C1671: Is this not the desired situation? (1)
Swish!
A bag of oil flew through the air and exploded, spreading oil everywhere.
Whoosh!
A lit arrow cut through the air, and the sparks from it quickly ignited the oil that had dispersed. The flames that attempted to engulf the swordsmen seemed like the hands of a demon.
“Hyaah!”
But what faced those flames was a sword.
Swish.
Despite the loud and brief shout, the extended sword drew a very elegant circle. A smooth and delicate movement, like the hands that envelop a child.
The oil trapped in the circle drawn by the sword couldn’t grow any further and remained spinning in the air.
It was as if a single sword was capturing the flames.
Moments later, the sword cut forcefully, and the flames spinning in the air rushed towards the cliff, as if obeying an order. It truly seemed like the work of spirits.
“Stay alert! Not a single mistake is allowed!”
“Yes!”
Swish!
Even at that moment, lit arrows continued to be shot from below. Those flying down from above and those rising from below. Anyone who has experienced both situations would know that the latter is much more difficult to face.
Swish!
Clang!
But the swordsmen of the Wudang Sect repelled all the arrows. There was no hesitation or doubt as they wielded their swords.
They could handle it.
Even if it was something they had never experienced before, even if they faced an attack they had never imagined, they could do it.
The solution was contained in the teachings of the sword they had learned.
After all, all human efforts are powerless before nature.
The sword of Wudang, which aspires to imitate nature, must be able to handle any human trick.
Once they understood this, the confusion disappeared, and the eyes of the Wudang swordsmen shone with determination and confidence.
“Sahyung! The fire is spreading!”
“Cut down the nearby trees! We must block the path of the fire! Cut the trees and dig the ground!”
“Yes!”
As soon as the order was given, the sword energy was unleashed in unison. The tree trunks were cut down, and the ground was dug up.
If they could prevent the fire from spreading quickly, they could resist indefinitely in this place. After all, this steep slope was a strategic point that limited the enemy’s tactics.
As expected, the faces of the enemies who were throwing oil and arrows from below showed frustration. They realized that their tricks no longer worked.
This only made Mu Jin grit his teeth harder.
‘Did they really think it would be so easy?’
Did they really believe these tricks would work until the end against the Great Wudang Sect?
Now was the time to show them. To teach them that the enemy they were facing was unlike any other they had encountered. To prove that the name of Wudang, the best sword sect in the world, was not an exaggeration.
“More...!”
Mu Jin was about to raise his voice once more.
Step.
Suddenly, the enemies lowered their bows and stopped throwing oil bags. Then, as if all the previous hostility was a lie, they moved aside.
“...Hmm?”
Mu Jin’s eyes filled with suspicion. He noticed some men walking through the almost extinguished path of flames.
A chill ran down his spine as he saw those men advancing calmly. His skin prickled.
‘Elders?’
Each of them emanated a formidable presence. Although Mu Jin did not know the exact structure of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, if he used the structure of the Righteous Faction as a reference, these men had to be at least at the level of Elders.
Mu Jin’s body began to tense with nervousness.
If these men were advancing, it meant they were serious about clearing the path. It was no longer about using cheap tricks but about breaking through with pure force.
“Prepare yourselves!”
“Yes!”
Mu Jin was about to give more orders to awaken the vigilance of the Wudang Swordsmen when someone urgently shouted.
“Sasuk! The Great Sasuk...!”
“Hmm?”
Instinctively, Mu Jin looked towards the top of the cliff and was surprised.
Boom!
He saw Heo Gong facing someone.
‘When...?’
When had an enemy reached there?
“Who is it?”
“I don’t recognize...!”
“It’s... it’s the Thousand-Faced Gentleman! Dam Yeohae of the Hao Sect!”
Someone with sharp eyes had recognized Dam Yeohae’s technique from the scattered shadows of his hands. It was understandable not to recognize his face, given that he was the Thousand-Faced Gentleman.
The confidence and determination that filled the Wudang Swordsmen quickly turned into tension as anxiety took hold of them.
Worried voices began to emerge everywhere.
“The Thousand-Faced Gentleman...!”
“Sasuk! We must help the Great Sasuk brother! I’ll go!”
“We must defend the top of the cliff...”
Boom!
At that moment, Mu Jin’s firm step made the slope tremble.
He silenced his disciples and observed the approaching enemies, shouting firmly to the Wudang Disciples.
“Do not take your eyes off the enemy in front of you.”
“...”
“The Great Sasuk brother will not lose. If you want to help him, make sure the enemies here cannot target him. We are not the only ones in Wudang!”
With those words, the Wudang Swordsmen regained their composure, raising their swords to face the enemy.
Mu Jin bit his lower lip silently.
‘Will he be able to face him?’
Despite his words, he was also worried.
Although Heo Gong was the most promising disciple of Wudang, not even Mu Jin knew his exact level of skill. He could only assume that he had surpassed the level of an average Elder.
But, would he be strong enough to defeat the Thousand-Faced Gentleman? Especially when he had already exhausted much of his internal energy.
It was natural to have doubts. However, Mu Jin had only one option.
‘Trust!’
If they gave up this place, the enemies lurking like wolves below would attack the heart of Wudang.
They could not allow the enemies to take the open field where their numbers would give them an advantage.
Even if Heo Gong fell, the path would open, but the same would happen if this position fell. At this moment, they could only trust each other.
“...So that was it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing, forget it.”
Mu Jin patted Jin Hyun, who was next to him, on the shoulder.
“Can you do it?”
“It’s a very obvious question.”
“How arrogant.”
Mu Jin chuckled softly as he tightly gripped the hilt of his sword.
Thud!
With the force that suddenly accumulated, Heo Gong retreated without resistance. The Thousand-Faced Gentleman, who had pushed Heo Gong, landed softly at the top of the cliff.
“They made us suffer with something as simple as a cliff.”
His movements and voice were casual and light, but they had a different weight.
The looseness in each of his movements.
The world calls that ‘confidence’.
There are very few people in this world who would dare to show confidence in front of Heo Gong. Even so, Heo Gong could not easily move to punish him. The pressure that the Thousand-Faced Gentleman emitted completely enveloped him.
‘...Thousand-Faced Gentleman, Dam Yeohae.’
To be honest, he hadn’t given much thought to his name. Jang Ilso, the leader of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, was simply too big to worry about Dam Yeohae.
But now, facing each other with swords in hand, Heo Gong realized how imposing the name of Dam Yeohae was, which had been hidden behind Jang Ilso.
The predecessors must have fought against people like him.
Finally, Heo Gong understood a bit the decisions of the predecessors that he often found frustrating and sometimes even foolish. Facing people like these, their disciples must have seemed infinitely weak and insufficient.
At that moment, Dam Yeohae spoke.
“What do you think?”
“...What do you mean?”
“Do you think you have a chance?”
Heo Gong frowned. Dam Yeohae smiled.
“No, it’s difficult. It’s not possible. Even if they defend now, they will eventually get tired because they are human. In the end, the path will open.”
Heo Gong’s eyes darkened.
“And unless you drive me off this cliff, that moment will come sooner. Whether you like it or not, your end is already decided.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you still have a chance.”
“...”
“The ones coming out now are the Guardians of the Southern Sea Sun Palace. No matter how sharp Wudang’s swords are, it will be a tough fight. Even if they can fight and win, it will be difficult to stop them completely. Especially with immature swords.”
Dam Yeohae’s voice penetrated Heo Gong’s ears like a temptation.
“If the end is already decided, wouldn’t it be better to retreat now? You could save at least half of Wudang. It would be better than losing valuable lives meaninglessly, wouldn’t it?”
“...You’re talking nonsense.”
“Nonsense? No, it’s a matter of perspective.”
Dam Yeohae turned his head and looked down the cliff. Although it was a movement that clearly exposed his weak points, Heo Gong’s sword did not move.
“Well, although the leader of the Evil Tyrant Alliance wants to erase Wudang at any cost… I am different. I have a position to maintain. If I lose too many disciples here, my neck will hurt after the war.”
“…”
"What are you saying? If they withdraw, I will not pursue them. You could save your disciples.”
Heo Gong's gaze instinctively turned to Mu Jin and the group on the slope.
The path defended by Heo Sanja and the elders wouldn't open, but the left slope, where the Mu Generation and Jin Generation were assigned, was likely struggling desperately.
The problem was that there was no guarantee they could stop these villains, even giving their best. In that case...
At that moment, Heo Gong let out a laugh.
“It was necessary.”
“Hmm? What are you saying all of a sudden?”
“I mean our Sect Leader.”
Heo Gong’s laugh was empty. He had maintained the tense face of a swordsman, but at that moment, he seemed to have regained the expression of a Taoist.
“I always wondered why that man from Mount Hua was so angry... It wasn’t that the choice was wrong. The problem was that I didn’t trust.”
“...”
“I reject your offer.”
Heo Gong, cutting firmly, pointed the tip of his sword at the Thousand-Faced Gentleman.
“It wouldn’t be a good spectacle for both the master and the disciple to be beaten by the same person.”
Heo Gong is not Heo Dojin.
To Heo Dojin, these disciples might have been clumsy students needing protection, but to Heo Gong, they were brothers and comrades-in-arms.
Not trusting them was the same as not trusting Wudang.
And above all...
“By the way, you should improve your lying skills.”
“...What do you mean?”
“Your face.”
The Thousand-Faced Gentleman instinctively touched his face at Heo Gong’s gesture.
Heo Gong spoke coldly.
“No matter how well you hide your face with an expressionless mask, you can’t hide your eyes. Your eyes say you want to kill me here.”
“...Ha.”
A sound of laughter escaped Dam Yeohae’s lips.
“You say I can’t hide my eyes? That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”
“Because those who have seen your eyes were similar to you.”
“Are you different?”
“I am a Taoist before I am a swordsman.”
Heo Gong's voice, without a hint of hesitation, pierced the Thousand-Faced Gentleman.
“The life of a Taoist consists of rejecting all lies and deceptions and seeing the hidden truth. You are too crude to hide your intentions in front of me.”
“Ha...”
The Thousand-Faced Gentleman exhaled a long sigh, almost in frustration, and murmured.
“That’s why dealing with the Righteous Faction is so difficult.”
Finally, his voice changed. It no longer had the youthful energy but was the voice of an elder.
Heo Gong felt that this was the true voice of the Thousand-Faced Gentleman.
A man who never showed his true self, not even to his closest subordinates, had revealed his true voice.
This was a declaration that he intended to kill Heo Gong here.
“Someone once said.”
The Thousand-Faced Gentleman extended his hand slowly. In his palm, dense energy began to gather.
“If someone rejects a cup of wine and instead chooses punishment, then you must force them to drink the whole bottle.”
“...I think I know who might have said that.”
Heo Gong also took a step forward slowly.
‘I will not lose.’
There is a defeat that must be avenged. There is someone who must be defeated.
So I will not die in a place like this.
Not until I face that damned sword again...!
“Prepare yourself!”
Heo Gong’s sword was enveloped in white and black energy.
The Taiji Sword that wields both Yin and Yang simultaneously. The sword that adds human wisdom to Taiji unfolded along with extreme Yang energy.
-------------
“Sahyung!”
“Yes, I see it too!”
The eyes of Jo Gul and Yoon Jong shone as they looked ahead.
What began to appear in the distance.
A majestic mountain range, and among them, a mountain that stood out particularly.
Jo Gul, with agitated breath, roared.
“Mount Wudang!”
Finally, that mountain was within the reach of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance.
