Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

Chapter 156: The Goal is Set

The next day.

The Alliance of Justice returned to the land by boat. 

Now, they only had to go back to the League and report on their mission in the North.

And they also received some news that would please Eurius. 

The person they sent to the place where the disciples of the Jegal Clan were staying had come back.

“My lord, fortunately, Second Prince and the young knight are safe.”

“Phew…”

Eurius sighed with relief as he heard Jegal Unhyeon’s report. 

He had put aside his worries for a while because the legacy of the player was such a big goal, but he was actually very anxious inside.

‘I’m glad that Beatrice is safe, but I’m also glad that there’s hope.’

“If those two are safe, then the others must be alive somewhere too.”

Jegal Unhyeon also expressed a similar opinion. 

If Jegal Hwayoung, who was one of the weakest in martial arts among the group, was alive, then there was a high possibility that the others had survived as well.

“So when are they joining us?”

“According to the report, they seem to have left for Nakyang for some reason.”

“Beatrice too?”

“Yes. They must have set their rendezvous point there after confirming that you were safe.”

“I see…”

Eurius nodded. 

 The destination of the Alliance of Justice was also Nakyang, where the League of Justice was located. It was a pity that he couldn’t see them right away, but he didn’t have to be impatient for a few days until he arrived.

“Anyway, it worked out well. Please keep looking for the other friends, including Nuada.”

“Of course.”

Jegal Unhyeon nodded and then smiled as he brought up the next topic.

“And Ilcheon, I asked him about it and I heard some interesting news.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s something that just arrived with the messenger from the Jegal Clan. The League of Justice is holding a ‘Martial Arts Tournament’ this time.”

“Martial Arts Tournament?”

“It’s a kind of event to boost the morale of the factions. There have been many clashes with the Dark Sect lately, so it’s a way of gathering people and encouraging them before a full-scale confrontation.”

Eurius tilted his head.

“What’s the point of doing that? It’s not a military ceremony or a victory celebration. If you gather people before anything happens, wouldn’t it make them more alert?”

“You might find it hard to understand with your way of thinking. It’s one of the ways of the martial world.”

Jegal Unhyeon gave a bitter smile and explained.

“The important thing is justification.”

“Justification…”

“The participants of the Martial Arts Tournament are mostly second or third-rate martial artists. The real experts already know everything. But if you run an organization like that, you’ll get resentment from the League.”

“Ah!”

Eurius opened his mouth as if he understood.

“So it’s a kind of propaganda. It’s like reorganizing your allies before hitting the Dark Sect?”

“That’s right. There’s a high chance that the positions within the League will also be rearranged at this Martial Arts Tournament.”

Eurius smiled triumphantly.

“I see what you mean. It could be a very good opportunity.”

The reason why they exchanged smiles was because of what happened last night.

***

“You want me to save the League of Justice?”

“To be precise, I’m asking for your help.”

He raised his head again, but still looked serious as he begged Eurius, who recalled what he had heard about Gu cheongeol.

[Gu Cheon-geol – The Ark of Enlightenment in the past, his martial arts level is among the top five excluding the four great experts, and his organization had an information network that was not inferior to the Jegal Clan when he was in charge.]

“But you suddenly retired ten years ago and started wandering around the martial world. I’m surprised that you followed us obediently to the North even though you said you received requests from the League.”

This was Je Gal Woon Hyun’s description of Gu Cheon Geol. 

And he added this remark.

“He may look like a weird old man, but he has a deep mind and is a tricky opponent. Please be careful when dealing with him.”

“Really…”

Eurius finished his thoughts and stared at Gu Cheon Geol intently. 

Then he opened his mouth.

“What’s wrong with Righteous Alliance?”

From what he had seen of the people of Righteous Alliance so far, they were a decent group, except for a few who were arrogant and rude.

“They may seem like that on the surface. But the reality is quite different.”

‘He must have some dirty secrets behind his back.’

Eurius asked Je Gal Woon Hyun about the truth with a gesture of his eyes. 

He shrugged his shoulders.

“…”

Gu Cheon Geol noticed his gesture and made an annoyed expression. 

His tone of voice had returned to normal.

“Hmph… You guys who are trying to please that old snake Shin Ja Seong wouldn’t know!”

“Shin Ja Seong?”

“As I told you before, he is the leader of Righteous Alliance. He is famous for his martial arts skills and his gentle and fair personality.”

Je Gal Woon Hyun mentioned Shin Ja Seong, the White Crane Sword Master, with a respectful attitude. 

Just by looking at that, it seemed that his character was beyond doubt.

“But is there something wrong with the White Crane Sword Master? I’m curious why you suddenly brought him up, senior.”

Gu Cheon Geol sighed as if the ground was collapsing.

“I thought he was a clean person like white jade too… But it wasn’t.”

He slowly began to tell the story of twenty years ago.

“As you know, I was in charge of information for Righteous Alliance twenty years ago.”

Eurius’s eyes lit up when he heard that.

‘Twenty years?’

Twenty years meant the same year as when the royal family had a rebellion. 

Gu Cheon Geol noticed his curious look, but continued to speak.

“At that time, I accidentally discovered where that old man Shin Ja Seong went out regularly.”

***

They were about the same age and had some friendship, so they would sometimes visit each other for personal reasons, not for the affairs of the faction. 

Of course, even then, it was common for him to open the door and come in at night.

One day, as usual, Gu Cheon Geol knocked on his residence door and found out that he was not there.

“Did this old man go out or something? He’s not the type to wander around alone at night.”

He tilted his head and decided to go back for now. But it wasn’t just once or twice.

“He’s not here today either?”

He was curious about why the White Crane Sword Master, who was known for being easygoing, disappeared at night.

‘It’s not something I should do to the leader, but…’

Gu Cheon Geol secretly sprinkled a tracking incense on the door handle of his residence. 

He thought he could find out where he was going by following it later.

And on the third day of waiting for Shin Ja Seong’s outing! 

Finally, the opportunity Gu Cheon Geol had been waiting for came.

“Sniff… This old man didn’t get married again at that age, did he?”

He confirmed that he had left his residence and followed the tracking incense with a playful thought of teasing him with his weakness.

He would have been unnoticed unless he came very close to him.

Gu Cheon Geol stopped talking and sighed.

“Sigh… Until then, it was just curiosity. But I never expected to see that.”

But the prank he started with a light heart completely changed his fate.

“I found him.”

He identified Shin Ja Seong in white clothes from a distance and began to sneak up on him.

Surprisingly, he had left Nakyang and met someone in a deep forest. 

And when Gu Cheon Geol caught sight of that person, he made a somewhat puzzled expression.

‘A foreigner?’

Gu Cheon Geol didn’t care much about things outside of the Eastern Continent. 

So even for him, who was as big as a ship, it was rare  to see someone from the Western Continent.

Whispering whispering.

***

Shin Ja Seong and the cultists seemed to be talking about something, but Gu Qian Ge was too far away to hear their conversation. 

No matter how stealthy he was, it was impossible for him to get close enough to a master like Shin Ja Seong.

‘How frustrating. I have to ask that old man later.’

In fact, until then, Gu Qian Ge had not suspected Shin Ja Seong at all. 

His usual character was impeccable.

But as soon as the cultists turned their backs after finishing their talk!

“…!?”

Gu Qian Ge was so shocked that he almost let out a sound.

‘How could this be!’

The cultists emitted a sinister aura and disappeared into the forest.

***

Gu Cheon-geol spoke his last words to Eurius with a bitter face.

“That was definitely Dark Magic. They were not experts of the Dark Sect, but those bastards disappeared into the forest while emitting a dense Dark Magic aura.”

“Hooh…”

Eurius nodded his head. It was not a surprising thing. Based on his experience, the Cult of the West Continent and the Dark Sect of the East Continent were almost identical organizations.

“Huh… If it was twenty years ago, we wouldn’t have cared since we lost contact with Baekho and Jujakmumun.”

Jegal Unhyeon also agreed with a regretful expression. He had learned about their movement by chance as Gu Cheon-geol, and at that time, Jegal Sega was busy investigating the royal family.

“So that’s why you left Righteous Alliance, senior.”

“That’s right. Who would believe me if I said such a thing? Even I couldn’t believe that the old man was colluding with the Dark Sect.”

Gu Cheon-geol handed over his boat seat to his disciple and wandered around to investigate that matter. 

Of course, he also looked into the affairs of the West Continent.

Eurius also agreed. 

The people of the East Continent knew too little about the West Continent. 

It wouldn’t have been hard to identify him if he didn’t hide his name.

“So you tried to stop me like that?”

“Yes. Even if they had nothing to do with the Dark Sect, I was suspicious of the West Continent from my perspective.”

Gu Cheon-geol answered in a serious tone and then pleaded earnestly.

“This old man’s request is to investigate Righteous Alliance. I’ve been investigating for nearly twenty years, but Shinjaseong’s old man didn’t show any signs of movement.”

But when he saw signs of a clash between the Dark Sect and Righteous Alliance, Gu Cheon-geol had no choice but to panic. 

He couldn’t help but think that a man with a bad background was leading the alliance.

“Hmm…”

“…”

“Huh…”

The three of them exchanged glances for a moment. Gu Cheon-geol’s words had no evidence other than his own testimony, but Eurius nodded his head.

“It’s not a lie. You’re telling the truth.”

Fortunately, Eurius had the ability to discern that. 

The next one to speak was Jegal Unhyeon.

He actually had absolute trust in Jegal Sega’s information power, so he couldn’t fully believe Gu Cheon-geol’s words…

‘If my lord guarantees the truth, it must be right.’

“This is troublesome. I thought Righteous Alliance would be a help for my lord’s path… I’m ashamed.”

“How is that your fault?”

On the other hand, Gu Cheon-geol’s face brightened up.

“Then will you help me?”

He actually said that with half a gambling mind. 

Eurius was a legendary figure, wasn’t he?

‘If he is the former successor of Ichungmun Daehyup, maybe…’

Of course, Eurius met his expectations and trusted his words. 

He even trusted him too easily that he doubted him.

“I’ve already made enemies with the Dark Sect anyway. If I have to fight them, I have to deal with this matter too.”

Eurius accepted Gu Cheon-geol’s request gladly and spoke again.

“Then our task is decided at this point?”

Of course, Gu Cheon-geol and Jegal Unhyeon were not people who couldn’t understand his words. 

It was something they had to do anyway, even if they had one more enemy.

The same words came out of their mouths at the same time.

“Take over Righteous Alliance!”