Episode 104. What Agony Shall I Bestow?

As I followed the Namcheon Alliance's forces, I thought their advance was slow. They couldn't even preserve their mobility, nor did they have any particular strategy. It felt more like they were simply relocating from the Namcheon Alliance to the Paegeom Society.

Moreover, they had stopped once at Pokyang to reorganize their ranks, giving the Paegeom Society ample time to take notice.

Of course, since I wasn't the commander-in-chief, I couldn't interfere with every little thing.

Whenever I occasionally heard the laughter of Sado Haeng, who was at the vanguard of the advance, I felt a strange sensation.

‘Is this guy already deluding himself into thinking he's won?’

It wasn't my place to care, but if so, he was an idiot.

The Namcheon forces had chosen the fastest route to the Paegeom Society's main camp. They gradually picked up speed and entered the hill path of Musan (霧山), which I had often visited in my previous life.

I stared at the hill path with a bewildered expression. Going down this path led to a place called Musan Gorge (霧山峽谷).

‘Is he insane?’

Musan Gorge was thick with fog at dawn and night. Thankfully, there was no fog today, but the terrain itself had high rocky hills rising on both sides of the path, making it the perfect place for an ambush.

The reason I knew Musan Gorge so well was because the experts of Kwaedang, obsessed with lightness skill, often hung out here. The places that Kwaedang experts gathered to visit were fixed among themselves. Among them, Musan Gorge was the place they visited when scaling cliffs.

I spoke to the man leading the support troops.

“Hey, if we keep going this way, we'll reach Musan Gorge. If we're ambushed, half of us will die. The weak ones will definitely die.”

The leader frowned and immediately replied.

“Is that so? I'll go report it.”

The man unleashed his lightness skill and shot forward. I also increased my speed, briefly leaving the column of support troops to head toward the vanguard. Shortly after, the leader who had gone to report returned with a bewildered expression.

“What did he say?”

“He told us to shut up and break through quickly.”

“Didn't he even send scouts?”

“Ah, scouts……”

The leader smacked his lips and then dashed fiercely toward the front again.

I moved away from the column to the left again and looked around here and there, just like the leader had.

‘They should at least be moderately stupid. What the hell are they doing?’

Ever since I mentioned the gorge up ahead, tension had settled on the faces of the men marching. These guys hadn't joined this fight because they were incredibly confident in their martial arts from the start; they were men who only cared about the spoils they would gain when a large organization like the Paegeom Society was smashed.

They had all kept their mouths shut when departing, but after hearing the words “Musan Gorge,” they had begun to murmur among themselves and grow agitated.

I unleashed my lightness skill and stretched forward.

Overtaking the Namcheon Alliance's forces, I looked at Sado Haeng's group, which was advancing mixed in with the executives. The leader who had gone to ask about the scouts was currently being berated by one of the executives.

“Why are you asking about scouts? Have you lost your mind? A report already came in that there's nothing unusual. Keep your nose out of it.”

“Ah, I apologize.”

In truth, they weren't a trained army but merely a gathering of martial artists who had learned martial arts. Still, I was dumbfounded by how insensitive they were to the terrain.

First of all, it was absurd that the scouts had already returned.

They should have sent someone outstanding in lightness skill; wouldn't they have examined the rocky hills instead of the flat road?

My busybody nature was gradually stoking my temper.

For experts like Sado Haeng or myself, there was no chance of dying immediately, but the situation was different for the weak riffraff and low-ranking underlings who had come to offer support.

I was the type to say what I wanted to say, so I spoke toward Sado Haeng.

“Alliance Chief, have you prepared for the gorge?”

Sado Haeng looked at me and replied in a displeased tone.

“Are you speaking of an ambush? The Paegeom Society Chief is dead; what ambush could there be? They must be busy choosing the next chief among themselves. There are too many there claiming to be the second-in-command.”

Still, Sado Haeng seemed to sense something slightly ominous, as he spoke to one of the executives.

“Go to the rear and tell them to increase their speed. They'll just have to endure the fatigue. Tell them we'll give them time to rest after we break through at full force.”

“Yes, Alliance Chief.”

Thinking it was my last attempt, I dissuaded Sado Haeng until the very end.

“Even now, turn back……”

Sado Haeng cut me off as though he had reached the limit of his patience.

“Shut up! What would a brat know?”

I smiled crookedly, dumbfounded by Sado Haeng's reaction.

‘What an absurd bastard.’

This was why, in the old classics, generals lacking in strategy were miserably crushed by men like Zhuge Liang or Zhang Zifang.

Honestly, from my perspective, there wasn't much difference between the Paegeom Society and the Namcheon Alliance, so even if they all died together in mutual destruction, I wouldn't feel much.

However, I wanted to watch them fight fairly with martial might, not watch them get annihilated by ambushes or schemes.

Was this also my busybody nature?

Whether it was busybodying or whatever, I was a man who said what needed to be said. I threw my words at Sado Haeng, who was at the head of the column.

“If there's an ambush and roughly a hundred die, that's on you, Alliance Chief.”

“Hah……”

“This crazy bastard……”

The moment the executives' expressions paled, Sado Haeng also stopped.

“The brat crosses the line.”

As Sado Haeng looked at me with a rigid face, the Namcheon Alliance's forces that had been advancing finally all stopped.

As if displaying his last ounce of patience, Sado Haeng pointed his chin at me.

“Who the hell is this brat?”

The man who had been the examiner replied.

“He is a support volunteer from the Unwol Brotherhood, dark path practitioners of Jeongpyeong Lake.”

“I've never heard of them. Hey, little brother……it's admirable that you came to help, but you might die by my hand first. You dare speak informally to me?”

I looked at the Namcheon Alliance's forces who had stopped before entering the gorge, then fixed my gaze on Sado Haeng again.

“Both the words spoken and the troops advanced are like spilled water that cannot return to the basin (覆水不返盆). It cannot be undone. Look at this terrain. If there's an ambush in the rocky hills and they strike from front and rear, it's a losing battle. Choose. Will you break through or detour? This isn't the time for you to worry about my tone. One who calls himself a leader should read the situation. Have you lost your mind?”

Was it because I spoke with such confidence?

Without answering me, Sado Haeng turned his head and finally stared at the gorge with a somewhat serious expression. Then his gaze shifted to the rocky hills. Just then, a small pebble began to roll from atop the rocky hill, falling to the flat ground, bouncing several times, and then stopping.

“……”

At that moment, someone walked out alone from the other side of Musan Gorge.

“Bastard son of Namcheon, what business brings you here?”

At the unpleasant voice, Sado Haeng's eyes widened.

I also looked toward the gorge and saw an enemy standing alone in the open. It was Cheon Dangju of the Paegeom Society. The moment I saw him standing there so boldly, a laugh escaped me.

‘Wow……what an interesting guy.’

Cheon Dangju approached the Namcheon Alliance's forces while continuing his provocation.

“Hey, you bastard who doesn’t even know who his father is. Are you that afraid of the Society Leader? You sent assassins, and only then did you drag your forces here… Isn’t that a little too petty? When the Society Leader was alive, you hid yourself so carefully, and now you’re pretending to be a man? A rat bastard who only sends assassins. To think Sadohaeng was this kind of man.”

Hall Master Cheon not only pinned what I had done on Sadohaeng, he provoked him with mockery on top of it. At Hall Master Cheon’s words, I alone laughed.

‘Crazy bastard. Insulting his parents… You’re dead for now.’

I watched the idiot Sadohaeng.

‘Surely, he’ll still hold back, right?’

This was a moment when he had to endure.

But as they say, “surely” is what gets people killed. Sadohaeng drew the curved saber from his back and charged alone toward the red-clad man.

Raising a cloud of dust as he ran, Sadohaeng shouted.

“Cheon Seryeong, you rat bastard. If you run away again today, you’re no man.”

It seemed Sadohaeng already knew Hall Master Cheon.

I asked the officers what I was curious about.

“Did the Alliance Leader and Hall Master Cheon clash before?”

One officer replied.

“They fought once before, when a dispute broke out in neutral territory.”

“Ah, is that so?”

It made me wonder if it hadn’t been an accidental quarrel, but part of Hall Master Cheon’s grand design. In the gangho, there were always bastards who loved scheming.

Then the cunning Hall Master Cheon and the foul-tempered Sadohaeng clashed one-on-one in the very center of the gorge.

The sound of weapons colliding struck the cliffs, and Sadohaeng’s battle cries rang out thunderously. But Hall Master Cheon held out fairly well in his own right.

I watched the sorry sight of those idiots fighting, then said to the officers of the Namcheon Alliance.

“Soon, when Hall Master Cheon retreats, hidden weapons will pour down, arrows will rain, and stones will come flying. What are you going to do? Go save your Alliance Leader, or watch that idiot bastard thrash around by himself?”

One officer watched the fight and spoke in an indifferent tone.

“How could our Alliance Leader be pushed back by Hall Master Cheon? Look at the fight.”

I cursed all the officers at once.

“You stupid bastards. Are you stronger than Sadohaeng? Just because you have eyes doesn’t mean you can see everything. Hall Master Cheon’s skill isn’t inferior to Sadohaeng’s. He’s only pretending it is.”

At this point, I couldn’t tell whether I was meddling, merely spectating, or acting like someone’s nagging mother-in-law.

Since Sadohaeng was spraying saber qi everywhere, piles of stones were bursting in all directions, and the rocks rolling down from the rocky hills were growing larger and larger.

A situation that looked precarious no matter who saw it.

While the officers watched the fight with anxious hearts…

There was a sharp clang, and Hall Master Cheon was pushed straight back. Floating in the air, Hall Master Cheon scattered reddish powder in front of him, then used his lightness skill and began to flee.

Wary of the red powder suddenly spreading through the air, Sadohaeng sent out saber wind as he retreated.

Sadohaeng roared.

“Cheon Seryeong!”

Cheon Seryeong’s laughter echoed through the gorge, and just as I had expected, the forces of the Tyrant Sword Society revealed themselves on the rocky hills on both sides of the gorge. At the same time, they began firing all manner of hidden weapons and arrows at Sadohaeng, who stood alone.

The moment I saw it, I was impressed by Hall Master Cheon.

Originally, he must have intended to attack the Namcheon Alliance’s forces with that ambush. But when they stopped at the entrance of the gorge and did not enter, Hall Master Cheon had personally stepped forward, as if adapting to the variable, and lured Sadohaeng in.

He was probably thinking of killing the enemy leader first and then starting an all-out battle.

Even though I knew I shouldn’t keep admiring the enemy’s schemes, I felt strangely like Sima Yi facing Zhuge Liang.

It was irritating, but I also wanted to praise him. That sort of feeling?

Of course, that didn’t mean Hall Master Cheon was as outstanding as Zhuge Liang. It meant he possessed enough strategy to toy with someone like Sadohaeng.

While Sadohaeng was flailing like mad, knocking away the hidden weapons flying at him from every direction, I watched the officers.

“Bastards who only believe what they see with their own eyes… You’re pathetic beyond words.”

Sadohaeng’s fate now depended on the officers.

Would they set out to save their leader?

Or would they watch, because there was a traitor like Hall Master Cheon among them too?

If the officers rushed out, Sadohaeng’s chances of survival would rise. If the officers held their positions, they would preserve their forces but lose Sadohaeng.

So many hidden weapons were pouring down like sheets of rain that Sadohaeng couldn’t even use his lightness skill to escape. Since these were the hidden weapons and arrows originally meant to attack the Namcheon Alliance’s forces, how could there not be a great number of them?

Alone, Sadohaeng was desperately blocking the pitch-black rain of arrows, hidden weapons, and stones pouring down around him. His clothes began to tear, and though blood was flowing from various places on his upper body, he was still rampaging like a wild beast.

As I watched Sadohaeng and the officers of the Namcheon Alliance, I unconsciously let one sentence slip from my mouth.

“Are you even members of the Black Path?”

As soon as I finished speaking, one officer drew his sword and sprang forward without another word.

There was no call to save the Alliance Leader, nor any order to advance.

Then every officer who had been waiting began charging into the gorge where the rain of arrows was falling. It simply felt as though one man had leapt out, and the rest followed after him.

When the officers of the Namcheon Alliance all plunged into the gorge at once, the Namcheon Alliance’s forces also advanced into the gorge where hidden weapons were pouring down, without any particular complaints.

It seemed Sadohaeng had at least earned the trust of his subordinates.

In an instant, with a thunderous rush, the Namcheon Alliance’s forces charged past me on both sides.

I turned around with my arms crossed.

Most of the reinforcements who had come to get paid had been watching the situation, and now, perhaps deciding this was their chance, they began turning their backs and fleeing.

I burst out laughing in disbelief.

“They really do all sorts of things.”

In the end, thanks to the stupid, ignorant Sadohaeng, the Namcheon Alliance received no help from the reinforcements, and only its own forces entered the gorge, which was unfavorable terrain. The one fortunate thing was that some of the officers and troops were taking the rough paths that branched off to both sides and advancing up the rocky hills.

Some officers had rushed in to save Sadohaeng.

The officers leading the troops had gone to strike the Tyrant Sword Society atop the rocky hills.

I watched the battle between the two sides for a while with my arms crossed.

This was a stage I had set.

Literally, an asura field.

But the Tyrant Sword Society had stood by as their leader entered the jaws of death alone.

The Namcheon Alliance had all entered the jaws of death to save their leader. As soon as I saw the difference between the two forces with my own eyes, I entered the gorge where those bastards dwelling in the depths were squabbling like idiots.

With my hands clasped behind my back, I walked toward Hall Master Cheon. A man walking through a place where arrows rained down as if taking a stroll, pondering what kind of pain to bestow upon his enemies—that was me.

Listening to the screams of those who had begun falling from the cliffs, I muttered.

“Welcome to Kuaedang’s gorge.”