Chapter 1282
Who came to Gangnam? (2)
“We’re almost there.”
“Yes. It’s coming up soon.”
The disciples of Haenam crowded on the deck looking at the approaching land.
Gangnam.
Their faces stiffened.
Of course, this wasn’t their first time setting foot in Gangnam. Before the Gangnam non-aggression treaty was enforced, they often visited the inland areas.
Moreover, didn’t they pass through Gangnam to Mount Song during the Martial Arts Competition?
But the Gangnam of that time and the Gangnam now are completely different places, to say the least.
‘In the end…’
Gwak Hwanso bit his lip tightly.
From now on, they have to navigate the vast distance from here to the Yangtze River, spanning 2500 li. They must break through the hords of Sapaeryeon determined to capture and kill them.
‘Is it really possible?’
It felt like his back was soaked in cold sweat.
Thinking with his head and actually doing it were two different things. Despite thinking he was prepared enough, now that he was face to face with Gangnam, his entire body stiffened with tension.
Gwak Hwanso glanced back. Sure enough, the other disciples of Haenam were also stiff with tension. Perhaps the situation wasn’t much different for the disciples on other ships.
‘Stay focused.’
Gwak Hwanso consciously clenched and unclenched his fists several times. If he didn’t move even a little, he felt like he would suffocate in the tense atmosphere.
‘It’s only natural to feel nervous. It’s stranger to try not to force yourself to relax.’
Just as Gwak Hwanso was about to exhale a long breath.
“It seems like we’ve almost arrived.”
Walking towards the deck, Im Sobyeong unfolded his fan and swished it gently across his face. Namgung Dowi asked casually.
“Did we arrive at the expected time?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Im Sobyeong made a slight groaning sound and flicked the fan shut. A long sigh escaped him.
“We are actually quite late compared to what I had anticipated.”
“Oh, really?”
Im Sobyeong nodded weakly.
“According to the plan, we should have arrived at least by three. That way, we could have moved as intended.”
“…”
“Why the headwind now…”
Im Sobyeong sighed again.
“Unpredictable. Even though I’m a skilled strategist, I can’t predict when the headwind will blow.”
“Zhuge Liang could control the headwind though…”
Namgung Dowi’s casual remark triggered a twitch in Im Sobyeong’s cheek.
“If I were him, would I be standing here like this?”
“Oh, no. It’s not about lack of ability. It’s just…”
“Why does that Young Lord Namgung can only do that much? If it were previous Lord instead of Young Lord Namgung, every single one of those Maninbang bastards on the coast would’ve exploded to death!”
“Oh…”
“What?”
“I didn’t know Nokrim King held my father in such high regard. I deeply appreciate it.”
“This bastard?”
“Yes?”
“Hmph!”
Im Sobyeong cleared his throat uncomfortably and turned his head sharply. Somehow, this bastard was becoming less and less predictable.
His gaze returned to the land of Gangnam. His expression hardened subtly.
Though it appeared to be a vast expanse of land, in reality, it was a long and narrow plateau that jutted out towards the sea in a straight line. If considering a landing, it was undoubtedly the terrain to avoid.
Firstly, the landing point was too blatantly exposed, and to head deep into the inland, one had to penetrate through the elongated plateau spanning three hundred li in a straight line. It was like traversing an obscure path with no detours available.
To the martial artists, it was terrain where they could lose their lives, a landscape that haunted their dreams.
“Are we really landing there?”
In response to the subtly heard voice, Im Sobyeong replied bluntly.
“Why? Is there a problem? Didn’t we swim there last time?”
“I don’t know much, but the situation is a bit different now, isn’t it? At that time, they didn’t know of our existence, and… the direction of troop movement as well…”
“Oh?”
Im Sobyeong looked at Namgung Dowi with an exaggeratedly surprised expression.
“Oh, you know military strategy?”
“…Uh…”
“Haha, quite impressive. I’ve heard about it before. To become the head of Namgung clan, one must study military strategy along with imperial studies like literature, art and calligraphy. Isn’t that right?”
“It’s not that impressive, just a bit of… awareness…”
“Tsk tsk tsk.”
Im Sobyeong’s fan fluttered more violently.
“This is why! This is why it’s more of a problem to clumsily learn things!”
“…Uh…”
“If you’re clueless, you should just keep your mouth shut like those guys behind us, thinking, ‘Hmm, it looks like we are here.’ But no, you learned it like licking the surface of a watermelon, thinking the taste you get from the rind is the taste of the watermelon itself!”
“…No, that’s not…”
“That’s why those so-called rulers end up ruining the country! They think they know everything just because they’ve studied a bit! The military strategy I learned is different!”
“I-I was just frankly expressing my opinion…”
“Huh? Speaking so frankly! If you think you know military strategy just because you learned a bit, then what was your Lord thinking when he rushed to the Yangtze River? Did he forget his military strategies?!”
“D-Don’t insult my father! It wasn’t a decision made with the head but with the heart! With the heart!”
“Heart? What nonsense!”
“Don’t insult my father!”
As Gwak Hwanso’s gaze blurred, he thought to himself.
‘Still acting like that in this situation.’
One would think that in such a situation, anyone with a brain would naturally feel tense. But now, it didn’t seem like that was necessarily the case. Either that, or those people weren’t exactly the ones with brains.
“Tsk.”
Im Sobyeong clicked his tongue and swung the fan nervously.
“Well, if you think about it loosely, that statement isn’t entirely wrong.”
“That’s right. So…”
“When I say ‘loosely,’ I mean loosely! When I say ‘loosely!’”
“…Uh…”
“The reason we shouldn’t land in a place the enemy can predict is because they can prepare, set traps, or build defenses, right?”
Namgung Dowi nodded vigorously in agreement. Im Sobyeong shouted in frustration.
“There’s no defending force there right now! Those forces are all over there in Hainan stomping their feet in frustration!”
“Oh…”
“In such a situation, hesitating to land and wasting time will create a defense line that wasn’t there before! The most important thing in military strategy is not the principle, but the timing! It’s about being right now and wrong later. Do you understand?”
Namgung Dowi nodded as if he understood now. But there was still one unresolved question in his mind.
“Uh… Why did you say you were going crazy earlier?”
“Because it’s frustrating! Because it’s frustrating!”
“…Why?”
Im Sobyeong grimaced nervously, turning his gaze towards Gangnam.
“If we had arrived just three hours earlier, we could have rushed to Guangdong and burned down the main base of Maninbang.”
“…”
“Then that bastard Jang Ilso would have had such a satisfying look on his face! Oh, even the heavens are indifferent. Why does the headwind come at a time like this?”
“…Are you doing something like that?”
“Why not? Aren’t scholars human too? That freak Jang Ilso deliberately set up Nokrim and established long-term frontline positions, twisting my insides every time he casually brushed us aside! Half of my health deteriorated because of that guy!”
“And the other half?”
“…Because of Hwasan Geomhyeop, of course.”
…It sounded absurd, but somehow it made sense…
“Sigh. What a pity.”
Im Sobyeong sighed deeply with regret, expressing his dissatisfaction.
In truth, his intention to burn down the main base of Maninbang was not simply a means to vent his frustration. Regardless of justice or personal vendettas, the burning of any sect’s headquarters held significant symbolism.
Just looking at Hwasan was enough to understand this. Even though they lost their upper echelons at the summit of Hundred Thousand Mountains, there were no rumors of Hwasan’s downfall until after the remnants of Demonic Cult invaded Shaanxi and set fire to Hwasan’s temples.
These headquarters were not mere buildings – they held symbolic significance. If they had been able to burn down Maninbang’s headquarters while they were there, it could have dealt a significant blow to the firm grip of Jang Ilso.
“…Tsk, there’s no helping it.”
There was no way to do it now. Going haphazardly to burn down the headquarters would only result in those present here getting roasted. Regrettable as it was, they had to cleanly abandon the idea.
“Listen up!”
Im Sobyeong raised his voice, drawing everyone’s attention.
Gwak Hwanso swallowed a dry gulp. Frankly speaking, he didn’t trust Im Sobyeong, a former member of Evil sect. He had never felt the utility of the schemes Im Sobyeong put forward.
However, the reason Gwak Hwanso still lent an ear was too simple. It was because all the prominent figures of Cheonumaeng, including Chung Myung, Baek Cheon, and Namgung Dowi, were all listening attentively to Im Sobyeong’s words.
The fact that they listened to his words alone was enough validation of Im Sobyeong.
‘So there must be some remarkable scheme coming up.’
“Uh…”
But that’s not right… It should be something extraordinary…
“Don’t waste time contemplating aimlessly – run until your feet bleed. We need to advance as much as possible before those damned Maninbang bastards can build a proper Inescapable Net Formation [천라지망(天羅地網]!”
In a moment of panic, Gwak Hwanso shouted.
“Wait a minute! If we do that, won’t they know our whereabouts?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…What?”
“Even if they know, it doesn’t matter. They’ll find out eventually. So it’s better to move faster, isn’t it?”
Gwak Hwanso’s mouth hung open.
‘Is he crazy?’
No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t sound like something a sane person would say. But as he turned his head to seek agreement, a deep despair enveloped Gwak Hwanso.
“It’s been a while since I heard something that made sense.”
Chung Myung, renowned Hwasan Geomhyeop, grinned.
“Nice that it’s simple.”
Baek Cheon, Vice Sect Leader of Hwasan, nodded in agreement.
“For now, it’s reasonable.”
Even Namgung Dowi, who was the last hope, seemed to agree as if there were no other options.
Watching the process unfold, Gwak Hwanso felt his head spinning.
‘Are they really going to do this?’
This crazy stunt?
“Wait a moment!”
“Oh, what now?”
Gwak Hwanso desperately wracked his brain. He had to say something sensible.
“W-what if we go deep into enemy’s territory and get surrounded? Then there’s no turning back, right?”
“What are you saying?”
The response came not from Im Sobyeong, but from Chung Myung.
“Do you think the enemy is a pushover? Then should we just hide and hope not to get surrounded, leaving our backsides exposed?”
“Well, that’s…”
“If you’re planning to barge into someone else’s house and pick a fight, you should be prepared to be surrounded.”
“Well, it’s possible to be prepared, but what if we really do get surrounded? What will you do then?”
“What will we do?”
Chung Myung stuck out his stomach confidently.
“We’ll figure it out when the time comes.”
Despair settled over Gwak Hwanso’s face. But it seemed that others still disagreed with him.
“It does sound rational.”
“It’s a solid plan.”
“There’s no room for disagreement.”
Cheonumaeng’s members nodded continuously. Tears welled up in Gwak Hwanso’s eyes. Maybe it would be better to turn back now…
“Well then, shall we start with the landing?”
“Of course. However…”
Im Sobyeong smiled and looked towards the coast.
“Even if they don’t have troops, they still have eyes, so we should give them a little gift, don’t you think?”
“Huh? A gift?”
For a moment, Im Sobyeong’s face was tinged with a sinister gleam.
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