Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 590

Shouts filled the air. “Haaah!” yelled a Hwasan disciple as he ran forward. “Ooooooh!” roared a bandit in reply.

The Hwasan disciples and the Daebyeolchae bandits ran at each other. They moved like angry bulls, ready to fight.

The swords moved quickly, like flashes of light. The axes were heavy and powerful, swinging like tree trunks.

“CLANG!” The sound of metal hitting metal was so loud it hurt the ears. It echoed through the air, making everyone jump.

Sounds of pain burst out – “Kuh!” “Eeek!” As swords hit axes, the smiles disappeared from the faces of both groups. Their eyes became hard and serious.

“This is harder than we thought!” shouted Yoon Jong from Hwasan. “Don’t let your guard down!” someone else yelled back.

Hwasan had fought Jeokungchae and Hyeolangchae before. But the axes now felt much stronger. They were different. Now, Hwasan understood why everyone talked about Daebyeolchae, even though there were three fortresses.

The Daebyeolchae bandits felt it too. “They are tough!” yelled a bandit leader. “Don’t back down! Fight harder!”

Sometimes, fighting says more than words. This fight showed Hwasan and Daebyeolchae exactly what they thought of each other.

“CRACK!” Un Geom blocked a huge axe with his sword. His face was tight with worry as he shouted, “Don’t try to just use strength! Be smart!”

“Yes, Sect Leader!” the disciples replied. Un Geom’s eyes became serious. ‘This fight will be harder than I thought,’ he thought to himself.

Un Geom didn’t know everything about the fighting world. But he knew these bandits were much stronger and better trained than the ones from the other fortresses they had fought.

Un Geom wondered, ‘Is this why Go Hong wants to be the Green Forest King?’ He knew bandits followed the strongest leaders. Stronger leaders meant stronger fortresses. So, Go Hong must be very strong if he leads this fortress.

But Un Geom thought, ‘Even if he’s strong, he’s still just a bandit!’ Un Geom had complete faith in Hwasan. He knew they were stronger.

Un Geom knew his disciples worked hard. They had trained harder than anyone else in recent years. Their training was so tough, other groups wouldn’t even try it. They never complained. Un Geom thought, ‘Go Hong might train his bandits hard, but Hwasan wants to be strong. We are better.’

It wasn’t just his teaching methods Un Geom trusted. He trusted his disciples themselves. He knew they were strong because they had pushed past his teachings and become even better.

“Believe in yourselves!” Un Geom shouted. His voice was loud and strong, something they rarely heard. His words hit the Hwasan disciples like a wave of power, making them feel stronger.

“Yoon Jong, Jo Gul! Help on the left side!” Un Geom ordered. “Yes, Sasuk!” they replied. “Sa Go! So So, you take the right side!” “Yes, Sahyung.”

Baek Cheon looked around quickly, his eyes sharp. Then, he moved like lightning, rushing into the middle of the fight.

“WHOOSH!” Baek Cheon’s sword flashed. It went right through the neck of a bandit who was wildly swinging his axe.

“‘Kuh… Rattle…’ A choking sound came from the bandit as he fell. Blood flowed. Baek Cheon didn’t even look down. His sword blurred, becoming like many swords at once, striking at the next bandits.

“‘Aaaargh!’ ‘My leg! Aaaargh!’ Bandits screamed. THUD! Baek Cheon’s foot slammed down, finishing another enemy.

“‘Just talking isn’t enough to lead,’ Baek Cheon thought. He knew what it meant to guide people. When a leader they trusted fought bravely in front, people would fight harder and better. He had seen Chung Myung do this many times.

“‘I can’t just follow Chung Myung forever!’ Baek Cheon thought. He was going to be the leader of Hwasan one day. He was meant to lead, not follow.

Flutter flutter. The tip of Baek Cheon’s sword shook slightly. Then, beautiful plum blossom shapes appeared in the air, shining brightly as he moved.

“‘Sahyung!’ disciples shouted. ‘Protect Sasuk!’ They didn’t need to be told. They knew Baek Cheon was leading the charge, and they moved to guard him.

A small smile touched Baek Cheon’s lips. He felt confident. ‘Let’s go, Hwasan!’ he yelled. ‘Yes!’ the disciples roared back.

The older Hwasan disciples, the Oh Geom and Unja generation, were at the front. They bravely took the most dangerous places and pushed Hwasan forward with great power.

Meanwhile, Lee Jung-bang, watching the unfolding situation, clutched his head.

‘W-What is he doing?’

They shouldn’t be fighting like this.

Wasn’t it already confirmed that Hwasan’s strength surpassed theirs? There was no chance of winning by facing them head-on.

But that damned fortress lord was charging straight ahead without utilizing the geographical advantages or numerical superiority.

From a military perspective, he was only picking out the things he shouldn’t do.

The difference was clear.

In terms of absolute power, this side might be stronger. Of course, the martial prowess of each individual in Hwasan was clearly superior, but considering the difference in numbers, it was difficult to definitively say that their overall strength was inferior.

But the momentum of the battle unfolding now was clearly leaning towards Hwasan.

‘No matter how I think about it, this is impossible.’

Those who still had baby fat on their faces were moving as one, perfectly, like soldiers who had fought a hundred battles.

That wasn’t just organizational power, it was trust.

No matter how much the Green Forest trained and honed their skills, they wouldn’t be able to completely entrust their lives to the person standing next to them and fight. Surpassing the deeply ingrained distrust was impossible with training alone.

But those Hwasan disciples were wielding their swords, completely trusting those protecting their surroundings. Believing that their fellow disciples would block the swords they couldn’t, and that someone would help them deal with the enemies they couldn’t handle.

Originally, that’s what a sect was.

When people who had lived different lives believed in and trusted each other under one name, their strength could skyrocket several times over.

The leader risked their life to ease the burden of the followers, and the followers did their best to protect the one leading from the front.

“A, Aaargh!”

“W-What kind of bastards… !”

Now, the battle situation was clearly tilting against them at a glance. The swordsmen of Hwasan were fearlessly cutting through and piercing the center of the widely deployed Daebyeolchae.

If this continued, the center would be completely penetrated before long.

‘F-Fortress Lord!’

Lee Jung-bang looked at Go Hong’s back in dismay.

Even though defeat was evident, he was watching the situation and didn’t seem to be thinking of moving. Lee Jung-bang’s heart was burning black at his carefree appearance.

‘Could it be that he really has no thoughts at all?’

He finally mustered the courage to run to Go Hong.

“F-Fortress Lord!”

“Hmm.”

Go Hong raised an eyebrow slightly and turned his gaze to Lee Jung-bang, who was making a fuss right next to him.

“I-If we leave it like this, the damage will be too great! The Five Tigers! Deploy the Five Tigers!”

The Five Tigers were Go Hong’s trusted subordinates whom he had personally raised.

Only the masters could turn the tide of the battle. If they stood at the forefront, they could quell that high momentum.

“The Five Tigers?”

“Yes, Fortress Lord! If we delay any longer, it will be irreversible…”

At that moment, Go Hong immediately grabbed Lee Jung-bang by the collar and threw him to the ground.

“A, Aaargh!”

“You useless bastard.”

“F-Fortress Lord?”

Go Hong’s face was strangely distorted.

“Look!”

He shouted, pointing forward. When Lee Jung-bang looked at what was at the end of his finger, he saw only bandits being pushed back endlessly.

“W-What am I supposed to see?”

And only the sight of Hwasan fearlessly cutting down the bandits as they dug into the center.

“Do you see it?”

“Yes?”

“Tsk tsk. Aren’t those bastards coming into the center? As if they’re trying to get surrounded on their own!”

Lee Jung-bang contorted his face at those confident words.

“Fortress Lord! A siege is only meaningful when you have the strength to defeat the opponent. Surrounding the opponent with insufficient forces is just asking to be defeated individually!”

Lee Jung-bang, reaching the height of frustration, couldn’t help but shout. It was something he couldn’t have imagined doing normally, but with his life on the line, he couldn’t see anything else.

Wasn’t he about to die along with this foolish fellow?

“If you lack strength, then that’s how it would be.”

“What are you talking about! Are you out of your mind…”

Slap!

Thud!

Go Hong slapped Lee Jung-bang across the cheek.

Lee Jung-bang, who had fallen to the floor with one blow, groaned as he rolled around, clutching his face, which had instantly swollen up.

“He was right when he told me not to consult with you at all. You incompetent fool!”

“…”

Lee Jung-bang covered his cheek and looked up at Go Hong with a dazed expression.

‘He?’

Who could that be?

“Heh heh heh. From beginning to end, not a single thing was wrong. Like a ghost. Truly like a ghost!”

“F-Fortress Lord?”

“I don’t know what you do behind my back, but that ability alone is a hundred times more trustworthy than the likes of you!”

Satisfaction settled in Go Hong’s bloodshot eyes.

“Insufficient forces? Hahaha!”

He slammed the massive glaive he was holding into the ground.

“Then we just need to add more forces! Everyone, come out! Kill all those fearless little brats!”

Lee Jung-bang wondered if Go Hong had completely lost his mind.

Who was he telling to come out? The Five Tigers?

No. If it was such an obvious move as deploying the Five Tigers, he wouldn’t be making such a fuss.

Then who?

‘Did he form an alliance with another fortress without my knowledge?’

No. If Go Hong had such skills, this wouldn’t have even happened. Moreover, wasn’t Go Hong the kind of person who was subtly avoided by other fortresses because of his impulsive personality?

Then what on earth…

It was at that very moment.

Boom! Craaaash!

With a massive explosion that sounded like a cluster of bombs going off, the wooden fences surrounding the Green Forest fortress collapsed all at once.

“Eek!”

Lee Jung-bang, startled, turned his head and saw a cloud of dust rising up.

“…”

Soon, the thick dust was swept away by the mountain breeze.

‘W-What? Who are those bastards?’

Unidentified figures in blood-red uniforms appeared. Lee Jung-bang’s eyes widened.

The number of them that suddenly appeared from behind the wooden fences was only about fifty. In a place where more than six hundred people were clashing, the number fifty might seem absurdly small at first glance.

But the moment they revealed themselves, everyone here sensed that something ominous was about to happen.

The blood-red uniforms and the bizarrely thin rapiers made those who saw them feel a sense of dread. But what caught the eye even more than that was the suffocatingly thick bloodlust that emanated from them.

“Hahahahaha!”

Go Hong laughed until his throat was raw.

“You little rat who runs around trusting only in your own head! The world doesn’t just move inside your head!”

Unlike his usual self, Im So-byeong stared at the unfamiliar martial artists with a serious expression.

‘What on earth are they?’

They were people he had never seen before.

He could say with certainty that they were not Green Forest bandits. There was not a trace of the Green Forest in their appearance or energy.

His back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

‘Was this all a trap?’

Did that Go Hong set a trap?

In the moment he was viscerally realizing that something had gone terribly wrong, Go Hong’s glaive pointed towards the Hwasan disciples in the center.

“Kill them all! Don’t leave a single one alive!”

As soon as those words were spoken, the blood-clad figures crossed the wooden fences and advanced.

Everyone couldn’t hide their dismay as the situation changed.

“I knew this would happen.”

But then, Chung Myung, who had been watching the situation, clicked his tongue and stepped forward.

“Hey, Sasuk.”

“…What is it?”

“The training ends here.”

“Huh?”

Clang.

The Plum Blossom Sword was drawn from Chung Myung’s waist.

“From now on, it’s real combat.”