Chapter 1850 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1850. If there is such a thing as fate. (5) ❀ ❀ ❀

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Anger can sometimes push a person beyond their limits.

It grants them strength they couldn’t summon before, and lets them do what they previously thought impossible.

That was what was happening with Tang Soso’s sword right now. An unimaginable surge of energy erupted from her plum blossom sword— something she normally couldn’t even dream of.

Her sword was filled with overwhelming worry. Confronted with her pure, almost berserk emotions, a chilling thrill flashed across Jang Ilso’s face.

Kwaang!

His bracelet clashed directly against Tang Soso’s sword.

“Jang Ilso! Jang Ilso! Jang Ilsooooooo!”

Tang Soso swung her sword like a raging storm, tears flying from her eyes.

Though the force behind her sword grew tremendously, that was all. A swordsman must never lose composure. When a sword loses its precision, it’s no different from a woodcutter’s swinging axe.

Despite its power, such a sword couldn’t even graze the hem of Jang Ilso’s clothes.

Tang Soso, being a swordswoman who had crossed countless lines of life and death, instinctively realized this. So even as she was swept up in her emotions, she tried to minimize the openings in her defense.

But her opponent was Jang Ilso. Mere improvisation was nowhere near enough. Even in the brief exchange of a few moves, she revealed enough openings that could have cost her life several times over.

However, Jang Ilso did not strike. He simply stood there, fiercely watching the rampaging Tang Soso with a burning gaze. The smile on his lips now was different from his usual sneer or mockery.

“Aaahhhhh!”

As Tang Soso screamed and lunged again, Jang Ilso finally reached out his hand.

Thud.

He easily caught Tang Soso’s sword-wielding hand. Before she could even react, he yanked her towards him.

Tears streaming down her face, Tang Soso’s eyes met Jang Ilso’s narrow, curved ones at close distance.

Jang Ilso opened his mouth slowly.

“Why are you like this?”

“You, you...”

“You were prepared for this, weren’t you?”

Tang Soso trembled unconsciously. 

It was as if Jang Ilso’s words had pierced right through her skin.

“You said you were prepared. When you went on and on bragging... Didn’t you think about what you might lose?”

“Let goooooo!”

Tang Soso fiercely swung her sword down.

It could hardly be called swordsmanship. That was hardly any different from someone who had lost their sense of reason, swinging their club around wildly and throwing a tantrum.

“You! What would you know! Someone like you!”

Clang! Clang!

Her wildly swinging sword kept colliding with Jang Ilso’s bracelet.

After unleashing a flurry of attacks, she managed to pull herself together and unleashed her Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

But just a fraction of a second before that, Jang Ilso’s palm struck her solar plexus.

Bugh!

Splurt.

Blood spurted from Tang Soso’s mouth. She flew like a severed kite and crashed into the ground.

“Dojaaaaaang!”

Namgung Dowi screamed in horror.

“Ugh…”

But Tang Soso soon stirred and pushed herself up. Though she had suffered serious injury, it was unbelievable how intact she was after taking a direct hit from Jang Ilso.

Namgung Dowi felt a mixture of relief and confusion.

‘No way...’

It was certainly fortunate. But it was also impossible.

Jang Ilso showing mercy? Delivering a non-lethal blow? 

Such a thing couldn’t exist, not even in imagination.

Maybe it was a mistake. But even that didn’t align with Namgung Dowi’s understanding. This was ‘Jang Ilso’ they were talking about.

Then there could only be one possibility left.

“Get up.”

Jang Ilso smiled brightly, staring at Tang Soso.

“It didn’t even hurt that much, did it?”

An indescribable chill radiated from Jang Ilso. 

Namgung Dowi, sensing extreme danger, tried to move to help Tang Soso— but it was impossible.

“Screeeech!”

“Damn it...!”

A dark, gnarled hand suddenly flew toward him, and Namgung Dowi narrowly dodged it.

Yes, that was the case. For Namgung Dowi, who was burdened with severe injuries, even just dealing with the frenzied demons before him was overwhelming. No, merely staying alive against them was little more than a stroke of luck.

Hye Yeon and Lee Songbaek weren’t in much better condition. 

In fact, they were each holding off even more enemies than Namgung Dowi.

“Damn it!”

Namgung Dowi cursed and swung his sword. Meanwhile, Jang Ilso continued leisurely walking toward Tang Soso.

“Huff....”

Tang Soso’s breathing was rough and labored. Her chest heaved violently. The pain starting from her solar plexus felt like it would crush her entire body.

Jang Ilso was approaching her.

It should have been a moment filled with suffocating fear, but Tang Soso’s mind was filled with blinding rage and hatred. And...

Drip.

The tears wouldn’t stop. A sorrow so vast it couldn’t be hidden by anger or hatred surged inside her. It kept swelling until it threatened to sweep her mind away.

“Does it hurt? So badly that you can’t bear it?”

Jang Ilso tilted his head slightly, as if he couldn’t understand. But it was clear he didn’t truly fail to understand.

“Isn’t it strange? You went on and on about justice and chivalry. As far as I know, true justice starts with not hesitating to sacrifice yourself. So why is the great swordsman of Mount Hua acting so pathetically? Ah, perhaps...”

A cold smile spread across Jang Ilso’s lips.

“Maybe you were never prepared at all?”

Tang Soso flinched. Jang Ilso, noticing, smiled brightly and continued.

“People often don’t know themselves very well.”

“...Shut up.”

“Sure, maybe you truly believed it. That you could sacrifice anything, give up anything. That you could grit your teeth and endure no matter what came. For that sweet-sounding grand cause.”

“Shut... up...”

Jang Ilso’s eyes suddenly turned chillingly cold.

“But ‘loss’ is not something you can overcome with shallow determination.”

At these tender yet merciless words, Tang Soso’s eyes wavered violently.

No matter how hard she tried, the tears wouldn’t stop. She wanted to scream that it wasn’t true. She wanted to rage and deny it. But the despair wrapping around her only grew stronger the more she struggled.

“Living a life where blades pierce your flesh, where you walk the line between life and death, lose your future, fail to grasp what you desire, and endure an endless thirst.”

Jang Ilso nodded calmly.

“Yes, that’s admirable. Truly admirable. But now, you must know too, right?”

“......”

“That’s not true loss. True loss is having the thing you least want to lose forcibly ripped away from you. It’s not about losing, it’s about being robbed. Just like how I robbed you of your father’s life.”

She ground her teeth, her eyes brimming with hatred, curses on the tip of her tongue—but Tang Soso couldn’t bring herself to utter them.

The words flowing calmly from Jang Ilso tightly gripped her mind and refused to let go. Gradually, they began to gnaw away at her from within, chilling her to the core.

“No!”

Finally, Tang Soso shouted loudly. She rushed at Jang Ilso, even more desperately than before. Unsurprisingly, she was flung away even faster than she had charged in.

Tang Soso, thrown again to the ground, clawed at the earth.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t muster any strength into her grip. Behind her, Jang Ilso’s voice descended like a shadow.

“Do you understand now? You simply weren’t prepared.”

Tang Soso's shoulders trembled like a quivering aspen. A sadness so deep she couldn’t even sob. Jang Ilso’s eyes, watching her, glimmered with an eerie light.

“Tell me. Were you really prepared to lose?”

“Jang Il…”

“Really?”

Crack.

Tang Soso instinctively snapped her head up. Perhaps it was an animal-like sense of danger.

Jang Ilso’s gaze, standing before her, wasn’t focused on her. For a brief moment, his eyes were clearly directed elsewhere.

Toward Hye Yeon, Namgung Dowi, and Lee Songbaek.

A chill ran down her spine. It was both instinct and obvious deduction.

At that moment, Tang Soso sprang to her feet.

Her bones and muscles screamed in protest, and energy surged backward through her battered core. But she didn’t care.

“Don’t you dare... pull anything.”

Even as blood poured from her mouth, she forced herself up. She had no choice. If she stayed crouched, Jang Ilso’s blade would surely turn toward the others.

“Hoo?”

Jang Ilso looked at her with amused interest.

“I won’t lose it... I won’t lose anything. I won’t let someone like you take anything from me!”

“....”

“I’ll grind you to dust!”

Her wide eyes boiled over with ferocious hatred. A murderous aura sharp as a blade flared from her, sweeping toward Jang Ilso.

“Hahaha...”

The force she radiated was so vicious it was hard to believe she was a righteous swordswoman. The root of that killing intent was clearly different from the noble ideals she had been shouting earlier.

Tang Soso was afraid. Afraid of losing what must not be lost.

Only after experiencing loss does one understand how terrifying it truly is.

The terror of not being able to lose anything anymore— no one could mock that fear. On the contrary, the will to protect what is precious deserves admiration.

With trembling hands, she gripped her sword. She forced her energy up and planted her unsteady feet forward.

In that moment, Jang Ilso saw his own reflection in her.

“You must really hate me. But…” 

A sinister smile stretched across Jang Ilso’s lips. He stared at Tang Soso— and at the whole world— with intense hatred.

“I feel the same way.”

In an instant, Jang Ilso’s entire body was engulfed in blue flames.

❀ ❀ ❀

Kwaang!

“Aargh! Damn it!”

A scream erupted from Baek Sang in the rear. But even hearing this, Baek Cheon did not stop.

It was a battlefield from hell. Even as he charged forward, swords filled with terrifying power skimmed past him. One mistake... No, a single unlucky moment— and he would lose his head.

But to Baek Cheon, such dangers no longer mattered. His eyes saw only one thing: the man fleeing with his back turned.

“Stop, you bastard!”

Kwaang!

Baek Cheon pounded the ground with all his strength.

Normally, catching up would be impossible. Baek Cheon’s martial arts had been destroyed, while the masked man’s remained intact.

But now, it was possible. The storm of swords rained down indiscriminately, and the masked man had to dodge them too.

Yet the distance between Baek Cheon and the masked man refused to close. To make matters worse, Baek Cheon’s dantian cried out in pain.

In that instant, fire blazed in Baek Cheon’s eyes.

Clang!

Without hesitation, Baek Cheon drew his sword.

“There!”

Kwaang!

Baek Cheon stomped the ground violently. He didn’t know if his battered arm would hold. He could only believe.

“Stop, you bastarddd!!”

With all his strength, Baek Cheon swung his arm. His arm screamed, and the support mechanism creaked as if it might break.

Whiiiiiiir!

Yet even through all this, his sword caught the air, imbued with his will, and flew.

The spinning sword hurtled toward the masked man’s back. Sensing something coming, the masked man whipped around and hastily drew his sword.

Clang!

He managed to deflect Baek Cheon’s flying blade. But that was enough.

“Sang-ah!”

“I know!”

Seizing the brief opening, Baek Sang rushed in and slashed down toward the masked man’s head.

Kwang!

The masked man blocked Baek Sang’s sword and assumed a defensive stance. For the first time, his previously ceaseless movements halted.

“Euaaaah!”

Baek Cheon, charging in, slammed into the masked man with his shoulder.

Kuung!

The masked man tumbled to the ground. Watching him finally stop moving, Baek Cheon roared.

“Got you, bastard!”

The masked man, who had collapsed to the ground, clutched their mask with one hand and glared at Baek Cheon. The eyes that were revealed through the mask were filled with coldness and an unknown hostility.

Next Chapter

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