Chapter 1597: It's Not Even Funny (Part 2)

The Jaegal Family's clan leader, Jaegal Jain, stared blankly at the brutal battlefield and eventually collapsed, overcome by despair. [i forgot his name...he is now 'jain']

"Ah... Aah..."

A groan, as if the sky had collapsed, escaped. With corpses scattered everywhere, it was inevitable.

"Agh, argh... "

His sturdy shoulders began to tremble.

"Uh... Uwaa... Aaah!"

Suddenly, as he started tearing at his own hair, the Moyong Family's sect leader, Moyong Wigyung (慕容委瓊), grabbed his arm to restrain him.

"Jaegal Gaju... It's not your fault."

"This... What in the world..."

A heart-wrenching wail escaped.

Jaegal Jain felt that all of this was entirely his fault, and the guilt consumed him. If they had only arrived a little faster, this worst-case scenario might not have unfolded.

Even if they couldn't change the outcome of the battle, at the very least, more than half of those lying in this plain could have been saved if they had arrived a bit sooner.

Their delayed arrival played a crucial role, distorting everything.

"Ahhh!"

Jaegal Jain screamed like a madman.

As a sect leader, it was an appearance unbefitting to show, but Moyong Wigyung couldn't dissuade him.

Moyong Wigyung couldn't fathom what was going on in his mind. The scene before them was too tragic.

'How many have survived?'

Moyong Wigyung couldn't bear to see anymore and tightly shut his eyes.

Certainly, not everyone would have perished. Some might have escaped. But there was hardly any comfort to be found in such a situation.

"Evil Tyrant Alliance!"

In the bloodshot eyes of Jaegal Jain, he could see the remnants of the Evil Tyrant Alliance retreating in the distance.

"Jang Ilssooooo! You'll receive divine punishment..."

Jaegal Jain shouted, and Moyong Wigyung trembled, clenching the hand hidden within his sleeve.

If even remnants of the enemy were left here, they could charge forward without worrying about their lives to vent their frustration. To at least offer solace to those who died here.

However, what greeted them here were only the cold, lifeless bodies.

Moyong Wigyung sighed with a heavy heart.

'What should we do now?'

It was a devastating defeat.

It was unclear how much damage the Evil Tyrant Alliance had suffered. They might have recovered the bodies of their fallen subordinates and left.

But regardless, the Ten Great Sects had suffered almost annihilation, with three major sects on the brink of destruction. The damage to the Evil Tyrant Alliance was likely not greater than this.

Moyong Wigyung had a premonition. The momentum that had been going on for so long with the Ten Great Sects had finally come to an end.

Shaolin would never regain its former authority. And Kongtong and the Peng Family would now worry about their own survival.

Now, all that remained in the Ten Great Sects were the Wudang in Bongmun, the Southern Edge Sect, and the Kunlun, who were far away in Mount Tian.

Could they still be called the Ten Great Sects?

Most importantly, the collapse of Shaolin was catastrophic. Shaolin didn't merely represent the strongest sect among the Ten Great Sects. It was a symbol of the Ten Great Sects itself.

The fact that Shaolin had fallen into the hands of the Evil Sect carried immense significance.

'What should we do?'

A sense of helplessness and gloom engulfed Moyong Wigyung as if he were lost in an impenetrable darkness.

"Ah... Aah..."

Jaegal Jain was still trapped in agony.

He had a reason to be in such pain.

Jaegal Jain was the one who, along with the Beopjeong, devised a plan to bind their feet so that they couldn't escape and pursued them.

Hence, it would be difficult for him to escape the guilt that all these deaths seemed to be his fault.

Jaegal Jain, who had been sobbing for a while, looked at Moyong Wigyung with bloodshot eyes.

"We... need to chase them."

"Gaju..."

"It's not too late yet! They must be exhausted from the fight! So even now..."

A deep sigh escaped Moyong Wigyung's lips.

"Please calm down, Jaegal Gaju. You must not lose your reason."

"But there's still a chance! Isn't there a chance even now?"

Moyong Wigyung closed his eyes tightly in response.

If they had only arrived a bit earlier... There might have been some merit to Jaegal Jain's words. But not anymore. It was too late now.

At that moment, a group approached them.

'Heavenly Comrade Alliance.'

Just like them, late... No.

'They can't be compared to us.'

It was their plan that prevented the Heavenly Comrade Alliance from coming here.

Moyong Wigyung now realized vividly how arrogant they had been. All of this was a result of their arrogance, nothing more, nothing less.

Thus, he couldn't bring himself to face the approaching figures. He just lowered his head.

"Moyong Gaju-nim."

"...Tang Gaju-nim."

The familiar face at the forefront of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, Tang Gunak, looked at the two with an indescribable expression.

After pausing to say something a few times, Tang Gunak eventually closed his mouth.

Of course. What could he say? As long as their eyes were not blinded, this tragedy would be clearly visible.

Jaegal Jain sobbing, Moyong Wigyung bowing his head, and Tang Gunak losing words. Despair settled thickly among the three.

Tap.

At that moment, they felt someone approaching.

Moyong Wigyung confirmed the identity and closed his eyes tightly again. He could recognize the unfamiliar face.

There was nothing to say in front of him.

If he blamed why they didn't call him, if he blamed how they could be so arrogant, if he asked who would take responsibility for all these deaths... What should be said in response?

Just imagining the question weighed heavily on him, making it difficult to breathe. Hyun Jong's presence approaching step by step. No, perhaps he felt like he would be crushed under the weight of the guilt he had amassed.

Hyun Jong spoke with a heavy tone.

"I am Hyun Jong of Mount Hua."

"...Moyong Wigyung of Moyong Family."

Introducing oneself, something done countless times, was unusually challenging this time.

"What... happened?"

Hyun Jong asked.

A question that should be asked. Compared to the brutal battlefield, Moyong Wigyung and Jaegal Jain seemed too unharmed. The fact that they arrived late was nothing but a feeble excuse.

At least, the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, who rushed from Hwaeum to here in just one step, had the right to ask this question.

However, it was only a blockage in his mind, and he was at a loss for where to start and how to explain.

"Well..."

"It was the masked men!"

At that moment, Jaegal Jain almost shouted in a fit.

"⋯⋯."

"That... Grr... Huhuhu... "

Instead of Jaegal Jain, who started sobbing again, Moyong Wigyung sighed and spoke.

"Bangjang had planned to set up traps here. More precisely, it was natural for them to set up traps, so instead of falling into those traps, he wanted to bind them here."

"Hmm... And then two or three families..."

"Yes. However..."

Moyong Wigyung slowly shook her head.

"They already knew. Masked individuals with unknown identities lay in ambush, waiting to appear and block our way."

"Masked individuals, are you saying?"

Hyun Jong's face stiffened. Tang Gunak, who was listening nearby, asked with a suspicious expression.

"They blocked two families, Moyong and Jaegal? Them?"

"...I'm ashamed, but yes."

"How...?"

The two families were not to be underestimated. Of course, it was said that they weren't to the level of Namgung, Tang, and Peng. However, weren't they still among the top five

However, to block those two families...

Having been lost in thought for a moment, Tang Gunak asked,

"Is it because they blocked you that you couldn't arrive on time?"

His gaze momentarily shifted to the family members of the two families, who were standing with an inexplicable expression. No matter how you looked at them, they didn't seem to have come here overcoming a fierce battle.

Reading suspicion in Tang Gunak's eyes, Moyong Wigyung flushed.

"Are you suspecting us now?"

"That's not my intention."

Tang Gunak denied calmly. However, Moyong Wigyung, who had already grown suspicious, glared at him coldly.

"If this is really the case, shouldn't the Heavenly Comrade Alliance be grateful to us?"

"What did you say?"

"Given the situation where the Moyong Family is suspected of being involved with the Evil Sect, isn't it ridiculous to say that this is a big mistake?"

Tang Gunak and Moyong Wigyung's faces froze simultaneously.

They knew. The fact that it wasn't the fault of anyone here.

However, it was not a situation where they could calmly assess each other.

A tragic scene where one couldn't even muster the courage to reach out. And a relationship that had become so horrifically irreparable. All of it was pushing them to extremes.

"Enough."

At that moment, Hyun Jong's resonant voice pierced through them. Tang Gunak, as well as Moyong Wigyung, who had no reason to listen to Hyun Jong's words, also stopped in their tracks.

Hyun Jong looked at the battlefield with a heavy expression.

Those who had once lived and breathed were now lying in a pitiful state. Hyun Jong, who closed his eyes for a moment, spoke as if letting out a sigh.

"There may be many things we need to say to each other, but let's start by taking care of the deceased. That... 

"Taking care!"

Jaegal Jain, who had been angry, burst into laughter as if he had lost his mind. It wasn't an exaggerated act. That laughter was truly that of a madman.

"Good. Take care!"

Then, he stared at Hyun Jong abruptly.

"When the Evil Sect might come back at any moment, and we don't know what they might do! We have to take care of those corpses! Isn't that the punishment rulers should bear?"

It was a voice fueled by anger.

"Now, if it's not the Lord of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, who else will give orders? Command us! Go and bury them. Make us see and feel the pain of the sins we've committed with our own eyes and bones! Command us like that!"

"Jaegal Gaju!"

Moyong Wigyung exclaimed in surprise. Jaegal Jain continued to shout without paying heed.

"Is bringing all these people here only to clean up corpses the way of Mount Hua and the Heavenly Comrade Alliance?"

Moyong Wigyung, startled, glanced at Hyun Jong unintentionally. It was a speech filled with bitter insult. Didn't the Heavenly Comrade come all this way without receiving a single request for aid?

"No."

At that moment, Hyun Jong's eyes, which had been closed tightly, slowly opened. In his eyes, there was a deeper conviction and sadness than before.

"This is neither the way of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance nor the way of Mount Hua."

"Then?"

Hyun Jong remained silent for a moment, looking out over the battlefield. Eventually, a voice filled with both pity and sorrow flowed like the wind.

"Just the way of human decency, perhaps."

For a moment, everyone seemed to be pressed down by that heavy statement, and no one spoke.

"I implore you."

Hyun Jong politely nodded toward Jaegal Jain and Moyong Wigyung.

The two eventually nodded their heads, still in silence.

Those in despair. Those who were pitiful. Those who worried about what would come next.

Regardless of the position, all of them first needed to remember human courtesy. That simple principle moved those who had been sitting in despair.

"...I will help."

Moyong Wigyung instructed the disciples of the Moyong Family to clean up the bodies. Jaegal Jain also rose from his seat.

"I apologize for my rudeness..."

"No."

Hyun Jong raised his head to stop Jaegal Jain's words.

"More importantly, there are things to be done."

"...Yes."

After consoling Jaegal Jain, Hyun Jong started walking towards the battlefield, now a massive graveyard. Tang Gunak followed him.

Tap. Tap.

Hyun Jong's steps were heading not towards where the bodies were gathered, but slightly off. After walking in silence for a long time, Hyun Jong finally stopped.

He looked at the person in front of him and sighed softly.

Even just looking at him was so heavy that it felt like his fingertips were being crushed.

It was truly sad that those who bore the heaviest burden of death were the living.

This fact tormented Hyun Jong. Perhaps more than the tragedy that unfolded here.

"Chung Myung..."

Hyun Jong uttered a lament at Chung Myung, who was unable to divert his gaze from the scene before him.

"It's not your fault."

Chung Myung, who had been as rigid as a statue, finally turned to look at Hyun Jong.

Those vacant pupils pierced a corner of Hyun Jong's heart.

"Well then..."

Chung Myung asked in an emotionless voice.

"Whose fault is it?"

"..."

"Sect Leader."

From a very distant and deep place, something simmering could be felt. In such deep, deep despair, Hyun Jong would rather have closed his eyes.