Chapter 403
## Chapter 403. The Reason for the Struggle (3)
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*‘Where on earth am I?’*
It was a common belief that as a person neared their demise, their entire existence would flash before them in an instant; was he currently experiencing that final review?
“……Hmm.”
If this was indeed that moment, however, the progression was incredibly sluggish. Rather than flashing by, time appeared to have ground to a absolute halt.
“This place…… is what?”
He found himself inside a military pavilion he had no recollection of ever seeing. Strategy charts and campaign blueprints were scattered across the dirt. Near them sat a crude cot constructed from timber and twine, draped with a tattered blanket. Amidst these unfamiliar surroundings, Dam-ak’s eyes caught a recognizable crest.
*‘……The Murim Alliance.’*
His last clear memory was being pulled by Jin So-un’s grasp and plunging into the abyss beneath the precipice……. Had he been transported to the headquarters of the Murim Alliance while wrapped in unconsciousness?
Piecing the situation together in this manner, Dam-ak straightened his posture. If his demise was inevitable, it befitted a man of honor to meet it with dignity. Yet, that ironclad composure dissolved the instant he stepped beyond the threshold of the pavilion.
“Aaaaack!”
A bloodcurdling shriek erupted from the depths of someone’s center of energy.
“Just…… just end my life!!!”
Fearing that the companions who accompanied him were being subjected to interrogation, Dam-ak hurried his steps.
“What do you think you are doing! Take me in their stead, rather than…….”
The words died in Dam-ak’s throat before he could finish shouting.
“Wha—what in the world is this…….”
The scene was a massive field of casualties. Wounded individuals were strewn across the ground like discarded objects, lacking even basic cots to lie upon. Skulls were fractured, limbs severed, legs torn away, and blood seeped from sightless eyes. The agonizing cries of those begging for a swift death out of sheer torment far outnumbered the voices calling for a medic to heal them.
“A—a physician…… where is the physician……”
He scanned the area for a medical practitioner who would leave these sufferers so neglected, but every glance only revealed further waves of the afflicted. Just how immense was this gathering? The number of broken figures writhing on the earth far exceeded the total assembly of Black Way practitioners who had gathered for the Saheuk-ryeon’s inaugural festival.
*Grip.*
Suddenly, a hand clamped tightly onto Dam-ak’s robe.
“Ple—please…… I beg of you…… kill me.”
A soldier bearing the colors of the Murim Alliance was desperately imploring for execution while holding onto him, the General Counselor of the Saheuk-ryeon. Before the sheer absurdity of the contradiction could even register in his mind, Dam-ak dropped to his knees.
“Where is the injury?”
“Please…… just kill……”
Yet, the Murim Alliance soldier who had been imploring so intensely rolled his eyes back and drew his final breath on the spot. Dam-ak, who had instinctively raised his hand to signal a medic, slowly let it fall back to his side. The physicians were already exerting every ounce of their spiritual energy to provide desperate triage to those on the brink of death.
*‘Where could this possibly be?’*
Judging by the suffocating warmth and heavy moisture in the air, he was certain he was no longer in Hubei Province. If that were the case…… had he been transported across vast distances in that brief interval of oblivion?
Seeking answers, Dam-ak began to navigate the camp. Yet, he could scarcely advance a few paces before his entire frame froze like a carving of stone.
*Buzzing—*
Within a perimeter drenched in the odor of decay, swarms of insects hovered and deposited their larvae everywhere. Under the searing climate, maggots that had already emerged were consuming the decomposing remains. The terrifying reality was that these hundreds of rotting forms belonged to martial artists.
“……Heuh, heuh, heuh.”
He had studied the grim accounts of warfare in historical texts hundreds of times, but those words could never match the raw horror striking his eyes in this vivid reality. Confronted by this wretched and ghastly landscape, Dam-ak experienced true terror for the first time in his existence. An individual wearing the uniform of the Murim Alliance hurried toward him, but Dam-ak was too shaken to properly register the approach.
“General Counselor! Are you unharmed?”
What was the meaning of this? The Murim Alliance soldier was addressing him by his title while gently steadying his stance.
*‘General Counselor……?’*
The title was correct, but the deference was entirely misplaced. He was the General Counselor of the Saheuk-ryeon. In the past, even when he visited the Murim Alliance as an official diplomat prior to being hunted, had their warriors not regarded him with freezing hostility?
“Are you suffering from an injury? A physician…… I shall summon a physician……”
And now, in this chaotic place, this man intended to seek out a Murim Alliance medic for his welfare?
“No, I am unharmed.”
“Are you truly well?”
“…….”
As Dam-ak prepared to confirm, his vision locked onto another decomposing form. He could no longer suppress the revulsion rising in his throat and retched violently.
“Ugh……”
Rather than abandoning him, the Murim Alliance soldier supportive patted his back and ultimately offered him a flask of water. Dam-ak, barely managing to wet his parched lips, forced the sickness down and questioned him.
“Just…… just how many have perished?”
“Well…… the count is roughly eight hundred souls.”
“Eight hundred…… souls……? Do you mean that many lost their lives while retreating…… has an open conflict already commenced?”
The soldier murmured under his breath, “The conflict began quite some time ago……” before staring at Dam-ak with a bewildered expression.
“That it is a large number…… what do you mean by that? Were you not inquiring solely about the losses from this specific engagement?”
“…….”
“If we were to tally the fallen since the inception of the Great War between the Orthodox and Demonic…… ugh. The mere calculation is sickening.”
“The Great War between the Orthodox and Demonic……? Then, then what has become of the Saheuk-ryeon?”
“Excuse me? What is this Saheuk-ryeon you speak of?”
The man was ignorant of the Saheuk-ryeon? If that were true, why had he referred to him as the General Counselor……?
“Then who is the adversary you face?”
“Who else could it possibly be? It is those wretched zealots of the Demonic Cult.”
*‘The entire reality has shifted.’*
From what he could gather, the Saheuk-ryeon was non-existent here, and through some anomaly, he had been instated as the General Counselor of the Murim Alliance. Yet, those details faded in importance. If the chasm between the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult was this vast…… if they were being pushed back with such overwhelming force, what drove them to persist in this conflict? What purpose justified such immense devastation?
Another wave of bile rose, but he forced it back down.
“Jegal So-myeong…… where can I find him?”
Jegal So-myeong was an exceptional strategist. He had not attained the rank of General Counselor simply through ancestral lineage or personal combat prowess. No matter how capable Dam-ak deemed himself, he could never have supplanted him to assume the leadership of the Murim Alliance’s strategy.
The soldier’s countenance grew bewildered.
“If you are referring to the previous General Counselor…… was he not taken by assassins before the Great War between the Orthodox and Demonic even began……?”
His consciousness reeled. What reality was this? The sensations were too authentic for a hallucination, yet as a tangible truth, nothing aligned with the world he recognized. In that moment of disorientation, a specific figure entered his thoughts.
“Heuk-yeom-ryong……! Where is Heuk-yeom-ryong?”
“Heuk—what? What sort of title is that supposed to be?”
“Is Heuk-yeom-ryong…… missing from this place as well?”
“I cannot comprehend what you are implying.”
Dam-ak resumed his walk. The soldier attempted to guide him back toward the pavilion, but Dam-ak shook off the grip and wandered through the military encampment. He sought a recognizable face in an environment where everyone was a stranger.
Myriad tents stretched across the sprawling base, and bodies that still retained lingering warmth were scattered across the pathways. The living stood in a lengthy queue, accepting a meager cooked potato and a small sphere of millet rice before crouching beside the dead to consume their rations. Wherever his gaze landed, wounded soldiers were visible, some attempting to bind their own lacerations.
*‘Just…… just…… what is the meaning of this horrific sight…….’*
The reality escaped his understanding. What manner of brutal campaign were they waging? Throughout the records of time, countless regimes peaceably dissolved when the vitality of the ruling lineage waned. Conflicts occurred during those transitions, certainly, but never had they reached this level of squalor. What target compelled these individuals to endure such a desperate war?
Oblivious to the fact that he had awakened as an entirely different persona in an unfamiliar realm, he felt only a profound sorrow at the misery surrounding him. Furthermore, other anomalies presented themselves.
“General Counselor! Have you received your rations?”
“General Counselor! My gratitude to you! I survived the clash because of your leadership!”
“General Counselor! Pray keep directing us as you did today. Compared to those bastards…… well, compared to how it used to be, the fighting has become far more manageable.”
“I shall exert myself even further tomorrow. Do not hesitate to deploy any daring stratagems you see fit!”
Along every trail he traversed, every individual he encountered offered gestures of respect and voiced renewed determination. The injured far outnumbered those unhurt. Many required extensive medical attention, yet upon spotting him, they vociferously declared, *‘I am ready to return to the fray.’*
*‘For what purpose?’*
He had been informed that eight hundred had fallen in this single engagement. Despite such losses, why did they perceive the outcome as a triumph? Confronted by this inexplicable mindset, Dam-ak’s pace quickened.
Evading the dead, steering clear of the living, he marched onward until his limbs grew heavy and his path became aimless. It was then that he finally observed a familiar countenance.
“Jin-gong-ja……!”
A man was adjusting the tie of his trousers while walking with an awkward stride. It was undeniably the Jin So-un from his memory. And yet,
*‘He is entirely altered…….’*
Heuk-yeom-ryong Jin So-un……. He had been a figure of immense stature. A powerful frame paired with a commanding presence. Even when concealing his inner power, a profound, boundless force seemed to ripple beneath his surface. His gaze held a striking brilliance, and a confident expression never faded regardless of the crisis. He was a powerhouse whom ordinary men hesitated to approach.
Yet what of the Jin So-un standing before him now?
“Ge—General Counselor?”
Anxious eyes, a posture that stiffened instantly as he scrambled to fasten his garments. From the inexpensive iron blade resting at his hip to his unwashed, tangled locks. This was not the warrior he remembered. This was not the exceptional figure who commanded every room he entered.
“Jin-gong……”
Dam-ak silenced himself just as the name was leaving his lips. Only then did absolute certainty settle over him. He had crossed into an entirely alternate existence.
“…….”
He could not discern if this was the classic paradox of the butterfly dream or if he had slipped into another soul’s recollections, but this was unquestionably not the realm he called home.
*‘This individual is not the Heuk-yeom-ryong I remember.’*
Even so, perhaps due to the comfort of a familiar face, words escaped Dam-ak before he could restrain them. He voiced the core dilemma that had plagued his thoughts throughout his trek.
“Do you…… do you truly…… wish to persist in this slaughter?”
“……Excuse me?”
In contrast to the Jin So-un of his world, this man simply stood with a blank, uncomprehending look.
“Throughout my journey across this camp, I have witnessed nothing but decaying flesh and boundless misery. Even if sovereign nations clashed for their very continuation, the suffering should not equal this desolation.”
The fundamental query he had carried since accepting leadership within the Saheuk-ryeon. The dilemma he could never resolve while navigating the bitter rivalry with the Murim Alliance. A doubt that had crystallized into sharp focus upon entering this alien landscape.
“Is the *Kangho* fundamentally designed to be this type of environment?”
The motivation behind the conflicts of the *Kangho*, which he had consistently failed to comprehend despite dedicating his life to its paths.
“Is the *Kangho* merely an arena where men discard their lives for hollow principles and butcher one another for meaningless causes?”
The justification for existence that he desperately required.
“What is the ultimate purpose behind all of this sacrifice?”
The young man continued to view him with a stunned expression. Dam-ak felt a wave of self-derision. What answers could he possibly extract from the pathetic figure standing before him?
Yet in that precise instant, the uncertainty in Jin So-un’s gaze vanished, replaced by an absolute stillness. His clumsy posture shifted into perfect alignment. The person before him was undeniably not the Jin So-un of his past, but the fragile, insignificant figure was transforming into something monumental…… a giant.
“The *Kangho* is…… precisely that type of environment.”
“A realm of pointless slaughter and meaningless demise? That is beneath the level of beasts.”
“……There is a profound purpose behind our conflict.”
“The purpose behind the conflict?”
A strange sensation tingled at the crown of his head. It felt as though he was on the verge of grasping the very tail end of the resolution he had sought for a lifetime. He remained ignorant of the force that brought him to this bizarre realm, but this specific moment promised to untangle the knot he had agonized over for decades.
“What is the meaning of……”
Simultaneously, a feeling of detachment washed over Dam-ak’s consciousness. An instinct warned him that the time had come to depart from this vision.
*‘I—I must receive…… the conclusion.’*
Jin So-un, who had previously avoided direct eye contact, finally met his gaze squarely. He opened his mouth to speak with deliberate slowness.
“The reason we choose to fight until our breath fails, no, even beyond the grave, is……”
Son of a bi—……. I came incredibly close to a watery grave. To think the undercurrent rushing beneath Despair Valley possessed that much force. A single misstep would have trapped me in the torrent, dragging me down the length of the Yangtze River straight into the ocean.
“Wow, I actually survived that……”
It appeared the dedication I had shown toward fulfilling heroic deeds and upholding the righteous path of the *Kangho* was rewarding me in this fashion. *Whew.* Splendidly done, Jin So-un.
After ensuring my own limbs were intact, I dragged Dam-ak onto the riverbank and checked his respiration; there was no air moving.
“Damn it!!!”
I swiftly pressed his pressure points to force the fluid from his lungs.
*Gurgle, gurgle.*
Once the water obstructing his airway was cleared, I monitored his breathing once more, and to my relief, a steady breath returned. Heavens, I nearly lost Dam-ak right here, after going through the trouble of rescuing him from the ultimate techniques of the Jeongdo-hoe.
Regardless, where exactly had the current carried us? Consulting my memory of the geography, the path exiting the lower valley connected directly to Jagwi. Granted, given the bifurcation of the stream, an incorrect turn would have sent us swirling back toward the Hwanggang River.
“Hmm, judging by the sun’s trajectory, this isn’t the Hwanggang.”
“……Then are we at the banks of the Yellow Springs?”
“Damn it, you startled me!”
A raspy voice sounded from beneath me, and a bloodless Dam-ak painfully hoisted himself into a seated position.
“……Regrettably for you, this remains the mortal realm where one can still struggle through life’s miseries.”
“Jin-gong-ja’s humor is growing progressively worse.”
Rising to his feet, he surveyed the landscape. He then whispered under his breath, “As I see, the fallen are absent…….” Following a brief period of silent contemplation, he turned his focused gaze toward me. I had anticipated an uproar regarding my methods the moment he regained awareness, yet he appeared remarkably composed.
“……Were the escorts abandoned to their fates?”
Was that not the issue? Was he merely disoriented?
“Nothing is confirmed yet, so do not write them off just yet.”
“They advanced to draw attention, and under the cover of the mist, we descended to the base of the precipice…… rather, we plunged. With luck, only they will have perished.”
“Our own survival should count as a stroke of fortune.”
Despite my reasoning, the tension locking Dam-ak’s features showed no signs of easing.
“Is it not obvious who served as the distraction?”
“We are hardly bait on a hook, so there is little value in drawing conclusions prematurely.”
“Are you attempting to clear your conscience with platitudes that you yourself find unconvincing?”
Though his tone remained measured, his underlying fury was palpable. Yet, even if I revealed that this course of action had been mutually agreed upon with the escorts beforehand, would he truly find solace in it? Ultimately, this was the sole response I could offer him at present.
“The decision was theirs to make.”
“A decision……”
He knit his brows as if attempting to piece together a fragmented memory.
“Are you implying…… they chose to embrace their deaths?”
Would it offer any benefit to suggest they might still be drawing breath? I gave a dismissive shake of my head. He was far too pragmatic a man to accept hollow reassurances anyway.
“It mirrors the exact path that Counselor Dam chose for himself.”
Hearing this, Dam-ak paused mid-motion. He then regarded me with an unreadable, lingering look.
“……You truly are distinct from ‘him,’ in the end.”
What lay behind this sudden declaration? I was certain I had emptied all the river water from his chest…….
“No, perhaps you share his identity after all……. Provided the trajectory of your journey has diverged……”
Had he sustained a head injury during our descent into Despair Valley? His cryptic soliloquy was starting to unnerve me.
“What is the meaning behind these words?”
“……It is of no consequence. It is merely that, as I suspected, the image of Jin-gong-ja cowering before me and fouling his garments is entirely ill-fitting for you.”
What could he possibly be referencing? Even during my days as a weakling in my previous life, I had never crossed paths with this man, let alone lost control of my bladder.
“Did you truly strike your head? This is baffling. There are no signs of trauma?”
“…….”
Dam-ak maintained his silence for a spell. With that familiar, unreadable gaze, he watched me for an extended duration. After a heavy quiet settled over the riverbank, he spoke with measured care.
“Jin-gong-ja. Had you not already possessed knowledge of my identity prior to our crossing paths within the Saheuk-ryeon?”
