Chapter 1596
I can’t even laugh. (1)
Leaving behind their overwhelming victory, Sapaeryeon began to retreat. It was as if their monumental triumph, worthy of a celebration lasting days, had all been a lie.
“…Hurry up.”
Ho Gamyeong, having briefly bitten his lip, urged his subordinates. Though he found it hard to comprehend Jang Ilso’s command, there was no room for dissent against Ryeonju’s orders, especially on a battlefield.
As the fervor of the battlefield began to dissipate, a stifling stench and chill filled the void left behind.
“…We’re ready, Ryeonju.”
“Hmm. So?”
Jang Ilso glanced over.
Chung Myung stood, having ceased his advance, still some distance away.
Locking eyes with Jang Ilso from afar, Chung Myung saw him sneer before turning around. Rather than just turning, it was as if he was exposing his back, daring Chung Myung to come and stab him if he had the guts.
With a leisurely smile, Jang Ilso said playfully.
“Let’s go. If we provoke him any further, we might really lose our heads.”
He chuckled as he walked away. Following him, the massive army began to withdraw from the blood-soaked ground without hesitation.
Crunch.
Chung Myung stood there, biting his lip, watching the scene.
Who wouldn’t want to charge forward?
He wanted to run up to that man and sever his head right now.
But he couldn’t. No, he shouldn’t. Chung Myung knew this better than anyone.
His fingernails dug into his palms, and drops of blood trickled to the ground.
Hye Yeon and Yu Iseol approached to stand by Chung Myung’s side.
Of course, neither of them could say a word.
If Jang Ilso and his men had still been there, they could have unleashed all their anger. But they had already fled. How could they vent their fury at this point?
All they could do was stand in shock and despair, watching the horrific scene before them.
Crunch.
The faint sound of Chung Myung grinding his teeth could be heard. Yu Iseol looked at him with worried eyes.
“Sajil…”
Finally, a muffled voice filled with suppressed rage escaped through Chung Myung’s tightly clenched lips.
“…Bloody hell.”
It was truly helpless.
❀ ❀ ❀
Jang Ilso clicked his tongue, clearly displeased with the blood staining his face. He scraped off the dried blood on his lips with a fingernail.
“Damn monk. I almost died.”
He spoke lightly, but in truth, Beop Jong was incredibly strong. Anyone who had witnessed their fight wouldn’t dare to deny it.
Yet, most would likely be more astonished by Jang Ilso’s demeanor rather than Beop Jong’s prowess. Even after leading such a monumental battle to victory, he retreated without a second thought, focusing more on the wounds on his face than the battlefield.
Of course, those within Sapaeryeon wouldn’t dare criticize this behavior. However, not everyone present was a part of Sapaeryeon. Some found Jang Ilso’s actions unacceptable.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“Hmm?”
Jang Ilso, examining himself in an ornate mirror, turned his disinterested gaze toward the source of the angry voice.
The man glaring at him was brimming with rage.
“This is the Lord of the South Sea Sun Palace, Ryeonju.”
Cheon Myeon Susa hurriedly informed Jang Ilso of the man’s identity. Jang Ilso’s eyes flickered with brief interest.
“A guest from afar. I should have greeted you…”
“Forget the greetings!”
“Eh?”
“I’ll ask again. What on earth are you doing?”
“Lord!”
Cheon Myeon Susa tried to intervene, but Jang Ilso raised a hand, stopping him. Then, he shrugged his shoulders.
“What on earth… What is it that you’re so dissatisfied with?”
His tone genuinely suggested he didn’t understand. The Sun Palace Lord ground his teeth so audibly that everyone around could hear.
“Retreating just because of one person in that situation?”
“…”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Jang Ilso’s face turned as cold as ice. Likewise, the faces of the Red Dogs guarding him displayed a fierce, icy hostility.
“How dare you…”
“Tsk.”
But when Jang Ilso lightly clicked his tongue, the murderous intent dissipated as if it had never been there, like well-trained guard dogs suddenly called off.
Ho Gamyeong and Red Dogs barely managed to suppress their rage, but Jang Ilso, the one directly insulted, simply smiled, finding it all rather amusing.
“Well, am I really out of my mind?”
“What…”
“Then let me ask. What do you, our esteemed Lord, think we should have done?”
The Sun Palace Lord’s fingers trembled slightly. In Jang Ilso’s playful eyes, he suddenly felt an indescribable sense of humiliation.
He was royalty in the Southern Sea, a member of the Jin royal family. By birthright, he had never been subjected to such a gaze.
But the true humiliation the Sun Palace Lord felt at that moment was realizing that Jang Ilso was mocking him, and yet he couldn’t recklessly act out because of it.
“It was a grand victory.”
The Sun Palace Lord spat out his words, but Jang Ilso’s reaction remained indifferent.
“Is that so?”
The Sun Palace Lord’s face twisted in anger.
‘What on earth…’
He couldn’t even begin to guess what Jang Ilso was thinking. This wasn’t merely an achievement that could be described as a great victory.
Gupailbang would certainly be torn apart, unable to retain even a semblance of their former selves. Even if by some chance they managed to maintain their structure, it would take at least a hundred years for them to recover their former prestige.
In short, the era of Gupailbang had ended in this generation.
For hundreds of years, the name of Gupailbang had stood tall in the world. Was there any force, excluding the dreaded Demonic Cult, that had dared to bring them down like this?
The sheer enormity of this achievement was beyond comprehension. No one had even dared to think about it.
And yet, the person who accomplished this impossible feat was now speaking like this.
Unable to contain his rising anger, the Sun Palace Lord shouted in a voice that seemed about to burst.
“An achievement! It has no meaning in itself! It only holds significance when everyone feels its greatness and praises it. An achievement that no one recognizes or a rightful evaluation received too late is worthless!”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
The Sun Palace Lord’s tone gradually became more respectful, while Jang Ilso’s replies grew shorter.
“But retreating like this, as if running away, makes it hard for our allies to feel the victory, while the enemy feels as if they haven’t lost at all. This is not how one handles war!”
The corners of Jang Ilso’s mouth curled smoothly upward.
“So?”
“You should have made them realize it, made them feel it until they were utterly sick of it! If it were me, I would never have retreated from that place. I would have made sure that no one could take their eyes off the achievements of Sapaeryeon until their corpses rotted and turned to nothing!”
If that had been done, their allies would have been even more courageous, and the enemy’s morale would have plummeted to the depths.
“I would have torn that arrogant person to pieces as an example,”
the Sun Palace Lord growled.
Of course, this was more of a bluff to avoid being overwhelmed by Jang Ilso’s presence than confidence in his own claim. However, he succeeded in drawing the sympathy of some people present.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
Victory must be felt to the very core. And that had been Jang Ilso’s approach up to now.
When did Sapaeryeon truly inscribe the word ‘confidence’ in their hearts?
It was back at the Yangtze River, in Sichuan.
When they drove out Gupailbang, when they conquered Sichuan and pursued the Tang clan, they became truly ‘Sapaeryeon,’ not just an ordinary Evil Sect.
“But fleeing like this makes it seem as though we ran away because of a single person! Even if we retreated, we should have taken his head!”
Despite his valid points, Jang Ilso’s expression remained unchanged. He continued to look at Sun Palace Lord Jin Pyeong with a smile.
His distinctive demeanor made Jin Pyeong unable to bear it.
“What I mean is…”
“Ahaa.”
Jang Ilso raised his hand slightly, interrupting the Sun Palace Lord.
“That’s enough. That’s quite enough.”
The Sun Palace Lord was infuriated. He had to struggle to keep his clenched fists hidden within his sleeves and to not show his discomfort. If this had been before the war began, it might have been different, but now Ryeonju of Sapaeryeon, who had swallowed up Gupailbang, was not someone the Southern Sea Sun Palace could handle alone.
He was an arrogant man, yet perceptive.
Without that, he wouldn’t have survived as a member of royalty.
“Display…”
Jang Ilso muttered before smiling.
“Very well. If that’s what you want, I have no intention of stopping you.”
“Are you saying..”
The Sun Palace Lord, startled, looked at Jang Ilso.
“What did you just say?”
Seeing his bewildered face, Jang Ilso called for Ho Gamyeong.
“Hah, Gamyeong-ah, it seems our guest from afar doesn’t quite understand what I say.”
Ho Gamyeong glanced at the Sun Palace Lord and added an explanation.
“He’s saying that if you think it’s right, you can enjoy that glory as the Sun Palace. He won’t stop you.”
The Sun Palace Lord’s face went blank.
He wouldn’t stop him?
“The Southern Sea Sun Palace indeed played a part in this war, so you deserve to enjoy that glory. If you wish, return to the battlefield and do as you see fit.”
Ho Gamyeong stated firmly.
The Sun Palace Lord instinctively turned to look behind him at that moment.
The smell of blood seemed to reach even here. The battlefield looked like a scene from hell.
The Sun Palace Lord could seize the spoils of this “war” entirely for himself. It was an almost unbearable temptation.
“Go on,”
Jang Ilso whispered like a snake.
“I’ll allow it.”
“…”
“Hurry.”
His voice was seductive.
Though the word “allow” irked him, it was a minor detail to the Sun Palace Lord at that moment. The only reason he didn’t immediately nod was that Jang Ilso voice, which sounded as if he was coaxing a child, felt strangely sinister.
‘What on earth…’
At that moment, something strange caught the Sun Palace Lord’s eyes as he looked toward the battlefield.
The scene that seemed eternally frozen like a painting began to change.
‘What is that…?’
As if hearing his unspoken question, Ho Gamyeong spoke calmly.
“Cheonumaeng.”
“That’s not all,”
Jang Ilso added.
At this, Ho Gamyeong narrowed his sharp eyes. Sure enough, another group appeared not far from where Cheonumaeng had shown up.
They weren’t familiar, but it wasn’t hard to guess their identity.
“Zhuge and Moyong,”
he muttered.
Those who had not yet let go of the embers of war were now fiercely closing in on the already cold battlefield.
Finally grasping the situation, the Sun Palace Lord felt a chill run down his spine. His back was drenched in cold sweat.
If he had gone there again?
The Sun Palace would have been annihilated under the combined assault of the furious Cheonumaeng and the two great families.
“Why the hesitation? Have you perhaps changed your mind?”
The Sun Palace Lord turned to look at Jang Ilso, his face now much more rigid than before.
‘Did he already know this?’
This side was also exhausted.
Although greatly elated by their victory, they had suffered losses. Facing another fierce battle against strong opponents in this state, the outcome would have been unpredictable.
Jang Ilso had withdrawn without the slightest hesitation, as if he had foreseen this all along. He harbored no regrets about the victory already achieved. Unlike him, who had momentarily been blinded by the allure of the spoils of that victory.
Jang Ilso’s smiling eyes were cold, like a gaze that pierced to the bone. The Sun Palace Lord silently suffered under that penetrating gaze.
“I…”
It was hard to even open his mouth. What could he possibly say?
“Hmmm. It seems you’ve lost the will to go…”
Jang Ilso muttered. Just as the Sun Palace Lord trembled with a mix of defeat and humiliation.
“Welcome…”
Jang Ilso said softly, extending his hand.
The Sun Palace Lord hesitated for a moment, not fully grasping his intention. Jang Ilso smiled and said.
“Welcome to Sapaeryeon.”
Instinctively, he almost reached out to take his hand.
The reason he avoided this mistake was simple. He sensed a chilling aura from Ho Gamyeong, who had been quietly observing him.
Instead of taking Jang Ilso outstretched hand, Sun Palace Lord Jin Pyeong bowed his head.
For a member of royalty like him, this gesture was exceedingly rare. But his survival instinct was screaming at him:
Do not oppose this man.
Forcing his heavy lips to move, Jin Pyeong managed to utter.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Ryeonju.”
Jang Ilso looked down at his bowed head indifferently. Then, his red lips twisted into a sinister smile.
“Good child.”
His gaze shifted away from Jin Pyeong, as if he had lost his interest already, to the distant battlefield.
“Unlike someone else.”
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