Our Kids Are a Little Fierce (5)
Demonic Sect.
The moment that name was spoken, a strange atmosphere settled over the Ice Palace warriors.
It was a name they wanted to ignore, yet could not.
They were not blind or deaf, after all. How could they possibly not know about the black-clad figures who had stormed the Ice Palace during the rebellion?
They had merely avoided digging too deeply into it.
But now, from the mouth of the Zhongyuan man standing before them, that name had finally been dragged into the open. It was as though he would no longer let them look away.
Then Seol Cheon-sang answered in an even voice.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Ah, so you're going to pretend you don't know?"
Chung Myung let out a snort.
"Well, that works too."
It was an unmistakable sneer.
Seol Cheon-sang twisted his lips and said in a voice thick with fury, "You bastard! How dare you try to confuse the masses and—"
"Ah, forget it."
Chung Myung waved a hand lazily, cutting him off as if he were too bothered to listen. That sheer insolence only made Seol Cheon-sang's face contort further.
Chung Myung shrugged, utterly unconcerned with his reaction.
"I've charged headfirst into enough walls to know this much: people don't solve anything with words anyway."
Seol Cheon-sang stared at him in disbelief.
What in the world was this brat even saying?
"You're not going to listen even if I say something right, are you? In that case, there’s no reason to keep talking when a good sword is right there. Don’t you think?"
"... "
"Think it over in hell. By the time you have a blade through your throat, you'll know something went wrong."
"You...!"
Seol Cheon-sang's eyes went bloodshot.
This was nothing more than a young junior disciple, barely out of boyhood, and he was boldly claiming he would cut his throat?
"...So the Zhongyuan dogs don't teach their youngsters manners. That much is obvious from how brazen that mouth of yours is."
"Ah, manners?"
Chung Myung laughed as if he had heard something truly ridiculous.
"What a funny old man. We're about to start stabbing each other in the gut, and you want us to worry about manners? What, should I say, 'Oh dear, Palace Lord! A knife is about to go into your belly, so please be careful'? Would that make it hurt less?"
"... "
By now, Seol Cheon-sang's body was visibly trembling.
Just looking at this green youth, standing there with one leg cocked and speaking so casually, made his blood run hot in reverse.
"Let's see whether you can still spout that nonsense after your body’s been cut to pieces."
"How would I speak if my body's been chopped to bits? You should think before you talk."
"You little brat!"
Seol Cheon-sang bit down on his lips. Seeing the blood welling from the split skin, Baek Cheon smiled in satisfaction.
"If he loses, he's not going to die prettily."
"Looks that way... He looks like he could kill a man just with his eyes."
Chung Myung was the sort who could beat people both with a sword and with his mouth.
The Mount Hua disciples, who had endured Chung Myung for years, knew very well that sometimes being beaten with words hurt more than being beaten with a sword.
And now Seol Cheon-sang would learn that as well.
"To be humiliated in front of all these palace warriors..."
Of course, from their perspective, Seol Cheon-sang was the enemy. But even so, there were lines in this world that transcended ally and foe.
Unfortunately for everyone else, Chung Myung did not recognize such lines.
"And."
Having spent the whole time beating Seol Cheon-sang over the head with his mouth, Chung Myung now swept his gaze over the palace warriors with a peculiar expression.
"Even if you pretend otherwise, seems like everybody knows, huh?"
"... "
The palace warriors simply avoided his eyes in silence.
It was not that they had been overpowered by his pressure. They simply had no right to stand tall.
Seeing that, Chung Myung smiled faintly, the corners of his mouth curling in a thin, sharp line.
"Sure. If you just turn your heads away, life goes on just fine. I guess digging into an ugly truth would be a hassle too."
A strange silence fell. Everyone had mouths, and yet no one spoke.
"But you need to understand this."
Chung Myung spoke as if spitting the words out.
"If a wound is rotting and you don't want to cut it open, you'll end up having to cut off the arm or the leg. Miss the right time for that, and you die."
"... "
"By now, you have to choose. Cut off the arm, or die."
The expressions on the Ice Palace warriors' faces grew complicated, conflicted. Seeing that, Baek Cheon was just about to step in and calm Chung Myung down with a word.
What Chung Myung said was not wrong, but there was no need for him to shoulder the burden of saying it himself.
Mount Hua did have grounds to oppose the Demonic Sect, of course, but Yeo Sa-hon and Han Yi-myung were here as well, were they not?
There was no need for Mount Hua to stand at the front and center while leaving them behind.
But just as he opened his mouth, Yu I-seol lightly tugged at his sleeve and stopped him.
"...Samae?"
When he turned in confusion, she whispered softly, "Expression."
"Hm?"
"Back there. Their expressions."
At her words, Baek Cheon glanced toward the rear.
There stood the North Sea warriors in tight formation.
Just moments ago, they had been tense to the point of nearly shaking, staring at the Ice Palace warriors whose numbers were more than twice their own. No matter how desperately they had rushed all the way here, the difference in numbers they could see with their own eyes was enough to weigh on them.
But now... something had changed. Their tension had not vanished, but beneath it was a faint, unmistakable thread of pride.
So this is what a cause is.
He could guess what had happened.
The North Sea warriors gathered here had come to overthrow Seol Cheon-sang and place Seol So-baek in the Palace Lord's seat.
But that alone was not enough to become a perfect cause.
No matter that Seol So-baek was the true bloodline of the North Sea, deciding who was legitimate was not the same as deciding who was righteous.
But the Demonic Sect was different.
If you had ever even heard the name Demonic Sect, then you could not possibly be unaware of how vile it was to join hands with them. That was not a matter of debate. It was an undeniable crime.
Chung Myung had given the people standing behind him an absolute, unshakable cause. And when people had a firm cause, they gained confidence.
Baek Cheon's eyes settled on Chung Myung's back.
That bastard...
He was confident he understood Chung Myung by now, and yet Chung Myung still showed him new sides of himself.
Without ever needing to make a grand show of himself or raise his voice, he somehow naturally led the people before him.
Baek Cheon could only shake his head in admiration. It was not something he could imitate even if he tried.
That back.
Just how many people was that back carrying right now?
Every time he felt that weight, Baek Cheon found that back looking both reassuring and dependable, and yet somehow strangely unfamiliar as well.
Then, sensing that the mood was turning sour, Seol Cheon-sang raised his voice.
"What the hell do you know about the North Sea that you dare spout nonsense like that?"
His voice was thick with venom.
"The North Sea is a harsh, barren land. What do you people, who have lived in the warm and fertile Zhongyuan, possibly know?"
"Now that's a strange thing to say."
But Chung Myung only laughed again.
"Whether a place is fertile or barren, there are things you should do and things you shouldn't. If you're going to use hardship as an excuse, then you should never have overthrown the former Palace Lord in the first place."
At the mention of the former Palace Lord, Seol Cheon-sang's face twisted as though he had become a demon himself.
"You bastard..."
At that moment, Chung Myung tilted his head slightly.
After exchanging a glance with him, Yeo Sa-hon nodded and stepped forward. Since Chung Myung had laid the board, now it was his turn to take it back.
Yeo Sa-hon stepped forward in silence and fixed Seol Cheon-sang with a cold stare.
"Seol Cheon-sang."
Not Palace Lord, but Seol Cheon-sang.
With that one address alone, he made it clear that he did not recognize Seol Cheon-sang as the Palace Lord.
"You have committed three crimes."
"... "
"First, you brought in those who should never have been invited."
Yeo Sa-hon's voice rolled out like a heavy bell.
"Second, you dared to join hands with them, murder the former Palace Lord, and place yourself in that seat. And third, you handed over the people of the North Sea to their grasp and plunged everyone into suffering."
Every stain on his record was laid bare before all, yet Seol Cheon-sang's face slowly grew calmer.
"I, and we! Today, here and now, will condemn you and place the true heir of the Ice Palace above the seat of the Palace Lord. And we will drive those filthy things that dared to invade the North Sea from this land!"
Yeo Sa-hon's voice thundered against the palace walls.
His blade-like gaze then swept past Seol Cheon-sang and toward the Ice Palace warriors.
"You are no different. How long do you intend to live as that vile man's dogs? Here stands the true bloodline of the North Sea! The one true heir who can restore the fallen North Sea!"
Yeo Sa-hon twisted slightly to one side.
And then the small child standing before Han Yi-myung was revealed.
"... "
Everyone could tell at a glance.
Anyone who remembered the former Palace Lord could not deny that the child looked so much like him that there was no way he could be anyone else's son.
Those who wavered.
Those who hesitated.
And even those who clenched their teeth in defiance.
The inside of the fortress walls began to heat up, like a furnace quietly coming to a boil.
"Mistakes can be corrected! Even now, stand on the right side and lend your strength to defeating that evil fiend. Then everything twisted can be set right again!"
There was soul in Yeo Sa-hon's voice.
It was the same resolve he had never lost even while enduring years in that hellish Ice Crystal Mine. It was the conviction of an old warrior who had sworn that one day, no matter what, he would drag Seol Cheon-sang down and return the Ice Palace to the right path.
But.
Only silence flowed through the air.
There were almost no responses to the old warrior's blood-hot cry.
No answering shouts, no cries of enthusiasm. Only a cold, deathly silence, as quiet as a graveyard, spread through the space.
Confusion flashed across Yeo Sa-hon's face.
"...Do not hesitate!"
He raised his voice even further.
"If you stand with us now, I will not question anyone for their crimes! We will bury everything. We will focus only on restoring the Ice Palace... "
"Is he talking about that brat?"
At that moment, Seol Cheon-sang's voice casually cut through Yeo Sa-hon's fervent cry.
"Or are you talking about yourself, Elder Yeo? No, Yeo Sa-hon?"
"... Seol Cheon-sang."
There was a mocking smile on Seol Cheon-sang's lips.
"I thought you must have some grand plan to march down here so boldly. But the only thing you have left to trust is that green little brat whose blood's barely dry?"
"You bastard! This one is the true bloodline of the North Sea—"
"So what?"
"... "
Seeing Yeo Sa-hon at a loss for words, Seol Cheon-sang shook his head.
"Fool. If that child is the true bloodline of the North Sea, then so am I. I too carry the blood of the Seol family. And unlike him, I at least seized this place with my own hands."
"... "
"What exactly does that child have? Did you really think everyone would follow him simply because he carries the Seol blood? Did you think that alone would be enough to set their blood boiling and make them draw their blades against me, the Palace Lord? Pathetic."
"Don't you dare spout nonsense, you bastard!"
Unlike the enraged Yeo Sa-hon, Seol Cheon-sang had regained all his composure. The situation had turned on its head.
"Those with frozen minds tend to mistake their own thoughts for truth. That is why they lose."
"What are you spouting, you vile—"
Then Chung Myung cut in coldly.
"That's enough."
Yeo Sa-hon whipped his head around and glared at him, his face flushed with anger. He knew better than to do so, and yet under these circumstances, the words burst out anyway.
"Just what exactly is enough, then?!"
But even as he faced that frustration, Chung Myung only smiled lightly.
"You're awfully naive for an old man."
"... "
"It's not that they didn't step forward because they didn't know what was right. It's that they didn't step forward even though they did know what was right. They didn't want to die. They didn't want to get hurt. And do you really think people who stayed silent for those reasons would suddenly have a grand awakening and side with the weaker side just because the situation changed a little?"
Chung Myung's calm, low voice spread through the air.
"For those who believe they've chosen the righteous side, their own value feels enormous. But from across the field, that sort of thing means nothing. To someone else, that kind of value is not even worth the thorn stuck in your foot."
"... "
He had seen it so many times that it was sickening.
War stripped human beings bare.
Those who spoke of friendship abandoned comrades to survive. Those who spoke of loyalty abandoned the people they served and ran. Those who claimed to uphold righteousness as their only creed turned their backs on the ones who had sacrificed themselves for Zhongyuan and instead pursued their own gain.
Chung Myung had seen and lived through all of it.
Did he resent it?
Of course he did.
He resented the weak version of himself who had insisted on his own worth and still failed to survive to the end.
Shrring.
Chung Myung slowly drew Dark Night Sword.
"You see, righteousness..."
The smile on his face, teeth bared now, was eerily chilling.
"When you don't have the strength to carry it through, it's more powerless than anything else in the world."
And the one who unexpectedly agreed with that was Seol Cheon-sang.
"True enough."
His sneer turned toward Chung Myung.
"But doesn't that apply to you as well? Looks like you're out of tricks now, don't you think?"
"Don't get it twisted."
A chilling voice leaked from Chung Myung's mouth.
"Nothing has changed."
The moment he said that, the Mount Hua disciples began filling the space to his left, right, and behind him.
As if saying that whatever Chung Myung did, they would do it together with him.
Feeling the Mount Hua disciples standing around him, Chung Myung curled his lips in a proud, ferocious grin.
"I'll show you."
Blue light flashed in his eyes.
"That Mount Hua now has the strength to see its convictions through!"
Clang!
The Mount Hua disciples all drew their swords at once.
"Sasuk! Sago! Sahyung!"
"Yeah!"
"Let's go!"
Chung Myung slammed his foot into the ground.
At the same moment, the Mount Hua disciples and Hye Yeon also kicked off the earth and charged straight toward the Ice Palace warriors.
Enemies stretched out before them in numbers beyond counting.
Toward the countless North Sea Ice Palace warriors who looked like a field of pure white snow, seven black dots shot forward like meteors.