When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 161
Chapter 161
I’ll make sure no one can harm you. I’ll send you back to the Ju Clan, safe and sound, protected by a strong barrier.
The First Consort, after staring at Sehwa’s smiling face with bloodshot eyes, finally composed herself. “Sending me back to the Ju Clan? You really don't know anything, do you?”
Sehwa chuckled at her feigned composure. “What don’t I know? That you’re the Corrupt Dragon’s lifeline? That if something happens to you, the Corrupt Dragon, along with the Mystic Ruler's other consorts, might die?”
“!!”
“That you’re desperate to die, but can’t kill yourself?”
“You…!” The First Consort’s lips trembled, her face contorted. She lunged at Sehwa.
“!”
But before Baek Giha could even react, she was thrown back by Sehwa’s spiritual barrier.
“You bitch!! You know that, and you’re still sending me back?!”
Choi Jangmyung and Sa Youngchae rushed forward and pinned the First Consort to the ground as she screamed at Sehwa, “Just try it! I won’t go down without a fight! I’ll curse you with my dying breath, until the white marble of this residence turns black and every mystic here dies! Is that what you want?!”
Sehwa, unfazed by her outburst, crouched down before her. “You’re a poor judge of character. Do you think I'm afraid of such things?” she asked, looking at the First Consort, who was struggling beneath Choi Jangmyung and Sa Youngchae. “Why don’t you try negotiating with me instead?”
“Negotiate? What a joke—”
“Then I’ll kill you.”
“!”
“I’m serious. I’ll find a way. No matter what.”
Sehwa leaned closer, her gaze meeting the First Consort’s.
“I will kill you. Okay?”
“......”
After a long pause, the First Consort finally spoke, her voice strained, “…What… What do you want?”
“Are you willing to talk now?”
Just as Sehwa asked, the barrier surrounding the room dissipated, and a voice called out from the doorway, “Clan Head, it’s Baek Manyong.”
“Come in.”
The door opened, and the Baek Clan Chancellor, his face grim, hurried inside.
“Clan Head, there’s something you need to see.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
Baek Manyong glanced at the First Consort, who was still pinned to the floor, and after a nod from Baek Giha, he continued, “Seodong Province of the Yeo Clan has been destroyed. Most of the inhabitants are dead, and the land is in ruins. It seems to be the Ju Clan’s doing.”
“…What?”
Leaving Sa Youngchae and Choi Jangmyung to guard the First Consort, they hurriedly called a meeting.
The leaders of the Six Clans and Ju Myoungyoon and Cheon Sua quickly gathered in the meeting room.
Only the Yeo Clan Head’s seat was empty, as he had gone to investigate the report.
They summoned the messenger who had brought the news.
“What happened in Seodong Province?”
“Did the Ju Clan attack?”
“N-No…”
The Yeo Clan messenger recounted what he had witnessed.
He had been returning from the Ju Clan territory after delivering a message.
He had been ordered to deliver it directly to the new Mystic Ruler.
He had had to force his way into the Ju Clan residence to deliver the message, and he had been afraid for his life.
After finally delivering the message to the Mystic Ruler's Chief Attendant, he had turned and ridden away without rest.
He had wanted to leave the Ju Clan territory as quickly as possible.
He had almost reached his own territory when…
“The sky suddenly darkened, and then… a terrible disaster began.”
The messenger’s voice trembled as he described what he had seen.
He said a fiery red spiritual power, unmistakably the Ju Clan’s, had blazed across the land like wildfire.
He had rushed back without rest to report the incident to his Clan Head.
Murmurs arose among the Clan Heads.
“What should we do if the Ju Clan has started another war?”
“Let’s wait and see. The Yeo Clan Head has gone to investigate.”
Just then, Ju Myoungyoon, who usually remained silent during the Six Clans’ meetings, asked the messenger, “What was the message?”
“…What?”
“I asked you what message you delivered to the Ju Clan.”
The messenger, realizing he hadn't mentioned the message in his report, hurriedly bowed his head. “I-I don’t know… I was just told to deliver it… it was just a report about a minor border dispute—”
“The entire Ju Clan is currently preparing for the new Mystic Ruler’s inauguration ceremony!” Ju Myoungyoon roared. “They’re restricting even their own clan members’ visits because of the preparations, and you’re saying they opened their gates for a trivial report like that?!”
The blood drained from the messenger’s face.
“They… they must have thought it was important since I insisted on delivering it directly to the Mystic Ruler. They probably thought it was urgent information because I was so insistent—”
“You dare lie to me, knowing I’m from the Ju Clan?!”
Slam!
Ju Myoungyoon slammed his hand on the table. “The Ju Clan outpost soldiers and the residence guards would have checked the contents before letting you in! They must have thought it was an urgent matter that required the Mystic Ruler's immediate attention! So you must know what it was! Tell me!”
“…!”
The gazes of the others also sharpened.
“N-No, I… I really…”
Baek Manyong, his face cold and hard, approached the messenger, his hand glowing with spiritual power, and grabbed him by the collar. “You’re a warrior. You know how we deal with traitors in the Six Clans’ alliance. If you don’t want to be next, you’ll tell me the truth.”
“T-Traitor?! I’m not a traitor! Absolutely not!”
“Then why can’t you answer my question?!”
“!”
The messenger, his face pale, bowed his head to the floor under the Clan Heads’ sharp gazes. “Our… Clan Head… he just wanted to gain leverage in the power struggle with the Ju Clan by holding their hostage…” he said, his voice trembling. “That’s all I know. I swear, that’s all I know.”
Just then, a soft chuckle came from the back of the room.
“So, who is this hostage the Yeo Clan is holding?”
Sehwa, who had been sitting quietly at the edge of the room, asked, a sly smile playing on her lips. “The war ended months ago, and the Six Clans shared the list of hostages and spoils of war. Who is the Yeo Clan hiding?”
“…I… I have no way of knowing…”
“Of course you do.” The smile vanished from Sehwa’s face. “There’s only one new hostage, the one I mentioned at the meeting a few days ago. And if they sent this information to the Ju Clan so quickly, they must have used a messenger bird. You must know the contents of the message, since you would have written it down.”
“N-No! Another warrior wrote the message, I just delivered—”
Slam!
Sehwa slammed her hand on the table. “You’re saying you shared important information that was meant for the Mystic Ruler’s eyes only?! Do you think we’re fools?!”
“!”
“Tell me the truth! If you don’t, I’ll execute you right here for treason!”
The messenger’s body trembled as he prostrated himself, his forehead pressed against the ground. “—If… if I tell you the truth… will the Yeo Clan remain a part of the Six Clans’ alliance…?” he asked. “If we’re expelled from the alliance now, with the Ju Clan attacking… the Yeo Clan will be annihilated.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
A calm, gentle voice answered.
Baek Giha, who had been leaning back in his chair, spoke firmly, his expression cold. “Regardless of what your Clan Head has done, if the Yeo Clan is attacked by the Ju Clan, I will protect them, even if they’re no longer a part of the Six Clans.”
At Baek Giha’s words, the messenger, his head still bowed, spoke with a newfound resolve. “…The message said… the Yeo Clan is holding an important hostage of the Ju Clan…”
“......”
“…and if the Ju Clan forgives the Yeo Clan, they’re willing to… bring the hostage and… submit to… the Ju Clan…”
“Submit… to…?”
“Submit… to… the Ju Clan…”
The Clan Heads’ faces hardened.
The Kang Clan Head, his jaw clenched, asked, “Submit? And then?”
“Th-That’s all…”
“That can’t be all! Are you still lying?!”
“!”
“They destroyed your Clan’s territory, and you’re saying you’re willing to submit?! Does that make any sense?!”
“N-No… that’s all… b-but… if they submit… they asked to be treated as a vassal clan… and forgiven for the past conflict…”
“......”
“......”
The Clan Heads’ sharp gazes turned to the Jin Clan Head, who had sided with the Yeo Clan Head earlier.
The Jin Clan Head waved his hands frantically. “N-No! I… I just thought we should wait and see since there’s a Divine Beast in the Ju Clan! I never intended to betray the Six Clans and join the Ju Clan! I swear!”
The Cheon Clan Head, who had been watching quietly, spoke, his face grim, “There’s no point in continuing this meeting.”
The Jang Clan Head added, “Let’s confine the messenger and wait for the Yeo Clan Head’s response. And Jin Clan Head, we’ll have to ask you to remain here for a while as well.”
“I don’t mind being confined for a few days if it clears my name. I didn’t expect the Yeo Clan Head to do this, so I hope you won’t misunderstand.”
Even after the messenger and the Jin Clan Head were escorted out of the meeting room, the atmosphere remained heavy.
The Jang Clan Head sighed. “The Corrupt Dragon is the problem.”
“We underestimated the fact that a Divine Beast was still in the Ju Clan.”
“Divine Beast? It’s just a Corrupt Dragon! A failed Divine Beast, or a Divine Beast that lost its power! We have a true Divine Beast on our side, why should we be afraid of a Corrupt Dragon?!”
“But it’s an ancient Corrupt Dragon. The spiritual energy in the land was much richer in the past, so if it transformed back then, it must be far more powerful than those who transformed recently.”
“That’s true, and it wouldn’t hesitate to use any means necessary to gain power…”
“That’s… true…”
As the Clan Heads groaned, seeing no easy solution…
Sehwa spoke, “If the Ju Clan’s dragon is the problem, how about showing them that we also have a dragon? That should solve it, shouldn’t it? Then we’ll have both a dragon and a white tiger.”
The Cheon Clan Head chuckled, looking at her indulgently. “I understand what you’re saying, but the Six Clans’ warriors have already witnessed the might of the Baek Clan’s Divine Beast during the ten-year war. Any attempt to create a fake Divine Beast will be easily seen through.”
The Kang Clan Head nodded slowly. “Indeed. Even if we used a massive amount of Spirit Orbs to create the illusion of a Divine Beast, someone would surely notice. And where would we even get that many Spirit Orbs?”
“......”
Sehwa blinked and then said hesitantly, “Is there a need for trickery? I can just transform into a dragon…”
The Jang and Kang Clan Heads burst out laughing.
“Haha, you can just transform into a dragon? If it were that easy, why would Divine Beasts disappear from the Mystic Re—"
Just then…
Baek Manyong’s eyes widened, his face beaming with excitement. “Oh my god! You can transform into a dragon as well, not just a White Tiger?!”
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