Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1347. He says he’ll take that bastard's life (2)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“Over there! I heard screams from that direction!"
“Hurry!”
The Myriad Man Manor martial artists ran with all their might.
“Chief-nim! It’s to the side! The screams came from the side!”
"Argh, damn it all! What the hell is going on here! We're heading this way!"
The Myriad Man Manor martial artists who had been running forward suddenly pivoted sharply and shot off in a new direction. Soon after, other groups passed by, trailing in their wake.
And when the world had once again been swallowed by deep silence.
"Let’s move."
A group that had been hiding among the thick bushes emerged from cover.
“This way.”
"Yes!"
Led by Baek Cheon and Im Sobyeong, the survivors of Heavenly Comrade Alliance and Hainan Sect began sprinting across the ground where the enemies had disappeared.
“Soso.”
“Don’t worry, Sasuk! I won't let go even if I die."
Tang Soso answered confidently while carrying Yoo Iseol on her back. Baek Cheon nodded while looking at her. Following closely behind, Yoon Jong carried Jo-Gol with swift movements.
“What about up ahead?”
"We’re keeping an eye on it."
Baek Cheon focused his energy and spread his senses forward. What they needed to do now wasn't to fight the enemy, but to safely escape this Hundred Thousand Great Mountains while Chung Myung was drawing attention.
“This way, quickly!”
Baek Cheon’s eyes sharpened as he gave a swift command and turned the group in a new direction. Right after they concealed themselves in a corner of the towering mountainside, a group of Myriad Man Manor martial artists swiftly passed through the path they had been running on just moments before.
Once the enemies had moved far enough away, Baek Cheon led the group onward again.
“Nokrim King. How far is it?”
"The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains span thousands of li across horizontally, but they aren’t that long vertically. It shouldn't take even two hours!"
“Then let’s hurry!”
Just then, Hainan Sect Sect Leader Geum Yangbaek came running from behind.
“Acting Sect Leader.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
"There are quite a few heading toward where Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword is! Will he be alright?"
His eyes were filled with deep concern.
At this rate, they might manage to escape the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains without engaging in a major battle.
But doesn't this mean that Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword, who remained behind alone, would have to face all of Myriad Man Manor martial artists?
Most of the surviving Hainan Sect disciples were injured to varying degrees, so it might not have been their place to speak, but Geum Yangbaek simply couldn't ignore it. The favor they owed to Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword was beyond what words could express at this point.
“Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword isn’t even healthy. Someone should help....”
“No, please speak sense."
The one who coldly cut off those words wasn't Baek Cheon but Im Sobyeong. Running alongside Baek Cheon, his face twisted as he glared at Geum Yangbaek.
"Who’s helping who! Who’s helping who!"
“N- No.... but Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword's injuries..."
"And why do you think he got injured in the first place? Isn’t it because he was carrying around a bunch of dead weight? Do you think he would’ve been hurt like that had he been alone?”
Geum Yangbaek clamped his mouth shut. He understood what Nokrim King was implying.
It wasn't wrong. The path from Hainan Island to this great mountain was incredibly perilous, but if Chung Myung had attempted to break through alone, it might not have been so difficult for him.
It was hard for a few strong individuals to perfectly fight off a large number of weaker ones, but scattering that group of weaker ones was far easier.
A superior martial artist with the advantage in mobility can choose when and where to fight at will. They can swing their sword to their heart’s content at the time and place they desire and withdraw before they tire.
But in this battle, Chung Myung faced the enemy while his mobility was restrained. He couldn’t retreat when exhausted or flee even when injured.
It was akin to fighting while bound in chains.
Conversely, now that everyone had distanced themselves from him, Chung Myung was finally free from the shackles that had restrained him.
"People need to know their place, their place! What help could we offer! The best help we can give is not holding him back!”
Geum Yangbaek’s face contorted in response to the blatant ridicule and criticism. But even he couldn’t deny the truth in those words.
Baek Cheon subtly intervened to mediate the situation.
"For now, let’s focus on getting out of this great mountain. He’ll come on his own."
"...Understood, Acting Sect Leader."
When Geum Yangbaek withdrew with a hardened expression, Baek Cheon let out a deep sigh.
Im Sobyeong had clearly gone too far. But Baek Cheon didn't want to blame him. Nokrim King’s face was also stiff, far from someone who had just lashed out.
His pride was hurt as well.
Understandably so, since Im Sobyeong was the leader of Nokrim. It must be difficult for someone who was once counted among the world's finest strategists to completely accept his current status as a burden.
That was probably why he snapped at Geum Yangbaek for making him explain the situation with his own mouth.
Baek Cheon exhaled deeply.
‘Now’s not the time to think about such things.’
Everyone has a role to play at any given moment. Right now, Baek Cheon’s task wasn’t to waste time on wounded pride but to lead the injured out of the great mountain as quickly as possible.
“This way!”
"Yes!"
Baek Cheon quickly changed direction at the presence in front. However, this time, their reaction was a bit too slow, and the approaching group spotted the rear of their group before they could fully conceal themselves.
"Enemy!"
"Kill them!"
“Keuk.”
Baek Cheon and a few others gritted their teeth and charged toward the enemies. The few Myriad Man Manor martial artists were swiftly slaughtered.
"Kkeuk!"
As the fallen enemies let out wheezing sounds and collapsed, Baek Cheon turned his head and issued a command.
“It’s too conspicuous for all of us to move together. Split up as we discussed earlier.”
"Yes!"
Namgung Dowi, Tang Pae, and Hye Yeon nodded firmly. Their injuries weren’t severe, and two days of rest had been enough for them to recover to a decent extent. They would have no trouble leading Hainan Sect disciples.
"Rendezvous point remains as planned!"
“Understood, Acting Sect Leader.”
"May fortune be with you!"
"Yes!"
As previously discussed, those accompanying their groups scattered in all directions. Watching their retreating figures, Baek Cheon turned his gaze to Yoon Jong and Tang Soso who were guarding his rear and spoke softly.
“Let’s go too.”
“Yes, Sasuk.”
Leading the disciples of Hainan Sect, Baek Cheon ran forward. As he did so, he cast a quick glance back at the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains shrouded in darkness.
'Don't be late, y, you damn bastard.'
❀ ❀ ❀
“The Yulchil Unit has been hit!”
"Location?"
"Th- That, we currently cannot determine their location!"
"What nonsense are you spouting! Didn't you say they were hit?"
"Ev- Everyone is moving quickly through their assigned zones, so we don’t have an exact pinpoint…"
“Are you even listening to yourself!”
Ho Gamyeong’s adjutant exuded a killing intent toward the reporting subordinate. Though the subordinate prostrated himself in terror at this killing intent, no answer would materialize from nothing.
The subsequent reports were just as gut-wrenching.
"The Jeong-oh Unit (정오(丁五)) has also been hit too!"
"The third squad of the Gwi Gyeom Unit has been hit as well!"
"We still can’t pinpoint the bastard’s current location! Our reporting lines are insufficient!"
Even after piecing together the frantic reports from the messengers rushing in one after another, no clear conclusion could be drawn.
All that could be gleaned from this report was that the hastily organized units throughout the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains were being massacred here and there.
“Ad- Advisor.”
The adjutant called out to Ho Gamyeong in a trembling voice.
But Ho Gamyeong, despite surely having heard all these reports, didn't even react and just kept glaring at the mountain engulfed in darkness.
Swallowing nervously, the adjutant considered calling out to him again but ultimately held his tongue. Ho Gamyeong wasn’t reacting because he didn’t understand the situation. He wasn’t reacting because there was no point in doing so.
His eyes were dark and sunken, and his cracked lips parted to let out a hoarse voice.
"...It feels like we've stuck our head into a tiger's den."
Scattering the forces to deal with Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword... No, dealing with Plum Blossom Sword Demon bastard wasn't going to be easy. That much he knew. But the reports now reaching his ears cleanly surpassed even his expectations.
It felt as if they weren’t hunting him, but rather, he was luring them to places of his choosing and hunting them down one by one.
By now, the main force of Hainan Sect was likely escaping the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Ho Gamyeong wasn't one to fail to anticipate this much.
But there was no way to stop them now. With the reporting lines collapsed, there was no way to recall and reissue orders to those currently rushing at Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.
The only result left was to be thoroughly toyed with by Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword and lose the main force altogether.
From the moment Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword recovered far more quickly than expected and reappeared, the result was practically inevitable.
'Where did it go wrong?'
Should he have been more thorough? Perhaps if he hadn't hastily scattered his forces when they lost track of them but instead waited patiently, the situation might have improved.
No, even if that wasn’t the case, there must have been another way.
But Ho Gamyeong dismissed such thoughts as meaningless.
The more intricate a plan, the easier it was for a minor disruption to render it useless. No matter how perfectly he constructed his strategies, that Plum Blossom Sword Demon was the type to forcibly distort them.
This was simply the price of aiming for an opponent beyond their ability to handle.
"...Withdraw the armies."
“Ad- Advisor!”
“We must reduce further needless sacrifices.”
The adjutants bit their lips so hard they bled.
Even though they knew it was the right decision, they couldn’t bring themselves to relay the order immediately. Retreating now meant accepting complete failure. And that failure would signify Ho Gamyeong’s total defeat.
Everyone understood what consequences this failure would bring.
“A- Advisor! Not yet....”
"Don't make me commit any more sins against Lord Ryeonju."
The adjutants finally lowered their heads in silence.
The cost of claiming a mere hundred Hainan Sect disciple heads had been far too great. And since the unauthorized operation had ended in failure, not even the world-renowned Ho Gamyeong would be able to avoid taking responsibility.
Just as Ho Gamyeong closed his eyes tightly and was ready to relinquish everything.
Piiiiiiiiiiik!
A strange sound reached them. His eyes flew open at that moment.
A horn? No, this wasn't a horn. This was the cry of a beast he knew well.
'Could it be?'
He quickly raised his head. In the night sky devoid of even starlight, let alone moonlight, a faint red light was shimmering in the middle.
When Ho Gamyeong instinctively reached his arm forward, the light circling in the air descended like lightning and landed on it.
Puddeudeuk.
It was a crimson hawk.
Ho Gamyeong's eyes trembled as he looked at the small hawk that perched on his arm with one great flap of its wings.
“Lo- Lord Ryeonju....”
The adjutants' faces turned ashen as they recognized the hawk's identity.
Everyone knew that this small hawk with red and black feathers was Jang Ilso's mystical beast that carried only his commands.
Ho Gamyeong carefully untied the container attached to the hawk’s leg and retrieved the letter inside. Even until he unfolded it, his hands were trembling faintly.
Everyone held their breath waiting for his reaction as he read. But after reading the letter, Ho Gamyeong closed his eyes for a moment without showing any reaction.
At last, after a suffocating silence, Ho Gamyeong opened his eyes again. And he spoke while folding the letter.
"Pull back those engaging him to the second line."
“A- Advisor, then...?”
“The pursuit continues.”
"...Pardon?"
Ho Gamyeong's two eyes reflected the cold glimmer of the darkness-shrouded great mountains.
"Lord Ryeonju has decreed that he will personally take the life of that bastard."
A strange heat of ecstasy spread across his face.
Ho Gamyeong couldn’t handle him. Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.... No, the one who should now rightfully be called Plum Blossom Sword Denib. However...
‘If Lord Ryeonju himself steps in, that's a different story.'
No matter how fearsome Plum Blossom Sword Demon might be, he would have no choice but to accept the end of his fate.
For from now on, the one he must face is none other than Paegun Jang Ilso.
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