It Is Not Reliance, But Walking Together (2)
397
397. It Is Not Relying on One Another, but Walking Together. (2)
'Damn it, is that the Righteous Sword of Mount Hua?'
The one who had brought down that Red-Slash Blade.
It seemed he had only just arrived at Mount Hua.
Yado’s face hardened noticeably.
Of course, just because a few brats like that had joined the battle, it wasn’t as if the tide had reversed completely—but…
'This isn’t over.'
If the Righteous Sword of Mount Hua had arrived now, that meant all the Mount Hua disciples stationed in Xi'an were on their way back. He had heard there were quite a few of them.
If they all made it here, it was obvious the battle would become even more unfavorable than it already was.
"Haaah!"
Suddenly panicked, Yado swung his saber straight at Hyun Jong.
'I have to reduce their numbers!'
Winning didn’t simply mean having more people standing at the end.
If you defeated the enemy but suffered enormous losses doing so, that was only a matter of surviving longer; it could hardly be called a true victory.
Their cohesion exceeded the kind of sect unity Yado knew by a wide margin. That would normally be a tremendous strength, but if that was the case, then…
'If someone like the Sect Leader falls, the shock will be huge!'
The saber, packed with terrifying force, came crashing down on Hyun Jong.
Kwaaaang!
Hyun Jong reflexively raised his sword and barely managed to block the ambush. But he couldn’t fully withstand the force behind the saber and lost his balance, tumbling backward.
"Die! Old man!"
The saber flew mercilessly toward Hyun Jong’s throat, left vulnerable for an instant.
But then—
Kaaaang!
Another sword, which had somehow cut in at the perfect moment, blocked it.
"…You’d better watch that mouth of yours."
Without even glancing anywhere else, Baek Cheon had rushed over and thrown himself in front of Hyun Jong. His face was ice-cold as he snapped at Yado.
"Before I tear it clean off."
"…You little brat?"
Without replying, Baek Cheon poured his internal energy into the sword locked against the saber.
Thoom!
"Ghk!"
Thrown back by the force blasting out from the blade, Yado immediately lowered his stance and sharpened his focus.
'This bastard.'
He wasn’t weak.
At the very least, his internal energy wasn’t at the level of an ordinary junior disciple. The force that had bored into his wrist made it tingle numbly.
'So he really did bring down that Red-Slash Blade.'
It didn’t seem like he’d simply gotten lucky.
But unlike the wary Yado, Baek Cheon first helped Hyun Jong to his feet.
"I’m sorry, Sect Leader. I was too late."
"Baek Cheon…"
Looking at the wounds covering Hyun Jong’s entire body, Baek Cheon bit his lip hard once more.
If I’d been just a little later…
They were the kind of wounds that could easily have killed a person from blood loss. Just imagining what would have happened if he’d arrived later sent a chill down his spine.
Something began to boil in the pit of his stomach.
"From here on, I’ll handle him."
"It’s too dangerous. I…"
"Sect Leader, please rest. If anything were to happen to you, then even if we live, it won’t be any kind of life worth calling living."
"…"
Hyun Jong quietly nodded.
"I understand."
"Please tend to your wounds and lead the disciples."
With that, Baek Cheon stepped squarely in front of Hyun Jong.
Hyun Jong silently watched his back.
When did this child grow so much?
He had known they were becoming stronger. But the emotion welling up in Hyun Jong now wasn’t caused solely by Baek Cheon’s physical strength.
It was the realization that the boy he had once seen as someone who needed to be guided had, before he knew it, become a proud swordsman in his own right—someone now supporting him.
Even knowing this was not the time for it, strange, unnamed feelings flooded his chest until it felt almost too full to bear.
But Yado, watching all this, was far from pleased.
"You dare say you’ll take me on?"
Baek Cheon pointed his unsheathed sword at him and said coldly, "Do I have a reason not to?"
"A pup that doesn’t know how scary a tiger is."
"No."
"…What?"
Baek Cheon smirked.
"I’m the tiger cub. You’re just a dog. You may be bigger and stronger, but at the end of the day, you’re still a dog."
Yado stared at him, momentarily dumbfounded.
He was tossing out insane insults so smoothly it was as if he were reciting poetry.
"Is there not a single sane person in Mount Hua?"
"Normally, yes. You’re the one who drove me insane."
Baek Cheon ground his teeth.
"You put a blade to the Sect Leader’s body, so you’d better not even dream of dying cleanly, you bastard!"
"Th—"
Before Yado could fire back, Baek Cheon lunged at him without another word.
His face was furious, his momentum explosive, but in stark contrast, the swordwork he drew was razor-sharp and precise.
'Damn it!'
Deflecting Baek Cheon’s blade as it shot straight for his throat, Yado felt his body grow cold.
'Maybe today’s got more bad luck than good.'
Clenching his jaw, Yado met the relentless sword strikes head-on.
"Amitabha."
"…"
Dokhyulsu’s expression hardened as he looked at Hye Yeon, who had stepped in front of Hyun Sang.
"Shaolin?"
"My name is Hye Yeon."
"Why is Shaolin helping Mount Hua?"
"What a strange question."
Hye Yeon quietly shook his head.
"Why would helping someone require a reason? One simply follows where the heart leads. And more than that…"
The eyes of the ordinarily calm, gentle-looking Hye Yeon slowly sank into a cool, hard stillness.
"When stopping someone whose entire body reeks so strongly of blood, even less reason is needed."
"How old-fashioned."
Dokhyulsu licked his lips with the tip of his tongue.
Hye Yeon.
That was the name of the one Shaolin had poured its heart and soul into raising. The champion of the Alliance Martial Arts Tournament, and the man who would one day become Shaolin’s abbot.
"If you die here, Shaolin will weep blood."
"Amitabha. Such a thing will not happen."
Hye Yeon’s voice remained utterly calm. And yet his fingertips trembled faintly.
Calm yourself.
Even for Hye Yeon, this was his first real battlefield. The murderous intent and stench of blood pressing in from the start were shaking his composure.
His gaze instinctively searched for someone.
"…Amitabha."
After briefly taking in someone’s back, his expression softened noticeably as he turned to face Dokhyulsu again.
"You are too far away."
"…What the hell are you talking about?"
Hye Yeon let out a soft breath.
I have trained my entire life for unshakable composure, and yet I cannot keep my heart steady even for something so small.
And yet the person he was trying to follow maintained an ice-cold serenity even in a situation like this.
Thinking once more of Chung Myung’s back, etched vividly into his mind, Hye Yeon quietly settled into his stance.
Coming to Mount Hua was the right choice.
What he had been looking for was definitely here.
Now all that remained was…
"To see for myself how far I can keep up!"
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
"Come."
Thud!
Hye Yeon stomped down hard, and golden sword qi surged up from both his fists.
"P-put it down, you brat!"
"Stay still."
"I’m not done—!"
"Stay still. Please."
Hyun Sang’s face twisted with pain. But he had no strength left to resist. The poison already spreading through his body had blackened him all the way up to the heart.
"Iseol!"
"Don’t get excited. The poison will spread."
Yu I-seol, carrying Hyun Sang on her back as if subduing him, raced across the battlefield. The visible wounds on Hyun Jong were worse, but the one in truly dire danger was Hyun Sang.
No one else had noticed, but Yu I-seol had identified it exactly.
She kicked off the ground and leaped forward, finally landing in front of Dang Soso.
"Sago!"
Dang Soso cried out, tears soaking her face as she looked at Yu I-seol. But Yu I-seol remained expressionless as she spoke in short, clipped words.
"Soso."
"Yes, Sago!"
"Antidote."
Dang Soso nodded hard.
"Can you do it?"
"Who do you think I am?"
Dang Soso clenched her fist tightly.
She was a daughter of the Tang Family of Sichuan. She was the descendant of a family unrivaled in all the world when it came to handling poison.
For a family that mastered poison, detoxification came naturally.
She had not been taught poison because she was a woman, but she was confident no one was better than her at antidotes.
"Lay him down over here!"
At Dang Soso’s words, Yu I-seol laid Hyun Sang on the ground.
As Hyun Sang opened his mouth as if to say something, Yu I-seol quietly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Elder."
"…Iseol."
"Believe us."
"…"
In the end, Hyun Sang quietly nodded. Only then did Yu I-seol release his shoulder and rise.
Hyun Sang slowly turned his head to the side. Un Geom’s unconscious body came clearly into view.
"…Geom."
His lips pressed tightly together, and a violent tremor passed through Hyun Sang’s eyes.
"Soso. Unggeomni…"
"He won’t die."
"…"
"He won’t go back to the world of the dead. That’s what Senior Brother said. He said he absolutely wouldn’t die!"
At that, the corners of Hyun Sang’s eyes turned red.
To say he wouldn’t die meant, in another form, that there was a very real chance he might.
He wanted to reach out, to grab that fool’s body, to pat him comfortingly—but he couldn’t. It was not possible to touch him while poisoned.
Un Geom… you stubborn fool.
He didn’t know what to think.
The man had stood stubbornly at the front of his disciples and taken wounds severe enough to threaten his life.
As a teacher, should he praise that sort of devotion? Or should he be angry?
At last, tears Hyun Sang had been holding back filled his eyes.
"Well done. You did well… truly well, you idiot."
He should have been a little more selfish…
Looking at the pale, motionless Un Geom, Hyun Sang turned his head back toward the battlefield and muttered,
"Look, Un Geom."
The disciples you raised and protected are defending Mount Hua now.
Right here, right now.
Kwaaaang!
The sword that had violently sent the saber flying in one blow suddenly turned supple, almost flowing, and then began scattering brilliant plum blossom sword qi.
"Damn it!"
"What the hell kind of bastards are these!"
The Maninbang fighters, their whole bodies smeared in blood from the fluttering plum petals, retreated in alarm.
But the one who had unleashed the sword qi had no intention of letting them escape. His eyes flashed fiercely.
"Where do you think you’re running, you bastards!"
Jo Gul shouted at the top of his lungs and sprang after them.
But in that instant—
"Hold your ground!"
At the roar erupting from behind him, Jo Gul flinched and hastily drew back the foot he had stepped forward with.
Glancing back, he saw Yoon Jong glaring at him with a face colder than he had ever seen from him before.
"What matters is not killing the enemy?"
"N-no, Senior Brother!"
"Is it fine if your sect brothers die while you’ve abandoned your post?"
"No!"
"Then hold your ground! You have to be the one to block the front!"
"Yes, sir!"
Jo Gul steadied himself again and forced strength into his lower body.
Even then, Yoon Jong’s sword cut through the air like a streak of light.
"Aaaagh!"
It pierced straight through the shoulder of a Maninbang swordsman who had been pressing another Mount Hua disciple.
With Jo Gul firmly holding the front and Yoon Jong supporting from behind, the two had found their positions naturally, even though no one had explicitly told them to do it.
"Don’t get excited. Don’t let your guard down either. Cool your head! Keep it cold!"
"Yes!"
Jo Gul gripped his sword and stared ahead.
Yoon Jong was usually the softest among Baek Cheon’s group, but seeing his sect brothers spill blood had unleashed a momentum Jo Gul had never seen before.
He was obeyed without a peep because of that force alone.
In terms of pure skill, Jo Gul was definitely stronger than Yoon Jong. From the very beginning he had been stronger, and now it would be no exaggeration to say the gap had widened enough to be clearly visible.
And yet—
"Sasuk! Fall back to the rear!"
"A-alright!"
Even the Baek generation moved without complaint at Yoon Jong’s shout. No matter how many times he died and came back to life, Jo Gul would never have been able to create that kind of scene.
As expected, Senior Brother is Senior Brother.
That was why Yoon Jong could become the one who led Mount Hua in the future, while Jo Gul would only be the one supporting him from the side.
But so what?
"Gul!"
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
Jo Gul’s blazing eyes locked onto the rushing Maninbang swordsmen.
Then his sword painted the air like a streak of light.
This suits me better anyway!
If Yoon Jong and Baek Cheon led Mount Hua, then Jo Gul would be its blade.
The sharpest blade in Mount Hua.
That was the road Jo Gul intended to walk.
Yes. Just like…
Jo Gul’s gaze briefly followed Chung Myung’s back as he strode toward the wall.
"Alone?"
"Enough."
At Heoksi’s brief question, Chung Myung gave a brief answer of his own.
"…Doesn’t look like things in the rear are all that easy, though."
Chung Myung’s eyes flicked backward.
Everyone was fighting enemies stronger than themselves. Until the people led by Hyun Young arrived from Xi'an, they would likely have to keep up this grueling battle.
But…
"Enough."
His voice was firm.
"I didn’t raise them weak. And besides…"
Chung Myung’s eyes landed on Baek Cheon’s group.
"…these days I can’t even handle everything myself."
The tiger cubs had all grown up and were starting to bare their teeth. It wouldn’t hurt to let them loose a little here.
"And."
Chung Myung looked at Heoksi.
"I’m not stupid enough to unleash a pack of jackals in a place like this."
He could tell instinctively.
The ones before him were dangerous. If he let these kinds of bastards loose on the battlefield, there would be a huge number of casualties.
They were not like ordinary brutes. The blood odor clinging to them was enough to summon memories of another time long past.
"Can’t argue with that. I’ve never had any taste for those guys either. I can’t understand killing someone so easily."
The corner of Heoksi’s mouth, hidden beneath black wrappings, twisted grotesquely.
"Death should be savored a little more slowly."
At that, Chung Myung bared his teeth in a grin.
"Well, that’s a relief."
"…What’s that supposed to mean?"
Heoksi’s smiling face hardened just a touch.
By contrast, Chung Myung’s smile deepened.
"I like bastards like you too."
Because I can kill you without hesitation.
The man once called the demon of the Demonic Sect.
Chung Myung, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint, radiated a bleak, murderous energy as he stared down the Black Claw Unit.
That dense, chilling killing intent made Heoksi speak before he realized it.
"…Are you really a Daoist?"
"Of course."
Chung Myung grinned with bared teeth.
"Killing trash like you is exactly what a Daoist should do. I was getting sick of pretending to be a good guy anyway. So let’s get started. Whether you die or I do."
With everything he had held back until now released all at once, Chung Myung let out a horrifying smile and shot toward the Black Claw Unit.