Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 768

“Wh-what is this?”

“How can this be?!”

Dozens of figures in bright green clothes, as bright as new leaves, began to climb down ropes from the cliffs. The ropes creaked and groaned under their weight.

They were very good at using ropes. It was clear they had done this many times before.

“Th-those clothes?”

“Green Forest! It’s the Green Forest Bandits!”

“The Seventy-Two Forts of the Green Forest?”

The pirates were very surprised, their mouths open wide. They were surprised for a good reason.

Bandits, of all things.

People usually called both the Jang River pirates and the Green Forest bandits just ‘bandits’. But, the pirates who lived on the river and the bandits who lived in the mountains almost never met each other.

They knew about each other, but they had no reason to hate each other or to be friends.

So why were the Green Forest bandits suddenly appearing here?

“Kahaha! You water ghost bastards!”

“You dare set foot on land! We’ll cut you all down!”

The bandits quickly climbed down the cliffs. They laughed loudly and started to attack the pirates.

“D-don’t panic! We just need to kill them one by one as they come down!”

“What are you doing! Shoot them with arrows, shoot!”

The archers were slow to understand what was happening. They quickly grabbed their arrows. The people coming down the ropes could not defend themselves against arrows. Attacking them now would be a big help!

Unfortunately for them, they weren’t facing ordinary Green Forest bandits, but Im So-byeong.

“Oh, arrows? We have those too.”

Im So-byeong gestured downwards with his fan.

“Give them a taste.”

“Yes, sir!”

The archer unit, waiting behind him, revealed themselves all at once and began to fire the arrows they had already nocked.

Arrows rained down quickly and without stopping.

The archers fired so quickly that the movement of their bowstrings was barely visible. The sight of the black-painted arrows raining down looked like a black rain.

“Aaaargh!”

“Th-they’re shooting arrows!”

“What are you doing! Bloody hell! Fight back!”

The pirates below also tried to draw their bows, but arrows fired upwards from below could never match the power of those fired downwards from above.

Even if they used their inner strength to shoot the arrows, by the time the arrows reached the top of the cliff, they were too weak.

“Tsk tsk. How boring.”

Im So-byeong clicked his tongue and gestured.

“Pour it all on until the arrows run out. If the pirates have come out of the water, they must pay the price.”

“Yes, sir!”

A cruel smile formed on Im So-byeong’s lips.

“…Green Forest?”

Baek Cheon blinked, still in disbelief.

“Wh-why are the Green Forest bandits here? Aren’t they part of the Demonic Sect?”

“They are.”

“So why is one Demonic Sect fighting another?”

“What are you on about? Then why do the Green Forest and the Myriad Man Clan fight?”

“Uh…”

“And why are we fighting with Jongnam?”

“Well…”

Baek Cheon, at a loss for words, simply blinked, rendered speechless.

“If we were going to be friendly with every member of the Demonic Sect, would those bastards even *be* in the Demonic Sect? Even the Orthodox Sects fight each other for profit all the time, so it’s obvious what the Demonic Sects are like.”

Chung Myung chuckled.

“This is what you call using barbarians to control barbarians! Fighting poison with poison!”

Hey…

Calling the people *you* summoned ‘barbarians’ seems a bit much…

No, of course, it’s true that those people are bandits, but still, to refer to the people who came at your request that way… there’s something wrong with your character…

“Hee hee hee! Good! Good! Fight! Kill!”

Chung Myung watched the pirates and bandits tearing into each other, laughing as if he were about to die of joy, clapping his hands. An unsuppressable sense of despair bloomed in the eyes of the Mount Hua disciples.

Baek Sang muttered powerlessly.

“In this world… there are hordes of pirates and bandits here, and yet that bastard looks like the worst of them all.”

“That’s because he actually *is* the worst of them all, Martial Uncle.”

“…That’s right. That’s how it is.”

The prestigious Mount Hua Sect. The greatest personality that the Mount Hua Sect had ever produced was shining brightly at this very moment.

“But how did you bring them here in the first place?”

“Why are you asking the obvious? The pirate bastards targeted Mount Hua, didn’t they?”

“That’s… right?”

“Do you think those bastards who started this whole thing, knowing full well what they were doing, would apologize just because they ran into us? It’s obvious that a fight would break out, so who would be stupid enough to walk willingly into their gaping maw?”

Chung Myung’s words stabbed sharply into the chest of that idiot… no, Baek Cheon.

“If the main Mount Hua group was going to be late, we needed another plan. Was this too hard to understand?”

“The only people nearby we could easily ask for help were those bandits. So, I asked them to come earlier.”

“…On the way here?”

“I made contact on the way here. I sent word as soon as I heard the news. They probably arrived before you, Martial Uncle.”

Baek Cheon’s mouth dropped open.

“S-so you knew this would happen in advance?”

“Do you think I am a fortune teller? How could I know that?”

“Then?”

Chung Myung frowned as if he were about to burst with frustration.

“No! You old geezer! Isn’t it basic to prepare for even the slightest possibility?! If you prepare and don’t use it, you’re just a little disappointed, but if you don’t prepare and you need it, you die! Don’t you know that?!”

Baek Cheon was so astonished that he couldn’t even think to close his mouth.

Baek Cheon knew for some time that Chung Myung was not just strong. But this was the first time he really understood it deeply.

As Baek Cheon stood there speechless and dazed, Baek Sang quickly asked.

“But that’s our perspective, why did the Green Forest King suddenly decide to fight the Jang River Pirates?”

“Why wouldn’t they fight? They’re always whining about wanting to join the Heavenly Union anyway.”

“…”

“Are they going to join the Heavenly Union while cozying up to the Five Great Evils? That’s ridiculous. They need to clearly show that they’ve drawn a line with the Demonic Sects, that’s what I’m saying.”

“W-when you put it that way…”

After Chung Myung explained it, it sounded simple and obvious. But thinking of all this, planning it, and doing it before anything happened was actually very difficult.

‘That crazy guy. To predict this from far away in Shanxi…’

It was closer to preparation than prediction, but if preparation hit the mark, wasn’t that just prediction?

When we fought together, if this man acted quickly, I was too busy keeping up to understand what he was doing.

But now, watching him from a little distance, I could see how silly he looked.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“Look! Their backs are turned! Now is the perfect time to attack them!”

Baek Cheon was thinking hard, then jumped when he heard the voice and looked up.

He saw that the bandits were so busy watching the mountain bandits coming down the cliff that their backs were completely open.

“Okay! No time to think now! Attack them first! Go! Senior Brother! Second Brother! Older Brothers!”

“Your Older Brothers are behind you, you silly kid!”

“Then… Junior Brother!”

“Aargh!”

Tang Soso yelled loudly and ran forward.

Chung Myung watched her and chuckled softly.

“Now…”

Then, his eyes, which had been looking to the side, suddenly became ice-cold.

“Let’s go capture their leader, shall we?”

“L-Leader!”

Janpo Heukeo was pulled back to reality by the voice.

“Wh-…”

His empty face turned into a horrible angry look.

“Those Green Forest people! Why are they attacking us?”

If it was the Hwasan group or other good people attacking, he would be surprised, but not this confused.

But the Green Forest!

Why would the Green Forest attack the Janggang Water Fortress! Why!

“Where are they from! Which group is it! Who is that weak-looking man who looks like a scholar!”

“I think that man is the Green Forest King.”

“What? The Green Forest King? Wasn’t he supposed to be a very tall giant?”

“That’s what people used to say, but during the recent Green Forest fighting, it was shown that the Green Forest King is a weak scholar, who looks as fragile as someone who only writes…”

Janpo Heukeo bit his lip.

The Green Forest King.

Not just a normal mountain group, but the Green Forest King himself leading his people? No wonder they moved so quickly coming down the cliff.

“Why is the Green Forest King attacking us!”

“W-Well, I don’t know…”

Even Jo Seung, who hardly ever showed his feelings, was pale and stammering.

Something that should not be happening was happening right in front of them.

As just a strategist, he couldn’t understand what this meant.

“Hey! Move!”

Janpo Heukeo pushed Jo Seung aside, stepped forward, and yelled up to the cliff.

“Green Forest King!”

Then, Im Sobyung, who was on the cliff, slowly turned his head to look at Janpo Heukeo.

“You shout well. I wish I could shout like that.”

“Why! Why is the Green Forest attacking our water camp! Why are you making the Janggang Water Camps your enemies?”

“We were never friends, so why are you suddenly acting surprised.”

Im Sobyung smiled coldly.

Then, his face changed quickly, and he shouted loudly.

“The Green Forest is not perfect, but we try not to hurt ordinary people just to live! But you are capturing ordinary people and selling them to other countries! We can’t let you be so evil anymore!”

“Wh-What nonsense are you talking about…”

“In the name of the Green Forest, we will punish you and free the people you have captured to help them! Enough talking! Bring me that man’s head!”

“Yes!”

The bandits yelled back loudly, their voices rough, and became even more excited as they attacked the water bandits.

“Uahaha! You little weaklings!”

“You are weak because you only eat fish! Come here, I’ll cut you in half!”

“Kill them all!”

Normally, a mountain group cannot beat a water group so easily.

But these are not normal mountain bandits.

They are the best fighters from the Green Forest, carefully chosen by Im Sobyung.

Also, they had made the Green Forest stronger again after stopping the Great Byeolchae fighting, so they were now the very best fighters in the Green Forest.

“Eumhahahahahaha! You weak things! Brothers! I’m here!”

Cheol Sinjang, Beon Chung, who was in front, yelled and swung his fist, which was as big as a pot lid, and knocked away the water bandits.

Behind him, Heuk Yaho, Gwak Min, used his very fast sword that flashed like light.

“Aaaargh!”

“R-Run away!”

One part of the water bandits completely fell apart.

But behind them, the angry Hwasan group, who were even scarier than the Green Forest, were running towards them.

“Where do you think you are going, you bad people!”

“You were having fun before! Now I will cut you all!”

Attacked from both sides, the water bandits were now falling down and could not fight back.

“Wh-…”

Janpo Heukeo understood what was happening and took a step back without thinking.

This is bad.

We can’t win this.

From the start, they were too strong to fight.

If they had just attacked, Janpo Heukeo would have sent the ships away without hesitation and told the others to dive into the water to escape.

Because no one would be brave enough to follow them into the river.

But not now.

Because they were busy fighting the Hwasan bad people, their backs were exposed, and the river they needed to escape to was blocked by the Hwasan group.

If he told them to jump into the water now, maybe half of them would live, but they would have to leave all the ships behind.

Then the water camp would be destroyed.

“Jo Seung!”

“L-Leader!”

“We are running away.”

“Yes? B-But…”

“I have to live to plan for later. Or do you want to stay here?”

Jo Seung looked conflicted.

But his worry quickly became unimportant.

“Hey.”

Janpo Heukeo’s head turned quickly to the voice from behind.

“Who said I would let you run?”

“……”

Hwasan Shinryong, Chung Myung.

He was already behind him and had a strange smile.

“Oh, I can let you go. Just your head, that is. Instead…”

Chung Myung lifted his sword a little and pointed it at Janpo Heukeo’s neck.

“Leave your body here.”

“……You bad person.”

Janpo Heukeo’s eyes filled with strong anger that wanted to kill.

“I’ll kill you before I die! You dog!”

“Haha!”

Chung Myung laughed as he watched him charge angrily, then smiled strangely and jumped forward to fight.