Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1711

Im So-byeong’s mouth slowly gaped open in shock. *No,* he thought, *this can’t be happening.* His heart pounded in his chest. He felt like he couldn’t move.

The cliff was white, but now it was red with blood. Suddenly, cracks appeared everywhere. It looked like dragons were ripping the rock apart.

At the sight, which seemed to embody the very word ‘collapse,’ Im So-byeong screamed without realizing it, his voice cracking.

“Get back! It’s collapsing, raaaah!!”

Those who had been staring blankly at the cliff, just like him, turned ashen and threw themselves backward with all their might. Although the spot they needed to retreat to was crowded with the Evil Sect, a group known for being cruel, that was hardly a significant obstacle in the current situation.

Because they weren’t the only ones trying to escape the cliff’s demise.

Rumble! Rumble!

The red cliff twisted, quite literally. Along the web of cracks, the rock split and rubbed, creating a bizarre roar that made the hairs on everyone’s bodies stand on end. The air roared with the sound of splitting rock. Small stones pattered like rain. Underneath it all was a deep, groaning sound, like the mountain itself was crying.

And so, finally…

Kawaaaang!

With a sound like the sky and earth splitting, the cliff collapsed.

Everyone scattered in terror, fleeing in the opposite direction of the cliff.

Rumble!

Huge rocks, some as big as houses, crashed down. Dust and small stones flew everywhere, like a storm of rock. The air filled with the smell of crushed stone. All of it crashed down below the cliff under the banner of ‘terror.’

“Further! Retreat further! Further!”

Mo Yong-wi-gyeong roared until his throat was raw.

He had already witnessed an unparalleled hellscape in Hebei with his own eyes, but this collapse presented him with a different kind of fear.

“Bloody hell, I said retreat further!”

Everyone knew the cliff would fall. If you moved away quickly, you would be safe. That was the idea. Therefore, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that those who had moved away in advance would suffer no damage.

But even knowing that fact in their heads, they couldn’t remain calm when faced with such a massive collapse before their eyes. Faces turned white as paper. Eyes were wide with fear. Some people couldn’t even breathe properly.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Aaaaaaaaargh!”

Someone’s scream pierced through the enormous roar. Humans were mixed in with the collapsing cliff rocks, being crushed like dirt. It was truly a terrifying spectacle.

Kwaaaang!

Rocks that had broken off from the lower part of the cliff plummeted, shaking the ground. Even those who had retreated far from the cliff shuddered at the unfamiliar sensation of the ground beneath their feet vibrating violently.

And this was just the beginning.

Larger and more numerous rocks rained down like hail, literally swallowing the hundreds of people who had been standing on the cliff.

Im So-byeong, who had been watching the horrific and shocking scene in a daze, shifted his gaze toward the high place.

‘Please….’

He gripped his fan tightly without realizing it. The dry knuckles of his hand were bone-white.

Namgung Dowi stirred.

He had moved horizontally off the cliff before the collapse began, setting foot on land made of grass and soil, but his heart remained within that collapsing cliff.

Rumble!

That massive collapse might be swallowing Hwasan, who was on the cliff. But right now, he could only watch. He clenched his teeth so hard that the muscles in his jaw bulged.

“This…!”

“No, Dowi!”

Namgung Myeong grabbed Namgung Dowi’s shoulder tightly like steel and didn’t let go.

“Aaaaargh!”

Namgung Dowi’s eyes were bloodshot.

There was something else tormenting his heart in the midst of all this.

Those who had lost their footing were falling like rain. Namgung Dowi’s trained eyesight could accurately read the expressions on their faces as they fell, even amidst the dust that clouded the surroundings.

Disbelief, despair, and a terrible resentment.

It was the face of those who, until the very end, couldn’t believe they would be abandoned, the moment they faced their confirmed death. It was too miserable to bear looking at.

“Gosh….”

Lee Song-baek’s absent-minded voice was heard not far away.

The scale of the collapse far exceeded what they had expected.

This might not even reach half the level of the collapse that the Evil Sect had initially planned, but even so, the shock of that scene, as if an entire mountain was collapsing, did not fade. Lee Song-baek couldn’t move his body as if he had frozen.

Could anyone survive in there? There was no need to even consider it. No human made of flesh and blood could ever come out alive. Never….

“Don’t be reckless, Jin Geum-ryong!”

At that moment, Jongri-gok’s sharp voice pierced Lee Song-baek’s ears. Startled, he turned around to see Jongri-gok pressing down on Jin Geum-ryong’s shoulder with his scabbard.

He was surprised by Jongri-gok’s violent movement, but even more shocking was Jin Geum-ryong’s horribly distorted face.

“Jin Geum….”

“I know, Sect Leader!”

Jin Geum-ryong shouted, cutting off Jongri-gok’s words. His lower lip was bleeding from how hard he had bitten it.

Even if Jin Geum-ryong stepped forward now, there was nothing he could do. Now, they just had to wait. It wasn’t as if Jin Geum-ryong didn’t know that fact.

However…

Jin Geum-ryong, who had been silent for a moment, clenched his fist tightly.

“Sect Leader… it’s just… seeing us run away like this… just to save ourselves… it feels awful!”

“You….”

Jin Geum-ryong silently glared at the spot where the top of the cliff had been.

If it were them… they would have definitely escaped from that cliff. If Hwasan was a sect that would be so easily defeated, the prestigious Jongnam wouldn’t have been humiliated.

‘…Jin Dong-ryong.’

It had to be that way, definitely!

Rumble!

Gwak Hwe lost strength in his legs and collapsed on the spot.

Plop!

Perhaps because of the impact of his body hitting the ground, Jo Gul, who was being carried on his back, flinched and opened his eyes.

Forcing his heavy eyelids open, he struggled to look around and then grabbed Gwak Hwe’s shoulder. Even that small movement caused a painful groan to escape his lips.

“Ugh….”

The cliff where they had been standing and fighting fiercely just a moment ago had transformed into a bizarre shape.

The cliff that had been sticking high toward the sky was now gouged out as if someone had dug into it with a giant hoe.

And those who had been on it had disappeared.

Rumble!

Only the noise coming from the unseen depths and the intense vibrations transmitted through his entire body explained what was happening.

“Good heavens….”

It was a much greater tragedy than he had vaguely predicted. All Jo Gul could do was tremble with his mouth open.

A newly created void stretched out, right in front of the archers of the Southern Sea Sun Palace who had been standing there to block the retreat.

Jo Gul felt goosebumps rise on his skin for a moment. Cold sweat ran down his back.

What did this mean? It meant that if they had been just a little bit slower, they would have all collapsed along with the cliff. Without leaving a single person behind.

‘It’s a miracle….’

He was newly aware that they had succeeded in an escape that was close to a miracle. But he couldn’t bring himself to sigh in relief.

To the left and right of the collapsed cliff, there were barely any thin spaces remaining. In those parts, clinging precariously to the mountain, were the Evil Sect warriors who had collapsed from exhaustion.

They were the ones who had luckily avoided a death that no human power could have prevented.

Of course, those who were chosen by this fortune were not even half of those who had climbed the cliff.

Hundreds of Evil Sect warriors who were not chosen by that fortune fell in an instant and became wandering spirits. By the scheme of their own allies, not their enemies.

Grrr.

The sound of someone gritting their teeth while suppressing their anger was heard. There was no need to bother confirming who it was. After all, the feelings of those who were watching this scene were probably all similar.

It seems that the Heavenly Union fighters below fought back and disrupted the Evil Sect’s plan to make the collapse bigger. If they hadn’t, this cliff would have definitely collapsed completely.

Hearing Tang Gunak’s muttering, a hollow laugh escaped Jo Gul’s lips.

In other words, according to the Evil Sect’s plan, all the Evil Sect warriors should have died, but thanks to the desperate fight of the Heavenly Union, a little less than half of them survived.

What should he say about this situation?

“Patriarch, those people….”

“The battle is over.”

“……Yes?”

Tang Gunak stared intently at something beyond the collapsed cliff. Deep within his eyes, anger was boiling coldly.

“That’s probably… what the person who caused this knows best.”

Ho Ga-myeong stared at the collapsed cliff with a face as hard as stone.

As if he himself had become a rock in place of the collapsed cliff, he didn’t move an inch. He didn’t even let out a sigh, let alone speak.

His adjutants examined his complexion and spoke with difficulty.

“Strategist, what’s next….”

Ho Ga-myeong closed his eyes without a word. After taking a moment to compose himself, he slowly opened his eyes and unexpectedly chuckled.

“What’s next….”

As if stuck to the tip of his tongue, words that wouldn’t come out flowed out, feigning calmness.

“Retreat.”

“Str, Strategist! Did you say retreat now?”

“……That’s right.”

“But, there are, still….”

“The battle here is already over.”

“Str, Strategist. There are troops remaining on the cliff. Our forces can still….”

“That’s why.”

“……Yes?”

Ho Ga-myeong stared at the cliff that hadn’t completely collapsed. Since there was space remaining, about half of the warriors must have survived.

Simply put, it was a preservation of their forces, but looking at it coldly, it was like holding onto a bomb that could explode at any moment.

Unless they were fools, they would know what had happened to them. If their anger was swept up in the heat of battle, there would be no way to control the direction of their blades.

The Heavenly Union, which was positioned below the cliff, would never miss that opportunity.

If they had to risk everything here to win, he would take the risk and continue the attack, but the meaning of this battle wasn’t that grand in the first place.

However, one regret was unavoidable.

‘If only….’

If only that cliff had completely collapsed, turning even the Evil Sect warriors remaining on the cliff into mere wandering spirits….

‘No, that’s not it.’

However, Ho Ga-myeong soon shook his head.

What was done was already done. The fact that they managed to stop the collapse to that extent was also their skill, so he couldn’t deny it.

The Evil Sect led by Ho Ga-myeong was defeated by the Heavenly Union. That was all. Any more lingering feelings would be nothing more than a pathetic excuse.

“Send the retreat signal. We’re withdrawing.”

“Strategist….”

“How many times do I have to say it again?”

“Ah, no!”

The adjutants quickly sent the signal. Then, those around them quickly fired signal flares in all directions.

Ho Ga-myeong, who had been standing silently for a moment, let out a sneer.

“An upstart….”

They were defeated by those upstarts. Without any room for excuses.

The Evil Sect, which had even trampled Shaolin so mercilessly, had failed to withstand the names of Hwasan and the Heavenly Union, even though they had used their greatest card, ‘Jang Il-so,’ to keep the Plum Blossom Sword Demon away from this place.

“It’s just that I….”

Ho Ga-myeong, who had muttered quietly, stared endlessly at the cliff. As if he would dig himself into that place.

Then, after a long time, he turned his body sharply.

A streak of determination crossed his face as he went down the mountain, leaving the collapsed cliff behind.