Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1675

A dark, hand-shaped shadow suddenly covered the world, swallowing the sunlight.

He felt lost and alone, like being on a stormy ocean with no end. He felt like a huge wave was about to crash down and end his life completely, with no chance to fight back.

An overwhelming sense of despair.

But Heogong stood still in the horrible scene, making himself brave even though his heart was weak.

“‘It’s an illusion.'”

Heocheo is just about tricking people. No matter how big and impressive it looks, an illusion cannot really hurt you.

His job was to find the real danger hidden inside this terrible illusion, the real attack trying to hurt him.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a difficult task.

The Taoist’s Simbeop was a pure martial art that could defeat all evil in the world. This is because it is completely opposite to the martial arts of the Demonic Sect, an evil group.

Clang! His Songmun Sword, the one he held, hit the hand of the Thousand-Faced Investigator with perfect aim. The Investigator was hidden among many afterimages.

But as soon as the hand was pushed back, it created many afterimages again, like water quickly filling the space where a big rock had fallen into a lake.

An endless repetition.

His sword could cut through the real attacks hidden in the enemy’s illusions, and his eyes could find the one truth in all the lies.

But the problem was that it didn’t lead to a single, decisive victory.

If he missed the real attack even once in all the illusions coming at him, it would hurt Heogong’s body hard.

Wham!

Just like now.

Heogong bit his lip until it bled.

He had missed the enemy’s real attack only once out of many attacks. That hand he missed hit his chest, sending a thick, dark energy into him.

He wondered if branding his chest with a hot iron would be this painful.

But what bothered Heogong even more than the pain was being tired of fighting the same way over and over… no, it was fear.

Wham! Did he lose focus for a moment?

The afterimages he missed hit his shoulder and thigh quickly.

“Kugh!” He stumbled back a step without meaning to, even though he knew that the more he retreated, the wider the enemies’ range of movement would become as they climbed the cliff.

The pain from where he was hit was always there, but it felt ‘weak’.

Even with Heogong’s pure protective energy, he shouldn’t be this not badly hurt after being hit directly by an attack from such a strong fighter.

But now, the places he was hit felt like he had been hit in a practice fight, not an attack to really hurt him.

So, even the attack that should be the real one had almost no power. If an attack that is just the look of an attack and has no power is called an illusion, what should we call a weak attack with almost no power?

How was he to distinguish between illusion and reality?

Heogong was now standing right in the blurry line between what is real and what is fake, between reality and illusion.

“‘You seem frustrated.'”

Suddenly, the swirling force disappeared as if washed away, showing the Thousand-Faced Investigator with his hands held behind his back, looking completely relaxed.

Other people might think it was just showing off, but Heogong saw it differently. It was an act from careful planning, to hide even a tiny scratch on his hand from fighting.

Heogong’s heart sank when he saw how careful he was.

“‘Impressive swordsmanship. I admit it. You truly live up to the name of a Taoist.'”

“‘…'”

“‘But… you’ve been in the mountains for far too long.'”

Heogong gritted his teeth and asked,

“‘Are you not planning to compete fairly?'”

“‘Is there a fairer fight than this? Using the enemy’s weak points and my strong points. Doing anything to win. That is what I think is fair.'”

“‘…'”

“‘You should be happy. The fact that I am trying this hard means I think you are good.'”

Heogong took a short, deep breath.

If this was just a fair fight between two people, Heogong wouldn’t be in such a hurry. But it wasn’t. He had to beat that man right now and stop the people climbing the cliff as fast as he could.

From the start, that man had the upper hand. Could Heogong get the advantage back now?

Heogong clenched his teeth and gripped his sword.

“‘No. It’s not a matter of whether I can. I must!'”

Before, he would have said no, thinking it was too hard. He used to think it was foolish to get into danger by pretending to be stronger than you are. But now Heogong knew that some things in the world had to be done even if you were not good enough.

He only regretted not realizing that fact sooner.

Heogong’s feet moved forward slowly. Seeing this, the Thousand-Faced Investigator narrowed his eyes.

For the Thousand-Faced Investigator, just chatting calmly was fine. If he joined up with the people who had climbed the cliff, he could beat Heogong easily without much trouble.

But Heogong’s position was completely the opposite.

“‘Are you going to keep doing useless things? You should know by now that your sword cannot break through my power, right?'”

At those words, Heogong chuckled.

He was right. The Taoist’s skill was pure and proper, a swordsmanship that waited for the enemy’s weak point with simple and strong moves. Even if he could see the real attack quickly, he could only stop the fight for a while if the enemy was not in a hurry, but not sure to lose.

But…

“‘I realized one more thing.'”

From that unforgettable sparring match.

Heogong kicked off the ground and charged towards the Thousand-Faced Investigator.

“‘That swordsmanship isn’t the only important thing!'”

Whoooosh! Suddenly, afterimages exploded and spread out in front of the Thousand-Faced Investigator. It was a sight that would blur your eyes for a second. But unlike before, Heogong pulled his sword back far behind his head.

Then, he struck down.

Wham! One-Slash Severance. The black and white energy swirling along the sword rotated like a vortex and burst forth.

The Thousand-Faced Investigator’s power, which had been spreading and making everything look white, broke apart like an illusion when it touched that strong sword energy.

He didn’t distinguish between reality and illusion. If he destroyed both reality and illusion, then the distinction itself became meaningless in the first place.

The Wisdom Sword, which was said to have all the wisdom and peace in the world, was now being used as aggressively as a sword from the Demonic Sect, an evil group, which was surprising because of its name.

“‘Huh?'”

Surprised by the sudden attack, the Thousand-Faced Investigator said ‘Huh?’ in surprise and jumped backward. Not missing this chance, Heogong gritted his teeth, jumped forward, and chased the Thousand-Faced Investigator.

Wham! Wham! The leftover power that was still there hit his body, but it didn’t matter. Wasn’t it just power that hadn’t been made strong in the first place?

“‘I won’t let you get away.'”

The sword shot out again like lightning. In an instant, the Thousand-Faced Investigator’s body, with a cold, calm look, disappeared from sight.

He was known as the best at disguise in the Demonic Sect, an evil group, and also the fastest fighter in the Demonic Sect. People were right about him; no matter how hard Heogong looked, he couldn’t follow his movements.

But Heogong was Heogong as well.

Whoosh! The sword suddenly changed direction and pointed upwards into the air.

Slice. He didn’t even feel anything. But he very clearly heard the sound of the sword cutting through something.

Wham! At the same time, a strong pain shot through his back.

It was unavoidable that he became weak by twisting his body so much. Also, it was impossible to catch that man without being ready to be injured from the start.

“‘Haaaah!’ He spat out the blood that welled up in his mouth along with a shout, raising his sword high. The two energies that rushed together strongly joined at the tip of the sword, and the sword struck down.

Kaaaaaaah! An enormous energy shattered the surface of the rock and spread out. It even uprooted several old pine trees that had grown behind the cliff before slamming into the mountain range beyond, leaving behind a massive scar in the surroundings.

“‘Hoo…'”

A rough breath escaped from Heogong’s mouth.

A moment later, the Thousand-Faced Investigator appeared and landed on the ground. His eyes looked dark and serious.

Looking down slightly, a small wound near his calf was visible. It looked like a scratch on the surface, but that wound had torn his muscle at least half an inch deep.

The Thousand-Faced Investigator’s hands, held behind his back, twitched slightly.

A leg wound was different from a hand wound. If his hands were tools to attack the enemy, his legs were needed to survive, like his lifeline.

And with the attack just now, his lifeline had been wounded.

“‘…I didn’t know the Taoists were such an aggressive group?'”

As the Thousand-Faced Investigator muttered, Heogong took a deep breath.

This was not the usual Taoist way of fighting. Fighting in a different way used much more energy than usual. To twist and use the Wisdom Sword, which already took a lot of energy, was almost crazy.

As he expected, his shoulders were twitching after only two sword strikes. And this was also different from what the Taoist sword was meant to be.

But Heogong also knew.

“‘A sword is just a sword.'”

“‘Hmm?'”

“‘What’s important is that I am a Taoist, not how I use the sword.'”

Heogong’s panting face twisted strangely, bearing an expression that was both a smile and a painful look.

“‘There was even someone who used a sword like the Demonic Sect, an evil group… but was very Taoist.'”

“‘…'”

“‘The sword is just a tool to do what I decide. If I always use the sword in the same way, then I will be controlled by the sword.'”

“‘It sounds like you should be telling your sword ideas to your students. Oh, but only if your students are still alive after this war.'”

“‘It seems you’ve realized that killing me is difficult. That’s why you’re saying that.'”

“‘…Your words have become sharper.'”

The Thousand-Faced Investigator chuckled. Heogong gripped his sword again.

He didn’t need to feel sorry for himself. If he didn’t fight the way that man wanted, he could just lead the battle the way he wanted.

It was strange. Reaching the best swordsmanship was about thinking about more than just the sword itself, more than anyone else.

“‘Is it like the saying ‘things reach an extreme and then reverse’?'”

Heogong’s big toe tensed up.

He wasn’t sure if it was the right choice. But he knew for sure that letting him control the fight was wrong.

He had to try something. Instead of just waiting to lose without being able to do anything!

“‘I’ll…'”

Just as Heogong was about to kick off the ground and charge again, the Thousand-Faced Investigator glanced to the side and said,

“‘From what I see… it doesn’t look like you can change anything just by fighting by yourself.'”

“‘What?'”

Soon, Heogong could clearly see it as well. His fellow disciples, who had gone to block the slope, were coming back up here.

“‘Master!'”

“‘We can’t hold it there anymore!'”

Heogong’s eyes widened as much as they could.

Their tired and hurt bodies, climbing back onto White Rock Cliff and trying to get organized again, looked completely hopeless.

Giving up this cliff? Against those countless enemies? Did they know what that meant when they gave up the slope?

Many thoughts rushed through his head, but Heogong couldn’t do anything now. The determination in his eyes drained away like the tide going out, and hopelessness filled him. His gaze returned to the Thousand-Faced Investigator.

The Thousand-Faced Investigator said kindly, but with a mocking expression,

“‘This is what war is like.'”

“‘…'”

“‘It’s time to end this soon. I won’t even remember your name, so die full of anger.'”

The despair that he could no longer hide was clear on Heogong’s face.