Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1693

“Stop them, raaaah!!” Im So-byeong screamed. His voice was cracking with fear.

Warriors from the Cheonwoo Alliance, a powerful fighting group, were in the middle of a fierce battle. Im So-byeong’s desperate cry made them stop fighting and look up quickly.

*What is that?* Jongli Gok, the leader of the Jongnam group, thought, his eyes widening in shock.

A group of figures was rushing along the cliff face. The rock was the color of dried blood, a deep crimson red.

They were not climbing straight up the steepest part of the cliff. Instead, they moved sideways. It was still a very high cliff. They ran across this dangerous slope as if it were flat ground. This showed they were very skilled warriors.

“But how can they……?”

Jongli Gok looked at the towering flames on either side of the cliff. Even the most skilled martial artist was still just a person. How could anyone pass through those flames?

“Namhae… the Sun Palace?”

“The Sun Palace?”

Jongli Gok frowned, recognizing them from Poong Young-shin-gae’s words.

*So that’s it? They can do this because they are masters of Yeol Yang Gong, their special fire skill?*

But the important thing now wasn’t how they got through the flames.

“What on earth are they trying to do up there?”

Poong Young-shin-gae asked the question Jongli Gok was thinking.

The ‘why’ was important. If they just wanted to help those already on the cliff, they wouldn’t need to go through the flames and head to the cliff.

“St, stop them! Now!”

Im So-byeong’s desperate scream rang out again.

Im So-byeong’s face was as white as a ghost.

“Go up! Go up now! Throw those damned bastards off this cliff immediately!”

“Strategist, what on earth……?”

“Now! Move!”

“First, calm down…….”

That’s when it happened.

“Aaaargh!”

The Cheonwoo Alliance warriors didn’t know what to do. They heard the sudden scream and looked up without thinking.

*What is that?*

One of those who had gone through the flames to get to the cliff was now covered in fire. It seemed his skill with Yeol Yang Gong wasn’t enough to stop the flames coming closer.

Poong Young-shin-gae frowned slightly.

That scream was too desperate.

It was strange. It was strange that he was screaming in such fear just from being burned. These warriors from the Sun Palace were used to fire. Why wasn’t he trying to do anything about it?

The man, his whole body on fire, grabbed the cliff with one hand. With the other, he reached inside his clothes.

It was too far to see what he was doing. Poong Young-shin-gae used his inner strength to see better.

But it was too late.

Kaaaa-boooom!

A loud explosion, as if the sky had burst, rang out. The explosion happened where the man on fire had been. The blast swept away those around him, causing more explosions.

Kaaaa-boooooooooom!

“Uh…….”

The explosions kept happening one after another.

Rumble!

The cliff couldn’t handle the explosions and started to crack.

Then, as if cut by a giant sword, a huge piece of rock broke off the cliff and started to slide down.

And quickly, it fell faster and faster.

Rumble!

Everyone turned pale and shouted.

“Get down! No, get away! Get out of here, raaaah!”

“We’ll all die if we get buried!”

The Cheonwoo Alliance warriors had been attacking Wudang without fear. Now, they quickly jumped back.

Even the Sapaeryeon group, who had been strongly attacking the Cheonwoo Alliance, were scared and stepped back.

Thud!

The huge rock crashed to the ground.

A huge cloud of dust exploded upwards, thick and choking, like a monster rising from the earth. It smelled of burnt rock and something else, something acrid and sharp. Shattered pieces of rock flew everywhere like blades.

“Ugh, aargh…….”

One of the Cheonwoo Alliance warriors fell to his knees. Cold sweat ran down his face as he stared ahead. The dust slowly settled. The huge rock that had fallen from the cliff was right in front of him.

If he had been one step closer, he would have been crushed.

“Th, this is…….”

But it wasn’t over.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Gasp?”

The man who had fallen quickly looked up when he heard a scream from above.

Thwack! Thwack!

Sapaeryeon warriors fell from the cliff, hitting the ground and lying still in pools of blood.

“Wh, wh…….”

Thwack!

There must have been dozens of them.

The air from their fall pushed the dust in all directions.

“Ugh…….”

The man crawled away from the rock.

“Are you alright?”

Those who had barely escaped nodded, their minds blank.

Some were hurt by the flying rock pieces, but luckily, no one had died because they reacted quickly.

Jongli Gok stared at the collapsed cliff, dazed.

“What on earth was that? Just now, that…….”

“Explosives!”

Im So-byeong, covered in dust, appeared, grinding his teeth. His eyes were still on the top of the cliff.

“Explosives! It’s explosives!”

“No, what do you mean…… explosives?”

How would someone in Jianghu get explosives?

Jang Il-so had tricked everyone before with fake explosives on the Jang River. It was hard to get a lot of explosives, even for the Myriad Man House or the Sapaeryeon.

“That’s crazy! That much explosive power must be from high-quality explosives. There’s no way they could get it…….”

“It’s the Sun Palace!”

Im So-byeong cut off Jongli Gok, not wanting to hear any more.

“Don’t you know? The Sun Palace isn’t just a Jianghu group! They are the royal family of Yim Eup! They would consider the amount of explosives we think is impossible to be just a small amount!”

Jongli Gok’s face turned white.

“Then…….”

He looked quickly at the top of the cliff. A large crack ran through the middle of the red rock. His heart sank. He felt like cracks were also forming in his heart.

“There’s more…… explosives?”

Did that mean everyone going to the cliff could cause an explosion that big?

*No…… way.*

The cliff had broken apart and a large crack had formed from just one explosion.

What would happen to the cliff if there was an even bigger explosion?

“What are you talking about?”

Namgoong Dowi ran over and shouted, his face pale.

“The cliff is collapsing. What will happen to those on top of it? Huh?”

Everyone was covered in dust and looked defeated, staring at the cliff with blank faces.

It was scary. They wouldn’t even try to climb that cliff normally. If that high cliff fell apart, could anyone on top survive?

*……Absolutely impossible.*

People weren’t birds. And neither were martial artists.

Martial artists could climb high cliffs if they had the strength. But they needed something to hold on to. There was no way to survive falling from that height.

“That doesn’t make sense! It’s not just Hwasan and Wudang on that cliff!”

Moyong Wi-gyeong shouted in despair.

“Most of the people up there are Sapa bastards! If the cliff collapses, many more people than just Hwasan will die…….”

His voice stopped suddenly. His face was already pale, but now it was almost blue.

“……Jang Il-so.”

He had a feeling.

If it was Jang Il-so, and Ho Ga-myung helping him, they would do something like this without hesitation. They wouldn’t care about sending hundreds of their own people to die.

“H, how can a person……. How can a person wearing a human mask…….”

Moyong Wi-gyeong repeated those words like he was crazy. No one answered, but the others felt the same way.

“Th, then we can climb the mountain! Once we get off the cliff…….”

“Be reasonable! They must be deep in the enemy camp by now. They wouldn’t have time for that!”

“Th…….”

Those who knew Hwasan looked blank.

It was true. Hwasan wouldn’t hesitate in front of the enemy.

“Th, then all of this, did it happen to draw Hwasan there?”

“Ho Ga-myung! That dog-like bastard……!”

Im So-byeong shouted in anger. Everyone stomped their feet.

“Ah, we have to let them know!”

“How?”

“We have to go up and stop them! If this continues, Hwasan will!”

That’s right.

They had to let them know. No, they had to stop them now. If they didn’t, the cliff would fall apart, and Hwasan would face a mass death.

But…….

*Go up? Here?*

Moyong Wi-gyeong stared at the huge rock in front of him. Then he looked at the Sapaeryeon warriors who were dead on the ground.

……At those who had just fallen from the cliff and died.

“I will take the lead! Support me from behind!”

Namgoong Dowi shouted, holding his sword. He was about to run towards the cliff. But then he stopped and looked back.

No one was moving.

“What are you doing? We have to go now!”

“……Young Lord.”

“What are you doing, I’m asking! There’s no time for this…….”

“Wh, what if the explosives go off while we’re climbing?”

“……Yes?”

Moyong Wi-gyeong asked again, his face pale.

“What about those below? Those climbing the cliff?”

“…….”

“Wouldn’t they end up like those on top of the cliff……? No, wouldn’t they be in an even worse state?”

“What are you……!”

Namgoong Dowi stopped himself from getting angry.

He saw the despair in the eyes of those looking at him.

“Then are you seriously saying…… we should just leave them?”

“It’s not that, we have to find a way…….”

“What other way is there!”

Namgoong Dowi’s face twisted in anger.

Poong Young-shin-gae bit his lip. He understood how Namgoong Dowi felt. But he couldn’t order them to climb that cliff and stop them. That would be like saying, ‘Let’s all die in Hwasan’s tomb together.’

Namgoong Dowi glared at everyone, grinding his teeth.

His eyes turned cold. Namgoong-myung became worried and reached out his hand.

“Young Lord? Dowi-ya. Ca, calm down for a moment. Huh?”

“…….”

“There will be another way. So, we’ll let them know…….”

And just then.

Namgoong Dowi turned and ran towards the cliff without a word.

“Dowi-ya, no! Dowiii-yaaah!”

He ignored Namgoong-myung’s cry. A white streak appeared on the red cliff as he ran.

It was dangerous, and it was heartbreaking.