Chapter 1335: I'll Carve That Name Into Memory (Part 5)

"Yes!"

Upon hearing those words, Yoon Jong immediately struck the ground. The forces of the Evil Sect were swarming from all directions, surrounding them in pitch darkness.

'Damn it! It never ends!'

Despite their fierce struggle to escape the canyon, it seemed that instead of diminishing, the enemy's numbers were increasing.

Of course, those currently rushing towards them were not elite members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, but rather hastily gathered individuals. In Kangho, it would be fortunate if they could even be considered as mediocre.

However, even such individuals became a burden when their numbers gathered. Especially for those who had exhausted both their internal energy and physical strength in the canyon, it was not just a burden but a threat beyond their capacity.

"Yoon Jong! Head to the center!"

"Yes!"

Following Baek Cheon's command, Yoon Jong changed direction, penetrating the yet-to-be-formed siege of the unfinished enemies. The strength of the enemies lay in their disgustingly large numbers. However, the weakness of the enemies was also that their numbers were excessively abundant.

Yoon Jong aimed for the point where the forces from both sides would converge and swung his sword. The moment his sword descended from above, the sword energy emanating from it split the approaching enemies like a sea parting.

With determination, Yoon Jong rushed towards the gap created by forcibly splitting the enemies and swung his sword once again. The sword energy spread in all directions.

Swoosh!

"Aaargh!"

The enemies, without even having a chance to make a move, scattered, spilling blood. Though not swift or intense, the timely strikes of the sword at this moment were demonstrating definite effectiveness.

For a moment, Baek Cheon's eyes widened.

'So firm!'

Even though he was already exhausted and had to squeeze out the last bit of his remaining internal energy, Yoon Jong's sword showed no signs of wavering. Perhaps, his unshakable composure was Yoon Jong's most remarkable trait that set him apart from Baek Cheon.

However, regardless, Yoon Jong was also facing his limits.

"Taaaack!"

Baek Cheon soared like a protective wall into the opening created by Yoon Jong. Simultaneously, his plum blossom sword swept horizontally, cutting down the approaching Evil Sect members in one go.

"Ugh, ugh!"

Terror filled the eyes of the Evil Sect members. They were not disciplined warriors of the Myriad Man Manor, and if it weren't for the sudden command, they would have had no reason to face disciples of Mount Hua. They were merely holding their ground out of fear of the impending doom.

Baek Cheon used their fear as momentum to suppress them, already having grown tired of observing and learning the ways to lead the flow of the battlefield.

Boom!

Stepping firmly on the ground, Baek Cheon released a powerful wave of sword energy in all directions. It looked incredibly dazzling, but it was a flashy sword energy filled with empty internal energy, as taught in the righteous sects. However, sometimes, such deviations could exhibit tremendous effectiveness.

"Aaaargh!"

"Save us!"

Even though the empty internal energy was soaring, those who had already lost their balance simply screamed and collapsed on the spot. Those who were rushing from behind also retreated in terror.

Baek Cheon's eyes gleamed.

Right now, none of them dared to approach. However, inevitably, the moment would come when they would have to face all these enemies and their sword techniques. Even the strikes of the sword, swung in fear, would become a threat.

Therefore, the best way was to avoid confrontation as much as possible and swiftly break through.

"Just keep running, Yoon Jong!"

"Yes!"

Yoon Jong and Baek Cheon were followed by the disciples of the Southern Island along the path they opened.

Moving a once stagnant lake is not an easy task. The Evil Sect members, who had been blocked, could not actively rush in. Instead, they swung their swords while sitting on their buttocks.

"These bastards!"

But the disciples of the Southern Island were not the ones to fall victim to such clumsy attacks.

Swoosh!

"Aaargh!"

The opponents were not very skilled, but Southern Island, recognized by the Ten Great Sects, was also formidable. Moreover, the disciples of the Southern Island gained experience and determination on their way from Southern Island Island to this place. Therefore, the attacks of hastily gathered Evil Sect members were futile.

However, as always, the frightening aspect of the Evil Sect came not from their ruthless strength but from their relentless numbers.

"They're coming again, from the front!"

"Uh..."

Baek Cheon's eyes momentarily distorted. He saw enemies rushing like waves from the front.

Judging by their speed, their skills might still be mediocre, but their momentary momentum was quite threatening. Overwhelming numbers instilled confidence.

In a battle, momentum was half the victory. Handling it carelessly would result in being swept away in an instant. In that case, even those who were frightened just moments ago would regain strength and charge forward.

"To the right!"

"Sasuk! The other side is dangerous!"

For a moment, Baek Cheon paused. It meant that if it wasn't them, Southern Island would be fully exposed to the attack.

At that moment, a voice filled with urgency came from behind.

"For heaven's sake, don't stop! Keep running!"

"Nokrim King?"

"Don't stop! If you stop, you'll be surrounded immediately! Do you know what will happen then? I'll somehow manage the rear, so hurry!"

"Understood! Yoon Jong, to the right!"

"Yes!"

Im Sobyeong's words were a hundred percent correct. This was an open field. Unlike the canyon, the lack of numbers could not be compensated for by clever tactics.

If they were in the state before entering the canyon, even if surrounded, they might have been able to break through momentarily. However, it was impossible now, with their energy depleted, and with the wounded slowing them down, their mobility was not even half of what it used to be.

In the moment of being surrounded, there was no way to break through.

However, even in this desperate situation, Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong were fully displaying their abilities.

"Sasuk! They're coming from the left too!"

"Don't worry about it! Move forward!"

"But the distance between the rear and us is too wide right now. If we make a mistake, we'll be surrounded from both sides!"

"Nokrim King will handle it!"

"But right now..."

"Go! I'm watching!"

"Yes!"

Yoon Jong forcefully erased the anxious thoughts that came to his mind.

The ability to grasp the overall situation and handle it calmly might be better in Yoon Jong than in Baek Cheon. Baek Cheon tended to be swayed by emotions from time to time.

However, the ability Yoon Jong dared not imitate was Baek Cheon's decisiveness. Yoon Jong trusted that decisiveness. And he believed in it entirely. He was confident that Baek Cheon would make the right judgment.

But not everyone trusted Baek Cheon as Yoon Jong did.

"Deputy Sect Leader!"

Namgung Dowi, who had rushed from behind, shouted at Baek Cheon.

"Dojang in the rear haven't arrived yet! We need to slow down our speed!"

Baek Cheon bit his lip. Then, with force, he said:

"If you have the energy, help Yoon Jong break through up front, Sogaju."

Instead of a response, an order came back to Namgung Dowi.

"Don't you understand? Chung Myung Dojang has fallen behind!"

"Yes."

"Do you understand? And even knowing that, do you have anything to say? What on earth are you thinking? Are you willing to use Chung Myung Dojang as bait and escape? Are you in your right mind?"

For a moment, Baek Cheon reached out and grabbed Namgung Dowi's throat like a thunderbolt.

The eyes of the young Baek Cheon, filled with vitality, fiercely glared at Namgung Dowi. Namgung Dowi, taken aback, stared at Baek Cheon.

Baek Cheon spoke with a growl.

"Once I go back and rescue him, what then?"

"...Deputy Sect Leader?"

"What should we going to do afterward?"

The veins on Baek Cheon's clenched jaw visibly throbbed.

"Do you suggest we all die here happily? Should we all be satisfied with saving that guy and die together?"

When Namgung Dowi couldn't offer any response, Baek Cheon released his grip on his throat as if pushing it away.

Although it was a brutally impolite gesture, Namgung Dowi, instead of getting angry, stared at Baek Cheon with cold eyes.

"So, are you saying only we should survive? Because you don't want to die together?"

Baek Cheon ignored him as if he wouldn't deal with him anymore and turned away.

"...If you have the energy to talk, swing your sword."

"Deputy Sect Leader!"

At Namgung Dowi's shout, Baek Cheon turned around again. The suppressed frustration that he had endured so far burst out all at once.

"Don't blabber without knowing anything! Right now, I feel like running back there immediately, damn it!"

Namgung Dowi was taken aback by Baek Cheon's shout.

It wasn't the overwhelming momentum, but the emotions conveyed in that voice that hit Namgung Dowi hard.

Baek Cheon, who had burst out with emotions, found it difficult to suppress them, and his hand trembled.

"...Please help the front, Sogaju."

Baek Cheon spoke laboriously, glancing somewhere. A trickle of blood finally flowed from his tightly clenched lips.

There they were.

Chung Myung, Samae, and even Jo Gol.

He wanted to run there right now. He wanted to change their direction immediately and save them.

But he couldn't.

The one he would despise the most for making that choice would be Chung Myung. He wouldn't allow others to perish for his sake, even if he had to die.

'There's no such thing as dying happily. Right?'

Baek Cheon, who threw an unanswerable question in his mind, tightly clenched his fist.

Even in a situation with a knife stuck in his throat, there was no such thing as giving up. The only thing to think about now was one. The path that everyone here could survive.

That was what he had learned from Chung Myung until now.

And for that, there was only one thing needed.

"...They will definitely come!"

Baek Cheon shouted with determination. At his shout, Yoon Jong's shoulders, swinging his sword, trembled faintly. Baek Cheon felt like he knew what kind of expression he had without looking at him.

"That damned Jo Gol went instead of me."

Baek Cheon said with certainty... No, with more desperate earnestness.

"Among the guys behind, there's no one less capable than me. They will definitely come!"

In his determined eyes, a trace of bloodlust appeared.

"So, we won't create results of them dying without opening a path! Do you understand?"

Paah!

Yoon Jong responded to his words, mowing down the charging enemies in a single breath. Even without words, he seemed to believe in those words himself.

Namgung Dowi, who had been staring at Baek Cheon with a somewhat complicated expression, finally nodded his head. And without saying anything, he gripped his sword and stepped forward.

Baek Cheon closed his eyes for a moment.

'Damn it.'

He couldn't go back. Even if everyone here went to save Chung Myung, he couldn't. Because that guy wouldn't allow that choice.

Even if all these choices turned out to be wrong and he ended up facing that guy in hell, he could accept curses as long as they were about his foolishness. But he didn't want to receive the reproach of why he didn't believe in himself.

Baek Cheon forcibly stopped the gaze that kept trying to turn backward.

What he had to do now was not to doubt but just to believe.

Dull and foolishly.

As the path they had paved narrowed again, the Evil Sect horde rushing like waves appeared. Fearing that they couldn't deal with it with just Namgung Dowi and Yoon Jong, Baek Cheon's foot struck the ground.

The red sword energy poured like a waterfall toward the Evil Sect horde.

Quaaaang!

In the falling sword energy, Baek Cheon's eyes shone terrifyingly.

'You must come, you damn bastard.'

He was ready to accept any curse at that time.