CLS-Chapter 536

Chapter 536:

“Did you say Sacred Flame?”

“That’s right, Sacred Flame.”

Sacred Flame was a term Sagan had heard of before.

The Demonic Cult—the flame worshipped by those once called the Fire-Worshipping Cult.

“But wasn’t that just a conceptual thing?”

“It is now. But back then, it seems it actually existed.”

“…To think it had a physical form.”

He felt bewildered.

It was like being told that upon entering a deep valley, you’d find a dragon and phoenix peacefully grooming each other’s feathers.

But looking at the face of the one speaking these words, he couldn’t simply dismiss it as a lie.

“Sacred Flame, Sacred Flame…”

Sagan rubbed his face a couple of times. If it were anyone other than Divine Beggar who had witnessed the Sacred Flame, there would be room for doubt. If anyone else had said such a thing, Sagan would have spat and gotten up from his seat.

“Then that…”

“Don’t misunderstand.”

“Pardon?”

Divine Beggar chuckled and continued.

“While it’s true that the Sacred Flame existed, whether that Sacred Flame is the one you’re thinking of is another matter. What I saw was just a flame burning white, nothing more.”

“That makes sense.”

Sagan nodded slowly.

A pure white flame.

While remarkable, the fact that its color was special didn’t necessarily mean the flame contained divinity. If it were a specially created flame, its color could be changed in any number of ways.

“Whether it was the real Sacred Flame or not, it’s certain that the Demonic Cult members worshipped that flame.”

“So that’s why they kept it so carefully hidden.”

“Indeed.”

Divine Beggar cackled with laughter.

“Then… the reason they refused to leave the harsh lands of Xinjiang even unto death?”

“I don’t know that for certain. I don’t know if that Sacred Flame could only bloom in that place. But it would have been for some reason.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Sagan shook his head.

What mattered now wasn’t whether the Sacred Flame had existed. There was no need to obsess over facts that couldn’t be proven.

“What about the Demonic Cult? What became of the Demonic Cult?”

“They were moving.”

Divine Beggar let out a sigh.

“I thought it would end with just tying up their feet, but no one expected those bastards to come back so desperately. Though… that bastard probably suspected it.”

“That bastard?”

“Wei Yan-ho, obviously.”

“You mean the Martial Sovereign predicted it all?”

“Prediction is a strange word. While Wei Yan-ho’s mind is exceptional, this kind of domain isn’t something you can figure out just by being clever. How could someone who hadn’t professionally learned military strategy predict everything?”

“I think so too.”

“That bastard was just getting that kind of feeling.”

“Hmm…”

“In a way, it was a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

Divine Beggar scratched his chin and said,

“From the moment we met Yan Meng, we thought the Demonic Cult had grasped all our movements.”

“That would make sense.”

“But that wasn’t the case.”

“What?”

“The Demonic Cult was also preparing for a major expedition. In such a situation, would they pay attention to such small fry?”

“…”

Hearing it now, that made sense too. If they had been concerned about Yan Meng, if they had intended to pay attention to the Righteous Martial Alliance’s expedition, they would have tried to eliminate them before the expedition.

“They left them alone to spread the word?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“What do you think the reason was?”

Sagan quickly found the answer. It wasn’t something that required much thought.

“A diversion.”

“Exactly. Attacking secretly isn’t bad either. But when people of that caliber move, it’s bound to be discovered. There’s no way to avoid everyone’s eyes. Moreover…”

Divine Beggar scratched his head vigorously.

“Don’t regular reports go in?”

“Ah…”

“You can predict just from the reports being cut off. Hiding it is impossible anyway. In that case, it’s better to let the Righteous Martial Alliance know about the massive invasion and make them feel pressured. Especially with the White Sword Castle.”

“Indeed.”

In terms of military strategy, it was the right thing to do.

Having resolved several questions, Sagan asked,

“Then didn’t you achieve the greatest success? You tied up the feet of the Demonic Cult that was pushing into the Central Plains like splitting bamboo, and even burned down their main camp.”

“That’s right.”

“And you escaped safely too.”

“…Safely?”

Divine Beggar looked at Sagan and chuckled.

“Did you just say safely?”

“…Didn’t you?”

“We saved our lives.”

Divine Beggar shuddered as if sick to his stomach.

“Our lives, that is.”

***

“The Demonic Cult?”

Divine Strategist’s face was harder than ever. His philosophy was that people should always have composure, but if one could remain composed even in a situation like this, they wouldn’t be human.

He too was human, so he couldn’t remain calm when the Demonic Cult was pushing in and White Sword Castle was pointing its blade at the Righteous Martial Alliance’s throat.

‘Damn it.’

Irritation was showing on Divine Strategist’s usually gentle face.

He had been preparing for the Demonic Cult’s rise for twenty years. The war wasn’t over. A war without a clear victor was bound to resume.

While the martial world celebrated with victory reports and great praise, Divine Strategist knew better than anyone that this victory wasn’t a true victory. The Demonic Cult had merely returned due to their leader’s death.

A Demonic Cult that had once experienced the Central Plains would return stronger, having supplemented their weaknesses. They too would be doing what Divine Strategist had been doing all this time.

If only the Demonic Cult had pushed into the Central Plains, while he couldn’t guarantee a hundred percent victory rate, he was confident of at least seventy percent victory. They were incredibly strong and fearsome beings, but their belligerence was excessive. Moreover, there was no one to control the whole thing like that.

A beast without a head, no matter how strong, was bound to be hunted by humans eventually. Divine Strategist was confident of certain victory. This wasn’t arrogance or conceit. It was the result of cold calculation.

In the past, during the Demonic Cult’s invasion, he too hadn’t reached the realm of complete maturity and couldn’t help but be flustered by the Demonic Cult’s unstoppable advance. But this war would be different.

‘So I believed…’

The move the Demonic Cult had prepared struck Divine Strategist’s solar plexus. It didn’t stop at cutting his skin but stirred his very innards.

Fatal.

While he tried not to show it as much as possible, Divine Strategist couldn’t immediately find a solution to this terrible situation. The blade called White Sword Castle lodged in his belly made everything he had prepared useless.

Of course, he was called Divine Strategist.

He had made some preparations for White Sword Castle too. But they weren’t perfect. And what imperfect preparations meant was all too obvious.

‘What should I do?’

While Divine Strategist’s mind grew complicated, an answer came back.

“They’ve turned around.”

“Yes. They’re pushing in like splitting bamboo, as expected.”

“No, sir. They’ve turned around and are returning to their main camp.”

“By now they should be crossing Qinghai… What?”

Divine Strategist’s head snapped around.

“What?”

The one giving the report answered with an awkward expression.

“As I said, they’ve currently turned direction and are returning to their main camp. Faster than their charging speed.”

“Who reported this?”

“Yan Meng.”

“Yan Meng?”

The moment Divine Strategist heard that name, he dismissed the thought of beheading someone who had gotten drunk and made a false report in this moment of crisis. While everyone else might do such a thing, Yan Meng alone couldn’t.

“Is Yan Meng certain?”

“Yes. And the garrison commanders of Qinghai have also sent up reports that the Demonic Cult hasn’t arrived yet. Considering the speed and timing, they should be passing through Qinghai lands by now. The reports seem correct.”

“What in the world…”

Divine Strategist couldn’t accept the situation with an expression that could neither laugh nor cry.

Why would they turn back after charging out so vigorously? It’s not like they forgot their provisions. No matter what problems there might be, there’s no reason for such a large army to turn around and return.

“…Are they not going to war?”

“That’s unlikely, isn’t it?”

Divine Strategist knew too. He knew how stupid the words he was saying were. But he couldn’t help but think this way. Wasn’t this something incomprehensible to anyone?

“The reason?”

Divine Strategist found the most proper thing he should do. When something incomprehensible happened, he should gather information. There would be clues in the information to help his understanding.

“According to Yan Meng’s report…”

“According to?”

The reporter swallowed his saliva and continued.

“Wei Yan-ho and Wei Jeong-han’s Guangdong Wei Family took their party and entered Xinjiang. It seems this matter is related…”

“Xinjiang?”

Divine Strategist’s eyes widened.

“Yes. They said they were going to plunder Xinjiang, which had become an ownerless mountain.”

“Hah…”

Divine Strategist grabbed his head.

“Yes, that’s it. These crazy bastards…”

Divine Strategist realized what had been capturing his attention. The countless military strategies filling his head. The military texts that recorded them were narrowing his perspective.

Striking the main camp of an enemy that has marched out is basic among basics in military strategy. But it was also something that couldn’t be attempted with ordinary thinking. Considering the distance to Xinjiang and the personnel needed to assault the Demonic Cult’s main camp, it was an unrealistic strategy.

But there had been an error in those personnel calculations.

‘We are martial artists.’

A martial artist who had reached the peak could play a role greater than thousands of troops. Even with just a small number deployed, they could completely blow away a mere main camp. Moreover, considering the Demonic Cult’s position—having stripped everything down to the last hoe and sickle to attack the Central Plains—it was an even easier task.

But no one had thought to do such a thing.

The Demonic Cult and the Central Plains had fought large and small wars for hundreds of years, but not a single person had the crazy idea of attacking their main camp while the Demonic Cult was invading the Central Plains. Not a single one.

‘Wei Yan-ho.’

There was only one person who would pull off such crazy stunts. Who else but that bastard would do such an absurd thing?

“Hah hah…”

Divine Strategist laughed helplessly.

It was a crazy act, but thanks to it, they had bought time—at least three days’ worth. He had to use this time wisely.

Perhaps…

‘It might be time bought with their lives.’

Where could they escape to in that desolate land of Xinjiang? No matter how far they went, there would be nothing but desert. The Guangdong Wei Family and their party were a precious fighting power. Such fighting power lasted for just three days’ time.

He couldn’t calculate whether it was gain or loss. And there was no need to calculate. The deed was already in progress. Then what Divine Strategist had to do was very simple.

“Bring me the progress report on White Sword Castle.”

Divine Strategist swept aside the reports about the Demonic Cult that filled his desk. Once a decision was made, he had to focus.

“Right now!”

“Yes!”

Watching those who rushed out, Divine Strategist let out a low sigh.

‘You bastards, you bastards…’

While they had bought precious time that might become the breakthrough for the Central Plains, Divine Strategist didn’t feel like praising them.

Intuiting that the time when he had to view people as numbers had begun, Divine Strategist quietly closed his eyes.

That flame burning so bewitchingly it seemed to suck in the souls of those who gazed upon it.