Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1589. So who is it? (9)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
The eyes of the Thousand-Faced Gentleman, Dam Yeohae (담여해(譚與海)), racing through the darkness, blazed with a sharp blue light.
As if his throat were burning, or as if he were feeling unbearable hunger, he repeatedly licked his pitch-black lips.
Someone might point fingers and call him frivolous.
But anyone who saw the perfect situation spread out before their eyes would feel a thirst just like him.
'Ryeonju.'
Did he truly know? Exactly when Evil Tyrant Alliance's reinforcements arrive? From which direction would they leap in?
There was no way.
But that absurd thing was happening right now. As if Jang Ilso had been fighting while giving instructions right beside him, he had created this most perfect situation for Hao Sect to run wild.
A large enemy with severed limbs was writhing in agony. They could slice open its belly and tear out its hot entrails right now.
"We enter!"
"Yes!"
Internal strength coiled around Dam Yeohae’s hands.
‘Since when was it?’
When had the one he had merely considered a madman, but whom he could no longer dare call by such a name, begun drawing this grand picture?
‘How long has he waited?’
For this moment to plunge the sharp blade called 'Sun Palace' into the backs of enemies charging without any suspicion!
Taking Yunnan and Sichuan was for this one move. To hide this one move that would fall like a bolt from the blue on Hubei until the very end!
Could those bastards have ever imagined this vast and wicked picture?
“Smash them all to pieces! Show those great Jungwon bastards the power of the Southern Sea!”
A roar that seemed to burst eardrums could be heard.
The phrase 'Jungwon bastards' was somewhat grating, but it didn't matter. That voice filled with internal strength would bring greater terror to the enemies.
And in fact, one part of those words was very much to his liking.
Whiiiiiiing!
The internal strength wrapped around Dam Yeohae's hands began to rage like a storm.
Dam Yeohae, so elated that his facial disguise was peeling off, shouted with all his might.
"It is time to seize Jungwon!"
Hao Sect and Sun Palace.
Jang Ilso's two long-forged daggers surged toward the prey caught in the trap.
---
“Ha- Hao Sect! Hao Sect has appeared!”
Another one over there! There are people of unknown identity!"
"Sect Leader, the situation has changed! Give us orders! Sect Leader!"
Though shouts came from here and there, Jongni Hyeong just stared blankly at the people running towards them as if in a daze.
‘…Sun Palace?’
He had expected Hao Sect to come. It would have been stranger not to expect them. Since they proudly formed one axis of Evil Tyrant Alliance, it made no sense for them not to appear when their alliance leader faced death.
Still, Jongni Hyeong had brought everyone here believing firmly that even if Hao Sect joined, they would keep the upper hand.
"Why... why are they taking Evil Tyrant Alliance's side?"
But that belief was literally shattered to pieces thanks to the Sun Palace's appearance.
The Five Outer Palaces. Even if not close to Righteous Sects, they should be even more distant from Evil Sects, so why are they suddenly stepping up to help Evil Tyrant Alliance? Why!
“Sect Leader!”
Only when another frantic shout struck his ears did Jongni Hyeong snap back to his senses.
'We must flee...'
They must escape.
It was a force that would be overwhelming even if they faced it while maintaining formation.
And yet, they were facing them in this entangled state? The result was as clear as day.
He couldn't even dare to think of handling it.
But the path of escape was also distant.
Myriad Man Manor and Black Ghost Fortress still clung to their ankles like starving jackals. To make matters worse, the chain of command had long since collapsed, so it was a situation where a disciplined retreat was out of the question, let alone relay Jongni Hyeong's orders to his disciples.
How on earth could they escape in this situation?
"Th- This is my fault... this is not my fault! This isn't something I did wrong..."
“Sect Leader!”
Someone forcefully grabbed his shoulder and shook him.
“Get a grip, Sect Leader! If you don’t give the order right now, everyone will die!”
At that moment, Jongni Hyeong saw it.
The spectacle of Hao Sect and Sun Palace, having crossed the vast land in an instant, plunged into the tangled battlefield like a swarm of ants.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
Countless necks and bodies were flung into the air.
They didn't even distinguish between friend and foe. Rather than slowing their momentum to tell friend from foe, they would just kill everyone in sight.
A truly vicious and merciless strategy, but equally effective.
The raw shock and horror overturned the disciples of Ten Great Sects. Jongni Hyeong was no exception.
“R- Run.”
“Sect Leader!”
"Run! We must escape from this place at once! Now!"
"Se- Sect Leader, calm down! First of all…"
“You idiot! Can’t you see the enemies behind us? What on earth are you telling me to calm down about!”
Jongni Hyeong cursed viciously and pushed internal strength into his sword.
They would die.
It wasn’t the fierce attackers piercing through that he feared.
What Jongni Hyeong feared was rather the forces in the rear who were subtly spreading an encirclement net, taking advantage of this opportunity.
Once they were surrounded, there was no rear. They wouldn't want to leave any future trouble behind. They would try to kill every single member of Righteous Sects here, not leaving even one ant alive.
“Elders, open the path at once! We must get out of here somehow. Cut through everything and open an escape route!”
Jongni Hyeong's eyes flashed. It was a fear disguised as malice.
Before the terror of death he was experiencing for the first time, even the martial prowess he had built up layer by layer was useless.
Those who had been dignified martial artists until coming here had now become beasts struggling to survive. With even Jongni Hyeong desperately struggling amidst this, the barely suppressed fear finally burst out.
“R- Run away!”
"We'll die! At this rate, we’ll all die!”
Now a different kind of pandemonium unfolded.
This wasn't a martial contest, nor a sword discussion among a few people.
It was simply war. The side that lost momentum would be defeated.
But they were too inexperienced to know that fact, and they collapsed helplessly without even thinking about pulling themselves together.
Fear poured down like a torrent. Those swept away ran in all directions like sparks from a forge. It was the moment when the common line collapsed completely, in an instant.
“Noooo!”
Though he shouted until his throat might burst, Bop Kye's voice did not reach them.
Without any chance to intervene, Kongtong's disciples began scattering in all directions.
It was a choice they should never have made.
The situation was dangerous even when grouped together, yet they were scattering? This was no different from offering their necks to the enemy asking to be killed.
Why would those who should clearly know this do such an absurd thing?
“Sahyung! Enemies…!”
Voices kept urging from the side. Bop Kye’s eyes trembled wildly.
‘What should I do? What on earth should I do?’
He was sure he had driven those fiends into a corner.
But the Southern Sea Sun Palace, which should have been in a place so distant that even calling it ‘a thousand li away’ would be insufficient, had appeared here. This meant that this place was a trap Evil Tyrant Alliance had prepared for a long time.
How could that be possible? How can a person….
"Sahyung!"
Finally, an angry voice pierced his ears. Bop Kye bit his lips until they bled.
It was meaningless. Such thoughts held no value now.
What he had to do was somehow reverse this situation. He had to overcome it.
It hadn't uncontrollably collapsed yet, so there would be a chance to resolve it. Surely…!
"Elders, follow me! First..."
But it was then.
“Where are you going?”
Geugeugeuk.
With a sound like something sharp scraping the ground, one person slowly approached Bop Kye.
Bop Kye’s face hardened.
Jeok Ho (적호(赤虎) / Red Tiger).
The one whose momentum had been binding Bop Kye’s ankle finally moved.
“You…”
“I felt hurt. Though I may be lacking compared to the distinguished monks of Shaolin, I shouldn't be ignored to this degree."
Jeok Ho's blade let out a growling sword cry (도명(刀鳴)). The intention not to let them pass was clearly visible.
“If you insist on ignoring me, then I have no choice but to prove myself."
Jeok Ho's tiger-like gaze pressed down on Bop Kye. Soon, the Red Hounds led by Jeok Ho also bared their teeth and pressured the Shaolin elders.
'This....'
The color began to drain from Bop Kye’s face.
Even when the main force was being penetrated without proper resistance, they hadn't left Jang Ilso's side.
So Bop Kye naturally believed their goal was to rescue Jang Ilso and kill Bop Jeong. Isn't that the only way to think about it?
But their purpose lay elsewhere.
Right at this moment, to bind the feet of those who would step forward to steady the wavering Ten Great Sects. That was why they had remained silent despite such great sacrifice.
It could only be called a thorough deception. And Bop Kye’s reasoning was correct. At this very moment, Peng Ye was surrounded by the Red Hounds too.
Bop Kye clenched his teeth and asked.
“…Were you aiming for this from the beginning?”
"Hardly."
Jeok Ho sneered and shrugged his shoulders with complete composure.
"No one can guess Ryeonju-nim's inner thoughts. We simply believe. Ryeonju-nim must have a meaning behind this.”
“…Even while all your subordinates are being swept away?”
“Is that some big deal?”
Udeudeuk.
Bop Kye clenched his fists.
To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies. Jang Ilso had put those words into practice himself.
That was why their side had not noticed either. Because the screams those people uttered while dying by Righteous Sects’ hands, the vivid fear they emitted, every conflicted expression about whether to flee—it was all real.
“…It is not over yet. If I take your life and kill Jang Ilso, the result is all the same.”
“That’s right.”
Kill Jang Ilso.
It must have been truly blasphemous to Jeok Ho, but surprisingly, he nodded readily. His loyalty to Jang Ilso was of a different caliber from those who flew into a rage over trivial things.
Jeok Ho said with a crooked smile.
“But you still don’t grasp the situation.”
“…What do you mean?”
"Your answer should have been different. What you need to be wary of right now isn't me, nor Ryeonju-nim."
A question flickered across Bop Kye’s eyes. Then, the thought that all of this was nothing but a way to stall for time suddenly flashed through his mind. He was about to shout to shut that wicked mouth when Jeok Ho's thick lips opened first.
"I don't like him much, but I must admit. Who the most dangerous man in this kind of battlefield is."
"...What?"
It was then.
Paaaaat!
A massive flag was raised high toward the sky.
Colorful flags rising in the midst of the enemy formation, and the figure of a man standing at their center could be seen.
The person was….
“Ho Gamyeong?”
Poison Heart Rakshasa (독심나찰(毒心羅刹)) Ho Gamyeong (호가명(扈加名)).
The strategist of Evil Tyrant Alliance was looking down upon the battlefield with eyes that could freeze the soul. From his mouth leaked a voice without a trace of emotion.
“Raise the red flag (적기(赤旗)).”
"Yes, Strategist!"
As soon as the instruction fell, a red flag rose high into the sky.
Then the red and black Evil Tyrant Alliance forces, tangled with the enemy, moved in perfect unison. They writhed like a massive serpent throttling its prey and coiled around the enemy.
Ho Gamyeong looked down upon the battlefield with even his breath stopped. What appeared in his eyes now was not a battlefield seething with people, but merely a vast game board (반상(盤上)). Ho Gamyeong's eyes looking down upon this were cold and calculating like those of a master player.
"Raise the green flag (녹기(綠旗)). Encircle the enemy. Keep the red flags on a diagonal line! Grab their ankles and cling to them."
"Yes, Strategist!"
The five-colored flags that had risen behind Ho Gamyeong fluttered in the raging gale.
This was the opportunity seized after long endurance. Through that time, he had honed his resolve to razor-sharp. Ho Gamyeong poured everything he had into this without reserve.
"Not a single one... will be allowed to escape."
|Note
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