Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1607

Ho Gamyeong walked out of the simple tent used as a war room. His assistants followed him closely.

“Strategist, what about the Lord?”

Ho Gamyeong didn’t answer right away. He just looked at the assistant with cold eyes. The assistant understood he had spoken wrongly and quickly said what he needed to say.

“People are complaining, especially those near the Solar Palace.”

“Tell me exactly.”

“…We have been here for over three days now, and still no orders. People are asking: Will we attack? Will we go back? Or will we just stay here?”

Ho Gamyeong’s face became even colder.

“So, they cannot even wait three days?”

“But that’s not everything, right?” Ho Gamyeong asked, his tone scornful.

“What about the others?”

“There’s not been a big problem yet, but…”

The assistant hesitated. He quickly looked to the side and then back.

“…Some people are… doubting…”

Thump.

Ho Gamyeong walked faster, and his steps on the stone path sounded louder. The assistant quickly shut his mouth.

“Weak fools.”

“…My apologies.”

It was only a few days after their biggest victory ever in the Demonic Sect. And yet, people were already complaining?

‘How tiresome.’

He knew this was the nature of the Demonic Sect, but it filled him with disgust every time. The assistant added,

“…It’s not yet a cause for concern.”

“Understood.”

Ho Gamyeong walked past the assistant and kept going. The assistant started to speak, then stopped and shook his head.

Ho Gamyeong understood this and sighed, feeling worried.

‘Just…’

He felt this pain every time.

Ten days.

Without Jang Il-so, this Demonic Alliance is like a sandcastle. It would fall apart in ten days.

No matter how hard he worked, no matter how many successes he had, if Jang Il-so, the main support, fell, everything would break down.

“Even after such a big win, he still knew this…”

Ho Gamyeong walked to the big building ahead, feeling annoyed. He quickly walked up the short steps to the building, even ignoring the guard standing there. Ho Gamyeong looked angrily at the servant girl who stood quietly by the door.

The servant girl jumped back.

“L, Lord Strategist, I was just going to…”

“How long have you been in there?”

The servant girl couldn’t even meet Ho Gamyeong’s eyes, which cut off her words sharply, and bowed her head deeply. Her fear was evident.

“That is, since last night…”

His eyes became even colder.

“It’s good to be loyal, but if a dog goes too far, it gets its head cut off.”

The servant girl started shaking like a leaf.

“Tell me again.”

“W, well, actually, since about noon yesterday…”

The servant girl, pale as a ghost, kept bowing her head.

Ho Gamyeong looked at her coldly, then looked away. The door was still closed.

It was not the servant girl’s fault.

“Has anyone gone in since then?”

“N, no one. He ordered no one to go in.”

Ho Gamyeong nodded quickly and ordered,

“Open the door.”

The servant girl was shaking so much, she looked like she would fall.

And for good reason. It was the Overlord, Jang Il-so, who had ordered that no one be allowed inside. And it was Ho Gamyeong, the strategist of the Demonic Alliance, who was ordering her to open the door.

She didn’t know who to listen to. She couldn’t ignore either of them, so she just stood there shaking.

“…No, forget it.”

Finally, Ho Gamyeong sighed and grabbed the doorknob himself. The servant girl stepped back without meaning to.

Creak.

The door, which was closed tight, slowly opened. Thick white smoke came out through the opening.

Ho Gamyeong frowned without thinking, but quickly acted like it was nothing. Then, he stepped into the smoke-filled room.

The strong, sharp smell was Dream Soul Incense.

Jang Il-so sometimes used it, but today the smell was very strong. It was like the smell showed his feelings… No, Jang Il-so’s feelings.

Thump. Thump.

Ho Gamyeong walked confidently into the room. There was so much Dream Soul Incense that he could barely see. Then, he stopped suddenly.

He saw a big bed in the middle of the room. Around it were three incense burners still making white smoke. A man was lying on the bed.

Empty bottles of alcohol were all over the place. The smell of alcohol was strong, even stronger than the incense.

Ho Gamyeong bit his lip, looking at the scene.

Other people might think this was normal, but Ho Gamyeong knew better. Jang Il-so looked different than usual, lying there, drunk from incense and alcohol.

“Lord.”

There was no response.

“Lord.”

He didn’t even stir.

Maybe he was just drunk, or dreaming, or too much incense. Or maybe he was just tired of the world.

“Lord, you must wake up. Lord…”

Wham!

Suddenly, Ho Gamyeong could not see.

Right in front of him, something moved like it was crying in pain. It was Jang Il-so’s hand, grabbing him fast as lightning.

Ho Gamyeong froze.

Jang Il-so’s fingernails dug into his skin. His hand squeezed Ho Gamyeong’s head so hard, it felt like his skull would break. Even while this was happening, Ho Gamyeong could hear Jang Il-so breathing roughly, like a hurt animal, right in his ear.

After a second, he heard a voice.

“…Gamyeong?”

Finally, the hand holding his face let go.

As Jang Il-so’s fingers moved away, Ho Gamyeong saw his eyes. They were red and full of blood, like they could burst any second.

Jang Il-so fell back onto the bed. He looked at Ho Gamyeong with empty eyes, like he was dreaming. Then, he picked up a bottle of alcohol near his head.

Gulp. Gulp.

Jang Il-so drank the rest of the strong alcohol quickly. Some alcohol spilled from his mouth and ran down his messy clothes.

After drinking for a long time, Jang Il-so took the bottle away. He turned it upside down and lifted it up, watching the last drops of alcohol fall out.

He was still very thirsty, but the bottle was empty. Jang Il-so looked at it blankly and then laughed dryly.

Clang!

He threw the empty bottle down, and it bounced.

Ho Gamyeong quietly wiped his face. His hand was wet with cold sweat.

His mind was not very scared, but his body knew. He had just been very close to death and barely escaped.

But that was not the most important thing for Ho Gamyeong now. The reason he could not breathe easily was…

“…Lord.”

Because Jang Il-so was in danger.

It was Jang Il-so, who he had seen many, many times. He was sure that no one in the world knew Jang Il-so as well as he did.

But Jang Il-so now was more dangerous than ever before. Like a candle flame about to go out in strong wind.

Like a tight string suddenly becoming loose, Jang Il-so slowly leaned back against the bed. Jang Il-so slowly rubbed his face again and again with his big hands.

He looked very calm and relaxed, but Ho Gamyeong saw his fingers shaking slightly on his face.

“…Nobody!”

His voice, which had become loud for a moment, became quiet again.

“I said not to let anyone in.”

Ho Gamyeong took a long, deep breath without saying anything.

What should he say now? How should he look? How should he act in front of Jang Il-so?

He chose to be simple and direct.

“Please get up now.”

“…”

His voice, calm and no different from usual, was directed towards Jang Il-so.

You have rested too long. People are worried because you are not giving orders, Lord. Some bad people are trying to use this chance to cause trouble. If I could handle it, I would let you rest longer, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough. You have rested enough, now you need to work.

After Ho Gamyeong spoke, it was quiet for a moment.

Only their breathing could be heard in the big room.

“…Huh.”

Soon, a small laugh was heard louder than their breathing.

“He he he.”

Jang Il-so’s hand slowly dropped from his face.

Ho Gamyeong sighed quietly. Jang Il-so’s face was now visible again, and it was the face he knew well.

Calm, attractive in a strange way, and a little scary to look at – like a true ruler.

“Hmm.”

Jang Il-so’s eyes were back to normal. He looked closely at Ho Gamyeong.

“There are those who are shaken?”

“Yes, Lord.”

Jang Il-so chuckled.

“That’s not all, is it?”

Jang Il-so sat up a little.

“They really want to know if I was badly hurt in the fight with the monk and if I am sick now, right?”

Ho Gamyeong couldn’t bring himself to deny those words.

“If I am sick, they want to make my sickness worse so they can destroy me and take everything, right?”

Jang Il-so laughed like it was clear, then pushed his messy hair back.

“I see.”

“…Lord.”

“I have rested enough. I need to act again. Stop worrying and call the servants.”

It was a way of telling him to leave without saying it directly. But Ho Gamyeong did not leave right away, so Jang Il-so clicked his tongue quickly.

“You always worry too much, like an old man.”

Jang Il-so slowly stood up.

“I was going to act anyway. Even if I wanted to rest, I couldn’t. I can hear those pigs complaining even here.”

A strange smile appeared on Jang Il-so’s lips. Only after seeing that smile did Ho Gamyeong finally nod.

“I will call the servants.”

“Yes, do that. And bring alcohol too, while you are at it.”

“No, definitely not.”

“That’s mean.”

Ho Gamyeong turned and left the building. He knew one thing for sure: Jang Il-so was still Jang Il-so, no matter what.

But… Even so, Ho Gamyeong could not ask.

At least, not the real question he had in his heart.

Thump.

Alone again, Jang Il-so fell back onto the bed. His hand reached for a bottle of alcohol without thinking, but then stopped weakly.

He slowly leaned his head back. His blurry eyes looked up at the ceiling.

He could not see clearly.

The blurry ceiling became clear for a moment, then blurry again. No, it changed and became strange, not like before.

Red, so red.

He could never forget what he saw.

All the land was red. That red land seemed to cover the ceiling above him.

Everything was dead. It was like that red scene, which he should not have seen, was stuck in his eyes. It would not go away. He kept seeing it.

“…Now, even when I open my eyes, it’s still the same.”

He laughed quietly, but it sounded empty.

Everything in the world was blurry and strange, becoming part of that red place. Mixing, twisting, and breaking.

Everything he had made. Everything he had done. What he thought he had controlled. And… even Jang Il-so himself.

Red, red, red, everything red.

He could see everything in the world being destroyed as his sight became weaker and weaker.

And in the middle of that red world, he saw someone standing alone, tall and strong.

Jang Il-so’s hand, which had just stopped shaking, started to shake again.

That person, standing alone in the red world.

Just seeing him made it hard to breathe.

The back of someone he did not know. Someone who would destroy everything.

“Huh… He he.”

Jang Il-so laughed dryly.

“…I don’t have much time left.”

He needed to hurry.

His tired eyes slowly became red again. The red color of the world he was seeing, that dark red light.