I’ll Show You What Real Ruthlessness Looks Like (3)
Chung Myung clicked his tongue and looked back over his shoulder.
"Ah, let’s go!"
"Grrr. But I still need to take all that with me."
"Why the hell are you so damn greedy, you brat! And you’re rich, too!"
"No matter how much money you have, it’s never enough! Do you know how many gluttons there are in Mount Hua? Just feeding and clothing those bastards costs a fortune! A fortune! I’d rather raise beggars and oxen!"
With misty eyes, Chung Myung stared at the luminous pearls set into the ceiling above the underground cave.
"Grrrrr... do you know how much those things are worth?"
Then his gaze slid to Hong Dae-gwang.
Hong Dae-gwang quietly averted his eyes from Chung Myung’s ferocious stare.
If the ceiling hadn’t once collapsed on him, Chung Myung would’ve stripped every pearl he saw without a second thought. But after going through that once, he couldn’t even bring himself to touch the things now.
With the heartbroken look of a man forced to pass by a feast he could never eat, Chung Myung trudged past the luminous pearls. Tears of blood practically streamed from his eyes.
"You bastaaaard..."
"……."
"I’ll never forget this grudge."
"No, wait... what did I even do?"
He had done something. A lot, in fact.
"Out! Get out already!"
Before bloodshed could erupt, Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong hurriedly dragged Chung Myung out of the cave. The others let out weary sighs and followed them outside.
"Wha?"
And then, everyone looked around in astonishment.
They made this much space underground?
What spread out before them was, quite literally, a vast plaza. It was the only way to describe such a massive space.
And then—
Rumble...
"Hm?"
Hong Dae-gwang snapped his head around. A huge stone wall came crashing down from above the place they had just passed through.
BOOM!
Dust billowed in all directions. Once he confirmed that the passage they’d used had been completely sealed off, Hong Dae-gwang involuntarily frowned.
That’s not good.
Of course, even if they tried to go back that way, there would be no escaping the Sword Tomb. The way behind them had already collapsed.
Still, having the retreat cut off was always a deeply unpleasant feeling.
But what concerned Hong Dae-gwang even more than their retreat was the scene ahead of them.
Because in the center of the plaza stood a group of people, radiating murderous intent toward them.
Who are they?
Their clothing was all different colors.
There was no unity to them.
With just that information, Hong Dae-gwang understood that they were the people who had agreed to meet here and work together. So far, that wasn’t the problem.
The real problem came next.
"New arrivals."
"Looks like most of them are here already. We should deal with those ones and move on. If we dawdle, those bastards might end up taking the Heaven’s Best for themselves instead of weakening each other."
"True enough."
Hong Dae-gwang’s face stiffened.
Blood.
The stench of blood hung thick in the air from their side. Only then did Hong Dae-gwang realize that corpses were strewn beneath their feet.
He sharpened his eyesight and looked more closely, then growled in a low voice.
"Great Power Axe, Mak Hoi."
"Kheh-heh-heh. So someone actually knows this old man’s name. Speak. Reveal your identity!"
Seeing the man’s enormous frame and the giant axe that matched it, Hong Dae-gwang frowned.
"Daera Sword, Son Myeong of San-dong Quick Sword... And... Long River Black Blade, Jo Myeong-san! You joined this madness too?"
A man in black martial robes lifted his head slightly. He must have been Jo Myeong-san of the Long River Black Blade.
"So it’s Hong Beggar."
"That’s right! It’s me! I thought at least you and the Daera Sword were men of honor! And yet you’re slaughtering innocent martial heroes! What kind of monstrous cruelty is this?"
"Innocent?"
Jo Myeong-san smiled faintly.
"Hong Beggar, you’re making a grave mistake. Don’t forget the saying of the jianghu: merely possessing treasure is already a crime. And coveting treasure is also a crime."
"You..."
Hong Dae-gwang’s face flushed red.
"I thought at least you understood what righteousness is!"
"Of course I do, Beggar."
Jo Myeong-san looked at him quietly and said,
"If I obtain the Heaven’s Best in this place, I will grow stronger. And then, based on that strength, I’ll be able to carry out even more righteousness."
"Try saying that to the people lying dead under your feet!"
"Gladly. Because they are not the pitiable ones I have sworn to protect."
"...You’re insane."
Jo Myeong-san gave a slight shrug.
"I thought the Beggar could understand me."
"I’m not talented enough to understand lunatics! If I understood you, that would just mean I’m crazy too."
The Mount Hua disciples looked at Hong Dae-gwang with fresh eyes.
Until now, he had seemed like a half-dazed fool, but the Hong Dae-gwang standing before them now was every inch a righteous hero of the Beggars' Sect.
Hong Dae-gwang ground his teeth and said,
"You’ve been blinded by treasure! No matter how much you covet it, there are things that can be done and things that must not be done!"
"Heh-heh-heh-heh. That beggar really does love to ramble."
Great Power Axe Mak Hoi sneered in a rough voice.
"What, then? Did you think this would be a place for idle conversation? The moment you charged in here, you must have planned to seize the Heaven’s Best by killing whoever stood in your way! And yet here you are, acting all high and mighty!"
"I have no intention of killing people I can subdue, unlike you! And certainly not by lying in wait and murdering them on purpose like this! There’s a line to be drawn in all things!"
"That line of yours..."
The Daera Sword rose to his feet and said,
"Isn’t it different for every person, Beggar?"
"Daera Sword..."
"No need for more words. You’re going to die anyway."
"...Why are you even doing this here?"
"Hahaha. What a stupid question. There’s no need to waste our strength in advance. You understand by now, don’t you? This place is full of traps. The one who breaks through the front is bound to take damage. And if everyone keeps checking each other, a stray blade is bound to land somewhere. We’ve simply chosen the more efficient method."
Hong Dae-gwang clenched his jaw.
The front line must be the Wudang. And the righteous factions were chasing after them. These men were planning to wait until the two sides exhausted and maimed each other, then seize the Heaven’s Best for themselves.
He had no intention of condemning that part. After all, that too was a sound strategy.
But...
Hong Dae-gwang turned his head slightly. He now saw several doors leading into the plaza—doors he hadn’t noticed before. They must have been hidden by stone walls just like the path they had come from.
There was only one exit, and it was behind those people.
"Do you understand now?"
"...What are you talking about?"
"We’re merely following the will left behind by Talgeom Muheun. The diverging paths all converge into one here, and beyond this place there’s only a single road. In other words..."
The Daera Sword bared his teeth in a grin.
"It means we kill each other here."
At that chilling statement, Hong Dae-gwang’s body trembled slightly.
What in the world was Yak Seon thinking when he made this place?
And even if those men hadn’t been here, it would still have been the same.
In a structure like this, anyone driven mad with greed for the treasure would inevitably be forced to face someone else here. Those who had barely survived the traps would naturally be the strong ones, and their nerves would already be razor sharp from the pressure and unease of the Sword Tomb.
If such people met each other, a battle would break out far too easily.
"So what if we kill each other? The only difference is that we’re the ones doing the killing."
The Daera Sword slowly drew his sword.
Fresh blood still stained the blade, too sharply honed to have been cleaned away.
When Hong Dae-gwang saw that blood, his eyes went bloodshot.
"For such a trifling reason..."
"Don’t pretend to be naive, Beggar. You know it, don’t you? Since the name Sword Tomb spread through the world, there has never once been a time when blood did not flow. Even the fake Sword Tomb brought blood in its wake—did you really believe that everyone would be able to smile and get along inside the real one? That’s why you brought your Beggars' Sect people here, isn’t it?"
Hong Dae-gwang could not answer.
In truth, the words were not wrong. Hong Dae-gwang had come here prepared to shed blood as well.
It was only because he had been breaking through the mechanisms alongside the Mount Hua disciples that he had not yet had to face enemies directly. If he had encountered foes in the ordinary way, Hong Dae-gwang would never have shown them mercy.
But...
Still, this is different, isn’t it?
Killing enemies who had to be killed was one thing.
But there was no reason to slaughter enemies who did not need to die. To stand here and butcher every person who came through, merely to avoid the slightest inconvenience, was nothing but murder and slaughter.
Hong Dae-gwang could never forgive that.
"So you’re saying you’ll kill us too?"
"Do we have any choice?"
"Then there’s no need for more words."
Hong Dae-gwang ground his teeth and clenched his fists. The beggars of the Beggars' Sect quickly formed ranks behind him.
"Hmm. The Beggars' Sect. Normally, it would be troublesome, but in a place where no one’s watching, you’re nothing more than a bunch of beggars."
The Daera Sword sneered.
Hong Dae-gwang also had no choice but to acknowledge their weakness. Each one of those people was a strong expert who could not be ignored. And with ten of them allied together, there was nothing a branch force of the Beggars' Sect could do against them.
So...
"Young Hero Baek Cheon. Please help us."
"Of course I will."
Baek Cheon drew his sword and stood at Hong Dae-gwang’s side. Behind him came Yoon Jong and Jo Gul. And then Yu I-seol stood with them.
"I can’t say I’m some great champion of righteousness, but I have no intention of standing by and watching someone cross the line."
The Mount Hua disciples all nodded.
There were at least twenty corpses at their feet alone. In other words, those people had hunted down and butchered more than twenty others in this place.
Seeing the anger burning in the eyes of the Mount Hua disciples, the Daera Sword smiled.
"Well, well, the disciples of Mount Hua. Lately, the name of Mount Hua has been making quite a bit of noise. Unfortunately, today you’ll learn that the jianghu isn’t so easy."
"Shut up!"
At Baek Cheon’s shout, the Daera Sword burst out laughing.
"This is why watching fledglings from the jianghu is such a delight."
"No need to waste time. Let’s deal with them quickly and then pursue Wudang."
"Keh-heh-heh. We’ll get to taste blood again."
One by one, they drew their weapons and began pressing down on the Beggars' Sect and Mount Hua.
Hong Dae-gwang’s face darkened.
So they really did all join forces...
The so-called experts who had flooded into Namyang all seemed to have gathered there. If all of them joined hands, even Wudang would have a hard time dealing with them. And yet those very men were committing such petty, disgraceful acts.
But petty though it might be, it was undeniably dangerous. Objectively speaking, the Beggars' Sect and Mount Hua alone would struggle to stand against them. No—there was a high chance they’d be overwhelmed.
"Hong Beggar. Don’t hate me for this. The jianghu has always been a heartless place."
Hong Dae-gwang bit his lip.
I have to create some kind of opening and flee down the only road behind them.
He had barely made up his mind when—
"You done blabbing?"
An alien voice pierced his ear.
It was a low voice, devoid of any emotional rise or fall.
Hong Dae-gwang’s head slowly turned back.
Chung Myung.
Chung Myung, his face utterly expressionless, brushed past him and walked forward.
"Hm?"
Seeing him stroll out, a faint glimmer entered the Daera Sword’s eyes.
"And who might you be?"
"None of your business."
"...What did you say?"
Chung Myung fixed his gaze on the Daera Sword and snapped in a cold voice,
"You said the jianghu is a heartless place?"
"……."
"Then I’ll show you what real heartlessness looks like."
Then Chung Myung’s sword was slowly drawn from its scabbard.