Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 920

White energy swirled from the tip of the sword. The fully compressed energy burst forth, sweeping across the front.

Kwaaaang!

Sweeping away the approaching pirates with a single strike, Namgung Hwang shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Black Dragon King!”

His voice was like a roaring lion.

The voice shattered the enemy’s will to fight and boosted the morale of his allies.

“Where are you, Black Dragon King! Have you been frightened into running away! Come out here now! I will settle our unfinished score!”

Kwaaang!

Namgung Hwang’s stomping foot shook the surroundings.

‘That monster!’

Yeo Dal, the Guardian of the Janggang Suro Sipchalchae, known as the Nine Underworld Old Monster because of his cruel reputation, paled.

It was well-known that the Namgung Clan pursued the way of the heavy sword, unlike other sword-wielding clans, but Namgung Hwang’s sword was so extraordinary that it bordered on the bizarre, even within the Namgung Clan.

He thought, ‘Namgung Hwang’s sword is like a cannon! Even the Peng Clan’s swords are gentle compared to that!’

He had seen the sword once before, but the feeling was completely different this time.

He couldn’t tell if it was because Namgung Hwang’s martial prowess had increased dramatically over the past three years, or because he wasn’t the Black Dragon King. Yeo Dal had not reached a level where he could know such things.

“Black Dragon Raaah!!”

Kwaaaang!

“Darn it!”

Seeing the pavilion shatter into pieces and fly away, Yeo Dal finally shouted urgently.

“Retreat! Retreat immediately!”

“H-Honorable Guardian! The Black Dragon King ordered us to defend this place no matter what!”

“You morons! You can’t protect it even if you try! And who will face Namgung Hwang? The Black Dragon King isn’t here right now!”

“T-That’s⋯⋯!”

“Shut up and retreat immediately! Before all the kids die!”

If all of Surochae’s fighters were here, Yeo Dal wouldn’t retreat. The Surochae were a powerful group of pirates, one of the most feared in the region. But they were outnumbered.

The Black Dragon King was attacking merchant ships on the Janggang River to increase the amount of goods flowing to and from Mae Hwa Island. In other words, there were more than twice as many pirate ships on the Janggang River as usual.

Naturally, the number of pirates guarding this place was bound to be small.

“Retreat! Retreat immediately! Get on the boats! Retreat to the island!”

Yeo Dal gritted his teeth.

“Those Namgung Clan bastards!”

If he gave up the pier and retreated to Mae Hwa Island, the Black Dragon King would not leave him alone. It was a clear fact that he had failed to carry out his orders.

‘But it’s better than dying.’

The sword of Namgung Hwang right in front of his eyes was more frightening than the Black Dragon King’s distant anger.

Kwaaaang!

Even at this moment, several pirates were being turned into bloody messes and sent flying by Namgung Hwang’s sword.

“Retreat! Hurry!”

At his command, the pirates turned pale and ran back.

No, in fact, even before he gave the order, they were all thinking only of how to escape.

Namgung Hwang’s martial prowess was truly overwhelming. From the start, the rabble gathered here were not at a level where they could be dealt with.

‘How could those incompetent righteous warriors move so quickly?’

The reason why the Black Dragon King decided to leave even though he knew that there were not enough troops here was because he thought it would take at least ten more days for the righteous warriors, who barely moved after talking for a long time, to respond properly.

But who would have imagined that the Namgung Clan would suddenly rush in at such a time?

“Honorable Guardian!”

“I know!”

Yeo Dal nodded vigorously. He couldn’t dawdle any longer. If he delayed any longer, his head would fly off right away.

“Launch the boats! Get on board immediately⋯⋯.”

But Yeo Dal’s eyes widened at that moment.

White-clad warriors were rushing in through the main street between the large pavilions, that is, through a different path from Namgung Hwang. It was the Changgeung Sword Troop.

And at the head of them, a young warrior wielding a sword like lightning could be seen. At a glance, it was clear that he was not someone to be trifled with.

“A-Abandon the boats! Darn it, leave the boats behind! Just jump in! Swim to the island!”

There was no time to launch the boats leisurely. Those who had the good sense to launch the boats in advance were able to board somehow, but only two of the boats docked at the pier moved towards the waterfront.

The pirates, sensing that there was no time to board the boats, jumped into the Janggang River in a rush.

“G-Get out of the way!”

“Don’t grab me, you bastard! Get out!”

“You sons of bitches!”

Pandemonium.

Whether they were martial artists or soldiers, it was the same. When orders remained in their heads and there was something they had to protect, they did not spare their lives.

But the moment that control disappeared, all that remained were hundreds of cowards for whom survival was the most important thing.

The pirates pulled and pushed their comrades, jumping into the Janggang River. They stumbled and fell, entangled with each other as they tried to get ahead of each other, and there were many who reflexively swung their weapons around them.

“Aaaargh!”

“T-This bastard stabbed me?”

If they had retreated in an orderly manner, they would have already escaped, but they delayed the situation even further by trying to go first, even a little bit. And the swords of the Namgung Clan coldly pierced their backs.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Run away! The Namgung Clan is coming!”

Splash! Splash!

The pirates who jumped into the water skillfully dived and headed towards Mae Hwa Island. It was a quick movement without looking back. But the pirates who had to face the swords of the Namgung Clan before they could jump into the water screamed and collapsed powerlessly on the spot.

Soon.

“Hmph!”

When Namgung Hwang’s feet touched the water’s edge, the pirates were divided into two groups: pirates who jumped into the water and ran away like arrows, and corpses that did not touch the water.

Namgung Hwang’s eyes were boiling with anger.

“To these rabble!”

An overwhelming victory.

It was an overwhelming victory that could not be expressed in words. But that fact did not give Namgung Hwang any joy. It only amplified his disgust for himself, who had made peace out of fear of these clumsy bastards.

“This⋯⋯!”

Namgung Hwang’s eyes turned to the two boats turning their bows.

“Get out of the way!”

Namgung Hwang, pushing the Changgeung Sword Troop guarding his side back, raised his sword vigorously above his head.

Krooooooh!

Once again, a thick white energy swirled around his sword.

The sword energy, soaring more than a foot above his head, gathered around the sword.

“N-No!”

“Jump off! Right now!”

The pirates on the boat, seeing the sight, screamed in horror and threw themselves out of the boat. They had already seen enough of what happened when the white energy gathered on that sword.

Boom!

Namgung Hwang, stepping down hard, vertically struck down with his sword. The emitted energy was fired like a cannon, flying in a straight line towards the boat.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

The sword energy stuck in the boat literally pulverizes the wood that makes up the boat. The wood that directly touched the sword energy became powder and scattered, and even the parts that did not touch the sword energy could not withstand the force and shattered.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

In an instant, one boat exploded entirely and scattered on the surface of the Janggang River. The pirates, as well as the Changgeung Sword Troop, could not help but be shocked by the terrifying sight.

Namgung Hwang’s gaze turns to the remaining boat. But the quick-witted pirates had already desperately escaped the boat and jumped into the Janggang River.

“Tch!”

Namgung Hwang judged that it was meaningless to destroy that boat and retrieved his sword.

The sight of the pirates desperately swimming towards Mae Hwa Island, densely filling the vast Janggang River, was disgusting.

“⋯⋯Damn it. Black Dragon King!”

At this point, Namgung Hwang had no choice but to know. The fact that the Black Dragon King was not here. The Black Dragon King was cunning, but he was not one to avoid a fight. If he had been here, he would have already blocked his path.

“Clan Leader. It’s a complete victory!”

“⋯⋯A complete victory?”

Namgung Hwang turned around.

The merchants, who had taken refuge inside the pavilion according to his instructions, had gathered and were shouting cheers from behind. It meant that all the pirates who had dared to set foot on the land of Gangbuk had been killed or driven away.

“Hmph!”

But Namgung Hwang could not be satisfied with this.

“What’s a complete victory!”

“Yes?”

“Since when has regaining what we should have had been called a victory! Victory is when we take their things! We don’t use the word victory just because we drove out the thieves who entered our house!”

Namgung Myeong lowered his head at those words.

“To think that we were so afraid of pirates that we could have dealt with at any time that we kept our heads down for three years⋯⋯.”

Namgung Hwang gritted his teeth and lit a fire in his eyes.

Their past time cannot be compensated with this kind of victory. There was no Black Dragon King or the Black Dragon Troop, the elite of the Surochae, here. Even if they killed a thousand of these rabble, their anger would not be relieved.

“Prepare the boats!”

“C-Clan Leader?”

“There!”

Namgung Hwang’s chin points to the island in the center of the Janggang River.

“Is that place Gangbuk? Or Gangnam?”

“⋯⋯T-That is.”

When Namgung Myeong couldn’t answer, Namgung Dowi, who was standing next to him, opened his mouth instead.

“That place is not Gangbuk, but it is not Gangnam either. It’s literally an island.”

“That’s right!”

Namgung Hwang shouts in a thunderous voice.

“Even if it was a treaty made by mistake, a treaty is a treaty. Namgung does not set foot on Gangnam land before the deadline. It means that Namgung will definitely keep the words he has spoken!”

“Yes, Clan Leader.”

“But that place is not Gangnam!”

Namgung Hwang’s eyes flashed.

“Prepare the boats. I can no longer stand by and watch those dirty pirates dare to set up camp there and aim for Gangbuk. I will personally land on the island and tear those pirates to pieces!”

“C-Clan Leader. That’s too dangerous. Please reconsider.”

Namgung Myeong said urgently.

“As you can see, that place is an island. To get to that place, you have to go through the waterway.”

“So?”

“In other words, it means that you could be isolated if you enter that island. Support from allies is difficult, and attacks from pirates are easy.”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

“Yes?”

Namgung Hwang turned to Namgung Myeong with boiling eyes.

“Hwasan has defended that land for three years. That island, which is not included in the treaty and can be attacked at any time!”

“T-That’s⋯⋯.”

“Surely you’re not going to say that the Namgung Clan can’t do what Hwasan could do⋯⋯. No, are you going to say that the Namgung Clan can’t do what even the Green Forest has done?”

“N-No, that’s not what I mean at all. But⋯⋯!”

“Then prepare.”

“C-Clan Leader. Just listen to me one more time⋯⋯.”

Namgung Hwang clicked his tongue briefly with a displeased face as Namgung Myeong dissuaded him again.

“I’m not stupid enough not to know what you’re thinking. I’m not losing my mind and running into things without knowing what’s going on.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Don’t you know? The Black Dragon King is not there right now. And the Black Dragon Troop is not there either. It means it’s an unowned land. If it’s not now, it will be ten times more difficult to capture that island.”

“That’s true, but⋯⋯.”

“If you can’t move when the opportunity comes, you have to put in several times the effort later. Now is the time to move!”

Namgung Myeong bit his lip and nodded. Namgung Hwang’s words were not wrong.

“I understand, Clan Leader!”

“Launch the boats! I will get that island!”

“Yes!”

Namgung Hwang’s fierce eyes turned to Mae Hwa Island.

‘Black Dragon King. I will grab that leash. I, Namgung Hwang, will!’

A triumphant smile spread across his face.