Crack.
The grinding of the teeth of the Thousand-Faced Gentleman sent chills down everyone's spine. He needed to escape this place immediately.
Right now, this cliff was swarming with countless members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance. Among them were quite a few disciples of the Hao Sect that he had brought along.
However, the most important thing to the Thousand-Faced Gentleman at this moment was his own life. He could always recruit more disciples given enough time.
Nevertheless, the Thousand-Faced Gentleman couldn't move a single step. Every time he tried, a chilling killing intent pierced through his entire body, as if warning him.
He glared at the man standing before him. No, more specifically, he glared at the dagger in that man's hand.
A small dagger that looked like a woman's accessory was binding him in place.
"You..."
He was none other than the Thousand-Faced Gentleman. He wasn't someone to be afraid of a toy-like dagger.
But if the person holding that dagger was Tang Gunak, the Poison King, the story was different. There wasn't a person in the world who could disregard a blade in his hand.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The Thousand-Faced Gentleman snarled.
Tang Gunak smiled gently, a smile that didn't fit the situation at all.
"I simply cannot trust you," he said.
"...."
"The only way to ensure you don't flee or play tricks is to keep you tied up here."
Gnashing his teeth, the Thousand-Faced Gentleman spat, "My life is on the line!"
"I know. Which is exactly why I can't let you go. When one's life is at stake, who knows what they might do."
"...."
"Someone once said it's best to eliminate all variables."
"Until those guys escape?"
"Exactly."
"Then you'll die too."
"Do I look like someone who fears death?"
"Maybe not death itself. But an ignoble death scares anyone."
"We differ in opinion. I don't consider it an ignoble death."
(T/N – Just in case you didn't know what Ignoble means ignoble • \ig-NOH-bul\ • adjective. 1 : of low birth or common origin : plebeian 2 : characterized by baseness, lowness, or meanness.)
Tang Gunak's calm response was accompanied by a serene gaze, as if his eyes were a deep, ripple-free lake.
"Ensuring the safety of Mount Hua is worth risking my life for."
The Thousand-Faced Gentleman's face twisted in horror. He realized that those words weren't just bravado.
"Capturing me doesn't guarantee their safe escape. It only slightly increases the odds. Are you really willing to risk your precious life for such a thing? You, the Poison King Tang Gunak?"
"A slight increase in odds..." Tang Gunak glanced briefly at the scene. He saw Mount Hua's members working to rescue the survivors, even amidst this chaos.
"That's enough for me."
"...You're insane."
"Perhaps."
What would he have said in the past? No need to think long about it. He would have said the same thing as the Thousand-Faced Gentleman—it's a foolish act.
But the current Tang Gunak was different.
Not because he thought it wasn't foolish. He simply had become someone who could act despite knowing it was foolish.
Tang Gunak smiled faintly.
"This is the price of befriending the wrong people."
"...What nonsense are you babbling? Get out of my way..."
Swish!
A dagger flew past the Thousand-Faced Gentleman's cheek like lightning.
The Thousand-Faced Gentleman's eyes widened. The dagger that had spun in the air returned to Tang Gunak's hand.
Now there were two daggers in his hand.
"I told you not to move, didn't I?"
"Ugh..."
"This is your final warning, Thousand-Faced Gentleman."
The Thousand-Faced Gentleman's face contorted, all semblance of dignity gone, replaced by a demonic fury.
"Fine... I understand."
His slackened hands began to turn pale.
"The fastest way out of here is to kill you."
"If you can, then go ahead. But can you?"
"You bastard!"
With an explosive burst of energy, the Thousand-Faced Gentleman's body seemed to split into dozens. All those figures rushed at Tang Gunak simultaneously.
Crash!
The clones collided violently with the daggers in Tang Gunak's hands.
Even in this urgent situation, Tang Gunak's gaze briefly turned towards Mount Hua. He saw Baek Cheon commanding Mount Hua's forces while carrying the injured Mu Jin, with others assisting him.
Oddly enough, Chung Myung wasn't there, but they acted as if he was. Nothing had changed, even in this dire situation.
"Just one step."
Righteousness isn't something grand.
Even when one's life is in danger, not ignoring the fallen, having the will to endure a moment of crisis, and the courage to take a single step forward for someone who has fallen—that is righteousness.
Tang Gunak took a step that felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Swish!
His dagger slashed through the air as sharply as it had a hundred years ago.
---
"Hurry up!"
"Yes."
Crash!
A palace guard from the Southern Sea Sun Palace gritted his teeth as he hauled himself up the cliff.
Looking down, it was so dizzyingly high that words couldn't describe it. Even though there were many high mountains in their home, such cliffs were rare.
In fact, the Southern Sea Sun Palace was situated on a vast plain far from any mountains. For some reason, sects here always settled in high, inaccessible mountains.
The Southern Sea Sun Palace wasn't unique in this. It was a sect led by royalty. It didn't make sense for such a place to be in a remote mountain. Hence, guards serving royalty had almost no reason to set foot in such treacherous terrain.
"Ugh!"
Crack!
The stone crumbled helplessly in his grasp. The palace guard, who had been swaying precariously, desperately searched for another handhold on the cliff. He found a tiny crevice, barely enough for his fingers. All his weight was now dependent on that small crack. Sweat drenched the palace guard's face.
Martial arts can make difficult tasks seem easy, but they don't necessarily make one skilled.
Even for trained martial artists, scaling this high cliff was a struggle. Especially when they carried explosives that could go off at any moment.
'Why is this happening...'
The palace guard bit his lower lip hard.
No. He shouldn't question it. The orders of the palace lord were absolute. The command of the palace lord was the same as the king's command. To disobey meant death not only for himself but for his family and relatives as well.
Even if it meant giving his life, he had to follow the command without hesitation.
"Hurry up!"
"Yes!"
The palace guard reached out again, feeling the cliff face. Finding no suitable handholds, he used his internal energy to dig his fingers into the rock.
"We've reached it!"
"Begin!"
"Yes!"
Boom! Boom!
Once they reached the prearranged location, they all pressed themselves against the cliff and began drilling into it with one hand.
Boom! Boom!
The sound of breaking rock echoed along the cliff.
"Dig deep! If we blow it up from the outside, we can't bring it down in one go. We have to dig deep and plant the explosives inside!"
"Yes!"
Even as he shouted his answer, the palace guard bit his lip again without realizing it.
Hanging from the cliff without a single rope, one misstep could send them plunging hundreds of feet to their deaths. Drilling through solid rock in such conditions was not a sane task.
Yet, they had to obey. Even if it meant their death.
Boom! Boom!
His fists, filled with internal energy, continuously struck the cliff. Rock fragments flew everywhere, striking his face. Perhaps because of the life-threatening urgency, a deep hole was quickly formed in the smooth cliff face.
He glanced up and saw the Evil Tyrant Alliance climbing the cliff in desperation.
He wondered which of them was more foolish.
Risking his life to follow orders that might get him killed, or those ants desperately climbing the cliff, not knowing what fate awaited them.
Which of them was more foolish?
The answer to his question came from an unexpected place.
"Below! Someone is approaching from below!"
"What? Below?"
Everyone drilling into the cliff looked down in surprise.
And they saw it.
A white figure was ascending the steep, inverted cliff.
'What is that?'
The palace guards' eyes widened in astonishment. Someone was climbing up? Now?
'They must have known.'
There had already been an explosion. Those above might take time to understand the situation, but those below should already know.
Knowing the danger, why climb this death cliff? Are they insane?
"That idiot!"
"Quickly! They're almost here!"
"Bikyung! Gukye! Lead the subordinates and stop that person!"
"Yes!"
Some of those hanging from the cliff lunged toward the figure below.
Swish!
Red energy surged from their bodies like lava. The extreme internal energy swirled around them, ready to melt the cliff.
Just by looking at the heat waves, one could tell how well-trained they were.
'To think there's someone reckless enough to do this.'
It seemed that people from the Central Plains were all insane. Climbing this cliff instead of escaping was crazy enough, but doing it alone was beyond comprehension.
What could they possibly achieve alone?
"Everyone else, focus on drilling into the cliff. We can't waste any more time!"
"Yes!"
The palace guard, momentarily distracted, quickly resumed his task.
In that instant.
Wuuuuuung!
A strange sound echoed from below.
It sounded like something massive was vibrating, or like the wings of thousands of bees flapping simultaneously.
The noise, which was almost physically pulling at their ears, made the Sun Palace guards look down again. They momentarily froze in shock.
A sun, so bright that it made the name Southern Sea Sun Palace seem ironic, illuminated the dark cliff as if it were a lie.
'What...?'
Boom!
A white energy burst forth all at once. The guards who had gone to block the intruder were literally torn apart and scattered in every direction.
"...What?"
The lifeless eyes of the one who had been flung back with much greater speed than he had descended met those of the guards hanging on the cliff.
Already lifeless, the body seemed to bid farewell as it soared upward, then plummeted back down the cliff into the abyss.
The bizarre sight sent chills down everyone's spines. A moment later, all eyes turned to the one who had unleashed this unbelievable sword energy.
"Ooooooo!"
He roared like a tiger, charging with a shining white sword. The terrifying aura paralyzed the Sun Palace guards.
They couldn't understand why.
Why did the presence of this stranger make them cower? They, who had only served and obeyed the greatest?
Wuuuuung!
The man's sword glowed white again.
It was like the sun. The light pierced through the darkness, illuminating the world in an instant.
'An... emperor...?'
The man's sword, filled with power, slashed through the air forcefully.
Boom!
The emperor's white sword energy surged towards those hanging on the cliff like a fierce wave.