Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1394

“Don’t slow down! Anyone who falls behind dies by my hand!”

Jong-gwak, Ho Ga-myung’s assistant, screamed until his voice was rough, but it didn’t make them run faster. His voice was rough, like rocks scraping together, but it didn’t make them run faster.

Jong-gwak glanced around, looking a little worried.

Were they ignoring him?

No, that wasn’t it. They were all running as fast as they could. But their legs just couldn’t carry them any further.

‘Well, it’s understandable.’

It was only natural. They hadn’t rested properly from Guangdong to here, running without stopping.

Even the strongest horses would be tired after running so far without stopping. These men were only human.

It was understandable that they felt pressured by the people from Hainan who were chasing them, but the pursuers were just as desperate.

More numbers?

That didn’t necessarily help the pursuers. These were trained fighters from powerful groups, much stronger than the ordinary soldiers of the Ten Thousand People Clan.

If everyone was fresh and strong, they could never have kept up. But the people they were chasing were slowed down. They were tired and carrying wounded people from earlier fights.

Jong-gwak bit his lip, tasting salt and sweat.

‘No use in weak talk. If we’re tired, they must be even more so!’

Besides, Jong-gwak’s mission wasn’t to chase them down and kill them all. It was just to pressure them so that the leader could get what he wanted.

He couldn’t complain, even if it was hard.

“We must catch them before they reach the Yangtze River!”

Jong-gwak roared at the top of his lungs.

Hearing that, their eyes gleamed. They were being driven by half anger now. An anger that they didn’t even know where it had started.

Jong-gwak clenched and unclenched his fist.

‘Enemies, but…’

He never imagined they would break through the encirclement and reach this place. If it were the weak fighters from the Nine Great Sects they had fought before, it would have been absolutely impossible.

But they had done it. Even if they hadn’t yet crossed the Yangtze River, the fact that they had reached this place with half their strength intact was proof of their ability.

But that was the end of it now.

Because the one who had turned that impossible feat into reality, the Plum Blossom Sword Demon, was about to meet his end.

Even if they all survived and escaped to the north of the river, if they could take the Plum Blossom Sword Demon’s head, this battle would be their victory.

‘To think I would value one man’s head more than an entire group of the Nine Great Sects.’

It was something he couldn’t have imagined even a month ago. But now, no one in the Ten Thousand People Clan would question that fact. The Plum Blossom Sword Demon, Chung Myung, had proven it himself.

‘First, I must complete the task I’ve been assigned…’

It was then.

“Vice-Commander! There’s someone ahead!”

“Hmm?”

Jong-gwak’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of hope in them.

Had they caught the enemy’s rear? It was faster than he had anticipated.

But the voice that followed shattered Jong-gwak’s thoughts without mercy.

“Approaching! A group is approaching this way!”

“What? Approaching?”

Jong-gwak’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“There must be some mistake…”

“They’re here!”

The forest exploded with movement as a dozen figures burst out. A shout ripped through the air, followed by a blinding flash of white light. The air crackled with energy as sword power shot upwards. Before anyone could shout a warning, the white energy crashed down on the front line like a wave.

“Ooooooh!”

“Aaaaaaargh!”

“Aaargh!”

With a desperate scream, the front line was pulverized and sent flying.

And Jong-gwak saw it. The formation they had set up to pursue the enemy was distorted, as if rippling, the moment the front line collapsed.

“N-No…”

“Let’s go!”

“A-mi-ta-bul!”

Before they could even catch their breath, a majestic golden light bloomed where the white light had faded. That auspicious light seized and widened the gap that the white sword energy had pried open in an instant.

“W-We’re being pushed back!”

“Aaaaagh!”

A heaviness as if an entire mountain was pushing down on them. Unable to resist that force, the disciples of the Ten Thousand People Clan were helplessly pushed to the left and right. As a result, a clear, straight path opened up between the men spread out.

And through that path, those who had become all too familiar now flew in like the wind.

“H-Hwasan!”

“It’s the Hwasan fighters! Scatter!”

The swordsmen wearing black uniforms, the symbol of Hwasan, charged into the opened path.

And the scene that would follow was now all too predictable for the disciples of the Ten Thousand People Clan.

Red plum blossoms bloomed in succession. Those who knew how deadly and dangerous those flamboyant and beautiful flowers actually were rolled around in all directions with pale faces.

“Don’t hesitate, run, you bastards!”

“Aish, seriously!”

Following the path that had been broken, twisted, and opened, a group of a dozen or so people began to sprint.

“Vice-Commander! Orders!”

“T-They’re breaking through the center!”

Jong-gwak’s gaze wandered around, unable to find a place to settle.

“S-Stop them… A- 아니! No! Why are they?”

Why were those bastards suddenly attacking them? Unless they had suddenly gone mad?

“Vice-Commander!”

“I know, so shut your mouth!”

Jong-gwak roared and turned his head sharply forward.

‘The main force?’

If the enemy had suddenly launched a surprise attack, it was very likely that the main force’s attack would follow towards the center! If they turned around too quickly and were stabbed in the back, the damage would be unimaginable.

However, no matter how much he focused his senses, he couldn’t feel even a trace of the enemy’s approaching energy.

‘Just those guys?’

That couldn’t be. It absolutely couldn’t be.

Unless those bastards had suddenly gone crazy, there was no way they would confront them with only ten people, was there?

“They’re breaking through! Vice-Commander!”

At that moment, Jong-gwak clearly saw the group that had charged in cutting through their lines like an awl and running towards the back.

In the blink of an eye, the formation he had created was broken through as easily as flipping a child’s palm.

“T-This…”

Jong-gwak stared at the scene with a dumbfounded expression. Those who had broken through them were quickly moving away.

“S-Shouldn’t we chase after them?”

Jong-gwak couldn’t answer and bit his lip tightly.

Just because those here had been broken through didn’t mean the Ten Thousand People Clan was defeated. There were more people chasing after them from behind. Going there would only mean being swept away by the crowd of soldiers chasing them and dying.

Originally, he could simply ignore them and chase after the main force of Hainan. Wasn’t that the mission he had received?

What made Jong-gwak hesitate was the identity of those few people.

‘The Heavenly Union.’

If they were the Heavenly Union who hadn’t brought Hainan with them, if they were the Heavenly Union who had chosen to separate from Hainan after coming this far, then the purpose of their sudden turn back was obvious, wasn’t it?

“To save the Plum Blossom Sword Demon? With only a dozen or so people?”

Completely crazy.

“Send a secret message to the leader to inform him of the situation.”

“Yes!”

Jong-gwak, who had calmed down, watched them go, a cold smile twisting his lips.

“That’s not called courage.”

Jong-gwak scoffed and turned away, his eyes hard.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

The cold sound of the sword cutting through the air.

But strangely enough, blood didn’t flow from the wound. All the blood that should have poured out was frozen solid. The one whose heart had stopped due to the cold that went right through him collapsed on the spot.

“Get out of the way! You bastards!”

“Be careful, Palace Lord!”

Yoon-jong yelled, his voice tight with worry, trying to slow Seol So-baek down, but Seol So-baek, as if he couldn’t hear his words, swung his sword even more fiercely.

He poured as much cold energy as he could into the tip of his sword.

Transparent ice crystals bloomed in the air wherever his sword passed.

“That brat really doesn’t listen!”

“Hey! He’s the Ice Palace Lord!”

“Ah, who doesn’t know that?”

Jo-geol spat out the words in a sulky tone.

When the situation of going to save Chung Myung arose, the one who was most determined to go wasn’t Jo-geol, Yoo I-seol, or even Baek Cheon, but Seol So-baek.

Seol So-baek, who hadn’t particularly shown his presence throughout the journey to and from Hainan, was swinging his sword as if he had gone mad.

“Augh! It’s cold!”

“Is this a time for jokes?”

“No! I’m saying it’s really cold! What did that brat eat in the meantime?”

“He’s the Palace Lord, after all.”

“I’m sick of commoners!”

“What? Are you a rich bastard?”

Jo-geol flinched at Yoon-jong’s resentful voice.

Even in the midst of all this, Seol So-baek, as if he couldn’t hear such words, kept attacking fiercely on the enemies blocking their path.

‘Chung Myung!’

Seol So-baek’s eyes blazed with fire.

His sudden intensity might have been unfamiliar to others, but for him, it was only natural.

He agreed that Hainan should be saved, but he found it difficult to understand sacrificing himself for them.

Hainan expressed their difficulties, but it was difficult to understand that they were in a more difficult situation than the Ice Palace had been.

He didn’t understand risking his life for Hainan. Why should he die for people who left their homes? But this was different.

He supported what Chung Myung was doing. He tried hard because it was what Chung Myung had decided. But it was difficult for him, who was still young, to truly feel for its meaning and purpose.

But not now. The one he was going to save now was none other than Chung Myung. The savior of the Ice Palace and his own savior.

He could never let him die in a place like this. He hadn’t repaid Chung Myung for anything yet.

At that moment, disciples of the Ten Thousand People Clan rushed towards Seol So-baek, shouting.

“How dare you!”

Blue light flashed in Seol So-baek’s eyes, pulled his left hand back and extended it forward in an instant. From his right hand, snow-white palm energy poured out like a small avalanche.

“I-Ice White Divine Palm?”

“Good heavens!”

The Hwasan disciples stared in shock and shouted at the sight.

The most powerful move from the Ice Palace, which they had witnessed in the Northern Sea, was now being recreated in Seol So-baek’s hands.

The disciples of the Ten Thousand People Clan who had rushed in froze in an instant. Seol So-baek, who kicked away the frozen enemies and sent them flying, kicked off the ground instantly.

“Hurry!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Understood! Palace Lord!”

Seol So-baek, who ran without looking back, bit his lip until it bled.

Chung Myung’s life was in terrible danger. Right now.

‘Chung Myung! I’m coming now!’

The boy Chung Myung had saved.

That boy was now a swordsman, running to save Chung Myung.