Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 532

“Push them back!”

Han Yimyung yelled, pulling back his sword.

Pain twisted his face.

‘He’s strong.’

They had fewer people. They were attacked without stopping. But they could not get ahead. They were slowly losing ground.

‘Is the difference really this great?’

In the previous battle, they had been completely defeated. This time, because the warriors from the Central Plains helped from the start, they at least had some strength when they joined the fight.

But they still couldn’t completely defeat them.

It felt like they were weaker in both courage and fighting ability.

“Aaaargh!”

Another scream rang out.

Each time blood splattered and someone screamed, more and more of their comrades stumbled back and ran.

Han Yimyung bit his lip.

No matter how long he had been away, his loyalty to the Ice Palace had not changed. Seeing his people die like this was utterly heartbreaking.

But…

“Hold them back at all costs! We must not let them enter the cave!”

He pushed the Ice Palace warriors to fight even harder. It was all he could do.

‘We must hold on!’

The sacrifice was painful, but if they failed to stop the ritual those evil beings were performing, the Ice Palace and the Northern Sea would pay an even more terrible price.

‘Our mistake was one thing.’

They had failed to fight when they should have.

No one wanted to shed blood. But Han Yimyung knew now that if they failed to shed blood when they had to, they would end up spilling even more.

Their task was to drive these invaders out of the Northern Sea completely.

But even more important than that was stopping the ritual taking place now!

“Defend this place with your lives! This is the Northern Sea! Do not let them have their way!”

He could only scream and encourage them until his throat was raw.

But despite his will and the desperate efforts of the Ice Palace warriors, the situation only continued to worsen.

‘We must hurry!’

He bit his lip and glanced towards the cave.

Just then, Seol Sobaek’s voice brushed past his ear.

“Just a little more strength!”

“……”

“If we can just hold out, the Mount Hua Sect will surely stop them! We must do our best to survive!”

Han Yimyung was filled with a slightly strange emotion.

‘The Palace Lord trusts them completely.’

He even felt as if she trusted the Mount Hua Sect more than the Northern Sea Ice Palace, which he was supposed to lead.

But Han Yimyung couldn’t say anything about it. Wasn’t he himself just staring at those who had entered the cave, placing his faith in them?

He had no choice but to believe.

Anyone who had seen his back as he always stood at the forefront, wielding his sword, would feel the same way. Anyone.

“If we just hold out a little longer, those who went inside will come to our rescue! Do not retreat! Show the pride of the Northern Sea Ice Palace warriors!”

Maybe they felt stronger because they were told help would come from inside. Those who had been pushed back gritted their teeth and survived the attack of the Demonic Cult.

‘It’s working.’

A small glimmer of hope filled Han Yimyung’s eyes.

If they could just keep this up, the Northern Sea Ice Palace would once again find its light…

It was then.

Rumble!

“What, what is that?”

“An earthquake?”

The entire valley began to shake.

To be precise, the mountain range in front of the land they were standing on. The mountain where the cave that the Mount Hua disciples had entered was located was shaking entirely.

The fierce battle stopped for a moment at the unbelievable sight.

‘W-what on earth…?’

Han Yimyung stared ahead with wide eyes. The ground was shaking so violently that even he, a master of martial arts, could barely stand.

But what truly amazed him was not the shaking.

A chill he couldn’t understand ran through his entire body.

He couldn’t tell if the world was shaking or if his body was trembling. At the same time as the mountain was shaking, his entire body was screaming, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

What was happening?

Everyone’s eyes were filled with confusion. And it was at that very moment.

Kaaaaaboom!

With an explosion that sounded as if the world was collapsing, the entrance to the cave burst open. Screams erupted from everywhere.

“Aaaargh!”

“Ack!”

Pieces of broken rock hit and cut the Ice Palace warriors. Those who could even scream were the lucky ones. Most of those directly hit by the pieces died on the spot without even a soft cry.

A moment later, a dozen figures were thrown out from the cloud of dust that went up like a storm.

Thud!

“Ugh…”

Han Yimyung’s eyes widened as he identified those who had been thrown to the ground and cried out.

“D-Disciple Baek Cheon!”

The fallen Baek Cheon groaned, supporting himself on the ground.

“Th-this…”

Han Yimyung’s gaze, as he watched him try hard to stand up, turned towards the cave without wanting to.

After a moment, the cloud of dust that went up was blown away by the wind. From the entrance of the cave, which seemed to become bigger when it broke, he could clearly see someone slowly walking out.

“Ah…”

Han Yimyung’s body began to tremble like an aspen tree.

‘That is….’

Thud.

Thud.

Han Yimyung, as well as everyone else who was still breathing, stared without expression at the figure slowly walking out.

‘What on earth is that…!’

A blood-red robe.

Roughly tied, half-flowing white hair.

A terrifying darkness was rising around the man’s body. It covered him like black smoke rising from hell itself.

‘Is it a demon?’

Han Yimyung’s pale fingertips turned icy cold.

It was hard to understand, but from the moment he saw that man, he couldn’t breathe. He felt as if the moment he breathed out, that threatening black energy would tear his entire body apart and burn it to ashes.

Thud.

With each step the man took, an unimaginable pressure crushed them.

The name that should never have been said escaped from Han Yimyung’s half-crazed lips.

“…D-Demon… Sovereign?”

And.

The moment he spoke those words, the gaze of the one giving off the evil energy focused directly on Han Yimyung.

A chilling sensation.

Fear hit him like ice.

Just one look from him felt like a sharp knife cutting his soul.

Han Yi-myeong had no strength left to fight. He stumbled.

He slowly looked around the battlefield. The Ice Palace disciples trembled with an uncontrollable fear, retreating backward, while the Demonic Cultists immediately prostrated themselves.

“Bishop!”

“The Heavenly Demon has returned! May all demons submit!”

Bishop?

Han Yi-myeong’s lips turned a ghastly pale blue.

This man was a Bishop? Not the Heavenly Demon?

This monster looked strong enough to knock down mountains and burn forests just by looking. And he was only a Bishop? Not even the Heavenly Demon?

Then?

Then what sort of being was the Heavenly Demon?

Only then did Han Yi-myeong, or rather, the Ice Palace, understand what kind of entity they were truly at war with.

These were not merely those who ravaged the Northern Sea.

These were beings who would bring about the world’s destruction.

The Bishop’s eyes twisted as he slowly surveyed the battlefield.

“Useless things…”

“Please, kill us!”

The Demonic Cultists bowed their heads abjectly, slamming them against the ground.

“You dared to bring dirty outsiders to this holy place! The Heavenly Demon will rise here! No punishment is enough for this!”

As the reprimand continued, the Demonic Cultists bowed their heads even lower, begging for forgiveness.

The Bishop, glaring at them with displeasure, turned his gaze towards the Ice Palace disciples.

But that gaze was quickly withdrawn, as if they weren’t even worth a second look.

His gaze finally settled on Han Yi-myeong. He muttered, looking at Han Yi-myeong, who was stiff with tension.

“Vermin…”

Darkness clouded his vision, and the world seemed to fade into the distance.

The air around the Bishop felt heavy and cold, like death itself.

The Bishop’s presence was far beyond anything Han Yi-myeong could hope to withstand.

‘This is impossible. It’s madness.’

To wield a sword against such a being?

It was an absurd notion.

“Your pathetic blood is not even worthy as a sacrifice for the Heavenly Demon’s resurrection. I will kill you all and let you rot.”

Thud!

The Bishop took a forceful step forward, unleashing his demonic energy. The black mists swirling around his body churned like a dark storm.

Han Yi-myeong staggered backward, overwhelmed by the sheer force. His hands became ice cold, even in the heat of battle.

“Ah… Aaaah…”

It was as if black specters were wailing and circling around the Bishop’s body. It was a sight too unbelievable to be witnessed.

It was truly the descent of a demon.

“Haaah!”

Black energies swirled and coalesced in the Bishop’s hand, before being violently unleashed towards the huddled Ice Palace disciples. The air was filled with the clash of swords and the screams of the dying. The smell of blood and burning filled the air.

“Aaaargh!”

“Aaaargh! Aargh!”

Amidst the desperate screams that made one want to cover their ears, the bodies of the Ice Palace disciples, consumed by the force, simply exploded. Finely shattered bones and ragged pieces of flesh scattered in all directions like fireworks.

After the attack, nothing human was left there.

Only the blood that stained the ground red and the scattered pieces of flesh barely proved that people had once existed there.

“Ah…”

In the end, Han Yi-myeong collapsed to the ground. His reason had long since fled in the face of the terror he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

This was not the power of a human.

Just how strong must one’s inner energy be to pulverize those struck by their force in such a way?

That was the Bishop of the Demonic Cult.

A limb of the Heavenly Demon.

“You will regret having set your filthy feet on this sacred ground in the depths of hell.”

If Han Yi-myeong was in such a state, the Ice Palace disciples could hardly be any different.

Some sat there, wetting themselves, while others had already turned their backs and were crawling away, trying to distance themselves from the Bishop as much as possible.

“Die!”

The black demonic energy writhed and pulsed around the Bishop, ready to be unleashed again at any moment. It was just then, as Han Yi-myeong was about to cry out, unable to bear it any longer…

“Aigo, my back! That blasted old man has a surprisingly strong grip.”

Han Yi-myeong turned around blankly.

It was a truly strange thing.

The voice was not brave or strong like the Bishop’s. It was just a normal voice.

But strangely, when he heard that voice, the fear the Bishop had put in him seemed to disappear.

As he watched Chung Myung trudge forward with a grimace, Han Yi-myeong unknowingly released the breath he had been holding. (Han Yi-myeong thought: Is this man crazy?)

It was then.

Clang.

“Bae, Baek Cheon disciple?”

Baek Cheon slammed his sword into the ground, using it as support to lift himself up. Blood flowed from his tightly clenched lips, but his eyes were filled with a will as if he were a man who had never been wounded.

Baek Cheon, sword in hand, followed behind Chung Myung as he moved forward.

“Amitabha.”

And Hae Yeon, with a Buddhist gesture, along with the other Mount Hua disciples, stepped forward without the slightest hesitation.

The Bishop’s wrinkled eyes twitched slightly. His smile didn’t reach his cold eyes.

“Foolish ones…”

And then, he broke into a grotesque smile. If a demon were to smile, it would surely wear such a face.

“Do you still not understand that you are no match for me, you foolish unbelievers?”

“No match?”

Chung Myung grinned, baring his teeth as if he had heard a joke.

“I’ve lost count of how many bastards have spouted those exact words. And do you know what happened to them all?”

“…”

“Nah. Never mind. You don’t need to know.”

Chung Myung raised his sword, aiming it directly at the Bishop.

“You will learn all about it in very painful detail, starting now.”

“Hahaha!”

The Bishop burst into loud laughter.

“That’s right. Yes. You must.”

His eyes, filled with manic laughter, began to drip with red blood.

“You cursed Mount Hua bastards, you absolutely must! Only then will the pleasure of tearing you apart be worth it! I will rend your flesh, drink your blood, and avenge the grudges of the past hundred years!”

“That’s what I’m about to do to you, you son of a bitch.”

Chung Myung, twirling his sword once in the air, unleashed his murderous intent with a face as fierce as a demon.

“I’ll tear your throat out!”

Chung Myung, roaring madly, charged towards the Bishop like a streak of black lightning.