“What did you just say?”

Surprise flashed across Mo Yonggun’s face.

“You put the Evil-Smiting Corps under you?”

Mo Yong-woo took a sip of tea to wet his throat, then answered evenly.

“I didn’t put them under me. We simply agreed to deploy together for the first campaign.”

“Didn’t you just say you put the Evil-Smiting Corps beneath you?”

“More precisely, the operation is to move the Evil-Smiting Corps under the main force for the first deployment and wipe out the enemy. Of course...”

Mo Yong-woo continued, his expression darkening slightly.

“I plan to try using them as a shield.”

“A shield?”

“The Evil-Smiting Corps earned major merit in a short span. In other words, their capability has already been proven.”

Mo Yong-woo’s eyes drifted toward the window.

The dawn air felt thick.

“I know you find Commander Yeon uncomfortable. From what I’ve seen, he isn’t a bad man... but he’s dangerous.”

“...He is dangerous.”

“This time, I’ll deploy with him and see what he can really do. I became the Grand Commander for the first campaign, so he’ll have to follow my orders as well.”

“Heh!”

“If the Evil-Smiting Corps annihilates the enemy, that’s good too. I’m the one who used them. And if I can help it, I’d rather their losses not be severe.”

Surprise deepened on Mo Yonggun’s face.

“Becoming Grand Commander of Demon-Sweeping & Evil-Smiting on your very first deployment... But if it’s his trap, or he’s aiming at something—”

“Then it’s summary execution.”

“...?!”

“Anyone who doesn’t follow the commander’s orders gets handled under military discipline. I have no intention of forgiving a subordinate who acts on impulse.”

“And if he tries to pick a fight with you?”

“I think I’d win.”

“What?”

Mo Yong-woo gave a faint smile.

“I tested hands with him lightly. His martial arts were incredible—but it looked like his injuries were pretty serious.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes glittered.

Yeon Hojeong was injured?

It was possible, sure—but the stronger the martial artist, the faster the recovery.

If he still hadn’t recovered...

Just how badly had he been hurt?

“Even assuming he’s at full condition, I’m half a move ahead. At the lowest estimate, we’re equal.”

“Is that so?”

“At least right now. For his age, that martial art... it’s remarkable. His potential is endless.”

Mo Yong-woo’s eyes turned cold.

“That’s why we have to block him.”

Mo Yonggun stared at his little brother’s expression, genuinely startled. Like he’d never expected Mo Yong-woo could make that face.

“If a flower can’t be raised safely in the flowerbed, you pull it out quickly. If you can’t pull it out, then you cut it back whenever you have the time.”

Mo Yonggun’s mouth parted slightly.

Those were the words he himself had once said to Mo Yong Yeonhwa.

So blood really can’t be denied?

As he stared blankly at his brother, a pleased smile spread across Mo Yonggun’s lips.

Good.

He’d been pleased watching the youngest’s growth over the past months, but part of him had still worried—had the boy’s heart loosened, had his claws gone dull?

Seeing him now, that worry was nothing but pointless fear.

Mo Yong-woo was kind by nature.

But in the blood running through his veins lived the soul of the Mo Yong Clan—men who had wandered the wastelands of Liaodong, crushed every enemy, and unified them under one rule.

Once he decided to do something, he did it.

Mo Yonggun was deeply satisfied by Mo Yong-woo’s decisive movement.

“So you’re saying you’ll use the Evil-Smiting Corps as the Demon-Sweeping Corps’ ornament?”

“I’ve heard Commander Yeon’s abilities are outstanding, but once he’s come under us, he’s nothing more than a game piece that will create my merits.”

Mo Yong-woo smiled bitterly.

“I don’t like methods like this. But I judged they’re unavoidable if I want to be the best. This isn’t the time to find the righteous road—it’s the time to find the fast road.”

“Exactly.”

Mo Yonggun nodded repeatedly.

“You’ve seen it well. Yes—unless you’ve already built a power base that won’t shake under any pressure, now is the time to drop morality and surge forward. Your eye is truly uncanny.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Hey. An eye like that isn’t something anyone can train easily. It’s fine to take pride in it.” 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Mo Yong-woo shook his head.

“It’s nothing more than applying the tricks I used on Zhejiang’s trade houses. Whether those tricks will work here... we’ll have to watch and see.”

“Heh heh heh.”

Mo Yonggun already knew, from what he’d heard, how Mo Yong-woo had ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) taken control of Zhejiang’s traders.

They said he borrowed the main house’s blade and seized that troublesome Zhejiang business in one stroke. In the process, he even obtained the position of Senior Councilor, completely taking the trade federation into his hands.

It was easy to imagine a method.

Actually executing it was another matter entirely.

Which meant Mo Yong-woo possessed both an exceptional mind and an executioner’s decisiveness.

I’m looking forward to this.

With him showing this much, Mo Yonggun almost felt it was fine even if Yeon Hojeong landed a hit on him.

The Yeon Clan waved the card named Yeon Hojeong—

But they had Yeon Hojeong’s counterweight, too.

“You don’t obsess over visible results. You know how to look long. Good—then let’s keep moving that way.”

“Yes.”

A note of puzzlement entered Mo Yonggun’s face.

“But what did you do to seize the Grand Commander seat of the Combined Field Force? There’s no way he’d willingly step under you.”

“I simply made him feel safe.”

“What does that mean?”

Mo Yong-woo smiled bitterly.

“It isn’t fierce wind that can strip off a thick coat—it’s burning sunlight. I didn’t oppose Yeon Hojeong. I simply took his hand.”

“...!!”

“Now the board is going to turn interesting.”

*****

The next day.

“What the hell is this?”

Yeon Hojeong’s face was full of disbelief as he looked at Mookbi.

Even after months living in the mountains, Mookbi’s clothes and hair had always been neat. She said it was because she didn’t want to show the soldiers anything ugly.

But now?

“Did you plant weeds on your scalp? Why is your hair sticking up like that?”

“...Ugh.”

Staggering, Mookbi flopped onto the bench.

Yeon Hojeong frowned. When she drew a big breath, the stench of alcohol rushed out.

“How much did you drink this time? Hey. Pull the hangover out with your inner energy. Now.”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

“Ahyeon said we should cure it together this morning. She said she’d teach me how good it feels when it clears...”

“Those two are a matched set of idiots. Instead of curing a hangover, draw your bowstring one more time.”

“How can I break a promise?”

“You can break that kind of promise! If you drink, drink only what you can handle—how do you manage to smash your body to pieces every time you drink?”

“Ah, whatever. Stop talking. My head’s pounding.”

Yeon Hojeong didn’t stop. He kept yapping.

“Listen—there’s such a thing as the Way of Drinking. You don’t just pour it down because you feel good. Drinking well means drinking only what you can handle. For example, look at me. Even when I drink like that, by the next day I don’t even need to use inner energy to pull the hangover—”

A machine-gun barrage of words.

Mookbi trembled with irritation.

“Ugh, I said enough! Be quiet!”

“Ahem.”

“Why do you keep—”

“AHEM.”

In an instant, Mookbi felt a chill.

She jolted upright.

And right in front of her was Yeon Hojeong grinning like an idiot and—

“Gasp! Father-in-law!”

Yeon Wi kept clearing his throat.

“Looks like you drank quite a lot.”

“Cough! N-no! That’s not it! I just—”

That was when Yeon Hojeong cut in.

“She must’ve finally relaxed and poured every kind of alcohol straight into her stomach. Even if it’s leave, isn’t that posture completely ruined?”

Mookbi’s face drained white.

Yeon Wi smiled slightly.

To Mookbi, that smile looked extremely awkward—almost dangerous.

“You fought enemies for months. How hard must it have been? I understand.”

“F-Father-in-law! It’s not that—”

Yeon Hojeong cut in again, annoyingly.

“Even so, she can’t be like that. That’s how habits form. Shouldn’t we chew her out before she picks up a bad habit, Father?”

Yeon Wi cleared his throat again.

It wasn’t wrong, exactly. In a particularly gentle voice, he said,

“Drinking is fine, but excessive drinking harms the body. I’m afraid you’ll damage your health.”

“Ghk!”

Mookbi hurriedly smoothed her hair, then folded at the waist.

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll go back inside now!”

“Yes. Go in and rest more. We can talk in detail later.”

“Yes!”

Mookbi vanished in a scramble.

Watching her go, Yeon Hojeong curled his lips.

“Hangover’s cured.”

It would’ve sobered her up in one shot. Yeon Hojeong chuckled with a wicked face.

Yeon Wi smacked his lips.

“My daughter-in-law still finds me intimidating.”

“Thanks to you, I got to see something beautiful.”

“Don’t tease her too much. She’s a good girl.”

“Because she’s good, it’s fun to tease her. I don’t even need breakfast.”

Yeon Wi gave a small smile like he couldn’t help it.

“Anyway.”

He looked Yeon Hojeong up and down.

“You came back without being seriously hurt.”

At the Hall of the Martial Sage, the council meeting had been in progress—so all they’d done was exchange looks. Since the Return to the Alliance, this was the first time Yeon Hojeong had been alone with his father.

Yeon Hojeong bowed.

“I’m back.”

“Good.”

Yeon Hojeong rose.

Maybe because he’d slept deeply, his complexion was much brighter than a few days ago.

“Wasn’t the forced march too extreme? I heard you struggled because the soldiers hadn’t experienced real combat.”

“There’s no classroom better than real combat. All of them improved a lot.”

Yeon Wi nodded.

“You must have watched over them closely.”

“I can’t deny that.”

“As you have until now, keep being careful from here on out.”

“Of course.”

“Good.”

That was all.

Without wasting words, Yeon Wi could tell exactly how much Yeon Hojeong had gone through.

“You should rest too. You were in meetings all night.”

“I’m fine.”

He wasn’t saying it lightly—Yeon Wi truly wasn’t tired at all.

Unless he forced his body into collapse through extreme training, for a man who’d crossed the wall of Transcendence, staying awake for several days wasn’t a problem.

Yeon Hojeong smiled at his father—then slowly, astonishment crept onto his face.

“But what happened while I was gone?”

“Hm?”

“You’re different.”

Yeon Wi’s eyes glittered.

“So you can see it.”

“You haven’t even drawn your sword, but I can feel sharp sword qi filling your entire body. You aren’t tense—it’s like the edge of your qi has been honed to a razor.”

Yeon Hojeong couldn’t hide his admiration.

“In just a few months... you leapt an entire stage forward?”

“It’s the sorrow of having a child who’s too outstanding. I was afraid you’d catch me, so I trained hard in my own way.”

Yeon Wi—of all people—saying he trained hard.

Since he wasn’t the type to say that casually, he must have lived through something like hell.

“Incredible.”

As in every field, the higher you rose in martial arts, the harder it became to take even one step forward.

Yeon Wi was a martial artist who contended for the top among the clan lords of the great families.

For him to raise his realm in only a few months—this wasn’t ordinary at all.

Yeon Wi stared at his son for a moment, then smiled.

“Before we chat, I want to see your martial arts—sharpened as they must be now. What do you say?”

Yeon Hojeong grinned.

WHUMMMM.

As if it had caught the scent of a divine art that felt like a brother, Jade Wave True Qi grew excited and began circulating on its own.

“I was going to ask you myself. Let’s go.”