Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1330. Nothing out of the question (5)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Kwang!
Each step she took resounded with a thunderous explosion.
This was not the Yoo Iseol who was always quiet and nimble like a swallow. There was a sense of urgency that could not be hidden.
'Faster!'
Her normally expressionless face twisted with growing anxiety.
Paaaaat!
Accelerating to the point where the surrounding scenery blurred, she swung her sword without hesitation, decapitating an enemy in one fluid motion.
Her sword strikes bore a resemblance to Chung Myung’s technique.
'Faster!'
Her feet pounded the ground again and again.
What hung on her sword was not just her life alone. Not just the lives of Hainan Sect disciples struggling in the rain of arrows behind her.
The lonely silhouette of Chung Myung, who had stood alone and held his ground after sending her ahead, lingered persistently in her mind. If she didn’t resolve things here and return in time, that back view might become her last sight of Chung Myung.
'Too slow!'
Driven by impatience, Yoo Iseol once again stomped forcefully on the ground.
Kwang!
Her usual softness and tranquility were her unique traits and none in Mount Hua Sect could rival that. It was the path she chose to compete against those born with innate strength.
A sword unaffected by physical power, one that even without innate talent could be honed to perfection through excruciating effort.
That was Yoo Iseol’s sword—a sword ghost’s sword.
Paeaeaeaeng!
An enhanced arrow imbued with internal strength flew at tremendous speed. She lowered her body without slowing down. It was a miraculous technique that could only be described as flying just above the ground.
The arrow that flew fiercely passed through the air in vain.
Paaaaang! Paaaaang!
Arrows flew in one after another, but Yoo Iseol’s lightness art did not permit any of them to touch her body.
Yoo Iseol severed the neck of an archer nocking his bowstring in a single stroke.
Sogok!
Her blade drew an elegant arc, cutting through the bow that the startled archer reflexively raised and severed his carotid artery in the same stroke. It was a breathtaking strike that would elicit gasps from anyone.
But Yoo Iseol bit her lip until it bled.
‘Too slow!’
This wasn’t enough. She needed to be faster. She needed to be more efficient.
She began to understand.
Why Chung Myung's sword was so often urgent. Why his blade never appeared to carry any sense of leisure.
'Faster!'
She clenched the inside of her mouth and ran toward another direction where arrows were being fired.
Of course, she knew. The ones she sought weren’t there. Those firing the enhanced arrows were still hiding to conceal their positions.
But she had no time to search for them one by one.
So there was only one method.
Instead of her finding them, she had to make them find her.
If she swung her sword as loudly and as violently as possible in the center and killed many enemies, those who couldn’t stand it would come to attack her.
Then at the cost of exposing herself to danger, she could find the enemy and draw away attacks aimed at the main force...
Eudeuk!
The thought that crossed her mind made Yoo Iseol unconsciously bite her lip hard.
- Why push yourself so hard? Why go that far?
Words she had carelessly uttered one day. She didn't understand Chung Myung, nor had she tried to, so she blurted it out thoughtlessly, but those words now lodged themselves deeply in her chest.
It wasn't that she didn't trust her sahyung. She had never doubted their abilities.
She still had to push herself.
Because that way she could save even one more person.
She still had to push beyond limits.
Because that way the enemy would aim for her and not for others.
Fighting most brilliantly at the forefront was simply the best option. The more she drew attention and swung her sword after leaping into the midst of enemy territory, the safer others would become.
She saw the enemies stationed ahead.
The archers' faces darkened at the sight of her rushing forward without even glancing back.
“Shoot! Shoot!”
The archers, who had been holding their bows high, quickly readjusted them toward Yoo Iseol. Arrows loaded two or three per bow rained down on her like a storm.
Yoo Iseol drove her sword into the ground instead of slowing down. The highly elastic plum sword bent as if it would break, then bounced back in an instant. Yoo Iseol jumped into the air with that force.
Jjiik!
The high-speed arrows grazed her pant leg as they passed, but she paid them no mind. Soaring like a predator bird, kicked the air once more and dropped into the midst of the enemies.
Her Plum Blossom Sword violently drew a much rougher circle than the trajectories she usually created.
Kwagagagak!
Bows made of steel were cleaved apart along with the bodies holding them. As the shattered bows and bodies flew apart, blood sprayed into the air above her.
Kwang!
The moment her feet touched the ground, she thrust forward and swiftly pierced the throat of an archer who hesitated in shock. A gruesome crunch echoed as her sword punctured his neck. The sword blade protruding from his nape was red.
"K- Kill her!"
“She’s alone! Just kill her!”
An archer can do nothing once the distance closes. This was common sense.
But just because something was widely accepted doesn't make it true. A bow with its string released is a formidable weapon similar to a short staff (단봉(短棒)), and there was no rule preventing them from shooting arrows at close range.
In fact, the closer the range, the more devastating the arrow became.
The archers charged in unison, swinging their unstrung steel bows. And those behind drawn the bowstrings taut, ready to shoot the moment an opening appeared.
Kaaaaang!
Yoo Iseol deflected a bow aiming for her head in one swift motion head. But before she could swing her sword again, another archer who had sprung upward instantly shot an enhanced arrow from point-blank range.
Yoo Iseol threw herself backward without thinking. The arrow grazed right above her shoulder. It cut through strands of hair and mercilessly struck the stomach of Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artist who was charging at her from behind.
“Kuaaaack!”
The arrows hurt their allies, but no one cared. The archers who were charging and leapt upwards unleashed a barrage at Yoo Iseol.
Before the countless arrows poured down at close range, all Yoo Iseol could do was roll her body to dodge.
Papapapapat!
The spot she had just rolled away from was instantly packed tight with arrows. It was obvious what state she would be in now if she had been even slightly slower.
'Different.'
Yoo Iseol rose up like lightning and ran towards the nearest enemy in her sight. Her body moved faster than her thoughts.
“O- Oot!”
Sogok!
Yoo Iseol, having buried her sword in the surprised enemy's abdomen, grabbed the collar of an enemy gaped in pain and yanked him forcefully with a powerful twist. In a flash, their positions were reversed.
"N- No..."
The moment their positions were forcibly swapped, he instinctively realized his impending fate and frantically turned his head.
Kwadeuk! Kwadeudeudeuk!
Before he could fully turn, his back was struck by a barrage of arrows that embedded themselves deeply. Using his body as a shield, Yoo Iseol blocked the arrows and immediately pulled her sword free, cutting down another enemy with a swift swing.
From the moment one leaps into a wolf pack, one must be prepared to pay the price. Even a tiger cannot emerge completely unscathed from their midst.
Yoo Iseol understood this all too well. Acting on impossible feats merely because of urgency would amount to nothing but suicide.
Even so, there was only one reason she had plunged into the heart of the wolf pack.
“Aaaaahhh!”
Screams erupted from several of the enemies surrounding Yoo Iseol. They had been helplessly struck by sword energy flying from behind. They couldn’t even identify who had killed them before meeting their end.
"Sago!"
It was Yoon Jong. He was steadily but swiftly dismantling the enemy lines from the outskirts.
As continuous agonized screams echoed from outside the encirclement, the archers' fingertips trembled minutely.
Unlike spears or swords, bows can only aim in one direction. There was no such thing as a bow that could shoot both in front and behind at the same time.
As if proving that archers were weakest not when distances close but when their aim directions become confused, the two Mount Hua disciples simultaneously scattered sword energy from inside and outside.
The dazzling petals of Yoo Iseol’s Plum Blossom Sword Technique swept through the gathered enemies surrounding her.
“Aaaaaarrgh!”
“Gaaah!”
Enemies with wind holes pierced throughout their bodies collapsed limply like old rag dolls.
The momentum now shifted entirely to Yoo Iseol. She did not miss this and tried to strike down the enemy.
Hwiiiiing!
But just then, a sharp whistling sound rang out. Enhanced arrows of terrifying speed flew toward Yoo Iseol and Yoon Jong. These arrows were clearly on a different level from the ones fired by the archers here.
Finally finding the trail of those they needed to chase, Yoo Iseol's eyes gleamed blue with killing intent.
But before she could spring forward, someone else had already dashed in that direction.
"Gol-ah?"
Jo-Gol, his face unusually hardened, leaped into the forest like a streak of light. It didn't take long to learn the result. Death throes clearly not Jo-Gol's rang out.
Once. Then again.
A total of three death throes rang out. Having precisely grasped and remembered their positions the moment the enhanced arrows were fired, Jo-Gol had hunted them down and turned them all into wandering ghosts.
It was such calm judgment it was hard to believe it was the Jo-Gol everyone normally knew.
Despair settled in the archers' eyes as they realized even their supporting martial masters had fallen.
In the brief moment when their offensive slackened, Yoo Iseol staggered and clutched her abdomen.
“Sa- Sago!”
A panicked Yoon Jong hurriedly caught her.
Blood seeped through her fingers as she gripped her abdomen. The arrow that had pierced the body she had used as a shield had also left a wound on her stomach.
"You bastards!"
A fierce curse erupted from Yoon Jong’s lips. He swung his sword roughly and bisected an archer.
“Arrrgh!”
There was no way to turn back the lost momentum. The archers, deciding that survival was now their top priority, abandoned their comrades and fled without looking back.
“Sago! Are you alright?”
Yoon Jong ignored the fleeing enemies and supported Yoo Iseol. Ensuring her safety was far more important than cutting down fleeing cowards.
“Yoon Jong.”
“Sago, y- your wound! We need to treat it immediately…”
"The cannons are still there."
"Yes?"
“Trust me!”
Yoo Iseol kicked the ground and pushed Yoon Jong away.
“Sago! No! Sago! Sago!”
Yoon Jong desperately called out, but Yoo Iseol simply ran towards the rear line with all her might. She left the front to Yoon Jong and Jo-Gol. She hoped Chung Myung wouldn’t collapse before she arrived.
His throat felt parched with anxiety.
Everywhere she stepped turned red with the blood she shed.
|Note
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