Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1791

The year was 1791.

The battle was like a storm. It was loud and violent, shaking the very ground. Stopping it completely seemed impossible. Even if one attack was blocked, the fighting just kept going, like a river that couldn’t be calmed.

But then, something impossible happened. The battlefield was like a raging fire, but suddenly, in one place, the heat vanished. It wasn’t a slow change. It was instant, like a sudden frost. A wave of cold air swept across the ground, as if the fire had never been there at all.

Chung Myung appeared suddenly. The Sabae Ryun fighters nearby stopped moving, frozen in shock. Most of them had never seen Chung Myung’s face before. Only a few would know him just by looking.

But everyone had heard stories about him. Stories of his incredible skill and power.

Even if they didn’t know his face, the Sabae Ryun fighters instantly knew who it was. His long hair, tied back roughly, and the black uniform were unmistakable. Everyone knew what the plum blossom symbol on his chest meant. It was the mark of Mount Hua.

Friends and enemies alike stopped what they were doing. Everyone watching held their breath without even realizing it. The air became thick with tension. Chung Myung’s eyes, which had caused this sudden silence, were locked only on his enemies.

Chung Myung looked around at the mass of enemies. ‘Well, well,’ he said, his voice calm but sharp. ‘You’ve brought quite a party.’

He flicked his sword casually, shaking off drops of blood. The blade spun in his hand before he gripped it tightly again.

Chung Myung spoke quietly, but his voice carried across the silent battlefield. ‘Did you really think you could win?’ he asked.

He didn’t shout or raise his voice, but there was something in his eyes that was more terrifying than any threat. Those who looked at him knew. These weren’t just words to scare them. He truly believed what he was saying. And that was what made them feel a cold dread.

‘Hmm,’ Chung Myung said, a cruel smile twisting his lips. ‘Not a bad crowd to kill.’

He lowered his sword, the tip scraping against the stones with a harsh sound. ‘If I’m going to send you all to your deaths, at least you’ll have company. Don’t worry, no one will be left behind.’

*Suddenly, a flash of movement!*

Three heads flew into the air at once. Death was common on a battlefield, but this was different. As the heads spun upwards, everything seemed to slow down, like a dream. It felt unreal, impossible. Then, the hot spray of blood hit the ground, and everyone was jolted back to the horror of reality.

Someone gasped.

*Screeeeeech!*

The sword moved again, a blur of silver. It sliced through a neck, then ripped through a chest, and finally slammed into another fighter’s side. It was brutal, wild fighting. This wasn’t the elegant, precise style of Mount Hua. But as you watched, you saw a strange flow in his movements. It was like cutting through wood along the grain, not smashing it with force. This sword, meant to fight evil, turned the stunned Sabae Ryun fighters into corpses in moments.

The fire in the eyes of the Sabae Ryun fighters died out. Fear took its place. Their faces turned pale and gray. They stumbled backward, trying to escape.

‘You cowards! Don’t run, fight!’ someone yelled from behind.

*Ack!*

The man shouting orders from the back suddenly went wide-eyed. Chung Myung was already there. He had moved so fast, he was past the guards and right in front of him. Before the man could even react, Chung Myung shoved his sword into his mouth, stopping his words. The blade, still hot from battle but now feeling cold and deadly, pressed painfully against his tongue. But it wasn’t the pain that froze him. It was Chung Myung’s eyes.

*Crack!*

The sword twisted upwards, breaking the man’s neck. Chung Myung pulled his sword out and shoved the body away with his foot. It fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. He looked around calmly. Enemies everywhere. Just like always.

‘Weak…?’ Chung Myung thought to himself.

He still felt that heavy weight in his chest, like he couldn’t breathe properly. But so what? His enemies had always been stronger than him. This was just another fight. Nothing new.

‘Come on then, you fools!’ Chung Myung roared, swinging his sword in a wide arc.

Jang Ilso watched Chung Myung move, humming to himself, a slight pout on his face. ‘Hmm,’ he said. ‘Well, yes, it’s exactly what I expected. But sometimes, that’s what makes it good.’

Jang Ilso leaned his chin on his hand and chuckled quietly. ‘Look, Ga Myung,’ he said. ‘The whole feeling of the battle has changed.’

Hoga Myung remained silent.

‘That’s what’s scary about war,’ Jang Ilso continued. ‘You can plan and prepare everything, but one unexpected thing can change everything. Just like those Cheonwu Alliance idiots earlier. Now, those fools over there will forget they were winning. They won’t even remember it.’

Hoga Myung sighed and nodded.

The damage wasn’t significant yet. Only a few lives lost. But Hoga Myung had no choice but to admit it. The atmosphere where Chung Myung had appeared had completely changed.

‘Indeed, the Alliance Lord is right. But…’

‘Hmm?’

Jang Ilso looked at Hoga Myung, confused.

‘This battle is huge,’ Hoga Myung said. ‘It’s bigger than anything they’ve fought before. One person, no matter how strong, can’t change the whole war.’

He continued, ‘People who saw Chung Myung fight will feel braver. But the enemies who have to face him will be terrified. In a small fight, with maybe a hundred people, that could change everything. It could make them lose even if they should have won, or win even if they should have lost. That’s how legends are made. Stories of heroes who did impossible things, filled with amazing power, and the joy of those who saw it happen.’

Hoga Myung wasn’t trying to make Chung Myung seem unimportant. He had seen Chung Myung’s incredible power himself. But this was different. This battle was too big. Too many people were fighting. Chung Myung couldn’t change the whole war just by winning one small part of it.

Even if Chung Myung was like a legend, he couldn’t be everywhere at once, could he?

*And,* Hoga Myung thought, *if what the Thousand-Faced Scholar said is true, Chung Myung isn’t even at his best.* How much could one person really do?

Look, the feeling was different where Chung Myung was fighting. But it hadn’t spread to the rest of the battlefield. Changing things in just one small area wouldn’t make a big difference to the whole war.

‘We don’t need to… do anything special about it,’ Hoga Myung said.

Hoga Myung always doubted himself a little. He knew that his past attempts to get rid of the Plum Blossom Sword Saint had actually made Chung Myung even more famous. Sometimes, the best thing to do was nothing at all. That’s what Hoga Myung thought was the right answer now.

‘Hmm,’ Jang Ilso said. But he smiled in a way that showed he didn’t really agree.

‘…Am I wrong?’

‘No, there’s definitely nothing wrong with what you said. But the problem is, doesn’t that troublesome fellow already know that fact?’

‘Yes?’

Hoga Myung, startled, hardened his expression.

‘Why are you so shocked?’ Jang Ilso asked. ‘Don’t you think he’s smarter than me?’

Hoga Myung didn’t answer.

Yes, Chung Myung would know all of this already.

He wouldn’t be foolish enough to think he could win the whole war by himself.

‘…Are you saying he has a plan?’ Hoga Myung asked.

‘Wouldn’t he?’ Jang Ilso repeated, raising an eyebrow.

‘But…’

Hoga Myung shook his head.

‘It’s hard to believe. He’s very clever, so he might have planned for some kind of fight back. But to really fight back, you need to know what’s happening. Unless he knows more than the Beggars’ Sect, he couldn’t have planned anything for *this* situation.’

Jang Ilso nodded easily.

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘That’s probably right.’

Hoga Myung clenched his fist tightly without thinking.

‘Then even the Plum Blossom Sword Saint can’t do anything,’ he said. His voice became stronger, full of certainty. This wasn’t just being arrogant or foolishly hopeful. He truly believed it. Anyone who could change this situation now would have to be more than human. In short, unless the Plum Blossom Sword Saint was a god, he couldn’t change the war by himself.

‘Heeeuuuum,’ Jang Ilso hummed again, sounding almost happy. The sound made Hoga Myung’s heart drop.

‘Alliance Lord?’ he asked, worried.

‘Ga Myung, Ga Myung,’ Jang Ilso said, shaking his head slightly. ‘You’re so close, but you’re still missing something important.’

‘What… what do you mean?’ Hoga Myung asked, confused.

‘You’re right about some things,’ Jang Ilso said. ‘Even the amazing Mount Hua Sword Saint can’t suddenly change the whole war with one amazing act. Even I can’t do that.’

Hoga Myung looked even more confused. Why was Jang Ilso acting like this?

‘But…’ Jang Ilso continued, a strange smile playing on his lips. ‘Does he even *need* to change the whole war right now?’

‘…What?’ Hoga Myung asked, even more puzzled.

‘Ga Myung, Ga Myung,’ Jang Ilso said again, rubbing his face roughly. His fingernails scratched red lines on his pale skin. ‘Planning is only for people who *aren’t* ready.’

Jang Ilso laughed loudly.

‘Only idiots who can’t see what’s coming, even when it’s right in front of their faces, need to plan. Or people who waste time talking about what they should have done *after* it’s already happened.’

Hoga Myung was silent, trying to understand.

‘The real plan,’ Jang Ilso said, his voice dropping to a whisper, ‘was made a long time ago. This fight… this is just the result.’

Hoga Myung looked back at Chung Myung. A wave of power seemed to spread out from Chung Myung’s sword. ‘So you were asking the wrong question from the beginning,’ Jang Ilso said. ‘It’s stupid to ask if he had time to plan. The real question is…’ Jang Ilso’s eyes swept across the battlefield, a strange light in them. ‘…how well will his plan work? That’s what we should be asking.’

*Right then.*

*KABOOOOM!*

A huge roar exploded, shaking the air and hurting their ears. ‘What was that?’ Hoga Myung thought, startled. He spun around, looking for the source of the noise. But it wasn’t where Chung Myung was fighting. The ground was smashed open, like a giant rock had fallen from the sky. And standing there, tall and strong, was a single figure.

Jang Ilso grinned, a wide, knowing smile. ‘See?’ he said. ‘That’s the answer.’

Slowly, the thick dust settled. And there, standing in the crater, was a man. It was Namgoong Dowi. He held a sword that shone pure white in the sunlight. He threw back his head and roared, his hair like a lion’s mane whipping around him in the wind.