Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1682. That's None of My Business! (2)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Earnestness….”
Jang Ilso's fingertips caress the liquor cup.
Incomparably slow touch. It was an ordinary action with nothing particularly special about it, but somehow, it was hard to take one's eyes off those fingertips.
"An interesting word."
Jang Ilso's body leaned back slightly. Though the chair had no backrest, it looked as if he were leaning fully against one.
“Isn’t it strange?”
"...What?"
“Earnestness… As you said, earnestness might be another name for belief. But in that way, earnestness might also be another name for some certain word, no?”
Jang Ilso raised the corners of his mouth.
“Desire.”
“....”
Jang Ilso's gaze pierces Chung Myung.
"Wishing so earnestly. Wanting so earnestly. The world calls such things desire."
"So?"
“So it’s strange.”
Jang Ilso chuckled softly.
“A dreg of Evil Sects is discussing duty by the name of responsibility, and a high-and-mighty Righteous Sects chivalrous martial artist punk is discussing desire named earnestness.”
“....”
"Something... seems reversed, doesn't it?"
Chung Myung's eyes sank heavily.
“What are you trying to say?”
"Haha! Don't make such a scary face. I'm just saying it's literally interesting."
Jang Ilso's eyes sparkled strangely.
Those eyes were mocking everything. Wudang defending that mountain, Evil Tyrant Alliance attacking them.
Heavenly Comrade Alliance fighting with all they had to save them, and Chung Myung blocking Jang Ilso here… No, perhaps even himself sitting here laughing.
"I just had that thought."
"What thought?"
"If you were sitting in my place right now, what would you say?"
“....”
"And if I were in your place, what would I be saying? Would I too be discussing that absurd sense of chivalry?"
Jang Ilso's mockery digs into Chung Myung's ears.
"How about it?"
“....”
“Isn’t it interesting?”
That smile was clearly etched into Chung Myung's eyes.
* * *
“We broke throuuuuuugh!”
Jo-Gol retracted his thrust sword and stabbed again. He saw Baek Cheon and his hall members charging forward.
"Move aside!"
Paaaaat!
The moment Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists were surprised by his sword energy scattering left and right in confusion, a path clearly opened before Jo-Gol too.
"Now, everyone, just as usual..."
Jo-Gol, about to dash forward as he always did, flinched and sharply turned his head back. Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists who had been pushed to the left and right of the hall members following him were stealthily closing the distance.
"Just keep going! As you are!"
Shouting that, Jo-Gol stopped his feet and turned around.
If it were the old him, he would have been the first to excitedly charge forward the moment the path opened, but the current Jo-Gol is different from the Jo-Gol of the past.
“Back off, you bastards!”
Paaaaat!
His sword unfolded in a different way than before. The sword gripped in reverse was swung widely sideways. Swordsmanship faithful to the purpose of creating space by threatening rather than clearly piercing the enemy.
It was awkward like wearing ill-fitting clothes, but its power was no less than his signature thrust.
'Think! More!'
In the past, he just had to charge forward. Because then his sahyungs would take care of the back on their own. But here there were no his sahyungs who understand his intent and adjust accordingly. Ultimately, Jo-Gol had to perform all of their roles himself.
However.
“Where are we going! Vice Hall Leader?”
"Should we follow Mount Hua Acting Sect Leader?"
"Whi- Which side do we follow?"
“Huh?”
Jo-Gol abruptly turned his head.
“Wh- What!”
Instead, those who had taken the lead were splitting. Some were heading toward Baek Cheon's side, while others were charging straight toward the mountain peak.
Then those following them also began getting confused momentarily and congestion started occurring.
“No! Follow Baek Cheon Sasuk! Follow Mount Hua Acting Sect Leader!”
“You have to tell us!”
"Ah?"
Jo-Gol's eyes wavered. Had he not said?
No! Even if he hadn't said it, isn't this much obvious?
“A- Acting Sect Leader! Follow Mount Hua Acting Sect Leader! Hurry!”
Jo-Gol shouted loudly. But his voice was buried in the battlefield's clamor and didn't spread properly.
Conflict momentarily appeared on Jo-Gol's face.
'Should I return to the front? Then what about this rear?'
The moment the hall members break through the enemies, they will surely give chase from behind. He can't just leave the rear unguarded and run, can he?
'What should I do….'
The moment Jo-Gol's sword hesitated, Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists sensed the situation and rushed towards Jo-Gol.
"W- Wait!"
Just as Jo-Gol was about to swing his sword to face them, someone stepped in front of him and struck them.
Jo-Gol, who was surprised and almost swung his sword, barely stopped his sword seeing something shining.
Wooooong!
Fist force shining golden swept away the charging Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists in one go and sent them flying back. It was an intense fist strike that elicited astonishment no matter how many times one saw it.
"Amitabha. Jo-Gol Siju, you must have been startl..."
“Aish! How can you jump in like that all of a sudden? If I hadn't seen that bald head, I would have slashed your back!”
“....”
Hye Yeon looked at Jo-Gol with a face that crumpled sharply.
"...I'll handle here, so please go."
"What?"
At that moment, another explosion pierced Jo-Gol's ears.
Kwaaaaang!
A massive, rock-like sword energy flying from behind instantly broke the momentum of those preparing to pursue.
"To think Jo-Gol Dojang would think to block the rear. My father was right when he said that even someone who looks hopeless can grow someday.”
“...What do you mean by that?”
"Go! Jo-Gol Dojang! Jo-Gol Dojang has things to do!"
"Ah, right!"
Jo-Gol turned around and ran forward.
“Then I leave the rear to you!”
"Yes!"
Namgung Dowi chuckled as he watched Jo-Gol quickly increase his speed towards the front line.
"Siju."
“Yes, Monk.”
"Did your late father really say such words?"
At those words, Namgung Dowi wore a smile.
“No, I was just saying.”
“....”
“Is there a problem?”
“Amitabha... No, nothing.”
Hye Yeon smiled beamingly. As for Jo-Gol... he kind of deserves it.
“It wasn't a bad thing to say. I truly was surprised."
“I agree with that.”
It seemed the saying that a position shapes a person wasn’t entirely empty words. That Jo-Gol would think about the rear. But anyway, that wasn't something Jo-Gol was good at.
"Shall we hold them off, then?"
"Yes."
Hye Yeon and Namgung Dowi have raised their internal strength. First, breaking their will to chase. That was what they had to do while leading their hall.
And that was what they could do best.
“Sasuk! Sahyung!”
"You're late! You idiot!"
"Why so late! Now you can't even do what you used to!"
Jo-Gol beat his chest with an expression like he would die of injustice. He had moved after thinking it through in his own way, but these people didn’t recognize that.
“Go forward!”
"Huh?"
“Break through from the front!”
“What?”
"What do you mean what, you idiot!"
Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong’s hands simultaneously pointed to the mountain peak. To be precise, White Face Rock visible in the distance.
“There!”
“Over there!”
“....”
“We’ll break through in one go. There’s no time to drag this out.”
"Blow away everything you see!"
"N- No, me? Those yangban are already rampaging up there?"
Jo-Gol saw Yoo Iseol and Jin Geumryong literally crushing the enemies at the forefront. Jin Geumryong aside, even Yoo Iseol alone was a master several levels above him.
"Don't dawdle!"
Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong grabbed Jo-Gol's shoulders from either side and pushed him forward. Baek Cheon, forcibly pushing him to the front, spoke in an extremely serious tone.
"Breaking through the front is your job. No one can do it better than you."
“....”
"If we're late, Wudang is in danger. Can you do it?"
Jo-Gol's face became strange hearing those words.
"Can I do it?"
"Yes!"
“What question is that?”
Jo-Gol gripped his Plum Blossom Sword and grinned.
“Don’t fall behind, old men!”
Kwang!
Jo-Gol kicked off the ground as if shattering it and charged forward.
"Move aside from that front! You're too damn slow!”
Jo-Gol’s sword, filled to the brim with confidence, shone red reflecting the burning flames.
"We've been breached!"
"They're entering the mountain! Strategist!"
The adjutants' faces turned pale.
Their backs were exposed to the enemy. That alone might have been manageable, but the real problem was that Evil Tyrant Alliance forces that had entered this mountain were now scattered everywhere.
Reforming the formation?
That's impossible. How could orders be conveyed to those scattered across a burning mountain?
For those who moved with the single goal of annihilating Wudang in the shortest time, being attacked from behind wasn't a situation that could be described merely as 'terrible.'
Since those left as a defensive line just in case were breached so helplessly, all that remained was to be attacked from the rear.
"W- We must do something!"
"Their objective is Wudang! We must finish Wudang before they arrive."
"But the losses will be huge! How do we manage the aftermath?"
"Those who lose their purpose will lose morale! We must break their morale now!"
“Even if they’ve entered the mountain, there’s no need to panic! They can't traverse a burning mountain like flat land! Rather, since they've entered the mountain..."
"Silence."
“....”
A single word instantly silenced the adjutants who had fallen into chaos.
Unlike the agitated them, Ho Gamyeong's expression didn't have even a bit of wavering.
Ho Gamyeong watched their movements with sunken eyes for a moment before nodded.
"Very like Heavenly Comrade Alliance."
"Yes?"
"Deliver orders to all possible personnel. Block their path of advance as much as possible."
"Pa- Path of advance? How would we know that?"
“No need to ponder.”
Ho Gamyeong's fingertips pointed at Heavenly Comrade Alliance. Then he moved that hand and pointed directly below himself.
"Straight here."
“....”
"The opponent is Heavenly Comrade Alliance. They're not people who would look back in this situation. They'll definitely come in a straight line."
"S- Such a reckless method."
A method impossible for ordinary people, but possible for martial artists. Especially if it was Heavenly Comrade Alliance Ho Gamyeong knows, they'll definitely choose not the best but the shortest route.
"However, Strategist! Even delivering orders is difficult, and even if we do, blocking their path in time is impossible. We'll only end up clumsily chasing their tails."
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes?”
At that moment, Ho Gamyeong looks back at the adjutant who had questioned him.
The aide who met those eyes immediately recognized his mistake and quickly lowered his posture.
“I will carry out your order.”
"Swiftly. Bow."
"Yes!"
As the adjutant scurried away, Ho Gamyeong watched that back for a moment then turned his head again.
‘They have seized the momentum.’
It was obvious at a glance. How agitated they were, and how full of confidence.
They had the right to be. Even Ho Gamyeong felt a throbbing sensation in his fingertips, different from when dealing with Wudang. This wasn't because of the bad memories he had with Heavenly Comrade Alliance. It was clear that their power itself was approaching Ho Gamyeong as a threat.
"That's fine for now. But... they'll realize soon."
Ho Gamyeong's eyes sank deeply.
A fox that mistakes the tiger's power as its own power will only die as a miserable clown.
Just like the current Heavenly Comrade Alliance.
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