Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1596. I can't even laugh (1)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Leaving behind their overwhelmingly great victory, Evil Tyrant Alliance began to withdraw.
As if all the great deeds they had accomplished, worthy of celebrating for dozens of days, were nothing but lies.
"...Make haste."
Ho Gamyeong, who had briefly bitten his lip, urged his subordinates. He too found it difficult to accept Jang Ilso’s order, but raising an objection to the alliance leader’s command was even more unthinkable. Especially on a battlefield like this.
Into the space vacated by the seething heat of the battlefield, a foul stench and a chilling cold began to rush.
"...Preparations are complete, Ryeonju-nim."
"Hmm. And so?"
Jang Ilso shifted his gaze.
He could see Chung Myung, who had stopped and was no longer approaching.
Jang Ilso, meeting his gaze across the distance, soon let out a sneer and turned his body. No, it wasn't so much as turning away and more like 'showing his back.'
It was an act as if provoking Chung Myung: 'If you're confident, come and stab me in the back.'
With a leisurely smile, Jang Ilso spoke playfully.
"Let's go. If we provoke him any more, my head might really fly off."
He cackled and walked away. Following him, the massive army began to withdraw from this blood-soaked land without a shred of hesitation.
Udeudeuk.
Chung Myung just bit his lip and watched the scene.
Why wouldn't he want to charge in?
He wanted nothing more than to dash forward and lop off that bastard’s head.
But he couldn't. No, he shouldn't. Chung Myung knew that better than anyone.
His fingernails dug into his palms, and the blood that seeped out dripped onto the ground drop by drop.
Hye Yeon and Yoo Iseol approached and stood by the side of Chung Myung, who was standing there alone.
Of course, neither of them could say a word.
If Jang Ilso and his army had been right before their eyes, they could have poured out all their rage, but they had already fled. What rage could they pour out at what?
All they could do was watch this terrible scene in dazed despair.
Udeudeuk.
The faint sound of Chung Myung gritting his teeth could be heard. Yoo Iseol looked at Chung Myung with worried eyes.
“Sajil....”
Soon, a voice suppressed by anger leaked through Chung Myung's tightly clenched lips.
"Damn... it."
It was truly powerless.
❀ ❀ ❀
Jang Ilso clicked his tongue, looking thoroughly displeased with his own blood-soaked face. face.
He picked at the dried blood scab on his lip with his fingernail.
"What a vicious monk. I could have died if I wasn't careful.”
Though he said it lightly, Bop Jeong was truly powerful. Anyone who witnessed their fight would not dare to deny it.
But most would probably be more astonished by Jang Ilso's attitude than by Bop Jeong's martial prowess.
This man who led this tremendous battle to victory yet retreated as if it were nothing. And all the while, he was more concerned with the wound on his face than the state of the battlefield. Such a bizarre man.
Of course, those who belonged to Evil Tyrant Alliance naturally did not dare point this out.
But there were those who weren't part of Evil Tyrant Alliance. They couldn't accept Jang Ilso's behavior as normal.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
“Hm?”
Jang Ilso, gazing into an ornate hand mirror, turned a languid gaze.
A man filled with visible anger on his face was glaring at him.
"This is the Master of Southern Sea Sun Palace, Ryeonju."
Thousand-Faced Gentleman, who had urgently run to his side, informed Jang Ilso of his identity. A peculiar light briefly flashed in Jang Ilso's eyes.
"A guest from afar. I should have at least greeted..."
"Spare the greetings!"
"Hm?"
"I ask again. What is this behavior?"
“Gungju!”
Thousand-Faced Gentleman was horrified and tried to stop the Sun Palace Master, but Jang Ilso lightly raised his hand to restrain such Thousand-Faced Gentleman. Then he shrugged.
"What behavior... What exactly displeases you so?"
His tone sounded genuinely unaware. The Sun Palace Master ground his teeth blatantly enough for everyone around to hear.
“To retreat in that situation, because of just one person?”
“....”
“Are you in your right mind?”
Jang Ilso’s face turned cold as ice. Likewise, the Red Hounds surrounding him radiated sharp hostility.
“How dare you....”
“Tsk.”
But when Jang Ilso lightly clicked his tongue once, the surging killing intent vanished as if washed away, like well-trained hunting dogs.
Ho Gamyeong and Red Hounds barely suppressed their anger, but Jang Ilso, the one actually insulted, smiled with a face of great amusement.
“Well now, was I truly in my right mind?”
“What....”
“Then let me ask. What would our esteemed Gungju-nim have deemed the proper course of action?"
The Sun Palace Master’s fingertips trembled faintly. He had felt an indescribable humiliation from Jang Ilso’s smiling eyes.
He was royalty in the Southern Sea, a member of the Jin Dynasty. By birth, he had never received such a gaze from anyone.
But the true reason the Sun Palace Master felt humiliated at this moment was because of himself, who could not act rashly even after realizing that Jang Ilso was sneering at him.
“It was a great victory.”
The Sun Palace Master spat out the words. But Jang Ilso's reaction remained languid.
"Was it?"
The Sun Palace Master's face distorted.
'What in the world...'
He can't even begin to fathom the thoughts of this person. It wasn't an achievement that could be described with the simple word 'great victory’.
Ten Great Sects would now surely be shattered and unable to even maintain its form. Even if they somehow maintained their structure, they wouldn't recover their former influence for a full hundred years.
Simply put, it meant the era of Ten Great Sects in this generation had come to an end.
The name of Ten Great Sects had stood tall in the world for already hundreds of years. Among Righteous, Evil, and Outer Palaces combined, had there ever been a force that brought them down like this?
Excluding Magyo, whose name was difficult to even utter, it was an enormous feat that no one had ever even dared to attempt.
Yet the man who accomplished this unbelievable feat was now saying such things.
Unable to contain his rising anger, the Sun Palace Master shouted with a voice ready to burst.
"A great feat! It has no meaning in and of itself! They only gain significance when everyone recognizes their greatness and evaluates them accordingly. A great feat that no one acknowledges, a just evaluation received too late, such things have no value at all!”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
The Sun Palace Master’s tone grew gradually more polite, while Jang Ilso’s words grew shorter.
“But if you withdraw as if fleeing, our men will find it hard to feel the victory, and the enemy will leave thinking they haven’t truly been defeated. This is not the way to handle armies!"
The corners of Jang Ilso's mouth smoothly curled upward.
"So?"
“You should have made them know, and thus made them experience it until they were sick of it! If it were me, I would never have retreated. I would have made sure no one could look away from the achievement of Evil Tyrant Alliance until the corpses rotted and became disgusting!"
If he had done that, their allies would have been a hundred times more courageous, and the enemy's morale would have plummeted beyond measure.
"We should have torn apart that insolent bastard and made an example of him."
The Sun Palace Master speaks in a growl.
Of course, this was less confidence in his own argument and more closer to bravado pulled out to avoid being overwhelmed by Jang Ilso's presence. But even so, he succeeded in drawing sympathy from several of those present.
Because he wasn't wrong.
Originally, victory must be felt down to the last fiber. And that was also the method Jang Ilso had adhered to until now.
When was the time Evil Tyrant Alliance truly engraved the words of 'confidence' onto their hearts?
It was at that Yangtze River, in that Sichuan.
When they had chased out Ten Great Sects, when they had conquered Sichuan and pursued the back of Tang Family, they had become not an ordinary Evil Sects, but truly the ‘Evil Tyrant Alliance’.
“But if you flee like this, you’ll look like you ran away because of one person! Even if we had to withdraw, we should have severed that bastard's head!"
Even at this continued reasonable criticism, Jang Ilso's expression showed no change whatsoever. He was still wearing the same smile and merely looked at the Sun Palace Master Jin Pyeong.
That peculiar atmosphere made Jin Pyeong unbearable.
"What I'm saying is...!"
"Ah."
Jang Ilso raised his hand slightly and interrupted the Sun Palace Master's words.
“That’s enough, enough.”
The Sun Palace Master's stomach churned. He clenched a fist hidden in his sleeve, forcing himself to avoid showing his discomfort.
It might have been different before this war, but the alliance leader of Evil Tyrant Alliance, who had now swallowed up Ten Great Sects, was not an existence the Southern Sea Sun Palace could handle on its own.
He was arrogant, yes, but he was also perceptive. If he weren't, he wouldn't have survived as royalty.
“Showing off....”
Jang Ilso muttered, then smiled brightly.
"Fine. If you desire it so much, I have no particular intention of stopping you."
"Then you will..."
The Sun Palace Master, stopping mid-sentence, flinched and looked at Jang Ilso.
"What did you just say?"
Looking at his flustered face, Jang Ilso called Ho Gamyeong.
"Haha, Gamyeong-ah. It seems our guest from afar is having quite some trouble understanding what I’m saying."
Ho Gamyeong glanced at the Sun Palace Master and added an explanation.
"He is saying that if you believe that is correct, the Sun Palace may enjoy that glory without interference."
The Sun Palace Master’s face went blank.
He won't interfere?
"It is true that the Southern Sea Sun Palace lent a hand in this war, so you would have sufficient qualification to enjoy that glory. If you wish, please return to that battlefield and do as you see fit.”
Ho Gamyeong said it bluntly.
The Sun Palace Master reflexively looked back.
The stench of blood seemed to reach even here. A battlefield that truly resembled hell.
He could grasp the spoils of this 'war' entirely for himself. That... was an irresistible temptation for the Sun Palace Lord.
“Go on.”
Jang Ilso whispered like a snake.
“I will allow.”
“....”
"Hurry."
A tempting voice.
Though the two words ‘I will allow’ were grating, to the Sun Palace Master of now, that was too small a part. The only reason the Sun Palace Master didn't immediately nod his head was simply one thing. Jang Ilso's voice, as if coaxing a child, somehow felt eerily unsettling.
'What in the world...'
Then, something strange entered the Sun Palace Master's eyes as he gazed at the battlefield.
The scenery before his eyes, which seemed as if it would remain forever frozen like a painting, had begun to change.
'That's...?'
As if answering the question the Sun Palace Master had kept to himself, Ho Gamyeong said calmly.
“Heavenly Comrade Alliance.”
“That’s not all.”
Jang Ilso added. Then Ho Gamyeong narrowed his sharp eyes. Sure enough, not far from where Heavenly Comrade Alliance had appeared, another group revealed itself.
They weren’t familiar, but it wasn’t hard to guess who they were.
“Jaegal Family, and Murong Family.”
Those who had not yet let go of the embers of war were fiercely chasing after the already cold battlefield.
Only then understanding the situation, the Sun Palace Master feel his spine turn cold. His back was damp with cold sweat.
If he had stuck his head back into that place?
The Sun Palace would likely have been annihilated under the joint attack of the enraged Heavenly Comrade Alliance and the two great families.
“What is it? Did you by any chance have a change of heart?”
The face of the Sun Palace Master as he looked back at Jang Ilso was hardened, quite unlike before.
'Did this person... already know?'
Their side was also exhausted to the limit.
Though they were greatly elevated by the great victory, if they had engaged in successive fierce battles with another strong enemy while their side had also paid sacrifices, the outcome of that confrontation would have been difficult to predict.
This person had withdrawn without a moment's hesitation as if he knew this would happen. He held no attachment to the victory already won. Unlike him, whose eyes were momentarily blinded by the spoils of that victory.
Jang Ilso's smiling eyes were cold. Before the gaze that felt like it was piercing his very lungs, the Sun Palace Master groaned silently.
“I....”
He could hardly bring himself to speak. What words were there to say?
“Hm. You don’t look like you intend to go....”
Jang Ilso muttered. It was the very moment when the Sun Palace Master trembled with feelings of defeat and humiliation.
“Welcome.”
Jang Ilso gently reached out his hand.
The Sun Palace Master flinched, momentarily failing to grasp his intentions. Jang Ilso smiled and said.
“Welcome to Evil Tyrant Alliance.”
The Sun Palace Master almost unconsciously tried to grasp that hand.
The reason he was able to avoid making such a mistake was simple. It was because he felt a chilling aura from Ho Gamyeong, who was quietly watching at them.
The Sun Venerable Jin Pyeong lowered his head instead of taking the outstretched hand.
For a royal like him to assume such a posture was truly rare. But his survival instinct kept shouting clearly.
He must not oppose this person.
Jin Pyeong forced his heavy mouth open and managed to spit out the words.
"I... I am grateful for the welcome, Ryeonju."
Jang Ilso gazed down at the bowed head. Then the red corner of his mouth twisted eerily.
“What a good child.”
His gaze soon seemed to have lost interest and left Jin Pyeong, now shifted to the battlefield far behind.
"Unlike... some others."
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