"Sasuk!"
Jo Gul shouted as he saw Baek Cheon carrying Mu Jin on his back and the Mount Hua Sect disciples quickly slinging the injured Wudang Sect disciples over their shoulders.
'Are we really going to take them with us?'
Jo Gul's eyes wavered. He couldn't deny that this choice was 'right.' But whether they could handle it was another matter. The cliff could collapse at any moment, and trying to escape while carrying the injured seemed impossible.
If the cliff collapsed before they escaped, they would all be doomed.
"Sasuk! This is..."
"Stop talking and take care of the injured, you fool!"
"Damn it!"
Of course, that man doesn't listen. Jo Gul cursed as he lifted the nearest injured person, Jin Hyun.
"Jo... Jo Gul, Tao..."
"Shut up! You're making it worse!"
Jo Gul gritted his teeth. Beyond the densely packed enemies in front of him, he could see the slope leading to the top. It looked steep, but it surely wouldn't collapse.
'If we can just reach there...'
At that moment, his resolve wavered again.
"What?"
His previously calm eyes shook once more.
"Sasuk, over there!"
"Hmm?"
"There! They're getting reinforcements!"
"What?"
Baek Cheon, who was about to advance with Mu Jin, flinched and looked up. Indeed, a group had appeared on the slope they aimed for.
Tension flashed across Baek Cheon's face. He could tell at a glance that their presence was extraordinary.
Hye Yeon murmured gravely.
"Amitabha... It seems the Evil Tyrant Alliance intends to bury us here, Deputy Sect Leader."
"What should we do, Sasuk?"
Yoon Jong asked, and Baek Cheon, after a brief silence, looked ahead. His previously wavering eyes quickly regained their calm.
"What are you asking?"
Baek Cheon's sword began to emit a faint sword energy.
"If that's the way out, we have to open it."
"But there's no time..."
This time, even Yoon Jong couldn't easily agree.
Of course, Baek Cheon's words were correct. If that was the only way out, they had to open it somehow. But could they do it now, considering the cliff might collapse at any moment?
"Let's go!"
But before Yoon Jong could say more, Baek Cheon charged at the enemies.
"Damn it, follow Sasuk!"
Yoon Jong shouted urgently as he watched Baek Cheon lead the charge.
As he pushed off the ground, he saw Jo Gul already ahead, charging past Baek Cheon. That rascal now instinctively jumped to the front at any sign of trouble.
Catching up with Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong asked,
"Sasuk! Are you sure about this? Shouldn't we find another way..."
"Trust me!"
"What?"
Yoon Jong's face showed confusion. The response didn't seem to fit the situation.
Baek Cheon glanced at Mu Jin on his shoulder, then turned his gaze to the distant edge of the cliff.
"Mount Hua is not special."
"...."
"So there's nothing only we can do. Anyone can do it. I believe someone will help us!"
"What do you mean..."
At that moment,
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed from the cliff's edge.
"Another explosion?!"
"Ah!"
"No, it's much weaker than before?"
Sporadic screams erupted, but everyone soon realized. This explosion was different from the one that shook the cliff earlier.
It wasn't about the power. It felt strangely familiar, even comforting.
Chills ran down Yoon Jong's back as he recognized the nature of the explosion.
"Namgung... Sogaju?"
Yoon Jong stared blankly at the cliff's edge with wide eyes.
"...Namgung Dowi."
* * *
"Huff! Huff!"
Sweat poured down Namgung Dowi's forehead.
He had leapt up the cliff in one go and unleashed his full power to stop the enemies. His body screamed from the rapid depletion of his internal energy.
"That brat!"
But there was no time to catch his breath.
Namgung Dowi clearly saw the black holes the enemies had drilled into the cliff. If those exploded, the outcome was obvious!
'I won't let that happen.'
Swish.
Namgung Dowi reversed his grip on his sword. He didn't have the strength left to unleash the same sword energy as before. But that didn't mean he couldn't fight.
The enemies from the Southern Sea Sun Palace, covered in blazing red energy, were descending towards Namgung Dowi.
Whoosh!
Namgung Dowi kicked off the ground and leapt up.
"Come!"
Bang!
He swung his sword with all his might.
Boom!
His sword clashed directly with the force emitted by the Sun Palace warriors. The intense heat threatened to scorch his lungs just from breathing.
The ends of his hair burned from the heat, and a pungent smell stung his nose. He felt pain as if his skin was melting away. The tip of his sword, unable to withstand the heat, quickly turned bright red.
But amidst the pain, Namgung Dowi drew on his strength even more fiercely.
'This is nothing.'
This isn't even pain. Compared to the despair he felt while waiting for death at Plum Blossom Island, this couldn't even be called pain.
Wooong!
Namgung Dowi's sword, emitting a white aura, pushed back the blazing force of the Sun Palace Taoists.
Soon, force poured in from all directions toward him.
Namgung's sword, although larger and thicker than a typical sword, was still just a sword. It couldn't block all of those attacks.
So, if one were to respond in a common-sense manner, they would naturally retreat... no, they would retreat downward.
But what Namgung Dowi had to truly confront were not the enemies attacking him. It was those installing explosives above.
"Aaaahhh!"
Instead of retreating, Namgung Dowi bent his head and pushed off the cliff face even more forcefully.
Boom! Boom!
The incoming attacks grazed his back, and the ones he couldn't dodge pounded his body.
A burst of thick blood exploded from his mouth and nose, along with intense heat that seemed to scorch him from the inside out.
"Aaaaahhh!"
Yet, Namgung Dowi did not retreat. He pushed even higher. He swung his sword even more explosively.
By this point, the Sun Palace Taoists were visibly alarmed, despite killing him with their swords.
Fwoosh!
An enemy's head soared from the cliff. Namgung Dowi, swinging his sword continuously, beheaded those in his path and grabbed onto the cliff with his left hand.
Thunk!
His body shot upward like a spring.
In his blurred vision, he saw the Sun Palace Taoists hanging on the cliff. It wasn't clear, but it was certain!
'I must stop them.'
Gritting his teeth.
If this cliff collapses, if he fails to stop them, the people of the Mount Hua Sect on the summit will all die. He couldn't bear to see that. As long as he breathed, he would stop it. Even if it cost him his life.
"Haaa! Stop!"
He didn't know where this strength came from. As Namgung Dowi roared like a lion, the air around him rumbled.
Cold sweat formed on the foreheads of the Sun Palace Warriors.
"That guy…"
Stopping him alone wouldn't be difficult. Admitting he was strong, but he was alone. There were dozens of Sun Palace Warriors here.
But if they all clung to the boy coming up from below, they might not be able to detonate the explosives in time.
If they failed because of such a delay?
'We cannot face the wrath of the Sun Palace Lord.'
To them, the wrath of the Sun Palace Lord was a fear worse than death. It wasn't just their lives at stake. The thought alone made their bodies tremble.
"Damn it, this bastard!"
At that moment, a calm voice was heard.
"There's no need to get excited."
"Guardian?"
An elderly man with white hair, observing from above, was smirking.
"He's full of spirit, but he's still a youngster."
He took out a spherical object from his sleeve and lightly gripped it. His gaze remained fixed on Namgung Dowi, who was furiously climbing the cliff like an enraged beast.
"If he wants to die so badly, we should grant his wish."
The old man's hand slowly opened. The sphere dropped downward.
Sssiiiii.
Down, and further down. It fell faster and faster towards Namgung Dowi.
Fwoosh!
Even in his rapid ascent, Namgung Dowi noticed it.
'What is that?'
A small object, about the size of an adult man's fist, was falling.
A moment later, Namgung Dowi's eyes widened. Something red was reflected in his eyes.
The sphere, wrapped in something dark and with a lit fuse, approached rapidly.
Namgung Dowi instinctively crossed his arms and sword towards the cliff face.
Kaaa-booooom!
The explosive thrown by the old man caused a massive explosion, striking the cliff.
Rumble!
"Aaaaaargh!"
As the cliff shook violently, the members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance hanging precariously were thrown into the air like grains of rice being threshed.
Red flames soared, and thick smoke billowed.
After a while, as the black smoke cleared, the old man couldn't hide his astonishment. He saw Namgung Dowi still hanging on the cliff, limp.
The old man muttered, looking at Namgung Dowi's hand embedded in the cliff.
"…In that chaos, he managed to embed his hand into the cliff to secure himself?"
Although he was an enemy, he had to acknowledge it was impressive.
But that was all.
"Go finish him off."
"Yes!"
As soon as the order was given, one of the Sun Palace Taoists swooped down towards the hanging Namgung Dowi.
Namgung Dowi forced himself to blink and frowned. Even in his half-conscious state, he sensed a primal danger.
Instinctively, he swung his sword. But the sword, without proper strength, was easily deflected by the hand infused with solar energy.
"Die!"
Namgung Dowi saw the orange hand coming towards his face.
'I...'
Ka-boooom!
And then he saw it again.
Something that blocked the hand flying towards his face. A sword thinner and lighter than his own but in this moment, more reliable than anything.
'Who...'
"Are you alright?"
Namgung Dowi, instead of answering, struggled to turn his head. He confirmed the face of the person next to him and opened his mouth.
This man....
"Isong...."
However, before he could finish speaking, a cold and irritable voice interrupted.
"I told you to stop showing off. You really don't listen."
Ssss!
Crunch!
Jin Geum Ryong's sword, striking like lightning through the air, pierced the Sun Palace Taoist's neck.
"Grrrk..."
The body of the Sun Palace Taoist, now powerless, fell. Namgung Dowi could only stare blankly at Jin Geum Ryong.
"You, mighty Namgung, rest there. I will handle the enemy."
Boom!
Emitting a chilling murderous intent, Jin Geum Ryong shot forward like a beam of light, closing the distance to the enemy in an instant.