A Man Who Draws His Sword Should Aim for the Neck, at Least! (3)
Whoooosh!
A fierce wind swept through the air.
In the wide courtyard at the center of the Green Forest Main Fortress, the bandits of the Dae-byeol Bandit Band stood with their weapons drawn, glaring at the wide-open gate.
And then...
Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.
Through that gaping opening, the Mount Hua disciples in black robes marched forward in perfect formation.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed hard.
They had already been on guard, and yet now that Mount Hua was actually before them, their bodies tensed on their own, and a chill began to creep down their spines.
The Dae-byeol Bandit Band was one of the Green Forest’s representative strongholds.
Of course, they had fought other evil factions many times before, and there had even been occasions when they’d run afoul of some renowned righteous sects.
So those who prided themselves on having spent a long time in the Dae-byeol Bandit Band were no ordinary cutthroats; they were veterans deserving of the title battle-hardened troops.
And yet even they could not hide their tension at the sight of Mount Hua.
How strange.
It was a sensation they had never felt before.
Righteous sects had their own gravity, and evil sects had their own sharpness. But from those Mount Hua bastards, they could feel both the weight of righteousness and the edge of the underworld at the same time.
There was the severity of an orthodox sect in the way they walked without the slightest disorder, and there was the rough, freewheeling feeling of the evil path in the aura they gave off.
What kind of martial arts had they practiced, and what sort of training had they undergone, to make the people facing them feel this way? It was beyond easy guesswork.
Gulp.
That sensation seemed to have rattled more than one man, because here and there came the sound of swallowing and the creak of hands tightening around weapons.
So Red Bear Bandit Band and Blood Wolf Bandit Band got wiped out without even putting up a fight...
But what had the chieftain been thinking, ordering the gates opened so they could be greeted like this? These weren’t the sort of people you could talk things out with.
There was no time to speculate further. The Mount Hua group that had entered the palisade stopped advancing.
There were barely a little over a hundred of them.
By the numbers alone, Mount Hua was now surrounded by nearly three times that many enemies. And yet none of the Mount Hua disciples showed even the slightest fear. Instead, they looked full of confidence, as though victory was something they could claim whenever they pleased.
There was the easy poise, the confidence, and the unshakable steadiness of men who had never once turned their eyes toward base profit and had walked only the righteous road.
Though nothing had even happened yet, the bandits of the Dae-byeol Bandit Band were already beginning to buckle under that pressure.
And then.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
One man stepped forward and looked around.
While the faces of those standing behind him still carried the unmistakable youth of boys, the man who had stepped out bore clear traces of age in his features.
He swept his gaze over the bandits gripping their sharp weapons and slowly opened his mouth.
“I am Hyun Sang, elder of Mount Hua Sect.”
Mount Hua Sect’s elder.
If it had been just a day ago, none of the people here would have felt any weight in that title. But in the span of a single day, that name had become impossible to ignore.
Reputation spreads on the back of achievement. And Mount Hua’s accomplishments over just one day were enough that no one could deny them.
And now they had come all the way here, intending to use even the Dae-byeol Bandit Band as a stepping stone to raise that reputation still higher.
“The chieftain of the Dae-byeol Bandit Band, come forward.”
A lofty aura flowed out from Hyun Sang. It was not the sort of aggressive pressure that would crush an opponent outright, and yet the bandits still flinched without thinking and took a step back.
“Tsk tsk tsk. What a sorry lot.”
Then a rough voice burst out from behind them.
“Move aside!”
With a voice like a starving tiger’s growl, the Green Forest bandits standing in formation split apart to the left and right.
Along the open path, Mad Ox Blade Go Hong strode forward at once, his whole body wrapped in black wolf hide.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He wasn’t all that massive, but each step carried a heavy surge of inner force. Because of its impact, the bandits around him finally let out the breath they’d been holding and watched him with bright eyes.
So this really is...
Hyun Sang narrowed his eyes and looked at Mad Ox Blade Go Hong.
He was exactly as he’d heard, and yet also very different from what he’d imagined.
In his expression and movements, the roughness of a bandit was certainly apparent. But the seasoned trick he’d used to reignite the mood around him in an instant made Hyun Sang think this man might not be as simple as he seemed.
Clack.
Go Hong, now standing at the front, swept his gaze over Hyun Sang and the Mount Hua disciples before twisting his lips into a sneer.
“An elder of Mount Hua?”
“...”
“You Shaanxi hillbillies sure got big. Just look at you, a third-rate sect no one’s ever heard of, suddenly standing tall because you made a little name for yourselves.”
“Why should reputation matter so much? What matters is skill.”
“Ha?”
Go Hong grinned mockingly and looked Hyun Sang dead in the eye.
“An old man with death right around the corner sure talks a lot.”
Hyun Sang did not react to the provocation. There was nothing more foolish than being dragged around by an enemy’s attempt to stir him up...
“No, seriously, who the hell is that bastard talking to like that?”
“Chung Myung! Hold it in!”
“Elder is speaking, Chung Myung. Hold it in, okay?”
“That little bastard’s calling our elder an old man ready for his coffin!”
“H-He didn’t say it quite like that!”
At the commotion coming from behind him, Hyun Sang’s shoulders sagged slightly.
...What if they’re stupid?
A clear brain is a good thing, after all...
“Ahem.”
Hyun Sang cleared his throat and looked at Go Hong.
“I have heard that you rose in rebellion, occupied the fortress, and now plot to take the life of the Green Forest King. Mount Hua has come to subdue you and restore the Green Forest to its rightful state, for the peace of the Central Plains and the stability of the Green Forest.”
Perhaps these were men who had already chosen the path of battle and no longer needed any division of words.
But Hyun Sang believed that each small exchange like this could give the disciples standing behind him a clear cause and a clear aim.
Strength was important. Fighting with all one’s might was important too.
But even more important than that was knowing why one fought. Power swung without purpose was nothing but violence, and in the end it would only eat away at the wielder.
“Peace?”
Go Hong bared yellowed teeth in a grin.
“You bastards come chasing after us with swords in hand, and you’ve got the nerve to keep spouting off? Enough with the useless chatter. I don’t have time to deal with some old man like you, so bring out that rat you used to bewitch these men with, right now!”
“No, seriously, does that bastard really want to die?”
“Hey, you idiot! Just hold it in a little!”
“If you step out now, it’ll look weird!”
“...”
Go Hong’s grim, decisive expression twitched.
What the hell has that brat been doing all this time?
Behind the stern elder, some rat-sized punk kept thrashing around like he was having a seizure. And the other young ones around him were desperately hanging on to his arms and legs.
“Damn it! I’ve really calmed down a lot. Back in the day, I would’ve smashed every tooth in his mouth before he even got a chance to open it! Damn, I’m seriously gonna—”
“Please, just get out there!”
“He’s having a fit, for God’s sake! Go out there already!”
After the nonstop racket, Im So-byeong, who’d been jabbed in the side and shoved from behind, let out a sigh and shuffled forward. He faced Go Hong, gave an awkward smile, and stood there.
“It’s been a while, Go Hong.”
“...Rat bastard.”
Murderous intent bloomed in Go Hong’s eyes.
“And yet you, carrying the name of the Green Forest King, dragged an orthodox sect into the affairs of the Green Forest? Is that how you plan to continue the legacy of the Green Forest’s heroes?”
“A hero, huh...”
Im So-byeong shrugged, looking unconcerned.
“I don’t really care if I’m not a hero.”
“Of course not. You’re a rat.”
“Yes. I don’t mind being a rat.”
As he said it so casually, Im So-byeong’s eyes had already gone cold.
Though he’d been bullied endlessly by Chung Myung and had shown little presence throughout the punitive campaign, his eyes now were clearly different from when he had first climbed up here.
He fixed Go Hong with a steady stare, his gaze sharp and clear.
“What matters is not my pride, and not my reputation. Being laughed at or dismissed—those things are trifles. What matters is making sure the Green Forest brothers I’m responsible for shed one drop less blood!”
As if the weakness and sickness had all been from another lifetime, Im So-byeong’s presence burst outward.
“We’re threatened by Maninbang from below, checked by the eighteen water bandit factions of the Yangtze River to the side, always targeted by righteous sects on punitive expeditions, and forced to dodge the authorities’ eyes at every turn. That is the plight of the Green Forest. If someone blinded by reputation and position like you were to rise to the throne of Green Forest King, it would be obvious that every mountain would be drenched in Green Forest blood.”
Im So-byeong’s gaze never left Go Hong.
“If I can stop that, I’ll do anything. Even if it means being branded a coward, I don’t care at all.”
“Hah.”
Go Hong laughed openly at him.
“That’s exactly the kind of thinking a rat would have. It’s because a weak bastard like you sits on the Green Forest King’s throne that the other sects look down on us and keep stabbing at us!”
Go Hong’s booming shout spread in every direction.
“You’ve always approached war timidly because you were afraid the conflict with Maninbang would escalate. Even when your brothers were dying, you wouldn’t allow us to attack! You ignored the Green Forest’s law that blood must be repaid with blood!”
Whatever the content of his words, the force carried by that voice was truly terrifying.
“But I am different! I am not a coward like you! I will stand at the very front, brandishing my blade to prove that the Green Forest has power no one in this world can ignore!”
“OOOOOOOOH!”
No sooner had Go Hong’s blood-rousing shout ended than the Green Forest bandits of the Dae-byeol Bandit Band let out a cheer, their morale surging sky-high. They raised their weapons in unison, and in them could be seen a confidence that hadn’t been there before.
Leaving logic and reason aside, there was no denying that Go Hong possessed a force that drew people in.
At that moment, Im So-byeong said in a low voice,
“That isn’t the path for the Green Forest. It’s the path to feeding your own greed.”
“Heh-heh-heh. Rat bastard. That’s enough. You and I were never going to understand each other anyway.”
“It’s not that we don’t understand each other. It’s that you can’t understand a damn thing.”
Im So-byeong glared at Go Hong with murder in his eyes, then let out a quiet sigh.
“I...”
“Goddamn it, enough already! You talk way too fucking much!”
“...”
At the now all-too-familiar voice, Im So-byeong let his shoulders droop and instantly killed off the aura around him. Then he slowly turned around.
Chung Myung, having thrown off everyone who had tried to hold him back, marched forward in a huff, looking thoroughly annoyed.
“What? You planning a tea party or something? Should I bring out a tea table for you?”
“...No, that’s not—”
“What the hell’s the point of all this talk when you’re just gonna stab each other with swords anyway? Bandits sure are uselessly long-winded for people who make their living with blades!”
“...Pardon?”
Chung Myung stuck his belly out and declared,
“The rules of Mount Hua are simple! The guy who wins is right!”
“...That is not a rule, Chung Myung.”
“He’s outright making up Mount Hua’s rules now.”
Baek Cheon and Jo Gul objected, but words that normally wouldn’t even reach the ears certainly weren’t going to get through to Chung Myung now.
“You hillbilly bandits have probably been living so comfortably up in the mountains that you’ve got time to spare, but we’re busy people, so let’s get this over with quickly, yeah?”
Go Hong stared at Chung Myung in dismay, then twisted his face in disgust.
“You little brat who can’t even tell where he should lie down is speaking recklessly.”
“You must’ve grown up so pampered you have to check every spot before lying down. Me? I’m the kind of guy who can lie down anywhere in the world, you bastard!”
The disciples behind him all nodded at once to that.
“Right. Because he was born a beggar.”
“But which is better, a bandit or a beggar?”
“I think we’ll need to think about that one a bit, Sasuk.”
Go Hong now looked less like he was angry and more like his head was about to boil over.
“I’ll see whether that shameless tongue of yours can still wag when your bones are being ripped out from under you.”
At that terrifying threat, Chung Myung opened his eyes wide.
“Oh. You should be careful what you say.”
“...What?”
“Turning words back on people is my specialty.”
Chung Myung pointed at Go Hong with a finger and grinned.
“I remember every damn thing you say.”
“You...”
And with that, he took one big step back and stood behind Hyun Sang.
Hyun Sang’s face hardened as he spoke.
“Mount Hua!”
“Yes!”
“Punish these evil men and let the world know that Mount Hua’s chivalry is here!”
“Yes!”
Clang!
In unison, the Mount Hua disciples drew their swords and pressed forward, narrowing the distance with the bandits.
“What are you waiting for! Smash every last bone in their bodies right this instant!”
“Yes!”
The Green Forest bandits also bared their killing intent and poured inner force into their weapons.
“Attack!”
“Kill them!”
Two waves surged forward at once, rushing straight at each other.