Chapter 1829. No Matter How Insignificant the Fertilizer (5)

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It was an unstoppable flow.

It wasn't a massive wave approaching from afar. It was more like a thunderstorm pouring down right overhead. There was no time to prepare, no way to respond. A massive surge of rage and impulse stormed through the minds of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance warriors.

Their rationality was paralyzed. Without even considering what emotion was controlling them or where it stemmed from, the warriors simply charged forward.

"Jang Ilsooooooo!"

Who among them hated Jang Ilso the most?

A few years ago, everyone would have answered 'Mount Hua'. But what about now?

Jang Ilso was no longer just the leader of the Myriad Man House that attacked Mount Hua. He had launched a massacre along the Yangtze River, nearly wiping out five sects from the Ten Great Sects and one of the Five Great Families.

How much blood had been spilled in the process? How many lives had been sacrificed?

It wasn't that Mount Hua's hatred had weakened. It was that the hatred others bore toward Jang Ilso had grown beyond words.

"Don't run away, you son of a bitch!"

Was there anyone here who hadn't imagined driving a sword into Jang Ilso's throat? Could anyone in the entire martial world say they had never dreamed of tearing his flesh and drinking his blood?

That intense grudge had finally found an outlet.

Jang Ilso was running away. That unexpected sight ignited their hatred to an explosive degree.

"Uaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Among them, the most violently consumed by vengeance were the Wudang warriors.

If others' hatred was like festering wounds full of rot, then Wudang's was like a fresh wound, still oozing bright red blood. No, it was as if a wound that had barely started healing was being seared open once again.

More than half of their sahyungs were lost. The home they had barely protected was burning behind them. No matter how disciplined they were as Taoists, they could not help but lose themselves to vengeance.

"Kill him! Kill him! Jang Ilso is right there!"

The Wudang swordsmen leapt over the Mount Hua disciples in an instant. Even the fleeing warriors of the Evil Tyrant Alliance were beneath their notice.

"Jang Ilsooooooo!"

Of course, Wudang was not the only group with a deep grudge against Jang Ilso.

Many others followed behind them, crushing the obstructing warriors of the Evil Tyrant Alliance without hesitation.

"Cut off Jang Ilso's head!"

"Don't let anyone else take him! His head belongs to us!"

Even Moyong and Zhuge, who had been holding the rear, lost their composure. Even the disciples of the Namgung Family succumbed to madness.

The Namgung Family had suffered horrors at Plum Blossom Island. Their grudge against Jang Ilso was no less than Wudang's. Perhaps it was even worse—Wudang, at least, had not lost their families at Jang Ilso's hands.

Amid this natural disaster-like torrent of emotions, even Yoon Jong was not free.

His steps quickened as if he were possessed. The beastly screams of hatred around him spurred him forward.

Danger. He knew this was dangerous. But wasn't Jang Ilso right there? If they could just cut him down, this wretched war would finally be over!

Then… wasn't it worth the risk?

Yoon Jong's eyes turned bloodshot. Now. Right now…!

Just as he was about to surrender himself to the burning heat inside him and launch forward, someone grabbed his collar.

"Stop."

A quiet but firm voice rang in his ears.

"…Sago?"

Yoon Jong turned around to see Yoo Iseol gripping his collar, shaking her head.

"Don't waver."

Even in the midst of this battlefield, blazing with madness, her eyes remained calm and unwavering. As he looked into them, Yoon Jong swiftly regained his rationality. A chill ran down his spine. Even he had almost been swept away by this insanity.

Yoon Jong looked around in confusion.

Not a single person remained sane. Everyone had lost their reason, charging forward with bloodshot eyes, fixated on a single target.

Seeing this, Yoon Jong felt a cold dread creeping up his spine.

"Why…."

He understood. He had felt the same violent emotions, even if only for a moment. But even so, this was too extreme. They were acting as if they had nothing left to lose. Even though they held the advantage, they seemed as desperate as those cornered at the edge of a cliff.

Why was this happening?

The answer slipped from Yoo Iseol's lips.

"It's the first time."

"What do you mean?"

"The first time he's run away."

"Ah…"

Yoon Jong's body shuddered, and his gaze darted forward.

Then he finally understood.

Jang Ilso was turning his back and running. The unsettling feeling he had been sensing finally made sense.

That was it.

'Have I ever seen his back before?'

No. He must have, of course. But he had never seen Jang Ilso running away. He had never even imagined it.

Because Jang Ilso was that kind of person.

A man who never knelt, even in death. A man who would smirk mockingly at the world even as he was beheaded. Anyone who knew Jang Ilso would think the same.

Yet now, Jang Ilso was showing them his back as he fled. Could there be a more powerful temptation?

Even Yoon Jong had to resist the urge to throw everything away and chase after that back.

Someone might scoff—'It's just a back'. But even wild beasts pounce the moment a prey shows its back. And this prey was none other than Jang Ilso. What more needed to be said?

"…Shouldn't we stop them?"

Yoon Jong swallowed dryly and asked. But Yoo Iseol shook her head.

"No. They won't hear anything. Not anymore…"

Yoon Jong blankly turned his gaze forward. The warriors of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance were surging like a landslide, completely consumed by madness. No one could stop them. No one… 

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"Cough!"

Blood splattered through the gaps of his fingers as he covered his mouth. Looking at his bloodstained hand, Cheong Myeong forced a twisted smile.

'Back to this again.'

He was already paying the price for recklessly unleashing his sword energy. His body screamed in agony—perhaps even worse than before he had encountered Dalai Lama.

But now was not the time to care for his own body.

"…That bastard."

Cheong Myeong's eyes took in the madness of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance warriors.

They were swarming toward a single red dot like moths to a flame, sacrificing themselves without hesitation.

There was nothing Cheong Myeong could do to stop this. No one in the world could.

Crack.

He drove his sword into the ground to steady himself as he pushed himself up. But that didn't mean he would just stand by and watch.

His gaze, which had been fixed on the distant Jang Ilso, slowly shifted.

"…..Ha."

To the Poisoned Heart Rakshasa, Ho Gamyeong.

Ho Gamyeong watched the entire scene with a cold, emotionless face, devoid of any trace of sentiment. From Cheong Myeong's eyes, a chilling murderous aura seeped out.

Before long, Cheong Myeong slowly took a step forward in that direction.

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"This…"

Jongli Gok's face hardened.

By now, everyone was in a frenzy. Even among them, there were quite a few disciples from Zhongnan. Jongli Gok instinctively knew—it was impossible to control them, just like trying to rein in a stampeding herd of cattle set ablaze.

He snapped at Im Sobyeong irritably.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Hmm…"

Im Sobyeong only stared ahead with a grave expression, not answering immediately. Jongli Gok raised his voice.

"Nokrim King!"

"It must be a trap."

But the answer didn't come from the Nokrim King.

When Jongli Gok turned, he saw Tang Gunak approaching with Tang Pae's support. His face was deathly pale, with a bluish tint, revealing the severity of his condition. But there was no time to worry about that now.

At that moment, Im Sobyeong finally spoke.

"That's a correct assessment."

"A trap?"

"…Yes. It has to be a trap. There's no other explanation."

Jongli Gok gritted his teeth.

"Then we have to stop them! How can we just watch while they walk right into it?"

"That's the problem."

"…What do you mean?"

Im Sobyeong's eyes darkened as if he were lost in deep thought.

"They can't control this situation either."

Jongli Gok furrowed his brows, struggling to grasp the meaning. But after a moment, his eyes widened slightly in realization.

Im Sobyeong spoke in a cold, calculated tone.

"Of course, it's a trap. They might have prepared explosives, hidden ambushes, or even used a fake Jang Ilso."

"Then…"

"Even if they dug pits with spikes, flooded the area with poison, or positioned their entire force in ambush, it wouldn't stop an unstoppable landslide. But right now, those bastards are detonating the explosives themselves, causing the landslide to crash down on their own heads. And they've even dismantled the only way to stop it."

Jongli Gok's face grew even more rigid.

"…Are you saying they're doing something completely irrational?"

Im Sobyeong nodded silently, his gaze fixed on the battlefield, swallowed by chaos.

'Why?'

If their goal was simply to cause chaos and extract Jang Ilso amidst the confusion, it would make sense. After all, to Ho Gamyeong, Jang Ilso's life was worth sacrificing the entire Evil Tyrant Alliance for.

But right now, Jang Ilso wasn't even trying to hide—he was fleeing in plain sight.

A simple mistake? That's impossible.

"Maybe they didn't expect the reaction to be this intense."

Im Sobyeong didn't even bother responding. There was no way Ho Gamyeong was that foolish. That could only mean that all of this was intentional.

But to what end? What could they possibly gain by sacrificing Evil Tyrant Alliance to the rampaging Heavenly Comrade Alliance? And why did it look like they were even offering up Jang Ilso as part of the sacrifice?

"What the hell are they planning…"

From the looks of it, it seemed as if Jang Ilso was being used as a sacrificial pawn to save at least some of the Evil Tyrant Alliance members.

But that didn't make sense either.

First, Ho Gamyeong would never sacrifice Jang Ilso. 

Second, the losses on the Evil Tyrant Alliance side were already far too great.

"…So it's a failed scheme? One that gained nothing in the end?"

That seemed to be the most logical conclusion. A failed plan could sometimes appear bizarre. But Im Sobyeong simply couldn't accept that reasoning.

"Nokrim King."

"Wait!"

Im Sobyeong cut off whoever had called out to him, not even sparing them a glance.

'Not yet.'

No matter how much you curse, shouting commands in this chaos would be futile. If two conflicting orders were given, it would only cause more confusion. The best he could hope for was that they would pick up on a single command and follow through.

So he had to be careful with his words.

'There has to be something. Those bastards must have a purpose.'

He had to find it. If he couldn't, he had no right to call himself a strategist.

"No- Nokrim King! Over there…!"

However, Im Sobyeong quickly realized. There was no need for him to bother trying to find their trick.

"Uh…"

He followed Jongli Gok's gaze, and his eyes widened in shock. A cold chill ran down his spine.

"…Was this it?"

Not far away, separate from where Jang Ilso was supposedly escaping.

A man in a red robe was standing up in the middle of the battlefield.

"Jang… Ilso…"

But it wasn't just one.

One, then another, and another.

All across the battlefield, countless figures of Jang Ilso began to emerge.