Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1267

“The Cheonwoo Alliance!” someone yelled.

Geum Yang-baek’s eyes widened in surprise. *The Cheonwoo Alliance? Here?*

He hadn’t expected this. When they planned this attack, Geum Yang-baek had been sure that *he* and the experienced Hainan elders would lead the way. It wasn’t just about who came up with the plan. It was about who had the strength to make it happen.

In his mind, it was obvious. He and Hainan should be in charge.

Why? Wasn’t it clear?

He knew the Mount Hua Sword Master was famous across the land. He’d heard tales of the Mount Hua Five Swords even here in Hainan. And yes, these young men were leaders from powerful families. But they were still young.

Younger, even, than Guo Hwan-so, Hainan’s most promising student.

They had names, yes. They held important positions. But Geum Yang-baek and the elders had trained for decades longer. He couldn’t imagine they would be weaker fighters.

But watching the Cheonwoo Alliance members now, especially the disciples of Mount Hua, Geum Yang-baek’s confidence began to crumble.

“Haaaah!”

Baek Cheon, the acting leader of Mount Hua, slashed his sword, sending out streaks of red sword energy. The energy spread out, becoming like red flower petals that flew towards the enemy.

It was a sword technique that blurred the line between real and fake.

Feints are used to trick enemies and make it hard to defend against direct attacks. But this sword feint was even more powerful.

It was pointless to try and figure out which of the hundreds of sword energies were real and which were fake. Even if you could tell them apart, you couldn’t block them all.

“Kugh!”

“Aaargh!”

The Maninbang members struggled against Baek Cheon’s sword energy, proving this fact.

In the chaos of battle, blocking each of those small sword energies wasn’t easy.

You might think blocking one sword energy would be easier, but it wasn’t. In a one-on-one fight, you have room to move. But here, you couldn’t retreat.

Mount Hua’s sword technique was incredibly effective in a large battle.

‘Easier said than done.’

If using that kind of sword energy was easy, everyone would do it.

Sword energy is power that flows from the sword. To control that energy and move it as you want is very hard.

It was hard to imagine the hard training they went through to use it so easily, even in this urgent fight.

‘How can these young people be so skilled?’

If someone else thought that, it might be rude. But Geum Yang-baek had the right to think it. He was the head of the Hainan Clan, one of the Nine Great Sects.

Even to him, these young swordsmen were as skilled as the Hainan elders. If he wasn’t the head of Hainan and looked at it fairly, they might even be better.

“Die! You Maninbang bastards!”

“Geol-ah! I told you not to run out alone!”

“But they’re Maninbang, Senior Brother!”

“Just be quiet and stay focused! You brat!”

Also, they knew how to fight the enemy better than the Hainan elders. Even though the battlefield was crazy and people were rushing at them, they weren’t scared. They were raising their spirits, ready to fight.

‘This is Mount Hua?’

Geum Yang-baek realized something.

The Hainan Clan was stuck on Hainan Island, only focusing on their sword skills. But these fighters had become strong by fighting many battles.

Still water rots.

He worried that what he was doing for Hainan was making it a small puddle on an island, not a vast sea.

“Head!”

“I understand!”

Geum Yang-baek snapped out of his thoughts at the urgent voice. He stepped forward strongly, and a powerful sword energy burst from his sword.

Kwaaaaaah!

Hainan’s sword was like a rushing wind and wave.

Geum Yang-baek swung his sword again and again.

One wave! Another wave! Another wave!

Like waves crashing on the shore, Geum Yang-baek’s sword energy rushed at the enemy.

The Maninbang members’ faces turned pale.

Mount Hua’s sword was flashy but didn’t have much power. But Geum Yang-baek’s sword energy was strong and heavy. The power inside it was frightening.

“Hold your positions! We must hold out until we control the ship!”

“Yes!”

The elders saw the sword energy and felt brave. They raised their swords.

Lim So-byeong watched from the back and grinned.

“The Nine Great Sects are the Nine Great Sects for a reason.”

The Hainan Clan youngsters were running around, trying to take the ship, but they weren’t helping much. They hadn’t fought in real battles before, so they couldn’t fight well. They were only using half their skills.

But Geum Yang-baek and the elders were showing their skills, proving how much time they had spent in Gangho. The front line was stronger now that they were fighting.

But…

‘They can’t hold out for long.’

“Kill!”

“Kill them all!”

The Maninbang members were stepping on their fallen friends and rushing forward like mad dogs.

Only about thirty people were holding the front line. They were strong, but they couldn’t hold out against so many Maninbang members forever.

If they could, the Maninbang wouldn’t be the ruler of the Four Evil Alliances.

They were only holding out now because Mount Hua had stopped the enemy by taking the lead.

But that wouldn’t last.

Sometimes numbers don’t matter, but sometimes they do. The Maninbang members knew they had more people, so they kept pushing the Cheonwoo Alliance members.

“Kugh!”

“Hold on!”

Scratch!

A sword cut Jo Gul’s left arm deeply. Blood flew.

“Geol-ah!”

“Don’t worry, Senior Brother!”

“Fall back! I’ll…”

“I said don’t worry!”

Jo Gul gritted his teeth and stabbed the rushing man in the neck.

Crack!

Hot blood poured onto his face as he pulled out his sword.

‘There’s no end.’

He kept killing, but they didn’t seem to get fewer. He couldn’t even see where the army ended.

It felt like the whole coast was filled with Maninbang.

“Aaaaargh!”

Jo Gul almost turned his head at the scream. But he forced himself to look forward. He couldn’t turn his head now.

‘No!’

He didn’t know who screamed. It was probably one of Hainan’s elders falling.

But that wasn’t a reason to relax. More and more people were falling.

“You bastard!”

The enemies were also getting faster.

The Maninbang members knew they would be cut down if they were alone, so they slowed down a little and pushed more people forward. Some jumped over others and swung their swords, while others stabbed through the gaps between people.

Even the random sword strikes were a threat to those holding the line.

“Ugh!”

“Accident!”

“Hold your position!”

Yoo I-seol’s cold voice made Jo Gul focus.

“Damn it! Nokrim King! How much further?”

“…It should be enough… What are those bastards doing?”

“Yes?”

Suddenly, Lim So-byeong shouted.

“What are you doing?! Get back here!”

Lim So-byeong saw the Hainan disciples jumping off the ship and pushing towards the sea. One of them shouted back.

“The ship is stuck on the sandbar! We have to push it out!”

“What?”

Lim So-byeong looked at the ship again. The front of the ship was stuck on the shore.

‘It wasn’t like this before?’

He couldn’t believe he had misjudged the situation.

“The tide is going out!”

“The tide? What does that mean?”

Lee Ja-yang rolled his eyes, annoyed.

Lim So-byeong thought he had a point. How could he know about tides, living in the mountains?

“Push it out now!”

“The ship is so big…”

Lim So-byeong bit his lip, annoyed.

“Nokrim King! This way!”

“Yes?”

“Hye-yeon Monk!”

“Yes!”

Hye-yeon ran like lightning before Lim So-byeong could decide. Lim So-byeong’s eyes widened.

“You crazy monk! The front line will be empty…”

“I’m going!”

“Ugh! Get out of the way! Not you!”

Lim So-byeong kicked Seol So-baek, who was trying to run, and took Hye-yeon’s place, waving his fan wildly.

“You don’t know how important a strategist is! You’ll regret it when you’re dead!”

Hye-yeon reached the front of the ship and shouted.

“Get out of the way!”

“Yes?”

“Quickly!”

The Hainan disciples moved back, startled. Hye-yeon put his palms together briefly and placed them on the ship.

“Hoo-up!”

Hye-yeon’s clothes swelled up as if they would burst.

“Oooooooooh!”

Hye-yeon stepped forward and began to push the large ship.

“W-wait a moment!”

Guo Hwan-so tried to stop him, horrified. The ship was strong, but it was made of wood. If he pushed the ship so hard in one place, the wood would break before the ship moved!

“Stop right now…”

But Guo Hwan-so’s worries disappeared quickly.

Golden energy flowed from Hye-yeon’s palms, covering the front of the ship. The huge ship began to move backward with a creaking sound.

“…No way…”

How could one person push that big ship alone? It wasn’t just about being strong.

“Oooooooooh!”

Hye-yeon roared like a lion and pushed the ship completely. The ship splashed into the water and moved greatly.

“It’s done!”

“We did it!”

“The best!”

The Hainan disciples cheered as if they had pushed the ship themselves.

“Next!”

“This ship! This way!”

“Those who are left, get on the ship now!”

“Yes!”

Hye-yeon shouted as he pushed another ship.

“Drive the ships out! Now!”

“Raise the sails!”

“Those who have free hands, grab the oars!”

The ships that had been stuck on the shore slowly moved towards the sea.