If You Fall Behind, You’re Dead! (6)
Thunk!
The sound of a severed head hitting the sandbar was bizarrely chilling.
It wasn’t even that loud, but everyone fighting across that wide stretch of river heard it plain as day.
“C-Chain Leader….”
“Ugh….”
The chain leader was dead.
And not by the hand of the madman rampaging moments ago, but by someone else’s hand. The meaning of that was painfully clear.
W-we can’t win.
Dammit. We never should’ve come to a place like this.
By nature, the backbone of any newly formed mountain stronghold or river den was made up of half-baked fighters, men who didn’t fit in anywhere else, or criminals who had run from their sins.
People like that weren’t exactly known for loyalty, so now that even the chain leader was dead, they had no desire to keep fighting. Fear and confusion spread, and nothing else.
The water bandits’ eyes filled with helplessness and despair.
Feeling that the mood had ripened nicely, Chung Myung grinned and stepped forward.
“All of you can just die—”
“Drop your weapons. Those who surrender will be spared.”
“…….”
Chung Myung narrowed his eyes and whipped around.
Somehow, Baek Cheon had stepped out in front and was shouting now.
“Anyone who resists should be prepared to give up their lives! I won’t warn you twice! Drop your weapons!”
At that stern, thunderous voice, the water bandits trembled and exchanged glances.
Truthfully, the chain leader’s death was only symbolic. Whether he lived or died was irrelevant; the outcome had already been decided. From the start, they had never had any chance of winning.
Those who realized that hurriedly threw down their weapons and flattened themselves against the ground.
“What? They’re saying they’ll spare us again?”
“Just kill them all! How’s keeping trash like this alive supposed to help anything?”
Then came the bizarre scene of bandits themselves shouting that the water bandits should be slaughtered.
If it had been Chung Myung, he would’ve started by chewing out those bandits first. But Baek Cheon still knew the meaning of basic courtesy toward those who had come to help them.
“I’d rather avoid unnecessary killing.”
“Hmm…. Well, you are a Taoist, I suppose.”
The bandits seemed to accept that and stepped back with nods.
In the first place, they had merely come here as reinforcements, and it wasn’t as if they had done anything spectacular enough to shout from the rooftops about their achievements. Most of the credit belonged to Chung Myung, who was practically vibrating beside Baek Cheon over there.
“Drop your weapons, you bastards!”
“Oh? You’re resisting?”
Most surrendered immediately, but a few fought to the end.
If the ones surrounding them had been disciples of Mount Hua, they might have tried to subdue them without killing them. But the ones surrounding them now were Green Forest bandits. Compassion was not exactly their strong suit.
“Kraaaagh!”
“Ugh!”
Those pierced by blades collapsed with shrill dying cries. Only then did the last of the holdouts hurry to surrender.
“Hmph.”
Watching the scene, Baek Cheon’s lips tightened.
It was all so terribly simple.
For them, it had been anything but easy, and yet since Chung Myung had shown up, they had cleared out two river dens and crushed these men in less than a day.
It’s almost disappointing.
This absurdly simple thing….
No, if he thought about it coldly, it wasn’t a simple thing at all. If everything had truly been easy, would the other sects have had any reason to sit by and watch? Of course not.
It was the opposite.
It wasn’t that this work was simple. It was that Chung Myung made it seem simple.
Looking back, everything they had endured had been harsh and complicated.
Fighting Zhongnan, forming ties with the Sichuan Tang Family, visiting Beast Palace, battling the Demonic Sect up in the Northern Sea, and so on.
All of it was only possible because that bastard was there.
He thought he understood that well enough already. But looking back, Baek Cheon and the rest of Mount Hua’s disciples had focused only on Chung Myung’s strength and underestimated his skill in every other respect.
“Why are you looking so glum?”
“Huh?”
At the sudden voice, Baek Cheon turned. Chung Myung was looking at him with a puzzled expression.
“We won.”
“...Yeah, we did.”
When Baek Cheon answered awkwardly, Chung Myung let out a quiet snort.
He must’ve felt it.
Building strength was a good thing. More than that, it was essential.
But in actual combat, what mattered most was creating the conditions in which that strength could be fully brought to bear. The biggest mistake the Five Swords had made this time was not coming out to the Yangtze, nor even moving too early and handing the enemy the initiative.
They had been dragged into a situation where they couldn’t fully use their own ability.
And that’s my mistake too.
Watching this unfold had made him painfully aware of what Hyun Jong had meant when he spoke.
Chung Myung’s existence had been a tremendous stroke of luck for them, but by the same token, it had also become a massive obstacle.
“No, listen here! If you’ve got a brain in that skull of yours, say something before you move! Or at least move in a way that makes sense! You just go flying off on your own, stabbing here and there like some wild beast! If you keep toppling the whole place over like that every time, what the hell are the people following behind you supposed to do?”
“Quit your damn nagging, you punk!”
Dang Bo had complained like that sometimes too.
Even Dang Bo, an elder of the Tang Family, had struggled to keep up with Chung Myung as he raced across the battlefield, so how much worse had it been for Mount Hua’s disciples, whose skill was nowhere near Dang Bo’s and whose experience was hardly worth mentioning?
Learning only has meaning when you understand what you’re learning. If you’re dragged along without understanding a thing, you don’t gain knowledge—you gain inertia.
Chung Myung’s favorite method was to locate the enemy, judge the situation, and then find the optimal approach for that moment. Baek Cheon had seen and felt enough to move in that manner himself, but unfortunately, Baek Cheon and the other Five Swords were not Chung Myung.
If they tried to imitate, with nothing but their heads, the way Chung Myung found the flow of battle through countless fights and instinct alone, this was exactly what happened.
It would have been far better if Baek Cheon had simply stayed true to his own method and moved cautiously as he normally would. This time, excessive eagerness had brought about the trouble.
Chung Myung understood all of that, which was why he didn’t bother blaming the Five Swords.
Failure stings like hell, but… in the end, it worked out.
So long as they survived, every experience would become a true asset. This failure would become blood in their veins and flesh on their bones.
And for them, it was a failure they absolutely needed.
Because from now on, they’ll have to lead while fighting.
Chung Myung’s eyes darkened slightly.
Until now, they had been able to fight on their own. But from here on, the battles they faced would only grow larger and larger. And there would be more and more times when they would have to lead others in battle without Chung Myung at their side.
If they failed too late, the damage would have been unimaginable. It was a tremendous blessing that they could experience it now and reflect on it while there was still time.
“Hey, sahyung.”
“Hm?”
“If you’re going to do something, then finish it properly. It’s not over yet, is it?”
“…….”
Baek Cheon stared at Chung Myung for a moment, then nodded.
“You’re right.”
Then, turning toward the river den behind them, he said, “We need to finish cleaning up.”
He immediately gathered the disciples of Mount Hua.
“First, rescue the common folk who were taken into the den. Some of them may be weak or injured, so Sosu should check their condition right away.”
“Yes, sahyung!”
“And check whether any of the missing Ghost Sect disciples are here. There may be prisoners among them. Sangyi, interrogate the water bandits and see if there are any hostages in another location besides this one.”
“Understood, sahyung.”
“Good.”
Listening to the brisk replies, Baek Cheon nodded.
We’d been riding high.
They always seemed to achieve results beyond their actual skill. Before long, it seemed they had started to believe all of that was due to their own ability.
He had pretended to be humble, but he had never truly been humble enough.
“The greatest mistake isn’t losing or making a mistake. It’s learning nothing from loss or error.”
“…….”
“I’ll reflect first. So you all must not forget what you learned from this and carve it into your bones.”
“Yes.”
As the disciples nodded with solemn eyes, a faint smile bloomed at the corners of Baek Cheon’s mouth.
“Oh, trying to look cool, are you?”
“…….”
But that smile vanished even faster than it had appeared at the sound of that petulant voice.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Hoo.”
After swimming for quite some time until the island was barely visible, Black Ghost Face climbed onto the shore.
The island they had left behind was now no more than a dot in the distance.
“The battle’s over by now, right?”
One of the subordinates who had followed him ashore glanced back and asked.
“Probably.”
“Then Taku Ryucheongsa must be dead too.”
Black Ghost Face wiped the water from his face with his sleeve and curled his lips in a grin.
“What a damn fool. He probably never doubted a thing to the very end.”
“How could he possibly have doubted it? It’s not like that expensive White Thunder Cannon and the boats weren’t really delivered, was it?”
“...Thinking about it makes me sick. What a waste.”
Both the White Thunder Cannon and the boats were things that cost a fortune to obtain. To have them sink to the bottom of the river was nauseatingly wasteful.
But it didn’t matter. They hadn’t been his in the first place.
“I still don’t get it. All of this for nothing.”
Black Ghost Face clicked his tongue and shook his head.
When he thought about what had gone into building that river den, it was no different from pouring hard-earned money straight into the river. He simply could not understand why anyone would do such a thing.
“Well, I just need the money.”
“Exactly.”
At a voice other than his subordinate’s, Black Ghost Face’s head snapped around. A man was walking out of the forest that connected to the riverbank.
Watching him warily, Black Ghost Face spoke in a low voice.
“There was no need for you to come personally.”
“Things seemed to be moving more urgently than I expected, so I came to take a look.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. It was handled exactly as you instructed.”
“So it seems.”
The scholarly-looking man facing Black Ghost Face nodded with a cold expression.
“Do you need confirmation?”
“Would there be any need?”
He withdrew something from his sleeve and extended it to Black Ghost Face.
“Here you are.”
Black Ghost Face cautiously took the paper he offered and unfolded it.
“This is the confirmation slip issued by the Central Plains Warfront. The money has been sent to the place you specified. Combined with the advance payment I gave you earlier, it should match the agreed amount exactly.”
“...Indeed.”
Nodding, Black Ghost Face carefully folded the paper and tucked it into his robes.
“You could have just handed it over in person.”
“You never know what may happen in this world, do you? A small fry like me has no choice but to be cautious in everything. I hope you understand.”
“I don’t exactly fail to understand. As you say, one should always be careful.”
The man gave a light nod and continued.
“Then our transaction is complete.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“What do you intend to do now?”
“As promised, I’ll wash my hands of this and never set foot in the jianghu again. I’m thinking of taking the money and leaving for a foreign land, or perhaps holing up in some remote backwater to live out the rest of my days.”
“You’re a trustworthy man.”
“Not that anyone would believe me if I started running my mouth anyway, but it’s better to make sure things are airtight.”
“That’s precisely why I sought you out.”
A faint smile appeared at the corners of Black Ghost Face’s mouth.
“Cheating those sorts of idiots was easy enough, but it feels like I may have been paid a little too much.”
“It was well worth it.”
“If I may ask... why did you go to all this trouble?”
At that, the scholarly man raised his index finger to his lips.
“Loose lips bring trouble. There are things in this world it’s better not to know.”
“...I’ll forget it. No, I already forgot.”
“Good. Then you’ve done well. Safe travels.”
“Yes. Farewell—”
That was the moment.
Whoosh!
Dozens of flying daggers burst from the forest the man had emerged from, tearing through the air at terrifying speed and burying themselves precisely in the throats of the people standing by the water.
“Ghk!”
“Kk—!”
Eyes bulging, they clutched at their throats, trembling violently before collapsing where they stood.
“…….”
Black Ghost Face stared blankly down at his chest. There, too, a short dagger had lodged nearly to the hilt.
Slowly lifting his head, he looked at the man before him and forced out a voice that shook uncontrollably.
“Why….”
“Didn’t you just say it yourself?”
The scholarly man replied in an emotionless voice.
“It’s better when things are certain. And frankly, is there any reason for me to leave your mouth intact?”
“...The money is alr—”
“That’s a separate matter. Ah, of course, there’s no need to worry. The money has been sent. And you needn’t worry about the family members who will come looking for it either. I swear on my name that no harm will come to them. Your family will live out their days in peace.”
“…….”
Black Ghost Face crumpled and collapsed there on the spot. Kneeling, he dragged in ragged breaths.
“W-Why do you have to kill me….”
“Because this is a far more important matter than you realize. No one must ever know about it. Yes, no one at all. So compared to what you were worried about, this isn’t an excessive cost. Not if you count the value of your own life.”
“…….”
“Now rest.”
Thud.
As Black Ghost Face gave his last gasp and fell, the man spoke in a calm voice.
“Cut off the head and bury it separately. Throw the body into the river.”
“Yes, Military Strategist!”
The man.
Ho Gamyeong, military strategist of Maninbang, cast a slightly complicated glance toward that distant island.
“Harvest. A harvest, is it….”
Before long, a twisted smile spread across his thin lips.
“If you’ve planted seeds, you have to reap the harvest. Thanks to those Mount Hua bastards, things are going to be a lot easier.”
Ho Gamyeong turned without a trace of hesitation.
“We’re heading back before we’re discovered. Hurry.”
“Yes!”
And so a little time passed.
On the riverbank, now cleaned spotless, not a single trace remained.
Only the indifferent river continued to flow on, majestic and unconcerned.