By Zephyria 
Although not a single word was spoken, Jegal Yeom-gang could feel the reprimand contained within. His face flushed a deep crimson.
“Wha—what did I do to deserve this!”
Having his inner thoughts exposed, Jegal Yeom-gang shrieked. He violently brushed away his son’s hand.
He knew it too.
That he bore a great responsibility for the situation turning out this way. Yet, because he could not abandon his greed, there was no room for excuses.
Even after Jegal Yeom-gang turned away in displeasure, Jegal Un’s gaze clung to him persistently.
‘Damn bastard.’
“The Jegal Clan will join in!”
Jegal Yeom-gang shouted. Fortunately, he stopped being stubborn and ordered the martial artists under his command to help the people.
Once the Jegal Clan and the Hwasan Sect joined, everything proceeded smoothly. They formed lines on both sides, acting as a sort of fence to prevent the Demonic humans from approaching.
“Go!”
When the path finally opened, Paeng Oe-cheol shouted to Seomun Yuha.
“…….”
But to everyone’s surprise.
Even seeing the open path leading to the cliff before him, Seomun Yuha stood there fidgeting, his face pale with terror.
“What is the matter? Why aren’t you going!”
“If you won’t, I will!”
“Father!”
“I don’t know how much longer we can hold them. Go quickly before the line breaks!”
“I, I……”
Receiving the expectant gazes of everyone gathered there, Seomun Yuha finally squeezed his eyes shut.
“How am I supposed to climb that!!”
He pointed straight ahead. Beyond the brush, a sheer cliff that rose almost perpendicularly stretched vast and wide, as if touching the sky.
“Are you all insane? Do you think just because the path is open, anyone can climb a cliff like that?!”
“Ah.”
As if they hadn’t thought that far, everyone nodded their heads.
“Then I shall!”
“Father, please stay put!”
With a distressed expression, Seomun Yuha looked back at Baek Ryeo-il, who had already moved and had become two small dots against the sky over the distant dark forest.
If it were Baek Ryeo-il, he would have thrown him or carried him on his back to get him up the cliff somehow. However, the other martial artists here didn’t even dare to try, merely averting their eyes.
“Why can’t you climb the cliff?”
Just then, a youthful voice intervened. It was Gang Woong, who had returned after taking the injured Bang Gyeom to the rear.
The Hwasan Sect was located on Mount Hua, the finest mountain in the Central Plains, famous for its rugged terrain known as the Five Peaks. There were even rumors that Hwasan Sect Disciples played by climbing up and down cliffs as soon as they learned to walk.
As the attention shifted, Gang Woong’s face turned bright red. Some looked doubtful, as if the young disciple was unreliable, but the other Hwasan swordsmen were too busy dealing with the Demonic humans to spare a thought.
“S-since there is no time, I will take you up.”
“Ah, thank you. By the way, who are youuu?”
Seomun Yuha’s eyes widened as he hurriedly climbed onto the youth’s back.
“……Hold on tight.”
With a clouded expression, Gang Woong kicked off the ground and sprinted up the perpendicular rock wall as if it were flat land.
“Ooh!”
“As expected of Baek Ryeo-il’s disciple!”
He soared upward, shrinking in size in an instant. It was a marvelous light body skill, one that would be hard to expect from a disciple of that age in other sects.
Around that time, Seong Mu-yeon had almost reached his limit.
It had happened in the short span of time between Seomun Yuha’s arrival and receiving Gang Woong’s help. But to Seong Mu-yeon, who had endured with all his might, it felt like an eternity. Hearing the commotion below, how many times had he screamed internally for them to hurry?
Finally, with a gust of wind, the two appeared atop the cliff.
“Young master!”
Gang Woong set Seomun Yuha down almost as if tossing him aside and pointed his sword at Peng Do-hwan. At that, Peng Do-hwan rolled away and climbed off from on top of Seong Mu-yeon.
“……I thought I was dead.”
If he had been just a bit later, he would have been exchanging morning greetings with the King of Hell. A single drop of blood trickled from his neck, where the great sword had slightly dug in.
“I leave the second young master to you two!”
As Seong Mu-yeon shouted, Seomun Yuha lunged at Peng Do-hwan with a strange roar. Seeing Peng Do-hwan’s movements freeze instantly, it seemed there was no need to worry. Gang Woong also helped him restrain Peng Do-hwan to prevent any possible movement.
All that remained was Peng Yuan-jin.
“We still have business, don’t we?”
With a grim smile, Seong Mu-yeon drove him into a corner as if conducting a cull.
“……Tsk.”
As Seong Mu-yeon approached, Peng Yuan-jin clicked his tongue and readjusted his grip on the great sword.
No more words were needed.
There wasn’t much time left either.
While the great sword possessed great power, its speed was slow. Instead, its reach was longer than that of a normal sword.
On the other hand, Il-gwang’s sword had a relatively short attack range, but it was light and fast.
Tash!
Seong Mu-yeon struck first, thrusting his sword forward. Peng Yuan-jin blocked the sword falling from above with a horizontal swipe.
The moment two swords clash, one can roughly estimate the opponent’s strength and level of martial arts through the recoil transmitted through the blade.
Though Peng Yuan-jin—who was taller and weighed much more—was weaker than Peng Do-hwan, he was incomparable to Seong Mu-yeon.
Peng Yuan-jin also seemed to realize that Seong Mu-yeon’s latent power had diminished compared to before, his eyes widening slightly.
‘Damn it……’
Seong Mu-yeon cursed inwardly upon seeing a faint smile spread across Peng Yuan-jin’s face.
“What happened? You were flying around just a moment ago.”
Then, Peng Yuan-jin deployed his stepping technique, instantly striking a blind spot. However, his attack was blocked with absurd ease.
“Even so, I am not so weak that I cannot deal with you.”
The ensuing exchange of blows took place under Seong Mu-yeon’s initiative. He targeted the weaknesses of the great sword. Given its size, it took a relatively significant amount of time to thrust and recover. Utilizing that gap with fast sword strikes, Peng Yuan-jin was forced to gradually retreat.
Because he had clashed swords with Peng Do-hwan frequently recently, Seong Mu-yeon knew his attacks inside out. Wounds began to accumulate one by one on Peng Yuan-jin’s body.
However, without being able to deal a fatal blow to Peng Yuan-jin, the strength imbued in Seong Mu-yeon’s sword visibly decreased as time went on.
Peng Yuan-jin glanced at Myeong-gwi.
That side wouldn’t hold out for long either. Below, a few people were climbing the cliff to support Seong Mu-yeon. He had to finish this before they arrived.
“I’d like to play with you a bit longer, but I’m pressed for time myself.”
The great sword glowed, imbued with Jin-gi.
Primordial Thunder Sword.
Peng Yuan-jin staked everything on this single strike.
“…….”
A streak of fresh blood flowed from the corner of Seong Mu-yeon’s mouth. He roughly wiped the blood with his sleeve and glared at the rapidly approaching Peng Yuan-jin.
His physical body had reached its limit.
Seong Mu-yeon grit his teeth, enduring the tingling pain felt throughout his entire body. Then, he kicked off the ground. He poured every last drop of remaining Jin-gi into his sword.
This was the last one.
Kwang—!
As the two swords collided, a massive explosion of sound and sword light erupted due to the clash of Jin-gi. The black sky flashed bright for a moment.
People stopped what they were doing and looked up.
Following that, two figures were blown apart by a powerful storm of energy.
“Young master!”
The limp Seong Mu-yeon fell, having lost consciousness. It was the same for Peng Yuan-jin. The final strike had dealt a heavy blow to both sides.
Seong Mu-yeon fell endlessly, his clothes fluttering.
At that moment, a black dot rapidly approached him.
A gentle touch enveloped him.
There was no impact.
Baek Ryeo-il looked down at Seong Mu-yeon in his arms. His pitch-black pupils were filled with an indescribable, desperate emotion. He tightened his lips and hugged Seong Mu-yeon firmly.
Ku-ung!
Peng Yuan-jin, who had flown over the heads of the Demonic humans, disappeared as he crashed somewhere into the dark forest.
Sapak.
Baek Ryeo-il landed on the ground as light as a feather.
“Master! Is the young master alright?”
Gang Woong, who had quickly descended the cliff, ran over. A few people were checking on Myeong-gwi, who lay collapsed and wounded.
“…….”
Baek Ryeo-il looked quietly down at Seong Mu-yeon in his arms.
Something was wrong.
His brow furrowed.
Seong Mu-yeon’s breathing was irregular, and his face was as white as a sheet of paper. Beads of sweat on his cheeks trickled down his jawline.
This was just like……
“Owl! Where are you!”
As he shouted like a thunderclap, Owl, who had been treating the injured in the rear, came running.
“What happened? Wasn’t he all better? Answer me!”
Baek Ryeo-il snapped irritably at Owl.
He had seen Seong Mu-yeon cough up blood or faint several times when his illness flared up. Seong Mu-yeon’s current state was exactly like those times.