Chapter 601:
The Historian couldn't close his gaping mouth.
"That…"
The Historian, who had been trying to say something, barely managed to open his mouth again.
"N-no, that's…"
After opening and closing his mouth several times, the Historian finally finished his words with a deep sigh.
"Is that even possible?"
Divine Beggar cackled as he gulped down his drink.
Divine Beggar's Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped.
"Keuuu!"
With a refreshing ah that made even the observer feel cool, Divine Beggar wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"What's impossible about it?"
"No, even so…"
"So, what does history say?"
"Well…"
The Historian mumbled.
Why was it so difficult to speak aloud what was clearly in his head?
"Radiant Martial Sovereign rose indignantly, drawing his sword…"
"Heh heh heh."
"The wicked group that had been advancing fiercely fled with their tails between their legs, and the aura of light that enveloped Radiant Martial Sovereign was so brilliant that he seemed like a heavenly deity descended from above."
"Correct."
"…"
"You're the Historian, right? Wasn't that content you already knew?"
"Ahem."
The Historian coughed loudly.
"As you know, history tends to contain some exaggeration."
"When did you say it was accurate!"
"Aigoo!"
Finally, the Historian lost his temper.
"How much should I believe! How can I believe that Hundred Sword Castle, which had utterly defeated Righteous Martial Alliance and was pursuing them, fled because of Radiant Martial Sovereign alone! That's not something a human can do!"
"Can't help it if it's the truth."
Divine Beggar yawned lazily and stretched.
"Even so, that's just…"
The Historian's face twisted.
History is about conveying facts. But history also takes the form of stories passed down orally.
When hearing the story of Zhang Fei single-handedly blocking Changban Bridge and stopping Cao Cao's great army, no one in the world worries about whether that incident is real or fake.
This is because they implicitly account for the exaggeration involved.
People would be more incredulous if you told them it was absolutely historically accurate than if you said it was fake.
The same goes for Radiant Martial Sovereign's deeds.
No one can deny the achievements he accomplished. But no one thinks that all the stories passed down are undoubtedly true. Naturally, they assume historical exaggeration is involved.
But…
'This is fact?'
I came to hear hidden stories, only to learn that what I heard was fact without exception.
"Heh heh heh…"
From a historian's perspective, there could be no greater joy. But the Historian couldn't laugh. Who could laugh after hearing such words?
"Hundred Sword Castle retreated?"
"No."
Divine Beggar spoke firmly.
"They didn't retreat. They fled."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"The nuance is different, isn't it! Retreating gives the feeling of maintaining distance from the opponent to preserve forces even when you have strength left. But this was fleeing because they couldn't handle it."
"…"
So that's what I don't understand, you old man.
The Historian's voice rose.
"But it's still Hundred Sword Castle. You said that with Hundred Sword Castle's full strength, they could at least fight against Righteous Martial Alliance gathered at Hefei."
"Right. Even if they couldn't win, they could have fought."
"But you're saying Radiant Martial Sovereign alone defeated such strength? Then doesn't that mean Radiant Martial Sovereign was stronger than Hundred Sword Castle?"
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Divine Beggar clicked his tongue with a pitying expression.
"How did you become a historian with that head?"
"…Did I say something wrong?"
"You didn't say anything wrong. You just didn't say anything right."
"Pardon?"
"You need to say things that make sense. No matter how much of a thug Wei Yan-ho is, how could he face Hundred Sword Castle alone?"
"But the result was…"
"If you force results to fit, even Liu Bang would be stronger than Xiang Yu. But is that actually the case?"
Divine Beggar kept clicking his tongue.
"I don't know how someone like that studies history."
Something welled up inside.
But now wasn't the time to retort.
"They had their own reasons. That's what running a sect is like. Throwing in all available personnel and consuming your full strength to eliminate Wei Yan-ho alone? Would that really be profitable?"
"…You couldn't call it profitable, but you couldn't call it a loss either."
The Historian spoke firmly.
"Especially considering what happened later, isn't it too obvious? Thinking about what Radiant Martial Sovereign accomplished later, Hundred Sword Castle should have eliminated Radiant Martial Sovereign at any cost back then."
"That's hindsight."
"No. It's not hindsight."
The Historian showed no intention of backing down.
"Even if I had lived in those times, I would have reached the same conclusion. Considering Radiant Martial Sovereign's growth rate, it was obvious that he would become their greatest obstacle. They should have eliminated him as soon as possible if they could. Isn't that right?"
"Hooo?"
Divine Beggar grinned.
"Your head isn't completely bad."
"…"
As the Historian pondered how to respond to that subtle compliment, Divine Beggar's mischievous voice reached his ears.
"But you're not smart either. You know one thing but don't know two."
"…Pardon?"
"First, even if your logic is sound, Baek Hoe-myeong didn't have the authority to make that decision. 'I'll stake everything to defeat the opponent.' That's a choice only someone who can stake everything can make. Unless you're the family head, it's impossible."
"That's certainly true."
"And second… even if he could have decided, he couldn't fight Radiant Martial Sovereign. To eliminate him, he'd have to accept massive losses."
"Isn't that too obvious? There's no gain without damage."
"That's when they absolutely must handle Wei Yan-ho themselves. But there's someone else who will face Wei Yan-ho for them, isn't there?"
"…Ah!"
Something flashed through the Historian's mind.
"Demonic Cult!"
"Right."
Divine Beggar nodded.
"Demonic Cult and Wei Yan-ho had also become irreconcilable enemies, hadn't they? So there was no need for them to step forward and accept damage themselves. Demonic Cult would handle it even if they stayed still. Conversely speaking…"
Divine Beggar wet his throat with alcohol. The sound of alcohol going down was clearly audible.
"No matter how much they've joined hands, Hundred Sword Castle, which would have to face the dangerous Demonic Cult, wouldn't welcome losing their full strength."
That was certain.
Though Hundred Sword Castle and Demonic Cult had formed a temporary alliance, there could be no trust between them. Once their common enemy of the Central Plains disappeared, the two would inevitably be at odds again.
"In the end, only one of the two could remain."
"Right. Even if that wasn't actually the case, Baek Hoe-myeong had no choice but to think so."
"…Certainly."
Baek Hoe-myeong's position was understandable.
Having achieved victory in the great battle against Righteous Martial Alliance, he probably thought he had already gained the upper hand. In that case, his thoughts would inevitably turn to Demonic Cult pushing into the Central Plains rather than the immediate enemy before his eyes.
Demonic Cult was Demonic Cult.
Though they had formed an alliance, they could never be eternal friends.
"So he'd preserve his strength and push Wei Yan-ho onto Demonic Cult?"
"That's what he thought with his head. At the time, it seemed like his feet wouldn't move."
The Historian nodded.
He could understand both Baek Hoe-myeong's choice to flee and his shame about fleeing.
"And in the end, what remains in the world is only results."
Divine Beggar cackled with laughter.
"No matter what circumstances there were behind it, what people see is only results. What's passed down to the world is also only results. No matter how deeply Baek Hoe-myeong and Hundred Sword Castle thought before choosing to retreat, what difference does it make? The result is that they fled from Wei Yan-ho."
"That's right."
"Besides, it's not entirely wrong to say that."
That was the truth.
Baek Hoe-myeong chose retreat for various reasons. But among those many reasons, the largest portion was undoubtedly one thing.
"No matter how many excuse-like words you attach, nothing will change. The fact is they fled because Wei Yan-ho was strong. If Wei Yan-ho hadn't been strong, they wouldn't have felt burdened about eliminating him, would they?"
The Historian nodded.
"Every grave has its excuses, and every retreat its reasons. Any retreat in the world has its own reasons. But unless you can reverse the situation, a retreat is just a retreat. Isn't that so?"
"You speak correctly."
The Historian also agreed with Divine Beggar's words.
Though it was hard to believe, if Divine Beggar's words were accurate, Hundred Sword Castle had fled from Wei Yan-ho.
"Of course, various situations combined to create this. To give a simple example… if they hadn't disrupted their formation and stretched their battle lines thin while pursuing the fleeing Righteous Martial Alliance, Wei Yan-ho couldn't have handled them. Though countless people died, what Wei Yan-ho actually faced was only an extremely small portion of Hundred Sword Castle's many sword warriors."
"Hmm."
"If cats want to face a tiger, they must attack together. But if they rush in one by one, the tiger devours them in turn. Baek Hoe-myeong retreated knowing this. But what meaning does that have when they ultimately retreated?"
Was Baek Hoe-myeong's choice correct?
The Historian could only nod in the end. His choice was wise. Even if the Historian had been in Baek Hoe-myeong's position, he would have made the same choice. But that wouldn't serve as an excuse.
That's how the world is, how history is. Making the right choice doesn't give you an indulgence. What remains in the world is ultimately results.
"And speaking of results, that choice became the worst."
"…The worst?"
"What I've told you so far is the story passed down in history. They fled, and Wei Yan-ho announced his prestige to the world. It hadn't been long since he caught a Demonic Cult Bishop, and he rescued Righteous Martial Alliance again and defeated Hundred Sword Castle. How heroic was that?"
The Historian tilted his head.
Usually Divine Beggar didn't speak well of Wei Yan-ho. Though undeniable affection seeped through all those gossips, he wasn't someone to package things so openly.
But why was he suddenly saying such things?
"But the world isn't that simple. Baek Hoe-myeong didn't know."
"Know what?"
"How much of a beast that guy is."
"…"
Seeing the confused Historian, Divine Beggar cackled.
"You wouldn't know, you couldn't know. Just as little was passed down about Wei Yan-ho, little was known about him at the time. So he didn't know how vicious that guy could be once he entered battle. That was Baek Hoe-myeong's biggest mistake."
The Historian's spine tingled.
"What did Radiant Martial Sovereign do?"
"Nothing special. He just chased them."
"…"
"But that's what was truly terrifying. Really… Yes, truly terrifying."
Divine Beggar shuddered.