Chapter 1529: Now It's My Turn (Part 4)

"An attack... Chung Myung, you can't be...?"

Hyun Jong, as if recalling something, looked at Chung Myung with wide eyes.

"Achoo!"

At that moment, Chung Myung sneezed loudly and rubbed his nose.

"Not a big deal, suddenly what..."

"..."

"Hey, don't worry. I'm not some fool who would attack alone with a sword and invade the Evil Tyrant Alliance. What, you think I'll bring down Jang Ilso?"

"That wasn't it?"

"Really not?"

"Really?"

"But what about these guys?"

When Chung Myung glared, the Five Swords avoided eye contact.

Meanwhile, Im Sobyeong tapped his shoulder slowly with a folded fan, contemplating Chung Myung's words.

'An upside-down tower.'

It wasn't an incorrect statement. The tower was so gigantic and splendid that one might not feel it, but the Evil Tyrant Alliance is undoubtedly a deformed force.

Throughout, even within the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, there had been concerns in the same context, and that was precisely the existence of Chung Myung.

Chung Myung was the link to the Heavenly Comrade Alliance and the source of the Mount Hua Sect. If he collapsed, neither the Heavenly Comrade Alliance nor the Mount Hua Sect could remain the same.

Then what about the Evil Tyrant Alliance?

Could the Evil Tyrant Alliance be the Evil Tyrant Alliance without Jang Ilso?

No. It was impossible. Rather, it was more serious than the Heavenly Comrade Alliance.

Even if Chung Myung disappeared, the Heavenly Comrade Alliance would be able to maintain its shell, but the Evil Tyrant Alliance without Jang Ilso would undoubtedly be torn apart to the point where the term 'Evil Tyrant Alliance' became meaningless.

This period in which the Evil Tyrant Alliance exerted its dominance seemed like an illusion when you thought about it.

It was a clear issue, but no one had properly pointed it out until now.

Im Sobyeong spoke up.

"In the end, it seems we can't win with a grand strategy."

Chung Myung's face frowned at his words.

"No, it's not that we can't win..."

"Oh, my bad. I chose my words poorly. It's more like the losses will be significant, right?"

"That's right! Exactly!"

Only then did Chung Myung's face seem satisfied. Im Sobyeong chuckled.

"Sitting across the board and exchanging moves won't be enough to defeat Paegun. Moreover, if he takes the initiative, even the world's best player won't be able to win."

"Um."

The faces of several people became serious.

"So, there are only two ways to win. One is to turn everything upside down and smash the chessboard to that guy's head."

"Are you crazy?"

"Get a grip, Nokrim King."

Im Sobyeong casually unfolded the fan.

"The other is... to pull that guy down into the board."

As Im Sobyeong's voice echoed heavily, everyone's faces became serious.

Jang Ilso's life.

That would end all of this and slightly reduce the bloodshed in the entire Central Plains. Everyone couldn't help but empathize.

"What's the plan?"

"I don't know."

Tang Gunak's eyebrows twitched. Im Sobyeong turned to Chung Myung with a sly smile.

"But it seems someone knows... isn't that enough?"

Tang Gunak let out a subtle sigh. Hyun Jong, on behalf of him, asked.

"What do you think, Chung Myung?"

"I don't know either."

"Huh?"

"No, don't look at me with those kinds of eyes. It's not that I don't know the method, but rather, I haven't decided exactly which move to make yet."

"Why is that?"

"Well, it's obvious. I don't know how he will come out."

At that moment, an unexpected person who had been quietly listening spoke up.

"You're saying that you're going to watch his moments and seize the moment to attack when you see a gap. Is that right?"

"...Sasuk seems to have come to Mount Hua for no reason."

"Huh? What are you talking about..."

"It feels like his intelligence increases once he pus on Southern Edge Sect clothes. It might be better to just..."

"What, this guy?"

"Hehehe."

Chung Myung laughed playfully while looking at Baek Cheo getting upset, but soon his laughter subsided, and he lowered his gaze.

"It's similar, but no."

"Not really?"

"He doesn't show such gaps. It's not about waiting for a gap. It's about creating one."

"How?"

"I told you. I don't know yet."

Baek Cheon sighed deeply as if the ground was collapsing. The feelings of the others were no different. How on earth can this be...

"Don't try to understand."

At that moment, Im Sobyeong spoke up.

"It's not like explaining advanced martial arts to a child who just picked up a sword. It's not something you can understand, even if I explain it."

"...That's true."

"Well, there's no point in asking anyway. The important thing is not whether you can understand but whether you can believe..."

Im Sobyeong's sharp gaze turned towards Chung Myung. Following him, everyone stared at Chung Myung.

Even if you don't understand, can you believe it...

"Chung Myung. Can you do it?"

When Hyun Jong asked, Chung Myung grinned.

"It's not that I can, but I have to."

"...Somehow."

Hyun Jong nodded heavily. Though he answered playfully, Chung Myung was someone who understood how much meaning was contained in those words. Hyun Jong trusted Chung Myung.

However, te Heavenly Comrade Alliance was not a place where decisions were made by a single person. Looking at the others except Chung Myung, he asked,

"What about the others...?"

"There's no need to ask."

Tang Gunak cut it short as if even the act of asking was unnecessary.

"We are here because we believed from the beginning."

Everyone agreed and nodded firmly. If it was about Chung Myung, even the Five Swords, who were ready to wager their lives at the first sign of trouble, were silent.

"The decision is made."

There was no dissenting opinion. With everyone's consensus, Tang Gunak looked at Chung Myung.

"Now, what should we do?"

Upon hearing this, Chung Myung grinned.

It was that ominous smile.

❀ ❀ ❀

"...In that sense, providing refugees with the means to build homes and erect fences is somewhat natural."

"That's right. They can't keep playing and eating forever. People need to earn money through work to feel stability."

"It's only natural for the Tang Family to hire people for the new workshop they've built."

Baek Cheon nodded as he continued sewing.

"Apparently, the workshop's manpower is insufficient to supply weapons to the entire Heavenly Comrade Alliance."

"That's right."

Listening to the conversation, Jo Gol raised his eyebrows with a cynical expression.

"No, isn't this more significant than I thought?"

"...What is?"

"Originally, unless you had the surname Tang, you couldn't even touch a hammer in the Tang Family's workshop. For them to accept people who are not skilled craftsmen and haven't even touched a hammer... it's unbelievable."

For Jo Gol, who grew up in Chengdu, this was truly a groundbreaking event.

"Well, it's what Gaju-nim ordered."

"Don't talk nonsense, Sahyung. Do you think the people in the Tang Family's workshop are just anyone? Can it be done just because of Gaju-nim's order?"

Baek Cheon said with a bitter tone.

"...It must be because elder Tang Jopyeong's influence has continued."

"... "

"...Since he said that it wasn't important. Those who feel it the most would be none other than the craftsmen in Tang Family's workshop."

Even Jo Gol, who was raising his voice, nodded in agreement with these words.

"If you think about it that way, it's understandable."

"That's right. I heard that even in Eunha Guild, they are massively employing refugees, right?"

"It seems like they are distributing cultivated land as well."

"For free?"

"...What money do refugees have to pay for it? They'll probably just pay some rent through the crops grown on that land. That might be some money, considering the temperament of merchants."

Yoon Jong smiled.

"It would be fortunate if the people who went to collect the grain from the refugees' fields received a daily wage."

"That's right."

Being the son of a merchant, Jo Gol had a clear and sensitive understanding of profit and loss, and this aspect seemed quite natural to him.

However, in the midst of all this, Baek Cheon had a different thought.

'With houses built, farmland created... Jobs are available there too...'

The majority of the land was managed by Mount Hua. In that case, how Mount Hua would treat those working on the land was as obvious as fire.

Not only Hyun Jong but also Un Am, who had become a sect leader, were both soft-hearted.

"Refugees..."

"Yes?"

Baek Cheon, who muttered quietly, smiled wryly.

Indeed, how long could they be called refugees?

If it referred to those who left after suffering harm and had to leave, they would be refugees forever. But if it referred to those who left temporarily and would return after a short while...

Well, shouldn't that label be removed? They have a good place, food, and jobs. Was there a need to return?

"...How far did he think about this?"

"Why do you keep muttering to yourself, Sasuk?"

"Just leave it, Sahyung. My mother used to grumble like that when she was sewing... Ouch! Did you throw a needle at my face?"

Baek Cheon grimaced as he retrieved the thrown needle.

'One of the biggest weaknesses of Mount Hua is that it is adjacent to a small city.'

He had thought about it vaguely before, but after seeing the development, he understood it clearly.

The Tang Family had the city of Chengdu, Wudang had the city of Wuhan, and Shaolin also had the huge cities of Luoyang and Zhengzhou on both sides.

Mount Hua was also connected to western Shaanxi, but Southern Edge was closer and had a more powerful influence.

Even though the situation had changed a bit now, there was no guarantee that this would continue indefinitely. If the influence of Mount Hua weakened even a little, those greedy Southern Edge bastards would swallow Shaanxi in one gulp.

Even if they tried to prevent that, ultimately, unlike other sects, they would have to divide the city of Shaanxi between them and Southern Edge.

'Territory is not just about occupying land. It becomes a cycle of establishing relationships with those within, making money, taking disciples, and becoming a gateway for disciples to enter the world.'

If this cycle didn't work properly, the sect would be stuck in the mountains and wither away. Hadn't all the disciples of Mount Hua already experienced this?

Baek Cheon, who always considered this, tried to firmly secure Xi'an as soon as he became the Sect Leader.

But he never thought that they would build an entire city here.

If this happened, even if the era came when proper talents were not produced from the Mount Hua Sect, there will be no chance of the Mount Hua Sect failing.

"...Did he really think this far and commit such an act? Did he do it just because it makes money?"

"Why do you keep mumbling to yourself?"

"He mentioned money, right? That's what Chung Myung is thinking."

"Oh, right."

"Too noisy."

Baek Cheon let out a deep sigh.

Amidst a fight that could end everything if they didn't win, he was setting up groundwork for decades, or even centuries... That wasn't the act of an ordinary madman.

At that moment, Yoon Jong, who had sighed for a long time, spoke.

"I understand everything, but why are we doing all this..."

"Didn't you hear it during the meeting?"

"I heard it."

"If it's a fight to kill and win, you don't have to do it. But if it's a fight to ensure that one more person survives, you have to do it."

"...I understand."

"I agree with that statement."

Yoon Jong nodded too.

Among the issues that came out of the subsequent meeting, the one that was most readily accepted was the issue of medicine.

"...I thought Soso had gone crazy for real."

"I also thought Chung Myung looked normal for a moment."

At the moment Tang Soso suddenly stood up, what she claimed was very clear and simple.

❀ ❀ ❀

"We need to disband the Tang Family."

"What... did you say?"

"We need to disband the Tang Family."

Tang Gunak's mouth hung wide open. All dignity and majesty was forgotten in the shock.

His gaze quickly turned to Chung Myung.

"...It's not me."

Whether it was a lie or not, Chung Myung's face looked unfairly resentful. Only then did Tang Gunak look back at Tang Soso.

His daughter had finally lost her mind.