CLS-Chapter 521

Chapter 521:

“How ominous.”

Jin Yeo-hoe, who was guarding the Righteous Martial Alliance’s Zhejiang branch located in Hangzhou, frowned at the thick fog that had settled.

There’s a saying: ‘Above there is paradise, below there are Su and Hangzhou,’ which shows just how prosperous Hangzhou is. [TL/N: “Su” is Suzhou and “Hangzhou” is another famous Chinese city; the saying means these two cities are so beautiful and prosperous that they’re like paradise on earth.]

All the world’s pleasures gather here, and all the world’s joys come together. Day and night, it’s a city always filled with bustling sounds – that was Hangzhou.

But today’s Hangzhou was strangely quiet.

The fog that had settled so thickly you couldn’t see an inch ahead was transforming Hangzhou into somewhere different from the place he knew.

“The weather seems quite unsettling.”

“When has it ever not been?”

“Still…”

When Jin Yeo-hoe started grumbling, Gwak Sa snorted.

“Is fog settling something that happens just once or twice?”

“But today feels a bit strange. It’s somehow eerie.”

“That’s because your mind isn’t at ease, you fool. Everything in the world depends on how you think about it.”

Jin Yeo-hoe fell into thought.

‘Is that really it?’

When he thought about it, it wasn’t entirely wrong. Fog often settles in Hangzhou. He had seen this sight several times before. Though the fog was thicker than usual today, there was no reason to feel this ominous.

“Hmm…”

“Since everything’s been so chaotic, even trivial things catch your attention.”

“Is that so?”

“Isn’t that how people are?”

Gwak Sa shook his head.

“Actually, I feel just as unsettled.”

“You too, hyung-nim?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Gwak Sa let out a deep sigh. Even trying to stay calm, the situation made it impossible to remain composed.

‘Demon Cult, Hundred Sword Castle – what in the world is going on?’

Anyone could tell that the world was in chaos. The Demon Cult had emerged from Mount Hua, and there were even rumors that Hundred Sword Castle was involved with the Demon Cult’s emergence.

‘Nonsense.’

What would Hundred Sword Castle possibly want by joining hands with the Demon Cult?

Hundred Sword Castle was a prestigious sect among prestigious sects.

No matter how Shaolin’s reputation reaches the heavens, and the fame of Wudang and Mount Hua dominates the Central Plains, if you asked young people today to name just one sect they most wanted to join, anyone would unhesitatingly choose Hundred Sword Castle.

Number one sect under heaven.

Yes. The place most fitting for the title “number one under heaven” was neither Shaolin nor Wudang, but precisely Hundred Sword Castle.

Though their history was still short and they hadn’t yet gained recognition for their depth, isn’t history something that accumulates with the flow of time?

If things continued this way, Hundred Sword Castle would become the representative of the Central Plains and the sect wielding the greatest influence under heaven. So why would they go crazy and get entangled with the Demon Cult, ruining their own future?

‘Such a thing could never happen, absolutely never.’

Common sense dictated it could never happen.

But isn’t there a saying about three men make a tiger?

The number of people spreading these nonsensical rumors was increasing. So he couldn’t simply dismiss it as nonsense.

‘Why aren’t the higher-ups giving any indication about this situation?’

When he asked the branch leader, he only got answers saying he didn’t know.

Well, this level of matter wasn’t something a mere branch leader could know about. He might be able to guess, but he couldn’t give a definitive answer. Only those high up in the main headquarters would know what was really happening.

“I wish they’d at least say something to put our minds at ease.”

“…I suppose everyone feels the same way.”

Gwak Sa gave a bitter smile.

‘Even if we knew, what could we do about it?’

Sometimes knowing is power, and sometimes not knowing is medicine. Seeking the truth to satisfy curiosity and interest can sometimes bring great disaster.

Hundred Sword Castle joined hands with the Demon Cult?

Then what would they do?

Would they gather their forces right now and charge into Hundred Sword Castle?

Ridiculous.

Hundred Sword Castle wasn’t that easy to deal with. If the Righteous Martial Alliance concentrated its forces eastward to attack Hundred Sword Castle, the Demon Cult would push in from behind. Then the west would be finished.

Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu would be completely destroyed.

“Listen, Yeo-hoe.”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

“What would you do if the Demon Cult came attacking?”

“What do you mean by that? We’d have to fight.”

“Fight…”

Gwak Sa clenched and unclenched his fist.

‘If it were as easy as you say, there’d be no need for worry.’

Gwak Sa had never directly experienced war. When war broke out, he was too young and wasn’t allowed to go directly to the battlefield. Though he shouted that he could fight well enough, deep in his heart was filled with fear.

He believed without doubt that his senior brothers, stronger than anyone, would go to the battlefield and crush those Demon Cult bastards. But they didn’t return.

When the number of senior brothers who couldn’t even return as corpses increased, Gwak Sa came to understand how terrifying war was.

‘I’ll understand if I experience it.’

Humans react sensitively to the death of one or two people, but become numb when the scale of death grows larger.

When people die by the tens and hundreds, you understand the seriousness, but when those deaths exceed ten thousand or a hundred thousand, you accept the situation not as death but as an event.

You can’t know without experiencing it directly.

That fear, that horror.

But that war was coming again.

Those who boldly cry out for resistance would soon learn what war truly was.

“No matter how terrifying those Demon Cult bastards are, aren’t we the Righteous Martial Alliance?”

“That’s right. Hehe.”

“We’ve always been the ones who won in the end. So it’ll be the same this time.”

Gwak Sa didn’t answer.

‘Victory…’

What meaning did that have?

If you had to choose between defeat where I survive and victory where I die, what should you choose?

It wasn’t a matter of winning or losing.

There are no victors in war. Everyone is a loser.

‘It would be better not to know.’

Since it was an unavoidable result anyway, it would be better to accept the future like that.

“I hear you’re hoping war breaks out soon.”

“Honestly, I can’t say I don’t have such feelings.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not a thoughtless fool either.”

“Then why do you say such things?”

Jin Yeo-hoe looked at Gwak Sa with strange eyes and spoke.

“Hyung-nim.”

“Speak up, man.”

“How far do you think I can rise if things continue as they are?”

“…”

Gwak Sa spoke somewhat self-deprecatingly.

“A lowly warrior guarding a branch entrance. That’s my current situation. Even if ten or twenty years pass like this, what would really change? I’d just become an aged lowly warrior.”

“You’re… subtly insulting me, aren’t you…”

“Come on, would I do such a thing? This is fine too. It’s not bad. Living stably like this, raising children – it’s not bad at all. But shouldn’t a man live with at least one dream in his heart?”

“A dream?”

“To become a hero.”

“Ha…”

Gwak Sa couldn’t hide his expression of disbelief.

“Hasn’t it always been said that turbulent times create heroes?”

“Hey, man. Can just anyone become a hero?”

“It’s not like people are predetermined from birth to become heroes, is it?”

“That’s also a position you can only seize if you have the ability. With your skills, is becoming a hero even remotely possible?”

“Who knows. Maybe I’ll encounter a great opportunity. Even if not, you don’t necessarily have to be strong to become a hero. Just watch. I’ll definitely seize the opportunity.”

“Good grief.”

Gwak Sa clicked his tongue.

While it was true that turbulent times call forth heroes, wasn’t that also the portion of those who had been steadily preparing in normal times?

“Listen, that opportunity doesn’t come to just anyone.”

“I believe that opportunity will come to me.”

“…”

Just as Gwak Sa was about to say something, a quiet voice was heard.

“Perhaps now is that opportunity.”

Gwak Sa’s head whipped around.

‘When?’

He hadn’t felt even a trace of presence.

No matter how thick the fog was, you don’t track a person’s presence with your eyes alone. Yet he hadn’t detected any presence at all while someone approached this close?

‘A master!’

Gwak Sa’s face hardened.

It wasn’t strange for masters to frequent this place. No matter that this was just a branch, this was the Righteous Martial Alliance. Countless renowned figures from across the land stopped by here.

But Gwak Sa couldn’t relax his tension at all.

If it were such people, there would be no reason to approach this far while concealing their presence. Those who deliberately hide their presence always have ill intentions.

“Wh-who are you!”

Gwak Sa shouted urgently.

His voice was loud. Though it wasn’t quite time to sound an immediate alarm, since the situation seemed serious, he was trying to let those inside know that someone with bad intentions had come.

“Didn’t I say? I’m someone who came to give you an opportunity. You said you wanted to become a hero?”

A person’s form emerged from within the fog.

‘Th-that!’

Gwak Sa’s eyes grew wider and wider.

The figure who revealed himself was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with nothing particularly special about him. Wearing pure white martial robes with a sword at his waist.

Gwak Sa’s gaze turned to the martial robes the man wore.

The sword-shaped embroidery on the left chest.

That alone was enough for Gwak Sa to know where the man had come from.

“Wh-why has someone from Hundred Sword Castle come here?”

The man in Hundred Sword Castle robes smiled coldly.

“How many times must I say it? I told you I came to give you an opportunity.”

“You said an opportunity?”

The man no longer looked at Gwak Sa. His gaze turned to Jin Yeo-hoe.

Flinch.

Jin Yeo-hoe, meeting the man’s gaze, trembled. The moment that gaze touched him, he felt as if his entire body was being pierced by sharp swords.

“You said you wanted to become a hero?”

“…”

Jin Yeo-hoe couldn’t answer.

The mockery embedded in those words stiffened his body. Even a three-year-old child could tell that this question didn’t stem from goodwill.

“Then I’ll give you an opportunity. Now, listen carefully. From now on, a great crisis will befall you, the Righteous Martial Alliance, and all under heaven. This place will become the starting point. If you can stop us, you might be able to become a hero.”

Step, step.

Footstep sounds began to drown out the man’s words. Through the thick fog behind the man, hazy human forms appeared.

‘Th-there’s more than one or two.’

Gwak Sa bit his lips hard.

The thing he thought could never happen had finally occurred.

“Now, try to stop us. Perhaps this place will become where a hero of the world is born. Being able to witness such a sight would be an incomparable honor. Of course…”

The man smiled broadly.

“That would be if you manage to stop us. If not, you’ll die here.”

Gwak Sa blew his horn with all his might.

Piiiiiiiiiiiik!

A sharp warning sound erupted, but the man didn’t bother to stop Gwak Sa.

“What an impolite fellow.”

The man slowly drew his sword.

“No matter. We’ll soon become people who don’t need to worry about courtesy.”

The man’s teeth showed as Hundred Sword Castle warriors emerged from the fog with drawn swords, charging forward like arrows.

“Kill them all.”

Cold killing intent appeared on the man’s face.