If there is such a thing as fate. (1)
“Ooooooh!”
Sparks scattered as swords clashed fiercely.
Facing the onslaught of ruthless sword energy and thick, seething hatred, Baek Cheon’s mind turned blank the instant he confronted the sight.
‘Why?’
He could never have imagined it. Yet at the same time, he had no choice but to accept it.
If the members of Cheonumaeng, who were tracking Jang Ilso saw them, how would they have reacted? Masked figures who were clearly fighting on the side of Sapaeryeon, each one emanating an extraordinary aura. If they witnessed those people leaving the battlefield without suffering any particular harm…
‘There’s nothing to think about.’
Of course they would have tried to pursue them.
Unlike the others who scattered and ran, they were still withdrawing while maintaining their group identity. From Cheonumaeng’s perspective, there was no choice but to worry about what sort of aftermath these people might bring.
Even Baek Cheon himself, placed in such a situation, would have shared the same thought. He would have pursued them relentlessly, attacked, and thoroughly annihilated them.
Diancang? There was no need to consider their position. Whatever the reason, they could not simply let themselves be killed by those coming after their lives.
The collision between these two standpoints led directly to this tragedy.
One of Cheonumaeng’s swordsmen swung his blade, brimming with killing intent.
“You filthy Sapa scum! You’re those bastards from Hubei, aren’t you!”
The venomous hatred spilling from that shouted accusation pierced Baek Cheon’s heart. Baek Cheon belatedly recognized the blade swung by that swordsman and his tattered uniform.
‘Paeng Family?’
He was a member of a clan that had nearly been wiped out by Jang Ilso in Hubei. One of the few remaining survivors poured his boiling hatred upon the masked men.
“Die! Die! Dieeeeeeeee!”
Paeng Family’s swordsman lost his reason, rampaging wildly as he swung his blade.
“Die already! You filthy dogs!”
The masked men were not about to take it quietly, either.
Fwoooosh!
Like a flash of lightning cutting through the air, the sword instantly cleaved Paeng family’s swordsman’s shoulder.
“Kraaagh!”
“Hhh……..”
It looked as though the face hidden by the mask was twisted in agony.
“Shut your mouth…! We hate you just as much as you hate us!”
“What are you spouting, you filthy Sapa mongrel!”
Clang!
Sword and blade collided violently.
Every fight needs a reason at first. But as the fighting continues, those initial reasons lose their meaning. The weight of the lives lost and sacrificed crushes the survivors, robbing them of the freedom to think calmly.
When all higher purposes vanish, only endless hatred towards the enemy remains. Who would dare to condemn such rage as unjustified?
Slice!
“Aaaaaargh!”
Someone’s scream pierced through the chaos. Blood sprayed, obscuring the vision.
Although such scenes were common on a battlefield, to Baek Cheon, this sight felt more horrifying than any depiction of hell.
“Sahyeong!”
At Baek Sang’s shout, Baek Cheon snapped back to his senses. Right, this was no time to be standing there in a daze.
‘Who is leading this group?’
Jin Songwon, the Sect Leader of Diancang, was nowhere to be seen.
Even if he were here, there was no guarantee that a conversation with him would be enough to stop them. Jin Songwon had already conceded much to him.
And to be blunt, there was no guarantee that Jin Songwon still held strong influence over them.
He was the Sect Leader who turned into a dog of the Evil Sects. Even if there was no other way, not everyone would understand his reasons. Moreover, Baek Cheon had personally witnessed Diancang’s disciples showing intense resentment towards him.
In that case, there was only one answer. He had to stop Cheonumaeng, not Diancang.
Baek Cheon’s eyes widened as he urgently scanned the warriors of Cheonumaeng. Their attire varied greatly, mixed chaotically. With so many sects tangled together, it was hard to figure out who was in command.
‘Damn it, who the hell…’
Suddenly, Baek Cheon’s eyes grew even wider.
“Ooooooooh!”
Two streams of sword energy soared up. It was as though a black dragon and a white dragon were intertwined together, ascending to the heavens [승천(昇天)].
The moment he saw that distinctive sword energy, two syllables flashed through Baek Cheon’s mind.
‘Wudang!’
His gaze darted towards the origin of the sword energy, landing upon a one-eyed swordsman crossing blades with a masked disciple of Diancang. It was someone Baek Cheon knew all too well.
“Mu Jin!”
Without delay, Baek Cheon, who had reflexively shouted his name, kicked off from the ground.
“Damn it! Are you insane? You’ll get yourself killed, Sahyeong!”
Baek Sang shrieked and tried to hold him back.
Anyone with eyes could see how perilous the battlefield ahead was. No matter that they had fought their way here through the remnants of Sapaeryeon, this battle was on an entirely different level.
Those who had lost themselves in hatred for each other wouldn’t even notice Baek Cheon. The slightest misstep would send his head flying from his shoulders.
“Sahyeong!”
Baek Cheon must have known that as well. Yet he hurled himself without hesitation into the thick of the raging sword energies, as though prepared to throw away his life.
“Aagh! You lunatic!”
Baek Sang cried out and dove in beside Baek Cheon. If he couldn’t stop him, he at least had to prevent Baek Cheon from losing his life in vain.
“Dojang!”
As Baek Sang had predicted, those consumed by the battle paid no heed to Baek Cheon. They simply unleashed their sword energy with all their might at anything that stood in their way.
Srrrk!
Fragments of the incoming sword energy grazed Baek Cheon’s cheek. In an instant, his shoulder and leg were soaked in blood.
“Mu Jin Dojang!”
Just as those attacking paid Baek Cheon no mind, Baek Cheon likewise paid no attention to the wounds on his own body.
In a flash, he charged up to Mu Jin and raised his sword. Then he struck Mu Jin’s sword mid-swing.
Kaaang!
Mu Jin, who instinctively tried to counter the sudden attack, flinched and stopped his sword. Even amid the chaos, he recognized Baek Cheon’s face.
“…You?”
“Stop, please! You don’t have to do this. They….”
“You fool!”
Kwaaang!
Right then, without a moment’s hesitation, Mu Jin kicked Baek Cheon in the stomach.
“Guhk!”
Baek Cheon went flying backwards.
“If you’re just going to spout nonsense, get lost! Damn you!”
A savage fury burned in Mu Jin’s bloodshot eyes.
“Stop? Why? Why should we? Are you telling us to show mercy to those who killed our brothers and burned down Wudang?”
At those words, the other Wudang disciples’ eyes also brimmed with vicious killing intent.
After glaring at Baek Cheon as if ready to devour him, Mu Jin wasted no further words and charged once more towards the masked men.
“Kill all of Jang Ilso’s dogs!”
“Oooooooh!”
Not only the disciples Wudang but also those from other sects were swept up in Mu Jin’s vehement rage.
“You sure talk big, you Central Plains dogs.”
Likewise, the masked disciples of Diancang spat their murderous intent at Cheonumaeng’s members, as though chewing on their words.
It wasn’t only Cheonumaeng that bore a grudge. From Diancang’s perspective, the blame for everything rested upon the Central Plains’ martial artists who had stood idle during Sapaeryeon’s march into Yunnan. Thus, to them, the Alliance’s appeals to righteous vengeance seemed nothing but a farce.
For those desperately seeking someone to vent their rage and grief upon, the enemy before their eyes was the perfect target.
And so they swung their weapons without end. They poured their hatred and grudge into every strike, trying to dispel the suffocating frustration that refused to fade.
The sword once used in pursuit of the Tao [도(道)] now thirsted for enemy blood, and a blade once raised to protect was now unleashed to kill.
Fragments of broken blades scattered, and blood splashed heavily through the air. Like a swirling vortex, hatred was sucking in everything around it.
‘…No…’
Baek Cheon realized he could not stop them. They had already lost too much – things they never should have had to lose. Appealing to reason or their circumstances would have no effect on them.
Yet he could not simply stand by and watch this terrible mutual slaughter [상잔(相殘)] continue.
‘I need a plan. I have to find a way. Something that can set all these twisted things right…’
At that moment, Baek Cheon’s gaze settled on one particular spot.
The clue was merely a slight discomfort, nothing more.
Amid the burning ground overflowing with hatred and killing intent, there was just one place strangely calm.
Perhaps Baek Cheon only noticed it because his own wounded body could no longer dive into the chaotic currents of battle.
‘That’s…’
In one corner of the battlefield, which raged like a storm.
A single masked figure was watching the situation as though observing from afar. Although dressed no differently from the others, there was a vividly unsettling quality about him that made Baek Cheon’s hair stand on end.
“You!”
At that moment, the masked figure turned to look at Baek Cheon. Their gazes met.
The figure stared silently at Baek Cheon, briefly frowning as if displeased, before swiftly turning away. Instinctively, Baek Cheon kicked off the ground.
“I won’t let you get away!”
Mustering what remained of his strength, Baek Cheon charged towards the masked figure.
❀ ❀ ❀
“Hmm.”
Jang Ilso’s gaze, fixed on the ‘thing’ in his grasp, was indifferent.
Just moments ago, it had been a living person. It was unclear whether the expression frozen on that face was one of fear or venomous agony.
Of course, it didn’t matter in the slightest to Jang Ilso.
No matter what thoughts they held in life, what they pursued, or how they lived, all of it only has value while one is alive.
For the dead, everything was meaningless. Joy, hatred, sorrow, glory – all these were privileges reserved solely for the living.
So you must achieve it while you’re alive. After death? That sort of thing is none of his concern.
Jang Ilso casually discarded the lump of flesh that had once been a person. His eyes fell on the blood-soaked ground.
“It took a little while this time. Let’s move.”
He gave that brief command, then kicked off the ground without waiting for a reply.
The plain, which felt so monotonous as to appear almost colorless at first glance, gradually began to distort.
Everything was happening according to his will. At this moment, it was hard to distinguish clearly whether it was exhilaration or mere excitement swelling inside him.
But did it even matter? Feelings were insignificant. What mattered was what he was accomplishing right now.
Therefore… that unpleasant throbbing he’d been feeling for a while could be ignored. The irritation that rose impatiently and the nausea roiling in his gut – none of it mattered. What mattered was… yes, what mattered was-
Abruptly, without realizing it, Jang Ilso stopped in his tracks.
“Ryeonju?”
A voice filled with uncertainty turned towards Jang Ilso. But he didn’t reply. His gaze was fixed on the sky, heavy with dark clouds.
‘What was it again?’
The thing that mattered most to him. Surely… there had been something else.
“Ryeonju. Is something…”
“Shut it. Before I tear your mouth open.”
Jang Ilso, muttering ominously, clutched his face and lowered his head.
An indescribable sense of revulsion wrapped around him – an emotion so vicious that even he couldn’t pinpoint its origin. Standing on the edge of a dark, inky swamp of these feelings, Jang Ilso suddenly lifted his gaze in alarm.
“Hmm?”
A group of martial artists came into view.
The moment he saw them approaching, completely unaware, Jang Ilso’s eyes curved like a waning moon.
“My, my… how pitiful.”
A sneer escaped his lips as he recognized those at the forefront.
He pushed aside the unpleasant sensation that had been gripping his ankles and tilted his head slowly.
“If there is such a thing as fate, it certainly is cruel.”
He spotted a woman wearing Hwasan’s uniform.
Tang Soso. The daughter of someone he had killed.
At the same time, he also saw others – those who had so stubbornly stood against him alongside Hwasan.
Jang Ilso narrowed his eyes. A deep murderous intent stirred again in his pale irises.
Grit.
The rings on his fingers ground together harshly.
“This looks like it’ll be quite an entertaining pastime, don’t you think?”
Without hesitation, Jang Ilso stepped forward. Above his head, a golden streak of light cut sharply through the air.
Piiiiiiii.
A desperate, mournful cry echoed, lingering as it spread far and wide.
________
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