Episode 936 Did you even expect it? (1)
“Bangjang.”
The court did not answer calls. There were times when he always smiled gently, but now he remained silent with a cold face, as if he had forgotten how to smile.
It has to be that way.
It was an even more humiliating experience for him as he left after making a boast and came back without achieving any results from the volcano.
It was to the point where I couldn’t even dare to look at the faces of those who were waiting for his return in Shaolin.
“Nangong is surrounded.”
Meanwhile, this news was heard and made the court even more speechless.
Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that they made him into an idiot. It felt like my mind went blank for a moment.
Of all the possible outcomes imaginable, the worst outcome was now upon him.
“Tsk.”
Zhao Gai, watching the courtroom, clicks his tongue briefly.
It may seem like an innocuous habit, but that brief click of the tongue shakes the heart of the courtroom.
“It would have been better to go straight to the Yangtze River without wasting time.”
“….”
It was not clear whether those words were in fact a subtle sarcastic comment on the court. But will that matter to the court? Now he was more ashamed and afraid of having his mistakes pointed out than anything else in the world.
“…Amitabha Buddha.”
After a long, long silence, the words he spoke were in the end nothing more than a brief disapproval.
Pengyeop, who had been silently waiting for a response, eventually let out a slightly annoyed voice.
“This is not the time to be like this. “If the escape route is cut off, the only thing we can do is hold on. If Sapaeryeon reaches it first, the name of the Namgung family may disappear from the river.”
“Hmm.”
Someone’s heavy voice rang out as if in agreement with those words.
“We must go to the Yangtze River immediately.”
Even Jong-ri-hyeong, who was arguing against Peng-yeop, did not refute this statement. This is probably proof that the situation has become that urgent.
“Bangjang.”
Court, whose eyes were closed, opened them at Pengyeop’s urging.
“…I will.”
A bright blue light flows from the court’s eyes.
“Now that the situation has reached this point, there can be no more hesitation. I will lead all the monks of Shaolin and head to the Yangtze River. So, everyone here, please mobilize the full force of each faction.”
Jong-li-hyeong asked back in surprise.
“Bar manager. Do you plan to fight an all-out war?”
“…If it’s necessary, there’s no reason to avoid it, right?”
“But…”
It was obvious what Zhongli-hyung wanted to say.
Fighting an all-out war against the Sapaeryeon with only the sects here would be tantamount to suicide. Even if you are lucky and win, you will only end up doing good things to others.
However, although the court fully understood the intention, it seemed that they had no intention of backing down this time.
“I will send another letter to each clan requesting support.”
“…Would that make those who had once withdrawn change their minds?”
“Now that the situation has changed, they too will have to make choices.”
“….”
Zhongli-hyung closed his mouth.
This is because I got the feeling that the tone of the court was different from before. It wasn’t a particularly coercive tone, but strangely, unlike before, it was difficult to mix words.
“…If you give it to me, it will be a little easier.”
The court’s eyebrows twitched when Jong-ri-hyung’s regretful complaint was heard.
“What difference will it make if we look for those who don’t exist?”
“That’s true, but….”
“You all should know now.”
The court stared with cold eyes.
“The reason I have endured all this time was to resolve things as they should, and not because I lacked the power of Shaolin. However, when things are going this badly, sometimes you have to force things to go the way they should be.”
This may not be wrong.
However, given the circumstances, it was also true that it just sounded empty. If I had made the decision a little earlier, things wouldn’t have come to this point.
The court spoke with a voice like a sword.
“We will go to the Yangtze River without delay. “Speed is more important than anything else.”
He had no more options. All of this happened due to the arbitrariness of the Namgung family, but if Shaolin truly claims to be the Bukdu of the world, we must also accept that everything is Shaolin’s responsibility.
If a situation were to occur where Namgung was defeated while isolated on the Yangtze River, public sentiment toward the old faction would truly fall into the abyss. At the very least, Namgung would have fought against the Four Sects, but the Old Sect would have ignored him.
“Please hurry. “We must arrive first before that defeated army reaches the Yangtze River!”
“Is that possible?”
When Jong-li-hyung asked worriedly, the court nodded firmly.
“It is quite possible. Isn’t it much closer to here than to Guangxi, where the Ten Thousand Rooms are located? Even if the defeated army moves immediately after hearing the news, they will not be able to get there faster than us.”
Zhongli-hyung nodded as if it made sense.
“If you think about it the other way around, it’s the same as the Namgung family holding on to Surochae. It is difficult to clear out the canals scattered throughout the Yangtze River. But if they are all gathered in one place, there is no better opportunity. If we can take this opportunity to jointly attack Surochae from both sides of the Namgung family, the victory in this war will come here at once.”
The court shouted firmly in a loud voice.
“So let’s move immediately.”
Pengyeop responded immediately.
“I will.”
Zhongli-hyung still looked a little nervous, but he couldn’t back out of this situation, so he ended up going along with it. But even so, he did not forget one request.
“Bangjang. I will follow the room manager’s instructions, but you must also take into account the possibility that the situation may not be favorable. “I believe that you will definitely attract support from other districts.”
At those words, the court turned its head and looked at Zhong Li-hyung.
“….”
A moment of silence. And soon, an emotionless voice pierced Zhongli-hyung’s ears.
“I will.”
What came back was clearly a positive answer, but Jongri-hyung had a hard time shaking off the feeling that the answer from earlier seemed like a negative.
But is there any way to check that? In the end, I had no choice but to answer while feeling anxious.
“…We will also be together.”
The court’s eyes turned to Zhao Kai. Zhao Kai nodded silently.
“If you do it, I will understand that you are doing it. There is no time, so please return to the sect right now, finish preparations, and then gather at the mouth.”
“Yes, boss.”
“There is no time! hurry!”
“yes!”
“then.”
Those who were sitting suddenly got up from their seats and hurriedly went outside. Finally, Zhao Kai, who lifted his hips, took a reluctant step and turned his head.
In his eyes, he saw a courtroom sitting at the head of the court with his eyes closed.
‘When you have to make a decision, you hesitate endlessly, but when you really have to be careful, you decide on an answer and move on.’
He doesn’t have a bad opinion of the court. As the leader of Shaolin and the elder brother of Gangho, he has played his role well so far. It is true that with his unique gentle nature, he was able to easily mediate the conflicts between each faction.
but.
‘It is said that a person who is a good king in times of reign can become a cancerous person in difficult times.’
As the world began to change rapidly, it felt like the strengths of the court were not being utilized at all.
I thought I wanted to stop the court.
However, there was only one reason why Zhao Kai could not express his opposition in the end.
‘It must be hell.’
This was because Namgungse could guess the horrors they were going through.
‘Please hold on. ‘Namgoong family.’
Jaogae, who had the two characters “consultation” engraved on his chest, ran like the wind toward the main altar of openness.
* * *
Namgungmyeong looked down at the person who had collapsed in front of him. His face gradually became distorted like a demon.
The person who died with his eyes wide open was someone he knew very well.
All members of the Namgung family are like family to him. But now, the first casualty among those family members has occurred.
“this…!”
He gritted his teeth with anger.
It feels like a poisonous sword stuck in the side of the body is stabbing his eyes.
That’s as many as nine times. That’s the number of attacks over the past three days.
Who are the victims?
Absolutely nothing.
No one was hurt and no one died. Those who attacked came out of the river and tried to attack those who were watching around them, but they died again.
It was ridiculous enough to be called trivial. The result was nothing short of proof that the words of King Namgung that there was no reason to lose to the ditch where your feet touched the ground were true.
But this is only when looking at the results. If everything had gone smoothly, Namgungmyeong wouldn’t have been so angry right now.
When the first attack was repelled, everyone showed great courage and their morale went up endlessly. When the second attack was prevented, there was even an argument that instead of doing this, it would be better to take the initiative and approach the enemy ship and try to attack it.
And when the third attack was finally repelled, Namgungmyeong realized something.
The fact that no one paid attention during the two days that the attack continued.
Still, the attacks continued.
Sometimes they took advantage of the darkness and sometimes attacked in broad daylight.
Is that all there is? When the morning dew settles and a deep sunset colors the river…
the attacks continued regardless of the time.
The swordsmen of the Namgung family valiantly repelled one attack after another, but the first death occurred in the attack that took place a while ago.
“…Empty a warehouse and move the body.”
“My lord. The first thing to do is to have a temporary burial…”
Namgungmyeong turned his sharp gaze.
“Can this guy sleep in a land of innumerable bastards?”
“…sorry.”
Namgungmyeong gritted his teeth and said.
“If we hold out for a few days, we will be able to escape this island. Then you can collect the body and leave. So do as you are told.”
“yes.”
He squeezed the corners of his eyes as he watched them moving his colleague’s body.
‘Damn it.’
It’s not a strong opponent. No, it is nothing more than a shabby piece of trash.
Nevertheless, there were casualties.
As he was pushed to the limit by successive attacks, he ended up making mistakes he would never have made under normal circumstances.
This island is large. Enough to accommodate hundreds of people at the same time.
But at the same time, this island is narrow. Once the enemy forces set foot on them, it doesn’t take a single second to run to the other side of the island.
In other words, they are now trapped inside a castle whose walls have collapsed, guarding against invasion by foreign enemies.
‘No, it’s a hundred times better situation.’
In that case, at least you would know where the enemy is.
But they have no idea where the enemy will attack from. Perhaps, even beneath the waters where Namgung-myeong is looking, the enemy may be looking for an opportunity.
As a result, no one could rest easily. You never know when the enemy will attack, and you never know when the defense will be breached and the enemy will storm into their quarters.
Even though they knew in their heads that they should rest, the tension rose to the limit and did not allow them even a moment of relaxation.
Besides….
Quaaaaaaaaa!
“Shit!”
“Why are you shooting something that has no use? “You bastards!”
The enemy ships that surrounded the island sometimes sneakily approached the island and fired artillery. Of course, there was no way the trained swordsmen of the Namgung family would be hit by artillery fired from a long distance.
But this is an island with nowhere to hide.
If you pay attention, you can avoid it, but if you don’t, it’s not surprising that you die. The bombardment came unexpectedly from time to time. Who can completely relax in such a situation?
‘If we continue like this, we will destroy ourselves before we can even swing our swords.’
Those outnumbered bastards are eating away at their minds, not their bodies. He knows very well how to make people suffer the most.
“Hold on just a little longer. “Support will definitely come!”
“…yes.”
The answer is not much. The morale that had soared through the sky while fending off the first attack had already hit rock bottom.
Now all that’s left is to just hold on.
The sunset was already setting. Namgung-myeong clenched his fists without realizing it.
Another endlessly long night was creeping towards Maehwa Island.
