Episode 371

“So, basically, the evil sects are not stronger than us, but the number of them is greater than Shaolin, which is said to be the strongest sect?”

“…”

“Of course, the Beggars Union is made of more beggars than all other sects put together, but as you know, only a handful of beggars are truly powerful.”

“…”

“Among the many sects, five are known to be especially strong, known as the Shenzhou Five Sects. Which includes the Green Forest Seventy-Two Village, The Yangtze River Eighteen Villages, the Lower District Sect… ah, your sleeping!!”

When Hong Dae-Kwang screamed, Chung Myung opened his eyes.

“Haaaah…”

“No, you! You told me to explain, and now you doze off!”

“It is only because you say the most obvious stuff.”

“Obvious stuff! I put my blood and flesh in…!”

“I have enough blood and flesh for it too. So how strong are these people?”

“Hmm…”

Hong Dae-Kwang wiped his chin.

“I don’t know.”

“…”

“…”

Chung Myung’s eyes held contempt for him.

“… you aren’t supposed to look at people like that.”

“What does this man opening a branch for the Beggars Union even know!”

“One has to fight to find out!”

Hong Dae-Kwang spoke, feeling embarrassed.

“In the past hundred years, our sects and the side of evils have yet to fight. The sects couldn’t afford to pick a fight with them, and we were all recovering from the damage taken by the demons. And the sects took advantage of the chaos right after the war to rapidly recall their troops.”

“Those demons were of no help!”

Anything I do, and the demons spoil it!

They kept piercing my ears!

“It cannot be helped. The scars left by the war are too deep. It is…”

Hong Dae-Kwang didn’t speak more. And the awkwardness only continued to float around.

“If you are a man of Kangho, it is just something you must accept.”

‘Shit.’

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

‘Don’t I know Mount Hua the best?’

Right…

In any case, considering the feelings of the listener, Hong Dae-Kwang didn’t speak further.

“So it is hard to know their power. As a rough estimate, though, a little weaker than the Nine Great Sects and on par with the Five Great Families?”

“Hmm.”

“Among them, this Red Snake Group is most famous for being armed. Their strength itself is nothing special, but their captain Red Snake Blade Yeop Pyung, is quite a unique one.”

“Hmm…”

“It is because he is a strong person who is counted in the top ten of evil people. And as the group being led by such a person, they get a lot of attention.”

“To see and hear the names of those evil idiots in my lifetime. Sigh.”

“How long have you even lived, you brat!”

‘A young man acting like an old man,’ mumbled Hong Dae-Kwang. But Chung Myung ignored him.

‘The world is getting a lot better.’

From the point of view of the Forces of Evil, it had really gotten better. A hundred years ago, when Chung Myung was the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, those with the name Evil would never even get close to Mount Hua.

Actually, there was no reason even to go searching for them. The disciples of Mount Hua were hungry for those bastards and would run to them at night.

At that time, not just Mount Hua but even the other Nine great sects and Five Great Families were happy to punish the evil sects.

‘Because there wasn’t much for us to do together, the old bastards decided to make us all search mountains for the bandits.’

It was a time when they tortured the sects from the Forces of Evil. Wasn’t it really the point where they struggled to even form a coherent group?

If you think about it that way, they were persistent too. I am proud to see them endure through difficult times and regrow the power within them…

Ah, not that!

“Anyway!”

Chung Myung jumped up. Hong Dae-Kwang’s eyes widened,

“What are you going to do?”

“It is okay since I roughly know the kind of people they are or what they are doing. We just deal with them.”

“Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon! Don’t go around underestimating people!”

Hong Dae-Kwang screamed with panic.

“Of course, I know that you are strong. But the enemy is different from those you have faced so far! Don’t forget that the people you have been fighting so far are not even the strongest! This isn’t just about your strength!”

However, despite their opposition, Chung Myung’s face was dead set, and Hong Dae-Kwang banged his chest.

“Red Snake Blade Yeop Pyung is the kind of strong person you have never dealt with. If you try to rush in without an idea, you will take a bad hit.”

“Yah. As I live, there is a day when I hear that those bastards are strong. This is why I lived this long?”

“Ah, for real, how long have you lived!”

Tch.

What good would telling you bring?

“Well, I get it.”

As Chung Myung waved his hand and left, Hong Dae-Kwangs’s face twisted.

‘What the hell will he do?’

As soon as he heard the news, he requested men from the branch and the close by sects. But unless they had wings on their backs, it would take a minimum of seven days for them to arrive.

And in fact, seven days and nights were more than enough for the Red Snake Group to destroy Xi’an.

“It wouldn’t be a big deal.”

If he had known things would be like this, he would have brought more beggars.

He sighed deeply at this.

“… the officials’ words are the same. They have no intention of getting involved.”

‘Damn it.’

Nam Ja-Myung bit his lip.

“Even their head didn’t meet with us.”

“We did ask the close-by sects for help, but it will take quite a while for them to get here. And… actually, there are no large sects around Xi’an…”

Obviously, there weren’t.

The largest sects in Shaanxi were Southern Edge and Mount Hua. In particular, since Southern Edge was strong, not many sects would establish themselves here.

“If we could talk to the folks in Shaanxi. Maybe they will send disciples to help us. But we don’t know when they will come…”

“Ugh.”

Nam Ja-Myung scratched his head with frustration.

He had always been someone neat and planned, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t think of any outs, and now his eyes were red, and he couldn’t sleep.

He couldn’t find this dignified figure he had a few days ago.

At that time, Dan Byungip spoke to him,

“Leader, rather…”

“Rather?”

“How about making a plan for the future?”

“Future?”

“Actually, blocking the enemy with our strength is nothing easy. If that were the case, it would still be better to avoid them for now and retreat…”

“Bullshit!”

Nam Ja-Myung screamed.

“Do you know what will happen the moment we leave Xi’an!? They don’t seem to dare touch the civilians now, but their purpose is clear, and how long will they remain patient!”

“Isn’t that the officials’ duty?”

“You foolish moron! That is when they actually decide to intervene and help people, and how about the trust the people lose in us!”

“Trust can be rebuilt but not the lives lost.”

“…”

Nam Ja-Myung turned him silent.

“Having pride is important when you are alive. As Leader said, ‘how long will we endure?’ They say they refrain from killing to prevent the officials from intervening. How can we guarantee that the officials won’t fall to their blades…”

“Shut up!”

Nam Ja-Myung screamed.

“And you call yourselves the gate leaders of Southern Edge! How can you speak so easily, Heads serving under a prestigious sect, about running from the enemy! I will not tolerate this!”

“Leader!”

“It is better to die then! There is no more need to talk about this! As soon as the sun goes down, bring all the disciples and gather in my sect. They are strong, but if the remaining people fight to the death, there is nothing that cannot be defeated!”

His eyes were bloody.

Because of his strong attitude, the others couldn’t speak.

“You understand?”

“… Yes.”

“Good.”

They gave a lukewarm response, but Nam Ja-Myung didn’t push it further. What would be motivating for those who might lose it all in the fighting tonight?

‘A sub-sect is a sub-sect.’

If they really decided to fight and go against this injustice, they would have stayed with the main sect. The ones who come to make sub-sects are normally on their own. Of course, those who came down the mountain on their own two feet would inherit some martial art, be given a place, and be allowed to take disciples, but they needed to understand they were otherwise alone.

And the reason some left the main sect was to earn more money as opposed to furthering their martial arts.

So this reaction was a natural result. In what sub-sect would you find anyone expecting to fight with their life on the line?

“If you truly are the disciple of Southern Edge, and you are a warrior, show some pride! We believe you!”

“Of course!”

“We are the proud disciples of Southern Edge! Why be afraid of them!”

“I will gather the disciples and come!”

The leaders got up and began to move, all with determination.

Nam Ja-Myung clenched his teeth.

‘Xi’an will never be given to those evil bastards.’

And he jumped up from his spot,

“Gather the disciples! Right now!”

After a few hours…

Nam Ja-Myung looked a bit bewildered.

“….”

His eyes, which were left with only disbelief and despair, looked as if all hope had been drained from him.

“L-Leader.”

“…”

“We have a new problem. The people who went to check the other sects have come back, and they said they are empty…”

“Empty?”

“… Uh.”

Nam Ja-Myung mumbled like he couldn’t believe it.

“You mean all ten sub-sects ran?”

“… yes.”

“Hu… huhuhuhu.”

He opened his mouth and smiled,

“Ha… hahaha.”

He couldn’t contain his anger and yelled,

“Those idiots who don’t know shame! You mean they left this place to save their own lives!”

“Well, if they don’t come back, it is so.”

“… what?”

But one of those who stayed back spoke with a red face,

“I-If they stay here, their wealth will be taken away, and they will be beaten to death and die. And if they run away with their wealth, they get to live in an-another place.”

Nam Ja-Myung was wide-eyed.

“W-We don’t have a sect…”

“Shut up!”

“…”

Now, his face had gone contorted.

It isn’t that he was angry with the words said. Hearing those words, his heart sank at the anger.

“Leader! We need to run now! Even if there are other people, we cannot guarantee that we will win over them with numbers! And this will be a suicide run!”

Nam Ja-Myung couldn’t respond, and he bit his lips. His eyes just kept twitching, not knowing what to do.

But then…

“L-leader! There!”

Nam Ja-Myung turned his head.

They could see their enemies coming along.

“W-We are too late!”

“No. I… I cannot fight!”

The disciples were frightened, and they began to run.

“Y-You bastards! Stop right now!”

“Damn it! If you want to die, you die alone!”

He tried to control them, but that didn’t work as the disciples sprinted away, crying out.

“You shouldn’t leave!”

“You damned bastard!”

They couldn’t run empty-handed, so they fought over the valuable things they could find.

Nam Ja-Myung didn’t hide his disappointment.

‘Is this my sub-sect?’

He spoke about harmony so much to the disciples, but they ran at the first sign of crisis?

Then…what did he do, devoting his life to the sect?

Nam Ja-Myung didn’t think of running and stayed where he had stood.

Step.

The enemy arrived and stood in front of him.

After a while, Yeop Pyung came up.

“Is this all?”

“…”

“Hehe. So-called righteous bastards.”

He smiled as if it was absurd.

“Still, I thought there would be at least half of them left, but there’s not even a sect left! Just one person left. Yah Bang Seun! What is this?”

“Aren’t they all the same? They live with their mouths.”

“Tch tch. Even thugs wouldn’t do this.”

“Hehe. What do you want from a sub-sect? If Southern Edge didn’t close their doors, they wouldn’t have left… ack!”

Yeop Pyung slapped Bang Seung on the back of his head and rolled his eyes.

“Whose side are you on!”

“… Kuak. I am on the side of Captain! What do we do? It seems that the plan to take their wealth has gone awry.”

“Ptoey!”

Yeop Pyung spat on the ground.

“Anyway, we should still have a couple of things left within to rob, right? I want to start in earnest.”

Yeop Pyung smiled and looked around.

“This is a good deal. The officials turned away from their jobs, and these sub-sects ran away to live.”

“It is common.”

“Right. Common. It is so common.”

Yeop Pyung, who clicked his tongue, twinkling eyes.

“It was faster than we thought, but fast isn’t bad. Today, we will sweep Xi’an away. The houses of the sub-sects will be robbed, and the houses which seem good will have that stuff be taken. Kill those who rebel.”

“Huhu. I think it will be fun.”

“First of all, set fire to the sub-sects so that those who have something to do with Southern Edge will not set foot in Xi’an again!”

“Yes! We will clean it all up!”

Bang Seung’s eyes shone, but then a voice interrupted their pleasant conversation.

“S-Stop already! You wicked bastards!”

“Uh?”

As Yeop Pyung turned his head, he looked at Nam Ja-Myung, who was trembling.

“You’re still there?”

“Looks like he wants to die.”

“Then give him his wish. It is a difficult task.”

Srng!

Yeop Pyung pulled out his blade from the waist and got close. As he got close, Nam Ja-Myung turned pale.

Yeop Pyung smiled,

“Kid. The first to die in Kangho are the powerless. When you go hell, tell people of what you have learned!”

Yeop Pyung’s blade was swung to the side and for his neck.

That moment…

Kaaang!

With a sound of metal, the blade went sideways.

“W-What!”

Yeop Pyung was wide-eyed as he shook his head.

“I agree with those words.”

A group of warriors could be seen walking along.

And at the front of them was a young man with a mean look.

“The one who moves around without power dies first. So…”

The young man, Chung Myung, smiled wickedly.

Yeop Pyung’s face contorted.