C1710. That’s Enough. (5)
A cold current flowed over the cliff, which was boiling like lava. No one could immediately accept what was happening before their eyes.
Finally, the silence was broken by the cries of the Guardians of the Southern Sea Sun Palace.
"Palace Leader!"
The Guardians, who were staring in shock at Jin Pyeong lying on the ground, reacted quickly and ran towards him, shouting desperately.
"What are you doing? Protect the Palace Leader!"
The Guardians, with burning energy in their hands, surrounded the Leader of the Sun Palace like enraged wildcats.
"Palace Leader, are you okay?!"
"Ugh..."
He was still breathing, albeit weakly. The Guardians desperately tried to transfer their energy into the leader's body. They had to keep him alive somehow.
Meanwhile, Jo Gul, who was watching in shock, abruptly turned his head.
"Sasuk!"
His cry was a signal, and Baek Cheon collapsed on the spot.
Thud.
Jo Gul couldn’t hide his shock and widened his eyes.
His clothes were burned up to his shoulders, and his arms were completely blackened, like charcoal.
"Ah..."
Seeing Baek Cheon’s devastating condition, Jo Gul trembled as he tried to run towards him, but he fell to the ground. His heart was already racing towards Baek Cheon, but his legs wouldn’t obey him.
"Damn it!"
Jo Gul gritted his teeth and clawed at the ground, trying to support himself with his fingers, but even moving them was difficult.
"Damn it! Damn..."
He muttered curses weakly in his desperation when a loud shout resonated.
"Protect the wounded!"
It was Baek Sang.
"The Celestial Sword Unit, pick up the wounded, and the White Sword Unit, protect the Wudang disciples. The enemy has fallen, we must escape immediately!"
"Yes!"
Before the order ended, someone ran towards Jo Gul. Seeing this, Jo Gul murmured.
"...Gwak Hoi."
"Damn it! Do you have nine lives, Sahyung? What’s wrong with you?"
Gwak Hoi grabbed Jo Gul almost by the collar. Jo Gul, desperate, quickly said.
"Take Sasuk first...!"
"Always talking until the end!"
Gwak Hoi ignored him and lifted Jo Gul. Meanwhile, other disciples of the Celestial Sword Unit came running and picked up Yoon Jong and Yoo Iseol, who were exhausted.
"Sahyung!"
Baek Sang, who was the first to run to Baek Cheon, stopped. He couldn’t help it.
"Ugh..."
He didn’t dare to touch him.
Baek Cheon’s arms were so burned they looked like they would crumble at a touch. In fact, they might already be so damaged they would disintegrate with the slightest contact.
And the rest of his body? There wasn’t a single part intact.
It was incredible he was still alive in that state.
Crack.
"Damn it!"
Baek Sang extended his trembling hands and lifted Baek Cheon with extreme care. Clenching his teeth in desperation, he looked around.
"White Sword Unit!"
"Yes, Sahyung!"
The disciples of Mount Hua who had picked up the wounded from Wudang lined up around him even before he called them.
"Not a single enemy, not a single attack... must touch Sahyung’s body."
The disciples of Mount Hua, seeing Baek Cheon’s condition, were filled with fierce determination. They were willing to protect him at all costs.
Baek Sang’s sharp eyes turned to the Guardians of the Southern Sea Sun Palace blocking their path.
With the Leader of the Sun Palace down and the Guardians clustering around him, the once impenetrable defensive line was now full of gaps.
No more words were needed.
Crash!
As the sound of the collapsing cliff echoed, Baek Sang shouted.
"Get out of here! Right now!"
"Yes!"
The disciples of Mount Hua raised their swords and advanced.
"Ahh!"
"Palace Leader! Protect him first!"
"But if we do, they...! The order!"
"Damn it! The Palace Leader is in danger and you’re talking about orders! Who dares to give orders to the Southern Sea Sun Palace?"
Once a dam breaks, there’s no stopping it.
With the fall of the Leader of the Sun Palace, the Guardians began to retreat, unable to face the fierce determination of the Mount Hua disciples.
"Move! We’ll kill you all if you don’t step aside!"
Baek Sang shouted, brandishing his sword. It wasn’t a strike to kill but to intimidate.
Though he looked like an angry thug wielding his weapon, it was enough at that moment. The Guardians of the Southern Sea Sun Palace were also disoriented and leaderless.
"Ugh..."
The Leader of the Sun Palace, surrounded by his Guardians, saw the scene through blurred vision and raised a trembling hand.
The Guardians tried to stop him.
"Palace Leader!"
"Don’t strain yourself, you’re gravely injured!"
"I’ll... kill them..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he spat black blood.
"Give him more energy! Quickly!"
"Yes!"
The blurred vision of the Leader of the Sun Palace caught the figure of Baek Cheon, being carried by Baek Sang. Though he looked like a corpse, he was alive and leaving the place.
He might die soon, but the Leader of the Sun Palace had not managed to keep them on the cliff.
"Ugh..."
Not only that, he saw something else.
"Despicable bastards!"
"Are you trying to kill us?"
Through the gap opened by Mount Hua, the remnants of the Evil Tyrant Alliance also entered, angrier than ever.
"Ahhh!"
The swords of the Evil Tyrant Alliance sank into the guards of the Southern Sea Sun Palace, who, moments before, had been their allies against Wudang. Now, they faced each other as mortal enemies.
The Leader of the Sun Palace trembled violently. Then, his body collapsed, too weak to support itself.
The terrified Guardians held him up.
"Palace Leader!"
"Call more Guardians! We have to save the Palace Leader!"
"Leader!"
As they left behind the fallen Southern Sea Sun Palace, Baek Sang looked around frantically.
Where to go? Where to go to save them?
The flames still licked the mountain. He didn’t know how many enemies would survive to pursue them.
And...
They could get through the flames and enemies to find a safe place, but Baek Cheon would die in the process.
"No..."
At first, he thought overcoming the Leader of the Sun Palace would clear the way for their survival. But the situation had changed. They couldn’t just keep climbing.
They had to find a safe place and treat Baek Cheon immediately. The other four also needed urgent medical attention.
The urgency clouded his mind. Where could there be a safe place on this hellish mountain for treatment?
Every step felt heavy, as if the ground was sinking under them, threatening to swallow them whole.
"Someone..."
He looked around desperately, but there was no one to advise him.
Baek Cheon, Yoo Iseol... Yoon Jong, Jo Gul, and even Hye Yeon were already unconscious, hanging like corpses.
Baek Sang had to do it.
There was no one else. He had to save them.
Baek Cheon’s breath grew weaker with each passing moment.
"Sahyung, Sahyung!"
Baek Sang called desperately to Baek Cheon on his back, trying to suppress the rising anxiety in his chest.
"Don’t worry, Sahyung. I’ll take you to a safe place. So don’t die until then! Do you hear me?"
There was no response.
"Baek Sang Sahyung! We have to find a place...!"
"I know! I know, damn it!"
Baek Sang bit his lip.
They needed a doctor. The only thing they could do was run downhill. It didn’t matter if hell or demons were down there.
If that was the only way to save them, he wouldn’t hesitate to face hell itself.
"We must go downhill..."
With the decision made, Baek Sang adjusted his grip on Baek Cheon and prepared to change direction.
"Going down is dangerous!"
"Huh?"
He recognized the familiar voice and quickly turned his head.
Tang Gunak was there. His clothes were torn, and he had dried blood at the corners of his mouth, evidence of the fierce battle he had faced.
"Gaju-nim!"
"Stop!"
Despite the few words, Baek Sang understood immediately and nodded frantically. Tang Gunak’s presence felt like finding a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean.
"Leader! Sahyung! Baek Cheon Sahyung is...!"
Tang Gunak looked at Baek Cheon with a hardened expression. His arms were completely burned, to the point of looking like charcoal. The open flesh didn’t even bleed. The once-strong arms seemed hopeless. Tang Gunak closed his eyes tightly.
Baek Sang turned pale at seeing his expression.
"Leader, will Sahyung be...?"
Tang Gunak interrupted him.
"This is no time to talk! Move! If you want to save them, move forward!"
"Yes, understood!"
Tang Gunak bit his cracked lips.
"But where are we going?"
"Where we can save his life."
"Where is that?"
Tang Gunak tried to think quickly.
"Up..."
A voice resonated in his ear.
"What?"
"Up... Look up."
Tang Gunak and Baek Sang strained to look up.
In front of them, through a steep path, the mountain peak stood with ancient pavilions looking down on them.
The place the Wudang disciples had protected with their lives.
"...Wudang."
"..."
"It makes sense. There’s no other place."
Tang Gunak looked at the one who had given the indication.
Heo Gong, carried by a Mount Hua disciple, was still dazed but pointed firmly upward.
There was no safer place on the mountain than the Wudang temple. It was the best place to treat the wounded.
"Let's go! Quickly!"
"Yes, Gaju-nim!"
Tang Gunak led the way.
"Follow the Gaju-nim!"
"Ahhhh!"
Instead of responding with words, fierce cries echoed. The Mount Hua disciples ran up the steep mountain like wild beasts.
Faster, they poured all their strength into their legs.
Then...
BOOM!
A tremendous noise, unlike anything they had ever heard, erupted behind them. Even in this situation, everyone turned in shock.
CRACK! CRACK!
The cliff, where the remnants of the Evil Tyrant Alliance were still fighting to escape, began to crack and crumble with a horrible rumble, as if a celestial spear had pierced the mountain.
Everyone let out a sigh.
"Ah..."
Human malice had shattered the geography of Wudang, which had maintained its shape for thousands of years.
