Return of the Mount Hua Sect Chapter 1393: He Will Be Waiting For Us. (3)
Previously on Return of the Mount Hua Sect...
“Do not slow down! Anyone who falls behind dies by my hand!”
Ho Ga-Myung’s aide, Jong Gwak, shouted until his throat gave out, but their speed barely increased.
Jong Gwak glanced around with a slightly anxious face.
Could his orders be going unheeded?
No, that wasn’t it. They too were running with every last ounce of strength, but their legs could no longer bear them.
‘It’s only natural.’
It was to be expected. From Guangdong to here they had run without proper rest.
Even the finest of warhorses would collapse under such relentless marching; how could human bodies not be exhausted?
It’s natural that those pursued by the Southern Island Sect men felt pressure, but the pursuers were equally desperate.
Is it because they are more numerous?
Being more numerous isn’t necessarily an advantage for the hunters. These were disciples of the Nine Great Sects, whose average skill made comparison with the Ten Thousand People Clan’s ordinary disciples meaningless.
If both sides had been at full strength, no matter how hard they tried they couldn’t have kept up. It was only because the pursuers had injured men and were exhausted from continuous fighting that they could barely follow.
Jong Gwak bit his lip slightly.
‘No whining. If I am tired, they’re more tired!’
Moreover, Jong Gwak’s mission wasn’t to chase them down and slaughter them. It was merely to pressure them so that the commander could get what he wanted.
He couldn’t afford to complain that even that was too difficult.
“We must cut them off before they reach the Yangtze river!”
Jong Gwak shouted at the top of his lungs.
Hearing that, the men’s eyes blazed. What drove them now was half hatred; a grudge whose origin none could even recall.
Jong Gwak clenched and unclenched his fist.
‘They’re the enemy, but...’
He could never have imagined they’d break that encirclement and reach this place. If they had been the incompetent Nine Great Sects disciples he knew until now, it would’ve been impossible.
But they had done it. Even if they hadn’t yet breached the Yangtze river, the fact they’d reached here while conserving half their strength left no doubt about their ability.
But even that was about to end.
The one who made such an impossible miracle real the fate of the Plum Blossom Sword Ghost was about to reach its end.
Even if they all escaped alive to Northern lands, if they could strike down the Plum Blossom Sword Ghost, the battle would be theirs.
‘I never thought I’d value a single head more than an entire sect of the Nine Great Sects.’
A month ago it would’ve been unthinkable. Now no one in the Ten Thousand People Clan would question it Plum Blossom Sword Ghost, Chung Myung had proven it himself.
‘For now, I must carry out my mission...’
It was at that moment.
“Lieutenant Commander! There’s someone ahead!”
“Hmm?”
Jong Gwak narrowed his eyes slightly.
Did they catch the enemy’s rear? That’s faster than he had expected.
But the subsequent shouts shattered Jong Gwak’s thoughts.
“They’re approaching! A group is moving this way!”
“What? Approaching us?”
The unexpected words made Jong Gwak’s pupils widen.
“Isn’t there some mistake...”
“They’re coming!”
At that moment, around a dozen figures shot out of the forest at tremendous speed.
“Ooooooo!”
A surge of white sword qi shot high into the sky.
Before anyone could show surprise or give a warning to dodge, the risen sword qi rained down upon them.
Kraaaaaang!
“Aaaaargh!”
“Waaaah!”
With a wail, the vanguard was smashed to pieces and flung aside.
And Jong Gwak saw it: the formation they’d set to pursue the enemy rippled and distorted the moment the vanguard collapsed.
“N-no...”
“Move!”
“A-MI-TA-BUL!”
Woooooooom!
Before they could catch their breath, a majestic golden light rose where the white sword qi had subsided, ripping open the gap the white blades had created.
“They’re being pushed back!”
“Aaaaargh!”
A heaviness like an entire mountain rolling over them. The Ten Thousand People Clan disciples, unable to resist, were driven sideways, and a clear straight path opened between the ranks spread to left and right.
And through that path those all too familiar figures flew in like wind.
“Mo-Mount Hua!”
“They’re Mount Hua people! Avoid them!”
Swordsmen dressed in Mount Hua’s emblematic black uniforms charged toward the opened path.
And what came next was something the Ten Thousand People Clan disciples could all too predict.
Fwoooooosh!
Crimson Plum Blossoms burst forth in succession. Those who knew how deadly and vicious those beautiful blooms could be turned pale and rolled away in every direction.
“Stop dawdling and run, you bastards!”
“Ugh, seriously!”
About a dozen men began sprinting along the path they had cut and twisted open.
“Lieutenant Commander! Orders!”
“Th-they’ve broken through the center!”
Jong Gwak’s gaze flitted about, searching for where to look.
“Stop... wait. No! Why are they attacking?”
Why would those men suddenly attack them? They hadn’t gone mad, had they?
“Lieutenant Commander!”
“I know, shut your mouth!”
Jong Gwak barked and snapped his head forward.
‘What about the main force then?’
If the enemy had suddenly ambushed, it was likely the main force would attack toward the center! A clumsy change of direction and they’d be stabbed in the back, suffering unbearable losses.
But no matter how they strained to sense it, there was no sign of enemy momentum following.
‘Just those fellows?’
Impossible. It couldn’t be.
If they hadn’t gone insane, a mere ten or so men wouldn’t dare face them head-on.
“They’re breaking through! Lieutenant Commander!”
At that moment Jong Gwak clearly saw the group that had charged pierce their encirclement like an awl and run toward the rear.
In literally the blink of an eye, the formation he’d set was breached as easily as flipping a child’s palm.
“Th-this...”
Jong Gwak stared dumbfounded at the scene. Those who had broken through were already receding.
“Shouldn’t we pursue them from behind?”
“...”
Jong Gwak couldn’t answer and bit his lip hard.
Just because the men here were breached didn’t mean the Ten Thousand People Clan had been broken. Many more were in pursuit behind. If they chased that way they’d only be swept up and die in the wave of pursuers.
Normally they’d simply ignore them and chase Southern Island Sect’s main force. That was his mission, after all.
What made Jong Gwak hesitate was the identity of that small group.
‘Heavenly Friends Alliance.’
If they were the Heavenly Friends Alliance without Southern Island Sect with them, if they’d chosen to split from Southern Island Sect to come here, wasn’t their reckless counter-move’s purpose obvious?
“Are they trying to save the Plum Blossom Sword Ghost? With just about ten men?”
An absurdly reckless act.
“...Send a messenger to the commander and report the situation.”
“Yes!”
Having regained his composure, Jong Gwak looked toward where the Heavenly Friends Alliance had vanished with a mocking gaze.
“That’s not courage.”
Jong Gwak let out a slow sneer and turned his head with cold eyes.
❀ ❀ ❀
“Aaaaargh!”
Swaaash!
With a chilling tearing sound, the swung sword sliced deeply across the enemy’s chest.
Shreeek!
But strangely, no blood flowed from the wound. The blood that should have spilled had frozen solid. The chill that pierced the body stopped hearts, and men collapsed.
Bang!
“Move aside! You bastards!”
“Palace Lord! Don’t overdo it!”
Yoon Jong shouted to calm Seol So-Baek, but Seol So-Baek seemed not to hear him and swung his sword even more fiercely.
He poured every bit of his cold qi into the tip of that sword.
Shreeeek!
Wherever his sword grazed, translucent ice crystals blossomed in the air.
“That brat really doesn’t listen for shit!”
“You idiot! He’s the Lord of the Ice Palace!”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
Jo Gul replied gruffly.
When the situation to rescue Chung Myung unfolded, the one who ran wild most was not Jo Gul, Yu Yiseol, or even Baek Cheon, but Seol So-Baek.
Seol So-Baek, who had barely shown a presence during the journey to and from Southern Island Sect, was now swinging his sword as if possessed.
“Aah! It’s cold!”
“Do you think this is the time for jokes?”
“No! I’m serious, it’s freezing! What on earth did that brat eat in the meantime?”
“...Because he’s the Palace Lord.”
“As if being born common makes you immune!”
“What are you saying? You rich brat?”
Jo Gul flinched at Yoon Jong’s fiercely angry voice.
Even so, Seol So-Baek, as if not hearing a word, launched ruthless sword strikes one after another at the foes blocking their way.
‘Taoist!’
Seol So-Baek’s eyes blazed.
To others his sudden fury might seem strange, but to him it was only natural.
He agreed they needed to save Southern Island Sect, but he found it hard to accept sacrificing oneself for them.
Though Southern Island Sect lamented their hardships, he couldn’t sympathize that their plight was worse than what the Ice Palace had faced.
Above all, he saw no reason to risk his life for those who could abandon their homes and leave.
He supported what Chung Myung did. He tried because Chung Myung decided. But truly empathizing with the meaning and purpose was still difficult for someone so young.
But not now. The one he was going to save now was Chung Myung himself benefactor of the Ice Palace and his personal benefactor.
He would never let him die here. He had not yet repaid Chung Myung for anything.
At that moment, Ten Thousand People Clan disciples charged at Seol So-Baek with shouts.
“How dare you!”
Blue light of fury shot from Seol So-Baek’s eyes as his left hand drew back and then thrust forward in an instant. From his right hand white tensile force erupted like a small avalanche of snow.
“Ice Hundred Divine Form?”
“My goodness!”
Mount Hua’s disciples cried out in shock at the sight.
The Ice Palace’s technique they’d witnessed in the North Sea was now being recreated by Seol So-Baek’s hand.
The charging Ten Thousand People Clan disciples froze in an instant. Seol So-Baek kicked the hardened men away and without the slightest delay slammed into the ground.
“Hurry!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Understood! Palace Lord!”
Seol So-Baek ran without looking back, biting his lip until it bled.
Chung Myung’s life hung in the balance. Right now.
‘Taoist! I’m coming now!’
The boy Chung Myung had saved.
That boy had now become a swordsman and was running to save Chung Myung.