We Will Not Let Them Live to Tell It (4)
It was strange enough that silence could fall over a battlefield that had been roaring only moments before.
That the people who had been tearing at one another and swinging their swords could be brought to a halt by a single man’s presence and a single sentence was, in its own way, absurd.
Is that even allowed?
And Gwak Hwan-so, in addition to the shock of the situation itself, felt a deep unease at Cheong Myeong’s words.
Who was Ho Ga-myeong? He was the Myriad Man Sect’s strategist, the unquestioned number two of the sect.
No—at this point, with a bit of exaggeration, it wouldn’t be wrong to call him the number two of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, the one ruling over Jiangnan.
No matter how many famous names there were under the heavens, he was the kind of man whose importance would put him within the top twenty across all the martial world, if not the top ten.
And yet, what? Who?
Has this bastard completely lost his mind?
Even the most bizarre person in the world became somewhat understandable if you watched them long enough. That was normal. But the more he watched this one, the less sense he made.
“I… think I know your face.”
Cheong Myeong was now tilting his head repeatedly as he stared at Ho Ga-myeong. Watching him, Gwak Hwan-so was suddenly struck by a fundamental, existential question about what, exactly, “understanding” even meant.
“Uh… Cheong Myeong.”
In the cold, frozen atmosphere, Yoon Jong crept over and lowered his voice to whisper in Cheong Myeong’s ear.
“It’s Ho Ga-myeong. Ho Ga-myeong.”
“...Ho, what?”
“Ho Ga-myeong!”
“Who’s that?”
Yoon Jong’s face twisted strangely.
“Ho Ga-myeong, you bastard! Ho Ga-myeong! The name that came up every single time we held a meeting! The Myriad Man Sect’s strategist, Ho Ga-myeong!”
“Ah!”
Cheong Myeong’s eyes lit up as he slapped his hands together.
“I know who that is!”
“You finally remembered?”
“The bastard who keeps trailing around after Jang Il-so, doing his chores for him!”
“......”
Yoon Jong immediately covered one eye with his hand.
Fine. If that’s what it takes for him to remember, then so be it.
It was still better than not knowing at all. That much, at least, was something...
“Ah, sorry.”
Cheong Myeong grinned and tossed the words at Ho Ga-myeong with infuriating ease.
“I’m not usually bad at remembering faces, but...”
“You are bad at it.”
“Very bad at it, Cheong Myeong.”
“No, he’s actually good at remembering faces. He just doesn’t count those kinds of human beings as people.”
“...That’s a fair point, too.”
No matter what anyone beside him muttered, Cheong Myeong just smiled and went on.
“There’s always some freak standing right next to you every time I see you, so what can I do? My bad.”
“......”
“Honestly, if we’re being perfectly frank, how am I supposed to notice him when some made-up, painted-up man is dancing around in front of me? That’s not on me.”
Again, a strange silence descended.
It was, in a way, a terribly wrong thing to say, and yet...
Makes sense.
Honestly, that’s Jang Il-so’s fault.
Being plain isn’t a crime, but...
Cheong Myeong smirked at Ho Ga-myeong.
“Looks like you do go around without Jang Il-so sometimes. You all right? Going alone?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Ho Ga-myeong.
That was, in truth, a deeply humiliating thing to say. Whatever anyone said, Ho Ga-myeong was firmly and unquestionably the Evil Tyrant Alliance’s number two. There was no way words like that wouldn’t sting. It was practically an insult flung right into his face.
Especially since... in the world of unorthodox sects, where martial strength was everything, it was also true that Ho Ga-myeong’s position had only been possible because of Jang Il-so’s absolute protection, despite his own martial ability being far from exceptional.
In just a few words, Cheong Myeong had essentially said, You’re nothing but a fox borrowing the tiger’s fear.
And because that wasn’t entirely wrong, the humiliation Ho Ga-myeong felt would only have been greater.
Everyone watched his reaction, curious to see how he would vent his anger.
But even under all those gazes, Ho Ga-myeong’s expression did not change. As always, he surveyed the battlefield with those cool, cold eyes, then opened his lips in an indifferent voice.
“That was a very rude thing to say, but... if the speaker is the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, then perhaps rudeness no longer counts as rudeness.”
His voice was quiet, and that only made it sink deeper into the ear.
Cheong Myeong’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Ho Ga-myeong gave a small, calm nod.
“On the contrary, it is an honor that the Mount Hua Divine Dragon would remember my face.”
There was no trace of mockery in his tone. He simply accepted Cheong Myeong’s provocation with complete composure.
And that, in turn, made everyone here look at the Mount Hua Divine Dragon once more.
The strategist of the Myriad Man Sect. No, now the strategist of the Evil Tyrant Alliance. And yet Ho Ga-myeong was saying he was honored that Cheong Myeong had recognized him? It was the sort of remark that made everyone keenly aware of just how incredible the man standing among them truly was.
“But... I must say, I am a little surprised.”
Ho Ga-myeong’s gaze left Cheong Myeong and traveled across the other members of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, one by one. His eyes were as if they could see straight through a person.
“To think you came all the way to this distant land of the South Sea. What, exactly, were you thinking?”
The air froze at once. Cheong Myeong clicked his tongue.
“What a boring bastard.”
He tried to shake him, but the man didn’t budge in the slightest.
Cheong Myeong knew it. From experience, someone like this was the most infuriating kind of opponent.
“Not even fun to scare.”
“No.”
To everyone’s surprise, Ho Ga-myeong shook his head.
“I am very surprised. I never imagined I would meet you here.”
“......”
“The Alliance Lord was not wrong. So the truly frightening thing is not strength, but madness...”
He couldn’t understand it. Not this situation, nor the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s intent.
No—saying he couldn’t understand their intent was slightly wrong.
He understood the intent. They must have wanted to save Hainan, whether for righteousness or in hopes of securing even a little more strength to stand against the Evil Tyrant Alliance later on.
What Ho Ga-myeong couldn’t understand was not that part.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Ask away.”
“Hainan is one of the Ten Great Sects, of course an important sect. But... do you truly believe that your lives here are less important than Hainan?”
At that, the expressions of several people changed.
It was a calm question, and that only made it cut deeper.
“The saying that one must not make mistakes is, if I’m being honest, incorrect. People, no matter who they are, are bound to make mistakes. What matters is not whether one makes a mistake, but whether one makes a fatal mistake.”
“......”
“In my opinion, what you’ve done now seems to qualify as that fatal mistake. What do you think?”
Were they not shocked?
Not at all. There was no lie in anything Ho Ga-myeong said. He could barely remember the last time he’d been this thrown off.
When the signal went off behind them, he’d thought, as anyone would, that the Hainan fools were merely pulling some petty trick. Never in his wildest imagination had he expected to see the Heavenly Friends Alliance and the Mount Hua Divine Dragon here.
But surprise only needed to last a moment.
“I don’t particularly like saying things like this, but...”
For the first time, a faint smile appeared at the corners of Ho Ga-myeong’s mouth.
“This is what they mean by an unexpected windfall. To think I would come here to deal with something as insignificant as Hainan and find you instead.”
Baek Cheon’s face hardened.
Ho Ga-myeong... Jang Il-so’s strategist.
He had clearly expected a massive reaction.
He thought Ho Ga-myeong would take one look at the battlefield and attack in a panic.
But instead, Ho Ga-myeong slowly stopped the battlefield in its tracks and observed them. That fact weighed on Baek Cheon in a way nothing else had so far.
Jang Il-so was a fickle beast.
And the Demonic Sect was a beast drunk on madness.
That was how it usually was. Up until now, the enemies they had faced were the kind of people who might do anything, people impossible to measure by the common sense of ordinary men.
But Ho Ga-myeong was different.
Those cold, lowered eyes held none of the insanity one could glimpse in Jang Il-so or the cultists. All there was to see was chilly intellect and an almost frightening calm.
...A hunter?
It is truly terrifying to have a hungry beast pursuing you from behind.
But what about having someone behind you who is hunting you?
Was that really better than being chased by a starving beast?
As Baek Cheon wondered whether the arrival of Ho Ga-myeong might actually be the worst misfortune of all, Ho Ga-myeong spoke again.
“Mistake?”
Cheong Myeong’s crooked voice rang out.
“Well, that could be.”
He smirked and stepped forward.
“But it looks like there’s something you don’t know.”
“Oh?”
“A mistake, you see...”
Cheong Myeong’s lips parted just a little, revealing a flash of white teeth.
“Only matters to the bastard who has the skill to spot it and use it!”
Fwaaaaat!
In an instant, Cheong Myeong’s Amhyang Maehwageom shot out like lightning. Sword energy red as fresh blood blossomed through the air.
Shwaaaaaak!
The sword energy tore straight toward Ho Ga-myeong’s throat at terrifying speed. But Ho Ga-myeong only looked at the attack with cold eyes, making no move to dodge.
“Ha!”
Then, with a voice full of excitement, someone standing close beside Ho Ga-myeong leaped up at astonishing speed. The moment he cut in front of Ho Ga-myeong—
KWAAAAAANG!
Sword met sword, and the crimson energy burst apart in all directions like exploding fireworks.
“Run!”
“Got it!”
Snapped awake, Baek Cheon grabbed one of the Hainan disciples, who was still too stunned to move, by the collar and shoved him toward the rear.
“Get on the boat! Now!”
“Y-yes! Right!”
Only then did the Hainan disciples, jolted into action, sprint with all their strength toward the ship. The Mount Hua disciples had already been rushing toward it from the moment Cheong Myeong unleashed that sword energy, vaulting over and cutting through those who tried to block their path.
“Don’t let them escape!”
“Yes!”
At a shout from somewhere, the main force of the Myriad Man Sect also kicked off the ground and charged forward with full force.
The quiet battlefield instantly began to boil over once more.
Goe Yang, the Blood Sword Squad’s leader, watched Cheong Myeong’s retreating back in silence and flexed his wrist.
“...The Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”
As he murmured the words under his breath, a cold voice soon reached his ear.
“Not someone you can handle.”
“Heh, heh, heh.”
Goe Yang let out a laugh.
He was a squad leader of the Myriad Man Sect. Unless it was Jang Il-so himself, there was no reason for anyone in the world to speak to him like that. Yet he didn’t seem offended at all—instead, he laughed as though he were pleased.
“Maybe not. He’s a monster.”
The ache in his wrist proved it.
His sword energy had been flung out as if it were a joke, and when it collided head-on with the sword he’d swung with full force, the one who suffered the damage was him. Of course, that alone didn’t prove anything about the superiority of martial skill, but it was enough to show just how strong the opponent was.
“Still... there’s no need to do that ourselves.”
Goe Yang bared his teeth in a grin.
“Even tigers get torn to pieces by a pack of wolves. What we’re doing isn’t a duel. It’s a hunt.”
At that, Ho Ga-myeong gave a slow nod.
“Correct.”
It didn’t matter what methods they used.
This was Hainan, the southernmost edge of the Central Plains. Even if the one who stepped here were a dragon instead of a tiger... no, even if he were something beyond a dragon, there could only be one fate waiting for anyone who set foot in this place.
“Kill them all.”
“And if the Alliance Lord hears about it?”
“...It won’t be too late to report after they’re dead.”
At those words, the Blood Sword Squad leader showed a strange smile.
“If you’re willing to take responsibility, I’m all for it.”
Turning his head, he fixed his gaze on Cheong Myeong, and killing intent surged hot in his eyes.