Chapter 83

Chapter 83

From ancient times, the martial world has had a few sayings that are used like truths.

Things like hiding three parts of your skill, being careful of old people, women, and children. And things like a master’s sword tip is always half a chi longer than you think.

What particularly resonated with Baek Risan was the saying “a martial artist shouldn’t gamble.” Not meaning don’t enter gambling dens, but rather never bet your life on a probability worth only a few coins, and you must certainly seize victory.

Right now, Baek Risan was about to break that admonition she had kept her whole life.

For a probability of victory worth barely a few coins.

Whooooosh!

“……Damn it.”

Baek Risan, who examined her surroundings while wrapping her body in white flames, spat out a curse. The forest of the canyon swaying quietly, contrary to Baek Risan’s urgent heart.

“Why…….”

Already the second time.

Baek Risan’s lips, unable to find what she wanted, pressed tightly and gradually twisted.

‘Time is…… sufficient.’

Quite some time has passed since the green signal flare that was to be fired when the base camp was attacked went up.

In that time, Baek Risan searched two directions. Because she dashed recklessly without caring at all about being discovered by the opponent, it was a feat that was possible.

She searched faster than expected, so the plan changed a bit. What she thought would end at searching three directions became having enough time to search four directions, enough time to search all the eastern directions.

If her calculation that the opponent’s flag is located in the east is correct, she’ll definitely be able to find the enemy’s flag before the defense line breaks.

Then why is her heart pounding with such anxiety?

‘……It’s just the tension of battle.’

It’s a hasty worry. Isn’t it just that her nerves are on edge because she failed to get the right answer twice?

Baek Risan, who forcibly suppressed the rising anxiety, shook her head and confirmed the number of cases. Two remaining locations.

‘Starting from the closest place.’

Since she came up from the south, she’s been proceeding with searches in order from close to the south. The completed directions are east-south-south and east-east-south.

What remains are east-east-north and east-north-north. The flag would be in one of the two, so the probability is one in two, isn’t it?

Whooooosh!

‘Don’t hesitate.’

Baek Risan, who steeled her heart, kicked off the ground and wrapped flames around her body. Baek Risan deploying qinggong with full power.

‘At this rate.’

If the search speed is faster than expected like now, she can win. She can break Baek Riyun’s strategy, avoid the Muryeon Hall’s dagger, and lead Mujeong Hall to victory.

And if that happens, Baek Riyun will have no choice but to tell her the ‘truth.’ Like before, he’ll return to being a good person who hides nothing from her.

“Hides nothing?”

Something’s strange.

Baek Risan, who had been dashing, stopped her feet at the anxiety tremendously squeezing her heart. A feeling as if she’s missing something.

“What is it?”

She reasoned and reasoned to reach here in an extremely unfavorable situation. Yet the feeling that she’s missing something doesn’t disappear.

Then what did she miss?

What is the crucial thing she missed?

Baek Risan, who had been keeping her hand on a tree for a moment, fell into thought while letting out a groan. And.

A short while later.

Baek Risan’s eyes flew open.

“Something’s, strange.”

Thinking about it, that’s right.

The directions she can search are at most four. Adding the directions others searched makes three more. Combining these makes seven directions.

Out of sixteen directions, seven. In terms of probability, it means with just over forty percent probability Muryeon Hall could lose.

Of course, there’s no disagreement that Muryeon Hall’s odds of winning are higher. Since Muryeon Hall, inferior to Mujeong Hall in martial power, can show this level of winning probability, it’s plenty good enough to call it a good strategy.

To further reduce that probability.

If they were obsessively trying to reduce the forty percent probability with the determination that they must win, what would the opponent have chosen?

Thud!

Baek Risan, who had been standing blankly, closed her eyes at the hypothesis that occurred to her. And soon the answer that became clearly visible.

“I was fooled.”

Yes. She was fooled.

From the mouth of Baek Risan, who stood there dumbfounded, a voice flowed out as if ground to pieces. Anger boiling up uncontrollably.

‘Heogwan and Jongdo were alive in the south.’

Because Heogwan and Jongdo were alive, she thought there couldn’t be a flag in the south. From the opponent’s position, that would be efficient.

But didn’t the opponents think from her position, from the Mujeongwando’s position?

‘That can’t be.’

If the Muryeongwando thought from Baek Risan’s, from the Mujeongwando’s perspective, they would have left alive those in positions close to their own flag. Because that way there are no variables.

If they don’t see through the scheme, they won’t be discovered in the first place. Because there are marks indicating exploration has already been completed.

Even if the scheme is seen through, they wouldn’t search the places where survivors exist. Because to anyone’s eyes, it’s more advantageous to cut off opponents starting from places close to the flag.

If they dug into that thought’s loophole and deliberately left Jongdo and Heogwan alive, the opponent can seize victory without variables.

And that direction isn’t east but another direction.

“South……!”

Baek Risan, who organized all her thoughts, gritted her teeth and pulled up her internal energy with full power. No longer just lightly wrapping around her surroundings, internal energy materialized to the point where she looked like an incarnation of flames.

‘I’m not too late!’

Right now.

Now that she realized the truth before heading further north, perhaps it might be possible. Though time is pressing, if she runs with full power, she might be able to make it in time.

Baek Risan, who pulled up even the strength to think, moved her legs with full power. Her body that had headed to the northeast passed the east-south-south direction and passed the east-east-south direction.

‘Not here.’

She passed the place Jongdo and Heogwan searched, and passed through the forest densely packed with trees. Following where her senses led, following where the warning bell rang.

At the end of her desperate dash.

South, among that the far end of southwest.

The moment she spotted Dan Riyeon standing beside a flag located on a hill.

“Get——out——of——the——way——!”

Baek Risan, who roared, extended her sword.

Blindingly white flames split the air.

Rewinding time a bit, back to the spectator seats.

“It’s over.”

“She noticed too late.”

At Baek Risan’s figure belatedly dashing toward the answer, the Sado Alliance Leader calmly stated the facts and quietly turned his gaze. Daesageom already watching the image with a hardened expression.

“What was his name, Seonwoo Gang? Your disciple’s name.”

“That disciple. Doesn’t look like he’s coming back.”

At the Sado Alliance Leader’s words, Daesageom clenched his fist. Because it didn’t look different to his eyes either.

‘I knew his talent was outstanding originally.’

The Orthodox Martial World probably thinks Namgung Hyeon and Baek Risan are tremendous geniuses, but Seonwoo Gang, who was Daesageom’s disciple, also has talent not inferior to those two.

In the first place, if it weren’t so, there would have been no need to deliberately take him as a disciple. Originally Daesageom already had one disciple, and that disciple’s talent also wasn’t ordinary. However.

‘That’s…… not the Evil Path’s sword.’

He could tell the moment he saw it. It’s different from the Evil Path’s sword that bites, kills, and desperately wins. It tears at the enemy.

Of course, the temperament  might be the same. Seonwoo Gang’s talent was finicky, something that couldn’t be contained in Orthodox Path martial arts but could only reveal its true form in such rough martial arts.

But what about the true meaning contained within? Is that the Evil Path’s? Sticky and venomous?

‘Rather, Orthodox Path’s……’

Yes. That sword which considers others, respects and honors them.

Is close to the Orthodox Path’s.

“……It seems I’ll need to have a talk.”

“Those words are welcome. I’m also not pleased about the Evil Path’s rising star crossing over to the Orthodox Path. But for now, suppress it.”

“Mm.”

At the Sado Alliance Leader’s calm tone, Daesageom, who unconsciously suppressed the energy he was emitting, looked around. Those avoiding his gaze, unable to even breathe in the chilly atmosphere.

“I showed an unseemly side.”

“No one will say anything to you for that. Rather, look at the current situation. What do you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems Muryeon Hall has won.”

Daesageom, who heard the words, nodded while looking at the two images floating before his eyes. Because those words weren’t wrong.

“Even going at that speed, she won’t arrive in time.”

Realizing the enemy’s trap midway was good. Though because it wasn’t Baek Riyun but the Muryeongwando who devised it themselves, it was a clumsy scheme with rough spots here and there, that didn’t mean the content itself was crude.

A strategy devised from the opponent’s position is difficult to foil unless you change perspectives and look at it. From that perspective, Baek Risan’s actions were by no means slow. Rather, they deserved applause.

However.

‘Muryeon Hall was faster than that.’

It’s visible. The appearance of the Mujeongwando barely holding out.

The number that was initially nine has now decreased to seven. And that speed is gradually accelerating.

The time it took to decrease from nine to eight is much shorter than the time it took to decrease from eight to seven.

That speed change won’t differ going forward either. The fortifications they had constructed have all been dismantled, and the Mujeongwando’s stamina has been exhausted.

Namgung Hyeon is fighting fiercely, but even so, there are limits to protecting everything with one person’s fierce battle. Daesageom, who finished his judgment, looked at Baek Riyun sitting in the distance with a newly impressed expression.

“It won’t be easy.”

“What won’t?”

“That young man.”

What was it, thirty-two years old this year?

At best, a rising star, or an age where he could be said to have just shed the rising star label. In terms of a martial artist’s age, it’s an age where it would be acceptable to call him a youngster.

But whether looking at the energy flowing out or the strategy coming from that head, he’s not an opponent to take lightly. In honest feelings, he wanted to give him a protector position at Hyeolgeommun and bring him over.

“Huuu. Anyway, in this bet, Ryeonju has won. Do as you wish.”

“The bet?”

“Didn’t we bet on whether Mujeong Hall would win or Muryeon Hall would win? It’s regrettable that I can’t restrain your actions, but…….”

Daesageom, who looked around, let out a hollow laugh.

“Anyway, once this competition ends, outside eyes will disappear too, so it’ll be fine. Do as you wish.”

“……Is that so? I won.”

At Daesageom’s words, the Sado Alliance Leader nodded calmly as if it didn’t matter and lowered his gaze. Inside the image, Mujeong Hall and Muryeon Hall were clashing fiercely.

‘As expected.’

The Mujeongwando fall one by one. Before Baek Risan arrives at the flag, they decrease to six, to five, again to four, to three, and now only Namgung Hyeon remains.

There’s absolutely no case where Mujeong Hall wins. From the moment that Baek Riyun, the match’s principal, intervened, he knew this would happen. What he did was just make the plate bigger and extend his hand to tear off even one piece of meat.

‘I’m greedy.’

Baek Riyun showed an appearance as expected. But that expected appearance will soon become a crack and also become suspicion to swallow the Orthodox Martial World.

That’s enough. The planted seed will someday grow and bear fruit. He just needs to wait with anticipation, whatever the result. Like he always has until now.

“Is it over now? It was more boring than I thought.”

The Sado Alliance Leader, who finished his thoughts, wore a faint smile and looked down at the image. The Muryeongwando already striking down even Namgung Hyeon and approaching the flag, and Baek Risan just arriving at the position where Muryeon Hall’s flag is visible, roaring.

There’s no upset. The bet is his victory. Unless Baek Risan became an absolute master, this distance gap can’t be closed.

There’s absolutely no probability that Baek Risan can win. However.

——Until not Mujeong Hall’s flag but Muryeon Hall’s flag broke before that.

Shwaaaaaak!

Crack!

“……Wh, what in the world.”

In a situation where everyone stared blankly at the image, unable to even grasp what was happening, the Sado Alliance Leader looked at the image for a moment then covered his face with his hand. And soon the mad laughter that flowed out.

“Heuheu. Hahaha. Hahahahaha-!”

Delightful.

The current situation was unbearably delightful. Because everything flowed according to prediction, then twisted just now.

It twisted with one last moment. All the Sado Alliance Leader’s plans became trash just now. They foiled it. His plan that no one was conscious of, or even if conscious couldn’t guess how to foil!

And that thought is probably.

‘Baek Riyun. It would be you.’

He remembers when he first arrived here.

Didn’t the Muryeongwando clearly say victory would belong entirely to Muryeon Hall?

“Truly just as those words said.”

The Sado Alliance Leader sent applause with genuinely rising joy.

At the end of his gaze.

Dan Riyeon stood proudly.

Holding Muryeon Hall’s flag that she herself broke.