Chapter 1278: I Wasn't Wrong (Part 3)

Sigh.

The rough waves lapped against the boat, creating white foam. Chung Myung silently watched the scene with sunken eyes.

'It's frustrating.'

If you were running on foot, you could push your legs, and if it were riding a horse, you could urge it forward. However, when riding a boat propelled by the wind, there was a limit to how much speed could be increased by human power.

Therefore, from now until the moment they arrived in Gangnam territory, they had to pass the time in this manner.

'Anyway, this doesn't suit my temperament.'

In a way, this was quite natural. However, feeling frustration in the face of such naturalness, Chung Myung might not have been meant to become a Taoist from the beginning.

"You seem to be lost in thought."

Chung Myung turned his head at the sound of the voice. Nokrim King Im Sobyeong approached with a sly smile.

"Or maybe you don't have any thoughts?"

"⋯⋯."

"Which is it?"

"It's this one, I suppose?"

Chung Myung pointed to Im Sobyeong's jaw with his fist, the Nokrim King stepped back subtly.

Chung Myung laughed and returned to looking at the sea... No, more precisely, he gazed at the Gangnam territory beyond the sea.

"How long will it take?"

"Well, at this speed, we should arrive around midnight."

"Seems longer than I thought."

"Well. If we all swam like the Dojang did, we would arrive quickly, but..." [how tf did they swim faster than boats]

Im Sobyeong cast a fleeting glance towards the deck. The Southern Island Sect's disciples were scattered around and resting. Like exhausted horses.

"But if we do that, those guys will be completely exhausted."

"Hmm."

Chung Myung sighed quietly. Im Sobyeong, with a strange smile, looked at him.

"Are you really okay?"

Chung Myung remained silent. However, Im Sobyeong continued calmly, as if he hadn't expected an answer in the first place.

"Of course, I'm the kind of person who just does as he's told, but aren't you the one who has to take responsibility?"

"If someone heard you, they'd think you don't care about what happens to you."

"Meeting the wrong person and perishing is just a natural occurrence for us strategists. Strategists are originally meant to meet such an end."

"⋯⋯Is that what the Nokrim King has to say?"

"Whether it's the Nokrim King or me, what's the difference? It's the role I thought of for myself in the Heavenly Comrade Alliance."

Chung Myung chuckled quietly. Anyway, he was truly an unusual person.

However, from Im Sobyeong's perspective, Chung Myung seemed to be the unusual one.

"Of course, I know that there are reasons for what the Dojang is doing, but⋯⋯."

Im Sobyeong glanced coolly at the Southern Island's disciples.

"I don't know. By dragging those burdensome guys, will it really help in the end?"

"..."

"If we can bring in the Southern Island Sect, one of the Ten Great Sects, it would be a significant symbol externally, but...reason becomes strength later, so it's important to have a reason."

Im Sobyeong spoke with a mysterious expression.

"I don't believe people who prioritize immediate practical interests over a distant reason are necessarily wrong."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing in particular."

Im Sobyeong shrugged. [hoo, has he guessed?]

"I just wanted to ask. It's just that I wonder if saving those clumsy ones who have never swung a sword properly in their lives and collapsed from exhaustion, as they had fought a battle alone, will really help."

Upon hearing those words, Chung Myung also glanced at the Southern Island Sect disciples. Their expressions showed a mixture of shock and dismay.

Well, it wasn't that difficult to understand. They had lived their whole lives without seeing blood, and now they were faced with the sight of people's throats being cut and limbs flying in the air. It would be stranger if they weren't shocked, especially in a world like the present.

However, Chung Myung also knew. Im Sobyeong's observation wasn't entirely wrong.

Having reasons didn't change the situation. Chung Myung had to break through Gangnam with these inexperienced novices. The Gangnam defended by the Evil Tyrant Alliance.

"If you're going to oppose it, oppose it in advance."

"Has there ever been a time when you listened to my opposition?"

Im Sobyeong scratched his chin with the tip of his fan.

"Strategists inherently dislike inefficiency. Opposing something when you know it won't change anything is just a waste of time. It only makes your mouth hurt for no reason."

At this, Chung Myung stared at Im Sobyeong in silence.

"What?"

"Well…"

Chung Myung nodded faintly.

"It seems like I've heard that phrase before."

"How could there have been just one or two occasions?"

"That's true."

- What's the point of saying anything? Sahyung's just going to do whatever he wants anyway! I might as well preach to the deaf!

Chung Myung chuckled unintentionally. The image of Cheon Jin beating the air with blood vessels standing out on his neck flashed through his mind.

It seemed like Chung Myung hadn't changed much since then. Despite him thinking that he had changed a lot.

"Still, who knows if something might change if you speak."

"Well."

Im Sobyeong looked at Chung Myung with a strange glint in his eyes.

"If you were just stubborn, it might be like that."

"⋯⋯."

"But it doesn't seem to be a simple stubbornness."

Chung Myung smiled and raised his head.

"It seems like you're overestimating me too much."

"Of course, that might be the case. Well, honestly, the probability of that is much higher."

...But this bastard? When Chung Myung quietly glared at Im Sobyeong, the latter quickly turned to look at the distant sea.

Then he spoke quietly again.

"Still, I can't stop anything."

"Why?"

Im Sobyeong, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly began to talk differently.

"From a young age, when listening to old stories or studying history, there was a part that I couldn't understand."

"What is it?"

"The smartest people suffer under stupid humans and eventually perish."

"..."

"Originally, the position of a strategist is supposed to be held by the most intelligent people in that era. Then wouldn't the conclusions they draw be closest to the correct answer?"

"That's right."

"But those upper heads never listen to their word until things completely collapse. Only later do they regret. 'Ah, I should have listened back then.' They keep saying such clichéd lines."

"Are you criticizing me now?"

"Tsk. Please listen to the end."

Although Chung Myung looked dissatisfied, Im Sobyeong continued without caring.

"While observing such a situation, do you know what my biggest question was?"

"...Why don't those higher-up bastards listen?"

"That's not it. Higher-ups are idiots who don't listen. In the first place, it's those kinds of people who become leaders. What's the point of scolding idiots for being idiots? It's just that they're naturally stupid... No, no! I'm not cursing you! Put down your first!"

"...Be careful, you."

When Chung Myung spoke in a disapproving tone, Im Sobyeong chuckled.

"Anyway, that's not what I meant by frustration. It's not that I couldn't understand that. What I couldn't understand was why the smartest people were suffering and working so hard under such foolish humans. Just create your own power if you're going to do that."

Chung Myung smiled and asked.

"So?"

"So I thought, I wouldn't do such things. I would build my own influence where only my words were heard and crush all the forces led by those stupid idiots!"

"Is that why you became the Nokrim King?"

"Well... that's part of the reason."

Although he did take on the role, if he really didn't want to become the Nokrim King, there were many ways to avoid it. But he didn't. He had something he wanted to do.

"So what? You could have done it as you thought."

"Yes. I naturally did as I thought. But soon I found out how unrealistic that fantasy was."

As if expressing annoyance, Im Sobyeong clicked his tongue forcefully.

"What's the point of saying the right thing? They won't listen even with their ears. They dismiss even sensible suggestions as nonsense from a desk-warming bookworm."

"⋯⋯."

"Persuasion, right? Well, I tried. But people never entertain the thought that they might be wrong. Even if you tell them nine correct things and one slightly off, they'll bite the bullet, ignoring everything and claiming your entire argument is wrong! Frustratingly stubborn...!"

"Couldn't win, huh?"

"...So I endured."

Chung Myung patted Im Sobyeong's slouched shoulders.

"Good job."

"...Stop talking."

Chung Myung chuckled as Im Sobyeong made a disgusted face.

In reality, objectively speaking, Im Sobyeong's martial prowess was not lacking. However, the problem was that it didn't live up to the title of Nokrim King. Moreover, until recently, he couldn't fully utilize his abilities.

How much would Im Sobyeong's words be accepted at Nokrim, a place that faithfully adhered to the principle of survival of the fittest?

It was obvious what kind of hardships he had gone through. At the beginning, except for the Nokchae, who were loyal to his father, no one would have properly treated Im Sobyeong as the Nokrim King.

"But still, as you get older and your martial skills improve, your voice naturally gets louder, right?"

"If my goal was to eat well and live well at Nokrim, I might have been able to do that. But what would be different then? I would've become a foolish Nokrim King worse than my predecessor."

"True."

Im Sobyeong looked at Chung Myung intently.

"That's when I saw it. Uttering nonsensical words, making ridiculously foolish conclusions, repeatedly making absurd gambles, a perfect fool to play...Well, no. Just back in the old days! Back then! Cough! Cough! Oh, I'm getting sick..."

"..."

"But still!"

Im Sobyeong grinned.

"Even though he made ridiculously foolish judgments and said he would walk into death, there existed people around him who would willingly follow that path."

"..."

"That's when I realized. Ah, such people existed from the beginning."

Chung Myung chuckled again, shaking his head.

"That's an overestimation too."

"Of course it is."

...But this bastard?

"However, you see..." 

"Yeah?"

"It seems I'm not the only one with that overestimation, right?"

Im Sobyeong nodded slightly toward the Southern Island Sect's disciples. Chung Myung also turned his gaze toward them.

"People who lived quietly and well in Southern Island for their entire lives, willingly walked into a path of hardship because some guy they don't even know showed them a path. They've said they'll follow, even if it kills them."

"..."

"Do you think this is the logical course of action?"

"It's the right path for them."

"Is that important?"

Im Sobyeong chuckled and laughed.

"If people chose only the right path and lived by it, there wouldn't be wars in the world. If people could act according to the right path, the world will be filled with goodness. But what is the world really like?"

"..."

"Dojang is not someone who suggests a path that others don't know about."

Im Sobyeong grinned.

"Dojang is someone who makes people walk a path they know of but are afraid to take."

Im Sobyeong's gaze went beyond Chung Myung to Gangnam.

"Even if the end of that path is death."

Chung Myung, which had been silent, stiffened slightly.