Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1395. They'll be waiting for us (5)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“Advisor-nim! The Ding (정(丁)) unit has completed the encirclement! The Wu (무(戊)) and Ji (기(己)) units are moving to their designated positions!”
"The Eul ((乙)) unit is currently engaged in combat with Plum Blossom Sword Demon! There’s a high risk he’ll break through!”
Ho Gamyeong's eyes grew colder as he listened to the flood of reports.
The speed at which Plum Blossom Sword Demon Chung Myung was breaking through the encirclements was gradually slowing. No, to be precise, the distance he could cover after breaking through the encirclement was rapidly decreasing.
Previously, he would have interpreted this as the demon deliberately stalling to buy time for his main group to escape, but...
‘Considering all factors, this feels different.’
Ho Gamyeong’s eyes darkened gravely.
The longer time dragged on, the thicker the encirclement around the demon became. He's not one who wouldn't recognize that situation.
If he knew and still couldn’t escape, it meant he lacked the strength to break through.
The monster had finally shown its limits.
Ho Gamyeong glanced around. His adjutants seemed to sense the same thing, their faces flushed with excitement.
A sigh-like murmur escaped Ho Gamyeong’s lips.
“In the end… even you were human.”
The adjutants looked at Ho Gamyeong in silence. His voice carried many emotions.
Resentment and hatred. Relief at finally having pushed the enemy into the net. Joy that they could at last fulfill the orders of Ryeonju.
But anyone hearing his voice firsthand would recognize a subtle trace of regret as well.
An emotion that should never be displayed by military advisor of Myriad Man Manor, let alone military advisor of Evil Tyrant Alliance. Depending on the situation, it could even provide grounds for his downfall.
But the adjutants deliberately chose not to point this out.
Not because they feared pointing out Ho Gamyeong's mistake, but because they too could understand the feelings that had finally compelled him to utter those words.
“…There’s no need to rush.”
Ho Gamyeong spoke as if steeling himself.
“Even if it’s slow, we’ll cut off his breath for good.”
“Yes, Advisor-nim!”
Just as Ho Gamyeong, having gained certainty, was about to move—
Peeeeeeee!
A sharp hawk's cry echoed overhead. Narrowing his eyes, Ho Gamyeong looked upward and frowned slightly.
'Urgent message?'
The hawk, swooping down as if snatching prey, fluttered down onto Ho Gamyeong's outstretched arm Ho Gamyeong took out the letter from the tube attached to the hawk's leg and read it without delay.
“...Heavenly Comrade Alliance?”
A hollow laugh escaped his lips.
"I knew recklessness was Heavenly Comrade Alliance's specialty, but... this exceeds all bounds."
The adjutants who saw the letter Ho Gamyeong held out stiffened their faces.
“Advisor-nim, this is....”
“No need to panic. They won’t be able to accomplish much. Still… we should prepare.”
Ho Gamyeong adjusted the positions of the encirclement surrounding Chung Myung and issued orders before stated calmly.
“I’m going to that bastard.”
“A- Advisor-nim! It’s dangerous!”
"Dangerous?"
Voices of protest erupted from all sides, but Ho Gamyeong’s expression remained utterly unchanged.
"Is there any greater danger to us now than that bastard returning alive?"
The adjutant, momentarily speechless, stared at Ho Gamyeong before bowing his head deeply.
“Lead the way.”
In the end, the adjutants nodded.
“This way!”
Ho Gamyeong's eyes grew cold as he followed the adjutant.
‘I won’t allow even a single variable.’
The perfect death of Chung Myung. In Throughout this entire journey, that alone had been Ho Gamyeong's sole purpose.
❀ ❀ ❀
"Wa- Wait!"
Namgung Dowi shouted urgently. His specialty was crushing enemies with his immense internal strength, manifesting as sword energy. Because of its nature, his attacks inevitably swept a wide area.
The problem was that every time he tried to swing his sword, someone kept stepping in front of him.
“Do- Dojang! Just a moment!”
"What 'just a moment', damn it!"
Jo-Gol, gritting his teeth, pushed past Namgung Dowi. The explosive red sword energy he unleashed instantly tore through the charging Myriad Man Manor martial artists. After felling more than three enemies with a single strike, he still wasn’t satisfied and charged forward, his body almost scraping the ground.
“Aaaaaah!”
But Seol So-baek's attack, who had leaped forward before Jo-Gol, was faster.
Paat!
Seol So-baek’s sword sliced through enemies like lightning, leaving behind pure white frost instantly forming on their bodies.
The two seemed to be competing as they cleared the path.
No, perhaps ‘cutting through a path’ doesn't quite fit this scene. They were charging into the enemy ranks without even checking if all the enemies had fallen or if they had properly finished them off.
“Get the hell out of our way, you bastards!”
The two swung their swords repeatedly while cursing fiercely.
Seeing their dangerously reckless behavior, Namgung Dowi urgently looked around. He was searching for Baek Cheon.
“A- Acting Sect Leader. Let’s regroup first…”
After all, Baek Cheon was the only one here who could calm these madman.
But the Baek Cheon he urgently searched for was no longer by his side.
“Anyone who gets in the way dies!”
Red sword energy surged sharply from the front. It wasn’t yet a fully blossomed plum blossom sword energy. Abandoning the precision that was essential to Mount Hua’s swordsmanship, sword energy imbued only with swift power roughly and violently swept through the enemies.
'Wh- When did he get there...?'
The system they had maintained from Hainan Island to here had long since become meaningless. Everyone was racing forward and competing with each other to make their own path. Namgung Dowi couldn't help but be flustered at this sight.
“Ooooooooh!”
At that moment, a brilliant golden light burst forth from behind him.
“Hey, eeek...!”
Namgung Dowi violently flung himself to the side. The light that narrowly grazed where he had been instantly crushed the retreating Myriad Man Manor martial artists.
Kwaaaaaang!
The ensuing explosion of energy contained not even a speck of Buddhist compassion. Startled, Namgung Dowi turned to look at Hye Yeon.
“M- Monk, that’s dangerous!”
“What do you mean?”
"N- No, not just me, but Acting Sect Leader almost got caught in it too..."
"He'll dodge on his own! If he can't dodge, tell him to move aside!”
“....”
“Too slow!”
Hye Yeon, who had just shouted, disappeared from his spot as if snuffed out.
'Interchange?' (이형환위/移形換位)
Like some sorcery, Hye Yeon appeared once again in front of the group and unleashed a mighty lion’s roar as he punched forward. His Arhat Fist, pushed to its extreme, made his limbs seem to multiply as they struck in all directions.
Namgung Dowi was left speechless as he watched the scene.
Yoon Jong, usually the composed disciple of Mount Hua, was rampaging like a furious demon, while Tang Soso, the youngest among them, was trampling over her senior disciples as she broke through the enemy lines.
Was it strange?
No, it wasn’t. If you thought about it, Heavenly Comrade Alliance had always been like this. Didn’t Namgung Dowi know that?
Yet the reason the current scene felt awkward now was simple.
'They've all been holding back until now.'
Seeing this spectacle, Namgung Dowi realized how much they had been suppressing themselves while carrying so many burdens from Hainan Island to here. Now, with nothing left to carry and only the single goal of saving Chung Myung, they were all revealing their true selves without restraint.
They were already exhausted as can be.
But each one was drawing upon every last reserve of strength, fighting desperately through their enemies. All to reach Chung Myung, who was in danger, as quickly as possible.
'Me- Me too!'
Just as Namgung Dowi gritted his teeth and was about to charge forward, suddenly a heavy weight pressed against his sword.
'Huh?'
When he turned around in confusion, he saw one person. Yoo Iseol. She was firmly pressing down on Namgung Dowi’s blade with her own.
“Iseol Dojang?”
Namgung Dowi was momentarily perplexed. Was it not his time to step forward?
But her next words were indifferent and clear.
"Throw me."
“...Yes?”
"Throw me."
“....”
“Hurry!”
Caught off guard, Namgung Dowi stomped the ground and swung his sword upwards with all his strength. Yoo Iseol, lightly placing her weight on the sword, soared into the air like a hawk. Then she immediately descended upon the heads of the enemies blocking the way ahead.
Paaaaat!
Yoo Iseol’s Plum Blossom Sword drew an elegant arc through the air. The necks of those caught in the arc successively shot upward.
“Run faster, you slugs!”
"I- I know!"
Baek Cheon gritted his teeth and stabbed his sword into the retreating enemy’s body. Without even waiting for his enemy to fall, he immediately kicked off the man’s chest, scattering countless sword energies as he advanced.
'Faster!'
The more anxious he became, the more the veins on his jaw bulged.
No matter how many he cut down, these ant-like enemies seemed endless. No matter how much he fought, it felt like they would be replenished forever.
The reason Baek Cheon felt this urgency wasn't because dealing with these enemies was overwhelming. It stemmed from knowing that Chung Myung had been fighting these enemies alone for a long time now.
He could tell. That the level of enemies blocking Heavenly Comrade Alliance group wasn't particularly impressive. Given they were facing the elite Myriad Man Manor, this should have been impossible.
That means only one thing. The skilled martial artists of Myriad Man Manor had all been sent to chase Chung Myung.
Could he hold out?
Of course, he was a monster. But could he truly outrun them in that state?
“Aaaaaah! Damn it!”
Baek Cheon shot out sword energy with eyes filled with madness.
He could escape. Of course, he could escape. But Baek Cheon also knew. That he never runs away in situations like this. He would stall until the very limit, and only when completely cornered at the last of the last moment would he try to open his path.
Even if the outcome wasn’t favorable.
‘As if I'd let you, you damn bastard!’
Baek Cheon's eyes surged with killing intent.
“Sasuk! Over there!”
At that moment, Baek Cheon jerked his head up at the shout that erupted nearby.
Sure enough, he saw a group of people. They were looking in the opposite direction from Heavenly Comrade Alliance group.
Baek Cheon had a gut feeling.
He was there. If we break through those bastards, Chung Myung was behind them!
That wall-like encirclement couldn’t possibly cover a wide area!
Baek Cheon ran at full speed and unleashed his sword.
Kaaaaang!
But unlike before, his sword was immediately blocked by a dao that flew in instantly. The enemies, their eyes filled with killing intent, growled as they glared at Baek Cheon.
“Arrogant brat!”
Intense blue sword energy filled with vicious killing intent poured down continuously.
Gritting his teeth, Baek Cheon deflected the attacks and stabbed his sword into the neck of a Myriad Man Manor martial artist in front of him.
One, then another. Slowly but surely, he cut them down. Sluggishly but definitely, he broke through.
But....
'Not enough!'
This wasn’t enough. He needed to be stronger. Faster. Only then could he break through this path in time.
“It’s not enough, damn it!”
Finally, a scream burst from his lips. His face twisted with anger and desperation.
He felt powerless. If only he were a little stronger, he could have swept these bastards away in an instant. If it were Chung Myung coming to save him instead of him trying to save Chung Myung, he would have already reached Baek Cheon and had time to spare.
He just needed to become stronger. Even if it took a lot of time, he just needed to become stronger.
The promise he made some time ago felt futile at this moment. The moment he needed to be strong always came before the moment he became strong. Hadn’t he experienced that frustration enough to be sick of it?
Images he desperately didn't want to imagine kept flashing in his mind.
The sight of Chung Myung riddled by the enemy's sword. And he who arrived late.
'No!'
He would rather die than see that.
In an instant, a massive surge of energy erupted from Baek Cheon’s body.
“Sasuk!”
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
The imperfect Violet Mist Divine Art. Baek Cheon drew upon it with all his might.
A martial technique that hasn't yet reached maturity naturally eats away at the user's body. It was an extremely dangerous act, one that could easily lead to qi deviation. Especially in a situation like now when he had no reserves left, it could rightfully be called a suicidal act.
“Move aside!”
The frightened Yoon Jong and Jo-Gol tried to grab him in a hurry, but Baek Cheon shook them off without a moment's hesitation and charged toward the enemy. The red sword energy that poured from his sword spread like the sunset dyeing the western sky.
'Please, just be alive somehow!'
He would definitely save him. No matter what price he had to pay.
|Note
Consider supporting me by subscribing on Patreon for 5$. The Patreon membership for Mount Hua and Infinite Mage is the same. The benefit:
Advance chapters of Mount Hua : 76
Advance chapters of Magic Realm Convenience Store Worker : 144 Chapters
Advance chapters of Got a Gallery in the Wild : 10
Thank you for the chapter!