“Surrounded!?”
At Namgung Hu's words, the once quiet Emperor's Hall quickly became noisy again.
“Impossible!”
“Nonsense! Surrounded? It's an impossible thing!”
Surrounded.
By whom? The Namgung Family?
Since hanging its family plaque, the Namgung Family had never once been surrounded by any force.
More than anything, if they were surrounded, it was a given that the opponent was hostile.
The intense reactions of the Elders and Corps Leaders were, in a way, natural.
Fundamentally, there were no forces in Anhui Province that could stand against the Namgung Family.
If there were any, it would only be the Eighteen Waterway Strongholds of the Yangtze River, and they were in an alliance.
Besides, weren't they a water-based force that couldn't invade by land?
But now, according to Namgung Hu's words, it meant the land side, the direction of Hefei, was surrounded.
Who on earth? No, does that even make sense in the first place? It's unbelievable.
The expressions on the Elders' faces all said this in unison.
A few of them voiced it vehemently.
“What force in this Anhui Province could possibly surround the Namgung Family? Does such a group with that much power even exist? And so secretly, without a single omen? It's preposterous.”
“This is even more absurd than the talk of Do Heo-ok aiming for the Family Head's seat.”
“It makes no sense. None at all.”
Utter nonsense.
Though the content of their words differed, all the Elders were saying the current situation was illogical.
No one was accepting the fact that they were surrounded.
In the midst of it all, Namgung In suddenly tossed out a single word, as if in jest.
“Heavenly Demon Castle.”
The timing was so perfect that everyone's words came to a halt.
“...”
An extremely light remark from Namgung In.
It was short, but along with the silence, the word brought shock and astonishment to the hall.
In truth, while arguing for Do Heo-ok's detainment earlier, Namgung In had kept the Heavenly Demon Castle in mind.
Back then, it was just a suspicion, but now it has turned into a conviction.
“It seems everyone has forgotten one of the most famous truths in the Jianghu, so I will add one more thing.”
What if Do Heo-ok was a spy planted by the Heavenly Demon Castle?
“The Demonic Cult is everywhere and nowhere.”
The reason he had so strongly insisted on restraining Do Heo-ok from the beginning was in case this worst-case scenario happened.
“The Heavenly Demon Castle doesn't just exist in Xinjiang. You may have all forgotten due to this era of peace, but those who walk the Demonic Path exist all over the world, 'as if they are there and not there.' This Anhui Province cannot be an exception.”
At Namgung In's calm words, the Elders also came to realize the existence of the Supreme of the Demonic Path, the Heavenly Demon Castle, which they had overlooked until now.
“The Heavenly Demon Castle...”
“Could it be possible?”
“If that's truly the case, isn't this a huge problem?”
The Elders once again raised their voices.
Just then.
Namgung Jung, who had been quietly listening to Namgung In's story, tilted his head slightly and spoke.
“But here's the thing. Even if we assume the force surrounding the family is the Heavenly Demon Castle, as you say, there's something I don't understand.”
“What would that be?”
“There's no point for the Heavenly Demon Castle to do anything to the Namgung Family at this time. This place is very far from Xinjiang, and in comparison, Henan Province, where the Martial Alliance headquarters is, is right next to this Anhui Province. This means that even if they were to bring down the Namgung Family, they wouldn't be able to occupy this place. Not only that, it also means the Demonic Soldiers of the Heavenly Demon Castle who brought us down would, in turn, be surrounded by the Martial Alliance.”
Namgung Jung lightly tapped his temple with his index finger as he expressed his thoughts.
“They might try to scatter and escape belatedly, but by then, the Martial Alliance would have already cast an inescapable net over Henan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Hubei. Even if they managed to break through that net and survive, it's still a long journey to Xinjiang. I just don't see a way for them to return to the Heavenly Demon Castle in Xinjiang alive. On the contrary, because of this, all the hidden branches of the Heavenly Demon Castle could be completely wiped out by the Martial Alliance...”
Shaking his head, Namgung Jung continued.
“Looking at it this way, isn't the Heavenly Demon Castle taking too much of a loss? I can't understand it at all. But to say it's not the Heavenly Demon Castle, there are no other forces capable of this...”
“I believe the Heavenly Demon Castle is using this attack on the Namgung Family as a starting point to seriously attempt to re-enter the Central Plains.”
“What do you mean?”
“According to rumors, there exists a significant number of Radical Faction members within the Heavenly Demon Castle who desire to invade the Central Plains. They are bloodthirsty Demonic Beings who don't even follow the orders of the Heavenly Demon Castle Leader well. So, it seems the Heavenly Demon Castle Leader is using this opportunity to deploy the hard-to-control radical forces here to deal with the Namgung Family, the Great Sect farthest from Xinjiang, while simultaneously weakening the power of the Radical Faction. Furthermore, if this place is under attack, the eyes of the Martial Alliance will surely turn here. I believe they intend to use that opening for the Heavenly Demon Castle's main force to cross Qinghai and expand its influence into Gansu. If they do this, wouldn't the Heavenly Demon Castle Leader be able to achieve three things at once?”
“...”
“By reducing the power of the Radical Faction within the Heavenly Demon Castle, they can also resolve the dissatisfaction that has built up inside due to the long period of peace, eliminate our Namgung Family, one of the core powers of the Orthodox Faction, and finally, I believe it will allow them to prepare a foothold for reinvading the Central Plains.”
“...That might be so.”
Namgung Jung's face still didn't show complete conviction, but judging only by the information gathered so far, Namgung In's words were the closest to the truth, so he had no choice but to agree.
“Enough.”
When their conversation reached that point, Namgung Byeok raised his hand, drawing everyone's attention back to himself.
“I would like to hear more from the Azure Sky Sword Corps Leader and the Boundless Sword Corps Leader, but we clearly don't have time right now. There are still many unconfirmed things, but one thing is certain.”
Namgung Byeok paused for a moment, then scanned the room with sunken eyes.
Finally, looking straight ahead, he opened his mouth heavily.
“The Namgung Family is now surrounded.”
It was the simple word 'surrounded,' but the weight that word now carried was greater than that of any longer word.
Namgung Byeok had a premonition that the Namgung Family was facing its greatest crisis since it had hung the plaque of the House of the Emperor.
The people gathered here were the real powers that moved the Namgung Family.
They, too, felt keenly from Namgung Byeok's words that the time had come, for the first time in a long while, to lift their rusted iron swords.
Rustle.
Just as everyone standing in the Emperor's Hall was chewing over the word 'surrounded' with grim expressions.
Just like when Namgung Hu had entered, the intense sound of rustling clothes was heard, and another person appeared inside the Emperor's Hall.
This time, it was the Heavenly Wind Corps Leader, Namgung Il, who had gone out to find the intruder.
As soon as Namgung Byeok saw him, he asked hastily.
“Did you find them?”
There was no mention of what was being sought, but no one here was unaware of the subject.
“I could not find them.”
Namgung Il lowered his head with a bewildered expression.
“Wouldn't there be even a small trace left behind?”
“...I apologize.”
Namgung Il substituted the word 'sorry' for a negative answer.
“Have you searched every corner of the family estate?”
“I have not yet searched the Emperor's Hall.”
It was natural for Namgung Il to say so.
Who on earth would think of infiltrating the Emperor's Hall? Even if one had snuck into the Namgung Family estate, there were many walls to overcome to get here.
Above all, how could one deceive the eyes of the core masters of the Namgung Family, who were always present in this Emperor's Hall?
Namgung Byeok fell into thought without a word before slowly opening his mouth.
“Understood. You are to go back out, search the inside of the family estate once more, and be sure to find that person.”
“Yes, sir!”
With his acknowledgment, Namgung Hu immediately left the Emperor's Hall again.
“Alright, the situation is now the same as before. The intruder has not yet been caught. Outside, sigh... outside the family estate, individuals presumed to be the Demonic Soldiers of the Heavenly Demon Castle are surrounding this Namgung Family. From now on, I want you to speak without reservation about what we should do.”
The Family Head of the Namgung Family, Namgung Byeok, once again stated that the Namgung Family was surrounded.
That was a declaration that it was now time to fight.
Namgung In was the first to step forward.
He unhesitatingly repeated the argument he had been making from the start.
“This proves that the message left by the intruder is all established fact. If Do Heo-ok plans to act as an internal collaborator on the day the moon is full! On his very own wedding day, there is nothing more dangerous. Moreover, the enemies outside must have realized from our recent reconnaissance that we have noticed their presence. Therefore, it is highly likely they will attack the Namgung Family sooner, perhaps without waiting for the full moon. For this reason, I believe our highest priority must be to restrain Do Heo-ok. If by some chance Do Heo-ok knows the Formation Core of the Three Emperors and Nine Kings Formation, something irreversible might happen.”
The Three Emperors and Nine Kings Formation.
It was a Protective Formation installed on the family's outer walls in preparation for any contingency.
When this formation was activated, the Namgung Family would be isolated from the outside.
But in return, the family could be perfectly protected.
On the other hand, if by any chance Do Heo-ok were to destroy the core of the Three Emperors and Nine Kings Formation, it could become impossible to even activate the formation at all.
This was precisely what Namgung In was worried about.
This was the very reason he had constantly said that arresting Do Heo-ok was the top priority.
Namgung Byeok quietly looked at Namgung In once, then glanced around at the others.
Now, no one objected to Namgung In's words.
In the end, Namgung Byeok nodded his head.
“Since it seems no one is opposed, we must do so. Goodness, Hye-a will be very disappointed. Haha...”