Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1693. That’s Enough (3)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Stooooooooooop!"
At Im Sobyeong's desperate cry, Heavenly Comrade Alliance members engaged in fierce battle urgently looked up.
'That is?'
Southern Edge Sect Sect Leader Jong Nigok widened his eyes.
A group was running along the cliff stained red.
Although they weren't climbing the steepest frontal face but traversing sideways, it was still a cliff. Just by the sight of them running on that dizzying slope like flat ground, one could guess they were no ordinary elites.
“But how....”
Jong Nigok's gaze turned to the towering flames burning to the left and right of the cliff. No matter how skilled they were as martial artists, they were still human, weren't they? How could a human of flesh and blood pierce through those flames?
“Southern Sea… Sun Palace?”
“Sun Palace?”
Having heard their identity murmured by Wind Shadow Divine Beggar, Jong Nigok furrowed his brow.
'Is that why? Because they are masters of Scorching Yang Internal Art?'
But how they pierced through the flames wasn't the most important thing right now.
"What on earth are they trying to do there?"
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar revealed Jong Nigok's doubts on his behalf.
The ‘why’ was important. If they simply intended to support those who climbed the cliff, there would be no need to go toward the cliff piercing through those flames.
“S- Stop them! Right now!”
At that moment, Im Sobyeong’s desperate scream was heard once again.
Im Sobyeong’s face was pale as if he had seen a ghost.
"Go up! Go up right now! We must drop those damn bastards from this cliff immediately!"
"Strategist, what on earth..."
“Now! Move!”
"First, please calm..."
Just then.
"Aaaaah!"
At the sudden scream, the Heavenly Comrade Alliance members who didn't know what to do unconsciously looked sharply upward.
'That is?'
One of those forcing their way through the blazing flames toward the cliff had been engulfed by fire. It seemed their mastery of Scorching Yang Internal Art wasn't sufficient to completely block the encroaching flames.
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar frowned slightly.
That scream was too desperate.
That was strange. Of course, the pain of living flesh burning would be horrific, but were these not people accustomed to the power of blazing heat to begin with?
It didn't make sense that someone who was a martial artist of the Southern Sea Sun Palace would scream in such terror simply because he couldn't overcome the burning pain. Furthermore, the fact that they weren't taking any countermeasures was also odd from the start.
The person whose entire body was covered in fire clung to the cliff with one hand while fumbling clumsily inside their robes with the other.
It was too far away to see clearly what he was trying to do. Wind Shadow Divine Beggar hurriedly poured internal strength into his eyes, enhancing his vision.
But it was already too late.
Kwaaaaaang!
A roar like the sky bursting reverberated. It was an explosion erupting from the spot where the man engulfed in flames had been. The shockwave swept up those around him, triggering a chain of explosions.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
"Uh...."
The sounds of the chain explosions overlapped as if they were one.
Kururururururururung!
Unable to withstand the shock, the cliff split apart.
Soon, as if cut by a giant sword, a massive rock face separated from the cliff and flowed down slowly.
And then, it instantly gained speed and started plummeting downward.
Kurururururung!
Everyone turned pale and shouted.
"G- Get down! No, avoid! Get away from heeere!"
"If crushed, we all die!"
The Heavenly Comrade Alliance members, who had charged all the way to Wudang with the ferocity of men fearing nothing in the world, desperately kicked off the ground to flee.
Even Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists who had been fiercely driving Heavenly Comrade Alliance moments ago were terrified and retreated.
Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuung!
Soon, an enormous mass of rock crashed into the ground.
An enormous cloud of dust exploded outward in all directions, and shattered fragments of stone swept through the area like blades.
“Uh… Ugh….”
A Heavenly Comrade Alliance member, who had collapsed as strength left his legs, stared blankly in front of him while sweating profusely. A rock of tremendous size that had fallen from the cliff revealed itself, boasting its imposing presence. Right in front of him.
If he had been just one step short, they wouldn't have even been able to find his corpse.
“Thi- This is....”
But that wasn't the end.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Huh?"
At the desperate scream coming from above, the man who had collapsed snapped his gaze upward.
Splat! Splaaat!
Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists falling from the cliff slammed into the ground, turning into bloody pulp as they rolled.
"U- Uhhh..."
Splaaat!
There were easily several dozen of them.
The wind pressure created by their fall pushed the dust still hanging in the air out in all directions.
"Uurgh..."
The collapsed man almost crawled as he put distance between himself and the rock.
"Are you alright?"
Likewise, those who barely escaped were left speechless and just nodded their heads in a daze.
There were quite a few injured by the scattered fragments, but fortunately, no one lost their lives thanks to the quick response.
Jong Nigok looked up at the collapsed cliff with a dumbfounded face.
"What on earth was that? Just now..."
“Explosives!”
Im Sobyeong, covered in a thick layer of dust, gritted his teeth. His eyes were still glaring at the top of the cliff.
“It’s explosives! Explosives!”
“No, what does that… explosives?”
Where would people of Kangho obtain explosives?
Ever since Jang Ilso deceived everyone with non-existent gunpowder at the Yangtze River in the past, it had already been proven that even an organization like Myriad Man Manor or Evil Tyrant Alliance would find it difficult to mobilize large quantities of explosives.
"That's ridiculous! If this much explosive power, it would be high-grade among explosives, but there's no way they could obtain this..."
"It's Sun Palace!"
Im Sobyeong cut off Jong Nigok's words sharply as if he had no more time to listen.
"Don't you know? Sun Palace is not just an ordinary martial sect! They are the royalty of Linyi! The amount of explosives that makes us ask ‘how’ is merely a ‘pittance’ by the standards of a nation!”
In an instant, the color drained from Jong Nigok's face.
"Then..."
His gaze shot violently toward the cliff top.
A large crack runs through the center of the red cliff. His heart sank. It felt as if a crack was running through Jong Nigok's heart as well.
"There are more... explosives?"
Does that mean every group now heading for the cliff can cause an explosion of that magnitude?
'No... way.'
An explosion of this size alone would have caused the cliff to collapse and created such a large crack.
If an even greater explosion were to occur, what would happen to that cliff…?
“What are you saying?”
Namgung Dowi, who had rushed over, shouted with a deathly pale face.
"The cliff is collapsing? Then what happens to the people on top of the cliff? Huh?"
Covered in dust so badly that they hardly looked human and with their spirits knocked loose so that they almost resembled routed soldiers, everyone stared up at the cliff with vacant faces.
Dizzying. A cliff one wouldn't even dare attempt to climb easily. If that high cliff collapses in a moment, could those atop possibly survive?
‘…Absolutely impossible.’
People weren't birds. Martial artists were the same.
No matter how high the cliff, a martial artist can climb it as long as they have strength left. But that only applies when there were footholds. While plunging endlessly downward, there was no way to protect one’s body.
“That makes no sense! There's more than just Mount Hua and Wudang on that cliff!"
Murong Wigyeong screamed, his face pale with terror.
"Aren't most filling that top Evil Sects bastard! If the cliff collapses, people several times Mount Hua's number will all die..."
But his voice also suddenly cut off. His already pale face now took on an almost bluish tint.
“...Jang Ilso.”
He had a gut feeling.
If it were Jang Ilso and Ho Gamyeong who assist hiim, they could proceed with such things without a second thought. Shoving hundreds of their own followers into a pit of hellfire would be nothing at all.
“H- How can a person… how can a person… how can someone wearing human skin….”
Murong Wigyeong muttered those words over and over, as if having lost his mind. Though no one replied, others' feelings weren't particularly different from his.
"Th- Then can't they just climb the mountain! Once escaping the cliff..."
“Speak sense! By now, they must have plunged right into the heart of the enemy lines! Where would they find the leisure to do that!"
"That’s...."
The vision of those who knew Mount Hua went dizzy for a moment.
It must have been like that. The Mount Hua they knew was not a sect to hold back when facing the enemy.
“T- Then, do you mean all of this was done to lure Mount Hua up there?”
"Ho Gamyeong! That son of a dog...!"
Im Sobyeong, unable to control his anger, screamed. Everyone stamped their feet.
"W- We must inform them!"
"How?"
"Don't we have to go up and stop them! At this rate, Mount Hua will…!"
That's right.
They must inform them. No, they must stop those people right now. If they fail to do so, that cliff will collapse in its entirety, and Mount Hua on top of the cliff will not escape a mass death.
But...
'Climb? Here?'
Murong Wigyeong stared blankly at the enormous rock embedded before him. Then his gaze shifted toward the pitiful corpses of Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists scattered here and there.
...Toward those who just fell from that cliff and died.
“I’ll lead the way! Support my back!"
Namgung Dowi held his sword and shouted. He looked as if he would dash toward the cliff at any moment. But then he hesitated and turned back.
No one else was moving.
"What are you doing? We must go now!"
“...Sogaju.”
"I'm asking what you're doing! There's no time for this..."
"I- If the explosives burst while climbing?"
"...What?"
Murong Wigyeong asked once more with a pale face.
“What about those at the bottom? What about those climbing the cliff?”
“....”
“Wouldn’t they end up the same as those on top… No, in an even more miserable state?”
"What kind of...!"
Namgung Dowi, who was about to burst out angrily, shut his mouth.
Because he saw despair dwelling in the eyes of those looking at him.
"Then... are you suggesting we just leave them be now?"
“No, we must find a method..."
"What other method is there!"
Namgung Dowi shouted with a distorted face.
Wind Shadow Divine Beggar bit his lip tightly. He understands Namgung Dowi's feelings too. But he could not possibly give the order to climb that cliff and stop them now. What more does it mean than saying let's be buried together in Mount Hua's grave?
Namgung Dowi gritted his teeth and glared at everyone with furious eyes.
But soon, the light in his eyes began to cool and settle. The moment Namgung Myeong saw that gaze, he felt anxious enough for his heart to sink, and he reached out his hand without realizing it.
"Sogaju? Dowi-ya. J- Just calm down for a moment. Okay?"
“....”
"There will be another way. So, to inform them..."
And it was that very moment.
Namgung Dowi, who had been staring at everyone with cold eyes, turned his body without a word and shot toward the cliff.
“Dowi-ya, no! Dowi-yaaaaaaa!”
Leaving behind Namgung Myeong's desperate cry, a pure white trajectory was drawn on the blood-red cliff along the path of his charge.
Precarious, and also heart-wrenching.
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