"Ughhh. Gakmyung, honey water...get me some honey water..."
"...Lord Ryeonju."
A deep sigh escaped from Ho Gakmyung's lips.
No, why was this guy, who possessed such strong martial skills, so stubborn and reluctant to rely on his inner energy and instead constantly complained?
"Honey water."
"Yes."
However, instead of reprimanding Jang Ilso, Ho Gakmyung instructed him to bring honey water right away. And when the order arrived, he personally received the ice-cold honey water and even infused it with a chilling aura. This was so that Jang Ilso could drink it cool.
"It's here. Please enjoy."
"Khuuh."
With a distorted face, Jang Ilso accepted the bowl offered by Hoga-myeong and gulped down the honey water.
Then, he complained in a dissatisfied voice, "It's too cold!"
"..."
The thought "Military strategists and soldiers, I'll beat them all" pushed its way to the tip of his tongue, but Ho Gakmyung restrained it with superhuman patience.
In fact, at this moment, he didn't want to berate Jang Ilso. This was partly because he had witnessed the things he had done... No, achieved. He couldn't believe it was possible. Even Ho Gakmyung, who had imagined countless scenarios, had never dreamed of a person like this.
"They are on different levels."
The saying that imagination falls short of reality is particularly relevant at times like this. This was the difference between a ruler and a soldier.
If one focused on planning meticulously and precisely executing actions, Ho Gakmyung was undoubtedly superior to Jang Ilso. However, when it came to a ruler who could boldly draw an unimaginable big picture, it was someone like Jang Ilso who had the capacity to casually turn dreamlike stories into reality.
Ho Gakmyung knew that his lord was truly exceptional, and this only made him feel more dissatisfied.
"...I understand that you have your reasons, but no matter how I think about it, there's no need for you to personally deal with such idiots one by one," he finally said.
"Tsk tsk. You say that every time."
Jang Ilso clicked his tongue while gazing at Ho Gakmyung, who seemed irritated. He swiftly lifted the blanket he had been covering himself with and stepped down from the bed. As the attendants approached, they started removing his nightwear and dressing him. They wiped Jang Ilso's body with damp towels, ensuring he was completely dry before they dressed him in fine silk undergarments.
"Have I not told you many times that the moment I start neglecting even the smallest thing, I'll become a mere pig? Do you want me to become a greasy pig, too?" Jang Ilso reminded, adjusting his clothing with the familiar assistance of the attendants.
While his attendants worked on him, Jang Ilso turned his gaze momentarily to Ho Gakmyung. It was a razor-sharp look, a warning that Ho Gakmyung's comments had crossed the line, and it was a direct reprimand.
"Your subordinates are foolish, my lord," Ho Gakmyung immediately acknowledged, bowing right there and then. The stern look in Jang Ilso's eyes softened once again.
"Tsk tsk. Ho Gakmyung, Ho Gakmyung."
"...."
"Do you think I don't know the reason why you're saying that? If you were my lord, I wouldn't like the sight of you sharing a drink and laughing heartily with the common folk."
"The truth is, I've held such feelings."
"Your words are not entirely wrong."
Jang Ilso's attendants adjusted his attire carefully.
"People need social classes. The class required for a warrior, that for a monk, and that for a lord are all different."
"I share that sentiment."
"But that's just the attitude of someone content with their position. When one gets comfortable in their place, it often leads to a fall."
Jang Ilso's expression transformed, becoming more cruel.
"If I were content with being just a lord, I wouldn't have mixed drinks with people like them. However, if I desire something greater, if I am still hungry!"
He clenched his hand over his own face.
"Even if their spit were mixed in the cup, I should drink it with a glad heart. Authority doesn't come from attitude, it comes from power."
"...."
"I am..."
He paused for a moment, then withdrew his hand from his face. There was a gentle smile on his face, as if to say, 'When did this happen?'
"Even in this moment, I am getting stronger, Ho Gakmyung. Should I stop getting stronger?"
"Your words are right, Lord!"
Ho Gakmyung, who was listening to his words while bowing, lowered his head to the ground.
Jang Ilso frowned.
"No, why are you hitting your head like that? It hurts."
"...."
"Get up. Get up. I told you not to lie down like that for no reason, but you really don't listen. Tsk tsk."
Ho Gakmyung cautiously got up.
At times like these, Gakmyung was reminded of Jang Ilso's status as the Evil Tyrant Alliance leader.
Jang Ilso wasn't someone Ho Gakmyung could easily confront. It didn't matter what he did. It wasn't because Jang Il-so's power was great or because his power was strong.
It's just because he's that kind of person.
Sibi slowly prepared Jang Ilso's face. After slightly touching the reddened areas of his pale face and even drawing his eyebrows, she carefully stepped back. Then Jang Ilso used his fingers to dab his lips with a lip balm.
"In any case..."
Thud!
"Lord!"
At that moment, the door suddenly swung open, and Jang Ilso's index finger, which had been delicately moving over his lips, was slightly disrupted by the sudden shout.
"...Tsk."
A look of deep annoyance crossed Jang Ilso's face.
Recognizing that he had momentarily appeared vulnerable, Ho Gakmyung quickly shouted.
"What kind of place do you think this is? You, you foolish man!"
"Sorry, I apologize! It was an urgent matter!"
"Be quiet! This..."
"...That's enough."
Jang Ilso, who wiped away the smudged lip balm with the towel he was holding, turned his head to look at the person who had burst into the room. The playful look that was in his eyes had already disappeared as if it had been washed away.
"Seems like you're quite busy. So, what's going on?"
"Hahwa... No, the gang from Nokrim and the bandits have withdrawn."
"From where?"
"Plum Blossom island. The one occupied by the Mount Hua Sect..."
"...Mount Hua Sect."
Jang Ilso used his finger to push back the strands of hair that had fallen onto his forehead. At that moment, Sibi quickly approached, brushed his hair to the side, and placed a crown on his head.
"They left Plum Blossom Island?"
"Yes, that's right. And they say that the Sichuan Tang Family is also releasing its hold on the Yangtze River and returning to Richuan."
Ho Gakmyung looked at him with surprise.
"So suddenly?"
"Seeing that the news has reached up to this point, it seems like they might have already left and departed."
"No, this is..."
Ho Gakmyung fell silent. The sudden influx of information left his mind in disarray.
"What is he thinking?" he wondered.
Understanding began to dawn on him. Once they crossed the Yangtze River, Maehwado and the Tang Family, who defended the Plum Blossom Island and the Yangtze River, would be in the most dangerous position. Now that the situation had been sorted out, there was no reason not to eliminate them.
However, what Ho Gakmyung couldn't comprehend was the urgency behind it.
'We haven't even made a move yet.'
In other circumstances, such haste would be understandable, given that those gripped by fear tend to rush their actions.
But this wasn't the case with the Mount Hua Sect. Wasn't Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword, who made people wonder what on earth made him so crazy, situated in Mount Hua? He was known for the chaos and madness he stirred in the martial world.
Even when the whole martial world was in turmoil and the Wudang Sect had surrendered, the Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword had relentlessly attacked Jang Ilso and Myriad Man Sect.
The Heavenly Comrade Alliance was led by such a Mount Hua, but was scared into abandoning the Yangtze River? A place where huge profits were guaranteed just by holding on?
'It doesn't make any sense.'
If it were Mount Hua, the Heavenly Comrade Alliance he knew wouldn't just give up significant benefits out of fear. So what could it be for...?
"In any case..."
At that moment, Jang Ilso swept a strand of hair that had fallen down and clicked his tongue.
"A reckless little brat. As soon as he's released from his cage, he starts stabbing people in the back. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Ho Gakmyung looked at his face and flinched for a moment. An unusual expression crossed his face. An express that was filled with a deep sense of annoyance and yet an unexplainable fondness.
"You won't come quietly, will you? Alright, in that case, let's go."
Upon hearing Jang Ilso's words, Ho Gakmyung couldn't help but ask, "Whom are you talking about?"
"Who else?"
"...Are you talking about Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword again this time?"
Jang Ilso didn't bother to answer. Ho Gakmyung, who didn't know that silence was an affirmation, understood.
However, Ho Gakmyung couldn't simply accept this situation. It was entirely natural for Jang Ilso to exist in areas he couldn't comprehend. But how could someone as insignificant as Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword exist in such areas?
"Master, may I humbly offer a word?"
"Go ahead."
"...In my opinion, Master, you might be overestimating Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword. He is by no means someone who can stand on an equal footing with you. Wasn't it us who bestowed upon him the grandiose title of 'Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword'?"
"Why do you think that way?"
"That young man..."
"Tsk, tsk. Gamyeong."
"...Yes?"
"Do you know how old I was when I first appeared in Kangho?"
As Ho Gakmyung remained silent, Jang Ilso spoke with a hint of amusement.
"Compared to back then, I have gained more experience, become more cautious, and unquestionably grown stronger."
"Indeed, Master."
"But you haven't become any smarter."
"... "
"That's what people are. Growth is ultimately about how much you can bring out from what you have. A tiger is a tiger even when it's young, and a dog is still a dog when it's grown. As for a dragon, well, we don't need to mention that."
Ho Gakmyung bit his lip.
Jang Ilso's words couldn't be wrong. However, Ho Gakmyung didn't want to acknowledge this fact.
Was it merely out of jealousy?
No.
The reason he was angry was not that the Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword was better than him, but that they dared to encroach on Jang Ilso's presence. To him, that was nothing short of blasphemy against the sacred.
"Even if what you say is correct, it doesn't change a thing. What's crucial isn't whether that brat is worthy of me or not, but that his move is currently choking me."
"Choking, you say..."
"Look!"
"Yes!"
Servants rushed over with an urgent air, holding a large map. Jang Ilso's slender finger pointed at a specific location along the Yangtze River as the map was spread out on the wide table.
"Do you see it?"
"... Yes?"
"It's Plum Blossom Island."
Ho Gakmyung, who was looking at Plum Blossom Island anew in response to Jang Ilso's words, tilted his head.
"I'm not sure. It might be a strategically important location for an army, but would it matter to us? We already have complete control over the Yangtze River through the sluice gates."
"Tsk tsk. You still only think about fighting."
"Then..."
"Do you know how much material is flowing through this place?"
Jang Ilso chuckled.
"In the last three years, the amount of materials flowing into Gangnam through Plum Blossom Island has skyrocketed. If this place gets blocked, it means our air supply is cut off."
"Ah..."
"The damned bastard."
Jang Ilso cursed. Yet, his lips curled upward as if he found it amusing.
"It hurts. It hurts... It really hurts."
His sparkling eyes gazed into the distant north, toward a rugged mountainous area.