Chapter 1658
And I like those kinds of idiots. (3)
Taaap!
Yoon Jong’s gaze reflexively turned back as he pushed off the ground.
The members of the division were all following closely with serious, hardened expressions. They must all know it too – how dangerous the place they were diving into was.
But what filled Yoon Jong’s mind at that moment was not the concern for the danger that lay ahead.
‘Can we make it?’
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed tight.
Considering the places they had traversed so far, it was true that from Shaanxi to Wuhan wasn’t a particularly long distance, but the important thing wasn’t the physical distance. The relative distance of whether they could arrive earlier than the Sapyeryeon was what mattered.
Yoon Jong’s face stiffened as he looked back at the division members.
No matter how much he racked his brain, there weren’t many ways to arrive in Wuhan before the Sapyeryeon.
They couldn’t recklessly increase their speed. A variety of people were running together. Just as the martial arts sect they belonged to and the weapons they used were different, their martial arts skills varied, making it inevitably chaotic.
So, they couldn’t properly speed up. The moment they pushed beyond their limits, there would be stragglers.
One might think that it would be better to arrive in Wuhan on time, regardless of whether there were stragglers or not…
‘Unless we are certain of what Sapyeryeon is aiming for, we must not allow any stragglers.’
If they weren’t careful, the stragglers could be picked off by Sapyeryeon. It was the worst-case scenario they absolutely had to avoid.
The more he thought about it, the heavier his head felt.
Chung Myung had given the order, and Yoon Jong knew it was right to move as fast as lightning. He had no doubt about that.
However, the burden of knowing that the lives of so many depended on him made his steps gradually heavier.
‘Can I really do this?’
Yoon Jong glanced to his side.
Not far away, he could see Jo Geol running. His face was unusually solemn.
‘He’s feeling it too…’
Yoon Jong felt a bit bitter.
Jo Geol, who usually acted cheerfully without a care, seemed to be feeling the weight of the situation as well. Of course, being the vice-leader wasn’t an easy position, and it wasn’t surprising that even Jo Geol would feel the pressure. He should have kept a closer watch as his Sahyeong.
At that moment, Jo Geol’s face darkened further. Yoon Jong spoke up without realizing it.
“Geol-ah.”
“…”
“Geol-ah.”
“Ah!”
Jo Geol, startled by the voice calling him, quickly met Yoon Jong’s gaze. Yoon Jong asked softly.
“Is the pressure getting to you?”
“Uh, well… Yes, Sahyeong. This isn’t easy at all.”
“Yes. It’s understandable.”
“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t come up with a good solution.”
“Hmm?”
Jo Geol grabbed his curly hair with both hands and tugged at it.
“First, Second, Third, Forth, and Fifth are definitely out, and Black, White, Red, Blue, and Yellow are too obvious…”
“…Huh?”
“Oh! What about Cheonryongdan [청룡당]! The Heavenly Dragon Division sounds classic yet impressive, right? No… Or maybe Baekhodan [백호당 – White Tiger Division] would be better?”
…Yoon Jong’s face started to twitch slightly.
“What are you even worrying about?”
“Chung Myung told us to come up with a suitable name for the division, didn’t he? It has to be something simple yet striking, a name that sticks in your mind right away…”
…Crack.
Yoon Jong’s wrist twisted slightly as he gripped his sword handle. His temper was flaring up…
“Is the name really that important right now?”
“Oh, Sahyeong! What are you talking about? If we’re not careful, we could get caught up in the chaos of battle. If we say, ‘First Division here, Second Division there,’ everything will get mixed up and it’ll be a disaster! We need a name that makes everyone instantly know where to go!”
“…”
This was hard to argue against.
Feeling frustrated at being stumped by Jo Geol of all people, Yoon Jong gritted his teeth. Jo Geol, oblivious to Yoon Jong’s feelings, continued seriously.
“Look over there. Even the other vice-leaders look serious, don’t they? They’re all focused on coming up with the right name.”
“…If that’s really the case, Gangho is doomed.”
“Huh? Why?”
“…”
Yoon Jong sighed deeply, feeling like the biggest fool in the world for worrying that Jo Geol might be feeling burdened.
At that moment, Jo Geol asked.
“Shouldn’t we pick up the pace a bit?”
“That’s impossible.”
“Huh? Why? It seems like everyone is keeping up.”
“Here, maybe.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Jo Geol tilted his head and looked behind them. Yoon Jong let out a long breath and explained.
“Leading people while moving varies depending on the size of the group.”
His gaze stretched far to the end of the group.
“The more people there are following, the faster the ones at the back have to run. Right now, the ones at the end are probably close to their limit. Those with weaker martial arts might already be at risk of falling behind.”
“What? Then we need to do something about it. Someone should go and check on them.”
“They already are.”
“Who?”
“…”
“Huh! Agh! Oh no, I’m going to die!”
“Shut up!”
“No, really, I’m going to die!”
Im Sobyeong, drenched in sweat, was half-rolling his eyes and screaming at the top of his lungs. Chung Myung glanced at him with disdain and scolded him.
“What kind of Nokrim King pants like this? You grew up eating all the best things in the mountains!”
“Everyone has their own strengths! My strength is in using my brain, not my body. Besides, I was born weak!”
“Is that something a martial artist should say?”
“Well, what do you expect me to do…”
To be precise, Im Sobyeong had confidence in his strength, but his stamina, his endurance, was severely lacking.
The headdress he wore was already soaked with sweat dripping from his forehead, sagging and nearly falling off. His neatly dressed scholar’s robe, though slightly crumpled, clung to his body as if soaked in rain, making it even harder for him to run and adding to his misery.
“Why do you wear that thing! Take it off already!”
“What else should a scholar wear if not a scholar’s robe? This is my pride!”
“A mountain bandit talking about scholar’s pride is laughable.”
“Hey, you keep touching a sore spot… Huff! Don’t talk to me, I’m out of breath!”
“Always making a fuss. You ran just fine when we went to Hangzhou last time.”
“That was different… Huff! Stop talking to me!”
Im Sobyeong waved his hand weakly, too exhausted to respond further. He didn’t even have the strength to vent his rising resentment.
Whose fault is this anyway!
Heading to Hangzhou, he only needed to run hard. But now, things were different.
“Someone’s falling behind over there.”
“Damn it!”
Panting heavily, Im Sobyeong ran towards the person falling behind, as Chung Myung pointed out, and pushed them from the back.
“Th-thank you..”
“Thank me later. Just run, you bastard… before I stab you in the gut. Or should I just cut off your legs since you can’t run anyway?”
“Eek! I-I’m sorry!”
Terrified by Im Sobyeong’s menacing and chilling face suddenly thrust in front of him, the man used every ounce of strength he had to sprint forward.
Im Sobyeong, who had unwittingly drawn on his innate Nokrim nature, watched the man’s retreating figure and quickly composed his expression. Then, he noticed another line of people falling behind.
His Nokrim instincts kicked in again.
“Run! Don’t fall behind, you bastards! Run faster!”
As Im Sobyeong shouted, those who were lagging behind gritted their teeth and caught up with the front line. Im Sobyeong cursed inwardly.
“Damn it.”
Annoyance surged within him.
Theory and practice are different.
When a long line forms while moving, even if the front moves slowly, the gap naturally widens. To maintain the formation, the ones at the back have to alternate between walking and running. Otherwise, the line would stretch out much longer than it initially was.
Those who don’t understand might ask why a long line is a problem. But in a situation where the predators of Sapyeryeon could ambush them at any moment, breaking formation is unacceptable.
Thus, Chung Myung and Im Sobyeong, like carrying flowers in their hands, had no choice but to run back and forth, encouraging and pushing those who were lagging behind.
Yes, he knew. Someone had to do it.
But still!
“Why does it have to be me, why!”
Although he understood everything in his head, dealing with it firsthand was sheer torture.
Especially when there were plenty of strong guys up ahead with ample stamina, why did the relatively weak Im Sobyeong have to do it?
This unreasonable task was undoubtedly the work of that devilish bastard.
“Gasp! Gasp!”
Nevertheless, thanks to his and Chung Myung’s efforts, the otherwise disorganized members of Cheonumaeng somehow managed to maintain their formation and kept running. If they could just reach Wuhan like this, perhaps…
“Nokrim King.”
“…What now? What do you want me to do this time?”
Im Sobyeong turned to Chung Myung with a face full of annoyance. But seeing the serious expression on Chung Myung’s face, his own expression softened.
Chung Myung asked.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“The discussion we had earlier.”
“You mean… which part?”
Chung Myung’s eyes darkened slightly.
“There’s a certain pattern to what Jang Ilso does. Whatever he’s planning now won’t stray far from that pattern.”
“…”
“Do you really think so?”
Im Sobyeong’s face stiffened slightly. Why was he asking this?
“Well, as I said earlier, I don’t think he’ll follow his usual pattern this time. In the past, he did tend to follow a certain trend, just like Lord Zhuge said. But is there a problem?”
Chung Myung, lost in thought and silent for a moment, shook his head.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“No, if you bring something up, you should finish your thought…”
“Hey. Someone’s falling behind again. Get moving.”
“…Ugh! This is really infuriating!”
Im Sobyeong rolled up his wide sleeves past his elbows and ran off, his eyes blazing with determination.
“You, you bastard, do you want to be buried here? Huh? Are you from Nokrim or not? Are you crazy?”
Chung Myung watched as Im Sobyeong ran toward the straggler, then slowly turned his gaze toward the distant direction of Wuhan, beyond the people running ahead.
No, to be precise, to the place where those who had headed to Wuhan ahead of them would be.
‘Jang Ilso…’
A deep sense of unease washed over him. Something had definitely changed, though he couldn’t be certain what.
‘What are you planning?’
Chung Myung instinctively gripped the handle of his sword tightly, the blue veins on the back of his hand standing out prominently.
❀ ❀ ❀
Rustle.
A red shoe slowly stepped on the underbrush.
“Hmm.”
The gaze of the person, wrapped in a splendid red long robe, was directed toward the winding mountain ridges and a tall peak.
Though it was still far away, the peak, piercing through the white clouds, exuded a mystical atmosphere with just its outline.
“Is it there?”
Ho Gamyeong answered briefly.
“Yes, Ryeonju. It’s Wudang.”
“Hmm.”
The beautiful harmony of green grass, light ochre rocks, and white clouds was enchanting. Jang Ilso’s lips curled into a gentle smile.
“Well, that’s uncertain, isn’t it?”
“…Pardon?”
“Whether it will still be called Wudang in the future, that is.”
Ho Gamyeong understood the meaning and nodded.
“Indeed… We can’t be certain anymore.”
“Isn’t that right?”
A look of satisfaction spread across Jang Ilso’s lips.
“Let’s go. They must be eagerly waiting for me, their necks wide open, so we should meet their expectations.”
“Yes. Everyone, advance!”
Ho Gamyeong commanded, and the large army began to move again.
As Jang Ilso watched the advancing troops with the eyes of a serpent, he glanced to the side.
“I hope they don’t arrive too late… That would spoil the fun, wouldn’t it?”
In his long, curved eyes, a storm of chaos swirled.
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