Chapter 1155: Well, If It's Absolutely Necessary (Part 5)

In this atmosphere, even Chung Myung harbored a bit of expectation as he looked at Im Sobyeong.

The reason he called this meeting wasn't because he didn't know what to do from now on. He had finally figured out what to do.

Yet he had two reasons for organizing the meeting.

Firstly, it was because he could no longer stick to his method of thinking alone and leading alone.

As he mentioned to Baek Cheon a while ago, each person here was someone who would have to lead others when war broke out and make judgments on their own.

If one develops a habit of waiting for someone else to make decisions, they will inevitably end up in situations where they cannot make the right judgment when they need to.

So, at least these people had to become those who could find the best solution on their own. To do that, even Chung Myung had to tone down his opinions a bit.

Even if the result of this meeting went against what Chung Myung considered the ideal path, he believed that it would ultimately be the best in the end.

And the other reason was...

'I can't do it alone.'

Chung Myung wasn't omnipotent.

No matter how terrible a war he had experienced and how many times he had crossed countless uncharted territories that others couldn't even imagine, there were limits to Chung Myung's experience and perception.

So far, his way of thinking had aligned with what he believed, but to face formidable enemies like Jang Ilso and the Demonic Sect, his power alone was not enough.

So, he was trying to gather opinions. The people here were sufficient for Chung Myung to lend his ear.

At that moment, Im Sobyeong spoke up.

"What's important to win?"

"....Excuse me?"

When Namgung Dowi asked in confusion, Im Sobyeong tapped his head with the folded fan.

"The question was a bit difficult, wasn't it? When two people fight, who wins?"

"Well... The one who has trained harder, I suppose."

"No, no. It's the one who understands the opponent better."

"I think someone who clearly knows their own limits has a higher chance of winning than that."

Various opinions were poured out.

Then, a voice that stood out as if emphasizing the obvious spoke up.

"Isn't it just the stronger one who wins?"

A moment of silence followed. When everyone's gaze focused on him, Jo Gol's face turned red.

"Oh, no, I mean...."

"That's correct!" [Mom! I'm as smart as Jo Gol! ...wait...]

"...Huh?"

Chwaahh!

Im Sobyeong unfolded his fan.

"Using various phrases and going round and round, the conclusion is always the same, isn't it? The stronger side wins. Isn't that the only truth of Kangho?"

"Se-see! I was right!"

"Who said what?"

"Why are you getting worked up alone?"

"Wow, you did well. Impressive."

"Hey, these guys!"

Everyone turned their cold gazes towards Jo Gol. In the world, there were people who they didn't want to praise even when they did well.

"So, how should one win in a war, Namgung Sogaju-nim?"

Under the burden of these uncomfortable stares, Namgung Dowi leaned back slightly.

"Well...."

He never imagined that such a nonsensical answer would come out of his mouth, but the current atmosphere forced only one answer from him.

"Well, we just need to be stronger."

"Oh my. Now your brain is working a bit."

"...."

He received praise for giving the most foolish answer in his life. That fact threw Namgung Dowi into an inexplicable sense of self-disgust. Of course, in the meantime, he didn't realize how strange it was to be secretly pleased with the praise from the Evil Sect's Im Sobyeong.

"Now, what are the ways to become stronger?"

"Well...."

Im Sobyeong must not have expected an answer up to this point, so he neatly summarized it.

"There are only two ways. Strengthen the quality or increase the quantity."

At her words, Baek Cheon became agitated.

"No, then the small and medium-sized…"

"I'm just saying, increasing quantity means supplementing with those who can be forces. I don't think anyone here has the simplistic idea that gathering all the mediocre people will make us stronger, right?"

"W-well, no."

"...."

Stinging gazes fell on Baekcheon, who had momentarily shifted the conversation. Lowering his head deeply, he secretly gritted his teeth.

"But, well...."

Tang Pae cautiously spoke up.

"It's not necessarily just those two methods, right? Strategies, tactics, and...."

"Oh, stratagems?"

Im Sobyeong smirked.

"Well, that's possible. If Sogaju-nim uses his head well, he might be able to fight against an opponent twice as strong as himself."

"It won't be easy, but...."

"Then, what about triple?"

"...."

"What about five times? Ten times?"

Tang Pae was momentarily dumbfounded. If using one's head could enable victory against an opponent ten times stronger, why would people fear climbing mountains at night? One doesn't go out to catch tigers with bare fists.

"Do you understand? In the face of a difference in power, strategy and tactics are meaningless. If you could win without using your brain, would you go crazy and think about strategies to win? My body is bad, so my head suffers."

"Well, no...the Hans defeated Xiang Yu."

"If it was a one-on-one fight, they would have died! Didn't that guy use all his strength and everything he didn't have and attack them all?"

"...."

Listening to it, it seemed like a valid point.

"Who is stronger right now, us or the Evil Tyrant Alliance?"

"Well..."

Even without thinking, one could answer this.

"The Evil Tyrant Alliance."

"Yes, that's correct."

With the current power of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, it wasn't easy to face the Evil Tyrant Alliance alone. Of course, depending on how well those gathered cooperated, the situation might change, but based on the revealed power alone, the Evil Tyrant Alliance clearly had the upper hand.

"If you are a thoughtful person, you will not waste time coming up with a plan to overcome stronger power with less power. Instead, you'll find a way to increase your power."

Everyone began to be swayed by Im Sobyeong's words.

"Regarding quality!"

Im Sobyeong turned his head and looked at Chung Myung.

"Don't we have someone here to handle that? That guy may have a nasty temper, and there might be no use for him anywhere else, but he's a top-notch talent when it comes to this particular skill...Ehe, ehe! Put that down! If you hit me with that inkstone, I'll really die. I'll die!"

Chung Myung reluctantly lowered the inkstone he had raised. Im Sobyeong wiped the cold sweat with his sleeve and continued.

"So, what's left is to increase the quantity."

"But..."

Upon hearing that, Tang Pae made an ambiguous expression.

"If small and medium-sized sects won't help us, we have no choice but to bring in large sects, but there is no place for them to join us in the current situation, right?"

"We don't even have any remaining power. In the first place, everyone has already gathered here."

"Hmm."

Everyone looked puzzled as Im Sobyeong spoke with a meaningful smile.

"So, everyone agrees that we need the big sects, right?"

"...If it's possible."

"Of course, if it were possible, that would be great, but realistically, isn't it difficult?"

Im Sobyeong's observation precisely hit their sore spot. The reason they originally sought to increase understanding and enhance coordination between the Heavenly Comrade Alliance and the Evil Tyrant Alliance was twofold.

One was to reduce casualties, and the other...

'Because if we don't, we really won't be able to win.'

Baek Cheon looked at Im Sobyeong with a serious expression. Among the words Im Sobyeong had spoken so far, the most painful one for Baek Cheon was, 'People find comfort once they have something to do.'

It was a statement that perfectly fit Baek Cheon. Despite recognizing the clear gap between the Heavenly Comrade Alliance and the Evil Tyrant Alliance, Baek Cheon had focused all his energy on training day by day. Rather than solving the fundamental problem, he tried to do what he could.

'Is this a difference in perspective?'

Perhaps this was the difference between Im Sobyeong, who tried to think and solve on his own, and Baek Cheon, who was still waiting for someone to provide a solution.

Baek Cheon engraved this moment deeply in his heart.

Im Sobyeong folded the fan with a crisp sound and said.

"Alright. Beonchung!"

"Yes, Nokrim King!"

"Spread out the map!"

"Yes!"

Beonchung held up the large map he had in his hand. Because of his large build, he could spread the wide map open by himself.

'Did he prepare that in advance?'

Tang Gunak looked at Im Sobyeong with a puzzled expression. Now that he thought about it, it seemed that Nokrim King had anticipated that such a conversation would take place here.

"At present, there are four factions whose affiliations are not clear within the Central Plains."

"Four?"

"Yes. Two of them are places you all know. Namely, the two remaining factions from the Outer Palaces, the Southern Sea Sun Palace and the Palace of Potalap."

"Ah..."

Upon hearing those words, their eyes blinked. And when the term Potalap came up, Chung Myung's eyes momentarily sparkled.

"And one more is... a faction included when referring to the Outer Palaces, the Mara Blood Palace."

"But...the Mara Blood Palace is..."

"Yes, yes. I understand. However, for now, let's put aside the issue of feasibility and discuss only the factions that are not affiliated."

"Um, in that case..."

Originally, the Mara Blood Palace was a mysterious faction whose main base was not clearly known, and on top of that, the tendencies of the practitioners were famous for being cruel and wicked, making them incompatible with the Heavenly Comrade Alliance.

"Although it is said that the Outer Palaces and the Central Plains do not match, that statement doesn't apply to the Heavenly Comrade Alliance at least. Fortunately, here, we have the leaders of two Outer Palaces present, so convincing them might become a bit easier."

"...Why didn't we think of that?"

"Yeah, I know right..."

Everyone looked at each other as if dumbfounded.

Of course, just because Beast Palace and Ice Palace were part of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance didn't guarantee that they would support the alliance. The Outer Palaces didn't have a well-defined leading faction, and their cohesion was looser than expected.

However, the possibility that these two factions could fill in the lacking strength of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance was also an undeniable fact, wasn't it?

"Among these, the most promising in terms of strength is probably the Palace of Potalap...."

"No."

Chung Myung interjected sharply.

"While coming from the West to here, a war would break out."

"That's true."

Im Sobyeong nodded and licked his lips as if he felt regretful.

"Moreover, the Palace of Potalap is known to stay within its region and doesn't intervene in disputes between other sects unless it's a major issue. So, it's unlikely."

The Five Swords nodded, recalling their encounter with the Bansai Llama in the past. No, in the first place, they didn't think they could even ask that person to fight with them. That brief encounter revealed that they were different from ordinary martial sects.

"Then, the remaining place is here."

Snap!

When Im Sobyeong lightly pointed to a spot on the map, everyone's eyes widened.

"...Are we going there?"

"Oh, no, are there people living there? Is the Central Plains really that vast?"

"Yeah."

Meng So scratched his head, looking at the place Im Sobyeong pointed to.

"The Southern Sea Sun Palace, huh."

"Yes, that's right. Currently, it doesn't have any affiliations."

"But... ha. That won't be easy. In the first place, the Southern Sea Sun Palace... aren't they located in Imeup (林邑)?"

"That's right."

"In the first place, their language and writing system are different from ours. It won't be easy to mix with them easily."

"We have to accept that."

"And... crucially, the Southern Sea Sun Palace is not a sect that wields imperial power like the other Outer Palaces as you might think."

"Yes?" 

"They have their own emperor. The practitioners of the Southern Sea Sun Palace are of royal descent."

"...Huh?"

Even Im Sobyeong seemed not to know and blinked.

"Really?"

"Would I lie about something like this? So...they wouldn't even consider coming to another country to fight in the first place. How do you think their proposal to join hands with the Heavenly Comrade Alliance would sound from their perspective?"

"Well..."

"To them, wouldn't the suggestion to participate in a war taking place in another country sound like a request for the imperial family to become mercenaries?"

"Uh..."

"If you're going to send an envoy, count me out. Because I don't want to be dismembered a thousand miles away."

Im Sobyeong, now dumbfounded, looked at Meng So. And then, Chung Myung spoke.

"It started out grandly. What's this? In the end, nobody's coming, huh?"

"After all that, just arrogantly ignoring everything."

"What? Was it all meaningless?"

As the atmosphere turned slightly hostile, Im Sobyeong stepped back hesitantly. Particularly, the glares from Namgung Dowi and Baek Cheon were ominous.

"Well, wait a moment! There's still more!"

"Another pointless resistance. Just take your beating quietly!"

"No, there is! I told you from the beginning, there were four places! This one is certain! Right here!"

Tap!

Once again, when Im Sobyeong pointed to a spot on the map, everyone's gaze focused on the tip of his finger.

"What?"

"Is he sane...?"

"Is this guy really crazy?"

Simultaneously, everyone's incredulous reactions burst out.