Return of the Mount Hua

I’m going to show them what true despair is. (5)

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Beop Jong stared at Maehwado with a totally bewildered expression.

The fleet of Maninbang led by Jang Ilso had blocked the view between them and the island, but it was not too difficult to observe the scene through the gaps between the ships.

‘…What on earth is happening?’

A full-blown war was underway. In the midst of such intense chaos, Jang Ilso had arrived on Maehwado. Even a three-year-old could predict what would happen next.

Yet, nothing was happening on the island.

Not a single scream, not the clash of weapons could be heard.

It was silent.

The excessive stillness seemed to cut through the chest, making it all the more chilling. The corners of Beop Jong’s lips trembled faintly.

He could sense it instinctively.

The source of that silence.

Paegun Jang Ilso.

It was clear that he was plotting something at this very moment. It felt as though a gigantic serpent, one that could even threaten the heavens, was coiling itself around that island, tightening its grip.

But…

‘What exactly…?’

What could he possibly attempt in this situation? From the moment Jang Ilso had arrived here –  no, from the moment Shaolin had planted their feet here – the outcome had practically been decided.

“…Amitabha.”

A prayer in a low voice escaped his lips.

He simply could not read it. The only thing he could perceive was the thick, lingering malice seeping from the island. Even observing it from afar was enough to send chills down his spine…

‘Please…’

Whatever it was that Jang Ilso was aiming for, getting entangled in it would surely lead to ruin. Beop Jong desperately prayed that Namgung Hwang would respond properly.

However… even then, Beop Jong did not yet know.

What he truly should have been keeping his senses sharpened for was not Namgung clan’s reaction.

It was what the venomous fangs of the serpent coiling around Maehwado were truly aiming at.

Jang Ilso’s lips twisted in a strange curve as he turned to look at Namgung Hwang.

Namgung Hwang looked as if his soul had been drained from him.

The figure that once seemed to be the very embodiment of a conqueror had completely vanished.

What remained was merely the figure of a defeated man, deceived by a silver tongue into denying everything about himself.

“Hmm.”

Jang Ilso let out a nasal sound and slowly licked his red lips with his tongue.

“I have lost…”

“…”

“No, Namgung Hwang.”

Namgung Hwang, who had kept his head bowed low, slowly raised it.

His chin was trembling slightly, as if revealing the emotions he was barely holding back.

“You should plead for your life. Understand?”

“…”

“Be groveling and miserable. Yes, that’s how you should say it.”

It wasn’t the tone one would use to speak to an enemy.

It was more like soothing a disobedient child.

And perhaps, for Namgung Hwang, that tone was even more humiliating than the situation itself.

“You seem to misunderstand. This isn’t a duel between you and me. Nor is it a battle between Namgung Clan and Maninbang. Got it?”

The broad smile on Jang Ilso’s face was so bright it seemed all the more cruel.

“You don’t even have the right to speak of defeat to me.”

Namgung Hwang’s shoulders trembled violently.

The giant who had carried the name of Namgung was collapsing.

Utterly, pitifully, and cruelly.

“So then, try saying it properly again.”

Jang Ilso’s whisper spread clearly across the island where everyone was holding their breath.

“Spare me.”

“…”

“Now, try begging, Namgung Hwang. Only then are you a good boy.”

A cruel sense of triumph glimmered across Jang Ilso’s face. That expression alone spoke more clearly of the situation than any words could.

Jang Ilso had, quite literally, without lifting a single finger, pushed Namgung Hwang and Namgung clan into the depths of crushing defeat.

Into a despair more horrifying than if they had all died fighting.

Namgung Hwang turned his gaze away from Jang Ilso and looked at his swordsmen.

Those who had come here trusting only in him.

Those who, even though things had come this far, had never uttered a single word of reproach.

Did he have the heart to watch those very people die before his eyes?

Namgung Hwang’s twisted lips parted.

From them flowed a desperate muttering, far more harrowing than a blood-boiling scream.

“Spare…”

Jang Ilso watched the sight with a smiling face.

“Spare… me…”

His chin trembled, his bloodshot eyes wavered, and his hands shook like a leaf.

It was the moment when a giant of the era was finally about to lay everything down.

Paaaah!

In that instant, a sword shot through the air, cutting across the distance and surging straight towards Jang Ilso’s face.

“Hmm?”

Clang!

Jang Ilso casually raised his hand and blocked the sword with the ring on his finger.

A dead silence fell over the area.

The most astonished of all were the swordsmen of Namgung clan.

Every one of them widened their eyes and gasped at the sudden turn of events.

They groaned in despair, thinking that the lifeline they had barely grasped might have been severed by that single attack.

Cling.

The chilling sound of Jang Ilso’s ring twisting the sword blade echoed across the island.

“…What do you think you’re doing, Young Lord?”

Namgung Dowi.

Gritting his teeth, he snarled as he pressed more strength into the hand gripping the sword aimed at Jang Ilso.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jang Ilso.”

“…”

“I will die here.”

Jang Ilso looked at him with eyes full of intrigue.

“Do-Dowi!”

Namgung Myeong let out a loud cry.

“What are you doing?! Stand down!”

“And what if I do?”

“W-What?”

Namgung Dowi glanced back, grinding his teeth.

His bloodshot eyes seemed poised to bore straight through Namgung Myeong.

“If I stand down, are we supposed to beg this man for our lives and crawl back to Anhui?”

“…”

“And then what? Are we supposed to tell the children waiting for us at the family estate that we fought with all our might against the Evil Sects?!”

His last words were almost a scream.

“Father!”

Namgung Dowi shouted at Namgung Hwang.

“A swordsman who has lost his sense of righteousness is no swordsman at all! What we must protect to the very end is not our lives, but the soul of a martial artist!”

Namgung Hwang’s body trembled slightly.

“Those were the words you taught me! You, no one else but you! And now you’re telling me to beg for my life in front of a Sapa bastard?”

At that desperate cry, Namgung Hwang bit down hard on his lip before speaking.

“…Stand down, Dowi.”

“No! I will not stand down.”

“Dowi!”

Namgung Dowi glared at Jang Ilso.

“You said that one’s life is one’s own choice, Jang Ilso?”

“I did.”

“Then I…”

Namgung Dowi’s eyes were trembling.

These were not the words of someone speaking with unshakable conviction.

Even as he spoke, his heart wavered several times.

But perhaps because of that, his words carried even greater weight.

“I will die here.”

“…”

At the moment those words fell, every Namgung swordsman trembled.

Hotheaded bravado? The naive choice of someone who knows nothing?

Impossible.

Because those trembling hands spoke the truth.

Namgung Dowi was facing the terror of death head-on.

Gritting his teeth, he was standing against the overwhelming evil that was Jang Ilso.

“Namgung Dowi! What are you…!”

Namgung Myeong hurriedly tried to stop him, but Namgung Dowi cut him off firmly.

“Live.”

“…”

“Go back alive. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s the right choice.”

Namgung Myeong closed his mouth.

“But at least one person… at least one person must uphold Namgung’s spirit. For the sake of the children of Namgung who await us!”

Namgung Dowi bit down on his lips.

“That is the duty of one who bears the blood of Namgung.”

No one could open their mouths.

What must be protected to the very end is not one’s life, but the soul of a martial artist.

It was something not only Namgung Dowi, but all of them, had heard countless times.

Yet, when pushed to the very edge, they had failed to choose honor.

And now, in such a moment, it was Namgung Dowi – still so young – who was upholding what he had learned.

A wave of solemnity and shame swept over them, gripping at their hearts.

Some raised their heads with bloodshot eyes.

Some instead bowed their heads lower.

Some clenched their fists so tightly that their nails dug into their palms.

Their reactions varied, but their thoughts were clear.

In the candle which flame had gone out, leaving only acrid smoke behind, a faint spark flared to life once more.

Perhaps it meant nothing at all.

Honor, righteousness – perhaps they were just illusions, as Jang Ilso had said.

But right now, there was someone here willing to stake their life on that illusion.

Grit.

The sound of someone grinding their teeth could be heard.

The emotions, rising violently from the soles of their feet, spread like wildfire.

Their bloodshot eyes followed Namgung Dowi’s back.

The one they had protected all this time.

The future of Namgung clan they should have risked their lives to protect.

That future was now throwing away his life to protect their final shred of pride.

Anyone who called themselves a martial artist, anyone who knew how to wield a sword, could not watch such a sight without being moved.

The dead look in their eyes began to fill with venom again. As if, given even the slightest opening, they would explode into action once more.

But at that moment, what they heard was Jang Ilso’s languid voice. 

“Hmm.”

And the moment they heard what followed, everyone in Namgung clan instinctively realized that something was wrong.

“That’s how it should be.”

Even Namgung Dowi, who had been so resolute, looked at Jang Ilso with great bewilderment.

Paegun looked at Namgung Dowi with a smile as gentle as could be.

“Yes, that’s how Namgung Clan should be. I was worried, you know. Worried that you might beg pathetically and return alive from this place.”

Namgung Dowi thought.

This man is the devil sent to beguile humanity.

That soft, warm voice, carrying not a trace of malice, was surely the voice of the devil.

Behind that voice lurked something thick and heavy, something no human could even imagine.

“A very commendable Young Lord.”

Jang Ilso smiled brightly, as if praising a child for doing something good.

Cling.

Jang Ilso lightly pushed aside the sword in his hand and brushed his fingers casually.

“There’s no helping it.”

Then he spread his arms slightly and shrugged slowly.

“If you refuse to accept mercy, I’ll have no choice but to grant you what you wish.”

“…”

“Gamyeong-ah.”

“Yes, Ryeonju.”

“Everyone. Withdraw.”

Ho Gamyeong looked at Jang Ilso with eyes that widened in an instant.

The bewilderment and shock reflected in his eyes were so clear that even the swordsmen of Namgung clan could recognize them at a glance.

“…Are you referring to Maninbang?”

Normally, he would never have dared to question Jang Ilso.

But Ho Gamyeong was so deeply surprised that he could not help himself.

Jang Ilso clicked his tongue slightly, an expression of mild annoyance crossing his face.

“Gamyeong-ah, you’re not listening properly. I said everyone. The entire Saparyeon is to withdraw from this island.”

“R-Ryeonju, that is…”

At that moment, Jang Ilso’s gaze flicked sharply.

Under that icy glare, Ho Gamyeong flinched and bowed his head immediately.

“I will carry out your command.”

“Good, good.”

As if nothing had happened, Jang Ilso smiled again and slowly swept his gaze over Namgung Hwang, Namgung clan, and Namgung Dowi.

“Such moving spirit.”

He nodded like an actor stepping onto a well-prepared stage, wearing an expression of pure admiration.

At that moment, an even deeper sense of unease gnawed at Namgung Dowi’s chest.

“Then… it’s only proper to grant you an end worthy of such spirit.”

Jang Ilso turned his body.

His crimson robe flared like wings, fluttering in the river breeze.

From him, who had turned away, came a quiet and composed voice.

“Die here. While agonizing over whether your choice was right.”

Once his decision was made, there was not a shred of hesitation left.

Jang Ilso simply walked away without looking back.

At his gesture, Ho Gamyeong quickly signaled his men with a wave of his hand.

The pirates, utterly bewildered and unable to follow what was happening, stood frozen at the order.

But soon, with faces full of utter confusion, they began to leave Maehwado.

It was an unbelievable sight – enemies who had once pressed blades to their throats now lowering their weapons and retreating the way they had come.

Namgung clan could do nothing but stand there and watch, unable to react rashly.

“This is…”

Namgung Myeong muttered in a strangled voice.

In the eyes of the swordsmen of Namgung clan, suspicion began to rise beyond mere doubt.

Could it be…

Was Jang Ilso’s offer truly an act of mercy?

Had he not been hiding any ulterior motives, not driving them towards some trap, but genuinely trying to spare them?

It couldn’t be.

It absolutely couldn’t be…

Then why was that man turning his back on them without the slightest hesitation? Why was he not pressing them further? Why wasn’t he, at the very least, taking their lives himself?

What, exactly, had they just done?

As everyone struggled to even begin to grasp how they should interpret this situation, only Namgung Dowi had a single, chilling thought.

Perhaps everything that had happened on this island had been part of Jang Ilso’s plan.

From the moment Jang Ilso first arrived here until this very moment – perhaps they had never escaped from the palm of his hand, not even for a single instant.

“Ryeonju. What about them…?”

“Surround the island with the ships so tightly that not even an ant can escape.”

“Excuse me? Ah, yes! I will do so immediately.”

Ho Gamyeong bit his lip slightly.

Then, unable to hold back, he cautiously asked.

“May I ask… what you plan to do next?”

Jang Ilso smiled brightly.

“What else? I’m going to show them what true despair is.”

“…Ah.”

Ho Gamyeong nodded, as if he understood.

“Certainly, an easy death would be too much luxury for them.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Gamyeong-ah, what’s wrong with you today? You’re missing the point, so unlike yourself. That’s not it.”

“…Pardon?”

When Ho Gamyeong asked with a puzzled look, Jang Ilso twisted the corner of his mouth into a smirk.

“Namgung was never my concern from the start. My target is…”

And slowly, he shifted his gaze.

“Those monks.”

Murderous intent filled Jang Ilso’s eyes as he stared across the river at Shaolin.

“The board is finally set. Now it begins. Come, let’s show those bastards just how much filth they have hidden inside themselves!”

As he laughed, truly delighted, Ho Gamyeong felt chills run all over his body.

It was the moment Jang Ilso bared his venomous fangs to the world.

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