My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven [Novel] Chapter 139

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[Chapter 139] Black Martial Emperor Dokgo Yeong

Upon arriving in Agyang, a city renowned for  its exceptionally beautiful lake, the White Wolf Troop headed straight for the Heretic Alliance without a moment to spare for sightseeing.

They had not come here simply for tourism, after all.

Naturally, not a single member of the White Wolf Troop had any complaints about that.

And so, it did not take long before they arrived at the Heretic Alliance.

“So this is the Heretic Alliance…”

Standing before the main gates, the eyes of the White Wolf  widened.

More than anything, they were immediately overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the buildings.

Previously, a few members of the White Wolf Troop, including Oh Chaemoo, had visited the Murim Alliance.

Their jaws had dropped back then as well, but as much as they hated to admit it, the architecture of the Heretic Alliance completely dwarfed those buildings.

It left a bitter taste in their mouths, as it felt like a stark visual representation transcending the mere difference between the Murim Alliance and the Heretic Alliance, showing just how wide the power gap between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions had grown.

Soon, the massive gates opened, and they headed inside the compound.

And every member of the White Wolf Troop immediately felt it.

The unwelcoming gazes fixed upon them.

Several martial artists had gathered near the entrance of the Heretic Alliance, seemingly just to catch a glimpse of the White Wolf Troop.

Their glares were filled with displeasure. No, outright hostility. They didn’t even bother to hide their feelings.

Even though they were here to receive a formal expression of gratitude, the atmosphere was vastly different compared to when everyone from the Namgung Clan had come out in unity to express their thanks.

Then again, considering the circumstances, it was obvious those martial artists were holding themselves back quite a bit in their own way.

How could they possibly be happy to see them?

Yet, no one dared to approach or open their mouths.

Because they knew these men were here by the invitation of the Black Martial Emperor.

Of course, the White Wolf Troop had expected this kind of atmosphere to some extent.

Besides, they hadn’t come here expecting a warm, lavish welcome anyway.

After all, they stood on opposite sides as the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions.

But despite that, the White Wolf Troop could not help but feel a sense of unfairness.

It was not like they had wanted to come here either.

‘I mean, who asked to be invited anyway!’

Every single one of them shared that exact thought.

Meanwhile, Yeo Woonhwi and the White Wolf Troop were escorted directly to the Alliance Leader’s Hall.

Inside the massive pavilion, a dazzling array of giants from the Unorthodox faction filled the space.

And in the highest seat of honor among them sat an old man.

The eyes of the White Wolf Troop naturally gravitated toward him.

They recognized him immediately.

It was him.

There was no doubt that this man was the colossus of the era, the Black Martial Emperor, Dokgo Yeong.

Perhaps that was stating the obvious.

However, even if he had not been sitting in that seat of honor and was instead standing among those Unorthodox masters, they felt they would have recognized him instantly.

The aura radiating from him was just on a completely different level.

Was this the spirit of an absolute master?

The old man possessed a presence that made one involuntarily shrink back just by facing him.

Suddenly, Dokgo Yeong, who had been quietly observing the White Wolf Troop, waved his hand.

At that, the Unorthodox masters filling the hall began to leave one by one.

Soon, only he, the White Wolf Troop, and the Captain of the Soul Annihilation Squad, Soul-Chasing Twin Swords, who had brought them here, remained in the pavilion.

“Following your orders, I have brought the White Wolf Troop

“Good work. You may go and rest now.”

“Yes, sir.”

With a deep bow, Soul-Chasing Twin Swords also exited the pavilion.

After a brief moment of silence, Yeo Woonhwi was the first to make a move.

Stepping forward, he offered a polite bow.

“I am Yeo Woonhwi, Captain of the White Wolf Troop. It is an honor to meet you.”

It was the usual, formal greeting.

Usually, upon arriving like this, a string of exceedingly cliché pleasantries would follow, such as ‘You must be tired from the journey,’ and ‘Not at all, we are honored by the invitation.’

It was always like that, and this time would be no different.

Because of this, beyond the tension of standing before the Black Martial Emperor, the White Wolf Troop was also somewhat distracted by the thought of hurrying to their assigned quarters and lying down.

However,

“Are you truly pleased to meet me? I doubt it. Aren’t you just thinking about how exhausted you are? Thinking it’s a damn nuisance that I made you travel all this way back and forth.”

‘Huh?’

The eyes of the White Wolf Troop bulged.

‘What did I just hear?’

‘Did we mishear because we’re so tired?’

‘Did he call us all the way out here just to pick a fight because we’re Orthodox?’

‘Was this a trap where he’d throw out bait and then lop our heads off at the slightest reaction?’

‘Was the Black Death Sword we left at the Peng Clan… really a fake?’

The absurd situation caused the minds of the White Wolf Troop to completely freeze up.

But Yeo Woonhwi’s response was even more unbelievable.

“Hmm, if I’m being honest… Yes. That is correct. I am incredibly exhausted from coming all this way. Frankly, I didn’t want to come at all.”

“What?”

Dokgo Yeong’s face twitched at Yeo Woonhwi’s brazen… no, insanely blunt response.

Naturally, Dokgo Yeong wasn’t the only one shocked.

Speechless, the entire White Wolf Troop gaped at Yeo Woonhwi, their mouths opening and closing like fish.

‘Captain… are you trying to pick a fight with one of the Twelve Venerables of the World…?’

“…Ho-oh. If you didn’t want to come that badly, you could have just refused. Coming all the way here just to say that to my face means you must have quite a lot of grievances with me.”

“You put us in a position where we had no choice but to come, forcing our hand. It’s a bit unfair to ask why we came if we didn’t want to. So, let’s just accept my initial ‘glad to meet you’ greeting and move on.”

By now, the White Wolf Troop was beyond shocked; they were on the verge of fainting.

Even amid that panic, they were already imagining how they would help Yeo Woonhwi fight one of the Twelve Venerables of the World if a brawl broke out, a display of loyalty so profound it was almost moving.

But at that exact moment,

“Hahahahaha!”

Dokgo Yeong, who had been glaring fiercely at Yeo Woonhwi as if he was about to spring from his seat, suddenly burst into booming laughter.

The White Wolf Troop’s gazes then shifted to Dokgo Yeong, their eyes practically screaming, ‘Has this bastard lost his mind?’

Though they quickly snapped back to reality and averted their eyes, realizing they were doing something incredibly suicidal.

“Hahaha! Right. You are absolutely right. I was being stubbornly demanding to the point of exhaustion. It makes perfect sense that you’d be annoyed!”

“I’m glad you realize.”

“Haha! But I wanted to see you too much. Things kept getting delayed this way and that, and I just couldn’t wait any longer. I apologize.”

The White Wolf Troop couldn’t comprehend the current situation.

It felt as if they were witnessing and hearing everything firsthand, yet still questioning, ‘What exactly am I seeing and hearing right now?’

It was absurd enough to see their Captain complaining to the Black Martial Emperor, one of the absolute masters of the Murim whom they were meeting for the first time, about why he had summoned them so tiresomely, and right inside the Heretic Alliance Leader’s Hall no less. But for the Black Martial Emperor to actually acknowledge it and apologize? That was pure madness.

They truly felt as if they were dreaming.

Whether they were confused or not, the overwhelming aura that had been crushing them vanished without a trace, and Dokgo Yeong was suddenly approaching them with a hearty chuckle.

“Yes. So it’s you. The ones who lifted the burden from my heart.”

Dokgo Yeong stood face-to-face with the White Wolf Troop, warmly welcoming them.

“I am truly sorry for making you travel such a long way purely out of my own selfishness.”

Again. He was apologizing again.

Flashing a genuinely good-natured smile.

The Black Martial Emperor.

The terrifying king of the Unorthodox faction.

“But this is genuinely the first time I have ever been this greedy to meet someone. Haha.”

“Isn’t that what you say every time you invite someone over?”

“Ah, did it sound like that? Hahaha! No. Not really. I’m actually someone who rarely invites anyone over.”

‘Excuse me. Why are the two of you chatting so casually with each other?’

And Captain, why are you being so needlessly snarky today, making our hearts pound like this?

The White Wolf Troop never dreamed that they would be this incredibly tense because of Yeo Woonhwi rather than the Unorthodox faction.

Of course, they believed that as long as they were with Yeo Woonhwi, they wouldn’t fear facing any enemy in the world. However, watching this play out right in front of their eyes inevitably made their stomachs drop in sheer anxiety.

They were just ordinary people, after all.

In truth, before coming here, Yeo Woonhwi had already heard all about Dokgo Yeong’s personality from Jin Sobaek.

Dokgo Yeong despised pointless flattery, sycophancy, and conversing while hiding one’s true intentions.

In fact, he was the type to take a liking to those who laid their thoughts bare, even if they were a bit rough around the edges.

Although he had walked the path of supremacy from the start, he was a man who never committed cowardly or shameful acts.

It was quite amusing.

To think that such a man was the king of the Unorthodox faction.

Anyway, because of that, Yeo Woonhwi had unhesitatingly chosen this method of conversation.

And honestly, he did find the old man a bit irritating.

Just how much time had he been forced to spend away from his family because of this old bastard’s invitation?

If it hadn’t seemed like the man had his own genuine reasons, Yeo Woonhwi wouldn’t have had the slightest intention of coming here, regardless of delivering some divine weapon or whatever else.

As a result, he ended up grumbling a little more harshly than he initially planned.

Strangely enough, Dokgo Yeong must have had eccentric tastes, as he thoroughly enjoyed that attitude and burst into hearty laughter throughout the exchange.

This actually made talking to him much easier.

Soon, the Black Martial Emperor…no, just an old man grateful for his younger sister’s revenge, spoke sincerely to his benefactors.

“I truly hope your time here was enjoyable.”

With the brief introductions finished, they decided to have a proper conversation at the evening banquet after taking some time to rest.

Above all, the distance from Hebei to Agyang, where the Heretic Alliance was located, was incredibly far, leaving them suffering from a considerable amount of travel fatigue.

And so, the White Wolf Troop was escorted to their lodgings.

It was an annex so breathtakingly magnificent that their jaws dropped.

Out of consideration for their position, the area surrounding the annex had been completely cleared out, and they were graciously told to use the space as comfortably as they wished.

The White Wolf Troop was scheduled to stay here in Agyang for three days.

It was a timeframe that could be considered both long and short.

Once the room assignments were finalized, the White Wolf Troop gathered in a single room, as if by prior agreement, and began to chatter.

“He gives off a completely different vibe than we expected, right?”

“Who? The Black Martial Emperor?”

The members exchanged glances before nodding vigorously.

He was certainly nothing like they had imagined.

“I thought he would feel like some terrifying bandit king or something.”

“Right. I expected a much more rugged, vicious face, but that wasn’t it at all. Instead…”

“Hmm…?”

As they discussed it, someone who perfectly matched that exact description suddenly came to mind.

The Patriarch of