Chapter 1313
I think I know? (3)
People were falling like rain.
It sounded absurd, but that absurd spectacle was unfolding right before Jo Geol’s eyes.
His face contorted in horror at the sight of the black-clad figures covering the sky, now appearing narrow and dark.
“Damn it! There’s no way this could have happened!”
When he and Yoon Jong scouted earlier, it certainly wasn’t to this extent.
Though they sensed sporadic sharp energy in the air, the numbers were never this overwhelming.
Yoon Jong, too, gnawed at his lips in bewilderment.
There was only one scenario where such a thing could occur: if there was a large ambush on the backside of the mountain.
But Yoon Jong hadn’t considered such a possibility.
No, there was no need to consider it.
The enemy outnumbered them and had secured a perfectly advantageous terrain.
Why would such individuals bother setting up such traps?
They could simply crush them with force.
Yet, they went to the trouble of setting up those traps.
Only then did Yoon Jong understand what he had missed.
‘They’re desperate too.’
It’s different from before.
Until now, Hwasan had mostly faced opponents stronger than themselves.
That’s why Hwasan always had the upper hand in finding the enemy’s weaknesses and catching them off guard.
But now, the roles were reversed.
They didn’t underestimate Hwasan like their previous opponents did.
They’re using every method available, relentlessly seeking to destroy them even if it means luring them into a trap.
They know full well that they’re not facing real Hwasan, but rather just a few added members of Cheonumaeng with Haenam sect, practically speaking.
It’s because they failed to recognize that change, that desperate resolve.
“Damn it!”
Jo Geol’s frustrated voice echoed.
Jo Geol may be hot-tempered, but he’s not dull.
There’s no way he wouldn’t notice the truth Yoon Jong had realized.
“Ik!”
Finally, as Jo Geol began to bend his posture and prepare to leap upward, Yoon Jong shouted sternly.
“Jo Geol!”
Jo Geol clenched his teeth and turned to Yoon Jong.
“Sahyeong, this is…”
“It’s in the past! Focus on what you need to do now. Protect the disciples of Haenam!”
“But there are too many enemies!”
“They’ll handle it!”
Yoon Jong swiftly crashed Jo Geol’s fierce resistance and raised his head.
The two figures soaring above were visible.
Chung Myung and Yu Iseol.
Both were heading towards the pouring enemies.
“If it’s those two, they’ll surely find a way! Certainly!”
The strong wind flowing through the gorge struck Chung Myung’s body.
His robe fluttered wildly.
Yet, his speed showed no sign of slowing down.
Each step on the cliff face was powerful.
Meanwhile, those descending down the cliff reacted aggressively as soon as they spotted Chung Myung.
“Bring him down!”
“Ughhh!”
Moon blades [월도(月刀) – woldo], crafted to be shorter in length but thicker in order to maximize efficiency in close combat, were swung in unison.
Thick sword auras flew towards Chung Myung in abundance.
Clang! Crash! Clang!
The flying blades of aura were firmly embedded into the cliff face one after another.
The untouched cliff face bore massive gouges resembling claw marks, as if carved by giant demons.
But the target that the blades should have struck, Chung Myung, was already soaring across to the opposite cliff.
It was an unbelievably swift movement.
An ordinary foe would have been left bewildered.
But the black-clad figures showed no surprise. Rather, they seemed to have anticipated it, swinging their blades once again.
Swish!
Dozens of aura blades, simultaneously launched by the black-clad warriors , fiercely flew towards Chung Myung once more.
It was an excessive attack, far beyond what would be needed to stop just one person.
Yet, those who unleashed the onslaught didn’t consider themselves excessive in the slightest.
They already knew.
They knew exactly whom they were facing.
Hwasan Geomhyeop Chung Myung.
Against such a name, the concept of “excessive” simply didn’t exist.
At least not within the ranks of Sapaeryeon.
With resolute determination, the aura blades soared forth, and before them, Chung Myung’s eyes emitted a chilling aura.
From all directions.
Every possible path of Chung Myung’s movement was thoroughly covered.
There was nowhere to retreat, nowhere to escape.
They say there’s a hole to escape even if the sky collapses.
Of course, that might not be true.
But in this gorge, even the sky feels narrow.
Aaaah!
In that desperate moment, Chung Myung chose to face the oncoming aura blades head-on.
“Dojaaang!!”
Watching from below, Namgung Dowi let out a scream-like cry.
An act of suicide.
That’s the only way to describe it.
Avoiding the countless aura blades attached to the cliff face alone seemed impossible.
Yet, in mid-air!
How on earth did he manage to block those blades while suspended in mid-air!
But as Chung Myung’s sword unfolded, Namgung Dowi’s mouth seemed to shut, momentarily silenced.
Aaaah!
The Dark Plum word was swung towards the flying aura blades.
Thud!
Each aura blade collided head-on with Chung Myung’s slender sword.
Logically, Chung Myung’s body should have been pushed back…
No, downwards in this situation.
But at that moment, the sword smoothly rotated, causing Chung Myung’s body to rise even higher.
It’s absurd, but it was as if the aura blades flying towards him from the front were pushing him up, instead of pushing him down.
Namgung Dowi’s eyes widened.
“T-that!”
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
No, he could understand it, but he couldn’t believe it.
The pinnacle of the art of reversal [or polar opposites 극성]: moving the flowers onto a different tree [이화접목(移花接木) – ihwajeobmog – an idiom].
It’s the highest level of utilizing an opponent’s strength against them.
Rather than just diverting the opponent’s force, it’s a technique that manipulates that force as desired.
The skill of Ihwajeobmog together with soft sword [유(柔)], which elevates Wudangs’s martial arts to a level comparable to Shaolin, was now unfolding through Chung Myung.
It was a level Wudang would be astonished to witness.
‘How?’
A sensation akin to being struck by lightning enveloped Namgung Dowi’s entire body.
In theory, Ihwajeobmog might not seem like an extraordinary technique.
After all, isn’t reversing an opponent’s force one of the first skills you learn after mastering the basics of martial arts?
However, the reason why Ihwajeobmog is considered an advanced technique is because applying its simple principles in actual combat is nearly impossible due to its difficulty.
Yet, Chung Myung flawlessly manifested this technique with his sword.
He deflected the opponent’s force entirely behind him, converting the recoil into forward momentum.
He knew it, yet he couldn’t understand it, he saw it, yet he couldn’t believe it.
Even though Namgung Dowi had experienced Maehwado, trained with Cheonumaeng, and endured rigorous real-world combat in Gangnam, he still couldn’t comprehend it.
The significance of using that sword in actual combat.
How staggering it is to lift one’s body solely using the opponent’s force in mid-air, where there’s no place to step.
Thud! Thud!
Chung Myung advanced forward, deflecting aura blades with his sword.
With each collision, the speed increased.
By the time he emerged from the forest of aura blades, his figure was almost indistinguishable from a black flash.
“I-insane!”
Those watching from above were overwhelmed with astonishment and fear at the sight.
There seemed to be no way for a person to escape from the onslaught of aura blades.
Yet, that seemingly non-existent path had unmistakably opened up before them.
It’s as if the aura blades were turning themselves to clear a path for Chung Myung.
Finally, as he struck down the last one, Chung Myung’s body shot upwards at lightning speed.
“Kuk!”
Someone who saw Chung Myung flying towards them instinctively raised their moon blade to shield themselves.
But at that moment, Chung Myung’s sword was swung with an entirely different momentum than before.
From bottom to top, it was a smooth and powerful motion.
Aaaah!
The Dark Plum Sword collided head-on with the black-clad man’s blade, propelled by internal strength.
Clang!
With a deafening blast that felt like it could shatter eardrums, the body of the man was cut in two, and were sent flying at a speed that seemed impossible to process, slamming into the cliff with force.
In a single stroke that cleaved the black-clad man in half, Chung Myung dove straight into the midst of the descending enemies, twisting his waist.
Aaaah!
As his waist swiftly returned to its original position, the sword held in his hand traced a circle in the air like a rising sun.
Everything within the radius of that circle was swiftly cut down.
Those whose throats were slashed died instantly without even a chance to scream, but those whose limbs were severed found themselves writhing in agony in the air, with nowhere to step, as they struggled to grasp their wounds and scream.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Without giving them a chance to catch their breath, Chung Myung extends his sword and pierces through the chest of the screaming man.
Just half an inch.
Chung Myung plunges the sword deep enough to not reach the heart, then swiftly pulls it down with force, lifting his body into the air once again with the recoil.
A momentary flicker of dismay passes through the eyes of the black-clad men.
Attacking those below from above was a routine they had performed countless times.
But had there ever been a time when they had mixed hands with someone in mid-air like this?
The rigorous training they had undergone, risking their lives for, seemed futile in this moment.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
In mid-air, Chung Myung swung his sword.
The carotid arteries of the three enemies were pierced through with pinpoint accuracy.
Stepping on the collapsing torsos of his enemies, Chung Myung leaped once more.
“G-grrrk…”
The eyes of the black-clad man whose neck was pierced exuded venom.
For him, there was only death left.
With this realization, he intended to make Chung Myung his companion on the journey to the afterlife.
No, he tried to.
But in that moment, a sharp pain shot through his wrist as he attempted to wield his sword.
Thunk!
The hand holding the sword separated from the body and fell.
The black-clad man watched with a blank expression.
Something dark brushed against him and soared upward.
“H… Hwasan…?”
Even as consciousness began to fade, the vivid image seemed etched into his mind.
Amidst the encroaching haze, a cold-eyed female swordsman stepped on his chest, following Chung Myung, who had already soared upward.
As if she was guarding him.
Chung Myung continued to move upwards, never falling back for even a moment.
And thus, in the blink of an eye, Chung Myung rose higher than the gorge, soaring even higher than where the black-clad men had thrown themselves.
As he emerged from the gorge, the sky, which had seemed narrow, spread out expansively.
Launching high into the sky, Chung Myung momentarily spun his body in mid-air and kicked the air.
Then he accelerated down.
Hwaaaa!
Countless plum blossoms bloomed from the outstretched tip of Chung Myung’s sword.
Like plum trees growing between cliffs, they bloomed endlessly in the narrow sky of the gorge, painting it red with blossoms, one after another.
A deeper crimson hue than usual emanated from Chung Myung’s sword.
Developed with utmost vigor one of the Twenty-Four Techniques of Plum Blossom Swordsmanship [이십사수매화검법(二十四手梅花劍法) – isib-sasu-maehwa-geombeob] – Plum Blossom Blood Rain [매화혈우(梅花血雨) – maehwa-hyeol-u], a manifestation of an ultimate skill, rained down upon the heads of the black-clad men.
As if thirsting for even more blood.
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