Chapter 1845 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1845. In the end, you will witness it. (5) ❀ ❀ ❀

Screeeeech!

Birds shot across the ominous sky filled with thick, dark clouds. As if on cue, they scattered in all directions.

Over the soaked fields.

Over the cold bodies that were slowly losing warmth, or over those who kept running with nothing but the will to survive.

Over the heads of those who stood in stunned despair, realizing that what they had been chasing was nothing but an illusion—a fake.

Over those desperately wandering, frantically searching for their lord who must be somewhere in this place.

And among them, one particularly vivid golden streak cut sharply across the sky toward the south.

Screeeech!

A sharp, high-pitched sound made Baek Cheon snap his head up.

‘What is that?’

A golden flash streaked across the dark, clouded sky in his vision.

‘A bird?’

It was a golden bird [금조(金鳥)]—surely the Listening-Guided Golden Sparrow, the spiritual beast of the Beggar Union.

‘Right now, Cheong Myeong must be…’

Baek Cheon, who had been watching the trail for a moment, unconsciously clenched his barely functioning fist.

He was no longer with Mount Hua. He had no way of knowing what they were doing now.

But the moment he saw that divine bird, he knew one thing for sure.

‘Yeah.’

They’re giving it their all. Him, and the others too.

Thinking this gave strength once again to his thoroughly exhausted legs. Brushing the rain-soaked hair stuck to his cheeks aside, Baek Cheon bit down hard on his lips.

‘I believe in them.’

Thump.

He kicked off the rain-soaked ground. His heart felt like it would burst, his whole body had gone beyond fatigue into shivering chills—but even if he were to die, he couldn’t stop now.

Talking about limits was laughable. His body had already broken a long time ago. Now, he was just doing everything he could to keep the shattered vessel from falling completely apart and move forward.

Huft! He gasped roughly for air. As he crossed the barren land, a strange scene unfolded.

“What- what the heck? Why are they all gathered like that?”

Baek Sang beside him shouted in confusion.

Calling it ‘gathered’ didn’t quite capture it. Yes, that was a ‘flow’.

It was a group of defeated soldiers who had fled the battlefield but were too afraid of being chased to scatter completely.

Then, Baek Cheon charged straight toward them. Baek Sang, shocked out of his mind, shouted.

“Sahyung, let’s go around—!”

“There’s no time!”

But even before Baek Sang could finish speaking, Baek Cheon cut him off with a firm shout.

“We’re going straight through!”

“Are you insane? You think those bastards will just let us through because they’re running away?”

Baek Sang had a point. They were defeated troops, yes, but not ones who had lost the will to fight. Charging through that mass in this situation was too dangerous. No one knew this better than Baek Cheon.

Yet Baek Cheon only picked up speed, as if he hadn’t even heard Baek Sang.

“Wha-?”

Those who had been running as fast as their feet could take and had their eyes open blankly were startled for a moment. Two swordsmen in bright white robes were rushing toward them in plain sight.

What kind of absurd madness was this?

But just as they were about to laugh in disbelief, they saw it—the red plum blossom symbol on the white robes. Their faces changed instantly.

“Mount Hua?”

“Th-they actually made it all the way here?!”

Light returned to their previously lifeless eyes—light filled with fear and hatred.

They had given up on the war and were retreating. But now, it wasn’t just any enemy—Mount Hua’s swordsmen had appeared? To them, there was only one possible interpretation.

“We’re being pursued! The Mount Hua bastards chased us all the way here!”

For those who had been terrorized by Mount Hua more times than they could count, this reaction was inevitable.

“Uwaaaaah!”

The Evil Tyrant Alliance soldiers hastily drew their swords. Then, in a frenzy, they rushed at Baek Cheon.

“Euaah! Damn it!”

Before Baek Cheon could even respond, Baek Sang cursed and leapt in front of him.

Clang!

He blocked an oncoming sword with his own, cursing bitterly.

“I’m a non-combatant personnel, damn it!”

Flash!

Despite what he said, his sword moved swiftly. After blocking the attack, he immediately countered—slashing two Evil Tyrant Alliance fighters in the chest and thigh. They screamed and were sent flying.

Baek Cheon shouted.

“Don’t worry about it—just keep running!”

“Goddamn it!”

Gritting his teeth, Baek Sang sped up just as Baek Cheon said.

To him, this situation felt completely unnatural. Though everyone at Mount Hua claimed not to fear taking the lead, Baek Sang was different. He had realized his limits earlier than others and had long since avoided the front lines.

“Why’d you have to drag me here?! There’s tons of better guys than me!”

“Shut up and run!”

“Argh!”

With a shout that was more protest than anything, Baek Sang slammed his feet into the ground.

‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’

His heart pounded as if it were about to explode. With every breath, it felt like a fireball was churning in his chest.

Countless gazes stabbed into him. Some were filled with fear, others with excitement, and some with deep-seated hostility and murderous intent.

His hands trembled. Maybe the fear he felt was even greater than the fear they carried. And that was something a swordsman of Great Mount Hua should never allow.

But Baek Sang admitted the fear swirling inside him honestly.

‘Yeah, I’m scared. I feel like I’m gonna piss myself!’

Truthfully, he wanted to shut his eyes and just run. If he were alone, he wouldn’t have hesitated. But right now—only right now—that wasn’t an option.

Whoosh!

“Gah!”

A sharp blade suddenly thrust toward him. He jerked his head away in shock, but it was a moment too late. The blade grazed his cheek, leaving a searing pain behind.

He swung his sword and severed the attacker’s wrist.

Thud.

But the wound he received didn’t disappear. Blood sprayed everywhere from the deep gash that ran across his face.

“Baek Sang!”

“Stop fussing!”

Baek Cheon called out urgently, but Baek Sang snapped coldly. Despite the throbbing pain, he didn’t let out a single groan.

‘Yeah. I’m a swordsman. I’ve got no talent. If I could run, I would’ve run a long time ago. But not now.’

Behind him was Baek Cheon—the one who had always stood ahead of him since he joined Mount Hua.

Sometimes he admired him. Other times, he was jealous. Whether admiring or envying, Baek Cheon’s back had always been in front of him.

“Get out of the way! I’ll lead.”

Just as Baek Cheon grabbed his shoulder, Baek Sang yanked his arm free with force.

“Baek Sang?”

“Damn it!”

Baek Sang gritted his teeth and swung his sword fiercely at the enemies ahead. Startled by the force of it, the Evil Tyrant Alliance warriors stumbled backward.

“With that body, you’re trying to lead? Are you trying to get yourself killed for real this time?!”

“……”

“Just shut up and keep up! I’ll clear the way!”

At last, Baek Sang fully realized.

This was what Baek Cheon had always been facing ahead of him. Over and over again, endlessly, being wounded and worn down until he eventually broke.

And someone who understands that dares speak of fear?

‘Don’t give me that crap.’

Words like courage were laughable to him. Baek Sang already knew there was no such thing inside him.

This wasn’t courage. It was the bare minimum of pride.

‘If I back down here, I’m not even a man.’

“Damn it!”

He kept cursing under his breath while swinging his sword.

“Th-this bastard!”

Suddenly, swords came rushing in from three directions.

Baek Sang instinctively realized he couldn’t block them all. Just as he was about to deliberately expose his left shoulder, Baek Cheon’s sword thrust out from behind.

Clang!

With barely any inner strength behind it, the sword traced an odd circle and disrupted the trajectory of the incoming blades.

“Huh!”

The Evil Tyrant Alliance warrior who had lunged forward gasped in shock. Baek Sang didn’t miss the opening—he thrust his sword into the man’s throat.

“Guh!”

With a strangled death rattle, the Evil Tyrant Alliance warrior collapsed backward.

“I’ll cover the rear!”

“…You’re always so damn impressive, really!”

Grumbling, Baek Sang couldn’t help the twitch of his lips. He forcefully pulled down the corners of his mouth that were trying to rise and picked up speed as if refusing to fall behind.

Clang!

He struck away flying blades and slashed at enemies. He left the attacks from the sides to Baek Cheon and focused relentlessly on breaking through the front.

Blood continued to pour down his gashed face, soaking him entirely, but Baek Sang seemed to have forgotten even that.

Not long after, Baek Sang noticed something. The eyes of the enemies watching them were beginning to show a single shared emotion.

“Th-these devilish Mount Hua bastards!”

It was the perfect reaction to two people who chased down fleeing remnants of the enemy and swung their swords like yakshas.

The Evil Tyrant Alliance warriors began to falter. No, now they were retreating, desperate to get away from the two of them. At the same time, the crushing pressure that had been bearing down on Baek Sang disappeared all at once.

“Get out of the way! Unless you wanna die!”

Baek Sang roared like a beast—as if he were some uncouth brat from Sichuan.

“Don’t let your guard down!”

“I know already!”

Baek Sang finally realized why Jo Geol was shouting so much. It was probably his way of coping with the flood of fear and adrenaline that threatened to spiral out of control.

“Sahyung!”

“What?”

As Baek Sang charged forward through the Evil Tyrant Alliance warriors who hesitated to attack, he shouted.

“So, do you actually know where the hostages are?”

“Nope.”

“What are you talking about, you lunatic?!”

Baek Sang screeched, whipping his head around. Baek Cheon flinched and shouted back.

“Eyes front, you crazy bastard!”

“Just answer—ugh, get out of my way, you evil sect scum!”

Clang!

Baek Sang knocked away a hesitant Evil Tyrant Alliance warrior’s sword with all his might and turned back to Baek Cheon.

“If we don’t know whether the hostages are nearby, it’s all pointless, isn’t it?!”

“That’s true.”

“Seriously, Sahyung!”

“I told you. I don’t know. But I found someone who probably does.”

“Then who is it?!”

Baek Cheon clamped his mouth shut as if he couldn’t say just yet.

It wasn’t something that could be casually spoken of. Too many people were involved.

When Baek Sang didn’t get a response, unease crept into his voice.

“So they really are close by, right? If this is just speculation—”

“No. There’s no way this is wrong.”

“Why not?”

A firm resolve filled Baek Cheon’s eyes.

“If Diancang betrays him, Jang Ilso probably won’t care much about punishing them. What matters more to him… is making sure the cards in his hand don’t slip away. So…”

Baek Cheon spoke with conviction.

“If it’s that bastard Jang Ilso, he’ll drag the hostages right in front of them and hold a blade to their throats. He’ll kill them one by one, push them into a corner again, and try to bring them back under his control.”

That meant that the moment Jang Ilso became aware of Diancang’s betrayal, the hostages had to be close enough to be brought here immediately.

“They’re definitely nearby.”

Sometimes, there are things you can feel more clearly than see.

‘I’m not wrong. Not this time.’

Now that he was certain, there was only one thing left to figure out—how to rescue the hostages. And for that, they’d need one more thing. Something absolute.

“Over there!”

Suddenly Baek Cheon raised his voice. Baek Sang naturally looked where he pointed.

‘That’s…’

In front of Baek Sang was a group of people. All of them wore ragged martial robes and black masks over their faces.

“Are those the ones?”

“Yeah, Diancang.”

Nodding slightly, Baek Cheon bit the inside of his cheek. His mind was racing.

There hadn’t been any sign of ‘him’ at the spot where they had confronted Diancang’s sect leader.

But he had to be over there. Most likely keeping an eye on the others from nearby. Which meant…

“Sahyung! T-that, what is that?!”

“Huh?”

Baek Sang’s urgent voice snapped Baek Cheon out of his thoughts. His eyes widened—and then, a groan of horror slipped out.

“That…”

His pupils trembled.

“T-this…!”

It was the worst possible situation, one he hadn’t even imagined.

Beyond the masked Diancang warriors was another large group. They wore a mix of white, blue, and other martial sect uniforms.

“Damn it all!”

That’s right—Heavenly Comrade Alliance’s forces were attacking Diancang.

Next Chapter

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