The Ruler of Darkness

Valley of Sin, temporary command tent.

“The, the Gong Clan?!”

“You mean the Gong Clan of the Sixteen Great Clans of the Imperial Capital!”

Amidst the murmuring of the crowd at the astonishing news, Old Lady Gwak raised her eyebrows and looked at Yeon So-hyeon.

‘Did the Eldest Young Master mobilize the Gong Clan? Even if he received information about the fire through the Crescent Moon Pavilion from North Mang Mountain, how could he involve the Gong Clan in a mere fire-?!’

At that moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard from outside, and a group of people entered the command tent.

“That, that person…!”

Those who recognized the individual confidently leading the group couldn’t hide their astonishment.

“I heard the sword clan’s Eldest Young Master is here… Ah! There you are!”

With a physique that defied his age, he approached Yeon So-hyeon and greeted him.

“Greetings, Eldest Young Master of the sword clan. I am Cheong Hyo.”

“Is there anyone in this place who wouldn’t recognize you, Sir Cheong? I am Yeon So-hyeon.”

Yeon So-hyeon looked at him with confidence and spoke politely, returning the greeting.

“I never expected Sir Cheong, the patriarch of the Cheong Clan, to personally take action in a situation like this.”

“With my temperament, I can’t just stand back and do nothing. When a major incident occurs in the neighborhood, shouldn’t we help first and see?”

He laughed heartily.

The command personnel looked at him with surprised eyes.

And there was a reason why even Yeon So-hyeon was inwardly astonished.

The man referred to as Sir Cheong was a figure who had been a symbol of integrity and fairness since the past, and he was a renowned judge famous for his sharp judgments regardless of social status.

Even after his retirement, he could be considered one of the most prominent figures in Luoyang.

Moreover, his clan, the Cheong Clan, was a renowned clan in Luoyang that had produced such esteemed judges for generations.

‘Indeed, when Elder Gong promised reliable reinforcements with great fanfare…’

Yeon So-hyeon inwardly smiled wryly.

“And not only our Cheong Clan but other clans have also sent excellent individuals without sparing any effort.”

Due to the urgency of the situation, the leaders from different clans who had come with Sir Cheong simply exchanged glances with Yeon So-hyeon.

“Eldest Young Master, we have already deployed the personnel we brought in a hurry. They have started firefighting from the very bottom of the valley, but if redeployment is necessary, please let us know anytime.”

He patted his chest and laughed.

“Thank you, Sir Cheong.”

Yeon So-hyeon made a decision in an instant.

“However, redeployment won’t be necessary. Mixing personnel with different command structures in a situation like this will only increase confusion.”

Yeon So-hyeon pointed to the map attached to the folding screen.

“As the personnel under Sir Cheong’s command move up from the bottom, our personnel will sweep down from the top.”

Upon hearing his words, Old Lady Gwak quickly issued orders to those around her.

The fire status board was updated, discussions on the new situation began, and the Crescent Moon Pavilion’s agents rushed out of the tent to deliver instructions to the field.

“…Indeed!”

Confirming the command tent’s operation at a glance, Sir Cheong nodded with a pleased smile.

‘In such a chaotic situation, he has complete control over the command post. His judgment is also accurate. Indeed, he is a talent worthy of Elder Gong’s high praise…’

“Old Lady Gwak!”

Old Lady Gwak’s attitude in response to Yeon So-hyeon became even more respectful.

“Yes! Eldest Young Master!”

Yeon So-hyeon asked.

“What is the next problem?”

With a clear conscience, Old Lady Gwak could bring up more difficult issues without reservations.

“As you know, Eldest Young Master, this Valley of Sin originally belongs to two administrative districts in the east and west.”

Yeon So-hyeon immediately pointed out the core issue.

“You mean the officials in charge of those two administrative districts are not taking action and shifting responsibility to each other.”

“That’s right!”

The Valley of Sin was the northern region of the Tanlong District and the Jiaxiao District, two of Luoyang’s busiest commercial districts.

The district heads of both districts were currently neglecting the fire suppression in the Valley of Sin.

They were simply observing, only establishing fire lines to prevent the fire in the Valley of Sin from spreading to the commercial districts.

After all, since the Valley of Sin was blocked by cliffs on both sides, as long as fire lines were established, even in the worst case, only the slums in the Valley of Sin would be completely burned down.

“That is also nothing to worry about.”

“Yes…?!”

Old Lady Gwak looked startled at Yeon So-hyeon’s smile.

“Haha. The Eldest Young Master is right.”

Sir Cheong, who had been watching, burst into another hearty laugh.

“By now, the person dispatched by Elder Gong at the Eldest Young Master’s request should have arrived there as well.”

***

“El-Elder! Access beyond this point is prohibited!”

“Out of my way, you fool!”

The voice of the large old man shouting like thunder seemed to be spewing fire.

“How dare you stop me, Gong Yo?!”

The old man kicked away the mid-level official blocking him and flung open the ornate door.

“Who dares…?!”

“Didn’t I tell you not to let anyone in?!”

The two district heads initially flared up in anger, but upon seeing his face, they abruptly stood up from their seats.

“Go-Gong Yo?!”

“What brings you here, Elder…!”

The old man called Gong Yo, the younger brother of Gong Liang, twisted his face like a ghost upon seeing the drinking party they were having.

“The district heads responsible for their districts are having a drinking party when a fire has broken out in their jurisdiction…?!”

The district heads waved their hands.

“Oh no, Elder! It’s a misunderstanding!”

“We have already issued orders to establish fire lines…!”

If it were an ordinary person, the district heads would have snorted.

However, their opponent was formidable.

Gong Yo was not only the younger brother of Gong Liang, the former patriarch (now known as the current patriarch) of the Gong Clan, but he himself was a renowned figure throughout the Middle Kingdom.

He had served as the Grand Scholar in the Imperial Palace, was the Grand Tutor to the current Emperor during his childhood as the Crown Prince, and currently held the position of the head of the Gong Clan’s Grand Academy located in Luoyang.

“Isn’t the Valley of Sin part of your districts?!”

“No, that’s…”

The two district heads exchanged glances, looking troubled.

“In our judgment, protecting the commercial districts should come first…”

“Moreover, the administrative jurisdiction of the Valley of Sin is somewhat…”

Even at the sound of Gong Yo grinding his teeth, the two district heads simply bowed their heads for some reason.

“I’m not asking for a favor or a request, but merely asking you to do what you should have done…”

The old man’s eyes glinted ominously.

“You’re saying I, Gong Yo, should take action myself…!”

At that point, the two district heads finally waved their hands.

“No, no! Elder! Please don’t!”

“You there! Immediately dispatch the firefighting teams to advance northward into the Valley of Sin!”

Gong Yo confirmed that they issued orders and took measures, and only then did he turn around and descend from the ornate building.

‘The two administrative officials who were shifting responsibility to each other are having a drink together?’

As he descended the stairs, suspicion instead of anger was etched on his face.

‘Moreover, there was clearly another person in that place until just before…!’

The district heads tried to subtly block it with their bodies, but they couldn’t deceive Gong Yo’s eyes.

By the time he arrived, the person had already left, but there was definitely another cup and seat at that drinking party.

‘Even when I personally intervened, the district heads still tried to buy time…’

It was evident that someone unusual was behind the two district heads’ negligence regarding the fire in the Valley of Sin.

***

In the command tent, vacated by Sir Cheong and his entourage to survey the scene.

Yeon So-hyeon’s voice urged Tang Yerin.

“Tang Yerin! The comprehensive situation board is being updated too slowly!”

“Yes, yes! I’m hurrying!”

Tang Yerin was sweating profusely, inwardly trembling at the Eldest Young Master.

‘No, the Eldest Young Master isn’t even looking at the comprehensive situation board, calculating and memorizing everything in his head, so why is he making me rush…!’

At that moment, a boy’s clear voice echoed through the tent.

“Big Brother! This brother of yours has arrived!”

It was 4th Young Master.

A cute boy who could only be looked at with a loving smile by anyone flew like the wind to Yeon So-hyeon.

A smile appeared on Yeon So-hyeon’s lips as he looked at him.

“You’re later than I thought. Is there a reason?”

The 4th Young Master grinned.

“On the way here, I stopped by a branch of the House of Compassion on the route and brought along their medical personnel and herbs!”

Amidst the admiring exclamations from the crowd, the relevant personnel with bright expressions rushed out of the tent for the handover.

“Well done.”

“That’s not all!”

The 4th Young Master rubbed his nose and said.

“I thought Big Brother would have undoubtedly issued support orders to all branches of the House of Compassion in Luoyang!”

“Correct.”

“So, after consulting with the Crescent Moon Pavilion Master, I requested cooperation from the merchant associations and guilds that have close ties with the Crescent Moon Pavilion!”

At those words, Yeon So-hyeon’s eyes widened with intrigue.

“Oh?”

“By now, the cargo carriages of the merchant associations and guilds should have arrived at each branch of the House of Compassion, loading supplies and personnel!”

Yeon So-hyeon applauded.

“Excellent.”

Yeon So-hyeon had also issued similar orders through messengers, but the 4th Young Master, who was with Crescent Moon Pavilion Master Se-ah, had already anticipated and acted one step ahead.

As a result, the support would arrive much faster than expected.

“Hehehehe!”

The 4th Young Master, who received applause from his most respected Big Brother in the world, laughed loudly with his hands on his hips and his shoulders raised.

“Urgent report!”

An agent from the Crescent Moon Pavilion rushed in and shouted.

“A new group of poor looters is gathering in the northwestern streets!”

The agent hurriedly ran over and marked the location on the map.

“Alright. What would you do in this situation?”

Yeon So-hyeon’s question was directed at the 4th Young Master.

“Hmm…”

The 4th Young Master’s gaze had been on the comprehensive situation board even before Yeon So-hyeon asked the question.

“If it were me…”

The boy’s eyes moved swiftly, successfully grasping the current situation.

“If we half-encircle the northwestern square with security forces like this, the looters will have no choice but to head in this direction, towards the flames.”

He pointed to the map with his finger and continued.

“Then, by pressuring their flanks with the currently standby forces, we can scatter them into the alleys.”

“Then, among the currently standby forces, who would you deploy?”

The 4th Young Master immediately answered, looking at the status board.

“I would deploy the security forces of the House of Compassion.”

“Why them, who are poorly armed, instead of martial artists like the Yellow Tiger Society and the Emei Sect?”

“To intimidate and drive away the looters, numbers are most important. If we deploy a small number of martial artists, the looters who have lost their senses will only look at the numbers and attack, and in the end, we will have to shed blood to disperse them.”

Yeon So-hyeon nodded at the answers that flowed smoothly without hesitation and spoke to the security commander.

“You heard everything, right? Execute it.”

The security commander hurriedly nodded, then shook his head.

“We may know the security forces of the House of Compassion, but our mercenary members are not yet familiar with the geography!”

Yeon So-hyeon looked at the 4th Young Master.

“In that case…”

The 4th Young Master’s eyes scanned the list of individuals currently on the comprehensive situation board.

“I will have the land sales manager and the House of Compassion’s plague prevention manager support the mercenary group.”

There was not a moment of hesitation in his choice.

“Reason?”

“The first reason is that currently, they have no assigned tasks.”

The 4th Young Master’s words flowed like water.

“Second, as they are the ones who regularly roam the Valley of Sin to the point of wearing out their feet, they will be able to provide reliable geographical guidance even in this situation.”

The gazes of the crowd frantically shifted left and right at the brothers’ rapid-fire questions and answers.

Amidst that, the expression that appeared on the faces of the crowd was undoubtedly undisguisable admiration.

The performance of these brothers at their first field deployment was far surpassing the expectations and anticipations of many.

‘With these brothers, we can definitely overcome a disaster of this scale!’

Confidence swelled in their hearts.

“Good! Excellent answer!”

Yeon So-hyeon nodded emphatically and said to the 4th Young Master.

“Then, from now on, I will transfer the final command authority to you!”

At those words, the eyes of the crowd widened.

What was this sudden statement?

“Yes! Big Brother! Leave it to me!”

The 4th Young Master, who would jump into the flames carrying firewood if his Big Brother ordered it, accepted the command authority without a hint of doubt.

“Wait a moment…!”

Tang Yerin shouted, jumping up.

“Eldest Young Master! Suddenly transferring the command authority…!”

Everyone nodded in agreement with her words, except for the 4th Young Master.

“Hm?”

Yeon So-hyeon looked at her as if asking what she was talking about.

“From the beginning, I instructed you to operate the comprehensive situation board to hand over the command authority to Bi.”

“What?!”

Thanks to the well-organized comprehensive situation board, 4th Young Master was able to take over with almost no time delay.

“Ah, so that’s why you were pushing me like that… Ah, no!”

She, who was understanding, jumped up again.

“Then, then where are you going, Eldest Young Master?!”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the Eldest Young Master.

“From now on, I will…”

Yeon So-hyeon smiled and pointed somewhere in the middle reaches of the valley on the map.

It was the forward base that was isolated, almost surrounded, caught in the conflict between the dark forces.

“Personally move to rescue the personnel trapped here.”

At those words, the eyes of the crowd widened like saucers.

After a brief silence, everyone shouted in unison.

“No, no! It’s dangerous!”

“Is there a need for the Eldest Young Master to go personally?!”

“It would be better to focus more on commanding here…”

When voices of dissuasion were raised from all directions, waving their hands, Yeon So-hyeon, who had stepped down from the platform, lifted his foot slightly and put it down.

How would the cloud-treading of a mythical giant be?

The solid flagstones that made up the floor of the command post shattered and sank more than a handspan, centered around Yeon So-hyeon.

“…”

Vibration Step.

With a single Vibration Step, which was not even internal energy but merely a preparatory stage, those solid flagstones shattered, and the ground sank to that extent, but not a single speck of dust scattered.

There was no ear-splitting roar.

When everyone was silent at the incomprehensible supreme martial principle, Yeon So-hyeon spoke.

“I will personally pave the way.”

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