Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1314. I think I know (4)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
In battle, securing the higher ground is absolute.
Especially in mid-air where one cannot plant their feet firmly on the ground or redirect force, its significance becomes immeasurable.
Think about it. Mid-air where one can neither launch their body nor draw power from solid ground.
What happens when one faces pouring rain mid-air?
'Th- That!'
Though the cliff was over twenty zhang (approximately 60 meters) high, the time spent falling was brief.
But that brief moment was by no means fleeting for martial artists who lived by dividing time into fractions.
Those descending hurriedly look upward.
They see their comrades falling with fluttering robes.
And above them, a downpour of crimson rain cascaded like a torrential storm.
Kwadeuk! Kwadeuk! Kwadeuk!
Countless sword energies leave long afterimages like drops of blood and penetrate the bodies of the black-robed men with incredible force.
“Kuaaack!”
The continuous slashes and stabs of the sword energy pierced flesh, over and over again.
It felt as if thick steel needles had punctured their bodies dozens of times, leaving them in such excruciating pain that the only response left was to scream.
Someone tried to block the pouring sword energy by swinging their swords in a fit of rage, but it was impossible to block all the sword energy pouring down like rain mid-air with no place to step.
Kwadeuduk!
Sword energy that tears through the energy wrapped in their bodies and mercilessly embeds into fragile flesh.
Thus it pierces muscle, crushes bone, and after shredding even internal organs, exits the body to embed itself in another's flesh.
Chwaaaaaa!
Blood gushes out from the gaping hole.
As blood pouring from human bodies mixes in, the sword energy that resembles blood becomes an even darker rain of blood (혈우(血雨)).
“Aaaaahhh!”
But human survival instinct persists no matter the circumstances.
Those who realized that they could not avoid the sword energy in the air locked their eyes onto the nearest cliff wall.
Venom fills the eyes of the black-robed martial artists gritting their teeth.
Those who haven't reached the realm of walking on air choose none other than their comrades' bodies as a foothold. (허공을 밟고 이동할 경지가 되지 못하는 이들이 발판으로 선택한 건 다름 아닌 제 동료의 육체였다.)
They had trained together and crossed countless lines of life and death side by side, but under the merciless mandate of survival, camaraderie worth less than rotten straw.
Kwang!
The black-robed martial artists mercilessly kick those beside them and use that rebound to launch themselves toward the cliff face.
“Ot!”
Those who had been trying to fend off the rain of sword energy with their swords lost their balance as the unexpected force struck them from behind.
They are pushed back by the pouring sword energy.
What happened next was all too obvious.
"Keuaaaaaaaaaaaack!"
A desperate scream echoed through the air.
The black-robed martial artists hurriedly clung to the cliff.
Of course, being attached to the cliff didn’t mean they were free from the sword energy. However, blocking the strikes pouring down from above while having their bodies anchored was vastly different from defending themselves mid-air with no foothold.
But they soon face another problem.
Kagagagang!
The eyes of one of the black-robed martial artists, frantically swinging his dao to deflect the sword energy, were bloodshot.
'I can block it!'
Each individual sword energy wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful.
If they weren’t mid-air, they could somehow block it.
He had to let the others know.
Just as he tries to shout with all his might, infusing internal strength into his voice—
Sogok!
A searing pain as if his back was being scorched by fire surged through his body.
“Urgh…”
At the sensation of his spine being severed in one stroke, he forcibly turned his head as he sensed his fate.
Taat.
At that moment, someone stepped on his waist and shoulder to soar upward.
He caught a glimpse of it as he plummeted down.
Someone climbs the cliff like a bird.
Sogok! Sogok! Sogok!
Amidst the chaos when everyone was distracted, a sword warrior wearing a black Mount Hua Sect uniform was moving quickly along the cliff, reaping the lives of each person one by one.
“Y- You dog bastartd!”
Only then did the black-robed martial artists realize they were being attacked from below. They hurriedly swing their dao in a broad arc to defend themselves.
Paaaat!
Yoo Iseol calmly kicked off the cliff and leaped into the air.
It was an intensely dire situation, yet her movements were nothing short of graceful.
She swung her sword as gracefully as flowing water.
Swaeaeaek!
Simultaneously, Chung Myung descended like a hawk pursuing its prey and swung his blade.
It was the moment when Chung Myung's Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword and Yoo Iseol's Plum Blossom Sword met gently mid-air.
Whirl.
The two rotate their bodies using each other's force.
Kagang!
Their swords push against each other in succession.
Using the recoil, they shot toward opposite sides of the cliff.
Kwang!
The two burst into movement like lightning as soon as their feet touched the cliff.
The sunlight pouring down from the now-cleared sky dyed their swords an immaculate white.
There was no time to leisurely observe anything.
Yet at this moment, not just Hainan Sect disciples but even Mount Hua disciples stare at the cliff above while utterly entranced.
“…Sasuk.”
Jo-Gol spoke in a half-dazed voice.
“Can Sasuk do something like that?”
Baek Cheon glanced up at the words.
The two people were moving across the cliff face as though walking on flat ground and ceaselessly striking down the black-robed martial artists.
A bitter chuckle escaped Baek Cheon's mouth.
"...I couldn't even imitate it."
Baek Cheon didn’t consider himself weaker than Yoo Iseol.
She was certainly strong, but he was confident in the martial skills he had built through his own efforts.
But that was only on flat ground.
If they were fighting on such a cliff, Baek Cheon was confident that he would drop his sword before Yoo Iseol could even swing hers and beg for his life.
At least when it came to Light Body Art (경신법(輕身法)), no one in Mount Hua could match Yoo Iseol.
Chung Myung was out of the question in the first place, but even if Baek Cheon spent his whole life trying, he would never catch up to Yoo Iseol's level of movement.
"Still, I'd win in water."
(Hoamzz: Nah, I’d win (Conditional))
"…You look ugly, Sasuk.”
Baek Cheon’s face twitches once.
And silently gazes up at the cliff.
Although Chung Myung and Yoo Iseol had swiftly ended the lives of many black-robed martial artists, there were still many more overheads.
What mattered most was that the descending enemies had already missed their opportune moment as they clung to the cliff.
There was no need to explain how critical timing is in warfare.
The black-robed martial artists realized that the rain of blood-red sword energy had lost its momentum and tried to resume their descent, but the ones below weren’t fools either.
“Fire awayyyyy!”
The moment Hainan Sect Leader Geum Yangbaek's thunderous voice burst forth, the disciples of Hainan Sect concentrated all their energy into their swords and unleashed a barrage of sword energy at the cliff.
Even if they haven’t reached the level of instantaneously releasing sword energy upon sword contact to harm an opponent, things become different when given ample time to prepare like this.
The ocean-blue sword energy surged forth like crashing waves and crashing fiercely toward the black-robed enemies.
Sogok! Sogok! Sogok!
Those attempting to leap down the cliff were repeatedly cut down by the soaring sword energy.
The sabers they had hurled earlier had failed to harm Chung Myung, but Hainan Sect sword energy was cutting through them with certainty.
“Aaaaargh!”
Geum Yangbaek clenched his fist as he watched the enemies whose lives were cut short fall.
Extreme strategies always come with both opportunity and risk.
If they work properly, one gains tremendous advantage, but if they fail, it becomes worse than a direct assault.
There was no need to elaborate on the difference between being suddenly ambushed by descending enemies and calmly shooting sword energy at those clinging to a cliff.
The ones who reversed the situation like this were the two who had shot upward.
How was such a thing even possible?
They were in a confined space with enemies pouring down from above.
Even those who had been rolling in Kangho would have been flustered and at a loss.
At best, all they could have done was fortify their defenses.
In that situation, how could anyone conceive of attacking above and preventing the enemies from descending in the first place?
And all within a split second, no less.
If Geum Yangbaek had been in command, would he have been able to handle this situation?
‘It’s not even worth considering.’
Without those two, the enemies would have already pierced through their formation and massacred the disciples of Hainan Sect.
No, perhaps they might not have even made it into this gorge.
If he had stubbornly clung to mere short-sighted pride, the fate of Hainan Sect would have already been sealed.
"Sect Leader!"
At that moment, Baek Cheon's loud scream pierced Geum Yangbaek's ears.
Snapping back to his senses, he saw the black-robed martial artists falling, spraying blood as they were cut by the sword energy.
But among them, there were a few who had narrowly avoided the strikes.
“Stop them!”
"Yes!"
The elders of Hainan Sect immediately sprang upward at his screaming orders.
The elders, their swords filled with malice and killing intent, mercilessly cut down the black-robed enemies whose morales had weakened.
Baek Cheon briefly assessed the situation above before sharply turning his head.
At this point, there was no need to keep watching.
Many of them would survive the fall and land below, but they will be too weak and injured to withstand Hainan Sect onslaught.
Then what remains?
Kuuuuung!
Hye Yeon's fist pushed the enemy back in one go.
It was still an impressive sight, but Baek Cheon didn't miss how the one struck by Hye Yeon's fist, though thrown back, remained conscious and scraped against the ground.
“Dieeeeee!”
Consumed by rage, the enemies lunged at Hye Yeon with their spears in unison.
Tat! Tat! Tat!
Hye Yeon's hand drew a large circle and deflected all three spears..
However, one of the deflected spears stopped mid-air and then came hurtling back toward Hye Yeon at an even faster speed.
Swaeeeek!
The sharp spear tip raced toward Hye Yeon’s chest.
Intuitively realizing he couldn’t block in time, Hye Yeon gritted his teeth and concentrated his internal strength around his chest.
Kaaaaang!
A sword flew in from behind and struck the spear away just as it was about to pierce Hye Yeon’s chest.
Sogok!
The sword energy that followed cut through the spearman’s neck in a single stroke.
Hye Yeon was momentarily stunned as he watched spearman collapse and bleeding profusely.
“Switch out.”
“A- Acting Sect Leader!”
Hye Yeon shouted as he saw Baek Cheon stepping forward.
"I can still…!”
"I know. But you can't exhaust your strength here. Help the rear line! Tang Sogaju can't handle it alone."
Hye Yeon turned to look toward the rear.
"Hurry!"
"…Yes!"
Hye Yeon nodded and withdrew.
Then two people flew to Baek Cheon's left and right.
Tat. Tat.
Jo-Gol on the left. Yoon Jong on the right.
Standing in the center, Baek Cheon brandished his sword.
“Feels like we’ve stalled for too long?”
"Indeed, we have."
“No need to drag this out.”
A faint smile formed on B Baek Cheon's lips.
Hye Yeon was impressive.
Namgung Dowi was extraordinary.
But still, to Baek Cheon, these two by his side were still the most reliable in the world.
"We'll go in one breath. To the end of this gorge!"
"Yes!"
“Yes, Sasuk!”
Baek Cheon, Jo-Gol, and Yoon Jong.
The three sword master of Mount Hua rushed towards the enemies in one breath.
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