Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1348

“Screams! They came from over there!” a Maninbang warrior yelled, pointing wildly.

“Faster!” another shouted.

The Maninbang warriors, enemies of Mount Hua, ran as fast as they could through the dark woods. Their heavy boots crunched on fallen leaves.

“Captain! This way! I heard another scream!”

“Blast it all!” the Captain roared, his voice echoing in the night. “What in the world is happening? We’re going this way now!”

The Maninbang warriors, who had been running straight ahead, suddenly turned and rushed off in the new direction. Other groups, confused but eager to follow, quickly ran after them.

The shouts faded into the distance. The only sound left was the whisper of wind through the trees. A deep silence settled over the mountains, heavy and watchful.

“Let’s go.”

A group that had been hiding amongst the thick bushes burst out into the open.

“This way.”

“Yes!”

Led by Baek Cheon and Im So-byeong, the Cheonwoo Alliance and the survivors from Hainan began to sprint across the land where the enemies had disappeared.

“Soso.”

“Don’t worry, Martial Uncle! I won’t let go, even if I die.”

Tang Soso, who was carrying Yoo Iseol on her back, answered confidently. Baek Cheon nodded as he looked at her. Yoon Jong, carrying Jo Gul, followed swiftly behind.

“More importantly, what about the front?”

“I’m checking.”

Baek Cheon gathered all his energy and spread his senses forward. What they needed to do now was not to fight the enemy, but to safely escape the Ten Thousand Great Mountains while Chung Myung drew their attention.

“This way, quickly!”

In an instant, Baek Cheon, his eyes gleaming, quickly gave instructions and changed direction. Just after they hid themselves in a corner of the towering mountains, a group of Maninbang warriors sped down the path they had been running on just moments before.

Once they had moved far away, Baek Cheon led everyone on the run again.

“Green Forest King, how far are we?”

“The Ten Thousand Great Mountains stretch for thousands of miles horizontally, but not so long vertically. It won’t take even an hour!”

“Then let’s hurry!”

At that moment, Geum Yang-baek, the Hainan sect leader, came running from behind.

“Sect Leader Deputy.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“The number of those heading towards the Mount Hua Sword Saint is not small! Are you sure this is alright?”

Deep worry clouded his eyes.

If things continued like this, they might be able to safely escape the Ten Thousand Great Mountains without a major battle.

But didn’t this mean that the Mount Hua Sword Saint, left alone behind them, would have to face all the Maninbang warriors?

Most of the survivors were Hainan disciples who had suffered injuries, both big and small, so perhaps they shouldn’t be saying such things, but Geum Yang-baek couldn’t possibly ignore it. The debt Hainan owed the Mount Hua Sword Saint was now beyond words.

“The Mount Hua Sword Saint isn’t even in good condition. Someone should help…”

“No, speak some sense, please.”

It wasn’t Baek Cheon who coldly cut him off, but Im So-byeong. Running beside Baek Cheon, he glared at Geum Yang-baek with a distorted face.

“Who is helping whom! Who is helping whom!”

“Ah, no… but the Mount Hua Sword Saint’s injuries…”

“Why do you think that man was injured in the first place? Isn’t it because he was carrying around a bunch of baggage? Would he have been hurt like that if he were alone?”

Geum Yang-baek shut his mouth tightly, understanding what the Green Forest King was trying to say.

He wasn’t wrong. The path from Hainan to these mountains had been extremely treacherous, but if Chung Myung had tried to break through it alone, it might not have been so difficult.

It was difficult for a small number of strong individuals to fight perfectly against a large number of weak ones, but it wasn’t so difficult to stir up that large number of weaklings.

A strong individual with superior mobility could freely choose the time and place to fight. So, they could wield their sword at will, whenever and wherever they wanted, until they were exhausted, and then simply slip away.

But in this battle, Chung Myung faced the enemies with his mobility restricted. He couldn’t retreat when he was tired, nor could he run away when he was injured.

It was no different from fighting with his body wrapped in chains.

Conversely, this meant that thanks to everyone creating distance, Chung Myung was now, for the first time, free from the shackles that had been binding him.

“People need to know their place! What help can we be! Not being a hindrance is helping!”

Geum Yang-baek’s face twisted at the blatant disregard and reproach. But he knew that what was said wasn’t entirely wrong.

Baek Cheon cautiously opened his mouth to mediate the situation.

“Let’s focus on getting out of the mountains first. He will come on his own.”

“…I understand, Sect Leader Deputy.”

As Geum Yang-baek retreated with a stiff face, Baek Cheon let out a deep sigh.

The Green Forest King had clearly gone too far. But Baek Cheon didn’t want to blame him. The Green Forest King’s face was also stiff, unlike someone who had just lashed out.

He, too, was losing his pride.

That was understandable, as Im So-byeong was the leader of the Green Forest. It would be difficult for someone who had once been one of the most renowned strategists in the world to calmly accept his current situation as baggage.

Therefore, he must have been furious with Geum Yang-baek for forcing him to explain the situation with his own mouth.

Baek Cheon took a long breath.

‘Now is not the time to be thinking about such things.’

Everyone had their own role to play at any given time. What Baek Cheon needed to do now was not to pointlessly assert his pride, but to lead these injured people out of the mountains as quickly as possible.

“This way!”

“Yes!”

Sensing people approaching from the front, Baek Cheon quickly changed direction. But this time, their reaction was a little late, and those who were running discovered the rear of their group before they could hide.

“Enemies!”

“Kill them!”

“Kuk.”

Baek Cheon and a few others bit their lips and ran towards the enemy. The few Maninbang warriors were quickly slaughtered.

“Kkeueuk!”

Confirming those who were collapsing with the sound of air escaping, Baek Cheon turned his head and gave instructions.

“It’s definitely too obvious if we all move together. Let’s split up as we said before.”

“Yes!”

Namgoong Dowi, Dang Pae, and Hae Yeon nodded firmly. They, who were not seriously injured, had recovered to some extent with just two days of rest. So, there would be no major problem in leading the Hainan disciples respectively.

“The meeting point is as planned!”

“Understood, Sect Leader Deputy.”

“Good luck!”

“Yes!”

As they had discussed in advance, those who had brought their groups scattered in all directions. Baek Cheon, watching their retreating figures, turned his gaze to Yoon Jong and Tang Soso, who were guarding his rear, and said quietly.

“Let’s go too.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle.”

Baek Cheon, accompanied by the disciples of Hainan, ran forward. Then, he glanced back at the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, shrouded in darkness.

‘Don’t be late, you bastard.’

“Team Seven has been attacked!”

“Location?”

“That is, the current location is not identified!”

“What nonsense are you saying! Didn’t you say they were attacked!”

“Everyone is moving quickly in their assigned areas right now, so the exact point at which they were attacked is…”

“And you call that an explanation!”

Ho Gamyeong’s adjutant emitted a fierce killing intent towards the one reporting. The subordinate, terrified by the killing intent, prostrated himself, but that didn’t mean a non-existent answer would appear.

The news that followed was just as infuriating.

“Team Five has also been attacked!”

“Team Gwigyeom Three has been attacked!”

“The enemy’s current location is not accurately identified! There are insufficient reporting lines!”

Even if they combined the words of the guys who kept running up and shouting, there was no real conclusion to be drawn.

All that could be gathered from this report was that those who had been hastily organized and scattered throughout the Ten Thousand Great Mountains were being slaughtered here and there.

“Commander.”

The adjutant called out to Ho Gamyeong in a trembling voice.

But Ho Gamyeong, despite having heard all the reports, didn’t even react and was just staring at the mountains shrouded in darkness.

The adjutant, swallowing hard, hesitated to call Ho Gamyeong again and eventually closed his mouth. It wasn’t that Ho Gamyeong didn’t react because he didn’t know the situation. He didn’t react because there was no use in reacting.

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes were dim. His chapped lips parted, and a hoarse voice leaked out.

“…This feels like walking into a tiger’s den.”

Dealing with the Mount Hua Sword Saint… no, the Plum Blossom Sword Demon, with those scattered individuals, wouldn’t be easy. He knew that much. But the reports coming in now cleanly surpassed even his expectations.

It felt as if they weren’t chasing the bastard, but the bastard was drawing everyone to the place he wanted and hunting them down one by one.

Perhaps the main force of Hainan was already escaping the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. Ho Gamyeong wasn’t so incompetent that he couldn’t foresee that much.

But there was no way to catch them now. With the reporting lines collapsed, there was no way to call back those who were rushing towards the Mount Hua Sword Saint and give new orders.

All that remained was the result of being thoroughly toyed with by the Mount Hua Sword Saint and missing the main force.

From the beginning, since the Mount Hua Sword Saint had recovered and appeared faster than he had anticipated, the result was as good as determined.

‘Where did it go wrong?’

Should he have been more thorough? If he hadn’t hastily spread out the troops the moment he lost track of them, but had waited calmly, the situation might have improved.

No, even if that wasn’t the case, there would have been another way.

But Ho Gamyeong thought that such thoughts were meaningless.

The more meticulously crafted a plan is, the more useless it becomes due to a small twist. No matter how perfectly he weaves a plan, that Plum Blossom Sword Demon is someone who can forcibly twist that plan.

All of this was just the price for targeting an opponent he couldn’t handle.

“…Withdraw the troops.”

“Commander!”

“We must reduce any more unnecessary sacrifices.”

The adjutants bit their lips until they bled.

Knowing that it was the right order, they couldn’t bring themselves to convey the order immediately. The moment they retreated from this place, all plans would end in failure. And this ultimately meant Ho Gamyeong’s complete defeat.

Everyone knew what kind of consequences this failure would bring.

“Commander! Not yet…”

“Don’t make me commit any more sins against the Lord.”

The adjutants eventually lowered their heads silently.

There had been too great a sacrifice to present the heads of a mere hundred Hainan disciples as a success. Since the operation carried out without permission had failed, even Ho Gamyeong, the genius, would not be able to avoid responsibility.

It was when Ho Gamyeong was about to close his eyes tightly and give up everything.

Piiiiii!

A strange sound was heard. At that moment, his eyes flashed open.

A whistle? No, this isn’t a whistle. This is the cry of a beast he knows well.

‘Could it be?’

He hurriedly raised his head. In the night sky where not even starlight was visible, a faint red light flickered in the middle.

Ho Gamyeong reflexively stretched out his arm, and the light, which had been hovering in the air, descended like lightning and landed on it.

Flap.

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes trembled as he looked at the small hawk perched on his arm, its wings a vivid crimson.

“The, the Lord….”

The complexions of the adjutants, who recognized the hawk’s identity, turned blue.

Everyone knew that this small hawk with red and black feathers was Jang Il-so’s familiar, carrying only his orders.

Ho Gamyeong carefully opened the tube attached to the hawk’s leg and took out the letter. Even as he unfolded it, Ho Gamyeong’s hand was trembling slightly.

Everyone held their breath and waited for a reaction as he read. But Ho Gamyeong, having read the entire letter, closed his eyes for a moment and showed no reaction.

Finally, after a suffocating wait, Ho Gamyeong opened his eyes again. And folding the letter, he said.

“Move those facing the bastard to the second line.”

“Commander, then…”

“The pursuit continues.”

“…Yes?”

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes contained the chilling light of the mountains, dyed in darkness.

“The Lord says he will take that bastard’s life.”

A strange heat of elation bloomed on his face.

Ho Gamyeong couldn’t handle it. The Mount Hua Sword Saint… no, the one who should now be called the Plum Blossom Sword Demon.

But…’If the Lord steps in, things will change.’

No matter how skilled the Plum Blossom Sword Demon may be, he will now have to accept the end of his fate.

Because the one he will have to face from now on is none other than the Overlord, Jang Il-so.