Chapter 1831 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect

 

Chapter 1831. Should I Say It’s Nice to See You? (1) ❀ ❀ ❀

“Wait!”

Jongli Gok shouted as if he couldn't accept it easily.

“Nokrim King. I don't intend to bring up this matter, but aren't you being too hasty?”

Im Sobyeong silently gazed at Jongli Gok.

The pressure from that gaze made Jongli Gok flinch slightly. 

However, he quickly opened his mouth again. With a single command, the outcome of this war could change. This was not the time to be silent and yield to military authority.

“There’s no evidence that Jang Ilso is among them. If, as the Nokrim King says, Jang Ilso is truly among them, then it might be worth risking everything. But if not, we’re just playing into their hands.”

Tang Gunak’s eyes turned cautious. 

He thought Jongli Gok had a point. But then, a sharp voice interrupted.

“Evidence?”

It was just two syllables.  [note: its just two syllables in korean, 근거]

But both Tang Gunak and Jongli Gok closed their mouths at once. The weight in that voice pressed down on them instantly.

“Right there. Can't you see?”

“……Hm?”

Turning their heads in the direction of Im Sobyeong’s gaze, the two saw the same sight. 

Jongli Gok murmured blankly.

“……Poisoned Heart Rakshasa?”

Ho Gamyeong was still standing tall in the battlefield. 

The eerie chill emanating from him seemed to reach even across this vast distance.

Tang Gunak asked.

“What about Ho Gamyeong?”

“If Jang Ilso had already escaped, or if he could use the Evil Tyrant Alliance’s movements as cover to get away, then Ho Gamyeong would have withdrawn long ago. There's no need for him to take such a risk.”

It was a somewhat weak argument. 

But at the same time, it struck much deeper and more intuitively than any logical reasoning.

“If that man is still here, it means Jang Ilso is here too. It also means Jang Ilso’s safety isn’t yet secured.”

Tang Gunak nodded firmly. 

Indeed, unless this was the case, Ho Gamyeong would have had no reason to remain in this chaotic battlefield, where no one’s life was guaranteed.

‘And if it’s Jang Ilso…’

No matter how he thought about it, Jang Ilso wouldn’t be the type to sneak away unnoticed. Jang Ilso always aims for a reversal in any situation. Logically, there must be a deeper plan behind this move.

“But that also means it’s dangerous, doesn’t it?”

“So what?”

“Nokrim King.”

Im Sobyeong bit his lip instead of answering the voice that called him.

He knew it well. 

His judgment right now was unlike his usual self.

Im Sobyeong never liked taking risks. 

He believed it was best to act only when he was certain of a perfect gain.

But not this time. 

This time, merely defending wouldn’t yield anything. 

If they wanted to end the war instead of dragging it out with a moderate victory, they had to take the gamble now.

“I’ll track him myself. Lord Tang, please guard the rear.”

“I….”

“There’s no guarantee that they won’t target the rear!”

Tang Gunak shut his mouth.

“If we can just control the variables, we can end this war here.”

Im Sobyeong’s eyes burned with determination. 

In the end, Tang Gunak sighed and nodded.

“……Very well.”

“Yes. Then.”

Im Sobyeong, who had abruptly risen, suddenly staggered. 

Fortunately, before he completely collapsed, someone grabbed his arm and supported him.

“Pathetic.”

“……”

It was Jongli Gok. 

After glancing briefly at Im Sobyeong, he turned his gaze forward and spoke.

“Don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of helping some evil sect scum. But right now, we need someone who uses their brain more than a sharp blade.”

Im Sobyeong snickered.

“A sharp blade? You sure are overconfident. That’s what I hate about righteous sect bastards.”

“You damn bandit…”

Jongli Gok gritted his teeth and roughly pulled Im Sobyeong up.

“Please watch the rear, Lord.”

At Im Sobyeong’s request, Tang Gunak let out a bitter smile. In his current state, that was all he could do. No, perhaps even that wouldn’t be easy.

“Don’t worry.”

But soon, he responded in a resolute voice. After looking at Tang Gunak for a while, Im Sobyeong turned around.

“Then.”

He kicked off the ground and shot forward like an arrow. Jongli Gok followed closely behind, as if guarding his back. The two figures grew distant.

Tang Gunak watched them with a bitter expression. He loathed the injuries that were eating away at his body.

“Lord Tang.”

At that moment, a voice came from behind. 

Tang Gunak turned around to see Zhuge Zain approaching with a hardened face.

“……Are you injured?”

“A little.”

Zhuge Zain nodded awkwardly. 

Though not as badly as Tang Gunak, his body was not in great shape either.

“Our mission is just as crucial.”

At Zhuge Zain’s words, Tang Gunak nodded grimly.

They had to secure the rear so that those moving forward could fight without worry.

“First, let’s give instructions to everyone.”

“Yes.”

It wouldn’t be easy to give orders to everyone, but they had to make sure as many as possible understood what Alliance was trying to do. Of course, that wouldn’t be easy either.

“And let’s tend to the wounded. Minimizing losses is also our responsibility in the rear.”

Tang Gunak’s voice grew stronger.

Even then, his gaze remained fixed on those who had risked everything and dashed forward.

‘Please…’

Meanwhile, following Im Sobyeong, Jongli Gok spoke in a low voice.

“But…”

He was watching over a dozen Jang Ilsos. 

And also the Alliance warriors who were branching out in all directions to chase them.

“You can’t just give orders from the back. Which one are you going to follow?”

Im Sobyeong shook his head without hesitation.

“I haven't decided yet.”

“...What?”

Jongli Gok asked back in disbelief. Im Sobyeong, however, did not even glance at him and continued staring at the battlefield. His eyes were shining.

“More precisely, there's no need to decide yet. They haven't told us.”

“...This isn't the time to be speaking in riddles.”

“A perfectly scripted play can still fall apart miserably. Do you know why?”

“...What kind of nonsense—”

Jongli Gok was inwardly exasperated at Im Sobyeong for making a metaphor even in this situation, but he still answered obediently enough.

“Isn't it obvious? Because the actors are completely incompetent.”

Im Sobyeong nodded immediately.

“No matter how perfectly the stage is set, not everyone here is a seasoned performer.”

“That's obvious. You think those bastards—”

“Especially!”

Jongli Gok had been about to argue that neither Ho Gamyeong nor Jang Ilso would have overlooked something that basic, but Im Sobyeong's sharp interjection made him fall silent.

“Among those present here, one group prioritizes a single goal above all else. It’s the safety of Jang Ilso.”

At that moment, a single word flashed through Jongli Gok's mind. A group that blindly follows Jang Ilso’s orders wherever and whenever, yet the only ones who would disregard those very orders when his safety is at risk.

“Red Dogs!”

Jongli Gok's exclamation was almost a scream. Im Sobyeong chuckled softly.

“Exactly.”

His gaze swept across the battlefield. But he wasn’t looking at the flow of the battle itself. Instead, he was observing the scattered red and white figures—watching the movements of Red Dogs.

“People can pretend, but dogs cannot. And when a dog senses its master's danger, it will abandon everything else to follow.”

A crooked smile formed on Im Sobyeong’s lips.

“That loyalty... the blind devotion that Jang Ilso has instilled in them will carve a path for us.”

Jongli Gok could hear the sound of Im Sobyeong grinding his teeth.

“A path that leads straight to Jang Ilso.”

What the enemy had created would now become the very thing that strangled them.

This was the kind of outcome Im Sobyeong preferred above all.

❀ ❀ ❀

Ho Gamyeong's gaze was cold and composed.

The deadly aura of the battlefield pressed in on all sides, yet his mind remained sharper and calmer than ever.

‘This is a complete collapse.’

It was inevitable.

Evil Tyrant Alliance was built on nothing but grains of sand. A grand but fragile structure, held together only by the mortar of Jang Ilso’s name and the glue of fleeting victory.

Now that victory was crumbling, and Jang Ilso himself was fleeing. Naturally, everything was beginning to fall apart, scattering back into its original grains.

Even as he watched the carefully stacked tower collapse in an instant, Ho Gamyeong felt nothing.

Because he was the one who had torn it down.

“Chase them doooown!”

Even now, the losses continued to mount. Every swing of a sword by those pursuing Jang Ilso claimed more lives. The number of those who had already perished by Ho Gamyeong’s command likely numbered in the hundreds.

But he was unmoved.

‘Im Sobyeong.’

His eyes were fixed on the man who had just entered the battlefield. One of the most dangerous individuals in this moment.

He couldn’t yet discern what Im Sobyeong was planning. Perhaps something far more dangerous than expected.

But… at least not now. The very fact that Im Sobyeong had thrown himself into this chaos proved it. He hadn’t figured out what was happening on this side yet.

With several of Jang Ilso’s men in his sights, Ho Gamyeong made his decision in a split second.

“We're also retreating.”

There was nothing more to gain by lingering. He had done everything necessary—it was time to move on.

To prepare for that fleeting moment that would reverse the course of this already-determined battle.

“Withdraw quickly. The target is the dead end.”

To achieve that, there was something Ho Gamyeong absolutely had to do. No matter the cost…

Kwaang!

At that moment, a deafening explosion tore through the battlefield.

‘What…?’

About a dozen warriors of Evil Tyrant Alliance were sent flying like fireworks. Even the ones who were not the weaklings who were just running around—these were elite fighters, personally selected by Ho Gamyeong to be his guards.

For someone to wipe them out in a single strike…

“Hey.”

Ho Gamyeong’s pupils trembled.

A man he knew all too well stood in the now-empty space left by a dozen fallen warriors.

“Should I say it’s nice to see you?” [this is the title of this chapter]

It must be what it feels like to come face-to-face with a starving beast. To realize with absolute certainty that its sharp claws would tear open his stomach and its fangs would rip out his throat.

Ho Gamyeong felt that certainty in his very bones.

He let out a faint groan, his gaze fixed upon the man who had finally entered his range.

“Plum Blossom Sword Demon…”

“Ahhh.”

Cheong Myeong curled his lips into a smile.

“Now that I think about it, I owe you quite a lot, don’t I?”

Screech.

The tip of his sword scraped against the ground, making a chilling sound. Like a predator clawing at the earth before leaping at its prey.

“I won’t tell you to brace yourself. Instead.”

A fierce, icy-blue killing intent poured from Cheong Myeong's eyes.

“You won’t die gracefully. I promise.”

Still grinning, Cheong Myeong lunged at Ho Gamyeong like a bolt of lightning.

Next Chapter

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