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Chapter 118 – King Jinseong (2)
Translated by : moonchildkhz
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“I thought all who are well known in the Orthodox side became a part of the Cult of the Inverted Sky, but it’s not true. I’m glad.”
At the words of King Jinseong, Jegal Sung bowed his head and expressed his respects.
Even though he was a giant in Murim and was relatively ancient, that was still the king.
Even the Venerable Dragon had to set an example.
“The old tree is not just big. It also needs deep roots to be called an old tree.”
Though the words were not bad, King Jinseong muttered to himself, “The roots are deep.” Then he smiled. “That’s right. Except, even though the roots grow deep, the tree will become weak if the roots are rigid.”
Jegal Sung smiled.
That was why they needed the power of the Demonic Cult.
Next, King Jinseong’s gaze slid to rest on Woon-seong.
“I already heard that the Leader of the Demonic Cult is young, but you’re younger than I thought.”
At his words, Woon-seong merely drank the tea placed in front of him.
A completely blasĂŠ attitude.
Do Jin-myung’s eyes seemed to spark.
However, Woon-seong did not care at all, drinking about half the cup of tea before placing the cup on the table.
“I heard you need the Demonic Cult’s power, King.”
Woon-seong was straight to the point.
Some pleasantries because this was the first time we met?
Don’t need it.
A politician trying to create a lasting friendship?
Doesn’t matter.
Woon-seong only wanted one thing, so he would cut to the chase.
At Woon-seong’s words, everyone’s expression became slightly unpleasant.
King Jinseong was no exception, but he soon nodded. “Yes. I think more than 50% of martial arts practitioners here are related to the Cult of the Inverted Sky.”
“50% percent!” shouted the Sage of Bright Rock, surprised.
Jegal Sung smiled bitterly.
“I can tell by your face that you already knew, Grand Scholar Jegal.”
“A lot of sects turned to the Martial Alliance’s side. And most of them follow Jwa Do-gyul’s lead. The King said 50%, but it might be more than that.”
“Huh!” Bright Rock continued to mutter to himself, “Amitabha…”
“50% of the Orthodox…,” Woon-seong began to estimate the power left on the Orthodox side. Soon, he came to a conclusion. “Certainly not a small quantity, but the Demonic Cult will be enough.”
The meaning behind his words were clear.
Jegal Sung and Bright Rock’s expression hardened.
The Cult of the Heavenly Demon became stronger than before.
Huh… If the Demonic Cult wanted to conquer Zhongyuan and went to war, we might have shed lots of blood.
The Demonic Cult had been accumulating its power for a very long time without starting an all-out war against Zhongyuan.
Thanks to that, the power of the Demonic Cult was incomparable to its past.
It was not equal to 50% of the Orthodox side, it might actually be more than that.
However, that was not what the group should be concerned about.
“The problem lies elsewhere. It’s the Emperor,” Woon-seong pointed out.
King Jinseong nodded, “You mean the Imperial Army.”
The Imperial Army, guardians of the Empire.
An estimate of all the foot soldiers and cavalry men could reach the millions.
Even working with the Demonic Cult, it would be hard to deal with a million-man-army.
Moreover, this would be seen as treason to other people, no matter what the group did.
Perhaps it was someone of the Inverted Sky wearing the skin of the emperor, but that was still the emperor to the people.
To avoid troubles, King Jinseong must have thought a lot.
“You don’t have to worry about the Imperial Army.”
Woon-seong looked curiously at King Jinseong, who glanced at Do Jin-myung.
The Sage of Earth and Sky walked away, then soon came back with a large map.
It was the Map of the World.
A map that has information about all mountain ranges, strategic points, congested areas, and even the deployment of military forces.
It was not easy to obtain such a precise map.
Even if he was the king, if word got out that he had created such a detailed map, King Jinseong could have been executed for treason.
But King Jinseong still had a copy.
It was evidence that showed how prepared for this the king was, from beginning to end.
As soon as everyone had focused on the map, King Jinseong pointed his finger at the military symbols drawn.
First, he pointed to the north.
“You really don’t have to care about the Northern Army. They won’t be able to move during the upcoming winter.”
None of the people present were so ignorant that they could not understand his words.
When winter arrived, there was not much to eat.
The nomadic tribes of the North would begin to travel, exploiting everything to survive. The Northern Army had to stay in the area and defend against them.
As King Jinseong said, there was no reason to worry about the North.
So only the army stationed at the Qiantang River and the Imperial Metropolis were left.
The Army of the Qiantang River had more soldiers than the Army of the Imperial Metropolis.
And they specialized in warfare.
Through countless battles with pirates, they had become incredible battle-hardened veterans.
Clearly, they were the most troubling portion of the Imperial Army.
“But the Army of the Qiantang River will not move either.”
Apparently, King Jinseong had a way to stop the Qiantang River Army from moving.
“I heard the commander at the Qiantang River is greedy and seeks power… Do you have a plan for them?” Jegal Sung asked.
King Jinseong nodded, smiling. “A person who is greedy for money and power also cherishes their own life above all else. That is precisely why he won’t be able to move.”
“He won’t be able to move because he cherishes his own life…?”
The commander of the Qiantang River Army had control over the 30,000 soldiers in the army.
But he could not control them all by himself.
There were generals under him who led about 1,000 soldiers each.
King Jinseong pointed to them on the map, “And about 20 of those generals have a close relationship with me. If I exaggerate a little, they are like my brothers. They have my back.”
Jegal Sung listened to King Jinseong and remembered the past. Before becoming a royal, King Jinseong had been a major in the Army of the Qiantang River. Perhaps he had built many good relationships then.
“I have already sent them a message. They also think the world is becoming unstable, so they have decided to join me. So if the commander tries to move the army, they will stop him.”
The army was under the orders of the commander. However, twenty generals was a majority, meaning that the commander would have trouble trying to move the army.
“Also, if the Commander won’t stop, they promised to get rid of him.”
If what King Jinseong said was true, then two big worries were alleviated.
The most powerful forces of the Imperial Army were the forces in the North, at the Qiantang River, and in the Imperial Metropolis.
While the rest of the troops weren’t weak, they were spread out throughout the land.
Since they were less powerful and less organized, it was easier to pay less attention to them.
“Thus, the Imperial Metropolis Army is the only one left.”
“Hmm.”
The Imperial Metropolis Army was more systematically organized. Unlike the Northern Army and the Qiantang River Army, whose soldiers gained experience through direct combat, the Imperial Metropolis Army fought completely differently.
The Imperial Metropolis Army was a mixture of those who relied on the Emperor’s protection, those who were proficient in warfare and tactics, and those who were just plain weak.
Overall, their job was to protect the Imperial Palace and maintain order in the Imperial Metropolis.
“The King’s Palace will take care of the Imperial Metropolis Army.”
“The King’s Palace?”
King Jinseong raised his head, then took a large gulp to tea.
“There are a lot of places under my influence. There are some helpers in the Imperial Court too. If I gather them together with the elites of the King’s Palace, I believe they can handle the Army of the Imperial Metropolis.”
“The Demonic Cult needs to take care of the Orthodox martials who joined the Cult of the Inverted Sky.”
King Jinseong nodded at Woon-seong’s words and turned to Jegal Sung. “But for the Justice Blood Sect, please take care of the other sects which haven’t chosen the Cult of the Inverted Sky.”
“Alright.”
Woon-seong turned to Jegal Sung and added,  “And also, when the Demonic Cult comes to Zhongyuan, if it’s possible, work things out ahead of time so there won’t be any trouble.”
The Demonic Cult might have to advance all the way to Beijing, where the Emperor resided.
In the process, not only would they cross the Cult of the Inverted Sky, they would also pass by other sects or groups.
It would be hard to advance to Beijing if they had to deal with all other factions.
Jegal Sung nodded. “I planned something else for that.”
“What is the plan…?”
“There are some people who don’t think the recently chosen way of the Martial Alliance is proper, even though the Orthodox side is being played by the hand of the Martial Alliance. I’m thinking of getting them to sign off their sects.”
It’s been a long time since the Martial Alliance has fallen into the hands of the Cult of the Inverted Sky. But he’s going to send someone and have them leave their sects, which means…
Woon-seong suddenly asked, “Are you planning to make a new sect?”
Jegal Sung clasped his hands and leaned onto the table.
“I’m thinking of making the Justice Alliance, which will be based around the Justice Blood Sect.”