“Commander.”
“Hmm?”
Mo Yong-woo turned to find Gyu Byeok, the leader of the Demon-Sweeping Corps’ Second Team, standing before him.
“The entire corps is in position. Everyone is inspecting their weapons and resting.”
“Understood.”
“Um...”
“Is there something else you wish to say?”
Gyu Byeok smacked his lips.
“Are you all right, Commander?”
Of the five team leaders, Gyu Byeok possessed the fiercest and most energetic temperament. That sometimes led him to make mistakes, but his considerable personal charm also earned him many loyal followers.
Yet even he had spent a long while studying his commander’s mood before finally asking the question on his mind. That alone showed how deeply he respected Mo Yong-woo.
Mo Yong-woo tilted his head.
“What do you mean?”
“Well... we were a little angry at first too.”
“About what?”
“Ahem! The existence of the Righteous Justice Corps.”
“I do not understand. Why? Do you dislike the Righteous Justice Corps?”
“N-no, that is not what I meant.”
He had worried that the question might wound Mo Yong-woo’s pride, but he had already come this far. Gyu Byeok decided to remain true to his nature.
“Are you not displeased that Commander Yeon—no, the Supreme Commander—was placed in charge of the Righteous Justice Corps?”
It was a question Mo Yong-woo had never expected.
Apparently, however, the same was not true for the team leaders. The others scattered around the camp, along with several soldiers, immediately pricked up their ears.
Mo Yong-woo frowned.
“The Supreme Commander’s abilities are extraordinary. Why would I be displeased that a man like him is leading the Righteous Justice Corps?”
Put that way, Gyu Byeok had no answer. Anyone else would have scratched his head in embarrassment, cleared his throat, and retreated.
Gyu Byeok, of course, did no such thing. In some respects, he was the most honest man in the entire Demon-Sweeping Corps.
“Whatever the case... the Supreme Commander is far too young, is he not? Even younger than you.”
“Can a person’s age truly serve as a measure of his ability? Would it not be more natural to consider him even more remarkable for possessing such ability at so young an age?”
“O-of course. I am well aware that the Supreme Commander is a genius and more than qualified to lead the Righteous Justice Corps.”
“Then what is the problem?”
“It is not exactly a problem... but does it not make you angry?”
“Angry?”
Mo Yong-woo continued tilting his head in puzzlement.
Gyu Byeok began to suspect that Mo Yong-woo understood perfectly well and was merely pretending otherwise. Any ordinary person would have grasped the meaning behind his question.
Yet as he studied his commander’s face, Mo Yong-woo genuinely seemed not to understand.
Gyu Byeok spoke frankly.
“You are both older and more experienced than the Supreme Commander. The two of you may be known as the Twin Tiger-Sword Seats, but in terms of accumulated experience, it would not be unreasonable to say that you stand a step above him. I was wondering whether you felt any jealousy that the Supreme Commander, rather than you, was placed in overall command of the Righteous Justice Corps.”
Mo Yong-woo chuckled.
“Why? Did I seem so petty that jealousy over such a thing would prevent me from carrying out my duties?”
“Ghk! N-never! I would never think that! I only...”
“Hahaha.”
A bright laugh burst from Mo Yong-woo.
Gyu Byeok, the other team leaders, and the soldiers all stared at him in surprise.
Mo Yong-woo was always strict and uncompromising in official matters, but his fundamental nature was gentle. His personal charm was considerable, and he drew a firm line between public and private affairs. Every member of the Demon-Sweeping Corps followed him with genuine devotion.
Even so, none of them had ever seen him laugh so freely.
Still smiling, Mo Yong-woo said, “Forgive me. In truth, I understood what you meant from the very beginning. I merely wished to play a small joke of my own, but it seems I flustered you more than I expected. I apologize.”
“No! You have nothing to apologize for!”
Gyu Byeok smacked his lips. Only now did he regret bringing up something unnecessary and perhaps burdening his commander’s heart.
Mo Yong-woo shook his head.
“But what I said was sincere. I do not feel the slightest jealousy.”
“Ah. Is that so?”
“Perhaps you all shake your heads and think me a fool with no ambition.”
“What? Never!”
Mo Yong-woo looked up at the sky.
The land, the weather, and the people living here were all different, but the sky over Guangdong Province was the same as anywhere else. Gazing at the stars packed densely across the dark night sky seemed to untangle his complicated thoughts and ease the tightness in his chest.
“The Supreme Commander’s abilities are extraordinary. Of course, all of you know that much. But I dare say that he is far more remarkable than any of you realize. You have not yet seen even a tenth of what he is capable of.”
Such extravagant praise was rare from Mo Yong-woo.
He was no more reluctant to praise others than he was to point out their faults. In other words, he was a man who did not exaggerate.
Yet he held the Supreme Commander of the Righteous Justice Corps in such high regard. The team leaders were too astonished to speak.
Mo Yong-woo smiled.
“Jealousy is possible only between people of roughly equal standing. How could I envy someone who exists on an entirely different level? Even if I spent my whole life {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} following him and learning from him, I might never catch up.”
“...!”
“I understand how all of you feel. Though you never said so, you must have been deeply disappointed that I, your commander, was not chosen to lead the Righteous Justice Corps. You may even have felt an unnecessary sense of defeat whenever you looked at the soldiers of the Evil-Smiting Corps.”
Neither the team leaders nor the soldiers could bring themselves to deny it. Their commander had opened his heart to them. This was no time for polite, empty words.
“Then allow me to ask you the opposite. Has even one soldier of the Evil-Smiting Corps ever looked down on you?”
At that moment, Jin Pae, leader of the First Team, spoke.
“No. Their expressions did not change in the slightest. They themselves seemed surprised that the Supreme Commander had been placed in charge of the Righteous Justice Corps.”
Mo Yong-woo nodded.
“That is the Evil-Smiting Corps. I cannot be certain, as I am not personally acquainted with each of its soldiers, but there is nothing inherently special about them. Their backgrounds? Yes, they come from the Nine Sects and Six Great Clans. But birth cannot prove a person’s worth. They have merely received a different education.”
Gyu Byeok said, “But is this not a world where that very education determines rank and status?”
His words contained an envy he could not hide—and resentment even deeper than that envy.
He had been scorned because he had never received proper instruction and had wandered because no one had guided him. Even when he tried to accomplish something by his own strength, he lacked the barest foundation required for success and could do nothing.
That was why he obsessed over birth and thirsted for proper instruction. It was also why he cared so deeply about the world’s judgment despite having earned a measure of fame in his own region.
Most people felt much the same. It was likely the true reason he had asked whether Mo Yong-woo felt jealous.
“Many people do draw such distinctions, even if only tacitly,” Mo Yong-woo said. “But the genuine ones are different. Those who have learned only a little grow drunk on their own superiority. Those who have truly learned seek to share what they possess.”
“...!”
The team leaders pondered his words.
The half-trained regarded what they possessed as something special. The genuine sought to share it.
That was Mo Yong-woo’s standard for separating fools from wise men.
“The customs of prestigious clans are far more rigid and restrictive than you imagine. There are certainly those who are born into good families and live as wastrels, or strut about believing themselves superior to everyone else. But far more children of prestigious clans live with patience and self-restraint, constantly wrestling with what it means to do what is right.”
Mo Yong-woo looked across the Demon-Sweeping Corps.
The soldiers were scattered throughout the area, but more than half were now watching him. The sincerity in his voice, and his words about a world they did not know, held their complete attention.
“The man who gathered such people together and forged them into a fighting force approaching perfection is our Supreme Commander.”
The team leaders swallowed without realizing it.
“Set aside the customs of prestigious clans. The soldiers of the Evil-Smiting Corps are all proud men in their own right. Do you think it was easy for them to bow their heads and pledge their loyalty to a young man of similar birth?”
“...!!”
“That is why I respect and admire the Supreme Commander. He is genuine.”
“Genuine...”
“He is. The genuine article among genuine men. And the reason is simple: he does not burn everything he possesses for his own fame, but for the sake of the world.”
The smile vanished from Mo Yong-woo’s face.
“You were suddenly merged into a single force called the Righteous Justice Corps without the slightest warning. Of course you would feel uneasy. But there is one thing I wish to tell you.”
“...”
“The Supreme Commander is one of the few true chivalrous heroes left in this world. That alone is reason enough to choose death at his command.”
At that moment, Gye Eok, leader of the Fifth Team, spoke.
“As you said, Commander, there are few genuine men in this world.”
“Hmm?”
“But in our eyes, you are one of them as well.”
Gye Eok bowed his head.
“Since he is someone trusted by a man like you, we will trust and follow him too.”
They would not follow Yeon Hojeong merely because they had been ordered to. Their own commander, Mo Yong-woo, acknowledged him. Therefore, they would acknowledge the Supreme Commander as well.
Mo Yong-woo looked around once more.
The team leaders and soldiers all wore similar expressions.
He studied them with an odd look before breaking into a broad grin.
“For now, that will be enough. Thank you for placing your trust in me.”
Even Mo Yong-woo had not expected this.
Just as he had clear reasons for respecting Yeon Hojeong, his soldiers had equally clear reasons for respecting him.
Because of the man Mo Yong-woo was, his soldiers believed he was no less genuine than Yeon Hojeong.
Mo Yong-woo raised his gaze to the sky once more.
“...I wonder what Brother Yeon is doing now.”
*****
“Young Master Yeon! No, Supreme Commander Yeon!”
“Call me whatever you find comfortable. It has been a long time, Successor. But did you personally come to lead this intelligence operation?”
“This is no time to worry about formalities.”
Ga Deoksang gave Yeon Hojeong a detailed account of everything that had happened.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.
“The Yin God’s eldest disciple?”
“That is right. I do not know his name, but he sent a message bearing these contents.”
“Hmm.”
“What do you make of it, Supreme Commander?”
Yeon Hojeong sank into thought.
The current Yin God is Hong Gwan—in other words, Yayul Jeok, an agent of the Perverse Lust Cult. Then his eldest disciple would be...
Yeon Hojeong had seen the Yin God during his days as the Dark Emperor.
The Yin God of that time had been younger than him. Of course, the man had still been middle-aged, but Yeon Hojeong had been rather surprised to find him younger than expected.
Surely the man I met back then is not this same bastard?
There was no way to know. He had never met the present Yin God in person. Even if they were the same man, there was no guarantee that the Yin God’s personality then would resemble the man’s personality now.
After a moment, Yeon Hojeong said, “Please handle that matter yourself, Successor. I cannot make an immediate judgment.”
“Damn it, that is exactly how I feel. That is why I came to ask for your opinion.”
“More importantly, you said there was an earthquake in his territory?”
“The report said two supreme masters collided. It may be somewhat exaggerated, but an ordinary battle could never have...”
“Something is wrong.”
“Huh? What is?”
Yeon Hojeong frowned.
“Sowing confusion was the goal, but... that damned woman should not be so thoughtless. Could this be a trap?”
No matter how intelligent Yeon Hojeong was, the affairs of the world would always produce unexpected variables.
It cannot be helped.
He sank into thought once more, then nodded.
“Arrange a meeting with this eldest disciple. I will see him personally.”
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