Return of the Mount Hua

Wherever that is. (3)

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“…”  

It was a stark contrast.  

While the massive mountain spewed black smoke and heat that seemed capable of melting the world, the pair of eyes watching the scene were as cold as if gazing upon the snowy plains of the Northern Sea.  

In fact, the more fiercely the enormous mountain range before his eyes burned, the colder the gaze fixed upon it became.  

“We’re short of oil in the center!”  

“Replenish it immediately! Why are the ones who went to requisition oil from the village late?”  

“T-There’s a large village nearby…”  

“Stop wasting time with obvious excuses and get moving! Now!”  

Though a clamor of urgent shouts and angry voices could be heard behind him, the man, as still as a statue, did not budge at all.  

“We’re suffering heavy losses on the west side!”  

“Push the remaining troops from Surochae to that side!”  

“They’re headed for the center!”  

“Then just redirect them! Raise the signal flag and send a messenger! Hurry!”  

“Yes!”  

Simply setting fire and deploying troops would achieve nothing. The important thing was to maintain the line of those blazing flames and uniformly push the enemies upward, thus leaving them no room to escape.

But anyone could see that achieving this was by no means an easy task.

The terrain of the mountain was incredibly irregular, and the flames were like a capricious demon, twisting at will with just a slight change in the direction of the wind.

How many people in the world could control such a roaring fire by meticulously considering all those variables?

One of those few was Poisoned Heart Rakshasa Ho Gamyeong, whose lips opened mercilessly.

“The southeast is slow.”

“Yes, Commander!”

“Go….”

“Yes.”

A voice without any emotion flowed from his lips.

“As an example, cut off a few arms and legs and throw them into the fire alive. And tell them that if they dawdle again, every single one of them there will meet the same fate.”

“…”

“Your answer?”

“Yes, yes! Commander!”

“Go.”

“Yes!”

The people waiting nearby moved like lightning. Their movements showed not just urgency but fear. The sense of impending doom was clear – if they delayed even slightly, they feared they might be thrown into the flames alive.

However, Ho Gamyeong paid no attention to the reactions to his orders, keeping his gaze fixed on the burning mountain.  

He could feel it.  

Though he knew that the heat couldn’t possibly reach him from that distance, just watching the roaring flames made his face flush and his heart race.

That was why Ho Gamyeong suppressed himself even more coldly.

To start something requires courage and passion. But to complete something requires cold, rational thinking.

Ho Gamyeong adhered to this principle. As if cooling his own blood, he tried not to miss a single movement occurring there.

“Fire…”

A voice reached Ho Gamyeong’s ear. Unlike his own heavy, restrained voice, this one did not hide its emotions and sounded thoroughly twisted.

“A classic strategy.”

“The word ‘classic’ means it’s also fundamental,” 

he replied without turning around.

“Hm?”  

“And what is fundamental is what has been proven through countless trials.” 

It might have been rude not to look back, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the activity on the mountain. Fortunately, the person speaking to him didn’t care about such minor discourtesies. 

“But even those who discuss military strategy sometimes forget that fact.”

“Hm…”

Jang Ilso, listening to Ho Gamyeong’s words, let out a soft, nasal chuckle.  

“You mean it’s effective, right?”  

“Whether they are martial artists or commoners, burning to death is the same for both. There might be some in Wudang with the internal strength to withstand the flames, but they would number only a few at most.”  

“That makes sense.”  

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes darkened further.  

“The only reason martial artists aren’t particularly afraid of fire is because they can move faster than the flames spread.”  

“Hmm.”  

“But what if they can’t?”  

“…”  

Ho Gamyeong spoke with conviction in his voice.  

“Then they will be no different from ordinary soldiers surrounded by fire. After that, it’s a simple matter.”  

Jang Ilso chuckled.  

“Catching them by the ankles won’t be easy, though, will it?”

“If we haven’t chosen a way to minimize sacrifices, then we have no choice but to accept them.”  

At that moment, Ho Gamyeong turned his head to look at Jang Ilso.  

“Or… do you want to minimize sacrifices?”  

“Tsk, tsk. You’ve got a nasty personality.”  

“I apologize.”  

Jang Ilso chuckled softly as he watched Ho Gamyeong bow his head.  

There is something terrifying about the fundamentals, and Jang Ilso tended to agree with that notion.  

He preferred strategies that defied people’s expectations and created as many unpredictable variables as possible. But because of that, he knew well how frighteningly effective straightforward methods that don’t rely on variables could be.

Right now, the swordsmen of Wudang were likely experiencing that realization painfully.  

Of course, in the process, those disposable ones might also perish in the flames, but that didn’t matter. Even trading those guys for the swordsmen of Wudang was a profitable exchange.

“But if they manage to escape, then we’ll have just started a meaningless fire, won’t we? That wouldn’t be fun at all.”  

“They cannot escape. Especially not now, given the circumstances.”

“Hmm?”

Jang Ilso let out a short, intrigued sound. 

“Why not?”  

“Because they are shackled.” 

“Shackled?” 

“Yes.”  

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes shifted upward toward Mount Wudang.  

To the towering Heaven’s Pillar Peak, where the halls of Wudang stood. 

“They might think what’s holding them back is the fire and the attackers who disregard their lives, but the real shackles keeping them from moving are their so-called ‘resolve’ they are so proud of.” 

“Resolve…”  

“The reason they can’t retreat is that they’ve already resolved to fight to the death. Words once spoken cannot be taken back. Now that the situation has become difficult, backing out quietly would be hard for them.”

It was amusing.

What would Ho Gamyeong or Jang Ilso do if they were in that situation?

‘Retreat without a moment’s hesitation.’

There was no need to play into the enemy’s hands, and even less need to suffer unnecessary sacrifices. They would likely turn around almost the instant they saw the flames.

But those people couldn’t do that.

This difference – yes, this difference separates the righteous from the wicked. Justification and reputation that is meaningless and trivial to those in the Evil Sect becomes heavy, cumbersome shackles for them.  

If he had realized this difference earlier and devised his strategies accordingly, Sapaeryeon would be even more prosperous than it is now. Until now, they had only faced other Evil Sects and failed to fully understand this distinction.

“Hahaha.”

At that moment, Jang Ilso laughed softly.

“Well, well. Now I’ll have to thank someone I’m not very fond of.”

“…”

It was a painful truth.  

Both Ho Gamyeong and Jang Ilso knew how Ho Gamyeong could predict their response.

It was all thanks to one person.

Ho Gamyeong had come to understand, thanks to just one person, how harshly one could be punished for failing to grasp the obsession with principles and the pretense of ‘righteousness’ disguised as brutal practicality.  

In his struggle to comprehend someone who dwelled in the realm of the incomprehensible, he had learned to roughly predict their choices.  

“Paying a high price for a lesson has its benefits.”

“I agree.”

The brief surge of emotion in Ho Gamyeong’s eyes as he thought of that person quickly subsided, returning to a calm state.

“Good.”

Jingle.

The jewelry on Jang Ilso’s wrist made a clear sound.  

“But, Gamyeong, those people won’t just quietly accept their fate, will they?”

“Of course not.”

Ho Gamyeong’s gaze shifted to a specific spot.

The middle of the path leading to Heaven’s Pillar Peak. A long, white cliff.  

The flames would consume everything in their path, but they couldn’t advance further when there was nothing left to burn. Anyone with a bit of sense would try to occupy that cliff and resist the advancing fire.

“But that’s exactly what I hoped for.”

“You hoped for it?”

At that moment, the corners of Ho Gamyeong’s lips twisted slightly, resembling the smile of Jang Ilso.

“Why wouldn’t I be pleased if the ones we need to kill gather in one place?”  

Ho Gamyeong lightly clenched and loosened his fist.

The opponent was Wudang.

In the past, they might have been a mighty force, but to Ho Gamyeong now, they were just Wudang.

They were not the only ones who had honed themselves through the world-shaking battles. Jang Ilso and he were also different from before. What had been difficult for him before crossing the Yangtze was now a trivial matter.

Although they had made a great show of setting fires, the main forces of Sapaeryeon had yet to be deployed on the battlefield. If they created the right stage and deployed these forces, crushing Wudang would be easier than twisting a child’s wrist.

If there were any variables, they would be…

“However…”

“I know.”  

Before Ho Gamyeong could speak, Jang Ilso nodded.

“They’re coming, aren’t they?”

“Yes.”

“What do you think? Where do you think they are now?” 

Ho Gamyeong swallowed dryly.  

Although Ho Gamyeong was toying with Wudang, discussing them still made him tense, especially when it involved ‘him’.  

If this were Gangnam, he would be able to grasp their movements almost tangibly, but this was Gangbuk. Their intelligence network did not operate here, making fighting in enemy territory particularly dangerous.

Without information, all that remained were predictions and principles.

“They probably haven’t come close enough yet.”

“Is that so?”

Jang Ilso smiled ambiguously.

In the past, Ho Gamyeong might not have understood, but now he knew the meaning of that smile. He had already prepared his response to it.

“Yes. If they are thinking, they would consider this whole situation a trap.”

“Wudang might be the bait?”

“Of course, they would try to slow their advance, wary of a possible ambush. Rushing in recklessly and getting ambushed would be worse than not having reinforcements at all.”

“Hmm. Yes, that’s exactly what they should do.”

It was a perfectly reasonable prediction, one that no one could easily refute.

“So they would likely be…”

At that moment, Ho Gamyeong’s gaze turned westward. His eyes had become sharper than ever before.

“They must be almost upon us.” 

“…Hmm?”

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes gleamed with a chilling light.

“If it’s Maehwa Geomgwi I know, he would never act as I predict.”

Resentment and admiration, along with envy and fear, filled his gaze as it turned west, towards the blade still not in sight, but that was even now soaring to cut their throats.

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A very sad edit about Baek Cheon and Chung Myung. So I won’t be suffering alone.

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The latest chapters of the novel – Patreon or Buymeacoffee – caught up to the ongoing there. Currently aligning my blog and my Patreon schedule-wise so the new schedule here soon too.