Wherever that is. (5)

Crunch!

A mass of people ascends the smooth white cliff, gleaming like a well-polished mirror.

“Climb! Go up!”

Someone’s harsh shout pierces the eardrums. The cry, resounding as if to tear the throat, shook the heart like the drums of a battlefield.

“Huff! Huff!”

The person climbing the cliff, hands digging into the rock, reflexively looked down. It was dizzyingly far, enough to make his knees weak.

“Ah…”

In that moment, fear filled his eyes.

The sheer cliff and the swarm of people climbing it. The bizarre scene made the heart of the Sapaeryeon’s warriors, who had faced countless life-and-death situations, shrink.

“Climb!”

“Don’t, don’t push… Ah, aaaaah!”

Someone lost balance for a moment due to the force pushing up from below, slipping off the cliff face and plummeting down.

“Aaaaah!”

“Aaah!”

Similar screams echoed from various places.

Evil Sect is a place that gathers anyone who can wield a weapon.

It was impossible for people of varying martial arts skills to synchronize their climbing speed up the cliff in the first place.

“Move!”

“Aaaaah!”

Climbing the cliff with their lives on the line left no room to consider or help those around them. Those falling behind were pulled down, and those incapable of climbing were kicked aside. They climbed and climbed the cliff, focusing only on what lay above.

There was only one reason they climbed the cliff so desperately.

“It’s coming!”

Whoosh!

The flames, which had been pushed back once, swept back up the cliff with the wind, engulfing it once more.

Those who could repel the flames with their inner strength survived, but the fate of those who couldn’t was obvious.

“Aaaaah!”

Someone covered their burning face and plummeted down the cliff.

Even without the swords of Wudang reaching them, the casualties were mounting. This was a reckless assault, accepting meaningless sacrifices. From a strategic standpoint, it could be considered a move of desperation, one of the worst possible.

However, the pressure this strategy exerted on Wudang was unimaginable.

“They’re coming!”

A hellish sea of fire spread out, with waves of people surging through it. 

It seemed like watching demons rise from the depths of hell to the surface. Their malice, directed solely at Wudang, might have been more terrifying than that of any demon.

“Stay calm!”

However, Wudang had a distinct advantage. They had already experienced climbing a cliff once before.

“Let them have it!”

“Yes!”

Crash!

The people clinging to the cliff’s edge kicked down piles of large rocks they had stacked in advance.

It was a surprisingly simple attack method for martial artists to employ.

Yet, having endured it once already, Wudang knew all too well how perilous this tactic was for those climbing the cliff. It was more dangerous than any legendary sword.

Crash!

The cascading rocks smashed against the cliff face, shattering into sharp fragments and obliterating protruding ledges indiscriminately. The deluge of stones rained down on the heads of Sapaeryeon’s climbers attached to the cliff.

“Aaaah!”

Climbing the cliff required keeping one hand firmly on the surface. Those who had not yet mastered the art of protecting their bodies with inner strength relied solely on their trained bodies. However, mere human flesh was far too fragile to withstand the accelerated impact of boulders that had fallen dozens of jang.

Thud! Thud!

“Aaaaah!”

“Aaah!”

Flesh burst and bones shattered instantly.

The accelerating boulders didn’t stop with just one victim but rolled down with the momentum to sweep away everyone below.

“These…!”

Boom!

Someone quickly shattered a boulder the size of a person with a burst of power. At the same time, an enraged voice echoed.

“You idiots, instead of screaming, break and smash them! Do you think the rocks will avoid you if you scream? You damned idiots!”

A robust man shouted until the canyon echoed, then grabbed the ankle of the person in front of him.

“Get out of the way! Useless idiot!”

“Aaaah!”

The man, who ruthlessly tossed aside those in his way, climbed upward, higher and higher. He launched a series of powerful attacks against the rain of falling stones.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

Every rock that encountered his power shattered into pieces. Not only the robust man, but several others in the lead swung their weapons to knock away the stones.

“Climb! Climb now in this gap! There’s no way back for you anyway! If you don’t want to cling here and wait to be burned to death, climb and survive!”

“Climb up! Now!”

It was indeed a swift and wise response.

While the martial skills of Sapaeryeon might not match those of the prestigious Just Sects, its warriors, who had survived countless battles, knew better than anyone what needed to be done to survive. Only those with such quick judgment had managed to stay alive.

This adaptability was one of Sapaeryeon’s greatest strengths on unconventional battlefields.

“Release them!”

Once again, a mass of stones mercilessly cascaded down the cliff.

Crash!

“Smash them!”

But this time, the rocks did not sweep away the bodies of the enemies – instead, they were deflected by attacks launched in advance.

Finally, they had adapted and grown accustomed to this assault.

“Sasuk!”

Wudang’s disciples, slightly flustered that their prepared tactics hadn’t worked, glanced at Heo Gong. Heo Gong clicked his tongue briefly.

If they had prepared heated oil and gunpowder as Sapaeryeon had in the past, they could have dealt with such adversaries in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, Wudang didn’t have the time or resources, like Jang Ilso had in the past, to prepare for this situation.

There was naturally a limit to the damage that could be inflicted with mere piles of stones.

Even if they resorted to cutting and throwing logs, would those who shattered the falling rocks be affected by mere logs?

“Do those Evil Sect’s scum have some skill?”

Heo Gong looked down at the cliff below with eyes filled with cold killing intent. Then, turning away from the edge, he walked back.

“The next move is…”

“There’s no need for that.”

Heo Gong turned his body and drew his sword like lightning. A white aura surged from the blade.

Swoosh!

The sword energy, shaped like a crescent moon, flew through the air and pierced the ground.

Crack!

Then it broke through the cliff’s face and shot into the sky. Everyone who witnessed this widened their eyes in astonishment.

And then.

Grind, grind, grind.

With a sound like something massive scraping, the ground they were standing on began to slowly slide toward the cliff.

“Uh…”

Grind, grind, grind!

The severed ground, now better described as a gigantic rock mass, picked up speed as it slid toward the cliff, tilting precariously.

The scene was so absurdly grand that the mouths of Wudang’s disciples dropped open. However, the shock they felt could not compare to the shock of those witnessing the scene from below.

“Uh…”

The man, climbing the cliff in the lead stopped momentarily, mouth agape. His eyes widened as a gigantic shadow began to envelop his field of vision.

A massive mass, rendering the word ‘boulder’ inadequate.

Even the robust man, who had easily deflected the rain of stones, felt despair at the sight of the enormous mass tilting at the cliff’s edge.

“That, that…”

Boom.

The mass of rock began to fall from the edge of the cliff.

Rumble!

With a thunderous roar as if the sky was collapsing, the rock descended with the force to shatter the entire cliff.

“Run awayyyyyyy!”

In a situation where resistance seemed impossible, those clinging to the cliff screamed and flung themselves away.

Boom! Boom!

As the cliff shattered, it scattered debris in all directions, and the massive rock, which could only be described as ‘terror,’ rolled down, crushing and bursting those climbing the cliff like insects.

Crash! Crash!

“Aaaaah!”

Those who could at least scream were better off. Those who couldn’t escape in time and were hit directly by the rock were crushed without even a chance to scream.

Crash!

One person, staggering because of the force of the rock brushing past them, looked up in horror.

‘How!’

In the past, they had to use explosives to blow up cliffs to create a mass of rock this size at the Yangtze River.

But those Wudang bastards up there had cut the cliff with a sword instead of explosives.

Does that mean their sword energy has the same power as thousands of barrels of gunpowder? How can a person do such a thing?

‘Wu… Wudang…’

Amidst the flames and madness, a realization suddenly returned that had been momentarily forgotten: the overwhelming pressure and weight of the name ‘Wudang.’

“Climb!”

A desperate shout rang out from one of the survivors.

“If you dawdle, more rocks will fall! If you want to live, climb faster, now!”

Those words were indeed effective.

Dwelling on fear would only lead to obvious results. Everyone began climbing the cliff with even more determination than before.

“If you want to live, climb! Once we reach the top of the cliff, we can tear those bastards to pieces! Climb! Faster!”

Eyes filled with despair, fear, and hatred turned toward the sky… No, toward the edge of the cliff that met the sky.

“Sasuk!”

And at that edge, Heo Gong stood resolutely, receiving the barrage of murderous and hateful gazes with an expressionless face.

Wudang’s disciples watching Heo Gong’s back felt a renewed sense of awe. The swordsmanship Heo Gong had displayed earlier had reached a level they could not even hope to imitate.

Though Heo Gong was known as Wudang’s greatest talent and genius, who could have imagined he had already reached such heights? During the long Bongmun, Heo Gong’s sword had become incomparably sharper than before.

“Roll the stones again.”

“Yes, Sasuk!”

Emboldened, the disciples of Wudang moved with perfect coordination.

With Heo Gong, we can win. We can crush those hateful enemies completely.

Just as this hope filled everyone’s hearts, the shouting from below resumed.

“Climb! I said climb, you worthless scum! If any of you cowards hesitate, I’ll cut your throats myself! Get up there now…”

The man who had been screaming until his neck turned crimson suddenly bit his lip.

Those who had already climbed the cliff had no way back, but those who had not yet begun still had a choice.

Since the massive rock had fallen earlier, those who hadn’t started climbing were gradually inching backwards, even though a few had been killed as an example.

If things continued like this, he wouldn’t have to worry about the enemy. His own neck would be at risk. He had to do something, but the shocking scene they had witnessed moments ago made both his words and sword ineffective.

“Move now, you bastards…”

As he cursed again, he felt a chilling sensation down his spine and instinctively turned around. The blazing flames parted easily to either side.

Whoosh.

Soon, a man appeared, walking slowly through the parted flames.

“C-Commander!”

“We greet the Commander!”

Poisoned Heart Rakshasa Ho Gamyeong paid no attention to their salutes, his cold eyes fixed on the cliff. He examined the eroded cliff and the traces of the massive rock below.

“As expected, they have some skill.”

“C-Commander! If we keep attacking in the same way, our losses will be too great.”

“So?”

“Pardon?”

“So?”

The subordinate who had spoken flinched and quickly bowed his head. He couldn’t withstand Ho Gamyeong’s cold gaze.

Ho Gamyeong gave him an indifferent glance before turning his attention back to the cliff.

“I don’t care about the losses. Push them harder.”

“Yes, Commander!”

Ho Gamyeong’s eyes, devoid of any emotion, were fixed on the lone figure standing atop the cliff.

His gaze met Heo Gong’s across the white backdrop of the cliff.

Ho Gamyeong muttered as if speaking to himself.

“Today… we erase the name of Wudang.”

It was a declaration that could never be taken back.