Chapter 1329
Nothing is out of the question. (4)
The sound of the impact echoed.
“Aaaargh!”
An arrow pierced through the chest of a disciple from Haenam. Overwhelmed by pain, he screamed.
Normally, deflecting a falling arrow would be natural. They hadn’t been training in vain until now.
But when the arrows collided with the elders’ deployed formation and bounced off broken, sharp arrowheads flew in all directions with no mercy.
“G-gahhh…”
With a pain akin to being engulfed in flames searing through his chest, his strength drained from his body. He sank to his knees, clutching his chest in agony.
“Let go!”
At that moment, as if sensing his plight, Tang Soso rushed over and forcefully pulled his hand away, tending to his wound.
“S-So-Sojeo… Behind…”
Once again, a shard from the broken arrow flew and embedded itself into Tang Soso’s back as she sat in front of the fallen person.
However, she didn’t even blink as she tended to the wounded person’s injuries.
“Hold on!”
With clenched teeth, Tang Soso applied the ointment to the injured person’s wounds. Then, without hesitation, she firmly inserted a needle into the wound.
Thunk!
Simultaneously, the arrowhead that had been lodged in there popped out.
“Aaargh!”
Despite the agonizing scream, Tang Soso held the struggling individual tightly, forcefully applying the antidote and hemostatic agent to the gaping wound. Her hands quickly became stained crimson with blood.
At first glance, it may seem like an overly aggressive approach. However, there was no other choice at the moment. If left untreated, the arrowhead could continue to penetrate deeper and potentially reach the heart.
With lightning speed, Tang Soso quickly tended to the wound, realizing that leaving the arrowhead embedded could be more dangerous. She momentarily left the disoriented individual and swiftly moved to treat the person groaning with an arrow lodged in their neck.
But before she could reach him, he yanked the arrow from his own neck. Blood gushed out.
“No, don’t!”
Tang Soso desperately tried to stop the flow of blood from the wound with both hands.
“Cough, cough…”
“Hang in there! Just hold on a little longer! I’ll save you if you hold on!”
But her cries fell on deaf ears as the man’s life rapidly drained away. The light of life faded from his eyes.
Tang Soso’s fingertips trembled faintly. The blood still felt so warm in her hands, yet the man was already gone.
She closed her eyes tightly, then abruptly stood up.
And she ran towards another fallen person.
She didn’t want to shed tears, but they kept welling up uncontrollably. The scene before her became increasingly blurry.
But there was no time to wipe away tears or mourn.
It felt futile. Utterly miserable.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t save those who were dying. There was no way to stop the light from fading in the desperate eyes of those who pleaded for salvation.
If she had known the agony would be so unbearable, she might never have touched medicine.
Yet, despite it all, she turned away from despair and moved forward steadfastly. Among everyone present, she was the only physician.
Paaaaaaa!
In that moment, a massive surge of energy, charged with immense power, hurtled towards her at incredible speed.
Sensing it, Tang Soso snapped her eyes open. Before she could react, someone leaped forward like lightning and swiftly deflected the energy blast.
“Sasuk!”
It was Baek Cheon. He gritted his teeth and glared at the direction from which the energy came. He wanted nothing more than to rush over there and tear apart those damned bastards limb from limb. But he had no way to leave this place right now.
‘Yoon Jong, Jo Geol! Hurry!’
All they could do was trust those who rushed forward and hold the line.
“They’re coming again!”
Baek Cheon’s gaze shot intensely towards the sky. Despite the elder’s efforts to block the bombardment moments ago, arrows were raining down once again.
‘No!’
Baek Cheon leaped into the air, his eyes bloodshot. Even if there was no one to help, he had to try something. He couldn’t bear to watch people die with their eyes open again.
He summoned every ounce of remaining energy from his dantian. But before he could thrust his sword, someone soared higher right beside him.
“Samae!”
Seeing the familiar figure, Baek Cheon couldn’t help but shout out. Like a falcon, Yu Iseol soared into the air and swung her sword towards the raining arrows.
Saaaaaaa!
With a sound like silk being scraped by a sword, Yu Iseol’s sword drew a large circle in the air, resembling the full moon.
At its zenith, the Moon Maiden Sword [월녀검(月女劍) – wolnyeo-geom].
The trajectory it created formed a barrier, like a huge umbrella, blocking the raining arrows.
“Samae, be careful! The cannons are coming!”
Baek Cheon urgently shouted. At that moment, something passed by his side at an incredible speed.
‘A dagger?’
It was indeed a dagger flying through the air, stirring up a whirlwind. The fiercely spinning dagger soared into the forest ahead, piercing through it in an instant.
“Aaaah!”
From a distance, although faint, the screams were clearly audible.
That dagger had undoubtedly produced some results. Following slightly behind the dagger he had launched, Tang Pae, who had arrived late rolled his body to evade the raining arrows and shouted.
“I can contain the bombardment! Please just block the arrows, Vice Sect Leader!”
“Yes!”
As Baek Cheon silently descended to the ground, he felt the pressure leave his body.
With just two more people added, his breathing suddenly eased. It was a moment that clearly demonstrated how important a single expert could be in a critical situation.
The others weren’t playing either.
“Damn it! Stop advancing and stick to the cliff face!”
Im Sobyeong gave orders furiously.
“Hwasan and Young Lords, focus only on the cannonballs and don’t waste energy on arrows! Elders, block the arrows while sticking close to the person behind you! It’s as simple as blocking what’s above your head, you bastards!”
In the chaos of battle, such orders served as guiding lights. Whether these orders came from a leader of Sapa or not, in this situation, everyone instinctively followed them to find a way to survive.
Paaaaaaa!
Yu Iseol landed on the ground and dashed forward at a terrifying speed.
“Samae!”
Baek Cheon called out urgently, but Yu Iseol didn’t even turn her head.
Paaaaaaa!
Yu Iseol sensed the incoming threat as the speeding lightning bolt raced toward her. However, she continued her momentum, swinging her sword to intercept the flying blade of energy.
Clang!
The sharp sound of metal meeting metal reverberated as the lightning bolt was deflected by Yu Iseol’s sword, narrowly grazing her shoulder.
But Yu Iseol seemed to pay no heed to the wound… No, she charged forward as if unaware of the injury, displaying a sense of urgency.
Sensing something amiss, Baek Cheon instinctively stepped forward before hesitating and pulling back.
He bit down hard on his lip.
Corpses were piling up on the ground. The disciples and elders of Haenam resembled hedgehogs, with arrows stuck in their bodies.
His duty was to protect everyone here. To reduce the number of those who ended up in such a state.
With almost depleted inner strength, his hand gripping the sword trembled, but there was no room for being weak.
Boom! Boom!
As the bombardment sounds pierced his ears again, Baek Cheon, as if in a rage, shot towards the incoming projectiles.
Blood seeped from his bitten lips. Yet, Jo Geol felt no pain.
There were archers ahead shooting arrows like rain. It wasn’t so difficult to rush there and unleash a flurry of retaliation.
However, Jo Geol suppressed the impulse with a feeling akin to plunging a knife into his thigh.
‘Where are you?’
They must be nearby. One of those archers firing that deadly shots! If he didn’t deal with them, the main force couldn’t move forward.
‘Where are you hiding!’
Jo Geol swiftly scanned his surroundings. The tension in the air spread rapidly in all directions.
Moments later.
“Found you!”
Jo Geol, who bent his back, darted forward.
Sensing his location exposed, the archer unleashed a relentless barrage of arrows towards Jo Geol. Dozens of lightning-fast arrows poured towards him simultaneously.
But Jo Geol, with his incredible speed, was not about to falter. His sword moved at a dazzling pace, deflecting every arrow that flew his way.
“You bastard!”
Despite the relentless onslaught, Jo Geol’s speed showed no signs of slowing down. The archer, wearing a mask to conceal his face, looked perplexed as Jo Geol effortlessly countered every attack.
However, realizing the futility of the rapid fire, he momentarily paused, channeling his inner strength to put it into one arrow.
Wooong!
As Jo Geol infused his sword with energy, it resonated, vibrating with power. Similarly, the arrow the archer held began to thrum with life, akin to a lively carp darting through water. With a determined pull, he drew the bowstring made of twisted steel to its breaking point.
Twang!
The taut bowstring reached its limit as it aimed directly at Jo Geol. Despite knowing that a formidable arrow, charged with immense energy, was aimed at him, Jo Geol didn’t evade but instead ran straight ahead.
In the moment their eyes met, with the distance between them closing rapidly, the archer released the bowstring. The arrow spun fiercely, hurtling towards Jo Geol in a straight line.
Quaaaa!
The air rushed towards the arrowhead, creating a whirlwind in the void. It resembled an enraged dragon.
Jo Geol countered by pulling his right hand gripping the sword across his left shoulder.
“Hayab!”
With a resounding battle cry, the blade of the Plum Blossom Sword swung with all his might, collided with the arrow.
Kaaaaang!
A metallic sound, akin to an explosion, resonated sharply. Despite pouring all his strength into the sword, the arrow charged with internal energy didn’t bounce off but instead pressed forward, gnashing against the blade with its rotating tip.
The impact would have shattered an ordinary steel sword on the spot. However, the Plum Blossom Sword, imbued with the essence of the Tang clan’s craftsmanship, tenaciously withstood the penetrating arrow.
And at that moment…
“Taaaab!”
With a mighty battle cry, Jo Geol thrust his left hand towards the sword. Saturated with the power of Hwasan’s Bamboo Leaf Hand, his hand, tinged with a green hue, forcefully struck the opposite side of the sword where the arrow had landed.
Kwaaaang!
As the sword absorbed the impact, the trajectory of the arrow was altered. However, with some force remaining, the arrow grazed Jo Geol’s side in the end.
Jo Geol’s side bore a crescent-shaped wound as if it had been cut out, while the left hand that struck the sword revealed a wound so deep that the bone was visible.
As a result, what he gained was the distance of about three jang from his enemy.
“Kuk!”
The archer swiftly flung his body backward, retrieving another arrow from his quiver and nocking it onto his bowstring.
Just as he aimed the bow at his opponent, a beam of light pierced through his field of vision.
Paaaat!
The swift sword pierced through the archer’s throat in an instant.
“Kuk….”
With a stifled groan, the archer collapsed, wearing an expression of disbelief.
Thud.
Removing the sword from the archer’s throat, Jo Geol tightly clenched his left hand, which was dripping with blood, and plunged his legs straight into the ground.
‘Where’s the next one?’
His face, once lively and full of mischief, now bore the expression of a cold-hearted swordsman.
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