If there is something to be gained, then there is always something to be lost. (5)
“We stop them here.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Im Sobyeong pressed the tip of his fan firmly against his temple. His deeply furrowed face was filled with the feeling of, ‘I knew this would happen.’
“Here?”
But there was no way the others’ reactions could all be the same as Im Sobyeong’s.
“Sasuk. There aren’t even any walls here, so it’s practically an open field. This is the worst possible terrain for trying to stop them. You do know that, right?”
At the concern in Tang Soso’s voice, Baek Cheon shrugged.
“I know.”
“……And you’re still saying we’ll stop them? When Chung Myung Sahyeong isn’t even conscious?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
There was no particular distrust in Tang Soso’s tone. She simply genuinely wanted to hear the reason. The reason behind Baek Cheon’s decision.
“Because we have to stop them.”
“What?”
Baek Cheon spoke calmly, his expression not appearing particularly grave.
“I mean exactly what I said. Because we have to stop them.”
Tang Soso stared blankly at Baek Cheon as if she had lost the ability to speak, then turned to Yoon Jong as though seeking help.
“No… I think he’s doing that thing again.”
“Haa.”
Yoon Jong let out a sigh and asked in Tang Soso’s place.
“So, I would appreciate it if you could explain exactly what you mean by ‘we have to stop them,’ Sasuk.”
Baek Cheon clicked his tongue lightly before answering.
“Things have certainly become complicated in one way or another, but if you look at it rationally, nothing has actually changed.”
Jo Geol, who had been listening quietly, smiled broadly.
“Looks like Sasuk has finally lost it completely, Sahyeong.”
“…He lost it ages ago, to be honest.”
“You bastards…”
Unable to hold back any longer, Jo Geol shouted.
“No, you have to say something that makes sense! The situation hasn’t changed? Are your eyes just there for decoration, Sasuk?”
“I never said the situation hasn’t changed. I said nothing has changed.”
“Then what exactly is that supposed to mean?”
Baek Cheon calmly looked at Jo Geol before speaking.
“We can’t just abandon the commoners who are relying solely on us.”
“That…….”
Just as Jo Geol was about to say something, Baek Cheon let the tension leave his body and slumped.
“…I wish I could say that, but honestly, that would be a lie.”
“Huh?”
Jo Geol blinked. Baek Cheon was wearing an extremely obnoxious expression that somehow reminded them all of someone.
“It’s at the most desperate moment that a person’s true nature comes out, you know? That’s why, when the end comes, you have to see your convictions through to the bitter end! Anyone who can’t do that is nothing but a hypocrite with a big mouth!”
“…My stomach hurts just listening to this.”
“If that bastard were here, that’s the kind of crap he’d be spouting. But frankly, I can’t live the way he does.”
“If you’re a human, you shouldn’t live that way.”
Everyone found themselves nodding in agreement. Baek Cheon let out a small sigh and continued.
“It’s not that I intend to abandon the commoners. But this time, things are different. If we let ourselves get carried away by some half-baked bravado, even more people will die. I have no intention of spouting obvious platitudes this time. There’s only one thing we should be thinking about. Defeating them.”
Jo Geol nodded.
“That’s right. That’s the right call.”
“Yes. That’s why.”
“……Yes?”
“So what I’m saying is that we have to stop them.”
“No. I’m asking if you really haven’t gone a little crazy. Nothing you’re saying makes sense.”
“It does make sense. Because if we don’t stop them here, we’ll never be able to defeat them.”
“…”
Everyone’s expressions hardened.
“We lost Chung Myung, but they lost their Bishop. And we’re supposed to retreat because we’re afraid of the Demonic Cult bastards when they don’t even have a Bishop?”
Baek Cheon shook his head firmly.
“I guarantee you, the moment we do that, this war will become impossible to win. Absolutely impossible. This isn’t a matter of logic.”
Im Sobyeong scratched his head roughly, as though he had a headache.
“It’s just that, haa……. damn it.”
There would never again be a time when the Demonic Cult was weaker than it was now. And if they couldn’t even achieve anything against them under these circumstances? That would be no different from admitting defeat from the very first battle.
“But our forces aren’t strong enough to handle them.”
“Our forces don’t matter.”
“What do you mean? How can it not matter?”
Baek Cheon looked straight at Tang Soso as he answered.
“Either way, if we compare our strength, this is a war we can’t win. Isn’t it?”
“If we turn it into localized battles…”
“How long do you think we can keep getting away with the convenient strategy of only fighting when we know we can win? No, we’re bound to hit a limit. And when we hit that limit after fighting that way, there will be no turning back.”
“…”
“So there’s only one thing we need to think about.”
Baek Cheon spoke firmly.
“Is this a fight we have to win, or not?”
“…”
“Isn’t that right?”
Im Sobyeong, who had been frantically fanning himself, snapped his fan shut and clutched his head. A curse slipped through his clenched teeth.
“Damn…….”
So it wasn’t whether they could win that mattered, but whether they had to win. What kind of absurdity was that? Even before discussing military strategy, it lacked even the most basic logic.
And yet the biggest problem was that there was nothing particularly wrong with what Baek Cheon had said.
As Baek Cheon had pointed out, unless the they were idiots, the opposing side wouldn’t keep repeating battles they were bound to lose. Therefore, in the end, for the disadvantaged side to win the war, they had to accomplish an impossible victory. That was how it had always been throughout history.
“I thought things might go a little more smoothly with the crazy one unconscious, but what the…”
Seeing Im Sobyeong stagger around in a daze, the disciples of Hwasan clicked their tongues.
“When it comes to being out of one’s mind, this one is not exactly far behind.”
“…Actually, he may be a little worse.”
“We apologize on behalf of Hwasan for both of them.”
Hong Daekwang, who had been silently listening to the entire conversation, cautiously cut in and asked.
“No, but what exactly are you suggesting we do?”
At that, Baek Cheon smiled brightly.
❀ ❀ ❀
“Is that bastard insane or what?! Look at him!”
To be honest, it was not something one could say out loud.
Hong Daekwang might be the Beggars Sect’s Sect Leader, but Baek Cheon was also Hwasan’s Head Disciple and the man who would soon become its Sect Leader. Considering Hwasan’s current standing in Gangho, those words went beyond mere discourtesy and could have caused a serious incident.
But naturally, not a single person there thought Hong Daekwang had gone too far.
“What? We should just charge in and fight them head-on? That’s the damn strategy? That’s it? Out here in the open?”
“….Please, Sect Leader, keep this going a little longer.”
“No, if you are at it anyway, please keep going for quite a bit longer. Please…”
Countless resentful gazes poured down on him, but Baek Cheon didn’t so much as blink.
“I told you, if we retreat, the commoners will be in danger.”
“Didn’t you say we weren’t fighting because of the commoners!”
“The commoners weren’t the reason we chose to fight in the first place, but if we’re going to fight anyway, shouldn’t we choose the course that will generally result in fewer casualties? Isn’t that obvious?”
Yoon Jong covered his face with his hands and rubbed it wearily.
“Not a single thing you say fits together.”
“Sahyeong. I have a question.”
“What is it this time?”
“Is Sasuk the crazy one for deciding we’re going to fight the Demonic Cult here, or are we the crazy ones for hearing that and still obediently standing here?”
“Do we really need to figure that out?”
Obviously, neither side was in its right mind.
“…So, uh, we do have a chance of winning, right? Surely, even so, he isn’t going to throw us at them without a plan.”
“Who knows… Look at that man’s face before you say that.”
“If you mean that man…”
Jo Geol followed Yoon Jong’s gesture and flinched. Im Sobyeong was coughing, his face so deathly pale that he looked ready to keel over on the spot.
“Cough. Cough! Uuugh…”
Seeing Im Sobyeong cough up blood with his mouth covered by his sleeve, Jo Geol’s expression turned serious.
“What’s wrong with that man now?”
“They say all illness comes from the mind. Looks like he’s suffering from ‘internal heat.*’”
“Oh, please.”
Nothing else could have happened in the meantime, so that must mean this situation had given him a severe case of ‘internal heat’.
“If you’re that worried, why don’t you run away?”
“Ugh… A Confucian scholar does not betray his honor.”
“Confucian scholar, my foot. You’re a bandit chief.”
Wasn’t one normally supposed to choose the advantageous side depending on the situation? Then why did that man insist on choosing the disadvantageous side? Was he really as smart as they said…
Im Sobyeong irritably flicked the blood from his sleeve and shouted.
“It’s not time to give up hope yet!”
“No one’s given up…”
“Of course, the situation is as hopeless as it could possibly be!”
“…I wasn’t thinking it was quite that hopeless.”
For all his talk, he seemed to be the one who thought the situation was most hopeless.
Im Sobyeong spread his fan wide.
“Of course, there may be no way to delay the enemy’s advance, but there is a chance their numbers are smaller than we think.”
“…Huh? Why?”
“It isn’t as though the Imperial Army defending Beijing was wiped out to the last man. If the commander of the Beijing garrison [수비대] had regrouped his forces and pursued them relentlessly, he might have inflicted far more damage than expected. Especially with their Bishop absent!”
“Nokrim King…..”
“So we shouldn’t give up hope just yet….”
“Nokrim King.”
“Hey! Stop nitpicking. A man has to cling to hope somehow!”
“That’s not the problem. The Demonic Cult is coming from over there.”
“Huh?”
Im Sobyeong turned his head around sharply. Sure enough, a group of people approaching them came into view.
He narrowed his eyes as much as possible and focused his vision to its utmost limit.
“They do seem a little fewer than I expected…”
“More are coming.”
“…”
“Oh. They’re coming from over there too.”
“…”
Im Sobyeong snatched the shabby scholar’s cap he had been wearing and threw it on the ground.
“What the hell are those bastards calling themselves the Imperial Army doing! I actually put my faith in them for once!”
“…..Never thought I’d hear a bandit say he had put his faith in the Imperial Army. Have I lived too long?”
With a deep sigh, Im Sobyeong slumped down and shrank into a tiny, dejected heap. But no one could laugh at him anymore. The oppressive presence radiating from the approaching Demonic Cult forces had robbed even them of their smiles.
Someone unconsciously swallowed hard.
In sheer numbers, they fell short of Sapaeryeon. The latter had truly resembled a swarm of ants. But when it came to sheer intimidation, Sapaeryeon was nowhere near their level.
“…Damn it.”
Yoon Jong bit his lip.
Should they change their minds now? This was far too reckless.
If no one else was going to stop him, then he at least had to say something. Just as Yoon Jong turned his head, having made up his mind.
“It’s okay.”
A voice rang out, far too calm for the situation. No, rather than calm, it was closer to being completely devoid of emotion.
Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned in that direction. Amid the countless gazes, Yu Iseol spoke without a trace of expression.
“Because we’re strong too.”
Strange as it might seem, that was simply how people were. From some, they demanded logic, while from others, they felt no particular need for it. Yu Iseol belonged to the latter. Somehow, even without any real reason, her words inspired trust.
“B-But, Sago, Chung Myung Sahyeong isn’t here…”
“That’s why.”
“….Yes?”
Yu Iseol spoke calmly.
“Are we really that weak without Sajil?”
Shiiing.
Yu Iseol slowly drew her sword.
“We are Hwasan. Even without Sajil, we must still be Hwasan.”
Shing.
Shiiing.
Moved by her words, everyone drew their swords one after another.
That was enough.
“…You really don’t even let us complain.”
“She isn’t wrong.”
“Hwasan is strong because it is Hwasan. Not because Chung Myung is here.”
“But the people of the world don’t really seem to understand that.”
Baek Cheon smiled brightly.
“Right. So… let’s show them. The world, and the Demonic Cult.”
Swords drawn, the disciples of Hwasan walked resolutely towards the oncoming Demonic Cultists.
Special Spinoff Chapter 64 >>>
________
*심화(心火) – (traditional Chinese medicine) ‘internal heat’, symptoms of which include mental uneasiness, thirst, rapid pulse, etc. Or hidden anger or annoyance; pent-up fury or worries.
________
So. What exactly happened to all the resolutions made after the war with Sapaeryeon? Where is Cheonumaeng, Jongnam and Jongli Gok as its Alliance Leader, who was supposed to be taking hits politically and decision wise instead of Hwasan? Where are the elites, who were supposed to be sent to Shijiazhuang? Why is it Hwasan AGAIN alone at the forefront, which Chung Myung seemed to strive to change throughout the whole novel?
I feel like the reinforcements will come and magically turn the tides and they will win. But it wasn’t something I was expecting after that war, this is not the dynamic that was supposed to be? Am I alone in this? (And if the win alone – also no one from Hwasan will die again).
________
Please, subscribe/donate on Patreon or Buymeacoffee – support my work and help me buy official cookies to purchase the chapters. My schedule is on the About page.
Leave a Reply