Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1789

He had to be brave. He needed to find his courage, deep inside. This was how the good groups should act when facing those who wanted to bring chaos to the world.

“Th-They’re coming!” he stammered.

Hearing his own shaky voice, he knew the truth. He was scared. Really scared.

They rushed forward like a messy wave, not marching in lines, not looking like they belonged together. But this made them even scarier. He felt exposed, like standing alone in front of a huge wave ready to crash down and wash him away.

Could he really trust the people beside him? Would they help when it mattered most?

He looked around at his comrades, but suddenly they seemed like strangers. He felt completely alone, as if the others had vanished. All he could see was the wave of enemies, ready to crash down on the valley.

Faced with such a giant force, the tip of his sword, which he had raised with effort, began to shake, and his courage drained away.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

Jang Il-so’s laughter echoed through the air.

Where was he? Why was he standing here?

‘I, I am……’

His thoughts were confused and scattered.

“Haaaargh!”

With a shriek, the Sabak Ryun thugs charged. Before he could even think, a blade came down on him.

He quickly raised his sword, using his inner energy to block the attack.

Clang!

“Cough!”

He coughed suddenly. The force on his sword was much stronger than he expected. He tried to hold his ground, but he was pushed back a few steps.

It was only a few steps.

It seemed like a small step back, not important in the whole war. But it was the first step, and it showed things were going wrong.

What if ten people were pushed back? Or a hundred? What about hundreds?

The steps back would become a ripple, and that ripple would turn into a huge wave, pushing back the Cheonwu Alliance.

The first clash created a crack in a war where there was no going back.

“Haaaargh!”

“D-Don’t fall back!”

“If we fall back, it’s over! Hold the line!”

Those who saw the danger shouted.

“W-What! Why are we falling back?”

Jo Gul’s eyes widened.

The front line was collapsing. It might be too soon to say for sure, but the Cheonwu Alliance was showing weakness in the first fight.

“This can’t be happening!”

The Sabak Ryun had more people than the Cheonwu Alliance. That was clear.

But if numbers were all that mattered, the war wouldn’t have started. The Cheonwu Alliance should have been winning with their better fighting skills.

But now, those at the front were being pushed back, even though they had the same number of enemies. It was unbelievable.

Jo Gul felt a sense of danger. He grabbed Yoon Jong’s shoulder and shouted.

“Senior Brother!”

“Calm down!”

Yoon Jong gritted his teeth and shouted.

‘That damned bastard……’

This couldn’t be just about morale. Fighting skill was like a fortress, built with hard work. Morale could change things a little, but it couldn’t completely turn the situation around.

“They intentionally put their best fighters at the front.”

Im So-byeong said calmly. Jo Gul looked closely at the Sabak Ryun front lines.

‘What……’

They didn’t look special. They seemed like regular Sabak Ryun fighters. But Jo Gul’s face became serious as he felt the power of their weapons.

They were strong.

Jo Gul knew a lot about the evil groups. He could tell that these were some of the best fighters in the Sabak Ryun.

“No, why!”

In a big war, you should save your best fighters. It didn’t make sense to send them to the front lines where they would get hurt.

That’s why Hwasan was staying back, wasn’t it?

“It’s a foolish thing to do.”

“So…….”

“To someone who knows strategy, it’s foolish.”

“……Yes?”

Im So-byeong laughed quietly. It was an absurd thing to do, strategically.

However…….

“But how many people here would understand this situation?”

“……What do you mean?”

“Seeing their comrades being pushed back, most people would think this, wouldn’t they? That they are…….”

“Stronger than expected.”

Im So-byeong nodded, as Yoon Jong finished his sentence.

These people weren’t soldiers.

They wouldn’t be punished for running away. In a normal army, they could just wait for things to get better. But could things get better on this battlefield?

“T-Then isn’t this a big problem? We need to do something right away, Senior Brother!”

Jo Gul looked worried and urged Yoon Jong.

“That’s right, Senior Brother! If we continue like this, we won’t even be able to lift a finger!”

Tang Soso agreed with Jo Gul. Yoo Iseol and Hae Yeon also looked at Yoon Jong, urging him to act.

But Yoon Jong didn’t say anything, his mouth closed tightly. Jo Gul couldn’t wait any longer and shouted again.

“Senior Brother!”

Yoon Jong finally spoke, his eyes looking strained.

“Hold this position.”

“Yes?”

Jo Gul couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His eyes widened.

“What are you talking about, Senior Brother? We need to do something now……!”

“Stop talking rubbish! We’re not special heroes!”

“No…….”

“The Clan Lord knows what we know. If we need to move, he will give the order. If everyone does what they want on this battlefield, it will be a mess. That might be what Jang Il-so wants. Do you understand?”

“…….”

“So grit your teeth and endure. Orders will definitely be given!”

Jo Gul stared at his Senior Brother, then looked at Im So-byeong, as if asking if Yoon Jong was right.

Im So-byeong shrugged, as if he wasn’t worried about the situation.

“It doesn’t seem like a wrong decision. If everyone moves on their own, things will get worse.”

“That’s…….”

Since even Im So-byeong agreed, he couldn’t argue anymore. Jo Gul’s shoulders dropped. Im So-byeong opened his fan, covering half his face, and muttered.

“Logically, that’s the right thing to do, but…….”

Then he looked far away, towards Tang Gunak.

‘That’s only true if the command is able to handle this situation.’

His eyes, which had been gleaming slyly, became serious.

Crack!

A blade cut through flesh and bone. Red blood sprayed out like bursting flowers in many places.

“Khaha!”

Mad laughter, screams, all mixed together. The heat from the people suffocated him, and the energy waves pounded his heart.

“Aaaaargh!”

It was impossible to hold on.

The enemies were stronger than expected. Trying to resist led to the flanks collapsing, and soon they were being attacked from three sides. It was impossible to handle alone.

They realized how dangerous it was to lose momentum, and then a spear flew in and pierced his side.

“Cough!”

They fell. They collapsed.

Like a sandcastle being washed away by waves, the Cheonwu Alliance’s formation crumbled.

The command saw this and tried to rebuild the collapsing formation.

Jegal Ja-in shouted as loud as he could.

“Calm down! Calm down! They’re not that strong, it’s……!”

His voice, amplified with inner energy, didn’t get through. The heat of the battlefield swept away his voice.

“Just a little…….”

“N-No! It’s impossible!”

Then, Jegal Ja-in saw someone running away from the enemy.

“What are you doing! Don’t run away!”

Jegal Ja-in bit his lip until it bled.

‘Damn it!’

There were weak people everywhere. It was just one person running away, and the Cheonwu Alliance hadn’t made any big mistakes yet.

But Jegal Ja-in knew that even a massive fortress could be brought down by one small crack.

“Stand and fight! Just hold your ground! We have the advantage! You bastards!”

Jegal Ja-in’s screams were lost in the noise. He tore at his hair.

There was a difference between knowing and doing, and even the best plans were useless if they couldn’t be used. Jegal Ja-in knew this.

But this was too much.

‘What the……?’

They weren’t even listening to Jegal Ja-in.

Even if the enemies had put their best fighters at the front, was the Cheonwu Alliance really being defeated so easily?

– Hahahahahahaha!

Jang Il-so’s laughter pierced his ears.

He wanted to shut that mouth, or at least cover his own ears. But he couldn’t.

“We have to do something!”

Jegal Ja-in turned to Tang Gunak and Jongri Gok.

“If we leave it like this, the front lines will collapse. Then we’ll be in a chaotic battle, and you know what that means against them, don’t you?”

He sounded more worried than usual. But Jongri Gok just laughed.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Command…….”

“After scattering my sect members everywhere, now you want me to?”

Jegal Ja-in’s eyes flickered.

“……If Jongnam were here, we could do something. But they’re not. It was the strategist who created the Dang, saying it was better, wasn’t it?”

That was Chung Myung’s choice, not Jegal Ja-in’s. But now wasn’t the time to argue about that.

“Are you giving up?”

“I’m not giving up, I’m saying I can’t. Will the Jegal family risk their lives for my words?”

Jegal Ja-in was speechless.

“The power we have only matters within our sect. We can’t command them right now.”

“Ah…….”

Jegal Ja-in realized his mistake.

Power came from the system, and the system was maintained by authority. At least, that’s what Jegal Ja-in thought.

But that was in peaceful times.

No one would risk their lives for that ‘authority.’ The Cheonwu Alliance, a mixed group of people, didn’t have time for that authority to work. Time was running out.

“Then…….”

Jegal Ja-in’s eyes were shaken. He finally understood the unease he had felt.

‘So…… they’re not looking back.’

Everyone knew there was a command here, but no one was waiting for orders.

How could he not know what this meant? A dark cloud swept across Jegal Ja-in’s face.

And at this moment.

There was one person who felt as much despair as Jegal Ja-in…… or even more.

On the other side of Jegal Ja-in, Baek Cheon was surrounded by enemies, unable to be where he should be. His eyes were filled with despair.