Read Novel Full Chapter 1264: I Will Not Send You Alive. (4)
Chapter 1264: I Will Not Send You Alive. (4)
That silence that fell upon the once noisy battlefield was, one must say, a strange thing.
Men who had been tearing at one another and swinging their swords stopped because of the presence of a single person and a single sentence.
‘Is that allowed?’
And Gwak Hwan-So felt not only about the situation but also great shock and discomfort at Chung Myung’s words.
Who is Ho Ga-Myung? He is the commander of the Ten Thousand People Clan and its undisputed second-in-command.
No, at this point one could even exaggerate slightly and call him the second-in-command of the Four Sects Alliance that rules the Southern lands.
No matter how many famous names there are in the world, he is someone who, by importance across the martial world, would certainly fall within not just the top ten fingers but at least within the top twenty toes.
And yet what? Who?
‘Is that man really sane?’
No matter how odd a person, if you watch long enough you normally come to understand them somewhat, but the more he watched, the less he could make sense of him.
“...I think I have a face impression of him.”
He now kept tilting his head as he stared at Ho Ga-Myung. Watching Chung Myung like that made him reach a fundamental, existential question about what ‘understanding’ even meant.
“Um... Chung Myung.”
Yoon Jong, who had slipped forward in the chilling atmosphere, lowered his voice and whispered to Chung Myung.
“He’s Ho Ga-Myung, Ho Ga-Myung.”
“...Ho, what?”
“Ho Ga-Myung!”
“Who’s that?”
Yoon Jong’s face twisted strangely.
“Ho Ga-Myung! You bastard! Ho Ga-Myung! It’s the name that came up every time we had a meeting! Ho Ga-Myung, the commander of the Ten Thousand People Clan!”
“Ah!”
Chung Myung brightened his eyes and clapped his hands.
“I know who that guy is!”
“You finally remembered?”
“The bastard who trails after Jang Ilso and serves him!”
“......”
Yoon Jong, for a moment, covered his eyes with his hand.
‘Right. It’s a relief he knows at least that much.’
Better than not knowing at all.
Where is that, though... that...
“Ah, sorry.”
Chung Myung snorted and joked at Ho Ga-Myung.
“I’m not usually someone who can’t remember faces...”
“You’re not good at it.”
“You’re really not good at it, Chung Myung.”
“No. That bastard remembers faces well. He just doesn’t count people like that as human.”
“...That statement does hold a point.”
No matter what was said beside him, Chung Myung snorted and said.
“It’s because he’s always with some flashy guy who draws the eye. Sorry about that.”
“......”
“To be honest, it’s the truth. If some made-up fellow is dancing in front, who would notice him? It’s not my fault.”
Once again a strange silence settled.
It felt, how to put it, very wrong, but...
‘I can accept it.’
‘Honestly, that’s Jang Ilso’s fault.’
‘Being plain isn’t a crime, though...’
Chung Myung grinned and looked at Ho Ga-Myung.
“Seems like you sometimes travel without Jang Ilso. You alright? Being alone?”
All eyes turned to Ho Ga-Myung.
In truth, that was a highly humiliating sentence. Ho Ga-Myung, undeniably, is the unshakable second-in-command of the Ten Thousand People Clan. Those words would not fail to insult him; it was an affront poured on his face.
Especially... in the Evil Sect world where martial prowess above all matters, Ho Ga-Myung—who isn’t particularly outstanding in prowess—reached his current position thanks to Jang Ilso’s absolute patronage; that was also true.
Though only a few words, Chung Myung’s speech contained a derision that amounted to ‘you are just a fox that rides on the tiger named Jang Ilso.’
If one examines it, the words were not so wrong, which would only amplify Ho Ga-Myung’s sense of humiliation.
Everyone watched Ho Ga-Myung’s reaction. They wondered how he would show his anger.
But even with all eyes on him, Ho Ga-Myung remained expressionless. With his usual cold eyes assessing the situation, his lips opened indifferently.
“Those are very rude words... but if the opponent is Mount Hua’s Sword Saint, rudeness cannot be mere rudeness.”
His voice was low, but precisely because of that it stabbed into their ears. Chung Myung’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Ho Ga-Myung nodded slightly with a calm face and spoke.
“On the contrary, it is an honor that Mount Hua’s Sword Saint remembers my face.”
There was no hint of sarcasm in his voice. He was taking Chung Myung’s provocation in stride.
And that remark made those present re-evaluate the one called Mount Hua’s Sword Saint.
The commander of the Ten Thousand People Clan—or rather, now one should call him the commander of the Four Sects Alliance—Ho Ga-Myung said it was an honor that Chung Myung recognized him. It made them newly feel how significant the person standing with them was.
“However... this is somewhat surprising.”
Ho Ga-Myung’s gaze left Chung Myung and touched each member of the Heavenly Friends Alliance one by one, with a look as if piercing through them.
“Tell me what thought brought you all to this distant land ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) of the South Sea.”
The air instantly chilled. Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“Boring bastard.”
He tried to rattle him a bit, but it didn’t move him at all.
Chung Myung knew from experience that this type of person was the most troublesome to deal with.
“There’s not even the fun of startling them.”
“No.”
Unexpectedly, Ho Ga-Myung shook his head.
“I’m actually very surprised. I never imagined I’d meet you here.”
“......”
“The Alliance lord’s words weren’t wrong. He said the truly terrifying ones are not the strong but the mad...”
He couldn’t understand. Neither the situation nor the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s intent.
No. Saying he couldn’t understand the intent was somewhat wrong.
He understood the intent. They must have wanted to save the Southern Island sect—whether for negotiation or to secure force to face the Four Sects Alliance later.
What Ho Ga-Myung didn’t understand was not that part.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Ask away.”
“Southern Island, one of the Nine Great Sects, is of course an important sect. But... do you really consider the lives of those here less important than Southern Island Sect’s?”
Those words changed the expressions of several people.
Asked calmly, the question hit their vitals even harder.
“To say you must not make mistakes is, bluntly, wrong. Any person can make mistakes. The important thing isn’t not making mistakes in life, but not making fatal ones.”
“......”
“I think what you’ve done now counts as such a fatal mistake. What do you think?”
Were you not surprised?
Not at all—there was no lie in Ho Ga-Myung’s words. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been this flustered.
Even when the signal went off behind them he thought it would just be Southern Island Sect’s tricks, never that he would see the Heavenly Friends Alliance and Mount Hua’s Sword Saint here.
But one moment of surprise is enough.
“I don’t particularly like saying this, but...”
For the first time, a faint smile touched Ho Ga-Myung’s lips.
“This is what they mean by reaping unexpected gains. Who would have thought I’d come to deal with small fry like Southern Island Sect and end up seeing you?”
Baek Cheon’s face stiffened.
‘Ho Ga-Myung... Jang Ilso’s commander.’
He had certainly thought they’d be greatly shocked.
He expected they’d be terrified at the battlefield and attack in panic.
But instead Ho Ga-Myung leisurely stopped the battle and observed them. That fact placed a different kind of pressure on Baek Cheon than before.
Jang Ilso is a capricious beast.
And the Demonic Cult is a beast soaked in madness.
That was generally the case. Those they had faced so far were unpredictable in what they might do; fearsome, beyond the measure of ordinary human common sense.
But Ho Ga-Myung was different.
In those cold, settled eyes there was no trace of the kind of madness glimpsed in the place or the high priest.
All that could be seen was sharp intellect and an unnervingly great composure.
‘...Is he a hunter?’
A starving beast chasing you from behind is truly terrifying.
But what of someone chasing you from behind to hunt you?
Could that really be said to be better than being chased by a starving beast?
It was then, as Baek Cheon thought that Ho Ga-Myung’s presence here might be the worst misfortune, that...
“A mistake?”
Chung Myung’s cynical voice rang out.
“Well, that could be.”
He snorted and took a step forward.
“But you seem to not know one thing.”
“Hm?”
“A mistake, you see...”
Chung Myung’s lips parted slightly, revealing white teeth.
“It only matters to the one who can spot it and exploit it!”
Fwoooosh!
In an instant Chung Myung’s Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword flashed like lightning. Blood-red sword qi bloomed in the air.
Screeeetch!
The sword qi shot straight towards Ho Ga-Myung’s throat at tremendous speed. But Ho Ga-Myung, without any thought of evasion, coldly watched the qi coming at him.
“Ha!”
At that moment, with an excited shout, someone very near Ho Ga-Myung leapt up at terrifying speed.
The instant he blocked Ho Ga-Myung’s front.
Kraaaang!
Blade and sword qi collided, and the red qi scattered like fireworks in all directions.
“Run!”
“Got it!”
Baek Cheon, fully alert now, grabbed the collar of a still shocked Southern Island Sect disciple and shoved him backward.
“Board the ship! Right now!”
“Yes? Ah... yes!”
Only then did the Southern Island Sect disciples come to their senses and sprint toward the ship at full speed. From the moment Chung Myung unleashed the sword qi, Mount Hua’s disciples had been leaping over and stabbing past those who barred their way toward the ship.
“Don’t let them get away!”
“Yes!”
At a shout from somewhere, the main force of the Ten Thousand People Clan also pushed off the ground and charged forward.
The once-quiet battlefield boiled again in an instant.
Gwi Yang, Captain of the Blood Sword troops, quietly watched Chung Myung running and lightly flexed his wrist.
“...Mount Hua’s Sword Saint, huh.”
As he muttered low, a cold voice sounded in his ear.
“He is not someone you can face.”
“Heh heh heh.”
Gwi Yang let out a laugh.
He is the captain of the Ten Thousand People Clan. If not for Jang Ilso, there would be no reason for anyone in the world to hear such words. Yet rather than being displeased, he laughed as if delighted.
“Perhaps that’s true. A monster he is.”
The aching pain in his wrist proved that fact.
A casually thrown sword qi collided with a full-power swing, yet the side that took the damage was his. That alone doesn’t fully argue mastery, but it was enough to show how strong the opponent was.
“However... there’s no real need for that.”
Gwi Yang bared his teeth and laughed.
“Even a tiger can be torn apart by a pack of jackals; what we do is not a duel but a hunt.”
At those words Ho Ga-Myung slowly nodded.
“Accurate.”
Use whatever means you like.
This place is the Southern Island, the southernmost tip of the Central Plains. Even if it’s a tiger, or a dragon; no, even something beyond a dragon; those who set foot here face only one fate.
“Kill them without fail.”
“Won’t you report this to the Alliance Lord?”
“...It won’t be too late to report after they’re dead.”
At that, the Blood Sword Captain showed a strange smile.
“If someone takes responsibility, I’m all for it.”
Turning his head to look at Chung Myung, a killing intent welled up in his two eyes.