Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 943

The bandits filled the riverbank, surging forward like a tide.

They were not like jackals smelling blood. They were like sharks.

Their eyes glazed with madness, they howled with malice, seeking the flesh of the Namgung Clan.

The front lines crashed together.

The bandits screamed like animals, not men. They rushed forward without end. Watching them, the tired Namgung warriors felt hope drain away.

“Kahaaa!”

The swarming bandits leaped upon the Namgung Clan. For a moment, their forms blotted out the sun, casting a long shadow, as if foreshadowing their fate.

“Taah!”

But those who met them were none other than the Namgung Clan.

Even as despair washed over them, their instincts naturally found the sword path. And before they could think, their swords pierced the bandits.

Thwack! Thwack!

The Namgung Clan’s steel swords pierced the bodies of the bandits. The blood that spurted out as the blades emerged poured down on the Namgung swordsmen like rain.

The hot blood on their faces woke the tired swordsmen.

But this was just the beginning. Doubt started to creep into their hearts.

“Kill them all!”

“Shove harpoons down their throats!”

The bandits, heedless of the blood spilled by their comrades, charged without hesitation into the forest of jutting swords.

The battlefield was a storm of screams, the stench of blood and sweat thick in the air. Madness filled every breath.

Alone, facing death is hard. But in battle, with comrades beside you, you forget your own fear.

The bandits surged in, stepping over corpses and swords.

Overwhelmed and outnumbered.

The Namgung Clan’s swordsmen desperately swung their swords, trying to push them back. The bandits wielded their harpoons like madmen until the very moment their heads were severed.

“Aaargh!”

On a battlefield, courage is everything. Fear makes your sword weak. If they were in perfect condition, the situation might have been different, but the Namgung swordsmen had already exhausted all their energy.

So… all that remained was collapse.

Crack!

A sharp harpoon pierced his shoulder and emerged from his side.

“Ugh…”

A searing pain spread through his body.

But the enemy’s claws did not allow even a moment to savor the approaching death.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The ravenous harpoons relentlessly tore into the collapsing body. The swordsman, his body riddled with dozens of holes, crumbled, unable to leave behind even a complete corpse.

Slicing!

A wildly swung sword was shattered, and a throat was torn. Even as they fell, a sword struck back, pushing aside a harpoon and hitting a weak spot.

The front lines shattered, and the two camps began to intertwine in a chaotic mess.

“Hold the line! Don’t get mixed up, damn it!” Namgung Myung shouted, spitting blood. He had to be strong. For them.

The Namgung Clan was outnumbered by the bandits.

Each Namgung warrior was strong, someone bandits would normally fear. But this was not a martial arts arena. No matter how skilled one might be, on the battlefield, shouts and death raged from all directions. How could one block weapons flying from behind in such chaos?

The moment the front lines collapsed, annihilation was all but certain.

“Hold! Hold them back!”

Namgung Myung shouted and drew his sword, rushing forward. He knew that now was not the time to give orders from behind, but to step forward himself and restore the collapsing front lines.

As he moved, the elders who had been waiting also leaped forward.

Whirr!

“You cannot pass here before killing me!”

“Come on! You dogs of Surochae!”

The elders were desperate. Elder Lee saw his grandson fall and roared with rage. Their swords, which had been clenched and suppressed even in the face of the deaths of loved ones, finally had a chance to move and instantly tore through the bodies of the bandits.

“Aaargh!”

“Cough, cough! You damn…”

But the battle situation did not change easily.

The masters swept away many bandits, but the number of enemies rushing in seemed insignificant.

Bloodshot eyes filled Namgung Myung’s eyes.

‘If only this wasn’t here.’

If this place wasn’t a barren island, they wouldn’t have been driven this far. But this island had nowhere to hide and nowhere to lean back. And those enemies were now attacking from all directions.

Even the buildings where they could hide had been shattered by the bombardment. All that remained for them was the steel sword in one hand and the comrades they leaned on.

No, that’s not all!

“Oooooooh!”

With a roar that seemed to burst their eardrums, a blinding flash of white energy fell like a cannonball on the heads of the rushing bandits.

“Ah…”

The eyes of the bandits went blank for a moment. When they regained focus, their eyes filled with horror and fear, not madness.

Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!

The white sword energy was sweeping away and crushing the bandits.

A single sword strike.

With that one sword strike, at least twenty bandits were turned into minced meat. The ground where the sword energy hit was blasted clean, without even a drop of blood left.

Kawaaaam!

The aftermath of the explosion swept through the surroundings. The bandits each stopped, surprised by the shocking sight.

“What, what is that…”

“T-The Emperor’s Sword!”

No one wanted to be swept away by that sword energy. But the battlefield did not give them time to realize the reality.

“Get out of the way, you idiots!”

“Aaaargh!”

Some bandits in the back could not see the powerful sword energy. They pushed forward, kicking those in front who had stopped. They were like moths to a flame.

Kawaaaam!

Once again, white sword energy was emitted.

Emperor Sword, Namgung Hwang. He was tired, but he couldn’t give up. Not now.

He, too, was exhausted. But his sword was clearly proving why he was called the Emperor Sword.

“Kill!”

But he, too, had only one body. As bandits swarmed in like ants, the sword felt too short and the body felt too small to block them all.

“Heuaaah!”

An convulsive shout erupted from Namgung Hwang’s mouth.

Wham! Wham! Kawaaam!

Each time the sword was swung, terrifying sword energy raged like a storm.

“Black Dragon Waaaaah!”

Bloodshot eyes rose in Namgung Hwang’s eyes.

“You, a coward, the King of the Yangtze? The world will laugh at that!”

He was desperate to provoke and draw out the Black Dragon King at any cost.

But the Black Dragon King remained unmoved.

He simply watched Namgung Hwang struggling like a wolf rampaging among sheep, with only a faint sneer on his face.

“Ugh…”

Even though they were at a distance where they could feel each other’s gaze, Namgung Hwang could not rush at the owner of that gaze. He sensed that the moment he stepped away from this place, the Namgung Clan would be annihilated, regardless of their duel.

“Aaaaargh!”

Namgung Hwang cut out the waist of a rushing bandit. Viscera and blood poured out from the split waist, covering his entire body.

The heat and the terrible stench stimulated all his senses.

In the middle of that battlefield, Namgung Hwang screamed and screamed again.

He’s dying.

“Aaaaargh!”

His disciple. Dying again.

“Kraaah!”

His family.

An overwhelming exchange ratio. For every Namgung who died, more than ten bandits died. It was an achievement worthy of the name Namgung Clan.

But who could be happy?

Who would willingly exchange their death for the death of the enemy?

“You bastards, raaaah!”

Namgung Hwang saw it clearly.

He saw his son, Namgung Dowi, shedding tears of blood as he cut down the pirates.

His sword was swift and strong, shining brightly even though he was losing hope. It was the strength Namgung had always wanted to see in his son.

But…

‘Even that sword will fall here.’

Realizing the fate of his clan, hot tears finally streamed down Namgung Hwang’s face.

Even losing an arm or being stabbed in the heart wouldn’t make this strong man cry. But seeing his family die and his clan destroyed, he felt like a weak person.

It was all his fault.

All his sin.

If he could save even one more, he would gladly turn his entire body into dust and suffer eternal torment in hell for thousands of years. But the heavens did not even grant him the chance to sacrifice himself.

As if his life were too insignificant.

The pirates’ blood and the Namgungs’ blood mingled on the floor. In life, they were different, but in death, they were merely the same corpses.

Ugh, aargh! Save me!

N-no more!

They were collapsing.

Though they had fought bravely in the face of death, their will could not overcome the fear of the harpoons constantly aimed at them, and the deaths of their comrades right beside them. One by one, they began to retreat, tears and snot streaming down their faces.

“Don’t fall back!”

“Hold your ground! Please! Please!”

Namgung Dowi, the younger son, fought with a fierce energy, his face stained with blood and tears. Namgung Myung, the older son, shouted orders, trying to keep the clan together even as they fell apart. Their shouts intertwined, echoing desperately across Plum Blossom Island.

In their final moments, they wanted to uphold the name of Namgung and die like warriors. But their death was not brave or honorable. It was just sad and scary.

Name? Reputation? Dignity?

What good were those to the fallen?

They just wanted to live. Even for a moment longer. Even if it meant using a comrade as a shield, even for a fleeting instant…

Ugh… Aargh!

A lion’s roar erupted from Namgung Hwang’s mouth, filled with rage and despair.

Namgung Hwang roared, and his presence was like a tiger suddenly appearing among wolves. The pirates, like wolves with sharp teeth, hesitated to attack him.

But there was only so much a single tiger could do on this vast battlefield.

Thud.

A head, severed from its body, landed at Namgung Hwang’s feet.

Namgung Hwang couldn’t bear to look at the head and turned away. Thick, bloody tears streamed from his heart.

‘Very well. Let us all die here.’

He gritted his teeth and mustered all his inner strength. If he was going to die anyway, he would take as many pirates with him as possible. He didn’t even consider hope.

Ugh…

But at that moment…

An unbelievable shout reached Namgung Hwang’s ears.

“Aaaargh! They’re here! They’re here!”

He frantically looked towards the source of the sound.

“Shaolin! Shaolin is here! Shaolin has arrived!”

Shaolin?

Like welcome rain after a drought, news spread, and shock and joy bloomed in the eyes of the Namgung Clan swordsmen who were on the verge of collapse. Everyone desperately looked towards the opposite bank.

Ah… Aaaah…

Aaaaaaaaaaargh!

“Damn it! They’re here! Reinforcements have arrived!”

The Namgung Clan swordsmen, upon seeing a group of people wearing yellow robes on the opposite bank, shouted at the top of their lungs.

“Shaolin is coming to help!”

“Hold on! Hold on!”

“You dog-like pirate bastards! I’ll kill you all!”

The appearance of Shaolin was joy to the Namgung Clan, but this news was like terrible news for the pirates.

S-Shaolin?

Shaolin is here?

The pirates also had eyes, and upon seeing Shaolin on the opposite bank, they quickly began to regain their senses.

Why… Why Shaolin…?

Damn it!

They knew it too.

The river was too wide for ordinary people, but those were the warrior monks of Shaolin. If they so willed, they could cross the river in an instant and join the battle on Plum Blossom Island.

The pirates’ movements faltered for a moment.

Chaos and confusion repeatedly swept over Plum Blossom Island.

“Abbot!”

“Hmm!”

Beopjeong bit his lip and nodded.

“We’re not too late! No… We are a bit late, but we can still win!”

If they had been even a moment later, no one would have been alive there.

It was painful that the battle had begun before they arrived, but the Namgung Clan had not yet been destroyed. Even if they could save only half of their forces, they could certainly discuss victory!

“Abbot! This is no time to delay!”

“Indeed!”

A great lion’s roar erupted from Beopjeong’s mouth.

“Disciples, listen! Cross the river and support the Namgung Clan! Drive the vile pirate horde from that island!”

“Yes!”

Beopjeong’s monastic robe fluttered in the wind.

‘We’ve won this time!’

Beopjeong clenched his fist.

This battle was always about who arrived first. Now that they had reached this place first, the outcome was as good as decided. No matter how great the Surochae were, they could not face Shaolin and Namgung at the same time.

It didn’t matter that the Namgung Clan was not in its best condition. Shaolin alone could handle the Surochae. By fighting on the island and holding the pirates there, the Namgung Clan had done their job.

“Now! Go and defeat the evil foes…!”

Just as Beopjeong was about to shout loudly and bravely…

Twitch.

He stopped speaking, twitching for a moment. And then, he began to shout urgently.

“S-stop! Everyone, stop where you are!”

The Shaolin monks, who were about to jump into the river, were surprised by the urgent voice coming from behind and turned around.

“A-Abbot?”

Beopgyeong also looked at Beopjeong with a face that said he didn’t know why. Where did they have time to delay now?

“…Abbot?”

But the moment he checked Beopjeong’s face, he flinched. Beopjeong was as white as if he had encountered a ghost.

“What’s wro…”

“A, Ami… Amitabha…”

The Buddha’s name trembled terribly.

“Why… Why! Why!”

Seeing him burst into anger, Beopgyeong slowly turned his head as if he had realized something. The place where his gaze was directed was the upper reaches of the river that Beopjeong had been staring at first.

“Ah…”

Only then did Beopgyeong begin to see it too.

A large fleet that was finally beginning to reveal its appearance along the greatly curved river.

Kk…

There was no way he could have misseen it. He couldn’t even turn away from it.

He had no choice but to confirm it with his trained eyes.

Among the dozens of ships that appeared at the same time, the largest ship was at the very front. And the figure of a man standing at its bow.

There was no way he couldn’t recognize him. How could he forget that figure? Anyone who had seen him even once would never be able to forget him.

“J-Jang…”

A terrified voice leaked from Beopgyeong’s mouth.

“Jang Il… So…”

The Tyrant, Jang Il-So.

Jang Il-So stood at the front of the ship. He was a large man, with a cruel smile and eyes that seemed to see right through you. His clothes were rich and dark, and rings glittered on his fingers as he laughed. Standing at the head of the fleet advancing towards Plum Blossom Island, he saw Shaolin lined up on the riverbank and raised one corner of his mouth.

“Oh, my. You’ve all come running so diligently.”

He covered his face with hands that had many colorful rings, and smiled in a creepy way.

“Why? Were you expecting something? Haha! Ahahaha! Ahahahahaha!”

Even the Yangtze River held its breath at Jang Il-So’s laughter, filled with joy and madness.