Episode 953 Don’t bow your head. (3)
“Strength…”
Nangong Daowi bit his lip until it was torn apart.
“Cheer up. Just a little bit… If I just hold on a little longer….”
I know. I’m pushing my strength like crazy and holding on to my hand that keeps trying to break it, but I already understand that no matter how hard I try, I can’t save it.
Because it’s not the first time.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this damn situation.
His hand, which had dried and turned dark red, trembled and came towards his face.
“So… matriarch….”
“Yes, Jin. You just need to exert a little more strength. Just hold on a little longer and support will come! Then, just go back to Namgung! Until then… strength….”
Nangong Daowi’s face was cruelly distorted.
Even though I know I shouldn’t, I can’t help but straighten my face.
It’s a blatant lie. Both the speaker and the listener know it. What an absurd lie this is.
However, Namgung Do-wi desperately lied and told that obvious lie. There’s nothing else I can do.
“So… So… Lord….”
“Nangong Jin….”
“I’m sure… I will survive….”
“….”
Nangong Dao-wi’s hands were shaking.
It’s worth getting used to it now. How many people has he already sent here? But I never got used to it. No matter how many times I felt this cool, shit-like sensation of my body temperature and strength escaping from the hand I was holding, it was still as painful as the first time.
“I want to see Namgoong… one more time…”
Namgoongjin’s pupils, who had been struggling to speak, relaxed. At the same time, the strength slipped out of the hand that Nangong Daowi was holding.
“Namgoong Jin!”
“Namgoong Jin! “You bastard!”
Fierce shouts erupted from those who were watching his final moments. A voice filled with evil, mixed with crying and unable to handle the rising anger.
However, Namgung Do-wi only lowered his head and buried his forehead into Namgung Jin’s chest, where the blood had dried.
‘You shouldn’t cry.’
Thick blood flowed from the torn lip. However, although Namgung Dowi could shed blood for Namgung Jin, he could not shed tears.
The moment you show tears, everyone will break down.
With his eyes bloodshot and bloodshot, Nangong Daowi grabbed the ground as if he were going to tear it up.
Couldn’t it have been saved?
Was it really impossible to save him?
If he had received timely treatment from the right doctor, he would not have died. Or, at the very least, if he had taken care of the spiritual gifts that the family had so many, he might have been able to save some, if not all, of them.
But there is nothing like that here.
The one who will heal them and the spiritual dando who will continue their lives.
All that is there is a damn river that flows carelessly through a very quiet land. And…
Namgung Do-wi raised his head with eyes full of sorrow. And I glared at the ships of the Sapae-ryeon that surrounded this island and the political factions who were watching the scene across the river.
“Ugh…”
The young poison in those eyes may not be where the young venom is truly headed, but rather the old faction that stands beyond them.
Know.
All of this was done by the Namgung family. It is not appropriate to leave the results to others. The Namgung family must bear the sole responsibility for the countless deaths.
But still…
sigh.
Namgung Dowi changed his teeth.
I wouldn’t have complained if they hadn’t shouted and screamed. I would have done so if I had not proudly boasted about protecting the Central Powers and promoting cooperation.
But… where is the agreement they have been crying out for?
What on earth are they doing while those who were injured while fighting for the civilians are dying in this cold land?
“Ugh…”
At that moment, there was a sound that caught Namgung Dowi’s nerves. It was the moan of someone else suffering from an injury.
He let out a long breath from his chapped lips. Then, he slowly stretched out his hand and closed Namgoong Jin’s eyes, then stood up.
He looked down at Namgoongjin in silence and opened his mouth in a dry voice.
“Recover the body.”
“…Lord Soga.”
“The heart knows. However, there are some who have not yet achieved success. “If we have time to mourn their deaths, we should use it to save the living.”
Who wouldn’t get angry at those words?
However, none of the red-eyed inspectors of the Namgung family refuted this.
Namgung Do-wi always had a particularly close relationship with Namgung Jin. His slightly trembling shoulders showed how he was feeling when he said these words.
Namgung Dowi just turned and walked away.
“Sogaju…”
The person who was reflexively trying to stop him trailed off. Because I know that Namgung Dowi desperately needs time to be alone.
Namgung Do-wi walked helplessly to the riverside and collapsed on the spot.
The fleets of Sapae-ryeon keep their positions while moving leisurely, little by little, as if they are not interested in the situation on Maehwado Island, and the Gu-pa-il-bang fleet stands beyond them.
When I looked back, I saw Namgoong Jin’s body being moved. There are also scenes of people treating injured people who cannot come to their senses. There was no strength in that hand.
It was worth it.
The suspicion and fear that all of those actions may be meaningless will continue to deplete your mind.
How many more days are left?
three days? Two days?
A new, empty smile escaped from his chapped lips.
If Maninbang and Surochae together push into Maehwa Island, then they will have to die without even being able to put up even a decent resistance. Instead of storing up strength during the five days that Jang Il-so gave them, they only became drier.
“Ugh….”
Namgung Dowi roughly rubbed his irritated face. The hand that was gripping my face was filled with pain.
Know.
They will not help Namgung. Not only Namgung Dowi but everyone knows that.
But even more than that, what really drove Nangung Do-wi crazy was the fact that he knew they wouldn’t help, and even though he painfully knew that fact, he couldn’t give up his last glimmer of hope.
“Huh…”
A voice came out that I couldn’t tell if it was moaning or crying. He looked across the river with bloodshot eyes.
“…How does it feel?”
The mumbling voice seemed to have the scent of blood in it.
“What does it feel like to watch this place from there…?”
I want to ask.
I really want to ask.
Do you know what it feels like to see a family member whom you had met face-to-face until yesterday dying before your eyes? Do you know what it feels like to see a person whose flesh is rotting away and cry out in pain, but who cannot even provide the slightest help?
It was probably the same for Namgung Dowi.
If I hadn’t gone through something like this, seen it with my own eyes, and moaned from the pain, I would have thought about it on the other side and chosen the method that would be most beneficial to Namgung.
But now I know.
‘You shouldn’t consider benefits for people.’
Anyone who has experienced something like that will think the same way. Anyone!
“Hmm….”
But what can you do?
I found out that fact too late.
It was at that moment that Namgung Dowi’s body, covered in bloody tears, seemed as if it might fall to the side.
He suddenly touched the ground and supported himself. His squinty eyes, which had not a single trace of motivation left, clearly widened.
“…I…?”
Even though my vision was blurry, I could clearly see it.
He rubbed his eyes roughly. Then I opened my eyes again and looked across the river.
Wow!
Namgung Do-wi bites his lip hard. My blurred mind returned in an instant.
It probably won’t be visible to the old people standing across from it. Because they have no time to look to the side or back. However, it was clearly visible to Namgung Dowi, who was looking at the riverside from here.
The riverside is quite far away from where the Gupa next to it is stationed. This is what someone wearing green clothes is observing when they look at this place.
‘Danga!’
It was definitely Sacheondanga. A Tang family military officer known to have already withdrawn from the Yangtze River is checking this place.
Namgung Dowi instantly grabbed my thigh.
‘No, no…’
It may be a hasty thought. I don’t know if they sent someone to the Yangtze River just to spy on them.
But…
Nangong Daowi sat there like a stone statue without even moving a muscle, looking at the Tang Family warrior. The man carefully inspected the movements of the Sapae-ryeon and the political faction, as well as the situation inside Maehwa Island, then turned and walked away.
After a while, Namgung Dowi stood up as if possessed. And he stared into the distance for a long time, as if trying to tell whether what he had just seen was reality or an illusion.
‘If Tang family is here…’
After a while, he slowly turned around.
While I was going back the way I came, I could see everything on the island at a glance.
“Come to your senses! You bastard! “You can’t die!”
“Damn it… why are we the only ones…”
“Hehehehehehe.”
These people are drowning in grief and dying day by day. Those who cannot hold back their anger while taking care of the injured. The smell and smell of rotting blood. And the great stench of despair.
Namgung Dowi did not stop walking.
‘This is stupid.’
know.
‘There may be no income. Things will only get worse.’
I know that too.
‘But why?’
The reason is very simple. I can’t sit here and wait for death to come. He has a responsibility to protect those here.
Because he is the head of the Namgung family.
The steps became faster and faster. So, the place we finally arrived was in front of Emperor Namgung, who seemed to have aged ten years.
Nangong Daowi quietly looked at Nangong Emperor.
Emperor Nangung, who had used up all his energy trying to force the wounded, was leaning against a rock that had been broken by artillery fire and closing his eyes. I could feel deep remorse and a heavy sense of responsibility on my face.
It’s a heavy responsibility that feels like it’s suffocating.
Emperor Nangong, who sensed a presence, slowly opened his eyes and looked at Dawwi Nangong.
“…What’s going on?”
Nangong Daowi stared at Nangong Emperor in silence. The father and son’s gazes intertwined in the air.
“You told me before, right?”
“…what?”
“If you put your mind to it, the matriarch can escape from this island.”
Emperor Nangong shook his head.
“I’m not going.”
A self-deprecating smile appeared on his lips.
“Where could I, the head of the Namgung family, abandon them? I will share my fate here with them. And…cough.”
He coughed dryly and twisted the corners of his mouth.
“I didn’t know then, but it’s impossible now.”
“On my own.”
Nangong Huang slowly raised his head and looked at Nangong Daowi.
“…What do you want to say?”
Nangong Daowi, who had finally made up his mind, stared at Emperor Nangong as if glaring.
“Father, it may be impossible to do it alone, but if you join forces with the elders, we can get at least one person off this island.”
“…Dowi?”
“Jang Il-so is a member of a religious faction, but he is not one to break his own words. He also has something in mind, so even if we try to escape, he will stop us from escaping, but he will not attack the island in retaliation. Say it again…”
Namgung Dowi continued as if chewing.
“It’s worth sending out at least one person.”
“….”
“Please let me out, matriarch.”
Both determination and anger were burning in his eyes.
“Please let me reach the shore alive even if it means giving up your life.”
Emperor Nangong turned pale and looked at his son.
One day, a father will face the moment when his child stands on the same level as him. And right now, Emperor Nangong clearly felt what that felt like.
That’s why I didn’t ask.
What are you going to do and why should Namgung Dowi go and not him?
Because that has no meaning.
“…What is the price?”
The only thing I was curious about was this.
“As you said, this is something that all the elders, including me, will have to risk our lives for. “What is the price for giving up our lives at the last moment when we have to protect everyone’s lives for just one more moment?”
The determination stood straight in Nangung Dowi’s eyes. It was something that cannot be found in the current Emperor Namgung.
“hope.”
“….”
“Wouldn’t that be okay?”
Emperor Namgung, who was silent for a moment, burst out laughing.
“Why not?”
“….”
Emperor Nangong slowly stood up. His eyes also began to bloom. A firm determination like that of a child appeared in the eyes of a son who had already grown up.
“…Suffice.”
His hand grasped Nangong Daowi’s shoulder tightly.
