Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1671. Isn't this what you wanted? (1)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Swaeaeaeaek!
The flying oil pouch bursts in mid-air, scattering oil in all directions.
Hwareureureuk!
As fire arrows cut through the air in succession, the sparks that flew ignited and quickly grew the oil that had burst in midair. The flames attempting to engulf the swordsmen looked just like the reaching hands of a demon.
"Hap!"
But what greeted them was a single sword.
Seureuk.
Unlike the strong, sharp shout, the sword thrust out drew an extremely graceful circle. A movement soft yet delicate, like a hand embracing a child.
The oil trapped within the repeatedly drawn, spinning circles could no longer grow in size and only whirled about in midair.
It was a form like a single sword imprisoning flames.
Shortly after, that sword struck forcefully and the flames that had been circling in midair surged toward the cliff as if following orders. It was truly a feat to make ghosts wail.
“Stay alert! Not a single mistake can be tolerated!”
"Yes!"
Paaaaat!
Even in the midst of that, fire arrows surge up from below. Some flying from above and some rising from underfoot. Anyone who had experienced both would feel that the latter was far more troublesome.
Swaeaeaek!
Kagagang!
But Wudang's swordsmen deflected every arrow. There was not a shred of panic or hesitation in their sword swings.
They can handle it.
Even if it's something they haven't experienced, even if they must face attacks they've never imagined, it's the same.
The method was originally contained within the sword they had learned.
Ultimately, all human artifice (인위(人爲)) is powerless before greater nature (자연(自然)).
If it were Wudang's sword that seeks to resemble nature, it should naturally be able to handle any artifice they employ.
Once realizing that fact, the flustered appearance vanished, and resolve and confidence appeared in the eyes of the Wudang swordsmen.
"Sahyung! The flames are spreading!"
“Cut down the nearby trees! We must block the path of the fire in advance! Cut the trees and dig up the ground!”
“Yes!”
As soon as the order was given, sword energy erupted all at once. Tree trunks were severed, and the ground was dug up.
If they could just prevent the flames from spreading quickly, they could hold out here indefinitely. After all, this steep slope was a key position that could maximally suppress their schemes.
Sure enough, a look of dismay flashed across the faces of the enemies who had been ceaselessly shooting oil and arrows from below. They must have realized their tricks no longer work.
Rather, those faces ignited resentment in Mu Jin's heart. He gritted his teeth.
‘Did we look that easy?’
Did they truly believe that such petty tricks would work to the very end while targeting Wudang of all places?
Now that it has come to this, they must be shown. That the enemy they are facing now was different from any they have ever encountered. That the name of the world's greatest sword sect, Wudang, was by no means an exaggerated empty reputation.
"Even more...!"
Just as Mu Jin was about to raise his voice again.
Step.
Suddenly, the enemies lowered their bows, and those throwing oil pouches lowered their arms as well. Then, as if their earlier outpouring of killing intent toward the Wudang swordsmen standing on the slope was a lie, they opened a path left and right.
"...Hm?"
A strange light flashed through Mu Jin's eyes. He spotted several figures walking along the path where the flames had already mostly subsided.
Shiver.
The moment he faced the middle-aged men treading leisurely on the open path, Mu Jin’s skin reacted first. Goosebumps rose along the backs of his hands.
'Elders?'
They all possess an extraordinary presence. Though he doesn't know well Evil Sects and Evil Tyrant Alliance's system, if he thinks by comparison to Righteous Sects' case, they're people who should at least be at an elder level.
Mu Jin's body began to stiffen with tension.
The fact that people of that caliber were stepping forward means they will now seriously set out to open the path. Not pouring out small fry or using petty tricks, but breaking through with pure strength.
“They are formidable!”
"Yes!"
As Mu Jin sought to rouse the vigilance of the Wudang swordsmen and give orders again, someone urgently shouted.
“Sasuk! Great Sasuk is...!”
"Hm?"
Reflexively looking up at the cliff, Mu Jin was greatly flustered.
Kaaaaang!
The sight of Heo Gong fighting against someone came into view.
'When...?'
When on earth did the enemy invade that far!
"Who is it?"
“That’s, we’ve never seen the person before....”
"Tha- That martial art is... Thousand-Faced Gentleman! Hao Sect’s Sect Leader! Thousand-Faced Gentleman Dam Yeohae!”
Someone sharp-eyed recognized Dam Yeohae's identity just from the scattered palm shadows. If it was Thousand-Faced Gentleman Dam Yeohae, it was natural not to recognize him by his face alone.
At the words ‘Hao Sect’s Sect Leader’, a muscle-tightening tension washed over the Wudang swordsmen, who had been overflowing with confidence and will.
Soon, flustered voices poured out from here and there.
“Thousand-Faced Gentleman...!”
"S- Sasuk! We must help Great Sasuk! I'll go!"
“We must defend the top of the cliff....”
Kuung!
At that moment, the shock step Mu Jin stamped greatly shook the slope.
Having silenced his sajils and sajes like that, he scolded the Wudang disciples while keeping his eyes fixed on the approaching enemies in front.
"Don't take your eyes off the enemy before you."
“....”
"Sasuk won't lose. If you want to help, make sure the enemies here can't get to Sasuk! Wudang does not consist only of us!"
At those words, the swordsmen who had steeled their hearts raised their swords one by one again to keep the enemies in check.
Mu Jin secretly bit his lower lip.
‘Can he handle him?’
Contrary to his words, he was equally anxious.
No matter how much Heo Gong is the most promising prodigy in the current Wudang, Mu Jin doesn't know the exact level of his martial arts. He could only roughly guess that he had far surpassed the level of a typical elder.
But was he strong enough to defeat that Thousand-Faced Gentleman? Especially with a body that had already expended so much internal strength?
Doubt was inevitable. But there was only one path Mu Jin could choose.
'Believe!'
If this place were left open, the enemies crouching below like hyenas would sink their fangs into Wudang's core.
They must never yield a wide battlefield where the enemy’s numerical advantage could be fully utilized.
Even if Heo Gong falls, the path will open, but it would be the same if this place falls. For now, all they can do was trust each other.
"...So this is what it was."
"What?"
“No. It’s nothing.”
Mu Jin lightly tapped the shoulder of Jin Hyeon standing next to him.
“Can you do it?”
“You’re asking the obvious.”
“Cheeky.”
Mu Jin let out a soft chuckle and tightened his grip on the sword.
Tuung!
The sudden surge of force sent Heo Gong flying backwards without resistance. Thousand-Faced Gentleman, having pushed Heo Gong away, landed lightly on top of the cliff with both feet.
"To think you would give us trouble with just such a cliff."
The gestures and voice were ordinary and light, yet the weight was different.
The looseness that permeates each and every one.
The world would call such a thing 'leisure'.
There are very few people in this Jungwon who dare to show leisureness in front of Heo Gong. Nevertheless, he couldn't move easily to punish him. It felt like the pressure the opponent subtly exuded was tightly wrapping around his body.
'...Thousand-Faced Gentleman Dam Yeohae.'
To be honest, it was a name he hadn't considered that important. Compared to the sheer enormity of Jang Ilso, Paegun, there was little room to spare attention for the man before him.
But now that he faced him with sword in hand like this, he could properly realize how massive the name Dam Yeohae, hidden behind those three characters Jang Ilso, truly was.
This must be the kind of opponent the previous generation fought against.
He could now understand, at least a little, the choices of the previous generations he had once found stifling and at times even foolish. Dealing with people like this, the children they led must have inevitably looked endlessly weak and lacking.
At that moment, Dam Yeohae opened his mouth.
“What do you think?”
“...What do you mean?”
"Do you think there's a possibility?"
Heo Gong frowned. Thousand-Faced Gentleman grinned.
“No, it’s difficult. It can’t be. Even if you manage to hold them off for now, as long as you’re human, you’ll eventually tire. In the end, a path will open.”
Heo Gong's eyes sank.
“And unless you can push me down from this cliff, that moment will come even sooner. Whether you like it or not, it means your end is determined.”
“What are you trying to say?”
"It means there's still a chance, even now."
“....”
“The ones advancing there now are the guardians of the Southern Sea Sun Palace. No matter how sharp Wudang’s sword, it will be a very difficult fight. You may be able to win, but it will be hard to block them off completely. Especially with swords that haven't fully matured.”
Dam Yeohae's voice dug into Heo Gong like a temptation.
"If the end is predetermined anyway, wouldn't it be right to retreat now? Then you could still save about half of Wudang, no? From any angle, isn't that a better choice than needlessly losing innocent lives?"
“…You’re trying to play tricks.”
“Tricks? No. This is a matter of perspective.”
Thousand-Faced Gentleman turned his head to look down below the cliff. It was a movement that blatantly exposed an opening, but Heo Gong’s sword did not move.
“Well, Ryeonju wants to erase Wudang even at the cost of sacrifice... but I'm a bit different. Am I not a person who has a position to consider? If I lose too many sect members in a place like this, my neck will feel quite chilly after the war ends.”
“....”
"How about it? If you retreat, I won't pursue. You'd be able to save your sajes too, wouldn't that be good?"
Heo Gong's gaze inadvertently turned toward the slope where Mu Jin and his group were.
The path blocked by the elders including Heo Sanja wouldn't likely be breached, but the left slope where the Mu and Jin generations were deployed as the main force was clearly struggling.
The problem was that no matter how hard they fought, there was no guarantee they could stop all those Evil Sects. Then perhaps...
At that moment, Heo Gong let out a snicker.
"He deserved it."
“Hm? What is it all of a sudden?”
“I mean our Sect Leader.”
Heo Gong’s smiling face was carefree. It had been a swordsman's face tightly tensed throughout, but for a moment it seemed he had regained a Taoist's face.
"I kept thinking why that Mount Hua guy was so angry... The problem wasn't that the choice was wrong. The problem was that he didn't trust."
“....”
“I refuse.”
Heo Gong cut him off cleanly and leveled his sword straight at Thousand-Faced Gentleman.
"If my sahyungs and sajes get hit by the same person, it would truly be a sorry sight."
Heo Gong was not Heo Do Jin-in.
For Heo Do Jin-in, they might have been foolish disciples who must somehow be protected and guarded, but for Heo Gong, they were brothers and comrades who would fight back-to-back with him.
Not trusting them was no different from not trusting Wudang.
And above all...
“By the way, it would be better for Sect Leader to become a bit more skilled at lying.”
“...What does that mean?”
“That face of yours.”
At Heo Gong's chin gesture, Thousand-Faced Gentleman reflexively touched his own face.
Heo Gong retorted coldly.
“No matter how much you hide your face with an emotionless mask (면구(面具)), it seems you have no way to hide your gaze. That gaze is telling me. That you will definitely sever my life here and now."
"...Ha."
A sound like air escaping leaked from Thousand-Faced Gentleman's mouth.
"Don't know how to hide my gaze? Really, that's the first time I've heard such words."
“Because those who have looked into your eyes until now must have been of a similar kind.”
“And you are different?”
“I am a Taoist, before I am a swordsman.”
Heo Gong's unwavering voice pierced Thousand-Faced Gentleman.
"Rejecting all falsehood and delusion and looking into the truth hidden within—that is a Taoist's life. You are far too malicious to hide your intent before me.”
"Hah..."
Thousand-Faced Gentleman let out a long sigh as if slightly dejected, then muttered.
"This is why Righteous Sects bastards are troublesome to deal with."
Soon, his voice changed. To a decrepit voice no longer containing any youthful vigor.
Heo Gong had a feeling that this was the true voice of Thousand-Faced Gentleman.
The fact that Thousand-Faced Gentleman, who never even shows his true form to his closest subordinates, revealed his true voice.
This was tantamount to a declaration that he would definitely kill Heo Gong here.
“Someone said this.”
Thousand-Faced Gentleman slowly opened his hand. Thick internal strength began gathering in his palm.
"If someone refuses the wine of congratulations and insists on drinking the wine of punishment, shove the whole bottle into their throat."
“...Somehow I think I know who said that.”
Heo Gong also slowly took a step forward.
'I won't lose.'
There's a defeat that must be avenged. There's someone who must be brought down.
So he won't die in a place like this.
Before facing that damned sword again...!
“Prepare yourself!”
Heo Gong's sword coiled with white and black energy.
The sword of Taiji that handles yin and yang simultaneously. That Taiji sword with added human wisdom (지혜(慧)) unfolded together with the extreme Yang Spirit Technique.
* * *
"Sahyung!"
“Yes, I can see it too!”
Jo-Gol and Yoon Jong's eyes shone forward.
It was beginning to be faintly visible in the distance.
The magnificent mountain range rises at the end of the horizon, and one mountain particularly prominent in the center.
Jo-Gol let out a rough breath and roared as if growling.
“Mount Wudang!”
Finally, that mountain had come within the range of Heavenly Comrade Alliance.
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