"Surrounded!?"
At Namgung Hu's words, the Emperor King Hall, which had been quiet, quickly became noisy again.
"That's absurd!"
"This makes no sense! Surrounded? That's impossible!"
Surrounded.
By whom? The Namgung Family?
The Namgung Family had never once been surrounded by any force since hanging up their family signboard. More importantly, if they were surrounded, it went without saying that the opponent would be hostile.
The intense reactions of the elders and Sword Form Heads were understandable in a way.
Fundamentally, there was no force in Anhui Province capable of opposing the Namgung Family, and if there was one, it would only be the Eighteen Yangtze Waterway Strongholds, but they had an agreement. Moreover, weren't they a waterway force that couldn't attack by land?
Yet now, according to Namgung Hu's words, the land side—meaning the Hefei direction—was surrounded.
By whom exactly? No, did that even make sense in the first place? It was unbelievable.
The elders' expressions unanimously conveyed this sentiment.
Some vehemently voiced it aloud.
"What force in Anhui Province could surround the Namgung Family? Is there really an organization with such power? And so secretly, without the slightest sign? Preposterous."
"That's an even more absurd story than saying Do Heo-ok is aiming for the Family Head position."
"It makes no sense. None at all."
Nonsensical.
Though their words varied, the elders were all saying that the current situation defied logic. Not a single person acknowledged the fact that they were surrounded.
Amid this, Namgung In suddenly tossed out a single word as if joking.
"Heavenly Demon Castle."
The timing was so perfectly appropriate that everyone's words were cut off abruptly.
"..."
Namgung In's extremely casual remark.
Though brief, that word brought shock and astonishment to the hall along with silence.
Namgung In had actually been keeping Heavenly Demon Castle in mind even while arguing earlier for Do Heo-ok's restraint.
At that time it was just a possibility, but now it had turned into certainty.
"Everyone seems to have forgotten one of the most famous sayings in the Martial World, so I'll add one more thing."
'What if Do Heo-ok was a spy planted by Heavenly Demon Castle?'
"The Demonic Cult is everywhere and nowhere."
The reason he had so strongly insisted on restraining Do Heo-ok from earlier was precisely because he feared this worst-case scenario might occur.
"Heavenly Demon Castle isn't only in Xinjiang. Though everyone may have forgotten during this peaceful period, those who walk the Demonic Path exist 'as if present yet absent' everywhere in the world. Anhui Province cannot be an exception to this."
At Namgung In's calm words, the elders also became aware of the existence they had overlooked—Heavenly Demon Castle, the supreme power of the Demonic Path.
"Heavenly Demon Castle..."
"Could that really be?"
"If that's truly the case, isn't this a tremendous crisis?"
The elders each raised their voices again.
Then.
Namgung Jung, who had been quietly listening to Namgung In's story, tilted his head slightly and spoke.
"However, even if we assume as you say that the force surrounding the family is Heavenly Demon Castle, there's something I don't understand."
"What is that?"
"Even if Heavenly Demon Castle does something to the Namgung Family at this time, it would be completely useless. This place is very far from Xinjiang, and in comparison, Henan Province where the Murim Alliance's main headquarters is located is right next to Anhui Province. That means not only would they be unable to occupy this place even if they destroyed the Namgung Family, but also the Demon Soldiers of Heavenly Demon Castle who destroyed this place would in turn be surrounded by the Murim Alliance."
Namgung Jung lightly tapped his temple with his index finger as he expressed his thoughts.
"They would try to scatter and escape belatedly, but by then the Murim Alliance will have already spread a Heaven-and-Earth Net across Henan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Hubei. Even if they somehow survived breaking through the Heaven-and-Earth Net, it's still ten thousand miles to Xinjiang. I simply cannot see any way or method for them to return alive to Heavenly Demon Castle in Xinjiang. Rather, because of this, all the hidden branches of Heavenly Demon Castle might be completely devastated by the Murim Alliance..."
Namgung Jung shook his head.
"Looking at it this way, isn't Heavenly Demon Castle losing too much? I simply can't understand it. But to say it's not Heavenly Demon Castle, there's no other force capable of this either..."
"I believe Xinjiang's Heavenly Demon Castle is using this attack on the Namgung Family as a starting point to aim for a full-scale re-entry into the Central Plains."
"What do you mean by that?"
"According to rumors, there are considerable hardliners within Heavenly Demon Castle who desire to invade the Central Plains. These are demonic beings thirsting for blood who don't follow the Heavenly Demon Castle Lords' control well. So the Heavenly Demon Castle Lord seems to be using this opportunity to deploy these difficult-to-control hardline forces within Heavenly Demon Castle here to plot against the Namgung Family, a major sect located farthest from Xinjiang, while simultaneously weakening the hardliners' power. Furthermore, if this place is under attack, the Murim Alliance's eyes will inevitably turn here. Taking advantage of that moment, Heavenly Demon Castle's main force could expand their influence by crossing Qinghai into Gansu. If they do this, from the Heavenly Demon Castle Lord's perspective, wouldn't they achieve three benefits at once?"
"Hmm..."
"They can reduce the hardliners' power within Heavenly Demon Castle while also resolving the dissatisfaction built up inside Heavenly Demon Castle due to the long peace, eliminate our Namgung Family which is one of the Orthodox Faction's core powers, and finally secure a foothold for re-invading the Central Plains once more."
"...That might be so."
Namgung Jung still didn't look completely convinced, but judging only by the information discovered so far, Namgung In's words were closest to the correct answer, so he had no choice but to acknowledge it.
"Enough."
When their conversation reached that point, Namgung Byeok raised his hand to refocus everyone's attention on himself.
"I'd like to hear more from the Vast Sky Sword Form Head and Limitless Sword Form Head, but no matter how I look at it, we don't have time now. There's still far too much that hasn't been confirmed, but there's one thing that's certain."
Namgung Byeok paused briefly, then looked around at everyone with sunken eyes. Finally, he looked straight ahead and spoke heavily.
"The Namgung Family is surrounded right now."
Though it was the simple word "surrounded," the weight that word carried now was greater than that of any long phrase.
Namgung Byeok sensed that the Namgung Family was facing the greatest crisis since hanging up the signboard of Imperial Family.
Those gathered here were the real powers moving the Namgung Family. They too deeply felt from Namgung Byeok's words that the time had truly come after so long to lift their rusted iron swords.
Swoosh.
Just as everyone standing in the Emperor King Hall was chewing over the word "surrounded" with hardened expressions.
Just like when Namgung Hu entered, the sound of fluttering clothes came violently, and another person appeared inside the Emperor King Hall.
This time it was Namgung Il, the Heavenly Wind Group Leader who had gone out to search for the intruder.
As soon as Namgung Byeok saw him, he asked urgently.
"Did you find him?"
There was no mention of what was found, but everyone here knew who the target was.
"We didn't find him."
Namgung Il lowered his head with a dismayed expression.
"Wouldn't there at least be some small trace?"
"...I apologize."
Namgung Il substituted a negative answer with an apology.
"Did you search everywhere within the family?"
"We haven't searched the Emperor King Hall yet."
Namgung Il's words were natural.
Who in the world would think of infiltrating the Emperor King Hall? Even if someone hid within the Namgung Family, there were many walls to overcome to get here. Above all, how could one deceive the eyes of the Namgung Family's core masters constantly residing in this Emperor King Hall?
Namgung Byeok silently fell into thought for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
"I understand. Go back out and comb through the family's interior once more to definitely find that person."
"Yes!"
Namgung Hu left the Emperor King Hall immediately after his report.
"Now, the situation is the same as before. The intruder still hasn't been caught. Outside, hmm... outside the family, those presumed to be Demon Soldiers of Heavenly Demon Castle are surrounding this Namgung Family. From now on, speak freely about what we should do."
The Namgung Family Head, Namgung Byeok, once again stated that the Namgung Family was surrounded. That was, in other words, a declaration that it was now time to fight.
Namgung In stepped forward first. He advocated again without hesitation the claim he had been making.
"This proves that all the phrases left by the intruder have become established facts. If Do Heo-ok planned to collaborate on the day the moon is full—on the very day of his wedding—there could be nothing more dangerous. Moreover, the enemies outside already know from our earlier reconnaissance that we've noticed their existence. Therefore, they might attack the Namgung Family even earlier rather than waiting until the full moon rises. So I believe restraining Do Heo-ok's movements should be the highest priority. If by any chance Do Heo-ok knows the formation core of the Three Emperors Nine Kings Formation, an irreversible situation might occur."
Three Emperors Nine Kings Formation.
It was a protective formation installed on the family's outer walls to prepare for contingencies. When this formation was activated, the Namgung Family would be isolated from the outside. But in return, the family could be perfectly protected.
Conversely, if Do Heo-ok destroyed the core of the Three Emperors Nine Kings Formation, they might not be able to activate the formation at all.
That was precisely what Namgung In was worried about. This was exactly why he kept saying Do Heo-ok's arrest was the top priority.
Namgung Byeok quietly looked at Namgung In once, then looked around at the others. Now no one opposed Namgung In's words.
Finally, Namgung Byeok nodded.
"Since no one seems to oppose, we should do that. Well then, Hye-ah will be very disappointed. Haha..."