This Is Mount Hua’s Land, Part 3
“You dog-like bastards!”
A thunderous roar exploded through the air.
Cho Myeongsan, the sect leader of the small-but-respected sect Byeokhomun in Sanmenxia, stared at the scene before him with a face twisted into something almost unrecognizable. He had rushed here without even looking back the moment he heard the news that evil men had poured into Xifan Village and were slaughtering the villagers. The instant he saw the burning houses and the pitiful bodies sprawled across the ground, a fire like blazing wrath ignited in his own chest.
“How could this happen…?”
The helpless villagers lay dead in a scene of utter horror, men and women, old and young alike. Hot tears spilled from Cho Myeongsan’s eyes.
“How can you wear a human face and do something like this? You bastards deserve to be torn apart!”
Byeokhomun was a small sect in Sanmenxia, one that had never once harmed ordinary people. They believed the reason to practice martial arts was solely to protect and care for those weaker than themselves.
So the sight of the villagers’ butchered bodies struck them like a blow to the heart.
“You…!”
“Worse than beasts!”
As the Peal-Roaring Furious Tiger’s shout rang out, the men who had casually been leaving the ravaged village turned to look at the disciples of Byeokhomun with predator-like eyes.
Their clothes were splattered with blood here and there, and even the enraged disciples of Byeokhomun flinched for a moment at the sight of them.
“...And what are those supposed to be?”
“Heh. What a righteous hero we’ve got here.”
They sneered, but there was no humor in their eyes—only a glistening madness.
The word “chilling” existed for moments exactly like this.
“I’ll never understand what goes on in the heads of righteous sects,” said the one holding the long spear, snorting as he strode toward Byeokhomun. “If you’d just kept your heads down and run, you might’ve lived a little longer. What were you thinking, coming all the way here to make a fuss? Do you think knives don’t go into your own throats?”
“That’s righteousness for you.”
“A bunch of idiots.”
The others began slowly turning back as well.
“Still… we’ve got guests. We ought to give them a proper welcome.”
Even though the Seven Killers of Jiangxi had not bothered to set the mood, the evil martial artists took the lead anyway, baring their teeth as they closed in on Byeokhomun.
“S-Sect Leader.”
“This…”
Feeling the murderous intent bearing down on them, the Peal-Roaring Furious Tiger bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
“Gwanhong!”
“Yes!”
“Take the third-generation disciples and go to Xi’an at once! We need to warn them there!”
“Yes, sir!”
“The remaining first- and second-generation disciples will stay with me and hold them here!”
“...Understood!”
The disciples of Byeokhomun could tell. With their level of skill, there was no way they could stop these people.
Just the pressure radiating from those bodies made their fingertips tingle and their knees weaken. How could a small Sanmenxia sect possibly stand against monsters like these?
And yet they could not retreat.
The reason was simple.
If everyone ran, everyone would die. Someone had to stay behind and become the shield for the disciples fleeing this place.
And there was something even more important than that…
“There may still be people alive in there! If you run and leave the villagers who need help just to save your own skin, won’t the word ‘righteousness’ that you’ve shouted all your lives become a disgrace?”
“Yes, sir!”
“A warrior proves himself by the way he dies! Clench your teeth, all of you!”
At the Furious Tiger’s shout, fear vanished from the disciples’ eyes.
But when the spear-wielding man saw that, he only gave a low chuckle.
“Prove yourself by the way you die?”
His spear scraped against the ground with a grating sound, and a thin, cruel smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
“Then you’re all a bunch of dogs. You’ll be dying like dogs right here!”
As though he couldn’t be bothered to let the prey he’d finally found slip away to someone else, he lunged at Byeokhomun in a single burst.
“Stop them!”
“Drive those evil dogs back!”
Starting with the spear-wielder, the others burst into laughter and rushed forward at once.
The Peal-Roaring Furious Tiger began drawing up all the internal energy he could muster.
Even if it’s only for a moment!
He didn’t need to win.
All he wanted was to buy time. To create even a little space for the disciples who had fled. To delay these evil bastards from reaching the next village, even by a single heartbeat.
The Gupailbang will come to help us! They have to!
Steeling himself, the Peal-Roaring Furious Tiger stamped down hard and swung his fist at the spear-wielder charging toward him.
Byeokhomun’s own martial art, Angry Tiger Eighteen Walls, unfolded more perfectly than it ever had in Cho Myeongsan’s life. His two fists, wrapped in fierce red qi, lashed out like a tiger’s forepaws.
But…
“Too slow, old man.”
Crack!
The spear thrust out like lightning and pierced the Furious Tiger’s right fist with terrifying ease.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Without pause, the spear bored fist-sized holes through his forearm, elbow, and shoulder before driving straight into his chest.
“...Gghh….”
In a single second.
The man who had shouted so boldly about righteousness was finished in an instant, and the spear-wielder let out a mocking laugh.
“Tsk. If you’d spent less time running your mouth and more time training, you might’ve lasted a little longer.”
Just as he was about to mercilessly yank the spear out of the Furious Tiger’s chest,
“Khuk….”
Cho Myeongsan’s trembling hand clamped down on the shaft embedded in his body.
“Hm?”
It wasn’t a move meant to do anything to the spear-wielder.
Cho Myeongsan instead shoved the spear deeper into his own chest. Then he tensed his chest muscles and gripped the shaft with both hands.
As if refusing to let go.
As if to delay, even by a fraction of an instant, the time it would take for the spear to be pulled free and swung again.
“...This old man?”
Blood gushed from his mouth as Cho Myeongsan tried desperately to force a smile. Even with his face twisted into ruin, that was impossible.
“Don’t you… touch… the villagers….”
Whoosh!
In that moment, the spear swung with decisive force and split Cho Myeongsan’s body in half before sweeping out above his head.
Thud.
“What a fool of an old man. You still don’t know your place, even at the end.”
Shaking blood droplets from his fingertips, the spear-wielder turned his head. By then, the others had already swarmed over Byeokhomun and were slaughtering them one-sidedly.
Finding his own share of the work, the spear-wielder clicked his tongue irritably. Against trash like this, he couldn’t even enjoy swinging his spear properly.
“Lukewarm.”
It felt as though his blood had heated up only to cool halfway through.
...There should be a few more worthwhile opponents in Xi’an.
As the spear-wielder suppressed his murderous urge, the man observing from the rear, Damhae of the One Smile, One Slaughter, spoke quietly to Gal Cheon-lip.
“Isn’t this amusing, senior brother?”
“What is?”
“I thought all righteous sects were nothing but hypocrites. Didn’t even those Gupailbang dogs beg for their lives from the Four Hegemons Alliance?”
“That’s right.”
“And yet these sects, nowhere near the level of the Gupailbang, still died while keeping the words that left their own mouths. It’s almost funny that people like this count as small and medium sects.”
“You’ve got it backwards.”
“Yes?”
Gal Cheon-lip let out a small, amused laugh.
“That’s exactly why they’re small and medium sects. They turn away from things that would benefit them, and refuse opportunities to gain advantage. How could a sect ever grow that way?”
“...Now that you say it, that makes sense too.”
“A growing sect must be sensitive to profit. Any sect that truly believes in words like righteousness and the rest is bound to end up looking like this.”
“And yet, they’re impressive, aren’t they?”
“They are. They’re certainly worth respecting. At least unlike those hypocrites you know, they don’t say one thing and do another. But….”
Gal Cheon-lip’s gaze shifted to the Byeokhomun disciples, who were dying miserably under shrieks of pain.
Contrary to the words he spoke, there was not a trace of respect in his eyes.
“They’re fools to the core. They throw away their lives for something meaningless. Even beasts flee when they sense danger… and that makes them worse than beasts, doesn’t it?”
“Heh-heh. Indeed, senior brother.”
Gal Cheon-lip turned away from the scene of slaughter, which was already nearing its end.
To them, Byeokhomun had not even been worth the trouble. It was like dripping a single drop of water onto the lips of someone dying of thirst.
If I keep them going too much longer, they may even come snarling for their master’s throat.
Gal Cheon-lip jerked his chin westward.
“We’ve delayed long enough. The rest of you look like you’ve had your fill of blood, so it should be fine to head straight for Xi’an now.”
“Yes, senior brother. We’ll do that.”
A thin smile touched the corner of Gal Cheon-lip’s mouth.
Perfect.
The preparations were finally complete.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Branch Leader.”
The beggar who entered the office bit his lip hard.
“What is it?”
“The village has been burned down.”
“...What?”
“The evil sect bastards killed everyone in Sewon Village and set the place on fire.”
Crack.
The brush in Hong Dae-gwang’s hand snapped in two.
He bit his lip until it bled, then took a long breath, his eyes bloodshot.
“...Sewon Village?”
“Yes.”
“Is that all?”
“...We confirmed only that they wiped out Sewon Village and moved on to Seobeom Village. It seems Byeokhomun went there to stop them, but….”
“...The Peal-Roaring Furious Tiger.”
Hong Dae-gwang shut his eyes tightly, his face ashen.
Foolish. There was no way Byeokhomun could stop them. The moment they met, it would be fortunate if even one person survived—the difference in strength was that overwhelming.
And yet…
How could he call foolish those who had thrown away their own lives and run to the sound of the villagers’ screams?
“Remember that name.”
“Yes, sir!”
“What about support? What happened to the request for support?”
“We tied it to the Long-Range Flying Hawk and sent it off. We should be getting a reply by now.”
“Damn it, too late!”
Hong Dae-gwang clenched his jaw.
They should have moved first, before the messenger bird even reached them.
By now, if things had gone as he hoped, everyone should have been racing toward Shaanxi with smoke under their feet. Please, they had to arrive before the damage grew any worse…
“Branch Leader! Branch Leader! The reply has come!”
“Where is it?”
“It’s from the main headquarters!”
“Then bring it here! Quickly, here!”
Hong Dae-gwang snatched the sealed letter from the beggar, tore it open, and spread it out in one motion.
Immediately, his eyes began to tremble faintly.
“This….”
“Branch Leader! Shaolin has sent a reply too!”
“...Open it.”
“Pardon? But with my authority, I can’t….”
“I said open it and read it, you bastard!”
At the murderous shout bursting from Hong Dae-gwang’s mouth, the beggar jumped and tore the envelope open on the spot.
He unfolded the letter, looked at the words written inside, then flinched and glanced up at Hong Dae-gwang.
“...Read it.”
“Th-that….”
“I said read it!”
The beggar bit his lip hard. His dazed eyes shook.
“...Support… unavailable.”
“Ha-ha….”
Hong Dae-gwang gave a short laugh, then let the letter slip from his fingers onto the desk.
On the paper that slipped from his hand, four words stood out clearly: Support Impossible.
“Support is difficult?”
BOOM!
Hong Dae-gwang slammed his fist onto the desk and shattered it to pieces.
“What the hell are these dog-shit bastards talking about! Right this very moment, dozens, hundreds are dying, and support is difficult? You… you… and even now you still call yourselves… you dog-shit bastards!”
Abusive curses Hong Dae-gwang had no business saying burst from his mouth.
The targets were the Beggars’ Sect headquarters, and Shaolin—the North Star of the world. It was not the sort of thing a mere branch leader of the Beggars’ Sect should have said, but no one here could bring themselves to blame Hong Dae-gwang for it.
“Branch Leader… what do we do now?”
“...What do you mean, what do we do?”
“The headquarters said we should at least withdraw….”
At that instant, sparks flew from Hong Dae-gwang’s eyes.
Thud!
He kicked the inkstone on the floor into the beggar’s face and ground his teeth.
“You bastard. The reason we can still live without starving to death, even though we’re a bunch of pathetic beggars who can’t even beg properly, is because the people in this region trust us and help us. And now you want to be the first to pull out because it’s dangerous? And you still call yourself a beggar of the Ugly Clothes Gate?”
“B-but… this is an order from headquarters….”
“Ignore those senile, demented old beggar bastards! Damn it all!”
Hong Dae-gwang’s face alternated between red and blue with rage, but he forced himself to swallow it down and said, “You all go immediately. Rush to the villages along those bastards’ route and evacuate everyone.”
“Th-that’s not something we can simply….”
“Do what you can, by any means! Tell the people in Xi’an to evacuate right now too!”
“...Understood.”
“Move!”
“Yes!”
As the beggars ran out, Hong Dae-gwang bit his own lip hard. Blood trickled from the torn flesh.
“And even so….”
He clenched his fist until the blood drained from it, his whole body shaking, then ground his teeth and charged outside.
His bloodshot gaze lifted toward Mount Hua, hidden behind the clouds.
At last, with his mind made up, he sprinted straight toward the mountain path leading up to the great Mount Hua.