Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1331. Just remember that name (1)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“H- He’s coming!”
"Th- This, damn it! Shoot! Shoot and kill him!"
The artilleryman who was aligning the cannon shouted with a face pale as a sheet.
Of course, even as he shouted, he knew his words made no sense. Cannons weren’t meant to target individuals to begin with. They were weapons designed to wreak havoc on tightly packed groups, not to precisely hit a single target.
Moreover, the one charging in wasn't an ordinary person, but a demon-like Mount Hua martial master who had cut down all their protectors - how could mere cannons possibly work against such a being?
"I said fire, damn it! Hurry!"
Kwaaaaaaang!
The cannon fired at Jo-Gol who was charging toward them with gritted teeth. The black cannonball hoots forth at terrifying speed.
But Jo-Gol ran on without even blinking. He kept running as the cannonball grazed just over his head and slammed into a massive tree behind him.
Kuuuuuung!
A tree thicker than a person's torso was instantly splintered and snapped in half. The scene clearly demonstrated the destructive power of the cannon.
But however powerful, it was meaningless if it didn't connect.
"Ag- Again! Quickly!"
Hands scrambled frantically to quickly reload the cannon.
But as if it was a vain effort, by the time the fuse was lit again, Jo-Gol had already closed the distance and was right in front of them.
“You...!”
Kwang!
Jo-Gol stepped forward with explosive force and swung his sword fiercely.
"You bastaaaaaards!"
Paaaaaaaang!
The air seemed to split as his sword cut through, leaving a vivid crimson line trailing through the air. The men manning the cannon were split in half in an instant, their bodies collapsing like broken dolls.
"S- Spare me…"
Puuk!
Jo-Gol unhesitatingly thrust his sword into the heart of one whom his sword strike hadn't reached and violently pulled it out before the heart's pulse could even transmit through his sword's edge.
Chwaaaak!
Red blood spurted out and splattered onto the cannon.
"Huuft! Huuft! Huuft!"
Panting heavily, Jo-Gol scanned his surroundings. No one living remained in his sight. All that remained were blood-soaked corpses growing cold.
Eudeuk.
Biting down hard on her lip, Yoo Iseol stomped on the lit fuse. The cannon muzzle jerked upward toward the sky.
Kwaaaaaang!
A cannonball shot high into the air.
Kwaaaaaang!
Seeing the shell surge upward, Baek Cheon immediately grasped the situation and shouted loudly,
"Everyone, move! Now!"
The situation was devastating. More than half of the elders had collapsed from poison and injuries, and many of Hainan Sect disciples were heavily wounded.
Those too injured to properly run and those who had completely exhausted their strength barely managed to grip their swords.
Yet even in this terrible situation, everyone responded to Baek Cheon's voice. A voice they had heard continuously from the shore of Hainan Island until now. That voice now held an unshakable authority over Hainan Sect disciples.
“This way!”
Baek Cheon shouted as he ran to the front.
For the exhausted, it was easier to follow actions than to process words.
“Follow the Acting Sect Leader!”
“Won’t you move! Do you want to die here?”
As Namgung Dowi and Hye Yeon harshly urged them on, Geum Yangbaek roared in a booming voice.
“What are you doing! Follow the Acting Sect Leader at once! Elders, carry the wounded disciples on your backs! Hurry!"
Though the elders themselves were barely able to stand, they did not forget their duty. They somehow hoisted the wounded disciples onto their backs and followed Baek Cheon, led by Geumyang Baek.
The disciples of Hainan Sect who could still move reflexively followed suit, stomping on the ground with all their remaining strength.
"Damn it! What are you doing!"
Meanwhile, Im Sobyeong burst with frustration as he grabbed Tang Soso from behind. Sh She was clinging desperately to a dying Hainan Sect disciple.
"Let go! Just let me finish this!"
"He’s already dead! Already!!"
"Not yet... He’s not dead yet!"
"Get a grip! If you die, everyone else dies too!"
Tang Soso’s eyes shook at the words. Her expression alone revealed how much she had been pushed to her emotional limits.
However, Im Sobyeong paid no mind to her feelings and forcibly grabbed her as he kicked the ground.
As everyone else rushed ahead, Gwak Hwanso ran to those who still couldn't move their feet.
"What are you doing! Follow immediately!"
“Dae- Daesahyung!”
Those who didn't know what to do looked at Gwak Hwanso with eyes full of despair.
"Sa- Sahyung's wounds..."
Gwak Hwanso's eyes dropped. A saje was groaning with blood-soaked bandages around his chest.
Realizing the situation, Gwak Hwanso clenched his fist reflexively.
The other wounded could be moved somehow. They could die together if need be.
But not them. They couldn’t be carried. Their injuries were too severe; any movement would cause their wounds to reopen and hasten their deaths.
Tang Soso had done her best to administer emergency treatment and keep them alive, but they had no strength left to continue the march and had to be left behind.
Gwak Hwanso clenched his teeth. The tendons in his jaw bulged.
"Go!"
"Huh?"
“I get it, so go!”
“G- Go? Sahyung!”
Realizing what Gwak Hwanso meant, one of the disciples cried out desperately.
"They're still alive, still! What’s that nonsense! Are you telling us to abandon our sahyung here like this? That's…!"
“Shut up and go!”
“Daesahyung!”
As the saje screamed, Gwak Hwanso grabbed him by the collar and yanked him close. His bloodshot eyes fiercely glared into the saje's tear-filled eyes.
"Then what? Will you die here with them?"
There was no answer. Gwak Hwanso shoved the disciple away, almost throwing him. There was no time even for arguments.
If Chung Myung blocking from the rear was pushed back and the gorge opened again, the forces of Myriad Man Manor would surge out like a flood.
With people this exhausted, they won't even be able to put up a fight. They wouldn’t get the chance to swing their swords before being slaughtered.
Having barely escaped from that hellish place, they couldn’t die such dog’s deaths!
"Go, now! Unless you want me to kill you myself!"
Whether it was out of fear of Gwak Hwanso’s overpowering momentum or because they realized there was no other choice, the disciple who had collapsed let out a heart-wrenching cry and began to run forward.
Even those who hesitated until the very last moment finally followed him.
Gwak Hwanso, tilting his head back as if to suppress his tears, slowly lowered his gaze again.
Even in that brief moment, Gwak Hwanso felt a deep fear.
Those injured but still conscious must have heard every word he said. He was terrified of their gazes filled with bitter resentment, of words sharp as daggers.
But what Gwak Hwanso saw was entirely different from what he expected.
"Sa… hyung…"
Several disciples lying pale-faced pointed at themselves with trembling hands.
Gwak Hwanso was left speechless. The moment he understood what that meant, his already heavy shoulders finally crumbled miserably.
"Pl...ease..."
“Ugh....”
He wanted to cover his ears. He would rather bite down on a blade and fall. He wanted to run away anywhere.
"Sa… hyung…"
“Eeuuaaaaaaa!”
Gwak Hwanso swung his sword like lightning while letting out a beast-like cry. Blood seeped from his bitten lips.
His treasured sword, adorned with Hainan Sect’s symbolic wave pattern, cut through the necks of his sahyung in a single stroke.
Puut!
As blood spurted from their severed necks and the light faded from their eyes, faint smiles bloomed on Hainan Secr disciples' lips.
"Th...ank..."
"Sur...vive..."
Gwak Hwanso ran away without even listening to the rest. No, it would be more accurate to say he fled, unable to bear hearing them.
Far, farther away.
No more tears left.
He knew this was the only choice. They could no longer fight, but neither could they die easily.
But if left here, they would be captured by the enraged Myriad Man Manor and subjected to every humiliation imaginable before dying in agony.
In that case, it was better for him to end their lives himself.
So this was the way to help them. Gwak Hwanso knew this.
"Eeuaaaaaaaa!"
But knowing didn’t lessen the heart-wrenching pain in his chest. Knowing doesn't change the fact that he had cut the necks of sahyung he had spent his whole life with.
'Survive.'
There was no longer even the slightest thought of an honorable death left in his mind.
He must live.
He must survive and exact revenge. He must shed blood as many as the people who died here.... No, he must exact revenge by spilling a hundred, thousand times more blood.
'I will survive at all costs! I must!'
Terrible killing intent rose in his eyes as he struck the ground with all his might.
“Sasuk!”
“Ahead!”
“We haven’t located all the archers! There could be more ambushes ahead!”
Yoon Jong shouted as he quickly joined Baek Cheon’s side.
Shortly after, Jo-Gol ran over at full speed from ahead.
“The cannons are all taken care of!”
“Take the lead! We don’t know how many more ambushes there might be!”
“Sago! Sago headed towards the rear! She’s injured!”
Baek Cheon instinctively turned toward the direction Jo-Gol mentioned.
They had entered the forest path, and through the dense bushes in the distance, he could see a deep gorge as though carved by Heaven's sword.
He didn’t need further explanation to guess what had happened.
“That Chung Myung must be at his limit! Sago can’t handle it alone with her injuries! We need to help!”
Baek Cheon’s face clouded momentarily..
He should go.
Just from Jo-Gol's words, the situation was clear. And right now, Baek Cheon was the only one capable of going to the rear.
But if he withdrew and those left behind faced ambushes at the front? Could they break through with just them?
“...Jo-Gol.”
“Yes, Sasuk!”
“Take the lead. Shake off the pursuers."
“Are you going, Sasuk?”
“....”
“Sasuk?”
Baek Cheon remained silent. Jo-Gol's eyes wavered for a moment.
"Sasuk Sago's injuries are serious! She's not her usual self!"
"I said take the lead!"
Jo-Gol flinched when Baek-cheon shouted in an enraged voice.
But only briefl, Jo-Gol glared at Baek-cheon with bloodshot eyes. His face looked ready to charge in and throw a punch.
“So, you’re leaving her behind?”
“They’re not ones who can’t take care of themselves! They’ll make it back!”
“If we’re in danger, we’ll abandon everything and run away—you said that yourself!”
Baek Cheon closed his mouth as if struck speechless. His composed eyes were trembling.
"You said that! You clearly said that to me, Sasuk!"
“....”
“Chung Myung will die! Sago will die! Don’t you understand what’s happening? Are you out of your mind?!”
“Shut your mouth!”
The shout came not from Baek Cheon but Yoon Jong. Yoon Jong glared at Jo-Gol with a face distorted like an evil ghost.
“Sahyung. But....”
“I said shut up!”
As Yoon Jong shouted again, Jo-Gol's sword-holding hand trembled faintly.
His gaze shifted toward Hainan Sect disciples desperately keeping up with them. But the look in his eyes was no longer the same as before.
"For these people..."
“Jo-Gol!”
“What’s so great about this damned Hainan Sect that we have to go this far! You're all crazy! Out of your minds, you damn bastards!”
“You son of a beast!”
Just as Yoon Jong was about to grab his collar, Jo-Gol didn't hold back and struck away that hand. Then leaving behind the shocked Yoon Jong, he ran toward the gorge without hesitation.
"Gol! Jo-Gol, you punk!"
"Leave him."
Yoon Jong turned at Baek Cheon's words. Baek Cheon was biting his lip until it bled while his eyes glared with terrible gleam.
“...You lead the way. We'll arrive at Gangbuk alive. No matter what happens."
“...Yes, Sasuk.”
Somewhere, the sound of something breaking seemed to echo faintly.
Perhaps it was an omen of catastrophe.
Hidden inside his sleeve where none could see, Baek Cheon’s trembling hand shook pitifully.
|Note
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