novelraw Chapter 128 : Chapter 128
Chapter 128 : Chapter 128
Chapter 128 - The Small Elite
The Diancang Sect had left the Changsha region.
Normally, as things get farther away, their presence tends to fade.
But as time passed, the three words ‘Diancang Sect’ became an even bigger topic of conversation among the people.
Mr. Oh, who sold fruit in the marketplace, spotted an acquaintance and quickly beckoned to him.
“You there. Did you hear the story? The rumor related to the Diancang Sect.”
“My good man. Is there anyone in the Changsha region who doesn’t know that rumor? Even if you stay at home all day, a swallow will bring you the news.”
“Isn’t it truly a great feat? It’s the Ghost Face Gang, who are said to make even crying children turn pale and stop. To annihilate such a Ghost Face Gang in a single night……”
“I know a fact even more surprising than that.”
“A surprising fact?”
Mr. Oh’s eyes widened.
The man, as if he knew some great piece of information, cleared his throat with an ‘ahem’.
“My friend. Stop showing off and tell me too.”
“An acquaintance of mine works at the Jangil Escort Agency. And, well……”
The show-off man’s voice became low and secretive.
“They said there were seven in total.”
“Seven? What was seven?”
“The Diancang Sect. They say the number of Diancang Sect members who came to this Simao region was only seven.”
“What? My good man! Are you teasing me right now?”
Mr. Oh’s face crumpled as he got angry.
It was a perfectly normal reaction.
They said the number of Green Killer Squad bodies found in the mountains was over a hundred.
Moreover, Dancheong and the Ghost Face Four Shadows were also there.
How could they possibly win against them with only seven people?
“My good man. I’m telling you, it’s true. On the day the Diancang Sect people left the Jangil Escort Agency, he said he asked the young man with thick calves directly. Where are the rest of the people.”
“Really? And then what?”
“He said there were no other people from the beginning. From the time they came here until now, they had always traveled only with the people who were there.”
“……It can’t be.”
It was a story that was impossible to believe.
Although Changsha was not a particularly large region, the ruler of this area was, without a doubt, the Ghost Face Gang.
Even the swordsmen of the Mount Heng Sect, who ruled the Hunan area, would not pick a fight unless necessary.
But.
The force that defeated that Ghost Face Gang was only seven.
“Haha. And they said that all seven of them returned without any casualties.”
“Huh…… If what you say is true, they have accomplished something even greater than I thought. Ah, come to think of it, there is something that comes to mind.”
“What is it?”
“The small elite. Isn’t that the characteristic of the Diancang Sect.”
“Hmm?”
As if trying to recall something from the past, Mr. Oh’s gaze drifted to the distant empty space.
“Not many people remember now, but in the past, wasn’t the Diancang Sect one of the pillars of the Nine Sects One Union?”
“It was.”
“Even at its peak, they said the number of Diancang Sect swordsmen was not that many. Half of other sects, and at times, not even a third.”
“They could be part of the Nine Sects One Union with such numbers?”
“That’s why the term ‘small elite’ came about. They said that even with fewer numbers than other sects, their strength was above average. How skilled must each and every swordsman have been for that to be possible?”
“I see…… Well, even if people didn’t remember the Diancang Sect, everyone would recognize it if you said it was the sect of the World's Fastest Sword.”
“Seeing them defeat the Ghost Face Gang with only seven, doesn’t the term ‘small elite’ fit perfectly? Just like back then, when they led the golden age of the Diancang Sect.”
“My good man. You’re completely drunk on the Diancang Sect. It hasn’t even been a year since the rumor that they had reclaimed their main mountain was heard. Right now, forget about the Mount Heng Sect here, if they were to fight the True Dragon Sect, they would be instantly crushed.”
“Of course, that’s how it is now. But as you said, a sect that had been annihilated miraculously revived and succeeded in taking revenge in less than a year. Isn’t it very interesting what will happen as time passes?”
“That is……”
Of course it’s interesting.
The ‘revival of a prestigious orthodox sect’ had a special something that made people’s hearts burn.
People call that special emotion ‘romance’.
The Diancang Sect, which did not stop at simply reclaiming its main mountain but also found its sworn enemy and succeeded in taking revenge.
All martial artists pricked up their ears at the footsteps of the Diancang Sect, wondering what their next move would be after taking such a powerful first step.
***
Clatter, clatter.
A strange procession moves along the mountain path.
People walking with precarious steps, carrying loads of luggage.
Following them are a few carriages, and young people sitting comfortably on horseback, leisurely enjoying the scenery.
“It’s a fine day.”
A man wrapped in bandages all over his body looks down at the mountain below and smiles reassuringly.
With his strong and neat facial features, the position of the eldest brother suited him well.
“Since the heart is abundant, there is no hesitation in what the eyes see, is there not. Senior Brother Eung Gajin.”
A man with a fearsome appearance says something that doesn’t match his looks.
At those words, Eung Gajin burst out laughing.
“Haha. Your words also have a point, Uma.”
Everything was satisfactory.
They had finally found the dark practitioners who had attacked the Diancang Sect and fulfilled their long-cherished wish for revenge.
They had also gotten their hands on the entire fortune that the Ghost Face Gang had accumulated over many years.
With this amount of assets, it was enough to run the sect’s finances for decades without doing anything.
So, how could the ordinary scenery not look beautiful?
“Hahahahaha.”
Eung Gajin’s clear laughter spreads along the mountain path.
Although he looked a bit pitiful due to the bandages wrapped all over his body, it couldn’t completely hide the heroic figure he was born with.
The hearts of the Diancang Sect’s junior disciples, including Eung Gajin, were filled with satisfaction and pride.
On the other hand,
“Keeeung.”
In contrast to him, the hearts of the people carrying a large amount of luggage in front of the junior disciples were utterly miserable.
“Oh, I’m dying……”
“My body feels like it weighs a thousand pounds……”
Those carrying loads bigger than their own bodies.
The remaining forces of the Ghost Face Gang felt their blood boil backwards every time they heard laughter from behind.
‘What’s so good about the scenery!’
‘Cruel bastards……! To work people like this……!!’
‘The things these so-called orthodox faction bastards do are worse than the Demonic Cult!’
‘Damn it. I want to throw everything down and run away right now!’
The elderly were carrying luggage with their backs bent, while young men and women who looked to be around twenty were sitting on horseback.
This was the reason their procession looked so strange.
They wanted to escape the current situation immediately, but they could neither run away nor resist.
Those with strong martial arts had already been wiped out in a single night.
The ones who remained were people more familiar with a brush than a sword.
For such people to fight against or run away from the Diancang swordsmen?
Even without the Vast Sky Eagle Body Method or the Flying Eagle Steps, they were guys who could be snatched by the scruff of their necks while picking their noses.
‘Damn it. Can’t do this, can’t do that…….’
The Ghost Face Gang members who had lost everything in one night.
Not only their wealth, but having gone from being the rulers of a town to slaves in an instant, their misery was beyond words.
“Hmm……”
But.
There was one person who wasn’t in a good mood even though he was on horseback.
Deep wrinkles formed on his broad forehead, and his head was constantly tilted to the side.
Soon, a sharp voice came out of his mouth.
“Senior Brother Eung Gajin. You’re living the good life, aren’t you? Right?”
Looking at the growling man, Eung Gajin swallowed hard.
“What’s wrong……? On such a fine day.”
It was clear at a glance that the man’s expression was not good.
Eung Gajin knew well.
The fact that whenever that guy’s expression was so twisted, the aftermath was never good.
It wasn’t just Eung Gajin who started to get tense at the man’s expression.
‘Why is he suddenly like that?’
‘Just when it was quiet, he’s acting up again.’
‘Junior Brother…… please…….’
The junior disciples of the Diancang Sect each held their breath and waited for the man’s next words.
The handsome man with a deep frown.
Biyoung moved his horse forward and then turned his back.
“You’ve done wrong, and the scenery enters your eyes?”
“Wrong?”
Eung Gajin asked back with a startled expression.
Revenge was completed as originally planned.
The schedule wasn’t delayed, and they had secured more assets than expected.
But Biyoung’s answer overturned the expectations of everyone, including Eung Gajin.
“The sin of not cherishing your life. That is your mistake, Senior Brothers.”
“……!”
“I told you Senior Brothers to buy time, when did I ever tell you to fight a life-or-death battle? If the wound had been just a little deeper, you would have been heading to Diancang Mountain in a coffin.”
“That is……”
Eung Gajin’s words trailed off.
Because what Biyoung said was undeniably true.
While they were luring the Green Killer Squad out and annihilating them, the rest of the Diancang Sect’s junior disciples were supposed to face the Ghost Face Four Shadows.
The strategy did not include defeating the Ghost Face Four Shadows, nor did they have the skill to do so.
Of course, it didn’t say to sacrifice their lives either.
All they had to do was stall for time, and if even that was too much, they were supposed to get help from Gwangyo.
But how did the actual fight turn out?
“The Senior Brother who clumsily used the Sun-Shooting Sword Art, which was strictly forbidden……”
“Ahem. Hem.”
At Biyoung’s words, Eung Gajin repeatedly cleared his throat.
“And the Senior Brother who rushed in with the ‘Extreme Point’, which I told you never to use unless you were about to die……”
This time, Uma’s face crumpled badly.
“You just don’t listen when I talk. This is why I’m aging early. Isn’t that right, Senior Brothers?”
Aging.
What aging was a brat who hadn’t even lost his baby fat talking about.
Was that something to say to his senior brothers who were several years older?!
But the two senior brothers could not refute Biyoung’s words.
Of course, each had their own reasons.
After hearing that Yi Cheon-yu was the one who had killed his grandfather, Eung Gajin’s mind was filled with nothing but killing intent.
That was why he had used the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.
Even if it was immature, its power was incomparable to the Eagle Talon Twelve Swords.
Uma, who had discovered the special sense of a past Diancang master, the Extreme Point, was also not in his right mind.
He was a person who would turn into an angry wild boar at the slightest injury.
In a highly agitated state, he had seen the ‘Extreme Point’ he had so longed to see, so Uma couldn’t help but jump in.
As a result, thick cotton cloths were wrapped around the entire bodies of the two junior disciples.
“Do you know what I said when old man Hyeokri Chong gave me the medicine? I asked him why he was giving me something I didn’t need. Because if our plan had proceeded as scheduled, there would have been no injuries. But, what is this mess now? Not only the healing medicine, but even the spirit pills have all been used up.”
“………….”
Silent, with no words to say.
There was no better four-character idiom to describe the state of the two men.
Eung Gajin and Uma wanted to block their ears from the endless nagging.
But if they really did that, the young mad dog in front of them would go into an even bigger fit.
They could only wish for this painful time to pass quickly, quickly.
“Your lives are not your own, Senior Brothers. They belong to the Diancang Sect.”
I got it.
Now, just stop…….
“If, by any chance, something had happened to you Senior Brothers, there would be many people to grieve. So cherish your own lives.”
Right.
The words are very kind.
Touching, even.
So just stop…….
“Hmm. Thinking about it carefully, this is my fault.”
“?”
At the sudden, unexpected words, the two men who had been bowing their heads snapped them up.
He didn’t know the reason, but if the guy himself was saying it was his fault, there was no need to stay hunched over like a weakling, was there?
However, one must always listen to what a person says until the very end.
“In the first place, I shouldn’t have given such a clumsy mission as stalling for time. If you have the skill to crush every opponent you face, there’s no need to stall, is there?”
“That’s…… right?”
“Then get down.”
“……Huh?”
“Get down.”
Biyoung, with a stern face, jutted his chin downwards.
“I said get down. We’re going to train from now on, so bring your swords too.”
At the word ‘train’, the pupils of the two men swayed like a pendulum.
“Tr-train? Here?”
“Biyoung. What do you mean by training all of a sudden……!”
“I feel like the training has been too lax so far. I will make you into strong swordsmen who can beat down anyone you meet. Starting from this very moment!”
Biyoung’s appearance, snorting out air, looked incredibly passionate.
Passion.
The word itself was good, but for the two senior brothers at that moment, it was a pitiful word.
“S-Senior Sister.”
Eung Gajin, who was about to train with his bandaged body, looks for Senior Sister Jeong.
Biyoung might ignore others, but he always gave a second thought to Senior Sister Jeong’s words.
As if Eung Gajin’s desperate call had been heard, Jeong-i called out to Biyoung.
“Junior Brother Biyoung.”
“Hmm?”
Ooh.
As expected of Senior Sister.
You’re the only one who thinks of us.
A light of hope appeared in the eyes of Uma and Eung Gajin.
However.
Unfortunately.
The reason Senior Sister Jeong had called Biyoung was not for the two senior brothers.
“Do the people who cherished their lives also have to get down?”
“Hmm? No. Senior Sister Jeong and the other Senior Brothers can just stay on their horses. I’m going to thoroughly knead these two bastards…… no, these two Senior Brothers first.”
“Thank you.”
“S-Senior Sister!”
Drawing a line.
It was only to draw her trademark, unforgiving line.
“Alright then, shall we start with the clumsy Nine-Shooting One Flash? One hundred repetitions until we reach the inn!”
“You son of a……”
The meaningless resistance was brief.
The two men stood at the very front of the procession and repeated a kiai that sounded like a scream.
Until the sun in the sky disappeared and darkness fell.