Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1397

Ho Gamyung jumped forward. His face became dark and hard.

He hardly ever showed his feelings, but the terrible destruction in front of him was too much.

Dead bodies were everywhere.

They were in horrible positions, thrown around like broken dolls. The ground was red with blood, dark and sticky. It looked like a path made of blood, and the air smelled of iron and death.

*Did one person really do this?* Ho Gamyung thought.

He felt amazed, even before he felt angry. This was not just from strength. It was more than just power.

Who else could cause such a scene against the Ten Thousand People Clan other than the Plum Blossom Sword Demon?

Seeing this, he understood why killing even one person was taking so long.

Anyone seeing this would think the same thing. The sight was shocking.

How many people had he cut down to cause this terrible destruction? How many times had he swung his sword?

‘But he won’t be unharmed either.’

He was still human. Even if he were a monster, he couldn’t be unharmed after doing something like this.

“Hurry.”

“Yes!”

Ho Gamyung moved faster. The Plum Blossom Sword Demon must be about to die. This was the moment to end him.

“He’s cornered! Don’t let him escape!”

Shick!

He never regretted anything.

The loss of his fighting skills? Compared to everything he had lost, everything he had been forced to give up, the power he had gained was not important.

“Surround him! Don’t give him any room to escape!”

Shick!

But if he had that power, he could have blocked the sword that cut his shoulder. He could have avoided the blade that went into his side. He could have laughed at these many enemies.

If he had tried to get his strength back after returning… If he had cared for himself even a little, he could still be the Sword Saint. He could have been a great and strong fighter.

So, did he regret it now?

Perhaps…

Paaah!

The sword flashed out like lightning, cutting the enemy’s neck without mercy. The enemy looked unbelievably shocked at the moment of death. Then, red blood poured from his mouth.

“Cough…”

A heavy weight landed on the end of the sword. The weight of a whole person. Usually, it was nothing, but now it felt heavy.

Was it because he was tired? Or was his life heavier than before?

“This damned…”

Chung Myung didn’t fall, and the terrified enemies hesitated. Chung Myung used this break to lift his head.

The world blurred and then became clear again.

How many were there? He didn’t know. He had stopped counting a long time ago.

‘Hot…’

Fire burned in his muscles, making them scream, but his skin felt icy cold, numb and unresponsive. He shivered, a burning, freezing ache that went right to his bones.

His inner strength was gone, and the terrible injuries were destroying his body.

The price for killing so many people was not too high, but what happened after was leading Chung Myung to a sure end.

His eyelids felt heavy. He looked around with half-closed eyes. Everywhere he looked, he saw only enemies in red uniforms.

There was a time when this scene was familiar. Breathing here felt natural. But now, this scene felt strange. Was it because Chung Myung had become weak? Or…

Swish.

The enemy’s body, now dead, slid off the sword. The weight was gone, but the sword was still heavy, too heavy to lift.

The world was constantly fading.

It seemed that only enemies were left. But why couldn’t he turn away? Why couldn’t he let go of what he was holding onto and find peace?

Was there something he still cared about?

He would rather receive angry looks than cold, strange stares, because that was a different kind of understanding.

He tried to smile again, but his face didn’t move. His lips no longer showed any calmness or threat.

‘Even my bluff is gone…’

He laughed. Not to scare the enemy, but to laugh at himself.

“What are you doing! Kill him! He’s at his limit!”

“Y-yaaah!”

Someone stabbed at him with a spear. Without thinking, he swung his sword, blocking the spear.

Clang!

The sharp sound of metal and the sound of the blade cutting flesh happened at the same time. The sound of a sharp blade going through the body, felt through the flesh rather than heard in the air.

The sword that was knocked away was the Tang Family’s sword, the sword that had never betrayed Chung Myung’s will.

The spear attack itself was not strong, but his weak sword could not even block a normal attack.

“Huh…”

Paaah!

Chung Myung gritted his teeth and swung his sword like lightning again. The head of the Ten Thousand People Clan member, who was surprised by his own success, flew off his body.

Chung Myung’s knees gave way.

The sword was completely weak, and his reactions were getting slower. Everything inside him seemed to be flowing out.

“Cough…”

Blood came up with each cough. But his unsteady body somehow managed to regain its balance.

“Cough! Cough!”

A feverish light ignited in the eyes of the enemies who were staring at Chung Myung, unable to approach him.

The Plum Blossom Sword Demon, whose end seemed far away, had now reached his limit before their eyes. Maybe they could cut off the head of that beast with their own hands.

It was very dangerous but also a very tempting idea that could kill them. Everyone wanted to do it.

Those who had swallowed hard carefully moved towards Chung Myung. The circle around Chung Myung began to shrink, little by little.

Grasp.

Chung Myung grabbed the spear stuck in his upper chest with his left hand. He pulled on the spear hard, but the hooked blade was stuck in his flesh and would not come out easily.

Crack.

He broke off the spear shaft and spat out the blood that had collected in his mouth.

His vision was filled only with enemies. The whole world was filled with his enemies. Enemies, enemies, enemies, and more enemies.

‘Just cut them down.’

Cut them down and knock them down. And open a path. As he had done many times. As he had done until now. Then he could open a path.

‘What’s after that?’

There would be more enemies. Even if he knocked them down, new enemies would appear behind them.

Cut, cut, and cut again. And then cut again…

What was left at the end of it all?

“Heu…”

A sound, like a laugh, a groan, or a cry, escaped his lips. Nothing would change. It had always been like this.

He never thought he was stronger than he was. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe he’d win every fight. He was just lucky to have lived through many dangerous battles, even though he didn’t really want to live.

It wouldn’t be surprising if his luck ran out here.

Death comes to everyone. Chung Myung knew his death was near, coming for him slowly and clearly.

Using his sword to help him stand, Chung Myung pushed his broken body up.

“D-Die!”

Before his enemy could even raise his sword, Chung Myung’s sword moved faster. The power from his sword pierced the enemy’s chest without mercy.

“Gheuh…”

The enemy, wounded by the sword’s power, stumbled for a moment, but that was all it took. He grabbed his wound, refusing to fall.

Even his sword power was weak now. It could not even cut through a person’s skin easily.

Regret? No. There was nothing to regret.

He had saved the world in the past, but he had lost everything he wanted to protect.

But this time, it was different.

‘…I protected it.’

Long ago… Yes, it should have been like this from the start.

He never wanted to be the only one left alive, watching everyone else die again. He never wanted to suffer alone in a world where nothing remained.

Even if people called him foolish, this was the only way he could have gone from the beginning.

‘Senior Brother…’

You wouldn’t understand how far your mission drove me.

You couldn’t understand, because the dead know nothing.

You will never know what it was like to be left alone after everyone died.

I’m telling you now… I wasn’t as great or as strong as you thought.

Wham!

Many blades flew toward him.

Before he could even think, Chung Myung’s sword slashed through the air. His fighting skills stayed with him until the very end.

Clang!

The thrown blades broke into pieces. The broken pieces hit the enemy and also cut into Chung Myung’s tired body.

“Cough!”

Dark, thick blood kept coming out. It felt like all the blood in his body was gone, which was very strange.

He struggled to lift his heavy head. Dawn was coming. The sky was a bruised red, like a fading wound, staring down at him. It was the same terrible red as the sky on that day he could never forget – the day Mount Hua fell.

That was his last memory of Mount Hua.

My brothers, when they died, they wished for plum blossoms to bloom again at Mount Hua. And I… I just wanted my death to save others.

Maybe, maybe I did what I was meant to do.

He had done what he tried to do. His senior brothers’ wishes had come true. They were unreliable, pathetic, and foolish, but… they were good guys.

So, wouldn’t that be enough?

They would be okay. Mount Hua would survive, even without him.

No matter how strong the wind blew, they would keep going. They would carry on what those who died had tried to protect, and they would add to their strength.

‘Will they be angry at me?’

They would, because that’s who they were. They would get angry, curse, and… they would cry.

But soon, they would forget.

Just as he had forgotten Cheong Mun and lived his life with new people. Just as he had laughed and joked in the new Mount Hua instead of the old one.

His death would make everyone sad for a while, but he would eventually be forgotten. Like new skin growing on a wound, and grass growing again on dry land.

That felt a little… just a little… unfair.

“What are you doing! Kill him! Kill him now! He’s at his limit!”

The enemies charged.

His vision was blurry, and his arms wouldn’t move. He couldn’t feel anything. He was too weak to beat anyone.

Snikt!

The blood from the Dark Plum Blossom Sword went into his fingers.

He felt like he had cut something, but he wasn’t sure. His legs wouldn’t listen to him.

But he had to cut down one more.

The lives he took would make the survivors a little safer. So, even one more! Even just one more person…

Snikt.

‘Sect Leader.’

Would he smile? Would he praise Chung Myung for coming back and doing so well?

Or would he scold him? He always did. He might get angry, saying that he didn’t need to push himself so hard.

He wished he would.

‘I did my best, Sect Leader.’

So… So please, just a little… Just feel a little sorry for me.

His knees finally gave way. He felt like the ground was rising up. The world was spinning, and he couldn’t see anything clearly.

Another death was coming for him.

It was alright. He had left something behind.

Somewhere in Shanxi, somewhere in Mount Hua with its plum blossoms, in the hearts of those who would cry, he had left enough behind.

So, even if this was the end, he had no regrets. But…

“Cut off his breath!”

“He’s exhausted! Cut off his head!”

But even so… Even so…

Clang!

A thrown blade hit a sword that suddenly rose up.

Chung Myung pushed off the ground and jumped into the middle of the enemies. The sword power that came out cut through the enemies in an instant.

“Ah…”

Chung Myung opened his mouth, and a scream like a beast came out.

“Ah… Aaaaargh!”

He wanted to live.

The sword power cut through those filled with hate. His muscles were tearing, his bones were breaking, but he swung his sword again and again.

He wanted to live.

“Aaaaargh!”

He wanted to live and laugh again. He wanted to live and return to Mount Hua.

The place he had left. And the place he had to return to.

The place where everyone would be waiting for him.

“Aaaaargh!”

Chung Myung’s cry echoed through the forest as he jumped through the enemy blades.

He wanted to live.