Chapter 1313: I Think I Already Know The Answer? (Part 3)

People fell like rain.

It sounded absurd, but that unbelievable scene was unfolding before Jo Gol's eyes right now.

His face was distorted with horror at the sight of the figures in black completely blocking the narrow sky.

"Damn it! There was definitely nothing like this before!"

When he and Yoon Jong investigated, it certainly wasn't to this extent. While sporadic sharp energy could be sensed, the quantity was never this overwhelming.

Yoon Jong, too, bit his lips in bewilderment.

The only possible scenario for such an ambush was if they were massed in large numbers behind the mountain, not on top.

However, Yoon Jong hadn't considered that possibility.

No, there was no need to consider it.

The enemy occupied a strategically advantageous terrain, with few vulnerabilities.

Why would they resort to such traps?

Just crush them with force, and it would be over.

Yet, they deliberately set up these traps.

Only now did Yoon Jong understand what he had overlooked.

'They are desperate too.'

It was different from before.

Until now, the Mount Hua Sect mostly confronted opponents stronger than them.

Therefore, the one catching the enemy off guard was always Mount Hua.

But now, the roles were reversed.

They didn't underestimate Mount Hua like Mount Hua's previous adversaries did.

The enemies used every available method, attempting to thoroughly tear them apart, even inducing complacency.

Although they were well aware that they weren't all Mount Hua members but essentially a few individuals from the Southern Island Sect added to the Heavenly Comrade Alliance.

They missed what they should have noticed due to not understanding that change, that desperate determination.

"Dammit!"

Jo Gol's angry roar echoed.

Jo Gol may have had a hasty personality, but he wasn't dull.

Yoon Jong couldn't deny that fact.

"Eii!"

When Jo Gol bent his posture and prepared to leap forward, Yoon Jong sternly shouted.

"Jo Gol!"

Jo Gol turned to look at Yoon Jong, teeth clenched.

"Sahyung, this is...!"

"It's in the past! Do what you need to do now. Protect the disciples of the Southern Island!"

"But there are too many enemies!"

"They'll handle it!"

Yoon Jong, who quickly suppressed Jo Gol's fierce resistance, looked up. The two figures rushing towards the pouring enemies were visible: Chung Myung and Yoo Iseol.

"If it's those two, they'll definitely manage somehow! Absolutely!"

A strong wind flowed through the canyon, striking Chung Myung's entire body.

His uniform fluttered madly.

But Chung Myung's speed didn't diminish at all.

Each step on the cliff face was powerful.

On the other hand, those descending down the cliff noticed Chung Myung and immediately used their martial arts.

"Bring him down!"

"Aghhh!"

To achieve maximum efficiency in close combat, moon blades (월도), reduced in length and increased in thickness, were swung in unison.

Thick blades whirled through the air towards Chung Myung.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The flying blades struck the cliff face one by one.

The untouched cliff face bore large marks, resembling gouges from the claws of a giant demon.

However, Chung Myung, who the blades were supposed to defeat, had already propelled himself to the cliff on the opposite side.

It was an unbelievably swift movement. In the face of such an extraordinary attack, an ordinary foe would have been bewildered. However, the Black Shades showed no surprise; rather, they seemed to have expected it, swinging their blades once again.

[I'm pretty sure it's "men in black", but for convenience, clarity, and coolness, I will keep using "Black Shades"]

Swoosh!

Dozens of blades simultaneously launched by the Black Shades fiercely flew towards Chung Myung. The attack was excessive for just one person.

However, those delivering the dense assault didn't think for a moment that they were excessive.

Who were they dealing with right now?

Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword, Chung Myung.

Against such a lofty name, the concept of being 'excessive' didn't exist.

At least within the Evil Tyrant Alliance!

In front of the approaching blades, Chung Myung emitted a pale chill from his eyes.

Front, back, left, right.

It was a perfect coverage of where Chung Myung could move.

There was nowhere to retreat; there was no place to avoid.

It is said that if the sky falls, there would be holes through which to rise. [idk?]

Of course, that may not be the case.

However, within this gorge, even the sky itself was narrow.

Paaah!

In that life-or-death moment, Chung Myung's choice was to face the oncoming blades head-on.

"Dojaaaaang!"

Nangung Dowi, who saw the scene from below, let out a scream-like cry.

A suicidal act.

That was the only way to describe it.

Just dodging the countless blades attached to the cliff was already unreasonable.

But to do so in mid-air!

How on earth can he block those blades while floating in the air?

However, as Chung Myung's sword unfolded, Nangung Dowi's mouth seemed to be instantly silenced as if blocked.

Swoosh!

The Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword swung towards the flying blades.

Thud!

Each thick Moon Blade collided head-on with Chung Myung's narrow sword.

Logically, Chung Myung's body should be pushed backward...

No, downward.

But at that moment, the sword spun smoothly, and instead, Chung Myung's body soared even higher. It was absurd, as if the blades flying directly at him were pushing up his back.

Nangung Dowi widened his eyes.

"T-That!"

Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't understand what had happened.

No, he could understand, but he couldn't believe it.

Shifting Flowers Footwork (移花接木). [More accurate is "grafting", but that sounds ugly]

This was the highest level of footwork that used the opponent's strength against them.

It wasn't just about diverting the opponent's strength but mastering the art of using that strength as desired.

The Shifting Flowers that technique lifted the Wudang Sect to a position rivaling Shaolin, along with the flexibility of the soft swordsmanship (柔), was now unfolding through Chung Myung.

Even the Wudangs themselves would be astonished.

'How?'

A shudder, as if struck by lightning, enveloped Nangung Dowi's entire body.

When closely examined, Shifting Flowers Footwork wasn't an incredibly profound technique.

Isn't one of the first things you learn after mastering the fundamentals of martial arts reversing the opponent's strength?

Nevertheless, the reason the Shifting Flowers Footwork was a technique said to be on the level of ascension mastery was due to the extreme difficulty of applying this simple principle in practical situations.

Nevertheless, Chung Myung perfectly manifested this technique with his sword.

He skillfully diverted the opponent's strength entirely behind him and converted that recoil into a propelling force moving forward.

Even thought he knew it, he couldn't understand it, and even though he saw it, he couldn't believe it.

Having underwent the Plum Blossom Island incident, having trained within the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, and having experienced a grueling battle in Gangnam, Namgung Dowi knew.

What did it mean to use that swordplay in real combat?

How incredible it was, in a space without footholds, to lift one's body into the air using only the opponent's strength.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Chung Myung advanced, Moon Blades spilling into his sword.

With each deflection, his speed increased. By the time he emerged from the forest of Moon Blades, his figure almost resembled a black sword.

"What!"

Those who saw this spectacle from above were filled with astonishment and fear.

There seemed to be no way for a person to escape from within those flying Moon Blades.

However, a path that shouldn't exist was clearly opened right now.

It was as if the Moon Blades were turning themselves, opening a path for Chung Myung.

Finally, after striking down the last Moon Blade, Chung Myung's body shot upward at a tremendous speed.

"Ugh!"

Seeing Chung Myung flying towards them, someone reflexively raised their weapon to shield themselves. However, at that moment, Chung Myung's sword swung with an entirely different force than before.

From below to above, it was a smooth and powerful motion.

Paaaaaaaah!

The Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword collided head-on with the Black Shades' blade assisted by internal energy.

Quaaaang!

Accompanied by a thunderous explosion that seemed to burst eardrums, the body of a Black Shades, split in two, was sent flying at a breakneck speed and crashed into the cliff.

In a single breath, Chung Myung, who had cleaved the Black Shade in half, plunged straight through the midst of those who were descending and twisted his waist.

"Paaaah!"

As his waist twisted to its fullest extent, it instantly snapped back, and the sword held in his hand drew a circle like a rising sun at its zenith.

Everything within the radius of that circle was instantly swept away.

Those whose throats were cut died instantly without even a chance to scream, but those whose limbs were severed had no ground to land on, clutching their wounds and screaming into the air.

"Uwaaaaaah!"

However, without a breath's moment, Chung Myung, extended his sword and pierced through the chest of the one screaming.

Just half a hand's span.

Chung Myung, who had stabbed the sword so that it barely missed the heart, quickly swung the sword down again, lifting his body into the air once more with the recoil.

A momentary hesitation flashed in the eyes of the Black Shades below.

Overwhelming those below was something they had done countless times, but had they ever mixed hands with someone in the air like this?

The rigorous training they had undergone repeatedly, even risking their lives, seemed useless at this moment.

Squeeak! Squeeak! Squeeak!

Chung Myung moved his sword through the air.

The carotid arteries of the three Black Shades were pierced without the slightest error.

Stepping on the upper bodies of the fallen Black Shades, Chung Myung leaped up again.

"Kkuk, kkk..."

The eyes of the Black Shade whose throat was grabbed burned with venom.

In any case, the path left for him was only death.

With the thought of making Chung Myung his companion on the journey to the afterlife, he swung the sword.

No, he tried to swing it.

But at that moment, a sharp pain penetrated the wrist holding his sword.

Swueeak!

The hand holding the sword separated from his body and fell away.

The Black Shade stared blankly at the scene.

Something dark brushed past him and shot upward.

"Mount Hua's...?"

Even as his consciousness gradually faded, that vivid image seemed to be etched in his eyes. A female swordsman with a cold gaze was chasing Chung Myung, who had already soared above.

As if guarding.

Chung Myung rose higher and higher. Without falling for even a moment. And in an instant, he rose higher than the canyon, higher than the positions where the bodies of the Black Shades had flown.

As they exited the canyon, the sky, which had seemed narrow, spread out wide. Chung Myung, who had jumped high into the air, rotated his body for a moment and slammed the air.

And then he accelerated downward.

"Hwaaaah!"

Countless plum blossoms bloomed from the tip of Chung Myung's extended sword.

As if countless plum trees were growing between the cliffs were blooming together, red plum blossoms bloomed endlessly in the narrow canyon's sky.

A hue more vividly scarlet than usual emanated from Chung Myung's sword.

The apex of the Twenty Four Plum Blossom Sword Arts (二十四手梅花劍法), the Plum Blossom Blood Rain (梅花血雨), deployed in its extreme state, poured down on the heads of the powerful Black Shades.

As if craving another shower of blood.