Chapter 549:
'This feeling is disgusting.'
Kwon Geuk Sama Cheon-se felt the atmosphere pressing down on him and clenched and unclenched his fists.
Sweat seeped from his palms.
The tension of having to face and fight the enemy?
That wasn't it. What was pressing down on him was this heavy air of the battlefield.
People are all the same people, but those facing battle emit a completely different aura than usual.
Tension, fear, and an unknown uneasiness.
The air created by all of this combined spreads instantly and infects others. And soon, everyone on the battlefield feels similar sensations.
It was a strange phenomenon.
It should be impossible for tens of thousands of people to feel similar emotions simultaneously. But on the battlefield, this was possible. The battlefield is where the morale of armies numbering over a million can be shattered in an instant, or where someone's actions can cause morale to skyrocket.
'That's why this place is where monsters live.'
The thought that he had returned to this battlefield again made Kwon Geuk feel disgusted.
There are no winners in war.
Even overwhelming victory inevitably comes with damage. What is lost can never be recovered by any means. The fact that he had to start a fight where he would only lose from now on was making Kwon Geuk irritable.
"It's been a long time, Alliance Leader."
Among those who came to meet him, a man wearing a Taoist robe stepped forward and bowed with cupped fists.
"It's been a long time since we've met."
"It really has been a long time."
"We didn't seem to be such distant relations, but with both of us being busy, it's not easy to see each other's faces even once."
"Yes. That's right."
Though Kwon Geuk subtly pointed out the relationship between the Nine Sects and the Righteous Martial Alliance that had grown distant after the war, Song Hyeon smoothly deflected Kwon Geuk's words.
'Tsk.'
Though he wasn't without complaints, now wasn't the time to blame anyone. They couldn't afford to divide among allies before a war.
"Has Shaolin not arrived yet?"
"They say they'll arrive soon."
"Hmm…"
Kwon Geuk furrowed his brow.
Since Baek Geom Seong hadn't entered Hefei yet either, it wouldn't be a major problem. However, it was also true that this sluggish response was irritating.
'Am I being impatient?'
Kwon Geuk suppressed his wavering heart.
Unlike back then when he was merely swept up in war, he now prided himself on having accumulated enough experience to maintain peace of mind at his age. But the approaching air of war was shattering such pride to pieces.
No one can easily accept war.
Even veteran generals who have experienced a hundred battles find war burdensome just the same. Kwon Geuk was now realizing this fact anew.
"Haven't the scouts of Baek Geom Seong arrived?"
"A few seem to have entered Hefei. But blocking them all is difficult."
"That would be the case. Let's go in."
Kwon Geuk began walking ahead.
Passing the tents set up on both sides, Kwon Geuk headed toward the large tent visible in the center, pushed aside the entrance, and went inside.
"The preparations are better organized than I expected."
"The influential people of Hefei are supporting us with tents and provisions. And the Namgung Family has also provided much help."
Kwon Geuk turned his gaze to look at Namgung Jo-wi. Namgung Jo-wi smiled broadly and nodded.
"It's a matter of blocking foreign invaders attacking my land. Contributing the most is only natural."
"Indeed."
Kwon Geuk's mood lightened a bit.
'Experience shows its strength at times like this.'
Twenty years ago, when the Demonic Cult invaded the Central Plains, the Central Plains' biggest mistake was thinking this war would end quickly.
Though the Demonic Cult had invaded countless times before, those wars rarely became large-scale total wars. What the Demonic Cult wanted wasn't the entire Central Plains but land where they could establish a foothold, and fighting always occurred in the outer regions of the Central Plains.
Even if the Demonic Cult won in the preliminary battles, they never pushed all the way to the center of the Central Plains. Therefore, those living in the rear regions of Shaanxi, even knowing the Demonic Cult had invaded, tried to preserve their strength.
And that strangled the Central Plains.
No one would accept losses to block a blade that wouldn't reach them. Watching the Demonic Cult's advancing offensive, the Central Plains split into two groups.
Those who had to block them immediately and those who should provide support.
Those who had to block fought bloody fierce battles, but those who should provide support watched that war with leisurely hearts. At the level of putting on airs.
When those who had to block could no longer hold and retreated, the Demonic Cult, unlike before, surged into the Central Plains. Then the fire fell at their feet.
Those who had to block.
Sichuan didn't forget the resentment from that time and split from the Righteous Martial Alliance by creating the Heavenly Alliance. The original sin lies on this side.
And that war left a great lesson for the Central Plains. There are no safe zones against the Demonic Cult's offensive. Unless you put forth all your strength and fight desperately, you'll ultimately be defeated.
That lesson was now being demonstrated.
"You mentioned influential people?"
"Not just influential people, but the merchant world is also providing support. They want this crisis to end quickly."
"Hmm."
Total war.
The war was rapidly expanding in scale. Unlike the last war where a small spark eventually became a great conflagration, this was different. Those who had experienced the horrors of war were opening their own storehouses, hoping the war would end quickly.
They had no choice.
Small wars create opportunities, but big wars destroy everything.
"Is there no message from Baek Geom Seong?"
"Actually, we sent a messenger, but…"
"However?"
"He didn't return."
"Hmm."
Kwon Geuk sat in his chair and stroked his beard.
'So they killed the messenger…'
It's a principle of military strategy to let messengers live. Ignoring this means there's no room for dialogue. It was also an expression of will not to stop this war until one side was completely destroyed.
'Ten Thousand Swords, was your resentment so deep?'
A deep sigh escaped.
"How much blood must be shed before you're satisfied…"
As Kwon Geuk's voice grew heavy, Song Hyeon quietly spoke up.
"Still, slowing the Demonic Cult's footsteps is good news."
"That's right."
Kwon Geuk nodded quietly.
"I heard that child called Wei Yan-ho was active again this time…"
"That's right."
Thinking of Wei Yan-ho, a small smile bloomed on Kwon Geuk's lips.
"He's an amazing child. At such a young age, he's already achieved considerable military accomplishments. Alliance Leader, you've seen that child directly, haven't you?"
"Of course."
"What kind of child is he?"
"Uh, well…"
Sweat slightly beaded on Kwon Geuk's forehead.
What kind of guy is Wei Yan-ho?
Though there are countless words in the world, probably no words could confuse Kwon Geuk as much as those. Explaining what kind of person Wei Yan-ho was to others was a difficult task.
'I can't just tell them everything as it is.'
If he explained things as they really were, the reaction would be one of two things.
Either they'd ask how such a person could exist, or they'd tell him not to joke around.
Neither was what Kwon Geuk wanted.
"He's a child who can't be judged by ordinary common sense."
"To that extent?"
Song Hyeon's eyes filled with surprise.
This was the first time he'd seen Kwon Geuk praise someone this highly. But seeing that reaction, Kwon Geuk was burning inside.
'I mean that literally.'
It wasn't that he was so amazing as to exceed common sense, but that he was truly a human who exceeded common sense. But it seemed the meaning was being misunderstood.
'Come to think of it, it's not entirely wrong either.'
It's also true that he's amazing enough to exceed common sense.
"Well, wouldn't he have to be that kind of child to be able to hold onto and deal with the Demonic Cult like that?"
That was also correct.
However, the meaning was slightly different.
As someone who knew how Wei Yan-ho had turned the Demonic Cult's horse's head around, Kwon Geuk couldn't just nod in agreement.
"It's amazing activity."
He was just stating facts.
"If the Demonic Cult had reached Shaanxi now, the situation would be twice as bad as it is now. It's remarkable."
'Twice…'
He probably meant to say ten times. This wasn't something to measure simply by the level of enemies increasing and troops increasing. No one would want to fight enemies on both sides.
"Alliance Leader."
Namgung Jo-wi, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, spoke up.
"Please speak, Family Head Namgung."
"Is that child strong?"
"Hmm…"
Kwon Geuk fell into thought for a moment. He knew why Family Head Namgung was asking this. While Wudang in Henan could accept Wei Yan-ho's strength just as a story, to the Namgung Family in Anhui, it approached as practical reality. The distance between Guangdong and Anhui was much closer than to Henan.
"He's strong."
It wasn't a story that could be hidden anyway.
"I feel a bit ridiculous asking this question myself, but I can't deny the child's activities that I keep hearing about, so I must ask. Is he stronger than me?"
Kwon Geuk's forehead furrowed.
It was too direct a question. That made it difficult to answer as well.
"I can't tell you precisely. Since I can't easily guess Family Head Namgung's martial prowess…"
"Alliance Leader, what I want is just an objective evaluation. If I were concerned about face, I wouldn't have asked in the first place."
He was utterly practical.
"In that case…"
Kwon Geuk nodded and said.
"Right now, it's not easy to say who's ahead. But if five years, no, three years pass, this question won't need consideration."
"So it's not just empty rumors."
"That's right."
Family Head Namgung quietly nodded.
"Then he must be stronger than me. I don't have confidence that I could defeat Cheon Ryu Geom."
When Namgung Jo-wi spoke definitively, Kwon Geuk hesitated.
Now was a time when morale was important.
"He probably couldn't have defeated Cheon Ryu Geom purely through skill. The martial prowess I know of that fellow isn't quite to that extent."
"Even so, the fact that it's amazing doesn't change. Whether through luck or underhanded means, defeating that Cheon Ryu Geom is remarkable."
"That's true."
Kwon Geuk smiled.
But that smile was definitely not a pleasant one.
'Crafty fellow.'
Though there are countless swordsmen in the world, Namgung Jo-wi is someone who would never fall out of the top five. Neither Huashan's Sword Saint nor Wudang's Sword Immortal could confidently claim to be clearly ahead of Namgung Jo-wi. Yet such whining.
"The front wave is eventually pushed back by the rear wave. But that time isn't now. Now is the time to show the children what kind of people we are."
"That's right."
The moment Namgung Jo-wi, seemingly convinced, quietly stepped back.
"Alliance Leader!"
An urgent voice could be heard from outside.
"What's the matter?"
Stopping his wavering back and straightening up, Kwon Geuk answered. Then an urgent reply came.
"Baek Geom Seong has entered Hefei."
Kwon Geuk's eyes trembled.