章 48: Chapter 1690 - Even If It Fades into Mockery (5)

The view, stained red with blood, loomed before them.

The blade targeting their lives, the face of the enemy tainted with malice and murderous intent, and even the screams of the dying seemed to be blackened by the darkness of the night.

Beyond that, surpassing the despair, stood the figure of a tall young man in black robes.

"Ah..."

A moan of pain, or perhaps a cry of pure joy, involuntarily escaped from Mu Jin's lips. It was a deep sigh, and perhaps even an overwhelming ecstasy.

Baek Cheon and Mount Hua had finally reached the Wudang Sect.

How could one possibly express this emotion?

The intense feelings surged like a mighty wave within the hearts of the Wudang's disciples, who had held on despite the torment.

Yet, Baek Cheon felt something entirely different.

The enemy had completely filled the narrow cliff, and the Wudang swordsmen were encircled in between.

'Is this all of them?'

Baek Cheon bit his lips tightly.

Wudang was a sect that competed for dominance with Shaolin. Yet the number of Wudang swordsmen before his eyes was pathetically small compared to its stature.

Where had the others gone?

His gaze drifted slightly downward.

He saw blood that had soaked into the cliff's summit. Blood, blackened and sullied by the dirt of the Evil Tyrant Alliance's boots.

The sword he had drawn trembled slightly at its tip.

There was a protruding hand among the Evil Tyrant Alliance's ranks, staring maliciously. The palm of that hand was pale and devoid of any blood, clearly showing what fate had befallen its owner.

How many had been sacrificed under their blades?

Of course, it wasn't too late to turn things around. There were still survivors.

And Mount Hua, along with the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, had done their utmost.

But this... this was too...

Just then, as Baek Cheon struggled to suppress his self-loathing, a hateful voice reached his ears.

"How is it?"

Baek Cheon turned his head.

The Thousand-Faced Gentleman had avoided Tang Gunak's dagger, retreating to the edge of the summit, and was now staring at Baek Cheon.

"Is it much different from what you expected?"

...Baek Cheon could not deny it.

He had hoped for them to last a bit longer. He had hoped their efforts would save more people.

But the reality he faced was just brutal.

"Sometimes foolishness can unexpectedly produce good results. But usually, the end of the foolish is quite predictable."

The Thousand-Faced Gentleman cast a sardonic glance sideways. The Wudang disciples stood shoulder to shoulder.

"If they had abandoned their dignity and fled, most would have survived. If they had chosen practical benefits over nonsensical ideals, they might have been able to rebuild the halls."

"..."

"This is the result of trivial pride and ridiculous righteousness. Your suffering is in vain."

The Wudang disciples' gazes flickered with distress at those biting words.

What remained was only half. No, not even a third. More had perished under the enemy's blades than had survived.

Certainly, the summit of Baek An Am, the sacred ground of Wudang, was filled with the enemy's corpses. But that did not reduce the number lost by Wudang.

Perhaps the lineage of Wudang they had fought so hard to protect had been severed by their own hands.

The truth of this, the reality, was so dreadful that even upon Baek Cheon's arrival, the Wudang disciples could not fervently cheer.

And Baek Cheon could sense their feelings.

Their grim, trembling eyes told him. Facing faces full of self-loathing and sadness, Baek Cheon clenched his own teeth.

"Delusions are sweet, aren't they?"

"..."

"Perhaps it's better to live in a dream than to face harsh reality. But those who fail to awaken from their dreams ultimately face an even harsher reality. Just like now, and just like you will from now on."

Shing.

At that moment, Baek Cheon suddenly sheathed his sword. Everyone was momentarily bewildered as they saw him look at the Wudang disciples with empty hands.

"Hmm?"

The Thousand-Faced Gentleman also looked at Baek Cheon with puzzlement.

Baek Cheon made a formal gesture of respect towards the Wudang disciples surrounded by enemies.

Without any words, it was a simple and straightforward gesture of courtesy.

Yet no one could tear their eyes away from it. Even the Thousand-Faced Gentleman, who had mocked Baek Cheon and threatened Wudang, was fixed on this moment.

The Thousand-Faced Gentleman sneered.

"Such meaningless..."

"Shut your mouth."

Baek Cheon's interruption made the Thousand-Faced Gentleman's face contort with anger. No matter how much of an Evil Sect figure he was, it wasn't something he should hear from someone so young who had barely survived.

Yet Baek Cheon, without even glancing at the Thousand-Faced Gentleman, focused solely on Wudang.

"You might not understand. No, you might not want to understand. But... remember this clearly."

Baek Cheon looked directly at the Wudang disciples.

"There is no such thing as a worthless will in this world."

In that instant, the shoulders of the Wudang disciples slightly trembled.

"Whether it is conviction, duty, or the righteousness held in your heart. Whatever the reason, we fight. Even if it means making sacrifices, even if we lose what should not be lost. Even so!"

Baek Cheon, who had firmly clenched his lips, opened his mouth once more.

"Even if it fades under mockery."

In the silence that seemed out of place on the battlefield, Baek Cheon confirmed.

The eyes of the Wudang disciples, which had been shaken by despair and self-loathing, gradually calmed down and then began to rise again with solid determination.

Only then did Baek Cheon's gaze turn to the Thousand-Faced Gentleman. Unlike before, it was cold and sharp, like a sharpened blade.

"Know this, Evil Sect."

"..."

"We do not fight only to survive. We fight to protect and to preserve. The death of one who fights only for survival may be worthless, but the death of one who fights to preserve is never without value. For they have safeguarded what must be protected with their lives."

The Thousand-Faced Gentleman twisted his lips into a scornful smile.

"Protected what?"

"Indeed."

"So... if even that which must be protected is trampled, does that then become a truly meaningless death?"

"No. You will not have that opportunity."

Shing.

Baek Cheon drew his sword again, aiming it at the Thousand-Faced Gentleman.

"We have arrived."

No sooner had those words ended than a figure shot up from the cliff like a meteor.

Thud.

The person who had leaped high onto the cliff landed lightly next to Baek Cheon.

"It's too late."

"Yes, Samae."

And then two more shadows soared up to the cliff, followed by another two who climbed the cliff to join Baek Cheon's side.

"Damn it! The Wudang people...!"

"There are still survivors. Calm down."

"Th..."

Jo Gul clenched his lips so hard to suppress his rising anger that they started to bleed, while Yoon Jong quietly simmered with rage as well.

Hye Yeon, who had walked up behind them, exclaimed with a heavy expression, and Tang Gunak, standing behind Baek Cheon, stared intently at the Thousand-Faced Gentleman with a composed gaze.

Baek Cheon spoke in a steady voice, without a hint of hesitation.

"We will not let it end like this."

The Thousand-Faced Gentleman, who had been silently glaring at Baek Cheon, shifted his gaze slightly to the Wudang disciples. He could feel the resolve returning to their previously fading eyes.

'Damn it. Those who were nearly dead...'

The ones who had barely kept their eyes open, waiting for death, were now ready to fight to the end.

'One more hour... No.'

If he had delayed them by just 15 minutes more, he could have finished off the exhausted Wudang disciples. Then, he could have crushed those clinging to the cliff and those who had climbed to the top in despair.

However, dwelling on regrets was a waste of time.

The Thousand-Faced Gentleman clenched and unclenched his hand, and blood flowed from the wound inflicted by Tang Gunak. The throbbing pain only fuelled his anger further.

Allowing them to reach this point was undoubtedly a failure. It was foolish to have tried to stop them prematurely and gotten injured.

But he had not yet lost his advantageous position.

'In fact... this might be better.'

Since they had climbed up to this point, they had no escape route either. If he could annihilate them all here, it would be a greater achievement than just eliminating Wudang.

At that moment, the disciples of Mount Hua, who had broken through the cliff, began to spring up to the summit one by one. He could not allow them to establish themselves.

"With such a small number, you dare to boast. That's typical of the so-called righteous sects."

The eyes of the Evil Tyrant Alliance members, who had been panicking, regained their composure at the mention of numbers.

Yes. Even if the situation had changed a bit, their overwhelming advantage remained.

"Kill them all!"

The Thousand-Faced Gentleman shouted with uncharacteristic fury, channelling his inner qi.

"Tear them apart and let them understand they've walked into the lion's den! Turn this place into their grave today!"

"Oooooh!"

"Ahhhhh!"

The frenzied members of the Evil Tyrant Alliance charged at the Mount Hua disciples standing at the edge of the cliff.

"They're coming, Sasuk!"

At Yoon Jong's cry, Baek Cheon pointed his sword forward.

Before them stood countless enemies, and amidst them, the still-surrounded disciples of Wudang.

Could they save them?

'There's no need to think.'

Acting on what was possible wasn't a matter of desperation.

What mattered was that they had come this far for their sake. And right behind him were his fellow brothers and sisters.

"Mount Hua!"

"Yes!"

The swordsmen of Mount Hua, who had climbed the cliff, responded with voices that shook the heavens.

"Break through the enemies and save Wudang!"

"Charge!"

At Baek Cheon's command, Yoon Jong and Jo Gul shot forward like lightning. Other disciples of Mount Hua followed closely behind.

They thrust their swords toward the oncoming storm.

Tang Gunak's robes fluttered as he leapt forward, and the demonic faces of the charging Evil Tyrant Alliance members grew closer. Their auras clashed, twisting the air as if it would explode.

Through the chaotic space, Baek Cheon's gaze met Mu Jin's in midair.

In a world where time seemed to slow down, the single remaining eye of Mu Jin formed a crescent shape that didn't match the dire situation.

It didn't matter what that smile meant.

Baek Cheon, engraving that glance into his heart, gripped his sword tightly and charged forward.

'Yes.'

Why must they fight?

Why must they choose to sacrifice themselves?

Why can't they retreat even knowing it's foolish?

The answer was here.

It wasn't about survival. Even if they were powerless, even if they were lacking.

'It's about protecting.'

As long as they could uphold it, they could leave a mark. Their will, their lives. They could pass it on to those who would protect their backs and those who would move forward.

"Mount Hua's Baek Cheon is here! Come at me, all of you!"

His booming voice, his sword energy, his expression—all shone with a singular will.

A will that would seemingly never extinguish.