Chapter 836

“Aargh!”

“Spa- Spare me!”

A village located at the mouth of the Yangtze River was quickly engulfed in red-hot flames. Among the people running here and there, people holding scary-looking swords were shouting menacingly.

“Burn it all down! Hahahaha!”

A rough-looking man with a thick beard scanned the surroundings with his darting eyes.

People screaming and running for their lives, houses blazing.

“Huhu.”

The man licked his lips. When was the last time he saw such a spectacle?

“Boss! We’ve taken everything from the storeroom, but we didn’t see any valuable items.”

“Tsk. These poor bumpkins are all the same. It doesn’t matter. This isn’t the only village around.”

The man smirked triumphantly.

“But is it really okay to do this?”

“Why? Are you scared?”

“It’s not that I’m scared, but…”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

Munju of Galho Sect (???), Gwa Maeng (??(過孟)), laughed mischievously.

“If it were normal, the Righteous Sect would have come rushing in, but now they won’t even budge, so what’s the problem?”

Traditionally, the northern region of the Yangtze was considered the territory of the Righteous Sect. As a result, even the Evil Sects did not dare to do much at the mouth of the Yangtze River. They don’t know when those Ten Great Sects and the Five Great Family will come running.

But now, they can no longer approach the Yangtze River.

And other Righteous Sects could not have the courage to approach the river where the water fortresses are without the protection of the Ten Great Sects and the Five Great Family.

Due to this situation, the areas surrounding the Yangtze had become lawless. In particular, the situation north of the Yangtze River was dire.

“Just don’t touch the merchants! The water fortresses guys rob merchant ships, so they won’t consider us trespassing on their territory just because we mess with peasants. Let’s clean them all out this time!”

“Yes, boss!”

Gwa Maeng looked at the burning village and laughed gleefully.

‘This is why chaotic age is so good.’

At a time when Ten Great Sects and Five Great Evil Sects were quietly keeping each other in check, no matter how many Evil Sects there were, they could not run wild. Even small ripples appear large in a calm lake. And then if you stand out for no reason, you are likely to be smashed as an example like a sharp stone being struck by a chisel.

But in today’s world, there is no need to worry about that.

“What better world is there than this! Hahaha! Take everything! Don’t leave a single grain of rice behind!”

It was just when Gwa Maeng was shouting with excitement.

“Bo- Boss.”

“What is it?”

“Something’s coming from over there. Looks like they’re in quite a number.”

“What? Is it the officials?”

Gwa Maeng turned his head in surprise. Then, looking in the direction of his subordinate’s words, he squinted his eyes.

“…They don’t seem like officials.”

Too few to be officials. Besides, it can’t be the officials in the first place. If they were that quick-feet, Gwa Maeng wouldn’t have dared raid the village.

“It’s either delusional Righteous Factions who don’t know the situation or other Evil Sects. Don’t worry about it. Let’s wrap it up here first…..”

However, things didn’t go as smoothly as he thought.

He couldn’t finish his sentence and quietly closed his mouth. This was because the speed of those approaching his way was completely beyond common sense.

The people who looked like dots in the distance grew in an instant, and soon the shape of the person was clearly visible.

“Wha- What?”

The figure of the person running in front was clearly visible to his eyes. A young man dressed in a black martial artist uniform pulled out a sword in one hand and let out a tiger-like roar.

“Hey, you f*cking bastaaaaaaaaard!”

Like a flash of lightning, he closed the gap and charged at Gwa Maeng. Gwa Maeng quickly lifted the axe in his hand.

“How dare you!”

With a booming shout, Gwa Maeng charged against the young man rushing towards him. Just moments before the sharp aura of his axe clashed with the flying sword.

Gwa Maeng smiled triumphantly.

His axe was considered one of the heaviest among heavy weapons. It’s not something that can’t be blocked with a thin sword. Seeing blood rushing to his head without considering that, the man is definitely just a greenhorn.

Perhaps he was one of the people from Righteous Factions who heard rumors and came running without even knowing the full story. Then, he just needs to make him pay the price.

‘Stupid brat! Die!’

However, just at that moment,

Seureuk!

The sword that was rushing towards his axe suddenly split into dozens.

‘What?’

Countless sword shadows scattered like an illusion, soon erupting into hundreds of crimson sword energy.

Gwa Maeng’s eyes bulged at the unbelievable sight. The scattered sword energy grazed past his hefty axe and flew towards him.

‘Thi- This?’

The red sword energy swirled, almost… like petals.

At that moment, Gwa Maeng could tell where the attacker belonged.

“Mo- Mount Hua….”

Sogok.

The flying petal cut through his neck.

Sogok. Sogok. Sogok!

In succession, his body was sliced by the sword energy, spilling blood everywhere.

“Keuk….”

Unable to bear the weight of his hefty axe, Gwa Maeng’s body fell to the ground. The man who had swiftly passed by Gwa Maeng turned back, grinding his teeth.

“Bo- Boss!”

“Boss was taken down by a single stroke…”

The faces of those who witnessed the scene turned pale.

Their boss, of course, wasn’t a top-notch expert when considering the whole of Kangho. But he was still quite reputable in this vicinity. He definitely wasn’t someone who could lose his life to a young man’s single sword strike.

Chwaak!

Jo-Gol, who shook off the blood from his sword, bared his teeth to the bewildered Evil Sect.

“You dogs! Touching the commoners!”

The disciples of Mount Hua Sect, who just arrived, charged without asking or arguing, and began to sweep away the Evil Sect.

“These damned bastards!”

“Where are these Evil Sect bastards causing trouble!”

The eyes of Mount Hua disciples blazed with fury.

“Don’t show them any mercy!”

“Ooooo!”

The flustered members of the Evil Sect counterattacked with their weapons, but in the first place, there was no way that a small Evil Sect at the mouth of the Yangtze River could be a match for Mount Hua.

Unlike when they occupied the village, their momentum was lost in an instant, and they crumbled miserably.

“Fire! Fire! No, right now is not the time to deal with those bastards! Put out the fire, the fire! We can handle them later!”

“…No, seems like everything’s already burned.”

“Why are these bastards setting fire to perfectly good houses? They should’ve just taken the grains! Augh, damn it!”

Jo-Gol, swearing as much as he could, rushed forward and kicked the groaning Evil Sect member in front of him.

“Aaaahhh!”

“Does it hurt? You f*cking bastard? Does it hurt even for scums like you?”

Kwaak!

The guy who was kicked in the face didn’t even scream but just passed out with foam in his mouth. Even after seeing that, Jo-Gol shouted as if his anger hadn’t washed away.

“Put out the fire!”

“I got it, you bastard!”

“Ei, damn it!”

The disciples of the Wasans, who quickly took care of the Galho Sect, rushed to the burning houses. Some ran towards the wells, but it seemed that there weren’t many houses that could be saved at this point.

“It never ends. It just never ends.”

Chung Myung was right.

– What? When are we going back to Mount Hua? What are you talking about? What are you talking about? The real fight starts now.

– Don’t look down on the bastards of the Ten Great Sects and the Five Great Family. It’s true that those bastards were selling their name without doing anything, but the name is what’s important. Now that they’re officially unable to come to the Yangtze River, it’s going to be a mess.

– We’ll probably have to run around like crazy for a while.

“Ugh.”

Jo-Gol sighed heavily.

Not only Jo-Gol but everyone was preoccupied with dealing with the rampaging Evil Sect.

Baek Cheon, Yoo Iseol and Yoon Jong are each patrolling the Yangtze River with disciples of Mount Hua, while those from the Tang Family are helping Mount Hua stabilize the Yangtze River.

Still, they were vastly outnumbered.

The river was simply too vast for them to handle with their numbers. With this many people, they could only stabilize the area around Kugang.

It is said that the Evil Tyrant Alliance cannot move for a while, but the world isn’t just about the Evil Tyrant Alliance. The Evil Sect that used to be suppressed by the Righteous Factions are now emerging like rats from a burning house, making a racket.

“These damn bastards…”

“Uh… Martial artist-nim.”

“Oh? Yes!”

Jo-Gol quickly turned to the sudden voice. A villager was looking his way. Jo-Gol quickly approached and grasped the man’s hand.

“Don’t be afraid. We are disciples of Mount Hua Sect. We mean no harm.”

“Ah… Aah. That Mount Hua Sect…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Jo-Gol nodded vigorously and continued speaking.

“You can retrieve all the stolen grains. We will make sure that those villains won’t dare approach again.”

“Thank you. Really, thank you so much…”

Tears of relief trickled down from the wrinkled eyes of the villager. If everything they have is taken away, they wouldn’t have lived anyway. If there wasn’t anything to eat, most people wouldn’t have survived the year.

“But those houses….”

“Don’t worry about it. Just saving our lives is more than enough. We can rebuild our homes.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Jo-Gol sighed.

It was regrettable that those houses would not have been burned at this point if they had come a little sooner.

“Gol-ah.”

“Yes, Sasuk.”

“Some of the injured people are in critical condition. I think we have to take them to the island.”

“Are the injuries severe?”

“It’s hard to treat them here. We need a physician.”

Jo-Gol nodded.

“Yes, understood.”

Then, he turned his head to look at the village elder again. Without letting go of the elder’s hand that he still held tightly, he spoke cautiously, making sure not to let anger show in his voice.

“As you’ve heard, we’ll have to take some people with us. We have a physician at the port of Kugang where Mount Hua Sect is stationed. They’ll provide treatment.”

“Physician? Thank…Thank you so much, but forgive us, people like us have no money to offer to physicians……”

“Don’t worry about that. We won’t charge.”

“Huh? Are, are you sure?”

“Yes. So, please, village elders, calm the frightened people. If you need anything for rebuilding the homes, send someone to make a request. We’ll assist as much as possible.”

“…How can I repay you for this favor….”

It was then.

“Damn it, the grain has caught fire!”

“What?”

Jo-Gol quickly turned his head.

“Sahyung, what do we do? These bastards put the cart next to the house, and half of the grain was burned.”

“No, what… Oh, come on!”

In the end, the enraged Jo-Gol rushed over and kicked the chins of the man of Evil Sect kneeling down.

“Can’t you even loot properly, you stupid idiots!”

Jo-Gol, who kicked the Evil Sect member until his anger subsided, looked back at the village elder. Seeing the elder’s obvious despair, he let out a deep sigh.

“Sasuk.”

“Huh?”

“We have money, right? Since you’re in Finance Hall, you must have emergency funds.”

“…I, I know you mean well, but we can’t use that…”

“Let’s think about that later.”

“Chung Myung told me not to use it.”

“…. but he won’t kill you, will he?”

“….”

“Give it to me.”

“….”

“Hurry up.”

Baek Sang looked up at the sky once and eventually took the pouch out of his arms. And he held it tightly and then handed it to the village elder.

“The price of grain in the Yangtze area will probably rise soon, so use this money to buy grain as soon as possible. That should help you through the winter.”

A look of despair appeared on the village elder’s face as he didn’t know what to do.

“Why are you doing all this…”

“It’s not like that.”

Jo-Gol pursed his lips.

“It’s just that it’s obvious that that devil-like bastard will run amok while glaring daggers if we were to just go back like this, so you don’t have to thank us.”

“…Yes?”

“It’s a regret for life that I came to Mount Hua a bit late. It’s the regret of my life. Augh, I should’ve become that bastard’s Sasuk. Then I could just slap that mouth of his!”

“I’ll deliver your word as is.”

“Ah, Sasuuuuuuk! Are you really treating me like this?”

Baek Sang smiled a little, then straightened his face again.

“We need to move the injured quickly. We don’t have time for this.”

“Ah, right.”

Jo-Gol nodded and then addressed the village elder.

“Then we’ll have to go now.”

“Al- Already?”

“There might be problems elsewhere too. If there’s any issue in the village, you can come to the newly established port in Kugang.”

“Nowadays, it’s also called Plum Blossom Island (???(梅花島)), so you won’t have trouble finding it.”

“…Yes?”

“Then.”

As Jo-Gol turned to leave, Baek Sang gave instructions in a loud voice.

“Tie all those Evil Sect bastards and hand them over to the officials! And those with quick feet, carry the injured to the island, quickly!”

“Yes!”

“Move!”

Mount Hua’s disciples, who were organizing things and moving like the wind, quickly moved away from the village.

The villagers, who were staring blankly at the scene, muttered involuntarily.

“…Where did they say they were from?”

“They said Mount Hua Sect.”

“Mount Hua… Mount Hua Sect….”

A groan-like voice leaked out of the village elder’s mouth.

“There’s still Chivalrousness. I thought they were all old stories…..”

He spoke quietly, stroking the head of the child next to him.

“Remember the name of our benefactors. That’s the least we can do.”

“Yes.”

He followed the backs of the Mount Hua Sect disciples with wrinkled eyes fading away from the hard times.

For a long, long time, until they were out of sight.