Chapter 11
After a while, the six of them arrived at the command building and entered the meeting room, which was cut off from the outside.
“Now, explain.” Baek Cheon-Gi urged.
Baek Cheon-Ung first told them about finding the location of the Sea Dragon Gang’s base through Seo Ja-Gang, the Black Dragon Squad Leader.
“Do you have any evidence that what he says is true?” Cheon-Gi raised a question.
It was natural for him to question this. Ja-Gang was an enemy. Even if he confessed to save his subordinate, there was no guarantee that his confession was the truth.
“I’ll confirm it myself.”
“You, personally?”
Baek Mu-Gun volunteered. Cheon-Gi gave him a surprised look.
“As First Uncle said, we can’t just believe everything the Black Dragon Squad Leader said.”
“How are you going to confirm it? Didn’t the Black Dragon Squad Leader say it just looks like an empty part of the ocean from the outside?”
“That’s not necessarily the case. The array technique erected there is called the Fantasy Fog Array. As its name suggests, its effect surrounds it with sea fog. If a Fantasy Fog Array is actually active there, we just need to look for a sea fog’s presence to determine whether what Ja-Gang said was true.”
Mu-Gun possessed the Thunder God’s Heavenly Eyes, which were capable of inspecting the energy of all kinds of things. Through the Thunder God’s Heavenly Eyes, not only could he ascertain whether an array formation was really installed there, but he could also figure out its life-and-death path. That was why Mu-Gun could stay composed even though he didn’t know how to demolish the Fantasy Fog Array. However, he didn’t bother to reveal that fact to Cheon-Gi.
“Alright. I won’t stop you if you want to go by yourself.”
Cheon-Gi didn’t dissuade Mu-Gun. If the Sea Dragon Gang’s base was really in that location, something dangerous could happen. Cheon-Gi hoped deep down Mu-Gun would experience a mishap there. However, that was not the case for Baek Cheon-Ho and Cheon-Ung.
“No. We can’t send the first son of the Baek Sword Sect to such a dangerous place.”
“That’s precisely why I want to go by myself. I have no intention of doing something as cowardly as sending someone in my stead just because the area could be dangerous. And I have done nothing for the sword sect for so long despite being the first son of the Baek Sword Sect. I should at least do my best to accumulate some accomplishments from now on.”
“Don’t try to dissuade him any longer, younger brothers. He has made the decision that’s expected of him as the first son of the Baek Sword Sect.”
Cheon-Gi ensured his two brothers wouldn’t be able to speak up anymore.
“Then I’ll go with Cousin Mu-Gun.”
Just then, Baek Yong-Hwan expressed his intention to go with Mu-Gun.
“What? Why do you want to go there?” Bewildered, Cheon-Gi looked at Yong-Hwan.
“How can you expect me to stay still in comfort when Cousin Mu-Gun is taking such a risk despite being the first son of the Baek Sword Sect? I have to go with him,” Yong-Hwan replied with a determined expression.
Mu-Gun gave Yong-Hwan a bemused look. Yong-Hwan could have volunteered to keep Mu-Gun in check and prevent him from taking all the credit. However, it somehow didn’t seem like that was the case. He appeared to have volunteered with the pure intention of helping Mu-Gun.
On the other hand, Cheon-Gi’s expression stiffened at Yong-Hwan’s unexpected decision. Since he had already respected the decision of Mu-Gun and allowed him to go, he was left with no choice but to send Yong-Hwan with him. If he overturned Yong-Hwan’s decision here, he would appear as a disingenuous person in front of his two brothers. To save face, he was forced to send Yong-Hwan with Mu-Gun.
“If that is your decision, I shall respect it. Go and survey the area with Mu-Gun,” Cheon-Gi replied while trying to control his facial expression.
“Thank you.”
Since Cheon-Gi had decided to let Yong-Hwan accompany Mu-Gun, Cheon-Ho and Cheon-Ung no longer tried to dissuade Mu-Gun.
“Phew. With that out of the way, do we have a definite countermeasure against the all-out war with the Sea Dragon Gang?” Cheon-Gi asked, changing the subject.
“We will borrow the power of the Guangdong Jin Family.”
“What? How are we supposed to do that?”
Cheon-Ung explained the countermeasure they had come up with: use the Fujian Three Murderers as grounds to borrow the Guangdong Jin Family’s power and make them fight the Sea Dragon Gang.
“Hmm, the Guangdong Jin Family cooperating with us certainly makes an all-out war with the Sea Dragon Gang manageable. However, what do you plan to do if they attack before the Guangdong Jin Family can make a move?”
“The Sea Dragon Gang won’t be able to easily wage an all-out war with us.”
“You’re only saying that because you don’t know much about their leader Ak Gun-Hyo. He doesn’t mind going into harm’s way if he’s annoyed. And considering this incident had to have greatly hurt his pride, he definitely won’t stay still.”
“Then we have no choice but to show them the power of the Baek Sword Sect.”
“You should have acted prudently,” Cheon-Gi stared at Mu-Gun condemningly.
“That’s not right, brother. They openly targeted the Baek Sword Sect’s first son, completely looking down on us. Allowing them to belittle us would be the gravest mistake in that situation,” Cheon-Ung defended Mu-Gun.
“What did you say?”
Furious, Cheon-Gi glared at Cheon-Ung. Up until now, Cheon-Ung was completely neutral about the successors’ competition. However, he seemed to have had a change of heart. To defend Mu-Gun, he willingly spoke against Cheon-Gi, which was no different from indicating that he was supporting Mu-Gun for succession.
“It’s as Brother Cheon-Ung said. We are the Baek Sword Sect. We would have been a laughing stock in the murim world if we did nothing while the likes of pirates were disrespecting us. And it has already happened. Now is not the time to worry about who’s right or wrong. We should work together in dealing with the Sea Dragon Gang,” Cheon-Ho voiced out, supporting Cheon-Ung.
Following Cheon-Ung, Cheon-Ho opened up his heart to Mu-Gun as well. That realization appeared to have disturbed Cheon-Gi.
Mu-Gun had won over the favors of the Baek Sword Corps’ White Leopard Squad Leader and the White Bear Squad Leader. Among the five Squad Leaders of the Baek Sword Corps, three of them supported Yong-Hwan as the successor.
However, Cheon-Ho and Cheon-Ung supported Mu-Gun. Considering they were of the Baek Sword Sect’s direct bloodline, the other squad leaders weren’t a match for them. Moreover, Mu-Gun was the legitimate eldest son of the sect leader, and he had even singlehandedly defeated the Fujian Three Murderers.
Under the current circumstances, Yong-Hwan had close to no chance of winning against Mu-Gun in the competition for succession. However, this was not the right time to worry about this matter. As Cheon-Ho said, they had to prioritize preparing countermeasures for the Sea Dragon Gang’s attack. If the Baek Sword Sect were to fall into ruins, the competition for succession would be meaningless.
“Huff. So, what’s our plan for dealing with the Sea Dragon Gang?” Cheon-Gi asked, trying his best to keep a calm demeanor.
“Mu-Ok, you tell him.”
Instead of answering himself, Cheon-Ung handed the floor to Baek Mu-Ok.
Mu-Ok nodded, then said, “The Sea Dragon Gang will try to attack this Maritime Defense Base first. it would be best for you and the White Dragon Squad to postpone their return and remain here for now.”
“If we concentrate our forces here, Wenzhou’s defenses will turn lax. What if the Sea Dragon Gang decides to target Wenzhou instead?”
“If we thoroughly monitor the Sea Dragon Gang’s movements with reconnaissance ships, we’ll be able to deploy our forces from here at the right time. Should they secretly only send out their experts, we can request support from the Justice Martial Sect,” Mu-Ok answered without hesitation.
The Justice Martial Sect was one of the Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s top ten forces, and they had close ties with the Baek Sword Sect due to several generations of connections. They wouldn’t reject the Baek Sword Sect’s request for support.
Seemingly convinced, Cheon-Gi nodded. “Alright. In anticipation of the Sea Dragon Gang’s attack, the White Dragon Squad and I will postpone our return to the headquarters to stay at the Maritime Defense Base. In addition, I issue an order as the White Dragon Squad Leader. White Wolf Squad Leader, send a pigeon message to Wenzhou to inform the sect about the situation here and the details of our discussions. Make sure you get the sect leader’s approval. And from now on, the Maritime Defense Base will be in a state of emergency. Inform all the Sword Squads and make sure they prepare thoroughly. Mu-Gun and Yong-Hwan, you are to confirm that the Sea Dragon Gang’s base is really at the location the Black Dragon Squad Leader mentioned.”
“Understood.”
Cheon-Gi was the White Dragon Squad’s head, which put him above Cheon-Ho and Cheon-Ung in terms of rank. He was the Supreme Commander here.
Following his orders, Cheon-Ho and Cheon-Ung sent a message to the headquarters at Wenzhou and announced that the Maritime Defense Base had been put under a state of emergency. At the same time, Mu-Gun and Yong-Hwan made preparations to confirm whether the Black Dragon Squad Leader’s words were true.
* * *
“What did you just say?” Gun-Hyo asked back, doubting his ears.
“Th-the Baek Sword Sect has killed the Fujian Three Murderers and captured the Black Dragon Ship.”
“What about the Black Dragon Squad Leader and his squad members?”
“Nearly half of them have been wiped out. The remaining members surrendered when the Black Dragon Squad Leader was subdued.”
“Who was it? Who could kill the Fujian Three Murderers and subdue the Black Dragon Squad Leader?”
“About that... It seems that the first son of the Baek Sword Sect did all of it alone,” Yeo Gang, the tactician of the Sea Dragon Gang, answered while observing their leader’s expression. He was the one who proposed the plan to use the Fujian Three Murderers to capture the first son of the Baek Sword Sect. Hence, he couldn’t help but be wary of Gun-Hyo. After all, there was no way he could escape taking the responsibility for this incident.
“What? Didn’t you say that the first son of the Baek Sword Sect regained his martial arts only a month ago? If so, how could he kill the Fujian Three Murderers and subdue the Black Dragon Squad Leader?”
“I can’t believe it either, but the Red Dragon Squad Leader said he witnessed it in person.”
“Now that I think about it, he most likely experienced a miracle. Otherwise, he never could have displayed such martial prowess within a month of regaining his martial arts.”
“I’m sorry. I should have suspected it when rumors circulated that he suddenly treated his qi deviation, which had been neglected for more than three years.”
“So, what are we going to do now? Why did you want to capture the first son of the Baek Sword Sect?”
Gun-Hyo blatantly blamed Yeo Gang, which made the latter feel wronged. This was indeed his plan, but Gun-Hyo was the one who decided to use it. Nevertheless, he had to endure it. Within the Sea Dragon Gang, Gun-Hyo’s words were the law.
“I’m sorry. This is all because I didn’t do a good enough job.”
“That’s not my point. This incident greatly humiliated the Sea Dragon Gang. If we let this go without doing anything, the world will sneer at me and the Sea Dragon Gang. At least for our organization’s honor, we have to pay them back for this incident.”
“However, if we move hastily and suffer damages again, the Sea Dragon Gang itself would be under threat of disbandment.”
“Are you telling me to turn a blind eye to this matter?”
“That’s not what I meant. All I’m trying to say is we should think prudently.”
“You should have done that before this incident could even happen.”
Yeo Gang bowed at Gun-Hyo’s words as the latter put the blame on him once again.
“It’s all due to my negligence. That is why I am trying to handle things with caution now.”
“Fine, then. How do you propose we handle this prudently?”
“I have yet to think that fa-...”
“Useless trash. I’ll give you three days. Figure something out by then, but make sure you think about it really hard. If we suffer another failure like today’s, I myself don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Understood.”
“You may leave now.”
As Gun-Hyo turned him away, Yeo Gang immediately left the Sea Dragon Palace as soon as Gun-Hyo instructed him to.
“Damn it! I dragged this situation for too long. I should have destroyed them long ago.”
Gun-Hyo regretted not dealing with the Baek Sword Sect earlier. He should’ve settled matters with them even if it meant incurring damages. Doing so would’ve prevented Mu-Gun from recovering his martial arts and becoming such a nuisance.
There was’s still hope. All he had to do was take this opportunity to put an end to things. Gun-Hyo made up his mind. However, he did not want to make a move hastily. As Yeo Gang said, they had to be prudent. Until Yeo Gang was able to figure out a way, Gun-Hyohe decided to bear with it and wait. Although he cursed Yeo Ganghim out as useless trash, he believed the latter would be able to find a way.
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