Then Gluttony turned to the young man and asked,
"Is that all that happened in the past year?"
The boy swallowed and shook his head.
"No… there's more."
After the Blood Cult's attack, both the Empire and the Murim Alliance began collecting funds from the common people, claiming it was for their protection. But the people had nothing left to give.
"There was famine," the boy continued. "The people were already starving."
With nothing to offer, the commoners were instead dragged into the war.
"After facing so much injustice, rebellions erupted across many provinces. People turned on their lords. Some lords were even killed, and entire regions declared rebellion."
"The Emperor responded by sending a new general and his army to suppress the rebellions."
"But the new general's army betrayed him and killed their own general… and sided with the rebels."
People said it happened because those soldiers were originally General Jisoo's men. The new general ordered them to kill innocents and treated them worse than animals—using them as nothing more than meat shields. He gained his position not through martial merit, but because his father held a high position in the imperial court.
Because of this, those soldiers were now being hunted down as traitors.
When the boy finished, everyone slowly turned to look at Gluttony.
They all understood.
The men he spoke of… were Gluttony's former soldiers.
Gluttony's fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. His breathing grew heavy. Every instinct in him screamed to run—
to find them, to stand with them.
Breaking the heavy silence, Ming spoke.
"Who is leading the rebellion?"
The boy stiffened.
"No one knows," he replied. "Not their name… not their face… not even their gender. But somehow, they keep gathering more and more people. The rebellion is growing every day."
"That's everything that happened in the last year," the boy said quickly.
Trembling, he looked at Ming.
"Can… can I go now?"
Ming stared at him for a long moment. Then he nodded.
"Yes. You may go."
Relief flooded the boy's face. He stood up and ran.
He didn't get far.
A sharp sound split the air.
Ming's sword flew from his hand, crossing the distance in a blink—
and pierced straight through the boy's head.
The body collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.
Silence followed.
Ming calmly stood there, eyes cold.
Everyone was stunned.
They had truly believed Ming would let the boy go. To kill him after giving his word…
that went against one of the core principles of the martial world.
Martial honor.
Ming looked at them—
as if reading every thought in their minds.
Then he spoke.
"I know what you're thinking." His voice was calm. Too calm. "You think I broke martial honor."
His gaze hardened.
"But in my eyes… there is no such thing as martial honor."
Silence fell.
"There is only the strong… and the weak."
He took a step forward.
"If you are weak, you run. You hide. You beg."
Another step.
"And if you are strong—"
"you have the right to kill."
His eyes turned icy.
"You even have the right to go back on your own words."
No one dared to speak.
In the martial world mercy was a lie, and honor was just an excuse used by the powerless.
Hearing Ming's words, none of them could respond.
Because… he wasn't wrong.
Greed had fought his entire life for honor and justice —
and in the end, what did it bring him?
Betrayal.
Now, the same people he once protected called him a traitor.
It wasn't just Greed.
All of them understood what Ming meant.
Slowly, Ming lifted his gaze to the sky.
The sun was already setting.
"We'll discuss the rest tomorrow," he said.
With that, everyone began preparing for the night.
Greed, Envy, and Gluttony went out to hunt for food.
Wrath gathered dry grass and branches to make bedding.
Ming sat down and began meditating.
As Gluttony was about to leave, Pride stepped in front of him.
"Can you start the fire?" Pride asked.
"I'll go hunting with the others."
Gluttony nodded. "Alright."
Later, Gluttony crouched near the camp, stacking pieces of wood.
He struck his spear against a stone—
Clink.
Sparks appeared.
Again.
And again.
After a few moments, the fire caught.
Gluttony sat down before it, staring into the flames, his mind drifting.
Deep in thought.
Then Ming's voice spoke—
even though his eyes remained closed.
"Do you want to save them?"
Gluttony froze.
He turned toward Ming and forced a bitter smile.
"I'd be lying if I said no," he said quietly.
"They were like my brothers."
His hands trembled.
"I already lost Soho…"
"And I've regretted it every day since."
Tears slid down his face as he looked at his own hands.
"But I'm weak," he whispered.
"I can't save any of them."
Ming opened his eyes.
He looked directly at Gluttony.
"You're forgetting something," Ming said calmly.
Gluttony looked up.
"You're my subordinate," Ming continued.
"And as long as you follow me—
I will never let you die… or lose your brothers again."
Ming stood and placed a firm hand on Gluttony's back.
"Wipe your tears," he said quietly.
"Wrath is coming."
Startled, Gluttony hurriedly wiped his eyes and lowered his head.
"Yes."
Greed, Envy, and Pride returned from the hunt together.
Greed was carrying the prey.
Once, he had been a monk—
a man who had never eaten meat in his life.
But after being sent to the Red Line…
that rule no longer mattered.
As they walked back toward the camp, Envy spoke quietly.
"Pride… you left Gluttony behind on purpose, didn't you?"
"So he could talk to our lord."
Pride didn't stop walking.
"Do you really think," Envy continued,
"that the lord will help him?"
Pride finally glanced back.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said calmly.
Then he added, without hesitation—
"But I can tell you one thing for sure."
He looked ahead, a faint smile forming on his face.
"He will never abandon his subordinate."