Return of the Mount Hua Sect

‘It’s too much….’

She couldn’t bear to look at the scene in front of her. Beyond holding back the feeling of nausea, it wasn’t easy to hold back the tears.

Someone tightly grasped her other hand which seemed lost for a place to be. When she raised her head, she saw Yoo Iseol looking down at Tang Soso with a stern face.

“Sago….”

“….”

Tang Soso, as always, had no expression.

But Tang Soso knew. That face, which at first glance appears expressionless, is filled with cold anger.

The other Five Swords were equally shocked.

“Sahyung.”

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“….”

Even Yoon Jong, who usually responded as a matter of course to Jo-Gol’s words, was speechless at this moment.

They had certainly witnessed Magyo in the North Sea.

They were acutely aware of how fanatical that group was and how cruel they could be. But… it was their first time seeing that cruel scene with their own eyes.

Squeeze.

Yoon Jong clenched his fists. His knuckles were turning white. Blood seeped from his bitten lips.

Jo-Gol, who was looking at such Yoon Jong without knowing what to do, eventually lowered his head, unable to open his mouth any further.

There was too much death here.

The life of martial artists is essentially living at the edge of a sword. Even though they were so used to death, the death piled up here was too heavy for them to see.

Eudeudeuk.

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Baek Cheon gritted his teeth. His bloodshot eyes showed how angry he was right now.

“How….”

Baek Cheon could not bear to continue his word and trembled like an aspen tree. It’s not out of afraid. It was because he couldn’t control the anger boiling inside.

“How can this be…”

Even if all that was seen were living people rather than corpses, it would have been a surprising crowd. How can one not be angry when so many people are lying dead in such a miserable state?

But what really drove Baek Cheon into unbearable anger was not the number of deaths piled up here.

It was the manner of these deaths.

“A person is supposed to….”

Baek Cheon opened his mouth as if spitting out.

“…show at least some respect even for an enemy’s death.”

Even if it was a war waged by people who were feuding with each other because they could not live in the same world, they would not slaughter people in such a cruel way and leave the corpses unattended.

Unless it is a battlefield where survival is urgent, one should at least show the minimum courtesy of burying the dead.

That’s what being human is about, that’s what duty is.

No.

Even those ignorant of duty wouldn’t flaunt such barbaric acts under the open sky.

But there is nothing like that here.

Sympathy, pity, hesitation, the bare minimum of courtesy towards humans, and no semblance of decency that one should maintain simply because they are human.

That fact made Baek Cheon unbearable.

Jo-Gol murmured barely audibly.

“A human….”

It was a voice that barely uttered, which was unusual for him, who was always cheerful.

“How can someone do this to another person…. How could they? Just how…”

Just as everyone was about to become solemn at the sound of that voice, a low, chuckling sound of laughter was heard.

Jo-Gol turned towards the sound. Jang Ilso was covering his mouth as if he couldn’t help but laugh.

Jo-Gol, who suddenly flared in anger, growled.

“What…. What’s funny?”

“No, no.”

Jang Ilso shook his head.

“I thought it might be because they are the young masters of Righteous Sects, but they tell funny stories in a serious way.”

“What?”

“It’s not about how a person could do such a thing.”

A ghostly aura hovered around Jang Ilso’s face.

“It’s because we are human that we do such things. Only humans do such things.”

“….”

“That’s what it means to be human. Remember that well, young master.”

Jo-Gol’s face was cruelly distorted.

He felt something pressing down on him, but instead, Jo-Gol sneered back.

“Wi- With all that talk, you don’t look so good yourself. Why? Does it anger you too, seeing this, even as a member of Evil Sects?”

After finishing his word, he swallowed dry saliva. He had lashed out in the spur of the moment, but facing Jang Ilso alone was still a daunting task.

However, Jang Ilso’s reaction to his remark was unexpectedly calm.

“You’re stating something obvious. Of course, it angers me.”

“…What?”

Jo-Gol slightly opened his eyes wide in response. He had not expected such an answer from Jang Ilso.

Jang Ilso turned his head and looked at the pile of corpses. The expression on his face was so cold that it was almost chilling.

“I’m not going to say the obvious things about people dying. After all, everyone dies someday.”

“….”

“What angers me is… because these were mine.”

Jang Ilso raised his hand and clutched his face. The two eyes revealed between the fingers gave off a terrifying gleam.

“The right to kill those within my territory belongs only to me. And yet… some filthy crawling rats not knowing their place dare…”

He murmured softly, grinding his teeth.

Then Chung Myung glared at him with cold eyes.

“You probably didn’t care about them before, but now it twisted your stomach because they’ve been taken?”

“Obviously.”

Jang Ilso glared at Chung Myung.

“Just because I didn’t care for a toy and left it aside doesn’t mean it’s okay for someone else to break it as they please. Even if I lost interest, it was still mine.”

“…You look like a brat.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

There was a sneer in Jang Ilso’s eyes.

“Adults are nothing more than children who don’t speak their desires aloud out of fear of losing face. I’m just a bit more honest about my desires.”

Jang Ilso looked straight at Chung Myung and chuckled softly.

“Unlike someone else.”

Chung Myung shook his head. He had no desire to argue with Jang Ilso like this. The scene unfolding just now made his stomach twist.

It was familiar.

It may have been unfamiliar and shocking to others, but to Chung Myung, it was just a familiar sight.

That’s why he felt even more disgusted. It was as if that terrible past was vividly resurrected right before him.

Baek Cheon, who was staring at someone’s frail hand sticking out from a pile of corpses, looked away as if he couldn’t bear to look at it any longer.

“Don’t look away.”

But then, Chung Myung’s cold voice penetrated Baek Cheon’s ears.

“This is a world where Magyo dominates.”

“….”

“It’s only Hangzhou now. But if Magyo devours the entire central plain, this scene will be seen all over Jungwon.”

They also need to know.

Why do they have to fight so desperately.

Why did their ancestors in the past have to sacrifice their lives to stop these foes without even thinking about what would happen next.

“That’s why we have to stop it here.”

Just as Chung Myung was biting his lip tightly, a group of people quickly approached from afar.

“Sahyung!”

“…I know.”

Mount Hua’s disciples watched them with slightly nervous eyes. Even at a glance, it is quite a number…. No, it was an incredibly large number.

‘Is it enemy?’

Everyone instinctively reached for their swords.

But at that moment, Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold, who had been silent until now, stepped forward and greeted those approaching.

“Greetings to the great master!”

As soon as the distance got closer, several of the leaders of the unfamiliar group knelt down and showed respect to Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold.

“What’s the situation?”

“They are still deep in Hangzhou.”

“I see.”

“But.”

“Hm?”

The one reporting raised his head. His eyes were subtly shaking.

“In recent days, unidentified individuals have been appearing and joining them in large numbers. Their number has reached about three hundred.”

Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold’s face hardened.

“Three hundred?”

“Yes!”

His head began to spin rapidly.

Although it was the bishop who crushed Black Ghost Fortress, the spirit that the demonic cultists around the bishop exuded was equally unusual.

‘There are three hundred of them?’

The current situation inside Hangzhou is nothing short of uncertain. So, first of all, under the assumption that there would be a significant number of demonic cultists, all available Black Ghost Fortress were brought in….

“This is unexpected.”

He hadn’t thought that additional forces would join.

But then again, if you think about it logically, it’s obvious. If they plan to use this place as a foothold, then replenishing their numbers is a natural step.

Missing that indicates that Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold was not able to maintain his composure.

Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold was a man who was quick at calculating and quick to admit his own mistakes. He scanned the five hundred troops gathered in front of him with his eyes and then looked back at Jang Ilso.

“…It seems we have a problem, Ryeonju.”

“Problem?”

“There are more enemies than we initially estimated.”

“Hmm. So?”

“…I think it would be better to step away now. This is not an enemy you can just rush into and deal with.”

At those words, Jang Ilso’s eyes drew a strange curve.

“This… What a disappointment. He may have lost an arm, but I never thought Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold would become such a coward.”

“I am being extremely rational right now.”

Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold gritted his teeth and growled.

“Ryeonju can say such bold words because Ryeonju has not experienced that monster yet. To be honest, I’m not sure that even if everyone here rushes in, we’ll be able to bring down that monster. If the ‘sword’ that Ryeonju mentioned doesn’t work well, we might be the ones who get defeated again.”

Jang Ilso slightly furrowed his brows.

He couldn’t tell if it was because of his disappointment in Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold, or because he was taking Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold’s words seriously.

Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold looked directly at Jang Ilso and said.

“There is only one life to live. Being fully prepared is never excessive.”

Jang Ilso was just about to answer that question.

“All this idle chatter.”

A chilling voice interrupted his words. Jang Ilso, with his mouth twitching, looked back at Chung Myung.

“What else do you want to say?”

“Still ignorant, still.”

“….”

“Where this is. Who we are facing.”

It was that moment.

Jang Ilso’s gaze, which was looking at Chung Myung, slowly returned to its original position. The place where his gaze was directed was none other than the land littered with corpses, somewhere beyond.

Chung Myung’s clear voice rang out.

“Know carefully. You stupid Evil Sects bastards.”

A fierce smile spread across his usually cold face.

“That’s Magyo. The moment you face them, there’s only one choice. Either die. Or….”

His voice, heavy with murderous intent, felt ominously chilling. Chung Myung looked like a beast full of scars.

“Or be killed.”

Just then, a dark swarm appeared in the place Jang Ilso had been watching.

The devotees of Magyo, exuding a menacing aura that could make one’s fingertips tingle, were rushing in.

Together with the deep darkness that enveloped the eastern sky.