I Will Make Sure That Name Is Engraved (1)

“Oh, they’re coming!”

“D-damn it! Fire! Shoot and kill them!”

The gunner who had been aiming the cannon shouted with a pale face.

Of course, even as he shouted, he knew his words made no sense. A cannon is not an anti-personnel weapon. It is devastating against clustered targets, but a cannon cannot hit a single person precisely.

Moreover, the one storming in was no ordinary person; if he was a Mount Hua warrior who had sliced down their protectors like demons, a mere cannon surely wouldn’t work.

“I said fire, now!”

Kraaaang!

The cannon belched fire at Jo Gul, who was charging with gritted teeth. A black shell flew out at terrifying speed.

But Jo Gul didn’t even blink and kept running. The shell skimmed dangerously over his head and struck the large old tree behind him.

Kuuuuuuuuuung!

A tree thicker than a human torso snapped with a crack. It was a sight that showed the cannon’s true power.

But no matter how powerful an attack, it is meaningless if it doesn’t hit.

“A-again! Quickly!”

Hands hurriedly reloaded the cannon like lightning.

But uselessly so; the moment the fuse was relit, Jo Gul had already reached them.

“Th-this…!”

Kwang!

Stepping into his stance, Jo Gul lashed his sword with force.

“You bastards!”

Paaaang!

With a sound like tearing air, a red line was sharply drawn through the void. Those attached to the cannon were split in two and collapsed instantly.

“S-someone save me…”

Puk!

Jo Gul drove his sword into the chest of someone the blade had barely reached, and before he could even feel the heartbeat at the tip, he violently withdrew it.

Sshhh!

Crimson blood sprayed and splattered onto the cannon.

“Huhk! Huhk! Huhk!”

Jo Gul panted harshly and looked around. There was no one alive in sight. Only blood-soaked corpses cooling remained.

Grit.

Biting his lip, he stamped on the still-smoldering cannon. The muzzle jerked up toward the sky.

Kraaaang!

The shell shot up high into the sky.

Kraaaang!

Seeing the shell soaring upward, Baek Cheon instantly realized the situation and shouted loudly.

“Everyone move! Now!”

The situation was dire. More than half the elders had fallen to poisoning and injury, and Southern Island’s disciples were numerous wounded.

Only those too injured to run properly and those whose stamina was utterly spent were barely holding onto their swords.

But even in that terrible state, everyone responded to Baek Cheon’s words. The voice they’d heard constantly from Southern Island’s shore until now had now held absolute power over Southern Island’s disciples.

“This way!”

Baek Cheon shouted and took the lead in running.

For the exhausted, it’s easier to recognize an action and follow than to understand words.

“Follow the Acting Sect Leader!”

“Move, didn’t you hear! Do you want to die here?”

When Namgung Do-Wei and Hae Yeon barked sharply, Geum Yang-Baek shouted loudly.

“What are you doing! Immediately follow the Acting Sect Leader! Elders, carry the wounded disciples on your backs! Now!”

Even though it was remarkable they were still standing, Southern Island’s elders did not forget their duty. The elders who somehow hoisted the immobile wounded followed behind Baek Cheon, led by Geum Yang-Baek.

The Southern Island disciples who could still move reflexively followed and drove their feet into the ground at full speed.

“Damn it! What are you doing!”

Meanwhile, Im So-Byeong raged and grabbed Tang Soso from behind. She was clinging to a dying Southern Island disciple.

“Let me go! I just need to finish this bandage!”

“He’s already dead! He’s already!!”

“Not yet… he’s not dead yet!”

“Snap out of it! If you die, the rest will all die too!”

Tang Soso’s eyes wavered at that. Just seeing them showed how emotionally pushed to the limit she was.

But Im So-Byeong paid no heed to her feelings and forcibly dragged her along.

As everyone ran out, Gwak Hwan-So ran over to those who still couldn’t move.

“What are you doing! Follow immediately!”

“Great sahyung!”

Those who didn’t know what to do looked at Gwak Hwan-So with despair filling their eyes.

“T-the sahyungs’ wounds…”

Gwak Hwan-So’s eyes dropped. A priest lay moaning with a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his heart.

Understanding the situation, Gwak Hwan-So involuntarily clenched his fist.

The other wounded could be moved somehow. They could die together if need be.

But not these ones. They couldn’t be carried. Their wounds were too grave; moving them recklessly would make the wounds burst open, hastening their deaths instead.

Tang Soso had done emergency treatment to keep them alive, but those with no strength left for the forced march remained.

Gwak Hwan-So gritted his teeth. The tendons in his jaw stood out.

“Go!”

“Yes?”

“I said go, now!”

“G-go where? Sahyung!”

Someone who grasped what Gwak Hwan-So meant shouted desperately.

“They’re still alive, still! What kind of nonsense is that? Are you saying we should leave the sahyungs here like this? That’s…!”

“Shut up and go, didn’t I say!”

“Great sahyung!”

When the sajae screamed, Gwak Hwan-So grabbed him by the collar and yanked him roughly. His eyes, bloodshot, glared fiercely at the priest whose eyes were wet with tears.

“Then what? Will you die here together?”

No answer came. He shoved the sajae away as if throwing him off. There was no time for scuffling.

If Chung Myung, who was holding the rear, were pushed back and the gorge reopened, the Ten Thousand People Clan’s hordes would pour out from there like a torrent.

These exhausted people wouldn’t even be able to resist. They’d be cut down without properly swinging their swords.

They had barely escaped a hellish place; they wouldn’t accept such a miserable death!

“Go, now! If you don’t want to die by my hand!”

Whether cowed by Gwak Hwan-So’s ferocity or realizing it was inevitable, the prostrate disciple let out a wailing cry and ran forward.

Those who hesitated until the end also eventually followed him.

Gwak Hwan-So, who had been holding back his tears with his head tilted up, lowered his gaze again.

Even in that brief moment, Gwak Hwan-So was terrified.

They were injured but conscious, so they must have heard everything he said. Their eyes full of resentment, their words like sharp daggers; it was terrifying.

But what Gwak Hwan-So saw was far different from what he’d expected.

“S-sahyung…”

Some pale-faced disciples who had collapsed pointed to themselves with trembling hands.

Gwak Hwan-So was speechless. The moment he understood what it meant, the heavy weight on his shoulders finally collapsed horribly.

“P-please…”

“Ugh…”

He wanted to block his ears. He wanted to bite a blade and fall over. He wanted to run away anywhere.

“S-sahyung…”

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

Gwak Hwan-So let out a howl and swung his sword like lightning. Blood welled from his split lips.

His beloved blade, clearly engraved with the wave pattern symbolizing Southern Island Sect, sliced through the sahyung brothers’ throats in an instant.

Poooot!

Blood spurted from the cut throats, and on the faces of the Southern Island disciples whose eyes were dimming, faint smiles bloomed.

“Th-thank…”

“S-survive…”

Gwak Hwan-So didn’t stay to hear the rest and bolted. No, it’s more accurate to say he couldn’t bear to listen and ran.

Farther, farther away.

Tears no longer came.

He knew there was no choice. They could no longer fight, yet they couldn’t simply die easily.

But if he left them like this, they’d be captured by the enraged Ten Thousand People Clan and suffer every humiliation and die painfully.

In that case, it was better to cut their lives short with his own hands.

So this was a way of helping them. Gwak Hwan-So knew that.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

But knowing doesn’t erase the heart-wrenching pain. Knowing doesn’t change the fact he had cut the throats of brothers he’d spent his life with.

‘Survive.’

Thoughts of an honorable death no longer remained even slightly in his mind.

He must survive.

He must survive and avenge this. For the number who died here… no, he must shed a hundred, a thousand times their blood to repay their enemies.

‘I will survive by any means! I must!’

As he drove his feet into the ground with all his strength, a murderous poison flared in his eyes.

“Sasuk!”

“Ahead!”

“We haven’t located all the archers! There could be more ambushes ahead!”

Yoon Jong answered as if shouting and quickly joined Baek Cheon at his side.

A moment later, Jo Gul also ran up at full speed from ahead.

“All the cannons are dealt with!”

“Take the lead! There may be more ambushes!”

“Sago! Sago is heading to the rear! She’s been injured!”

Baek Cheon involuntarily turned to the direction Jo Gul had mentioned.

They had already entered a forest path, and in the distance through the undergrowth a deep gorge lay like it had been split by a god’s sword.

You didn’t need more explanation to guess what had happened.

“Chung Myung is probably at his limit too! And the injured Sago can’t manage alone! We have to help!”

For a moment, conflict clouded Baek Cheon’s face.

He must go.

Just hearing Jo Gul made the situation clear. And right now, the only one with the capacity to go back was Baek Cheon.

But if he pulled himself away and the ones left behind ran into the ambush ahead, could they break through on their own?

“…Jo Gul.”

“Yes, sasuk!”

“Take the front. Lead them away like this.”

“Then will the sasuk go?”

“…”

“Sasuk?”

Baek Cheon was silent. For a moment Jo Gul’s eyes trembled.

“Sasuk! S-Sago’s injury is serious! This isn’t the usual behaviour of Sago!”

“I told you to take the front, lead them!”

Baek Cheon’s sudden angry shout made Jo Gul flinch.

But only briefly; Jo Gul glared at Baek Cheon with bloodshot eyes, his face as if he might lunge and throw a punch any second.

“So you’re leaving them behind?”

“They’re not men who can’t take care of their own bodies! They’ll definitely come back!”

“You said you’d run away, even if it meant abandoning everyone else in danger!”

Baek Cheon fell silent as if at a loss for words. The neat corner of his eye trembled.

“You told me! You clearly told me that, sasuk!”

“…”

“Chung Myung will die! Sago will die! Don’t you understand the situation? Has your head gone mad!”

“Shut your mouth!”

The shout came not from Baek Cheon but from Yoon Jong. Yoon Jong glared at Jo Gul with a face twisted like a demon.

“Sahyung. But…”

“Didn’t I tell you to shut up!”

When Yoon Jong shouted again, Jo Gul’s hand gripping his sword trembled faintly.

Jo Gul’s gaze desperately flicked to the Southern Island faction following them. But his eyes were no longer the same as before.

“Who the hell do these people think they are…”

“Jo Gul!”

“Damn Southern Island, why do we have to go this far for them! You’re all crazy! You’re out of your minds, you bastards!”

“You damned bastard!”

As Yoon Jong grabbed for his collar, Jo Gul didn’t hold back and struck his hand away. Leaving a startled Yoon Jong behind, he ran toward the gorge.

“Stop him! Jo Gul, you bastard!”

“Let him go.”

Yoon Jong turned at Baek Cheon’s words. Baek Cheon bit his lips until they bled and cast a terrifying frenzy with his eyes.

“…You take the lead and open the way. Arrive in the Norther Lands alive. No matter what happens.”

“…Yes, sasuk.”

It sounded as if something somewhere was breaking.

Maybe it was a sign of catastrophe.

Baek Cheon’s hand, hidden inside his sleeve where others couldn’t see, trembled pitiably.