Chapter 1720
This time, we’ll wager your neck. (5)
“Grr…”
Cheon Myeon Susa clutched his side with a trembling hand.
An excruciating pain, as if his entire body was being scorched, surged through him. But what truly tormented him wasn’t the physical agony – it was the way Jang Ilso looked down at him, as if he were nothing more than an insect.
“Ugh… Ugh!”
A pained, enraged groan escaped through Cheon Myeon Susas clenched teeth.
“Jang… Ilso…!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Just look at this.”
Jang Ilso exaggeratedly shook his head and let out a deep sigh.
“Do you understand now? A person’s true worth is revealed when they’re knocked down to the ground.”
His eyes gleamed with a sinister light as he looked at Cheon Myeon Susa.
“You always strut around with pride, but when cornered, you bark like a frightened dog…”
“Ryeon…”
“How pathetic.”
Grit.
Cheon Myeon Susa ground his teeth so hard it seemed they might break. His eyes filled with blood as the veins burst under the strain of suppressing his fury. Yet, despite his seething rage, he couldn’t bring himself to charge at Jang Ilso.
“…Ryeonju!”
Instead of attacking, Cheon Myeon Susa lashed out with a voice seething with fury.
“Did Ryeonju know as well?”
“Hmm?”
“Did you, Ryeonju, know that Ho Gamyeong was trying to trap and kill me, Cheon Myeon Susa? I’m asking if you were aware of this!”
The faces of the subordinates surrounding Ho Gamyeong turned pale.
This was a highly sensitive and dangerous question. Although Sapaeryeon was effectively under Jang Ilso’s control, it was still a coalition at its core.
To bring up such an accusation in front of so many witnesses was essentially Cheon Myeon Susa declaring that he wouldn’t back down, no matter the consequences.
No matter how Jang Ilso answered, it would inevitably lead to some form of damage.
“Answer me, Ryeonju! Was all of this your order? Were you the one who directed Ho Gamyeong to bury not just me, but all Haomun and the members of Sapaeryeon under that cliff?”
Cheon Myeon Susa was making it clear that he bore no responsibility for what had transpired. That much was evident to anyone. But if Ho Gamyeong was also without blame, then who would be held accountable for what had happened?
All eyes instinctively turned to Jang Ilso. Not necessarily because they expected him to take responsibility, but because he was the only one who could provide an explanation for this situation.
Jang Ilso casually glanced around, showing no signs of feeling pressured. Just as he was about to speak, however-
“Ryeonju bears no responsibility for this.”
“C-Commander!”
The subordinates flinched and quickly turned their heads. Ho Gamyeong had risen to his feet, his expression emotionless as he looked at Cheon Myeon Susa and Jang Ilso.
“This incident…”
Standing fully upright, Ho Gamyeong bowed deeply toward Jang Ilso, displaying utmost respect.
“…was entirely my fault. I boldly claimed that success was guaranteed, yet I failed to deliver the expected results.”
“…”
“As the strategist, it is only right that I bear the responsibility. I plead guilty before Ryeonju. Take my life to honor the spirits of those who perished here.”
With those words, Ho Gamyeong knelt on the ground and lowered his head, as if awaiting the blade to fall upon his neck.
Silence fell over the area. The sound of someone swallowing nervously echoed like thunder. The tension in the air was suffocating, pressing down on everyone present, while the subordinates’ hands trembled slightly.
They all understood the gravity of the situation.
Regardless of success or failure, the operation had resulted in far too many casualties. Even if the plan had succeeded perfectly, the sheer number of lives lost would have demanded accountability.
But since the plan had failed, someone had to take the fall.
Cheon Myeon Susa growled, pressing Jang Ilso for a decision.
“Ryeonju! The guilty party has confessed – what are you waiting for?”
In the tense silence, Cheon Myeon Susa’s voice rang out like a blade, cold and cutting.
And then, unexpectedly…
“Haha…”
Cheon Myeon Susa was momentarily stunned.
Jang Ilso, his white hand covering his mouth, was struggling to contain his laughter.
“Haha… Hahaha. This is…”
As he slowly lowered his hand, his twisted, crimson lips came into view.
“What nonsense are you babbling?”
Cheon Myeon Susa’s pupils visibly trembled.
“Ryeonju?”
“It was your fault? Did I just hear something wrong? Hmm?”
From between those red lips, sharp, white fangs were exposed, resembling those of a vicious predator.
“Gamyeong-ah, Gamyeong-ah.”
Jang Ilso chuckled softly as he looked at Ho Gamyeong, who remained kneeling.
“You have no talent for acting, do you? Stop doing things that don’t suit you. It’s not your style.”
“Ryeonju…”
Even Ho Gamyeong looked up at Jang Ilso, shocked.
“Ryeonju. This incident…”
“Yes, I know.”
Jang Ilso’s gaze slowly drifted towards Mount Wudang, its blackened remains still smoldering. A strange, twisted expression flickered across his face as he looked upon the charred mountain.
“We’ve been humiliated, haven’t we. Thoroughly.”
“…”
“We didn’t come all this way just to burn a mountain, did we? Tsk, tsk. How can we even hold our heads high after this? Hmm?”
Jang Ilso exaggeratedly placed a hand on his forehead, shaking his head in mock dismay.
His theatrical gestures left everyone around him speechless.
But there was one who could not remain silent any longer.
“Just…?”
“Hmm?”
“Is that all you have to say?”
Cheon Myeon Susa’s fury finally erupted into a shout. His bloodshot eyes fixed on Jang Ilso as he roared.
“Do you even know how many lives were lost because of that bastard’s treacherous actions? Hundreds of lives, wasted for nothing, meaningless deaths-yet all you can say is that we’ve been humiliated?”
“…”
“He deserves to be torn apart, his flesh chewed for his sins…!”
“Sins?”
In that instant, Jang Ilso’s calm voice cut through the heated tirade, silencing Cheon Myeon Susa mid-rant.
“You’ve been spouting nonsense from the start. Is it that you don’t understand, or is the blood rushing to your head, clouding your thoughts? It’s disappointing to see someone of your stature, Munju of Haomun, be so foolish.”
“Ryeonju!”
“I told you, didn’t I? There are no sinners here.”
Jang Ilso took a step closer to Cheon Myeon Susa.
“Failure is not a crime.”
“…”
“Mistakes are not a crime either. Lacking ability, being outwitted by the enemy – none of these are sins.”
Jang Ilso’s eyes gleamed with a terrifying light, and Cheon Myeon Susa, overwhelmed by the intensity, instinctively held his breath.
“To me, the only sin is doing nothing. Those who do nothing are a waste of the very air they breathe. But… do you know what’s even more disgusting?”
Jang Ilso slowly leaned down towards Cheon Myeon Susa, meeting his panicked gaze up close.
The eerie light in Jang Ilso’s eyes, something dark and sinister stirring from deep within, caused Cheon Myeon Susa to shudder involuntarily. Jang Ilso continued, his voice low and menacing.
“Do you really feel so much pity? For the lives lost up there?”
“…R-Ryeonju…”
“Does it truly break your heart? That you lost them?”
The blood drained from Cheon Myeon Susa’s face as he realized what was flickering in the depths of Jang Ilso’s eyes – pure, unadulterated malice.
Wooooong.
The rings on each of Jang Ilso’s fingers floated into the air. It was a sight that might have seemed playful, like a child’s trick, but for those under the banner of Sapaeryeon, it was a clear sign of impending danger.
“Go on, speak. Let’s see how much more of your pathetic anger, dressed up as righteous indignation, I should tolerate.”
“R-Ryeon-!”
Crunch!
The rings, which had been hovering in the air, suddenly spun violently and shot down towards Cheon Myeon Susa.
“Aaaaargh!”
Cheon Myeon Susa, who hadn’t even fully grasped what had just happened, screamed in agony, clutching his left hand.
One of the rings had pierced straight through his hand, pinning it to the ground.
“Kuh… Aaaargh!”
For someone of Cheon Myeon Susa’s caliber, a mere puncture wound wouldn’t normally provoke such a reaction. But the pain that made him writhe and scream wasn’t from the physical injury. It was the dark, malevolent energy that had surged into his body through the wound.
It was both bone-chillingly cold and fiercely scorching at the same time, an agonizing paradox that overwhelmed him.
All Cheon Myeon Susa could do was crawl on the ground, writhing in pain. His already battered body couldn’t withstand the onslaught of Jang Ilso’s energy.
“Remember this.”
Jang Ilso looked down at the squirming Cheon Myeon Susa with a soft smile. Then, in a voice that was almost unnervingly gentle, he spoke, a tone that seemed eerily well-matched with his cruel actions.
“There’s nothing to be gained without sacrifice.”
“Uh… Uh…”
“Fat pigs, content with their wealth, debate endlessly over the value of what they don’t want to lose – the worth of their riches, the worth of their time, and…”
Crunch!
Jang Ilso’s foot came down hard on Cheon Myeon Susa’s hand, grinding it mercilessly into the ground.
“…the worth of their pathetic lives.”
“Aaaaargh!”
“Shh, shh. Quiet now. If your life is so precious, shouldn’t you be more careful?”
Cheon Myeon Susa’s scream abruptly stopped. Even through the searing pain, he understood the ominous meaning behind Jang Ilso’s words.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
Gasping for breath, his body convulsing as if in the throes of a fever, Cheon Myeon Susa desperately clamped his mouth shut. Jang Ilso’s satisfied smile spread wider as he observed the terrified man.
“Good. It seems you’ve finally understood.”
“…”
“In comparison to what we seek to gain, what we already possess is meaningless – whether it’s wealth, martial arts skills, reputation, or even life itself.”
“…”
“If you weren’t prepared to give it all up, you should’ve stayed in the comfort of Gangnam, rubbing your bloated belly. But to come all this way and then whine about life? Pathetic…”
Jang Ilso let out a soft chuckle as he gently patted the back of Cheon Myeon Susa’s head, his touch as tender as if he were caressing a child.
But Cheon Myeon Susa couldn’t even feel humiliation. Humiliation is for the living. What he felt now was the overwhelming terror that Jang Ilso’s hand resting on his head might at any moment pierce through his skull.
“Remember this.”
Jang Ilso’s eyes darkened, the playful malice fading into something far more sinister.
“I came here to take, not to protect.”
“…”
“Tsk.”
With a faint click of his tongue, Jang Ilso lifted his foot off Cheon Myeon Susa’s hand. He then cast an indifferent glance towards Mount Wudang, though his gaze was more directed towards those who remained in the mountain and those who had likely reached its summit by now.
“Gamyeong-ah.”
“Yes, Ryeonju.”
Ho Gamyeong bowed deeply, almost too fervently.
“Have I been defeated?”
“…”
“Answer me.”
“It is due to my… incompetence.”
“If it happened because you were incompetent, then it makes me even more of a fool for giving you the chance.”
“Ryeonju…”
“It’s been a while.”
Ho Gamyeong looked up at Jang Ilso, only to flinch and clench his fists tightly. Jang Ilso’s face was twisted in a grotesque expression.
“Such… a filthy feeling,”
Jang Ilso muttered.
The burning intensity in Jang Ilso’s eyes no longer carried any trace of mockery or laughter. They seethed like a sun, with a dangerous, simmering fury that had replaced his usual playful demeanor.
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