Chapter 1379: Preparations Are Now Complete (Part 4)

[I know, our beggar's name is not consistent...but you get it]

On the riverside where darkness had fallen, a few scruffy-looking individuals in worn-out clothes nervously rolled their feet with anxious expressions.

"Did we miss each other?"

"How could that happen? This information came directly from the headquarters!"

"Ugh, didn't the Shaolin Sect leave a long time ago? Even if they're fast, there shouldn't be such a gap..."

"There must be some reason."

"Aren't they trying to save Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword? What could be more important than that to the Heavenly Comrade Alliance? The situation is dire, with a wildfire in the Mount Hua Sect, and they're leisurely taking their time to rescue Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword..."

"Alright, just wait a little longer!"

"Ugh."

At that moment, as the beggars stretched their necks and stared upstream, a commotion arose.

"Hey, here they come, the Heavenly Comrade Alliance!"

"Damn it, why are they so late!"

Upon spotting the approaching crowd in the distance, the beggars quickly ran towards them.

"Where is he?"

"He doesn't seem to be in the front... there! Buntaju!"

As soon as they spotted Hong Daegwang mixed among the crowd, the beggars shouted loudly.

"Buntaju! Over here! Come here!"

At the noisy commotion, Hong Daegwang glanced around.

"What's going on?"

A group of beggars waving their hands by the riverside came into view. They collectively shouted words to Hong Daegwang.

"Buntaju, report..;"

"I don't have time to stop and listen, so come here, you bastards!" 

However, before Hong Daegwang could hear everything, he impatiently cut them off. The beggars flinched and ran towards him.

"Buntaju! We have a situation to report!"

"Alright, speak quickly!"

"...Uh, here? Here..."

The beggars expressed discomfort, glancing around. The place was filled with members of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance who had come with Hong Daegwang. If he didn't move, they would overhear the information.

Hong Daegwang, unaware of the situation, not only failed to consider their circumstances but also became more furious.

"What the hell! What are these beggars waiting for! These fools are starving because because they can't even beg properly! Hurry up and speak!"

"Well, the listeners... uh..."

"If you're not going to talk, get lost! Don't bother busy people."

"Ugh... We'll tell you!"

In the end, the beggars reluctantly opened their mouths, as if in agony. It was typically impossible for a chief of a minor sect like Hwaeum to shout so loudly in front of the main group.

However, Hong Daegwang was not an ordinary chief. Not only was he a key figure rumored as the next sect leader but also the only beggar who could communicate with the hottest sect in the world, Mount Hua.

Therefore, even those who came from the main group had no choice but to yield...No, they had to compromise and enter.

"Firstly, as instructed by the sect leader, do not act together with the Heavenly Comrade Alliance..."

The beggar, unsure of what to do, rolling his eyes in different directions, finally closed his eyes and spoke.

"Um... Move towards the Ten Great Sects..."

Even though he tried to speak as quietly as possible to avoid being heard by others, his efforts proved entirely futile.

"What? Move towards the Ten Great Sects? Are you telling me to stick to the Ten Great Sects?"

"B-Buntaju. Um, can you lower your voice a bit..."

"Has this guy really gone senile? Sending such incomprehensible nonsense to people! Alright, next!"

"The, the sect leader ordered... um..."

"Enough, next!"

A sigh escaped from the beggar's mouth who was reporting. Originally, Hong Daegwang wasn't a conventional chief, but ever since he had hung out with Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword, he was beyond help.

"...Currently, the Su Lo Chae is heading towards Nanjing..."

"Hey, you bastard!"

Hong Daegwang abruptly reached out and delivered a powerful blow to the back of the person who reported to him.

Thwack!

"Aaaah! Why, why are you hitting...!"

"How many branches does the Yangtze River have? Is there any other direction? Do those ships have a different route?"

"... "

"Don't waste words and tell me important information! Before I kick you out."

"Yes! Um... intelligence has come in that the remnants of the Black Ghost Castle, who were entrenched to the east of Gangnam, are also moving towards Nanjing!"

"...Black Ghost Castle?"

"Yes."

At that moment, Hong Daegwang's face distorted.

The Black Ghost Castle, once part of the Five Great Evils, had become a loyal follower of Jang Ilso.

"Black Ghost Castle, Su Lo Chae, and even Jang Ilso leading Myriad Man Manor are all heading towards Nanjing?"

In addition, the forces of Myriad Man Manor, which had headed towards Southern Island, were likely moving north. This meant that over sixty percent of the forces of the Evil Tyrant Alliance were converging in Nanjing. In terms of scale, it far surpassed the number of personnel gathered at the Black Dragon Fortress during the past Yangtze River incident. There had been no such historical event in the last hundred years where such formidable forces had gathered in one place.

"That crazy guy... Is he really going to try it?"

If it continued like this, it wouldn't just be a matter of whether Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword could be saved.

The Righteous Sects centered around the northern region, and the Evil Sect centered around the southern region, could collide head-on with Nanjing as the battleground.

War.

The word flashed in Hong Daegwang's mind.

Two forces colliding around the enormous city of Nanjing?

'It won't end with just a brief clash!'

Starting a fire is the most difficult part. However, once it starts, spreading it is a simple task.

During the Yangtze River incident, the treaty of the Black Dragon Fortress served as water for the flames of the Gangnam fire. But this time, no faction would accept such humiliation.

In the end, the conflict might escalate until one side was reduced to ashes.

'This…. Was this supposed to escalate to this extent?'

What had originally triggered all of this? Was it the attacks on the ships in the Yangtze River? Or was it Jang Ilso's direct involvement?

'No...It was before that.'

Ultimately, it was clear that all of this had been caused by Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword heading to the south. If he hadn't headed to Southern Island, the Southern Island Sect may have been reduced to ashes, but there might have been much more time before such a war broke out.

Small events never cease to grow endlessly, but this had far surpassed that level.

"What about us? What are the beggars from the main sect doing?"

"It has been reported that the main sect has urgently dispatched reinforcements to Nanjing!"

"Wait a moment. The beggars are already here at the Yangtze River, aren't they?"

"They considered that insufficient, so they have also sent reinforcements from the Red and Blue units."

"...This is insane..."

Hong Daegwang's face turned even paler.

The information held by the main sect was far more extensive than what an individual branch could possess. The main sect used this information to keep tabs on the world.

However, sending support from the main sect meant that they judged it highly likely that a clash would occur between the Evil Sects and the Righteous Sects in Nanjing.

"Messages have been sent to various sects. A general mobilization is underway. At the same time, personnel are being gathered from small and medium-sized sects around Nanjing."

"Damn it, do they think they're going to come just because of that!"

If those who could easily arrive upon receiving just one message were the ones being gathered, they wouldn't have gone through the trouble of gathering personnel.

Those who had never been in the center of the action because of their distance were probably watching the current situation with a snort, saying, 'Good luck stopping that!' [not sure]

"So, will there be support?"

"The dispatch order hasn't arrived yet. At least for another day..."

"Ah, damn it! So even if they come all the way, it'll be after everything is already over! What's the use of that! It should have been sent in advance!"

"Well, there was nothing we could do! Paegun moved too suddenly..."

"Isn't preparing for that the job of the main sect? What are the beggars doing, just eating and not doing anything!" 

Amidst Hong Daekwang's furious outburst, one beggar contorted his face in an attempt to explain.

"Well... We also had something to say, but the situation was unavoidable."

"Morality belongs in schools! Why bring morality into this place, why!" [not sure]

"No, that's not it. Normally, in situations like this, wouldn't Wudang and Southern Edge, centered around Shaolin, buy time until other sects arrive?"

"...What?"

"Wudang and Southern Edge. Wudang and Southern Edge! No matter how courage we squeeze out, how can we fill the void left by those two sects! What kind of position do they hold in the Ten Great Sects!"

Hong Daekwang tightly sealed his lips.

Regardless of what anyone said, the center of the Ten Great Sects was still Shaolin. However, the sects that perfectly supported Shaolin were the Wudang Sect and Southern Edge Sect. And now, those two sects had unexpectedly entered the Bongmun.

"Well, that's true, but..."

Hong Daekwang awkwardly trailed off.

Normally, if things were as usual, he would have cursed all day about how those damn idiots needlessly entered the Bongmun. But now, from Hong Daekwang's perspective, he couldn't say such things.

It was an undeniable fact that the entry of the Wudang Sect and Southern Edge Sect into the Bongmun had a significant impact on the influence of the Mount Hua Sect.

'Damn it! Why does everything have to go wrong!'

Hong Daekwang regretted raising his voice for no reason.

"No, but we can't just sit back! We should send someone to open the Bongmun! Are those crazy guys just going to lock the gate and just watch others struggle?"

"It seems that the main sect has already sent people."

"But?"

"They not only couldn't deliver the message, it seems they couldn't even enter. They were driven out as if their questions were irrelevant."

"...This is driving me crazy."

Those in Bongmun also needed to assess the situation! Why on earth did they insist on being stubborn in this situation? Anyway, those damn Ten Great Sects guys ruin everything because of their pride. All for that pathetic pride.

"That's all for the report. Because of the reasons mentioned earlier, the sect leader has ordered Buntaju to side with the Ten Great..."

"I'll handle that on my own! Enough!"

Hong Daekwang gritted his teeth.

Even if the Wanggeoji [idk? not in wiki] personally led the elites and joined the Ten Great Sects, he had no intention of going beneath them. In reality, his affiliation was not with the Ten Great Sects but with the Heavenly Comrade Alliance.

"I'm sure everyone heard, but the situation is..."

"Is it true that the Black Ghost Castle is coming from the east to Nanjing?"

But at that moment, the silent Tang Gunak, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenly spoke.

"Y-yes."

The beggar, who had been silently observing Hong Daekwang's reaction, nodded.

"Half of the Myriad Man Manor led by Jang Ilso is heading from the west to Nanjing."

"What an obvious thing to say..."

"The remaining half of Myriad Man Manor is heading north."

Hong Daekwang's face gradually stiffened.

"And on the Yangtze River, none other than the Su Lo Chae is blocking the river?"

He understood. What would be said next.

Tang Gunak muttered in a low voice.

"Our kids are heading towards Nanjing. The three sects of the Evil Tyrant Alliance are gathering from all directions, converging in the center."

There was no way to survive.

Hong Daekwang's face turned pale.

Up until now, Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword had brought numerous seemingly impossible things into reality. For him, common sense did not apply.

However, no matter how powerful Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword was...

"No, it can't be..."

Hong Daekwang's gaze hurriedly shifted across the river.

On the other side of the river, the world was painted in dark silence, silently watching.