Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 121 - Choice (3)
Chapter 121 – Choice (3)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“To add one more thing, I was brought here as a hostage by the King of the Fate Blade, who is present here.”
‘!?’
In that instant, Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, stiffened.
He had revealed all of it with his own mouth, something that could become both a fatal weakness and a source of scandal?
What in the world was he thinking?
Even if this was outside the inner castle, this too was still territory of the Heaven and Earth Society, and everyone here belonged to the Heaven and Earth Society.
To reveal that here, inside the Heaven and Earth Society, which had long struggled with the righteous path for supremacy in the martial world and could fairly be called not merely bitter enemies but irreconcilable blood enemies, was an exceedingly foolish choice.
-Murmur, murmur!
‘A righteous-path man?’
‘The righteous path?’
All around, the place stirred and the atmosphere heated up in an instant.
The same was true for the fellow trainees.
Even Mu Jang-yak, who had been forced to swear loyalty to Mok Gyeong-un, and Mo Ha-rang of Mo Hwa House could not hide their shock, glaring at him at the same time with expressions of utter disbelief.
At the very least, they had assumed that Mok Gyeong-un, though nameless, came from one of the Heaven and Earth Society’s subordinate minor sects.
But the righteous path?
‘Then did I swear loyalty to a righteous-path man?’
‘How could this happen…’
In an instant, both of their faces were dyed with humiliation.
‘Oh ho ho. He is truly a ridiculous child.’
The Shadow Sect Master, one of the few who had known his identity, inwardly clicked his tongue as he watched Mok Gyeong-un.
At this moment, Mok Gyeong-un had effectively revealed his identity in the very heart of enemy territory.
Even if that identity was that of a hostage.
‘To the martial artists of the Heaven and Earth Society, the righteous path are enemies who must always be rejected.’
That was true of everyone, regardless of age or sex.
Especially in the case of the younger rising talents, they had been taught so since childhood by parents and masters alike, so the hostility was inherited even more strongly.
It would not have been strange if trouble broke out at this very moment.
-Bang!
“Yeon Mok Sword Manor? Did you just say the righteous-path Yeon Mok Sword Manor?”
Just as expected, someone sprang up from his seat.
It was Bo Hyeok-so, the Great Unit Leader of Yama Unit.
Having lost his father in the struggle against Mount Hua Sect, he possessed great hatred toward the righteous path.
So when Mok Gyeong-un’s identity proved to be that of a righteous-path man, he reacted violently.
“How could a mere righteous-path cur ever enter Corpse Blood Valley, which may be called the gateway of promotion into the great Heaven and Earth Society? Kneel!”
-Crack!
Bo Hyeok-so snapped off the armrest of his chair with a single palm strike.
Then he loaded power into the broken piece, now sharp at the end, and hurled it toward Mok Gyeong-un’s thigh.
It moved at tremendous speed.
But Mok Gyeong-un calmly used footwork and stepped back, evading it.
-Pagaak!
The broken armrest bored halfway into the stone floor of the square right before Mok Gyeong-un.
It seemed he had intended to drive it straight through Mok Gyeong-un’s leg.
“You dodged it? Good. Then this Great Unit Leader of Yama will force you to your knees personally!”
Bo Hyeok-so, the Great Unit Leader of Yama Unit, stamped his foot and moved to step in.
At that moment, someone blocked his path.
“Great Unit Leader of Yama. Stop.”
It was none other than Yi Ji-yeom, the Corpse Blood Valley Master.
As Yi Ji-yeom blocked his way, Bo Hyeok-so raised his voice, his face flushed hot.
“Valley Master, just what is the meaning of this? How can a righteous-path cur be in this place? Surely you did not not know?”
At that question, Yi Ji-yeom could not hide his great discomfort.
Since his lord was possessing the body of a child from a prestigious righteous-path sect, he had thought that even so, his lord would not rashly reveal the body’s identity.
Yet he had never expected him to reveal it all at once.
‘…This is troublesome.’
The problem was not only that the truth had now been revealed. The Society Leader had also ordered that the identities of the two Mok brothers, who had been brought in as hostages, be kept secret.
That was a direct order from the Society Leader, so it had to be obeyed.
If he broke that order in front of everyone’s eyes, then the Society Leader would surely seize upon it and use it to pressure him.
‘Should I keep silent…?’
But for the sake of his lord, he had to reveal it.
That was the duty of a subordinate.
So Yi Ji-yeom was about to say that this had been by order of the Society Leader and that there had been a command to keep it secret.
“This is…”
It was before he could finish those words.
“The order to put the hostages from Yeon Mok Sword Manor into the Corpse Blood Valley gate came from above. So raise no further objections, Great Unit Leader of Yama.”
“King of the Fate Blade?”
The one who stepped forward before Yi Ji-yeom could speak was none other than Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade.
At the sight of Son Yun stepping in, a strange light appeared in Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes.
Since he had openly revealed the very weakness that might have held him back, Mok Gyeong-un had expected anger instead, but Son Yun was unexpectedly moving to settle matters.
“An order from above? Just what…”
“I would advise you not to speak any further than that.”
“……”
At Son Yun’s warning, Great Unit Leader Bo Hyeok-so fell silent.
If it was an order from someone above one of the Five Kings, then it went beyond a line where he could say anything further.
“Understood.”
With that answer, Son Yun stepped back and sat down again.
Watching this, Yi Ji-yeom, the Corpse Blood Valley Master, let out a sigh of relief and cast Son Yun a grateful look.
Thanks to the fact that Son Yun had first stepped forward and framed it as an order from above, Yi Ji-yeom was able to escape an awkward situation.
Still, even despite his lord’s utterly unexpected action, seeing him step in to settle matters like that showed that he truly wished to take him as a disciple.
If he took a righteous-path hostage as a disciple, dissatisfaction could arise, and yet he was willing to bear even that risk. It was impressive indeed.
‘Still.’
Had he not known that his lord was inside that body, even he himself would have coveted such martial talent.
But it was right then.
“I find it difficult to accept.”
The owner of that displeased voice was none other than Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master.
Just a short while ago she had been desperate to have Mok Gyeong-un, but now she was glaring at him with eyes full of hostility.
Son Yun spoke to her.
“And what is it that you find difficult to accept?”
“Even if it could not be helped because it was an order from above, had we not learned this fact, then one of us might have ended up taking a righteous-path hostage as a disciple.”
At those words, the two Great Unit Leaders also nodded, apparently sharing the same thought.
Even if it was an order from above, he was still a righteous-path hostage.
Had one of them ended up taking such a hateful righteous-path man as a disciple without knowing anything, would they not have been left to bear the entire aftermath later?
“…There is reason even in the Sound-Summoning Valley Master’s words. How could Brother Son and the Valley Master know this and yet not give us even the slightest warning?”
Won Byeong-hak, the Thunderbolt Fist King, also voiced his dissatisfaction.
Seeing that even his tone had changed after learning Mok Gyeong-un’s origins, it seemed that even he had grown hesitant.
In one sense, it was a natural reaction.
At that moment, Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master, curled her lips strangely and said,
“Ah. Now I understand.”
“Now you understand?”
“Yes. Even if the order from above was to send righteous-path hostages into Corpse Blood Valley, was not the original purpose something else entirely? We all know well what sort of place Corpse Blood Valley is.”
“……”
At her words, the others looked as though they agreed.
Corpse Blood Valley was a place from which, once you entered, it was difficult to emerge alive.
If righteous-path hostages had been sent to such a place, then it was far closer to meaning that they were not expected to come out alive than that they were being given a chance.
“Could it be that even those above intended precisely that, and that things simply turned out otherwise?”
“Do not cross the line, Sound-Summoning Valley Master.”
Though she kept raising her complaints despite being told it was an order from above, Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, warned her in a sharp voice.
At that, Hang Yeo-ryang gave a small laugh, brought her hands together, and bowed slightly at the waist.
“Yes, yes. How could someone as insignificant as I defy those above? But I have no desire to take as a disciple or subordinate a righteous-path person who killed my elder sister and who may be called an eternal enemy of our Society. So…”
-Grrrk!
Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master, turned her chair around and sat facing away.
The gesture looked like a display of her own dissatisfaction.
Yet that was not the end of it.
-Grrrk!
As if to show support for her, Bo Hyeok-so of Yama Unit and Dae So-man of Red Blood Unit also turned their chairs around.
But they were not the only ones.
-Grrk!
‘…Thunderbolt Fist King.’
Won Byeong-hak, the Thunderbolt Fist King, also turned his chair around.
The way they acted made it look as though their will to reject righteous-path people absolutely, even if there was an order from above, was unshakable.
Considering their future standing within the Society, their actions were understandable as well.
“Cough, cough.”
Mok Yu-cheon, coughing as quietly as he could.
Perhaps it was a stroke of heavenly luck, but having woken up just now, he found his thoughts growing complicated under this heavy atmosphere.
‘These people are the same as well.’
It was not only righteous-path people.
The martial artists of the unorthodox path and of the Heaven and Earth Society hated the righteous path as well.
Then again, that may have been natural.
Had they not rejected, fought, and killed one another for a very long time?
‘…The same.’
Because of that, his heart grew heavy somehow, and in part he even began to understand…
‘No. I understand these people?’
Why had he thought such a thing?
Mok Yu-cheon inwardly denied the very thought he had just had.
Then he looked toward Mok Gyeong-un.
That bastard had been unexpected.
He had never imagined he would reveal his identity so boldly.
‘Still, does that mean that at root he is righteous-path after all?’
Truly, he was impossible to understand.
How many times had he been disappointed because of that bastard?
He had thought him a devil suited not for the righteous path, but for this place.
But if that bastard meant to preserve his honor to the end as a righteous-path man and as a martial artist of Yeon Mok Sword Manor, then the matter changed.
‘If he truly does that, then I too will risk my life to help…’
It was right then.
Mok Gyeong-un raised his voice so that all could hear.
“Though I was born as a son of the righteous path, as I grew I came to despise their rotten hypocrisy and the way they cling to black-and-white thinking as if anything that is not the righteous path must automatically be evil.”
‘!?’
For an instant, Mok Yu-cheon was dumbfounded.
What had this bastard just said?
Just moments ago, when he woke and heard what Mok Gyeong-un said, Mok Yu-cheon had wondered whether he had been mistaken about him.
But now he was insulting the righteous path.
-Murmur, murmur!
Everyone’s attention turned back to Mok Gyeong-un.
Ignoring all those gazes, Mok Gyeong-un continued his declaration.
“Because of that, from childhood I have admired the heroes of the Heaven and Earth Society. The reason I have revealed my identity before the heroes of the Heaven and Earth Society here today is that I intend from this moment to sever ties with my former self.”
‘This bastard, surely not?’
At those words, Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, frowned.
He felt he understood what this shrewd bastard was trying to do.
And just as he had guessed, Mok Gyeong-un bowed his head in a formal salute to everyone and cried out,
“I swear before heaven and earth. I, Mok Gyeong-un, will cut my ties with my family, Yeon Mok Sword Manor, and beyond that with the righteous path itself. And I will become a member of the Heaven and Earth Society and fight against those hateful people!”
His voice rang across the square.
At that, the square stirred once more.
Just moments before, everyone had been furious that a righteous-path man had been in Corpse Blood Valley at all, but who could have known he would suddenly declare his defection like this?
The Shadow Sect Master covered his mouth and gave a soft laugh.
‘I wondered what he meant to do, revealing his own weakness like that, and now he says he will defect.’
Even he had not expected this.
He was the child of Yeon Mok Sword Manor, which could be called a prestigious righteous-path martial house, and his martial talent was outstanding as well.
Ordinarily, such people also possessed strong convictions and were the sort who absolutely would not bend, but this brat was a completely different kind of human being.
‘He truly is an entertaining child.’
The Shadow Sect Master’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Mok Gyeong-un.
It did not feel as though he were defecting merely to escape the present crisis and preserve his life.
Then what in the world was he thinking?
‘This child definitely has something.’
He had become curious as to what that something was.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un spoke in a voice that only the executives could hear.
“Now there will be no more issue with my background, correct?”
At those words, Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, who had been staring at him with an expression of utter disbelief, suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Hahahahahahahahaha!”
In all his life, he had truly never seen a brat like this.
He had intended, after taking him in as a disciple, to tame him well and turn him into a talent of the Heaven and Earth Society who had cast off the righteous path.
But instead the brat had entered by his own feet, no, with his own mouth.
He had thought him bold already at Yeon Mok Sword Manor, but this really was a brat one could never predict.
Son Yun looked toward the executives behind him and said,
“It will be hard to keep quibbling over his origins now.”
“……”
At those words, the executives who had turned their chairs around were unable to say anything.
They had already shown the will to reject him because of his origins, so if they changed their attitude now because of his declaration of defection, how poor would that make them look?
Seeing their reaction, Son Yun thought instead that this had turned out well.
‘In the end, you will come to my side.’
He had shown himself defending Mok Gyeong-un to the end.
If that brat understood even a little what gratitude was, and if he had felt the hostility of the others, then he should have realized that in the end there was only one choice.
Son Yun stretched out his hand toward Mok Gyeong-un and was about to speak.
At that moment,
“Oh ho ho. Does that mean only I have yet to bid now?”
‘!?’
At the sound of that distinctive, alluring voice, Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, frowned and turned his head.
The one man, besides himself, who had not turned his chair around.
It was none other than the Shadow Sect Master.
‘Ah, right.’
That was true, that man still remained.
But Son Yun was not particularly worried.
The only one who might have been a meaningful rival was Won Byeong-hak, the Thunderbolt Fist King, and he had thrown away the fortune that had come walking to him.
Just then, the Shadow Sect Master said to Mok Gyeong-un,
“Well, since I am one who studies the blade, there is no way the promise of teaching blade arts would tempt you… And to speak of the advantages of rank would be but a drop in the bucket compared to the King of the Fate Blade. So, I suppose only something like this might tempt you.”
‘This?’
What was he trying to tempt Mok Gyeong-un with?
As he wondered, the Shadow Sect Master smiled faintly and said,
“It seems you have trained the sword, yet do not possess a truly fitting fine sword. Is that not so?”
“…That is true.”
He did not particularly covet famed swords.
Nor did he know much about them.
“Excellent. If one is a swordsman, one ought to possess a famed sword suited to him.”
Son Yun’s eyes narrowed.
What sort of famed sword did he have, to speak like that?
Then the next words out of the Shadow Sect Master’s mouth suddenly stirred the surroundings.
“If you say you will join me, then I shall give you Evil-Answering Sword, one of the legendary demon swords.”
‘!!!!!!!!!!’
-Murmur, murmur!