Ch.65Chapter 65 – To Save You (4)

I need to kill the hero to save someone precious to me. That’s why my first task was to evacuate everyone from my sect to a safe location.

“Lady Bing-yeon, are you really telling us to flee from here?”

“Yes, because this place will soon become a battlefield.”

Numerous people stood before me, murmuring anxiously.

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

Saving one person at a time had led to this situation. Though it was a small sect, we had gathered more people than our size could properly accommodate.

“…Could we at least know the real reason?”

A child wrapped in bandages raised his hand and asked me. He had been ridiculed in his village due to a skin disease but was receiving treatment in my sect.

“There is a god who has come from beyond this world. To save someone precious to me, I must kill that god.”

I gently stroked the child’s head as I spoke slowly. I had already requested help from other sects in the Central Plains, so his treatment wouldn’t be interrupted.

“We will fight too. We believe this is how we can repay the debt of our lives that you saved.”

Another person raised their hand. This time it was a parent who had rushed to my sect when their child was dying. I had saved the child’s life using a spirit medicine obtained from the Divine Thief’s Hidden Cave.

“…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 protagonist and final boss, might not be able to withstand Shub-Niggurath, an Outer God.

“We won’t know until we try.”

“No. We need to minimize casualties.”

I could only envision mass deaths if ordinary people without proper martial arts training jumped into this battle.

In my original novel, I enjoyed comparing Outer Gods to humans and ants. No matter how venomous an ant might be, its chances of killing a human remain slim.

“Lady Bing-yeon, I have nowhere to go if I leave here. Please, I beg you, may I not stay?”

This time, a child missing a limb knelt before me. I had made him a wooden prosthetic so he could live a normal life.

“I’ve already arranged with other sects. They won’t discriminate against someone just for missing limbs.”

I had already contacted other sects for help. To turn this sect into a fortress, I needed complex and effective formation techniques.

Mount Hua Sect’s Hyeon-hwa, Namgung Family’s Infinite Sword Emperor, and Tang Clan of Sichuan’s Poison Dragon were all friendly toward me, so they would treat these children well.

“If an Outer God attacks our sect, our very existence might be erased. Everyone might forget that the Ice Dragon Fate Sect ever existed.”

I told them about the future Azazel had seen. A barren wasteland where nothing existed. While I wasn’t saying we couldn’t avoid such a future, it was still a possibility.

“I will probably die too.”

I slowly spoke to the people looking at me with worried eyes.

In truth, I didn’t care when I died.

Living with a terminal illness, I had already grown accustomed to the sensation of death constantly by my side.

It seems rather cruel punishment for abandoning three novels, but if I had seen them through to the end, none of this would have happened.

This is the price a writer pays for abandonment. I’m being punished for not properly concluding the world I created.

“…Is that really true?”

“Probably.”

I wanted to save everyone here. Though they were extras who barely appeared in the original novel, this was now the real world.

A child orphaned overnight when their parents committed suicide during a famine.

Parents who begged while still trying to give even a single grain of barley more to their children.

Everyone has emotions. Everyone has a soul. Even characters I had originally designed to be evil had reformed and become good.

“This cannot be! What wrong have you done, Lady Bing-yeon, that you must die…!”

The person speaking now was one such character. Originally destined to become a ruthless assassin after learning the All-Poison Immunity technique from the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.

Knowing the original plot better than anyone, I had saved people like her while rescuing Bi-wol.

“I will stay here! As someone trained in martial arts, I can be of help to you!”

“There’s no need for that.”

I shook my head, trying to dissuade her. No matter how immune to poison she might be, she couldn’t resist the mental attacks of an Outer God.

But then,

“…My life is indebted to you, Lady Bing-yeon. If I die, I want to die protecting this place.”

“That’s right! You risked your life to protect us, so we can’t just run away without doing anything!”

“Wouldn’t even one more person be helpful?”

Led by her, many people stepped forward and knelt on one knee, as if determined not to move an inch from this place unless I forcibly drove them away.

“You people… you really don’t listen to me.”

As I looked at them, I felt something welling up inside me. Pride? Warmth? Something I couldn’t express in words or sentences.

“Then help me fortify this sect. After that, you really must flee from here.”

I acted uncharacteristically capricious. Normally, this was something I would have done alone or with the help of my disciples.

“We understand!”

Only then did they rise with beaming smiles and salute me with clasped hands. They seemed genuinely happy to be of help.

Originally, they had repaid me for saving their lives by farming or helping with chores around the sect.

“I’ve really gone soft…”

I placed my hand on my forehead and planned my next steps.

By now, Shub-Niggurath must know that Kim Hyul and Sieg-hardt had joined my side.

The fact that this Outer God hadn’t made a move yet suggested she had her own schemes.

Evacuating the people from my sect could be postponed a little longer.

***

My second task was to summon the powerful martial artists from the original novel.

“So you called us to design a formation to protect your sect?”

Many had gathered, including Mount Hua Sect’s Hyeon-hwa, Zhuge Family’s Zhuge Hong, Tang Clan of Sichuan’s Poison Dragon, and Namgung Family’s Infinite Sword Emperor.

I had wanted to invite figures like the Undefeated God of Fists, who had nearly reached immortality, but his whereabouts were unknown due to how much the original plot had changed.

“I humbly request your help. Please lend me your strength.”

I bowed to them, prepared to beg if necessary to find a way to protect my sect and disciples.

“Hahaha! Finally, I can repay the debt I owe you from the battle between the righteous and evil sects!”

Suddenly, the Poison Dragon from Tang Clan burst into laughter and gestured for me to stand upright.

“To be honest, owing my life to someone from an evil sect slightly wounded my pride!”

Poison Dragon smiled broadly. Given his personality, he might have been slightly embarrassed about having his life saved by someone from an evil sect.

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

“I didn’t know you had any pride left to protect, Poison Dragon.”

“Under this sky, those who haven’t received help from the Ice Dragon are rarer.”

The Infinite Sword Emperor and Hyeon-hwa shook their heads at Poison Dragon’s words, saying he looked unsightly.

Even I thought he should just honestly say he wanted to help, rather than trying to save face by pretending to be so composed.

“S-so… w-what should I do…?”

Zhuge Hong, holding an iron brush, looked around nervously, not knowing why she had been summoned.

She had shown genius in the original novel “Diamond Fist King,” but because I had resolved major incidents in the Central Plains before they could occur, she had developed this introverted personality.

‘Originally, she was described as one of the most confident members of the Zhuge Family…’

I sighed inwardly. No matter how well an author designs a character, they can’t prevent characters from acting freely.

“I-I wasn’t told that such powerful martial artists would be gathering…”

Zhuge Hong fidgeted with her hair, trembling visibly.

Since the events where she was supposed to shine had disappeared, her father had dragged her here from her room where she had been studying formation techniques.

“We need to turn the Ice Dragon Fate Sect into an impregnable fortress. Do you have any ideas? Time is of the essence!”

“H-huh?!”

I grabbed her shoulders, thinking it was worth a try. She was startled and couldn’t even make eye contact with me.

“Y-your face is too close… Y-you mean the Ice Dragon Fate Sect…?”

Zhuge Hong’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she seemed to be organizing her thoughts as her small lips quivered.

“P-perhaps if we divide the sect into four directions—north, south, east, and west—and place pillars with the I Ching, Eight Trigrams, or sacred objects with history… i-it might be possible…”

Zhuge Hong explained the formation technique without taking a breath, shaking her head as if begging me to release her shoulders.

“…Thank you. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

“Hehehe… my first time being p-praised…”

I thanked Zhuge Hong, who touched her cheeks as if unsure whether this was reality or a dream.