Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1631

Golden-brown drink filled a fancy glass. It looked strange in the simple room.

You could smell it was the best drink even before tasting it. It was poured until it overflowed.

People watching looked worried. You could feel the tension in the air.

An old man with a rat-like face, sweating, kept glancing at the person holding the bottle and cautiously opened his mouth.

“L…Lord Palace Master……”

Clang!

As if the voice were a signal, the bottle the man was holding shattered, scattering fragments everywhere.

“L, Lord Palace Master!”

The old man screamed in terror, but the expression of the one who had caused this remained unchanged.

“How many days has it been since the war ended?”

The man, Jin-pyeong, the Lord of the Southern Sea Solar Palace, had been silently watching the drink soak his hands and drip down. He grabbed the glass roughly.

“The blood has boiled over, and the victory is already as good as ours. And yet… all I do is hole up in this wretched room, drinking.”

The old man apologized, “My apologies, Lord Palace Master.”

Jin-pyeong’s eyes twisted menacingly. “This is ridiculous, my situation. I didn’t come all this way for this.”

He found nothing to like about it.

He was like this glass. Just as the glass did not suit this shabby room, he was not one to linger in such a place. If he wasn’t supposed to fight and conquer the Central Plains, there was no reason for him to be here.

And yet, he, who had lived like a king in the Southern Sea, was now wasting time in this run-down hut! If the royals who had expected him to trample the Central Plains knew this, how much would they make fun of him?

Jin-pyeong emptied the glass in one gulp.

The aroma filled his mouth, but he was too angry to even properly appreciate it.

“Is this slowness how things are done in the Central Plains?”

The more he thought about it, the less he understood.

The one who achieved a great victory was holed up in his room, doing who knows what, and the one who suffered a great defeat was holed up in his base, arguing to the death, wasn’t he?

Of course, things always calmed down after a big battle, but this, in his eyes, wasn’t even worth calling a lull.

Just silence that meant nothing. Nothing more.

Trying not to make him even more uncomfortable, the old man spoke.

“It is only natural that you feel frustrated, Lord Palace Master.”

“What are you talking about?” Jin-pyeong asked.

“The strength of the Central Plains may be greater than that of Lim Eup, but that is only when comparing countries and regions. How many people among them are as good as you, Lord Palace Master?”

“It is only natural that the actions of lesser beings do not meet your expectations. So, please don’t be too frustrated. The enemy is just a survivor of a dogfight between inferior beings who lack even dignity. Just because they are powerful and famous, do they think they are better than you?”

Sweet.

Of course. From the start, that was all they were worth. Usually, Jin-pyeong would have quickly cheered up at those words and burst into laughter. What would those unimportant people from other groups know that would impress him?

But now, such words didn’t even make him smile.

That was probably because he knew that his situation was no different from this glass: placed in an unsuitable place, yet unable to do anything himself, a glass that had to wait for someone to pour the drink.

Jin-pyeong’s eyes sank heavily.

– Good boy.

The glass trembled slightly.

Good boy. Had he ever heard such words in his life?

Born as a royal, he had been respected by everyone since he was a child who could not even speak properly. If he had not entered the Solar Palace, he would have been born with a noble status that would have allowed him to hold a position second only to the king.

And yet, the Solar Palace Lord was being called that by a mere commoner…

“Lord Palace Master, there is no need to pay attention to them. They are just ignorant and don’t know now.”

“Shut up,” Jin-pyeong said.

“Soon, they will realize how brilliant and great you are, Lord Palace Master, and bow their heads…”

Bang!

At that moment, with a great explosion, the old man tumbled backward.

Clatter. Clatter.

The jade glass fell to the floor, covered not with the golden-brown drink that had been in it a moment ago, but with… a red liquid.

Jin-pyeong gritted his teeth hard enough to be heard clearly.

“I told you to shut that mouth.”

Those who were terrified by the clear murderous intent quickly bowed their heads, trembling, afraid to even make eye contact.

Jin-pyeong wiped his face with trembling fingertips.

‘The defeated general…….’

Had there ever been anyone who had humiliated him this much in his life?

What was even more humiliating was that he couldn’t even go to Jang Il-so and scold him, even though he was doing things that he could not understand at all.

Why?

From the start, the Solar Palace had not given in to the Sinister Alliance. Even if they had, they should still be able to speak up in this strange situation.

But why was he quietly stuck here? Why?

Jin-pyeong groaned. He was angry and also hopeless.

Because he knew the answer, because he knew it better than anyone else.

“Bring more drink.”

“……”

“Immediately!”

“Yes! Yes! Lord Palace Master!”

Those who had been bowing their heads were terrified and ran towards the door, desperately throwing it open and running as if competing to be the first to leave.

“Eek!”

Everyone froze. Because there was a person standing in front of the door.

“The… Defeated……”

A bright red robe, a face as white as if powder would rub off if touched, hair as black as ebony, light-colored eyes, and lips as red as if they were frightening.

Facing Jang Il-so right in front of them, they froze like rats meeting a snake. His gloomy, sunken eyes swept over those standing before him.

“Hmm.”

A lazy sound came from his slightly twisted lips.

“Would you mind moving aside?”

But no one could move. Even though they had clearly heard the words, the words didn’t register as ‘meaning’. It was just fear.

The moment Jang Il-so slightly frowned, a voice came from behind.

“Bring him in.”

Those who had barely come to their senses at Jin-pyeong’s voice flinched and looked back. Then, they quickly moved to the left and right. Soon, following the opened path, Jang Il-so slowly entered the room.

Creak. Creak. Splat.

His red flower shoes stepped on the floor and then stepped on a puddle of blood-mixed drink. Jang Il-so glanced at the glass that had fallen on the floor and the person who seemed to have died and collapsed, then shook his head.

“Oh, my… How violent.”

Soon, his gaze turned to Jin-pyeong.

“You seem frustrated?”

“Thanks to whom,” Jin-pyeong replied briefly.

“Yes, it’s understandable. But… how can you vent that frustration on your subordinates? How pathetic.”

Jin-pyeong clenched his fist tightly.

Whether it was intentional, or just the way he was, every word and expression he made turned Jin-pyeong’s insides upside down.

“Maybe. But I don’t think those words should be said by a commander who has won and wasted time enjoying wine and women?”

“Hee-ehm?”

At Jin-pyeong’s retort, Jang Il-so’s eyes gleamed in a teasing way. A chilling murderous intent flashed. But Jin-pyeong also met his eyes without backing down.

However, Jang Il-so’s eyes soon curved softly. The curve was like mockery and also like a challenge.

“Wine and women… No. No. If possible, please call it romance. Doesn’t that sound more elegant?”

Jin-pyeong bit his lip tightly without realizing it.

It would have been better if that bastard had openly expressed his anger and rage. But now, Jang Il-so was constantly laughing, as if Jin-pyeong was not his opponent, just as an adult doesn’t bother to argue with a young child.

Such eyes were new to him. No, they were eyes that he could not get used to, and should not get used to.

“It seems you have a lot of complaints about me. Then… what did our great Lord Palace Master want me to do?”

Jin-pyeong’s eyes twisted.

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“Then would I ask if I knew?”

Jin-pyeong couldn’t say anything.

It was understandable that he had retreated from that place. That was definitely the right decision.

But the enemy had suffered a great defeat, and their command system had fallen apart. Then, it would be natural to take advantage of this weak spot and keep attacking.

Because of Jang Il-so’s strange hiding, the Sinister Alliance had missed the victory they had won, a chance to win completely.

Nevertheless, Jin-pyeong was silent because he thought that Jang Il-so must know that.

As Jin-pyeong bit his lip tightly, Jang Il-so laughed softly.

“Victory… There’s no need to worry. The victory hasn’t disappeared as you fear. No, maybe now there’s a chance to seize an even more certain victory.”

“What are you talking about?” Jin-pyeong asked.

“Do you want to know?”

Jang Il-so took a step towards Jin-pyeong.

At that moment, Jin-pyeong felt like he couldn’t breathe.

‘This guy… something…….’

It was different. Something was definitely different from what he had seen before.

He couldn’t clearly know what it was, but the pressure that Jang Il-so gave him before was never this strong.

How could he describe it? Before, Jang Il-so was someone who hid a dagger in his arms and smiled. Now, he was like someone who held that dagger right in front of his neck. The feeling that his neck might be cut off with a single mistake made all the muscles in his body tense.

“It’s not hard to tell you. But before that, there’s one thing I need to confirm.”

“Wh…at?”

“What do you want?”

Jin-pyeong’s eyes were suspicious at the words he didn’t understand.

“Tell me, what do you want? Then I’ll tell you how to get what you want. In return… you only need to give up something very small.”

“Alliance Leader……”

“There’s no time.”

Those words brought a very short silence to the room, a strange silence as if time had stopped.

And at that moment, Jin-pyeong saw it: the dangerous, blue light around Jang Il-so, who was usually smiling in a teasing way. A chilling murderous intent that seemed to cut down everything his eyes touched.

“We need to hurry now, before it collapses, before everything I need to get my hands on, everything you need to get your hands on, disappears.”

“Alli……”

“Isn’t it better? There’s no need to think about the future anymore. You don’t have anything to regret even if you lose everything, do you? Isn’t that right? Haha. Hahaha. Hahahahaha!”

Jin-pyeong’s face turned white as Jang Il-so’s words poured out quickly.

‘What the hell is this guy…….’

Jang Il-so was smiling brightly. Unlike usual, he looked unsteady and somehow uneasy.

He scanned Jin-pyeong as if licking him.

“Tell me quickly. You have to fire the starting salute.”

Jin-pyeong’s mouth slowly opened as if he were possessed.

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes, who had been watching everything from the doorway, sank very heavily.