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The boat rocked with the incoming waves, but Jang Ilso, standing on it, seemed as serene as if he were on solid ground. He cast a fleeting glance at Shaolin and Kongtong, who were unable to take any action.

“Pathetic…”

A look of blatant contempt appeared on his face.

Ho Gamyeong quietly observed his expression.

If Shaolin, known as the Northern Star of Kangho and the leader of the Ten Great Sects, is this pathetic, the day Jang Ilso’s grand plan (??(大計)) comes to fruition will indeed arrive that much sooner.

However, the emotion reflected in Jang Ilso’s expression at the moment seemed closer to annoyance than joy.

“Ryeonju-nim don’t seem pleased.”

“How could I be….”

Jang Ilso answered harshly.

“When I was floundering in despair, with no hope in sight, what sustained me was…”

A momentary eerie glow flashed across his face.

“It was an oath that one day I would take everything they had and make it mine.”

“…”

“However….”

Jang Ilso paused for a moment and glared at Shaolin with a disdainful gaze.

“The true nature of the people who control Kangho is merely this.”

A self-mocking sneer leaked from his red lips.

“Humans hide their true feelings behind logic. Perhaps by now, they’ve concocted dozens of seemingly plausible reasons not to intervene. It is a logic that sounds plausible and cannot be refuted in most cases.”

Jang Ilso’s ridicule deepened.

“But at the end of the day, when you strip it all away, it’s just fear. Those who have never bled for something can only feel the value of what they stand to lose, not what they might gain.”

If someone else had said this, Ho Gamyeong would have judged them as arrogant without hesitation. Shaolin might not be the master of the world, but they are certainly among the masters of Kangho. Such a one-sided evaluation of them seemed overly simplistic.

But at least Jang Ilso was qualified to say this. This was because Ho Gamyeong knew better than anyone else how desperately Jang Ilso had worked his way up to this position.

“Soon they’ll realize,”

Jang Ilso spoke softly.

“Those who fear losing the small things will eventually lose everything. I’ll make sure of it.”

Ho Gamyeong slowly shook his head.

“By the time they realize it, it’ll already be after they’ve lost everything.”

Hearing this, Jang Ilso chuckled.

“Right. Maybe so.”

He tilted the liquor bottle in his hand, took a sip, and then, as if losing interest, poured the rest into the Yangtze.

“Well, good. I’ve gained everything I wanted.”

The Ten Greta Sects are still glaring at their side as if they could tear them to death at any moment. To Jang Ilso, they were merely amusing.

For now, they might be blinded by rage against Evil Sects and Jang Ilso. But once that anger subsides, they’ll soon realize. What have they done.

What do people do when they feel guilty?

Reflect? Apologize?

‘No way!’

Only a few are capable of that. Humans are more likely to look for excuses, even for their own blatant mistakes, and point fingers at others.

It was Jang Ilso who created the fissure.

However, it will be none other than themselves who will widen it.

Now all he had to do was wait. Wait for the wound he inflicted to fester and rot the flesh, corrode the bones.

What he wanted to achieve here was already done. All that remained was…

“Entertainment.”

Jang Ilso’s gaze shifted to Plum Blossom Island.

“Now…..”

He lightly bent his neck, and the jewelry on his entire body jingled. It almost sounded like cheering.

“It’s time to adorn the finale of this stage with the blood of the pitiful Namgung.”

“I will take us there.”

It was when Ho Gamyeong was about to steer the boat toward the Black Dragon Ship.

“No, that’s enough.”

Jang Ilso raised a hand to stop him. When Ho Gamyeong looked back with a questioning look, Jang Ilso raised one corner of his mouth.

“I’m tired of watching Black Dragon King. Let’s return to our ship.”

“…Yes, Ryeonju-nim.”

A small suspicion flickered, but Ho Gamyeong did not bother to ask why. There was always a calculation behind Jang Ilso’s actions. There would be a reason for this decision, one that he could not yet fathom.

Jang Ilso looked back with a sad expression on his boat as it cut through the turbulent water. His gaze traveled beyond the Ten Great Secys on the riverbank, reaching farther into the distance.

“Right?”

His cryptic question was cast into the distant air.

“Kekek.”

Namgung Myung, who let out a faint smile, had deep regret in his eyes.

“In the end…”

The last sun has risen.

He had long since abandoned any hope. If the Ten Great Sects, including Shaolin, had the slightest intention of saving them, they wouldn’t have just watched as things deteriorated to this point.

Right. He thought he hadn’t even hoped.

But as this moment approached, Namgung Myung had to admit that he hadn’t completely let go of his lingering attachment to them.

No, it wasn’t so much about faith in them.

It is faith in the path he has walked, revering the two words ‘Chivalrousness’ and ‘Righteousness’. It was the clinging hope that what he had believed in all along wasn’t entirely false.

But now, everything he had lived for, everything he believed in, was denied.

‘For what have we stood here?’

What made Namgung Myung even more angry was the lingering regret he saw in them.

If they’re not going to help, if they’re just going to watch with their eyes wide open, they might as well turn away resolutely!

What were they doing there, holding their ground? Were they seeking some twisted solace in witnessing their deaths?

“…Daeju.”

Namgung Myung, who was swept away by a torrent of terrible emotions, closed his eyes tightly at the call. He couldn’t bring himself to look back.

What could he possibly say? He had urged them to hold on, to keep fighting until the end, but was this all he could offer them in the end?

Being turned away by those whom he believed as colleagues walking the same path, and being toyed with by a group of jackal-like Evil Sects?

It was just when Namgung Myung was about to collapse and lower his head.

“You must prepare yourself in battle, Daeju.”

Hearing those unexpected words, he clenched his trembling jaw and looked back.

Everyone was standing up from their seats.

Those who were taking care of the injured, those who were somehow recovering their exhausted bodies and preparing for the end, and even the injured who had been hovering between life and death until a moment ago.

All of them stood up and lined up in an orderly manner.

Desperately gripping their shaking legs, somehow holding onto consciousness that seemed ready to snap at any moment.

“…Isn’t this the end anyway?”

“….”

Namgung Pyeong looked at him with a wry smile.

“I have no interest in lying down and waiting for the enemy’s blade. Even if I die, I’ll go down fighting.”

“Pyeong-ah….”

“That is correct.”

Laughter erupted from behind.

“There is also an audience watching…. I have to show them how the swordsman of Namgung Family dies.”

“To those cowards?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Namgung Myung closed his eyes tightly.

It was the mistakes of the heads of Namgung Family, including Namgung Hwang, that caused all of this. Because of said mistake, they were in a situation where they could even lose their lives, but none of them uttered a word of resentment.

Would he have been as resolute if he were in their shoes?

Namgung Myung was not confident. That’s why he felt even more sorry, and even more grateful.

“Still, it’s fortunate.”

A voice laced with laughter emerged from someone.

“At least Sogaju isn’t here.”

“Exactly.”

“If Sogaju had been here, we would have been completely doomed.”

Namgung Myung was taken aback for a moment and spoke urgently.

“It’s not like that. Sogaju is…!”

“We know, Daeju-nim.”

The sword warriors of Namgung Family burst into laughter as they looked at Namgung Myung’s bewildered face.

“We all know very well that Sogaju did not take care of himself to save us, and that he did not escape to live alone.”

“That’s why it’s fortunate, isn’t it?”

“At least the lineage will continue.”

Determination and a fierce resolve slowly filled the eyes of Namgung sword warriors.

“We don’t even dream of revenge. But we trust that Sogaju will at least take care of our final rites.”

“Yes, yes. That’s enough.”

Namgung Myung bowed his head.

Who wouldn’t want to live? Who wouldn’t want to cling to the enemy’s robes and beg for their life?

But it can’t be done.

Considering Namgung Dowi, who risked his life to escape in order to save them, Namgung Hwang, who might be lying beneath the cold waters of the Yangtze, and the elders who died without even a chance to scream, he could not bow his head to the enemy, even if it meant death.

Because they were Gaju of the family?

No, because they were his comrades who fought together.

Because they didn’t want to dishonor those who had died for those who remained.

“You idiots.”

Namgung Myung quickly turned around. It was because he felt like he would burst into tears if he continued to look at them. As they had said, it was the end. At the very least, he didn’t want to show them a pathetic sight.

“It will take time.”

“…”

“It may take a hundred years or even more. No matter how many children remain in the family, it will take that much to regain the status of the name Namgung.”

Everyone looked intently at Namgung Myung’s back as he tightly grasped his sword.

“So let’s become the guiding lights.”

Namgung Myung slowly drew his sword.

“For those who remain in the family, the time ahead will be like wandering in the darkest night. They must endure that time to see the sunrise again. So, die a death that can make our descendants who will have to endure that long time proud! Prove here that the sword warriors of Namgung are never cowards!”

Everyone grabbed their swords.

A martial artist proves themselves through their death.

It wasn’t until the very end that everyone understood what it truly meant. With no hesitation left in their eyes, they glared at the pirates leaping from their ships onto the island.

“Form ranks!”

“Charge!”

The survivors of the Azure Sky Sword Squad, positioned at the front, shouted at the top of their lungs.

Azure Sky Namgung Family.

People die. But their names remain, remembered.

If their will can be conveyed through this death, it will never be a dog’s death.

“In the name of Azure Sky and Namgung!”

Namgung Myung shouted as if spitting blood.

“Slaughter these evil pirates!”

With a resounding battle cry, the sword warriors of Namgung Family charged toward the pirates landing on the shore.

There is no point in just holding their position. What they needed to show was not persistence, but determination!

‘Sogaju!’

Namgung Myung, holding his sword, also rushed like a beam of light.

‘Be sure to survive! Absolutely!’

May our will to be seen here continue to Namgung Dowi.

And may our will reach the children of Namgung who would grow up in the years to come.

Blood spurted out.

The blood gushing from the bodies of the warriors of Namgung at the forefront, and the blood spurting from the necks of the pirates as they were beheaded, stained Namgung Myung’s vision red.

But no screams were heard. Among those who bear the Namgung, not one of them let out a weak scream.

Even when slashed in the chest or when an arm was severed, they just clenched their teeth and swung their swords one more time.

Death. And another life.

Among these countless deaths, Namgung Myung’s life too would be added!

“Namgung Myung of Namgung Family is here! You bastards!”

Before anyone knew, Namgung Myung had leaped over the heads of the Azure Sky Sword Squad, landing amidst the pirates. The sword he was holding caught the rays of the sun and gave off an infinitely dazzling light.