A/N: Before everyone starts reading the chapter I would like to say a few words.
To those who want to ask about Elemental God. Because of various circumstances with the army and my own personal circumstances, I had to take a long hiatus. When I returned I once again looked over the story and was severely disappointed in it myself. There were quite a few mistakes I made grammatically and in the way I wanted to take the story. As such, I decided to not continue writing it at the current moment. Now that's not saying I will never go back to it though since almost nothing is certain in life and might do a remake but for now I have no plans to do so. I would sincerely like to apologize for not giving any updates to all you and for those who are disappointed that I will not continue it for the new future.
Instead I plan to do this new project. This is something I have spent some time considering and going over in my head. It's also a whole new concept that I'm not familiar in writing with so there's bound to be a few mistakes. Please leave some comments on your thoughts and if i make any mistakes.
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“Hey Jong Shin, you know why the lord called for us?”
As the man named Jong Shin heard his name being mentioned, he stopped walking and turned around to see who the speaker was. What his eyes came across was a young handsome man who looked to be in his mid twenties. The man had short spiky black hair and and relaxed brown eyes. His face made everyone who saw him think that he was a energetic and laid back person at first glance, which really was his personality.
Jong Shin was himself a man that many girls would fawn over. Unlike the laid back and handsome man, he had long brown hair and underneath his large glasses were pure green eyes which looked like they were filled with intelligence. He had a young and innocent looking face which many girls thought was very cute. Once he had seen who had spoken to him, he turned back around and began to walk again as he replied.
“How should I know, Tae Yang? I just got word that the lord wanted to see us and rushed here.”
Right as he finished speaking, Jong Shik felt a large weight slam into his body as Tae Yang ran up to him and put his arm around his shoulder.
“Sheesh, you could’ve waited for me man. Well then, let’s hurry up and get to the chamber!”
Jong Shin couldn’t help but to shake his head helplessly and turn his head to look at the energetic Tae Yang who had rushed forward and almost slammed him to the ground. After he released a long sigh, he continued to move forward and the two soon arrived at the main chamber.
When the two entered the chamber, they saw that two men were already inside waiting. One of them stood in front of a seated man and wore a set of armor and was carrying a large single edged halberd. In between the gap of his helmet, they were able to see a handsome expressionless face which no one could tell what he was thinking.
At the end of the hall, another young man sat on a large cushioned chair. He had short black hair and gray eyes that looked sharp and cold. Just by looking at him, people could tell that he gave off a different vibe than a regular person, a noble like aura that made other think that he was simply above the others.
As Jong Shin and Tae Yang entered, they quickly took their own place beside the expressionless man and the three together bowed and greeted the man sitting in front of them.
“We greet the lord”
The young man who looked no older than his early twenties was none other than the lord of the Gray Shadow Sect,Yim Shin Yong. As he gazed at the men in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel deep pride. These people were his closest aides and friends.
Yang Jong Shin, the genius military strategist for the Gray Shadow Sect.
Lee Tae Yang, the commander of the Death Sword God division.
Kim Sung Woo, the commander of the Speared Cavalry division.
And lastly, hidden behind him in the shadow Yong Moon Geun, the captain of his Gray Shadow Guards.
These four people, who were all under the age of twenty five, and himself, who was twenty eight, made up the core of the Gray Shadow Sect, one of the three major alliances of the Yaesul continent. After a few moments, he finally began to speak to the three in front of him.
“Tae Yang, you start with your report first.”
“Yes, my lord. The current state of the army has become very stable now. Not only have we finished restructuring the ranks and hierarchy, many recruits and talented individuals have begun to join. We now have two hundred thousand foot soldiers, one hundred and twenty thousand free archers, and eighty thousand pikemen who have completed the retraining.”
“Good, are there any issues?”
“No, my lord. We have more than enough supplies and equipment at the moment. We do, however, need to look into getting funds for getting some brand new equipment in the future as some of the equipment is getting old.”
“Okay. Next, Sung Woo. What’s your status?”
“My lord, the Speared Cavalry is ready to move at your call anytime. Our eighty thousand soldiers are fully trained and equipped.”
“Sounds good. Finally Jong Shin, anything new to report?”
“My lord, the vast majority of the sects in our alliance have finally calmed down and pledged allegiance to us. It takes time, after all, to regroup and stabilize the alliance after a war. Also, even though there was a lot of dissent toward it, the law about where martial artists and soldiers were not allowed to harm any civilians has been emplaced. Even though there are a few who do not follow the law still, we are making an example out of them as we catch them. Overall, I would say that the results are very satisfactory so far for only a year having gone by since the end of our war.”
As Shin Yong heard the reports, he nodded his head and inwardly was very satisfied with their progress. The war that had taken three years to take over the Gray Shadow Sect had been long and gruesome, but the benefits were finally coming into fruition.
“Everything’s going well. Alright, the real reason I called all of you here is to talk about our next phase.”
Once he saw that none of them were going to say anything, he then dropped a bomb on them all.
“My dream is to unify all three alliances and control the whole continent.”
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Once the bomb was dropped, all of them showed an expression of shock and were dumbfounded. Even Sung Woo, who almost never showed any expression, opened his mouth wide in surprise at the words.
In the history of the Yaeseul continent, there had never been any period of time where the continent had been unified under just one banner. The reason for this was because this didn’t just require strength. There was no way the other sides would stay still if one sect or group tried to take control as that meant they would lose all their wealth and power. Not only did you need to have enough strength, you also had to have political strength and a strong enough reputation where people would not rise up in revolt.
Shin Yong’s lips slightly curved upward when he saw the expressions of his closest aides. After a few minutes of dead silence, Jong Shin finally spoke up.
“My lord, may I ask you question?”
“Sure, go ahead Jong Shin.”
“Why do you want to unify all the alliances?”
When Shin Yong saw how serious Jong Shin’s expression was, he finally smiled and replied.
“Because it’s my dream.”
“Huh? My lord, can you say that again? I don’t think I heard you right.”
Tae Yang had an expression as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard when he heard Shin Yong’s explanation.”
“Because it’s my dream.”
While Tae Yang had a bewildered look on his face, Jong Shin once again spoke seriously.
“My lord, we all know how strong you are, but unifying the three alliances isn’t just about strength. You also need a strong reputation and use political means….”
“I know, Jong Shin. That’s why i’m telling you all. From now on I’m relying on you to plan how we go forward and meet those requirements. Well then, gentlemen. I’m off to go train. If you need me, I’ll be in my training grounds.”
As he said those words, Shin Yong stood and left the chamber. A few seconds after he had passed them, the three felt a slight breeze as Moon Geun stealthily passed them and followed the lord who had left the room.
*****
“The lord is crazy, I say. Crazy! Unify all three alliances and take over the continent? No one’s ever done it! Only children think of such dreams!”
Yong Shin, Tae Yang, and Sun Woo were currently watching Shin Yong train from a couple hundred of yards away. As they watched him go through each step of his martial skill, Tae Yang was loudly speaking.
“Be more quiet, Tae Yang! Don’t cause a ruckus while the lord is training.”
“Oi, am I the only one who thinks the lord is crazy?!”
Letting out a sigh, Jong Shin finally replied.
“Well, the dream is pretty lofty. Still, that’s what I like about our lord. He aims for things that seem impossible but yet still achieves them. Take, for example, the new rule.The Gray Shadow Sect has always been disdained because our members do what they want and only care about their own personal strength. Even though everyone thought it was impossible to make everyone stop harassing and harming the civilians, our lord has made them stop.”
“...Haa, what about you Sun Woo? Surely you’ll agree with me, right?!”
“I will follow the lord even if he wishes to go against the Gods.”
“God damn it! Am I the only sane person here?!?! Haa… still the lord sure is crazy about training himself.”
“Oi, you’re the leader of the Death Sword God division. Shouldn’t you be training just as hard?”
“...Don’t try to put me under the same category as the lord, Jong Shin. The amount of time he spends training is inhuman. There’s no way anyone can catch up to him in that. Right Sun Woo?”
Sun Woo nodded his head in agreement. Even though he also trained himself sternly, there was no way he could compare to Shin Yong who spent any time he had available to train. There was a limit to how much one could train, but it simply didn’t seem to exist for the lord.
While those three continued to talk, Shin Yong was completely focused on training. For him, the time he was most relaxed was when he trained. To him, training was the most reassuring thing since as long as he put in the effort, he would receive the benefits no matter what.
In his own personal experience, he believed that as long as he put the effort in, nothing could stand in his way. The reason he had been able to reach his position was through all the effort he had put in.
*****
After having completed his training, Shin Yong and Jong Shin left the sect and headed south. Once the sun started to set, they stopped at a town and reserved a floor to rest. Currently, they were all in their rooms and sleeping in preparation of their long travel tomorrow.
While Shin Yong was sleeping soundly deep into the night, he abruptly stood up. At night he always spread out senses to his surroundings so that he would be able to sense if anyone approached and would wake up instantly. After he had rubbed his eyes a few times, he started to walk toward the door where he had sensed the presence. Just as he was about to open the door, it suddenly opened by itself and he was abruptly pushed backward.
Even though all this suddenly occurred, he remained calm even though there was a sword below his chin now. The reason he stayed calm was because he wasn’t able to sense any bloodlust and knew that the person who wielded the sword wasn’t planning on harming him. Even if that person was, he was confident in himself enough to believe he could make quick work of them easily.
As the invader finally finished pushing him backwards when they were in front of the window. He finally saw who the intruder was. His eyes opened slightly wider in surprise when he saw the assailant.
The assailant was a beautiful girl. More beautiful than any girl he had ever seen. She had long black hair that reached her lower back and round blue eyes. Her face was so small that he felt he could cover it with only a fist. As he looked at her, he couldn’t help but be slightly dazed and think one thought.
’How beautiful’
This would eventually be the first meeting between the lord of
the Gray Shadow Sect and the leader of the Divine Sword Sect and the start of their fate.