Chapter 1262: I Will Not Send You Alive. (2)

A solemn golden Buddha light engulfed the surroundings.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

“Aaaah!”

Though the light looked infinitely auspicious, the power within it was far from gentle. Those struck by it felt that truth in their bones and collapsed with agonized screams.

Whoosh!

“Kraaah!”

Jo Gul, who had repelled those who rushed in with a single slash, turned to Hae Yeon with slightly surprised eyes.

Hae Yeon, wearing a sterner face than usual, gritted his teeth and unleashed palm strikes in succession.

At that moment, Yoon Jong snapped sharply.

“Don’t get distracted, you idiot!”

“Sahyung, isn’t monk Hae Yeon unusually aggressive today?”

But Jo Gul paid it no mind and asked. Yoon Jong, who had thrown a sword, merely shifted his gaze and glanced at Hae Yeon.

“He must be angry.”

“Huh?”

“Until now, no matter what you call the Evil Sect, we hadn’t actually seen the Four Sects Alliance tormenting commoners with our own eyes, had we?”

“...What do you mean...”

Jo Gul, about to retort, realized the meaning a moment late and nodded.

When the Four Sects Alliance occupied Southern lands, evil sects also proliferated in Northern lands and things became chaotic. But if you think about it, the evil sects that sprang up in the Northern Lands weren’t the Four Sects Alliance themselves, but those driven out and fleeing from the Alliance.

So, coldly considered, they had never truly witnessed the Alliance persecuting civilians.

“But on the way here you saw people suffering with your own eyes—how furious would that make monk Hae Yeon, do you think?”

“Ah...”

“Front! You bastard! Front!”

“Wohu!”

Jo Gul twisted his body quickly to dodge an incoming blade and sent out a sword qi like a flash.

Whoosh!

“Aaaagh!”

The sword he sent pierced through a Tiger Ghost Troop member’s shoulder mercilessly.

‘The Ten Thousand People Clan’s force unit.’

This was not Jo Gul’s first time facing them. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his real combat began fighting the Ten Thousand People Clan’s enemy troops.

Therefore, he could clearly feel it.

They were undeniably strong.

The speed of their ways, the momentum of their movements; none of it fell short of being called ‘peak.’ Each member of the Tiger Ghost Troops was clearly skilled enough to be recognized anywhere in the realm.

And yet...

‘It’s not difficult!’

Whoosh!

The Plum Blossom Sword was thrust forward twelve times in succession, shredding the attacker’s wrist and chest like rags. The Tiger Ghost Troop member’s face contorted in pain. Jo Gul drove a final {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} strike into that man’s chest and bit his lower lip slightly.

‘I’ve grown stronger.’

No, he wasn’t the only one who had become stronger.

“You—damn woman!”

“Block her! Don’t let that woman rampage!”

When they turned their gaze to the commotion, they saw Yu Yiseol, as always, stamping on a Tiger Ghost Troop member’s chest and leaping into the air.

It was a wondrous sight every time they saw it. Launching oneself into the air meant being exposed to the enemy’s attacks with no guard around them. How on earth did Sago manage to fight so wildly without being injured?

It was a marvel only possible if one could move the body with the delicacy of a single sheet of paper.

“Don’t leap, Sago!”

When Yu Yiseol drew everyone’s attention, Tang Soso instantly exploited the enemy’s openings and plunged in.

After all, Tang Soso was from the Tang Family. The Tang Family had for centuries studied how to throw hidden blades into momentarily exposed gaps. Someone raised in such a clan would not miss so obvious an opening.

She wouldn’t.

“Haaah!”

The sword qi scattered by Tang Soso cut sharply through the Tiger Ghost Troop members like Tang Family hidden blades.

“Aagh!”

“Damn it!”

Groans erupted here and there. Not fatal strikes, perhaps, but who could remain calm as blades pierced their bodies?

Seizing the moment when senses were scattered, Yu Yiseol descended like a hawk hunting its prey.

Slash, slash!

A macabre chorus of blades cutting flesh and severing tendons rang out in succession.

Blood spurted here and there with screams, but Yu Yiseol’s expression didn’t budge. His blade technique was like a cold northern wind—clean and spare.

‘Strong.’

Jo Gul gripped his sword tightly.

Of course Yu Yiseol had been strong even before. On Mount Hua she had been the only swordsman comparable to Baek Cheon, so that was natural.

But what Jo Gul saw now wasn’t just Yu Yiseol’s sword—it was her boldness, the way she hesitated not a bit even against many opponents.

Yu Yiseol always plunged into the most dangerous spots without hesitation. She firmly believed someone behind her would guard her, and that boldness was now rattling the Ten Thousand People Clan’s Tiger Ghost Troops in an instant.

It was shaking them.

“...It wasn’t for nothing, then.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing!”

Jo Gul gritted his teeth and thrust his sword forward as if to prove he wouldn’t fall behind Yu Yiseol.

‘She’s like a ghost, truly.’

Seeing this, he finally understood the nature of the strange unease that had lingered in his chest since the fierce battle in Hangzhou.

“Taat!”

Yoon Jong surged forward, scattering plum blossoms. Those who had planned to overwhelm them from all sides faltered and lost momentum.

Jo Gul seized the gap, eyes sharp, and stabbed his sword. His blade pierced an enemy’s body with the agility of a venomous snake hunting prey.

‘This is it!’

What Mount Hua lacked most was the number of disciples.

Therefore, until now they had trained by cooperatively attacking the absolute powerhouse Chung Myung or acting as sparring partners for one another.

Until now, that had been enough. The enemies Mount Hua faced were all stronger than Mount Hua or formidable enough that coordinated strikes were necessary.

But in Hangzhou Jo Gul had felt something clearly.

What they would now face wasn’t a single absolute powerhouse nor an opponent to fight one-on-one for life and death, but forces that held an overwhelming numerical superiority.

But the coordination Yu Yiseol and Tang Soso showed made it clear: that ghostly Chung Myung, as always, had been the first to recognize this and had already prepared a counter.

‘Yangtze!’

The endless sparring among sects on the Yangtze River—the times when they fought not as individuals but as entire sects.

The process that sometimes felt wasteful had in fact been no waste at all. Without that experience, they couldn’t be facing the Tiger Ghost Troops so confidently now.

What they had thought was merely building other sects’ strength had in reality also nurtured Mount Hua’s abilities.

“Taaaab!”

Namgung Do-Wei had not been idle either.

Kwaaaang!

A white sword qi shot out and in an instant turned those rushing in into a bloody mess.

At the sight of that powerful sword aura, a rueful voice escaped Jo Gul’s lips.

“...I should’ve been born into the Namgung Family.”

“What random bullshit is that!”

“...Or at least Shaolin.”

“Can’t you focus as usual!”

At Yoon Jong’s scolding, Jo Gul poured his frustration and resentment into releasing a dozen sword strikes in succession.

He had to stab like mad to fell a single person, while they sent two or three flying with each swing; how could he not feel wronged?

‘That’s why it’s Shaolin, and that’s why they are Namgung!’

The primus of the Nine Great Sects and the lords of the Five Great Families.

As if to prove their renown was no accident, those who would lead each sect’s future demonstrated their strength plainly...

“Aaaaaah!”

Screeeech! Waaaaaah!

“Aaaah! Why are there so many of you!?”

For a moment Jo Gul’s eyes filled with sympathetic envy. Tang Pae was frantically flailing his arms like a windmill to cover Namgung Do-Wei, scattering hidden blades.

“...The Tang Family’s future doesn’t look very bright.”

“Focus, you bastard!”

It was just as Yoon Jong was about to burst forward in anger.

Whoooooosh!

With a piercing cracking sound, a powerful aura was felt from behind them.

The two turned their heads at once. They saw plum blossoms in a riotously crimson bloom.

Even fellow users of the same sword were momentarily stunned by the splendid sword qi. At the center of that aura, Mount Hua’s Acting Sect Leader, Baek Cheon, was charging at full force. Behind Baek Cheon, Southern Island’s disciples clung on tenaciously.

They followed closely.

For a moment, the same light flashed in Jo Gul’s and Yoon Jong’s eyes.

“Sahyung!”

“Yes!”

The two shattered the front-and-back formations and charged forward side by side.

“You bastards!”

And as if prearranged, they split left and right at the enemy’s doorstep, scattering red plum-blossom sword auras.

“Block her!”

“You damn—!”

The Tiger Ghost Troops’ solid formation slipped, splitting slightly left and right for an instant. At that moment.

“I’ll pierce through!”

Baek Cheon, accompanied by the Southern Island, plunged through that tiny gap in an instant and swung his sword.

Paaaaang!

Baek Cheon, who had opened the gap Jo Gul and Yoon Jong created with a clean single strike, ignored a blade flying at him and pressed forward.

“Where do you think—!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you brats!”

Desperately pursuing, Gwak Hwan-So and Lee Ja-Yang parried the blades flying at Baek Cheon.

And then!

WOOOOOSH!

From the tip of Baek Cheon’s blade, which he thrust out trusting Gwak Hwan-So and Lee Ja-Yang, red petals burst forth. On the white expanse reminiscent of Mount Hua’s snow-covered peaks, crimson plum blossoms bloomed.

Shararararak!

The plum tree flourished like a fleeting illusion and then vanished. But the petals did not disappear; they rode the South Sea wind and swirled in all directions.

To someone’s eyes, they were supremely beautiful.

To someone else’s, they were intensely vivid.

And to someone else, they were supremely dangerous!

“Aaaaaaah!”

“What is this!”

“Aagh!”

Baek Cheon’s ‘Falling Plum Petals’ erupted in the middle of the formation.

The technique was so threatening that even the Tiger Ghost Troop members, well-versed in this battlefield, were driven to leap away and vacate their positions.

Once a path opened, Baek Cheon shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Take the ships! Run!”

“Yes!”

Led by Baek Cheon, Southern Island’s disciples formed a single mass like a dragon swimming up a torrent and pierced the red wall the Tiger Ghost Troops had erected.

Whoosh!

Baek Cheon cleaved down at whoever tried to stop him and sprang off the ground. A large Ten Thousand People Clan ship anchored on the shore lay just ahead.

“Forward!”

“Yes!”

Gwak Hwan-So and Lee Ja-Yang sprang forth and wielded Southern Island’s wave-like swords at those who barred them. Determined will showed on both their faces.

Kakang!

In the split-second gap created by clashing blades, Baek Cheon stepped on Gwak Hwan-So’s shoulder and bounced into the air.

“Huh?”

“What!”

Startled by a shadow that suddenly fell, they quickly looked up. What they saw was a swordsman silhouetted against the blazing sun.

“Taaaat!”

Baek Cheon unleashed a roaring cry and shook his sword. A crescent-shaped sword qi traced its path, slicing through the hot Southern Island air as it surged.

Kagagagagagang!

The thick anchor rope securing the Ten Thousand People Clan’s ship snapped at once.

Baek Cheon spun his body, alighted lightly, and immediately swung his sword, cleaving a Tiger Ghost Troop member’s back.

Smiling brightly in a scene of fierce battle, he whispered softly.

“You should also know the feeling of having something taken from you.”

Whether those words reached their ears, he could not say.