Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1696
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Sasuk!"
Jo-Gol shouted as he watched Baek Cheon carrying Mu Jin on his back, and Mount Hua disciples quickly hoisting Wudang disciples onto their shoulders.
‘Are we really taking them along?’
Jo-Gol's eyes wavered. There was no denying that this choice was ‘right’. However, whether they could handle it was a separate matter. With the cliff liable to collapse at any moment, was it truly possible to escape while bringing the wounded along?
If the cliff were to blow before they could escape, won't everyone helplessly die?
"Sasuk! Right now, this is..."
"Instead of chattering, hurry up and carry the wounded, this punk!"
“Ugh! Damn it!”
But as expected, reasoning with that man was impossible. Cursing as if spitting malice, Jo-Gol hoisted the nearest wounded person onto his back. It was Jin Hyeon.
“Jo- Jo-Gol Do...”
"Shut your mouth! I’m frustrated enough!”
Jo-Gol gritted his teeth. Beyond the dense enemies in front, he could see the slope heading toward the summit. It looked steep, but surely that place wouldn’t collapse.
'Anyway, if we just reach there...'
Just as he was steeling his resolve.
“Huh?”
The calm in his eyes wavered again.
“Sa- Sasuk, there!”
"Hm?"
"There! They're getting reinforcements!"
"What?"
Baek Cheon, who was about to advance carrying Mujin, flinched and raised his head. Indeed, a group had revealed itself on the slope they had set as their destination.
Tension flashed across Baek Cheon's face. Even at a glance, one could feel their imposing presence was unusual.
Hye Yeon muttered in a heavy voice.
“Amitabha... It seems Evil Tyrant Alliance intends to bury us here by any means necessary, Acting Sect Leader.”
"What should we do, Sasuk?"
At Yoon Jong’s question, Baek Cheon stared ahead in silence. The wavering in his eyes quickly settled.
“What are you asking?”
Baek Cheon’s sword began to emit faint sword energy.
"If that's the path, we must open it."
“B- But the time...”
This time, even Yoon Jong couldn't readily nod.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with Baek Cheon's words. If that was the only path to live, they had to open it somehow. But before considering whether it was possible or not, shouldn't they take into account that this cliff could collapse?
“Let’s go!”
But before Yoon Jong could say anything else, Baek Cheon charged towards the enemies.
“Dammit, follow Sasuk!”
Yoon Jong shouted urgently as he watched Baek Cheon at the lead.
Kicking off the ground, he saw Jo-Gol's figure already pushing ahead of Baek Cheon. That damned bastard now instinctively rushed to the front at the slightest sound.
Yoon Jong quickly caught up with Baek Cheon and asked.
"Sasuk! Is it really okay? Even now, finding another way might be..."
“I believe!”
"What?"
Doubt crossed Yoon Jong's face. The answer he received seemed completely out of place.
Baek Cheon glanced at Mu Jin, who was slung over his shoulder, then turned his gaze. Toward the cliff's edge that now feels quite distant.
“Mount Hua isn’t special.”
“...”
"So there's nothing only we can do. Anyone can do it. I believe. That there will surely be someone to help us!”
“What does that...”
It was then.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
A massive explosion echoed from the cliff's edge.
“Another explosion?!”
"Aaah!"
“N- No! It’s much weaker than before.”
Sporadic screams burst out, but everyone quickly realized. This explosion was different in nature from the one that had shaken the entire cliff earlier.
It wasn’t a matter of power. It might sound strange, but there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity in the explosion.
A chill ran down Yoon Jong's spine. He had just realized the identity of the earlier explosion.
“Namgung… Sogaju?”
Yoon Jong stared blankly at the cliff’s edge with his wide eyes.
“...Namgung Dowi.”
* * *
"Huff! Huff!"
Thick beads of sweat poured like rain from Namgung Dowi's forehead.
He had shot up the cliff in one go from far below and unleashed a full-powered sword energy to block the enemies' movements. Having drawn out his internal strength too rapidly, his body was screaming in protest.
"That greenhorn bastard!"
But there was no time to catch his breath.
Namgung Dowi could see it clearly. The pitch-black holes the enemies had bored into the cliff. It was painfully obvious what would happen if explosives detonated inside them!
'I absolutely won't let that happen.'
Whirl.
Namgung Dowi spun his sword and held it in a reverse grip. His body no longer held enough internal strength to unleash sword energy like before. But that didn’t mean he couldn't fight.
Enemies from the Southern Sun Palace, their bodies enveloped in blazing red Scorching Yang Internal Art, were descending directly toward Namgung Dowi.
Paat!
Namgung Dowi put strength into his legs and kicked off upward in a single breath.
“Come!”
Kwang!
He swung his sword with all his might.
Kwaang!
His sword and the palm force unleashed by the Sun Palace warrior collided head-on. An intense heat swept over Namgung Dowi, so fierce it felt as if merely breathing would scorch his lungs black.
Hair tips burned in the heat and an acrid smell brushed his nose. He felt pain as if all his skin were melting. Unable to endure the heat, the edge of his sword quickly glowed red.
Yet within that pain, Namgung Dowi drew his strength up even more fiercely.
'This is nothing.'
This wasn't even pain. Compared to the despair felt while only waiting for death at Plum Blossom Island, this can't even be called pain.
Woooong!
Namgung Dowi's sword emits white sword energy and pushes away the Sun Palace warrior's palm force burning orange.
Before long, palm forces poured down on him from all directions.
The Namgung sword was large and thick compared to ordinary swords, but it was still only a sword. There was no way it could block all those palm forces.
Therefore, a common-sense response in this situation would naturally be to retreat backward…. No, downwards.
But what Namgung Dowi truly had to face now wasn't the enemies pouring on the attacks. It was the ones up there still installing explosives at this very moment.
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
Instead of retreating, Namgung Dowi lowered his head and kicked the cliff face even more fiercely.
Tuung! Tuung!
The flying palm force grazed his back, and attacks he couldn't fully evade pounded his body.
The sensation of thick blood bursting from his mouth and nose, accompanied by tremendous heat that burrowed in and swept over him as if to burn him entirely from the inside out.
“Aaaaaaah!”
But even this time, Namgung Dowi didn't back down. Instead, he pushed himself even higher. He swung his sword even more explosively.
By this point, even the Sun Palace warriors dying by his sword couldn't hide their bewildered expressions.
Paaaaat!
The enemy's neck spurted from the cliff. Swinging his sword in succession, Namgung Dowi severed the bodies of those blocking his path in a single stroke, then grabbed the cliff with his left hand and pulled.
Tuung!
His body shot upward as if rebounding.
Through his blurred vision, he saw the figures of the Sun Palace warriors hanging on the cliff. It wasn't clear, but it was certain!
‘I must stop them.’
Udeuk.
If this cliff collapsed, if he couldn't stop it, all Mount Hua people on the summit would die. He absolutely cannot watch that happen. As long as he breathes, he will stop it. Even if the price was his life.
"Hyaaaaaaah! Stooooop!"
He didn't even know where such strength came from. As Namgung Dowi roared like a lion, the surrounding air rumbled thunderously.
Cold sweat formed on the foreheads of the Sun Palace warriors.
"That bastard..."
Blocking that one person wasn't difficult. There was no denying his strength, but still, wasn't he alone? There were dozens of Sun Palace warriors here.
But if too many warriors latched onto that brat climbing up from below, they might fail to detonate the cliff in time.
What if they delayed and the plan failed as a result?
‘We cannot endure the Palace Master’s wrath.’
For them, the wrath of the Sun Palace Master was a fear worse than death. Because it wasn't just their own lives on the line. Just thinking about it made their entire bodies tremble.
“Damn it, that cursed bastard!”
Just then, a calm voice came.
“There’s no need to get worked up.”
“Guardian?”
A white-haired old man watching the situation from slightly above was donning a fishy smile.
"Overflowing with vigor, but just a greenhorn after all."
He took out something spherical from his sleeve and lightly grasped it. Even in this moment, his gaze was fixed on Namgung Dowi who was climbing the cliff with terrifying momentum like a raging beast.
"If he truly wants to die, we should grant his wish."
The old man's hand slowly opened. The sphere he was holding fell downward.
Swaeaeaeaek.
Downward, further downward. It picked up more and more speed as it fell toward Namgung Dowi.
Paat!
It was also visible to the eyes of Namgung Dowi, who was soaring up quickly while glaring at the enemies.
'What is it?'
Something small, about the size of an adult man’s fist, was falling.
Moments later, Namgung Dowi's eyes widened. Something red reflected in his pupils.
That sphere approaching close was wrapped in something pitch-black, and its tip was lit with fire!
Namgung Dowi reflexively crossed his arm and sword and thrust toward the cliff.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
The explosive thrown by the old man caused a massive explosion and struck the cliff.
Kurururururung!
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
As the cliff shook greatly, Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists precariously hanging on the upper part spurted into the air like grains struck by a flail.
Red flames surged and acrid smoke billowed up.
Shortly after the black smoke cleared, the old man couldn't hide his surprise. He saw Namgung Dowi's figure still precariously hanging on the cliff face.
The old man muttered as he looked at Namgung Dowi’s left hand embedded in the cliff.
"...Did he manage to embed his own hand into the cliff to secure his body in the midst of that?"
He couldn't help but admit it was impressive, even if the man was an enemy.
But that was all.
"Go finish him off."
"Yes!"
As soon as the order fell, one of the Sun Palace warriors descended like a hawk toward Namgung Dowi hanging on the cliff.
Namgung Dowi struggled to blink and frowned. Even with consciousness half-gone, instinctive crisis was felt.
He reflexively swung his sword. But the sword, lacking proper power, was helplessly bounced off by the red hand fully imbued with Scorching Yang Internal Art.
"Diiie!"
Namgung Dowi's eyes saw the orange-colored hand flying toward him.
'I am...'
Kaaaaang!
And he saw it again.
Something that blocked the hand flying toward his face. Thinner and lighter than his sword, but nonetheless someone's sword that he trusted more than anything else.
'Who...'
"Are you alright?"
Instead of answering, Namgung Dowi turned his head with difficulty. As he recognized the face beside him, he opened his mouth.
This person was…
"Isong..."
But before he could finish speaking, a cold and irritable voice was heard.
“I told you to stop showing off already. You really don't listen."
Swaeaeaeaek!
Kwadeuk!
Jin Geumryong’s sword slashed through the air like lightning and buried itself in the Sun Palace warrior’s neck.
"Keurk..."
The Sun Palace warrior’s body went limp and plummeted. Namgung Dowi simply stared blankly at Jin Geumryong.
“The high-and-mighty Namgung should just rest there. I'll handle the enemies."
Kwaang!
Jin Geumryong, emitting cold killing intent, soared up like a beam of light and instantly closed the distance to the enemy.
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