Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1786

1786. A strange feeling prickled the skin of the Beggars’ Union member hidden in the bushes. Something was wrong.

“Hmm?” he murmured, eyes narrowed.

He looked around. Nothing visible moved in the tall grass. He listened. Silence, except for the gentle rustle of leaves and the distant call of a bird. Nothing felt unusual on the wind. But deep down, a sense of unease grew, a silent alarm bell ringing in his senses.

*This feeling… danger.*

He hesitated for a moment, then his gaze snapped downwards, not outwards, but to the ground beneath his worn boots.

A faint vibration. Very slight. Easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention. But it was there. Real.

*Not an earthquake,* he thought quickly, dismissing the idea. Earthquakes were sudden, violent. This was different. It was slow, steady, growing stronger bit by bit, in a rhythm. This vibration was…

In an instant, understanding flashed in the beggar’s mind. He turned his head sharply, looking out across the vast prairie.

The prairie stretched endlessly, a sea of tall grass swaying gently in the breeze. The air was still and quiet, except for the buzzing of insects. And at the very edge of that prairie, something flickered at the horizon. Not quite solid, more like heat rising from the ground on a hot day – a shimmering haze.

“Uh……” The beggar’s mouth dropped open.

Soon, the shimmering haze became clearer. It was moving. It was vast. The beggar’s breath hitched in his throat as he realized what he was seeing. A massive army, marching across the horizon. The Four Seas Alliance!

He jumped to his feet, heart hammering against his ribs. This was no small raid. This was a full-scale attack.

*I have to warn them!*

His hand quickly reached into his pocket. He had to convey this fact to the League, who were still completely unaware of everything, so that they could grasp the situation and prepare as quickly as possible.

It was at that very moment, as the beggar quickly wrote a message, attached it to the leg of a special messenger pigeon, and was about to release it.

“That won’t do.”

Thwack.

Someone grabbed his hand.

The beggar, startled as if his heart would leap into his throat, froze on the spot. He hadn’t even sensed the enemy until he was right there, close enough to grab his wrist.

“……”

“It wouldn’t change anything even if it were known, but it’s better to have an easier time, isn’t it? We value practicality,” the Thousand Faces Scholar said with a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

The beggar’s head turned slowly.

A face he had never seen before. A face that didn’t match any of the known masters of the Four Seas Alliance.

But that was precisely why the beggar could recognize this person’s identity.

“Thousand Faces……”

“Smart,” Thousand Faces Scholar almost sounded bored, as if dealing with this beggar was a tiresome chore.

Crack.

Thousand Faces Scholar’s remaining hand gripped the beggar’s neck.

“Krrk……”

The beggar’s feet were lifted off the ground. The beggar, hanging in the air, instinctively grabbed the hand choking his neck.

“Then you know why you’re dying, too.”

Even in his fading consciousness, as blood flow was cut off, the beggar glanced sideways at the enemy forces advancing instead of the Thousand Faces Scholar before him.

‘No…… This…… can’t……’

Snap.

The beggar’s neck twisted to the side as he tried to say something. Thousand Faces Scholar, without caring, threw the body with the broken neck to the ground, clicked his tongue and shook off the saliva that had dripped onto his wrist.

“Anyway.”

The Thousand Faces Scholar thought, ‘Ho Gamyung would be pleased with this. Always said to expect the unexpected.’

Thinking about it at this point, there’s no need to even consider which is more advantageous.

“Hmph.”

Thanks to that, only the innocent Thousand Faces Scholar had more work to do, but this much effort was something he could easily endure. After all, the Thousand Faces Scholar was also someone who wanted the Four Seas Alliance to win.

‘For now, that is.’

The Thousand Faces Scholar’s eyes sank low.

His sensitive ears did not miss the stuffy groans coming from all directions. It seemed his subordinates were doing well.

If their skills were equal, the one who knew the other’s location would be at an advantage. From the moment they thought they hadn’t been discovered, their fate was as good as sealed.

“If it’s like this…….”

The Thousand Faces Scholar slowly licked his lips. Instead of his real lips, which had become unfamiliar, he felt the sensation of a thin mask on the tip of his tongue.

‘How much longer will it take for them to realize our movements? Fifteen minutes? Thirty minutes? Or…… an hour?’

Fifteen minutes would allow him to seize the advantage, thirty minutes could change the shape of the battlefield. And an hour……

The Thousand Faces Scholar’s feverish gaze turned north.

“It would be enough time to change fate.” A faint excitement was evident in his voice.

Meanwhile, miles away, in the heart of the League’s camp…

“……What is the situation?”

“Nothing to report that’s truly worrying, Tang Gun-ak. Just the usual patrols, nothing out of the ordinary,” Jeagal Jarin said cautiously.

Tang Gun-ak nodded heavily.

“But we must not be complacent. They are definitely not the kind of people who will back down like this. They must be aiming for something, so please maintain even more thorough vigilance.”

“I will do so.”

As Jeagal Jarin nodded, a short sigh escaped from Tang Gun-ak’s lips.

‘Thousand Faces Scholar……’

He should have thought of it. It was something he could have realized.

But he didn’t. Even though he knew that there was someone who could perfectly impersonate others, he failed to anticipate it and lost the lives of many people.

“Still, isn’t it fortunate?”

Tang Gun-ak’s gaze turned to one side. There, Nangong Myung was attending the meeting as a representative of the Nangong Family.

“We are fortunate,” Tang Gun-ak said, trying to sound confident. “The Mount Hua Sword Saint chased away the Thousand Faces Scholar. We should be safe for now.” He believed it, or wanted to believe it.

“That is correct.”

“The leader of the Demonic Sect has been thoroughly disgraced.”

Someone said something funny, and for the first time in days, the tent felt a little lighter and less serious. Small smiles appeared on people’s faces for a moment. But Tang Gunak couldn’t really smile. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy about the news, but something felt wrong.

*It’s strange,* he thought, looking around the dimly lit tent. The Thousand-Faced Shura was alive. He had come back, just like Chung Myung said he would.

A small seed of doubt began to grow in Tang Gunak’s mind. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right about this.

Was the Thousand-Faced Shura really that skilled? Skilled enough to survive the sword of the amazing Chung Myung from Mount Hua?

Others might not understand why he was worried, but for Tang Gunak, it made perfect sense. He had fought the Thousand-Faced Shura before and knew he was strong, showing he deserved to be the leader of the Hao Clan and the best fighter in the Demonic Sect.

But if the opponent was Chung Myung?

Chung Myung, who was better than him and now the greatest martial artist of the Orthodox Faction.

In the fighting world today, how many people could fight Chung Myung alone and survive?

No. It’s impossible.

Even if the Thousand-Faced Shura was really strong… Even if he had been hiding some of his power, it would be hard to survive Chung Myung’s sword. But the Thousand-Faced Shura had come back alive.

In that case…

If something didn’t make sense, there had to be a reason.

Was the Thousand-Faced Shura hiding his true abilities? Or had he planned to run away from the start, just to avoid fighting Chung Myung?

If neither of those were true…

Tang Gunak shook his head.

He didn’t want to think about the third option. He didn’t even want to consider it.

Now, when different groups were mixing together and the enemy seemed so strong, having a very powerful leader was most important. Thinking about that third idea was just too awful.

Hoo….

Tang Gunak knew he was worried, but it was harder than he thought to stop feeling anxious.

He hadn’t wanted to set up camp here, instead of at Mount Wudang, and stay here for days without going back to Wudang.

The trouble wasn’t too bad yet, but they wouldn’t be doing this just to trick the Alliance into coming to flat ground.

There must be something more.

Because the enemies were Jang Il-so and Ho Ga-myung. Anyone would laugh if you said they were acting without a plan, even a dog walking by.

But Tang Gunak couldn’t understand what was happening. He knew the enemy wanted something, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

Tang Gunak squeezed his eyes shut.

He felt like his heart was being crushed.

This is too much for me.

Tang Gunak knew his limits.

He knew that the others didn’t expect him to be a perfect leader. Just filling the empty spot was enough.

But they didn’t know, and Tang Gunak hadn’t realized until recently, that even filling that spot meant dealing with a weight that others couldn’t imagine.

Alliance Leader.

Had Hyun Jong been dealing with this all along? The fear that one wrong choice could destroy the Heavenly Union, and even the whole fighting world?

……

Tang Gunak quietly grabbed his sleeve.

Of course, he wasn’t doing it alone. Everyone would help him avoid making mistakes. He wasn’t the only one protecting this fighting world.

But what if they were wrong? Or, what if Tang Gunak didn’t realize they had given the wrong answer?

Who would take the blame then?

Tang Gunak looked up at the tent roof. He had started doing this since becoming the leader. Without thinking, he looked up at the tent roof, as if trying to see the heavy feeling weighing him down, even though he knew it wasn’t something you could touch.

It was then.

By the way, Alliance Leader.

The tent went quiet when Nangong Myung said ‘Alliance Leader’.

Is there still… no news?

……

After a short silence, Zhuge Ja-in spoke.

It seems so.

Ummm.

Nangong Myung made a troubled noise. Just as Tang Gunak was about to sigh, Moryong Wi-gyung spoke up.

But isn’t it not something to be concerned about?

…What do you mean?

Since Clan Leader Yi-ri is doing that job, and Sect Leader Jong-ri is here in case something happens, even if the Alliance Leader isn’t here… No, actually…

Tang Gunak frowned.

He had noticed that people were slightly disrespecting Hyun Jong for a while now. Tang Gunak knew this and hadn’t been too worried, thinking they would understand eventually.

But now, he couldn’t stand it. If they knew how hard the job he was doing really was, they would never say such things.

To say that now…

Actually, it’s lucky.

Jong-ri Gok interrupted Tang Gunak, looking coldly at Moryong Wi-gyung.

Clan Leader must be happy to have no worries.

Moryong Wi-gyung’s face became stiff.

He knew those words were an insult.

Sect Leader, what…

It’s nothing. Just a thought.

Moryong Wi-gyung’s face turned a little red, but Jong-ri Gok didn’t even look at him.

The air felt colder and emptier than if they were having a loud, angry fight. Tang Gunak nervously rubbed his neck.

He couldn’t control them. Not because he didn’t have the power, but because he wasn’t good enough to bring them together.

It’s too much, Alliance Leader. You must come back now.

Tang Gunak was about to stop Moryong Wi-gyung, who was about to speak, when it happened.

Wham!

The tent door burst open, and someone rushed in like the wind.

Shin-gae.

Tang Gunak stood up, recognizing Poongyeong Shin-gae.

What’s wrong…

Tang Gunak stopped. Poongyeong Shin-gae looked like he had seen a ghost. Tang Gunak knew something had happened.

Something he couldn’t control.

The Four Evil Sect Alliance…

Poongyeong Shin-gae’s voice trembled as he screamed, shaking the tent.

The Four Evil Sect Alliance is attacking! It’s a full-scale assault!

Tang Gunak’s eyes opened wide.