No matter how insignificant the fertilizer may be. (5)

It was an unstoppable flow.

It was not some giant wave rolling in from afar. It felt like a thunderstorm [뇌우(雷雨)] pouring down right overhead. With no time to prepare and no way to cope, a tremendous fury and impulse swept through the minds of the members of Cheonumaeng.

Their ability to reason was paralyzed. Without even questioning what emotion was governing over them or where it came from, the members of the Alliance charged forward blindly.

“Jang Ilsoooooo!”

Who hates Jang Ilso the most?

If one had asked a few years ago, everyone would have said ‘Hwasan.’ But how about now?

These days, Jang Ilso was no longer just the leader of Maninbang that attacked Hwasan.

He caused a catastrophe on the Yangtze River, and among Gupaillbang he drove five sects – and among the Five Great Families, one – to the very brink of annihilation.

How much blood was spilled in the process. How many lives were lost.

It is not that Hwasan’s hatred has weakened. It is that the hatred others hold for Jang Ilso has deepened beyond all measure.

“Don’t run away! You dog-like bastard!”

Among those here, is there anyone who has not imagined driving a blade into Jang Ilso’s neck? Across the entire Gangho, it would be hard to find someone who has never dreamt of tearing into his flesh and drinking his blood.

Such a bitter grudge has finally found its outlet.

The sight of Jang Ilso fleeing – something no one has expected – caused everyone’s resentment to literally explode.

“Uaaaaaaagh!”

Among them, none were consumed by their wrath more than Wudang.

If other’s grudges were like a wound left to fester and rot, then Wudang’s grudge was like a freshly inflicted wound still dripping bright red blood. Or, one could say it was akin to mercilessly searing a wound that had barely begun to heal.

They lost more than half of their fellow disciples. The home they had struggled to protect was now in flames behind them. No matter how much of a Taoist one might be, there was no avoiding the madness of hatred.

“Kill him! Kill him! Jang Ilso is right there!”

The swordsmen of Wudang leaped over the disciples of Hwasan in a single move and charged forward. They paid no heed even to the fleeing Sapaeryeon’s warriors.

“Jang Ilsooooooo!”

Of course, Wudang could not be the only ones harboring a vicious grudge against Jang Ilso.

Many others, chasing after Wudang, crushed any members of Sapaeryeon who got in their way as they surged forward without hesitation.

“Cut off Jang Ilso’s head!”

“Don’t back down! Jang Ilso’s head belongs to us!”

Not only Moyong and Zhuge, who had been guarding the rear, but even the disciples of Namgung clan lost their composure.

Namgung clan had gone through a horrific experience at Maehwado, so their hatred would be no less intense than Wudang’s. Perhaps it was even stronger. At least Wudang had not lost their family head to Jang Ilso’s hand.

In this colossal storm-like flow, even Yoon Jong was not free from its pull.

As if possessed, Yoon Jong’s steps quickened. Even he felt rushed by the piercing, beastly cries full of resentment.

It was dangerous. He knew it was dangerous. But wasn’t Jang Ilso right there? If he could just cut that man down, this wretched war could be ended once and for all!

Yes… there was no reason not to risk it, was there?

Veins began to appear in Yoon Jong’s eyes. Now. Right now…!

Just as Yoon Jong, giving in to the rising heat, was about to push off the ground with all his might, someone seized him by the scruff of his neck.

“Stop.”

A low, firm voice pierced his ears.

“…Sago?”

When Yoon Jong turned around, Yu Iseol was gripping the back of his neck, her head lowered.

“Don’t waver.”

Even amidst a battlefield that seemed consumed by flames, her gaze remained calm and steady. Looking into those deep eyes, Yoon Jong quickly regained his composure. A chill ran down his spine. He himself had nearly been swept away by that madness.

Yoon Jong looked around in confusion.

Without exception, everyone was charging ahead, having lost their sense of reason. Their eyes, engorged with blood, fixed on a single point.

Seeing that sight Yoon Jong felt a chill run down his spine.

“Why…”

He understood. He too, if only for a moment, had been seized by the same intense emotion. But even so, this situation was too extreme. They all looked like people with nothing left to lose. Even though the tide of victory was clearly in their favor, they were acting as if driven to the edge of a cliff with nowhere else to go.

Why on earth had this happened?

The answer flowed from Yu Iseol’s lips.

“Because it’s the first time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Running away. That man.”

“Ah…”

Yoon Jong flinched, his body trembling, and hastily shifted his gaze. Only then did he realize it. Far off in the distance, Jang Ilso was turning his back and running away. Yoon Jong felt that he had finally come face-to-face with the source of the unease he had been sensing all this time.

That was it.

‘Have I ever seen his back before?’

Never. No, he must have seen his back at some point. But he has never seen him fleeing. He has never even imagined it.

Because the Jang Ilso Yoon Jong knew was that kind of person. 

Someone who would never kneel, even in death. Someone who would still laugh at the whole world in the moment his head is cut off. Anyone who knows Jang Ilso would think so.

And yet, that very Jang Ilso was now turning his back and running away. Could there be a temptation more intense than this?

Even Yoon Jong was barely restraining the impulse to throw everything aside and chase after that back.

Someone might find it absurd, saying it’s ‘just a back’. However, even a mere beast will lunge at prey that shows its back. And that prey is none other than Jang Ilso. Is there really anything more to say?

“…Shouldn’t we stop them?”

Yoon Jong swallowed hard and asked. But Yu Iseol shook her head.

“No. They won’t hear anything now. Not anymore…”

Yoon Jong turned his gaze as if in a daze. The members of Cheonumaeng, seized by madness, were surging like a landslide in one direction. No one could stop them.

No one…..

❀ ❀ ❀

“Kuuuuuh!”

Blood spurted through the fingers covering his mouth. Checking his bloody hand, Chung Myung let a twisted smile slip.

‘So it’s come to this again.’

He was now paying the immediate price for recklessly unleashing his sword energy. His body screamed.

As much as it did before he met Dalai Lama, or perhaps even more fiercely.

But this was no time to worry about his own condition.

“…That bastard.”

He, too, could see the members of Cheonumaeng consumed by madness.

They looked like moths hurling themselves into a bonfire, throwing away their lives for that single red dot in the distance.

There was nothing even Chung Myung could do about it. In all the world, there was likely no one capable of calming that frenzied crowd.

Crunch.

Chung Myung stabbed his sword into the ground, using it to support himself as he stood. Of course, that didn’t mean he intended to just stand by and watch.

Chung Myung, who had been glaring at Jang Ilso in the distance, slowly shifted his gaze.

“…Haaa.”

Towards Poisoned Heart Rakshasa, Ho Gamyeong.

Ho Gamyeong observed everything with a chillingly impassive face, devoid of any hint of emotion. A grim murderous intent flickered in Chung Myung’s eyes.

After a short while, Chung Myung slowly took a step in his direction.

❀ ❀ ❀

“This….”

Jongli Gok’s expression hardened coldly.

Before he knew it, everyone was running wild. Quite a few of them were disciples of Jongnam mixed in among the crowd. Jongli Gok also instinctively realized that controlling them – rampaging like a herd of cattle set on fire – would be impossible.

He snapped irritably at Im Sobyeong.

“What on earth is going on here?”

“Hmm…”

Im Sobyeong looked ahead intently with a grave expression, giving no immediate reply. Jongli Gok raised his voice.

“Nokrim King!”

“It’s a trap, I suppose.”

The answer came from someone other than Nokrim King. When Jongli Gok turned around, Tang Gunak was approaching, supported by Tang Pae. His face was so pale it bordered on becoming blue, making the severity of his condition obvious. But there was no time to worry about his state now.

At that moment, Im Sobyeong finally spoke.

“You’re correct.”

“A trap?”

“…Yes, it must be a trap. There’s no other possibility.”

Jongli Gok gritted his teeth.

“Then we have to stop them. If we just stand by like this, they’ll fall right into the trap.”

“That’s the problem.”

“…Problem?”

Im Sobyeong’s expression grew dark, as though lost in deep thought.

“They, too, probably can’t control the situation any better than we can.”

Jongli Gok furrowed his brow, not immediately understanding what he meant. But after a moment, something flickered in his eyes.

In a cold tone, as if piercing through his thoughts, Im Sobyeong spoke.

“Of course it’s a trap. They may have prepared explosives, or set up an ambush. For all we know, that Jang Ilso could even be an impostor.”

“Then….”

“The problem is that this isn’t a situation where a mere trap like that can do anything. Digging holes and planting sharp stakes, stockpiling poison to create a raging torrent, or even deploying all your forces in ambush is about as effective as trying to stop a landslide. Yet those bastards have gone and detonated explosives themselves, causing a landslide right over their own heads. And they even dismantled the only barrier that could have stopped it.”

Jongli Gok’s expression hardened further.

“Are you saying they’re doing something utterly nonsensical?”

Im Sobyeong silently nodded. His gaze remained fixed on the battlefield engulfed in raging torrents.

‘Why?’

If their goal was to throw the battlefield into chaos and use that opening to remove Jang Ilso out of it, that would be perfectly understandable. After all, to Ho Gamyeong, Jang Ilso’s life is worth sacrificing the entirety of Sapaeryeon.

Yet now, Jang Ilso is running away without even trying to hide.

A simple mistake? That can’t be.

“Perhaps they didn’t expect such an intense reaction.”

Im Sobyeong didn’t even respond. Ho Gamyeong couldn’t possibly be that foolish. In other words, everything happening here must have been calculated.

But what are they after, exactly? What do they hope to gain by offering Sapaeryeon to the unstoppable onslaught of Cheonumaeng? Moreover, this looked as if they were even sacrificing Jang Ilso.

“What in the world are they doing……”

Judging solely by the situation, it seemed like they were sacrificing Jang Ilso in the hope of saving at least a few members of Sapaeryeon.

But that was hard to accept. First, Ho Gamyeong would never offer Jang Ilso as a sacrifice. Second, even if that were so, Sapaeryeon’s losses were far too severe.

“…Is it just a faulty strategy that gains them nothing?”

That might be the most reasonable interpretation. A plan gone awry can sometimes look bizarre. But Im Sobyeong simply could not bring himself to believe it was that simple.

“Nokrim King.”

“Wait!”

Im Sobyeong cut the speaker off without even glancing at whoever had called his name.

‘Not yet.’

No matter how hard one shouted, it was impossible to deliver a proper command. If he gave two orders in a row, it would only sow greater confusion. Issuing just one order in the hope that some part of it would be heard and carried out was the best he could do.

Hence, he could not speak carelessly.

“They must have something up their sleeve. If it’s those bastards, they definitely have a goal.”

He had to figure it out. If he couldn’t, he had no right to command an army.

“N-Nokrim King! Over there…!”

But Im Sobyeong quickly realized he had no need to struggle to discover their ploy.

“Ah…”

Following the direction of Jongli Gok’s pointing finger, Im Sobyeong’s eyes widened. A chill ran down his spine.

“…So this was it?”

Not where Jang Ilso was seen fleeing off in the distance, but in the very center of the battlefield

A man clad in a crimson robe was rising to his feet.

“Jang… Ilso…”

And it wasn’t just one. One, then another, and then another.

Countless figures of ‘Jang Ilso’ began appearing all across the battlefield.