Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 596

Horror filled the eyes of the bandits.

Who was Go Hong?

He was the chief of the Great Divide, one of the most famous bandit groups in the land.

Go Hong was not just the chief of the Great Divide. He *made* the Great Divide famous because he was such a strong chief.

Yet that Mad Dog had now lost his head to a mere child from Mount Hua.

It was a sight they simply couldn’t believe, even as they witnessed it with their own eyes.

Everyone held their breath as they stared at the corpse lying on the ground like a broken log and the head of Mad Dog Go Hong lying not far from it.

‘The chief⋯⋯.’

‘⋯⋯Is that, really⋯⋯?’

In that moment.

Whoosh!

Chung Myung, standing before Go Hong’s corpse, flicked the blood from his sword and slowly turned his gaze.

The bandits flinched and retreated.

Who wouldn’t know that one shouldn’t retreat before an enemy? But having just witnessed Go Hong’s head being severed before their very eyes, could such common sense remain in their minds?

“⋯⋯So.”

Chung Myung’s sword emitted a faint sword aura.

“Who’s next?”

And he bared his teeth, approaching the bandits.

Thud. Thud.

It wasn’t a fast pace, but that very fact caused those who watched him to feel immense pressure.

“Ugh⋯⋯.”

“⋯⋯.”

The bandits, as if their earlier brave attitude was gone, faltered and busied themselves with retreating endlessly.

In a bandit group, the chief’s existence is absolute.

And among them, there was no place where the chief’s existence was as important as in the Great Divide.

The Great Divide was made up of those who had endured harsh training and cruel treatment that couldn’t be compared to other bandit groups. And what made that possible was the existence of Go Hong, the absolute ruler.

With him dead, the unity of the Great Divide was bound to shatter.

“A, a dog’s death!”

“How can we face someone who even the chief couldn’t handle!”

“R, run away!”

Usually, when a leader of a group dies, the group does not fall apart right away. But these bandits were different. They only cared about money and power. Without their strong leader, they saw no reason to fight.

This was the fundamental limitation of those who followed evil.

Once again, a rapid collapse began.

“If we run into him, we’re dead!”

“Run away!”

“Hiiiik!”

The first step is always the hardest.

The moment one person turned their back, fear and despair spread like a plague. And soon, everyone turned their backs on Chung Myung and began to run away.

They pushed and pulled each other, running desperately to survive.

It was the moment the Great Divide crumbled.

“Th, that⋯⋯.”

Beon Chung clenched his fist tightly.

“Good heavens, that⋯⋯ that Go Hong⋯⋯.”

Anyone affiliated with the Green Forest couldn’t possibly not know how strong Go Hong was. He was among the top three in the Green Forest, known as the Shinjoo Five.

Of course, the Green Forest was somewhat lacking in terms of absolute masters, but that Mad Dog Go Hong would have been treated as a top master anywhere, not just in the Green Forest.

At the very least, he was someone who could tear apart elders of famous sects.

Yet he had killed such a Go Hong so easily.

“⋯⋯Good heavens.”

Beon Chung couldn’t even hide his astonishment.

Of course, he already knew that Chung Myung was strong. He clearly saw how strong Chung Myung was when they fought before.

That was why he had submitted to Chung Myung, treating him as an older brother despite their age difference.

But even he hadn’t been sure that Chung Myung could beat Mad Dog. Yet this was not just winning, but completely crushing him.

‘The Green Forest King’s foresight is truly amazing.’

Chung Myung was Chung Myung, but Im So-byeong, who had recognized his abilities and sect and rushed to Mount Hua without hesitation, seemed even more impressive.

“Your Majesty.”

“Hmm.”

Unlike the elated Beon Chung, Im So-byeong simply nodded lightly without much change in expression. But inside Im So-byeong’s sleeve, his fist was clenched tightly.

‘Chung Myung Dojang always shows more than expected.’

Winning against Mad Dog was truly encouraging.

But to not only win but completely overwhelm him was even more impressive.

If Chung Myung had defeated Mad Dog without showing such a clear difference, the remaining bandits might have launched a desperate all-out attack. If that had happened, the scale of the damage would have been incomparably greater than it was now.

‘Calculation⋯⋯. Or is it instinct?’

Either way, it was frightening.

Whether he had crushed Mad Dog with thorough calculation or instinctively felt that he had to overwhelm him here, the result was the same anyway.

Im So-byeong’s eyes were shining as he watched Chung Myung retrieve his sword.

“Then what’s left is⋯⋯.”

After a moment, Im So-byeong turned his gaze and muttered.

‘What’s frightening is the same on this side too.’

The disciples of Mount Hua were still calmly dealing with the Blood Clad Warriors.

At first glance, it seemed like a fierce battle was taking place, but if one looked closely at the reality, that wasn’t the case.

From a while ago, the only ones spraying blood and falling were the Blood Clad Warriors, not the disciples of Mount Hua.

Im So-byeong narrowed his eyes.

‘Is that the power of a prestigious sect?’

Their moves were simple, but strong. It was clear they had practiced the basic sword skills for a long time. Now, in a real fight, these basic skills were very effective.

Anyone can do strenuous training that exhausts the body, and anyone can attempt dangerous training.

But the real reason why those called prestigious are frightening is that they consistently repeat basic training, which starts to become boring after only three months of starting training, for years and decades.

The foundation built in that way doesn’t particularly show in normal times, but when faced with such a crisis, it supports people more firmly than any splendid realm.

‘It’s not something you can say you know just by understanding it in your head.’

There are countless sects that have left their names in the world. There are many sects that once swept the world and seemed to boast a thousand years of glory.

But those who preserve their names to the end, even after time passes, are ultimately those who have maintained the basics, not those who have achieved prosperity or splendor.

The light that Mount Hua emits also comes from that foundation.

‘Perhaps it’s a more amazing sect than I think.’

Clang!

The fiercely flying three swords were neatly deflected.

Snikt!

Following that, a thrust that flew straight in pierced the shoulder of a Blood Clad Warrior.

“Kkeuek!”

The Blood Clad Warrior grabbed his shoulder and retreated.

Then, as if not wanting to chase him unnecessarily, the plum blossom sword was withdrawn.

Faaaat!

But then, a sword that flew in like lightning tore through the heart of the retreating Blood Clad Warrior.

Snikt!

“⋯⋯.”

The Blood Clad Warrior, looking down at his own chest that had been torn open, fell on the spot with an unbelievable expression.

“⋯⋯S, Senior Uncle.”

“Even if your friends die because of your kindness, will you still be kind?”

“⋯⋯.”

“In the battlefield, the one who is too kind dies first. No, they must die first. Because it’s better for that to happen than for someone else to die because of the kindness you showed.”

Gwak-Hae gritted his teeth at the cold voice.

“I will not hesitate.”

Baek Cheon nodded slightly.

“Don’t let your guard down until the very end.”

“Yes!”

After finishing his words, Baek Cheon quickly swung his sword again and bit his lip slightly.

‘It’s strange.’

Among the disciples of Mount Hua, there were quite a few injured, but fortunately, no one had suffered a fatal wound yet. On the other hand, the number of enemies had already decreased by nearly half.

If they were careful not to become too sure of themselves because they had gained the upper hand, they would be able to win without difficulty.

The problem is⋯⋯.

‘They must know that too, right?’

Unlike the bandits who had sensed defeat and started to flee, these people didn’t seem to have any intention of retreating even in this situation.

Loyalty?

That couldn’t be.

Baek Cheon had clearly heard with his own two ears that these people were mocking Go Hong. That wasn’t a statement that could be explained by the freedom of bandits.

Even if he hadn’t heard that conversation, it was obvious that their temperament was clearly different from that of the other bandits of the Great Divide.

‘I don’t know.’

He couldn’t understand why these people, who had no particular connection to the Great Divide, were throwing away their lives in a battle that had already been decided.

However, after a while, Baek Cheon’s question was resolved in a way he had never expected.

“Kkeueueueueuaaa!”

One of the Blood Clad Warriors, covered in wounds all over his body, let out a chilling scream.

“Damn it, why! Why are we in a place like this!”

His clothes soaked with blood flowing down from all over his body, he half-sat on the floor and let out a terrible cry.

“Why! Why! Why do we have to die like dogs here! Why us! Aargh!”

The way he shouted at the sky and the voice were so desperate and sorrowful that even the disciples of Mount Hua, who were fighting to kill each other, were startled.

“Why! Why do we have to face this⋯⋯. This Im⋯⋯. Cough! Cough!”

Ptoo!

But suddenly, he slammed his mouth shut. But despite trying to stop it, dark, almost black blood gushed out like an explosion.

No, it was difficult to even call it dark red. The blood he spat out was very dark.

‘Poison?’

The one who reacted the fastest was, of course, Tang Soso.

The moment the Blood Clad Warrior spat out black blood, her scream-like voice echoed loudly.

“Step back, now!”

“Soso-ya!”

At Hyun Sang’s cry, she observed the Blood Clad Warrior closely with sharp eyes.

“⋯⋯No.”

Then, after biting her lip tightly, she shouted again.

“I don’t think it’s a contagious poison! But just in case, be careful not to get hit by the splattering blood!”

“Got it!”

At this point, Baek Cheon couldn’t understand even more.

‘Why are these people poisoned?’

Who on earth poisoned them?

“Cough! Cough!”

The one who spat out blood grabbed his chest and groaned in pain.

It seemed that the poison, which hadn’t been rising when his body was normal, had started to spread throughout his body at the same time as the major injury.

“I⋯⋯ I don’t want to die here⋯⋯.”

Snikt!

Thud.

The head of the mumbling man fell to the ground. Baek Cheon’s eyes widened. It was because it wasn’t the disciples of Mount Hua who had mercilessly cut off his head, but another Blood Clad Warrior next to him.

“Pathetic bastard.”

The Blood Clad Warrior, who had cut off his comrade’s head in one swift motion, approached Mount Hua with a strange look on his face.

“Do you think you can survive if you get out of here?”

“⋯⋯.”

“We’re all going to die anyway.”

At those words, the eyes of the Blood Clad Warriors became grim again. Madness began to dwell in their eyes. They gripped their three swords and screamed.

“Die like warriors! You trash!”

“Heuaaaah!”

It was like moths flying towards a fire.

Even though they knew there was no possibility of winning, they charged towards the camp of Mount Hua.

It wasn’t to fight and win. It was a determination to hurt them even once more before dying.

The disciples of Mount Hua gritted their teeth. It was the final battle to end the long battle.

But even in the midst of that, Baek Cheon’s eyes were shaking with doubt.

‘What on earth⋯⋯.’

What was happening?