Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Those at the front lines fought and attempted to flee.

Yet there was no way to retreat. Now constricted from the valiant charge, the formation left them no opportunity to escape.

“Ackk! Move! Get the hell out! You fucking bastard!”

“I told you to leave!”

Terrified, they saw nothing. Clutching onto their comrades’ shoulders, they shoved them towards the Demonic Sect and trampled over them to escape.

Those who aimed to flee.

Those who stood in their way.

The ones who fled in terror.

Previously moving flawlessly towards their goal, the army suddenly devolved into chaos and quickly became entangled.

“C-calm down! Regain your composure! What are you all doing!”

“Don’t look back! D-don’t! Damn it!”

The people nearby shouted frantically, trying to bring order to the situation, but were unsuccessful in quelling the fear that had already consumed some.

“I-I told you to move, you idiots!”

“Ackkk!”

The fighters tightly gripped their weapons, forcefully repelling their panicking comrades. They even resorted to using the sharp edge of their swords against their allies.

What a chaotic situation!

There was no other way to describe it.

The sight before their eyes filled them with an overwhelming sense of fear, and that fear spread like a disease. Even those at the back who couldn’t see the gruesome scene firsthand were terrified and paralyzed by the fear their comrades experienced.

Unable to decide their next move, the nails of the Demonic Sect members dug into their flesh, causing immense pain.

Kakakag!

A person’s entire body was split and torn with a single move.

Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t match these demons. However, they turned around, and the result was obvious.

The demons’ eyes were filled with madness. They showed no hesitation as they started killing those who had their backs turned.

Their constant chants and low-tone mumbling only increased the fear of the Ice Palace Warriors.

“He-heheik!”

The warrior of the Ice Palace sat down in that very spot. The black hand pierced through his chest, pulling out his heart.

Silence filled the air.

As his heart was pulled, blood gushed and soaked his face.

“Ah… ah… ah….”

It was well-known that those who wield the sword were always prepared to die.

He had always lived his life preparing for his own death. Yet, the death unfolding before his eyes made him truly understand what he was losing.

Silence lingered.

The pants of those who witnessed it were soaked.

These individuals were not human.

Humans were incapable of such acts. It was impossible to kill so savagely unless one was an Asura.

“Hu… hu… uh…”

Puak!

For better or worse, the warrior didn’t endure the fear for much longer. A person whose head has been crushed cannot experience fear.

Having decapitated the Ice Palace warrior, the demon chuckled at the others who struggled to breathe. As soon as they caught sight of the bloodstained teeth, the Ice Palace warriors recoiled in terror.

“Second coming of the Heavenly Demon…”

The small chant could be heard even if they didn’t want to.

“Second coming…”

The demon gingerly touched his face. The unfamiliar act of wiping away the blood or applying it to his face.

The Ice Palace troops couldn’t comprehend this gesture. This act was alien to them.

Fear of the unknown.

“There is no room for nonbelievers to exist and breathe. Our mission is to cleanse the land where the great one will descend.”

The members of the Demonic Sect declared this in front of everyone, their presence overwhelming as they rushed towards the warriors of the Ice Palace.

Yo Sa-Heon’s eyes trembled at the sight before him. Positioned at the tail end of the battle line, he couldn’t make out what was happening up ahead.

Yet, he could sense the chaos. It was impossible to ignore.

The troops of the Ice Palace, clad in pure white, charged forward like waves crashing onto a beach.

But as soon as the white wave collided with the Demonic Sect, a storm of dark red erupted. The motion of the blood transformed the once-white waves into a sea of red.

“This… this…”

His trembling beard and the chilling flow of blood signified his shock.

Ten times more men?

Nothing but a trick of the mind. It held no significance, at least for now.

No matter how many sheep exist, their numbers cannot protect them from a lone wolf’s presence. In this instance, the warriors of Ice Palace resembled sheep, while those of the Demonic Sect took on the role of wolves or other mysterious creatures.

“This is the Demonic Sect…”

He had no knowledge of its true nature.

No matter how often they crossed paths, he could never comprehend the sheer madness that engulfed the people of the Demonic Sect.

Naturally, the fault did not lie with Yo Sa-Heon.

Who could have imagined those gloomy and silent individuals possessing such a hidden side?

Demonic Sect.

Its name alone instilled fear, a group known for wreaking havoc.

And Yo Sa-Heon came to this realization too late. Why didn’t information about them come to light?

It defied description. No orator, no scholar, and no historian could articulate or record what truly unfolded.

It was his oversight to not have recognized this sooner, as well as Ice Palace’s error.

Yo Sa-Heon was trembling at this revelation. His hair turned white, and his eyes looked as if they were going dizzy.

“Ahh…”

His eyes flickered widely, filled with fear and confusion.

“E-elder!”

…

“Elder! Give us some orders! We have to do something! Elder!”

As the situation deteriorated, more and more people called out to him. But he remained as stiff as a stone. His white lips twitched.

“Elder! You must calm down! Elder!”

True courage was revealed when everything fell apart.

It was the Ice Palace’s men who nearly lost their sanity. Still, there were undoubtedly individuals who possessed the spirits of the warriors.

“Move! Get out of my way, you bastard!”

“EUKKK! Ackkkk!”

With an almost madness-like fervor, they forcibly shoved their comrades aside to flee. And witnessed the horrifying fate their colleagues were enduring.

Crack.

Blood seeped from lips that had been bitten.

“These infernal bastards.”

Words held no power.

Once discouraged, no words could be used to calm the men down. The only way to turn this around was to show that fighting back was possible.

Puak!

A shoulder was slashed.

The Ice Palace warrior gritted his teeth and stepped forward with sword in hand.

“Ahhhh!”

Taking advantage of the gap left by a fallen colleague, he stabbed forward to kill his opponent.

Puak!

The warrior’s eyes widened.

The sword he pushed was lodged into the demon’s stomach. He didn’t expect the attack to work, so he was shocked.

And at that moment.

The demon extended his blackened hand and seized the sword in his abdomen. Then, he lifted his head and gazed at the Ice Palace warrior.

‘…a smile?’

His countenance was genuinely contorted like that of a demon, and it was apparent that his lips were…smiling.

Clang!

The blade gripped by the demon shattered. The Ice Palace warrior had exerted all his might to thrust the sword and stumbled.

Snap.

In an instant, the demon reached out and grabbed the warrior’s neck.

“Kuak!”

The body of the Ice Palace warrior, who struggled as the hand tightened around his neck, gradually stiffened.

The demon, staring at the Ice Palace warrior in his hand, pulled out the blade stuck in his stomach with the other hand.

“…fucking worm.”

Puak!

And then pierced the warrior’s chest.

Puak! Puak! Puak!

It was followed by repeated stabs to the man’s upper body, turning it into a rag. The demon discarded the body once it ceased to breathe, then proceeded to trample on the skull.

Crack!

The extent of the brutality was unimaginable.

The Ice Palace warriors displayed great courage, which only deepened their colleagues’ terror.

The Demonic Sect member ran his hand through the blood flowing from the stomach wound, observing the thick crimson on his fingertips.

The demon, who had been watching, slowly confirmed the red blood and stared ahead with an expressionless face. Then, he started slaughtering the Ice Palace warriors at an increasingly rapid pace, just as he had before getting wounded.

Getting hurt made no difference. He remained the same, with red blood coursing through his veins.

This brought despair to the Ice Palace.

It collapsed.

The dark clouds brought by the demons stained the once pristine white palace black.

“….”

No one could speak easily. The disciples of Mount Hua looked out the window with stiff expressions, their tense breathing the only sound filling the room.

Tuk.

Sweat dripped from Baek Cheon’s chin. And he wasn’t the only one.

He had been confident in facing countless challenges, but he had never seen such a hell. The faces of the disciples of Mount Hua were pale as paper.

“…s-sasuk.”

“…”

When Tang Soso spoke first, Baek Cheon bit his lip in silence.

‘Is this the Demonic Sect…’

Now he understood.

What did Chung Myung mean by his words?

He was certain that he would not have understood without seeing it for himself. It was only natural that he couldn’t comprehend unless he experienced it.

‘That thing cannot be a mere human.’

It had nothing to do with strength or weakness.

Even with the Demonic Sect’s superior martial arts skills, which were capable of slaying their enemies with a myriad of attacks, a human’s terrified heart remained unaffected.

Chung Myung had always referred to the demons as deranged.

There was no fault in that statement. Well, not exactly, as he didn’t express it accurately.

“Amitabha… Amitabha, amitabha…!”

Hae Yeon started chanting, a mixture of anger, distress, and astonishment.

His face was pale, his eyes tightly closed.

“How… how can a human…!”

Yoon Jong also gritted his teeth.

“Sahyung, calm down.”

Jo Gul attempted to calm Yoon Jong by grabbing him by the shoulder. However, Yoon Jong’s anger didn’t dissipate easily.

“… a person cannot be like that. People shouldn’t be like this!”

Nevertheless, the number of Ice Palace warriors joining the battle continued to rise.

There were only about 50 of the demons.

This insignificant number of demons trampled on them, devastating the land of Ice Palace once filled with snow.

Only now could they clearly understand why the Justice faction, and not just that, but the Five Palaces had to unite to stop the Demonic Sect.

Why did Chung Myung become angry upon hearing the name of the Demonic Sect?

The screams of those fleeing in terror. The sounds of bodies being torn apart.

How could this not be a sound coming from hell?

“Amitabha.”

Hae Yeon also expressed his distress.

“The one thing that shouldn’t happen is this kind of hell on earth. It shouldn’t happen. This is…”

He tried to say more, but he remained silent. It was hard to control the overwhelming emotions.

“Sahyung.”

Just then, Yu Yiseol spoke up.

“Let’s dismantle it.”

“…”

Exactly. It was evident even to Baek Cheon. The warriors of Ice Palace had lost their fighting spirit.

“What do we do?”

At Tang Soso’s question, Baek Cheon turned his head and glanced at Chung Myung.

“Is it time yet?”

Right. It had only been mere moments since Chung Myung began his cultivation.

“… a little more. Let’s wait a little longer.”

Baek Cheon clenched his teeth. From the top of the wall, a figure could be seen leaping.

A battlefield devoid of anything but blood and death.

A man in a black, blood-soaked robe walked with a light step as if treading upon a ground stained crimson with corpses and blood.

Like the Asuras walking upon the realm of demons.