You’ll have to get through me first. (2)

“How far away are they?”

“I-I can’t say for sure, but they’re not far!”

“Damn it!”

Tang Oe bit his lip.

If his martial arts hadn’t been abolished, he could have gauged the enemy’s strength and distance, but now he was no different from a blind man with wide open eyes.

“Hurry! We need to increase the distance!”

“G-Grand Elder!”

The elders looked at Tang Oe with bewildered faces.

“Elder! We’re escorting people who haven’t learned martial arts. How do you expect us to increase the distance? They’ll catch up soon!”

“So what? Do you have any other suggestions?”

Tang Oe shouted hoarsely.

“We are Sichuan Tang Clan! We must resist and fight until the very end! Is that not clear to you?”

The elders clenched their lips. Tang Oe’s eyes chilled momentarily as he realized their determination wasn’t as strong as he had hoped.

“Why? Suddenly worried about your lives now, old men? Are you thinking of abandoning the clan and fleeing on your own?”

“W-What are you saying? Elder, it’s not like that…”

“Then what?”

One of the elders hesitated before speaking.

“…Would it be better to surrender?”

“What?”

Tang Oe’s face momentarily froze as if struck.

Surrendering. It was a word he had never even considered in his entire life. And now, it was coming from the mouth of a Tang clan elder.

“What did you just say?”

One of the elders, who faced Tang Oe’s rising anger head-on, avoided his gaze and spoke hesitantly.

“As far as I know, Paegun is ruthless, but he usually spares those who haven’t learned martial arts. There’s no reason for them to kill such people.”

“…”

“If we resist poorly here, it will give them justification. It might be better to surrender…”

“Have you finished speaking?”

“E-Elder…”

“This idiot!”

Tang Oe’s face turned crimson with anger.

“Is that what the Elder of the Tang Clan has to say?”

But this time, the elder didn’t back down from Tang Oe’s glare.

“I’m speaking as a Tang clan elder! Don’t you, Grand Elder, also know that we alone can’t stop them?”

“W-Well…”

“If there’s something worth protecting, we’ll fight for it with our lives! But now, isn’t there nothing left to protect in the Tang clan? So why should we risk our lives to fight? Shouldn’t we at least try to save as many of the Tang descendants as possible?”

As Tang Oe looked at the elder, he felt a sudden relief.

It wasn’t because he was angry or disappointed. It was because the elder’s words pierced through the fog of his mind. If they were fighting for something in the Tang clan’s estate, there might have been a valid reason. But now, as the elder said… there was no reason. Was there any reason for the untrained and innocent women and children to risk their lives?

“If we’re fighting to survive, isn’t it right to choose the path with the highest chance of survival?”

“While Paegun is cruel, he is markedly different from the usual Sapa we’ve encountered. He might show some leniency…”

“No, it can’t be!”

In that moment, Tang Sobo, who had been supporting Tang Oe, spoke firmly.

“That’s not acceptable, Elder.”

“How dare you!”

Instantly, anger flashed across the elder’s face. How dare a nameless girl intervene while he and Tang Oe were having a conversation? This was unacceptable in the Tang clan.

“What do you know to dare speak up?”

“I know nothing. But one thing is clear: there are lives not worth living in this world.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we surrender to them, what about our Lord? How can those who have left the clan fight against them?”

The elder was momentarily speechless, gazing at Tang Sobo in dismay.

“The Tang clan may die a miserable death, but it will not live in humiliation. Isn’t that what you elders stand for? Yet, why would you ask us to become hostages?”

Tang Sobo’s outcry ignited a fierce determination in the eyes of others around.

Those who left their families to become part of the Tang clan. Those who may one day have to leave the Tang clan. Despite not being fully recognized as true Tang clan members, they were still part of the Tang family, the people of Sichuan Tang Clan.

“Then what about the children? Can you decide the fate of those innocent souls?”

Tang Sobo hesitated at the elder’s question. Seeing this, the elder turned to Tang Oe and spoke.

“If it’s too difficult, perhaps it’s better to escape with just the children…”

“Enough!”

“Elder! You must reconsider! Taking the women of Tangga with us…”

“I said enough!”

At that moment, Tang Oe shouted to interrupt the elder’s words.

“Those who wish to leave, leave. Tangga will not seek you out again. Who would blame you for valuing your lives?”

“Elder! How can you dismiss my words like that?”

“Hah… Haha.”

A bitter laugh escaped from Tang Oe’s lips.

The elder’s confident gaze, believing without a doubt in his own words – it was reminiscent of the Tang Oe from the past, lost in his principles.

“The young ones… can’t be trusted.”

“Um… what do you mean?”

“What could those who haven’t even lived long enough possibly know? Only those who have experienced everything can be deemed worthy to lead the clan.”

“Elder?”

“Yes, that’s how it was. That’s how it was perceived. By me. Women who haven’t mastered the martial arts of Tangga or those who still don’t understand the ways of the world were simply expected to endure and obey.”

Tang Oe looked at Tang Sobo. Though looking exhausted, Tang Sobo’s eyes remained clear and resolute.

“…I’ve been living in vain.”

“E-Elder…”

“Just because one grows older doesn’t make them wise, and being young doesn’t make one foolish. I thought I could somehow guide these stubborn youngsters. But in truth, the real stubborn one was me.”

“I…”

Tang Oe lowered his head.

“There’s no time for more words. Those who are leaving, leave now! And those who are willing to die as elders of the Tang clan, block the rear and hold Maninbang! Tang clan will fight to the bitter end. That’s the duty of those who bear the Tang surname!”

Tang Oe’s eyes flashed with determination, and the elders, inspired by his resolve, responded firmly.

“Yes, Grand Elder!”

Tang Oe turned away, as if refusing to look back.

“Hurry, everyone! The enemies are closing in!”

“Let’s go!”

Tang Oe urged, gripping Tang Sobo’s arm.

“Yes.”

Tang Sobo replied, supporting Tang Oe as they moved forward.

A sad smile persisted on Tang Oe’s lips. Busy footsteps echoed from behind. Most of the elders were undoubtedly determinedly holding the rear, but perhaps some were also fleeing elsewhere.

Yet Tang Oe didn’t bother to look back. He didn’t want to know who stayed and who left. Regardless, everything ultimately fell under Tang Oe’s responsibility.

‘The Tang clan.’

Who were the enemies of the Tang clan?

Were those chasing them with swords the enemies of the Tang clan?

Or perhaps, the one who divided the skilled from the unskilled, the women from the men, the young from the old, and meticulously structured the Tang clan according to a rigid hierarchy – is that person the enemy of the Tang clan?

‘Father…’

The previous head of the family once told Tang Oe, ‘You will never have the right to be the head of the clan. Despite being more skilled and ambitious than your younger brother, you must never become the head of the Tang clan.’

Tang Oe couldn’t understand it then. He was enraged and rebelled, dedicating his life to proving that statement wrong.

But now, he finally understands.

‘It wasn’t me.’

He was never meant to be the head of the family.

He divided everything within the Tang clan. He rigidly categorized and set limits on everything.

Right now, it might seem efficient and beneficial.

Like the young Tang Oe had lamented, perhaps at the moment, the decision could have strengthened the name of Sichuan Tang Clan even more.

However, what the end result will be, Tang Oe now couldn’t tell.

‘Lord.’

He had long resented Tang Gunak.

If Tang Gunak hadn’t been foolishly involved with Hwasan, Tangga wouldn’t have faced such a crisis, he thought.

But… perhaps the one who has created the current crisis for the clan is none other than Tang Oe himself.

If he hadn’t interfered and had believed in the intentions of the Lord, wouldn’t the Tang clan be a stronger and more magnificent place now?

Cough!

“Elder, are you okay?”

Tang Oe turned his head to look at Tang Sobo.

“Sorry…”

“Why are you saying that? Just hang in there a little longer!”

Tang Oe’s lips twitched.

‘I… I realized it too late.’

The image of Tang Jopyeong, who had been vehemently protesting, flashed through his mind. Perhaps that’s what he wanted to say. He might have been expressing it all along with his eyes and gestures, unable to convey it with his clumsy words having spent all his life striking iron.

He might have been shouting it all along, but Tang Oe hadn’t heard. No matter how loudly the people around him shouted, he couldn’t hear anything because he had closed his ears.

If only he had realized this fact a little earlier…

“Oh, they’re coming! They’re coming! Grand Elder!”

Tang Oe involuntarily glanced back for a moment. He didn’t want to see, but he had no choice.

Beyond the distant horizon, racing towards them… a crimson horde. The sight of them spreading across the yellow earth was terrifying in itself. But what Tang Oe saw was not them. It was the man at the center.

The red long robes fluttered in the air. A voice, almost a groan of pain, escaped Tang Oe’s lips.

“Pae… gun.”

He had wanted to see him with his own eyes at least once, but he never wanted to face him like this. At least, not now.

Even from this far distance Jang Ilso’s eyes seemed to eerily pierce through him.

“Ryeonju! They’re here.”

Jang Ilso lightly scratched his eyebrow with his fingernail.

“Hmm, finally here, huh? Looks like we’ve caught up to Tangga.”

“I hardly see anyone capable of fighting! There are only a few old men at best!”

“So it seems.”

“Shall we capture them alive?”

Jeok Ho glanced at Jang Ilso. It was a natural question. Killing them wasn’t particularly impressive, but capturing them as hostages could be far more useful in pressuring Tang Gunak and Cheonumaneg.

But Jang Ilso’s only clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk. That’s why they’re called Sapa bastards.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Take a look.”

Jang Ilso nodded towards the front, prompting Jeok Ho to follow his gaze. The elders of the Tang clan were moving backward, exuding a fierce momentum, like venomous snakes ready to strike.

“Where are you looking? Not there. Look behind.”

“Uh…yes?”

At his words, Jeok Ho glanced at the figures beyond the elders. Children and weeping youngsters. And craftsmen who seemed on the verge of collapse, having not mastered martial arts.

“Do you see?”

“…What do you mean?”

“To know whether they’re enemies or not, you don’t need strength, you need eyes. Look. All those eyes are speaking. They’re ready to fight.”

At that, Jeok Ho found himself nodding involuntarily.

Originally, anyone pursued by Maninbang would be terrified, especially those who hadn’t mastered martial arts. However, the women and craftsmen looking back at this side were filled with venom in their eyes.

“Strength or weakness doesn’t matter. What’s important is the will to fight. Anyone who sets foot on this land with the will to fight is considered a warrior.”

“…”

“And even if the opponent is not a martial artist, it’s only our duty to be polite. Understand?”

“Yes, Ryeonju!”

“Good.”

Jang Ilso’s lips suddenly curled upward.

“Kill them all. Leave none alive.”

“As you command!”

At Jeok Ho’s gesture, Maninbang’s warriors surged forward.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

Watching them charge out, Jang Ilso murmured quietly.

“It seems like a bit much for a drink, but… understand that this is the way of the Evil Sect.”

His oily eyes narrowed like a waning moon.