Dozens of huge ships turned their bows at once. The aftermath was truly enormous, shaking the calm surface of the Yangtze River.
The small ships swayed in the waves, but Jang Ilso, standing on them, appeared as if he were on flat ground. He glanced at Shaolin and Kongtong, who seemed at a loss.
"Pathetic…"
A blatant contempt bloomed on his face.
Ho Ga-Myung quietly observed his expression.
If Shaolin, the leader of the Nine Great Sects and the star of the murim world, appeared so pathetic, then the day Jang Ilso's grand plan would come true might arrive too quickly.
However, the emotion on Jang Ilso's face was more irritation than joy.
"You don't seem happy, lord."
"This cannot be good…"
Jang Ilso answered indifferently.
"When I was struggling in despair with no hope, what sustained me was…"
A ghostly expression flashed across his face.
"It was a vow that one day I would take everything they had and make it mine."
"…"
"But…"
Jang Ilso paused for a moment and glared at Shaolin with a contemptuous gaze.
"The true nature of the people who control the murim world is just this."
A self-deprecating sneer escaped his red lips.
"People hide their true feelings in logic. They must have made up dozens of reasons why they shouldn't come forward. Their logic sounds plausible and can't be easily refuted."
Jang Ilso's laughter grew even deeper.
"But in the end, if you dig into it, it is just fear. Those who have never shed blood to achieve anything cannot help but feel the value of what they have to lose more than the value of what they have to gain."
If someone else had said this, Ho Ga-Myung would have considered them reckless or arrogant. Shaolin may not be the rulers of the world, but they can be the rulers of the murim world. It is an overly partial evaluation of such people.
However, at least Jang Ilso was qualified to say this. Ho Ga-Myung knew better than anyone how desperately Jang Ilso had to work his way up to that position.
"You will eventually find out."
Jang Ilso said softly.
"Those who are afraid of losing small things will eventually lose everything. I will make it so."
Ho Ga-Myung slowly shook his head.
"By the time they realize it, they will have lost everything."
Jang Ilso chuckled upon hearing that.
"Right. That could be true."
Then he tilted the bottle of alcohol in his hand and took a sip, then poured the alcohol into the river as if he had lost interest in it.
"Well, good. I got everything I could get."
The members of the Nine Great Sects were still glaring at him as if they were going to tear him apart. Jang Ilso thought they were just amusing.
Right now, they must be going insane with anger at the Four Precepts Alliance and Jang Ilso. But once that anger subsided, they would soon realize what they had done.
What would a person who felt guilty do?
Reflect? Apologize?
'Nonsense!'
Only a very small number of people can do that. Isn't it human nature to find excuses for things that were clearly their own fault, and to blame others for their mistakes?
Jang Ilso was the one who created this crack.
However, the one who would widen that crack would be none other than themselves.
Now, all they had to do was wait until the wounds he created festered and festered until they rotted their flesh and melted down their bones.
He had already accomplished everything he wanted to accomplish here. All that was left was…
"Entertainment."
Jang Ilso's gaze turned to the Plum Blossom island.
"That…"
He lightly bent his neck and the ornaments on the body rang. It almost sounded like a cheer.
"Now it is time to decorate the end of the stage with the blood of the pitiful Namgung family."
"I will take you there."
It was just as Ho Ga-Myung was about to steer the ship towards the Black Dragon ship.
"NO. It is enough."
Jang Ilso raised one hand to stop him. When Ho Ga-Myung looked back in confusion, Jang Ilso smiled.
"I am tired of seeing the Black Dragon King too much. Let us head back to our own."
"… Yes, Alliance Lord."
A small suspicion arose, but Ho Ga-Myung didn't bother asking why. Jang Ilso's every action was always calculated. This time, there must be a reason he couldn't guess.
Jang Ilso looked back with a calm expression as he stood on the small ship cutting through the rough waters. His gaze went beyond the old pavilion on the riverbank and reached further away.
"Right?"
His unknown question was thrown into the air.
"Hehehe."
Namgung Myung's eyes, which let out a faint smile, were filled with regret.
"The end…"
The sun on the last day had risen.
He had long ago given up his expectations. If they, including the Shaolin, had even the slightest intention of saving them, they wouldn't have let the situation reach this point.
Right, he didn't expect it; that was what he thought.
But when this moment came, Namgung Myung had no choice but to admit that he hadn't completely let go of his attachment to them.
No, maybe it wasn't faith in them.
It was faith in the path he walked, worshipping the words of harmony and justice. It was a shabby delusion that what he had believed so far wasn't completely false.
But at that moment, everything, including his life, was denied.
'What are we standing here for?'
What made Namgung Myung even more angry was their desperate foolishness.
If they weren't going to help them, if they were just going to keep their eyes open and watch, they should have just turned around firmly!
Why were they standing there guarding the place? Were they trying to gain comfort by watching all of their deaths?
"… Lord."
Namgung Myung, engulfed in a wave of terrifying emotions, tightly closed his eyes at the call. He couldn't bring himself to turn his head.
What on earth should he say? He had urged them to endure until the end, and was this the end he was going to give them?
Being ignored by those he believed to be his comrades in justice, walking the same path, and being toyed with by a pack of savages?
Just then, Namgung Myung was about to bow his head as if collapsing.
"We must prepare the formation, lord."
At the unexpected words, he clenched his trembling jaw and turned around.
Everyone was standing up.
Those who were tending the wounded, those who were somehow recovering from exhaustion and preparing for their end, even the wounded on the verge of death.
They all stood up and formed an orderly line.
They desperately held onto their trembling legs and somehow maintained their consciousness, which seemed like it would break at any moment.
"… isn't this the end anyway?"
"…"
Namgung Pyung looked at him and smirked.
"There is no such thing as lying down and waiting for the enemy's sword. Even if I die, I will fight and die."
"Pyung…"
"That is the right word."
A burst of laughter came from behind.
"We have an audience watching… we need to show them how the swordsmen of the Namgung family die."
"To those cowards?"
"Yes, to them."
Namgung Myung tightly closed his eyes.
The mistakes made by the leaders of the Namgung family, including Namgung Hwang, caused all of this. They were in a situation where they could have lost their lives because of that mistake, and yet not a single man there complained about it.
Would he have been so upright if he had been in their shoes?
Namgung Myung didn't have the confidence to do so. That was why he felt even more sorry and grateful to them.
"Still, that is fortunate."
A voice mixed with laughter flowed out from someone's mouth.
"At least the young lord isn't here."
"Right."
"If the young lord were here, we would have been completely messed with."
Namgung Myung, momentarily shocked, spoke.
"That isn't it. The young lord is free…!"
"We know, lord."
The Namgung family's swordsmen burst into laughter as they looked at Namgung Myung's face, filled with shock.
"We all know the young lord didn't take care of his safety to save us and he didn't escape to live."
"So isn't that a good thing?"
"At least our lineage will continue."
The eyes of the Namgung swordsmen were filled with determination and venom.
"I don't even know what revenge is. But I am sure the young lord will at least take care of it for us."
"Yes. Yes. Then it works."
Namgung Myung bowed his head.
Who wouldn't want to live? Who wouldn't want to grab the enemy's legs and beg for their life?
But that wasn't possible.
When he thought of Namgung Do-Wei, who risked his life to save them, Namgung Hwang, who was trapped under that cold river, and the elders who died without a scream, he couldn't bow his head to them even if he wanted to.
Because they were the leaders of the family?
No, because they were comrades who fought together.
Because he didn't want to be ashamed of those who died for those who stayed alive.
"Morons."
Namgung Myung turned around quickly. If he just looked at them like this, he would burst into tears. As they said, this was the end. Then at least he shouldn't show them an ugly side.
"It will take time."
"…"
"It may take a hundred years or even longer. Even if there are still children in the family, it will take that much time to restore the status of Namgung."
Everyone stared at Namgung Myung's back, who was gripping the sword tightly.
"So, let us be the light."
Namgung Myung slowly drew his sword.
"For those who remain in the family, the time ahead will be like wandering in darkness. Only by enduring that time will they be able to see the sun rising in the sky again. So, facing death will be a source of pride for the descendants who will have to endure that for a long time! Prove here that Namgung Swordsmen are by no means cowards!"
Everyone grabbed their swords.
This was how a warrior proved himself through his death.
Only when they reached the very end did they understand what those words truly meant. With eyes that had lost hesitation, they looked at the pirates who jumped off the ships and advanced to the island.
"Form up!"
"Yes!"
The survivors of the Blue Sky Swordsmen at the very front shouted at the top of their lungs.
The Blue Sky Namgung family.
People died. But their names remained and were remembered.
If they conveyed their will through this death, it would not be a waste of time.
"In the name of the Blue Sky and Namgung!"
Namgung Myung shouted as if spitting out blood.
"Kill those of evil!"
Then, with a loud roar, the swordsmen of the Namgung family rushed at the landing pirates.
There was no point in holding the ground. What they had to show wasn't their tenacity, but their will!
'Young lord!'
Namgung Myung, who had grabbed his sword, also charged ahead.
'You must survive! At any cost!'
May the will they showed here now be passed on to Namgung Do-Wei.
And may it last a long time for Namgung's children who will grow up.
Red blood gushed out.
Blood gushing from the bodies of Namgung family swordsmen and the heads of the pirates being cut dyed red in Namgung Myung's vision.
But no screams came. None of those who bore the name of Namgung let out a scream.
Even at the moment when their chests were cut and arms severed, they just gritted their teeth and swung their swords one more time.
Death. Another life.
He would add his life, Namgung Myung's life, to these countless deaths!
"Namgung Myung of the Namgung family is here! You fucking bastards!"
Namgung Myung had already leaped over the Blue Sky Swords at the forefront and landed right in the midst of the pirates. The sword he wielded caught the sunlight, emitting an infinitely dazzling light.