Chapter 1949 - Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1949. So It Was Still There. Within Me. (4)

Dark clouds. No, clouds far darker and blacker than that rolled forward, ominously swallowing the earth.

The sight stirred something primal within those who beheld it.

Though it was difficult to explain rationally why they were afraid, it was equally difficult to free themselves from that fear.

Yet the fear they felt was soon overlaid by a somewhat different emotion.

“...That’s all of them?”

A voice like a groan escaped the Commander-in-Chief’s lips.

As the dense clouds of demonic qi thinned, the figures concealed within them came into view. Even by the most generous estimate, there were only several hundred. Even including those slowly joining from the rear, they would scarcely number more than a thousand.

A thousand. Yes, barely a thousand. With no more than that insignificant force, they were advancing upon this Imperial Capital.

“Commander-in-Chief!”

“Mm...”

A faint murmur escaped the Commander-in-Chief at his adjutants’ bewildered cries.

‘They say every last one of the Heretic Cult is insane...’

Now he understood what that meant.

How else could they possibly dare to stand before tens of thousands of soldiers defending this place with so pitiful a number?

“What do you make of it?”

“That can’t possibly be all of the enemy’s forces. They’re most likely going to establish a camp nearby and wait for their main force to arrive.”

“Hmm.”

“We must decide whether to hold our position here and buy time until their main force arrives, or open the gates and strike first while their numbers are still small, Commander-in-Chief.”

Like the Commander-in-Chief himself, his subordinates were men of few words. Ordinarily, he appreciated that quality. But not today.

“Hmm...”

The Commander-in-Chief’s eyes darkened. Perhaps, as his subordinate had said, it ought to have been a simple decision. But when he considered what lay behind him, even the simplest choice became one of the greatest dilemmas under heaven.

“For now....”

Yet there was no need to deliberate. After all, the enemy had never intended to give him that choice.

“T-The enemy is still advancing! They aren’t stopping!”

“....What?”

The Commander-in-Chief whipped his gaze toward the front in astonishment. The black mass, numbering in the hundreds, continued its advance. Straight toward the northern walls of the Imperial Capital.

“Those lunatics...”

The muttered groan of one of the adjutants perfectly echoed the Commander-in-Chief’s own thoughts.

‘They’re going to attack the Imperial Capital with fewer than a thousand men?’

Did that make any sense at all?

No. Expecting common sense from them was utter foolishness. Wasn’t that very lack of reason why they were called the Demonic Cult?

There was no longer any reason to hesitate.

“Prepare the General’s Cannons!”

“C-Commander-in-Chief?”

“Their intentions don’t matter. The moment they enter firing range, open fire without hesitation.”

“Yes!”

The adjutants obeyed without another word. Gunpowder was packed into the General’s Cannons, and massive cannonball rumbled into the barrels with a harsh grinding sound.

Whether they were madmen who had lost all reason or monsters capable of crossing rivers in a single bound made no difference. Cannons were impartial. To common peasants, trained soldiers, mighty warhorses, or even starving tigers, artillery reduced all alike to mangled flesh with a single blow.

“The preparations are complete, Commander-in-Chief!”

“Divide them into four batteries. The First Battery, Second Battery, and Third Battery will fire in sequence. Do not concentrate your fire on a single point. Focus on maintaining continuous bombardment so that they never dare approach the walls.”

“What are your orders for the Fourth Battery?”

[tl/n: Gap Battery, Eul Battery, Byeong Battery, Jeong Battery. Gapjo, Euljo, Byeongjo, Jeongjo. 갑조(甲組), 을조(乙組), 병조(丙組), 정조(丁組). Military formations designated by the first four characters of the Heavenly Stems (甲乙丙丁), functioning as numbered batteries or detachments rather than named units.]

“The Fourth Battery will prepare for any flanking maneuver. If they attempt to circle around to the western or southern walls, assess the situation and redeploy the artillery accordingly. Do not leave a single opening anywhere!”

“Yes!”

The Commander-in-Chief clenched his fist tightly as he watched the Demonic Cult draw nearer with every passing moment.

‘I don’t know how little they think of us, but with numbers like that, they won’t accomplish anything.’

At last, the Demonic Cult stepped within the range of the General’s Cannons.

“Commander-in-Chief!”

“Fire!”

KWAAAAAANG!

No sooner had the Commander-in-Chief given the order, perhaps almost at the very same instant, than the cannons roared to life.

KWAAAAANG!

The cannons mounted upon the city walls discharged in unison.

Pitch-black cannonball tore through the air at terrifying speed, raining down upon the Demonic Cult.

KWAANG!

KWAAAAANG!

Each time an cannonball struck the ground, immense clouds of dust erupted into the sky.

In an instant, the battlefield disappeared beneath white smoke and black powder haze. Even the Commander-in-Chief, who had overseen countless artillery barrages, had almost never witnessed so many cannons firing simultaneously. Its destructive power was, quite literally, earth-shaking.

[tl/n: Gyeongcheon Dongji. 경천동지(驚天動地). Literally, “to astonish Heaven and shake the Earth.” A classical idiom describing overwhelming, world-shaking power or events.]

And precisely because he understood that power, he immediately realized what had happened before his eyes.

‘There are... too few of them.’

Had a great army been advancing across this vast plain, the cannons would have torn them apart.

But now, most of that enormous expanse was nothing but empty ground. A mere several hundred men couldn’t fill even one-thousandth of this field.

The Commander-in-Chief had no choice but to amend his orders.

“Aim! Concentrate your fire! Concentrate it!”

KWAAAAANG!

One Demonic Cultist struck by an incoming cannonball was hurled away without even managing a scream, reduced to nothing more than a mangled mass of flesh. Even accounting for the unnatural regenerative abilities granted by demonic arts, surviving such a blow would have been doubtful.

But that was all.

Against merely several hundred Demonic Cultists scattered across such a vast plain, the cannons simply were not the answer.

KWAAAAAANG!

The cannons roared again. Another cannonball screamed toward the center. One of the black-robed figures standing directly before its path casually reached out a hand.

KAAAAAAAAANG!

With an utterly grotesque thunderous clang, the hurtling cannonball was simply caught in his bare hand.

“.....”

The Commander-in-Chief forgot even to breathe. The impossible scene before him engraved itself into his vision with horrifying clarity.

A man of flesh and blood had seized a cannonball flying at full speed with his bare hand. The monstrous figure calmly lowered his gaze to the cannonball resting in his palm before slowly looking up toward the city wall.

For a brief instant, the Commander-in-Chief was certain their eyes met.

“Pathetic...”

The black-robed man, the Heavenly Executioner, muttered. His expression remained utterly blank as he looked upon the city walls and the Imperial Army filling them.

The Demonic Cult had bitterly regretted its failure a century ago.

Because of its own foolishness, it had lost what should never have been lost. And as the price, it had been cast into hell for a hundred years.

Yet it seemed these people had learned nothing from the past.

Despite having suffered utter defeat a century earlier, their methods of fighting the Cult had not changed in the slightest. The pathetic sight of them foolishly crowding atop the city walls was proof enough.

Crunch.

The Heavenly Executioner’s fingers slowly dug into the cannonball in his grasp. The solid sphere of iron caved in as though it were nothing more than tofu, until holes were punched straight through it.

Huuummm.

At the same time, the cannonball began trembling violently. Unable to withstand the tremendous internal qi being poured into it, the cannonball quivered as though it might burst apart at any moment. Yet the Heavenly Executioner continued gripping it tightly, never allowing it to break free.

Then, with a slight twist of his wrist, he looked toward the wall.

No. To be precise, his gaze settled upon what lay beneath it. The enormous city gate.

“Fools who don’t even know what fear is.”

The Heavenly Executioner extended his arm. The cannonball imprisoned within his hand exploded forward with a roar that seemed to echo from the depths of hell itself.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

Piercing through the air itself, dragging the earth into its wake, the cannonball transformed into a colossal yellow vortex. Like an immense spear of ochre, it hurtled toward the city gate, allowing not even the slightest opportunity to counter it.

“Th-That...!”

Witnessing the scene, the Commander-in-Chief’s eyes widened in horror. Watching the gigantic vortex racing toward the gate with bloodshot eyes, he screamed without even realizing it.

“GET DOWNNN!”

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!

If the heavens were to collapse, this was the sound they would make. If the earth were to overturn, this was how the world would tremble.

The colossal city wall shook violently, as though struck by an earthquake. Soldiers who had failed to lower themselves in time screamed as they were hurled from the battlements, while even those who had thrown themselves flat with every ounce of their strength were toyed with by the shockwave, bounced off the stone beneath them, and coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

“C-Commander-in-Chief!”

As the world barely regained its silence, the terrified voice of an adjutant pierced his ears at once. Clutching his spinning head, the Commander-in-Chief struggled to his feet, only to stagger like a man struck by lightning.

“Th...”

It had collapsed. No. Ripped apart was the more fitting description. Through the hideously torn breach in the city wall, he saw the city gate, utterly blown open. The imposing gates that had once sealed the entrance were gone without a trace.

“Ah... A-Ah...”

No sooner had he managed to stand than the strength left his legs, and he collapsed to his knees.

The gate had been destroyed. With just a single blow.

Then what meaning had these walls ever possessed?

Those walls had been raised through the blood, sweat, and lives of countless people. Along with them had stood an unshakable faith. The gate existed to keep the enemy out and the wall existed to protect the gate.

The belief that as long as these walls stood, we would be safe.

With that single strike, the Demon had shattered not only the gate, but that faith as well.

“A human... How could a human...”

Only then did the Commander-in-Chief remember. No. Only then did he finally understand.

They were not called Demons merely because they were cruel or because they were impossible to understand.

They were Demons in the truest sense. A Demon was a being that carried out feats impossible for human beings as though they were nothing at all.

“There’s no reason we can’t trample a place we’ve already trampled once.”

The Heavenly Executioner looked indifferently at the shattered walls and the city gate, now gaping open like the mouth of a gigantic cave. Then he gave a short command.

“Erase everything beyond that gate. Leave not a single trace of this filthy city, born from the arrogance of the unbelievers. That place shall possess meaning only through its absence.”

[tl/n: Absence. Bujae. 부재(不在). Bu = not, without; Jae = existence, presence. Literally “non-existence” or “absence.” Here it signifies complete eradication, leaving nothing behind.]

A crimson gleam burst forth from the eyes of the Demonic Cultists, as though they had been waiting for those very words.

Their wandering steps quickened. While the artillerymen were still reeling from the violent shaking of the walls, the foremost Demonic Cultists surged through the ruined gate.

“N-No! Stop them! Stop themmmmm!”

The claws of the Demonic Cult descended upon the defenders, who had yet to recover from the shock of the gate’s destruction.

SHRAAAK!

Jet-black claws formed from demonic qi tore apart more than a dozen bodies in a single sweep. Chunks of flesh and fountains of blood exploded in every direction. The inner wall of the gate, not yet fully collapsed, was painted a dark crimson.

“Kyaaaaaaaagh!”

Exploding with murderous intent, the Demonic Cultists swept their gazes across their surroundings. Then the city, bathed in the crimson glow of the setting sun, entered their sight. Without receiving a single order, they ignored the Imperial Army atop the walls and charged into the city like wild beasts.

No one had believed the Imperial Army of the Imperial Capital could stop the Demonic Cult’s advance.

But at the same time, no one had imagined they would fail to delay them for even a single moment.

Trampling beneath their feet every prediction made by the so-called wise men who claimed to understand the world, the Demonic Cult entered Beijing. The blood-red sunset spreading across the western sky seemed to foretell the fate awaiting the city.

[tl/n: Jija. 지자(智者). Literally “wise person” or “sage.” Here it refers broadly to strategists, scholars, and those reputed for their wisdom, rather than a specific official title.]

❀ ❀ ❀

If anyone wants to donate to motivate me (I'll use the money to buy the RAWs from Naver Series too). Thank you so much!

- Buy Me a Coffee

- Patreon

- Trakteer (this one for Indonesian)