CLS-Chapter 589

Chapter 589:

Devastating.

Kwon Geuk could think of no other word to describe the battlefield.

The earth was torn apart, and on that ruined ground, those who had lost their reason wailed aimlessly. Those who had fallen before they could escape had become cold corpses, growing chill in the frigid air.

Blood flowing from the corpses formed streams.

Defeat.

It was a defeat more tragic than any he had experienced in those long days of battle.

Even the Demonic Cult had never delivered such a one-sided defeat to Kwon Geuk. There were times of defeat, but there were also times of victory. Even more terrible defeats had given him opportunities for revenge.

But not now.

He no longer had any more chances. He would have to die carrying this defeat.

This fact made Kwon Geuk feel somewhat melancholy.

‘A complete defeat.’

There are battles that one gains by losing. Sometimes there are defeats more valuable than victory, and Kwon Geuk knew this.

But at least this battle was not one of them.

Nothing was gained.

They had discovered nothing.

Kwon Geuk’s eyes took in those who wandered about, unable to overcome their madness. At least half of those who had come here were suffering from such symptoms.

If they had found the cause of the change.

If they had discovered why all of them had suffered seizures simultaneously, there would have been room for counterattack. But while Kwon Geuk had saved the lives of those who should have died here, he could not save the lives of those who would die in the future.

Having failed to find a solution, he had merely delayed the approaching tragedy by a little.

‘So blue.’

Lifting his head slightly to look, he could see the blue sky. Whatever tragedy had occurred on the ground, the sky remained only blue.

Kwon Geuk wanted to live like that.

Though his body might be soaked in blood and death, he wanted his heart to always remain blue.

But only regret remained.

“Alliance Leader.”

Kwon Geuk slowly turned his head.

“…Young Clan Leader.”

The moment Baek Hoe-myeong met eyes with Kwon Geuk, he bit his lips firmly.

His resentment toward Jianghu was deep and profound. But… even so, he could not burn hatred toward this man alone.

How could one hate someone who had devoted everything to Jianghu and was dying like a withered flower? He could only feel awe.

“Still, it’s just Jianghu.”

A fleeting voice.

Like smoke that rises into the air and disappears, it sounded utterly fleeting.

“Even if one cannot forget resentment, one can still show mercy.”

“……”

Baek Hoe-myeong could not say anything.

There were over a thousand words of rebuttal. But that would be too cruel to this dying man.

“Please go your own way. As a senior of Jianghu, this is all I can say.”

“…Do you still consider me a junior of Jianghu?”

Kwon Geuk smiled gently.

“Didn’t I say it? In the end, it’s just Jianghu. Conflicts and resentments are ultimately just one aspect of Jianghu. Looking back in the future, they’ll remain only as days of quarreling.”

“I am…”

Baek Hoe-myeong, who had been moving his lips, shook his head.

No, no.

He would just let him go.

Understanding Baek Hoe-myeong’s intention, Kwon Geuk slowly turned his head to look at the sky again.

“So blue.”

There was only regret.

But there was no regret.

It would have been good if he had done a little better, but he had done everything he could. His foolishness was also just something he had to carry. He had done his best. That was enough.

‘Yeon-ho, you rascal.’

The face that came to his mind in his final moment was not his lifelong friend Shin Gi-sua Cho Hyeon, nor the family he had sent far away.

Wei Yeon-ho.

Wei Yeon-ho’s image hazily overlapped with the sky.

‘I’m leaving you with too much burden.’

Even so, he wasn’t too worried. That fellow strangely made people believe in him.

“…Just Jianghu.”

Kwon Geuk Sama Cheon-se.

Those were his last words to the world.

Watching Kwon Geuk’s corpse as it stiffened and grew cold while gazing at the sky, Baek Hoe-myeong let out a quiet sigh.

‘Is this revenge?’

It wasn’t as satisfying as he had thought.

And it wasn’t as pleasant as he had expected either.

There was no thrill of having made the opponent suffer the same pain as them. What remained was only an indescribable unpleasantness and a little sadness.

“Young Clan Leader, I shall sever this man’s head.”

“…What did you say?”

“It’s the head of the Righteous Martial Alliance Leader. It would greatly help lower the enemy’s morale and raise our allies’ morale…”

“Listen here, Gui-hon.”

Gui-hon, realizing that Baek Hoe-myeong’s voice was ominous, bowed his head.

“Yes, Young Clan Leader.”

“As a retainer of the Baek Family, your words are excellent.”

“Thank you.”

“But as a martial artist, they’re the worst. This man is at least someone who deserves respect as a martial artist. Isn’t that so?”

“…My thinking was short-sighted.”

Baek Hoe-myeong clicked his tongue.

“Bury him in a sunny place. A grave might be a luxury for a martial artist, but he’s someone who deserves that much luxury.”

“I will do as you command.”

Baek Hoe-myeong turned his head to take Kwon Geuk’s corpse into his eyes again. His shabby back seemed to still be speaking to him.

‘Just Jianghu…’

Baek Hoe-myeong shook his head and moved forward past Kwon Geuk’s corpse. He heard something collapsing behind him, but he didn’t bother to look back.

He didn’t want to see that person’s fallen form.

“What’s the situation?”

“Those who escaped the encirclement are fleeing after joining with the Beggar’s Sect.”

“Pursue them.”

“We’ve already begun the pursuit. However, regarding what to do with these fellows…”

Baek Hoe-myeong looked at the madmen who were growling like beasts that had lost their reason, and curled up the corners of his mouth.

“What should we do?”

Originally, their plan was to have these people and the Righteous Martial Alliance destroy each other. But that plan was thwarted by Kwon Geuk’s sacrifice.

What remained was only useless trash. These madmen had no reason. They could be made to rampage, but they couldn’t be made to follow orders.

“Leave them be.”

“However…”

“Getting rid of them would be one method, but to deal with those fellows, we would also suffer losses. There’s no need to dirty our hands to clean up things that will die on their own if left alone.”

“You speak truly.”

Those without reason do not act on their own. They only react to stimuli. If left alone, they would soon die, whether from starvation or from qi deviation. Why bother touching such people?

“More importantly…”

Baek Hoe-myeong came to a clean conclusion.

“We need to focus on proper pursuit.”

“Yes!”

Pursuit warfare is the basics of military strategy. There’s nothing easier than stabbing the backs of those fleeing without resistance. Isn’t the time when the most military achievements occur precisely when pursuing fleeing enemies?

“Cut off their breath. The battle isn’t over yet!”

“Yes, sir!”

Watching his subordinates begin to move, Baek Hoe-myeong slightly frowned.

‘Is this the depth of Jianghu’s power?’

A completely unexpected variable had occurred. But that too could be called their strength. To have someone who could act like that in such a situation leading them as Alliance Leader – how could that be called luck?

It felt like the plan had gone awry from the start, but it was still alright. Perhaps he had achieved even greater results than massacring countless people.

The fact that Kwon Geuk had died here would work fatally against them.

“Those immortal demons of the Demonic Cult will surely rampage, but we must endure that much.”

Baek Hoe-myeong shook his head and moved forward. He felt like looking back, but he never turned his head in the end.

The image he needed to remember was already in his heart. It would be better for him to be remembered as a martial artist who was an enemy but could be respected.

***

The atmosphere couldn’t be more frigid.

A silence so complete that even the sound of a falling needle would ring like thunder filled the room.

“Like that…”

Chilji Shin-gae let out a deep sigh.

“That was the last thing I saw.”

His voice was tinged with regret.

“I don’t know what happened to the Alliance Leader. I didn’t confirm the Alliance Leader’s corpse with my own eyes. But… the result is obvious without seeing it.”

Everyone knew.

That there was no chance for Kwon Geuk, left alone, to survive. The enemy might try to take Kwon Geuk as a hostage, but Kwon Geuk was not someone who would preserve his life that way.

He would choose death over becoming a hostage. That was Kwon Geuk Sama Cheon-se.

“After that, the pursuit began. That was truly terrible.”

“How many did we lose?”

Chilji Shin-gae shook his head.

“I don’t know well.”

“You don’t know…”

“I had to prioritize what was important. What I had to do wasn’t to save those remaining there. That was something anyone could do. What I had to do was to run faster than a bird and report this fact to headquarters. That’s why I left them behind. Because I was the fastest.”

Gazes of blame and resentment turned toward Chilji Shin-gae.

Blamed for leaving Sama Cheon-se to die like that and returning alone with his life preserved.

But Shin Gi-sua was not losing his reason.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“…Military Strategist.”

“Thanks to your quick report, we can now discuss countermeasures. Jianghu will not forget the Beggar’s Sect’s sacrifice.”

Chilji Shin-gae bit his lips firmly.

Everyone bowed their heads.

Just looking at his severed arm, one could tell what great adversity Chilji Shin-gae had overcome to be here. Moreover, the Beggar’s Sect beggars he had led were generally inferior in skill to disciples of other sects.

Since he had abandoned command and rushed here, the Beggar’s Sect’s casualties would inevitably be the greatest. Shin Gi-sua was pointing this out.

“So the Alliance Leader has passed away.”

Wei Jeong-han’s voice rang out bitterly.

Though they knew it wasn’t the time to show sadness, everyone couldn’t bring themselves to continue speaking. The moment they said more, it would become an acknowledgment that Sama Cheon-se had truly died, so no one could easily open their mouths.

“Let’s discuss countermeasures.”

Finally, it was Shin Gi-sua who spoke.

“I know what everyone is thinking, but that wouldn’t be what the Alliance Leader would want either. What would he say if he saw us now?”

“Hmm.”

“The Military Strategist is right.”

Shin Gi-sua’s eyes turned to Chilji Shin-gae.

“Branch Leader, I know it’s difficult, but we need more information. So those who went to Anhui are still being pursued?”

“Probably so. By now, the outcome has roughly been decided… I don’t know exactly. I did hear information from beggars I released along the way, but the movement has been so urgent.”

“Then wouldn’t supporting that place be the first priority?”

Voices of agreement erupted from here and there, when a quiet voice flowed out.

Quiet but powerful, a voice that could not be ignored.

“There’s something we need to resolve before that.”

Wei Yeon-ho.

The gazes of those present turned to Wei Yeon-ho.