If I Must Die, I’ll Be the First to Go (5)
'Faster!'
Chung Myung’s foot slammed into the ground with all his strength.
BOOM!
The earth burst apart beneath him as if it had exploded, and his body shot forward, tearing across the land like an arrow loosed from a bow.
“Huff! Huff!”
And behind him, Baek Cheon’s group and Hong Dae-gwang gritted their teeth and chased after him.
Under normal circumstances, Chung Myung would have matched their pace. But he did not have the luxury now. Even at this very moment, someone in Mount Hua might be collapsing in a spray of blood.
'No.'
Chung Myung bit his lip without realizing it. The lip tore open at last, and blood trickled down his face, scattering in droplets as he ran.
He had already seen enough of that kind of sight.
No matter what it cost him, he would not watch it again.
How was he supposed to endure that oppressive helplessness again? That pain, as if his soul itself were being burned away?
'I was complacent.'
The world never moved the way Chung Myung expected it to.
If he had truly possessed the power to set the world on the palm of his hand and twist it however he liked, then his damn martial siblings would never have died on the summit of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
He had known that.
Gnash.
Muscles stood out on his clenched jaw.
“Chung Myung!”
At the call from behind him, Chung Myung’s head snapped around.
'Even if you’re whining, there’s no way I can slow down now…'
“Don’t worry about us and keep running!”
“……”
Baek Cheon shouted with a face drained white.
“Even if I die, I’m still coming after you. You don’t have to hold back for our sake!”
“……”
Chung Myung gave a slight nod and turned his gaze forward again. The hand he had clenched into a fist tightened even more.
“I’m going faster!”
“Got it!”
Chung Myung’s speed increased yet again. At the same time, the others squeezed out every last bit of strength they had and clung to his wake.
Yu I-seol’s eyes never left Chung Myung’s back as she ran at full speed.
Even just watching him, she could feel it.
How angry he was right now. How desperate he was.
But that wasn’t all.
'He looks like a child who’s crying.'
Yu I-seol, silently staring at his back, bit her lip.
'This isn’t the time to be thinking about anything else.'
Mount Hua was in danger. She did not even want to imagine a situation where martial siblings or the sect leader lost their lives.
As Yu I-seol pushed her lightness skill harder, the other martial siblings likewise kicked the ground with frantic determination.
“Hurry!”
Mount Hua, wrapped in clouds, drew closer and closer until it seemed almost within reach.
* * *
BOOM!
The heavy gate, built from solid purple sandalwood, shattered into fragments that scattered in every direction.
THUD!
Through the pale cloud of dust, Son Wol, the Life-Snatching Short Spear, stepped forward. Walking into Mount Hua’s mountain gate, he slowly surveyed his surroundings.
“……What? That’s all?”
Then he let his face twist in faint disgust.
On the vast training ground spread out before him, the disciples of Mount Hua stood in formation. But no matter how he counted them, there were barely more than a hundred.
Did that mean the enemy actually outnumbered them?
“To send this many men just to deal with a handful of little brats. Has the military advisor’s mind started going, too?”
“Watch your mouth.”
Step. Step.
Dokhyulsu walked in slowly behind him.
“And don’t underestimate them. Unless you want to end up like Red Sabre.”
“Don’t compare that useless bastard to me.”
“In the worst case.”
Dokhyulsu curled his lips as he looked at the Mount Hua disciples.
“If that happens, you won’t die cleanly either. You’ll have to receive Lord Jang Il-so’s wrath with your whole body.”
“……That’s a disgusting thing to say.”
“It isn’t wrong.”
Yado entered the mountain gate with a smile, his expression almost friendly as he shuffled forward. Behind him followed the fighting force of Maninbang.
“We can’t afford to be careless every single time, can we? Since it seems Lord Jang is truly furious this time, we ought to go all out even when hunting rabbits.”
Son Wol looked at Yado and Dokhyulsu with a face full of displeasure.
“You sure do like hearing yourself talk.”
It was blatant hostility, but the two men in question hardly seemed bothered.
“More importantly… looks like the big shot has come out.”
Step.
Mount Hua’s sect leader, Hyun Jong, slowly walked forward and stood before the lined-up disciples of Mount Hua. Then he spoke in a heavy voice.
“You are rude people indeed. If you are going to smash someone else’s door and walk in, the least you can do is apologize first.”
Son Wol slowly tilted his head and looked at Hyun Jong. Murderous intent gleamed at him.
“Are you the old man who leads Mount Hua?”
“That is correct. I am Hyun Jong.”
“Heh. Well, isn’t this an honor? To meet the final sect leader of Mount Hua?”
Hyun Jong’s brow twitched faintly.
“You truly are men who have never learned manners.”
Son Wol raised a finger and scratched his brow roughly.
“Spare me the lecture. I was never fond of sermons to begin with, and…”
Then he tapped the short spear hanging at his waist.
“I have even less interest in hearing one from an old man who’s about to die.”
The killing intent directed at Hyun Jong sharpened instantly, much more blatantly than before. Yet even as he received that murderous pressure head-on, Hyun Jong’s expression did not change in the slightest.
“Oh? You’ve got some backbone, don’t you? For a sect leader whose school is practically collapsing.”
“Growing old means…”
“Hm?”
Hyun Jong spoke calmly.
“You experience many things. So that you no longer need be surprised by petty and trivial matters.”
“……You old man…!”
Just as Son Wol was about to erupt, Yado stepped forward by a couple of paces.
“Those are fine words.”
He smiled faintly and met Hyun Jong’s eyes.
“But that’s a thing to say after you’ve survived today, isn’t it? It’s ridiculous to talk about experience when your head’s been cut off.”
Hyun Jong silently regarded him.
There was intelligence in those slightly wrinkled eyes.
Yado, faintly suppressed by that calm, heavy presence, unconsciously tightened his grip on his saber and hardened his expression.
“Under the orders of Maninbang Lord Paegun Jang Il-so, we will erase Mount Hua from the world today. Regret ever crossing Maninbang, even in death.”
“Maninbang?”
Shrrring.
Hyun Jong’s sword slowly slid free.
With the blade lowered in one hand, Hyun Jong looked as immovable as an old pine rooted atop a mountain peak.
“Do you not know where you are?”
“……”
Hyun Jong’s voice spread slowly through the air.
“This is Mount Hua. It is not a place where something like Maninbang can raise its head arrogantly. It is the place where the spirits of our ancestors, who roamed the world and upheld righteousness, still dwell. It is no place for the dirt-soled feet of the demonic and depraved.”
Then Hyun Jong slowly pointed his sword at Yado.
“If you put down your weapons and withdraw, I will show mercy once. But if you insist on fighting to the end, do not resent my sword for showing no kindness.”
Yado narrowed his eyes.
“……I’d appreciate it if your skill matched your mouth.”
The corners of his mouth twisted as his malice oozed outward.
“Get out of my way!”
But then Son Wol shoved Yado aside and stepped forward.
Whoosh.
With two short piercing spears in his hands, Son Wol’s weapons flew free from his waist and landed in his grip.
“Don’t worry, old man. I won’t kill you. Watch as every one of your disciples dies one by one. I’ll leave you to the very end and put a hole in your throat last.”
“No one will die before I do.”
“Kheh!”
Son Wol’s eyes shone with savage intent.
“Kill them all!”
“OOOOOH!”
The subordinates who had been waiting behind him roared and surged toward Mount Hua’s disciples.
“Unam! Un Geom!”
“Yes!”
Unam and Un Geom led the disciples forward to meet the charging Maninbang fighters.
“Hyun Sang!”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
“Do not let them rampage as they please!”
“Yes!”
Without hesitation, Hyun Sang drew his sword and rushed forward.
At the same time, Hyun Jong’s eyes sank heavily.
His gaze was fixed on Yado, who was glaring straight at him.
'I have to stop him.'
In the end, the battle in the jianghu came down to the role of the absolute masters. If those three unit leaders were allowed to run wild, Mount Hua had no chance of victory.
But…
Could he do it?
With a body already grown old?
When had he last set aside his sword under the excuse of leading Mount Hua?
Step.
His mind was surging with agitation. His fingertips turned cold, and the leg he had stepped forward with trembled faintly.
Yes.
He was afraid.
Terrified, in fact. But…
“I’m sure you know yourself that you’re not my match. And yet you still step forward. On those trembling legs of yours.”
At Yado’s words, Hyun Jong answered with a hardened face.
“There are times…”
“……Hm?”
“When even if you’re afraid, you have to step forward.”
“……”
“Come. Evil wretch of Maninbang. I will carve into you what Mount Hua’s sword is.”
Yado’s face twisted as he laughed.
“Then let me take a look at this magnificent Mount Hua sword of yours.”
His body shot toward Hyun Jong like a streak of light.
SWOOSH!
KA-ANG!
Hyun Jong barely managed to block the flying saber with his sword. But the weight and force behind the blade made it seem as though the slender sword might snap at any moment.
St, strong.
Cheong Hwa, a third-generation disciple, twisted his face.
They had exchanged only one move, yet he could already feel the other side’s strength deep in his bones. If his reaction had been even a little slower, he would already be lying there in a pool of blood.
He had somehow blocked it, but that did not mean the situation was good.
Grrrrk!
The opponent pressed down with brute force. His wrist twisted, and his legs staggered.
“Heh heh. You little brats.”
Beyond the point where sword and saber met, his enemy’s face came into view. Just looking at that ferocious face, brimming with murder, made it feel terribly real that they were fighting with their lives on the line.
The world went dark.
Could he do it?
He?
Could someone who wasn’t Chung Myung or Baek Cheon fight against the warriors of Maninbang, one of the Five Hegemons of the Jianghu?
'W-when are they coming?'
Chung Myung? And Baek Cheon?
Could they hold out?
Until the others arrived?
“Heh heh heh! You insolent brat, how dare you!”
BOOM!
Power surged from the saber pressed against his sword. The impact slammed into Cheong Hwa’s body, and his legs buckled sharply.
“You’ve got the nerve to think about something else in front of this old man? Diee!”
A vicious strike came crashing down toward his head.
'Ah…'
Cheong Hwa, sensing death, widened his eyes.
That one couldn’t be blocked…
BOOM!
But then a tremendous blast rang out, and the saber flying toward Cheong Hwa’s head was knocked away at high speed.
Cheong Hwa, still unable to fully understand the sudden change, stared blankly with his mouth open.
Someone yanked one of his arms sharply.
“Get up.”
“H-Hall Leader!”
Un Geom, who had already arrived, hauled him to his feet and then moved forward slowly without even sparing him a glance.
“Do not doubt yourself.”
“……”
“You are Mount Hua swordsmen who endured that grueling training too. Do not doubt yourselves. And do not lean on anyone else!”
Un Geom’s voice boomed like a bell.
“How much longer are you going to keep staring only at those men’s backs! How much longer are you going to wait for them to lead you! Believe in what you have done yourselves, and believe in your own skill! And then!”
Un Geom shook his sword and walked forward.
“You should greet the ones who came back with one hell of a smile. Isn’t that right?”
There was no time to answer.
Un Geom surged ahead and cut down the Maninbang fighters rushing at him.
Fast, precise, and steady.
His sword, a textbook example of Mount Hua’s sword learning, tore through the enemy.
“H-Hall Leader!”
“Don’t retreat!”
Pushing the enemies back with all his strength, Un Geom shouted harshly.
“If you can’t do it alone, then watch each other’s backs! If you can’t bring them down, then start by holding out! That alone is enough!”
The strength in Cheong Hwa’s hand around his sword tightened.
'Me too!'
He bit his lip hard and planted both feet firmly on the ground.
'I am a swordsman of Mount Hua.'
Even if he couldn’t defeat the enemy, he could not afford to show an ugly face!
Fwoosh!
Un Geom’s sword stabbed and sliced through the enemies without mercy.
In the blink of an eye, he seized the ten directions around him, and those who rushed him had no choice but to recoil before his blade.
“Aaaagh!”
“D-damn it! He’s fast!”
Un Geom’s sword pierced a Maninbang swordsman’s shoulder and sprayed blood across the ground.
Swish.
He cleanly sliced through the thigh of a retreating foe and, lowering his stance, thrust his sword again.
In terms of swordsmanship alone, Un Geom was one of the top three experts in Mount Hua. Within the same generation, no one could match him.
Taking the sect as a whole, only someone like Hyun Sang, the Martial Hall Leader, could barely be said to be better than him.
Un Geom knew that better than anyone.
'I have to do this.'
The people here were inexperienced.
Setting skill aside, most of them had never seen real combat even once. Children like that, if swept up in the atmosphere, would fall apart without even showing half their real ability.
So he absolutely had to succeed.
If he, standing at the front, crushed the enemy, then the children watching from behind would gather courage in heaps and be able to face the enemy as well.
“Stay calm! Keep your heads cold!”
Un Geom had just cut down the enemy before him and was about to shout again when—
KWAAAAAA!
With the sound of something spinning violently, an enormous force came flying straight at Un Geom.
“Tch!”
Without even turning his head, Un Geom twisted his body.
KWAAAAAA!
The cloth on his shoulder was ripped away, and the skin on his face split in a long line, spraying fresh blood.
Thud.
Landing on the ground, Un Geom turned his head with a tense expression.
“Well now, Mount Hua does have someone with some real skill after all, doesn’t it?”
Son Wol.
Holding short spears in both hands, he shook his head and approached Un Geom.
“If I kill you, this’ll be easy enough.”
“That’s my line.”
“Heh heh heh. These Daoist bastards really do have some impressive mouths.”
Blood vessels stood out in Son Wol’s eyes.
“I’ll shove a spear down that mouth of yours!”
The short spear spinning ferociously in his hand shot straight toward Un Geom’s chest.