Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1669

“Get out of the way! Raaah!!”

The disciples of the shaman scattered, throwing themselves backwards.

Thud! Thud!

The oil pouches flew into the empty space and burst as soon as they hit the ground. Immediately, flaming arrows rained down.

Whirr!

The flames spread instantly. The fire, so red it flickered with blue, soared high above the heads of grown men.

What would happen if they hadn’t dodged and had been caught in that inferno? What if they had been engulfed by those flames? What would happen would be too awful to think about.

“Senior Uncle, they’re coming again!”

“Re-retreat! Fall back, now!”

However skilled in martial arts they might be, they were still only human. It was no easy task to stand against such vicious flames. They had trained to cut, deflect, and thrust, not to fight fire.

“But, if we retreat from here…!”

“They are only human too! They cannot keep advancing through that fire!” Moo-jin shouted, emphasizing his point.

“Do not engage, fall back! Our task is not to slay the enemy, but to prevent them from ascending this place! Do not forget your duty!”

“Yes!”

The disciples of the Wudang, who had been thrown into disarray, began to regain their senses one by one at Moo-jin’s cry.

He was right, without a doubt. Fire did not distinguish between friend and foe. If the flames were enough to force the Wudang to retreat, then the enemy would not be able to advance through them easily either.

Which meant that when the flames subsided enough for them to advance, the Wudang would be able to re-engage. Therefore, it was right to retreat for now.

“They’re coming again!”

“Retreat!”

The disciples of the Wudang, with perfect coordination, leaped backwards, or rather, upwards along the slope. The Wudang’s Zeun-jong, said to be like riding the clouds, unfolded, carrying them through the bitter smoke that had risen in place of clouds.

And the moment their feet touched the ground again, they exhaled the breath they had unknowingly been holding.

‘The damage?’

There were some injuries, but only a couple of deaths at most. Though it pained him, if he looked at it coldly, it wasn’t a great loss. If they could calmly retreat first and then reorganize…

“Do not relax your guard!”

Though he shouted these words, Moo-jin thought that they could at least catch their breath at this point.

They would naturally continue to hurl oil pouches and shoot arrows, but by its very nature, the power of a thrown weapon diminished rapidly the further it traveled.

Moreover, shooting upwards from below would reduce the force by more than twice as much as throwing it directly.

So, as long as they didn’t let their guard down, they could prevent any further casualties. First, they could take a breather and wait for the flames to die down…

But it was at that moment.

“S-Senior Uncle! There! Look over there!”

Whirr!

The flames, which had been burning fiercely enough to melt the slope, seemed to surge for a moment, then distinctly split apart to the left and right.

“Wh-what?”

It was an unbelievable sight. Fire was not alive, nor did it possess a will, so how could it move on its own like that?

“Senior Uncle!”

A voice, like a scream, rang out. Soon, a group of figures emerged from between the parted flames.

“Oh… Oh!”

Moo-jin’s mouth fell open of its own accord.

It was the same group he had seen earlier.

The warriors of the Namhae Solar Palace, who had been throwing oil pouches and firing flaming arrows mercilessly, were calmly advancing through the heart of the raging flames, ascending the slope.

“How?”

The flames receded as they moved. But receding did not mean disappearing. The fire was merely diminished, but it still burned, and its heat was intense enough to melt rock.

How could they walk with their bare bodies through such a hellish inferno?

Moo-jin could not believe the sight before him and was left speechless. At that moment, one of the warriors of the Solar Palace, standing in the middle of the flames, gave a clear sneer.

“Foolish Zhongyuan bastards.”

Then he shouted.

“Fire! Let’s go straight to the top of the slope!”

Meanwhile, in the eyes of Jin-pyung, Lord of the Namhae Solar Palace, a thick dissatisfaction welled up. He twisted his lips with a face full of displeasure.

“Just for a place like this?”

He glared at the back of a man who stood with his hands behind his back, surveying the battle situation.

A worthless neck.

The one with the neck that Jin-pyung could snap at any moment, dared to ignore his words and was only watching the flames that had begun to spread anew on the steep slope.

The Solar Palace Lord’s face slightly contorted.

He could tolerate the wickedness of Jang Il-so, Lord of the Four Evil Alliances. Though he never wanted to say it out loud, Jang Il-so was a man he had no choice but to acknowledge. Such a man he was.

But he could not bear the fact that a mere strategist, who had not even reached the pinnacle of martial arts, was also ignoring him.

Jin-pyung had always believed that in order to command people, one must possess the qualifications to match.

“Hey! Are you deaf?” Jin-pyung asked with anger in his voice.

Only then did Ho Ga-myung, who had been staring ahead, glance back at Jin-pyung. The moment Jin-pyung saw Ho Ga-myung’s indifferent eyes, his eyebrows twitched uncomfortably.

Ho Ga-myung, the strategist of the Four Evil Alliances. The one who received more affection than anyone else as Jang Il-so’s confidant.

Jin-pyung had heard countless evaluations of Ho Ga-myung, but frankly, it was difficult to accept them as they were.

No matter how much he flew and crawled, he was just a strategist.

A strategist was no different from a military textbook that a ruler took out and checked before making a decision. How could he like the sight of such a guy daring to have authority and reigning as the second-in-command of the Four Evil Alliances?

“What do you want?” Ho Ga-myung asked with a cold voice.

It was even more so if that strategist was so presumptuous as to stare straight at the Lord of the Namhae Solar Palace and open his mouth.

“Did you ask for the Sacred Fire to be brought out just to use it in a place like this?” Jin-pyung asked.

The word ‘Sacred Fire’ is inherently a symbol in sects with strong religious tendencies. However, the Sacred Fire referred to by the Namhae Solar Palace simply refers to oil.

The disciples of the Namhae Solar Palace, who pursued the extremes of Yeolhyang Gong, naturally had no choice but to be interested in the use of fire. That was how the Sacred Fire was created.

Thus, in the Namhae Solar Palace, the Sacred Fire refers to both the special oil that creates flames and the fire attached to that oil.

The ‘Sacred Fire’ was special oil, a treasure of the Solar Palace. It burned hotter and longer than normal fire and was very hard to put out.

But…

“Do you know how much enormous funds and manpower are consumed to create a single drop of Sacred Fire?” Jin-pyung asked.

“……”

“And do you know how valuable those who handle the Sacred Fire are to the palace’s forces?”

The heat emitted by the Sacred Fire far exceeds the temperature of ordinary fire. Therefore, those who handle the Sacred Fire are inevitably the most carefully selected elites, even within the Namhae Solar Palace, which boasts the best Yeolhyang Gong in the world.

The Solar Palace Lord almost never used the Sacred Fire for small things. It was the most important thing in the Solar Palace.

“They are using such important people for such a small job?”

“It’s not a small job.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It is very important, actually.”

“You mean just opening this little hill? You could burn down many groups at once with the Sacred Fire!”

“…It seems you think too highly of your Sacred Fire.”

The Solar Palace Lord didn’t get angry, but the guards behind him did.

“What is this guy saying?!” one guard shouted.

“Stop!” Jinpyeong raised his hand quickly to quiet them before they could cause trouble.

He looked hard at Hogamyeong. His eyes were like bright, angry blue flames.

“What do you mean?”

“The Sacred Fire is just oil that burns easily. And we are fighting Wudang. Simple tricks like this won’t work on them.”

“…Are you saying our Sacred Fire is not strong?”

“Maybe.”

Hogamyeong looked quickly at the hill.

“Look, it’s already starting.”

The Solar Palace Lord looked where Hogamyeong was looking.

*Whoosh!* Another fire arrow flew through the air, and the oil on the ground burst into flames. The Wudang fighters stepped back, their faces white with fear. Worried voices shouted from everywhere.

“Master!”

“……”

“What can we do? If this keeps happening…!”

Mujin’s face was now also very pale. He wanted to ask something. The Solar Palace people were walking through the fire they had made! What were they doing? They walked through flames that could burn a person as if it was nothing!

‘Solar Palace!’ People said the Southern Sea Solar Palace’s Scorching Yang Skill was the best, but could they really walk through fire like this? Mujin saw their bodies shine for a moment in the firelight. He guessed they were using something else besides just the Scorching Yang Skill. He didn’t know how to stop them.

“Re, retreat…”

“Master, the hill almost ends here! Up there is…” The top of Baegan Rock. If they were pushed back, they would lose the high ground, which would be like losing the fight. The top of Baegan Rock was a big open space. The enemy would be even stronger there because they have more people.

What should he do? Should they really retreat all the way back? Or… Maybe the Mu division could stop the oil and arrows. But if he told the Jin division to fight them directly on this hill, it would be like sending them to their deaths.

Then…

“They’re coming again!”

*Whoosh!*

Before he could continue his thoughts, more oil and fire arrows streaked through the air. It was just as Mujin was about to shout out a warning again.

*Swoosh!*

“Huh!”

“What are you doing?!” Someone rushed forward, swinging his sword at the oil and arrows falling down.

His black sword moved in circles, pulling the oil and arrows together in the middle, and then throwing them over the edge of the cliff all at once.

*Whoosh!* The burning oil caught fire in the air and fell like rain on the Sapa Ryun fighters climbing up.

“Wha, what’s happening?!”

“Fire! Fire!”

The Sapa Ryun fighters were surprised by the fire rain from above and screamed in pain.

Mujin stared, not knowing what to say, at the person who had stepped forward.

“Fire, oil, arrows… it doesn’t matter…”

“Jin Hyun?”

“The Wudang sword can even control water. It can definitely handle this fire.”

Jin Hyun held his sword straight out. He pointed it at the Solar Palace fighters climbing the hill, walking through the flames like they were nothing.

“Right?”

Mujin bit his lip hard.

Jin Hyun was right. It was so clear. But for a moment, he had forgotten something so simple.

“Jin Hyun…”

“Master, I know you are worried about us. But please, trust us a little more.”

Mujin closed his eyes tightly for a moment, feeling pain in his heart.

He was making the same mistake that the older generation had made, the mistake he hated so much.

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Mujin calmed himself down. He pulled out his sword and stood next to Jin Hyun.

That’s right. Divisions didn’t matter now. They were all swordsmen fighting for their lives. He needed to trust the others who fought with the same Wudang sword.

“Hold this place! Fire, oil, anything! The Wudang sword can face anything!”

The Wudang swordsmen, who had been trying to dodge the attacks, now looked determined again.

“Master Heo Gong is on the cliff above! Protect him with your lives!”

“Yes!”

More fire arrows fell down. The Wudang swords moved together.

“…Simple tricks didn’t work?” The Solar Palace Lord looked very angry.

“You are the one who wanted these simple tricks!”

“Simple tricks are useful. They can make the enemy step back a little.”

“…So what good is it? Are you saying we can’t get past that place?”

“No, but we can save a lot of something important.”

“What?”

“Time.”

The Solar Palace Lord became even angrier. He still didn’t understand. Just then, Hogamyeong spoke quietly, almost to himself.

“Losing people is okay… but if we went around the hill and took the path behind the mountain, it would take at least five hours. And in five hours, the whole fight could be over.”

“…”

“If this fire can save those five hours, then you, Palace Lord, will have done the most important thing in this battle, even if you did nothing else.”

The Solar Palace Lord looked closely at Hogamyeong, who seemed to be talking to himself and not caring about him.

“…You are too bold.”

But the Solar Palace Lord didn’t say anything else bad. He just added, “I don’t know if you think our Sacred Fire is weak or if you think those Wudang guys are too strong. But the Solar Palace warriors will take not just this hill, but the whole mountain top, all at once!”

“If that happens, it would be perfect.” Hogamyeong said without any feeling in his voice.

The Solar Palace Lord had been watching him closely. Now, he turned and walked away quickly. He walked roughly, like he didn’t want to be there anymore.

Hogamyeong looked at him and smiled slightly in a mocking way.

‘Arrogant.’

Just oil that burns easily? If Wudang could be beaten with something like that, they wouldn’t be so famous and respected for so long.

But…

Hogamyeong’s calm eyes suddenly changed. For a second, they shone with a cold blue light. Because of the fire, they were almost at the top of the hill. Now, they just needed to fight through the last part.

‘I need to be fast.’

He looked to the west, past the fighting, to where the main battle was happening. A strange worry showed in his eyes, eyes that were usually so calm.

‘Before *he* comes… before the one who will change everything arrives.’

*That* was why time was so important. It was a worry he couldn’t share with anyone, a heavy feeling in his chest.