following behind Jeong-ah were all wearing swords.

Although Yeom Baek-ha could not use internal energy, since she had basically grown up in the military gates, she could estimate the level of the maids at least by estimation.

The warrior captain’s sound transmission continued.

‘They are all at a level where they could easily apply to just about any sword squad in the Main Family within a few years.’

Yeom Baek-ha swallowed a groan inwardly.

What was the reason the Eldest Young Master kept such level of warriors as maids?

Before she could think about it sufficiently, the forest ended, and a scenery like a fairyland of Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment unfolded in earnest.

However, to neither Yeom Baek-ha nor the warrior captain did that beautiful scenery even enter their eyes.

“Now, is the categorization of the gifts being done properly?”

“Please put poetry, calligraphies, and paintings over here, this way.”

“Senior Maid. The gift sent from the general’s family is…”

Dozens of maids were handling the pile of gifts with skillful hands.

And all of those maids were wearing swords.

‘…All of them are warriors of a similar level. Especially the one wearing the maid outfit.’

The warrior captain paused for a moment before continuing his sound transmission.

‘…At the very least, they are at a level similar to or superior to the warriors of our sword squad. If we roughly estimate their numbers, it is about twice ours, so their overall power would be similar to a decent sword squad.’

That was true.

The Eldest Young Master already possessed a sword squad directly under him in all but name.

‘As the lady knows as well, the purpose of operating the Main Family’s sword squads in the first place is to overcome the slightly lacking individual abilities through group tactics.’

The warrior captain continued his sound transmission while massaging the nape of his neck, which felt stiff.

‘But if my estimation is correct, the individual qualities of those maids exceed the level required in general sword squads.’

And that was equivalent to the meaning that the sword squad, which was one of the most important cards of her father, Elder Yeom, who had to conduct a life-and-death negotiation with the Eldest Young Master, had faded.

Yeom Baek-ha closed her eyes tightly.

* * *

The results that her father, Elder Yeom, could obtain through negotiations with the Eldest Young Master were as follows.

Of course, the best was that his daughter would be treated and he would receive no political blow.

However, in her view, there was absolutely no way for that to happen.

‘If Father had such an exquisite move, he would not be so solemn.’

Even if things went well, they had no choice but to go as follows.

He receives a promise to treat her, his daughter, and entrusts her to Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment.

This was because, for complete treatment, she had to be treated when the seizures, which could occur at any time, happened.

However, in this case, because from the perspective of outsiders his daughter would be as good as held hostage by the Eldest Young Master, Elder Yeom would be considered part of the Eldest Young Master’s faction.

In other words, all of Elder Yeom’s political footing, which he had built up as a neutral faction member until now, would be shattered, and he would be isolated thereafter.

The problem was that this case was not the ‘worst,’ but the second worst.

The worst was the case where the Eldest Young Master held her, his daughter, as a hostage and used Elder Yeom as a puppet elder.

‘I want to think that such a case would never happen, but…’

Ultimately, in her judgment, the best result for her father on a realistic level was to become a ‘precious person’ to the Eldest Young Master.

If only he could receive generous treatment on the Eldest Young Master’s side, even if his other political footings crumbled.

Would there not be a chance of coming back to life?

‘But to do so, Father’s value must be highly evaluated by the Eldest Young Master…’

The things of the greatest value were his father himself, who held the position of elder, and the sword squad called the War Advisory Group.

Yet, to think that the Eldest Young Master already possessed a sword squad composed of maids in all but name.

Yeom Baek-ha’s gaze momentarily checked her father’s state, but Elder Yeom only walked silently, and nothing could be read from him.

‘Father…’

Now, all that remained was her father’s martial power, called the Sword Mountain Splitting Peak, and his position as an elder.

Elder Yeom’s martial power, as one of the guard warriors of the Luoyang Sword Family, was formidable, and as far as she knew, the Eldest Young Master did not yet have a possessor of such martial power.

‘A card still remains.’

However, a moment later, even that thought of hers was beautifully shattered.

“This is the Eldest Young Master’s office.”

It was a pavilion with an elegant atmosphere.

And guarding the front of that pavilion was a single warrior wearing the Special Task Force uniform.

Uniquely, he wore five swords, and seeing those swords, the warrior captain was startled.

“Five swords… C-Could it be, are you the Life-Snatching Ghost Sword?!”

At those words, Yeom Baek-ha also could not help but be surprised.

“The most ferocious sword of the Sword Family!”

Although the time when the one carrying that name active was a long time ago, it was a name famous enough for Yeom Baek-ha, who was merely of a youthful age, to know.

The middle-aged warrior called the Life-Snatching Ghost Sword made neither confirmation nor denial, only giving a short, silent bow toward Elder Yeom.

However, that action was instead as good as proving that his identity was indeed the Life-Snatching Ghost Sword.

“…Life-Snatching Ghost Sword. You were in a place like this?”

Even in Elder Yeom’s words, who had shown extreme composure until now, a fragment of emotion could not help but be mixed.

“’A place like this’… Watch your words, Elder Yeom. This is Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment, the residence of the Eldest Young Master.”

Although it was not a way of speaking that one would dare use toward Elder Yeom who held the status of an elder, no one pointed out the Life-Snatching Ghost Sword’s tone.

For it was a stance that could be shown by someone who was already a guard warrior of the Luoyang Sword Family back when Elder Yeom was just beginning to distinguish himself.

“I apologize. I did not mean it that way. I was merely surprised to meet a renowned warrior in such an unexpected place.”

That was the first meeting between Elder Yeom, who shook the north with his renown, and the Life-Snatching Ghost Sword, who had made Jiangnan tremble with his notorious name.

“Is that so? Then, meeting like this is also fate…”

“…Indeed it is.”

The tension that began to flow between the two was to the extent that the surrounding temperature seemed to drop instantaneously.

The white tiger quickly backed away, and the warrior captain blocked the front to protect Yeom Baek-ha.

With the formidable energy that began to slowly reveal itself from the two guard warriors, the entirety of Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment seemed to fall into a deep silence.

It was a low stream of a voice that broke the touch-and-go tension created by those two like a lie.

“Gatekeeper! Stop playing around and bring the guests inside.”

That moment was so exquisite that the two experts, whose realms were difficult to measure, both held their breath and backed down.

Elder Yeom suppressed the rising excitement and wore a puzzled expression.

“…Gatekeeper?”

At those words, the Life-Snatching Ghost Sword turned his head with a snap, and opened the office door with a blunt attitude.

“Master. The guests have arrived.”

While maintaining her composure amidst all this, Jeong-ah politely bowed toward the inside to report, and an answer was heard from within.

“Tell them to enter.”

Taking large strides and carrying his daughter, Yeom Baek-ha, Elder Yeom said to the warrior captain.

“You wait here.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Yeom Baek-ha said nothing, quietly cradled in her father’s arms.

Her father’s arms, taking bold strides as always, were reassuring as always.

However, she realized at that point.

That with the appearance of the Life-Snatching Ghost Sword, her father’s card of a guard warrior’s martial power had crumbled.

Now, all that remained was the value carried by the position of an elder of the Main Family.

Yeom Baek-ha felt goosebumps.

Was the placement of those they had met so far perhaps intended by the Eldest Young Master?

Was it not a deep scheme to make them stand before him empty-handed in the end?

Assuredly.

The figure Yeon So-hyeon, the Eldest Young Master, waiting in front of them right now, would be incomparable to any enemy her father had faced until now.

He would be a figure more terrifying than any opponent her father had defeated.

However, she did not close her eyes.

She resolved not to miss the moment her fate was decided.

Because she was her father’s daughter, and the successor of Yeom Gwak-chu, the elder of the Great Luoyang Sword Family.

The father and daughter passed through the office entrance, which was gaping open like a giant monster, without hesitation.

And at the end of the dark and short hallway, there was a boy keeping the office doors wide open on both sides.

“Welcome.”

The boy welcomed them, wearing a deep, dry smile.