The enemies flooded the riverside like a relentless wave.
A group of wildcats smelling blood? No, it would be more appropriate to say that they were a group of sharks that smelled blood.
Their eyes were filled with madness, and they roared with ferocious cries as they aimed for Namgung Sect's flesh.
The front lines faced off against each other. Driven to madness, these adversaries howled with screams resembling beasts more than humans as they relentlessly charged forward. Their sheer recklessness was enough to suffuse the hearts of those who were barely holding on with despair.
"Ka-haaaaa!"
The surging enemies finally leaped over Namgung Sect's heads. In an instant, the shadows they cast blotted out the sun, creating long, ominous silhouettes over Namgung Sect, as if foretelling their fate.
"Taaaaaaake!"
But those to face them were none other than Namgung Sect.
Even in this desperate situation, their instincts led them to find their way with their swords before thinking, as they struck down the enemies. Namgung Sect's' iron swords pierced through the enemies' bodies, and the spewing blood rained upon Namgung Sect as if it were a torrential downpour.
The feeling of hot blood splattering on their faces shook the blurry minds of the swordsmen. However, this was just the beginning.
"Kiiiiiiill them!"
"Stab their throats with spears!"
The enemies showed no regard for the blood spilled by their comrades and continued thrusting their spears in a relentless, frenzied onslaught.
The battlefield was dominated by madness. A person alone could not withstand the challenges of such a place. However, when the rough breath of another was heard behind, even thoughts of one's own death were forgotten.
Enemies clashed through the corpses and swords. A brutal and chaotic scene unfolded.
The battle was fierce.
Lonely figures were unable to move their swords to find the gaps in the enemy's defense due to the overwhelming momentum. Had they been at full strength, the situation might have been different, but Namgung Sect's swordsmen had already expended all their energy.
So...
Kwaddduk!
Sharp spears dug into their shoulders, pierced through their sides, and erupted from the other side.
"Urggh..."
A burning pain spread through their bodies, but the enemies did not grant the luxury of savoring a slow death.
Kwaduk! Kwaduk! Kwaduk!
The ravenous spears struck again and again, piercing through the collapsing bodies of the swordsmen. With dozens of holes in their flesh, the swordsmen could not remain upright and crumbled in place.
Suguck!
They violently shattered the swords that came down upon them, tearing at throats. However, the resisting spears recoiled and flicked the spears aside, stabbing their rib cages.
The front lines wavered as both forces began to intermingle chaotically.
"Maintain the front line! Dammit, we can't afford to let it get mixed up!"
Namgung Myung shouted as if he were vomiting blood.
Namgung Sect was outnumbered compared to the enemies. Each of their members was indeed a formidable master. However, this was not a martial arts stage. Regardless of their skills, in a battlefield, where cries and death loomed from all directions, how could one block the attacking spears flying at them from behind?
The moment the front lines crumbled, the total annihilation would be inevitable.
"Stop them! Stop them!"
Namgung Myung shouted while drawing his sword and rushing forward. He understood that this was not the time for giving orders from the rear; it was the time to lead and restore the fallen front lines himself.
As he moved, the elders who had been waiting also rushed forward in unison.
"Pa-a-a-a-ah!"
Swords swung like a hurricane.
"I won't let anyone pass here before killing me!"
"Come! You curs of the waterway!"
The elders were just as determined. The ones dying before them were none other than their sons, grandsons, and disciples. Despite the deaths of their loved ones, they clenched their teeth, and their swords finally had a chance to strike down the enemies.
"Ah-h-h-h!"
"Kuu, kuh-leuk! You... animals..."
However, the situation did not change as swiftly as they had hoped.
The peak experts had swept away a considerable number of enemies in one go, but the incoming enemies were so numerous that the difference remained minimal.
A crimson tinge appeared in Namgung Myung's eyes.
"If only it wasn't here."
If this place were not the empty wasteland of an island, the enemies might not have converged so drastically. But on this island, there was no place to hide, no place to lean on. The enemies were relentlessly closing in from all directions.
Every potential hiding place had been shattered by artillery fire. The only things left were the iron swords in their hands and the comrades leaning on their shoulders.
No, that wasn't all that was left to them.
"O-o-o-o-o-oh!"
With an ear-piercing battle cry, a dazzling white sword energy descended upon the enemies' heads like an artillery shell.
"Ah..."
The eyes of the enemies charging forward without turning back instantly glazed over. When their lost focus returned, their expressions shifted from madness to astonishment and fear.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The flying white sword energy swept through the enemies, crushing them. With just a single sword, nearly twenty enemies were obliterated, not even leaving proper corpses behind. The shattered sword energy on the ground didn't even leave a single drop of blood.
Kwaaaaaaah!
The shockwaves swept through the surroundings. The enemies were frozen in place, each showing signs of shock and fear in their eyes rather than madness.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The white sword energy descended again.
Namgung Myung's eyes turned bloodshot.
"What the hell is this...?"
"The Emperor's Sword!"
No one would recklessly confront the sword energy. However, the battlefield didn't give them time to realize the reality.
"Out of the way, you bastards!"
"Ughhhh!"
Due to their comrades crowding the front, those who hadn't properly witnessed the sword energy's majesty pushed forward while trampling on the ones who had frozen in place.
Kwaaaaaaah!
Once again, the white sword energy was unleashed.
Sword Emperor Namgung Hwang.
He was exhausted beyond measure. But his sword clearly demonstrated why he was known as the Sword Emperor.
"Dieeee!"
However, he was just one person. Ant-like enemies were coming at him from all directions. His sword felt too short, and his body too small to stop them all.
"Hyaaaaah!"
Namgung Hwang erupted in a frenzied shout.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaaah!
Whenever the sword swung, it unleashed a tempestuous wave of sword energy.
"Heukryong-waaaaaah!"
A crimson tint filled Namgung Hwang's eyes.
"Do all your subordinates have to die before you act? You coward! You dare to call yourself the King of the Yangtze River? The world will mock you!"
The content was filled with both mockery and urgency. It was a desperate attempt to taunt and provoke the Black Dragon King.
However, the Black Dragon King remained unmoved. He merely smiled disdainfully and watched Namgung Hwang's rampage like a wolf running amok among sheep.
"Ugh..."
Despite being within a distance where they could lock eyes, Namgung Hwang couldn't charge at the owner of those eyes. He sensed that if he withdrew from this place, the Namgung Sect would be completely wiped out, regardless of their duel.
"Uaaaaaaah!"
Namgung Hwang cut through the waist of an approaching enemy, splitting him in two. Gushing intestines and blood drenched his entire body.
The heat and the pungent smell stimulated every sense.
In the midst of the battlefield, Namgung Hwang screamed and screamed.
He was dying.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
His disciples.
They were dying.
"Kraaaaaah!"
His family.
Overwhelming casualty ratios. For every Namgung who died, more than ten enemies perished. His performance was worthy of the name Namgung Sect.
But who could be happy about it?
Who would willingly exchange their death for their enemies' deaths?
"You bastards!"
In Namgung Hwang's eyes, his son Namgung Dowi could be seen, shedding tears of blood and mowing down enemies.
His son's sword was fast and robust. It had a distinct radiance even amidst despair, the light that Namgung had always pursued.
But...
'Even that sword will fall here.'
In Namgung Hwang's eyes, finally, hot tears flowed.
Even if his arm was severed, even if a dagger was stabbed into his heart, there had never been tears in the eyes of this man. But in the face of the dying disciples, and the cruel fate that had been determined for their clan, even he was just a frail human being.
Everything was his fault.
Everything was his sin.
If he could save even one more person, he would willingly turn his entire body into dust and suffer in hell for thousands of years. However, the heavens did not give him the chance for such a sacrifice.
His life seemed too insignificant. The blood of the enemies and Namgung's blood mixed on the ground. While they were different in life, in death, they were just lifeless corpses.
"Ugh, ughhh!"
"Please, not anymore!"
They crumbled. Even though they had been fighting courageously in the face of death, their will couldn't overcome the fear of the arrows that kept targeting them and the death of their comrades right beside them. One by one, they began to retreat, tears streaming down their faces.
"Don't retreat!"
"Hold your ground! Please, please!"
Namgung Dowi and Namgung Myung's shouts intertwined, echoing desperately across the sky of Hwahado.
In their final moments, they wanted to die without disgrace. But the death they faced was far from romantic.
Name? Fame? Dignity?
What good were those when faced with death, let alone the deaths of comrades standing right beside them?
They just wanted to live, even for a moment more. If it meant using a comrade as a shield in their place, even for a fleeting moment...
"Ugh... Ughhhh!"
Filled with anger and despair, a lion's roar erupted from Namgung Hwang's mouth. His presence was like a tiger standing among wolves with sharp fangs. Even the wolves, with their sharp teeth, dared not confront the tiger.
But on this vast battlefield, there were limits to what one tiger could do.
Paeaaaang!
A head that had flown from somewhere landed at Namgung Hwang's feet.
"..."
Namgung Hwang didn't have the heart to look at the severed head. Thick tears mixed with blood flowed from his chest.
"Yeah. Let's all die here."
He clenched his teeth and released all of his power. If he was going to die anyway, he would take even one enemy with him. There was no room for hope.
"Ugh..."
But at that moment...
An unbelievable shout reached Namgung Hwang's ears.
"Uwaaaaah! They're here! They've come!"
He anxiously turned his gaze to where the sound was coming from.
"Shaolin! Shaolin has arrived! Shaolin is here!"
Shaolin?
The news spread like a miracle, and the eyes of the Namgung Sect's disciples, who had been falling, were filled with astonishment and joy. They all checked the opposite side of the river with desperate expressions.
"Ah... Ahhh..."
"Ugh... ughhhhhh!"
"For heaven's sake! They're here! Reinforcements have come!"
The moment the group standing on the opposite side of the river, wearing the yellow uniforms of the Shaolin, was confirmed, the warriors of Namgung Sect shouted with all their might.
"Shaolin has come to help!"
"Hold on! Hold on!"
"You damn enemy bastards! I'll kill all of you!"
Shaolin's appearance was a source of joy for the Namgung Sect, but it brought despair to the Su Lo Chae.
"Shaolin?"
"Shaolin has come?"
Even the enemies had eyes, so they quickly regained their senses when they saw Sorim on the other side.
"Why... Why Shaolin..."
"Darn it!"
They understood too. For ordinary people, the river was too wide, but they were the warriors of Shaolin. If they set their minds to it, they could easily cross the river and join the battle on Plum Blossom Island.
The movements of the enemy faltered for a moment.
Confusion and chaos continued to engulf Plum Blossom Island.
"Bangjang!"
"Ugh."
Beopjeong clenched his lips and nodded, chewing on them.
"It's not too late! Well... it's a little late, but not too late to change the course!"
If even a part of their forces had been late, there would be no one left alive on the other side. If they could save half of their forces, they might still have a chance of victory!
"Bangjang! There's no time to waste!"
"Right!"
A mighty lion's roar erupted from Beopjeong's lips.
"Disciples, charge! Cross the river and support the Namgung Family! Drive away those vile enemy forces on the island!"
"Yes!"
Beopjeong's yellow robe fluttered in the blowing wind.
"We've won this time!"
Beopjeong clenched his fists.
This battle was originally a race to see who would arrive first. If they had already arrived here, the outcome was as good as decided. No matter how formidable Su Lo Chae was, they couldn't take on both Shaolin and Namgung at the same time.
The Namgung Sect's condition didn't matter. Shaolin could face Su Lo Chae alone. Just by tying them down to the island, Namgung had fulfilled his role.
"Now, go and defeat the evildoers!"
Beopjeong was about to let out a triumphant cry when...
He flinched.
The shout he was about to make was interrupted, and he quickly raised his voice.
"Stop! Everyone, stop right there!"
The Shaolin monks who were about to jump into the river turned around in surprise at the urgent voice coming from behind.
"Bangjang?"
Beopgye questioned Beopjeong with a puzzled expression. Why would they have time to delay now?
"...Bangjang?"
But when Beopgye saw Beopjeong's face, he was taken aback. Beopjeong was pale and seemed to be looking at something in horror, as if he had suddenly come face to face with a ghost.
"Why are you...?"
"Ah, Amitabha..."
Beopjeong's voice trembled terribly.
"Why... Why! Why!"
Immediately, anger welled up in him as he stared at the desperate man who had suddenly started moaning and groaning.
"Captain!"
"Ugh..."
Beopjeong's flimsy answer seemed to confirm something.
"Why is this happening...?"
Suddenly, Beopgye slowly turned his head, as though he had figured something out. His gaze was directed upstream of the river, where Beopjeong had been glaring earlier.
"Ah..."
Finally, Beopgye began to see it too.
A massive fleet, gradually revealing itself as it traveled along the curved river.
"Ugh..."
There was no way they could have seen it wrong. They couldn't ignore it.
They had to confirm with their own eyes.
Among the dozens of ships that had just revealed themselves, the largest one at the front. And the figure of a man at the helm.
There was no way they wouldn't recognize him. How could they forget that figure? Anyone who had seen that person even once would never be able to forget.
"Well, it seems they've worked hard."
Beopgye's voice quivered as he spoke.
"Jang... il... so..."
Paegun Jang Ilso.
Jang Ilso, who was at the forefront of the advancing fleet towards Mount Hua, looked at the Shaolin monks lined up along the riverbank and raised the corner of his mouth.
"Oh dear. You all have run so diligently."
He covered his face with a hand adorned with various rings and let out a mischievous smile.
"Why? What did you expect? Hahaha! Ahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Jang Ilso's laughter, filled with delight and madness, made even the river itself fall silent.