Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1597

The Four Seas Alliance had won a big victory and started to pull back from the battlefield. It was a victory that should have been celebrated for weeks, but it felt strange, like it wasn’t real.

“Hurry,” Ho Gamyeong said, biting his lip. He urged his soldiers forward. He didn’t understand Jang Il-so’s order to retreat. But on a battlefield like this, you couldn’t argue with the Alliance Lord. It was impossible.

The hot battle was ending. A bad smell and cold air started to spread.

“The preparations are complete, Alliance Lord.”

“Hmm. Is that so?” Jang Il-so glanced sideways and saw Chung Myung, who couldn’t get any closer.

Jang Il-so met his gaze from a distance, smirked, and turned away. He even turned his back to Chung Myung, as if to say, ‘Come and stab me if you dare.’

Jang Il-so smiled calmly and said playfully, “Let’s go. If I tease him any more, I might actually lose my head.”

He chuckled and started walking. A large army followed him, leaving the blood-soaked land without hesitation.

Chung Myung gritted his teeth, biting his lip as he watched. He wanted to rush forward and cut off that bastard’s head right away.

But he couldn’t. No, he shouldn’t. Chung Myung knew that better than anyone else.

His fingernails dug into his palm, and blood dripped to the ground.

Hye-yeon and Yu Yiseol came to stand beside Chung Myung, who was standing there alone. Neither of them could say anything.

If Jang Il-so and his group were in front of them, they could let out all their anger, but they had already run away. What anger could they release now? All they could do was watch this terrible scene in shock and despair.

Chung Myung’s teeth grinding could be heard faintly. Yu Yiseol looked at Chung Myung with worried eyes.

“Sasuk…”

Finally, a voice filled with anger came from Chung Myung’s tightly closed lips.

“Damn it.”

He felt truly powerless.

Jang Il-so clicked his tongue, looking unhappy with his blood-soaked face. He picked at the dried blood on his lip with his fingernails.

“That wretched monk. I almost died,” he said lightly. But Beop Jeong was truly strong. Anyone who watched their fight would agree.

But most people were probably more surprised by Jang Il-so’s attitude than by Beop Jeong’s strength.

This man led this huge battle to victory and retreated without a care. Yet, he was more concerned with the wound on his face than the situation on the battlefield.

Of course, the enemies of the Four Seas Alliance wouldn’t dare to point this out.

But some people watching were not part of Jang Il-so’s group. They were shocked by what he was doing.

“What on earth are you doing?”

“Hmm?” Jang Il-so, who had been looking into a fancy mirror, turned his uninterested gaze.

A man with an angry face was glaring at him.

“He is the Palace Lord of the Namhae Sun Palace, Alliance Lord,” Cheonmyeon Soosa said, rushing to his side. Jang Il-so’s eyes flashed briefly.

“A guest from far away. I should have greeted him…”

“I don’t need any greetings!”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll ask again. What are you doing?”

“Palace Lord!” Cheonmyeon Soosa was horrified and tried to stop the Sun Palace Lord, but Jang Il-so raised his hand slightly to stop Cheonmyeon Soosa. Then, he shrugged his shoulders.

“What am I doing… What are you so unhappy about?” At first, it sounded like he really didn’t know. The Sun Palace Lord ground his teeth loudly so that everyone around could hear.

“You’re retreating in that situation because of just one person?”

“…”

“Are you out of your mind?” Jang Il-so’s face turned as cold as ice. Likewise, a cold anger rose from the faces of the Hongryeon guarding Jang Il-so.

“How dare you…”

“Tsk.” But when Jang Il-so clicked his tongue lightly, the anger disappeared as if washed away.

Ho Gamyeong and the Hongryeon barely held back their anger, but Jang Il-so, the one who had been insulted, smiled with a very amused face.

“Well, I wonder if I’m really in my right mind.”

“What…”

“Then, let me ask. How would our esteemed Palace Lord have liked me to act?” The Sun Palace Lord’s fingertips trembled slightly. In Jang Il-so’s smiling eyes, he felt a sense of disrespect that was hard to describe.

He was royalty in Namhae, a member of the Jin Dynasty. He had never received such a look from anyone. But what truly made the Sun Palace Lord feel disrespected at this moment was that he realized that Jang Il-so was mocking him, and yet he couldn’t easily do anything about it.

“It was a great victory,” the Sun Palace Lord said as if spitting it out. But Jang Il-so’s reaction was still uninterested.

“Is that so?” The Sun Palace Lord’s face twisted.

‘What on earth…’ He couldn’t even guess what this man was thinking. It was an achievement that couldn’t be described with the simple words ‘great victory.’

The Nine Great Sects would clearly be torn apart, unable to stay as they were before. Even if they somehow managed to keep their form, they wouldn’t be able to get their old power back for at least a hundred years.

In short, the time of the Nine Great Sects was over in this generation.

It had been hundreds of years since the Nine Great Sects were famous in the world. Had anyone ever brought them down like this, across the good, the bad, and the foreign?

Except for the Demonic Sect, which was hard to even talk about, this was a huge achievement that no one had even thought about.

And yet, the man who had done this unbelievable thing was now saying such things.

The Sun Palace Lord, unable to hold back his anger, shouted in a voice that seemed about to explode.

“Achievement! It has no meaning by itself! It only has meaning when everyone realizes how great it is. An achievement that others don’t recognize has no value at all!”

“Hmm… Is that so?” The Sun Palace Lord’s tone became more polite, and Jang Il-so’s words became shorter.

“But if you retreat like this, your own troops will not realize the victory, and the enemy will feel like they haven’t been defeated even after losing. This is not how you lead an army!” The corners of Jang Il-so’s lips curled up smoothly.

“So?”

The Solar Palace Lord’s face was red with anger. “You should have made them beg for mercy! Made them taste defeat until they threw up! If it were my army, we would still be there, showing off our victory! We would make them stare at the Evil Palace flag until their eyes burned!”

He spat the words out, like a dog growling over a bone, his fists tight at his sides.

If he had done so, his own forces would have been emboldened, and the enemies’ morale would have plummeted.

“I would have torn that arrogant fellow to pieces as an example.”

The Solar Palace Lord spoke, his voice a growl. He was trying to hide his fear of Jang Il-so by acting confident. He wanted to gain the support of the others present.

His words weren’t wrong.

Victory must be total. Every enemy must feel it. That was the way Jang Il-so had always done things.

When did the Evil Palace truly become confident?

It was at the Jang River, and in Sichuan.

When they drove out the Nine Great Sects, when they conquered Sichuan and chased the Tang family, they became the Evil Palace, not just another evil group.

“But to run away like this makes it look like we’re retreating because of just one person! Even if we had to retreat, we should have taken his head!”

Jang Il-so didn’t react. He just kept smiling at Solar Palace Lord Jin-pyeong.

That strange feeling made Jin-pyeong uncomfortable.

“What I’m saying is…!”

“Ah,” Jang Il-so said, raising his hand to stop the Solar Palace Lord.

“Enough. I’ve heard enough.”

The Solar Palace Lord felt sick inside. He clenched his fist, trying not to show how uneasy he was.

Before this war, maybe the Southern Sea Solar Palace could have fought the Evil Palace alone. But now, after the Evil Palace had defeated the Nine Great Sects, it was too strong.

Jin-pyeong was arrogant, but he wasn’t stupid. If he were, he wouldn’t have survived as royalty.

“A show of power…” Jang Il-so said softly, then smiled slightly.

“Good. If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you.”

“You wouldn’t…?” The Solar Palace Lord stopped talking, surprised, and stared at Jang Il-so.

“What… what did you just say?”

Jang Il-so looked at Ho Ga-myeong. “Ga-myeong,” he said, “it seems our guest doesn’t understand me.”

Ho Ga-myeong glanced at the Solar Palace Lord and explained, “He’s saying that if you think it’s the right thing to do, you can go back to the Solar Palace and enjoy that glory. He won’t stop you.”

The Solar Palace Lord’s face went blank.

He won’t stop me?

“The Southern Sea Solar Palace helped in this war, so you deserve to enjoy that glory. If you want, go back to that battlefield and do what you think is right,” Ho Ga-myeong said firmly.

The Solar Palace Lord turned around. The smell of blood seemed to reach even this place. The battlefield looked like hell.

The chance to take all the spoils of war was a great temptation for the Solar Palace Lord.

“Go,” Jang Il-so whispered like a snake.

“I will allow it.”

“…”

“Hurry,” Jang Il-so said, his voice tempting.

The words ‘I allow it’ bothered him, but the Solar Palace Lord didn’t care. The only reason he didn’t agree right away was because Jang Il-so’s voice sounded strange, like he was trying to trick a child.

‘What on earth…?’

Just then, the Solar Palace Lord saw something strange on the battlefield.

The scene in front of him began to change.

‘What is that?’

Ho Ga-myeong answered calmly, as if he knew what the Solar Palace Lord was thinking. “The Sky Alliance.”

“That’s not all, is it?” Jang Il-so added. Ho Ga-myeong narrowed his eyes. Another group had appeared near the Sky Alliance.

They were unfamiliar, but it was easy to guess who they were.

“The Zhuge Family, and the Moyeong Family.”

Those who still wanted to fight were rushing toward the battlefield.

The Solar Palace Lord finally understood what was happening, and he felt a chill. His back was wet with sweat.

What if he had gone back there?

The Solar Palace would have been destroyed by the Sky Alliance and the two great families.

“Why? Have you changed your mind?”

The Solar Palace Lord’s face was now hard, not arrogant like before, as he looked at Jang Il-so.

‘This man… did he already know?’

Both sides were tired.

Even though they had won, they had also lost men. If they had fought another battle against another strong enemy, they might have lost.

Jang Il-so had pulled out without hesitation, as if he knew this would happen. He didn’t care about the victory he had already won, unlike the Solar Palace Lord, who had been blinded by the chance to take the spoils.

Jang Il-so’s smiling eyes were cold. The Solar Palace Lord felt like Jang Il-so could see right through him, and he groaned silently.

“I am…”

He could barely speak. What could he say?

“Hmm. It doesn’t seem like you want to go…” Jang Il-so said softly. The Solar Palace Lord trembled with defeat and shame.

“Come here,” Jang Il-so said gently, holding out his hand.

The Solar Palace Lord didn’t understand, but he hesitated. Jang Il-so smiled.

“Welcome to the Evil Palace.”

The Solar Palace Lord almost reached out to take his hand.

He stopped himself because he felt a coldness from Ho Ga-myeong, who was watching them.

Instead of taking Jang Il-so’s hand, Solar Lord Jin-pyeong lowered his head.

It was rare for him, a member of the royal family, to bow like this. But his survival instinct told him clearly:

He must not fight this man.