Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1268

“That’s it!”

“Honestly, all you have is brute strength!”

The disciples of Mount Hua, who were glancing back at the fight, cheered and clenched their fists. If the ship hadn’t moved, they would have been slaughtered. Hye-yeon had saved them!

“Sasuk!”

“Not yet! Hold on!”

Baek Cheon shouted loudly.

The ship was floating, but it wasn’t time to retreat yet. These weren’t ordinary martial artists; they were members of the Maninbang. Just because the ship was on the sea didn’t mean they were safe. The Maninbang could still attack.

In fact, it might be easier to attack. All they had to do was make a few holes in the ship. First, they needed to get far enough away to make it hard for the Maninbang to attack the ship.

“Kuk! Sasuk!”

But that was easier said than done.

The enemy kept pushing forward, and Baek Cheon’s focus was fading. Most importantly, Baek Cheon was getting tired. He had used a lot of his inner power quickly to stop the enemy.

Clang!

Baek Cheon bit his lip as he blocked another sword.

The Demonic Sects were good at seeing when the enemy was weakening. The Maninbang members saw that the Cheonwoo Alliance members were struggling, so they attacked even harder.

“Hahahahahat!”

“It’s the head of Mount Hua! Kill him!”

Baek Cheon always thought teamwork was important in a fight.

But now, seeing the Maninbang, he saw a different side. They didn’t care when their comrades were killed. They didn’t even seem to notice.

That ruthlessness weighed on Baek Cheon.

‘This is the real Maninbang…’

He had to hold on. But at this rate, the Hainan elders would fall first. Older martial artists were strong because of their inner power, but they needed stamina for long fights. The longer it went on, the faster their stamina would run out.

‘What should I do?’

Baek Cheon was in charge. He had to make a decision.

Dozens, even hundreds of lives depended on his choice. But this situation…

Just then, Baek Cheon heard a mocking voice.

“You talked big,” the voice sneered. “Said you’d throw them around!”

“Chung Myung…?” Baek Cheon’s eyes widened.

“All talk, no fight!” Chung Myung yelled back.

And then, Chung Myung rushed past Baek Cheon. Baek Cheon watched his back disappear into the chaos. The Maninbang warriors turned, their faces twisted in rage. They swung their swords at Chung Myung, a storm of steel aimed at one man.

But Chung Myung was faster. In a heartbeat, more than ten flashes of light erupted from his fingers. Not light, Baek Cheon realized, but sword strikes. They moved too fast to see clearly, just red streaks cutting through the air with a sharp hiss.

Scritch! Scritch! Scritch! Scritch! Scritch! Scritch!

The Maninbang members screamed and grabbed their bodies.

Neck, wrist, thigh, and side – Chung Myung’s sword found their weak points with ease.

“Y-You bastard!”

Wham!

A sword flew through the air and cut off the head of a Maninbang member. The head spun like a top, spraying blood everywhere.

“Th-This….”

Chung Myung’s face was covered in blood, and he wore a creepy smile. Then, like lightning, he attacked the Maninbang members who were backing away.

Wham!

The next sword strike split a man in two, along with the sword he raised to defend himself.

“M-Monster…”

The Maninbang had become strong by fighting many battles. They were famous and became leaders of the Four Evil Sects. Each member was a veteran who had no regrets.

But now, these fearless men were afraid.

The death of a comrade might not scare them, but they feared their own deaths. Because they were members of the Demonic Sect, they cherished their lives even more.

Whack!

A sword pierced a chest like lightning. The sword twisted, tearing the man’s body apart from the inside.

“Kuh-uh….”

The man convulsed in pain, unable to scream.

Whack!

The sword swung again, striking his neck.

Bang!

The Maninbang member accidentally hit the head of his colleague, which was flying through the air like a cannonball. His face turned pale.

Was it because he had hit his colleague’s head? No. It was because he saw Chung Myung right in front of him.

Frrr.

Chung Myung’s Dark Plum Sword began to shake as if in a strong wind. The sword split into dozens, then hundreds, filling the air with red plum blossoms.

They weren’t as elegant as Yiseol’s plum blossoms, nor as strong as Baek Cheon’s. They weren’t as fast as Jo Gul’s, nor as soft as Yoon Jong’s.

Chung Myung’s plum blossoms were simply sharp.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Aaaaargh!”

Those caught in the storm of petals screamed. It was a pathetic sight, not befitting the Maninbang. But anyone watching would understand.

How could someone with dozens of holes in their body not scream? It was a situation that no one could ignore.

But Chung Myung showed no sympathy. His face was cold as he walked past those who were falling.

A moment later, the necks of those riddled with holes snapped, and red blood sprayed out.

He always killed those he faced.

That was one of Chung Myung’s rules, which he had used to survive many battles.

The Maninbang’s attack stopped.

Normally, one person fighting alone wouldn’t change much. But it mattered who that person was. The Mount Hua disciples saw the Maninbang members turn their heads in surprise.

Baek Cheon’s eyes shone.

“Young Lord!”

“I know!”

Jo Gul and Baek Cheon attacked the Maninbang members who were fighting Namgoong Dowi.

Namgoong Dowi raised his sword, taking advantage of the opening. White light gathered on his sword.

He was using the Namgoong Family’s Emperor Sword Style.

“Haaaah!”

The sword energy, as big as a house, gathered at the tip of Namgoong Dowi’s sword. Then, Namgoong Dowi’s sword struck down like lightning.

Khaaaaaa!

The sword energy created a white path in front of him. It was the Emperor’s Road, but it was coming from Namgoong Dowi, not Namgoong Hwang!

A white road stretched out in a straight line. And that road was soon covered in red blood.

It was the road that the emperor had to walk.

“Kuk!”

Namgoong Dowi turned pale and staggered. Dangpae grabbed his shoulder.

“Dowi!”

“I’m fine! But…!”

Namgoong Dowi stopped. He saw the red petals falling.

‘Ah….’

Five plum trees stretched out in different forms.

Each tree was different, but they were all part of the same forest.

The land of Hainan.

The plum blossoms of Mount Hua bloomed in this distant land. The plum blossoms, which bloomed with the last bit of inner power, were beautiful, like flowers that had survived the winter.

Hwaaa!

Plum petals fluttered in the wind and fell on the enemies.

The Maninbang couldn’t block all the plum blossoms.

Scritch! Scritch!

If they used their inner power to block them, they wouldn’t die. Each sword strike wasn’t fatal.

But that wasn’t good news.

Scritch! Scritch! Scritch! Scritch!

Because they didn’t die, they felt all the pain of being cut.

“Kraaah!”

Screams erupted from everywhere.

And then, the Hainan elders attacked with their sword energy. Unlike the plum blossom sword energy of Mount Hua, that sword energy killed the Maninbang members.

Baek Cheon turned his head, his face pale.

He saw the ship, which was far from the coast. The martial artists were rowing with all their might, moving faster than he had thought.

Chung Myung was still fighting in the front.

Baek Cheon hesitated. But he trusted Chung Myung.

Baek Cheon shouted, “Retreat! We’re retreating! Go to the ship!”

“Yes!”

Everyone used their remaining strength to get away from the enemy. Then, they turned and ran towards the coast.

Only Seol Sobaek was standing there, fidgeting.

“What are you doing!”

Jo Gul threw him over his shoulder and ran towards the ship.

They had created some distance, but these were the Maninbang. They would catch up quickly. They had to jump into the sea before that happened.

“No! Chung Myung is over there!”

“I know!”

Jo Gul shouted, annoyed.

“You’re worrying about the one person you don’t need to worry about! Do you think he’s human?”

“…”

“If you’re going to worry…”

Jo Gul glanced back. He saw the Maninbang members hesitating to approach Chung Myung.

“Worry about the Maninbang! Pity those guys who got caught by him!”

“…Yes?”

Seol Sobaek looked at Chung Myung, confused. Chung Myung had a creepy smile on his face.

‘D-Dojang…?’

And then, Seol Sobaek saw Chung Myung reverse his grip on his sword and charge into the middle of the enemies.

A shiver ran down Seol Sobaek’s spine.