Chapter 474

Episode 474:

After escaping from prison, I headed towards Maengjubu.

“.......”

The leader’s personal office.

I sat across the desk from Artist Joo and waited for him to take the lead.

The sight of him struggling, buried under a mountain of documents, looked very pitiful.

‘Otherwise, you’re busy preparing for an all-out war, but this time I’ve even given you a lot of work.’

In his heart, he would want to run away from everything he did, even though he was a leader.

Maybe he’s blaming me.

I felt so sorry.

When the Cheonan Government and the Senate came into conflict, it was the Maengju faction that ultimately benefited the most.

Although Meng Zhou was thinking about dying, it was clear that Zhuge Huan, the head of the military department, would be smiling brightly by now.

‘This is why you should become an elder, not a leader.’

It is said that a high position comes with corresponding responsibilities.

There was no object that fit those words better than the leader of the Murim Alliance.

No matter how much I thought about it, I was so old that I couldn’t afford to live through that kind of hardship.

I will definitely become an elder and live a life of luxury and pleasure without any worries.

“Cheonan Inspector General.”

“yes. Lord Maeng.”

“I heard you were on your way to meet the spiritual dojo.”

“That’s right.”

“Did you feel anything when you saw him in prison?”

“In order to correct the discipline of the League, those who commit crimes must receive appropriate punishment. “I understand that something like that was said at a meeting hosted by the leader.”

“.......”

“I will accept the disposition graciously. Please apply the same strict standards to me as you did to the spiritual dojo.”

Although he said it as if he was obediently admitting his mistake, the meaning behind it was completely different.

Because the Murim Alliance will not be able to properly punish Yeongseong Dojang.

The scale of the corruption he committed was nothing compared to the head of the inspection department who had ousted and ousted Danjeon in the past.

But when I saw him a little while ago, did I see any traces of being flogged or at least a weakened look?

‘No matter how much nigong was banned, it doesn’t really make sense to keep a master of his caliber in prison without arresting him.’

Even though he was rotten, he was an elder and a representative of the Qingcheng faction.

Everyone knew that if a high-level punishment was imposed carelessly, there would be unbearable repercussions.

At best, it would be best to strip him of his status as a senior and return him to a private life.

‘There are no cases in the history of the alliance where an elder was ousted. As if it were natural, a person from the same gate would sit in the empty space.’

This was the reason why Yeongseong Dojang, which was cornered, was able to choose the option of fighting back instead of extinguishing the fire.

His position was different from Sohyeongeom (昭賢劍) and Namhakgeom (嵐虐劍) Ho Jeong-gwon (豪正拳).

Several years have passed since the Great War, but the Qingcheng faction is still alive and well.

Going back to the story.

Asking to punish someone with strict standards, such as a spiritual seal, was in fact no different from asking for a lenient treatment.

There was no way that Painter Joo, who was no one else, would not have figured out the true meaning.

“I’m not going to spin it around. To be honest, I want to take your side. “Regardless of right or wrong, if you receive severe punishment now that an all-out war is ahead, the morale of our troops will fall.”

“But it is true that public opinion is not favorable for that.”

“It’s just as you said. So I would like to ask, but haven’t you prepared any preparations? “I don’t think you would have considered the current situation given your personality.”

“Of course we have prepared it.”

I nodded cheerfully and answered.

I knew everything about Yeongseong Dojang’s plan because I heard it from Taeyeon Sword.

When the public opinion war begins, what will he risk?

Even though I knew, I wasn’t so lax that I didn’t prepare.

The determination of Yeongseong Dojang, who even brought up the number of Donggwijin (同歸於盡), was commendable, but that was all.

Isn’t it said that even rats will bite people if they are cornered?

That was exactly how I looked at the current situation.

“If you wait a moment, interesting news will come to you.”

“......?”

* * *

The capital of Sichuan Province.

On the way here, I barely saw any warriors guarding the manor.

At least we can see traces of Seokpo learning martial arts, but just by looking at his body, we can see how long he has neglected training.

‘Wasn’t Shi Jia Jang a member of the martial arts family of the Black Island?’

The sense of discomfort quickly grew in size and filled my mind.

Points that I had previously ignored came to mind one by one, increasing my questions.

Anyway, it was definitely strange that there wasn’t even a warrior guarding the main gate.

The old man who first welcomed the group was also an ordinary person who had not learned martial arts.

Shakyamuni Buddha’s reaction was also strange.

It was evident that he felt sincere resentment.

It didn’t seem like he was just acting.

“What’s going on again!”

It was then.

The rumbling noise coming from behind seemed to be getting louder, and then a group of soldiers stormed into the manor.

Chae Ho-gyeong, who glanced sideways at the back, was startled and turned the new model around.

You could tell just by looking at the soldiers’ clothes.

They are government soldiers who serve the local prefectural governor.

Seokpo ran towards them with a face that looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“Oh my god!”

“Shijiazhuangju. “Please explain the situation!”

“I don’t know either. A group of people said to have been dispatched from the Murim Alliance are destroying the whole house...”

“Murim Alliance?”

The gazes of the man leading the soldiers and Chae Ho-gyeong met in the air.

A suffocating silence fell.

“My name is Chaek Ho-gyeong, the leader of the Murim League’s Hwagakdae. “May I ask what your name is?”

It was Chae Ho-gyeong who first bowed and introduced himself.

It was said that he would not attack government officials.

There was nothing good about having friction with the government soldiers here.

However, the response that came back was a scolding tone full of displeasure.

“If you are a martial arts leader, you will only care about the affairs of the martial arts group. Why are you trespassing on a merchant’s family?”

“You’re sore. “We just wanted to investigate the relationship between Shakyamuni and the Dragon King...?”

Chae Ho-gyeong blinked his eyes.

What did that guy say just now?

A merchant family?

Isn’t it the martial arts Sega of the Black Island?

“What did you say just now?”

“I asked why you were trespassing on a poor merchant’s family.”

“Since when was Shijiazhuang a merchant’s family?”

“I’m going to hear all kinds of strange sounds. “When did the warriors of Shakyamuni flock to the government office and surrender themselves?”

“......?”

A look of bewilderment appeared on Chae Ho-gyeong’s face.

Something was going wrong.

* * *

The battle for public opinion is a battle that eats away at one’s own flesh.

It was impossible for there to be very little damage on this side.

I knew that apart from the downfall of the spiritual dojo, I would also be criticized.

The point is how to minimize the damage.

‘You can’t go back to the past before you committed injustice. In that case, I have no choice but to finish things off cleanly.’

In the case of Seokgajang, I was concerned that my relationship with them might become a problem, so I took action several years in advance.

In addition, in recent months, I have identified issues that could damage my reputation and have taken action.

Knowing in advance the materials prepared by Yeongseong Dojang through Taeyeon Sword played a big role.

I was greatly benefited by accepting Hojeong-kwon’s offer and recruiting him as an ally.

‘There is no need to rush.’

Time was on my side.

As I said, the public is generous to the heroes they support.

‘I’m looking forward to seeing how the Youngseong Dojo will react upon hearing the news.’