Chapter 65: To Save You (4)

The first thing I did was to evacuate the people in my sect to a distant location.

"Master Bing Yeon, are you really telling us to flee from here?"

"Yes, because this place will soon turn into a battlefield."

Many people were murmuring in front of me, unable to hide their anxiety.

They were the sick and injured, families who had fled because they couldn't bear the taxes imposed by the magistrate, and individuals who had attempted suicide after losing hope in life.

It had turned out like this because I had saved them one by one. Although it was a small sect, people had gathered disproportionately to its size.

"...Can we at least know the proper reason?"

A child covered in bandages raised their hand and asked me a question. They had been ridiculed in their village due to a skin disease but had come to my sect for treatment.

"There is a god that has come from a place not of this world. To save someone precious to me, I must kill that god."

I spoke slowly while patting the child's head. I had also requested help from other sects in the Central Plains martial world, so this child's treatment wouldn't be interrupted.

"We will fight too. We think that's the grace we owe you for saving our lives, Master Bing Yeon."

Another person raised their hand. This time it was a parent who had rushed to my sect because their child had fallen terminally ill. They were someone whose child's life I had been able to save using an elixir obtained from the Secret Cave of the Secret Shadow Divine Thief.

"...It's impossible for you."

I shook my head as I looked at him carrying farming tools on his back like a spear. Even the strongest characters from my novel, like the protagonists and final bosses, weren't certain if they could withstand Shub-Niggurath, the Outer God.

"We won't know unless we try."

"No. We must minimize casualties as much as possible."

I could only see a picture of mass death if ordinary people who hadn't even properly learned martial arts jumped into this battle.

In the original novel, I enjoyed comparing Outer Gods to ants and humans, but no matter how much poison an ant might have, it's rare for it to kill a human.

"Master Bing Yeon, I have nowhere to go if I leave here. Please, I beg you, can't I stay?"

This time, a child missing a limb knelt before me. It was a child who had been able to live a proper daily life after I had made them a wooden prosthetic.

"I've already asked other sects that can take you in. They're not the kind of people who would discriminate against someone just for missing a limb."

I had already contacted other sects to get as much help as possible. To turn this sect into a fortress, we needed the most complex and effective formations possible.

Hyeonhwa of the Flower Mountain Sect, the Infinite Sword Emperor of the Namgung Family, and the Poison Dragon of the Sacheon Party were basically friendly towards me, so they would treat these children well.

"If an Outer God invades our sect, our very existence might be erased. Everyone might forget that the Ice Dragon Flower Banquet ever existed here."

I told them about the future Azazel had seen. A wasteland where nothing existed. Not that we weren't trying to avoid such a future, but just in case.

"I will probably die along with it."

I slowly opened my mouth towards the people looking at me with worried eyes.

In truth, it didn't matter when I died.

Living a life with a time limit, I had already been living with the sensation of death constantly by my side.

It might seem quite cruel as a price for discontinuing three novels, but if I had taken responsibility to the end, this situation wouldn't have occurred at all.

This is the author's note in the middle of serialization. It's punishment for not properly ending the world one created.

"...Is that really true?"

"Probably."

I wanted to save everyone here. Although they were extras who hadn't even appeared in a single line in the original novel, this place was now the real world.

A child who became an orphan overnight because their parents committed suicide due to a bad harvest.

Parents who begged while in poverty, trying to feed even one more grain of barley to their children.

Everyone has emotions. They have souls. Even characters I had set up to be evil had reformed and become good.

"This can't be! What wrong has Master Bing Yeon done to deserve death...!"

The person speaking now was one of them. Originally, she was destined to become a ruthless assassin after learning the Immunity to All Poisons technique from the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Knowing the flow of the original work better than anyone, I had saved people like her while rescuing Bi Wol.

"I will stay here! As someone who has learned martial arts, I can be of help to you, Master Bing Yeon!"

"There's no need for that."

I shook my head, trying to dissuade her. No matter how immune to poisons she might be, there was no way she could resist the mental attacks of an Outer God.

But,

"...My life is indebted to you, Master Bing Yeon. Even if I die, I want to die protecting this place."

"That's right! You sacrificed your life to protect us, we can't just run away without doing anything!"

"Wouldn't it be better to have even one more person?"

Led by her, many people came forward and began to kneel on one knee. It was as if they were determined not to move a step from this place until I forcibly drove them out.

"You all... You really don't listen to me."

As I looked at these people, I felt an emotion welling up inside me. Pride? Warmth? It was a sensation I couldn't express in words or sentences.

"Then, help fortify this sect. After that, you really must flee from here."

I ended up being capricious, unlike my usual self. Originally, this was something I should have done alone or with the help of my disciples.

"We understand!"

Only then did they break into broad smiles, stand up, and salute me with clasped hands. They seemed overjoyed to be able to help.

Originally, they had been repaying their saved lives by farming in the sect or helping with odd jobs.

"I'm really too soft..."

I put my hand to my forehead as I made plans for the future.

By now, Shub-Niggurath must know that Kim Hyul and Sieghart had joined our side.

The fact that such an Outer God hadn't moved yet suggested that she must have some scheme of her own.

Evacuating the people in my sect to another place could be postponed to a slightly later time.

The second thing I did was to call the strong figures from the martial world who had appeared in the original work.

"So, you called us to devise a formation to protect the sect?"

Many people gathered, including Hyeonhwa of the Flower Mountain Sect, Jegal Hong of the Jegal Family, the Poison Dragon of the Sacheon Party, and the Infinite Sword Emperor of the Namgung Family.

Originally, I would have liked to call someone like the Invincible Fist God who had almost reached the realm of immortals, but their whereabouts had become unknown due to the flow diverging too much from the original work.

"I ask this of you all. Please lend me your strength."

I bowed deeply to them as I made my request. If this method didn't work, I was prepared to beg and plead to find a way to protect my sect and disciples.

"Hahahahaha...!! Finally, I get to repay the debt I owe you from the Great War between righteousness and evil!"

Suddenly, the Poison Dragon of the Sacheon Party burst into laughter as he looked at me, gesturing for me to straighten my posture.

"Even so, owing my life to someone from the evil faction slightly cracked my pride!"

The Poison Dragon smiled broadly, his lips curving. Given his personality, he might have been a bit embarrassed by the fact that his life had been saved by someone from the evil faction.

After all, it was the Divine Doctor and I who had forcibly saved him when he had refused treatment even with a knife to his throat.

"I didn't know you had any pride left to protect, Poison Dragon."

"Under this sky, it's rarer to find someone who hasn't received help from the Ice Dragon."

The Infinite Sword Emperor and Hyeonhwa shook their heads as they watched the Poison Dragon, saying it was an ugly sight.

Even to me, it seemed like he was pretending to be composed just to save face, when he could have honestly said he wanted to help.

"S-So... W-What should I do...?"

Jegal Hong, holding an iron brush, looked around as she spoke, not knowing why she had been called.

She, who had shown genius traits in the original "The King of the Vajra Fist," had transformed into this introverted personality because I had resolved major events in the Central Plains before they could even occur.

'Originally, she was supposed to be a character described as overflowing with confidence even among the Jegal Family...'

I sighed inwardly. No matter how well an author sets things up, they can't prevent characters from acting freely.

"I-I didn't hear that such powerful martial artists would be gathering..."

Jegal Hong was even trembling as she fiddled with her hair.

She said that since the events where she was supposed to play an active role had disappeared, her father had dragged her here as she had been cooped up in her room only studying formations.

"We need to turn the Ice Dragon Flower Banquet itself into a fortress of the world. Do you have a method? We're in a hurry here...!"

"H-Heeee...?!"

I spoke while grabbing her shoulders, as if to say it was worth a try. Startled, she couldn't even make proper eye contact with me.

"Y-Your face is too close... Y-You mean the Ice Dragon Flower Banquet...?"

Jegal Hong's cheeks flushed slightly, and then she seemed to be organizing her thoughts as her small lips quivered.

"Perhaps if we divide the sect into four directions - east, west, south, and north - and create pillars using the Book of Changes, the Eight Trigrams, or divine objects with history... I-It might be possible..."

Jegal Hong was explaining to me how to create a formation without even taking a breath, and she was shaking her head as if asking me to quickly release her shoulders.

"...Thank you. It wouldn't have been possible without you."

"Hehehe... It's the first time I've been p-praised..."

I expressed my gratitude to Jegal Hong, and she was touching her cheek as if confused whether this was reality or a dream.