Chapter 1687 - Even if it Fades Away with a Smile (2)

"Below! It's coming from below!"

"What, what is it?"

Those who were struggling to climb the cliff glanced down at the sudden, urgent screams echoing from various points on the cliff.

Below? We're almost at the top, so what could possibly be coming from below...?

"Oh... no...!"

Their confusion quickly turned to terror.

Something dark was climbing the steep cliff at an unbelievable speed, despite the cliff having hardly any proper handholds. Those who saw this sight instinctively froze.

We can't confront that thing here. Their survival instincts, honed on the battlefield, screamed in unison.

"Climb! Climb faster!"

"Move, you bastard!"

The members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance frantically scrambled to climb the cliff faster.

But their desperate efforts were in vain. The claws of the black dragon climbing the cliff soon reached their position.

Taah!

Jo Gul's eyes, glowing red, gleamed with the color of flames as he kicked off the smooth cliff and soared into the air.

Taaah!

He kicked off the cliff face once more.

This was a cliff so steep that even wild animals wouldn't dare to climb it. Even those trained in martial arts could only crawl up it with great difficulty.

But Jo Gul was literally running up the cliff, using it as his floor.

Tap! Tap! Taah!

Kicking up the cliff as if running horizontally, Jo Gul flipped in mid-air and surged towards the members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance clinging to the cliff.

"No, don't!"

One member swung a large blade at Jo Gul's head with all his might, hoping at least to knock him away if he couldn't kill him.

But at that moment, he met Jo Gul's cold, sunken gaze.

Crack!

"Guh..."

Before he could even comprehend what had happened, a searing pain spread through his chest, and strength left his body.

It felt as if a red-hot iron rod was writhing inside him. He vividly felt the sword lodged in his chest tear through his insides as it was pulled out.

Thunk!

With the recoil from pulling out his sword, Jo Gul soared upwards again.

The sight of the members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance falling while spraying blood and the swordsmen dressed in black soaring up the cliff looked like a painting spread across the cliff.

Taaah!

Surpassing the falling foes, the swordsmen of Mount Hua ran up the cliff, Jo Gul at the forefront, swinging his sword to shake off the blood.

"Arrgh!"

The enemies, too, swung their weapons frantically.

Jo Gul's eyes gleamed with a fierce light. Numerous prostrations in the cliff appeared before him, sharp obstacles that would normally make it harder to climb for the average person, however for Jo Gul and other members of Mount Hua such things were nothing.

Taaah!

Jo Gul's body sliced through the enemies like a lightning bolt.

"Guh!"

"Agh!"

"Arrgh!"

Each time he moved, screams erupted from all directions. His sword, not even emitting sword energy, pierced the bodies of the enemies clinging to the cliff like an assassin's dagger.

Clang!

The moment his sword clashed with another weapon, Jo Gul's body surged forward as if pushed from behind.

"Ahhh!"

A member of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, his face pale with terror, screamed like an animal as he wildly thrust his sword at Jo Gul.

Clang!

But his sword was instantly flung into the air, and a long, sharp unfamiliar blade took its place.

Crunch!

The sword lodged into his neck made a dreadful sound.

Tap! Tap!

Even as he felt the agony of something touching his back and shoulders, he sensed the immense pain mixing into his awareness.

'Huh...'

Before the fear of death could set in, he felt confusion.

As his body flipped over, something unfamiliar filled his vision. Empty, hollow eyes—those of someone who had already died.

One, two... no, five... or maybe ten?

Dozens of people surrounded him, some a little above, some a little below.

'Huh?'

His mouth slowly opened. His eyes were filled with a wide red vista.

'No...!'

Realizing it was the burning Wudang Mountain, the member of the Evil Tyrant Alliance understood that he was falling off the cliff.

"Aaaahhh!"

His desperate scream echoed through the mountains.

He flailed uselessly, trying to grab onto anything in the air, but humans are powerless in the sky.

"Aaaaahhhh!"

"Save meeee!"

Those falling off the cliff screamed in utter terror, their cries echoing in the night.

It took a long time to climb up, but only a moment to fall.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

The bodies of those who fell struck the mountain, their impacts reverberating. The Heavenly Comrade Alliance members guarding below flinched and looked up.

"Ah..."

A sound between a groan and a sigh escaped their lips.

The countless members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, who had been a significant threat, were now falling like leaves before the swordsmen of Mount Hua.

Oddly, the white bodies falling through the darkness of the night looked like snowflakes.

Thunk! Thunk!

With the constant thuds, Namgung Dowi, the first to recover his wits, shouted.

"Dodge!"

"They're falling from above! Clear the front!"

Issuing rapid orders, he looked back at the cliff with a mix of bewilderment and horror.

"Is this a rain of people... Who's the villain here, and who's the righteous one?"

The sight of Mount Hua's forces piercing through the enemy was clear. Perhaps only one sect in the world could accomplish such a feat.

"Mount Hua..."

Swaaah!

The long swords in the hands of Mount Hua's swordsmen, like the fangs of darkness, pierced the bodies of those clinging to the cliff.

Crunch!

"Guh!"

The swordsmen of Mount Hua thrust their swords into the cliff while simultaneously piercing through the bodies of those hanging, using their swords as support to lift themselves up.

Taaah!

If there was no place to step, they thrust their swords into the cliff. If they couldn't thrust their swords, they stepped on the bodies of their enemies to climb.

Yoon Jong's eyes flashed with sharp intent.

'Compared to the cliffs we trained with in Mount Hua...'

Bang!

Yoon Jong stepped on an enemy and shot upwards like an arrow.

"This isn't even a real cliff!"

Paaaah!

His sword split into dozens of shadows in mid-air. Each shadow dug into the lower bodies of the enemies still desperately clinging to the cliff.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Shut up, you bastards!"

There was no mercy in the swords of Mount Hua's swordsmen. It was a thorough massacre.

Though they had always been pursued by their enemies and had to carve a path, at this moment, the roles were completely reversed.

Seeing this, everyone could clearly understand why the sword of Mount Hua had been scorned as the 'Sword of the Evil Sect' in Gangnam.

However, Yoon Jong bit his lips as if even this wasn't enough. He was in a hurry. He had to reach the top as soon as possible!

"Faster...!"

"Aaaaaah!"

"Ugh! These bastards!"

Yoon Jong's face twisted.

At first, the enemies were caught off guard and taken down easily, but they were not to be underestimated. Realizing the futility of engaging in a weapon clash on the cliff, they began throwing their weapons at Mount Hua.

It might seem like a meaningless struggle, but it wasn't. If it were, the tactic of 'throwing' would not have remained useful throughout history.

Wooong!

Weapons filled with internal energy poured down like rain from above.

Kaang!

"Sahyung!"

"Yoon Jong-ah!"

"Ugh!"

Yoon Jong barely deflected the flying weapons and clung tightly to the cliff face.

'Damn it!'

The enemies were surprisingly well-trained.

The spearmen of the Evil Tyrant Alliance stopped climbing and started moving downwards. If they reached the rear again, they would launch a coordinated attack with their spears.

Of course, being attached to the cliff would make it difficult for their spears to be effective, but the same went for Mount Hua.

'Damn it, this will delay us.'

While Yoon Jong was contemplating for a moment, accepting that he might have to shed blood to continue, he grabbed the cliff.

"Borrowing your shoulder."

"Huh?"

Someone lightly stepped on Yoon Jong's shoulder.

It felt like a feather landing and then flying off, but the sight before him was overwhelming.

Whooosh!

"Sago!"

Yoo Iseol, who had stepped on Yoon Jong's shoulder, shot up the cliff like an arrow. No, she was aiming not for the cliff but the space three lengths away from it.

Yoo Iseol's figure overlapped with the rising moon in the sky.

Pararararak!

Her Plum Blossom Sword danced gracefully, and from its tip, red petal-like sword energies burst forth.

The numerous blooming plum blossoms created a fantastical forest of plum blossoms on the barren cliff.

"Ah..."

The sight was so mesmerizing that even the enemies clinging to the cliff and the swordsmen of Mount Hua were momentarily spellbound.

The softly whirling plum blossoms scattered into petals in the wind, falling beautifully upon the enemies clinging to the cliff.

The delicate plum blossoms seemed to dance, and a few of those clinging to the cliff unknowingly reached out to the approaching petals, as if to grasp them.

That was the beginning.

Slash!

The petals that touched their skin turned into deadly blades, piercing through their flesh and embedding into their bones.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

"Aaaaaargh!"

"Aaaaaargh!"

Hundreds and thousands of petals flying in the air mercilessly pierced through the bodies of those crowded on the cliff. They cut through flesh, broke bones, and even lodged into unguarded eyes.

While the disorganized Evil Tyrant Alliance soldiers reeled from the deadly sword energy that had scattered their formation, Yoon Jong shouted.

"Now! Let's go, Gul-ah!"

"Urghaaaah!"

The two men seized the opportunity and climbed the cliff, cutting through the enemies. Without giving the spears time to be properly extended, their swords swiftly decapitated the foes.

Whoosh.

Meanwhile, Yoo Iseol, who had unleashed the sword energy, was now falling.

"Sago?"

"Ah! Samae!"

The disciples of Mount Hua shouted in panic.

Paaaah!

At that moment, something flew towards Yoo Iseol.

Taaah.

Yoo Iseol lightly stepped on the large sword flying beneath her, lifting herself up again. Using the incoming weapons as stepping stones, she soon grasped an outstretched hand.

Her expression was calm as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Baek Cheon smiled at Yoo Iseol and looked up.

The falling enemies of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, and the swords of Mount Hua creating a path through them. The dark sky, with the rising moon above. Beyond all that, Baek Cheon saw it. The path Jo Gul and Yoon Jong were opening to the summit.

'Can we make it?'

Baek Cheon hesitated for a moment. As if reading his thoughts, Yoo Iseol gripped his sleeve tightly, her gaze fixed on where he was looking.

The strength conveyed through her grip and his hand gripping the sword seemed to speak to him.

Baek Cheon lightly bit his lip and asked.

"Can we open it?"

"As much as we need to."

His chest swelled with confidence. Baek Cheon nodded firmly.

"Alright. Let's go, Samae!"

"Yes."

Paaah.

The two surged up the cliff like lightning.

Jo Gul and Yoon Jong continued to unleash their sword energy with all their might. Plum blossoms bloomed around them on the cliff.

"Ah—mi—ta—bul—!"

At that moment, a grand Buddhist chant erupted from behind them. As if it were a signal, Yoo Iseol and Baek Cheon leaped high off the cliff.

Kwooooom!

The Gulden power imbued with divine energy swept beneath their feet. Hye Yeon's fist followed the path opened by Jo Gul and Yoon Jong.

Thump!

The two who had leapt into the air landed back on the cliff and saw a straight path to the summit.

Bang!

The sound of them kicking off the cliff echoed like thunder.

In an instant, the two who had dashed along the path opened by their comrades reached the summit, where the cliff met the sky.

Whoooosh!

Unexpectedly, the world turned white.

Upon closer inspection, it was a countless number of translucent white hands.

An innumerable number of hand shadows reached out towards the two who had reached the summit. Like the white foam of waves crashing against the cliff.