Volume 5
Chapter 5 Part
3
Complexity and
Trickery, Friend-Fishing in the Lees 3
Translator : PolterGlast
With hurried steps,
Dai Tian Lingying walked quickly along the path to the inn.
The image of the being
seated in the Yuzenma Sect's sacred realm flashed through the girl's mind as
she spat out in anger.
Li Fengjun, who was
following behind, also looked dissatisfied. However, he followed the girl,
accepting that there was no other choice.
"I can't believe
it. They're creating a divine pillar!?"
"But we actually
saw Princess Yingmei.
―Senior sister. At least, there's no doubt that they've
mastered that technique."
"That's
ridiculous. Creating a divine pillar is a feat only allowed to the Heavenly
Emperor.
If that's mastered by
the Yuzenma Sect and Rondaria, then divine power will be despised."
"Are they really
monopolizing it?"
Akira's steps came to
a halt as he heard the Tsonma language being spoken fluently.
Perhaps they had
forgotten the existence of the boy from Takamagahara, and they turned around in
bewilderment.
"...It's
frustrating, but Princess Yingmei certainly existed.
The threat of that
technique. The Eight Families of Takamagahara would surely understand."
"Yeah. They
create an artificial dragon hole by damming up the dragon vein and sublimating
it into a divine pillar by connecting a divine artifact.
The logic makes sense,
but I can't shake the feeling of discomfort."
A great divine pillar
is a revered existence that supports all phenomena in the world.
The image that the
divine pillar possesses is, in other words, the great achievements it has
accomplished in the past. ―Myth.
A divine artifact that
has been separated from the divine pillar in a sense has everything that
symbolizes the divine pillar.
Akira also
acknowledged this. But,
"Even if it has
an image, a divine artifact is just an object.
I felt that something
crucial was missing so that it could ascend to a divine pillar."
Even if he was asked
what it was, he couldn't give a definite answer, but he could assure that it
was the case.
It was as if the first
step forward was a pitfall, some fatal premise gone wrong.
Swallowing his
conviction, Akira overtook Lingying and the others.
Fengjun threw a voice
at his back, looking bored.
"Anyway, we've
got permission to leave Qingdao.
We don't have time to
be held up by the Yuzenma Sect, do we?"
"Yes. We'll board
the Eastern Continent Railway tomorrow and head to the martial arts world of
Fangyu Province. If we can go smoothly, that's the best."
"...That's
true."
Akira reluctantly gave
in to Lingying and the others, who were nodding in consolation.
After all, Akira's
conviction was just a hunch.
Trying to forget the
lukewarm unease, Akira followed the two.
♢
Splish splash. The
waves crashed into foam at the feet of Rindo Saki and Dogyo Sonomi as they walked
along the embankment.
Listening to the
whispering of the swaying waves, Saki looked ahead.
Beyond the breakwater,
seabirds overtook the two girls as they walked.
As they squinted at
the flock of seabirds, two sailors, probably on patrol, brushed past them.
Sonomi, wearing a
qipao, was an ordinary sight, but Saki, wearing a sailor's uniform, was
probably a rare sight.
Several people looked
back at her suspiciously, but their gazes soon turned away without being
reprimanded.
"If what I heard
from my father is correct, the Qingdao Station of the Eastern Continent Railway
is over there."
"The security is
tight. ...Since it's a base in Tsongma, it seems Rondaria has no intention of
letting it go."
As they approached
Qingdao Station, which was built as if it were jutting out from the pier, a
crowd of people with blond hair and blue eyes, whom they had not seen until
now, began to crowd the street.
Sophisticated coats
and fur hand muffs. Escaping the bright colors of the crowd, Saki and the
others moved to the side of the street.
"I heard that the
area near the harbor was almost completely reduced to a wasteland in the
Qingdao war.
They say that the long
cannons have revolutionized the military doctrine of naval defense, so it must
have been a major event."
"...Isn't it
merely a firearm?"
Saki frowned at
Sonomi's explanation.
In the common sense of
Takamagahara, firearms are not such important weapons.
If they hit directly,
it's a different story, but bullets can be avoided if you see them coming,
―and with the time required to reload the next round
being several minutes, it was a major flaw for spirit users.
"The
breech-loading mechanism drastically shortened the firing interval.
It's said that the
Yuzenma Sect's crushing defeat in the Qingdao war proved the limits of spirit
users to the world."
"They weren't
used when we clashed with Vansuir in Kamotsu last summer."
"The main
battlefields were the invasion of Goou Shrine (Kamotsu's wind hole) and the
occupation of Gennanji Temple, right?
...This is just a
guess,"
"―They simply
couldn't bring them in."
A boy's voice followed
Sonomi's words.
At the sight of Saki,
who turned around in surprise, Kuga Ryota was standing with his arms crossed.
"It's difficult
to carry a lump of iron that weighs about 750 kilograms up to Gennanji Temple,
which is located on the mountainside.
As for Goou Shrine,
they were thoroughly engaged in irregular warfare by hiring foreign enemies
(pirates)."
―After it was over, they probably planned to encroach
on the vested interests under the guise of rescue.
Behind the boy who was
gnawing on some skewer with a grimace, Tatewaki Nonoka, who had caught up,
covered her mouth.
From the way she
blushed, she must have been enjoying Ryota's company.
They both smiled wryly
and decided to pretend not to notice.
"Lord Kuga
(father) is also interested in long cannons and other modern weapons that
Rondaria keeps secret.
Especially the one
that's said to have been so powerful in Bharatush,"
"Rotary
multi-barrel gun. It's a great weapon that fires over 200 bullets in one
breath. I didn't see it in the Qingdao war, but it seems to be a considerable
threat."
In a dark alleyway, a
little away from the children, Dogyo Harutane shrugged his shoulders.
"―You've
gathered. Let's discuss our future plans together for now."
Even for the head of
the Dogyo family, who is Takamagahara's external military power, it is
difficult to provide overt support in Qingdao, which is under Rondaria's
control.
Following Harutane,
who turned on his heel to avoid being conspicuous, the group disappeared into
the alleyway together.
This incident
involving Saki and Sita is also a good opportunity for Takamagahara to turn its
eyes to the outside world.
Taking this
opportunity, all five provinces of Takamagahara had begun to stir with many
intentions.
"...Aren't you
worried about being overheard, talking so openly?"
"The language of
Takamagahara is very convenient.
After all, from
Rondaria's point of view, it's unnecessarily complicated. They wouldn't even
think about learning it unless they had to."
"That's Rondaria,
but what about Tsonma...oh, I see."
After leaving the back
alley, Saki and the others headed into the crowd on the other side.
Ryota swallowed his
doubts as they walked along a street lined with modernist buildings.
The faces of the
people walking around them were all foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes.
While Saki and the others had no way to hide, they could immediately sense if a
person from Tsonma approached them.
"There are still
many Rondarians around here, so the main street is a good place for secret
talks.
―Now then. Who did the Yuzenma Sect team up with, and
where did the large number of Rondarians disappear to?"
"Since the
five-spice powder is starting to come back, I think they joined hands with one
of the remaining five sects."
"I have an idea
where the Rondarians went.
―They're probably fleeing over there."
Harutane jerked his
chin toward Qingdao Station as he let his feet follow the flow of people.
The station also
serves as its own mooring port, and the shadows of many ships could be
glimpsed. A large plume of black smoke rose up into the high, clear winter sky.
"Ships?"
"They don't have
sails, do they? Rondaria only has a few of them, and they're apparently cargo
and passenger ships with steam engines only.
As far as I can see,
three of them have been deployed to Qingdao."
"That's true.
―They don't have sails."
Saki also replied in
surprise to Harutane's remark.
Steam engines, which
consume coal all the time, inevitably have difficulty in cruising capacity.
Therefore, the current mainstream was to use them as sailing ships on the open
sea and switch to steam engines only when overcoming tidal currents.
"Even with a
stable trade wind, relying on the wind isn't suitable for transporting people
who consume food.
With a steam engine,
you don't have to worry about tidal currents, and it's fast. It's a ship that
specializes in transporting large numbers of people."
"Even in Kamotsu,
they've only called at port once or twice last year.
They were touted as
high-end ocean cruise ships, but now that I think about it, they were on their
way to transport Rondarians from Qingdao."
"Are you aware of
their existence, Kuga? Do you know where they're going?"
"We have a policy
of not interfering with anything outside the sea.
...But my father said
that if he calculated back from the coal he bought up in Kamotsu, they should
be able to reach Bharatush without refueling."
I see. Harutane
pondered upon hearing Ryota's reply.
If the Rondarians' destination
was as Kuga Ryota said, then they could imagine why people were moving from
Qingdao.
Rondaria, which had
rapidly emerged due to technological innovation, had a mountain of problems in
its internal affairs.
The continuous
expansion of territories and the subsequent governance of those dependent
territories both require a vast amount of manpower.
With the population
declining due to the influence of the Iron Age, even if Rondaria is a powerful
empire, there is a limit to the manpower it possesses.
If we assume that they
are scraping together the necessary personnel from their dependent territories,
it would explain why Rondarians are lacking in manpower.
"I don't know why
they withdrew from Qingdao, which is still in the middle of being governed, but
their destination is definitely Bharatush."
"If you think
about it simply, they withdrew because another threat was approaching
Qingdao."
"It's not like
clouds or smoke, no foreign enemy just pops up out of thin air.
...Wait a
minute."
Harutane almost
laughed off Sonomi's words, but he put his hand to his mouth.
He tried to visualize
the power map of each country in his mind.
"If we take a
rough look at the current situation, Rondaria started withdrawing from Qingdao
to focus on conquering Bharatush."
"Have Rondaria
and the Yuzenma Sect already parted ways?"
"Who knows. But
if Rondaria withdraws, the Yuzenma Sect will probably behave so as not to
provoke them.
―Sonomi. How much did we catch?"
"Nothing. Did
they really take the bait?"
"Qingdao's
nickname, the city that never sleeps, isn't just for show. There's no doubt
that spies from all over the Western Continent are swarming here.
Well, let's take it
easy around here."
Seeing his daughter
shake her head, Dogyo Harutane chuckled slightly.
―Saki and the others stopped walking.
Before they knew it,
the entrance to Qingdao Station towered in front of them.
The Rondarians, who
were giving Saki and the others annoyed glances, were flowing past their side
into the ticket gate.
"Judging from
this, this is probably the last cargo-passenger ships moored here.
We've finished
checking Qingdao Station, so let's get out of here.
―We don't want to be caught by the Rondarians who own
this place, do we?"
"...Yes."
There is no doubt that
Qingdao Station is one of Rondaria's important bases in the Eastern Continent.
As the soldiers
guarding the station approached, Saki and the others turned on their heels,
following Harutane.
♢
Li Haoran, who had
returned to the sacred realm after seeing Lingying and the others off, let out
a short sigh.
The place, which had
lost all traces of people, had nothing left but emptiness rather than divine
power.
Mo Li Tao, who was
waiting in the depths of the sacred realm, raised his aged eyes in frustration.
"…How about the
Dai Tian family's daughter?"
"Surveillance
confirmed she returned to her lodgings. She was reported to be quite
upset."
"It can't be
helped. Being shown something like an artificial divine pillar, she restrained
herself rather well.
―Are you alright? It's been a while since you met
Fengjun."
Did Lingying and the
others notice the distortion of this sacred realm?
Princess Yingmei stood
in silence, showing no interest in the conversation of the dwarf old man who
was the sect leader of the Yuzenma Sect.
"He's just a fool
who selfishly ran away from the Li family… There's no need to worry about his
fate."
"Kuku. That
kindness of yours hasn't changed.
―Has the problem with Princess Yingmei been
identified?"
"Unfortunately,
no. If the words of Rondaria's mystics are true, the theoretical value is far
exceeded."
"After all, it's
just the ramblings of people who lost their divine pillar. If they want to run
away, let them be.
If they leave Qingdao
empty, it's our stage to hide in the shadows of people."
The experiment to
sublimate a divine artifact into a separate body of the divine pillar was
conducted in June of last year. At first, it was thought to have ended in
complete failure.
The attempt to create
an artificial dragon hole by damming up the dragon vein went well, but at the
sublimation stage, the divine artifact remained silent.
―The situation changed about two months later. The
divine artifact suddenly became excited, connected to the dragon vein on its
own, and became a divine pillar.
"She gained the
status of a divine pillar, and the blessing of the land was restored.
…But as a price, she almost sucked up all the spiritual
energy of the artificial dragon hole."
Mo Li Tao looked up at
Princess Yingmei with a grimace.
The girl, who was calm
and unperturbed, was simply stunned, exuding nothing but the intimidation of a
divine pillar.
Not that she lacked
interest. From the moment she appeared, Princess Yingmei didn't have anything
that could be called "self."
Was it because she was
a divine artifact, or because she was a newborn divine pillar?
Without even reaching
a conclusion, Qingdao's artificial dragon hole maintained a precarious balance.
"Speaking of
which, what did the Dai Tian family's daughter come to Qingdao for?
She's not even old enough
to be learning about nightlife."
"She doesn't have
such a naive personality that she would talk about her intentions openly.
However, she did rely
on the Eastern Continent Railway for her return trip."
"Was she in a
hurry, or was she hiding some kind of scheme?
―Never mind. It's less harmful to overlook a young
girl's shallow thoughts than to have our secret agreement with Yuanlin Wu Sect
exposed."
Mo Li Tao adjusted his
glasses and let out a self-deprecating sigh.
Frankly, now that the
threat from Rondaria has decreased, the only immediate problem is the reality
of the temporary divine pillar.
"There's one more
thing that bothers me.
Lingying was
accompanied by another martial artist apart from Fengjun."
"He was next to
Fengjun, as I recall.
He's just an
inexperienced person who hasn't reached five-qi harmonization, so what's
bothering you?"
Mo Li Tao replied
without paying any particular attention.
The way someone walks
and how they cultivate their qi. You can get a rough idea of their martial arts
proficiency from those two things.
Regarding five-qi
harmonization, which is important in Tsonma, Akira was at the level of a
newborn chick.
From Mo Li Tao's point
of view, Akira was just starting to step into the realm of a martial immortal.
―Twitch. The white-fish finger twitched slightly.
"He was ignoring
Five-Qi Harmonization and working on Five-Energy Refining.
When we fought, he
used a different type of technique from that of the Heavenly Sect."
"...Is he a
Taoist that the martial arts world has newly recruited? If so, it's only
natural that we don't know about him."
Tao's tone remained
uninterested, dismissing Haoran's complaint.
In any case, he's
inexperienced, and it's good as long as he is not a threat.
―Houu. The cherry lips faintly began to exhale a glossy
sigh.
"Yeah. And the
conversation with Fengjun was the deciding factor."
"Hmm?"
Intrigued, Tao
exchanged glances with Haoran over his glasses. His aide, who was more than
twice his age, nodded at Tao's prompting.
―The black pupils, which reflected nothing, began to
show a hint of gold.
"That person uses
the solar calendar in his daily life.
As far as I know,
Qingdao is the only place in Tsonma that uses the solar calendar, which is the
standard for the Western Continent."
Tsonma is based on the
lunar calendar, but since the Qingdao war, Qingdao, which is under Rondaria's
rule, has been based on the solar calendar.
...But if that's the
case, an unavoidable question arises.
"I have a grasp
of all the Taoists in Qingdao, even the fallen ones.
―But I don't know of that child's existence."
"That's certainly
a concerning fact."
A Taoist that even Li
Haoran didn't know used a technique that even Li Haoran didn't know.
Moreover, he was being
escorted by the Dai Tian family's daughter and was about to leave Dongling
Province.
Sensing Lingying's
scheme, which cannot be overlooked, the Yuzenma Sect leader was about to raise
his heavy waist.
"―Tao."
The pleasant whisper,
like rolling a bell, froze the dying old man and his aide.
They turned their
gazes and saw a girl smiling at them.
"Direct order.
I desire three
generations of angels under my rule."
The childish, lisping
sound of Princess Yingmei arrogantly shook the temporary sacred realm.
As the colors shifted
gently, the newborn great divine pillar smiled enchantingly.
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