[WN] God Slumbers : Volume 5 Chapter 2 Part 1 ~ Polter Glast

Volume 5

Chapter 2 Part 1

What does Daitian pursue? 1

Translator : PolterGlast

Rindō Saki returned to Santen-Ryō just as the cheers for the main event of the Imperial Tournament were reaching a crescendo.

Leaving behind the scene of the elite warriors of each province clashing, she went deeper into Santen-Ryō.

The atmosphere in the mother-of-pearl of Santen-Ryō, away from the tournament stage, was tense.

Feeling a little intimidated, Saki bowed deeply.

"I'm late."

"It was our convenience that we called you.

—Is everything going well at the academy?"

"Yes, without any problems."

She advanced on her knees towards the wide room and looked around.

Her eyes met those of Akira, who was among the Three Imperial Palace.

With a nod of her chin, Tsukinomiya Shuu began to speak slowly.

"...First, how did the Imperial Tournament go?"

"Well, if everyone thinks it's just a side event, it might be better to stop it.

It was fortunate that it happened right after the junior division ended."

"Yuge Kojo is staying away from this place for the main event.

My husband is buying us time, so we can probably hide the absence of the Four Sovereigns and the Eight Families."

"Then, shall we leave the chaos on the stage to him?"

"Without fail."

Fujinomorimiya Kaori shrugged lightly and furrowed her brow.

Shuu was relieved when he heard the supplementary information from Jinroin Hotori and then turned his stern gaze toward the front row.

Suddenly, everyone in the room focused their attention on those who had caused this commotion.

"Now then, you've caused quite a stir, but we are pleased to have you come to Takamagahara.

—Shall we recognize you as an envoy from Tsonma?"

"Yes. I am Lingying, heir to the Dai Tian family.

We apologize for interrupting the Imperial Tournament, as it was unavoidable."

Dai Tian Lingying, who had stood up, gave a deep fist salute to Shuu, who was clearly wary.

Ignoring her seemingly humble apology for causing a disturbance, Kuga Hōri crossed his arms.

"You call it an apology, but it's more like a cover for a secret meeting. Dai Tian family, was it? What does Tsonma want with the Imperial Tournament?"

"Lord Kuga, it's true that we have no means of negotiating with each other.

—However, they did it anyway."

Ignoring Hōri's superficial dissatisfaction, Kihoin Shion glared at Lingying.

Lingying smiled faintly, creating an uneasy atmosphere. Saki, who had been called upon, whispered to her father.

"Father, what's going on?"

"That boy and girl, claiming to be envoys from Tsonma, have brazenly interrupted the Imperial Tournament under the guise of entertainment.

—Thanks to them stirring up the bored audience, Akira had to deal with them."

Even Rindō Kōzaburō, who usually stayed out of the limelight, seemed genuinely displeased.

Saki finally understood the situation from the anger conveyed through his tightly pursed lips.

A secret agreement was supposed to be made between equals.

It was a guarantee for ensuring that the agreement would not be violated, no matter what.

By intruding on the Imperial Tournament and demonstrating their martial prowess, they had subtly hinted that they were envoys who could negotiate on an equal footing.

Even though most of the audience was made up of spectators, there were also many influential nobles present.

They had managed to make a favorable impression, suggesting that even Takamagahara, which restricted overseas trade, was open to the idea.

Hōri stroked his chin repeatedly, feeling outmaneuvered.

"We haven't had any contact with Tsonma for a long time, but how high is Miss Lingying's status in Tsonma?"

"...I am the heir to the Dai Tian family. Guaranteeing the status of that family alone is more than enough for our country."

"I don't know that family name. All I can tell from looking at you is that you are a very young envoy."

"—Looks like the hearing of the people on this remote island have become quite poor,"

Unable to bear it any longer, Fengjun interjected.

"The Heavenly Emperor's will is absolute. It is foolish of you to deny the truth. Especially after my senior sister has come all the way here out of courtesy."

"Stop it, Fengjun.

—Please excuse my junior brother for being rude. However, it is disrespectful toward the suzerain state to claim that you do not know the Dai Tian family."

Lingying, who scolded Fengjun, also did not waver in her gaze.

Hariin Homare, who was seated in the upper seat, laughed at Lingying's unwavering stance.

"...You probably have different intentions from the suzerain state, right?

Let's talk about why a princess of the Shinkentenkyo would cross the sea without permission."

"Shinkentenkyo?"

"It's one of the six religions of Tsonma, said to have been passed down by Taigen Shinjo.

The main temple is located in the Fangyu Province in the southern hinterland, and the Dai Tian family is its head."

"So it's a religion, meaning they worship a divine pillar?

—From what I've heard, it seems like they have a national system similar to Takamagahara."

Akira tilted his head as Homare explained in an eloquent manner.

Tsonma, which dominated the Eastern Continent, was known for having the greatest national power among any country on the Eastern and Western Continents.

However, for Takamagahara, which had cut off trade, there were very few people who knew firsthand about Tsonma.

For Akira and the others, Tsonma was both a close and distant country.

"Takamagahara's national system was modeled after Tsonma's after all."

"Taigen Shinjo unites the people but does not rule them. —Instead, it is said that the six religions of Tsonma, which embody the will of the Great Divine Pillar, govern Tsonma. If we believe her words, it means that she is the princess of the head family of one of the six religions, the Shinkentenkyo."

"Head family. Again, huh..."

Akira muttered in annoyance at Tsuguhō's follow-up to Homare's words.

Although demigods possessed great power, they were even more valuable as a precious link between the divine pillar and ordinary people.

To waste such an existence to the extent of invading another country is close to madness.

Vansuir, which has repeatedly dispatched demigods from Vansuir with the aim of reunifying the Western Continent, is the one with the most heretical thinking.

"That's what sets Tsonma apart from other countries. Taigen Shinjo and her demigod servants have never appeared on the historical stage. After all, the location of Kunlun, the sacred realm of Taigen Shinjo, is a secret, and the demigods have never left it."

"I hear that each of the six religions of Tsonma has autonomy over a dragon vein area and that they keep one another in check.

Even though they call themselves the head family, the Dai Tian family's position is similar to that of the Eight Families, which guard the outer shell of the sacred realm."

The only question remaining would be whether they were qualified enough to negotiate, but more than that, they looked too young.

Lightly shrugging, Homare added to Tsukinomiya Shuu's words, and turned her sharp gaze to Lingying.

Considering this historical fact, she could be certain of Lingying's position.

"There's no way that the Shinkenten Sect would reconcile with Takamagahara without the permission of the Yuzenma Sect, which controls the whole Qingdao region (Eastern Mountain Province).

And since they seem to have joined forces with Ron Country, it must have been quite difficult for them to come to Takamagahara."

"I won't deny that. But we couldn't just stand by and watch the Eastern Continent in crisis.

—It all started about half a year ago."

Half a year ago would be around last summer.

Indeed, there had been many disturbances in Takamagahara around that time, but they were all related to Nurarihyon's Hyakki Yagyo, and later investigations found no evidence of Tsonma's involvement.

"Are you mistaken? There were only minor disturbances in Takamagahara."

"It seems that the damage was minimal on your side? But around that time, the dragon vein route of the Eastern Continent was suddenly changed."

""!""

Akira and the others could only hide their shock upon hearing Lingying's words.

Changing the dragon vein route—Akira could think of one thing related to that.

The power of the divine artifact called Pārijāta, which consisted of 28 pieces in 14 pairs, could control any flow.

The divine artifact of Bharatush, which had connected the dragon vein route to Bharatush, had been removed, and the dragon vein was now connected to Qingdao in Tsonma.

The timing of its removal by the Holy Church of Ariadne coincided with her words, which was around August.

"If the dragon vein route changed, we can imagine the disturbances.

—However, couldn't that be solved just by recalculating the feng shui?"

In other words, only the upstream and downstream of the dragon vein had been switched, not the total volume.

In fact, it could even be argued that it was an advantage in the long term, as the threat of invasion from Bharatush had completely disappeared.

That's why until this moment, they hadn't even imagined that a secret envoy from Tsonma would visit.

"...Yes. At first, we thought it was just a light matter."

"From what you're saying, there must have been some significant movement in the Qingdao concession that couldn't be ignored.

However, Ron Country's actions are closely linked to capitalism. Since they are making enough profit from trade, there should be no reason for Ron Country to expand their front."

"Yes. I heard that in Ron Country, the desire for war has been increasing as military expenses have risen year after year.

But the situation changed drastically after the dragon vein was switched."

Lingying agreed with Homare and took a folded piece of paper from her chest.

It was a series of complex symbols, a spell from the Western Continent that none of them had ever seen before.

"What is this?"

"It's a copy of a spell from a tool that a Bharatush trading company, which infiltrated Fangyu Province under the guise of an investigation, possessed. I'll spare you the details, but it's said to be a tool from the Western Continent similar to the Taiji diagram."

Taiji diagram is a calculator used to obtain feng shui results.

It was also known as a tool used for various purposes, such as constructing barriers and calculating dragon veins.

Although Ron Country would naturally want to avoid unnecessary friction with Tsonma,

The reason for bringing this tool was completely unknown.

Since the total amount of spirit energy flowing through the dragon vein had not changed, it was ultimately a problem that was irrelevant to Ron Country.

"There is little benefit in taking over a remote windhole far from Qingdao. So the only other reason for Ron Country to do this is investigation,"

Akira said to himself, organizing his tangled thoughts.

"...In other words, the Dai Tian family realized that Ron Country was trying to find the exact location of the dragon vein."

"That's right. They must have been in a hurry.

—The reason is..."

"—Because the closer you are to the time when the dragon vein was switched, the more accurate the intersection of the dragon veins will be."

Akira's words, which he had uttered without waiting for Lingying to finish, drew the attention of everyone, including Lingying.

Lingying's wide eyes eloquently stated that Akira's guess was correct.

Tsukinomiya Shuu, representing the others, asked Akira.

"Lord Yotsurugi, have you figured something out?"

"I can't really say I figured it out, rather, it's an elimination of possibilities. During the previous Qingdao War, Ron Country had a superior position in the battle, but ultimately gave up the invasion."

"That's right. The reason was that Ron Country couldn't locate the position of Kunlun, the sacred realm of Taigen Shinjo.

If they had stopped at Qingdao, they would have only had to face the Yuzenma Sect, but if they had invaded without knowing the location of Kunlun, they would have had to fight a war of attrition against all six sects... Is that what you mean?"

Realizing Akira's method of elimination, Tsukinomiya Shuu nodded in understanding.

Hariin Homare and Tsuguhō seemed to have realized it as well, and they turned their sharp gazes towards Lingying.

"Even if the dragon vein route changes, the location of the dragon vein, the source of spirit energy, won't change.

Ron Country probably assumed that one of the intersections of the dragon vein routes before and after the change would be Kunlun."

"Probably. We've confirmed that the Eastern Continent Railway, which runs from Qingdao to Fangyu Province, has been transporting more materials and personnel than ever before. Even in the Shinkenten Sect, there are differing opinions on where all these materials are being hidden.

Takamagahara cannot sit idly by and watch this situation. If Tsonma falls, it will be your turn next."

Akira and the others exchanged glances upon understanding the situation, which was more urgent than they had expected.

They had very little information. As everyone remained silent, Dōgyō Harutane sighed in response.

"So, what do you want us to do?

I hate to say this, but you know as well as we do the difference in power between Takamagahara and Tsonma."

"We will certainly participate in the war. But at the very least, we hope that you will form an alliance with the Shinkenten Sect."

"Hmm. If the Yuzenma Sect and Ron Country join forces, the Shinkenten Sect will want to pretend to be close to Takamagahara. ...That's a pretty cheap offer for us."

"—Cheap? What do you mean?"

Since ancient times, the Dougyou family had always protected Takamagahara's territory. Shizumi Gioin, the governor of a province, turned her gaze toward the head of the family.

The warrior, who was most knowledgeable about foreign affairs in Takamagahara, raised his eyes, which were as dark as a bear's.

"There's no way Ron Country would start a conflict with Takamagahara. For them, Takamagahara is like a canary in a coal mine in relation to Uxsanst. It's more profitable for them to ignore such a small island nation.

On the other hand, if we accept your proposal, we will undoubtedly provoke Uxsanst."

"I see. Ultimately, her goal is to create a quagmire between Uxsanst and Ron Country across the Takamagahara."

"I don't expect anything like that. But even if that happens, it would be natural for Takamagahara, as a dependent nation, to bleed to avoid the suzerain state's destruction.

"Suzerain state, huh. We haven't had any ties with Tsonma for hundreds of years.

—And it was because of your interference that those ties were severed."

"That's a misinterpretation. When the Qingdao war took place, we expected help from Takamagahara. Still, we received none, and our land was gradually eaten away, as the records show."

"—That's another misinterpretation,"

Akira interrupted calmly as Lingying and Dōgyō Harutane glared at each other in silence.

"Lord Dōgyō, let's leave the past aside and return to the present.

First, let's clarify the situation. I think Ron Country's goal is not Tsonma."

"Why do you think so?"

"Ron Country is currently in the final stages of its invasion of Bharatush, and it doesn't have the resources to fight on two fronts.

...You mentioned the Eastern Continent Railway earlier, but where does it go?"

"I don't know where the railway leads. It was the Bharatush Trading Company, the capital investor, that...ah..."

Lingying realized it belatedly, and Akira sighed in response.

The reason why Ron Country was having difficulty invading Bharatush was that, like Tsonma, they didn't know the location of the divine realm.

"With the Pārijāta removed, the divine realm of Bharatush has been completely exposed.

That's why Ron Country has decided to attack.

—Dai Tian family, was it? If it's just the Yotsurugi family, we can agree to an alliance. What do you think?"

The boy's eyes, which had matured rapidly, looked directly into the eyes of the foreign girl.

Volume 5

Chapter 2 Part 1

What does Taitian pursue? 1