Chapter 598:
Baek Hoe-myeong quietly looked around his surroundings.
Devastating.
It was so devastatingly ruined that one had to wonder if such one-sided destruction was even possible.Not just the people, but the entire forest felt shattered.
'Even in all this chaos, how consistent.'
Looking at how events had unfolded, he could be certain that one person had done this. All the remaining traces were similar.
Then?
Baek Hoe-myeong's gaze turned toward Wei Yan-ho.
"Magnificent."
He couldn't help but admire.
"Should I indeed call you Wei Yan-ho? I expected as much, but you exceeded even that. You always surprise me."
Wei Yan-ho looked at Baek Hoe-myeong with strange eyes.
"You speak as if you know me very well."
"I know you well."
"..."
"Perhaps even better than you know yourself."
Baek Hoe-myeong smiled faintly.
"From the first time I heard your name, something felt remarkable. And when I heard your name for the second time, I felt uneasy, and when I heard it for the third time, I could be certain. That you would become the greatest obstacle to the grand design of the Ten Thousand Swords."
Wei Yan-ho's eyes narrowed.
"What should I do? I don't know much about your side."
"That's fine."
Baek Hoe-myeong curled up the corners of his mouth.
"You don't need to know me. The dead need know nothing."
Baek Hoe-myeong and Wei Yan-ho's eyes met.
Jang-il swallowed hard.
'This is strange.'
Baek Hoe-myeong was the Young Clan Leader of Baek Sword Castle.
In other words, Baek Hoe-myeong was the Young Family Head of the Ten Thousand Swords Baek Family. He was the legitimate heir of the Ten Thousand Swords, the direct descendant who had carried on the Ten Thousand Swords lineage for generations.
But Wei Yan-ho was the disciple of the Sword Emperor.
Wei Yan-ho also had the qualifications to claim the orthodox lineage of the Ten Thousand Swords. Only two in the world. The two who inherited the will of the Ten Thousand Swords had encountered each other in this place.
Jang-il clenched his fists tightly.
Perhaps he was witnessing a historic scene right now.
"There's something I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"Who is your master?"
"..."
Baek Hoe-myeong asked resolutely.
"My uncle said that the Ten Thousand Swords had been passed down to you as well. It wouldn't be discourteous to ask about your master, would it?"
"What would you do knowing that?"
Wei Yan-ho chuckled.
"What meaning is there in blood relations that are three hundred years old?"
"There is meaning."
Baek Hoe-myeong said firmly.
"There may be no meaning in blood relations, but fellow disciples have meaning. It means we're pursuing the same will."
"The same will?"
"Yes, the same will. Aren't we both those who advance to see the end of the sword?"
"You people?"
A sneer appeared on Wei Yan-ho's lips.
"For people who claim to see the end of the sword, your actions are nothing but petty."
"I can't particularly deny that."
Even at Wei Yan-ho's sneer, Baek Hoe-myeong didn't waver. He simply brushed it off with a light laugh.
"It's all because our strength is insufficient. If we had sufficient strength, we wouldn't need to use such methods. I too find that regrettable."
Baek Hoe-myeong slightly moistened his lips and continued speaking.
"Though the means don't matter for the purpose, still, if we could maintain the righteousness of our means, our purpose would become even more noble. We can't help being criticized."
"Hmm..."
That wasn't the reaction he'd expected.
Baek Hoe-myeong's composure was provoking Wei Yan-ho.
"So, how about it?"
"What?"
"Don't you think about filling in our insufficient strength?"
Wei Yan-ho stared directly at Baek Hoe-myeong.
"That doesn't sound like something you're saying with a sound mind."
"Unfortunately, I am perfectly sound of mind. More than ever before."
"Are you telling me to devote myself to the Ten Thousand Swords now?"
"No."
Baek Hoe-myeong shook his head.
"Saying 'devote yourself to the Ten Thousand Swords' isn't right. Because you're already learning the Ten Thousand Swords. Isn't that so?"
"..."
"If something originally came from one source, it wouldn't be bad to return to one source again. Rather, wouldn't that be more in accordance with natural order?"
"What nonsense are you..."
"Wei Yan-ho."
Baek Hoe-myeong's quiet voice pressed down on Wei Yan-ho. Wei Yan-ho and Baek Hoe-myeong's gazes intertwined in midair.
"Accept reality. The martial world has already lost the advantage. All that remains is just how miserably it will be defeated. In this situation, if you step forward claiming you'll protect the martial world, in the end you'll only meet the same result."
"..."
"Not just you, but everyone will die. Your brothers, your parents, all your family."
Baek Hoe-myeong's voice was utterly resolute.
"Don't throw away your life out of childish pride. You have value beyond that. If you want it, I'll give you everything. Even if you want the position of Young Family Head of the Ten Thousand Swords, I'll give it to you. As much as you want."
Jang-il's mouth fell wide open.
'What is he saying?'
Young Family Head? Did he just say Young Family Head?
Isn't Baek Hoe-myeong himself the Young Family Head of the Ten Thousand Swords Baek Family? But he'd give up that position?
"That's absurd!"
Jang-il shouted loudly. Then Baek Hoe-myeong's gaze turned toward Jang-il.
"Oh, Small Beggar Dog. Your master ran away with his tail between his legs, but you're blocking the way here... I can't help but call it 'the student surpassing the teacher.' So, why do you think it's absurd?"
"You're the Young Family Head!"
"That's exactly why it's possible. It's just a matter of me stepping down."
"How can Wei Yan-ho become the Young Family Head of the Baek Family! He's not a Baek!"
"What a foolish question."
Baek Hoe-myeong laughed quietly.
"What's important in the Ten Thousand Swords Baek Family isn't the surname or such things. It's the Ten Thousand Swords."
"..."
Baek Hoe-myeong spread both arms and smiled brightly.
"What importance does a mere surname have? If the Ten Thousand Swords Baek Family becomes the Ten Thousand Swords Wei Family, will heaven and earth be overturned?"
Baek Hoe-myeong shook his head.
"Such things aren't important. The Ten Thousand Swords isn't passed down through bloodline. What's important in the Ten Thousand Swords Baek Family is carrying on the Ten Thousand Swords and completing it."
Baek Hoe-myeong's gaze turned toward Wei Yan-ho.
"When the right person has appeared, we can't abandon the great cause over petty grudges."
Jang-il bit his lips tightly.
'The right person.'
He wanted to deny it, but it wasn't wrong.
If their goal was completing the Ten Thousand Swords, there was no one more suitable than Wei Yan-ho. Even if there were many in Baek Sword Castle stronger than Wei Yan-ho, it wouldn't change anything.
No one throughout history had reached Wei Yan-ho's level at his age, not in Baek Sword Castle or anywhere else.
"If you want it, I'll give you everything. Becoming the ruler of a purified martial world isn't particularly difficult either. No, that's a useless proposal. If you just survive, you'll eventually reach that point anyway."
Baek Hoe-myeong glared at Wei Yan-ho.
"But you can't save your current friends and family. However, if you devote yourself to the Baek Family, I'll stake my name and the name of the Ten Thousand Swords Baek Family to protect everything that's yours."
The gazes of Jang-il and everyone else turned toward Wei Yan-ho.
It was an absurd proposal.
It was a ridiculous proposal.
But it was also true that it was a shocking proposal.
'Could I have refused that if I were in his position?'
The answer to that consideration was all too obvious.
He didn't want to admit it, but realistically, the advantage had already tilted considerably. For the martial world to block the offensive of Baek Sword Castle and the Demonic Cult, Wei Yan-ho's active participation was necessary.
'Though thinking coldly, even that doesn't make sense.'
It was just hope.
The hope that Wei Yan-ho would somehow do something.
Realistically speaking, the martial world had already reached a point where it couldn't stop the two. Even if Wei Yan-ho's efforts could resolve the situation...
'Would that really be good for Wei Yan-ho?'
What would remain for Wei Yan-ho if he carried the martial world on his back and fought and won? Only wounds would remain. If he devoted himself to them, he could achieve the same result while doing everything he wanted.
Jang-il looked at Wei Yan-ho with tense eyes.
If it was the Wei Yan-ho he knew...
Wei Yan-ho's hand moved. Wei Yan-ho's fingertip, which had drawn a smooth arc in the air, dug into his ear.
Swish.
After picking his ear a couple times, Wei Yan-ho blew the earwax off his fingertip with a puff, then scratched his head as if annoyed.
"What are you saying, from earlier?"
Baek Hoe-myeong's eyes widened slightly.
"Well, I don't mind you saying whatever you want, but I'm getting bored now, so let's just do what we're going to do."
Swish.
Wei Yan-ho drew his sword and pointed it at Baek Hoe-myeong.
"It's disappointing that the Young Family Head position doesn't seem to be as great a position as I thought, but still, if I catch you here, I can say I've achieved quite a feat. This is more appealing than your proposal, don't you think?"
Baek Hoe-myeong's eyes became cold as ice.
"Hmm."
Baek Hoe-myeong tilted his head.
"I thought you had some brains, but was I mistaken? There's no reason to choose death."
"You probably wouldn't understand even if I explained."
Wei Yan-ho said in a calm voice.
"It's not that I'm stupid, it's that you're stupid."
"Me?"
"Yes."
Wei Yan-ho shrugged.
"People aren't that simple. If it was as you say, why would wars happen? Everyone would just join whichever side looks like it's winning."
"..."
"Acting all smart while spouting nothing but stupid nonsense. And..."
Wei Yan-ho cracked his neck left and right.
Crack, crack.
The sound of bones cracking came from his neck.
"You seem to be mistaken about something, but this isn't the time for you to be considerate of my situation, you know? I should be the one being considerate of your situation."
"...You?"
"Yes."
Wei Yan-ho's voice became a bit colder.
"Because I'm the strong one."
Baek Hoe-myeong was speechless.
You could tell from his manner of speaking. That wasn't bluster. Wei Yan-ho really thought that way.
"I don't know why the weak side is trying to be considerate of the strong side's situation. Anyway, I'll gratefully accept just that sentiment. Oh, but of course, that doesn't mean I'll be considerate of your situation."
"...We can't communicate."
He shook his head.
'An incomprehensible guy.'
Does he really believe he can handle them? With that small number against Baek Sword Castle? No, against the Ten Thousand Swords Baek Family?
If he really thinks that, he can only be called insane.
"What a pity."
Baek Hoe-myeong slowly stepped back.
"Hey, I won't let you run away."
"Run away?"
Baek Hoe-myeong's face contorted.
"I've been indulgent with you and now you don't know your place. Run away? Run away, you say? Who? Me? Are you saying that I, and the Ten Thousand Swords Baek Family, would run away in fear of you?"
Baek Hoe-myeong's momentum gradually rose.
"You haven't met any proper opponents until now..."
CRACK!
At that moment, with an ear-splitting sound of cutting through air, a sword light like a beam of light grazed past Baek Hoe-myeong's face.
"..."
Drip drip.
Red blood flowed down over his split skin.
"I think we've talked enough, so stop there and come at me. I'm bored now."
With a face that couldn't become any colder, Baek Hoe-myeong nodded.
"Yes, let's do that."
Swish swish swish swish swish.
The bushes behind Baek Hoe-myeong shook greatly as white-clad swordsmen surged out like a massive wave.
"I can't hold back anymore either."
Looking at the Baek Sword Castle swordsmen charging at him, Wei Yan-ho's eyes sank coldly.
Whoooooong!
Wei Yan-ho's white sword, escaping its sheath, glittered brilliantly.
"Let's see."
Wei Yan-ho's low voice rang out clearly.
"Whether these three hundred years have truly meant anything to you people!"