Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1312. I think I know (2)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Baek Cheon, who had been about to provide support, stopped in his tracks and stared blankly behind.
He could see Tang Pae's back clad in a long green robe.
The poisonous smoke and liquid he had spread, the hidden weapons he had thrown, they completely covered the rear.
'Was he this capable?'
He had entrusted the rear to Tang Pae because poison and hidden weapons were well-suited for providing wide-area support to those in danger and optimal for stopping pursuers.
In other words… what Baek Cheon wanted was a blockade.
Not this one-sided massacre.
'Sogaju.'
Complex emotions briefly flickered in Baek Cheon's eyes.
He certainly respected Tang Pae.
But he hadn’t expected Tang Pae would be this helpful.
To put it bluntly, considering the caliber of those who came from Heavenly Comrade Alliance, Tang Pae barely seemed like he would even qualify as part of their strength.
But Tang Pae was now proving with his own hands that all of Baek Cheon's assumptions were wrong.
'Could I break through?'
That maelstrom of poison?
‘I couldn’t.’
He could force his way through. If pushing himself, breaking through would be feasible.
But he wasn’t confident he could avoid being poisoned.
Baek Cheon was no stranger to what being poisoned by such deadly toxins meant on a battlefield.
That left two options.
Either they buy time until Tang Pae runs out of poison, or they wait until he’s forced out of the narrow confines of the canyon, where the poison’s effectiveness would diminish.
'But that's not a victory.'
By then, Tang Pae would have already achieved everything he wanted.
Even if they won in the ensuing battle, what would be the point?
That would be winning the fight but losing the war.
Baek Cheon sharply eyed the poison bottle in Tang Pae's hand.
The source of all this chaos.
"That poison, just what..."
“That old man went all out, huh.”
Baek Cheon looked to the side at the voice.
A strange smile played at the lips of Chung Myung who had maintained an indifferent face ever since entering Gangnam.
“Is he planning to rip out the entire foundation pillar? He sure thinks big.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Take a good look at that poison.”
At Chung Myung’s words, Baek Cheon looked at Tang Pae again.
Chung Myung said.
"They say Tang Family can't display their true ability in duels or sparring. Because you never know what their thrown weapons might cause, or when the effects of the poison might turn fatal. Right?”
That was common knowledge to everyone.
“But that’s only half true.”
"Huh?"
Chung Myung said with a slight smile.
“Their opponents also have to overcome the burden of facing poison and hidden weapons. Saying they can't show their full strength in duels is just an excuse Tang Family always says."
Baek Cheon nodded silently.
Certainly, what Chung Myung said wasn’t entirely wrong from that perspective.
Fighting against familiar weapons like swords or blades was entirely different from facing someone whose strength lay in poisons and hidden weapons.
The opponent too must bear the burden of facing unfamiliar martial arts.
"That's not where Tang Family is really at a disadvantage. The real issue is that."
"What do you mean by that?"
"That poison can't be used in a martial art competition."
"Why?"
"Because there's no antidote."
Baek Cheon's eyes shook for a moment.
“Half of the Tang Clan is obsessed with poison, and the other half is obsessed with hidden weapons. And among the hidden weapons, those that are too deadly to use on people are called forbidden weapons or whatever and sealed, even keeping them out of their own hands.”
“That’s common knowledge.”
“Think about how ridiculous that sounds. If they weren’t going to use them, why not destroy them instead of sealing them away?”
“Uh…”
Baek Cheon fell silent as if suddenly at a loss for words.
“They’re not destroyed because they will use them someday. When true crisis comes, they'll throw out all Kangho’s taboos and use everything they have."
“….”
"And it's not just hidden weapons. Tang Family’s deadliest poisons. Those without antidotes and impossible to treat. The ones whose mere use would spark outrage among other sects are sealed in the deepest parts of Tang Family."
"That’s…."
Hwaaaak!
At that moment, poisonous smoke billowed again from Tang Pae’s fingertips.
His Poison Palm (독장(毒掌)) wrapped in poison smoke pushed back the blood-red martial artists who desperately trying to break through.
Chung Myung gazed blankly at the sight.
The true power of Tang Family reveals itself when they face an opponent who doesn’t care about antidotes.
Tang Family is different from ordinary martial sects.
In ordinary sects, only a small handful of disciples focus on researching martial arts, while the majority focus on mastering martial arts to achieve higher realms.
However, there are quite a few people within Tang Family who devote their entire lives to studying poison and hidden weapons.
The reason was simple.
Creating an exceptional martial art doesn’t necessarily raise the overall level of the sect.
The true strength of a sect doesn’t come from its martial techniques but from the prowess of its disciples.
That is the paradox of martial arts.
Profound supreme martial arts lead practitioners to lofty realms, but they are extremely difficult to understand, requiring great talent, extreme hardship, and endless years.
Did Shaolin ever lack martial arts?
Does Wudang lack techniques capable of making disciples peerless under heaven?
The reality was that even the greatest disciples struggled to fully master the arts that already existed.
So what meaning was there in researching higher realm martial arts for such people?
Even if they research them, they can’t create them, and even if they create them, no one can master them.
‘But poison is different.’
Even if that poison was reduced to a meaningless level in a battle between absolute masters, such masters are only a tiny fraction of the world.
To most martial artists, Tang Family's poisons are no different from death gods.
Therefore, Tang Family's power can grow just by creating potent poison that can affect faster and easily.
“It doesn’t really matter how strong a person is. At least for the Tang.”
“….”
“What matters more is what’s in their hand.”
Baek Cheon's face stiffened slightly.
Seeing his reaction, Chung Myung grinned and spoke.
"You thought you could handle someone like Tang Pae anytime?"
"Wh- What are you..."
“Dongryong. That’s why you’re still Dongryong. The world is vast and not that simple.”
Baek Cheon tried to refute but eventually shut his mouth.
Arguing back for no reason will only make him look pathetic.
Since Chung Myung's observation wasn't so wrong.
Chung Myung muttered while looking at Tang Pae.
“But… he’s definitely overdoing it right now.”
He was using far too much poison.
But it can't be helped.
If Tang Bo had been the one holding the rear line, he would’ve slaughtered every approaching enemy with just twelve flying daggers.
But Tang Pae cannot stop the enemy with flying daggers alone.
So he keeps consuming the finite poison.
“If this drags on…”
“He won’t last for long?”
Chung Myung and Baek Cheon's words came out almost simultaneously.
Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon with slight surprise.
Baek Cheon had already taken his gaze away from Chung Myung and was deep in thought.
That sight felt both familiar and unfamiliar.
Right now, Baek Cheon was conversing with Chung Myung.
In the past, he would have sought answers from Chung Myung's words, but now he was trying to find them himself.
'Can't even call him a cub anymore.'
Crisis makes people resilient, and war forges martial artists.
Perhaps the one who has grown the most in this fierce run and chase was Baek Cheon.
“Chung Myung-ah! You should move forward….”
"Wrong."
Baek Cheon flinched and stopped mid-sentence.
Wrong?
Tang Pae would soon hit his limit.
But given the nature of his poison, it was impossible to support Tang Pae.
Even if they tried to assist, how could they fight in that poison-filled air?
That means the only option was to increase the speed of breaking through this gorge, and the only one capable of that was Chung Myung, isn’t it?
“Remember this one, Sasuk.”
Chung Myung let out a smile that seemed cruel at first glance.
“Do you know when the most people die in a war?”
“Why all of a sudden…..”
“When you think you’ve won.”
“….”
"That's when people let their guard down. So remember this. The enemies we're up against are human too. They're desperately trying to kill us with everything they've got.”
Chung Myung's two eyes turned upward.
Towering cliffs stood tall like walls on either side.
All that was visible through the gap was the long strip of sky.
"They're coming."
Baek Cheon's body suddenly froze at Chung Myung's words.
'Explosives? Or oil?'
In that instant, the horrific memory of Black Dragon Water Fortress massacre flashed through his mind.
'No! Impossible!'
Baek Cheon shook his head.
Blowing up a cliff with explosives wasn’t as simple as it sounded.
And pouring oil from such heights would require enormous manpower just to prepare.
Jang Ilso could accomplish it because he fought by luring Righteous Sects into already prepared traps.
Wasn't that made Jang Ilso so extraordinary?
But this situation was different.
Ho Gamyeong was chasing them, and it likely hadn’t been long since he realized Heavenly Comrade Alliance and Hainan Sect would head here.
In this situation, it would be impossible for even Zhuge Liang, let alone Ho Gamyeong, to mobilize the alliance and prepare in advance.
'Then?'
What could be coming?
The moment of hesitation did not last long. Baek Cheon saw it.
The long, narrow strip of sky was suddenly covered by something dark and thick and bring about darkness to the gorge.
What covered the gorge gradually became clear.
Baek Cheon’s eyes suddenly bulged.
That wasn’t a cloud or anything.
“Above! Damn it! It’s coming from above!”
He shouted in a panicked voice.
What covered the sky was people.
Countless Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists were leaping down from above.
Enough to completely engulf everyone trying to pass through the gorge.
'No!'
There was urgency and impatience in Baek Cheon's eyes.
The only reason they could break through this gorge was because the enemies were only in front and behind them.
That’s why the disciples of Hainan Sect in the middle could be protected.
But if those attacking from above mixed with Hainan Sect disciples in the center?
'It's over!'
If a chaotic battle breaks out in such a narrow space, the situation will spiral out of control.
And the consequences were too obvious to even guess.
But what should we do?
Forward? Back? They can't retreat in either direction!
“I’ll be right back.”
"What?"
Paaaat!
And at that moment, Chung Myung who had been beside Baek Cheon shot upward like lightning.
“Chu- Chung Myung!”
Before he knew it, Chung Myung had already unsheathed his Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword and was running up the sheer cliff face as if it were flat ground.
The crimson sword aura trailing from his blade painted a red streak across the pale rock.
Paat!
And then another person ran up next to Chung Myung.
"Sago!"
Tang Soso's voice rang out loud.
Yoo Iseol, expressionless as usual, rose up and followed beside Chung Myung.
Chung Myung and Yoo Iseol.
The two soared like an illusion toward the countless Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists falling from above.
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