Read Novel Full Chapter 1244: Is That Really All? (4)
Chapter 1244: Is That Really All? (4)
A person truly becomes angry when a truth they want to ignore is thrust before their eyes.
That was exactly how the hearts of the Southern Island Sect people here felt now.
Words they knew but did not want to hear, things they could see but wanted to look away from, the young man Baek Cheon was thrusting that very truth before their eyes and shouting it out.
And because they were human, their spontaneous reactions were the same.
“What are you saying like that!”
“Even if you came as an envoy of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, your words are too much!”
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
But Baek Cheon did not bother to carefully refute their fierce reactions. He simply remained silent and listened to the torrent of words, staring at each person who spat out heated remarks.
His indifferent reaction caused the heated atmosphere to gradually cool.
Baek Cheon waited leisurely until no one spoke, then finally opened his mouth.
His cold, calm voice was tossed into the midst of the agitated crowd.
“Must I bother explaining why I said these things?”
That brief remark was both considerate and a blade on the tip of his tongue.
Those gathered here knew best that Southern Island Sect had been abandoned by the Nine Great Sects. Even those who had not given up their last hope were merely clinging to whatever mercy might remain, and those speaking of reality were only trying to find a way to turn the hearts of those who had turned away.
There was not a single person here who believed the Nine Great Sects would actively step forward to help Southern Island.
“Discuss negotiations, discuss propriety.”
Baek Cheon’s voice pierced the ears of those whose emotions were boiling over.
“Going around in circles discussing things with nice words. Proclaiming grand ideals and saying we are right. Then politely confirming positions and withdrawing without anyone getting hurt.”
“......”
“Yes. That can be done. But...”
Baek Cheon’s gaze briefly shifted back. Through the slightly open door he saw trees swaying in the raging typhoon and Southern Island disciples standing guard outside despite the storm.
“But now is not the time for that. Do you know what we saw on the shore on our way here?”
“...What did you see?”
“We saw countless requisitioned ships and newly built vessels.”
At those words, Geum Yang-Baek bit his lip.
“You said ‘requisitioned’?”
“Yes. They took every small fishing boat without exception.”
Every face in the main hall hardened instantly. If ships were requisitioned, only one thing would follow.
Invasion.
There was no need to verify; they too felt with their skin that Four Sects Alliance’s attack was imminent.
“Sect leader.”
Baek Cheon quietly looked at Geum Yang-Baek and spoke.
“The moment this typhoon subsides, Four Sects Alliance will begin its advance on Southern Island.”
“...Acting Sect leader.”
“There is no time to waste on polite, evasive talk. So I will simply convey our position. The Heavenly Friends Alliance sincerely hopes Southern Island will join us. Not a hollow negotiation, but we urge you to restore the name of Southern Island in a place that can truly extend a hand to those who need help.”
Geum Yang-Baek sank into silence, troubled. Unable to bear the pause, impatient elders whispered among themselves.
“Sect leader. This is absurd. Voluntarily leaving the Nine Great Sects? This is unprecedented.”
“Indeed. Think about it. Even if that preserves the name Southern Island, who will take responsibility afterward? How will Shaolin or the Wudang treat us?”
“What about the gaze of the world on us?”
Of course, the opposing stance was not insignificant.
“What good is dragging future matters into the present? Will there be any future after Southern Island falls?”
“That’s not wrong. The Nine Great Sects are just watching from afar. It’s natural to ally with those offering immediate help.”
“Leaving the Nine Great Sects doesn’t make us the wrong sect, and the Heavenly Friends Alliance isn’t exactly inferior to the Nine Great Sects, is it?”
As Geum Yang-Baek remained silent, their voices grew louder. With his eyes closed he had listened to everyone; now he slowly opened them and stared at Baek Cheon.
“Acting Sect leader.”
“Yes.”
“...Asking us to leave the Nine Great Sects voluntarily is an excessive demand. I trust you know that.”
“Of course.”
“Such an exhortation must come from firm confidence and conviction. Isn’t that so?”
“Yes. It is so, Sect leader.”
Baek Cheon nodded heavily.
“I have no doubt that joining the Heavenly Friends Alliance is a choice that will bring Southern Island justification, practical benefit, and a future.”
“Justification and practical benefit, and... a future.”
With subdued eyes, Geum Yang-Baek quietly examined Baek Cheon and his party. They certainly seemed to have a future.
‘Young men.’
Now that he looked, the representatives of each sect were all young. Some might be angry, seeing it as an insult to Southern Island. But Geum Yang-Baek felt something new.
The Heavenly Friends Alliance is changing around the next generation. Southern Island has already fallen behind that change.
He too wanted to see. What would the Heavenly Friends Alliance led by the young warriors look like in the future? And what would it look for Southern Island who sides with them?
However... Whether the future they had can be shared with Southern Island was another question.
He opened his mouth heavily.
“It’s embarrassing to say this with my own mouth, but Southern Island’s current situation is too urgent to be discussing justification and the future.”
“Now, Sect leader.”
“Quiet.”
A flustered voice came from the back, but Geum Yang-Baek raised his right hand slightly and neatly stifled the dissent.
“Some may be moved by the Acting Sect leader’s words, and some may sympathize with the future he envisions, but... honestly, those words don’t really resonate with me.”
Baek Cheon quietly nodded. Southern Island’s situation was far too dire to debate such things.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t discuss a future with the Heavenly Friends Alliance. But isn’t dialogue and negotiation only possible when both parties are equal?”
“That’s right.”
“Then I ask the Acting Sect leader to candidly tell us what you have prepared. We...”
Geum Yang-Baek looked Baek Cheon straight in the eye and asked.
“If Southern Island joins the Heavenly Friends Alliance, what can the Heavenly Friends Alliance do for us?”
Baek Cheon took a short breath and spoke.
“We have nothing in particular we can promise.”
“......”
“If we must make a promise, we can only say that when Southern Island is in dire straits as it is now, we will not turn our backs and will uphold what must be upheld.”
Geum Yang-Baek’s eyes narrowed. Baek Cheon continued.
“And I believe that is more important than anything. When neither side needs to risk for the other, any words or promises can be made. When you joined the Nine Great Sects, did you expect they would not help Southern Island in such a situation?”
“...Of course not.”
“But we have come running even without such promises.”
“......”
“That is all we can offer, and it is all we ask for. The ‘friend’ in Heavenly Friends Alliance exists to stand together in fidelity, not for gain.”
Baek Cheon’s gaze shone with resolve.
“What we can give is that fidelity. Not a partnership that joins only when there is gain to possess, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) but one that can help when needed.”
Geum Yang-Baek looked at Baek Cheon with a strange expression.
For a moment, an odd silence flowed between them.
Just as the Heavenly Friends Alliance members backing Baek Cheon and the elders backing Southern Island’s sect leader were about to sense the strangeness, Geum Yang-Baek spoke.
“Acting Sect leader.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll ask directly. For our Southern Island, which must now face a final battle with Four Sects Alliance, is there anything the Heavenly Friends Alliance can do?”
The elders looked at Geum Yang-Baek in surprise.
It was unlike the sect leader they knew; Geum Yang-Baek’s words were brutally straightforward. It also sounded vulgar to say that to someone who had come a long way to help Southern Island.
Then Baek Cheon spoke.
“To resolve Southern Island’s present situation, what our Heavenly Friends Alliance can do is...”
Everyone’s attention focused on Baek Cheon’s words. A moment later, his voice sounded vividly, and chillingly, in everyone’s ears.
“...Nothing.”
Shhhh.
Suddenly everyone realized again that rain was pouring outside. Up until now the sound of the rain had been drowned out; now it began to be heard. A chill silence spread through the main hall.
How long did that suffocating silence last?
At last Geum Yang-Baek’s calm voice flowed out.
“As early as tomorrow.”
“......”
“What we can offer to a sect that may have to take down its signboard is to create a relationship that can help when needed.”
A laugh escaped Geum Yang-Baek’s mouth.
“But in reality, you have nothing to offer for this situation?”
Baek Cheon closed his eyes.
There were many things he could say, countless things he wanted to say. But Baek Cheon did not bring any of them to his lips. No, he could not. None of those words would help Southern Island now.
Four Sects Alliance’s advance had been faster than they expected, and they had arrived at Southern Island without any preparations to stop the Four Sects Alliance.
“I ask again, Acting Sect leader.”
Geum Yang-Baek pressed down the surge of emotions and opened his mouth.
“Are the ten people the Heavenly Friends Alliance sent for Southern Island all that are here? Or is there some other measure arranged to help Southern Island?”
There was a lingering hope in those words that he could not shake to the end. But Baek Cheon dashed even that last hope.
“At present... these here are all of them, Sect leader.”
No matter how mighty the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s power, the only ones who could immediately be of use against the calamity arriving after the typhoon were these ten here.
Ten. Not exactly a tiny number, but a pitifully small force to turn the tide in a battlefield where a sect and a power fight for survival.
Yes. Terribly meager.
“Only...”
Unable to continue, Geum Yang-Baek bit his lip.
“Is that all there is?”
A voice mixed with fury, emptiness, and despair spread coldly through the silent main hall.