Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 156

The clash of steel echoed one last time, then faded, leaving a heavy silence in the torch-lit stone chamber. Dust motes danced in the air, the only movement in the sudden stillness.

Even Makhoe, a giant of a man from the Herculean Strength Faction, stood frozen, his mouth slightly open.

Makhoe knew his own strength. He wasn’t sure he could have easily beaten Daera Geom, a swordsman known for his deadly blade. A fight with Daera Geom would have been a battle for his life.

But this young fighter, this ‘brat’ as he’d thought of him, had just cut down Daera Geom like swatting away a fly.

Makhoe’s grip on his axe loosened for a moment. The world around him seemed to blur at the edges. This couldn’t be real.

Losing one’s sense of reality on a battlefield where they kill each other is something that should never happen.

However, being told to believe the series of events unfolding before his eyes was equally absurd.

“Th-that⋯⋯.”

Makhoe opened his mouth as if to say something, then clamped it shut again.

This was the kind of situation where the saying ‘words fail me’ applied.

Daera Geom’s severed head lay on the cold stone floor, eyes wide and staring at the ceiling in disbelief, a trickle of blood still oozing from the neck. That expression perfectly captured the current situation, even representing the emotions of everyone present.

Grip.

Jo Myung-san’s hand, clutching the hilt of his sword, tightened.

‘As I thought.’

It was incomprehensible, but his senses were accurate.

That bastard is definitely not just any ordinary fighter.

More like a demon of slaughter.

It wasn’t a matter of strength or weakness.

That bastard had clearly fought countless battles, the faces of the fallen blurred together in his memory like a storm-swept battlefield.

If he had at least shown some wild bloodlust or beast-like savagery, they might have been able to entertain other possibilities.

But having seen the scene before him, he had no choice but to be certain.

That bastard cuts off people’s heads as naturally as plucking leaves from a tree. Which meant that bastard was⋯⋯.

‘Utterly accustomed to killing.’

Jo Myung-san swallowed hard.

‘Perhaps this place could become my grave.’

Realizing that his back was already soaked with cold sweat, Jo Myung-san finally steeled his resolve and rose to his feet.

“Let’s attack him together.”

“⋯⋯.”

“What⋯⋯. What did you say?”

“I said let’s attack him together.”

Those around him tore their eyes from Chung Myung and turned to Jo Myung-san. Their eyes held shock and anger.

“You’re saying we should attack that young brat together?”

“You’d better shut your trap. Age means nothing in the fighting world. What matters is strength. And that one is an absolute powerhouse. What’s more⋯⋯.”

Jo Myung-san closed his mouth.

It would be meaningless.

No matter how much he explained, there was no way to make them understand how accustomed that one was to killing. This wasn’t a matter of logic, but a matter of senses.

How could he explain the voice of his senses to these people?

“Anyway, if we don’t attack together, we’ll all die.”

It was an absurd thing to say.

But everyone here knew that the absurd statement wasn’t a lie.

They were all people who had been rolling around in the fighting world for a long time. If they couldn’t grasp the opponent’s strength after seeing the fight unfold before their eyes, they wouldn’t have been able to survive until now.

‘Not even a single breath out of place.’

He hadn’t taken even the slightest damage in beheading Daera Geom. So, in reality, there was a difference between Daera Geom and that Chung Myung that was far greater than what met the eye.

If Chung Myung hadn’t been conserving his strength and had intended to use his full power, Daera Geom might have lost his head with a single strike.

At least, the remaining people were capable of grasping the situation to that extent.

“How could such a monster be⋯⋯.”

Son Myung, the Shandong Quick Sword, let out a low groan.

He didn’t have the ability to pinpoint exactly what was so great, but it was certain that the young brat’s abilities had reached a level that they couldn’t dare to approach.

Son Myung bit his lip tightly.

“Let’s attack him together.”

“⋯⋯.”

Everyone fell silent at Son Myung’s words.

“Pride and whatnot, you can only protect it if you’re alive. And who would know that we attacked him together here?”

If it became known to the world that they had attacked a young disciple of Mount Hua, they would inevitably become a laughingstock, even if they survived.

For a fighter, ridicule was something they could never endure.

But this place was an underground chamber with no prying eyes.

If they just kept their mouths shut, who would know how they killed Chung Myung?

The deliberation was short, and the judgment was quick.

Those who actively agreed stepped forward without a word, and those who were passive didn’t bother to step back. They had come to the conclusion that they had to kill Chung Myung, whether by attacking together or by any other means, in order to survive in this place.

Seeing them glaring at him with a changed attitude, Chung Myung’s eyes darkened.

Was he angry?

Of course not.

They seemed to think that Chung Myung was angry at the corpses, but he wasn’t particularly angry. Rather, he agreed with their words.

Entering the Sword Tomb with weapons meant that they were prepared to die in this place. Having thrown themselves into a chaotic battlefield where they killed each other, it was meaningless to judge the right and wrong ways of killing people.

Hong Daekwang didn’t seem to think so, but for Chung Myung, who had experienced a hellish war where they killed each other in a frenzy to the point of mutual destruction, it was a natural thought.

He had seen countless scenes more horrific than this.

Rage that felt like it would burst through his flesh, and passion that felt like it would explode his heart, were worthless on the battlefield.

The reason he killed Daera Geom was very simple.

Because Daera Geom tried to kill him.

Since being revived in this body, Chung Myung had never stood on a true battlefield. Childish games like sparring, where they politely exchanged blows, couldn’t be called a battlefield.

Only when it was filled with the malice of wanting to kill the opponent no matter what, even if it meant losing an arm, could it be called a battlefield.

And those who stood on the battlefield should not hold back.

That was all.

That was what Chung Myung had learned from the long war.

Red blood dripped from his sword, the blade etched with a delicate plum blossom design, onto the floor.

Chung Myung’s face was like ice, his eyes narrowed and sharp as he watched them approach.

Nine in total.

Kill all nine while conserving as much stamina as possible.

“Brat⋯⋯. Damn it, I can’t even call him a brat.”

Makhoe of the Herculean Strength Faction distorted his face and stood at the forefront. And he stretched out his axe, which had a blue edge, forward.

“Listen up, kid. You should be honored. If you weren’t so strong, we wouldn’t even bother attacking you all together.”

Chung Myung stared at Makhoe and opened his mouth in a low voice.

“If you’re done talking, then come at me.”

“⋯⋯.”

Makhoe gritted his teeth.

It was shameful.

But Makhoe knew. A life prolonged by shame was ten times, no, ten thousand times better than a death that protected his pride.

Moreover, this was a place where no one would recognize how he died. In such a place, pride was worth less than a penny.

“I’ll acknowledge that one bit of guts. Even if you die here, I’ll leave the name of Mount Hua in the world.”

Even in the midst of all this, Chung Myung was calmly assessing the opponent’s strength.

Attacking together?

He didn’t particularly want to criticize them.

Old-fashioned fighters considered attacking together to be shameful, but that was ridiculous. So, were they saying that if the opponent was stronger, they should go and die one by one?

This wasn’t a game.

There were no rules in killing and being killed. Whether it was using poison, attacking together, or clinging to their pant legs, anything was allowed in order to survive.

But there seemed to be some who didn’t think so.

“To attack a child younger than themselves, not just one or two, but nine of them attacking together. It seems that one needs to have a thicker face than I thought in order to survive in the fighting world.”

Step. Step.

A person slowly walked over and filled the space next to Chung Myung.

Chung Myung glanced sideways and looked at the one standing next to him.

Baek Cheon.

He stood beside him with a faint smile.

He seemed to have stepped forward to help Chung Myung.

Chung Myung’s reaction to the overflowing affection of his martial brother was very simple.

“What? You’re in the way. Move.”

“⋯⋯This is helping⋯⋯.”

Baek Cheon sighed. Then, ignoring Chung Myung’s words, he drew his sword and pointed it forward.

“Just deal with it, even if I get in my way.”

“⋯⋯Huh?”

“I’m your martial uncle and your friend. I can’t just stand back and watch you fight alone.”

No, I’d be fine with that.

You’re in the way.

“That’s right. Martial Uncle.”

And, as if moved by those words, Yoon Jong quickly approached and stood on the opposite side of Baek Cheon, flanking Chung Myung.

“A senior brother can’t just stand by and watch his junior brother fight risking his life.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Ah, I agree with that.”

Jo Gul.

“Let’s fight together.”

Yoo Iseol.

Chung Myung looked at the disciples of Mount Hua filling his left and right sides and let out a deep sigh.

‘As always, these youngsters.’

Seeing them rushing to fight together without even knowing what kind of situation this was, irritation slowly crept up on him.

“You won’t come to your senses until your arms and necks are cut off. Do they look easy to you?”

“I know they’re not easy.”

Baek Cheon retorted coldly.

“But if we just keep hiding behind you because the opponent is strong, Mount Hua will forever only watch you fight. It may be a hindrance now, but if we fight like this, someday we’ll be able to support you.”

“⋯⋯.”

“If you want to push me away, then beat me down instead. I’d rather die than just watch.”

Chung Myung let out a deep sigh.

But⋯⋯.

‘This guy is actually saying something right.’

Chung Myung also knew that Baek Cheon’s words weren’t wrong. In order to grow, one had to experience real battles. The more dangerous the real battle, the greater the growth.

In other words, for the growth of the Mount Hua disciples, it was necessary to entrust them with tasks that Chung Myung could handle himself.

‘I know it in my head.’

What should he do?

Chung Myung had never raised a child, but he felt like he could understand the heart of a parent a little. He knew that they could only grow by throwing them into dangerous places, but he would step forward first if it seemed even slightly dangerous.

Chung Myung glanced at his surrounding comrades and sullenly stuck out his lips.

“I won’t help you even if you’re about to die.”

“That’s what I wanted.”

“I never thought you would help me in the first place! You overestimate your personality too much sometimes!”

“Jo Gul, let’s have a separate talk later.”

“⋯⋯Huh?”

The senior brothers looked at Jo Gul with pitiful eyes.

He always crosses the line when he gets carried away.

Soon, Chung Myung looked ahead and tightened his grip on his sword.

What should he do?

‘It’s a strange feeling.’

He didn’t trust them at all. It felt like he was just carrying extra baggage.

But⋯⋯.

– Let’s go, Senior Brother!

– Let’s go, Junior Brother! Let’s show those bastards the power of Mount Hua.

– Please leave some for me this time, Senior Brother Chung Myung!

Chung Myung slightly lowered his head.

It was strange.

It was really strange.

He didn’t trust them at all, but⋯⋯.

Moreover, the Mount Hua of that time no longer existed.

No matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to return.

But⋯⋯.

Chung Myung bit his lip tightly and shouted.

“Let’s go! Let’s smash those bastards’ heads in!”

“Taaaah!”

“Haaah!”

The senior and junior brothers shouted and ran forward.

Running in step with them so as not to fall behind, Chung Myung bit his lip tightly.

Senior Brother. Sect Leader Senior Brother.

My Mount Hua is⋯⋯.

Here too.