Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1078

“This is too much!” Yoon Jong said, voice shaking.

“Tell me about it,” someone replied, sighing heavily.

Yoon Jong let out a long, sad breath. They had fought a dragon. They had battled many wolves. They survived terrible fights. But now, they were surrounded. Tigers, wolves, and jackals were all against them. Dusty ground stretched around them, stained dark with blood. The air smelled of smoke.

Thinking about a plan was useless. They were already having trouble even with Jang Il-So and Hong Gyeon helping. Escaping alone? Completely impossible.

“What… what do we do?”

“How should I know…?”

“Think of something! You’re our martial uncle!”

“Hey, I’m not the strategist here!”

Baek Cheon shouted. Everyone looked at Im So-Byeong.

“Y-you have a plan, right?”

They all looked at him, hoping for a plan. Im So-Byeong smiled like he knew what to do.

“What do you take me for? Of course, I do.”

“Oh?”

Hope filled everyone’s eyes. He saw their hopeful faces. Im So-Byeong said seriously, ‘If those bad guys catch us and kill us, it will hurt too much. We should just die quickly now. It will be better for our honor, and our bodies…’

“Are you crazy?”

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

“You rotten bandit!”

“M-monk, please calm down.”

“No….”

As accusations poured in, Im So-Byeong lamented with a face that looked like he was about to die from injustice.

“Even if Zhuge Liang came back to life, there’d be no solution! What do you want me to do?”

“Then you should have solved it before things got this far! What were you thinking, helping that Jang Il-So bastard!”

“Or we’d all be dead.”

“How is it any different now?”

“Haha. We’ll die a little later, won’t we? That little bit of time is important, that little bit. At least we can prepare ourselves mentally… But, Monk? Why are you clenching your fist?”

Namgoong Dowi stopped Hae Yeon. He gently took Hae Yeon’s fist. It looked like Hae Yeon was about to punch Im So-Byeong in the face with all his strength.

Baek Cheon gritted his teeth as he watched those closing in on Mount Hua.

It hadn’t been long since they were fighting each other to the death, and now Hong Gyeon was blending into the Black Cloud Corps as if they were all on the same side. It was beyond frustrating; it was infuriating.

‘Those spineless bastards.’

In a way, it also meant that Jang Il-So’s control was that outstanding, but Baek Cheon was not in a position to generously admire that fact.

“These bastards, though!”

Jo Gul menacingly unleashed sword energy towards the Black Cloud Corps, who were slowly narrowing the encirclement.

The Black Cloud Corps soldiers, who were coming closer, stopped suddenly and moved back. But then, they smiled in a strange way and came closer again.

It wasn’t the reaction they had shown until now. The Black Cloud Corps had completely regained their composure. The disciples of Mount Hua swallowed dryly with tension, sweating coldly.

It was then.

“Oh, dear.”

A voice, unmistakably belonging to someone, rang out clearly. Then, the Black Cloud Corps soldiers, who had been pressing Mount Hua, stopped as if by magic.

With just a short exclamation, Jang Il-So froze the movements of everyone present and leisurely moved his feet in the frozen world. The Black Cloud Corps soldiers, who had been blocking his path, quickly stepped aside to make way.

“How unpredictable.”

Jang Il-So seemed to enjoy everyone looking at him with fear and respect. He walked slowly and proudly, like a king. He went straight towards Mount Hua.

“The heroes of Mount Hua, who were so full of spirit…”

A voice that sounded like mockery. Yet, it was a voice that made it impossible to dare to resist.

“Why are you all so cowed?”

The faces of the Mount Hua disciples contorted terribly at those words.

“You don’t think I, Jang Il-So, am the kind of bad person who would betray someone who fought with me, do you? Hmm?”

“……”

“If you thought that, I’d be a little disappointed.”

Baek Cheon bit his lip tightly.

He now understood how Man Geum-Dae felt before dying. Was there anyone worse than Jang Il-So, who now had all the power?

It felt like Jang Il-So had reached inside Baek Cheon’s chest and was squeezing his heart.

“This… is quite awkward.”

Jang Il-So, who had finally arrived within striking distance, chuckled.

“You all firmly believe that I am a treacherous fellow… Should I meet your expectations…? Or… should I pleasantly defy them?”

Baek Cheon growled.

“Don’t spout nonsense when you never intended to let us go in the first place.”

As sharp words poured out, a strangely joyful look flitted across Jang Il-So’s face. He slowly stroked his face with his long fingers.

But before he could reply, Ho Ga-Myung, who was following behind, spoke in a slightly hurried tone, “Lord, please.”

Then, Jang Il-So’s gaze, which had been fixed on Mount Hua, shifted slightly backward.

“We must kill them.”

Ho Ga-Myung was looking at Mount Hua, or rather, at Chung Myung, who was closing his eyes in the center of it.

“It is true that they have contributed, but these men are too dangerous. Especially that…”

“Tsk, tsk. Ga-Myung.”

Jang Il-So interrupted him, sounding displeased.

“If you say that, I’ll become too much of a brute, won’t I?”

“I apologize, Lord, but this matter…”

“Of course, there’s nothing as foolish as expecting faith from the Demonic Sect. We know that, and even they know it. However…”

Jang Il-So’s gaze shifted towards Mount Hua, particularly towards Baek Cheon.

“Even if there is no faith in the Demonic Sect, there is still loyalty, isn’t there?”

“Lord… But giving up real advantages just for loyalty is not smart for us, right?”

“Hmm.”

Jang Il-So tapped his cheek as if he were in trouble. Then, widening his eyes, he looked at Baek Cheon.

“So that’s how it is.”

“……”

“It’s unfortunate for you, but I’m a more considerate superior than you think. My subordinate is pleading so earnestly, and it wouldn’t be right for someone in my position to coldly refuse, would it?”

“This bastard…”

“So, I’m in a deep dilemma. What should I do? Haha!”

The disciples of Mount Hua bit their lips.

It was like a cat toying with a mouse. He intended to kill them after playing with them as much as he wanted, since they were already captured prey.

Baek Cheon glared at Jang Il-So with murderous eyes and said:

“You are wrong if you think we are like the people you have fought before. We would rather die than be your toys.”

“Oh?”

“If you don’t know that, your tender neck might be cut off, Jang Il-So.”

“Or your head might explode and you die.”

“A knife might be stabbed into your belly.”

Jang Il-So shook his head as if he couldn’t help it, looking at the Mount Hua disciples who were all growling.

“They growl quite well for wildcats.”

Jang Il-So’s eyes sank coldly.

“But… it makes me wonder? Will you still be so brave when your head is cut off?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than he slightly raised his hand.

“Ah, no, no. I shouldn’t say it like this to you. I need to correct myself.”

A wicked smile formed on Jang Il-So’s lips.

“Will you still look brave after you see your friend’s head cut off right beside you?”

“You… you bastard!”

Baek Cheon gritted his teeth. Blood vessels began to bulge in his eyes.

Baek Cheon had started to slightly like Jang Il-So because they fought together against the Demonic Sect and the Black Cloud Corps. But now, that feeling was completely gone. Blood rushed to his head. Baek Cheon stomped on the ground as if he would rush forward at any moment.

At that moment, a cold voice from behind grabbed his ankle.

“Go ahead.”

Baek Cheon’s head instinctively turned back. It was impossible to turn his gaze away in front of Jang Il-So, but it was possible as long as he heard this familiar voice.

“Ch… Chung Myung-ah!”

“Hey, you punk!”

“Filthy late. Really.”

A sigh of relief escaped from the lips of those surrounding Chung Myung.

It was an absurd sight.

Only one more person had been added. They were still surrounded by the Black Cloud Corps and Hong Gyeon, and threatened by Jang Il-So and Cheonmyeon Soosa.

But the moment that one person opened his eyes, an uncontrollable sense of relief settled on the faces of the Mount Hua disciples. As if all these situations could be resolved just by the person who opened his eyes.

Chung Myung, who had been scanning those looking back at him, fixed his gaze on Jang Il-So. Jang Il-So was also looking at him with a strange smile.

“Whose neck are you cutting?”

A voice like a biting north wind. At that voice, Hong Gyeong instinctively lowered his stance, ready to jump in and protect Jang Il-So’s front at any moment.

“Go ahead and try. See whose neck gets cut.”

“Hmm.”

Jang Il-So raised his hand and lightly stroked his chin.

“If it comes to this, the story will definitely be a little different… But still, isn’t it too much? It doesn’t seem like a situation to be threatening? Huh, Mount Hua Sword Saint?”

“So, go ahead and try.”

Baek Cheon blocked him with a worried face, as if he couldn’t trust Chung Myung’s condition yet. But Chung Myung lightly patted him on the shoulder and stepped forward.

“There’s nothing we can’t do now, right? Isn’t that right?”

“What does that mean?”

“There’s no reason to keep a Demonic Sect bastard alive who’s outlived his usefulness.”

At that moment, the disciples of Mount Hua clearly saw it. The face of Jang Il-So, who had been wearing a sinister smile, froze for a moment.

But Jang Il-So’s frozen expression quickly disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place. With a face that had softened smoothly, Jang Il-So asked leisurely:

“So… it’s not that I used you, but that you used me?”

“That’s enough glory for three lifetimes. You got to use a Demonic Sect bastard who should have been killed and used as fertilizer like that, didn’t you? Ah, you don’t have to thank me. No one receives thanks from a tool. Isn’t that right?”

“Haha… Mount Hua Sword Saint.”

Jang Il-So’s face twisted.

“You’re still really amazing at scratching people’s nerves. I have to admit that. But… you have to be careful. My patience might not be that great, you know?”

“You don’t seem to know, but there’s something else I’m good at.”

Chung Myung grabbed the sword hanging from his waist.

“Cutting off the necks of pathetic Demonic Sect bastards and letting them know their place in the afterlife. How about it? Don’t you want to find out?”

A fierce blue light flowed from Jang Il-So’s eyes. Chung Myung, who received that gaze, also wore a murderous smile.

Good and Evil.

These two men showed their hatred for each other completely. There was no hiding it.

The bond that had been maintained like a thin thread because of the common enemies of the Demonic Sect and the Black Cloud Corps. The moment that string was cut, they were nothing more or less than the enemies they hated the most.

The breathtaking murderous intent of the two people, who had returned to their original positions, spread in all directions.