Return of the Mount Hua

Sapaeryeon is invading! (3)

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Power is another name for fear.

Power is the authority to enforce something, the means to carry out one’s will, and at the same time, the blade to slash through the weak.

Therefore, people desire power. Whatever form it takes, they devote their lives to obtaining the power befitting themselves.

And at this moment, Tang Gunak realized.

That among the various forms of power, the most overwhelming is, above all, the numbers.

It seemed as if everything before his eyes was turning black. The horizon touching the blue sky was being completely covered my a murky chaos. Even for Tang Gunak, who had lived a life far from being short, it was a sight hard to describe.

Perhaps others were feeling the same emotions he was now. Before everyone became completely overwhelmed, he had to somehow lift the mood and help them pull themselves together.

But even as he thought this, Tang Gunak couldn’t easily speak up.

Because he knew that no matter what words he tried to say, they cannot diminish the weight of this sight. Because he knew better than anyone that clumsy consolation would only became a poison.

“Ugh”

“Mhmm.”

Groans erupted here and there.

Although they were all giants who shouldered the current Gangho, the fact that each of them was merely sighing was enough to grasp the situation.

Tang Gunak clenched his fists tightly.

Those who use hidden weapons must never let their fingertips tremble, no matter when or where. He’s learned it to the point where it’s been drilled into his ears, and he’s resolved to uphold it countless times. But how different it is ‘to know’ and ‘to do?’

Resisting the fear of the surging waves that seemed ready to engulf this place at any moment, his fingertips began to faintly tremble.

At that moment, something caught his eye.

Something particularly vivid even among that dizzying crowd. It was like a drop of red blood falling into the center of a murky pond.

Tang Gunak unconsciously held his breath.

‘Jang Ilso.’

It’s a bizarre occurrence.

This is not the first time Tang Gunak has faced Jang Ilso. Though one couldn’t say it happened ‘frequently’, it could be said they had met quite a few times.

But the Jang Ilso of now felt so very different. He even seemed like an entirely different person from when Tang Gunak had gone to Maninbang to meet him face-to-face in the past.

What on earth had changed during that time?

“Division Leader. They are…”

Moyong Wigyeong, who stammered as he began to speak, soon shouted, nearly screaming.

“Something, something… we have to do something!”

It meant that since Saparyeon might attack immediately as they were, they needed to give some kind of an order for now.

At that moment, Zhuge Jain stepped forward.

“Please calm down.”

Compared to Moyong Wigyeong, it was a calm voice, but there was no helping the faint trembling at its end. Fortunately, when Moyong Wigyeong regained a bit of composure, Zhuge Jain spoke.

“They won’t charge in recklessly without a plan.”

“Wh-Why? Aren’t they riding the momentum now?”

“…Precisely because of that.”

“What?”

Moyong Wigyeong looked at Zhuge Jain as if he didn’t understand. But Zhuge Jain didn’t bother to answer.

An army is only strong when it can fully utilize its numbers. Even if they tried to maintain formation as strictly as possible during the march, it’s impossible for such a large force to arrive without the slightest disarray.

Therefore, they too needed a brief moment to reorganize their formation before commencing the attack.

However, Zhuge Jain couldn’t voice this out loud. It was obvious what effect saying something like ‘the tiger aiming for the sheep needs time to sharpen its claws’ would have on morale.

Zhuge Jain’s prediction was spot on.

The speed of the enemy, who had been charging with fierce momentum, began to gradually slow down.

Then, the burden on Cheonumaemg who had to face Sapaeryeon began to grow even heavier. The tension of not knowing when they might charge again weighed heavily on their minds. This was because their figures were more clearly visible when they were standing still than when they were running.

Gulp.

Someone swallowed dryly. That sound seemed to represent everyone’s feelings.

At last, when the massive army of Sapaeryeon, which had been surging like a giant wave, came to a halt, everyone’s gaze turned to one place.

Not because someone had asked them to, but as if by some unspoken agreement.

An absurdly profound silence descended.

Despite the gathering of enough people to shake the very ground with just their breathing, not a single hint of sound was heard.

There was no need to question the reason. Someone’s immense presence was suffocating everyone.

A tension-filled silence that allowed not even a moment’s respite, as if it might explode at any moment.

A sudden thought occurred that it might be better if someone just fell down bleeding, but the one at the forefront did not easily grant them a chance to catch their breath.

Finally, Jang Ilso, draped in a red long robe, turned his gaze and slowly scanned those standing before him from the far left to the far right.

Those who met his snake-like, sinister gaze showed various reactions. Some shrank back, some bit their lips, and others displayed fierce hostility.

But one thing was common: none could ignore that gaze.

Jang Ilso’s lips, conspicuously red against his pale face, parted. His faint, nasal voice echoed across the silent land.

“Hmm. Why do all your faces look like that?”

His red lips curled up in a chilling smile.

“It was bound to come to this sooner or later, wasn’t it?”

At these words, it felt as if everyone’s blood turned cold.

Yes. Everyone knew. The confrontation with Sapaeryeon was inevitable, no matter when it happened. Everyone had anticipated that everything would be decided in an all-or-nothing showdown*.

But why did they feel so bewildered?

Could it be that, despite expecting it and believing that the day would come eventually, they secretly hoped that day would never arrive?

“Hmm? Am I wrong?”

Jang Ilso’s gaze pierced through them. As he moved his eyes as if searching for something, he slightly tilted his head as it seemed that he hadn’t found what he was looking for. Then he fixed his gaze on Tang Gunak, who stood at the very center.

“Poison King.”

At the slow call, Tang Gunak maintained his silence. It was to avoid showing that not only his lip but even his mouth was completely dry.

“That’s strange. You look like you’re struggling quite a bit.”

“……Jang Ilso.”

“Well, standing there wearing a crown** that doesn’t fit isn’t an easy thing, after all.”

Jang Ilso chuckled softly and tapped his own neck.

“You might just end up breaking your neck.”

Tang Gunak understood.

Behind Jang Ilso, who was casually speaking, the ranks of Sapaeryeon were quietly moving even now. Probably, somewhere out of sight, Ho Gamyeong was busily giving orders to reorganize their formation.

Even this seemingly meaningless exchange was working to their advantage.

However, Tang Gunak could not easily cut him off. To deny the enemy time to prepare would mean sacrificing the time his own side desperately needed too.

“Jang Ilso. No, Ryeonju of Sapaeryeon.”

Tang Gunak opened his mouth to speak. As the Vice Leader of the Alliance, and also as a warrior.

“It’s not too late to turn back.”

“…Hmm?”

“I’m saying there’s still a chance to stop this reckless and futile endeavor.”

Tang Gunak fixed his sharp gaze at Jang Ilso. However, Jang Ilso let out a scoff as if he found it absurd.

“Haaa. I wondered what you were talking about…”

He even lightly held his forehead and shook his head.

“A position beyond one’s capacity certainly becomes poison. Not knowing what to do, you can only spout obvious things.”

“…”

“Was the position of the Leader of Cheonumaeng that heavy? Hmm? Enough to make the world’s Poison King babble nonsense?”

Tang Gunak ground his teeth fiercely. But even in this situation, he did not attempt to end the conversation.

“Tell me. What remains?”

“…Hm?”

“If we wage war here, rivers of blood will flow. Both the victorious and the defeated will have to endure enormous losses.”

Jang Ilso looked at Tang Gunak with interest.

“And so?”

“By seizing Gangho that has been reduced to an empty shell, what exactly will you gain? You too must risk your life, and you could even lose everything you have. Does that trifling word ‘conquest’ hold such meaning for you?”

This was also a genuine question that ‘the human’ Tang Gunak held.

Jang Ilso, the leader of Maninbang, Paegum Jang Ilso. What exactly is the driving force that moves him? Do the things he seeks truly hold enough value to justify such sacrifices?

Of course, Tang Gunak also desires the revival of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Why wouldn’t he have the desire to elevate the Tang Clan to the greatest family under heaven, or even beyond that?

But though he desired it, he also did not. Because he knew better than anyone how much would have to be lost in the process.

“Conquest is nothing but an empty shell.”

“…”

“Was your life so worthless that you would throw everything away for that facade? Is that truly so, Jang Ilso?”

Tang Gunak’s intense outcry pierced Jang Ilso’s ears. He must have surely recognized the earnestness embedded in that shout, but Jang Ilso’s reaction was utterly indifferent.

“See, this is what I mean.”

Clicking his tongue briefly as if looking at something pitiful, Jang Ilso slowly ran his long fingers over his lips.

“If you still don’t understand, I’ll tell you.”

“…”

“It’s not because it has value that I want it. Understand?”

A smile spread across Jang Ilso’s face. It was clearly a mocking sneer.

For a moment, Tang Gunak was engulfed by a deep sense of unease. Perhaps it was because he instinctively knew that the target at the end of that mocking sneer was not himself.

“It’s because I desire it that it gains value.”

Then, where was Jang Ilso’s mockery directed?

“Even if I lose everything, even if it means denying all the life I’ve lived, even if I end up grasping at an empty shell I can never truly have.”

Jang Ilso’s gentle voice sank heavily.

“Even so, if I desire it… from that moment, it gains enough value. Enough to trade everything for it.”

“…Who on earth decides such things?”

“You’re saying foolish things. Of course, it’s me, isn’t it?”

“…”

“The one who sacrifices, the one who craves, the one who is ridiculed, and finally the one to revel – all of it is me.”

Tang Gunak’s fingertips began to tremble.

Where did that madness lead to, and what was its source? To Tang Gunak, Jang Ilso was something incomprehensible. He simply couldn’t understand.

“You are…”

When Tang Gunak was about to say something again, Ho Gamyeong appeared right behind Jang Ilso.

“Ryeonju, all the preparations are complete.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Jang Ilso tilted his head slightly to the back to check behind him. Then, with a smile on his face, he looked at Tang Gunak.

“This is all there is to a conversation I can hold with a jester weighed down by their own burdens. If you want to play more, you should bring a grown up.”

“Paegun!”

“Don’t whine. There’s no need for that.”

A brilliantly radiant smile momentarily blossomed on Jang IIso’s face.

“Because I’ve already waited long enough.”

As if those words were a signal, an overwhelming heatwave began to emanate from Sapaeryeon’s warriors lined up behind Jang Ilso.

Though it had been a brief respite, it was enough to steady their breaths and soothe their weary bodies. The boiling heat within them was hungrily searching for a place to erupt.

“What are you doing?”

Into the ears of all those fully fired up, Jang Ilso’s calm voice quietly penetrated.

“Tear them apart. Just as you always have.”

Boom!

The sound of countless people simultaneously kicking off the ground reverberated like a giant drumbeat.

“Uwoaaaahhhhh!”

“Kill theeeeeeem aaaaall!”

The army of Sapaeryeon, having completely abandoned the last vestiges of reason, began to fiercely charge towards Cheonumaeng.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

Jang Ilso’s loud laughter pierced through the frenzied shouts filled with madness.

Next chapter >>>

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*Korean idiom 건곤일척 taking its roots in Chinese idiom 乾坤一擲 meaning ‘staking everything, playing for all-or-nothing.’

**감투 – gamtu – government official’s hat (archaic). Can also mean ‘a title/high rank position’ in more modern slang. So Jang Ilso is playing with words, about the title that doesn’t suit Tang Gunak.

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