Recovery Is Not Enough (3)
Won Gang, the leader of the Jeok-ung Band, the Merciless Yama, listened to the report with a rather amused expression.
“So those bastards went down to the city and got wiped out?”
“Yes. It seems they weren’t killed, however.”
“Being dead, or having your martial arts废ed and being thrown in prison—it’s all the same thing.”
“Yes. That’s right, Chaeju.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. That bear of a bastard finally went and made a mess of things.”
Im So-byeong was not someone to take lightly.
If he had been easy to deal with, he would never have held dominion over the Green Forest for such a long time. Many people pointed out that he lacked martial strength, but Won Gang saw it a little differently.
It’s not that he lacks strength. It’s that it’s amazing he’s managed to keep the seat of Green Forest King for so long with so little of it.
The presence of Maninbang had suppressed those complaints, but even so, if anyone other than Im So-byeong had risen to the position of Green Forest King with that level of skill, he would have lost his head in less than a month, son of the previous generation or not.
But Im So-byeong had held the position through nothing but strategy and conduct. Didn’t the fact that these three mountain strongholds, which had spent so long at each other’s throats, had finally joined forces prove just how formidable he was?
And yet he had used such an obvious scheme against a man like that, so getting caught was only natural.
“He paid the price for moving without thinking.”
“What sort of thoughts could the Mad Ox Blade possibly have?”
“Tsk. True enough.”
Go Hong, the Mad Ox Blade, stood at the exact opposite pole from Im So-byeong.
If Im So-byeong overcame his lack of martial power with his brain, his conduct, and his backing, then Go Hong was the kind of man who tried to smash through his own lack of brains with nothing but raw force.
“A man like that becoming Green Forest King? I’d rather Im So-byeong keep the seat.”
“Heh heh. Chaeju. How could a mad cow like that ever dare aim for the seat of Green Forest King? That seat will naturally belong to you.”
“Spare me the obvious nonsense.”
Won Gang let out a snort of laughter.
If I support him just enough, he’ll fall apart on his own.
For now, Go Hong was holding himself back because he still hadn’t captured Im So-byeong, but his patience was abysmal. The moment Im So-byeong’s person was secured and the seat of Green Forest King became vacant, he would undoubtedly show that explosive temper of his at once.
By then, if Won Gang stepped in and isolated Go Hong at the right moment, taking the seat of Green Forest King would no longer be a dream.
“But, Chaeju. You should be careful.”
“Hmm?”
Won Gang frowned slightly at the abrupt interruption.
“What are you talking about?”
“Mount Hua.”
“Mount Hua?”
“Yes. Even if it happened within the city, didn’t they tear down the Dae-byeol Band’s Yacha Hall without ever being checked? That means Mount Hua’s strength is greater than expected.”
“……”
Won Gang scratched his chin.
Im So-byeong’s scheme had certainly played a part, but for a scheme to work, there still had to be at least a minimum amount of force to execute it, didn’t there?
At the very least, that meant Mount Hua had enough strength to handle the Yacha Hall.
“Still, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The enemy of my enemy is stronger the better. Dae-byeol Band and Mount Hua will wear each other down anyway.”
“That is also true.”
“Those bastards would have to be out of their minds to climb a mountain occupied by three strongholds. And that Go Hong bastard won’t sit quietly on his ass after being humiliated like that with his explosive temper, so all we have to do is wait until the Dae-byeol Band can’t take it anymore and comes down the mountain to wage war against Mount Hua.”
“Yes, Chaeju!”
Won Gang’s lips curled.
Whether it was the Dae-byeol Band, hungering to seize the seat of Green Forest King, or Mount Hua, who had come all this way on some useless sense of righteousness, they were all nothing but fools.
Won Gang smiled, satisfied with the way things were unfolding, and in that very instant—
BOOOOOOOOM!
“W-what was that!”
He sprang to his feet in alarm at the ear-splitting thunderclap.
But before his head could even turn, the ceiling caved in and something came crashing down over him.
The stockade?
RUMBLE! RUMBLEEE!
Great trees slammed into the house, and the entire building began to collapse.
CRAAASH!
A massive wooden beam swept past right beside Won Gang’s face.
“……”
Eyes wide, he trembled all over.
“W-what in the hell is going on!”
“Are you all right, Chaeju?!”
Gnash.
Won Gang ground his teeth instead of answering.
He was not the sort of man who would be crushed by mere wood, but the sudden chaos was enough to shred what little patience he had left.
“What are you idiots standing around for?! Find out what the hell is happening right now!”
“Yes, Chaeju!”
His subordinates, covered in dust, rushed outside. Won Gang clenched his fist until his knuckles cracked.
There was no way this had happened naturally. Someone had clearly launched a raid on the stronghold.
Go Hong?
Thinking of the most likely suspect, he strode forward.
Leaping over the scattered wreckage, he reached the outer edge and saw a group of martial artists charging in over the shattered stockade.
“It’s an attack!”
“Chaeju! We’re under attack! Under attack!”
“I have eyes, don’t I!”
Won Gang bellowed, veins bulging in his neck.
Not Dae-byeol Band?
At first he had thought the Dae-byeol bastards might have gotten angry and broken the treaty to launch a surprise attack, but the clothing of the people rushing in was clearly different from the Dae-byeol bandits he knew.
“Who are those bastards?!”
“I-it looks like Mount Hua Sect!”
“Mount Hua Sect?”
“Yes! Look at the plum blossom pattern on their chests—it’s definitely them.”
“Y-you crazy bastards! Why the hell is Mount Hua Sect, which should be in Changsha, attacking us!”
Any sane person would never attack a force of more than fifteen hundred with only around a hundred men. This wasn’t even something worth discussing in terms of military strategy. Even a child who had just learned to walk would know better than to pick a fight like that.
And yet that impossible sight was unfolding right before his eyes.
“Why the hell is Mount Hua Sect, who should be tearing each other apart with Dae-byeol Band, here!”
It felt like fire had broken out inside him.
If things had come to this, didn’t that mean his entire plan had already collapsed?
“Chaeju!”
“Damn it! Stop them! Cut down every last one of those bastards’ heads!”
“Yes!”
Though taken by surprise, Won Gang was not an easy man to bring down. He was shaken, but he adapted quickly.
At his command, the bandits of the Jeok-ung Band roared and charged to meet the disciples of Mount Hua head-on.
“Cut off their heads!”
“I’ll peel the skin off them!”
And as if to prove their own identity, they shouted out rough, savage threats. But in truth, those cries were not merely there to show off their ferocity.
Orthodox sect disciples usually confirmed each other’s skill through sparring and knew how to keep a certain decorum even in battle, so when they were confronted with vicious killing intent and vulgar abuse, they tended to be thrown off balance first.
Even if they didn’t panic outright, they would still be suppressed by the momentum. It was a method the bandits had learned through long experience fighting orthodox martial artists.
But…
Unfortunately for them, the people they were facing now were no ordinary orthodox disciples.
“Who the hell do you think you’re shouting at like that? You want to die, huh!”
“I’ll throw you off a cliff right now, you filthy bandit bastards!”
“Let’s see if you can keep talking after I shove a plum branch down your throat!”
Rather, seeing the Mount Hua disciples charge at them with even fiercer momentum while hurling obscenities, the bandits who had been trying to build up their own aura flinched before they knew it.
What the hell? These guys…?
Aren’t they orthodox sect disciples?
The murderous energy in the eyes of the Mount Hua disciples instantly overwhelmed the bandits.
How could they have known?
For these people, killing intent and filthy abuse were no more than the ordinary background noise of daily training, like the air they breathed or the rhythm that kept practice moving.
Compared to Chung Myung’s killing intent and his merciless, needle-sharp sarcasm that felt like it was carving your skin right off, this level of swearing was no different from the teachings of Confucius and Mencius—peaceful and polite beyond belief.
Having seized the initiative, the Mount Hua disciples crashed straight into the reeling bandits.
“HRAAAAH!”
“DIIIIE!”
They charged with a momentum as violent as any rabid beast, yet their sword energy was dazzlingly precise and elegant.
“Huh!”
“P-plum blossoms?”
The bandits’ eyes went wide at the sight of sword light blooming like flowers. The beautifully unfurling blades soon drove in with ruthless force toward their vital points.
“Aaaagh!”
“Gyaaaah!”
The bandits were cut down in an instant, collapsing with screams and thrown backward in heaps. As their formation shattered in a heartbeat, the Mount Hua disciples wasted no time and surged forward with even more ferocity.
“Crush them!”
“The name of Mount Hua rests on our shoulders!”
“Chung Myung is watching from behind!”
“Why the hell would you say that, you bastard!”
It was a truly bizarre sight.
Crude momentum and murderous intent that seemed fit for the demonic schools. Yet the forms created by the tips of their swords were exquisitely refined and clean.
The bandits were utterly bewildered. They had never seen such a contradictory sight in their lives.
What in the world are these bastards…?
Meanwhile, watching from the rear, Chung Myung curled the corner of his mouth.
The Mount Hua disciples were completely seizing the initiative.
They say even a dog gets half its meal in its own yard?
That just meant confidence mattered. And right now, this side had gained confidence.
“If you’re gonna throw the first punch, you’d better land the finishing blow too!”
Chung Myung raised a hand and pointed ahead.
“Go, Sasuk! Sago! Sahyung! Break their waists!”
“Yeah! Coming, you bastard!”
“Anyway, that really is—”
They were all cursing with their mouths, but the instant Chung Myung pointed, their bodies were already moving.
Like flashes of lightning, Baek Cheon, Yu I-seol, Yoon Jong, and Jo Gul sprang over the heads of the other Mount Hua disciples and leapt into the air.
Won Gang’s eyes flew open.
He saw the four of them soaring skyward against the light, their forms seared clearly into his vision, and for a moment it felt as though his heart had stopped.
“HAAAAP!”
The four descended at once over the bandits’ heads and slashed the air with their swords.
Then the plum blossoms bloomed.
It was blooming, and at the same time, falling.
Plum blossoms that were the same and yet different mingled together, showering the bandits with a rain of flowers.
From a distance, it would have been a breathtakingly beautiful sight. But for the bandits receiving that rain with their entire bodies, it was pure terror.
The fluttering petals pierced flesh without mercy.
Over those who collapsed without even a single scream, the Mount Hua Five Swords landed lightly.
Clench.
Baek Cheon tightened his grip on his sword and fixed the retreating bandits with a face cold enough to freeze water.
“Show them clearly what kind of place Mount Hua is!”
“OOOOOOOOH!”
Fired up to the sky, the disciples roared so loudly it seemed the heavens themselves might split. Led by the Mount Hua Five Swords, everyone brandished their swords mercilessly at the bandits.
“We are the Mount Hua Sect!”
“Let’s gooooo!”
Even if no one is watching, plum blossoms still bloom.
The plum blossoms that had endured the cold through a long winter, buried deep beneath freezing snow, were finally showing the world their red, resplendent beauty.
If someone were to speak of this moment in years to come, they would describe it like this:
The day Mount Hua, which had lain on its back biting at the bitter gall of humiliation, finally raised its old, cracked sword anew and began soaring back into the world.
The day Mount Hua finally returned.