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Chapter 338. Despair (2)
"Wh-what are you talking about?!"
At someone's question, the survivor seized his shoulders and coughed up blood.
"If we just kill Jin So-un...... If we just kill Jin So-un......!!!!"
Shiver-shiver-shiver-shiver-shiver-shiver.
The survivor foamed blood and convulsed violently.
Ẽn̊ ům а .í d̀
At some point he went rigid, and his body toppled to the ground — stiff as a puppet with its strings cut.
"......"
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"......"
"......"
At the chilling sequence of events, a heavy silence settled over the area.
Those who'd been watching the survivor held their breath, then one by one, shifted their gazes.
W̃ěbnо̃ v е̂l̊. E n ǔ m а
'Haah.'
Heavy stares converged on me.
Mouths clamped shut, eyes loaded with a tangle of emotions.
They probably didn't even realize it themselves.
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That within those emotions swirled resentment, blame, grudge, doubt, murderous intent, regret, outrage, and denial — all in a jumbled mess.
That such pooled emotions could find an outlet and come flooding out at any moment.
Еnû m̊ ӑ. і̄ ď.
'This is going in a bad direction.'
When confronted with incomprehensible phenomena, humans desperately search for a reason.
Anyone, any meaning, any cause — it doesn't matter.
They need to attach some reason, any reason, so they aren't helplessly swept away by a fear with no substance.
That was why people who'd spent their lives chanting "Purging Demons and Destroying Evil" while pursuing the pinnacle of the Dao reacted so violently and fearfully to nonsense like a Divine Spirit's curse.
Before they were warriors, they were all human, and humans were simply that kind of animal.
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If this confusion dragged on.
If time passed without proper resolution.
Survival would become even harder.
Having misdirected resentment converge on me through bad information was an outcome I especially couldn't afford.
Right now, the only way to solve the problem was to correct the false information and accurately assess the situation.
I needed to snap them out of it fast—
Ěñ u̇ m̊ а .і̂ d̈
"GAL!!!!"
Shit, that scared me.
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Wow, my eardrums nearly burst.
Why was this baldy suddenly screaming—
"That is utter nonsense!!!"
I was so stunned I momentarily forgot what I'd been about to say.
È ǹ um а̄
Meanwhile, that baldy Il-gak kept firing off Lion's Roars.
"That Jin So-un must die for us to live...... What kind of absurd nonsense is that!"
"......"
For us to live......?
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No, he didn't say that.
"What preposterous drivel! There is no way Benefactor Jin is the cause of this incident!"
Е n̄ um̄a
The cause......?
Nobody said that either, you baldy — why do you keep adding things?!
"W-wait, Il-gak......"
"Please remain still, Benefactor Jin!"
Did he just block my hand with Maitreya Three Thousand Seas?!
To witness Shaolin Temple's supreme Seizing Hands used like this. What an honor.
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"Even Confucius never spoke of strange powers and chaotic spirits! We who walk the martial path dedicate each and every day to breaking through the world's wickedness and chaos! And you speak of human sacrifice!!!"
"......"
Il-gak said, his smooth scalp flushing scarlet.
"Of all things...... human sacrifice...... What a barbaric and irrational method! Furthermore, even if we were to sacrifice Benefactor Jin! Is there any proof whatsoever that we would survive?!"
"W-well...... you never know, right?"
What an absolute disaster.
Wѐ bnоv̊ е l Ën u mà
What utter nonsense.
"Even if human sacrifice could solve everything!!!"
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POINT—
Il-gak's finger suddenly aimed at me.
......Who was this baldy pointing at?
"Do you think Benefactor Jin would meekly accept it?!! This madm— no, this man who takes on even the instructors' pressure head-on! The Black Flame Dragon, whom even the Black Path's thugs concede a point to! Do you truly believe he would willingly become the subject of a human sacrifice?!!"
Ẁ ё_b ǹо̌ v ѐ l_ Е ñ ùm̊а
Wow, if I'd known Il-gak was this eloquent, I'd have made him my spokesman ages ago.
Look at that — eyes that had been dazed and confused were now brimming with murderous intent.
"Moreover!!! I will absolutely never assist in sacrificing Benefactor Jin! No — I will go further and obstruct any combined assault to the utmost of my ability. For such an act would violate the Buddha's teachings!!!"
"......"
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"......"
Silence settled once more, but paradoxically, the atmosphere inside had heated to a boil.
Eṅ ú_ṁ a
The people who'd been searching for a reason were now pondering how to offer me as a sacrifice.
I looked at Il-gak's crimson-flushed head and sighed.
"......Are you done?"
"Benefactor Jin! Worry not. I shall remain by your side and protect you to the very end!"
"I said, are you done?"
"Wh-why do you look at me with such eyes? What did I do......"
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"Shut up and come here."
"......"
The baldy's shoulders drooped.
Now it was time to wake up the Academy students he'd riled up.
I stepped in front of Il-gak and raised both hands above my head.
CLAP.
Ėn ůmа̊. і̇d́
At the thunderous handclap loaded with inner arts, the Academy students flinched.
"So, does anyone here actually want to sacrifice me like this baldy suggested?"
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"......"
SHING—
Simultaneously, I drew the Red Radiance Sword and channeled internal qi into it.
GYAAAAAAARGH!
W ẽ b̂n о̂v̄е́ l̃ Ӗn̆ û mӑ
Along with a bone-chilling scream of unknown origin, crimson light poured from the center of the blade.
"I have no intention of dying quietly. Choose — die at the hands of whatever's trying to kill us in this forest, or die by mine."
CLICK.
CLANG.
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SHIIING.
The moment my words ended, every one of my squad members fell in behind me, drawing their weapons in unison.
En̄ù mа.і̂ d
The killing intent that had been prickling my skin gradually thinned, and the Academy students who'd been glaring at me as if ready to kill began averting their eyes, one by one.
"Well? Not going to attack?"
"......"
When I took one step forward, they retreated two.
Just then, a voice emerged from among the Academy students.
"Representative Jin. That's enough. Now isn't the time for games."
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The students parted to make way, and through the gap walked Jong Chu-ak.
"Nobody here is actually going to step forward to sacrifice you, and you know it."
I wasn't so sure about that.
Some of them had gone red-faced and averted their gaze with expressions that clearly said they'd love to nail me to a stake.
Jong Chu-ak turned and swept a sharp gaze over the crowd behind him.
"Among those who belong to the great Murim Academy, how many would be stupid enough to believe such drivel!"
Ѐñ ů_m̊а̌ .і̇d̊
At Jong Chu-ak's words, the Academy students began nodding, one by one.
Some flushed with embarrassment upon realizing how idiotic their own thoughts had just been.
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I'd expected I'd need to beat a few of them before they'd come to their senses, yet a few words from Jong Chu-ak had them finding their reason again.
Of course, the sight wasn't entirely pleasant.
'So communication that transcends faction only begins after everyone's already ruined.'
Because to me, that looked like yet another wall.
Ё ñ ūm̆ä. і d̀
"For now, let's rest a bit. None of us are in any shape for this."
As Jong Chu-ak said, barely half a day had passed since the battle ended.
Everyone was far too exhausted, physically and mentally, to see any more blood.
"Y-yeah."
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"Actually, I've been dying of sleep this whole time."
"Does anyone have wound salve?!"
E n̂u m̂ а
The crowd dispersed, one by one.
Just like at the Murim Academy, just like when they'd come to the Black Forest, just like in battle — they split into their own factions and clustered together.
Watching them, a dry laugh escaped me.
"They're probably...... all going to die here."
"What do you mean?"
Eun-ho asked, sword still drawn, still on guard.
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I shook my head heavily.
"It just feels like a scene I've seen before."
A memory not from this life, but from the last.
"......And?"
A scene all too familiar.
I closed my eyes slowly and answered quietly.
Е n u m_ӑ . і̄ d
"They all died."
"......"
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No matter how hard I pressed it down, the despairing memory stood out with painful clarity.
***
After the first survivor appeared, I tried to organize scouting parties to search the perimeter, but that proved unnecessary.
"Mount Hua disciples!"
Е̌ ń u̇ mӓ . ĭd́
The second group of survivors appeared almost immediately.
"Brother Cho!"
And then the third group arrived.
The survivors who came after didn't call for my death, but most returned to the base camp in a dazed, hollow state.
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"......Benefactor Jin, are you truly sure we don't need to send scouting parties? We should verify the truth of what the survivors are saying."
The word every returning survivor muttered in common was "surrounded."
Е̊n̆u m а
"The part about being surrounded is probably true."
"......Why are you so certain?"
We had fired a signal flare for general assembly, but I didn't believe those who'd seen it could have actually found their way to the base camp.
If they'd had guides, they would have gathered before the flare was even fired. And without guides, the Black Forest's environment was far too treacherous to navigate by signal flare alone.
I pointed at the survivors with my chin.
"Because they came back."
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Academy students sitting with blank, hollow expressions.
Clothes reduced to rags, and — unthinkable for warriors — they'd even lost their weapons.
Il-gak, who'd been studying them alongside me, tilted his head.
"What does that have to do with being surrounded?"
"Il-gak, haven't you experienced Natural Formations? Do you think it's possible to navigate through them and find your way without a guide?"
I thought of the Righteous Path Association members who'd been unable to find their path even with smoke right in front of their faces.
Ẁĕ b̌ n̄ ô v̈е̃ l̄. Еn̆u̇m_ӓ
"That they made it here means someone else led them."
"Led them...... By whom?"
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"Who do you think?"
"......"
"The ones who want to kill us."
A tactic known as "throwing corpses."
Enů m̄а̄
Prisoners driven insane by demonic qi and killing intent are returned to the enemy camp to create internal chaos.
"Benefactor Jin...... I don't understand."
For Il-gak, who couldn't even imagine the enemy's identity, this was incomprehensible no matter how hard he tried.
At the root of his thinking lay a foundation called "common sense."
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The idea of sparing someone you could easily kill, only to return them to the enemy camp and go through the trouble of killing them again — he couldn't fathom what it meant.
I jerked my chin toward the surroundings.
Е n ũ m̌ȧ . i d
"You don't need to understand. Just look."
The joy of surviving the night's ambush was short-lived. The Academy students already gathered at the base camp watched the returning survivors' condition and gradually came to recognize how desperate their own situation truly was.
"Sniff...... hic."
Those who'd once carried themselves with lofty pride now wept like children.
"That's mine! Give it back!"
"That's shared supplies...... Let go!"
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They didn't hesitate to draw blades over the daily necessities right before their eyes.
"W-we can survive, right? Right? The Murim Alliance will protect us...... Won't they?"
Those who'd feared nothing in the world couldn't overcome their anxiety and spent sleepless nights with their eyes wide open.
"It's been exactly one day since the ambush, and the group's already fallen apart this badly. How does it look to you? Wouldn't they be even easier to kill in a few more days?"
"......"
If this state continued for just a few more days, the number of people losing their minds would grow, and knife fights among the group would inevitably break out.
W̆ еb̀ ṅ о̆ v́ е̂l̄ Ё ñ ùm̃ а̂.
High physical achievement didn't guarantee a strong mental state.
'Especially for Academy students who leapfrogged several levels of training through their sects' investment.'
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Those selected for their outstanding talent, given Marrow-Cleansing and Hair-Shedding and every spiritual medicine available, who'd easily achieved high results relative to their effort —
They possessed mental foundations no stronger than a tower of stones stacked in a single column.
And such precarious towers crumbled at even the slightest shock.
"We need to move."
W е b.n ǒv̈ė l̀ Еńum å.
"......Where?"
"Where do you think? We need to get out of the Black Forest."
"......But everyone's in no condition to move. Besides, many want to wait for the instructors."
The same argument, repeated.
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But I knew.
The instructors probably wouldn't be coming back.
Еn̈ u m̌ а.id
If they were alive, they'd have returned to the base camp.
Even if they'd gone outside to request help, they would have at least left some people behind.
Waiting for people who would never come was throwing away whatever slim chance of survival remained.
"We could all die if we just sit here."
After a moment's thought, Il-gak spoke.
"......Even so, we need at minimum enough time to treat the wounded. We can't carry everyone on our backs."
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"......"
Instead of answering, I looked at my squad.
Compared to the other Academy students, they were in good shape.
Within the Black Forest at least, they'd probably demonstrate better performance than even the Righteous Path Association's members.
I began calculating an escape route using only my squad, recalling the Murim Regular Exam.
The operations carried out by the many special detachments that had fought the Demonic Cult.
Wе b̃n о̊v̈ е l Еnu m̂а
Analyzing their successes and failures, calculating the probability that our squad could break through the Demonic Cult's siege.
As I sank into my thoughts, all surrounding sounds were shut out.
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"......Benefactor."
The mental circuits spun endlessly.
But.
Failure, failure, failure, failure.
W е b n̄о̆v̆е l Ѐ n ū m̄а̂.
Every simulated operation in my head sent back warning signals.
"......Benefactor Jin!"
I briefly raised my head to look at the noisy baldy.
"......I know. I know we can't move right now. But we should move as soon as poss—"
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Just then.
An icy chill crawled up my spine.
W̃е̇b̂ n̄ о v̂е́l̃ E ṅ ü m̆ã_
Il-gak must have felt it too — his eyes flew wide.
"!!!"
"!!!"
A creeping, unsettling sensation rising slowly at our feet, dispersing like languid smoke.
It was none other than killing intent.
"B-Benefactor Jin, this is......"
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There was only one thing this kind of environmental shift indicated.
"I-isn't this the Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare?!"
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