Chapter 1670 - Because There Will Be a Future (5)

Kwarurururung!

A massive rock falls again.

Kwaaang! Kwaaang!

Though the cliff is nearly vertical, being a mountain, it still has a slight incline. Each time the rock collides with the cliff, the earth-shattering roar reverberates through the entire mountain.

"Get out of the wayyyyyy!"

With a scream that seemed to tear their throats, those climbing the cliff frantically scattered in all directions.

They should be used to these attacks by now, but the results of the falling rocks are even more horrific than before.

"Aaaaagh!"

Those swept away become pulp and are flung into the air, while others who aren't hit lose their balance due to the vibrations and fall to their deaths.

Even knowing an attack is coming, no amount of shouting helps.

The Evil Sect members have already climbed halfway up the cliff. Countless individuals are hanging on the steep cliff. Do they all have the ability to dodge the falling rocks and keep climbing the cliff?

If they did, the Evil Sect would have already conquered the world.

In such a situation, every time a rock falls, dozens of lives are easily snuffed out.

Fortunately, it's night; if it were bright daylight, the white cliff would be visibly stained red with the blood and flesh of the Evil Sect members.

"Commander! This is...!"

"Shut your mouth! Don't say anything!"

Meaningless sacrifice. Reckless advance.

Who wouldn't know what words follow? Similar thoughts had already passed through his mind several times.

But it's not their place to judge whether this operation has meaning or not.

Those who are to decide the meaning of this madness are all below the cliff. Especially one person among them.

If 'he' judged it meaningful, even if everyone clinging to the cliff had to die, they had to climb the cliff. That's the way of the Evil Sect.

So, instead of such meaningless thoughts...

The man's eyes turned upward.

They had cut so much rock that the top of the cliff had changed shape. His eyes were bloodshot.

"That... damn bastard!"

How much internal energy must one have to continue such madness?

"Climb! Don't stop until we rip that bastard to shreds!"

The venomous voice echoed through the dark canyon.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

The hand gripping the sword trembled like an aspen tree.

Heo Gong was drenched in sweat. The Chivalrous Sword that cut the rock—even delivering it just once would have been worthy of praise, but Heo Gong had already executed it nearly ten times.

"S-Sasuk!"

Those guarding his back shouted with pale faces.

Anyone could see that Heo Gong was reaching his limit, but no one could dare replace him. Not even the elder martial artists of Mount Hua would dare.

If they had learned the Namgung Family's sword or the Pang Family's blade, it might be different. But to unleash such a strike with the Wudang Sect's sword, which values balance and harmony, was truly extraordinary.

Even if someone stronger than Heo Gong stood here, they couldn't deliver such a strike.

Crack.

The bones in Heo Gong's hand gripping the Sword of Songmun made a dull sound. He bit his lip and looked at the edge of the cliff again.

"S-Sasuk! Please stop now!"

"We will go down the cliff! We can face them from above!"

Despite the desperate pleas of the martial artists, Heo gong only tightened his grip on the sword.

This place must not be given up.

His fellow disciples were risking their lives to block those climbing the slope. The screams and dying breaths reached him clearly.

He knew exactly what they felt as they risked their lives. If this place were breached, their deaths would be in vain.

If the center was broken through, the Wudang Sect couldn't handle their overwhelming numbers.

So, eventually, they would have to block them directly from the top of the cliff. But that would require sacrifices, and even with perfect mastery of martial arts, fighting on the cliff wouldn't be easy.

Heo Gong didn't want to push his martial brothers into danger.

"Uaaaaargh!"

Heo Gong's sword shone white once more.

As long as his dantain didn't burst, he had to swing his sword one more time to block their advance.

Swaaaak!

The half-moon-shaped sword energy cut diagonally across the cliff. The massive rock was severed. It slid and fell again.

"Oh... oh no!"

The Evil Sect members clinging to the cliff saw their eyes filled with despair as the rocks fell faster than before.

"These... damn bastards!"

At the moment, he spat out curses and prepared to leap again.

"Tsk tsk. It's painful to watch."

Someone lightly overtook those at the front and shot upwards. Astonishingly, they rushed headlong towards the massive rock falling from the sky with terrifying momentum.

"Wha- what?"

Everyone's gaze was fixed on this reckless act, stunned.

Pa-a-a-at!

A white light, almost transparent, rapidly covered the sky. Over ten, reaching a hundred, and more! Literally 'countless' hand shadows took various forms and struck the falling rock.

Kuuuuung!

Countless impacts followed in quick succession, sounding like one massive roar.

The direction of the rock falling along the cliff shifted. It was pushed away from the cliff and fell outward.

"Stick close!"

The massive rock, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, narrowly brushed past the backs of the Evil Tyrant Alliance members clinging to the cliff.

Kwaaaaaang!

A moment later, a tremendous explosion-like sound came from below the cliff.

This meant that the rock, which had been tormenting those clinging to the cliff, had fallen and could no longer roll down.

In this miraculous situation, the Evil Tyrant Alliance members instinctively looked up at the person who had soared. And some of them widened their eyes in disbelief.

"L-Leader!"

"Thousand-faced Gentleman!"

The Thousand-faced Gentleman, standing as if the cliff were flat ground with his hands behind his back, did not even glance at the shouts from behind. He squinted up at the top of the cliff.

Though he had easily redirected the rock's path, he could not help but feel awe for the one continuously cutting such massive rocks.

"It seems there wasn't such a swordsman before."

The one he had fought at the Yangtze River in the past was a Shaolin monk. But he is no longer in this world.

Moreover, the Wudang Sect's Heo Dojin, who had fought on equal footing with the Great Master of Ten Thousand Gold back then, was not one to use such swordsmanship.

This meant another swordsman was up there on the cliff. Possibly one on par with, or even surpassing, Heo Dojin.

If it were Heo Jaebae, they would have already shown their power at the Yangtze River. Therefore, it must mean that during the years since the sect was sealed, a new disciple had reached such heights.

"I must say, it's Wudang. Its depths are unfathomable."

Before the glory of one generation ends, another rises to shake the world. This is the most terrifying aspect of a prestigious sect, distinct from the Evil Sect.

The Evil Sect, uninterested in nurturing future generations, could never have this advantage.

Hao Sect Leader, Thousand-Faced Gentleman Dam Yeohae, smiled subtly.

He hadn't planned to take the front lines in this battle. But if it required such sacrifices, especially from so many disciples of the Hao Sect, the story changed.

And also...

A momentary blue malice appeared on the face of Dam Yeohae, who looked like a young man.

"If it's a young dragon..."

The lesson had been learned enough times by both the Evil Sect and the Righteous Sects.

If you leave a dragon hatchling unattended because you can handle it now, someday it will become a monster that can rip you apart with just its claws.

"This time, I must surely cut its life short before it becomes a dragon."

Pa-a-a-at!

He ascended the cliff like a bolt of lightning.

A truly terrifying speed!

As his famed body technique, known as the "Pace of the Evil Sect," was unleashed to the extreme, the afterimage of the Thousand-Faced Gentleman appeared like a blue lightning bolt splitting the white cliff.

Pa-a-a-at!

'We must stop him!'

Heo Gong, seeing this from the top of the cliff, widened his eyes. That man must be stopped from climbing here.

But now, for him...

"Stop him!"

At that moment, before Heo Gong could even open his mouth, the martial artists guarding behind him threw themselves down the cliff.

"Wh-what are you doing!"

"We will take care of it, Sasuk!"

Heo Gong reflexively reached out, but it was no use. His martial artists had already started running down the cliff.

"You won't get up here! Damn Evil Sect bastard!"

"Protect Sasuk with your lives!"

The Wudang swordsmen's eyes shone with blue determination.

Indeed, perhaps it was fortunate to have the chance to wield their swords rather than watching Heo Gong struggle alone.

"Youuuu!"

The one leading the charge ran down the cliff, swinging his sword at the Thousand-faced Gentleman.

Like a stream flowing through a deep mountain valley, a vivid and clear sword aura charged towards the Thousand-Faced Gentleman, brimming with unwavering determination.

The sword struck the body of the Thousand-Faced Gentleman so swiftly that even the wielder of the sword was taken aback.

'Huh?'

Soon enough, the body of the Thousand-Faced Gentleman, which had been split, dispersed like mist.

"Amateurish."

Thud!

Before the feeling of emptiness from the sword cutting through the air could settle in, the Thousand-Faced Gentleman's palm struck the side of the Wudang sword master.

It wasn't meant to take him down, just to push him away with the utmost speed. The force was so swift that it couldn't be followed by the naked eye.

"Ugh!"

Having flung a Wudang disciple off the cliff so quickly, the Thousand-Faced Gentleman, as soon as he stepped onto the cliff, was bombarded with countless sword auras.

Swish!

White, black, and blue.

It was literally a storm of sword auras. It was a scene terrifying enough to make one's hair stand on end, but the Thousand-Faced Gentleman kept his expressionless face as he casually stepped through the pouring sword auras.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sword auras cut through the air.

In a time span so short that it was hard to even blink, the body of the Thousand-Faced Gentleman changed positions more than a dozen times. It was an incredible speed of movement skill that seemed like lightning striking in a storm. The peak of this speed was so astonishing that even those who had dedicated their lives to the sword were left dumbfounded.

Flash!

Breaking through the falling sword auras as if they were an illusion, the Thousand-Faced Gentleman soared higher and higher.

The level of those he faced now was exceptional, but he too had risen to his current position, standing out among countless Hao Sect disciples.

If not for the presence of the notable figure Jang Ilso, he would have had enough merit to proudly carve his name into the history of Kangho.

"Stop...."

The ones who had jumped down with determination turned around in despair at the unexpected situation. They saw the Thousand-Faced Gentleman ascending higher, his hands creating dozens of palm shadows in the air.

But then.

Bang!

A deafening roar echoed, and the Thousand-Faced Gentleman's hand stopped in the air.

"Not bad."

Amidst the numerous palm shadows, a single real entity perfectly met the sword's strike.

Pushing back the hand that clashed with the sword, the Thousand-Faced Gentleman smiled oddly.

"What's your name?"

"Heo Gong."

"I am called the Thousand-Faced Gentleman. Remember it. I am the one who will take your life."

At the peak of the towering Baekan Cliff, the hand of the Thousand-Faced Gentleman and the sword of Heo Gong collided.

The hand that gripped the past and the sword that aimed towards the future of the warrior.