Chapter 1658. I Like Fools Like That. (3)
Thud!
Even while kicking the ground, Yoon Jong's eyes reflexively looked back.
All the faction members followed him quickly with serious expressions on their faces. They all knew how dangerous the place they were in was.
But what filled Yoon Jong's mind at this moment was not the worry about lurking dangers.
'Will this work?'
No matter how much he thought about it, it had been a long time.
Considering the places they had traveled so far, it might not be fair to say that Wuhan was truly far from Shaanxi, but it wasn’t the physical distance that mattered. The relative distance was important to get there before the Evil Tyrant Alliance.
Yoon Jong's face, looking at the faction members, gradually hardened.
No matter how much he thought about it, there weren’t many ways to reach Wuhan before the Evil Tyrant Alliance.
The problem was that it was difficult for them to increase their speed blindly. All kinds of people gathered and ran. Just as their factions were different and the weapons they used were different, their levels of martial arts were also different, so it was bound to be disorderly.
So, he couldn’t increase his speed to the maximum. By accelerating beyond their limits, some people would be left behind.
He probably thought that reaching Wuhan on time was the priority, regardless of whether some people were left behind or not...
'Unless you’re sure of the Evil Tyrant Alliance’s destination, you can’t let anyone get separated.'
If we are not careful, those who get lost may be 'picked up' by the Evil Tyrant Alliance. This was the worst situation to avoid.
The more he thought about it, the heavier his mind became.
Chung Myung knew that from the moment he gave the order, moving like lightning was the right thing to do. There wasn’t the slightest doubt about it.
However, the weight of knowing that the lives of many people depended on it gradually weighed him down.
Can I do it?
Yoon Jong looked to the side.
He saw Jo Gul running not far away. His face also looked very depressed.
‘Him too...’
Yoon Jong felt a bit bitter.
Even Jo Gul, who usually couldn’t sit still and was busy being reckless, couldn’t help but feel depressed in this situation. After all, the position of budangju was not easy, so it was impossible for Jo Gul not to feel burdened at all. As sahyung, he should understand it better.
At that moment, Jo Gul’s face darkened slightly. Yoon Jong opened his mouth without realizing it.
“Gul-ah.”
“.....”
“Gul-ah!”
“Ah!”
Jo Gul must have been surprised by the voice calling him and suddenly made eye contact. Yoon Jong asked softly.
“Is this too much for you?”
“Eh... Yes, sahyung. Hmm. It’s definitely not easy.”
“Yes. It must be so.”
“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t come up with anything suitable.”
“Huh?”
Jo Gul grabbed his curls with both hands.
“I don’t think I can stick with ‘First, Second, or Third Unit’ even if I die, but ‘Black, White, Red, Blue, and Yellow’ is too obvious for our unit names...”
“...What?”
“Ah! Blue Dragon! How about Cheongryongdang? It seems classic, but isn’t it? No... no, it’s not. Do you think Baekhodang is better?”
...Yoon Jong’s face began to change slightly.
“What are you worried about?”
“Didn’t Chung Myung tell us to decide well on the names of our Units? We have to choose a name that is simple but sticks in your head as soon as you hear it...”
Yoon Jong's wrist, which was holding the sword hilt, twisted slightly. In terms of his temper, this was really...
“Does the name of the unit matter now?”
“Oh, Sahyung! What kind of casual talk is this? If we do it wrong, we might get caught in a fight, and if we suddenly call 'Third Unit' here, 'Second Unit' there, things could get ugly! Once they hear it, we need a name they can say: ‘Ah! I have to go here!’, that’s it!”
“Eh.....”
It’s a bit hard to argue with that, isn’t it?
Yoon Jong clenched his teeth, his pride hurt being speechless in front of Jo Gul, who was no one else. Jo Gul kept talking seriously, not knowing what Yoon Jong was feeling.
“Look over there. Don’t the other Budangju look serious too? They’re all struggling to find a suitable name right now.”
“...Trust me, they’re like that but for another reason.”
“What? Is that so?”
“.....”
Instead of responding, Yoon Jong let out a long sigh. He felt like the dumbest person in the world for worrying that this man would feel depressed.
Just then, Jo Gul asked.
“But shouldn’t we speed it up a bit?”
“No way.”
“Huh? Why? I think they’re following well.”
“I think this is the limit.”
“What do you mean?”
Jo Gul tilted his head and looked back. Yoon Jong took a deep breath and said.
“They say the methods to lead and mobilize people vary depending on their size.”
His gaze was fixed far away, towards the end of the group.
“The more people there are to chase, the faster they have to run from the back. Those at the far end of the formation may have already reached their limit. Those with weak martial arts skills might already be in danger of being left behind.”
“Huh? Then isn’t that a big problem? Someone should go and fix it.”
“He already did.”
“Who?”
“...”
“Ugh! I’m dying!”
“Ah, how noisy!”
“Nooo! I’m really going to die!”
Im Sobyeong, drenched in sweat, frowned with narrowed eyes. Chung Myung looked at her with pity and scolded her.
“What kind of bastard calls himself the Nokrim King but pants like that? You must have grown up in the mountains eating only good food.”
“E-Everyone’s organs are different! For me, using my head is a skill, but using my body isn’t. I was born weak from the start.”
“Is that what a soldier would say?”
“T-You, how can you say such a thing?”
To be precise, he was confident in not falling behind in using his own skills. However, his physical strength and endurance were... not at all.
The crown he wore had been soaked by the sweat flowing from his forehead, and his scholar’s uniform, although slightly wrinkled, clung to his body like paper soaked in water, making it even harder to run.
“Then why are you wearing something like that? At least take it off.”
“If a scholar doesn’t wear a scholar’s uniform, then what do I wear? This is my pride!”
“This damn cowardly bandit calls himself a scholar.”
“It’s not that! You keep talking about things you shouldn’t.... Ugh! Don’t talk to me. I’m out of breath!”
“I think it looks like you’re going to die. Last time we went to Hangzhou, everything went well.”
“It’s different from last time.... Ugh! Don’t talk to me!”
Im Sobyeong waved his hand as if he didn’t have the strength to keep responding. He didn’t even have the strength to vent the resentment growing inside him.
Who was all this due to?
On the way to Hangzhou, all he had to do was run fast. But that wasn’t the case now, so that was the cause.
“That’s something I left behind.”
“Ah, damn it!”
Im Sobyeong, who was out of breath, ran in the direction Chung Myung pointed and supported the person who was left behind.
“T-Thank you....”
“If you’re grateful, tell yourself to run, bastard... Before I stab you in the stomach... No, after all, you can’t even run to save your life, so it’s better to cut off everything, from your toes to your hair, right? Right?”
“Hiiiik! I-I’m sorry!”
The horrible and creepy face of Im Sobyeong suddenly appeared in front of him, and he was horrified to the point of running forward, squeezing out all the strength he had.
Subconsciously, Im Sobyeong brought out his true nature of Nokrim running through his blood, adjusting his expression as he looked at the line behind him.
In his eyes, he clearly saw another line of people moving and the distance widening. The true nature of Nokrim resurfaced.
“Run! Run and don’t fail, bastard! Run faster!”
While Im Sobyeong shouted bitterly, those in the back gritted their teeth once again and caught up with the front line. Im Sobyeong cursed inwardly.
‘Bastards.’
Resentment flooded him.
Theory and practice were different.
If a long formation was formed in motion, the gap between the vanguard and the rear widened naturally by just walking slowly. Therefore, the rear had to repeat walking and running to maintain the formation. Otherwise, a gap wider than the original one would be created.
Those who don’t know much might wonder what the problem is if a big gap forms. However, it was completely unacceptable to break ranks in a situation where they never knew when and where a pack of wolves called the Evil Tyrant Alliance would attack.
As a result, Chung Myung and Im Sobyeong had no choice but to run here and there like people with flowers on their heads, cheering up those who fell behind and pushing them forward.
Yes, he knew. It was something that had to be done.
But...
"Why should I be the one to do this, why?"
He understood everything in his head, but when he tried to face it himself, he felt like he wanted to die.
Why did the weak (supposedly) Im Sobyeong have to do this when there were so many physically strong men in front of him?
This nonsense was clearly a trick of that demon.
“Huff! Huff!”
Anyway, thanks to his and Chung Myung's actions, the Heavenly Comrade Alliance was able to somehow maintain their ranks and continue running. If they could keep this up, maybe...
“Nokrim King.”
“...What do you want now?”
Im Sobyeong looked at Chung Myung with an annoyed face. But surprisingly, when Chung Myung’s face turned serious, he relaxed his expression.
Chung Myung asked.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“About the previous discussion.”
“What exactly did they discuss?”
Chung Myung’s eyes darkened slightly.
“There’s a certain pattern in what ‘he’ does. What this person is doing now is not far from that pattern.”
“...”
“Is that so?”
Im Sobyeong’s face slightly hardened. Why was he asking this?
“...Yes, as I said before, I don’t think it’s like that this time, but I think there must have been such a pattern in the past, just as Jaegal Gaju-nim said. But is there any problem with that?”
Chung Myung, who was thinking silently about something, immediately shook his head.
“There’s none.”
“No, if you start talking, you have to finish....”
“Eh. It’s someone who’s crossing the line again. Run.”
“...Ugh! Bastard!”
Im Sobyeong ran, rolling up his sleeves beyond his elbows. Flames shot out from his eyes.
“Bastard, do you really want to be buried here alone, huh? Huh? Are you from Nokrim? Has this bastard gone crazy?”
Chung Myung, who was staring fixedly at Im Sobyeong running toward the person who broke the ranks, slowly shifted his gaze. Towards the infinity, far away, beyond those walking in front.
No, to be precise, to the place where the people who were ahead of them were infinitely far.
‘Jang Ilso.....’
A deep sense of unease took hold of him. There was something he couldn’t say for sure.... Something must have changed.
What are you thinking?
Bright blue veins stood out on the back of Chung Myung’s hand as he instinctively grasped the sword hilt.
-----------
Clack.
Red-shod feet slowly stepped on the bushes.
“Hmm.”
The gaze of the person wearing the long red robe turned towards the winding ridge and the high mountain peak.
Although still far away, the peak peeking through the pure white clouds exuded a mysterious atmosphere just by the shape of the ridge.
“Is that the place?”
Ho Gakmyung responded briefly.
“Yes, Ryeonju-nim. That is Wudang.”
“Hmm.”
It was a beautiful combination of green grass, light clay-colored rocks, and pure white clouds. The corners of Jang Ilso’s mouth curved gently.
“Good. No one knows, right?”
“..... Yes?”
“I wonder if that place will still be called Wudang in the future.”
Ho Gakmyung realized what he meant and nodded.
“Sure... Now it will be uncertain.”
“Right, isn’t it?”
A feeling of satisfaction appeared on Jang Ilso’s lips.
“Let’s go. They’re probably waiting for us, so I should meet their expectations.”
“Yes. Everyone move forward!”
Ho Gakmyung immediately gave the order. The large army began to move again.
Jang Ilso, who had been watching the army advance with snake-like eyes, looked to the side.
“I hope they’re not late... Because that wouldn’t be fun, right? Right?”
Chaos roared like a storm between his narrowed eyes as he awaited something.
