Chapter 360. The Essence of Evil Is Blaming Others.
Was I hurt more by the aftermath of the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, or was the Bright Right Envoy hurt more?
For now, even I could not tell.
What was certain was that even getting up right away was difficult for me, and the Bright Right Envoy was not immediately rising to charge at me either. The Bright Right Envoy seemed slightly dazed, and also like a man lost in thought.
In any case, this was how terrifying the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven was.
At that moment, Grand Duke Yang appeared to the Bright Right Envoy’s left, drenched in blood from head to toe, and stood at the edge of the pit, glaring at me.
“…….”
“Well now…….”
Grand Duke Yang’s originally white hair was dyed crimson. Had he grabbed his subordinates at random, turned them into corpses, then used them in place of shields? Otherwise, there was no way he could have been soaked in that much blood.
I looked at the two men.
“So now it’s two against one?”
The Bright Right Envoy turned his head and asked Grand Duke Yang.
“Are you all right?”
Grand Duke Yang shook his head, then looked at me while sitting cross-legged.
“……Absurd. Truly absurd.”
His voice sounded quite steady.
Amid the silence, this time, with a thud, a heap of dirt burst out from the middle wall of the pit.
A curse slipped out of me naturally.
“Ah, damn it. There’s more? Who is it? Which bastard is it?”
A pitch-black tunnel had formed halfway down the pit. How nice would it be if an unusually large mole popped out?
No such thing happened.
The tattered remains of corpses flew out of the tunnel and fell into the pit one after another. I could not guess how many bodies there were. They were corpses whose forms were hard to make out.
Soon, a man covered in dirt from head to toe crawled out of the pit and wiped his face with his hand.
Even though the Cult Leader’s son had ended up in such a state, Grand Duke Yang and the Bright Right Envoy did not make a fuss. It seemed as if they had believed he would survive.
Grand Duke Yang asked the second son informally.
“……Are you all right?”
The second son answered as he climbed up the pit.
“My right arm…….”
When the second son held out his left hand, Grand Duke Yang pulled him up, supported him, then sat him down beside him. Grand Duke Yang pressed close, felt his arm and shoulder, and soon the sound of bones being set rang out. Naturally, the second son did not scream. When I listened closely, I heard him whispering these words.
“……The forearm is broken, and the shoulder blade is completely shattered.”
I applauded the three men who had survived the tragedy of the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap…….
“Congratulations. As long as you’re alive, that’s enough.”
I now understood why the three of them had survived.
It was good that the power of the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven had grown even stronger, but it seemed I had shot up far too high.
In other words, for masters of that caliber, during the time the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven fell from that height, they had enough time to flee a fair distance or use the cultists to reduce the damage.
Ridiculously enough, the situation was still three against one…….
But the Bright Right Envoy and the men called Grand Dukes were not crossing the pit to come over.
That did not mean they seemed ready to flee right away either.
Because those three did not know exactly what state I was in.
I said to the three of them.
“If you’d come to find me and asked for a one-on-one from the start, you wouldn’t have suffered this kind of damage. I’m not the type to avoid a one-on-one. Look at the result. Why do you always repeat this kind of mistake?”
No one answered, so for a while we faced off with the pit between us. Suddenly, I figured out one more reason those three were not running away.
“Will the men who went to Baekeungji arrive here first? Or will my reinforcements in Baekeungji arrive first? What do you think?”
Grand Duke Yang ignored my words and looked at the Bright Right Envoy.
“Right Envoy, how much longer?”
The Bright Right Envoy also ignored me and opened his mouth.
“What?”
“I’m asking if you’ve recovered.”
“Not yet. Unlike you, I did not use cultists as shields.”
“Mm. Must you be sarcastic in a situation like this?”
“I merely stated the truth.”
Grand Duke Yang looked at me.
“That bastard is surely deeply injured as well. We can catch him.”
Grand Duke Yang said to the second son.
“You stay here. The Right Envoy and I will capture him and bring him back.”
I answered Grand Duke Yang’s proposal in his stead.
“If the two of you come at me, I’ll kill the second son first. Look at this pit. Here, it’ll be a contest of lightness arts. You couldn’t catch up to me earlier, so do you think you can do it this time? One of you guard the second son, and only one of you come over here. Then it’ll be the one-on-one I like. How about it?”
The Bright Right Envoy suddenly showed concern for me.
“Sect Leader, why are you not running away? Do you not even have the strength to flee?”
I shook my head.
“No. Let’s leave our lives to luck. If that bastard from earlier comes, I’ll be in trouble, and if the Four Great Villains come, you three are dead men.”
I picked up a stone beside me, held it in my left hand, then raised my hand and took aim at it.
Strangely, my body was not in normal condition…….
But some strength had returned to my fingers. So, when all the energy in the body was drained, it seemed the mouth recovered first, and the fingers came next.
Confirmed.
Of all things, my index finger and thumb were in the best shape. What did that mean? It meant it was time to practice the Index-Finger Flick Technique Cheonak had mentioned. To bluff that I was quite fine right now, I could not think of a better martial art than this.
I struck the stone held in my left hand with the Index-Finger Flick Technique.
Thwack!
The stone flew off briskly toward the crown of the Bright Right Envoy’s head as he sat cross-legged. Perhaps because the distance was too great, the Bright Right Envoy dodged the stone without difficulty by moving his head. But the flying stone continued on for quite a while. Even to my eyes, it was so fast that I wondered if my body had fully recovered.
I drew in a breath, then opened my mouth.
“Anyway, congratulations. You brought a whole host of troops again, and they all got wiped out. As I said, whether you three die or not, it won’t affect the general trend. I’ll bring the Scholar, the Murim Alliance, Haomun, the Nancheon Union and the Jecheon Alliance, the righteous and unorthodox factions, the waiters, and the brothers, sisters, and next-door friends of those who died innocent deaths, and we’ll deal with the Demon Cult. Ah, I mustn’t forget the noble clans and monarchs either.”
The Bright Right Envoy answered.
“You will only realize that the tide of war remains unfavorable to you once the great war breaks out.”
“Is that so?”
I stood up and looked at the three men.
After exchanging words with him, for some strange reason, I had the feeling that the Bright Right Envoy was in much better condition than I was.
And yet, I suspected he was deliberately not moving.
Considering that the man in black had also been defeated by the Bright Right Envoy and absorbed, my suspicion had enough basis. I looked at the second son, whose one arm was completely broken, and first attempted to sow discord.
“Second Son.”
“…….”
“You’d better be careful. This is the Right Envoy of Light, who even absorbed the men in black. He isn’t the sort to go easy on you just because you’re the Cult Leader’s son. If that happens, your father will have no choice but to mark the Eldest Young Master as his successor. Grand Duke Yang, what do you think? You’re the Second Son’s maternal uncle, aren’t you? If you want to become the next Cult Leader’s maternal uncle, you’ll have to support him a little better.”
The Right Envoy of Light replied in an icy tone.
“Do you think such pathetic attempts to sow discord will work?”
I shook my head.
“Pathetic attempts to sow discord? Who told you to absorb the men in black as you pleased? Was that the Cult Leader’s order? No. Second Son, Grand Duke Yang. Tell me. Was it the Cult Leader’s order?”
“…….”
“At the inn, before you came in, the Right Envoy asked me something. He asked whether I thought he could surpass the Three Calamities if he absorbed me. In my opinion, he’d become about equal to the Three Calamities. What do you think? Even if he captures me alive, he isn’t the sort to take me to the Cult Leader.”
The Second Son said nothing.
Grand Duke Yang turned his head and looked at the Right Envoy of Light.
“There is no need to pay it any mind. Who would fall for such discord?”
When the Right Envoy of Light nodded, Grand Duke Yang continued.
“I can let that pass, but no matter how I look at it, he still seems to have strength left. Could the Right Envoy not deal with him?”
Was that a sign of trust, or distrust?
Even I, listening along, found it ambiguous.
The Right Envoy of Light said,
“The Sect Leader is well versed in schemes and is conserving his strength. While we fail to finish this at once, the Left Envoy or his disciple may arrive.”
Grand Duke Yang said,
“That may be so. Then I shall retreat first with my nephew.”
At Grand Duke Yang’s words, the Right Envoy of Light widened his eyes. In the end, it meant he was suspicious. At least, that was how I interpreted it.
The Right Envoy of Light asked back,
“Retreat?”
Grand Duke Yang said,
“Must I also receive your permission to retreat?”
“The enemy remains. Why would you retreat as you please?”
“Because you are in quite a sound state, yet you refuse to step forward. I have no choice but to retreat. It would be better to report to the Cult Leader and return.”
A smile came to my lips on its own.
“Hehehehe.”
To think sowing discord would work this well. But my joy did not last long.
“Hm.”
As if the weather had changed several times over, Hong Mokhan and a large number of cultists suddenly appeared and arrived at the edge of the pit.
As far as I knew, Hong Mokhan was a subordinate of the Right Envoy of Light.
As soon as Hong Mokhan arrived, he stared at the pit with a vacant expression.
“What in the world is this…….”
Had I lived my life wrong? Or had something happened in Baengeungji? No matter how far away it was, the roar of the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven would have been like a bolt from the blue, so the sound should have reached Baengeungji as well.
The Right Envoy of Light said to Hong Mokhan,
“Capture him alive.”
Having received the order, Hong Mokhan led his men in a wide arc around the edge of the pit and came running toward me.
In the meantime, the Right Envoy of Light said,
“You two, retreat. If the Left Envoy arrives, it will be difficult to keep you alive.”
I spoke toward the approaching Hong Mokhan.
“What are you thinking, coming here? You fools.”
I gave a dry cough, then drew my sword. As I stepped back, I put on a performance of staggering once. In truth, it was not acting; my legs really had lost a little strength. Since I had unleashed the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, there was no reason for my internal energy to remain intact. In other words, it was not that I arbitrarily decided the power of the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven; rather, the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, as it formed, scooped out and used my internal energy. It seemed I had gotten far too carried away when I leaped.
My whole body ached, but fortunately, I could still swing a sword.
As I watched the approaching Hong Mokhan, I kept clenching and unclenching my right hand around the wooden sword, wringing out both external and internal power.
When Hong Mokhan and his group came nearby, I let out a long breath and sank down where I stood.
“Hoo…….”
Before I knew it, the Lust Demon, who had closed the distance, was floating in the air. I set down the wooden sword for a moment, then applauded the Lust Demon, who had appeared so suddenly.
Clap clap clap clap clap…….
After all my years of living, to think I would applaud the Lust Demon’s entrance.
“The Lust Demon appears.”
As I watched while applauding, bursts of cold energy went off splendidly in midair. Before I knew it, Hong Mokhan and his group had surrounded the Lust Demon and were pouring attacks on him, but unlike usual, the Lust Demon was wielding two daggers.
They were two Muk Clan daggers.
One was the Lust Demon’s, and the other seemed to be mine, the one I had embedded in the table.
I looked toward where the Right Envoy of Light was.
“…….”
Grand Duke Yang and the Second Son were nowhere to be seen, and the Right Envoy of Light was watching this side.
I spoke to the Right Envoy of Light, who still had not retreated.
“Right Envoy, do you still have lingering regrets? I won. Luck is on my side too, you failed excuse for a life.”
The Right Envoy of Light rose to his feet, crossed his arms, and laughed as he looked at me.
“Sect Leader, do not worry about me. I am faster than the Left Envoy.”
“Is that so?”
Strangely enough, I felt as though I finally understood what the Right Envoy of Light was thinking.
“Right Envoy, were you aiming for both the Second Son and me? You really are a vicious bastard.”
I wondered if the reason he had been dawdling on the other side was that he had been waiting for an opportunity to absorb the Second Son. It seemed that Grand Duke Yang had some sense, and that the Right Envoy had not acted because he did not know what state I was in.
The Right Envoy of Light said,
“Sect Leader, look at this devastation you created. Whether you are the villain or I am the villain, I no longer know. I, too, have felt many things. If I truly walk the path of an inhuman, it will be thanks to you. It was a path even I had been wary of, but you are opening the door for me.”
“Why is it my fault again? You were always that sort of bastard. Don’t blame others.”
The Right Envoy of Light extended his hand and pointed at me.
“I shall retreat. I do not know which road I will take. Nor do I know which village I will go to. I will go wherever I please. I may go to where your sect is, or I may go to Ilyang County. Or perhaps I may go somewhere teeming with black-path forces. Where shall I go? I do not know either.”
I drew in a deep breath, then unleashed my lightness skill and ran along the outer rim of the pit.
As expected, the Right Envoy of Light disappeared while using his lightness skill.
Taking everything I had heard so far together, the Right Envoy of Light meant that he would immediately commit a massacre. What was more, it was no different from saying he would walk the path of an inhuman and indiscriminately absorb jianghu people and innocent civilians alike. In other words, because he had witnessed the disaster brought about by the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven, the Right Envoy of Light was declaring that he would abandon the path of a human.
I thought, what kind of dogshit logic is that……
And yet it seemed like I did bear some blame, which was absurd.