Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1298

“Argh! You dogs of war!”

“Kill them!”

A strike, fast as lightning, aimed for the charging man’s neck.

*Shwick!* The sword cut through the air with a sharp sound. The sound of flesh and bone breaking was almost nothing, lost in the chaos.

*Shwick! Shwick!* The sword moved like water, slicing through arms and wrists.

He knew some enemies kept fighting even after a fatal blow. Many had died because they thought the fight was over too soon.

He wasn’t thinking.

Years of fighting, like layers of paint, guided his sword. It moved on its own, led by his fingers and his deepest instincts.

As soon as he spotted another enemy rushing in with a scream, Chung Myung’s sword reacted and moved even before his head could.

*Kagaak!*

Chung Myung, who had been trying to cut through and move forward in one swift motion as he had done until now, paused for the first time. He stared blankly at the sword, stuck in the enemy’s neck.

“Kheu… rrrgh… Kheuk…”

He looked into the enemy’s eyes, the light fading, soon to be gone. Fear filled them, the fear of death. Then, the fear changed to anger.

Chung Myung pulled his sword free, twisting his wrist.

*Kagaagaak!* It scraped against bone as it came out. Blood gushed out, like a sudden burst.

“Kkeueu…”

The convulsing enemy slammed his face into the ground powerlessly. His unclosed eyes no longer contained anything. Vacant eyes dimly reflected the world with emptiness.

Chung Myung glanced indifferently at the fallen man and looked down at his sword.

His Plum Blossom Sword.

The blade was still good, but dull. Enemy grease covered it, layer upon layer from so much killing. It was like the hatred building up around him.

He used to clean his sword right away. He wasn’t as sharp as he used to be.

*Whoosh!* Inner energy flowed into his Plum Blossom Sword, instantly cleaning the grease away.

Soon, Chung Myung raised his head and stared ahead.

The forest looked normal, but it was changed. The fresh smell of grass was gone, replaced by the heavy stink of blood. The quiet forest, once filled with insect sounds, now echoed with screams.

This place of death, thick with hate and blood, felt strangely familiar to Chung Myung.

That feeling made him sick.

“How much longer?”

A heavy feeling started in his hands and spread through his body. His energy was low, and the world seemed to blur. He knew this feeling well, but he hated it.

Chung Myung gritted his teeth.

The Demonic Sect were strong, each fighter stronger than most warriors. Their leaders, the bishops, had incredible power. But this fight was unlike any battle he’d had with them before.

He cut and cut, but it never ended.

Each one was by no means strong. No, from Chung Myung’s point of view, they were so weak that he could ignore them. If he wasn’t leading Hainan, if the Cheonwoo Alliance could move independently, they would have already broken through more than half of this Gangnam.

But these weak enemies kept coming, like a swarm of mosquitoes.

They weren’t fearless like the Demonic Sect. They didn’t want to die for their beliefs. They were scared, but they forced themselves to be brave, screaming as they attacked. Killing these people felt different, a grim and unpleasant task unlike anything before.

“Hoo…”

Chung Myung took a deep breath. And he turned his gaze back. Those holding swords were still desperately rushing at Hainan. Unlike before, the Hainan disciples now understood real battle, fighting for their lives. They held their ground, not running.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

Hot blood sprayed onto the face of a Hainan disciple as he stabbed his sword into an enemy’s chest. His face, covered in red, showed only wild eyes and clenched teeth.

Chivalry, justice, and perhaps ambition.

Were the things he wanted to obtain on this land really with them? Did they know how they looked?

War was a deep, dark hole, swallowing all the good things people believed in. It pushed them down, out of reach. Only basic needs to live and the burning feeling of hate were left.

“Dieeeeeee!”

Other swords were repeatedly thrust into the body that had already been pierced through the chest and had stopped breathing.

It wasn’t just because they didn’t have the 余裕 to calmly assess the enemy’s condition. Even if the enemy’s head had been blown off, those swords would have flown in the same way and pierced the dead body.

It was an expression of hatred, or perhaps fear.

The things that kept humans from being mere beasts were gradually sinking deeper.

People who once talked of honor now fought like wild animals. People who were kind now stabbed dead bodies and cried out.

This was the battlefield that Chung Myung knew.

“Aack!”

“Senior Brother!”

Everyone had their own justice, and everyone had their own position. But in this place, all of that was meaningless. The moment the enemy’s sword pierced my body, the moment my comrade bled from the enemy’s sword, reason lost its power.

“You goddamn bastards! I’ll kill you!”

Hate that wouldn’t stop until they stabbed the enemy’s heart. No, hate that wouldn’t stop even then.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

One of the Hainan disciples charged forward with a scream, forcefully stabbing his cherished weapon into the enemy’s neck.

The sword that had pierced the neck protruded out, soaked in blood, through the nape.

No one could easily get used to it, and they shouldn’t get used to it, but it was murder. But even after committing murder with his own hands a moment ago, there was no hesitation or guilt in his eyes.

Rather, he pushed the sword in even more fiercely, screaming and moving forward, forward.

“Young Master!”

Yoon Jong grabbed the man’s shoulder.

“Let go of me!”

The man tried to pull away, but Yoon Jong held on tighter. Pain flashed in the man’s eyes, and he turned to Yoon Jong, looking ready to kill.

Yoon Jong faced his anger and shouted, not backing down.

“Calm down! You’ll get yourself killed if you lose control!”

“Eugh…”

The man bit his lip and turned his gaze away. He saw the figure of his senior brother, bleeding and collapsed. Only then did his hands begin to tremble.

“S-Senior Brother! Are you alright?”

“Eugh…”

“Doctor! Doctor, over here! Someone’s dying here! Here!”

“Calm down! He won’t die from this!”

“Hae Won died like that too! You said he wouldn’t die!”

Those around him closed their mouths at the words that burst out like a seizure.

“How can I believe you…? How can I believe those words, I…”

He clutched at the hem of his fallen senior brother’s clothes and sobbed, then shouted again like a seizure.

“Doctor! Doct…”

“I’m already here, so stop looking!”

Tang Soso ran over, covered in blood. She quickly looked at the wound and poured blood-stopping powder onto it, not gently. Her hands moved fast and sure.

“Here! Press here. Stop the bleeding! Hold it tight, don’t let any blood out!”

“Yes!”

Tang Soso bit her lip.

‘He’s lost too much blood.’

She couldn’t cry. Or maybe she just had no tears left. She’d cried them all already.

She wasn’t used to death. She had seen people die before, patients at her family’s clinic. But never so many, so fast, people who were alive just moments ago. And she, a doctor, couldn’t stop it.

Too much death, too quickly, had hit her hard. No one could be okay with so much death around them, especially when everyone was looking to her for help.

It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t stop death. She knew that in her mind. But her heart didn’t believe it.

Tang Soso felt like all these deaths were her fault.

“Press down hard, damn it!”

“Yes! Yes! I understand!”

She gritted her teeth and applied glue to the wound. Normally, she would have sewn it up, but she didn’t have time for that now. If it was the specially made glue from the Dang family, it would prevent the wound from opening again for a while.

For now, she had to stop the bleeding and postpone the detailed treatment until later.

“That’s enough! Move him inside!”

“Yes!”

‘It’s not good…’

Tang Soso’s face darkened rapidly.

They had barely saved his life, but this meant one more injured person. The more injured people there were who couldn’t move properly, the slower the moving speed would inevitably be. The number of people who could fight decreased, and the number of people who had to carry the injured increased.

The death of one person only ended with the loss of one combatant, but the occurrence of such injuries inevitably consumed more manpower.

It was a vicious cycle. The more injuries that occurred, the slower the breakthrough speed became, and the more people would block their path.

Moreover, even while this was happening, the main force of the Myriad Man House would be approaching step by step.

“Soso, are you alright…”

*Smack!*

“What! What happened?”

Jo Gul, worried, stared at Tang Soso, shocked. Blood trickled from her split lip.

Jo Gul was stunned to see Tang Soso had slapped herself hard.

“Why? Why did you do that?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“But…”

“It’s okay. I’m thinking clearly now. I was losing myself for a moment, thinking too much.”

Jo Gul couldn’t ask what she meant by ‘too much.’ Looking at Tang Soso’s face, he knew better than to ask. And anyway, this wasn’t the time for questions.

“We have to go.”

“Yes, we have to go.”

Jo Gul nodded and gritted his teeth.

How many had they cut down?

How many dead?

When would this fight ever end?

The battle went on and on, his nerves stretched tight, feeling like they were about to snap. Suddenly, Jo Gul jumped. He felt something coming.

“Enemies! Strong ones!” he yelled.

Right after he spoke, red-uniformed soldiers burst from the thick trees, like wolves attacking deer.