The abbot's face turned pale.
"H-how…"
Even though he could clearly see the approaching fleet, he wanted to deny what he was seeing.
How could this be?
How could the Ten Thousand People clan arrive at the exact same time that Shaolin arrived here?
'Coincidence?'
Coincidence?
There was no other explanation than that it was a trick of the heavens. The heavens wanted to see how desperate he was, so they created such a situation.
However, the abbot thought that none of this was a coincidence.
The reason was simple. The one who showed up at the river was none other than the Hegemony Lord.
Hegemony Lord, Jang Ilso.
He had shown a creepy, skin-crawling spirit since the Yangtze River war. Wasn't the thrill he felt when he heard the news of the Yangtze River from faraway Hunan still vivid?
Coincidence? There was no such thing as coincidence for Jang Ilso. Absolutely not!
"A-abbot!"
"…"
Even as the abbot was staring at the ships as if in a trance, the ships were getting closer and closer to Plum Blossom Island.
"Abbot!"
Beop Gye urgently called out to the abbot once more. His voice, full of impatience, pierced the abbot's ears.
"If we wait any longer, it will really be irreversible! If that ship arrives at Plum Blossom Island…!"
The abbot couldn't ignore the meaning of those words.
Namgung had already passed their limit. Even the phrase, 'a candle in the wind,' felt peaceful compared to the Namgung family now. In that situation, if the Ten Thousand People clan, not Shaolin, arrived at Plum Blossom Island first, wouldn't the result be obvious?
They must head to Plum Blossom Island right away. Before those ships blocked Shaolin's path.
"We must arrive first! Before the Ten Thousand People clan!"
That ship was definitely fast, but there was still a long way to go. If they jumped into the water right away, they could arrive before the other ship. Weren't the pirates, who would interfere with them, now occupied with Plum Blossom Island? So they hadn't yet lost the lead. At least, Beop Gye thought so.
But…
"… what if we go first?"
"Uh?"
At that moment, Beop Gye heard the abbot's words and turned around, not understanding what he was trying to say.
The abbot looked back and forth between the ship and Plum Blossom Island with a cold expression.
"We…"
He paused for a moment. That short silence felt incredibly long to Beop Gye.
"… what if we get to the island first?"
"That…"
Beop Gye couldn't easily answer that.
Was it because he had nothing to say?
No, it was because he intuitively felt something in the abbot's voice that he had never felt before.
"… why did the Namgung family end up like that? Wasn't it because they couldn't get off that island?"
"But abbot! If we leave them alone, the Namgung family will be annihilated!"
Annihilation.
Those words clearly caused conflict in the abbot's mind. His trembling shoulders were proof of it.
But…
Clench.
The abbot soon bit down on his lip. His teeth dug in, and red blood flowed down his chin, dripping. His toes, which had been pushing down his body, were now digging into the floor. He said,
"Move back."
"A-abbot!"
"Didn't I say to move back? All the disciples of Shaolin, get out of the waters now! Wait here!"
"Abbot! What are you…!"
"Can you just shut your mouth?!"
Beop Gye tried to scream, but the abbot silenced him.
"Uh…."
He couldn't resist, so a helpless groan of pain flowed out of Beop Gye's mouth.
To him, the Namgung family wasn't just a member of the Five Great Families. They were comrades who had suffered humiliation together in the Yangtze River war. But now, his abbot was telling him to witness the annihilation of such a comrade and his family?
The abbot's fingers were trembling.
It seemed that it wasn't an easy decision for him to make either.
"… if we head towards Plum Blossom Island like this, we will just fall into the Hegemony Lord's trap. Maybe this whole situation is a plot by the man to draw us into Shaolin."
Beop Gye really wanted to ask sincerely.
If the Hegemony Lord had planned such a scheme, why didn't they attack Shaolin after they arrived at Plum Blossom Island?
But Beop Gye couldn't bring himself to speak those words. He was afraid that the disciples around him would hear them.
And he thought that those words might reveal the true intentions of the abbot under this sky.
He didn't want to know. Neither did he want to confirm it.
"We… the Shaolin."
With lips stained in blood, Beop Gye made his decision.
"Will be… watching the situation from here."
The last voice was faint and barely audible. However, no one was unaware of the decision the abbot had made, even if they didn't have to hear it.
"… Amitabha."
In contrast to that voice, the clear unfavorable remarks pierced the ears of Shaolin disciples who couldn't bear to look straight at the island.
"…"
Namgung Hwang looked across the river with blank eyes.
The sight of Shaolin, who seemed ready to jump into the water and come to their rescue, hesitantly retreating and then forming a line again, was clearly visible.
"What…."
What were they doing?
Why were they stopping there? What on earth were they planning to do?
"Why…?"
Someone was clearly heard mumbling that.
Silence settled in.
A terrible silence descended on the island, making it hard to believe that just a moment ago, the mad beasts were biting and running wild.
"Why… why are they not coming?"
"Just…"
Until then, the Namgung family's men still held onto a faint glimmer of hope. There must be a reason. It was a little delayed, but Shaolin would surely come across the river to support them.
They believed it.
No, there was no other way for them than to believe that.
Even Namgung Hwang had no doubt that Shaolin would cross the river to save them at that moment.
But…
"W-what is that ship?"
A single word that came out of someone's mouth spread like ripples.
The gaze that Shaolin had suddenly taken away turned to the side. Only then did everyone's eyes catch the sight of the fleet approaching the island.
At that moment, everyone there understood what was happening. It was a judgment based on sense and not reason.
The Namgung family's eyes shook greatly. Filled with distrust and fear, they slowly turned their gaze back to the other side of the river. They trembled pitifully as if they couldn't muster up the courage to confirm the reality they were facing.
However, the moment when they must face the truth would surely come.
When their anxious gazes finally turned back to Shaolin, they saw it. Shaolin was standing on the far-off riverside.
What made those who had seen the despair of the Namgung family was not the tip of Shaolin's goals, as they took a step back like they had no intention of coming anymore.
What truly made them despair was the absence of their eyes.
The eyes of the Shaolin monks, who should have been staring at the island with sharp focus, weren't visible.
Because they were not looking there.
They were called the great Shaolin of the world, the Big Dipper of the Murim world. Those very arhat monks of Shaolin, who never bowed their heads to any sect in the world, were now bowing their heads like sinners.
As if they couldn't bear to look at each other.
Even with this much distance between them, they were turning away from the gaze of the Namgung family as if their guilt was too great to bear.
How could they not know?
Even an idiot would know what was happening there.
They were… abandoned.
"Ugh…."
"Uh…."
The thing that pushed people into the greatest despair was always hope.
Humans did not despair where there was no hope at all. They took that for granted.
But humans who found a sliver of hope would try to cling to it.
And when they realized that hope was nothing more than a mirage, humans finally crumbled.
"Uh… uh…"
An indescribable despair began to engulf the Namgung family.
The fact that they had been abandoned by their trusted allies, that Shaolin had turned a blind eye to their deaths, plunged them into a bottomless pit of despair they had never experienced before in their lives.
"Ughh…."
A groan, like a wounded animal panting, escaped their lips.
Maybe it wasn't all that different after all. In reality, they were now wounded animals, and all that was left was death. With the lifeline called Shaolin cut off, all that was left was an endless fall.
They no longer had the will or the spirit to swing their swords. Their limbs felt heavy, as if they belonged to someone else. They just wanted to let everything go.
Frustration is scary because it makes people collapse. Everyone was being helplessly sucked into a deep abyss that was too dark to even dare to look into.
However, at that moment, only one person let out anger instead of despair.
"ABBOOTTTTTTT!"
A desperate scream burst out from the mouth of the wounded tiger, Namgung Hwang.
"Abbot! ABBOOTTTTTT! EUAHHHHHHH!"
A blood-boiling howl burst from his throat.
The blood vessels in both eyes burst out, and the rested throat let out this roar like twisted iron.
Just then, when everyone was groaning under such desperate frustration.
He finally arrived on the land, the one who considered all this muddy despair as mere fun.
Kuaaang!
The large battleship crashed into the sand.
Namgung and the pirates, even Namgung Hwang and the Black Dragon King, watched the scene.
"Eumm."
A low nasal voice flowed out lightly. It was a very small sound, but it strangely spread clearly throughout the island.
Finally, a person appeared with light steps.
"…."
Namgung Hwang stared at the figure with red eyes, his blood vessels bursting.
It was the figure of the one who had ridiculed them in this very river three years ago.
That person hadn't changed at all.
A gorgeous red robe with strange embroidery engraved with gold thread. Pure white skin, hair tied up so that not a single strand fell, a gorgeous crown, and even excessive ornaments.
Tak.
Jang Ilso, who lightly jumped from the ship to land, slowly straightened his slightly bent body.
Clank.
The sound of jewelry he wore clashing against each other forcibly brought back memories from three years ago. That sound awakened nightmares and brought in new fear.
Namgung Hwang's gaze fell on Jang Ilso's lips.
"So strange."
Jang Ilso spoke softly with an extremely friendly face.
"It has been a while, but you don't seem to be welcoming at all."
His lips, red as blood, drew a curve like the moon. The words pouring out from those lips felt truly ominous and terrifying.
Namgung Hwang tightly shut his eyes.
"I am… glad to see you here. Hahahaha!"
And then he thought.
It might have been better to die at the hands of the Black Dragon King.
Instead of being toyed with by this devil….