Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1694

Thwack.

A sharp sound echoed as fingers, hidden within a sleeve, snapped together.

Ho Gamyeong’s gaze darkened.

“Strategist! Just now…….”

“No need for such a fuss.”

His voice was calm, without any worry.

Something went wrong when they tried to break the cliff, so the plan changed slightly.

“We have enough troops and bombs left. We can easily make up for such a small loss.”

“Yes!”

Ho Gamyeong watched the situation with a serious face.

The shaking of the cliff slowly stopped. Dust and small rocks still fell, but soon the strong fighters of the Sun Palace started moving again. Ho Gamyeong nodded a little, watching them.

*These explosives are stronger than I expected,* he thought.

He had not thought much of Im Eup. *How good could bombs made by rough people in the borderlands be?* But surprisingly, the bombs they used were very powerful.

*If they are this strong,* he thought, *the rest of the bombs will be more than enough to destroy the whole cliff.*

*And the Sun Palace disciples are more loyal than I thought.*

Even though their friend was killed in the explosion, they still continued their mission.

*Are they like royalty or something?*

Ho Gamyeong changed his mind a little about the Sun Palace Lord. Whoever he was, it was clear that his men were completely loyal to him.

“Strategist, is it possible that they might realize what’s happening?”

“Maybe.”

“Th, then?”

“Even if they do, nothing will change.”

“Isn’t it possible they might try to climb the mountain instead?”

Ho Gamyeong spoke coldly.

“I have already sent troops behind the mountain. Those who didn’t go into the cliff will stop them from escaping.”

The adjutant looked at Ho Gamyeong, horrified.

So, the plan to use the troops behind the mountain to surround the cliff top wasn’t to surround Wudang, but to block Hwasan from reaching the top?

*Going down the cliff is even more impossible.*

The cliff was already going to collapse. Going down would be like digging their own graves.

In other words, they couldn’t escape.

The adjutant was filled with admiration.

“To think they would fall for it so easily… No one can beat the Strategist’s plans.”

“Is that so?”

“……Yes?”

The adjutant looked at him, confused, but Ho Gamyeong didn’t feel the need to explain.

*An excellent plan…….*

Ho Gamyeong scoffed.

*It’s just that the Plum Blossom Sword Saint isn’t here.*

If the Plum Blossom Sword Saint was here, he would have seen through the plan as soon as he saw the cliff. He was definitely capable of that.

Tactics?

Ho Gamyeong wasn’t saying the Plum Blossom Sword Saint was a better tactician. In fact, he thought Im So-byeong, the Green Forest King, was much better at tactics.

But even so, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint could understand things that Im So-byeong and Ho Gamyeong couldn’t. That was for sure.

*But not Hwasan.*

Ho Gamyeong didn’t deny that Hwasan was good.

But they were just followers. Followers were proud of their past successes and just wanted to repeat them.

It was too easy to trick people like that. All you had to do was show them the path they had taken before, a path that wasn’t easy but could be done.

Then they would have to rush in. You just had to remind them of a feeling of danger, a sense of mission, and too much confidence in what they had already done.

So.

“Hwasan without the Plum Blossom Sword Saint is nothing.”

Of course, to finish this perfectly would cost a lot on their side too…

*This much sacrifice is worth it to cut Hwasan out of the Heavenly Union and hurt the Plum Blossom Sword Saint.*

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes flashed coldly.

It wasn’t hard.

He just had to admit that he wasn’t as good as the Plum Blossom Sword Saint.

It wasn’t easy for him, who had only focused on tactics his whole life, to be worse than a swordsman, but once he admitted it, there were many ways to win.

“However… Strategist, our plan was discovered sooner than we thought. Won’t the Heavenly Union do something?”

“Are they going to climb the cliff that will collapse soon to fight back? To be buried alive in Hwasan’s grave?”

“Of course, that’s…….”

“That’s what I want. But I don’t think they’re that foolish.”

Ho Gamyeong looked down towards the bottom of the cliff.

“I don’t think the agreement they were talking about is completely fake. Even if it’s strange, if they believe in it and follow it, it must have some meaning.”

“I think so too.”

“But we need to think about whether now is the right time to talk about an agreement. Is dying like a dog considered making an agreement?”

“Ah…….”

At those words, the adjutant made a small sound and looked back at the cliff.

As Ho Gamyeong said, climbing that cliff now was like throwing your life away for nothing. That was crazy, not agreement or loyalty.

If they were that reckless, they couldn’t have become the leaders of famous sects in the Jianghu.

“You trusted your fellow disciples too much, Plum Blossom Sword Saint.”

Ho Gamyeong’s lips twisted slightly.

The Heavenly Union without the Plum Blossom Sword Saint was just a group of fools, and the Four Evil Sects without Jang Il-so were just a mess. But the Four Evil Sects were a little better. That small difference would decide what happened here.

“Now…….”

Ho Gamyeong was about to give another order.

“Strategist! Over there!”

Surprised by the sudden shout, Ho Gamyeong stopped thinking and looked towards the cliff.

It started from the lower part of the cliff. A bright white line was being drawn on the red cliff, clear enough to see even in the dark. It was very thin, but it shone brightly.

Ho Gamyeong’s face became serious.

“Strategist, that’s…….”

“Ha. You never know how crazy people can be.”

Ho Gamyeong said with a scoff.

“Leave him alone. He can’t do anything by himself.”

But even so, he kept watching the dangerous white line.

Crack!

Namgung Dowi’s feet kicked off the cliff quickly.

“Dowi-yaaaa!”

Namgung Myung and the Namgung Clan members screamed from behind, but Namgung Dowi didn’t even turn around. His angry eyes were only watching the archers of the Southern Sea Sun Palace, who were running across the cliff.

The explosion had surprised them too, and they seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon they reorganized and started moving back to the center of the cliff.

*This…!*

Namgung Dowi, clenching his teeth so hard that his jaw hurt, used all his inner energy.

His body became a streak of light as he flew up the cliff.

As he kicked off the cliff, a rock that had been loosened by the explosion broke off, and his foot slipped. His body, which had been speeding up, suddenly fell downwards.

“Young Master!”

It was a cliff that was steeper than straight up. One wrong step could kill him.

Crack!

Namgung Dowi reached out and slammed his hand into the cliff with all his strength. He couldn’t use his inner energy properly because he was in a hurry, and his fingers felt like they were broken.

But Namgung Dowi pulled himself up without stopping and rushed upwards.

Bang!

He kicked off the cliff again. With a face like a demon, Namgung Dowi climbed the cliff.

The Namgung Clan was known for their swordsmanship. But their lightness skill wasn’t as good. Namgung Dowi knew this.

To climb a steep cliff with all your strength when your lightness skill wasn’t good enough was like risking your life. Since the cliff could collapse at any moment, it was like killing himself.

But Namgung Dowi didn’t care about any of that.

He forgot everything: the things he had to protect as the future leader of the Namgung Clan, his own safety, and even what would happen if he put himself in danger.

*Did they think?*

Whoosh!

Namgung Dowi’s feet kicked off the cliff as fast as a flying tiger.

When his body swayed, he slammed his sword into the cliff, kicked off the cliff again. His body, which was getting faster, was now shooting forward like an arrow.

“Taaaah!”

Namgung Dowi screamed, filled with anger, as he used all his inner energy as if there was no tomorrow.

Rumble. Rumble.

The shaking that felt like the earth was collapsing slowly stopped.

A silence like death fell.

After a while, someone barely broke the silence, muttering in confusion.

“Wh, what’s going on?”

“Is it an earthquake?”

Confusion spread quickly, to both friends and enemies.

Those who had been fighting each other like angry animals stopped and looked around.

In the strange atmosphere, Tang Gunak bit his lip and stood up.

*Could it be…….*

He looked at the edge of the cliff.

It wasn’t hard to guess what was happening below from the shaking and roaring. He didn’t know how it was possible, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

“What, what’s going on!”

Even they didn’t know.

They were very confused and didn’t know what to do.

Even those who were part of the Four Evil Sects, at least those who were risking their lives for the Four Evil Sects here, didn’t know what was happening.

But Tang Gunak understood the situation.

“Are you going to sacrifice everyone here just to kill us?”

He wasn’t asking himself, but the person in front of him.

Cheonmyeon Susa, Dam Yeo-hae.

He was the leader of the Hao Clan and could have been the second-in-command of the Four Evil Sects. He was so skilled and well-known that you could say he was better than Ho Gamyeong.

But now he was here, in the middle of hell.

“No matter how good your movement skill is, you can’t be sure you’ll survive here, can you? I can’t believe you would agree to such a crazy thing.”

Tang Gunak spoke, watching Cheonmyeon Susa closely. He hoped to see something in Cheonmyeon Susa’s reaction.

If the explosion was over, and if they had a way out, then Dam Yeo-hae would at least be calm.

Then it would mean there was still hope in this place that could turn into hell at any moment.

“Your loyalty to Jang Il-so is more than I thought…….”

But Tang Gunak didn’t finish his sentence.

Because Dam Yeo-hae, who had been staring at the edge of the cliff, turned to face him. Dam Yeo-hae looked as bad as Tang Gunak could imagine.

“Ho…… Gamyeong.”

His face was twisted with terror, anger, and despair.

“Th, that rat bastard!”

A terrifying killing intent came from Dam Yeo-hae.

*Even Cheonmyeon Susa didn’t know.*

It wasn’t a sacrifice, but bait. It meant that even the leader of the Hao Clan, the second-in-command of the Four Evil Sects, had been used as bait.

“……This is something you can’t help but fall for.”

A trap that wasn’t even a trap. How could you avoid cutting off your own arm to save the opponent’s finger?

“Ho Gamyeong! Jang Il-sooooo!”

At that moment, Cheonmyeon Susa screamed in despair.

“Those dog-like bastards! How dare you! Aargh!”

That cry became a light of despair, falling down on the top of the cliff.