Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1676

“Master Uncle! They’re still coming!” a young voice yelled.

Mujin, who had just climbed to the top of Baegan Rock, shouted back urgently. The enemy was still chasing them, not slowing down at all. They were pushing right onto Baegan Rock, their faces twisted with anger.

Mujin pushed off the rough rock, running in the opposite direction. He had to stop them.

Crack!

Mujin’s sword flashed, a deadly silver arc. It struck the neck of an enemy soldier, who was chasing him with madness in his eyes. Mujin was not kind now, but no one could blame him.

“Attack! Don’t let them come up!”

“Yes!”

The Wudang swordsmen, who were quickly retreating, formed their lines again, facing those climbing the rocks from all sides.

‘We can stop them! No, we must stop them!’

Mujin bit his lip hard.

The quick retreat had opened a path for the enemies, but it also gave them one advantage: the flames that burned like hell had not reached this place yet.

Also, this was a rocky area. There were no trees or grass, so the fire attack didn’t work.

So, all that mattered was their fighting skills. Wudang would never lose in a battle like this.

“Get lost! You evil enemies!”

“Aaaargh!”

As expected, as soon as Wudang fought back, the bodies of those climbing the slope were pierced by the Wudang sword flying through the air. The sword, filled with anger and hate, didn’t even let the enemy fight back.

Even though the enemies climbing the slope were rushing and disorganized, Wudang had a strong advantage.

“You goddamn bastards!”

At that moment, Mujin saw a swordsman trying to go towards the slope where the enemy was climbing. Mujin clenched his teeth, rushed like lightning beside him, grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him back.

“Huh! Master, Master Uncle!”

“You fool!”

Mujin shouted, his face full of anger.

“Don’t let your emotions control you! We’re not trying to kill them, but to hold out for a little longer! If we give up this place, Wudang is finished!”

Maybe it was because his voice, filled with anger and desperation, reached them.

The Wudang swordsmen looked determined. Mujin was right. If they gave up this place, it would mean more than just losing their lives.

‘Wudang.’ The history of the Wudang sect, which had lasted so long, might end today.

They had too much to lose to think about small feelings like wanting revenge.

“Hold on! Defend this place to the last man!”

“Yes!”

Just as Mujin was about to take up his sword again.

“Master Uncle! The cliff! Baegan Rock!”

At those words, Mujin quickly turned his head.

Mujin tried to ignore other worries and looked at the cliff behind him. He saw a hand reaching over the cliff.

‘Ah…….’

Mujin’s eyes shook.

“Kuh…….”

The rough hand gripped the top of the cliff. Soon, a man pulled himself up over the cliff.

“This damn cliff!”

The Evil Faction Swordsman, who had climbed onto Baegan Rock, clenched his teeth and drew the sword from his waist. At the same time, other Evil Faction Swordsmen began to climb up the cliff one by one from behind.

‘Ah, no!’

A feeling of despair came over Mujin.

He had to stop them. He had to keep them from climbing this cliff.

“Kill them all!”

“Haaaargh!”

The Evil Faction Swordsmen, who had climbed the cliff with great difficulty, charged in with hate and anger in their eyes.

“Kuk!”

“Not so fast.”

Clang!

The sword that Gong Heo quickly held out was easily blocked by Chunmyun Susa’s white hands. Chunmyun Susa said.

“In the good sects, I thought the Plum Blossom Sword Demon was the most arrogant… but you’re not far behind. How dare you look away from me?”

Gong Heo clenched his teeth.

It wasn’t enough. His strength.

He didn’t have the power to get through this moment and save Wudang from the crisis.

‘Sect Leader! What on earth…….’

If things kept going like this, no matter how much they blocked the slope, they couldn’t stop the enemies from taking Baegan Rock. The enemies, with more soldiers, would start to crush them.

“Outnumbered and helpless.”

Chunmyun Susa looked confident.

“I’ll give you credit. You guys did pretty well. But that’s all.”

Gong Heo could only clench his teeth.

Was this the end? Was all their fighting for nothing?

“Ugh…….”

Just as Gong Heo was about to cry out in anger, it happened.

“What are you doing!”

Whoosh!

Someone flashed past Gong Heo’s side like lightning, blocking the Evil Faction Swordsmen rushing from the cliff.

Screeeech!

The sword moved quickly and beautifully, cutting through the air towards the screaming enemies.

Thud! Thud!

In a moment, three heads flew into the air. The swordsman who had broken through the enemy’s front line didn’t stop there, but sent sword energy towards those who were crowded together on the cliff.

“Jin Hyun!”

“Aaaaargh!”

There were no words to give courage, no useless shouts. He was just doing his best to stop the enemy.

Mujin, who saw this, bit his lip tightly.

‘That’s right.’

Yes, that young martial nephew hadn’t given up yet. Instead of giving up, he fought. Until the very end. That was what they had decided from the start.

“Divide the forces! Push all the guys climbing the cliff down below!”

“Yes!”

Just as Mujin was about to shout again.

“More are coming, Master Uncle!”

“What?”

Mujin quickly turned his head again.

He couldn’t even make a sound this time. A group of martial artists was rushing towards this place, riding over the mountain range connected to the back of the cliff.

It wasn’t clear who they were, but they weren’t allies.

‘When?’

If Wudang had blocked this place and then gone around, they could never have reached that place. This meant they had sent a separate group there from the beginning when they started climbing the mountain.

Wasn’t that strange! From the beginning? Had they been planning for all of Wudang’s moves?

Crack.

Mujin’s fingernails dug into his palm until it bled.

‘In the end, was I just a small piece in a bigger game I couldn’t control?’

“Master Uncle!”

Hearing the urgent voice, Mujin clenched his teeth.

“Gather! Retreat! Defend the center!”

“Yes? Master, Master Uncle!”

“Hurry!”

“Yes!”

At Mujin’s command, those who were blocking the slope and those who were blocking the cliff retreated to the back all at once.

“Deploy the powerful sword formation!”

The Wudang swordsmen looked pale.

This sword formation was a type of Wudang sword formation used to fight many enemies at once. It was the best way to fight so many enemies.

But it all depended on what they did next. If they used the Nine Palace Formation here, in the middle of this place, it would be very dangerous. It would leave them open to enemies attacking from all sides of the cliffs. They would have no way to escape.

“Senior Brother…?” a voice trembled.

Moo-jin’s voice was firm, “We cannot go back now!”

Moo-jin bit his lip, stopping himself from saying more of his doubts. He looked around at his people. “If we have to die, then we will die fighting here.”

The others who had argued against Moo-jin before now looked different. Their eyes were now full of a hard determination.

“Deploy the Nine Palace Formation!” Moo-jin ordered.

“Protect this area!” someone shouted.

“Yes!” came the reply, loud and clear.

Everyone understood. They could not run away now. It was too late. The enemies had trapped them, like a net closing around fish. Trying to escape would only make them easier to catch.

“Moo-jin,” a voice said softly.

“Master Uncle,” Moo-jin replied.

Heo-gong, his teacher’s brother, came closer. He still looked around nervously, as if expecting a hidden enemy to jump out. “I am sorry,” Heo-gong said. “I acted without…” He trailed off, unsure how to finish.

“No,” Moo-jin interrupted.

Heo-gong shook his head. “Everyone here knows this is the best choice we have.”

“…” Moo-jin didn’t say anything.

“Now,” Heo-gong said, his voice stronger, “we must show them what we can do. We must succeed where we failed before.”

“Yes, Master Uncle!” Moo-jin said, his voice full of new strength. He held his sword tightly. *How long can we fight?* he wondered. An hour? Maybe half an hour?

*Probably not even that long.*

“Half an hour…” Moo-jin whispered, a sad laugh escaping his lips. *Is this all that is left of Wudang?* he thought. *Wudang, once famous and strong, now only has thirty minutes left.*

But there was no time to be sad. The enemy would not wait for them to feel sorry for themselves.

*Clang!* Metal crashed against metal.

“Aaargh!” A scream of pain.

The White Rock Cliff was no longer white. It was covered in red, like a terrible stain. The battle had begun. It was a fight to the death. Swords flashed and clashed. Sabers sliced through the air. Blood sprayed everywhere. Men fell, screaming.

“Keep them back! Don’t let them push us!” someone yelled.

“Die, you traitors!” an enemy roared. “You deserve to die!”

“Senior Brother!” another cry of pain.

In the middle of the chaos, Moo-jin lifted his sword high. He saw Jin-hyun and Heo-gong fighting bravely at the front, surrounded by enemies.

“We are not fighting to just die here!” Moo-jin shouted, his voice strong above the noise of battle.

He held his sword tightly. It felt like part of his own arm. “We will live! We will survive this!”

With a burst of speed, he became like a flash of light, rushing towards the enemy lines.

“Faster! We need to go faster!” someone shouted.

As they ran closer, they could see it clearly. Wudang Mountain was burning.

The flames were spreading up the mountainside. They were already past the halfway point.

The sight of Wudang burning told them everything. No message could have been clearer. Wudang was in terrible danger.

If the fire reached the top of Wudang Mountain, then Wudang would be destroyed. It would disappear from the world.

“We are too late!” someone cried. “Faster, faster!”

“No, we are not too late yet!” another voice replied. “Jo-gul, stay strong!”

“We are late, Senior Brother!” Jo-gul gasped.

“Everyone is exhausted!” someone else said. “If we push ourselves any harder, we will be too weak to fight when we get there!”

“Eek…!” Jo-gul bit down hard, his teeth grinding.

*Please, just hold on a little longer,* he thought desperately.

*We can do this.* If they could just keep running like this! Wudang was strong. They should not be underestimated. Hadn’t Mount Hua learned that already?

This time, they would save the people of Wudang from the evil Unorthodox Alliance. This time, they had to succeed.

“Huh…?”

Jo-gul suddenly stopped, noticing something. He froze. Right in front of them… something was wrong.

“…Eh?”

Jo-gul’s face went white with fear.

“Up ahead!” Im So-byung gasped, out of breath. He pointed, wiping sweat from his face with his hand. “They have made a line of defense! They are blocking the path! It looks like it!”

Im So-byung, who had taken off his coat because of the heat, continued, “They must have found a good place to defend and used the Jade Seal Formation! – another battle plan! If they are using that now… Oh no! We are in real trouble! If it’s come to this, Wudang cannot last much longer!”

“Do you think we are too late?” someone asked, worried.

“Damn it!” Im So-byung exclaimed. “How could Wudang fall so easily? Even if a fish is old and weak, it is still a fish! Wudang is still Wudang! They will find a way!”

Chung Myung nodded slightly. He agreed. *We can still get there in time,* he thought. *We can reach Wudang before they are completely defeated.*

Just then, as Chung Myung was thinking, quietly considering the situation…

“Haa, I’m going to d…” *Thump!* Im So-byung suddenly flew backwards, falling to the ground.

“Wh-What happened! Damn it!” Im So-byung yelled, jumping up.

He looked ahead and saw that the person in front had stopped suddenly, and he had run right into them.

“Why did you stop all of a…” Im So-byung started to complain, but then he stopped talking. He looked around. Everyone had stopped.

Im So-byung’s face went stiff with shock.

Everyone stopping meant they could not go forward. It meant something important had happened ahead.

But it was strange. There were no shouts, no screams, no sounds of fighting.

That meant the people at the front had stopped on their own. But why? What could have made them stop?

“Chief?” someone asked quietly.

Chung Myung walked forward without saying a word. The members of the Heavenly Union saw him coming and moved aside silently, making a path for him.

It became very quiet. Chung Myung walked slowly down the path. His steps felt heavy now, as if all the speed from before was gone.

Many eyes watched him.

Chung Myung could feel it. The people behind him seemed confused, but the people closer to the front looked different. Their eyes were full of confusion and worry.

Finally, he reached the very front. He saw the faces of his friends – Jo-gul, Yoon Jong, Hae-yeon, Baek Cheon, even Namgung Dowi.

They looked at Chung Myung, then slowly moved aside. Now Chung Myung could see what had made them stop.

It was the enemy. The Unorthodox Alliance.

But it was not a big army. Not enough to stop them.

The number of enemies didn’t matter. It was about the person standing in front.

“…How long has it been?” a voice asked.

An elegant table, made of dark wood, was there in the middle of nowhere. It looked strange and out of place in the ruined landscape. A man sat at the table. He slowly lifted a bottle of alcohol and poured it into a glass.

*Glug, glug, glug.*

It was a strange and unsettling scene.

Even with so many people around, the sound of the liquid filling the glass was very clear.

*Clink.*

When the glass was full, he put down the bottle. He smiled slightly as he watched Chung Myung walk closer.

“What is wrong?” he asked.

His smile slowly changed, becoming cruel and dangerous.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

It was Jang Il-so. They called him the Fallen Hero. He was the one blocking the Heavenly Union’s path.

“I have prepared good alcohol,” Jang Il-so said. “Enough for you to drink.”

His smile was beautiful, but terrifying. Everyone who saw it felt a cold fear in their hearts.