Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign Novel - Chapter 514

**Chapter 514: The Lazy One Goes to the Demon Cult (4)**

—

“Wouldn’t it be better to bite your tongue and die once and for all?”

“Stop complaining. You’re getting on my nerves.”

Faced with Jangil’s lamentations, Peng Dogeuk began to lose patience. A little complaining might even help ease the atmosphere, but when it went too far, it only provoked irritation.

“How can I not complain in a situation like this?”

“Then get lost!”

Peng Dogeuk’s rudeness made Jangil make an offended face.

“I don’t understand how someone who at first couldn’t even speak without twitching nervously has become such a brazen man that he blurts out insults like that.”

“People change. Just like you, who used to give clear answers and now you’ve become a whiner.”

“Ugh…”

Jangil emitted a groan of frustration.

Peng Dogeuk had always been an easy rival in terms of martial skills, but now even he was throwing verbal jabs instead of words.

*’All these guys have become so brutal…’ *

But, come to think of it, it was understandable. Anyone, even the most innocent person in the world, after a month with this absurd group, would start spouting insults that would make even a Buddhist lose their temper.

“I’d like to stay calm, but…”

Jangil raised his head and looked forward.

A vast expanse of land.

A terrain so immense that just seeing it was overwhelming. Anywhere else, he would have praised the majesty of nature. But here, that was impossible.

*’They say Xinjiang is barren, but this…’ *

The land was extensive, but it wasn’t a prairie. Rather, it resembled a desert. Or, rather, he would have preferred it to be desert sand. It was a barren wasteland, an endless mix of stones and dry earth.

Contemplating this desolate landscape, he understood why the Demon Cult never stopped coveting the Central Plains.

*’Can people really live here?’ *

He was a beggar from the Beggar Sect.

To lead the sect, he had to understand the trends of the world, and for that, he needed to be well informed.

Gathering information required turning dead data into living information, and for that, it was essential to understand the context.

The leader of the Beggar Sect believed that it was impossible to analyze information without understanding the region from which it came, so as soon as Jangil was appointed as a beggar, he took him around the world.

Thanks to that, Jangil had seen with his own eyes every corner of the world, but none was as desolate as this.

He knew that Xinjiang was barren, but there was a big difference between knowing it and seeing it with your own eyes.

“Ah, this is unbelievable.”

Wei Yanho spat on the ground repeatedly.

The wind carried dry sand that mixed with the air. A sandy wind always blew instead of a cool breeze. Although he wore wind-resistant clothing and covered his face with cloth, not even those preparations could completely stop the sand.

“This land is useless. How can anyone live here?”

“That just shows how prosperous the Central Plains are.”

Wei Yanho nodded.

Definitely, being here made him understand how prosperous the Central Plains were. Compared to this barren land, even the cave where he had been with his master seemed habitable… no, wait, that’s not right.

*’What am I thinking?’ *

Wei Yanho trembled.

It is said that humans are animals of adaptation and that memories are embellished over time, but embellishing those horrible days in the cave as if they were tolerable?

*’I need to regain my sanity.’ *

At that moment, Jangil spoke in a voice full of doubt.

“But this isn’t the way to the Demon Cult, is it?”

Wei Yanho’s eyes widened.

“Are there roads here?”

“There’s something similar. And besides, the direction doesn’t seem right.”

Wei Jeonghan shrugged.

“Of course not. We’re not going to the Demon Cult right now.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Everyone looked at him with a confused expression.

But Wei Jeonghan frowned at their reactions.

“Why are you surprised? Did you really think I was going to the Demon Cult without any plan, shouting ‘Hey, you bastards! Give me back my son right now!’ and making a fuss?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that so?”

Wei Jeonghan’s expression twisted.

“What do you think of me?”

“A great hero who loses his mind when he gets angry.”

“Wei Yanho’s father.”

“Like father, like son.”

Wei Jeonghan raised his head and looked at the distant sky, with something wet peeking out of the corner of his eyes.

*’Do I really have to endure this treatment from these brats?’ *

Although they respected him a little until recently, now they treated him simply as Wei Yanho’s father.

Sure, it wasn’t incorrect, but before they saw him as a father suffering for having fathered Wei Yanho, while now they blamed him for creating someone just like them.

As they say, words have nuances, and that subtle difference in treatment mortified him.

“Do you think I would go to the Demon Cult without knowing what kind of place it is?”

“That’s what I say.”

“I was just thinking about stopping him.”

“If I opposed, I was afraid they would ask me why I came in the first place.”

“…”

Wei Jeonghan shook his head.

These guys were beyond help too.

“To face the enemy, information is essential. Right now, we’re going to get it.”

“Information?”

Peng Dogeuk tilted his head.

Musan’s reaction was not much different.

“But, Great Hero Wei, information about the Demon Cult is one of the most difficult to obtain in the world. Also, Xinjiang is basically their territory. Can we really get information about them here?”

It might be thought that, being in Xinjiang, it would be easier to obtain information. But, just as an outsider cannot obtain information about the Tang Family in Sichuan, getting data about the Demon Cult in their own territory was almost impossible.

“Of course it’s possible. There are people prepared for that.”

“Ah!”

Jangil flinched, as if he had understood something.

“Are we going there?”

“It seems you already knew.”

“Yes. Those who handle information cannot ignore it. There are spies from the Righteous Martial Alliance here.”

“Spies?”

Peng Dogeuk, as if he had never heard of that, pressured Jangil.

“What does that mean? Spies?”

“Aren’t the Righteous Martial Alliance and the Demon Cult at war? Even if there is no fighting now, it is more of a truce.”

“That’s true.”

“But we can’t stand idly by without knowing what they’re doing. To prepare for a possible surprise attack, there are spies operating.”

“…Spies.”

Peng Dogeuk retorted incredulously.

“Isn’t Xinjiang territory of the Demon Cult? Spies here? Not even ten lives would be enough.”

The answer came from Wei Jeonghan.

“It may be hard to believe, but it’s true.”

Peng Dogeuk could not accept his words. Or, more exactly, it was not that he did not believe them, but that he did not understand them.

Wei Jeonghan was not someone who would say nonsense, so it must be true. But…

*Watching them in their own territory?*

The Demon Cult would not allow that. If they had the opportunity, they would cut their necks without hesitation. It was not that the Central Plains kept them at bay in Xinjiang, but that both sides were too exhausted to continue.

And now they spy on them in their own land?

“What a far-fetched idea.”

“It’s a necessity. Xinjiang and Qinghai are vast, but if they wanted to, they could cross that distance in an instant. If we discover them after they pass Qinghai, it would be the end. The west of the Central Plains would be devastated.”

“Mmm.”

He couldn’t deny that logic.

Every time the Demon Cult advanced towards the Central Plains, Sichuan ended up devastated. If their goal had been Sichuan, they would have destroyed Gansu first.

*’It is true that we cannot ignore that threat. But…’*

He understood that the Righteous Martial Alliance needed spies. But who would be willing to do that job? As much as they respected the authority of the Alliance, who would agree to risk their lives to watch those demons?

“So, who are the ones who are here?”

Wei Jeonghan replied bitterly.

“They are the true righteous heroes, who out of pure sense of duty do not value even their own lives.”

The sadness in his voice made everyone silent for a moment.

“Let’s go. Let’s see what they’ve seen so far.”

Wei Jeonghan covered himself with his wind-resistant cloak and hurried his pace. The others followed him.

—

**In the spies’ camp**

“Chief.”

“…”

“Division Chief!”

“Mmm?”

Yeom Mong, who was quietly enjoying a nap, took off the hat that covered his face.

“What?”

“There’s someone approaching.”

Someone’s coming. Yes, someone’s coming.

“Bother me for something important… What did you say?”

“There’s someone approaching. What do we do?”

Yeom Mong jumped up.

Someone’s coming?

“Are they from the Demon Cult?”

“I don’t know. At this distance we can’t identify them.”

“How many are there?”

“About five, I think. I’m not sure.”

“Get out of the way!”

Yeom Mong ran out of the tent.

*’This doesn’t look good…’ *

As soon as he came out, he climbed like a monkey to the watchtower next to the tent. Once at the top, he squinted.

*’Damn sand wind…’ *

The dense sandstorm obstructed his vision. Even with his sharp trained eyesight, it was impossible to identify those who were approaching.

“Prepare for combat!”

“Are they from the Demon Cult?”

“I don’t know. I can’t identify them. But just in case, wake everyone up!”

“Yes!”

Yeom Mong’s face filled with gravity.

Under normal circumstances, it would not have been so urgent. But now it was a situation that demanded maximum alert. The Demon Cult was preparing to act, and the tension with the Righteous Martial Alliance was at its highest point.

If the Cult decided to eliminate them before moving, who could be surprised?

“Prepare to send the message.”

“Yes!”

Even the voices that responded conveyed determination.

If those people came to kill them, they had to send a warning to the Alliance before dying. Thus, at least, their sacrifice would serve to prepare.

They knew this day would come, but they would have preferred it never did.

*’There are few of them.’ *

He didn’t know if it was a good or bad sign.

That there were few could mean that they were not hostile. But if the Demon Cult decided to eliminate them, they would send experts instead of a large group.

They were getting closer and closer.

Figures wrapped in black wind-resistant cloaks advanced towards them.

“Prepare the message with a warning arrow.”

“Do we shoot it?”

“Wait… let’s wait a little longer.”

As Yeom Mong hesitated on how to act, the leader of the group in the distance, who looked like a tiny dot, slowly raised an arm.

*Attack signal?*

Yeom Mong tensed his whole body.

But then…

The raised arm began to wave vigorously from side to side.

As if he were waving enthusiastically.

“Huh?”

Everyone fell silent as they watched the person waving both arms cheerfully.

“What is that?”

“…It seems they’re not coming to fight.”

“Then what did they come for?”

Yeom Mong, with a bewildered expression, watched the man in front and finally spoke.

“It seems we have visitors. Prepare to receive them.”