Chapter 1745 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect
Thud.
The masked man’s steps led him outside the camp.
All the martial artists affiliated with the Evil Tyrant Alliance were prohibited
from leaving the designated area by their superiors. However, this did not
apply to the masked man.
Several eyes shot glances at him as he approached
the camp’s boundary. Yet, just as quickly, those eyes averted once they
recognized his appearance.
Despite being aware of these glances, the masked man
showed no reaction. It wasn’t that he was ignoring them or that he was
indifferent. It simply felt meaningless to him.
The masked man’s steps crossed the vast plain toward
a small mountain. After venturing deep into the mountain, several tents
appeared in front of him.
A place far removed from the base set up by Evil Tyrant Alliance. Most of the martial
artists of Evil Tyrant Alliance might
not even know that such a campsite existed nearby.
The masked man, staring at the tents with dark eyes,
opened the entrance to the foremost tent and entered.
As soon as he stuck his head inside, a rancid smell
stung his nose.
The stale stench of humans, the drying smell of
rotting blood, and the rusty smell of poorly maintained metal all mingled
together, making it suffocating.
Although it was still daylight, the inside of the
tent was dim.
The masked man’s vision slowly adjusted to the
darkness.
He could see those lying on the rough mats scattered
around. Although they must have sensed his presence, not one of them even
glanced his way.
Only the faint sounds of breathing from various corners
indicated that they were alive.
Most people seeing this sight would think of a
barracks for defeated soldiers or a prison for captives. Even the masked man
thought the same.
Thud.
Feeling the stale air, the masked man stepped forward.
Then he spoke to those who didn’t even glance at him.
“Attention.”
He meant for them to pay attention for a moment, but
no one responded to his words.
“...A letter has arrived.”
However, his next words elicited a response. Those
who had been motionless, indistinguishable between the living and the dead,
slowly turned their gazes toward the masked man.
They wore dirty martial robes, each with a black
mask covering their faces. Through the holes in their masks, empty-looking eyes
stared out.
The masked man took a letter from his chest and
tossed it to the closest person.
“There is no particular issue.”
“......”
The person who received the letter silently checked
its contents. Then, with a careless gesture, he passed the letter to the next
person.
Their movements were sluggish.
There was no sense of interest from the person
passing the letter or the one receiving it. However, the process of reading the
letter and passing it to the next person continued uninterrupted.
It took quite a while for everyone to check the letter.
The last person who read the letter folded it again and handed it back to the
first masked man.
The masked man, who received the letter back and
stowed it away, looked around once and then turned his body. He had a duty to
show this letter to those in the other tents as well.
What stopped the masked man’s steps was a small
sound someone made.
“Heh.”
The masked man turned towards the direction of the
sound and cast a cold glance, but the one who had laughed remained unperturbed.
“I don’t get it.”
He spoke in a weak voice. Or perhaps it would be more
accurate to describe it as a lifeless voice.
“Whether it’s fortunate or...”
The rest of his words didn’t come out, but everyone
there knew what he was going to say.
“What do you want to say?”
“No. I just laughed. This means we’ll have to continue
being their dogs for a while.”
The corner of the masked man’s eyes faintly
twitched.
“Fortunate, isn’t it? Isn’t it too fortunate?”
“Shut up.”
“Why? I said it’s fortunate. Or do you perhaps...
not think so?”
The corner of the speaker’s mouth twisted as he sat
on the mat.
“Could it be that you feel regret...?”
“You!”
Swoosh!
In an instant, a sword was drawn and thrust towards
the speaker’s neck like lightning. The sharp tip of the sword touched the
exposed neck under the mask, and a drop of blood trickled down.
However, the person with the sword at his neck
showed no reaction.
It wasn’t because he was particularly brave. It was
just that he wouldn’t feel anything even if his head were to be cut off at that
moment.
The masked man, reading the deep nihilism in the
other’s eyes, bit his lip and withdrew his sword. Then, as if he couldn’t stand
to look anymore, he turned away sharply and spat out a final word he couldn’t
suppress.
“No matter what you say, nothing will change. No one
forced you to make this choice.”
Another low laugh emerged. It was a self-mocking
laugh, not a sneer.
“When is the next battle?”
“...I don’t know yet.”
“I see.”
There were no further words.
But the masked man knew. Behind the question about
the next battle lay a wish that it might be better to lose their lives in
battle than continue living like this.
“Does dying really end it? If it were that simple,
we wouldn’t be wearing these masks.”
A few people silently lowered their heads.
Even a self-mocking laugh escaped from the masked
man’s mouth.
“There’s no hell left for us to fall into. You
should know that.”
“…...”
“Stop thinking about it. If your head is cluttered,
get some more sleep.”
Knowing full well the sharp gazes and sighs of despair
behind him, the masked man ignored them and left the tent.
Sunlight suddenly poured onto his face.
Feeling the scorching sun, he adjusted the mask covering
his face. He wished the light wouldn’t touch him, that no one could see his
face.
‘Not much time left.’
Or... is that really true?
This war would end one way or another. But would
there really be an end for them?
He lowered his head, avoiding the sky above, and walked
toward the next tent.
From a distance, dark clouds were slowly rolling in,
as if to hide him from the sky.
❀ ❀ ❀
“He’s not here.”
“I figured.”
Zhuge Jonghyo’s face showed a flicker of irritation
as he tossed out his response without much disappointment.
How many days would they continue this pointless
search? After scouring Mount Wudang, they were now ordered to search the
surrounding villages.
Do they really expect to find a single person in
this vast world?
“If we’ve searched this much and haven’t found him,
he must have gone far by now.”
“But it’s strange, isn’t it, hyung-nim? He’s someone who lost his martial arts...”
“Still, he was still the Deputy Sect Leader of Mount Hua.”
“Without martial arts, he’s just the same as anyone
else, isn’t he?”
“Watch your mouth.”
“...I’m sorry.”
Though he reprimanded him harshly, Zhuge Jonghyo’s
thoughts weren’t much different.
‘Baek Cheon.’
The renowned Mount Hua Swordsman Baek Cheon. The
leader of the illustrious Five Swords of Mount Hua, and the designated successor
of the Mount Hua sect. Perhaps the most promising swordsman in Kangho.
‘It’s unfortunate.’
He could understand why the superiors were going to
such lengths to find Baek Cheon.
But even so, it didn’t change the fact that this was
pointless.
‘This is nothing but a waste.’
No matter how great he was in the past, now he was
just an ordinary person who had lost his martial arts. What was the point of
finding such a person?
Even if he hadn’t lost his martial arts, it would be
the same.
In the face of an impending great war with the Evil Tyrant Alliance, mobilizing people
just to find the whereabouts of one person was an excessive waste. It’s not as
if this one person could change the course of the war.
“Huft.”
A low sigh escaped Zhuge Jonghyo’s lips. A cautious
voice came from beside him.
“Hyung-nim.”
“What?”
“Shouldn’t we just say we should give up now? We don’t
have a say, but surely gaju-nim understands
the situation?”
Zhuge Jonghyo did not respond.
“Even if you don’t say it, everyone has their
complaints. Why...?”
“Then keep your mouth shut.”
“Hyung-nim.”
“Stop wasting time and keep searching.”
“...Yes.”
Zhuge Jonghyo sighed subtly and turned away.
‘Foolish...’
He had already voiced such straightforward opinions multiple
times. The patriarchs also knew this was a futile effort.
Nevertheless, the reason why he couldn’t insist strongly
was simple.
It was because Mount Hua and Southern Edge Sect were
the most active in this exhausting search. Even the Tang family was subtly
supporting them.
When the factions with the most influence in the Heavenly Comrade Alliance spoke in
unison, the voice of the Zhuge family, which joined the alliance late as
remnants of the Five Great Families, could not be heard.
“We just need to hold on a little longer.”
“…...”
“If we endure for just one or two more days, they’ll
realize that this is meaningless.”
“Would people who understand that be doing this in the
first place?”
“At the very least, we would have a reason to speak
out strongly.”
A sigh escaped the mouth of Zhuge Dongin, his
cousin.
“Yes, yes. I understand. You mean we should continue
this meaningless task for now.”
“…...”
“Honestly, I don’t see how this is any different from
what we did with the 10 great sects.
I had hoped the Heavenly Comrade Alliance
would be slightly better.”
“A loose tongue invites trouble.”
“I get it.”
Zhuge Jonghyo clicked his tongue briefly.
Of course, his words weren’t entirely wrong. The Heavenly Comrade Alliance of the past
was certainly not like this. How envious they had been of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance while working
with the 10 great sects.
But the current Heavenly
Comrade Alliance does not feel as vibrant as it once did. Will an overgrown
alliance inevitably follow the same path?
‘No. The cause must be elsewhere.’
When the Heavenly
Comrade Alliance first started to make a name for itself in the world, one
name always accompanied it. But recently, that name hasn’t been heard much.
Wasn’t it from then? When the vibrancy left the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, and more
people began to feel stifled.
‘Cheong Myeong, the Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.’
What is he thinking now? He should be the one most
agitated by Baek Cheon’s incident, yet he is unusually quiet.
Has he changed because he leads a large group? Or...
Zhuge Jonghyo, pondering this and that, soon shook
his head.
It was not something he could understand through
speculation alone. For now, he had to properly handle the task at hand.
Clearing his mind, he began searching the surroundings in silence.
And in a place beyond their sight... red eyes
glinted.
The Blood Cult Lord smirked as he watched two people
walk out of the village. Roaming below the mountain with just the two of them.
“I didn’t expect thorough vigilance, but this feels
like outright disregard.”
Did they think Evil
Tyrant Alliance would never attack? Or was finding that Baek Cheon more
important?
“Your orders, Cult
Lord.”
“Hmm.”
The Blood Cult Lord’s eyes grew cold.
Logically, it was highly likely to be a trap. There
were quite a few smart people in the Heavenly
Comrade Alliance.
But...
“There’s no harm in trying.”
“Treading on the grass to startle the snake”, when you stir the grass, the snake comes out.
“If we’re going to stir, we should do it thoroughly.”
The corners of the Blood Cult Lord’s mouth twisted
into a sinister smile.
“Kill anyone who stands out.”
“Yes!”
The cultists he led forward shot out like venomous
snakes. The Blood Cult Lord’s red eyes blazed as he watched.
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