Chapter 553:
For a moment, he closed his mouth.
Gazes.
Thousands of gazes were directed at him.
Shrinking under someone’s gaze was an experience he had never had before. Having lived without a single point of shame, he had never feared the gazes of others.
These gazes felt burdensome because murky, muddy water had seeped into Gwon Geuk’s heart, once as clear as pure spring water.
He bit his lips tightly.
He was Gwon Geuk.
And he was the Alliance Leader of the Righteous Martial Alliance.
What Gwon Geuk Sima Cheonse could not do, the Alliance Leader of the Righteous Martial Alliance had to do.
“Are you confused?”
Gwon Geuk’s heavy voice slowly spread out.
Gazes gathered. Gazes that could crush a person, that is.
“There is only one thing to think about.”
Gwon Geuk’s hand pointed at Baek Geomseong. The reason that seemingly confident fingertip trembled slightly was something only Gwon Geuk himself could guess.
“The enemy.”
“……”
The gazes became resolute.
If Gwon Geuk had rambled on with excuses here, morale would have fallen endlessly. Having many excuses also meant having many faults.
But Gwon Geuk was resolutely drawing out their will.
“Will you die?”
Though the words were cut short at both ends, everyone could understand what the truncated words meant.
Whatever happens.
Whatever circumstances and grudges there may be.
They had no intention of meekly offering their necks. No one did.
“If you have doubts, ask me.”
A great energy began to gather in Gwon Geuk’s fist.
“I will take responsibility for all your sins. I will be responsible. If history asks, I will answer.”
A booming voice.
A body pulsing as if about to burst.
Everyone seemed to be drawn into Gwon Geuk.
“So draw your swords. Cut down the enemy. Prove here and now that you are protecting this Central Plains!”
No logic, no justification.
But people’s blood boiled.
“Righteous Martial Alliance!”
“Loyalty!”
“Don’t lose sight of my back.”
Gwon Geuk turned around and began walking forward.
That massive back.
That back so massive it seemed it could carry even Mount Tai – those who saw it began to see life return to their eyes.
They followed.
A voice that seemed to ring in their heads.
Gwon Geuk began to lead everyone forward with his back.
“Indeed, Gwon Geuk is Gwon Geuk, isn’t he?”
Baek Hwi-myeong shrugged his shoulders as he watched the scene.
“I expected as much, but this is quite boring.”
He hadn’t thought the Righteous Martial Alliance would fall into internal strife just by revealing past events. Justification exerts its power later. For justification to become proper justification, it must be passed down orally, discussed, and told as stories.
Those watching would play that role.
‘It will depend on the outcome.’
Baek Hwi-myeong looked at the spectators with contempt.
They would watch until the end. Who would be victorious here. If Baek Geomseong won, their grievances would instantly gain substance and spread.
A few brief words would grow and grow until the Righteous Martial Alliance became a group not worth associating with.
And if Baek Geomseong lost?
Word would spread that the remnants of the Ten Thousand Swords Hundred Families had spouted nonsense and gotten their heads cut off.
That’s how people are, and that’s how rumors work.
Even knowing this fact, Baek Hwi-myeong couldn’t hide his contempt.
These were people who had rushed here to watch others kill and be killed. How could he have respect for such people?
“Huu…”
Baek Hwi-myeong swept up his flowing hair.
“Young Master.”
“I know.”
Baek Hwi-myeong waved his hand dismissively.
‘It’s about time.’
They would soon learn that this place was their death ground.
And starting with today’s battle, the name of Ten Thousand Swords would once again make the world tremble.
“Let’s run wild.”
Baek Hwi-myeong gripped his sword.
***
“……I can’t……go any further.”
There was no strength at all in Jang-il’s voice.
But unfortunately, there was no one beside him now to encourage and urge him on.
“Me too.”
“……If we die, we die.”
Mu San and Peng Dao-ji were also rolling on the ground. Zhuge Mun-in was somehow standing, perhaps for the sake of appearances, but his face was deathly pale, making him look far from fine.
“Weaklings.”
Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue at the sight.
Jang-il felt indignant, but right now he didn’t even have the strength to fight with Wei Yan-ho.
‘I really almost died.’
While Jang-il was usually prone to exaggeration, his current behavior wasn’t exaggeration. He truly didn’t have the strength to move even a finger.
‘Those damn persistent bastards.’
The Demonic Cult had chased them with truly terrifying momentum. Looking back, it was incomprehensible how they had escaped from those tenacious bastards’ hands.
Wei Yan-ho’s words were right.
If they had decided to kill them, while Wei Yan-ho or Wei Jeong-han might have survived, Jang-il wouldn’t have been able to. But clearly, their movements were aimed at capturing them alive.
That’s why they were able to escape from their clutches after a precarious tightrope walk.
“Hey, Peng Dao-ji.”
“……Yeah.”
“Are you alive?”
“……I think I’m dead.”
“Right, rest in peace.”
Among them all, the one who had suffered the most was precisely Peng Dao-ji. Peng Dao-ji’s skills didn’t match Wei Yan-ho’s or Mu San’s. While he was strong, it was true that he was insufficient to take the front line. Nevertheless, Peng Dao-ji had defended his position until the end without a single complaint.
‘Tough bastard.’
Peng Dao-ji would probably become stronger. Those who cross the line of death several times are bound to receive that compensation.
“Shouldn’t we hurry?”
“Hey, you bastard!”
Jang-il shot up.
“Look at people’s condition before you rush them. Do you see anyone who looks fine right now?”
“Ugh.”
Even Wei Yan-ho couldn’t argue this time.
He had no choice.
The condition of his companions visible to his eyes was indescribable even with the word “tattered.” Their clothes had almost become rags, barely hanging on their bodies, and even those had turned into dark red rags, stained with blood.
The bodies visible through the gaps were covered with countless small wounds.
It was heavenly fortune that they hadn’t suffered fatal injuries while taking that much damage.
“Urrgh.”
Of course, there was someone whom that heavenly fortune had bypassed. Wei Jeong-han unwound the bandage tied around his shoulder. Though calling it a bandage was generous – it was just torn cloth tied up.
“Tsk.”
The cloth piece, hardened with blood, fell from the wound with a squelch. Wei Yan-ho grimaced at the sight.
“Hiiiik!”
That looked way too painful.
While Wei Yan-ho had some resistance to pain, he still wasn’t used to seeing wounds with blood dripping from them.
“Such a fuss.”
Wei Jeong-han looked at Wei Yan-ho with disdain and finished removing the bandage.
“It has healed a bit.”
“It has.”
Wei Jeong-han nodded as he looked at his shoulder.
Though it was a wound where the flesh was torn open enough to see bone, new flesh was growing in. When he clenched and opened his fist, while it stung, there was no particular problem with movement.
“We got off cheap.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Even if they had each lost an arm or leg, as long as they were alive, it could be considered fortunate. That’s how vicious those bastards were.
Escaping from their clutches was fortunate, but that didn’t mean the situation had improved.
“What do we do now?”
At Wei Yan-ho’s words, Wei Jeong-han looked toward Jang-il. Then Jang-il straightened his body.
“Do you have orders to give?”
“Where exactly are we now?”
“Hmm……”
Jang-il seemed to ponder briefly before opening his mouth.
“We should be about halfway through Qinghai.”
“Already?”
“We ran like hell.”
“That’s true.”
Wei Jeong-han stroked his chin.
Qinghai, Qinghai……
“What’s the closest major sect from here?”
“It’s ambiguous. Below us is close to Emei, and to the side is close to Huashan.”
“Is that so.”
Qinghai was land where the Righteous Martial Alliance’s influence didn’t reach. It wasn’t completely abandoned land like Xinjiang, but it was difficult to scheme anything in this place.
In the end, they had to go to Sichuan or Shaanxi……
“Wouldn’t Sichuan be better?”
Jang-il asked back.
“Sichuan?”
“Yes. We have somewhat awkward relations with Huashan. If we go to Huashan, they won’t welcome us very much. Rather than that, it would be easier to scheme by going to Sichuan, where we have some connections.”
It was a reasonable point.
But Wei Jeong-han’s choice was different.
“We go to Shaanxi.”
“To Huashan?”
Wei Jeong-han nodded.
“Why?”
“Because arriving isn’t the end. If anything, it’s better to go to Huashan where we can quickly join the Righteous Martial Alliance.”
“Hmm.”
Jang-il didn’t present any further objections.
The one who presented objections was Zhuge Mun-in.
“But Great Hero, joining will be difficult.”
“Why?”
“Even if we join, I don’t think we can do anything significant.”
“Hasn’t the situation changed rapidly? We need to inform them of their movements.”
Zhuge Mun-in sighed.
“It’s already too late.”
“……”
“It took too much time to shake them off. Even if we deliver news now, they will move first before the news we deliver reaches them.”
“Ummm.”
Wei Jeong-han let out a contemplative sound.
He knew Zhuge Mun-in’s words were correct. But they couldn’t just sit idle.
“If we stop by Righteous Martial Alliance branches on the way to Sichuan, we can sufficiently deliver the news. We must go to Sichuan. From there, we can move the Heavenly Alliance. To counter the Demonic Cult that will attack from now on, we need to be able to move forces. Huashan will respect us, but they will absolutely not accept our opinions.”
Wei Jeong-han fell into contemplation.
It was a reasonable point. Unable to know which choice to make, Wei Jeong-han turned his head to look at his absent-minded son.
“What do you think?”
“Huh?”
“Where do you think we should go now?”
“Wuhan.”
“Huh?”
“Wuhan.”
“……Why?”
Wei Jeong-han asked blankly.
Wuhan – why would Wuhan come up here?
“What do you think war is fought with?”
“Well……”
Troops? Or soldiers?
“War is fought with money. Without money, there’s no supply, and without supply, everyone starves to death.”
“That’s true.”
“Then we need to grab the money source first. That’s the first thing we should do. Only then can we fight without starving.”
“Money source?”
Wei Jeong-han tilted his head.
“Are you saying there’s a money source in Wuhan?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hide treasure in Wuhan or something?”
“Not treasure, but I stashed away money.”
“Huh?”
As Wei Jeong-han looked bewildered, Wei Yan-ho grinned.
“By now, it should have accumulated tremendously. Since it’s money we couldn’t spend in a lifetime anyway, let’s at least make a show of it.”
“……”
“So we’re going to Wuhan! If we can stop by Luoyang on the way, we’ll stop by. I need to consult with Grandfather.”
Wei Jeong-han looked at his gleefully laughing child and had one thought.
Perhaps this war……
Might move in a completely different direction from what he was thinking.
