T/N ~ I chose to use Chivalrous sword for this chapter. I thought it fit better.
The taut air felt as if it would tear the skin apart at any moment.
Paegun and Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword.
Two people, entirely different in every way, bared their teeth at each other without yielding an inch. The clash of their formidable killing intent was so overwhelming that even the Honggyeon members, who bore the fears of the world, didn't dare to exhale.
At any moment, Chung Myung's sword could be drawn, and Jang Ilso's energy could pierce Chung Myung's heart.
It became clear. No matter how leisurely they shared drinks, these two could never coexist. One must die for the other to finally put an end to it.
In the midst of that intense collision of murderous intent that felt like it would burst hearts, Jang Ilso's mouth opened first.
"Do you think that baseless belief?"
"...."
"Can actually change anything?"
"...."
"Answer me, Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword."
Chung Myung, who had been facing Jang Ilso's sneering face, turned his gaze. Calmly, even in the presence of Jang Ilso, feared by all.
And his gaze landed on none other than Wudang.
The burning Wudang Mountain.
* * *
"Aaaaaagh!"
"Sahyuuuuung!"
Screams are always tragic.
But if that scream belongs to a loved one, mere tragedy isn't enough to describe it.
Crack!
Mu Jin gritted his teeth so hard that it felt like they would break.
Jin So's body, pierced by the enemy's sword, convulsed. That much was bearable. After all, everyone here had resigned themselves to death.
But the ensuing carnage was too horrific to endure with mere resignation.
Swish!
Thud!
The swinging blade repeatedly slashed Jin So's body. Jin So's body, unable to channel internal energy, couldn't withstand the brutal attacks. His limbs were severed as if dismembered, scattering everywhere.
"Aaaaaaaaagh!"
It wasn't just Mu Jin. Every disciple of Wudang who witnessed the scene let out beastly roars, swinging their swords in fury.
They were human, after all. Even if they were enemies, they were still humans in disguise. How could one be so cruel to another human?
Striking at the body of the deceased, mocking and killing the wounded—it was a world of cruelty the Wudang sword masters had never known in their lifetime of training.
"You damned bastards! Aaaaaagh!"
"Senior! Don't lose your composure... Sahyung!"
The body of the one who lost his temper and swung his sword was pierced by a spear.
"Ugh..."
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Multiple weapons impaled the one whose abdomen was pierced. Even after turning the body into rags, the relentless blades continued to tear apart the falling body.
Where was the dignity?
Where was the nobility?
'No....'
Mu Jin bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
Their choice to fight here was never wrong. Even if asked to choose again, Mu Jin would unhesitatingly pick this path.
But it's different. This battle is different from what he imagined.
There's no nobility in risking one's life to protect honor, no tragic heroism in dying gloriously for the martial world.
What exists here is mere cruelty. Cruelty and wretchedness that no words of praise could ever encapsulate.
Did those who died ever imagine their end would look like this? Could they have fought, knowing this would be their end?
"Hold your positions! Don't break formation! You know we can't get excited!"
A shout came from somewhere.
The same words. The same words they'd always heard. But everyone who heard the voice now knew. The voice carried a different anxiety and fear than before.
It wasn't about the advantage of fighting without breaking formation. It was that breaking formation meant certain death for everyone. Death so miserable, they couldn't even leave proper corpses.
"Aaaaaaagh!"
Another life reached its end.
More Evil Tyrant Alliance soldiers climbed the White Rock Cliffs, while Wudang disciples fell one by one. It was becoming harder and harder to hold on.
Everyone must have sensed it. What the outcome of this battle would be.
Maybe it would become a legend. That all the Wudang disciples stood against the evil forces, defending Wudang and dying on the White Rock Cliffs. One line of writing to commemorate them might be considered worthwhile.
But....
'Were they really here?'
Mu Jin's heart filled with sorrow.
Was the honor they sought to protect, the glory they wanted to preserve, and the pride and dignity they clung to in their final moments really here?
Was that pride really worth all their lives? Was there anything in this world worth protecting through such horrendous deaths?
"Aaaaaagh!"
A sword pierced the chest of a comrade who was like family. Those inhuman monsters grinned as they saw the death. Mu Jin's sword was too powerless to stop the dreadful scene.
Mu Jin's hand holding the sword trembled.
Maybe it wasn't those monsters who created this scene. Maybe his own recklessness, his stubbornness, had created this hell.
That realization... that reality filled Mu Jin's eyes with a blurry mist.
* * *
"Faith is a fine word."
Jang Ilso downed the drink in his glass and placed it down with a clatter. A sneering smile played on his lips.
"But it's also another word for irresponsibility."
"...."
"Do you understand?"
The sneer in his eyes pierced Chung Myung.
"Those truly capable don't talk about faith. They do what's possible and make things possible. They don't mix half-baked hopes into their plans."
Jang Ilso's gaze turned to the barely breathing Heo Dojinjin.
"That fool over there is the same."
"...."
"Isn't it ridiculous?"
Jang Ilso chuckled and shook his head.
"Even so, that guy knew how to make decisions. If he hadn't made that choice at the Yangtze River, more people would have died. But... isn't it strange that such a person is now doing something so absurd? It's as if he became a fool in just a few years."
Chung Myung silently glared at Jang Ilso.
"Do you know what he said?"
"...."
"He said he couldn't stop his disciples. He couldn't break their will. Hahaha!"
Jang Ilso exaggeratedly spread his arms.
"Look. This is the result. It's a tragedy created by someone who lost his principles because of that nonsense."
"...."
Chung Myung's eyes turned to Heo Dojinjin, who seemed on the verge of death, but his body still twitched slightly, indicating he could hear Jang Ilso's words.
"If you truly want to accomplish something, you should take responsibility. Instead of immature courage, you should hold on to cold reason. Those who can't even do that end up like..."
Jang Ilso's hand hung loosely.
"...like that."
Jang Ilso shook his head slowly.
"And now... you're saying the same things as that pig. This is beyond disappointing."
Chung Myung, who had been silently watching Heo Dojinjin, casually picked up a bottle and poured wine into Jang Ilso's empty glass.
The sound of pouring filled the silence.
After filling the glass, Chung Myung set the bottle down and stared directly at Jang Ilso.
"If you're done talking, drink."
"...."
Their gazes clashed briefly in midair.
Jang Ilso, still staring at Chung Myung, reached out and emptied his glass again. Chung Myung then slowly spoke.
"You said that another word for trust is irresponsibility."
"...Right."
"I'm a little different."
"...."
"I call trust..."
In an unwavering voice, Chung Myung continued.
"...desperation."
* * *
"Raise your swords!"
A roar like that of a beast echoed over Baekanan.
Heo Gong shouted at the top of his lungs.
"There is no time for despair! If you can't swing your sword, it's not you who will die, but your sahyung!"
His sword pierced through the throats and chests of the approaching Evil Tyrant Alliance fighters.
"Regret and despair are for the living! Don't forget why you hold your swords! Don't fight for your own lives! Your sahyung's life depends on your sword!"
Mu Jin's eyes wavered.
And at that moment, something suddenly surged up before his eyes.
A blue-honed blade and the vibrant energy enveloping it froze Mu Jin's body.
'Too late.'
Kaaang.
Before he could close his eyes, Mu Jin saw a sword from the side deflecting the incoming blade.
"Sasuk! Are you okay?"
"...."
What Mu Jin saw was not the sword of Jin Hyun that saved him, but the shoulder of Jin Hyun, cut by the enemy's blade as he tried to save Mu Jin.
The blood splattering from it stung Mu Jin's eyes.
"Not yet! Not yet!"
Mu Jin's face twisted like a demon's.
'I...'
What sentimental thoughts had he been indulging in?
Heo Gong was right. If he faltered, it wasn't just him who would die. His sword carried more than just his life.
"Uwaaaaah!"
Mu Jin's sword swung with overwhelming force.
"Sasuk!"
Where the clear blue energy swept out, white and black energy followed.
Mu Jin's unleashed energy swept through the charging Evil Tyrant Alliance fighters.
Agonizing screams burst out.
The overwhelming force momentarily halted the momentum of the battlefield, which had been so one-sided.
"Come! You rabble of the Evil Sect! You won't defile Wudang without crossing my corpse!"
There might not be any lofty honor to protect here. Perhaps standing here was a mistake born of their own pride.
But...
'Even so!'
There was still a reason to fight. There was still something to protect. As long as his life lasted.
"No one will lay a finger on my sahyung!"
Mu Jin's sword, discarding all bravado and righteousness, was now filled with utmost desperation.
* * *
"...Desperation?"
"Yes."
Chung Myung looked at Jang Ilso with indifferent eyes.
"What does that mean? Do you believe because you're desperate? Hoping someone will do something for you?"
"...."
"How is that different from irresponsibility?"
"It's different."
"Tch. You're being stubborn. It's no different."
"It's different."
"...."
Chung Myung's eyes sank deeply.
"You might be right. But if you're truly desperate, you need to improve your abilities. You have to do it yourself rather than trust someone else."
Jang Ilso's head slowly nodded. No, it tried to nod.
"Heo Dojin must have known that too."
"...."
Chung Myung didn't even glance at Heo Dojin. But his words would surely reach Heo Dojin's ears.
"Even so, he chose to trust in the end. Instead of breaking wills with force and pushing what he thought was right, he chose a more difficult and painful path, one that might lead to ruin."
"That's foolishness."
"No. We call that desperation."
Chung Myung's lips twisted. His white teeth appeared like a beast's fangs.
"Listen well, you idiot."
"...."
"You're right. Not a single word of yours is wrong. But that's why you're an idiot."
Jang Ilso's eyes narrowed.
"An idiot?"
"Yes. If your way is to achieve everything with your own ability alone."
Chung Myung's voice cut like a blade.
"What will you do when you can't achieve it with just your power?"
"...."
Jang Ilso's face stiffened for a moment.
"Will you give up? Will you let it go? Or will you just shake your head and grasp only what you can?"
"...."
"A person will always encounter things they can't do alone, things they can't achieve with their own ability. But they can't give up or just shake their head!"
"Heh...."
Jang Ilso's head turned.
For the first time, Heo Dojin, who had shown no reaction until now, squeezed out a voice. It was a sound that could not be distinguished as laughter or crying.
"The desperation of someone who has to achieve the unachievable. The despair of having to reach what is out of reach, no matter how much they push themselves. That, I... no, we!"
Chung Myung revealed his teeth.
"Call that faith."
* * *
"Sasuk!"
"Yes! I see it too!"
Mu Jin shouted desperately.
His voice was a whirlwind of emotions, perhaps even ones that didn't fit this urgent battlefield at all.
But no one in the world could blame him for it.
He saw it. Below this high Wudang Mountain, it is still far off.
A group is racing towards this place at an incredible speed.
He could tell. Even if they were just shapes in the distance now, he knew who they were and why they were coming here!
"Heav...."
Mu Jin's hand trembled.
No, perhaps it wasn't his hand trembling, but his heart.
As Mu Jin's face contorted, the vague shapes in the darkness grew clearer and more distinct.
"Heavenly Comrade Alliance!"
Mu Jin shouted with all his might.
At the moment those three words, now carrying so much, echoed, the atmosphere of despair and defiance on Baekanan shifted as if by magic.
"The Heavenly Comrade Alliance is here!"
Those fighting with their swords, those preparing for the end, those pouring out all they had left, even those who had cheered as they harpooned Wudang, all turned their heads in surprise at those words.
Over the rising peaks, they saw it clearly.
Like splitting the darkness, those racing towards them, led by a dazzling figure in white, sword drawn.
"Baek Cheon! It's Mount Hua! Mount Hua has come leading the Heavenly Comrade Alliance! Reinforcements!"
Surely they would come, surely! If it was them.
That desperate hope called faith was finally realized.