It’s One Thing or Another (5)
Geum Yang-baek looked back and forth between the people in front of him with a face full of disbelief.
“Th-...”
The reason he was flustered now wasn’t that he hadn’t understood what he’d heard. It was the exact opposite—he understood it all too well.
Blinking twice, he studied the person seated before him again.
Mount Hua’s Acting Sect Leader had now withdrawn to the back as though his business was done, settling into a cross-legged posture, and in the place where he should have been sat some rogue bastard with a thoroughly displeased expression on his face.
Come to think of it, this arrangement might actually make sense.
He had been swept up by the fact that Baek Cheon had come here as Mount Hua’s Acting Sect Leader and representative of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, and had briefly forgotten, but the real symbol of the renowned Heavenly Friends Alliance was this man right here.
Mount Hua Divine Dragon.
No matter how formidable Mount Hua as a sect might be, and no matter how high the position of Mount Hua’s Acting Sect Leader had risen—so high that no one in the world could treat him lightly now—all of it looked pale and small before those four words: Mount Hua Divine Dragon.
“Th-...”
After clearing his throat once to steady his shaken heart, Geum Yang-baek asked cautiously, “So... you intend to remain here and fight the Evil Tyrant Alliance...”
“Cut the crap and get to the point, Sect Leader.”
“...”
“What are you planning to do now?”
“Pardon?”
Geum Yang-baek blinked blankly. What did he mean, what was he planning to do? Shouldn’t that be the question they were asking him?
At that, the Mount Hua Divine Dragon asked with obvious annoyance, “I mean, you said you were going to fight the Evil Tyrant Alliance, didn’t you? How are you going to fight them?”
“...Well...”
How? Was this really the time to talk about the details of how? They would just defend the main sect and fight with everything they had...
“So you’re planning to just defend the main sect, fight to the last person, and then die? You’re not seriously thinking something that naive, are you? A sect leader, of all people?”
“Cough.”
Geum Yang-baek’s chest suddenly seized, and a cough burst out of him.
“No, of course not, right? I mean, it’s not like only one or two lives are on the line here, so you’re not acting like everyone’s already dead, are you? You’re still the leader of a proper sect, after all.”
“...”
“Right?”
When Geum Yang-baek failed to answer properly, Cheong Myeong’s expression twisted at once.
“I knew it.”
“...”
“What, did these people all grow up reading nothing but heroic tales? Do I look like dying is some easy thing?”
“Cheong Myeong. Watch your language in front of the Sect Leader.”
“What, the Sect Leader has two lives and can just die whenever he wants?”
“...Still, watch your language.”
Seeing Cheong Myeong’s face stuffed full of annoyance, Geum Yang-baek looked aghast.
“So...”
“What?”
“...What about those of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, including the Mount Hua Divine Dragon...”
“Just say it comfortably. This isn’t an official setting anymore.”
“Would that... be all right?”
“It’s easier for both sides if you speak naturally.”
“...Then I shall. Are you saying you intend to truly defeat the Evil Tyrant Alliance?”
“What, did you think I was saying something else?”
“Naturally.”
“Of course.”
“Right.”
For a moment, Geum Yang-baek stared at the people who had answered him as though he had lost his mind.
“No, I mean...”
“Why? Is there some problem?”
“I understand your spirit, but there is such a thing as reality, is there not?”
“Reality?”
Cheong Myeong gave a snort.
“Hey, old man.”
“...Cheong Myeong, he is the Sect Leader.”
“Isn’t Sect Leader just another old man?”
“Still, you should call him Sect Leader.”
“Tsk.”
Cheong Myeong frowned and reluctantly corrected himself.
“Yes, Sect Leader. You keep going on about reality, but is my point really that hard to understand?”
“Hm?”
“By your logic, realistically, the only fate left for the people staying here is to get cut down by the Evil Tyrant Alliance’s blades and die.”
“...”
“So why is it so hard to understand that, if we’re going to die anyway, we might as well give them a proper taste of shit for once?”
Geum Yang-baek frowned.
“I don’t know how my meaning was conveyed to you, but we had no intention of meekly surrendering our lives. Naturally, we meant to drag down as many of them as possible with us. Is that not obvious?”
“Now you’re making sense.”
Cheong Myeong grinned.
“Let’s go one step further than that.”
“One step further?”
As though slowly being pulled into Cheong Myeong’s pace, Geum Yang-baek’s expression grew serious.
Cheong Myeong flicked his hand and shouted, “Hey, explain!”
“Ahem! I’ll do it.”
Im So-byeong stepped forward and took a seat.
“Of course, from a terrain standpoint, Hainan Mountain is certainly an ideal place to defend against an enemy assault. Securing the high ground and intercepting those who climb it is, as they say, a classic example of military strategy.”
“...Yes.”
“But the problem is that this is not a battle that ends with simply holding out. The moment you defend the mountain, you’ll be surrounded, and in the end, all that remains is how long you last before you die. It also means the attackers no longer need to hurry.”
Geum Yang-baek said with a reluctant expression, “I understand what you mean. But you seem to have overlooked one thing: this is an island. However broad Hainan Island may be, an island is still limited by its geography. Even if we abandon Hainan Mountain, there is no way to take advantage of broad terrain. We are still surrounded by the sea, so in the end, it would only become a game of cat and mouse.”
“Of course, that is also true.”
“And if that happens, the common people living on Hainan Island will inevitably suffer. Moreover, the disciples of Hainan sent down to the villages would also inevitably come under enemy eyes.”
At that moment, a strange glint appeared in Im So-byeong’s eyes as he looked at Geum Yang-baek.
He had thought him to be merely a man stating the obvious, but he had more insight into the situation than expected.
“So Hainan Sect cannot leave this mountain. For Hainan Island to survive even after the Evil Tyrant Alliance’s attack, we must give them a clear target and a piece of terrain they must seize.”
“You mean that if the Evil Tyrant Alliance has to attack everything there is here on this mountain, then the rest of the island will be spared?”
“Exactly.”
Geum Yang-baek let out a sigh.
“I truly appreciate the sentiment. But it is not because we are foolish that we have clung to this method. Over the past several years, we have thought long and hard about how we should fight when the Evil Tyrant Alliance invades. This is the conclusion we reached.”
“Hmm. That does make sense. If this is an island and your goal is to minimize harm to others as much as possible, then it was probably the only path you could choose.”
“I’m relieved you understan—”
“But.”
Im So-byeong cut off Geum Yang-baek’s words and smiled thinly.
“That is only true when you are trapped within the limits of an island.”
“...Pardon?”
Geum Yang-baek asked back, as if to say he had no idea what that meant. Smiling, Im So-byeong elaborated.
“There is a way to satisfy every condition the Sect Leader has laid out perfectly. A way to keep Hainan Island from suffering any damage even without defending it here, to protect the disciples sent down to the villages, and to make them focus all of their attention on Hainan Sect alone.”
“No, just where in the world is there such a way—”
As he spoke, Geum Yang-baek suddenly fell silent.
The answer had already surfaced in his mind. The method Im So-byeong was talking about. He had never once thought about it before, had dismissed it as absurd, but there was one way that would satisfy those conditions perfectly.
“D-don’t tell me...”
“Yes.”
Im So-byeong smiled broadly.
“No one worries about another house when their own kitchen is on fire.”
“...”
“The moment we lead Hainan Sect onto the land of Jiangnan, they won’t even have the luxury of thinking about Hainan Island.”
“A-are you speaking in your right mind?”
“Of course I am.”
Geum Yang-baek’s mouth fell open. Looking around, he found that not only Im So-byeong but the rest of his group all wore perfectly calm expressions.
“S-so, rather than defending here and holding out, you’re saying we should instead attack their base in Jiangnan?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re presenting that as strategy right now? Do you even know what would happen if you did that...?”
At that moment, Cheong Myeong replied lazily, “What would happen?”
“You’re asking because you don’t know?”
“No, I’m asking what would happen.”
“You infuriating— Naturally, if that happens...”
Geum Yang-baek’s mouth shut on its own.
Of course they would all die.
Every single disciple of Hainan who set foot in Jiangnan would die without exception. But then...
Isn’t that true right now as well?
Geum Yang-baek, suddenly thrown into confusion, pressed his lips together and remained silent. The one who broke that silence was Cheong Myeong, who clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. This is exactly why people who pretend to be brave are such a pain.”
“...”
“You’ve got the guts to hold out in your own house and die, but not the guts to go out and fight before you die?”
Geum Yang-baek could not offer a single reply. He could only stare at Cheong Myeong in a daze.
“If you’re going to die anyway, then die in style.”
“...”
“If you truly want to show the spirit of Hainan, Sect Leader, then you can’t die here. If you must die, then die after going forward. I don’t think I need to explain which one is the right thing to do.”
Geum Yang-baek found himself clenching and unclenching his fists without meaning to.
The thought that the strategy was absurd and the thought that Cheong Myeong was right tangled together messily in his head.
“Then...”
Geum Yang-baek looked around at everyone with a hardened face.
“Are you saying that all of you intend to charge into the enemy lines together with Hainan and die gloriously?”
For a fleeting moment, he wondered whether the word “gloriously” was really appropriate here, but he could not think of a better one.
Cheong Myeong answered bluntly, “No.”
“...Pardon?”
“That’s Hainan’s perspective.”
Geum Yang-baek frowned. Then what in the world was their perspective?
“Listen carefully, old man.”
“Sect Leader.”
“Grr. Yes. Listen carefully, Sect Leader. There’s no such thing as a road to go die on. There’s only a method with a slightly higher chance of survival.”
“...”
“Our plan is not to die in Jiangnan.”
Cheong Myeong lifted the corners of his mouth.
“It’s to go back the way we came.”
“...G-go back?”
“Yes.”
Cheong Myeong said firmly, “We’ll lead Hainan back up through Jiangnan in reverse. We’ll get as many people as we can to the Yangtze River alive.”
Geum Yang-baek’s eyes widened to the limit.
“If we succeed, the name of Hainan will spread across the world. Even if we fail, it’ll be a hundred times better than dying here. What matters is simple: of the two options, the one with the slightly better chance of survival is obviously going to Jiangnan.”
“T-this... this is...”
“If you’re truly the Sect Leader of Hainan, then instead of meekly accepting Hainan’s end, you should be trying to find some way to carry the name forward. That’s what a Sect Leader is supposed to do.”
“But...”
At that moment, Cheong Myeong’s face, which had until now been marked only by irritation, went cold and bleak. The instant Geum Yang-baek saw that chilling look, a shiver ran down his spine. Cheong Myeong said,
“I’ll open the road.”
Geum Yang-baek stood frozen in place, unable to move. But unlike him, Baek Cheon calmly corrected the statement.
“Not you. We’ll open it.”
Cheong Myeong nodded at once.
“Yeah. We’ll open the road. So Hainan only needs to decide one thing: whether to believe in even the smallest chance and fight, or give up everything and die obediently here.”
“...”
“You said you wanted to leave something behind, didn’t you?”
“...”
“Listen closely, Sect Leader. Those who give up fighting because they know they can’t win leave nothing behind in this world. Only those who give their all until the very end can leave something behind.”
Those words struck Geum Yang-baek like a heavy cudgel.
“I’ve given you the road. What remains is choice.”
Cheong Myeong narrowed his eyes and stared straight at Geum Yang-baek.
“What is Hainan’s choice?”
Geum Yang-baek said nothing. He bit down hard on his lower lip.
If this had been usual, Cheong Myeong would have tried to crush his opponent with logic, but even now, he simply waited for Geum Yang-baek’s decision. He knew this was not a road someone could be shoved onto by force.
After a long silence, Geum Yang-baek finally parted those heavy lips.
“From this moment on...”
Everyone watched him closely.
“What must Hainan do for you?”
Cheong Myeong smiled broadly. It was the most satisfying answer he could have given.