“Do you have a plan to kill Yalyulhan?”

At Bisa-in’s question, Geom Mugeuk shook his head.

“Not yet.”

Watching Bisa-in’s disbelief, Geom Mugeuk said,

“Don’t you think we need your permission before making a full-fledged plan?”

“If I give permission, would a plan that didn’t exist suddenly appear?”

“It will.”

“You really are a reckless person.”

Despite his words, Bisa-in didn’t seem upset. Rather, he felt relieved after making a decision.

“Just promise me this.”

Bisa-in set one condition. Since he was already giving permission, it was more like a request than a condition.

“You may kill Oreu Shingum or Hyeollyun Geop, but do not touch the Geukdobyeongdan. They are not Yalyulhan’s personal pawns. They are the elite of the main alliance.”

In terms of Cheonma Sin Gyo, it was like leaving the soldiers alone but killing only the commander. Losing Yalyulhan was already a great loss, but this was an effort to minimize damage.

“Understood.”

Geom Mugeuk accepted gladly.

Bisa-in sighed.

“I don’t know what I’m doing. If this goes wrong, I might not only get killed by Yalyulhan but also be immediately expelled from the heir position.”

“If you get expelled, come to me. I will accept you.”

“If I die, I die, but I won’t go there.”

Bisa-in’s grim face twisted. Geom Mugeuk could tell that he had smiled genuinely. If you didn’t watch him carefully, you would never notice his true feelings.

“If you need help, contact me. For the time being, I’ll be having lunch at that inn.”

“Thank you.”

Bisa-in left first.

Geom Mugeuk stayed there for a while, looking up at the night scenery and the sky of the Satan Alliance before leaving.

Back at the inner quarters, I immediately gathered Go Wol, Geugak Soma, and Pungcheon Gyoju in one place.

“Bisa-in, the heir of the Satan Alliance, promised to take responsibility for the cleanup. Now all we have to do is kill Yalyulhan.”

Everyone was startled by my words.

“How on earth did you change his mind?”

Not only Pungcheon Gyoju but even Geugak Soma and Go Wol looked at me with surprised eyes. I thought persuasion would take time, but it succeeded too quickly.

“You know how young heirs communicate with each other, don’t you?”

“Really, you are...”

Pungcheon Gyoju shook his head, unable to say more.

“Though it’s good news that Bisa-in agreed, there is bad news as well. We learned about additional subordinates of Yalyulhan.”

We already knew Hyeollyun Geop was under Yalyulhan.

“The newly discovered person is Oreu Shingum.”

At the mention of Oreu Shingum, everyone was shocked.

Even Pungcheon Gyoju remembered him.

“Isn’t he the one who once wreaked havoc in the martial world? He was even branded a martial world enemy.”

“That’s right. The very one.”

“I thought he was dead, but he was hiding in Yalyulhan’s shadow.”

Hyeollyun Geop was already a tough opponent, but Oreu Shingum had skills one step higher.

Then Pungcheon Gyoju suddenly asked, as if remembering something.

“Then why don’t we leave them and kill Yalyulhan only when he is alone? They’re people too; they won’t always be together.”

All eyes turned to me. The three shared the same thought, but there was a reason it couldn’t be done.

“As I said, once Yalyulhan is dead, Bisa-in will be blamed for it.”

Go Wol was the first to understand my intention.

“You’re worried they will seek revenge on Bisa-in.”

I nodded.

“I don’t know what kind of relationship they have — whether they will avenge or just leave. But if by any chance they decide to take revenge, Bisa-in will surely die.”

“I now understand why Bisa-in offered to help you.”

Bisa-in must have noticed the concern for him.

Pungcheon Gyoju stepped forward again.

“I’ll help with this too.”

I hadn’t expected him to step up.

“Really?”

“I should help even out of embarrassment.”

He was embarrassed for asking if killing only Yalyulhan would be enough without considering Bisa-in’s possible revenge.

But that was just an excuse. It was clear he wanted to help me.

“Isn’t this opponent too much for just the two of us? Why? Don’t you trust my skills?”

“If I don’t trust your skills, who else would I trust? But you have more important tasks.”

“What tasks?”

“Keep protecting Go Wol as you have until now.”

My gaze turned to Go Wol.

“If our side is exposed even once, Go Wol might be in danger. At that time, you must protect him. Thanks to you, I have never worried about Go Wol.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“I have Soma.”

My gaze shifted to Geugak Soma, who had quietly listened until now. In this heavy situation, Soma smiled and said,

“Trust only me.”

“Yes. I will trust only Soma.”

At this moment, this was truly how I felt.

Soma, just trust me. No matter what happens, I will never let you die.

This is my response to the favor he showed me.

Commander Sama Myung was in the operations command room.

This place was known to be safer than the Cheonma Hall, where a top-secret operation concerning Geom Mugeuk was underway.

Sama Myung had been tense since Geom Mugeuk left the sect. If an incident broke out, he needed to support Geom Mugeuk swiftly and keep the situation from escalating into a war with the Satan Alliance. And all these movements must remain hidden from the Satan Alliance.

So far, Geom Mugeuk was performing much better than expected.

When Jisaeng was eliminated, Aecha was eliminated, and Yebulgye was taken out without revealing our identity, the senior officer of Tongcheongak said,

“If I were Yalyulhan’s soldier… I would have been trapped as well.”

Sama Myung couldn’t say he wouldn’t be caught. He himself had doubts.

“Go Wol’s abilities are extraordinary. The information network he built in Jungwon doesn’t overlap with Tongcheongak’s but complements it.”

“Even after this prince became a Cheonma, he is thinking ahead.”

“He really is planning the big picture.”

Just as Geom Mugeuk was pushing a new demonic path forward, if Go Wol took his place, Tongcheongak would become a new Tongcheongak.

And then a new report arrived.

The senior officer entered Sama Myung’s office with a serious face.

“Prince asked for information about one person.”

“Who?”

The senior officer took a deep breath, showing how shocked he was.

“Oreu Shingum.”

Sama Myung jumped to his feet.

“Yalyulhan has even brought Oreu Shingum.”

It was already known that Hyeollyun Geop was under Yalyulhan. But Oreu Shingum too?

“Yalyulhan, Hyeollyun Geop, and Oreu Shingum. Can two people handle all of them?”

“I don’t think it will be easy.”

“What are the odds of success for this operation?”

“When we didn’t know about Oreu Shingum, we expected 40%.”

It was the analysis by Tongcheongak. They didn’t know Geom Mugeuk’s exact level but based on his past achievements.

“But assuming Oreu Shingum helps Yalyulhan, it’s expected to drop to 20%. I will report detailed analysis once complete.”

“20%, huh.”

Tongcheongak’s analysis was almost accurate. 20% meant failure.

“If by chance another expert appears besides Oreu Shingum, it might be less than 10%.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration. Sama Myung realized again how serious this mission was.

“We will send all information we have about Oreu Shingum.”

“Understood.”

Sama Myung asked the senior officer as he turned to leave.

“What do you think?”

“Hm?”

“I mean, what do you think the chance of success is?”

“I...”

He was the soldier who knew most about Geom Mugeuk among his subordinates. After hesitating, he gave an unexpected answer.

“I think it’s fifty-fifty.”

Sama Myung was surprised.

“40% and 50% — that’s quite a difference.”

“That’s my emotional analysis.”

“Does that mean the division’s analytical ability is terrible?”

“No, that’s just my gut feeling.”

Sama Myung pressed the embarrassed senior officer persistently.

“Why fifty percent?”

The officer said,

“There are people who defy analysis. I think this prince is one of them.”

Before more questions, the officer quickly bowed and left.

Sama Myung packed the report to deliver to Cheonma. Yes, that was right. So far, Geom Mugeuk was someone who could not be explained by numbers.

The Cheonma, Geom Woojin, who authorized this mission, was the same. Maybe their similarity was that analysis simply didn’t work on them. Thinking this, Sama Myung headed toward Cheonma Hall.

Go Wol was struggling to devise a plan.

This time, no one told him to enjoy the situation. This time, he had to make a proper plan and follow it thoroughly.

While Go Wol was planning, we spent time individually.

Geugak Soma pasted white wallpaper on the room and entered training while staring at it, and I immersed myself in martial training in the backyard.

I would have to use all my strength in this fight. It wouldn’t be easy, but I would surely eliminate Yalyulhan. I had words to say in his dying ear. For someone who had been consumed by revenge for so long and never lived his own life, I wanted to let him live the rest of his days peacefully.

While training in the backyard, someone spoke behind me.

“You’re working so hard, I can’t slack off.”

I turned around to see Pungcheon Gyoju walking toward me.

“Go Wol nagged me so much I got kicked out. The prince is still sweating. What are you doing?”

“Since you’re out anyway, train with me. You look sharper these days as you lose weight.”

“Really?”

Pungcheon Gyoju gave an intrigued expression and added a compliment.

“I bet you had many women following you when you were young, didn’t you?”

“Well, the line of followers was a bit long.”

Pungcheon Gyoju smirked with a proud expression. His thick chin showed he still had a way to go.

“You need to regain that popularity.”

“It’s not easy getting that back with age.”

“If you train and make your body ten years younger, you go back ten years. If twenty years younger, then twenty years back.”

Pungcheon Gyoju stared intently at me.

“You tease people with meaningless words.”

“How can regaining youth be meaningless? Show it! Who knows the future? Maybe you’ll transform looking twenty years younger. When we first met, would we have imagined talking like this here?”

“True. You turned my monotonous life upside down.”

“So do you regret it?”

After a moment’s thought, Pungcheon Gyoju shook his head.

“If I were younger, maybe I would have. But now I know. Worse than a wrong life is a life spent regretting.”

He usually joked with me, so it was rare to have such a serious conversation.

“When I was Gyoju, I thought that position was tremendous.”

Whoooosh.

A sandstorm blew in. Pungcheon Gyoju opened a space-time illusion and took me into Saewoe’s scenery. Far off, the grand Pungcheon Gyo temple was visible.

“To be honest, I thought several times a day at the top of that place: I am the king of Saewoe. Many people would envy me. Back then, even the sand in my mouth tasted as sweet as sugar.”

His gaze turned to me.

“Now that I realize it’s all futile, I have no regrets.”

“That’s admirable.”

“Admirable, huh. But that doesn’t mean I’m better now than then.”

“I think you are.”

“Better? In what way?”

“You now have people who see you properly.”

Our gazes met in the void.

He shook his head.

“Trading these eyes for that! I’ll go down as the biggest fool in martial history.”

“You’ll be remembered as the person who made the greatest choice in martial history.”

Pungcheon Gyoju smiled. I ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) would keep telling him that his decision was worthwhile. What makes people suffer is not the sacrifice itself but that no one acknowledges it. At least in our relationship, I would never let him feel that loss.

Pungcheon Gyoju started walking slowly.

I followed him across the sandstorm-blown wasteland.

“I asked you that before, didn’t I?”

There was another reason Pungcheon Gyoju opened the space-time illusion today. He brought up something he had forgotten.

“Can the flow of time in the space-time illusion and reality be different?”