Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1765

“Save me…”

A merciless sword pierced the woman’s chest. Her eyes wide, she groped for the sword.

The sword slid out.

She barely resisted. Soon, the woman breathed her last, collapsing as if broken, never to rise again.

Ho Gamyung watched, his eyes shadowed.

It was not a nice sight. But Ho Gamyung felt more than just dislike at killing someone helpless.

It was because the person whose life was taken without any fault didn’t hold even a glint of resentment in her eyes at the last moment.

‘Resentment, huh……’

Maybe she was too afraid to feel angry. That’s what being helpless was like.

Ho Gamyung stared blankly ahead.

The village was burning, spewing black smoke. There were no survivors. Though it was a small village, nearly hundreds of people lost their lives in less than half an hour.

He faced the result he had created with a single gesture, a single word, in silence.

After some time had passed, Ho Gamyung slowly gestured with his chin.

“Stoke the fire higher.”

“Yes!”

“Which village is next?”

“It is five ri ahead from here.”

How many villages had been reduced to ashes so far?

He had personally led his subordinates to burn down two villages. Perhaps more than ten villages had disappeared by now. Of course, the lives of those who lived within them as well.

Ho Gamyung took a long breath through his nose.

‘It’s almost absurd.’

Even during this chaos, the enemies hadn’t come. They might not even arrive in time for the village that was only five ri away from here.

They were afraid of the Blood Palace, but they were too slow to react, which was ridiculous.

Did they believe so firmly that the Four Great Evils wouldn’t attack civilians? On what basis?

“This will lead us too deep.”

Ho Gamyung’s eyes narrowed slightly. Unless they were tricking us and retreating, they would have to come closer to fight us because they were late.

He weighed the options in his head. The risks would increase, but they could shake up the enemies that much more.

“Move immediately after setting the fire.”

“Yes, strategist.”

“Advance swiftly and destroy more villages. Send messengers to those attacking in other directions as well. However, avoid direct engagement at all costs.”

“Yes!”

The flames engulfing the village captivated Ho Gamyung’s eyes.

‘There’s no need to even draw a sword.’

Showing them this spectacle was enough. Now, those bastards wouldn’t be able to stay holed up in the mountains any longer. The burning villages and piled-up corpses would become a hellscape created by their complacency.

Ho Gamyung didn’t doubt that they had good intentions. But he didn’t believe that they had justice.

Justice is only good if it’s there when you need it. Justice that is missing when people need it is worse than simple evil.

Yes. When it’s needed…….

Ho Gamyung suddenly wondered.

If even a faint and insignificant justice had existed beside him back then, when he desperately needed something… would his subsequent choices and the life resulting from them have been different?

“Strategist. Preparations are complete.”

At the voice from beside him, Ho Gamyung glanced towards Mount Wudang.

“Pointless thoughts.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s move.”

A hollow laugh escaped him for some reason.

‘It’s not the Sect Leader’s fault.’

He might be wavering as well. Seeing him having these thoughts.

“Strategist, over there……!”

“Hmm?”

In that instant, Ho Gamyung’s eyes gleamed.

Some movement was detected on one side of the foothills of Wudang far in the distance. It was so far that even with his keen eyesight, it only felt like a faint ripple, but thanks to Mount Wudang being burned and barren, he could be certain.

Something was definitely moving from there.

“They’re coming quickly.”

“What should we do, strategist?”

Ho Gamyung declared with a chilling face, “The order will not be withdrawn.”

“The more sins accumulate, the more power they exert. Fuel their guilt with more corpses.”

“Yes!”

A cold sneer spread across Ho Gamyung’s face.

‘A faint justice…….’

There’s no way such a thing could exist. Justice without power is no longer justice.

Meanwhile, somewhere else…

Clang!

Swords clashed.

Soon, one sword was weakly deflected. The body of the one wielding the sword tumbled helplessly.

“You rat-like bastard!”

A sword, filled with power, came down on the dirty man.

Wham!

Then, the one rolling on the ground instantly extended his sword.

Clack!

The moment the two swords intertwined in the air once more, the direction of the sword that had been forcefully descending twisted, striking the innocent ground instead.

“Damn it!”

Thwack!

The Four Great Evils warrior, enraged by the missed strike, kicked Baek Cheon, the man covered in dirt, in the stomach. Unable to do anything this time, Baek Cheon floated into the air before falling helplessly.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

A stifled groan burst out as his breath was momentarily cut off.

“Die, you cripple!”

Another Four Great Evils warrior’s long spear flew towards Baek Cheon’s chest with a chilling sound.

Baek Cheon coughed up blood, gritted his teeth, and threw himself at the spear.

Wham.

His body twisted, and his left shoulder shot towards the tip of the spear. His shoulder just missed the spear point, hitting the side of the blade and knocking it away.

Thwoom!

At the same time, Baek Cheon spun his body, plunging into the chest of the Four Great Evils warrior.

“Trying to be clever!”

Knowing what Baek Cheon would do, the warrior pulled back his spear, using the handle to block his chest. But Baek Cheon’s body rotated once more. Then, Baek Cheon’s sword, glowing blue, swung in an arc towards the warrior’s neck.

Dust filled the air. Chang-soo watched the enemy move, his heart beating fast. “Gasp!” he cried, taking a deep breath. He jumped back in fear, pulling his spear up high.

Clang!

He just managed to block the attack. This strange way of fighting with the sword looked scary, but it wasn’t actually very strong. As long as I can block it, Chang-soo thought, I’m safe.

Chang-soo smiled, sure he would win. But then, the sword moved quickly down his spear, like water running down a stick.

Scritch!

The fingers holding the spear were cut off and flew into the air. Chang-soo screamed, surprised by the sudden attack.

“Aargh!”

Baek-cheon grabbed the enemy’s spear, getting tangled up with Chang-soo.

“Get off me, you crazy fool!”

Thwack!

The spear, used with one hand, hit Baek-cheon’s face hard.

Crack!

But Baek-cheon didn’t move. He grabbed his sword and stabbed Chang-soo in the side. Chang-soo, hit in the lung, couldn’t scream. He shook and then fell down, dead.

“Th-that…”

Drip. Drip.

Warm blood streamed down Baek-cheon’s face, like hot tears, where the spear had hit him.

He pushed Chang-soo’s body off and stood up. He was unsteady, but he held his sword high.

“…Tenacious bastard.”

The man who had kicked Baek-cheon looked at him, a little scared.

Baek-cheon’s face was pale and covered in sweat. He moved slowly, each step looking painful. He hadn’t been in good shape to begin with, and now he was a mess. His clothes were dirty and covered in dark red blood. He had cuts all over, and blood kept flowing.

But he didn’t seem to care.

Maybe he had a reason. He was hurt, but there were four dead bodies around him.

The Sapaeryeon swordsman couldn’t believe it. How could this be happening?

‘How on earth did we lose four…?’

He wasn’t strong. He was actually weak. So why couldn’t they beat him? Why were they the ones dying?

He wasn’t strong or fast. They should be able to cut him down easily. But they could only cut his skin.

“Huh! Huh! Huh!”

Baek-cheon was breathing hard.

‘I can’t breathe right.’

He couldn’t control his breath. His body was giving out.

‘I’m so weak…’

He knew he was weak, but it was still shocking.

But he could still fight. He was still breathing and moving.

He looked past the men in front of him, to the back. He saw the villagers running away, leaving the village.

Only a few were escaping. Baek-cheon could only protect about ten people from the start. Saving just a few wouldn’t save everyone in the village.

He had only made it possible for a few to live.

But was that worthless?

“What are you doing! Kill him now!”

“…Then you do it.”

“You cowardly bastard…”

“What?”

The Sapaeryeon swordsmen were arguing.

Even though they knew he was weak, none of them wanted to attack. The dead bodies on the ground and his strange sword fighting made them nervous.

It wasn’t just fear of someone stronger. No one wants to die in a shameful way. Dying to this weak man would be a shameful death.

“Damn it! Just rush him all together!”

They all frowned at the outburst.

They knew it was silly to worry about pride when someone had already died. But even for bad guys, it felt embarrassing to gang up on a hurt man.

“Damn it!”

But ganging up seemed safest, so they got ready and slowly moved closer to Baek-cheon.

Baek-cheon sighed deeply.

‘No one is coming to help.’

Even if someone did come, they would be too late. Baek-cheon couldn’t fight them all at once. That was clear.

So, the end was near.

Baek-cheon cleared his mind. Thinking wouldn’t change anything. He would fight until he couldn’t anymore.

“Kill!”

The Sapaeryeon swordsmen screamed and charged.

‘Use their strength against them…’

Clang!

He blocked the first sword. But before he could use that block, another sword hit him hard in the chest.

“Ugh!”

He lifted his knee to block it, but another sword cut his side. Then, many more swords hit him before he could move his own sword.

Clang clang clang!

Crack!

The thing he had fixed broke, and his sword flew away. At the same time, the force of the attack slammed into his chest.

Wham!

Baek-cheon flew through the air and crashed to the ground.

“Uwaaaaargh!”

The Sapaeryeon swordsmen laughed as Baek-cheon coughed up dark blood.

“Damn it. It was that easy.”

If they hadn’t been so proud, they wouldn’t have wasted time. They were angry and walked toward Baek-cheon.

Baek-cheon breathed heavily, his face relaxed.

‘Is this the end…’

Even being tough only works if you have some strength left. He was already hurt and had lost his sword. He couldn’t fight anymore.

“Just finish it… cowards.”

“You damned bastard. We’ll do what you want!”

A Sapaeryeon swordsman ran at Baek-cheon, ready to kill. Baek-cheon stared at the sword coming down, his eyes wide. He didn’t give up, even as he was about to die. That was his last bit of pride.

Scritch!

The sound of a sword cutting through flesh echoed. Hot blood poured onto Baek-cheon’s face.

“…Ah.”

But his eyes were still bright. They were wide with surprise.

Thud.

The blood on his face wasn’t his. It was coming from the neck of the Sapaeryeon swordsman who had just lost his head.

“What…”

Plop. Plop.

The heads of the men in front of Baek-cheon fell. Their bodies fell like broken dolls. It was too easy.

Baek-cheon was confused. He looked around.

“You are…?”

Someone was standing very close to him.