C1687. Even as the Mockery Fades. (2)
"Down below! They're coming from below!"
"What? What's happening?"
Those who were arduously climbing the cliff stopped upon hearing the panicked shouts echoing from various parts of the rocky wall. They looked down in disbelief. They were so close to the top; what could be coming from below...?
"What...? Aaaah!"
Curiosity quickly turned into terror.
Something black was scaling the steep cliff at an incredible speed, with no decent foothold. Its sharp scales were white and red, stained by fire and blood. Seeing this, the climbers desperately reached upward.
They instinctively knew they should not encounter that. Their survival instincts, honed through countless battles, told them they had to climb faster.
"Climb! Climb quickly!"
"Move, damn it!"
The members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance climbed frantically, struggling to reach the top of the cliff.
But their desperate wishes were futile. The claws of the black dragon climbing the cliff were already reaching their rear.
Whoosh!
Jo Gul's eyes, lit by the reflection of the flames, glowed a fierce red as he climbed the cliff at breakneck speed.
Whoosh!
He propelled himself off the cliff wall again.
It was a cliff so high and steep that even mountain animals hesitated to climb it. Martial artists could only crawl up it. But Jo Gul was running vertically up the cliff wall, using it as if it were horizontal ground.
Tump! Tump! Whoosh!
Running up the cliff, Jo Gul twisted in the air and launched himself towards a member of the Evil Tyrant Alliance hanging below.
"No, no!"
The enemy, using all his strength, swung his great sword down towards Jo Gul's head, trying to at least push him away.
But at that moment, the member of the Evil Tyrant Alliance met Jo Gul's cold, calm gaze.
Slash!
"Gah!"
Before he realized what had happened, a burning pain spread across his chest, and his strength left him.
It felt as if a red-hot iron bar was stirring inside him. He felt every movement of Jo Gul's sword, which, after piercing his chest, moved up and down, tearing everything in its path.
Thud!
With a swift motion, Jo Gul pulled his sword out of the body and launched himself upward again.
Blood splattered as the bodies of the Evil Tyrant Alliance members fell, and the swordsmen of the Mount Hua Sect continued climbing the cliff. It was an impressive scene, like a painting on the cliff wall.
Whoosh!
The swordsmen of the Mount Hua Sect, with Jo Gul at the forefront, wielded their swords and shook off the blood as they climbed.
"Aaaaaah!"
The enemies, in a panic, swung their weapons desperately.
Jo Gul's eyes shone with fierce intensity. Around him appeared countless ledges, obstacles that, compared to the smooth cliff wall, seemed easy to overcome. For him, these obstacles were nothing.
Whoosh!
Jo Gul's body moved like lightning, cutting a path through the enemies.
"Gah!"
"Ah!"
"Aaaah!"
Every time he moved, screams echoed around him. His sword, which emitted no energy, moved like an assassin's dagger, mercilessly stabbing the bodies of the enemies hanging from the cliff.
Clang!
When his sword clashed with an enemy blade, Jo Gul advanced as if someone had pushed him from behind.
"Aaaah!"
A member of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, his face pale with terror, screamed and attacked Jo Gul with his sword.
Clang!
But Jo Gul's sword deflected the enemy blade into the air, taking its place with his own sharp sword.
Slash!
The sword struck the enemy's neck with a horrific sound.
Thud! Thud!
Even amidst overwhelming pain, the enemies felt the contact on their backs and shoulders.
'What...?'
In that moment, before the fear of death, came a sense of strangeness.
They felt as if the world was turning upside down, and something unknown filled their vision. Empty gazes, lifeless faces. There were dozens of people around, some a little higher, some a little lower.
'What...?'
The mouth of the Evil Tyrant Alliance member slowly opened. His eyes filled with a red landscape.
'No...!'
Realizing that what he was seeing was the burning Wudang Sect, he knew he was falling from the cliff.
"Aaaaaah!"
The heartbreaking scream echoed through the mountain.
Desperately, they waved their arms as if trying to grab something in the air, but there was nothing they could do.
"Aaaaaah!"
"Save me!"
The people falling from the cliff screamed with voices that seemed impossible to come from a human throat.
It had taken them a long time to climb, but only an instant to fall.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The bodies fell and hit the mountain, causing the members of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance to look up.
"Ugh..."
A sound between a sigh and a groan escaped their lips.
The members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, who were so numerous they sent chills down the spine, were falling due to the action of the Mount Hua Sect.
Curiously, the bodies falling in the darkness of the night looked like falling snowflakes.
Boom! Boom!
Hearing the continuous sound of bodies falling, Namgung Dowi was the first to react.
"Move aside!"
"They're falling from above! Clear the front!"
Giving orders quickly, he looked at the cliff in astonishment.
"Is it raining people...? With this, it's hard to tell who is from the Evil Faction and who is from the Righteous Faction."
It was evident that the members of the Mount Hua Sect were breaking through the enemies. In the whole world, there was probably only one place capable of doing such a thing.
"Mount Hua..."
Whoosh!
The swords in the hands of the Mount Hua swordsmen pierced the bodies of the enemies hanging from the cliff, like fangs of darkness.
Slash!
"Gah!"
The Mount Hua swordsmen used their swords as support to propel themselves upwards.
Whoosh!
If there was no foothold, they stabbed their swords. If they couldn't stab their swords, they stepped on the bodies of the enemies.
Yoon Jong's eyes shone with determination.
'Compared to that damn training...'
Bang!
Yoon Jong stepped on an enemy and launched himself upward like an arrow.
"This is nothing compared to a cliff!"
Whoosh!
His sword split into dozens of shadows in the air. Each shadow aimed at the legs of the enemies still desperately clinging to the cliff.
"Aaaaah!"
"Shut up, damn it!"
The swords of the Mount Hua Sect showed no mercy. It was an unrelenting massacre.
They had always been fighting their way through, pursued by enemies. But at this moment, the roles had completely reversed.
Seeing this, everyone understood why the swords of the Mount Hua Sect had been called "swords of the Evil Faction" and had been avoided in the Kangho.
However, Yoon Jong pressed his lips together, dissatisfied. They had to reach the top as quickly as possible.
"Faster...!"
"Aaaaah!"
"Damn it!"
Yoon Jong's face twisted in frustration.
At first, the enemies were so surprised they could do nothing, but they were not incompetent. They realized that fighting with weapons on this cliff was useless, so they started throwing them towards the Mount Hua Sect.
It might seem like a desperate act, but it was not. If it were, the throwing of weapons would not have been a useful technique throughout history.
Whoosh!
The thrown weapons, charged with internal energy, rained down on them from above.
Clang!
"Sahyung!"
"Yoon Jong!"
"Tsk!"
Yoon Jong deflected one of the thrown weapons with difficulty and pressed himself against the cliff wall.
"Damn it!"
They were well trained.
The spearmen of the Evil Tyrant Alliance stopped and began to move downward. Soon, they would try to attack them with their spears from above.
Although the spears would not be as effective on the cliff, the same applied to them.
"Damn it, this is delaying our progress!"
As Yoon Jong thought quickly, someone lightly stepped on his shoulder.
"Eh?"
Someone used his shoulder as support to push themselves up.
The sensation was as light as a feather, but the spectacle he witnessed was incredible.
Whoosh!
"Sagu!"
Yoo Iseol, who had stepped on Yoon Jong's shoulder, launched herself towards the cliff like an arrow. No, not towards the cliff, but towards the air, about three meters away.
Yoo Iseol's image overlapped with the moon hanging in the sky.
Whoosh!
Her sword moved smoothly, releasing bursts of energy in the shape of flower petals.
The flower petals that bloomed in the air formed a forest of plum blossoms on the cliff, where flowers should never grow.
"Ah..."
The enemies and the Mount Hua Sect swordsmen were all amazed by the impressive sight.
The flower petals, which softly twirled in the air, disintegrated and rained down like a shower of flowers on the enemies on the cliff.
The soft petals seemed to be dancing. Some enemies, without realizing it, reached out their hands to catch them.
That was just the beginning.
Slash!
The petals that touched the skin turned into sharp blades, piercing flesh and bone.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
"Aaaaah!"
"Aaaaah!"
Thousands of flying petals penetrated the bodies of the enemies on the cliff. They cut flesh, broke bones, and pierced the eyes of those who couldn't react in time.
The enemy formation, which had barely managed to reorganize, instantly crumbled under Yoo Iseol's attack. Seizing the opportunity, Yoon Jong shouted.
"Now's the time! Let's go, Jo Gul!"
"Hyaaah!"
Both of them surged upwards, breaking through the enemies. They gave no chance for the enemies to use their spears, and their swords cut the throats of the enemies.
Meanwhile, Yoo Iseol, who had unleashed her attack, began to fall.
"Sagu?"
"Ah! Samae!"
The disciples of the Mount Hua Sect shouted, alarmed.
Whoosh!
At that moment, something flew towards Yoo Iseol.
Whoosh!
Yoo Iseol stepped on a large sword flying towards her and propelled herself upwards again. Using the thrown weapons as steps, she launched herself higher and grasped the outstretched hand of someone.
Her expression was calm, as if nothing had happened.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Baek Cheon smiled and looked up.
The falling enemies, the Mount Hua swordsmen breaking through, the dark sky, and the moon. Through it all, Baek Cheon saw the path that Jo Gul and Yoon Jong were carving towards the top.
"Can we make it?"
Baek Cheon hesitated for a moment.
Yoo Iseol, as if she could read his mind, gripped his sleeve tightly, her eyes fixed on the direction he was looking.
Baek Cheon pressed his lips together and then nodded.
"Can we break through?"
"Of course."
His chest filled with determination. Baek Cheon nodded firmly.
"Alright. Let's go, Samae!"
"Yes."
Whoosh!
Both of them surged towards the cliff like a bolt of lightning.
Jo Gul and Yoon Jong continued to unleash their energy into the air. Plum blossoms bloomed around them on the cliff.
"Amitabha!"
A loud roar echoed behind them. Yoo Iseol and Baek Cheon pushed upwards with force in response.
Boom!
A burst of golden energy passed beneath them. Hye Yeon's energy followed the path Jo Gul and Yoon Jong had carved.
Boom!
When the two landed again, they saw a direct path to the top.
Bang!
The sound of their feet hitting the cliff echoed like thunder.
Just as Jo Gul and Yoon Jong reached the top, the world turned white unexpectedly.
Upon closer inspection, they saw white hands, so clear they seemed transparent.
An uncountable number of shadowy hands extended towards the two who had just reached the top. They were like the white foam of a wave crashing against the cliff.