“To my eyes, you look like that kind of genius.”

“……Mm…… I appreciate the compliment, but this is truly a strange matter…….”

“Why is that strange?”

“…….”

“It isn’t strange at all. If you think about what position someone is in instead of only who profits from it, the answer comes out simply. Cheonrim stood between the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect and the Heavenly Alliance. At that time, the situation was that the Heavenly Alliance was going to absorb Cheonrim completely, and as many as three of the Four Lords had already thrown in with the Heavenly Alliance. In that situation, if the Four Lords were split apart, who would profit?”

“The Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect. Yeon Songbaek is also Cheonrim’s lord.”

“No. It would be you, Alliance Lord.”

“……Me?”

“From the start, the one who led the revival of the Heavenly Alliance was you, Alliance Lord. From the position of Vice Alliance Lord, you built a federation that came after the Martial Alliance and the Sichuan Alliance. But recently, with the former Alliance Lord Ye Wonje dying, his hands and feet being struck down, and the relationship with Un’guk becoming incomplete, the survival of the Heavenly Alliance became precarious.”

“After that, what happened is something everyone knows.”

“Yes. You drew in the Five Sword Sects and the Four Demon Sects. If it were me, I would have drawn in the Five Great Families, but that must not have been in your calculations.”

“…….”

“The reason is simple. Because from the beginning, you had no intention of growing the Heavenly Alliance into ‘that kind of organization.’”

Mae Wuidong’s expression remained calm.

The Five Great Families were clearly organizations that stood above the Five Sword Sects and the Four Demon Sects.

Their unity was so tightly bound that it was difficult to split them apart.

But joining hands was possible. In that case, the Heavenly Alliance would certainly recover its former might once again and even look beyond it, but unfortunately, to do that the Heavenly Alliance would have to hand over countless authorities to the Five Great Families.

That was why Mae Wuidong excluded the Five Great Families and only called in the Five Sword Sects and the Four Demon Sects.

Unhwi was certain of it.

“Alliance Lord, you had no intention of expanding the Heavenly Alliance’s power ‘in that way.’ More than that, you didn’t even intend to grow it to that extent.”

“…….”

“But when I stepped in, a similar situation formed.”

“Did you have a hobby of gilding your own face?”

“I’m not so stupid that I dismiss my own achievements as nothing. The current Heavenly Alliance isn’t at the level of the Martial Alliance or the Sichuan Alliance, but at the very least, the groundwork has been laid for it to grow into an organization like those two. The cooperation of the Five Sword Sects and the Four Demon Sects, Un’guk’s full support, and the near-complete absorption of Cheonrim—Cheonrim that can exert influence not only in Un’guk but to some extent even in the courts of other states.”

“…….”

“Strictly speaking, something even greater than joining hands with the Five Great Families has happened. Back then, Alliance Lord, you must have judged it. If the faction grows this large, checks will inevitably come in—and in the process, a bigger problem will arise.”

“…….”

“Yes. At that point, you must involve the Mukse Society. But if the Mukse Society steps out onto the front line, grudges and old debts you buried will raise their heads. You tried to block a wildfire, only for an even bigger blaze to roar up on the other side. So you tried to weaken Cheonrim’s power a little, to delay the timetable.”

That way, even without the Mukse Society’s intervention, you could buy time to stabilize the inside.

“……It sounds plausible, but in the end, isn’t it all speculation? If I recall correctly, when you headed for Cheongpung City, Division Chief Wei didn’t accompany you. More than anything, I’ve never received a letter from Division Chief Wei either.”

That was true.

From the start, Unhwi had been watching Division Chief Wei directly, but when he headed for Cheongpung City, only two people accompanied him.

The Shadow Lord Ya Mukcheon and the Killing Lord Sa Seollan.

If so, then the situation at that time meant only one thing.

Mae Wuidong’s personal ability, entirely.

Whether here or in his office, sitting somewhere, he had laid out every route that led to Cheongpung City, predicted—and predicted again—where Unhwi’s group would move.

It wasn’t only prediction.

He had pinpointed it with certainty.

That was why the Cheonrim Five Poisons Array had been installed in that well.

“Correct. It’s all circumstances and speculation. Then I’ll move on to the next point.”

“Hah…… fine. Continue.”

“The Alliance Lord who tried to weaken Cheonrim’s power and put the brakes on the Heavenly Alliance’s growth changed his mind midway.”

“…….”

“From splitting Cheonrim apart, to absorbing it whole.”

Mae Wuidong’s brow twitched.

“The reason is simple. A better scheme must have come to you.”

“…….”

“Alliance Lord, you must have noticed. That a man named Seol Unhwi was not cast out of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace.”

“…….”

“Naturally, the phrase ‘once the rabbit is caught, the hounds are killed’ must have come to you. A way to grow the Heavenly Alliance whole without involving the Mukse Society. Yes. Kill me, and fabricate the culprit behind it as the Martial Alliance and the Sichuan Alliance. Then the Martial Alliance and the Sichuan Alliance will begin a war with the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace beyond the outer frontiers, and in the process their power will be greatly weakened. They won’t have time to check the Heavenly Alliance. Just blocking the fury bursting out from the northern giant will be more than enough for them.”

“……Interesting, but that too is only speculation. And beyond that, I have no method to fabricate the death of the Heavenly Arbiter.”

Unhwi gave a quiet snort of laughter.

“You do.”

“…….”

“Few people even know of an organization called the Mukse Society. And fewer still know who the Master (Mukse Society) is. Let me be clear—there will be so few you could count them on one hand. With disguise ability at that level, can someone not even fabricate a single incident? Moreover, Jegal Yeonghyeon of the Shinsal Sword Sect and the Martial Alliance has been plotting from the moment the Heavenly Alliance requested aid. It’s quiet now, but if the Mukse Society steps in midway and begins fabrication, it won’t be difficult for you to create a situation.”

Unhwi’s gaze pinned Mae Wuidong’s face.

“From what I’ve seen, Jegal Yeonghyeon of the Martial Alliance is no match for the Master (Mukse Society). A hundred battles, a hundred defeats—so absolute that even if he makes mistakes, it would never change. At best, Gun Mugyeol might notice the trick, but he won’t even have time to quell the fury bursting out in the north.”

Mae Wuidong let out a sigh and rubbed his face.

“Truly…… you are deeply mistaken.”

“Mistaken…… how persistent. Yeon Songbaek is the sect master of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect, and Cheonrim’s lord. And I took Cheonrim. I brought three of the Four Lords into the Heavenly Alliance, and ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) I killed the Poison Lord who was trying to build a bridge in the middle and profit.”

“…….”

“And the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect, even while losing Cheonrim in one piece, stopped at a passive response.”

“A passive response? They formed the Nine-Gate Assembly and drew in Un’guk’s royal court. That scheme—using the chancellor and the Prince of the Blood to pressure the Heavenly Alliance—is being evaluated in the martial world as a rather formidable strategy.”

As if he had found something to say, Mae Wuidong spoke again.

“Drawing in the state breaks non-aggression with the government, yes, but it is ultimately the realm of politics. Who can present greater profit, and how the board is overturned. The martial world evaluates the Heavenly Arbiter even more highly for crushing Yeon Songbaek’s scheme. You already won a complete strategic victory—yet you call it passive. Your humility is excessive.”

“It only looks that way.”

“……Heavenly Arbiter, when misunderstanding deepens, it becomes obsession. Right now, to my eyes, what you have looks like obsession.”

“It is neither misunderstanding nor obsession. It is simply fact.”

“Hoo…….”

Again and again, Unhwi’s suspicion was, in the end, only circumstance.

Mae Wuidong had created perfect situations to slip out of everything.

No matter how well one spoke, it was impossible to drive Mae Wuidong into a corner as the Master (Mukse Society).

Because there was no evidence. It was all circumstantial evidence.

But.

As he had said again and again, there was no such thing as a perfect person in this world.

Mae Wuidong was not perfect either, so he sometimes made mistakes.

It was a matter of whether you caught that mistake or not.

Unfortunately, Unhwi had noticed that fleeting mistake Mae Wuidong made.

When, to begin with, had Unhwi’s suspicion started?

When he noticed that mistake? No.

From the moment the Mukse Society’s existence reached out toward him.

It was a suspicion that started then, and he focused—and focused again—to catch a mistake.

And so he found it.

“Alliance Lord. Then may I confirm the Heavenly Archives?”

At those words, Mae Wuidong’s brow twitched.

A long silence settled.

Unhwi had clearly seen it. The location of the archives had changed.

And in that moment, Mae Wuidong showed a gap he had not shown even once.

“I intend to see this through to the end.”

“…….”

“I will check the Heavenly Archives. I will search the inside from end to end, find what is hidden, smash the door that is blocking it, and if there are traps, I will smash those too.”

“…….”

“If you keep denying it, it’s going to start looking pathetic.”

Mae Wuidong covered his face with his hand.

The eyes that had always been relaxed bent, and a smile drew itself at the corner of his mouth.

Everything is circumstantial?

No.

It only looks that way to the one watching.

Unhwi looked at everything not as circumstance, but as grounds.

Those grounds, under the name of circumstance, gathered and became fact.

From between the fingers covering Mae Wuidong’s face, a killing voice spilled out.

“Ha…… you bastard…… you should’ve just pretended you didn’t know.”

Unhwi smiled too.

At last, Mae Wuidong’s mask came off.

“I thought you were a tiresome bastard, but I could handle that. You worked too well.”

“…….”

“But this time you crossed the line—far.”

“If I’m needed, I’ll play the hunting dog. But I’m not stupid enough to sit still and get boiled alive.”

“……Fine, let’s say that’s true. It really wasn’t bad. Thanks to you, the Heavenly Alliance grew. You cleaned up the friction with Un’guk, took Cheonrim completely from Yeon Songbaek, and no matter how much Yeon Songbaek shares roots with our side, this…… it isn’t easy.”

Mae Wuidong tapped the table lightly.

“Human pride—if you scratch that, trouble always follows. You scratched that man’s pride properly. So how did you persuade him? I definitely told you to kill him before you came here to Cheonsu—so why didn’t you? Don’t tell me you know?”

“Yes.”

“……You really are the kind of human I can’t even understand. From the moment you decided to go to Calmheart County, did you assume this situation would happen?”

“I thought the possibility was high.”

“I’ve got no words. I definitely read it as the critical moment. So how could you move one step ahead of me. And the archives…… ha…… this is pretty irritating. That really was my mistake. I didn’t think you’d come in that moment. Just—”

Mae Wuidong grinned.

“Maybe I should’ve killed you back then.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep