Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1708 – That’s it (3)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
His resounding roar made everyone freeze for a moment.
The Mount Hua swordsmen were struggling to break through the Sun Palace elites, and even Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists who were in a more desperate situation than them.
Was it because of his wounded pride, or perhaps his trampled honor? The Sun Palace Master’s shout looked even more desperate than Mount Hua who were driven to the brink.
"You lowly bastards dare! You dare face me! Even if hundreds and not just dozens of you rush at me, you cannot make me retreat! You will all die here. As the price for daring to oppose me and swinging your swords, you'll be smashed into the thousand-foot cliff! Not even your corpses will remain in this world!"
Amidst the collapsing cliff and the sounds of desperate screams, the Sun Palace Master’s shout burst out like a declaration.
“Regret and regret again! The insolence of you lowly being daring to oppose me! The foolishness of stepping foot on this mountain without even knowing your place!"
His voice carried the dignity belonging only to the one standing above, and a distinct composure that had been absent until just moments ago. The ease born of superiority stirred anxiety in the chests of Mount Hua’s disciples.
But suddenly, the sound of someone snickering low was heard. Since it was a sound that didn’t fit the urgent and desperate situation in the slightest, it rather drew everyone's gaze.
The chuckle of a curly-haired swordsman lying sprawled on the ground resounded with as much resonance as the Sun Palace Master's roar.
"This punk..."
The Sun Palace Master's face flushed with anger. At that moment, Jo-Gol pushed his upper body upright.
“You seem quite excited, don’t you? For someone who uses explosives because he’s scared.”
“What?”
“Did I say something wrong?”
Wiping the blood from his mouth nonchalantly as he stood, Jo-Gol bared his teeth at the Sun Palace Master.
"Everyone here clearly saw you whining like a scared dog, telling them to quickly set off the explosives. Who’s going to buy your act of dignity now? Isn't that right, Sahyung?"
"Certainly... it does look a bit pathetic. For such a noble stature."
“Right?”
Yoon Jong, chiming in with a snicker, stood beside Jo-Gol.
As Hye Yeon and Yoo Iseol stepped forward beside them, the Sun Palace Master's eyes blazed with fire.
"You bastards… Are you so stupid you don't even know what situation you're in?"
"We're doing this because we know, you idiot. Because we know it well."
"What?"
Jo-Gol raised his sword and gripped it in reverse. And he sneered inwardly.
‘It’s a complete mess.’
His insides were completely turned upside down.
That bastard’s internal strength was so immense that just facing him felt like his body was being cooked through. His head feels dizzy and his legs feel weak.
But instead of collapsing, Jo-Gol glanced back. The cliff was collapsing even in this moment, swallowing the Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists desperately struggling to survive.
The desperate eyes of those being swallowed by the abyss seemed to be forcibly carved into his brain.
'It'll be here any moment now.'
That terrifying collapse will reach this spot soon.
But no one could step forward readily. Even Evil Tyrant Alliance martial artists, driven by malice to charge here and strike not at Mount Hua but at the Sun Palace, only fidget in place and unable to muster the courage to rush in.
The Sun Palace Master's palm force was that overwhelming. At least for this moment, it was not lacking in being called despair.
'Despair.'
Gazes filled with that unfamiliar emotion converged on one spot. Those who knew Jo-Gol and those who didn't, all shared the same feeling at this moment.
Perhaps someday, Jo-Gol too had once looked at someone with such eyes.
Kwareureureung!
An inescapable fate noisily approaches from behind.
Jo-Gol took a short deep breath and, fixing his gaze on the Sun Palace Master, opened his mouth.
“Just one shot, right?”
“Probably.”
"And if it's two?"
"We'll all die."
"Damn it... Couldn't you phrase it a little nicer? Always so cold."
They cannot pierce the shield by chipping away at it little by little. One exchange. They had to shatter it in just one exchange. Even a single step backward would mean failure, and that failure would lead not only to Jo-Gol's death but to the death of all of Mount Hua and all of Wudang.
"What are the chances?"
“…Slim?”
"Then is this the last conversation we'll have while alive?"
"The probability of that seems rather high?”
“Um… Then there’s something I really wanted to say.”
“If you’re going to spout nonsense, just don’t.”
“...”
Jo-Gol decided against it. Instead, he clicked his tongue.
If he can't pierce the needle's eye, he dies...
'It's nothing new.'
The path they had walked had always been like this. Only now, without the backs of Chung Myung and Baek Cheon in front. The path those two had always opened by leading the way was now one he, and they, had to open themselves.
Jo-Gol lowered his stance heavily. All the muscles and nerves in his body entered combat readiness.
Jo-Gol's eyes closed slightly.
'To be honest... It's still too early for me.'
The plum blossom sword let out a humming sword cry as if knowing its master's inner thoughts. Soon, red sword energy thickly gathered. His half-opened eyes, like a meditating monk, sank even deeper.
Woooooooong!
Jo-Gol's sword cried out even louder. Everything he had learned until now imbued the plum blossom sword, which felt like an extension of his own body. Everything he had polished throughout his life.
'I...'
The hand gripping the sword trembled slightly.
Even after pouring everything in, a shred of hesitation and burden remained. Emotions difficult to shake off grabbed at his ankles like glue.
Can I do it? Really?
His breath caught.
The sword hilt, which had been so familiar that he hadn't even felt like he was 'holding' it, felt vividly present. It should feel familiar, yet this suddenly alien sensation made his fingertips tremble.
Can I do it? Can I really...?
Jo-Gol unconsciously looked back. Or rather, tried to.
At the thought that perhaps ‘he’ might be close by.
Because at times like this, he would always rush in like the wind and smash apart the wall blocking their path. Because he would always open the way for them, the path to survival.
But before his head could even turn halfway, a composed voice brushed past his ear.
"Not behind. In front."
“...”
This wasn't the person Jo-Gol had been expecting. But the owner of this voice was someone who was always by his side, even without seeking him out.
“Don’t look back. Just keep move forward.”
It wasn't a loud voice, but it reached Jo-Gol clearly.
"I'll take responsibility. I will definitely open the path. Even if I have to throw away my life."
Jo-Gol looked at Yoon Jong.
He was calm as if it were nothing at all. A face that showed neither resolute determination nor firm conviction.
Even knowing he might be facing his last moments, he seemed without a trace of wavering.
The trembling that had refused to leave Jo-Gol’s hand slowly subsided. After a moment of silence, Jo-Gol chuckled.
"Weak-minded rascal."
"Keep that up and you'll get badly beaten."
The tension gradually eased from Jo-Gol's stiff face. He shook his head and watched the Sun Palace Master intently.
Kkuuk.
He pressed his foot firmly against the ground.
Honestly, I don’t know.
The future Chung Myung spoke of, the convictions Baek Cheon spoke of, the Chivalrousness Yoon Jong spoke of… all felt distant to him. Yoo Iseol's devotion and Hye Yeon's resilience were merely admirable, but he couldn't deeply empathize with them in his heart.
But he knew one thing. The world they saw was likely much clearer than the world Jo-Gol saw. Compared to their world, Jo-Gol's was likely just a vague world shrouded in a milky haze.
While everyone was finding and opening their own paths, his path alone was always blurry.
It must be because he lacked something. Because he was insufficient. In resolve, in conviction, in sense of justice, and in warmth.
That was why he couldn’t decide anything on his own. He had merely struggled to hold his position. Perhaps he was the only half-piece in Mount Hua.
But one thing...
“I promised.”
Yet, it exists. A lamp that quietly lights up his dark path.
Jo-Gol simply believed. The one man standing behind him now. Even if he himself couldn’t find the right path in this hazy world, this man would surely find what he believed to be ‘right’.
'Was that it?'
Jo-Gol muttered to himself. Words he had heard once before, perhaps without realizing it.
“I am… a sword.”
I cannot be certain that I am right. I cannot be certain of the path I walk. But I can believe that those standing with me are right.
Therefore, I am a sword. A sword that does not cut anything on its own, but becomes sharper than anything else when held in a hand.
Discarding a hesitant heart is only possible beneath a belief that holds not a single doubt.
‘So this is what it was.’
A small dot appeared in the middle of Jo-Gol's world, which had been hazily scattered and unable to come together.
It was faint and insignificant. Still just a small something.
But the moment this tiny focal point came into being, the world Jo-Gol saw began to be dyed in a single color. No, not just the world. His body, his spirit, and even the sword held in his hand were soon dyed in that same color.
“You!”
Did he instinctively sense something? Or was it merely a coincidence?
Suddenly, a massive palm force was emitted from the Sun Palace Master’s hands. A storm-like blast of palm force surged toward Jo-Gol.
He felt even more terrible heat and severe pressure. It was clear that a mere sword could do nothing about it.
At that moment, vivid light filled Jo-Gol's unfocused eyes.
Kwang!
He wasn't even conscious of kicking off the ground.
It was the moment body, spirit, and internal strength became one. Jo-Gol became a single sword and shot forward toward the incoming palm force, toward the Sun Palace Master standing firm beyond it.
'I am...'
To advance is to confront, to confront is to face directly.
Though the world became clearer than ever, Jo-Gol's consciousness didn't stay only there.
Right now, his consciousness pursued only two things.
One was the enemy behind these terrible flames.
The other was the steady sound of breathing coming from right behind him. The person who believed in him and leaped without hesitation toward those terrible flames.
'A sword is...'
Jo-Gol’s eyes stood at the boundary between ambiguity and clarity, sinking deeply toward somewhere.
'Just ‘Simply to cut.'
Paaaaat.
His sword swung. His hand swung. No, he himself swung.
The line he drew wasn't clean. It was rough and crude beyond compare for a skilled swordsman striking with all his might.
But the line silently cut and passed through.
Through what had been a wall blocking and threatening him, which he thought he could never cut.
The center of the terribly boiling orange flames parted as if flowing water were splitting into two paths. It was so effortless that it seemed like the natural order of things.
It was an impossibility.
Through the gap in the flames, Jo-Gol's half-opened eyes met the Sun Palace Master's eyes rippling with shock.
And at that moment, Jo-Gol’s sword….
No, Jo-Gol pierced through the wall named despair that blocked his path.
A dull and chilling sound rang out.
Kwadeudeuk.
Under the name of iron sword, Jo-Gol embedded himself into the Sun Palace Master's chest.
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