Fate (7)
“Total of five hundred, casualties one hundred twenty.”
“……”
“Of them, seventy dead, the rest severe and minor injuries.”
A shadow fell over Mo Yong Woo’s face as he listened to the report.
Seventy…
He had expected casualties. The enemy were powerhouses who had built their momentum over a decade on the stages of the Western Frontier. Bandits or not, their forces surpassed those of many sects. Casualties were inevitable.
But he hadn’t anticipated seventy deaths.
Sloppy.
Yes, sloppy.
His judgment hadn’t been poor. No brilliant tactics, but he had demonstrated reasonably efficient command. Yet he had failed to time it right.
He had the eye to read the enemy’s reactions, but realization came too late, and his troops’ responses to delayed orders were sluggish.
He had gripped his squad leaders and soldiers tight, but that was all.
All my mistakes.
If training time had been longer. If he had worked harder to forge the entire Tang Ma Army into one perfect unit, the losses wouldn’t have been this heavy.
The soldiers making up the Tang Ma Army were all seasoned martial experts of the murim world, each with formidable experience. But they lacked the experience of uniting to annihilate a foe.
He thought they could handle the enemy sufficiently. He had warned them to be cautious, over and over. Yet Mo Yong Woo himself had somewhat underestimated the foe.
A painful blunder.
Formations or tighter offense and defense are secondary. I need to sharpen my eye for the big picture, and the soldiers must react instantly to orders. That comes first.
In truth, fearing this very issue, after the founding ceremony he had focused on building bonds between them rather than combat drills. Without that, the damage would have been far worse.
Still, the regret lingered.
“Scout the Beggar Sect branch for skilled physicians. House the wounded in temporary quarters in the compound, and have the rest clear the debris.”
“Understood.”
“And Squad Leader Jin.”
“Yes, Army Leader.”
“You’ve done well.”
Jin Pae shook his head.
“Though newly formed, I failed to manage my subordinates properly. The high casualties are the squad leaders’ fault.”
“Don’t think that way. You all did what you could.”
“……”
“Let’s grow stronger.”
“Of course.”
Jin Pae bowed deeply and left the room.
Mo Yong Woo sighed.
“Leading people is such a difficult task.”
Leading itself was no issue. He had exceptional talent for handling crowds.
The problem was the heart.
My people died because of my shortcomings.
He hadn’t been unprepared. But the deaths of his subordinates hit harder than expected.
In the end, it means I lack experience too.
Mo Yong Woo closed his eyes.
Even if experience accumulates, could I stay composed before the deaths of my own?
That was when it happened.
“What’re you doing?”
“Gah!”
Mo Yong Woo startled and looked toward the door. There stood Yeon Hojeong.
“When did you get here?”
“Just now. Called you a bunch of times, no answer, so I came in thinking something was up.”
“Ah……”
“I can tell from your face. That’s why you’re spacing out.”
Mo Yong Woo smiled bitterly.
“It happened because of my mistake.”
Yeon Hojeong nodded coldly.
“Yeah. Your fault, brother.”
Mo Yong Woo’s eyes widened for a moment.
“Wh-what did you just say?”
“Your fault, brother. No matter the reason, subordinates’ deaths are the superior’s responsibility.”
A puzzled look crossed Yeon Hojeong’s face.
“Thought you’d get that much obviously?”
“Of course. It’s just… what surprised me was……”
“Huh?”
Mo Yong Woo felt a pointless cough rising.
“You’re finally calling me brother.”
Yeon Hojeong frowned.
“You asked me to.”
“True.”
“Why? Feels itchy now that you hear it? Should I stop?”
“No.”
The reply carried a fearsome resolve. He seemed obsessed with the title of brother.
Yeon Hojeong chuckled.
“Weird way of thinking.”
Mo Yong Woo scratched his cheek.
“No little brother, that’s why.”
Of course, it wasn’t just that. He had lived a lonely life for so long. He had people he could call his own, but they served him as lord, not brother.
That was why Mo Yong Woo wanted a comfortable sibling bond with Yeon Hojeong.
They moved toward a common goal, but if they could truly care for each other too, that would be good.
“Anyway, it’s not something you shake off easily by pulling yourself together. Time will heal it, so don’t force it.”
Mo Yong Woo, gazing at Yeon Hojeong, asked abruptly.
“Have you had experiences like that with Yeonje?”
“Hm?”
“Losing your people, your subordinates.”
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“Sure.”
Countless subordinates, even those as close as blood brothers. He had seen family die too.
If this counted as experience, Yeon Hojeong had piled up quite the brutal one.
“People say it’s a peaceful era. But I disagree. True peace has never come to the world of murim. Not now, not ever.”
“Why think that?”
“Beings with powers mortals can’t imagine roam the land. It may look peaceful on the surface, but it can’t be.”
A chill rose over Yeon Hojeong’s impassive face.
“The world always sows its seeds on the screams of the powerless. Individual peace maybe, but peace for all? Impossible.”
Perplexity crossed Mo Yong Woo’s face.
“Then… doesn’t that mean even xia has no meaning?”
“It does. Can’t change the world fundamentally, but I can at least douse the hellfire blazing before my eyes with a bucket of water.”
Yeon Hojeong smiled. A bitter smile.
“Black and white, good and evil, life and death. We’re just fools racing blindly on this endless wheel.”
Quite a pessimistic statement.
Mo Yong Woo asked, “Is that why?”
“Why what?”
“The Hwarang Group. That’s why you wiped them out?”
Yeon Hojeong replied indifferently.
“They came to be wiped out anyway.”
“True. But they surrendered. Their will broken, surrendering. Killing them so coldly… hard to call that right.”
“Then why didn’t you stop it?”
Mo Yong Woo sighed.
“Well… maybe deep down, I thought they couldn’t be spared either.”
An honest admission.
Yeon Hojeong perched on the table.
“One of your soldiers said to me before. Enemy’s evil, sure, but was there need to kill them so gruesomely?”
“What was your answer?”
“Death is equal to all. So villains should die in maximum pain.”
“……!”
“No right to decide that? Of course not. I just act on my beliefs. If there are those who’d reform the death-worthy, there are those like me who’d kill every one we see.”
“That… sounds like its own path of suffering.”
“Was at first. Refreshing now.”
Mo Yong Woo’s face hardened.
“Villains are people too. You shouldn’t feel refreshed by that.”
“I don’t see villains as people.”
“……”
“So it’s refreshing.”
Mo Yong Woo smiled wryly.
“What a burdensome little brother I have.”
“That’s why you gotta pick your people wisely.”
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“Whether as Tang Ma Army Leader, Moyong family head, or even Martial Alliance Leader, you’ll face this endlessly. Steel your heart now.”
“Yeonje. I……”
“I know. You don’t want to be Martial Alliance Leader.”
“……”
“Changing that mind is my job too. I’ll keep persuading you, so brace for it.”
Mo Yong Woo chuckled and sat on the windowsill.
“Hey, Yeonje.”
“Yeah?”
“Since it came up, I’ll ask. Why do you want me as Martial Alliance Leader?”
“Because of what you’re showing now.”
“Hm?”
“You grieve and self-mock over your subordinates’ deaths, yet naturally resolve not to let it happen again.”
“……”
“One who can separate present sorrow from future resolve, while keeping a kind nature.”
Yeon Hojeong grinned.
“No better fit for Martial Alliance Leader.”
Mo Yong Woo coughed awkwardly.
“Embarrassing. I’m not as great as you make me sound.”
“Don’t misunderstand. Not praising you. Think there’s no one like you in this vast world?”
“……Ahem. Then I’m even more curious. Why me specifically?”
“Has to be you.”
“That’s what I’m asking, the reason……”
“To topple Moyong Gun.”
Mo Yong Woo’s face stiffened.
Yeon Hojeong chuckled.
“Kidding. His real opponent’s me, not you.”
“Right.”
“Plenty of kind people like you, capable ones too. Even kind and capable both. But why I see you as Alliance Leader material……”
“Why?”
Yeon Hojeong fell silent for a moment. His gaze on Mo Yong Woo was clear and deep.
“Just a hunch.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“This kind.”
Yeon Hojeong hopped off the table.
“Whether family head or alliance leader, keep refining yourself endlessly. Let’s keep at it.”
Mo Yong Woo smiled.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“You’re a real pillar of strength, little brother.”
Yeon Hojeong shook his head.
“Supporting in tough times is easy. Just don’t break.”
“Can’t show such an unsightly side.”
“You know it’s embarrassing, good.”
Yeon Hojeong headed for the door.
“Where you off to?”
“Pa Sa Leok.”
The Hwarang Group leader Pa Sa Leok hadn’t died yet. Legs severed, body covered in wounds large and small, but his superhuman vitality kept him breathing.
Of course, Yeon Hojeong had spared him on purpose.
Mo Yong Woo asked, “Something to gain from him?”
Yeon Hojeong paused.
“Hwarang Group’s the top bandit gang of the Western Frontier. Swept through Western Frontier, Qinghai, Gansu for a decade, right?”
“Yes.”
“Almost never entered Central Plains territory?”
“Heard so. Even if they did, extremely cautious. Makes sense—most of the Nine Great Sects are in northern Central Plains.”
“But this time, they went big. Shandong’s no powerhouse sects, sure, but targeting Hae Ryong Merchant Group?”
Mo Yong Woo’s eyes flashed.
He had focused on repelling the enemy, not deeply pondering their motives.
“So your thought is……?”
“Means they’ve got reliable backing. That’s what I think.”
“Reliable backing… you mean Hwarang Group’s colluding with Central Plains forces?”
“Or.”
A horrific killing intent surged in Yeon Hojeong’s clear, deep eyes.
“Maybe somewhere in the Western Frontier, someone’s covering for them.”