Chapter 253: Truth Bomb
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 253: Truth Bomb
“So what, you fucking bitch? I heard you loud and clear. Ideals, humanity, they’re all fine words. You dog-faced bitch. But why the hell are you having a fit and screaming about those ideals in someone else’s front yard? The East and the North aren’t inhuman to begin with. No matter how much you try to stir people up, that fact won’t change. If you want to find your ideals, go scream about them in your own damn yard. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of lives will be lost because of your precious ideals. And regular folks like us are just busy getting swept up in it all. You idiots cheering and getting all excited right now! When war really breaks out, more than half of you will drop dead.”
It was the truth, of course. More than half of those cheering would likely be cut down and killed. Seeing how serious he’d become, it was clear he understood the mindset of the common person. He was speaking for them, voicing their inner thoughts.
“I’m one of those people who believes humans are inherently evil. I believe we’re fundamentally wicked. That goes for me, and it goes for you too, Sword Saint. Humans don’t act without greed and desire. The idea that you took up your sword for some pure ideal is a fucking lie. A moron like me has no way of knowing, but there’s definitely a reason you made your move. And hey, even if you did draw your sword with a pure heart, how are you going to compensate for all the people who will die because of that pure heart of yours? You cheering morons! I can’t stand how pathetic you are.”
His way of thinking was completely different from that of a Green Skin. But as someone who was once human, I could roughly understand what Lee Wanyong meant. He embodied the typical human desire to avoid getting entangled and to simply survive.
He was so very human.
“You wrap it up in pretty words like ‘liberation’ and ‘helping the suffering,’ but in the end, all you’re doing is pushing people to their deaths. You’re shadowboxing, throwing punches at an enemy that doesn’t even exist. And the result will be tens of thousands of lives. You bastard standing next to the Sword Saint, the one who was just shouting. You’ll be dead the second a battle starts. And you, the one who was so happy holding that flag. Yeah, you. You’re dead meat too. Are you all really prepared to lay down your lives for the love of humanity? If you’re all such noble motherfuckers, how are you still alive! You sons of bitches!”
Interestingly, the cheering began to die down. The atmosphere felt unsettled. No human was willing to throw their life away.
“A scoundrel like you could never understand. Those who have never once looked back… the wicked…”
“I’m the protagonist who’s been rolling around in the deepest gutter of life, you fucking bitch. This is rock bottom. How the hell am I supposed to look back? You’re the one who could never understand people like us. You said you fought to survive, but how hard did you really have to fight? You, who had talent from the moment you were summoned, who got noticed and trained in comfort, who got strong the easy way… what you just said is an insult to those of us who’ve had to claw our way through life.”
As I listened to Lee Wanyong, my eyes met Choi Seulgi’s. He was our past self. He was the reflection of us, struggling desperately, doing anything to survive.
“Ha… hits you right in the heart. Seriously, where did you find him?”
I nodded at Choi Seulgi, who cursed, seemingly embarrassed.
“I told you, Somorah.”
The Sword Saint’s words were an insult to us. She had no right to say such things. I couldn’t help but agree with Lee Wanyong.
“Everyone here is probably the same, but I’ve killed people too. You fuckers. I didn’t kill for some grand ideal like you lot; I killed just to survive. I killed because I had to live, you bastards. Sword Saint, you fucking bitch. You don’t know anything. You bastards! We fight to fucking survive! Not for some grand idea or noble ideal, you bitches! We fight for ourselves! You son of a bitch! And we survive! We win!”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Woooooooooaaaaaaah!”
I felt like he was saying everything I wanted to say. He was better than the Kim Taesung of the past. He was trying to survive, and he was, in fact, surviving. I could hear the men on the ramparts roaring in approval.
“Hey, who is that guy? Is he from the East?”
“I… I don’t know. Just shout! Wooooooaaaaaaah!”
I heard the Northern warriors talking somewhere and couldn’t help but smile. Some unknown scoundrel had stirred their hearts. There were no noble ideologies here. There were only people fighting to live.
“It is that way of thinking of yours that causes so many people to suffer.”
“Your way of thinking causes even more suffering, you holy whore. One last thing for the bastards sucking up to that bitch. Heir of the South. You, the one who looks like a frog. Yeah, you, you bastard. I’ve heard you’ve been sticking close to the Sword Saint lately. You ugly piece of shit. Yeah, you. Let me ask you one thing. You haven’t done it with her yet, have you? Who’d want to do it with a fucker like you? Same goes for all you bastards here. You motherfuckers. All of you sucking up to her, hoping for some scraps to fall your way. Just because someone has holy power doesn’t mean they’re holy.”
For some reason, his line reminded me of Baek Ahyeon.
“That bitch isn’t holy, and she’s not some supreme being. She’s just a crazy bitch with a twisted mind. So stop getting suckered by her bullshit and licking her boots! You fucking bastards! She’s not gonna fuck you anyway!”
“You… you!!!”
For a moment, I thought I heard the Sword Saint’s booming voice, and I had to suppress a laugh. Lee Wanyong casually unbuttoned his pants on the wall and started pissing, and the sound of cackling echoed from above.
“Eat this! You evil bitch!”
It wasn’t just him. The soldiers on the wall with him were also unbuttoning their pants and urinating. I could even see a number of female soldiers among them. I’d heard the women of the North were tough, and they truly were uninhibited. They felt like Green Skin warrior women.
“Eat this! You dog-faced bitch!”
“Thanks for coming all this way. Have a big drink!”
“You sons of bitches!”
“It’s a gift!”
He was quite the character. Once he was finished, Lee Wanyong gave a shiver, shook himself off, and casually started to make his way down. The sight of him descending so confidently after perfectly completing his mission was impressive. Perhaps because of the pants-dropping incident, Jang Ye Ri subtly avoided him, but the sight of him high-fiving the surrounding soldiers as he came down was truly a spectacle.
“Well said!”
“You bastard!”
“I… I… I will give you three… three days. If you wish to join our cause, I… recommend… you surrender.”
I figured she was so enraged she didn’t even know what she was saying. Watching her, Choi Seulgi turned to me.
“Hey! Kim Taesung! Fuck! Kick! The Sword Saint is pissed! She’s fucking pissed! She’s going into her tent! Fuck, she’s going into her tent!”
“Ah…”
I regretted canceling the order from before. I had personally wanted to see her angry, so it was a very disappointing moment.
Soon, Lee Wanyong began to walk confidently toward me. He wore the expression of a man who had perfectly accomplished his mission and was ready to receive his promised reward. I wanted to praise him, but for some reason, I didn’t like his arrogant look. I muttered at him.
“You won’t be able to show your face in the West or the South now.”
Only then did his face seem to turn pale. The excitement had worn off, and he realized what he had done.
“When the battle starts, they’ll come for you first. I’m sure of it. If you’re caught, you’ll suffer so much you’ll be begging them to just kill you.”
His face went pale again. He had committed the act, so now he was afraid. If my prediction was correct, the moment the battle began, the Saint Knights Order would charge recklessly, trying to capture Lee Wanyong. Other than becoming a Green Skin or fleeing to the North, he had no other options.
I smiled, and he watched me nervously.
“Th-that is to say…”
“Welcome to the Blood Dagger Clan.”
He probably understood what I meant.
“Ah!”
He looked at me as if startled, then began to bow his head.
“I… I pledge my loyalty!”
I already knew he wouldn’t be truly loyal. Just as I patted his shoulder, he suddenly began to tremble. I thought I might have put too much force into it, but when I looked into his eyes, I saw they had subtly changed. They were not the eyes of a human.
He’s evolved.
I didn’t know what he had evolved into, but he had. His outward appearance was the same as the old Lee Wanyong. However, the power he contained was pathetic, and more importantly, he no longer felt human. Something was off.
After a moment of shock, he quickly composed himself and spoke to me.
“Th-then I’ll be heading inside.”
“You… you’re not human anymore, are you?”
I had just thrown it out there, but his expression was one of pure shock. The confident Lee Wanyong from before was gone, replaced by a man desperately trying to read my expression.
“Ah… ah. Yes! I… I just changed!”
“It would be best for you to confess with your own mouth before I call for Alisha.”
He really wasn’t human. It was a case like Jung Hayeon’s. This guy had often talked about wanting to become a Green Skin, and it seemed my single comment had completely shattered some invisible wall that had been holding him back.
He had wanted to become a Green Skin himself but had suppressed it, assuming I would never accept him. It seemed that once the dam broke, he gained the opportunity to evolve. Because he had held it in for so long, the evolution was forced, and it looked like he hadn’t been given any choice in the matter.
“The… the forgotten race, Doppelganger…”
“Is that the same Doppelganger I know of?”
“Ah… ye-yes! It seems I can transform into anyone I’ve seen once.”
I had never heard of a race called Doppelganger. It wasn’t a Green Skin, nor was it anything else. Feeling no power from him, it seemed his physical abilities hadn’t increased; he had simply gained the ability to change his appearance. For someone who desired survival above all else, you could say it was an optimal evolution.
“Is it possible for you to turn into me? What about an Ogre?”
“Ah… that’s impossible for now. It seems I can only change into human types…”
“Can you turn into the Sword Saint?”
“If it’s just the outer appearance… it’s possible.”
I smiled quietly and nodded. Understanding what I meant, Lee Wanyong silently changed his form into that of the Sword Saint. There was no dramatic effect. It felt like he just… naturally changed. He looked exactly like the Sword Saint in my memory. For a moment, I felt a surge of killing intent, but when I focused my magic into my eyes, I could faintly confirm that he was Lee Wanyong, not the Sword Saint. He had no divine power surrounding his body.
She was beautiful, but without her divine aura, she felt remarkably plain.
“Th-this is my limit.”
His voice was also the Sword Saint’s. He seemed startled by his own voice and looked at me. I just smiled back at him.
To be honest, it wasn’t a useful ability for us. It seemed he couldn’t copy abilities, and since he himself was so weak, transforming didn’t change much. Moreover, if I focused my magic, I could sense a faint instability about him. I had no way of knowing if it was because his proficiency or level was still low, or if this was the limit of a Doppelganger. But I smiled.
Because during the three days they were waiting for our surrender, it seemed I could give the Sword Saint another giant middle finger. Seeing my expression, Lee Wanyong trembled, looking uneasy.
“You’ll have to go up there often for these three days. Don’t worry, I’ll move you to the Brother’s Land or the Eastern Continent before the battle begins.”
“Ye-yes!”
A single sentence made him happy. At the news that he would be sent home, he nodded his head vigorously.