Looking at each other from opposite sides (3)

 

The Ten Blood Demons were recognized as the greatest masters of the Celestial Demon Troupe.

 

Other than their leader, Go Geom-wol, it was said there was no one who could stand against them. . Yet even when two such masters joined forces, they were instantly subdued by Lee Gwak.

 

Jang San and Guk Sah-wan were not men who should have died so easily.

 

To the warriors of Celestial Demon Troupe, the two were invincible, indestructible existences. They were living myths.

 

And such martial artists were killed in an instant by Lee Gwak.

 

To the Celestial Demon Troupe warriors, it felt as if the sky had fallen.

 

They had already heard of Yang Gwang-baek, the leader of the Ten Blood Demons, being killed by Lee Gwak. But hearing about it secondhand and witnessing it with their own eyes were as different as heaven and earth.

 

“My God!”

 

“For the two elders to fall so helplessly like that…”

 

The Celestial Demon Troupe martial artists couldn’t collect their thoughts.

 

Even though they saw it with their own eyes, they couldn’t believe it.

 

The scene unfolding before their eyes felt that unreal.

 

Their morale plummeted in an instant.

 

“Drive out the Celestial Demon Troupe bastards!”

 

“Push them back!”

 

Meanwhile, the morale of the Thousand Kingdom School martial artists increased.

 

Even without knowing who this powerful ally was, his presence alone inspired them.

 

And Lee Gwak wasn’t alone.

 

Sa Yeon-hee and the warriors of Martial Sword Troupe had joined as well, shaking the entire battlefield.

 

“Guh!”

 

“What the hell is happening?!”

 

Now it was the Celestial Demon Troupe warriors who were panicking.

 

Though they tried to regain focus and fight back, their coordination was already broken.

 

Above all, Lee Gwak’s presence was suffocating to them.

 

After killing Jang San and Guk Sa-hwan, Lee Gwak had not moved.

 

At a glance, it seemed he might have suffered internal injuries, but no Celestial Demon Troupe warrior dared to approach him. His very presence was overwhelming.

 

He simply stood there, watching the battlefield.

 

 

 

The tide of the battlefield had already begun to shift in favor of his allies, and he didn’t need to lift a finger.

 

Outmatched in morale, the Celestial Demon Troupe warriors had no choice but to retreat. But they didn’t abandon their comrades to save themselves.

 

Instead, they continued to counter the Thousand Kingdom School and the Martial Sword Troupe as they fell back.

 

Though they were the enemy, it was an admirable sight.

 

Lee Gwak thought that this discipline was the secret to Celestial Demon Troupe’s ability to accumulate enough strength to stand against the entire Jianghu.

 

They never abandoned their comrades nor acted rashly to save themselves.

 

Their mindset was entirely devoted to the survival of the Celestial Demon Troupe, even at the expense of their own lives.

 

Such a mindset was not cultivated overnight. It was the product of generations of loyalty and devotion, so deeply ingrained it became second nature.

 

Even one or two warriors with such resolve would be impressive, yet nearly all of Celestial Demon Troupe’s warriors displayed it.

 

Lee Gwak felt the terrifying strength of the Celestial Demon Troupe again. Yet that wasn’t the only reason he wasn’t moving.

 

His gaze was fixed on a distant point.

 

Beyond the retreating Celestial Demon Troupe warriors, far in the distance, stood their main army formation.

 

He was locking eyes with a man there.

 

‘Go Geom-wol.’

 

Though the distance was too great for the naked eye, Lee Gwak could feel Go Geom-wol’s gaze.

 

Across dozens of li, Go Geom-wol stared at him.

 

At that gaze, Lee Gwak’s whole body tingled.

 

His instincts warned him.

 

That was why he could not move any further.

 

He felt that if he shifted his eyes even slightly, Go Geom-wol would strike.

 

Distance meant nothing between the two.

 

They were strong enough to close it in an instant and engage each other.

 

But neither made a move.

 

They were both holding each other in check.

 

Lee Gwak’s intervention had been so sudden that Go Geom-wol had no time to act. Likewise, Lee Gwak could no longer participate in the fight to prevent Go Geom-wol’s intervention.

 

They recognized each other’s presence and were in a stalemate.

 

 

 

But the people around them weren’t aware of this fact. Neither Go Geom-wol’s closest men nor the Thousand Kingdom School’s martial artists could understand why they remained motionless, looking on with puzzled expressions.

 

‘You finally came this far.’

 

‘Only now have I finally reached your level.’

 

They read each other’s thoughts through their gazes alone.

 

Fierce battles still raged around them, but the area where Lee Gwak stood was as quiet as if time had stopped.

 

It was the same where Go Geom-wol stood.

 

Although the Celestial Demon Troupe’s masters were stationed around him, they dared not speak to him and could only watch.

 

Finally, the Celestial Demon Troupe martial artists completely withdrew. Only then did Lee Gwak and Go Geom-wol avert their gazes from each other.

 

“Great Hero Lee!”

 

Namgung In limped towards Lee Gwak.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“These kinds of injuries are nothing. I sincerely thank you for your help, Great Hero Lee.”

 

Namgung In made a fist-and-palm salute towards Lee Gwak.

Lee Gwak also returned the salute towards him and spoke.

 

“The situation was urgent, so I rushed ahead alone. The martial artists from the Mad Martial Sect will join us soon.”

 

“Thank you. Having you with us is a great comfort.”

 

“Aren’t we all comrades under the heavens? Of course we must stand together.”

 

“Easier said than done. How many can actually act on that? I, Namgung In, will never forget your kindness until the day I die.”

 

“It’s not too late to give thanks after we completely overcome this crisis. We’ve only put out the immediate fire. A greater ember remains.”

 

Namgung In nodded.

 

At that moment, Sa Yeon-hee approached, dragging someone by the scruff of the neck.  It was Go Mu-yeong, the leader of the White Flower Group.

 

He was pale and trembling, completely overpowered by Sa Yeon-hee.

 

He had tried to assassinate Namgung Yeon-hwa but was caught.

 

Then he tried to flee with the White Flower warriors but was intercepted.

 

Despite resisting, he was swiftly defeated by Sa Yeon-hee.

 

“Please… spare me! I was only following orders!”

 

“Orders?”

 

“Yes! I was only following the command of the Sect Master! I hated having to betray our alliance!”

 

“Then you shouldn’t have done it.”

 

“I had no choice! I’ll do anything—just let me live!”

 

Just hours ago, Go Mu-yeong had been proud and arrogant.

Now he was sobbing, reduced to begging for his life.

 

He wasn’t truly brave.

 

Raised under the patronage of Myriad Merchant Troupe, he had lived an easy life, never truly tested.

 

He thought himself strong, but at the sight of death, he crumbled.

 

Namgung In sighed.

 

He felt ashamed to have been betrayed by someone so pitiful.

His fury toward Myriad Merchant Troupe grew.

 

“Where is Eun Il-myeong?”

 

“I… I don’t know…”

 

“Liar!”

 

Namgung In pressed his sword to Go Mu-yeong’s neck.

The cold blade made him tremble.

 

The sword slowly pressed in.

 

“He’s… he’s hiding at the Wood Willow Manor!”

 

Go Mu-yeong gave in.

 

Sa Yeon-hee looked disgusted.

 

“He gave up that easily? How could someone like him master such strong martial arts?”

 

“Please! I told you—let me live—”

 

Slice!

 

Namgung In swung his sword.

 

He half-decapitated Go Mu-yeong.

 

The man clutched his neck, blood pouring between his fingers.

 

“W-Why…? I told you the truth…”

 

“From this moment on, I vow never to live under the same sky as the merchants of Myriad Merchant Troupe.

 

Those who betray trust for gold—I will never let them go.”

 

Go Mu-yeong collapsed.

 

“Master!”

 

“Nooo!”

 

The surviving White Flower warriors were stunned.

They had never imagined their leader was so cowardly.

 

“Please spare us!”

 

“We surrender!”

 

But the warriors of Thousand Kingdom School would not forgive them.

 

They had nearly been destroyed by the Myriad Merchant Troupe’s betrayal.

 

If not for the timely arrival of Lee Gwak and Sa Yeon-hee, they would already be dead.

 

“Argh!”

 

“Please, spare us!”

 

Their desperate screams rang out.

 

The Thousand Kingdom School warriors struck them down.

 

Lee Gwak frowned at the slaughter of defenseless men, but he did not intervene. He understood.

 

The Thousand Kingdom School needed an outlet for their fury.

 

Better to vent it on the traitors of the White Flowers Squad than on anyone else.

 

When the battle was done, only the wails of the dying White Flowers Squad warriors echoed across the field.

 

***

 

“Lee Gwak!”

 

Go Geom-wol closed his eyes.

 

Beneath his rolled-up sleeve, goosebumps had risen along his arm.

 

A powerful tremor had shaken his body.

 

From the moment Lee Gwak appeared on the battlefield, he had been trembling uncontrollably.

 

Not even when he faced his master, Jin Gwang-hon, had he felt such a thrill.

 

“At last, you’ve come. To stand where I stand…”

 

He could not help but admire Lee Gwak’s persistence and endurance.

 

There had been others more talented, more gifted. Go Geom-wol had met many such men and befriended them.

 

But none had walked as stubbornly, as steadfastly, as Lee Gwak.

 

Through endless hardship and trial, Lee Gwak had kept to his path—and at last arrived where Go Geom-wol stood.

 

At the peak of the Jianghu.

 

Long ago, he had told Lee Gwak:

 

Let us meet at the top of Jianghu.

 

Now, that moment had come.

 

Though neither had unified the Jianghu yet, they stood at a crucial crossroads. That was why Lee Gwak had ceased hiding and rushed here.

 

This was the turning point of Jianghu history.

 

Whoever prevailed here would write the next chapter of the Jianghu.

 

 

 

But someone broke Go Geom-wol’s thoughts.

 

“Forgive me, Sect Leader!”

 

It was Cheol Mu-hon, the Lord of the Soul-Suppressing Tower.

 

Since Jang San, Guk Sah-wan, and Je Hyeong-ik—all those who should have borne the blame for the defeat—were dead, so he stepped forward.

 

He was the one who had ordered the retreat.

 

Someone had to take responsibility for the defeat, and he chose himself.

 

“Please punish me.”

 

“It is enough.”

 

“Sect Leader!”

 

“If blame must be assigned, it is I who should bear it—for entrusting this operation to you.”

 

“T-that’s absurd!”

 

Cheol Mu-hon bowed his head, overwhelmed.

 

“Likewise, you taking responsibility for this defeat is also absurd. You merely carried out the operation planned by the Blood Heaven Institute.”

 

“Sect Leader!”

 

“In waging war, defeats are a natural part of the experience. We have simply experienced one of them sooner than others. If you truly feel the weight of this defeat’s responsibility, then reorganize our ranks so we can exact revenge upon them. That is the way to serve the Celestial Demon Troupe.”

 

“Yes! I will engrave the Sect Leader’s words in my heart and carry them out!”

 

Thud!

 

Cheol Moo-hon dropped to his knees and struck his head against the ground. Blood flowed from his split forehead, but he paid it no mind.

 

His face was filled only with a look of profound gratitude.

 

‘The Sect Leader is the true, rightful sovereign of the Celestial Demon Troupe. For this person, I would not hesitate to throw my life away like a blade of grass.’

 

He swore his loyalty to Go Geom-wol, again and again.