𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟑𝟎
After obtaining the Blue-White Soul Mirror and escaping from the Mirror Forest, we immediately headed straight to the area controlled by Cheong Gi-beom and his group.
We had also finally managed to re-establish contact with Cheong So-ha, who had been quiet for a while.
Currently, the atmosphere between the two forces was growing increasingly hostile as time passed, and it seemed that several armed clashes had already occurred.
If things continued as they were, it was likely that a full-scale battle between the two sides would break out soon.
“Those flies are getting pretty annoying.”
Just as Cheong Un-cheol, who was leading the way, had said, we had indeed been feeling subtle gazes directed at us from time to time.
It was clear that Cheong Do-yool and his group were watching us.
“I have no interest in those cowards who can’t even show their faces, but Cheong Do-yool won’t just sit idly by either.”
He was right.
Now that our alliance with Cheong Gi-beom’s group was known, Cheong Do-yool would surely devise a plan and take action soon.
He might decide to stop holding back and engage in a final battle, or he might try to scheme behind the scenes.
It would be easier if we just gave up and retreated at this point, but backing down here would mean accepting all the losses. No one else but Cheong Do-yool would have acted like that.
「 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙚. 」
In fact, it was likely that Cheong Do-yool had already contacted them. It was very rare for elder-level figures to get directly involved in a fight between factions, but it might be possible to win over one or two of them if we offered the right price.
「. . . 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 9𝙩𝙝 𝙀𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧. 」
The 9th Elder, . . . Cheong Jong-hu, owed a debt to Cheong Gi-beom. And it was definitely not a positive one.
With those thoughts running through my head, I finally handed over the mirror part of the Blue-White Soul Mirror that I had brought to Cheong Gi-beom.
Click.
“Here you go.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t think it would take even a day.”
Cheong Gi-beom took it, turned it over in his hands a few times, and then nodded at me.
“I can tell it’s real without even checking. Good. I’ll help you as I promised.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Tell me what you want. How should we proceed from here?”
He said that, but in fact, the answer was quite simple and straightforward.
“They don’t have the luxury of time. Cheong Do-yool himself will probably come out and target Cheong Juhwa head-on soon.”
“So you want us to lend you our strength in that fight.”
“Yes. To be precise, I plan to weaken Cheong Do-yool’s group as much as possible this time. That way, they won’t be able to think about anything else for a while.”
Cheong Gi-beom closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought, and then nodded at me.
“In that case, we should move to a different location right away. We can’t turn this place into a battlefield.”
“Yes. I happen to have a place in mind.”
A large valley in the territory of Cheong So-ha’s group would be sufficient to accommodate Cheong Do-yool’s group.
And I could almost guarantee that tomorrow would be the worst day of Cheong Do-yool’s life.
I bowed my head slightly and smiled to myself.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“What the hell is that. . . . . . .”
Things had been going in unexpected directions all along, but Cheong Do-yool had never been as shocked as he was now.
「 𝘼 𝙢𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨? 」
The news that his aide, Cheong Lee Rin, had brought him was nothing short of a bombshell.
Considering that the other party was Cheong Gi-beom, it was highly likely that it was none other than the Blue-White Soul Mirror.
And if it was the real thing and not a replica like Cheong Do-yool’s, the situation would be far more difficult than he had imagined.
“We need to confirm that for sure. Did you notice anything unusual?”
『. . . I can’t be certain, but I felt the same energy from that mirror as from Cheong So-ha’s Blue-White Sword. Cheong Gi-beom, who received the item, also seemed very satisfied. 』
As much as he hoped it wasn’t true, it seemed that Cheong Gi-beom had indeed gotten his hands on the real Blue-White Soul Mirror.
That, coupled with the fact that Cheong Do-yool had been relentlessly pursuing its trail, was extremely frustrating for him.
「 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢. . . . . . . 」
He had been searching for it without any significant results, and now it had suddenly fallen into someone else’s hands.
This put him in a very dangerous position. Cheong Gi-beom was already considered to have a force large enough to succeed Cheong Do-yool and Cheong So-ha.
If he were to add the Blue-White Soul Mirror, one of the three family heirlooms, to that, he might even try to become the official head of the family.
「 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩. 」
Cheong Do-yool pursed his lips and spoke to Cheong Lee Rin.
“What about the 9th Elder?”
『 He accepted the deal. He said he would join us with his forces soon. 』
“Keep an eye on their movements. I’ll head over there as soon as the 9th Elder arrives.”
There was only one option left. A full-scale battle with both factions.
At first glance, it seemed like an extremely disadvantageous situation, but in reality, things weren’t necessarily that hopeless.
Unfortunately for them, Cheong Do-yool wasn’t the only one who had elders on his side in this situation.
Cheong Do-yool glanced at the two men leisurely sipping tea behind him and spoke to them.
“It seems that we will have to determine the family hierarchy once and for all this time.”
“I had a feeling it would come to this.”
“Oh, really? Do you think it will escalate to that level?”
He spoke as if he were unsure, but Cheong Do-yool knew. He knew that the two men before him possessed strength that was in no way inferior to his own.
Sensing Cheong Do-yool’s gaze upon them, the older of the two men, a white-haired old man, spoke up.
“If you can just capture Cheong So-ha, we will quickly resolve the situation.”
“. . . It’s annoying, but I guess I have no choice. I will do as you say, sir.”
The 5th Elder of the family, Cheong Gil-yeong, and the 10th Elder, Cheong Ji-woon. With the addition of the 9th Elder, . . . Cheong Jong-hu, the advantage in terms of overall strength was completely on their side.
Cheong Do-yool smiled knowingly, sensing complete victory.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“It’s been a while. Is the Ancestor well?”
“Yes. I’m not sure for certain, but it seems that the day of his appearance is not far off.”
Cheong So-ha, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, had indeed grown even stronger.
A quick check of her information revealed that she had already surpassed level 70 and reached an incredible level of 71.
In fact, she was growing even faster than in the original story.
「 𝘼𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 80 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨. 」
It might not seem like much in terms of just numbers, but it was a truly remarkable achievement. It could be said that she had surpassed human limits with her own body.
I looked at Cheong So-ha in admiration and spoke to her.
“What’s the situation?”
“My subordinates have suffered some casualties. However, there is no problem.”
She certainly had reason to be confident. With her current strength, even if two elders attacked her at once, they would have a hard time overpowering her.
I took a quick look around and saw about fifteen people.
That was to be expected. Since it had become an all-out battle, bringing all of their subordinates with them would only increase the casualties. The outcome would be determined by a small number of elites representing each faction.
That was why Cheong Do-yool’s side was likely to approach the situation in a similar manner.
As we were discussing the general plan, we soon received word that Cheong Do-yool’s side had made a move.
Cheong Juhwa, who was standing beside me, nervously swallowed her saliva.
“. . . Is it really going to be okay?”
It wasn’t me who answered her question, but Cheong So-ha.
“Don’t worry. As long as the Ancestor has conveyed his will, I will guarantee your safety. Cheong Do-yool won’t be able to lay a finger on you.”
In the midst of that situation, Cheong Do-yool’s group finally appeared in the valley.
They numbered over twenty, which was certainly more than our side.
Moreover, I could see that four elders were standing at the forefront, staring at us.
Cheong Do-yool, who was at the very front, spoke softly.
“. . . How composed. To think you would even prepare a place like this and wait for us.”
“If you withdraw now, I have no intention of causing any further conflict.”
“Nonsense. How long do you intend to defy the family’s rules and act as you please? Cheong Sa-woon’s daughter is clearly sullying our bloodline. Hand her over to us.”
It was a pretext that was close to being a lie, but to be honest, it wasn’t entirely false. In fact, most of the neutral forces agreed with Cheong Do-yool’s intentions and supported him.
“Do you intend to ignore the will of the entire family?”
However, Cheong So-ha paid them no mind and expressed her own opinion to the four elders.
“I refuse, of course. If you truly do not back down, several more vacancies in the elder positions will be created today.”
At Cheong So-ha’s words, the faces of the elders who had come with Cheong Do-yool hardened.
“Hmph, you’re still as arrogant as ever. Even if you are exceptionally skilled, do you think you can handle all of us?”
“. . . If the goal is to restrain me, two of you will be enough, and I believe the outcome will be decided on the other side within that time. Where does such arrogance come from?”
The 9th Elder, . . . Cheong Jong-hu, who had been glaring at Cheong Gi-beom the whole time, and the other elders who were keeping Cheong So-ha in check.
And so, the great internal conflict that had been absent for so long finally began.
“Cheong Woon Sonic Shatter!”
“Guyeong Strike.”
As expected of family elders, they immediately began chanting incantations and casting advanced spells. I and Cheong Juhwa retreated to the rear of the battlefield under the protection of nearby exorcists.
And then, exorcists from the opposing force also began to approach us.
“. . . We will retaliate if you come any closer.”
Cheong Jin-soo, who could be considered Cheong So-ha’s second-in-command, issued a warning, but no one was going to listen to such words at this point.
Eventually, a battle broke out on our side as well.
“I will handle this. You protect the two of them.”
Fortunately, Cheong Jin-soo blocked our way, but that didn’t mean we were safe. After all, there was still one elder on the opposing side who was free.
「 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙅𝙞-𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙣, 𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚. 」
I took a quick look and saw that Cheong Gi-beom and . . . Cheong Jong-hu were facing off on one side, while Cheong So-ha and the other two elders were facing off on the other side.
In that case, our task was simple.
We just had to keep Cheong Juhwa out of Cheong Ji-woon’s and the other exorcists’ reach until an appropriate moment came along. That was all.
「. . . 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚. 」
Watching the exorcists who were pursuing us slip through the gaps in Cheong Jin-soo’s barrier, I poured as much spiritual power as I could into the shadows.
