novelraw Chapter 40 : Chapter 40
Chapter 40 : Chapter 40
Chapter 40 - I’ll go and take it alone
“What do you mean by that?”
The one-armed man asked Eung Gajin.
“You know full well how long we have waited for this day. And yet you say we should wait another year.”
“I know very well what Senior Uncle Mujin is saying.”
Eung Gajin’s appearance as he answered with a calm smile was warm and trustworthy.
However, the content of his words was far too different from their expectations.
“As you said, our sect has made various plans to restore Diancang Mountain over the past few years. However, we have concluded that we still need more preparation time.”
Biyoung silently listened to what Eung Gajin was saying.
His gaze went to the hero's cap made of silk, to the martial arts uniform of better quality than the others, and to his cheeks that were not just soft but oily.
“Currently, the members of the Diancang Sect are engaged in various occupations while hiding their identities. While there are members like Danseol, who sells his paintings and can wrap things up quickly, the majority have businesses that are difficult to close down immediately. If we go to restore the main mountain now, there is a high possibility that we will never be able to return here. Moreover, even if we drive out the enemy and restore the main mountain, there is no guarantee that there will be no other invasions. Our task is not only to restore but also to defend. Given these circumstances, as much as we are psychologically preparing for a battle with no retreat, we must be prudent, ever so prudent, in choosing the date.”
“Umm……”
“We also need to consider if our current strength is sufficient. I apologize for saying this, but I believe that the current strength of the Diancang Sect is mostly the rising stars of the younger generation.”
At Eung Gajin’s words, some had displeased expressions, while others lowered their heads with bitterness.
Even in Biyoung’s view, there were few among those over thirty who could be considered immediate combatants.
The reality was that it was more likely for the peers, including Uma, to be active than to rely on them.
“The growth of the young rising stars is fast. Their skills are growing remarkably with each passing year. Therefore, if we wait just one more year……”
“That’s bullshit.”
“!!!”
A curse suddenly erupted in the middle of the serious atmosphere.
It was only natural that the atmosphere in the hall froze over like ice.
The smile on Eung Gajin’s lips vanished as if washed away.
“……Did you just say that?”
“Yeah. Want me to say it again? Don't give me that bullshit.”
“Heoeo!”
“H-how dare he!”
Before Eung Gajin could say anything, voices filled with reprimand leaked out.
Jinbae was so surprised that his mouth was agape, unable to say a word.
“Your audacity is quite something, but don’t you think you are being too rude?”
Eung Gajin deliberately rebuked Biyoung with a stern face.
However, no one here could intimidate Biyoung.
“It’s because I've been listening and listening, and you're just spouting infuriating nonsense.”
“What?”
“What do you mean, one year? Do you even know who is on Diancang Mountain?”
Should it be said that he was indeed the grandson of the sect leader?
Even though a brat ten years his junior was spouting nonsense, Eung Gajin did not act rashly.
“I would not plan the restoration of the main mountain without knowing that much. I heard that the Tiger-Bear Stronghold is currently occupying that place.”
“You heard? Is that all?”
“What do you mean, is that all……?”
“You should have gone to see! If you decided to restore the main mountain, isn’t a preliminary survey essential? Are you saying you’ll make a judgment based only on what you’ve heard from others?”
At that moment, for the first time, a peculiar light appeared in the eyes of Jeong-i as she looked at Biyoung.
“Wrapping up businesses and building up forces is not the only preparation. Isn’t the real preparation figuring out the enemy’s strength and planning how to crush them?”
“The Tiger-Bear Stronghold is not on the scale of a mere mountain stronghold, as you say. Not only the Tiger-Bear Stronghold but also their friendly force, the Tree-Uprooting Stronghold, and……”
“You guys are strong enough to wipe them all out!”
“!”
It sounded like a preposterous story, but Biyoung’s expression was so resolute that they could not refute it.
“I know because I've fought them myself. You guys are more than enough to wipe out the Tiger-Bear Stronghold. And what? You’ll wait another year without even properly investigating?”
It was utterly disheartening.
It was true that he had held some expectations for them in his heart.
The fact that the descendants of the Diancang Sect had been waiting for the right time, holding their breath like hidden dragons, made him immensely proud and, at the same time, sorry.
But for the person leading them to be in such a state.
Biyoung’s expectation had completely turned into anger.
“Why don’t you be honest?”
“About what?”
“You just want to settle for your current life, don’t you?”
“!”
“Instead of returning to a rugged mountain you barely remember and living a hard life, it’s better to live comfortably here, isn’t it? From the looks of it, some of you here seem to be living quite well. Even if next year comes, you can just promise the year after, can’t you?”
That was tantamount to the greatest insult one could give to Eung Gajin.
The people around looked at him with pale faces, but for some reason, his expression became rather relaxed.
“You’ve fought them yourself, you say. I thought you were quite eloquent, but it seems you’re a typical child who is all talk.”
“Eh?”
“For you to say you fought the Tiger-Bear Stronghold or the Tree-Uprooting Stronghold yourself is a preposterous story. No one here will believe you. That’s enough of a child’s bravado. If you look around at the lives of our sect’s people while you stay here, you will realize that it is not yet the time……”
Kwang!
He had hit it so hard that when Biyoung slammed his fist down, the large table momentarily lifted off the ground.
“!”
“Cut the crap.”
“Biyoung!”
Jinbae chided him, as if he could not watch any longer.
“It seems I was too hasty in bringing this child today. Let’s look for another time later……”
“No, grandfather. Time and whatever, it’s not needed anymore.”
Biyoung, with a torch lit in his eyes, looked around at the assembly and spoke.
“I will attack the Tiger-Bear Stronghold alone.”
“?!”
“Looking at you all, it seems you’ve fallen for that slick bastard’s tongue, but with that kind of mindset, you won’t be able to climb Diancang Mountain even in a thousand years.”
“But Gajin’s words also have a point, do they not? Even if we restore the main mountain……”
“At first, I also waited for the right time with such thoughts. Because if I came down the mountain alone, the Diancang Sect would become an ownerless mountain. I thought it would be resolved if there were people from the sect living together. But now that I see it, it’s a lost cause.”
Even though a child who had not yet shed his boyishness was telling a far-fetched story, no one rashly dragged him out.
First, because Biyoung’s voice was filled with thick internal energy, and second, because his words contained the essence of the matter.
“None of it matters. You all just live here, making a living for a thousand, ten thousand years. Just pretend to miss the Diancang Sect moderately. I will attack the Tiger-Bear Stronghold alone. If someone else attacks again, I’ll just crush them again.”
Eung Gajin turned his head to the side and looked at Jeokseo.
He was asking how long he would watch that madman’s frenzy.
Perhaps conscious of that gaze, Jeokseo slowly opened his mouth.
“Your actions are just like watching the mad wolf of the old days.”
“!”
Biyoung’s face, which had been huffing and puffing in anger, froze coldly.
The mad wolf of the Diancang Sect.
The Mad Wolf of Diancang was another title of the World's Fastest Sword in the past.
“Perhaps everything you say is right.”
“Senior Uncle!”
Despite Eung Gajin’s restraint, Jeokseo did not take his eyes off Biyoung.
“But all words must have power to have meaning. Are you confident that you can prove it?”
“Of course.”
“Holholhol. Then the answer is clear.”
Jeokseo took a refreshing gulp of wine and then asked Jeong-i.
“Is there a backyard where we can have a duel?”
“There is.”
Jeong-i’s voice was calm and clear, having the power to soothe the uncomfortable atmosphere.
She was a gisaeng working at a Blue Pavilion.
It was to the point where one wondered if her talent was related to her voice.
“After confirming whether you truly have the strength to restore the main mountain, we will adjust the sect’s schedule according to a majority vote.”
“!”
That in itself was a groundbreaking decision.
No matter how the date for the plan to restore the main mountain had arrived, it was an opinion to put Eung Gajin’s argument and Biyoung’s counterargument on the same line.
“Elder Jeokseo.”
The loan shark, Uma, who had been silent all along, called out to Jeokseo.
“Holholhol. Your expressionless face is scary enough to appear in my dreams, so speak softly.”
“……Yes. I also think that both arguments have their own grounds. However, that fellow has been raised separately under Elder Jinbae. We should not lightly evaluate the years of hardship of the people who have built their lives here in Simao.”
“I know that too. In a way, that’s why I’m ashamed.”
“Pardon?”
“Holholhol. When it comes to being unrelated to our sect, that fellow named Biyoung would be the most. He was born in the year of the attack, so isn’t he a fellow who doesn’t even know what our sect’s buildings look like? Yet he tries to take the lead in restoring the main mountain more than anyone else, so how can I not be ashamed?”
“……!”
That was a statement not only for Uma but for everyone gathered here, and also for Eung Gajin.
“Biyoung.”
“Yes. Elder Jeokseo.”
“To attack the Tiger-Bear Stronghold alone, your martial arts must be more outstanding than anyone gathered here. Do you know that?”
“Well, that’s obvious.”
“Holholhol. Then will you prove that fact by dueling with the rising stars gathered here? If you fight with whoever you want and win, your preposterous words will find their truth.”
Biyoung, who had been thinking for a moment, soon gave a meaningful smile.
“Whoever I want? What do you mean by that.”
“Umm?”
Biyoung stood up from his seat, looked around at each person one by one, and then opened his mouth valiantly.
“I’ll knock them all down for you.”
“!”
***
“Heek! I don’t want to!”
A man with particularly sturdy calves freaked out and made a fuss.
“Solbo. Are you starting again?”
“I hate things like duels. Why is Elder Jeokseo suddenly making us have a duel?”
As if to prove he was the world’s biggest coward, Solbo had an expression of utter displeasure at the current duel.
Uma frowned at the sight, Jeong-i silently wiped her sword, and Eung Gajin, wearing a hero's cap, gave a reliable smile.
“Don’t worry. It won’t even get to your turn.”
“Senior Brother. Is that really true?”
“Yes. From the looks of it, he seems to be quite strong among his peers, but he’s still just a child. He cannot be a match for us, who have grown up like weeds here in Simao.”
“Then please let me out. I just hate sword fights.”
“Senior Brother Solbo, if you hate sword fights, why do you practice martial arts to death at night?”
When the man with slitted eyes, Danseol, asked, Solbo waved his hands in denial.
“Is practicing techniques the same as a real sword fight? I don’t even understand the point of a sword fight when you’re not even going to fight.”
Uma spat on the ground once and gave a warning.
“Anyway, don’t be careless. He seems to have a trick up his sleeve. I’ll go first.”
Surrounding the backyard, the people of the Diancang Sect gathered in a circle.
Biyoung had already found a sword and was standing on one side.
Uma’s sharp gaze was directed at Biyoung.
‘The fight during the day… I need to confirm whether that was a coincidence or not.’
The skill with which he had beaten down Ho Pyeong of the Gam-i Gang with his bare hands.
If that was true, he would surely be worth a bout.
“Hurry up and come out. Didn’t you say this gisaeng house is expensive?”
“If you lose, it will end quickly, so you don’t need to worry.”
Uma replied and then frowned deeply.
With his fierce face contorted, it was a sight one would not want to see even in a dream.
But the face of Biyoung, who was facing him, was overflowing with composure.
Far from being afraid, he even licked his lips slightly with the tip of his tongue.
The thought of being able to give a stern lesson to his Diancang Sect brethren (?) made him boil with joy.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
The moment Uma finished his answer.
Biyoung’s body flickered for an instant.
“?”
And…….
KWANG!!!!!!
“Aaaaaaaaaargh!”
Uma, struck by the scabbard, let out a desperate scream as he was sent flying out over the lake.
“????????????????????”
It goes without saying that the jaws of everyone present dropped to the floor.
“Next.”
Without giving them a moment to breathe, Biyoung called for the remaining four.