#1128: This Place, This Is Hell. (3) — Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Deep dawn.

Most of the pavilions were dark by this time, but the quarters of Ho Ga-Myung, the military general of the Four Sects Alliance, were still brightly lit.

Ho Ga-Myung, sitting at a large desk looking over documents, rubbed his dry eyes and leaned back in his chair.

‘It’s not easy.’

He was also a martial artist. Ordinary matters rarely fatigued him. But nearly ten days of continuous overnight work was enough to wear even him out.

Still, the road ahead was long, and resting was out of the question.

“…Sometimes you ask for too much.”

He muttered quietly in complaint.

He fully understood Jang Ilso’s intentions. And now he perfectly understood how reasonable those intentions were.

The problem was that it was Ho Ga-Myung’s role to realize in reality the grand goal that Jang Ilso casually tossed out while drinking, saying, ‘This should work.’

Easier said than done.

This time, nearly a thousand people were executed, causing a massive personnel gap within the Pirates. The small fry didn’t matter much, but several executed were close to the core of each sect, which was a big problem.

They had to minimize the administrative void left by their disappearance and appoint new people to suitable positions. At the same time, they had to identify and efficiently reorganize all the inefficient and lax operations within each sect.

Not only that. The factions divided among the Black Ghost Fort, the Ten Thousand People Clan, and the Pirates had to be unified and coordinated.

This was a brutal task incomparable to creating a new sect.

In the past, those who saw Ho Ga-Myung’s workload during the Ten Thousand People Clan era were amazed. But now, he had to streamline the Four Sects Alliance, which were several times larger than the Ten Thousand People Clan, while also dealing with the aftermath of Jang Ilso’s eccentric actions.

Who could do this? Even competent ministers in the imperial palace would have fled within days.

Yet Ho Ga-Myung endured all these tasks silently without complaint.

If Chung Myung knew this, he might have forgotten the past and tearfully begged Ho Ga-Myung to work together.

Frankly, Ho Ga-Myung was handling everything that Chung Myung, Hyun Young, Hyun Sang, Un Am, and even the Eunha Merchant Guild from Mount Hua would have done.

Given the situation, even as Jang Ilso gave a casual gesture and fell into a deep sleep at this deep dawn, Ho Ga-Myung had no choice but to remain alone handling the work.

The Four Sects Alliance could not exist without Jang Ilso, and could not operate without Ho Ga-Myung.

‘Let’s see.’

Ho Ga-Myung reached out and pulled the report that had just arrived from Lower District Sect in front of him.

Even while reorganizing the system, he must not miss information. Information is the most precious thing. And the information sent to Jang Ilso is even more important.

Receiving, sorting, and forwarding only the core of such information that cannot be entrusted to others to Jang Ilso was also one of Ho Ga-Myung’s duties.

“Beast Palace and Ice Palace…”

Moreover, the report just received concerns none other than the Heavenly Friends Alliance. Recently, information about the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s movements is classified as top secret even within the Four Sects Alliance.

“What on earth are they trying to do by calling all these guys together?”

Ho Ga-Myung frowned and muttered.

This is not an efficient decision at all. There’s no war about to break out. But calling so many people to the Yangtze River costs a fortune just to feed and house them.

Moreover, gathering people with different temperaments inevitably causes conflicts and accidents. The Four Sects Alliance are currently struggling with this problem and shedding much blood.

Yet they provoke disputes by doing unnecessary things? Anyone would see this as foolish.

“Damn it…”

A hollow sigh escaped from Ho Ga-Myung’s lips.

Still, the reason he couldn’t dismiss this as foolishness was one: the person behind this was Chung Myung.

‘Mount Hua’s Sword Saint.’

Though unwilling to admit it, the Mount Hua’s Sword Saint was beyond Ho Ga-Myung’s comprehension.

Of course, Ho Ga-Myung knew he was not an outstanding strategist. To ordinary people, he might seem excellent, but on a battlefield twisted by monsters, even he was just an ordinary, maybe even dull, human.

That much, the battlefield where they fought was a realm no ordinary person could enter.

Ho Ga-Myung habitually pressed his temples.

‘I never really resented that fact.’

Because his strengths lay elsewhere.

His value was not in strategy, but in administration, management, and the execution to realize Jang Ilso’s words. Though many existed in the world, only Ho Ga-Myung could satisfy Jang Ilso with his work.

Ho Ga-Myung took pride in this fact.

But only at times like this… he felt frustrated by his inability to see the complex battles behind the scenes among them. Yes, only at times like this.

“…Annoying.”

Ho Ga-Myung muttered softly and moved the report he was holding to the left. The reports on the left were those he couldn’t handle himself and had to forward to Jang Ilso.

Recently, especially after the calamity in Hangzhou, reports related to the Heavenly Friends Alliance were often moved to the left.

‘That much… it must have been impressive.’

Ho Ga-Myung’s eyes darkened.

Frankly, it was not Jang Ilso or the Four Sects Alliance who resolved the Hangzhou calamity and killed the high priest of that heretical sect, but the Mount Hua’s Sword Saint.

The figure he showed that day and the strategy he executed left an indelible scar in Ho Ga-Myung’s mind.

Ho Ga-Myung was a cold man, and that applied to himself as well. He never overestimated himself. He admitted he could not handle Chung Myung with his intellect.

‘Still, I don’t understand.’

The only reason Ho Ga-Myung silently obeyed Jang Ilso’s unreasonable order to execute those showing signs of resistance was one.

There was no time to accept and reform them all now. War was not far off. So they chose to cut out the wound before it festered.

What about the Heavenly Friends Alliance? What Chung Myung is doing now is like inflicting more wounds on himself all over his body. What on earth is he thinking?

‘Could it be he’s planning a pre-emptive strike before the problem grows?’

Ho Ga-Myung chuckled. Even as a passing thought, it was nonsense.

“There is a reason. There must be a reason for it. But it’s a reason I find hard to guess…”

Ho Ga-Myung chuckled softly.

He was human after all. Humans cannot understand why or how monsters fight each other. They can only guess superficially.

The fight between Jang Ilso and Chung Myung was that kind of thing to Ho Ga-Myung. He only wished not to be a burden to Jang Ilso and hoped Jang Ilso would achieve his great purpose.

“I’ve been lost in thought for too long.”

Without hesitation, Ho Ga-Myung tossed the report aside and grabbed a new one. To finish the tasks before dawn, even idle thoughts were a luxury.

But despite his urgency, his thoughts did not easily turn to the new report.

‘Mount Hua’s Sword Saint…’

Lately, thinking of him made his chest feel tight.

That Mount Hua’s Sword Saint… though he didn’t want to admit it, was surprisingly similar to Jang Ilso. Completely different yet so alike. That meant the Sword Saint was truly formidable.

‘He must be confident he can handle it.’

A sigh escaped Ho Ga-Myung’s lips.

Anyway, their actions must have a purpose, and that purpose likely stems from the Mount Hua’s Sword Saint’s confidence.

‘But in the end, we will be the ones who are right, Mount Hua’s Sword Saint.’

Ho Ga-Myung glanced toward the north of the river, bit his lip slightly, and then refocused on the documents.

There was no time to rest if he wanted to realize the will of Jang Ilso and himself.

In the quarters of Chung Myung, whom Ho Ga-Myung tried to interpret cautiously.

Similarly, Chung Myung sat at a large desk, rubbing his haggard face and tearing at his hair.

At that moment, the door burst open urgently.

“Chung Myung!”

Chung Myung, with half his soul drained, looked at the person who rushed in. Seeing Baek Cheon’s face, he muttered in a dying voice.

“What… again…”

“There’s another fight!”

“…”

“The Tang family and Namgung are fighting!”

“…Why?”

No, what kind of combination is that?

“I don’t know! They suddenly started fighting while eating.”

“…Try to stop them moderately.”

“They drew swords?”

“…”

“Do something! The building might get destroyed.”

“Well…”

Just as Chung Myung was about to speak, Jo Gul pushed past Baek Cheon and poked his head inside.

“Chung Myung! The Green Forest and our guys are fighting.”

“…Then stop them.”

“No, the sasuks are fighting too, so they won’t listen to me! …Oh? Baek Cheon sasuk! Why are you here? You should be stopping the other sasuk, not here.”

“You do it! I have to stop Namgung and Tang family now!”

“No, those are other people! Our guys are beating the Green Forest like rats!”

“If our guys are beating them, it doesn’t matter. They’re not the ones getting hit.”

“Huh?”

Jo Gul muttered absentmindedly, realizing his mistake.

“Now that I think about it, yeah? Why did I run here then?”

“…”

Half of Chung Myung’s remaining soul drained away again.

Why is that okay? You crazy bastards.

But his ordeal was not over yet.

“Sahyuuuuuung!”

Chung Myung looked blankly at Tang Soso, who poked her face beside Jo Gul, and muttered.

“…Why? Are the Ice Palace and Beast Palace fighting?”

“No! Sahyung, that’s not it!”

“Then what?”

“The beasts brought from the Beast Sect escaped the warehouse and attacked the villages!”

“…Why are you just watching then? You have to catch them!”

“We don’t have enough hands! The other sahyung are fighting the Green Forest bandits now.”

“What about the Beast Palace?”

“They’re fighting the Ice Palace now.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung stared blankly at Tang Soso.

“You said they weren’t fighting just now…?”

“I meant it’s none of my business. Whether they fight or not, I don’t care.”

“…”

“They were so busy fighting that they didn’t feed them on time, so some escaped. It seems hard to control with just the remaining people. Can I kill a couple as an example?”

Melted Chung Myung slumped slowly into his chair.

“Hey, what do we do about this?”

“The fights keep breaking out.”

“Hey. Maybe it was a mistake to let them rest? Since there’s no official sparring, they have leftover energy and fight among themselves.”

Chung Myung laughed hollowly at the nagging voices and stared blankly at the ceiling, muttering.

“You know.”

“Yeah. What should we do?”

“All…”

“All?”

“I wish they all died.”

“…”

“You bastards…”