Chapter 1790 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect

 

Chapter 1790. The Evil Tyrant Alliance is Coming! (5) ❀ ❀ ❀

“Push forward!”

“We’ve seized the momentum. Press the attack!” 

The deafening shouts echoed from all directions, overwhelming Baek Cheon’s ears. But the noise was nothing compared to the waves of energy surging around him. The aura emanating from the Evil Tyrant Alliance’s soldiers made his skin feel as if it were being torn apart. 

“Ah.…” 

Thud!

Baek Cheon stumbled and fell when someone behind him charged forward, kicking off the ground. The one who had shoved past him didn’t even spare a glance back, completely unaware they’d knocked him over.

“Ugh.”

Baek Cheon forced his stiff hands to press against the ground as he struggled to his feet, looking ahead with a heavy heart.

‘So this is what it’s like.’

The defenders and attackers clashed like waves, people surging together and smashing into one another. In the face of this massive tide, Baek Cheon felt as insignificant as a speck of dust. 

‘Watching a battle from the rear…’

Until now, Baek Cheon had always been at the forefront. He led from the front lines, guiding those who followed him. Because of this, he had never known what it was like to watch a battle unfold from behind.

Perhaps, without realizing it, a sense of superiority had crept into his heart.

He believed that by enduring the greatest suffering at the front, he had earned the right to lead others.

But now, reduced to little more than a bystander in this chaotic war, Baek Cheon was beginning to understand.

The helplessness of those who couldn’t determine their fate, swept along by the tide of war, was a horror unlike any other.

Yet, he had no time to dwell on such thoughts. He still had something he needed to do.

Baek Cheon steadied his trembling legs and forced himself forward.

‘I have to stop this!’

He didn’t have the power to end the war. He couldn’t change the course of the battle. Perhaps there had been a time when he could, but that was no longer the case. 

Still, there was something he could do.

It wasn’t easy pushing through the mass of fierce warriors, but Baek Cheon pressed on, reaching out with his arms.

“Wait!”

He resisted those rushing past him, their desperation likened to moths drawn to a flame. His injured arms and waning energy were far from enough to hold them back, but he couldn’t stop trying.

“Get out of the way, you useless fool!”

Someone, irritated, kicked Baek Cheon in the stomach.

“Gah!”

The air was driven out of Baek Cheon’s lungs. Even though the kick wasn’t particularly powerful, it left him winded in his weakened state.

But he didn’t collapse. Gritting his teeth, he kept moving forward. 

“Leader…”

Baek Cheon’s eyes locked onto the back of a man standing amidst the chaos. Even in this seething battlefield, the man’s figure remained unnervingly calm, as though he had already burned away all his passion.

“Sect Leader!”

Baek Cheon shouted with all his might.

His voice was drowned out by the surrounding noise, but somehow, his determination reached the man. The masked figure turned to face him.

The man’s expression and movements betrayed no emotion. Baek Cheon opened his mouth to speak.

“Sect Leader….”

Jin Songwon raised a disinterested hand, signaling to those around him. The warriors pushing Baek Cheon aside moved away, clearing a narrow path for him.

“Ugh!”

But Baek Cheon barely managed to take a few steps before collapsing again. Jin Songwon looked down at him with disdain.

“Utterly pathetic. You had your chances, didn’t you?”

“Huff… Huff…”

Baek Cheon struggled to breathe, clutching his stomach. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself back to his feet.

“Run. There’s still time. As long as you’re alive, you can do anything.”

Jin Songwon’s calm voice was unnervingly out of place amidst the hellish battlefield. If he were to witness the word disharmony in person, this would be what it would look like.

Yeah. It was as if he had transcended life and death, so this rendering the horrors of war insignificant.

But Baek Cheon wasn’t like him.

“Are you really going to continue?”

“....”

“Will you truly let your disciples attack the Heavenly Comrade Alliance? You know! If you do that.....”

“And what will happen?”

Baek Cheon couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence, so Jin Songwon did it for him.

“Oh, it’ll be irreversible, you mean?”

“....”

“It seems you’re mistaken. It became irreversible a long time ago.”

“But…”

Jin Songwon’s eyes glinted with dark intensity.

“That’s enough.”

He stepped forward, grabbing Baek Cheon by the collar. His cold and unyielding aura was terrifying. Yet, just for a moment, Jin Songwon hesitated, letting out a faint chuckle.

“Do your best to survive. If you can, that is.”

He lifted Baek Cheon effortlessly and flung him backward. Helpless, Baek Cheon sailed through the air before crashing to the ground.

Boom!

The impact felt like it would snap his spine. 

“Urgh…”

The world flickered black and white before his eyes. Clutching his aching chest, Baek Cheon slowly rose again.

“Hah…”

He knew. This was arrogance.

They’ve already thrown everything away. A few words won’t change their minds.

‘But still… I have to do something.’

Even if it amounted to nothing more than a meaningless struggle, he couldn’t just stand by and let things spiral further into catastrophe.

Baek Cheon staggered, forcing his heavy legs to move forward once more. 

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“Hm.”

Jang Ilso observed the scene unfolding before him as though savoring a fine piece of art.

People stabbing one another with blades, cursing each other with undying hatred. Profanities, grievances, and madness overflowed, exposing humanity’s primal depths in their rawest form.

How many could truly afford the luxury of calmly watching such a spectacle?

Conflict, slaughter, looting, and endless repetition—the history of ‘villains’ was littered with such tales. Yet how many could claim to have orchestrated such an awe-inspiring sight?

“Hahahahaha… isn’t it funny, Gamyeong-ah?”

Jang Ilso chuckled, pointing ahead as if he were watching an entertaining performance.

“Look at this.”

His once devilish, mocking eyes now glimmered with deep delight.

“Even those who prided themselves on their superiority or feigned nobility, they’re no different in the end.”

Forgetting their lofty ideals, they clawed desperately to kill whoever stood before them. Forsaking the “righteous cause” they once proclaimed, they fled to save themselves. To avoid death, they pushed their comrades forward. Some simply collapsed in sheer terror.

Their bare faces were pitiful to behold.

“Hahahaha! What a sight! Ahahahahaha!”

While Jang Ilso roared with laughter, Ho Gamyeong’s expression grew grim.

The results were beyond expectations. Even Ho Gamyeong hadn’t anticipated their forces would crumble so easily.

‘Could this be their strategy? No, there was no time for that.’

A strategy is only meaningful if it is carried out. No matter how great a strategy is, if the troops do not move as desired, it will only be an empty echo. He can say for sure that Heavenly Comrade Alliance did not have time to prepare in advance.

So, was their downfall really this inevitable, like a sandcastle swept away by the tide? 

“Their strength…”

“Do you really think that’s all there is to it?”

Ho Gamyeong turned to Jang Ilso, who wore a cryptic smile.

“Humans are cunning creatures. What they say today isn’t what they’ll say tomorrow. What they show you up front isn’t what they’re hiding behind.”

“It’s hard to understand.”

“Do you think their ideals are false?” 

“....” 

“No, they’re likely true. Many among them may genuinely care for those lofty ideals. But behind every ideal lies an unspoken condition. It’s ‘as long as it’s within my limits’.” 

Ho Gamyeong swallowed hard. 

‘So, in the end, they want to achieve their goals without making any sacrifices?’

It wasn’t something to scoff at. After all, wasn’t everyone like that? Even Ho Gamyeong couldn’t claim otherwise.

Then the reason things have reached this point is clear.

Ho Gamyeong carefully surveyed the chaotic front lines.

There are far too many people deployed on the frontlines.

Among them, how many were truly prepared to lay down their lives for the sake of the Central Plains?

If they were drafted soldiers, their personal resolve wouldn’t matter. In most wars, few ordinary soldiers fought with genuine courage or a thirst for glory.

But this battlefield was different.

“….They can flee.”

Ho Gamyeong murmured his realization under his breath.

Soldiers have no means of escape. Even if they’re scared and look for an opening, all they’d see is the overwhelming mass of their own troops surging forward or the enemies charging toward them. Breaking through that chaos to flee was impossible. 

But martial artists were different.

If they wanted to, they could leap over their allies’ heads and disappear into the horizon. Unless they faced overseers like those in the Evil Tyrant Alliance, who would bury a dagger in their hearts the moment they tried to run.

Even martial artists wouldn’t start the battle intending to flee.

But the mere possibility of escape was enough. The desire to live, the belief that they might win without risking their lives, and the doubt about whether this death would hold any meaning, all of it combined to weigh down their blades.

And on this battlefield, even that slight hesitation was significant.

And the one who orchestrated this….

Ho Gamyeong’s gaze turned to Jang Ilso.

The reckless frontal assault had seemed absurd. No tactics, no strategy, just a brutal war of attrition. Even Ho Gamyeong had momentarily doubted its effectiveness. But this chaos had been meticulously calculated?

“Ryeonju-nim…” 

“No, not yet, Gamyeong-ah. Not yet”

“….What?”

Jang Ilso smiled slyly.

“Do you think that’s all they’ve got? If that were the case, we wouldn’t have struggled against them for so long. You know that.”

“…..”

“You know how they fight. You know why we haven’t defeated them yet. It’s certainly not because of these bumbling fools who can’t even control their troops.”

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes returned to the battlefield.

‘Right.’

For a moment, he’d forgotten amidst the heat of battle.

The Heavenly Comrade Alliance was led by someone exceptional.

In battle, grand titles and reputations meant nothing. Orders became meaningless in the chaos of life and death.

As Jang Ilso said, what truly mattered on the battlefield was something else entirely.

Kwaaaaaang!

A massive explosion erupted at one corner of the frontlines, where the enemy forces had been pushing like a raging tide.

Jang Ilso’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s right…”

His grin widened as though he’d been expecting this. His colorless eyes shone with excitement.

“I must be insane, Gamyeong-ah, finding this so entertaining.”

His face became distorted like a demon’s, as the laughter spread excessively. His gaze was fixed on a single point.

Before he knew it, the vast battlefield was completely erased from his sight, leaving only one person.

Jang Ilso’s focus honed in entirely on one person, his opponent.

“It’s just the beginning. Yes, finally.”

As the swirling dust settled, one figure stood tall.

Clad in black Mount Hua robes, a red plum blossom embroidered on his chest.

“Right, the Plum Blossom Sword Demon?”

It was none other than the Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword, Cheong Myeong.

His piercing gaze cut through the chaos, locking onto Jang Ilso with precision. 

Hero versus tyrant.

The battlefield surrounding them erupted into a blazing inferno.

 Next Chapter

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