Chapter 300

Just as Goe Jeong-gi was about to order his subordinates to attack, he furrowed his brow and glanced at Seol Poong.

Unconsciously, he found himself pondering the answer to that question.

But the answer wasn’t difficult at all.

It was well known that Seol Poong and his group had been heading toward the Gosun clan’s territory but had been chased off by Goe Jeong-gi’s forces and ended up here instead.

Still, something felt off.

Not just with Seol Poong’s group, but Seol Poong himself—completely surrounded—his expression was far too calm, almost relaxed.

And that question just now…

It sounded as if they had intended to come here all along.

Goe Jeong-gi briefly considered whether Seol Poong had some other reason for coming here, but he quickly shook his head.

What did it matter what the enemy was thinking?

He had already cornered him in a dead end.

Coming to a conclusion in his mind, Goe Jeong-gi curled the faintest smirk and replied, “Do I really need to know that? And you—do you know why I came here?”

Seol Poong grinned and answered, “Because this isn’t Jiangsu Province, so you can kill me directly.”

At that, Goe Jeong-gi’s smile deepened.

“You know well.”

But Seol Poong’s next words froze his expression.

“You can’t help but know. That’s exactly why I came here.”

What?

Goe Jeong-gi’s face twisted again at Seol Poong’s unexpected statement.

He came here for the same reason as me?

That couldn’t mean that Seol Poong came because he could kill Goe Jeong-gi.

No, it must mean that Seol Poong was saying he could be killed here as well.

And that wasn’t wrong.

Outside Jiangsu Province, it didn’t matter who killed whom.

But Goe Jeong-gi was slightly shaken by that obvious truth.

He had never once imagined that someone could kill him.

He was always the one with the power to kill others; the idea that his own life could be threatened was unimaginable.

That unexpected thought made his heart tremble slightly.

Suddenly, he felt tense.

But forcing himself to hide his unease, he sneered and shouted, “You’re talking nonsense because you don’t want to die! Do you really think the six of you can defeat all these warriors and kill me?!”

Currently, the warriors surrounding Seol Poong numbered over four hundred.

Among them, about fifty were peak warriors, and nearly ten were ultra-peak.

Recalling that, Goe Jeong-gi regained his composure.

‘Right, nonsense. Unless he’s a warrior on par with my father, the Fourth King, there’s no way he can defeat all these warriors.’

Just as he was thinking this, Seol Poong smiled faintly and replied, “Of course, the six of us can’t take down all the warriors here.”

Goe Jeong-gi scoffed.

So, he still wouldn’t admit it outright.

But Seol Poong wasn’t finished.

He continued with a relaxed smile, “But why do we have to defeat all these warriors?”

Hmm?

Goe Jeong-gi narrowed his eyes.

What nonsense was he about to spout now?

Then, suddenly, Seol Poong shouted toward the hill on the left.

“Are the Gosun clan warriors present?!”

What?! The clan?

Goe Jeong-gi—and even Goe Hang-gi—were startled and hurriedly looked toward the hill Seol Poong was staring at.

Sure enough, a group of warriors appeared atop the left hill.

Dressed in bright sky-blue uniforms with light green belts, they were unmistakably warriors of the Gosun clan, famed for their mastery of the Yeonpyeon technique.

There were about fifty of them.

Leading them was a beautiful woman in flowing robes.

She was Yeon Chang-bingrang Ingyo-hwa, the current head of the Gosun clan, a family traditionally led by women.

Goe Hang-gi’s face turned pale at their arrival, and he whispered urgently to his adjutant, “What’s going on?! Didn’t you send word not to involve the clan?!”

The adjutant replied, flustered, “Y-Yes! I definitely said that.”

Meanwhile, Goe Jeong-gi was estimating the number of clan warriors.

Though all seemed skilled, fifty was not an overwhelming number.

Having done the math, Goe Jeong-gi raised his voice toward Ingyo-hwa.

“Aunt Ingyo-hwa! How am I supposed to interpret this situation? Should I take it as the Gosun clan declaring hostility against me, my followers, and the Jingangman family?”

It was a veiled threat: back off if you can’t handle this.

But Ingyo-hwa, known for her cold temperament, said nothing—only meeting his gaze with a frosty stare.

Just as Goe Jeong-gi was about to shout again, a voice came from a completely different direction.

“I’ll answer that!”

The voice came from the right hill, opposite where the Gosun clan stood.

Startled, Goe Jeong-gi turned to see another group of warriors had appeared there.

Again, about fifty warriors.

At their head was a young man Goe Jeong-gi knew well.

He muttered the name under his breath.

“Baek Mu-ho? The Soju Baek family?”

Indeed.

He was Baek Mu-ho, the second son of the Soju Baek family, who had collapsed from poisoning during a duel with Jin So-eun when Seol Poong’s group had stopped in Soju.

Thanks to Sunwoo Jin’s help, he had fully recovered and now led the Soju Baek family’s warriors here.

Seeing him, Goe Jeong-gi’s expression twisted.

Whatever the situation, their numbers now exceeded a hundred.

Though they still held the advantage, this was no longer a situation to take lightly.

Grinding his teeth, Goe Jeong-gi shouted, “Baek Mu-ho! Do you dare declare hostility against me and the Jingangman family on behalf of the Soju Baek clan?!”

Baek Mu-ho scoffed.

“Hah! As if you weren’t hostile before! Conspiring with the Daepung Yang clan to poison my father was some kind of friendly gesture, was it?!”

Goe Jeong-gi’s eyes widened in shock.

But he quickly composed himself and shouted back, “What nonsense is this?! When have I ever conspired with the Daepung Yang clan—!”

Baek Mu-ho’s voice rose in anger.

“You fool! The Yang clan’s doctors have already confessed! You manipulated the Daepung Yang clan to poison those in the Sa-wang Thirteen families who weren’t friendly to you!”

Goe Jeong-gi’s face drained of color.

That was a secret that must never be revealed.

He had long planned to eliminate the Sa-wang Thirteen families, which maintained independence despite being part of the Sa-wang alliance.

To weaken their power, he had covertly manipulated the Daepung Yang clan’s doctors.

But this was supposed to be a slow, secret operation—no one else should have known.

Trying to keep calm, Goe Jeong-gi denied Baek Mu-ho’s claim.

“T-That’s an absurd slander. What proof do you have—!”

But Baek Mu-ho wasn’t listening.

He shouted furiously, “Because of you! Because of you, my eldest brother died! My father barely survived after wandering on the brink of death! He told me to tell you—he hasn’t fully recovered yet, and it’s his eternal regret that he can’t personally crush you!”

Goe Jeong-gi screamed in desperation, “Don’t be ridiculous! What proof do you have to accuse me of such things?! Do you think you can slander me like this and get away with it?!”

Baek Mu-ho sneered again and spat, “Slander? Try telling that to the other clan heads who recovered from poisoning.”

At that, Baek Mu-ho’s eyes began to tremble with unease.

Other clan heads?

Could it be that they weren’t alone…?

Gulping nervously, Goe Jeong-gi swallowed hard.

Just then, from beside the Gosun clan and Soju Baek family, four more groups of warriors appeared.

Each wore different uniforms.

They were warriors from four of the Sa-wang Thirteen families.

Goe Hang-gi stared blankly at their uniforms and muttered, “Yangju Dongga, Yeodong Yukga, Taechang Jeoga… and… Bijoo Maengga?”

Yeodong Yukga and Taechang Jeoga were clans located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province, not far from the Soju Baek family.

But Bijoo Maengga was at the far northwest edge of Jiangsu.

Yet their warriors had come all the way down here.

This was all part of a grand plan devised by Sunwoo Jin.

While Baek Mu-ho of the Soju Baek family went south to Yeodong Yukga and Taechang Jeoga to inform them of the situation and treat their poisonings, Dong Chae-won of the Yangju Dongga—Seol Poong’s great-grandmother—was touring the northern clans to check for poisonings and provide treatment.

That was why Dong Chae-won was nowhere to be found among the Yangju Dongga warriors here.

She was still in the north, inspecting the Sa-wang Thirteen families for poisonings.

Only Bijoo Maengga had sent warriors to reinforce Seol Poong.

All of this was part of Sunwoo Jin’s master plan, uncovered through a captured Yang clan doctor from the Soju Baek family, revealing Goe Jeong-gi as the mastermind behind the conspiracy.

From then on, Sunwoo Jin had been treating the poisoned clans and bringing them into their fold.

It was around that time they hatched the plan to combine their forces and strike Gwe Jeong-gi from behind.

Gwe Jeong-gi’s eyes trembled as he glanced around.

There were warriors from six noble families.

Each family brought about fifty fighters, totaling roughly three hundred warriors.

At that, Baekgol Gweema Hong Chu stared at Gwe Jeong-gi with a stunned, vacant look.

“L-Lord Gongja…”

In sheer numbers, Gwe Jeong-gi’s side still held the advantage.

The enemy had three hundred; they had four hundred.

But the quality of the warriors was a different story.

Each family had brought along four or five elite masters—top-tier fighters.

So on that hill alone, there were nearly thirty supreme experts. Facing them head-on, there was no way to come out on top.

Gwe Jeong-gi’s body began to shake uncontrollably.

“Ughhh!”

His cold, rational mind ran the numbers.

And the answer was crystal clear.

It was over.

Everything was over.

No matter how he looked at it, this battle was unwinnable.

Even if the legendary “Three Divine Spears” warrior, Gam Jak-hyung, one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World, were here, it wouldn’t change the outcome.

And even if by some miracle they won this fight, it wouldn’t end there.

Now that it was revealed they had used the Daepungyang family’s physicians to attack the Sawang family, it was certain he could no longer hold any ground within the Sawang Alliance.

If this had been handled quietly and cleanly, maybe it would have been different.

But now that the truth was out, his father, the Sawang himself, would never forgive him.

Gwe Jeong-gi muttered as if losing his mind.

“No… no. This can’t be. I will never accept this!”

Then, with a desperate roar, he shouted,

“I am Gwe Jeong-gi, the next Sawang! No one will stand in my way!”

He turned to his subordinates and barked,

“Attack! Everyone, attack! No one here is to be spared!”

His men flinched, their faces a mix of confusion and hesitation.

Their instincts urged obedience, but the grim reality of the situation gnawed at them.

They didn’t know what to do.

Gwe Jeong-gi shouted again,

“What are you waiting for?! This is the order of the next Sawang! Kill them all! If you wipe them out, I will grant you the power to seize control of the Sawang Alliance alongside me!”

The promise of power to control the Sawang Alliance.

Regardless of whether it was real or not, it was an irresistible temptation.

Hearing this, some warriors steeled their resolve and began drawing their weapons.

Then—

A voice cut through the tension.

“Who said you’re the next Sawang?”

It was low, calm, and flat—no shouting, no emotion.

Yet every warrior in that space froze as if turned to stone.

They couldn’t explain why.

Though the voice carried no force or fury, it felt as if it pierced straight through their souls.

The weaker warriors trembled involuntarily.

Among those shaking was Gwe Jeong-gi himself.

He was trembling all over like a leaf in the wind.

What set him apart was that he knew exactly why he was shaking.

With great effort, Gwe Jeong-gi lifted his head and looked toward the source of the voice above.

There, standing in midair, was the absolute sovereign of this era—the Sawang, Gwe Gal-hyeon.

Clad in a black robe embroidered with a dazzling dragon, his cold gaze looked down on everything.

In a trembling voice, Gwe Jeong-gi called out,

“F-Father…”

At once, everyone in the Sawang Alliance who saw him dropped to their knees, shouting hurriedly,

“S-Sawang!”

“We pay our respects to the Sawang!”

“The Sawang has appeared!”

The arrival of the Sawang was the final act that would end this entire ordeal.