Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1564

“Where are we going?”

“…Surochae.”

Tang Soso heard the name ‘Surochae’ and her face went pale, like all the blood had drained from it.

“What is he doing? That fool!”

“…He is my father’s enemy. It’s understandable. I should have foreseen this.”

“He’s already dead! It’s wrong to hurt living people because of someone who is dead!”

Her voice was sharp and loud, echoing in the room.

The person she was talking to sighed awkwardly. Tang Soso realized she was angry at the wrong person. She felt ashamed and bit her lip.

“Wait! What about Mount Hua? What about Uncle Baek Cheon?”

“We just got a report. It says they are going to the Namgung Clan.”

Tang Soso closed her eyes tightly. She knew this was coming, but hearing it still hurt. It made her feel even worse than before.

‘War.’

Even though they are not at their strongest, the Namgung Clan and Mount Hua are going to fight Surochae. Tang Soso closed her eyes and imagined the fight. She saw swords clashing, people falling, and blood everywhere. She felt a wave of desperation wash over her.

“Then the current medical team isn’t enough! We need to reinforce them! Deploy all the reserves!”

“Understood.”

“The Dang Clan! What about the Dang Clan’s squads?”

“…They are still doing their own jobs. They haven’t been told to help yet.”

Tang Soso clenched her fist tightly.

Her mind knew this was the right decision. But her heart felt angry and upset. Why?

“…Tell each squad to send their doctors and nurses to help.”

“Hmm. Understood.”

She gave all the orders she could. But her face was still dark. It was not enough.

‘We should have trained more medical teams. Why didn’t I do it sooner…?’

Regretting, she bit her lip hard. And she gripped the medicine case inside her sleeve.

“I can’t stand it. I’m going too.”

“No!”

Suddenly, a thunderous voice erupted, stopping her.

“Have you forgotten your job? You are the boss of all the doctors and nurses now!”

“I know. But…”

“Enough! The people fighting are not the only ones who matter. If you leave your job without permission and don’t give good orders, no one will trust us leaders. You could hurt the whole Cheonwu Alliance! And!”

Tang Soso’s uncle, Dang Gok, rebuked her in a stern voice.

“You will ruin everything you worked so hard to create. You need to show that you care about everyone in the Cheonwu Alliance and the Kangho, not just a few people!”

Not a single word was wrong.

Tang Soso lowered her head. Her shoulders felt like they were carrying a huge weight. She had never felt this kind of pressure before. Someone else had always been in charge.

“…I understand. I’ll stay here.”

“That’s a good decision.”

Tang Soso raised her head again.

“But please send help faster! Hurry!”

“Understood!”

Dang Gok hurried away. Tang Soso watched him go, then looked south. She stared towards the far-off place where the fighting would happen. It was so far away, she couldn’t even see it from the tall mountain fortress.

‘Accident… Uncle… My friends.’

Please be safe. Please come back safe.

❀ ❀ ❀

Chooilgae’s face was as pale as a ghost.

The situation was easy to understand. Too easy.

Surochae had arrived in Gangbuk. The Namgung Clan was going there to get revenge. Chooilgae and his group were going to the Yangtze River area. They needed to see what was happening. It seemed simple.

The problem was…

“Hey Chooilgae, what is happening?”

“…”

“No, wait! Why are so many people from Mount Hua here? Why is this becoming such a big deal?”

Questions kept coming at him. Chooilgae’s face twisted in confusion.

‘How am I supposed to know!’

His face was tight with worry. He turned around.

He took a deep breath. His heart beat fast in his chest. Behind him, he saw many swordsmen from Mount Hua. They wore black uniforms and were running quickly.

“Did the leaders tell Mount Hua to help the Namgung Clan?”

“I, I haven’t heard anything like that…”

“Then why is everyone going to the Yangtze River like it’s the most normal thing to do? Shouldn’t we wait for orders first?”

The answer he could give here was all too obvious.

‘Because they’re Mount Hua.’

He knew he was wrong to think Mount Hua would wait for orders. They never waited for anyone else to tell them what to do.

“Shouldn’t we stop them now?”

“How can we stop them? We can’t tell the leader of Mount Hua what to do.”

“That’s right…” The beggar stopped talking. He seemed to have no more arguments.

There were four groups from Mount Hua. Each group had only ten people. One person from the Dang Clan was with each group to help and give medical care.

So, there were only about thirty people from Mount Hua in total.

With just thirty people, they were going to fight Surochae? Surochae had brought a huge army. And Mount Hua was going to help the Namgung Clan?

“They are crazy…” Chooilgae mumbled to himself, like he was in a daze. Then he stopped talking.

He remembered laughing when he heard stories about Mount Hua before. He used to call them ‘crazy.’ But now he was involved in their ‘madness’ himself. It wasn’t funny anymore.

Among all the swordsmen in black, one person was easy to see. He wore a white uniform. It was Baek Cheon, the leader of Mount Hua.

He felt different from Yoon Jong, who Chooilgae admired. Baek Cheon seemed even more powerful than Yoon Jong.

‘Damn it… I have to trust them!’ He told himself. People like Mount Hua wouldn’t do something crazy without a reason. He had to believe that. He *needed* to believe that.

The beggars kept looking at him, worried. Baek Cheon noticed them watching and spoke.

“Is the distance still far?”

“…We’ve already gone past where we were supposed to go.”

“Not that distance.”

Baek Sang’s face hardened slightly.

“I mean, how far are we from where the Namgung Clan and the Black Dragon King will probably fight? We are almost there.”

“I see.”

“Are you really going to keep going, Senior Brother?”

“I have to.”

“No, wait…” Baek Sang stopped talking. He didn’t want to say what he was thinking. He knew it would be like disagreeing with Yoon Jong. But even though he didn’t say it, it was clear that Baek Sang agreed with Yoon Jong in this situation.

Yoon Jong spoke, his voice low, “This… this is all Namgung’s choice, made without asking anyone.”

Baek Cheon simply said, “I know.” He nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful. “And I know Hwasan has often made decisions on our own too, hasn’t it?” He looked at Yoon Jong, a hint of something unreadable in his eyes.

“…”

“Do you know what I was thinking every time?”

“I do not.”

“Since it’s something we did, it’s right that we bear it. It’s also natural that we fix the mistakes we make. Because that’s the choice I made. But…”

Baek Cheon closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.

“I thought it would be nice if even one person understood me without judging right or wrong. Without having to prove that there was a reason to do so.”

“It’s not I, but we, Senior Brother.”

“Yes. It was.”

Baek Cheon didn’t dwell on it, as if it was just a slip of the tongue.

“…It was we.”

Yoon Jong, who was running a little further away, subtly turned his gaze to examine Baek Cheon’s profile. *Yes, Hwasan had made many choices on their own.* He knew it.

Soon, Yoon Jong’s eyes, now looking ahead again, were filled with complexity.

“Aren’t those Surochae bastards about to come out?”

“Yeah,” Yoon Jong said.

“So, are we going to fight those guys? Entangled with those stupid Namgung brats!”

“Probably.”

“But you know that and you’re still going? With only thirty people?”

“Yeah.”

“Ugh!”

Jo Gul felt a pain in his chest from frustration. Was it the dangerous situation? Or was it Yoo Iseol’s cold way of talking? He wasn’t sure.

He endlessly longed for Yoon Jong, who was far ahead. *He’s been a bit strange lately, but at least he’s someone you can talk to, right?*

“No, really, is this okay? If we keep going like this, all of Hwasan that came to form a group will end up fighting Surochae?”

“Who knows.”

“Ah, no, accident!”

Jo Gul bit his lip.

Things were getting bigger and bigger. If a problem arose, someone might have to take responsibility for this unilateral decision.

But whose unilateral decision was this? Baek Cheon’s? Or Yoon Jong’s?

In times like these…

Just as Jo Gul was about to turn his head unconsciously, a monotonous, indifferent voice pierced his ear.

“There isn’t.”

“Pardon?”

“He may be coming. But.”

Yoo Iseol said calmly, keeping her eyes fixed forward.

“He was quite far away from here when I last heard. Even if he is a disciple, he can’t come faster than us.”

“…”

“And that guy is your junior brother.”

Jo Gul’s face hardened without him even realizing it.

Yoo Iseol’s words sounded like she was telling him not to rely on Chung Myung like a child whenever something happened.

“I was just curious. I was worried that that damn bastard would be running around trying to take down the Black Dragon King before us! Isn’t he the kind of guy who would do that?”

Jo Gul knew it too. That his words were getting longer. It was probably because of the embarrassment of being caught out.

“You need to be prepared.”

“What do you mean by prepared?”

Yoo Iseol didn’t answer. *Who needed to be prepared, and for what.* Instead, she just pointed ahead with her chin.

“Get ready.”

“Yes?”

Only then did Jo Gul notice it too.

They walked into a scene of horror. Bodies were scattered everywhere, limbs twisted at unnatural angles, and blood soaked into the ground like dark flowers blooming on the earth. The air hung heavy with the metallic scent of death.

“Surochae…!”

It seemed that Namgung Dowi had already clashed with Surochae.

That meant that a fierce battle, in which lives had already been thrown away, was taking place ahead.

*Namgung Young Master!*

At that moment, when all the muscles in Jo Gul’s body were stretched taut, Yoo Iseol stopped abruptly in her tracks.

“Accident?”

Her eyes, like a still lake, unfathomable, stared ahead.

“Black Dragon King! They’re, they’re breaking through!”

At the urgent report, the Black Dragon King, Jeok Sekwang, gave a bitter smile.

“Should I say they’re excellent?”

The swordsmen of Namgung, who had already stained their neat white uniforms with red, were charging towards them. One could feel the deep-seated resentment and intense murderous intent in their eyes.

“They’re not just a Demonic Sect, they should be called a Demonic Cult.”

The Black Dragon King’s laughter, leaking out in a very low voice from between his lips, burst out.

It wasn’t a bad decision for the foolish Namgung guys. After all, Surochae was a sect that couldn’t exist without the Black Dragon King. The moment his head was cut off, they would lose their power and fall apart.

So, wasn’t that why Jang Ilso didn’t bother to kill him and kept him alive?

“Black Dragon King! First, you should take shelter…”

Boom! The man who was speaking next to him was punched by the Black Dragon King, spraying blood as he flew away.

“You fool! Are you telling me to run away from those youngsters?”

A violent aura surged.

“Even if I’ve lost an arm, I am Jeok Sekwang! I won’t be bitten to death by dogs!” The Black Dragon King gripped his treasured weapon tightly.

The option of retreating did not exist.

He had to prove it. To the puppies who were rushing at him, aiming for his head, and to his subordinates, who were watching him with somewhat suspicious eyes.

In the Demonic Faction, the strong always beat the weak. To stay the Black Dragon King, he had to prove he was still strong.

The head of a Namgung brat would be a pretty good means to do so.

“Open the way. I will personally…”

It was the moment the Black Dragon King was about to shout.

“Jeok Sekwaaaaaang!”

A roar ripped through the air, so loud it felt like a physical blow. Jeok Sekwang’s ears rang, and the ground seemed to vibrate under his feet.

Jeok Sekwang reflexively raised his gaze upwards, and he saw a figure descending menacingly against the blue sky.

A man who had stained his handsome face with blood and distorted it like a demon.

A swordsman, who no longer deserved to be called a youngster, was flying like a hawk, aiming for the head of the Black Dragon King, Jeok Sekwang.

“Haha!”

The Black Dragon King’s crescent blade soared upwards, and Namgung Dowi’s sword plunged downwards.

Black aura and white sword energy.