"Sect Leader!"
Heo Sanja's face turned pale as he gazed down from the pinnacle of Tianzhu Peak, the steeply rising peak, and the Wudang Sect's building, which stood like a fortress wall.
"That, that…."
His hand, hidden within 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 Wudang Mountain. Naturally, looking down from here provides a panoramic view of Wudang Mountain.
The familiar landscape of the grey cliffs tinged with yellow, the green pine trees, and the white clouds floating by now had a new, unfamiliar color spreading over it.
Beneath the green hue of the evergreen trees covering Wudang Mountain, a red color, that had never been there before was rising like flames. And from that spot, black smoke began to billow up like dark clouds.
Heo Sanja stood as if in a dream, staring blankly. The ever-green Wudang Mountain was being stained red, like blood seeping into white fabric.
"Fire, there's a fire."
The faces of the elders watching alongside him turned pale as well. None of them had imagined this. That anyone would dare set Wudang Mountain on fire.
"What… what is happening? The ambush? What about the ambush?"
"How can you say that? What use is an ambush in this situation? The trees will all burn, and even the grass will be reduced to ash. How can we hide on a barren, blackened mountain? We must retreat immediately!"
"But if we do that..."
The elder could not finish his sentence.
Both the speaker and the listener knew. If the pine forest that had guarded Wudang vanished, if the dense forest that concealed the deep valleys and natural caves disappeared, this place would become just another moderately high mountain.
And to 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, mustn't we?"
"But how?"
"We must do something! Carry water! Dig the ground to prevent the fire from spreading! Do something…!"
Various desperate cries came from all directions, but Heo Sanja's eyes did not leave the rapidly growing flames. They were approaching Wudang as if to ravage it like the tongues of a demon.
After a long while, Heo Sanja spoke as if in a daze.
"How... how can it be this fast?"
"Sect Leader?"
"How…."
Heo Sanja's lips trembled.
Although they hadn't anticipated a fire attack, it wasn't an entirely unexpected tactic, upon reflection.
Even though this was a war among martial artists and not an ordinary battle, a war was still a war. A fire attack was always a possible strategy.
But what was shocking to 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 a fire attack, yet it seemed like the entire world was being engulfed in flames.
A mountain typically extends for hundreds of miles from a small point at its peak. Yet now, the boundaries of Wudang, connecting to the earth, were entirely ablaze.
It was as if a giant, fiery rope had wrapped around Wudang Mountain.
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.
"My God…."
His heart felt like it was being strangled.
It was as if that fiery red flame were tightening around Wudang.
❀ ❀ ❀
"Set it ablaze, you bastards! Don't wait for the fire to spread; burn everything down now!"
A man holding a large saber yelled until his voice cracked. Those carrying burning torches ran out in all directions, wildly thrusting the flaming sticks into any dry wood they could find.
"Cover everything in oil! Gather dry leaves to use as kindling. If there's nothing left to burn, then burn your clothes! Set everything on fire!"
Whooosh!
At that moment, a dry wind blew across the mountain, fanning the flames into a great blaze. The intense heat forced those running forward to instinctively retreat in fear.
Noticing this, the man wielding the large saber grabbed one of them by the scruff of the neck with a rough hand, his voice booming fiercely.
"What are you doing? Why are you retreating? Can't you see there's still an unburnt area ahead?"
"I see it! But the wind is making the flames."
"What about the flames? Are you afraid of getting burned? Huh?"
Crunch!
The saber dug about an inch into the back of the man being held.
"Choose. Would you rather burn to death or have a hole blown in your back?"
"Hee, heek!"
"Why? Should I make the choice for you?"
At those words, everyone, filled with fear, rushed forward. The hot air choked their breaths, and the swirling flames seemed ready to scorch their bodies black, but they were more afraid of the gleaming sword at their backs.
The man holding the broadsword shouted once more with a booming voice.
"Anyone who retreats dies by my sword! Set the fire quickly! Burn everything in sight until nothing remains! Hurry!"
A giant, long mountain range stretching out from Mount Wudang. The same scene was unfolding in various places there.
"Ahhh! Fire! Fire...!"
Some, driven by courage, recklessness, or sheer 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 too well that they might be caught in the flames if they made the wrong move.
The trees, not yet completely dried, were engulfed in rough flames, spewing out thick smoke. The surroundings were turning hazy. The flames emitted heat that seemed to melt the skin and smoke that felt like it would suffocate.
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!"
❀ ❀ ❀
Despair approached with every passing moment.
The spread of the flames was bizarre. It wasn't like a tidal wave rushing in nor a landslide pouring down.
In places deemed safe from the flames, small red spots suddenly appeared, which then fiercely engulfed 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 shock as he turned around.
Just moments ago, the fiery demon had clearly been attacking from a distance ahead. The flames had not yet reached their feet.
But somehow, fire had begun to sprout behind them. The flames hadn't spread this far yet.
"What should we do? Should we retreat?"
"M-maybe an ambush...?"
"Sahyung! If we stay here, we'll all die! We need to retreat!"
Mu Kyung's urging made Jinwi's face turn pale. He couldn't understand what was happening.
He didn't realize that those burning to death were not simply watching the encroaching flames but were being caught off guard.
Flames appeared suddenly from behind, and as they ran forward, more unexpected flames sprang up ahead. Panicking and losing direction, they soon found themselves surrounded by flames on all sides.
Even those who had lived their whole lives in the mountains couldn't have known this. In fact, precisely because they had lived in the mountains all their lives, they had never experienced such a devastating wildfire.
"Sahyung!"
"We... we retreat! For now, we withdraw, and then we'll wait for further orders."
Jinwi had no other choice.
They were there to ambush those targeting Wudang. But now, it wasn't 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.
So, Jinwi's decision was not a bad one.
However, the unfortunate truth was that their enemies still lurked, waiting for a chance to strike.
"Let's go! We need to get out of here."
As Jinwi rose from his hiding spot in the bushes, several enemies burst through the raging flames ahead. The terrifying roars drowned out the crackling sound of the burning forest.
Those emerging from the flames saw Jinwi's group and immediately launched their attack.
"Defend yourselves!"
Jinwi gritted his teeth and drew his Song-moon sword. No sooner had he pointed his sword than Mu Kyung shouted urgently.
"Sahyung! But the flames are closing in!"
"If we retreat now, we'll die even faster! Fight! We must fight now!"
"The flames are closing in! Damn it! If we delay, we'll all burn to death!"
Their ambush group consisted of only three, but all were skilled Wudang swordsmen. They shouldn't have been overwhelmed by the twenty or so Evil Sect members.
But the encroaching 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, an Evil Sect member's sword rushed towards Jinwi's disciple's back. Jinwi instinctively extended his sword to block it.
At that moment, several other swords pierced through Jinwi's abdomen.
Crunch!
"Ugh!"
Jin Wi slowly turned his gaze to the ones who had pierced his stomach. The Evil Sect members, emerging through the flames, were exhaling white smoke from their bodies, looking at him with triumphant faces.
"Ah, ahhhhh!"
Jin Wi swung his sword in a flash, beheading the three Evil Sect members who had embedded their swords in his stomach. Jin Mun urgently shouted.
" Sahyung!"
"Argh!"
As the sword was pulled out, a dry cough erupted from Jin Wi's mouth. Thankfully, no blood came out, indicating that his internal organs were not damaged. The internal energy he had hastily gathered managed to push the sword out.
But that was all. The fact that he had sustained injuries didn't change.
'Retreat. We must retreat...'
Just as Jin Wi tried to steady his staggering body,
"Haahhhhh!"
"Kill them all!"
The pine trees, engulfed in red flames, swayed violently, and dozens more Evil Sect members poured out with fierce shouts. They came from all directions—front, back, and sides—leaving no place untouched.
Jin Wi's eyes momentarily lost focus and wavered.
"Brother!"
"Fight! We must open a path!"
"There are too many enemies! We need to retreat first!"
"Stop whining and lift your sword! If we don't break through, we'll die! We must open 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" doesn't suit them. It must not.
"Fight, ahhhhh!"
Jin Wi let out a desperate roar.
However, his spirited shout was soon drowned out by the noise created by the fire demon, leaving no trace behind.