Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1299

The entire forest shook violently.

Branches, stretching in every direction, crashed into each other, creating a sound like crashing waves. From within, a group wearing blood-red uniforms rushed forward with terrifying speed.

Baek Cheon’s face hardened instantly.

‘They’re different!’

His senses, his fingertips, his very instincts screamed. These enemies were much stronger than those they had faced before.

Only one thought came to his mind.

‘The Sa-pae Clan!’

Baek Cheon knew instantly. These were not just bandits. These were the Sa-pae Clan, known for their ruthless fighting.

Without another thought, Baek Cheon shouted.

“Hold the front line!”

It wasn’t clear who he meant, but some people reacted fast. Jo Gul, Yoon Jong, Yoo Iseol, and Tang Soso shot forward like rays of light, taking the lead as soon as Baek Cheon spoke.

“Come on, you bastards!”

Jo Gul shouted roughly, determined not to be intimidated. However, the eyes of the Bloodclad, visible above their masks, were chillingly calm.

A Bloodclad’s rapier darted towards Jo Gul like a viper.

Even Jo Gul, who was good at quick swordsmanship, was surprised by the speed of the attack.

Clang!

Jo Gul raised his Plum Blossom Sword and quickly blocked the rapier.

The Bloodclad’s eyes gleamed threateningly for a moment. He slowed down slightly.

Jo Gul was a little surprised.

‘What’s this?’

Before he could think more, the answer came. The Bloodclad, who had slowed down, worked with others coming from behind and attacked Jo Gul again.

Three of them. After just one exchange, they had figured out Jo Gul’s skill and decided how many were needed to defeat him.

Rapiers, as thin as fingers, aimed for Jo Gul’s body one after another.

Rapiers were fast and hard to defend against because they were thin. You needed to be very precise to block them. But they couldn’t carry much force, so they weren’t usually seen as dangerous weapons.

However, the situation changed when there were three rapiers.

“Kuh!”

Jo Gul swung his sword again and again, blocking the rapiers.

His strength was attacking. He liked to attack quickly and overwhelm the enemy. But now, he couldn’t use his strength at all.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The three swords attacked Jo Gul in a perfect rhythm, one right after the other. Each time he blocked one sword and tried to attack, another sword aimed for important parts of his body.

Blocking wasn’t hard. Dodging wasn’t impossible either.

But he couldn’t even think about attacking. If he tried to attack too quickly, those swords would pierce his body. Swords covered with a strong poison that would turn the blade black!

‘These… these bastards!’

Jo Gul had never been afraid of fighting many enemies before.

He had always fought against many. Even in practice, he had always fought against many people. So he thought his swordsmanship had become good at fighting groups.

But these…

‘Damn it! They’re skilled!’

It wasn’t just about numbers.

The enemies he had faced before had only increased in number. Even when facing two at once, it was only twice as hard.

But not these ones. Their swordplay worked together well. It was like fighting someone with three arms, each holding a sword. They moved together so well, it felt like one person attacking in many ways.

Jo Gul understood clearly. There was a big difference between fighting many enemies and fighting enemies who worked together well.

Jo Gul’s head snapped to the side.

A sharp rapier almost hit his cheek. But before the rapier could move past Jo Gul’s face, it was quickly pulled back.

‘This bastard!’

Jo Gul was angry. It wasn’t a full strike. If it had been, it couldn’t have been pulled back so easily. This meant they had attacked with power to spare.

Jo Gul knew what this meant. If they had power to spare, they could have easily cut his face with the sword.

But they simply pulled the sword back. This was a trick to slowly defeat him, even if it took longer.

The eyes of the Bloodclad who had pulled back his sword were even colder and more distant than before.

A chill ran down Jo Gul’s spine.

He felt hunted.

He felt like he was being led down a narrow path filled with traps set by a hunter. This was the first time Jo Gul had felt this way.

‘Am I…?’

His face twisted.

“Do I look like a rabbit to you, you sons of bitches!”

Jo Gul’s sword seemed to break apart for a moment, like red plum blossom petals blooming. Or at least, it tried to.

But at that moment…

A look of confusion appeared on Jo Gul’s face. Just as his sword was about to bloom, one of the Bloodclad in front of him charged forward and hit his sword hard.

‘What?’

A strong impact went up his wrist. The blooming stance was stopped.

Jo Gul and the Bloodclad looked at each other.

At the same time, two swords lunged at Jo Gul. Just as Jo Gul was about to step back, a strong pulling force came from the Bloodclad’s sword, pulling Jo Gul’s sword in.

‘Huh?’

The swords from both sides were about to stab Jo Gul like a viper’s fangs.

Clang!

A very fast strike from behind blocked the incoming swords. At the same time, someone grabbed Jo Gul’s shoulder tightly.

“Don’t get upset.”

“S-Senior Uncle!”

Baek Cheon, who had saved Jo Gul, glared at the enemy and said quietly. His face was a little twisted.

“These bastards… are professionals.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes seemed to be studying the enemy.

It was natural that Jo Gul was nervous. These enemies were different from those Mount Hua had faced before. They weren’t trying to win with just strength.

‘And that strike from earlier…’

Baek Cheon’s face grew serious because of the strike that had blocked Jo Gul’s swordsmanship.

Mount Hua’s swordsmanship was tricky and confusing. But that strike had accurately targeted the point where Mount Hua’s sword was extending. No matter how big a plum blossom tree was, it couldn’t bloom without branches. That strike had cut off the branches that Jo Gul was trying to bloom.

Was it just quick thinking?

‘No.’

It was a strike that couldn’t have been made without studying them first. These people knew Mount Hua well. They had studied how to fight Mount Hua’s swordsmen.

Not only Jo Gul but others were also being held back.

“Kuh! These bastards!”

Tang Soso stumbled backward.

Normally, she could have easily handled three people attacking her. But even the disciples of Mount Hua were facing enemies who worked together well for the first time.

Besides, they were tired from traveling.

Yoon Jong and Yoo Iseol were doing better than the others because of their skills, but that was all. They weren’t winning.

The biggest problem was…

Baek Cheon looked into the distance. The Bloodclad, except for those fighting the disciples of Mount Hua, were watching with their swords lowered. And in the middle of them, someone who looked important was watching the battle and slowly raised his arm.

“Go.”

As soon as he gestured, those waiting rushed towards the disciples of the Hainan Sect, who were being protected by Mount Hua. They moved so fast that it looked like red lines were forming in the air.

They moved silently, without a single shout.

The faces of the Hainan Sect’s disciples turned pale.

They didn’t know how strong the attackers were because they hadn’t fought them yet. They didn’t have enough experience to know their strength right away.

But they could feel it.

The Hainan Sect disciples felt a cold fear. It was like when a small animal senses a hunter nearby – a feeling they had never known before.

The reason a deer ran away from a snake wasn’t because it knew the snake was dangerous. It was because it felt the danger.

The disciples of the Hainan Sect felt the same way now.

They had never felt threatened before, so this instinct was new to them. It was telling them to run away.

But the Bloodclad were moving much faster than the Hainan Sect’s disciples could react.

One of the Bloodclad rushed forward silently and thrust a black rapier with chilling sharpness.

“Kuh!”

Even though they were scared, the disciples of the Hainan Sect were still the best of the Nine Great Sects. They weren’t weak enough to be defeated by the swordsmanship they had seen once while facing Mount Hua.

The Hainan Sect’s sword moved like lightning and hit the incoming rapier. It was ready to cut the thin sword in two with one blow. It was a perfect response to a rapier that was sharp but not heavy.

But…

When the slender rapier and the Hainan sword hit each other, there was a huge explosion.

Gwak Hwan-so’s eyes widened.

His fellow disciples’ swords had been pushed back by the rapier. It was unbelievable.

‘What…?’

Was the power in that slender sword stronger than the swords of the Hainan Sect’s disciples?

No, that wasn’t it!

Gwak Hwan-so quickly looked at the Bloodclad’s wrists. They were shaking slightly. Also, the Bloodclad’s face had turned pale for a moment.

‘Those, those bastards!’

They had planned it.

They knew how Hainan would respond. That’s why they had forced a lot of internal energy into their swords to withstand the blow.

It was an unusual move. But the cost of that move was clear.

The Bloodclad’s swords pierced the confused Hainan disciples like lightning. They had only been thinking about how to react after pushing back their opponents, so they were caught off guard. It was unavoidable.

“N-No!”

Gwak Hwan-so cried out and reached out his hand. If the front line fell so quickly, they would all fall without being able to do anything…

At that moment, there was a deafening roar and a white light that seemed to blind everyone. The Bloodclad were sent flying as if hit by artillery shells.

“Huh?”

“Fall back!”

A man landed in front of them with a serious expression. He was a handsome master swordsman who looked arrogant.

“I’ll take the front.”

Namgung Dowi slowly raised his sword, which was covered in white light. He had an aura like a king.