Chapter 52: Green Forest General Headquarters
“The Green Forest General Headquarters is where three of the Green Forest Eighteen Units（三砦） are gathered. To the left is the Blood Serpent Stronghold（血蛇砦）, and to the right is the White Forest Stronghold（白林砦）. Each stronghold commands a thousand bandits. The main headquarters, also known as the Black Dragon Stronghold（黑龍砦）, houses about two thousand bandits.”
“Feeding that many bandits must be a huge task.”
“There’s no need to bother feeding them. Countless bandit strongholds in the martial world offer tributes just by hearing that they’re from the Green Forest Eighteen Units’ main base. The bandits of the martial world are feeding the General Headquarters.”
If Yeon Ja-ryong’s words were true, the Green Forest General Headquarters was practically raking in silver taels without lifting a finger.
“How many bandits are there in the General Headquarters?”
“According to the Martial Alliance’s intelligence, there are about two thousand. It’s closer to a village than a stronghold. There are even merchant guilds that trade with the Green Forest.”
“Then we should start by blocking the merchant guilds’ trade.”
“That’s not easy. If we block the trade, the nearby villages will suffer greatly. A long time ago, the Four Divine Units blocked a merchant guild, and a nearby village was burned down as a result.”
Ah……
I hadn’t expected such a thing to have happened.
They burned down the village as a warning to the Martial Alliance.
“If we fail this time, the Martial Alliance’s reputation will be severely damaged.”
“It’s not just about reputation. We need to eliminate the smaller enemies first to save our strength for the b*gger enemy.”
The b*gger enemy was probably referring to the Divine Cult.
“We only have one year left.”
“Yes, we really don’t have much time left.”
Uncle also used to say something all the time.
‘The Divine Cult will swallow the martial world. You must become a hero and stop the Divine Cult.’
The Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird Units entered the Jang Family’s manor in Taiyuan.
The Jang Family of Taiyuan was the most prominent family in Shanxi Province and the home of Elder Jang Seung-il and Jang Ryong.
There were over six hundred female martial artists in the family alone, and with the rest of the household, the number was close to a thousand.
Jang Ryong couldn’t stop smiling as he returned to his family after a long time.
“Welcome back.”
“Welcome, everyone.”
The Unit Leaders and members of the White Tiger and Black Tortoise Units, who had arrived earlier, warmly welcomed the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird Unit Leaders and members.
The Unit Leaders and Vice Unit Leaders first visited the family’s Head and elders to pay their respects.
The Head of the Family was Jang Ryong’s father. Like Jang Ryong, he was short and stout, but instead of appearing f*t, he gave off the impression of a solid rock.
He greeted each member of the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird Units individually.
He seemed particularly interested in the female members, as if he were looking for a daughter-in-law.
Kekeke……!
“Make yourselves at home and relax.”
He had a boisterous personality, just like his appearance.
The household members were busy preparing for a feast, slaughtering cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks.
They even brought out alcohol in jars, as if they were offering all the liquor stored in the family’s cellars.
“What a wonderful family.”
Uncle watched the female martial artists and household members with a warm smile.
“How can you tell if it’s a good family at first glance?”
“You can tell by looking at the expressions of the female martial artists and household members. They’re all busy moving around, but none of them are showing any signs of irritation.”
Uncle’s gaze caught my eye.
As Uncle said, some people were shouting, but it was because they were busy, not because they were angry.
‘My house was once like this.’
Seeing Yeon Ja-ryong’s gesture, I quickly snapped out of my thoughts.
He was gathered with the Unit Leaders and Vice Unit Leaders of the Four Divine Units.
‘Is it okay for me to join them?’
I walked towards where the Unit Leaders and Vice Unit Leaders were gathered, observing the other members along the way.
As expected, some members were already giving me hostile looks.
The Unit Leaders and Vice Unit Leaders were in the middle of an important conversation, with a map spread out on the table.
“We’ve probed the Blood Serpent Stronghold and the White Forest Stronghold, but they haven’t shown any signs of movement. They seem to think we’ll retreat if they just defend.”
Yang Su-chan explained, pointing at the map.
“Is there no way to infiltrate the stronghold from the back?”
Yang Su-chan shook his head at Ak Mun-yeong’s question.
“Three or four people could sneak in without being detected, but they wouldn’t be able to get out safely.”
“That’s why I tried to attack alone, but the Vice Unit Leader stopped me, so I had no choice but to retreat.”
Baek Mu-h* glared at Vice Unit Leader Oh Chung-il, still seemingly upset.
“Does it make sense for the Unit Leader to abandon the members and attack the stronghold alone? Perhaps if the enemies were in disarray, but don’t be so hasty.”
Vice Unit Leader Oh Chung-il also rebuked him in a calm voice.
“Look at you, so proud. Our White Tiger Unit’s Vice Unit Leader is so great.”
“Thank you.”
Yeon Ja-ryong watched the exchange between Baek Mu-h* and Oh Chung-il before turning his gaze to me.
“Can you do it?”
“Of course I can…… It’ll be tough, but I can do it.”
“Should I assign you some fierce and agile members?”
“No, it’s easier to move alone for this kind of task.”
Hahahaha……!
Thump! Thump……!
Baek Mu-h* burst into hearty laughter and patted my shoulder hard.
“As expected, D*ng-jae is not a crow, but a black swan, a black swan.”
I ignored Baek Mu-h* and examined the map.
“By the way, how far is it from here to the stronghold?”
“About a hundred li north.”
“Oh my…… I might collapse from exhaustion before even starting to climb the mountain.”
Indeed, if the Jang Family manor and the stronghold were close, the Jang Family would have had to endure countless attacks from the bandits.
“I’ll leave early tomorrow morning.”
“Then the Four Divine Units will depart three days later. The first target is the White Forest Stronghold.”
“The Green Forest Eighteen Units’ General Headquarters has been located deep in the mountains for a very long time. It was originally a nameless mountain, but the bandits named it Jade Gate Mountain（玉門山） after settling there.”
I ran north, feeling the morning breeze on my face.
“Were the Green Forest bandits on the Divine Cult’s side when Uncle was active?”
“No way. When my brothers and I were roaming the martial world, those guys couldn’t even breathe properly. We were so formidable that my brothers and I even held a drinking party at the General Headquarters and extorted silver taels from them. I think Evil Third Brother probably went to the General Headquarters alone and killed about a hundred of them back then.”
Perhaps because I had spent so much time with Uncle, I hadn’t thought of the Northern Heavenly Martial Emperor as that impressive.
But the more I heard the stories, the more awe I felt towards Uncle and the Four Martial Heavenly Kings.
“But why did the bandits name it Jade Gate Mountain?”
“You’ll see when you get there.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll see when you get there. You can see it at a glance from the front.”
I could only tilt my head in confusion.
But I didn’t ask any further questions.
Whee……
As I moved swiftly using light footwork, the cold wind slapped my face and seeped into my clothes.
Uncle moved alongside me, observing my body.
“Did you encounter some kind of fortuitous opportunity? Your movements are better than before.”
“What fortuitous opportunity? The only fortuitous opportunity I have is Uncle.”
Hahaha……!
“Of course. You meeting me is a fortuitous opportunity bestowed by heaven.”
Uncle laughed triumphantly.
‘Is it really a fortuitous opportunity bestowed by heaven?’
Our relationship wasn’t this close from the beginning.
I used to hate Uncle a lot.
I wandered as a beggar for months before Grandfather took me in.
My mind and body were completely exhausted from being able to see things that others couldn’t.
I could tell at a glance that they were different from living people.
Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, I was taken in by Grandfather because of that ability.
But there was one of them attached to Grandfather as well.
At that time, I was filled with nothing but resentment.
“Get lost! Get out of my sight!”
“Child. Can you see me? Can you hear my voice?”
I screamed, but Uncle seemed only curious about that.
“Shut up and disappear……!”
Hmm……
Uncle’s eyes gleamed with interest as he slowly circled me.
Whoosh!
I threw a punch at him.
But of course, my fist couldn’t reach him.
“Don’t you want to become a hero?”
I wasn’t even interested in such things, so I closed my eyes.
“Child. Can you see me but not hear my voice?”
I didn’t answer.
“Child. Child. Say something. You brat, say something!”
In the end, Uncle couldn’t hold back and shouted.
But I didn’t budge, keeping my eyes closed.
Uncle, perhaps tired, closed his mouth.
Thinking that Uncle had disappeared, I waited for a moment before cautiously opening my eyes.
But Uncle was right in front of me, staring intently at my face.
I was startled but didn’t show it.
“Don’t you want to become a hero?”
I closed my eyes again.
No, I tried to close them.
Since I was left alone in this world, I didn’t trust anyone.
I didn’t even trust Grandfather, who took me in.
The only reason I followed Grandfather willingly was to avoid starvation.
Then, Uncle’s voice resonated in my heart.
“I’ll teach you the best martial arts in the world.”
“Really……?”
Uncle smiled faintly at my question.
“Of course. But first, if you want to learn martial arts from me, you need to change your speech to be very polite.”
This was my first encounter with Uncle.
“If you climb that mountain, you’ll reach the White Forest Stronghold.”
I looked up at the mountain Uncle was pointing at.
“I think I understand why it’s called the White Forest Stronghold.”
The mountain ridge was densely covered with white birch trees.
And there was a large path through the birch forest.
“Which way is Jade Gate Mountain?”
“If you follow this path for about ten li, you’ll come across a village. From that village, you climb the mountain and go straight in, and you’ll find Jade Gate Mountain. Why? Do you want to stop by the General Headquarters first?”
“No, there’s a village in front of the Green Forest General Headquarters?”
Uncle nodded as he shifted his position.
“It’s a village built for those who want to visit the merchant guilds or the stronghold to eat and sleep. The people living in the village aren’t bandits, but they’re the bandits’ spies, so you need to be extra careful with your actions.”
Uncle, who was moving like a phantom, pointed to a mountain on the left.
“The Blood Serpent Stronghold is beyond that mountain. When they first established the stronghold, it was teeming with venomous snakes, so it was called the Blood Serpent Stronghold, but the bandits ate them all for nourishment. When my brothers and I visited, we couldn’t even find a single snake.”
I quickened my pace, observing the mountain where the Blood Serpent Stronghold was located.
After walking for almost an hour, a village appeared, just as Uncle had said.
And the size of the village was much larger than I had imagined.
Just counting the houses with roofs, there seemed to be at least fifty.
The village even had a large inn.
In addition to the inn, I also noticed a blacksmith’s workshop, and I could hear pigs and sheep bleating from every house.
I entered the village, met with suspicious gazes from the villagers.
“Look at those eyes. Do those look like the eyes of ordinary people? They’re the eyes of bandits.”
Indeed, the people living in this village were very different from ordinary villagers.
From the children to the elderly, their eyes and demeanor were incredibly menacing.
‘Even if they make a living because of the bandits, this is too much.’
They didn’t seem to care at all about the deaths of people from other villages.
“If anyone asks, tell them you’re from the Divine Cult.”
“Okay. But will the villagers know about the Divine Cult?”
“That’s true. Then tell them you’re close with Green Blade King Jang Sun-wook.”
I confidently entered the inn located in the center of the village.
As I opened the inn door and stepped inside, I saw about ten bandit-looking men drinking.
Khahahaha……!
“I wonder if it’ll be our turn if we manage to catch a few of the girls from the Four Divine Units this time. I’d love to get my hands on their soft skin.”
“Don’t even dream about it. It seems like they’ve already decided who gets who.”
I sat down, listening to the bandits’ lewd conversation.
