Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1317

“Oh, they’re coming!”

“It’s the Myriad Man Clan!”

Hainan’s morale suddenly rose.

On their journey from Hainan Island to this canyon, they had only known death, injury, and running away.

They had engaged in small fights, managing to kill some opponents. But these battles were not to overwhelm the enemy, but a desperate struggle for survival.

Now, for the first time, they could attack without worrying about defending. Their morale was high.

However, the moment they saw the Myriad Man Clan appearing at the canyon’s end, their hope vanished as if it was plunged into ice water.

Fear replaced their courage. An overwhelming fear of the situation.

The Myriad Man Clan.

Who knew the power of that name better than Hainan?

The fact that they were finally caught by those who had relentlessly pursued them plunged the disciples of Hainan into utter despair.

“Th-the cliffs!”

Members of the Myriad Man Clan were scaling the cliffs of the narrow canyon, charging towards them.

To be fair, climbing cliffs wasn’t really special.

Even the top disciples of Hainan could run along cliff faces several yards high without much difficulty.

But everything changes depending on the situation.

The feeling of dread at finally being caught and the aura coming from the Myriad Man Clan members rushing along the cliffs was enough to momentarily break Hainan’s will to fight.

“W-we have to run!”

“You madman! Where do you think you’re going to run? We’re in a canyon!”

All sides were blocked.

Moreover, they didn’t know how many more enemies were positioned even above those cliffs.

Besides, hadn’t they clearly witnessed how those who clumsily clung to the cliffs were being brutally slaughtered?

There was nowhere to run. All that remained was to fight back.

But how?

How could they possibly fight back against the Myriad Man Clan? If they could, they wouldn’t have run all the way here.

“W-we’re all going to die! We’re all going to die!”

An uncontrollable fear spread rapidly.

Even with insufficient forces and lacking skills, a battle could be fought.

But those who had lost their morale were swept away without even trying.

In the narrow canyon where there was nowhere to escape, some were even backing away.

But at that moment…

“Get a grip! You bastards!”

Gwak Hwan-so’s roar echoed loudly. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at them.

“We already died in Hainan!”

“S-Senior Brother?”

Gwak Hwan-so shouted at the top of his lungs.

“We came all the way here not to die disgracefully! Have you forgotten!”

The disciples of Hainan gritted their teeth.

Gwak Hwan-so’s words were not wrong. How many of them believed they could leave Gangnam alive when they headed to this place?

“If we’re going to die anyway, don’t die cowardly. Die like disciples of Hainan!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gwak Hwan-so kicked off the ground.

He began to step over the heads of the Hainan disciples, heading towards the rear.

He acted, not just spoke. He showed he was ready to die first if that’s what it took.

In such intense situations, it was always action, not words, that moved people. Seeing his back, a fierce light filled the eyes of the Hainan disciples.

At that moment, Geum Yang-baek’s roar erupted, seizing the opportunity.

“The elders will move to the rear and block the Myriad Man Clan!”

Geum Yang-baek exuded energy with all his might, as if to not be overwhelmed by the force of the charging Myriad Man Clan.

“Even if it costs us our lives, we must not let their swords reach the disciples! Let every last one of us be buried here!”

“Yes! Sect Leader!”

The elders also answered as if screaming.

They were already old enough to have lived their lives. Yet, the only reason they came to this Gangnam was to save even a single disciple and send them back to Gangbuk.

“Let’s go!”

The elders rushed to the rear in an instant.

“The disciples will ambush those falling from above! Hold your positions until the upper area is completely cleared!”

“Yes! Sect Leader!”

Geum Yang-baek was indeed the Sect Leader of the prestigious Hainan.

When he stepped back, his presence was not noticeable, but in the moment of crisis, he was clearly proving why he was the Sect Leader of Hainan.

‘They must be terrified.’

Geum Yang-baek clenched his fist until his bones creaked.

Even he was so afraid, how much more frightened must those young disciples be?

But no one could take away their fear for them. They had to overcome it themselves.

Wham!

Geum Yang-baek immediately kicked off the ground and flew towards the rear.

What he could do to help them now was not to encourage them.

‘I will block them.’

He had to save even one more person and get them out of this canyon. Even if the price was Geum Yang-baek’s life.

And!

“Hwan-so! Fall back!”

“Sect Leader?”

Geum Yang-baek, who had caught up with Gwak Hwan-so in an instant, grabbed Gwak Hwan-so’s shoulder and pulled him back.

“Command the disciples!”

“Sect Leader, I’ll take care of this⋯⋯.”

“Did you not hear my command!”

An enormous shout, filled with inner force, struck Gwak Hwan-so. Gwak Hwan-so stared at Geum Yang-baek with a blank face.

“Fall back! The one who should be commanding the disciples now is not me, but you!”

“⋯⋯.”

“Hurry!”

“I-I will obey your command.”

“And!”

“Yes?”

“You, at least, must survive! Do you understand?”

“S-Sect Leader?”

“Go!”

Geum Yang-baek pushed Gwak Hwan-so away as if throwing him. Then, he passed him and increased his speed towards the rear.

“You shall not lay a finger on my disciples! You filthy demonic bastards!”

Dang Pae’s face twisted hideously.

“Damn it!”

The hand he had slipped into his sleeve trembled.

For someone who used hidden weapons and poison, a trembling hand was something that should never happen.

But this was not Dang Pae’s fault.

Anyone standing on the front lines, facing the charging Myriad Man Clan members who were exuding killing intent, would have felt the same fear as Dang Pae.

‘The poison?’

It was still there.

But it couldn’t be said to be enough. Everything in the world was relative.

The poisons that had seemed so reliable when dealing with those stationed here and the Hao Moon’s pursuit team felt utterly inadequate the moment he recognized Ho Ga-myeong’s presence.

But there was no time to calculate.

The Myriad Man Clan members, leaping over the hesitant Hao Moon disciples, were rushing towards him like a pack of ravenous wolves, screaming madly with bloodshot eyes.

“Euh-haaaaap!”

Dang Pae shattered the poison bottle in his hand and unleashed as much internal energy as he could.

The Dang family’s poison palm technique originally had to be wielded with utmost delicacy to avoid diminishing the poison’s potency.

But the poison palm strikes that Dang Pae was unleashing now were rougher than usual, betraying his desperate state of mind.

Whooosh!

The rising poisonous fumes surged forward.

However, the charging Myriad Man Clan members did not slow their force even upon seeing the black poisonous fumes rising like a dense fog.

‘What?’

Dang Pae’s shoulders stiffened, wondering if they had some kind of countermeasure.

But the sight that Dang Pae witnessed next completely shattered his common sense.

The Myriad Man Clan members at the front plunged into the poisonous fumes without the slightest hesitation, maintaining their speed.

Dang Pae’s eyes widened as if they would tear.

An antidote?

No, there was no way they could have one. How could they have taken an antidote to a poison that even the Dang family couldn’t create?

At that moment…

Whoosh!

The Myriad Man Clan members burst out of the thick poisonous fumes, that hellish fog that no living thing could withstand.

“Kahaaaat!”

A Myriad Man Clan member with bloodshot eyes rushed at Dang Pae and swung his sword down.

Dang Pae, so startled that his heart nearly leaped out of his throat, retreated almost falling backward, unable to properly use his footwork.

Wham!

The sword struck the ground where he had been standing, and an explosion echoed.

‘The poison isn’t working?’

No!

“Kuh⋯⋯.”

The body of the one who had swung the sword was turning black. The symptoms of poisoning were progressing faster than Dang Pae had thought.

The Myriad Man Clan member, staggering as if dizzy, collapsed on the spot.

Soon, black blood gushed from his mouth.

“Ah⋯⋯.”

At that moment, Dang Pae realized.

They didn’t have countermeasures against the poison, nor did they have a way to avoid the poisonous fumes.

They were simply willing to rush in and plunge their swords into his body before the poison killed them.

An absurd strategy. No, a madman’s act that couldn’t even be called a strategy.

But that approach was clearly effective.

He didn’t know about the Hao Moon’s pursuit team, but these men were clearly able to muster enough strength to swing their swords once, even after being directly exposed to his poison.

The moment that fact was proven, the absolute defense that Dang Pae had erected rapidly crumbled.

“You rat!”

Those who had passed through the poisonous fumes flew in one after another, swinging their swords at Dang Pae.

Their bodies blackened by the poison, their breaths numbered, they desperately lunged, trying to drag Dang Pae to hell with them.

“Kuk!”

Dang Pae rolled across the ground using the Lazy Donkey Roll to evade the incoming swords. Barely managing to escape, Dang Pae hurriedly raised his head.

‘The poison palm again!’

But at that moment, what he saw were three swords flying towards him with even greater force than before.

Dang Pae’s eyes widened as if they would tear apart.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

The Myriad Man Clan members, who had been rushing at Dang Pae like demons, spitting black blood from their seven orifices, were thrown backward as if hit by artillery shells.

“Young Master!”

“Hye, Hye-yeon Monk!”

“Get up! Quickly!”

“Yes!”

Hye-yeon, reacting instantly, rescued Dang Pae, but the crisis was not over.

“Kraaaah!”

“Die, you rats!”

In the short time it took Dang Pae to roll away and get back on his feet, the situation had changed.

The poisonous fumes had dissipated, and the Myriad Man Clan members were charging like a pack of dogs through the thinned fumes.

‘Th-this is the Myriad Man Clan?’

An overwhelming despair bloomed in Dang Pae’s eyes.

Poison, no matter how potent, was a means that required time to intoxicate the opponent.

Conversely, even someone poisoned with a venom capable of killing a dragon still needed time before they died.

If the opponent’s internal energy was weak, that time could be drastically reduced, but if the opponent’s internal energy was strong, even more time would be needed.

These bastards were unhesitatingly using that time, the last short moments of their lives, to swing their swords at Dang Pae.

How could he possibly stop such men?

“Young Master!”

Hearing Hye-yeon’s shout, Dang Pae instinctively threw a throwing knife.

The momentary feeling of helplessness against the poison might have guided his choice. But it was definitely not a good choice.

Crack! Crack!

Dang Pae’s throwing knife, aimed at the enemy’s crown, lodged in his forearm. The internal energy carried by the throwing knife pierced the flesh and shattered the bone, but it did not stop their advance.

“Kahaaaat!”

The madness that could only be seen on the battlefield.

The Myriad Man Clan members, their eyes rolled back in that madness, swarmed Dang Pae and Hye-yeon at once.