Under the Moonlight
As soon as I heard the words of Yu Sa-cheong, my mood soured.
It was only natural.
Until just a moment ago, I felt like a general leading troops, but now, because of Yu Sa-cheong, my status had been reduced to that of a pawn on a chessboard.
When told not to fight, I would fight; when told to fight, I would not.
That was my consistent mindset.
I followed Yu Sa-cheong's words exactly.
"You want us to fight until a conclusion is reached... Are you giving me orders now?" I raised one hand slightly and said, "Let's have a truce."
"......!"
"Great Master?"
"Lord Commander?"
Both the enemy and allies looked at me simultaneously.
I lowered my tone gradually.
"Alright. I have officially confirmed that Yu Sa-cheong is behind this incident. Are you all saying you were played by Yu Sa-cheong? I can overlook the gamblers, but I will not spare the owner of the gambling house. In the end, it is the owner of the gambling house who makes the most money. I don’t even know how much that guy earns. My proposal is simple. A temporary truce."
Yu Sa-cheong laughed and replied, "You’re talking nonsense."
"That’s a fair point. However, if we continue to fight like this, the ones who will suffer the most are you, Lord Il-ryong, and you, Master Su."
Lord Il-ryong asked with a pale expression, "Why?"
Master Su also chimed in, "I have never suffered a loss in my life."
I nodded while looking at the two of them.
"If we share the spoils, we won’t suffer losses. Everyone must have calculated their own situations, but I am different. The most important thing is that Yu Sa-cheong hasn’t brought any troops. That’s the key. I guarantee that if we keep fighting, more than half of you will die by my hand. Of course, my subordinates will die too. But the one who will suffer no losses from beginning to end is Yu Sa-cheong, the one who started this game."
Yu Sa-cheong interjected, "What do you want to say?"
"You may have persuaded both of you that it would be beneficial to control the southern region without a general, but in that process, most of your subordinates will die by my hand. And I will not die. In the end, those who will perish are the subordinates involved in this fight."
Yu Sa-cheong interrupted again, "What are you trying to say? Get to the point."
"The most important thing is that no one should suffer losses during the truce. The money you received from Yu Sa-cheong will still be there, right?"
Hong Sin raised his hand.
"Great Master, what do you mean by saying that the money received from Yu Sa-cheong is still there?"
"This is a deceptive transaction using the psychology of giving and taking. Lord Il-ryong and Master Su have the large sums they received from Yu Sa-cheong intact within their respective factions. Instead, the plan is to repay the money with the wealth obtained from conquering the southern region. It may be regrettable to return the money you received, but it’s not regrettable to repay a debt by taking from others. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Yu Sa-cheong must have used this. He gave you a large sum and told you to repay it by conquering the southern region. Killing two birds with one stone... But the key point, I repeat, is that Yu Sa-cheong will not suffer losses. He hasn’t brought any troops today, hasn’t fought directly, and hasn’t come with fellow masters. How much is the life of your subordinates worth? What Lord Il-ryong and Master Su are misunderstanding is that they haven’t even calculated the worth of their subordinates' lives. Alright, that’s the analysis of the current situation."
I glared at my surroundings and said, "The one I want right now is neither Lord Il-ryong nor Master Su. If the enemy and allies, you all remain still like this..."
I smiled behind my mask.
"First, I will capture Yu Sa-cheong. I am a person of my word. If you accept my proposal, I will remove my mask right here. It’s a bit of a loss for me, but to capture Yu Sa-cheong, I must bear that loss. By the way, Yu Sa-cheong will continue to persuade you to fight. Now, let’s listen to Yu Sa-cheong."
"......"
Yu Sa-cheong, who was about to provoke and threaten Lord Il-ryong and Master Su to continue fighting, suddenly fell silent.
In the end, Lord Il-ryong and Master Su also looked at Yu Sa-cheong with puzzled expressions.
Then Yu Sa-cheong frowned and spoke.
"Are you going to be fooled by that guy?"
I burst into laughter immediately.
"Hahahahaha..."
I laughed for a while before pointing at Yu Sa-cheong with my finger.
"Am I right?" I quickly wiped the smile off my face and asked the people around me.
"Let both sides allow me to capture Yu Sa-cheong. It won’t be too late to fight afterward."
As soon as I finished speaking, I took off the black cat mask and handed it to Hong Sin.
Hong Sin put on the black cat mask and replied, "Thank you, Great Master."
I revealed my face and asked, "Do you know me?" Is there anyone who can recognize the point of the Southern Region? No. "I took the first loss. If I had continued to walk around with my face hidden, I would have had the confidence to deal with half of your factions through assassination. Lord Il-ryong, Master Su. The decision is yours."
Yu Sa-cheong looked at Lord Il-ryong.
"Senior, can you handle this?"
Lord Il-ryong replied, "Yu Sa-cheong, did you really think of me as just a pawn on a chessboard?"
"That can’t be."
Lord Il-ryong looked around and said, "I will make a counter-proposal. Right now, I will not accept the truce. However, the Southern Black and the Eastern Black, along with my entire force, will surround this place, and then let that loudmouth and Yu Sa-cheong fight to the death."
Lord Il-ryong looked at me.
"Let the two of them fight to the death, and whichever side dies, I will withdraw my troops. That way, you will bear the sin of killing Yu Sa-cheong, and a true temporary truce will be established. What do you think, Master Su?"
Master Su, trying hard to hold back a smile, replied, "What you say is correct, Senior."
If Yu Sa-cheong wins, he will push the troops to clean up the southern region.
If I defeat Yu Sa-cheong, I will withdraw my troops.
Indeed, the rogue does not intend to suffer losses.
However, there is something these fools are mistaken about.
I have never been just a pawn on a chessboard.
Even if Lord Il-ryong comes out like this, I have a plan.
"Let’s do that. A one-on-one duel is always welcome."
A white-clad man approached and tried to dissuade me.
"Great Master, for now, we will observe the duel to confirm your strength."
I locked eyes with the white-clad man.
"Really? Smart fellows."
As I smiled faintly, the white-clad man stepped back, confirming my expression.
Lord Il-ryong commanded his entire force.
"Spread out the formation widely. Build a siege net so that no one can escape. Do not fight recklessly where you intersect with the enemy. Begin the duel."
Master Su added, "Spread out wider. Anyone trying to escape will be killed without exception."
Yu Sa-cheong briefly turned around and looked at the executives of the Unwoo Association blocking his path and the Iron Island Lady.
Lord Il-ryong also stood nearby, as if to block the escape route.
Yu Sa-cheong grinned.
"Are you all crazy?"
Lord Il-ryong replied, "Why? Can’t you win? Nothing has changed. Will you step forward or hide? That’s the only difference. If your faction is that great, you should prove it with real strength, not words."
While these fools were arguing, I moved openly like a cat and approached Yu Sa-cheong from behind.
Yu Sa-cheong scratched his chin, then drew the sword at his waist as he turned around.
As I lowered my stance, the tips of my flowing hair were cut by his sword.
I thrust the black cat sword straight and honestly.
Kaang!
Then, Yu Sa-cheong, deflecting the black cat sword, charged at me with a swift sword.
With his mouth tightly closed, Yu Sa-cheong reflected the moonlight on his sword and unleashed a rapid series of thrusts, then unleashed a phantom sword technique that split his sword into three.
It was a technique utilizing the afterimages of sword energy.
His footwork was stable, the sword was fast, and even while moving smoothly, he maintained a firm posture.
I deflected his attacks with the black cat sword and thought, 'He’s from the righteous path.'
There was no way he learned that sword technique in the marketplace.
At least, there were traces of having trained in a specific sword technique for over ten years.
Acting like a mere bystander who only cared about money, his hidden skills were not bad.
Even I couldn’t recklessly counterattack until I confirmed the sword techniques he had mastered from start to finish.
Every time this happened, I couldn’t help but admire the grandmasters of the righteous path who had established such a martial arts system.
However, while I could admire his martial arts, there was no chance he would recognize mine.
My martial arts have no foundation.
Third-rate techniques, third-rate sword techniques, grave digger’s scything, practical combat, martial arts gambling, techniques learned by peeking over shoulders, third-rate secret manuals, second-rate secret manuals, the wandering techniques of Jin Gu and the unorthodox methods of Gwang Seung all mixed together, and I created my own martial arts while fighting.
The martial arts I learned while fleeing, the techniques I realized while being cut in various places, and the processes I pondered to escape from the state of being trapped in my own thoughts are all mine.
Because I had no foundation, the entire process of surviving while enduring became my foundation.
I deflected all of Yu Sa-cheong’s attacks while observing the flow of his sword techniques from the first to the last move.
After that, the earlier moves and later moves mixed, transformed, and recombined to attack me.
I deliberately took a step back, pushing back to the formation of my allies, then stood firm and blocked all of Yu Sa-cheong’s sword strikes.
A man enduring the powerful offensive of a swordsman from the righteous path with an impregnable defense, that is who I am.
If he’s not a fool, he should realize something...
I continued to defend while grinning and said, "Faster, faster, faster! Swing it faster, it’s slow, faster, faster. That technique, it’s the third time."
There are times when someone, caught in a trance, attacks frantically but cannot escape, and right now, Yu Sa-cheong is in that state.
In an instant, as I created the tension of the Great Master of the Underworld, Yu Sa-cheong, who was swinging his sword at an incredible speed, split the palm-shaped tension into three parts in an instant.
When pouring out the tension, there are times when I compress actual energy to unleash it for attack, and there are times when I create an empty illusion like a cloud to deceive the opponent.
Of course, creating an illusion with actual energy is not an easy task.
However, just as Yu Sa-cheong created a phantom sword, I can also create an illusion with tension.
When Yu Sa-cheong cut down the large illusion three times...
I dashed forward like a gust of wind, threw the black cat sword, and as he swung his sword, I soared diagonally.
Clang!
With my left hand, I used the Absorbing Technique, and with my right hand, I used the Neck Restraining Technique.
I pulled Yu Sa-cheong’s unbalanced body with the Absorbing Technique, forcing the imbalance, then struck the Neck Restraining Technique on his shoulder.
By the time the arm holding the sword became stiff, I landed and tapped Yu Sa-cheong’s upper body meridians with my thumb and index finger in succession.
His shoulder stiffened, his neck became rigid, his mouth wouldn’t open, and his lower body felt blocked as if it were frozen.
I injected the energy of the Neck Restraining Technique in order.
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
I looked at Yu Sa-cheong, who was frozen like a statue, and said to Lord Il-ryong’s side, "This guy is now my prisoner. He is my subordinate, my slave, and at the same time, a captive of my subordinates. Whether you torture him or kill him is up to me, so don’t tell me what to do from now on."
I caught the black cat sword that had fallen to the ground with the Absorbing Technique and added, "How arrogant, you little bastards."
As I spoke, I felt like teasing them more and opened my mouth.
"You still have some pride, yet you let the commander be taken like this. This is Lord Il-ryong’s blunder, the old man’s folly, the old man’s stubbornness, the judgment that messed things up while trying to uphold the pride of the rogue, the old man’s senile choice."
I pretended to spray water on the blade of the black cat sword like a madman and danced around the stiff Yu Sa-cheong.
As I swung the sword and danced, Hong Sin asked, "Great Master, are you going to kill him?"
"I don’t know either. I just wanted to act like a madman for once. A sword dance under the moonlight, a madman under the moonlight, the point of the Southern Region, the liberator of the Black Line, the captain of the Black Cat... that is me."
I danced the madman’s sword dance with a serious demeanor in front of Yu Sa-cheong, who could only open his eyes.
The moonlight, drifting through the clouds, was now shining down on me.