Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 825

Grand Master Mangeum went down the cliff and looked hard at Jang Il-so.

‘So, a defeated leader,’ he thought. He had agreed to Jang Il-so’s plan for two reasons.

First, he felt danger. If things kept going as they were, they could be attacked and lose without even fighting back, just like Jang Il-so said. The strong power that was growing would need to be used, and the Demonic Sect was the easiest target.

The second reason was… ‘I thought I could control him and get rid of him when I didn’t need him anymore.’

Now, he knew he was wrong.

He thought he understood Jang Il-so a little, but the real Jang Il-so was someone he couldn’t control. From the start, Jang Il-so had been in charge.

‘Was I the one being tricked?’ A cold feeling went down his back.

In this war that was like hot lava, maybe the Orthodox Sect people weren’t the only ones scared of Jang Il-so. Maybe the Demonic Sect people fighting for him were even more afraid. Mangeum’s chest felt tight. How scared must the others be?

“Well,” Grand Master Mangeum said, hiding how he really felt and trying to look calm. “It was a good deal for us.”

“A good deal?” Black Dragon King’s face became angry. “Maybe for you! The Jang River only lost! Half of my Black Dragon Corps is gone! That can never be fixed!”

Black Dragon King glared at Jang Il-so, his eyes full of hate.

“Jang Il-so! You promised us good things for the Jang River! Are you making fun of me?”

“Making fun… Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Thousand Faces Scholar made a clicking sound with his tongue.

“You are not smart, and you have no manners. Be careful how you talk, Black Dragon King. The Demonic Alliance is just starting. If people don’t respect our leader, it will hurt all of us.”

“Shut your mouth, you sneaky rat! Are you helping Jang Il-so trick me too?” Black Dragon King got even angrier. Thousand Faces Scholar’s eyes suddenly became cold.

“Heh heh.”

But then, Jang Il-so chuckled softly and spoke in a gentle voice.

“Don’t be so angry. I did bring good things to the Jang River.”

“…Good things? You call this good?”

“Now, no one will stop you from doing what you want in the Jang River area. For the next three years.”

Black Dragon King looked at him, not sure if he believed him.

“But what about the government?”

“The government will have trouble dealing with the Water Corps alone. They always had help from the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families when they stepped in before. If they don’t get help this time, the government will ignore what you do.”

“Hmm.”

“So, you can easily get back what you lost, right? The Water Corps will even become stronger.”

Black Dragon King looked at Jang Il-so for a moment, then cleared his throat loudly.

“It better be true, Alliance Leader, or else!”

“Of course, it’s true.”

“Fine, I’ll believe you this time.”

Black Dragon King stepped back.

Thousand Faces Scholar smirked and asked, “Will those people keep their word, Alliance Leader?”

“They have to. No, they will be forced to.”

Jang Il-so smiled slyly.

“People who care too much about their reputation and what others think are easy to control. Don’t worry about them.”

“Hmm. I trust you, Alliance Leader.”

Grand Master Mangeum also spoke.

“Then, the most important thing now is to make the Demonic Alliance strong quickly.”

“That’s right.”

“…Then we will go back to get our groups ready and plan how to work together.”

“Yes, do that.”

“But something still bothers me,” Grand Master Mangeum said, tilting his head a little. His eyes were dark and serious.

“If you used the Blood Cult too, it wouldn’t have been too hard to defeat them all completely. And wouldn’t it have been worth it to take some damage to destroy Shaolin, Wudang, and the Namgung families?”

“Worth it…” Jang Il-so smiled slightly, a cold smile.

“I don’t just want to win one fight. I want to win the whole war. My enemy is… No, our enemy is not just Shaolin or Wudang, but all of the Central Plains.”

“…”

“Do you know why people are afraid of the dark?”

“…Is it because you can’t see what’s there?”

“Not really.” Jang Il-so shook his head.

“It’s because they imagine bad things in the dark.”

“…”

“A baby who doesn’t know about bad things in the dark isn’t scared even if it’s dark. But a grown-up who has heard many stories about monsters and dangers in the dark is afraid of the dark.”

Grand Master Mangeum’s face became a little tense.

“Soon, everyone in the world will be afraid of me and the name of the Demonic Alliance. After that, things will be easier.”

Grand Master Mangeum shook his head slowly. It was like before. Jang Il-so seemed to say a lot, but he didn’t really explain anything clearly.

But one thing was sure.

“Making the Demonic Alliance was a good idea.”

“Haha.” Jang Il-so chuckled softly.

“If you think so, then don’t hold on to the name of Black Demon Fortress too much. I will also stop using the name Myriad Man Manor.”

“…I understand. Then, we will meet again soon. We have a lot to talk about.”

Grand Master Mangeum turned around, acting like the meeting was finished.

Then, Black Dragon King turned around and left, a pleased smile on his face. Thousand Faces Scholar stayed until the very end. He looked at Jang Il-so, chuckled, and clicked his tongue again.

“A hard road is starting now, Alliance Leader.”

“I know I will have to go through it.”

“Please take care of me in the future. I know you are very capable, Alliance Leader.”

“Of course.”

“Heh heh heh. This will be interesting. Very interesting.”

Thousand Faces Scholar walked away, a creepy smile on his face. As soon as everyone was gone, the cold, angry look that Jang Il-so had been hiding burst out in his eyes.

“…Sly snake people.”

Jang Il-so turned around. A white carriage pulled by eight horses was waiting. Ho Gamyung, who had been quietly standing by the carriage, greeted Jang Il-so with a cloth.

“You have been through so much. Manor Lord, oh, I mean, Alliance Leader.”

“I’m a mess. What a shameful sight. Ugh.” Jang Il-so groaned and sounded tired. Ho Gamyung smiled sadly and gave him a cloth wet with water.

“I should have brought the maids to help.”

“I have hands. I can do it myself. It’s okay.”

Jang Il-so took the cloth and wiped the blood off his body.

“Everything happened just as you planned, Alliance Leader.”

“This is only the start.” Jang Il-so answered casually and wiped his upper body, using several cloths. Ho Gamyung took a clean white robe from inside the carriage and put it over him. Jang Il-so straightened his clothes and then frowned at his broken decorations.

“Tsk.”

Crack!

He ripped off the broken decorations without hesitating, pushed his hair back, and sighed.

“Those snake-like people will never really follow me. Now that I’ve stopped the immediate danger, they will try to take over the Demonic Alliance.”

“They will definitely do that.”

“Yes. That’s how the Demonic Sect is. They are the kind of people who would fight to steal a single bean right in front of them instead of going after a big prize far away. They are more trouble than the Orthodox Sect people.”

If Jang Il-so had destroyed Shaolin and Wudang completely, what would happen next was clear.

They would see Jang Il-so as their enemy, not the Orthodox Sect anymore. They would secretly work together to get rid of Jang Il-so and Myriad Man Manor and then fight each other to control Gangnam. This has happened many times in the history of the Demonic Sect.

“But… that can’t happen now.”

Jang Il-so smiled in a mean way. A sly smile appeared on his face.

“The Demonic Alliance itself must not be strong. Only the Demonic Alliance that I control is important. What I won in this war is not just an agreement. It is my name, Jang Il-so, becoming famous everywhere.”

Jang Il-so gently touched his lips with his finger.

“People think reputation is useless, like trash. But sometimes, it’s more powerful than fighting.”

Ho Gamyung looked at him with great respect. ‘When did Jang Il-so start planning all of this?’ he wondered. ‘Was it when he gathered the leaders of the Five Supreme Powers? Or when Hwasan attacked the Jang River? Or during the Green Forest Bandits’ trouble? No, it must have been even earlier. He must have seen this plan when he faced the Tang Clan Leader.’

That’s why he stopped Ho Gamyung from fighting the Hwasan Divine Dragon. Jang Il-so doesn’t just think one step ahead. He controls the whole world in his hands.

“Now, I will have a hard fight for a while. It won’t be easy to get the valuable things from those snake-like people.”

“But you will do it, Alliance Leader, I’m sure.”

“Tsk, tsk. Gamyung, Gamyung. You think too highly of me. I’m already getting a headache.”

Jang Il-so shook his head and got into the carriage. Ho Gamyung followed him, closed the carriage door, took out the wine he had ready, and offered it politely.

“I have it ready.”

“Have I ever told you that’s why you are my favorite?” Jang Il-so smiled.

“The journey is still long, but we can celebrate today, right?”

“Of course, Alliance Leader.”

“Haha!”

Just as Jang Il-so was about to pour wine, “Hmm?” Ho Gamyung turned his head quickly towards the carriage door. There was noise and shouting outside. ‘What’s happening?’ The fight should be over already.

Jang Il-so frowned a little. Ho Gamyung quickly said, “I’ll go check…” But as he started to stand up.

Crack!

Something sharp and fast ripped through the side of the carriage. Suddenly, Ho Gamyung felt ice-cold sweat all over his body. A sword, so sharp you could feel it even without touching it, stopped just a tiny bit from his face as he froze, half standing.

“…”

If the sword had moved just a little more, he would be dead.

“Tsk.” Jang Il-so, who had stopped the sword that had crashed through the carriage, clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“You are too impatient. Ugh.” He sighed, picked up two bottles of wine, and stood up.

He opened the carriage door and stepped out. His warriors from Myriad Man Manor were all around, protecting the carriage. And standing in front of them was a man.

“Step back,” Jang Il-so said calmly.

The warriors, who were about to attack the man, looked surprised and turned to Jang Il-so.

“I said, step back now.”

“Yes, sir!” The warriors quickly moved back to the sides, making a path. Jang Il-so got out of the carriage and pulled out the sword stuck in the side.

“…Is this sword a goodbye gift?”

“Give it here. It’s expensive, you know.”

“Tsk. Too bad it made a hole in my carriage.” Jang Il-so threw the sword back to the man, looking a little sad about the carriage. Chung Myung caught the Plum Blossom Sword with its green tassel, put it back in its holder, and stared at Jang Il-so.

Jang Il-so sighed softly.

“This carriage cost a lot too…”

“If you come to Shaanxi, I’ll buy you a new, even better one.”

“Instead of my head?”

“You should be willing to pay that much, shouldn’t you?”

“Haha!”

This time, Jang Il-so threw a bottle of wine to Chung Myung. Chung Myung caught the bottle, silently put it to his lips, and drank deeply.

Glug. Glug. Glug.

Jang Il-so smiled as he watched Chung Myung drink the wine without stopping.

“Good wine,” Chung Myung said simply.

Then, Jang Il-so also started drinking wine straight from the bottle.

Ho Gamyung stared, not understanding anything. Chung Myung, who had rushed in among all the Myriad Man Manor warriors and attacked Jang Il-so’s carriage with a sword, and Jang Il-so, who was now offering wine to Chung Myung. He couldn’t understand what was happening between them.

The two men lowered the bottles and looked at each other. A strange smile appeared on Jang Il-so’s face. Showing his teeth slightly, he spoke quietly, like a wild animal warning its prey.

“So…” His voice, like a low growl, was full of anger and threat.

“Why did you come back to find me after I just saved your life? You’re not here to ask me to kill you, are you?”

Then, Chung Myung’s eyes became filled with burning anger.