Chapter 1661 - Wherever That Place May Be (1)
"Sect Leader!"
Heo Sanja's face turned pale as he looked from the pinnacle of Tianzhu Peak, the peak that abruptly rose, and the building of the Wudang Sect, which stood like a fortress wall.
"That, that...."
His hand, hidden inside the wide sleeves of his robe, trembled with fine spasms.
Tianzhu Peak was where the renowned Wudang Sect was located, and it was the highest peak of Mount Wudang. Naturally, looking down from here provides a panoramic view of Mount Wudang.
The familiar landscape of yellow-stained gray cliffs, green pines, and white floating clouds now had a new and unfamiliar color spreading over it.
Under the green hue of the evergreen trees that covered Mount Wudang, a red color, which had never been there before, rose like flames. And from that place, black smoke began to billow like dark clouds.
Heo Sanja stood as if in a dream, staring blankly. The ever-green Mount Wudang was being dyed red, like blood seeping into white cloth.
"Fire, there is a fire."
The faces of the elders watching him also paled. None of them had imagined this. That someone would dare to set Mount Wudang on fire.
"What... what is happening? The ambush? What about the ambush?"
"How can you say that? What good is an ambush in this situation? All the trees will burn, and even the grass will be reduced to ashes. How can we hide in a barren, blackened mountain? We must retreat immediately!"
"But if we do that..."
The elder couldn't finish his sentence.
Both the speaker and the listener knew. If the pine forest that had guarded Wudang disappeared, if the dense forest that hid the deep valleys and natural caves vanished, this place would become just another medium-height mountain.
And for those trained in martial arts, the steep slopes of such an obvious mountain would be no different from flat ground.
Even the elders could not hide their panic.
"Sect Leader! Say something! What should we do? We must stop it, right?"
"But how?"
"We must do something! Bring water! Dig the ground to prevent the fire from spreading! Do something...!"
Several desperate cries came from all directions, but Heo Sanja's eyes did not leave the rapidly growing flames. They were approaching Wudang as if they were about to devour it like the tongues of a demon.
After a long while, Heo Sanja spoke as if dazed.
"How... how can it be so fast?"
"Sect Leader?"
"How...."
Heo Sanja's lips trembled.
Although they had not anticipated a fire attack, it was not a completely unexpected tactic, upon reflection.
Even though this was a war between martial artists and not an ordinary battle, a war was still a war. A fire attack was always a possible strategy.
But what surprised Heo Sanja was the speed and extent to which the fire was spreading, far exceeding his expectations.
It hadn't been long since they realized it was an incendiary attack, yet it seemed as if the entire world was being engulfed in flames.
A mountain usually extends hundreds of kilometers from a small point at its peak. However, now, the boundaries of Wudang, which connected to the land, were completely on fire.
It was as if a giant burning rope had wrapped around Mount Wudang.
How vast and extensive must the flames be, burning towards this place? Even witnessing it with his own eyes, it was a sight too overwhelming to believe.
"Heavens...."
His heart felt as if it were being strangled.
It was as if that blazing red flame was tightening around Wudang.
❀ ❀ ❀
"Burn it, bastards! Don't wait for the fire to spread; burn it all down now!"
Shouted a man wielding a large saber until his voice broke. Those carrying lit torches ran in all directions, wildly thrusting the burning sticks into any dry wood they found.
"Cover everything with oil! Gather dry leaves to use as kindling. If there's nothing left to burn, burn your clothes! Set everything on fire."
Whoosh!
At that moment, a dry wind blew through the mountain, fanning the flames into a roaring blaze. The intense heat forced those running forward to instinctively retreat in fear.
Realizing this, the man wielding the large saber grabbed one of them by the neck with a rough hand, his voice rumbling fiercely.
"What are you doing? Why are you retreating? Don't you see there's still an area unburned ahead?"
"I see it! But the wind is making the flames..."
"What about the flames? Are you afraid of getting burned? Eh?"
Crunch!
The saber dug about two centimeters into the man's back.
"Choose. Do you prefer to die burned or have a hole made in your back?"
"Hee, heek!"
"Why? Should I make the decision for you?"
Hearing these words, everyone, filled with fear, rushed forward. The hot air choked their breath, and the swirling flames seemed ready to scorch their bodies, but they feared the gleaming sword at their backs even more.
The man wielding the sword shouted again with a thunderous voice.
"Anyone who retreats will die by my sword! Set fire quickly! Burn everything in sight until nothing remains. Hurry!"
A massive and long mountain range extended from Mount Wudang. The same scene unfolded in several places there.
"Ahhh! Fire! Fire...!"
Some, driven by courage, recklessness, or pure fear, stepped forward to set the fire, only to be engulfed by the swirling flames.
The sight of people burning alive was unbearable, but no one moved to help. They knew all too well they could be caught by the flames if they took a wrong step.
The trees, which had not yet fully dried, were wrapped in flames and spewed thick smoke. The surroundings became hazy. The flames emitted a heat that seemed to melt the skin and smoke that felt suffocating.
In the midst of this hellish scene, the most horrifying was the madness of people trying to burn their enemies alive.
"More! More fire! Burn those Taoist bastards to death!"
❀ ❀ ❀
Desperation approached with every passing moment.
The spread of the flames was strange. It was not like a tidal wave rushing forward nor like an avalanche collapsing.
In places considered safe from the flames, small red dots suddenly appeared, then fiercely devoured their surroundings and merged with other flames.
"S-sahyung! It's behind us! There's fire behind us...!"
"What? Behind?"
Jin Wi's eyes filled with astonishment as he turned around.
Moments ago, the fire demon had clearly been attacking from a distance ahead. The flames had not yet reached their feet.
But somehow, the fire had started to sprout behind them. The flames had not spread that far yet.
"What should we do? Should we retreat?"
"Maybe an ambush...?"
"Sahyung! If we stay here, we'll all die! We need to retreat!"
Mu Kyung's insistence made Jin Wi's face pale. He couldn't understand what was happening.
He didn't realize that those dying from the flames weren't just watching the advance of the fire but were being surprised by it.
The flames appeared suddenly from behind, and as they ran forward, more unexpected flames emerged. Panicked, they lost their way and soon found themselves surrounded by flames everywhere.
Even those who had lived their entire lives in the mountains could not know this. In fact, precisely because they had lived in the mountains all their lives, they had never experienced such a devastating forest fire.
"Sahyung!"
"We... retreat! For now, we retreat, and then we wait for new orders."
Jin Wi had no other choice.
They were there to ambush those targeting Wudang. But now, it was not the enemies of the Evil Tyrant Alliance threatening them.
Despite their lifelong training in swordsmanship and Taoist principles, they had no knowledge of fighting fires.
Thus, Jin Wi's decision was not bad.
However, the unfortunate truth was that their enemies were still lurking, waiting for an opportunity to attack.
"Let's go! We need to get out of here."
When Jin Wi rose from his hiding place among the bushes, several enemies burst through the raging flames ahead. Terrifying roars drowned out the crackling sound of the burning forest.
Those emerging from the flames saw Jin Wi's group and immediately launched an attack.
"Defend yourselves!"
Jin Wi gritted his teeth and unsheathed his Song Moon sword. No sooner had he pointed the sword than Mu Kyung shouted urgently.
"Sahyung! But the flames are approaching!"
"If we retreat now, we'll die even faster! Fight! We must fight now!"
"The flames are getting closer! Damn it! If we delay, we'll all burn to death!"
Their ambush group consisted of only three, but all were expert Wudang swordsmen. They shouldn't have been overwhelmed by the twenty-odd members of the Evil Sect.
But the advance of the flames and the acrid smoke tearing at their throats began to disturb their calm and cloud their judgment.
"Run! Run now!"
"I said fight! Don't turn your back! It's dangerous!"
"Ahhhhhh!"
In their confusion, the sword of an Evil Sect member plunged toward a disciple's back. Jin Wi instinctively extended his sword to block it.
At that moment, several other swords pierced Jin Wi's abdomen.
Cruncch!
"Ugh!"
Jin Wi slowly turned his gaze toward those who had stabbed his stomach. The members of the Evil Sect, emerging through the flames, exhaled white smoke from their bodies, looking at him with triumphant faces.
"Ah, ahhhhh!"
"Ah, ahhhhh!"
Jin Wi swung his sword in an instant, decapitating the three Evil Sect members who had driven their swords into his stomach. Jin Mun shouted urgently.
"Sahyung!"
"Argh!"
As Jin Wi pulled out his sword, a dry cough escaped his mouth. Fortunately, no blood came out, indicating his internal organs weren't damaged. The internal energy he had hastily gathered managed to push the sword out.
But that was all. The fact that he had suffered injuries did not change.
"Retreat. We must retreat..."
Just as Jin Wi tried to stabilize his wobbling body,
"Haahhhhh!"
"Kill them all!"
The pines, wrapped in red flames, swayed violently, and dozens more Evil Sect members emerged with fierce shouts. They came from all directions: from the front, from behind, and from the sides, leaving no place untouched.
Jin Wi's eyes momentarily lost focus and wavered.
"Brother!"
"Fight! We must carve a path!"
"There are too many enemies! We have to retreat first!"
"Stop whining and raise your sword! If we don't carve a path, we'll die! We must carve a path somehow!"
Jin Wi's bloodshot eyes were filled with determination and murderous intent.
This is not the Yangtze River. This is Mount Wudang.
In this place, the word "despair" does not suit us. It must not.
"Fight, ahhhhh!"
Jin Wi let out a desperate roar.
However, his energetic shout was soon drowned out by the noise created by the fire demon, leaving no trace.
