Take It as an Honor, Kid (3)
No strategist could ever turn the tide of a battlefield that had already collapsed.
If that were possible, military masters from ancient times would have spent their lives researching ways to flee with the least possible sacrifice. In the art of war, it was as obvious as common sense.
But this was the martial world, where forces beyond ordinary military doctrine came into play.
Kooong!
Black Dragon King took a step forward.
It was nothing more than a simple movement, yet to those watching, it felt as though Black Dragon King were crushing the earth beneath his heel.
Overwhelming presence. Crushing pressure.
It was the kind of domineering aura that proved, in the flesh, exactly what people meant when they spoke of an absolute master.
The battlefield, which had been churning like a storm-tossed sea, went still in an instant.
The water bandits, the Tang Family, and even Mount Hua.
All of them could only stare, spellbound, as Black Dragon King walked across the blood-soaked earth toward them.
He looked like a divine general descended from heaven, yet the voice that came from his mouth was anything but divine.
“...You useless maggots.”
The moment that seething voice spilled from his lips, the water bandits all shrank back at once.
An absolute master could distort the flow of a battlefield simply by existing.
Without Black Dragon King, the Water Bandit Alliance would have been nothing more than a band of thugs gathered along the river. But with him, they had become one of the Seven Great Evil Sects, one of the pillars of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, the Eighteen Water Forts of the Yangtze.
“Hmph!”
Black Dragon King swept his subordinates with a glance as though they were vermin, then fixed his eyes on Mount Hua.
“These brats actually dare...”
Kooong!
His foot stomped down as if it would shatter the ground.
“You’ve got no fear at all, running wild in front of me?”
The way he spoke was no different from some low-rank ruffian.
But Black Dragon King proved with his own existence that the dignity of words did not come from their tone, but from the one who spoke them.
His terrifying inner strength rang in his voice, booming with enough force to seem as though it might burst everyone’s eardrums.
When his halberd gave a threatening swing, the Mount Hua swordsmen flinched and tightened their grips on their swords.
They could not even make out what he was saying.
What they felt now was simply the dreadful momentum pouring off Black Dragon King.
Black Dragon King.
Yoon Jong gritted his teeth.
He had already seen Black Dragon King from up close in the past. But back then, he had been too focused on Jang Il-so and the Myriad Man Sect to truly grasp what sort of existence Black Dragon King was.
Now that he was seeing him properly, face to face, he could only think one thing.
Rough.
There was an indescribable sense of wrongness about him.
Anyone who wielded a sword naturally came to recognize certain things.
Respect for the strong.
Those who spent day after day honing themselves, climbing the sheer cliff of martial study, naturally developed respect for those who stood above them.
They could imagine the labor and sweat it had taken to reach such heights. And so, deep down, they came to hope that an absolute master would at least possess a minimum of dignity.
But...
No.
Black Dragon King was different.
He lacked even the bare minimum of refinement that ought to accompany anyone worthy of being called absolute. He was, quite literally, nothing more than a thug who intimidated others and believed he could do anything with his own strength.
And yet... Yoon Jong realized something all over again.
How terrifying it was to face someone who discarded decency and order alike.
He did not hesitate to flaunt his strength, nor did he find it difficult to oppress others with it. That vulgar, savage conduct was almost enough to make one retch.
At the same time, Yoon Jong could not help but understand why this man had been able to control so many water bandits simply by existing.
“So you’ve been having fun, have you?”
Black Dragon King sneered, then shouted as if he were spewing fire.
“I’ll make you regret crawling onto this island with your own two feet in hell! I’ll rip every last one of you to shreds and throw you to the fish!”
Grrrrk.
At that moment, Baek Cheon used the sword thrust into the ground to steady himself as he rose.
“Ptooey!”
He spat out the blood filling his mouth and glared at Black Dragon King with murder in his eyes.
“At the very least, if you’re the head of a sect—”
A voice sharp as a newly honed blade rang out.
“—you should know how to protect the people who follow you, you son of a bitch!”
Namgung Dowi had staked everything he possessed in order to save his retainers, despite still holding only the title of Young Patriarch. He had not even hesitated to cast his own life into the river.
And yet this so-called leader of the Water Bandits was hurling flying blades into the backs of his own men?
For Baek Cheon, that was something he could never forgive. Hot rage surged up through him.
He had stood against evil because it was evil, and helped Namgung because Namgung was in danger. If he were to speak coldly, the hatred in his heart should have been aimed at Jang Il-so, not Black Dragon King.
But after witnessing something so utterly wrong with his own eyes, Baek Cheon could never forgive this man.
“Hahhahahahaha!”
Yet Black Dragon King only laughed heartily and looked at Baek Cheon.
“Yes. There were plenty of you. Idiots who liked to spout righteous nonsense in front of me.”
His words were slow, but the force and intensity behind them made even that sound oppressive.
“What do you think happened to them?”
“Y-you—”
Baek Cheon bit down hard on his lip, refusing to yield to Black Dragon King’s presence.
“I shoved every last one of them into that blue river. That pathetic bastard and his Emperor’s Sword or whatever the hell it was, too.”
At the mention of Namgung Hwang’s name, the survivors of the Namgung Clan had their eyes redden with bloodshot fury. The sound of teeth grinding echoed from more than one throat. They looked ready to rush Black Dragon King at any moment.
But even with that immense anger, none of them could move. They knew that charging Black Dragon King in blind rage would amount to nothing more than a meaningless death. And such a death would only dishonor the final end of the Patriarch who had tried so desperately to protect them.
“Dogs who don’t understand how terrifying the world is always bark however they please. Come here, you little Taoist brat. I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart!”
Dang Gun-ak frowned slightly.
This is bad.
To speak frankly, the situation they were in was far from favorable. They had thrown themselves onto this island of their own accord and effectively allowed themselves to be surrounded.
If they had kept their momentum to the end, that would have been one thing. But once Black Dragon King appeared and forced them to stop, all that remained was a bitter struggle.
There was only one way to raise their momentum again.
Do I have to step forward?
Even now, this burden was heavy for Mount Hua. It was true that Mount Hua had become shockingly stronger, but facing Black Dragon King alone was another matter entirely.
Especially on a battlefield like this one, where defeat was not allowed.
What were their chances?
He did not know.
When masters reached a certain level, the outcome of a duel could only be known after the clash itself. And what one gained from such a battle was either glory or death.
Dang Gun-ak hardened his resolve. His martial skill was not yet complete. Given the nature of the Tang Family’s martial arts—its weakness in one-on-one combat—a fight against someone of Black Dragon King’s caliber would no doubt be grueling.
But this was the moment he had to step forward. The Patriarch of the Tang Family of Sichuan could not simply fold his tail and back away in a situation like this.
He had only just begun to move when—
“Ah, but these days’ brats...”
A voice that came from nowhere interrupted his thoughts, and Dang Gun-ak’s gaze snapped over.
Cheong Myeong was walking forward at a leisurely pace, a sword that radiated pale blue light resting on his shoulder.
“Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”
“I’ve been trying to understand this from a while ago, but...”
With a bored expression, he sauntered up and stopped half a step in front of Baek Cheon.
“Why do all of you keep flapping your damn mouths? You useless little nobodies?”
“Ch-cheong Myeong.”
“...”
Baek Cheon stared at Cheong Myeong’s back, speechless.
Who in the world would dare say such a thing right to Black Dragon King’s face? Not even Beop Jeong of Shaolin or Jang Il-so of the Evil Tyrant Alliance could say words like that.
But this bastard can.
Because he was Cheong Myeong.
Yes, because he was Cheong Myeong.
And apparently, even Black Dragon King had heard of that infamous name.
After staring at the figure who had stepped forward, Black Dragon King finally spoke.
“I know that face. Yes, you’re that Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”
“Yeah, I know you too. You’re that Black Dragon King.”
“...”
Black Dragon King seemed momentarily at a loss for words. Then he burst into laughter.
“Kahahahahahahaha!”
He laughed for quite some time, then shook his head and abruptly stopped, his face twisting into a cold sneer.
“Kid. Hiding fear behind bluster isn’t a bad tactic, but it won’t work on me. Still, there’s no need to worry. Once your head’s cut off and tossed into that river, you won’t have to worry about hiding the piss in your pants.”
Black Dragon King growled the words. Cheong Myeong merely snorted.
“The world’s gotten real nice.”
“...What?”
“A Sapa bastard’s standing in front of me, running his damn mouth and all.”
Puzzlement flickered across Black Dragon King’s eyes.
Ever since he had become the head of the Water Bandits and earned the title of Black Dragon King—no, even before that—had anyone ever spoken to him like this even once?
“You...”
Black Dragon King’s eyes began to glint with wild, murderous intent.
“You ignorant fool. Just because you’ve been hanging around Jang Il-so, that pretty little fop on the Yangtze, you seem to think you’re something special.”
“You shouldn’t go around spouting other people’s embarrassing pasts so casually. I still kick the blanket off myself in my sleep whenever I think about that time, you bastard.”
“...What did you say?”
Crack. Crack.
Cheong Myeong rolled his neck from side to side, looking as though the memory itself had soured his mood.
“The more I think about it, the less I can stand it.”
Then he let out a low, self-mocking snort.
“Watching a bunch of nobodies strut around like that.”
“...”
“And having to watch it myself.”
Cheong Myeong bared his teeth.
Mount Hua had proven today just how much stronger it had become on the Yangtze. Everything they had left behind on these waters would spread across the world by word of mouth.
So now it was Cheong Myeong’s turn to show them.
To show them what he had accomplished over these past three years.
“That’s enough joking around.”
Black Dragon King released a killing aura and took a heavy step toward Cheong Myeong. Black demonic energy seeped from his halberd like ink.
“You can all come at me together for all I care. I’ll make you understand exactly why I’m called Black Dragon King!”
Then, with a sudden burst, an immense presence exploded from his body.
Everyone’s faces went pale at once. The water bandits, crushed by an oppressive pressure that seemed to tighten around their throats, could barely lift their heads before staggering backward.
Whether he had dignity or not was another matter, but as a strongman his majesty was undeniable. It was as though his very body existed to embody domination.
Everyone had no choice but to recoil.
Everyone, that is, except for one person.
“Honestly, do you Sapa bastards have rocks for brains? You never seem to understand a word anyone says.”
Only Cheong Myeong stood calmly across from him, idly tipping the sword resting on his shoulder.
“It’s probably asking too much from a Sapa bastard, but I’ll give you a special lesson.”
His lips curled, revealing fangs sharp as a wolf’s.
“Take it as an honor, kid.”
Cheong Myeong slowly lowered the sword from his shoulder and pointed it at Black Dragon King, whose entire body seethed with violent momentum.