Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1658. I don't like those stupid guys (3)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Taaaat!
Even as his feet pushed off the ground, Yoon Jong's gaze reflexively turned backward.
The hall members were all following rapidly, their faces uniformly stiff with seriousness. They must all know. Just what kind of dangerous place they were rushing into.
But what filled Yoon Jong's mind now wasn't worry about the danger that would lie ahead.
'Is it possible?'
No matter how much he thought about it, time was tight.
Considering the places they had traversed so far, the distance from Shaanxi to Wuhan wasn't actually that far, but the physical distance wasn't what mattered. What was important was the relative distance—whether they could arrive earlier than Evil Tyrant Alliance.
Yoon Jong's face stiffened as he glanced back at the hall members.
No matter how much he racked his brain, there weren’t many ways to reach Wuhan before Evil Tyrant Alliance.
This was because they found it difficult to blindly increase their speed. A diverse group of people was running together. Just as their affiliated sects were different and the weapons they used were different, their martial prowess levels were also different, so it was inevitably a jumble.
So they couldn't properly pick up speed. The moment they exceeded their limits, stragglers would appear.
One might think that arriving in Wuhan without being late should be the priority, regardless of whether stragglers appeared or not, however….
'Unless we are certain what Evil Tyrant Alliance is aiming for, we absolutely must not create stragglers.'
If they weren't careful, the stragglers could be 'picked off' by Evil Tyrant Alliance. It was the worst situation that must be avoided at all costs.
The more he thought, the heavier his head felt.
He knew that since that guy Chung Myung had given the order, moving like lightning was the right thing to do. He had no doubt about that.
But the burden that the lives of so many people depended on him made his feet grow gradually heavier.
'Can I do it?'
Yun Jong glanced sideways.
He could see Jo-Gol running not too far away. His face was also uncharacteristically sunken.
'That guy too...'
Yoon Jong felt somewhat bitter.
It seemed even Jo-Gol, who was usually busy fooling around cluelessly, couldn't help but feel the pressure in this situation. Well, the position of vice leader wasn't easy, so even Jo-Gol couldn't be entirely unburdened. As his sahyung, he should look after him a bit more.
Just then, Jo-Gol’s face darkened slightly more. Yoon Jong opened his mouth without realizing it.
“Gol-ah.”
“…”
“Gol-ah.”
"Ah!"
As if startled by the voice calling him, Jo-Gol's gaze met his sharply. Yoon Jong asked gently.
“Is it too much of a burden?”
"Oh, well... Yes, Sahyung. Hmm. This definitely isn't easy."
“Of course. It’s bound to be.”
“No matter how much I rack my brain, I can’t think of anything suitable.”
"Hm?"
Jo-Gol grabbed his curly hair with both hands.
“I feel like I’d rather die than use Gab-Eul-Byeong-Jeong-Mu, but then Heuk-Baek-Jeok-Cheong-Hwang is too cliché..." (H: The former is Ten Heavenly Stems and the latter is Korean Five Cardinal Colors)
“…Huh?”
"Ah! Azure Dragon! What about Azure Dragon Hall? It's classic but doesn't it look impressive? Or... maybe not. Would White Tiger Hall be better?"
…Yoon Jong’s face began to twist slightly.
"What are you worrying about?"
“Didn't that guy Chung Myung tell us to figure out the hall names ourselves? We need to decide on a name that's simple but sticks in your head as soon as you hear it..."
…Udeuk.
Yoon Jong's wrist holding the sword handle twisted slightly. If it were up to his temper, really...
"Is a name something important right now!"
"Hey, Sahyung! What kind of carefree thing are you saying? If things go wrong, we could get swept up in a chaotic battle, and if we're shouting 'Gab Hall here, Eul Hall here' at that time, everything could get mixed up and we'd be done for! We need a name that makes people think, ‘Ah! I just need to go there!’ the moment they hear it!”
"Uh…."
This was hard to refute?
Having his pride hurt by being rendered speechless against Jo-Gol of all people, Yoon Jong gritted his teeth. Unaware of such feelings, Jo-Gol continued speaking seriously.
"Just look over there. Don't the other vice leaders also have serious expressions? Everyone is absorbed in deciding on an appropriate name right now."
“…If that’s really the case, Kangho is doomed."
"Huh? Why?"
“….”
Instead of answering, Yoon Jong let out a sigh deep enough to sink into the ground. He felt like the world's biggest idiot for having worried that that guy might be feeling burdened.
Just then, Jo-Gol asked.
"But shouldn't we increase our speed a bit more?"
“It’s impossible.”
"Huh? Why? It seems like everyone is keeping up fine?"
"It might seem that way here."
“What do you mean by that?”
Jo-Gol tilted his head and checked behind. Yoon Jong let out a long breath and said.
“They say the method of leading people on the move changes depending on the scale.”
His gaze was cast far toward the tail end of the group.
"The more people following, the faster those at the back have to run. The ones at the end are probably already near their limit right now. Those with weaker martial skills might already be at risk of falling behind."
"What? Then isn't that a big problem? Someone should go and organize things."
"They're doing it."
“Who?”
“….”
"Heeeeek! Heeeeeek! Aigoooo, I'm dyiiiiing!"
“Ah, shut up!”
“Nooo! I’m seriously dying here!”
Im Sobyeong, drenched in sweat, had his eyes half rolled back and was screaming his head off. Chung Myung glared at him as if he were pathetic and scolded him..
"What kind of Nokrim King wheezes this much? A guy who must have grown up eating only good things in the mountains!"
"P- People have different strengths! My strength is using my head, not using my body. I was born weak to begin with!"
“Is that something a martial artist would say?”
"N- No, but actually, how am I supposed to..."
To be precise, he was confident that he wasn't inferior to others in terms of using strength itself. But his stamina, or rather his endurance, was hopeless.
The hat he was wearing on his head was already soaked with sweat seeping from his forehead, turning mushy and crumpled and was now sliding down. His scholar’s robe, usually neat even if slightly wrinkled, clung to him like it had been soaked in rain, making running even more miserable for him.
"That's why you shouldn't wear something like that! Take it off at least!”
"If a scholar doesn't wear scholar robes, then what should he wear? This is my pride!”
“A bandit bastard being a scholar, my ass.”
“No, look! You keep touching on things you shouldn't… Heek! Augh! Don't talk to me. I’m short of breath!”
"Always exaggerating. You ran well enough when we went to Hangzhou last time."
"That time was differ... Ah! I said stop making me talk!"
Im Sobyeong waved his hands frantically as if he had no strength left to respond. He didn't even have the strength to express the resentment welling up inside.
Whose fault was all this!
When heading to Hangzhou, he just had to run hard. But now it wasn't just that, which was the problem.
“Someone’s falling behind over there.”
“Ah, shit!”
Im Sobyeong, who had been panting, ran towards where Chung Myung was pointing and propped up the back of the person lagging behind.
"Th- Thank..."
“Thank you my ass, just run, you damn bastard… before I stab a blade straight into your gut. No, should I just cut off those legs that can't run anyway? Huh?"
"Hiiik! S- Sorry!"
The person, terrified by Im Sobyeong's savage and chilling face thrust right in front of his nose, squeezed out every ounce of strength he had and ran forward.
Im Sobyeong, who had unconsciously drawn out the Nokrim nature flowing in his blood, saw that retreating figure and quickly fixed his expression with an 'oops.'
In his eyes, the sight of another row wavering and the gap widening was clearly visible. The nature of Nokrim jumped up again.
"Run! Run without falling behind, you bastards! Run faster!"
As Im Sobyeong shouted desperately, those who were falling behind gritted their teeth once more and caught up with the front line. Im Sobyeong cursed inwardly.
'Damn it.'
Irritation washed over him.
Theory and practice are different.
When a long line forms during movement, even if the front just walks slowly, gaps naturally form. To maintain formation, the back must constantly switch between walking and running. Otherwise, the line will stretch into an impossibly long mess compared to the start.
Someone ignorant might ask what’s wrong with a long procession line. But in a situation where you don't know when or where those jackals called Evil Tyrant Alliance might ambush, breaking formation is something that must never happen.
So right now, Chung Myung and Im Sobyeong had no choice but to run here and there like people with flowers on their heads, coaxing (?) and pushing up those who were falling behind and lagging.
Yes, he knows. Someone has to do it.
But!
"Why am I the one doing it, why!"
Though he knew all this in his head, actually handling it directly was literally killing him.
Furthermore, with plenty of guys overflowing with stamina up front, why did the frail (?) Im Sobyeong has to be the one doing this?
This irrational situation was clearly all that evil bastard's doing.
"Heek! Heek!"
Anyway, thanks to his and Chung Myung's movements, Heavenly Comrade Alliance members, who were practically all over the place, were somehow maintaining their formation and running. If they can just reach Wuhan like this...
“Nokrim King.”
“…Why? What are you trying to make me do now?”
Im Sobyeong glanced at Chung Myung with an annoyed expression. However, upon seeing Chung Myung's face, which was unexpectedly tense and serious, his expression softened.
Chung Myung asked.
“What do you think?”
“What?”
“The stuff we talked about earlier.”
"So what do you mean..."
Chung Myung's eyes sank slightly.
"There's a certain pattern to what that bastard Jang Ilso does. What he's doing now probably won't deviate much from that range."
“….”
“Is that really true?”
Im Sobyeong's face hardened slightly. Why was he asking this?
“…Well, as I said earlier, I think this time he won’t follow that pattern. But in the past, yes, as Jaegal Gaju said, there did seem to be a tendency. But is there a problem?”
Chung Myung, who had fallen silent and was pondering something deeply, soon shook his head.
"No."
"No, if you brought it up, you should finish..."
"Hey. Someone's falling behind again over there. Run."
“…Ah! I'm so fed up!"
Im Sobyeong pulled his voluminous sleeves up above his elbows vigorously and ran. Fire spewed from his two eyes.
"You bastard, should I just bury you here? Huh? Are you from Nokrim? Is this bastard crazy?"
Chung Myung, who had been staring at Im Sobyeong running toward the straggler, slowly turned his gaze. Beyond those running ahead, toward the direction of Wuhan in that distant place.
No, to be precise, toward the place where those who had headed to Wuhan before them would be.
‘Jang Ilso….’
A strong sense of incongruity washed over him. Something, something I couldn't quite pinpoint... had definitely changed.
'What are you thinking?'
Blue tendons bulged out on the back of Chung Myung's hand as he instinctively gripped the sword handle.
* * *
Sararak.
Red silk shoes slowly stepped on the grass.
“Hmm.”
The gaze of the person wrapped in a splendid red robe turned toward the winding mountain ridges and one high-soaring peak.
Though still far away, the peak jutting out through the pure white clouds conveyed a mystical atmosphere just by the shape of its ridgeline.
“Is that the place?”
Ho Gamyeong answers briefly.
“Yes, Ryeonju-nim. It's Wudang."
"Hmm."
The blue-green grass, the light yellowish-brown rocks, and even the pure white clouds created a beautiful harmony. The corners of Jang Ilso's mouth curled up softly.
“Well. We don't know about that, do we?”
"...Yes?"
"Whether that place will still be called Wudang from now on."
Ho Gamyeong understood the meaning and nodded.
"Certainly... it's uncertain now."
"Right?"
Satisfaction hung on Jang Ilso's lips.
“Let us go. They are probably waiting for me so desperately their necks are stretching, so I must answer that expectation.”
"Yes. Everyone, advance!"
Ho Gamyeong immediately gave the order. The great army began moving again.
Jang Ilso, watching the advancing army with snake-like eyes, glanced sideways.
"I hope they're not too late... That would be no fun, right? Don't you think?"
Through his narrow, slanted eyes, chaos swirled like a storm.
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