Chapter 526

**Chapter 526: The Lazy One Resists (1)**

“In the end, Baekgeom Fortress and the Demon Cult…”

“Hmm…”

Gwanggu Singae nodded gravely.

“You saw that scene with your own eyes?”

“Yes, I saw it.”

“How was it?”

“How was it…?”

Gwanggu Singae closed his eyes for a moment without answering. It wasn’t to create suspense. Explaining in words what he felt at that moment wasn’t as easy as he thought.

“All that could be seen was a cloud of dust.”

Saha, the Historian, swallowed dryly and paid attention to Gwanggu Singae’s words.

“Yes, a cloud of dust. A simple, insignificant cloud of dust. But that cloud of dust looked so ominous…”

Gwanggu Singae shook his head.

“Have you been to Xinjiang?”

“No, I haven’t had the opportunity.”

“Everyone knows that a place called Xinjiang exists. But few know what it’s really like. Xinjiang is a land where humans cannot live. Well, technically there are people who live there, so I can’t say it’s uninhabitable. But, in my eyes, it was a place where life seemed impossible. There were only desolate wastelands and sparse grasslands.”

The Historian nodded silently.

Gwanggu Singae was someone who could boast of having traveled more than anyone else in the world. His words carried weight. Even without having been there, he could understand how inhospitable Xinjiang was.

“Now imagine that, in that land where it seems impossible to live, an army of thousands advances towards the Central Plains, raising a cloud of dust.”

“…”

“They didn’t seem like beings from this world. It’s hard to describe. It was as if the gates of hell had opened and demons had emerged. Although perhaps that description isn’t so incorrect.”

Gwanggu Singae trembled as if just the memory gave him chills.

“Even if a foreign tribe invaded like that, it would be chilling. But they weren’t even a foreign tribe. They weren’t soldiers recruited lightly. They were people who had trained like hell for twenty years to take revenge on the Central Plains. How could it not be terrifying?”

The Historian nodded unconsciously.

Gwanggu Singae, who was once a beggar of the Beggar Sect, understood better than anyone how terrifying the Demon Cult was. It was obvious that he would feel intense fear knowing that the Demon Cult was mobilizing.

“I will never forget that feeling. I saw it begin with my own eyes. When something has already happened, at least you can focus on facing it. What really terrifies is when you know that something unmanageable is approaching. That’s how I felt at that moment. I knew very well what would happen when they arrived in the Central Plains. But I couldn’t do anything.”

“But it wasn’t a situation where you had to do something.”

“People clamored for someone to stop them, to delay them even for a day. But no matter how hard I tried, there was no way.”

The Historian nodded, showing understanding.

“And the plan of the Great Hero Yeom Mong?”

“Simple. Place explosives on both sides of the gorge through which they had to pass and detonate them when they were crossing.”

“Classic.”

“Classic means that it has been used forever. If it weren’t effective, it wouldn’t still be used. Ingenious strategies are just secondary measures. Direct tactics are the main ones because they are the most reliable. It wasn’t a bad plan.”

“Why not join that plan then?”

“If the enemy wasn’t the Demon Cult, I would have. But the opponent was the Demon Cult. They are not the type of enemies who fall for such simple tactics. The Great Hero Yeom Mong did his best, but there were inherent limits.”

“…Of course, with just that plan the Demon Cult could not be stopped. But if the Radiant Martial Sovereign occupied the collapsed gorge, wouldn’t they buy time?”

“Only to die.”

Gwanggu Singae said it indifferently.

“Asking them to stop the Demon Cult from a collapsed cliff is like ordering them to sacrifice themselves. Could you give that order to someone in front of you?”

“…I couldn’t.”

“You see?”

Gwanggu Singae gave a mocking smile.

For the Historian, it was easy to say. By studying history, you could identify the most efficient tactic at that moment.

But the reality was different.

In history, troops are just numbers. In reality, they are people. As much as you seek efficiency, there are things that can be done and things that cannot.

Besides, the one who would receive that order was none other than Wei Yanho.

Someone committed to saving the Central Plains could, after reflecting, choose to sacrifice themselves. For example, if Wei Jeonghan received that order, he would go to die with a smile.

But not Wei Yanho.

Even if the Master of Divine Abilities gave the order personally, he would have to be prepared to have his beard torn off. Wei Yanho was like that.

“But the Master of Divine Abilities was not wrong. If Baekgeom Fortress and the Demon Cult pressed the Central Plains at the same time, there would be no way to handle it. The Central Plains have always focused on containing the Demon Cult. How could they deal with Baekgeom Fortress if the Demon Cult attacks them from behind?”

“Exactly.”

Gwanggu Singae clicked his tongue.

“Leaving aside why the defenses against Baekgeom Fortress were so weak, it seems logical to delay the Demon Cult to buy time against Baekgeom Fortress, right?”

“Correct.”

“But if the only ones who could do it were those present at that moment, then…”

“Hey.”

Gwanggu Singae looked at the Historian with cold eyes.

“Then, according to the history you know, did the Demon Cult arrive on time?”

“Now that you mention it…”

The Historian finished calculating in his mind.

The timeline didn’t match. If the Demon Cult had advanced smoothly towards the Central Plains at that time, they should have arrived much earlier than in real history. So what?

“They did something, in the end.”

“That’s right.”

“So they joined the plan of the Great Hero Yeom Mong?”

“Impossible.”

Gwanggu Singae showed the most mocking expression possible. Seeing that expression made the blood boil.

“Do you think Wei Yanho is the type to join other people’s plans? That guy only accepts things from others when they give him food or a place to sleep.”

Although it was Gwanggu Singae who spoke, he was also the one who suffered. Every time he spoke of Wei Yanho, he relived painful memories.

“Ugh, just thinking about it makes me boil. Anyway, that guy didn’t follow the Great Hero Yeom Mong.”

“Then?”

“…What do you think he did?”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t recorded in history.”

“According to what you’ve heard from Wei Yanho, what do you think he would have done?”

“Well…”

The Historian was lost in thought. Wei Yanho, according to what he had heard…

“He must have done something absurd, although I don’t know what.”

“A vague but accurate answer.”

Gwanggu Singae clicked his tongue before continuing.

“Everything he does is like that. When you look back, it’s obvious, but at the moment it sounds like madness. This time was no different.”

The Historian looked at Gwanggu Singae, who was shaking his head, with eyes full of expectation.

—

“Everything is happening as you wished.”

Wei Sanho’s voice was low and grave.

**Cave.**

In the absolute darkness of the cave, Wei Sanho was talking to something. But no matter how much he looked to the other side, he couldn’t see who he was talking to.

Because there was nothing.

From that nothing, a grave voice resounded:

[It is only the beginning.]

“Everything in the world will submit to your will, Heavenly Demon.”

Wei Sanho frowned slightly upon hearing the voice full of strange calm. For someone as stoic as him, that reaction was unusual.

“But much blood will be spilled.”

[Are you still stating the obvious?]

“There are only obvious things for those who ignore the evident.”

[Perhaps.]

Wei Sanho stared straight ahead, where there was nothing. His gaze lacked emotion.

*’It suits him perfectly.’*

The person he was talking to was like what he saw now:

**Existing but non-existent.**

It could not be found anywhere, but that did not mean that it did not exist.

Someone who, by common sense, should not exist in this world. But who definitely existed.

The Heavenly Demon.

No one else deserved that name.

[Do you fear the blood that will be spilled?]

“If I feared that, I wouldn’t have taken your hand.”

Wei Sanho shook his head firmly.

The world must bleed. Without blood, they will not understand. On what great sacrifice they are standing. If that could be taught to them, Wei Sanho was willing to become a demon.

“Do not fear that I will betray you, Heavenly Demon.”

[You are different from your father.]

“The environment in which I grew up made it inevitable.”

[Do you mean that even if the blood spilled is from the Jeok Family, that of your soul is from the Wei Family?]

“Something like that.”

[Hahaha, quite romantic.]

Wei Sanho continued coldly:

“I know what worries you. But it is not necessary. If you fulfill what you promised, I will never betray you.”

[Promise? What are you talking about?]

“Asking as if you didn’t know doesn’t suit you, Heavenly Demon.”

[Hahahaha.]

A mocking laugh.

Wei Sanho maintained his impassive expression, as if he had been stripped of emotions.

[Do not worry. I will fulfill my promise.]

“That’s enough.”

Wei Sanho turned.

Then, a low voice sounded behind him:

[You too should prepare.]

Wei Sanho stopped.

[The path you must travel is one of suffering. A path of thorns that no human could travel. Can you really walk it?]

“Will it not be more human than the path you travel?”

[What insolence.]

Wei Sanho felt that the Heavenly Demon did not react to his provocation and turned.

*’The world will know soon.’*

What lies dormant in his world.

A great serpent, capable of devouring the entire world, was beginning to show its fangs. When he emerged from the cave and roared, the sun would hide and humans would suffer for their original sin.

*’This fight is meaningless.’*

How many really know about the crisis that is coming?

Wei Sanho shook his head and left the cave.

Now he…

He no longer had the right to worry about that.