Episode 1391. It will be waiting for us. (1)
“A little faster!”
Baekcheon wiped the surroundings without stopping.
Even though it was not a situation where simply moving quickly could be the answer, Baekcheon continued to shout as if the enemy was waiting to stab him in the back.
“more!”
However, the speed of the group did not increase at all.
“Hit it at once!”
Enemies you encounter along the way? Of course, they will also have an impact.
“Sasuk! “The enemy has caught up behind us!”
“I’m fucking coming myself!”
Even when you think you’ve shaken it off, it sticks to you again? Of course, it will have a big impact. Because there is nothing you can do about slowing down while engaging in combat. This was especially true for those who were running with the determination not to allow even a single person to fall behind.
But those who knew knew. The reason why the group’s speed rarely increases is that that is definitely not the whole reason.
“done! let’s go!”
Baekcheon, who instantly annihilated the enemy with Namgung Dowi, shouts out in a loud voice. However, instead of kicking the floor, the party leader who heard that voice turned around again.
After nothing. A place we have already passed by.
“What are you doing! Lord Soga.”
“…sorry.”
Dangpae grits his teeth and turns his head forward. I feel like I can hear a gurgling sound coming from my throat. As if forcibly breaking away something that cannot be returned.
My eyes keep going back.
Like someone who left behind something they shouldn’t have left behind.
‘Why haven’t you joined yet?’
The closer you get to the Yangtze River and the greater the distance between you and the enemy, the more you feel it. The fact that the distance between them and Cheongmyeong is growing dramatically.
And I feel it.
He wasn’t an idiot either, so he wasn’t the type of person who didn’t know what it meant that neither the enemy’s main force nor the appearance of Cheongmyeong was visible at all.
They are getting safer.
This hellish journey to Gangnam was finally coming to an end. Now, the Yangtze River is only a short distance away. As long as we are not targeted by the enemy, we will be able to reach the Yangtze River without any major problems.
But that fact made the party’s defeat even more irritating.
“The Green Forest King.”
“….”
The party member who hit the floor turns his head and looks at Lim So-byeong, who has an expressionless face as if he is covered in iron armor.
“Is there no one blocking your way?”
“….”
“Isn’t it strange? If they had driven us all the way here, they would definitely try to surround us. Isn’t there more than half of the Ten Thousand Ten Forces’ troops left in Yangtze? “What are they doing now?”
“You have a pretty bad temper.”
A grumpy voice came from Lim So-byeong’s mouth. A voice that is strangely incongruous with a serious expression. Therefore, the voice was heard more clearly.
“Why are you asking something you already know? “The reason you want to confirm it through my own mouth is because you’re not sure, or because you want to make an excuse that you didn’t know?”
Insulting language worthy of venting one’s anger. However, the party faction simply remained silent. This is because I felt that the cool days that came with those words were not necessarily meant for him.
Lim So-byeong, seeing the party’s reaction, slightly bites his lip.
“Where would it have gone?”
“….”
“Let’s not ask each other obvious questions. “There is nothing we can do.”
What the party is feeling right now is a heaviness that is difficult to describe.
But perhaps Lim So-byeong goes beyond heaviness and even feels despair.
The role of the military is to find the best solution within a limited situation. The moment you fail to find the best option, the military becomes even more worthless.
The despair Lim So-byeong was feeling was fully contained in the words that there was nothing he could do.
“…It’s true that you went to the dojo.”
“….”
Lim So-byeong’s face showed annoyance. What difference does it make if you say it out loud and confirm it?
After seeing Lim So-byeong’s expression, Dangpae turned his head and looked ahead. In his eyes, he saw Hwasan’s disciples furiously cutting through their enemies.
‘Don’t they know too?’
Why are they heading to the Yangtze River so easily now and where are the enemies heading?
But how can you fight without looking back?
Even though he doesn’t eat together with the Hwasan Sword Association, he keeps feeling like someone is grabbing him from behind, and even though he tries not to, he keeps looking back. What kind of feelings are they holding their swords in?
I can’t even think of guessing it.
“Dang, Lord Soga.”
At that time, someone calls the party flag. When he turned his head, he saw Kwak Hwan-so, who had already come to his side, looking at him with stern eyes.
“Is it true that the Hwasan Sword Association is currently luring the enemies?”
“…I’m not sure.”
The party leader could not bear to answer yes.
No matter what the answer is, it will only be a painful answer from Haenam’s perspective. These are neither shameless nor foolish. These were people who felt keenly that Cheongmyeong was taking excessive risks.
How can you stick a knife in the face of such people?
“Soon… I’ll probably join you soon. Cheongmyeong Dojo has always been like that. “It is difficult to judge him from the perspective of a criminal.”
The party leader said that and looked away.
Because it was too difficult to continue talking.
“….”
Kwak Hwan-so also seemed to have realized that the party leader was now telling a lie. Kwak Hwan-so, who was moving his lips as if he was about to say something, eventually closes his mouth.
“Hurry!”
Baekcheon’s strong voice, heard just in time, erases their thoughts.
“let’s go.”
“yes.”
Now is not the time to slow down the group with these thoughts.
Even if there are concerns or things that disturb you, you have to bury them all for now and just follow Baekcheon’s instructions.
That must be Cheongmyeong’s will to remain alone in a dangerous place to save them.
‘But…’
Dangpae shifted his gaze and slowly looked around.
Even leaving aside the faces of the Hwasan disciples, who could only see their backs, the faces of Namgung Do-wi, Hyeyeon, and even the Haenam disciples were extremely stiff.
‘stamp. ‘Is this really what you wanted?’
Maybe everyone here will survive without sacrifice.
But even if they survive, can they accept that survival with pride? Can we truly accept the life gained at the cost of sacrificing those who should not die the most?
If Qingming really thought that way, the party faction would hate Qingming.
If you thought of them as people with even the slightest sense of shame, you wouldn’t be able to make that judgment. None of them would have wanted to save their lives in exchange for the sacrifice of Cheongmyeong.
‘But why…’
Dangpae bit his lip.
I’m asking, but I know. In the end, you have no choice but to choose.
A way to endanger yourself and a way to endanger others. If those two paths were the only ones left, Qingming would naturally have chosen to put himself in danger.
Because he has always made that choice.
That’s why everyone followed him. That’s why everyone liked him.
But at this moment, the method that had led to following Cheongmyeong was returning with the worst results. As if it was a price he and they would have to pay one day.
So I have no choice but to resent it.
At least I didn’t want this worst ending. No one.
And then.
“Ah…”
A sight that seemed like a lie came into the Dangpae’s eyes. The end of a road that seemed like it would never end. The end of a wide forest that seemed to last forever.
The land spreads beyond a low ridge. The edge of the earth was stained a deep black color, darker than the sky.
Those who understood the identity of the black line stopped in place one by one. As if I couldn’t overcome the turbulence in my body.
A voice uttered as if someone had been possessed flowed quietly between them.
“It’s…a river.”
Yangtze River.
A huge river that divides the north and south of the central plains. And the place they so desperately wanted to see.
The Yangtze River was now unfolding before their eyes.
My legs feel weak. Even the party leader, who thought that this would not happen, had to calm down for a moment.
How should I express this feeling?
Relief? Feeling exhausted? Or just simple joy?
It would be impossible to define that incredibly complex emotional vortex in one word.
In that deep emotion, the party members and the others around him could only tremble.
“Wow.”
At that moment, Lee Ja-yang lowers her head from the front of the party flag.
“…Jayang.”
Kwak Hwan-so placed his hand on Lee Ja-yang’s shoulder. Then, Lee Ja-yang opened her mouth in a crying voice.
“Honestly…”
A suppressed voice escapes from Lee Ja-yang’s mouth as she forcibly swallows something boiling inside her.
“I honestly didn’t think I would live to see this scene.”
Those words represented the feelings of all Haenam disciples.
Only ten people.
The number of people who came to rescue them was only ten.
Who would have dared to believe in them and think of breaking through Gangnam? It was Gangnam land that I stepped on with the mindset that I would not die in misery, even if it meant dying.
But after countless sacrifices and enduring a hellish road, we finally reached this place.
Of course, it’s not over yet.
Crossing that river would also be a daunting task. Perhaps, in the process, all the remaining people might have passed away.
But even though I knew that, I couldn’t help but feel the emotion of seeing the Yangtze River with my own eyes.
“…Now it’s really just a step forward.”
“yes. execution.”
Lee Ja-yang nodded at Kwak Hwan-so’s words.
“It’s really soon.”
Without mentioning the danger remaining in the river, Kwak Hwan-so and Lee Ja-yang gathered their minds. After hearing those words, Haenam’s disciples also hardened their expressions.
And at the same time, Baekcheon, who had only ever looked ahead, turned his head.
An extremely cold expression. Baekcheon looks at Kwak Hwanso with a stern face as if he were wearing iron armor.
“Kwak Sohyeop.”
“yes. “Mr. Jangmun.”
Kwak Hwan-so faced Baek-cheon directly.
Now, if Baekcheon tells him to jump into the fire, he will do so, and even if he tells him to sacrifice his life, he will do so. Because Baekcheon deserves it.
“That is the Yangtze River. Just beyond that point is Gangbuk. When we reach Gangbuk, either Cheonwoomaeng or Gupailbang will come to welcome Haenam.”
Kwak Hwan-so’s eyebrows twitch slightly.
It’s not that it’s unpleasant or anything. I was just curious about Baekcheon’s intention in saying this. The Baekcheon he knew was not someone who said obvious things.
“By the grace of the volcano….”
“Sohyeop.”
Baekcheon folded his arms and bowed his head deeply. Kwak Hwan-so flinches at that unexpected example and looks at Baek-cheon.
“This is the only help a volcano can give you.”
“…yes?”
Kwak Hwan-so asked back with a dumbfounded look on his face.
What does this mean all of a sudden?
“The Yangtze River border may not be as strong as we think. Cross the river before daybreak. With that, Haenam will be safe.”
“Now wait a minute. Assistant Manager Jang Moon. What do you mean by that? Crossing the Yangtze River? “Then what about volcanoes?”
Baek-cheon raises his head and faces Guo Huan-so.
Those eyes.
The moment Kwak Hwan-so saw those unwavering eyes, he knew what Baek-cheon was going to say.
“You are asking the obvious.”
Hwasan’s disciples walked and stood next to Baekcheon. Their eyes were not one inch different from Baekcheon’s.
“We’re going to pick up that stupid bastard.”
“Now, long story…”
“Obviously he too.”
Baekcheon’s voice came out firmly.
“They will be waiting for us.”
