Humankind used every possible means to conquer the sea. Thus, those who could not originally traverse the ocean were able to go beyond the nearby waters to the distant seas.

Ordinary people would have trouble imagining it, but nevertheless, the efforts and determination of those who opposed the sea achieved this enormous result.

But ironically, the more people fight the sea, the more they face its grandeur. No matter how they row or spread their sails, a moment inevitably comes when they cannot steer the ship as they wish.

At such times there is nothing to do but wait, hope the sea will guide them, that the sea’s dragon king will show them mercy.

Gwak Hwan-So looked at the sea with somewhat dazed eyes.

Towering waves surged and a headwind blew. In such moments human strength is useless.

There was nothing to do but furl the sails, stow the oars, and wait silently.

In truth, Gwak Hwan-So did not much dislike these moments.

One could say this was the moment humans became one with the sea, when the sea’s current and human will aligned.

But now, what rose in Gwak Hwan-So’s eyes as he stared at the sea was not the satisfaction of unity but overwhelming helplessness.

He had thought nature was to be harmonized with, not opposed, and so being pushed along by its onslaught did not seem entirely bad.

Now Gwak Hwan-So bitterly realized his belief was mere consolation for the powerless.

‘War...’

His hands were still trembling. Even long after leaving the shore the tremor would not calm. He hesitated to even slip his hands from his sleeves for fear someone would see them shaking.

It was absurd. Come to think of it, what had just happened was the very situation Gwak Hwan-So had dreamed of his whole life.

He had long awaited the day he could swing his sword against the lawless villains of the Evil Sect who troubled the world.

Circumstances had forced him to bide his time, but he vowed countless times that given the chance he would fight more bravely than anyone and prove the spirit in Southern Island’s sword.

But... the war he had seen with his own eyes was nothing like what he had imagined.

The metallic smell of blood still lingered at his nose.

He realized for the first time how nauseating the smell of human blood could be. He had never known how desperate the screams of someone dying with their entrails spilling were. He learned too that in such brutal melee it was common to trample a comrade’s severed head to advance.

The romance of the battlefield he’d heard about and dreamed of was mere façade. Bonds and camaraderie that blossom amid life and death?

‘What a load of bullshit...’

Gwak Hwan-So bit his lip hard.

He wanted to show those who spouted such words the wide-open eyes of someone whose heart had been pierced. Anyone who had seen a man roaming to find his severed arm, eyes gone slack, would understand that the battlefield offers nothing but the stench of corpses.

Gwak Hwan-So wrapped his trembling hands around his own shoulders.

The screams of the dying still rang in his ears.

What made it harder for him to bear was that among those who had screamed and died were his own disciples.

“Yang So...”

He was a disciple he had especially cherished.

Smaller than his peers and kind-hearted, he didn’t fit well with the roughness of Southern Island Sect.

He was the sort who thought it would be better to descend the mountain and make a life for himself.

But Yang So never abandoned the Southern Island Sect. Though his skill was lacking, his firm will to share Southern Island’s fate led him to accompany the Southern land expedition.

Thus he met a meaningless death without even leaving the Southern Island.

So miserable that they couldn’t even recover his body.

An indescribable sense of loss tore at Gwak Hwan-So’s insides.

‘What the hell have I been looking at?’

If he could, he’d tear apart the younger self who dreamed of battlefield glory.

The blood on the battlefield was the blood of the disciples he cared for, and any shining fame gained there was purchased with countless lives.

What had he been seeing, what had he been dreaming of?

“Sahyung.”

Gwak Hwan-So turned his head. The disciple Lee Ja-Yang was approaching. His face was paler than usual, so he too seemed to be under considerable mental strain.

“What is it?”

“...Eight are dead.”

“...”

“Eight of them are gone.”

Gwak Hwan-So squeezed his eyes shut.

‘It was such a one-sided fight.’

They never lost the initiative and pressed the attack. They broke through the enemy’s defenses and seized their ship in one decisive blow.

A great victory, an overwhelming win that could be described as nothing else.

And yet... eight had died.

Then what about Southern land, where they must fight far fiercer battles than the Southern Island? How many lives will be lost there?

“...Have you identified who they were?”

“Yes, sahyung...”

Gwak Hwan-So, about to ask for their names, shook his head with a devastated expression.

What meaning would it have?

Even if they knew the victims’ names, they couldn’t recover the bodies to bury them. Those people weren’t just leaving the battlefield; they were headed into another one.

“The losses are not small.”

“Yes... but if it hadn’t been for Mount Hua’s Sword Saint, the losses would have been far greater. Perhaps...”

Lee Ja-Yang trailed off. But Gwak Hwan-So knew what he meant.

‘He meant Southern Island might have been annihilated there.’

That was not wrong.

No matter how quickly they seized the enemy ship, if they had been pursued and overtaken before moving the vessel, they likely would all have become fish food.

Chung Myung alone prevented that worst-case scenario.

“...In retrospect, it was truly a reckless act.”

“Indeed.”

“Had I known it would be this kind of operation, I would have refused.”

“Perhaps you would.”

Gwak Hwan-So’s answer remained calm throughout. Lee Ja-Yang’s face contorted.

“Sahyung, are you not angry? We almost all died with one wrong move! And our disciples lost their lives because of that reckless plan!”

Gwak Hwan-So stared at him without answering. Lee Ja-yang shut his mouth tight.

“Is it their fault that the disciples died?”

“...No, I mean...”

“And if they had told us it would come to this, you would have refused as you said. Then where would we be now?”

Lee Ja-Yang could not answer.

By now they would almost certainly have been slaughtered defending the main hall. This Southern lands expedition did not guarantee saving Southern Island Sect, but it undeniably prolonged some of their lives.

‘They couldn’t have warned us ahead of time.’

This was not something one could accept merely by being told. One would not believe it without seeing it with one’s own eyes.

Who in the world would believe that someone could stall the main force of the Ten Thousand People Clan and buy time?

So they could not tell anyone. Truths that no one would believe are worth not even a hair.

“They are not at fault. If there is blame, it lies with us, blinded by the idea of heading to Southern lands, we failed to properly assess the situation.”

“That...”

“How could people from the water know when the tide would ebb? Or even know it would ebb at all? You should have thought of it, and I should have thought of it. Because we were foolish we nearly killed everyone. And now you would blame others?”

“...”

“Those without skill let their zeal outpace them and couldn’t even do what they were capable of. And now you want to blame the innocent?”

Lee Ja-Yang contorted his face and bit his lip until it bled.

Gwak Hwan-So sighed seeing him.

He understood Lee Ja-Yang’s ugly display. What could a disciple do? How to comfort someone who lost a beloved sahyung because of weakness and foolishness?

Even knowing it’s not true, people want someone to blame; even knowing it’s not right, they want to resent.

“I’m sorry, sahyung.”

At that, Lee Ja-Yang bowed his head to Gwak Hwan-So.

“I...”

He squeezed his eyes shut and spoke.

“...I was foolish and cowardly.”

“Ja-Yang...”

Gwak Hwan-So watched him quietly and shook his head.

He understood Lee Ja-Yang’s feelings better than anyone. Moreover, Lee Ja-Yang prided himself on being the most level-headed in Southern Island Sect; so the shock must have been substantial.

A short silence lingered between them.

As Gwak Hwan-So opened his mouth to break the awkwardness, Lee Ja-yang spoke again.

“Sahyung.”

“...Speak.”

“How can they be like that?”

Lee Ja-Yang said with a hollow face.

“I can’t understand it. How can they remain calm in such a situation? After seeing that Ten Thousand People Clan, how could they...”

He trailed off into silence. One could clearly see how shocked Lee Ja-yang was.

It was like someone who’d only ever seen a sky covered in clouds finally leaping above them, only to discover an endless expanse of sky above that.

Before joy, there would be despair and bewilderment.

“How can they stay rational in such circumstances? And how can they not be terrified?”

“Do you think I know?”

Gwak Hwan-So shook his head.

Strength is easier to understand. They are strong, we are weak. That needs no further explanation. With more training and effort the gap could be narrowed somewhat, if not fully closed.

But...

The image was still vivid: Chung Myung’s back as he charged alone into hundreds of maddened troops.

‘If I become as strong as that person, could I do that?’

Gwak Hwan-So already knew the answer.

“One thing is certain: while we on this island vent our grievances and rage, they were out there fighting and shedding blood.”

“...”

“We used to scorn the city dandy boys from the mainland for being pompous without backbone...”

Gwak Hwan-So snorted a laugh.

“Turns out the real dandy boys were us, gentlemen who’ve never properly swung a sword to kill.”

“Sahyung...”

“You asked how one could fight like that, didn’t you?”

Lee Ja-yang looked at Gwak Hwan-So with puzzled eyes. Gwak Hwan-So’s gaze was fixed far toward the Southern lands. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

“I don’t know now, but we’ll soon find out. No...”

Gwak Hwan-So’s face had grown cold and set.

“We must realize it. If we don’t, we’ll die out there.”

Lee Ja-Yang nodded slowly.

Their journey had only just begun. If they could survive and break through the Southern land, filled with that Evil Sect, then perhaps they might begin to understand the battle that took place on this coast.

‘We can only hope ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ so.’

Gwak Hwan-So closed his eyes quietly.

After calming his heaving chest for a long while, he suddenly remembered and asked.

“How is Taoist Chung Myung’s condition?”

“...It seems they’re pulling out the poisoned needles embedded in his body and stitching him up.”

“Pulling out the poisoned needles?”

“Yes. They say there were more than ten poisoned needles longer than a finger lodged in his body. That fellow Yeop Dong said that an ordinary person would have died more than ten times over.”

Gwak Hwan-So was stunned for an instant.

“He looked fine...”

“...It seems it’s nothing to him.”

Lee Ja-Yang continued in a hollow voice.

“To that man.”

Gwak Hwan-So’s gaze turned toward the cabin.

Gwak Hwan-So stared silently for a long moment at the cabin where Chung Myung was being treated, then let out a deep sigh.