Chapter 935
As Hong Dae-gwang slammed into the door, the corners of Chung Myung’s eyes sharply narrowed.
“No, but does this guy think this place is like some beggar’s front yard?”
“N- Now is not the time to discuss such things! Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword!”
“What now, again?”
“Na- Namgung Family!”
At the mention of Namgung Family, the eyes of those sitting around in the White Plum Dormitory narrowed simultaneously.
“Namgung Family is surrounded by the water fortress!”
“…….”
When Chung Myung did not show any significant response, Hong Dae-gwang ran to his face, raising his voice as if he was frustrated.
“The main force is trapped at Plum Blossom Island, surrounded by pirate ships! If we don’t act now, they might all be annihilated. Are you listening to me……”
“Ah! Stop chattering so dirty, it’s noisy!”
Chung Myung pushed Hong Dae-gwang’s cheek with the tip of his finger, which was right in front of him. If other people had rushed at Chung Myung like this, he would have immediately punched him, but since the opponent lives as a beggar rolling on the street, he seemed to want to minimize the area he touched as much as possible.
Mount Hua’s disciples nodded with happy faces.
“Chung Myung is being polite. He used his hand.”
“Yeah. I thought he would push with his foot.”
“He’s gotten a lot nicer, though. In the past, he would have kicked with the sole of his shoe. I’m pleased.”
“…….”
Excuse me? This is being polite?
For a moment, Hong Dae-gwang wondered what kind of darkness Mount Hua people had been through, but that wasn’t what was important to him right now.
“Wha- What should we do?”
“What?”
“Namgung Family! Namgung Family!”
Chung Myung looks at Hong Dae-gwang with a look of disbelief.
“What about Namgung Family?”
“Shouldn’t we do something about them!”
“About Namgung Family?”
“Yes!”
“Why would I?”
Hong Dae-gwang’s eyes trembled.
“They’re all going to die, you know? It was said there will be annihilation if we leave them like this!”
“Aigoo, that’s too bad. What are they to do. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Hong Dae-gwang’s mouth slowly opened.
“That….”
He tried to say something more, but before that, Chung Myung snapped with an irritated expression.
“But does this old man think I’m some kind of magic wand! Whenever there’s a problem, he comes running and whining!”
“…….”
“If they went in without thinking and got surrounded, they should take care of it themselves. They’re not even three-year-old kids, causing trouble themselves and expecting me to solve it?”
“Y- You’re right, but still……”
“Then why are they crawling there in the first place? If he wants to go crazy, then do so properly. Why enter so boldly! I heard that when a mullet jumps, a mullet thinks it can jump too, but I guess they probably think they can do it if I can, right?”
Namgung Hwang’s misunderstanding was understandable.
Three years ago, it was difficult to even compare Mount Hua to the Namgung Family in terms of power alone. However, seeing that a part of the Nokrim, which was not even Mount Hua, occupied the island and kept Gangnam and the water fortress in check at the same time, they must have thought that was possible.
‘Of course, it only looks that way on the outside.’
But that’s not the case with Plum Blossom Island. Plum Blossom Island is the result of a pact signed by Jang Ilso and Chung Myung based on mutual needs.
The place wasn’t easy to defend against enemy attacks; it just wasn’t attacked, so there was no need to defend it.
Everything changed the moment Mount Hua withdrew and the existence of the pact disappeared. Now, Plum Blossom Island is nothing more than a dangerous land trapped in the middle of enemy territory, with no escape route. It would be a tremendous gain if it could be occupied, but it has become a land that is impossible to occupy.
Let’s just say that the Evil Tyrant Alliance and Ten Great Sects fought over that island.
Then which side would have the advantage?
‘This is land that Evil Tyrant Alliance, who owns Eighteen Water Fortress of the Yangtze River, has no choice but to own.’
This is why Chung Myung and Im Sobyong withdrew before the war broke out.
But they thoughtlessly entered that dangerous land…
If you’re weak, you get hit; if you don’t know, you get hit; if you act up, you get hi… Ah, forget the last one.
Anyway, isn’t it a truth of Kangho that ignorance deserves punishment?
“But back in the day, I think Namgung Family had some sense.”
It was usually the Peng Family who caused trouble, and the Namgung Family was in charge of fixing that. But what happened over a hundred years that the Namgung Family ended up like thi…
“Wait a minute.”
“Hm?”
“I’m asking you just in case, but you know that man named Namgung Hwang.”
“Huh? Namgung Gaju? What about Namgung Gaju?”
“Who is that yangban’s mother?”
At that moment, Hong Dae-gwang’s eyes widened as much as they could.
“Mo- Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword. O- Of course, I know that you’re a rough person, but I think that’s a bit over the line….”
“Ah, shit!”
Chung Myung suddenly kicked Hong Dae-gwang and rolled him over.
“This yangban suddenly turning a man into someone with broken morals! Do I look like that kind of person?”
Upon hearing the words, the disciples of Mount Hua nodded in unison.
“That suspicion is understandable.”
“The odds are high.”
“He goes against the hierarchy as easily as breathing, so what’s this to him?”
But these bastards?
“It’s not that, I’m asking which maternal family! Family! Family!”
“Oh, family?”
Hong Dae-kwang, who breathed a sigh of relief, racked his brains.
“Let me think… As far as I know, the current Gaju of the Namgung Family’s mother is from the Peng Family…”
“Oh, is that so?”
Yes, of course.
That bloodline doesn’t go anywhere.
Finally, as if a nagging question had been answered, Chung Myung spoke with a refreshed expression.
“No wonder. I wondered how such a yangban could come out of Namgung Family.”
That can be the case in a typical sect. A sect is a place where many people gather around one value.
But a family is connected by blood. People born with similar temperaments and receiving similar education inevitably end up with similar characters, right?
Of course, even considering that Namgung Hwang has mixed Peng Family traits, it’s a bit too much…
“Chung Myung.”
“Yes?”
At that time, Baek Cheon of the Five Swords approached Chung Myung asked.
“How do you think it will turn out? Do you think the Namgung Family can escape from there?”
“It’ll be tough.”
“…Then what happens now?”
“Hmm. That’s…”
Chung Myung rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“It went as expected over there, but it’s also a bit different.”
It is clearly visible that Namgung Family will be completely defeated. The martial artists of this era have never experienced a large-scale war. As a result, they don’t understand how important topography is.
Of course, they would have learned military strategies. But they would have thought they could overcome it with their own strength.
“I predicted that the Namgung Family would advance towards Plum Blossom Island… The problem is the Black Dragon King.”
“Black Dragon King?”
“Though he looks like he would rashly charge into Plum Blossom Island with a do-or-die attitude… He’s surprisingly cunning, like an old raccoon.”
“One shouldn’t judge a person by their appearance…”
Baek Cheon agreed with this statement. The Black Dragon King he saw on the Yangtze River three years ago looked like the very incarnation of lawlessness. Who would have imagined this turn of events when the water fortress led by him, and the Namgung Family led by Namgung Hwang confronted each other?
“If that guy called the Black Dragon King is as hot-tempered as we think, and decides to storm the island to annihilate them while they’re surrounded, it could actually open a way out for Namgung.”
Baek Cheon, who was listening, hardened his complexion. Chung Myung always considered different scenarios when he talked like this.
“If.”
He said in a dim voice.
“What if the Black Dragon King and the water fortresses have no intention of storming the island? Is it going to be a fight to see whose salvation arrives first?”
“If you think about it with common sense, it would be like that. However… it won’t go that way.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because the Black Dragon King knows that too.”
“What does that mean…”
Baek Cheon, who had tilted his head for a moment, was shocked as if something occurred to him.
“That… Right. I see.”
Jo-Gol, who did not understand the conversation between the two, looked back and forth with a confused expression and asked.
“Sasuk. What are you talking about? Please explain so I can understand too.”
“…The Black Dragon King, who is surrounding the Namgung Family, must also know that whoever gets reinforcements first will have the advantage.”
“Right. That person isn’t a fool either.”
“But think about it. What if the Black Dragon King thinks that the Ten Great Sect’s reinforcement will arrive first? Would he going to just release the rat trapped in a jar?”
“…No.”
Baek Cheon bites his lips slightly.
“At the very least, he would try to weaken the Namgung Family’s forces as much as possible before the reinforcements arrive. It means that a situation where both sides just stand off and waste time won’t happen.”
Chung Myung nodded his head.
“And the Black Dragon King’s position is different. The fact that Evil Tyrant Alliance arrives first denotes the extinction of Namgung Family, but the fact that the Ten Great Sects arrive first is just a little more troublesome for the water fortress.”
“Because it’s on the river?”
“Yeah.”
The corners of Chung Myung’s mouth slightly curled up.
In the past, such conversations would have kept Chung Myung’s mouth busy explaining. However, now Baek Cheon understands the situation first and gives an answer before that.
“Anyway, all Namgung Family can do is endure. That’s all they can do right now.”
“Can they hold on?”
“Namgun Hwang is a madman, but not an idiot. He can manage to hold on. The problem is…”
Chung Myung’s face is slightly distorted.
He seemed to be choosing his words, pausing for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“Do you know when a person breaks down?”
“…….”
Though it was out of the blue, Baek Cheon couldn’t bring himself to interrupt. He felt the indescribable heaviness in that voice.
“The moment when a person collapses is not the time of suffering. You can endure hardship. As long as there’s hope, you can survive.”
“…….”
“The moment a person breaks down is when hope is lost.”
Chung Myung let out a slight sneer.
“I’m curious too. I wonder if that person, who tries to calculate and wage war, really has the courage to risk his life to save the Namgung Family.”
No specific names were mentioned. However, everyone present knew who Chung Myung was referring to. In fact, they couldn’t not know.
“Do- Don’t tell me….”
“It’s just a thought, a thought. Nothing has happened yet.”
Chung Myung waved his hand dismissively as if to say not to overthink it. However, despite his casual and light gesture, his eyes were dark and somber.
“But if, just if…”
Chung Myung paused slightly before continuing.
“One in a thousand, one in a ten thousand, if what I think happens….”
The atmosphere subsided heavily.
“The Namgung Family will live to see hell.”
A silence fell for a moment. No one could open their mouth.
“Well, we can just enjoy the show and eat rice cakes.”
“Chung Myung, then shouldn’t we do something?”
“Huh?”
“If Namgung Family is in such danger…”
“Sasuk.”
Chung Myung cut off Baek Cheon’s words as if pressing them down.
“The moment you enter the battlefield, you must take responsibility for all your decisions.”
“…….”
“People who think it’s natural for me to step in and help will also think it’s natural for someone to step in and help them when they’re in trouble. That complacency can cost lives.”
Baek Cheon shut his mouth.
“That is the battlefield, that is war. Do not forget. If Sasuk doesn’t want to see your Sahyung die because of such complacent decisions.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
Chung Myung, who nodded, shrugged his shoulders.
“Keep a close eye on everything. One day, it might be our turn to face such a situation.”
Everyone swallowed dry saliva, feeling their throats burning for some reason.