Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1434. You'll have to kill me first (4)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
"Th- These bastards!"
The faces of the elders turned pale as they saw the enemies charging again.
Hadn't they seen it clearly?
Just how dangerous Tang Family's forbidden weapons were. How powerful they were. Yet these bastards showed not a hint of fear. How could this be, unless they had no regard for their own lives?
"Aaaack!"
They had seized the momentum for a moment, but it was unfortunate that they could not hold onto it. A single aged scream that reached their ears made them expel everything they had gained.
“Hyung-niiiiiiiiim!”
These are the people who have lived their entire lives as Tang Family's martial artists. Those whom the world feared and dreaded. The emotions now rising in their eyes were bewilderment and fear.
Should they have fled?
Like those who had turned tail without hesitation the moment Tang Wei spoke, should they have abandoned this futile struggle and at least saved their own lives?
Or even now....
“Spread the poison!”
At that moment, Tang Byeok’s shrieking voice rang out.
“Hyu- Hyung-nim! In this situation, poison is...!”
“What are you doing! Spread the poison right now! You idiots! Is our goal to defeat them!"
His words jolted the elders back to their senses.
“We will die here. Sprinkle poison and throw hidden weapons until the moment of death! We cannot prevent them from trampling our corpses. But make it absolutely impossible for them to catch up to the rest of the family!"
Tang Byeok shouted with bloodshot eyes.
“We are the elders of the Sichuan Tang Family! Die as befits that name!"
People usually need a great reason to risk their lives. But sometimes, no grand reason is needed. To die as elders of the Sichuan Tang Family, what more reason could they need?
The eyes of the elders, who had just moments ago been searching for a way to survive, now filled with venom like the deadliest poison.
"Uaaaaaaaa!"
A flying dao lodged into one of the elders.
But even with a sharp blade stuck in his chest, the elder no longer despaired.
“Keuha…”
The moment when the elite of Myriad Man Manor were about to distort their eyes at the sight of the elder of Tang Family laughing strangely.
Hwaaaaak!
A pink-colored poison mist billowed out of the elder’s sleeve.
“Guh!”
The surprised Myriad Man Manor martial artist tried to pull his body backward, but no matter how hard he tried, the blade he had planted in the elder's chest didn't budge as if pressed against a rock.
“Tang Family..."
The elder's face grew grotesquely distorted.
“Don’t look down… on Sichuan Tang Family…”
Chwaaaaak!
Black liquid sprayed in all directions from the elder's sleeves. The Myriad Man Manor martial artist, struck full-on by the poison, clenched his teeth and grabbed the elder by the throat.
"Useless old man!"
Udeudeuk!
The elder had his neck broken and collapsed on the spot. But the Myriad Man Manor martial artist who killed him wasn’t unscathed either.
"Uw- Uweeeeeeek!"
Black blood gushed from his mouth like a waterfall. Excruciating pain as if his skull were being hammered apart wracked his body.
“Keuh....”
His body convulsed violently. Had he not gathered his internal strength to suppress it, his body would have already turned into nothing but a pool of blood.
“Spread it!”
At Tang Byeok’s shout, black poison mist rose up all around at once. Not poison that forms a wall in front of them like before. It was a poison that enveloped the place where one stands.
Even though the elders of the Sichuan Tang Family were resistant to poison, they weren’t completely immune. Wrapping oneself in poison in such a situation shows a determination to face death without fear. No, it was rather a determination to draw death closer.
And it didn’t stop there.
The elders poured blood poison into their mouths. This would poison them without question, but it would also turn their very blood into lethal venom. Then those who cut their bodies would not escape unharmed either!
Even the Myriad Man Manor martial artists, known throughout the world, momentarily faltered in the face of such extreme and unrelenting resolve.
But....
“Keuhahahahah!”
What those instinctively retreating martial artists saw behind them were none other than the Red Hounds charging forward.
The Myriad Man Manor martial artists’ eyes instantly filled with terror. Advancing meant poisoning themselves, but retreating meant certain death. Don't those crazed Red Hounds bastards not even consider them allies from the beginning?
"Uaaaaaaaa!"
Trapped between two desperate situations, the Myriad Man Manor martial artists clenched their teeth and charged into the billowing poison mists.
“Come!”
The Tang Family elders, consumed by rage, shouted until their throats nearly tore as they looked at such Myriad Man Manor martial artists.
"We won't let you pass! Never!"
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
At the gut-wrenching scream that rang out from behind, Tang Sobo flinched and turned her head. No, she tried to.
“Don’t look!”
Tang Wei’s shout snapped her neck back into place.
She wants to cover her ears. She wanted to close her eyes and ignore what was happening. But right now, she didn’t even have such a luxury.
'I must go!'
She knows. What she must do now.
One step. Even just one more step forward. Otherwise, the elders' deaths would be in vain.
'I must live! No matter what!'
Tang Sobo wiped away the tears streaming down her face and pulled Tang Wei along with her.
But then.
“Go!”
Suddenly, Tang Wei shoved her forward.
“Elder-nim!”
Despite Tang Sobo's intense cry, Tang Wei remained firm.
"Go now! Hurry!"
“What about Elder-nim....”
“Did I not tell you to go!”
Where did Tang Wei find the strength left? But Tang Wei was able to let out a roar like thunder.
Looking at the bewildered Tang Sobo with bloodshot eyes, Tang Wei again pushed her shoulder away.
"Go! You must survive! You must!"
“Elder-nim!”
Tang Wei stopped urging her. Instead, he simply turned his back.
His eyes clearly saw the towering black poison mists reaching toward the sky. And he could also clearly hear the screams and shouts coming from within it.
The elders were prepared to die.
But they wouldn't last long. They were by no means weak, but they were far too few and the enemy was far too many and powerful.
Not everyone left behind could be saved. Someone had to hold the line. Someone had to slow them down here.
A moment of conflict appeared in Tang Wei’s eyes. And the command that burst out after that fleeting hesitation was something the old Tang Wei would never have given.
“Send the women and children first! Quickly!”
“Yes, Elder-nim!”
The men immediately handed the children they were carrying to the women.
"Darling!"
“Go! Hurry!”
The women, letting out cries mixed with sobs, were pushed forward by the men’s hands.
Tang Wei's hands trembled slightly as he watched.
Was this right? Was this truly the right choice?
Even if they are men who haven't learned martial arts, even if they've already lost the smithy and the accumulated poisons, they were craftsmen who made hidden weapons and researchers who manufactured poisons.
Is it truly right to use such people as shields for women who may be of no use to the future of the family?
He didn’t know.
Tang Wei realized he could not know everything in the world He could not decide everything in the world. His belief that he understood more than others had been pure arrogance.
Right now, he was simply listening. Listening to what his heart was crying out. Listening to the voice inside that was begging to do something so utterly foolish.
"General Chief, lead the women and children! The men will cover them from behind!”
"Yes!"
Tang Wei, biting his lip, unconsciously turned his head.
“I'm sorry.”
Even Tang Wei himself didn’t quite know what that apology was meant to express, but the craftsmen who heard it laughed instead.
“Hammers weren’t made to hit people, but if they can smash iron, why not a man or two?”
“...Even if we haven’t learned martial arts, we are still Tang. This is only natural. If it had been the other way around, I wouldn’t have followed your order either, Elder-nim.”
"I've always wanted to prove at least once that those who make poison use it best, so this is good."
Tang Wei let out a hollow laugh at their banter.
'Have I been dismissing such people?'
They were all Tang Family. Yes, all of them.
From the child running around the inner courtyard to the aging craftsmen waiting quietly for death, they are all Tang Family.
"Stop talking nonsense! I'm not telling you to die here! You too must survive! Let's go! One more step!"
"Yes!"
It was when Tang Wei turned around and about to ran.
Paaaaat!
The poison mists shuddered with a terrifying sonic boom as a man wreathed in azure energy burst through.
A middle-aged man with subdued gaze. Jeok Ho gripped his Balck Dao in reverse and charged toward them in one breath.
“Run! Quickly!”
"Yes!"
The Tang craftsmen pushed forward desperately, but escaping the pursuit of an absolute master with their limited strength had always been a pipe dream.
Seeing their enemy closing the distance in seconds, the craftsmen gritted their teeth.
"We can't let them pass!"
The hammers in their hands swung violently. The hammers they never abandoned even while fleeing with everything else were now being swung to protect Tang Family.
But their hammers were far too weak to deal with the huge Black Dao.
Whiiing!
With a sound like the very air being torn apart, the craftsmen's bodies were split in half and soared upward. It was a gruesome sight. Yet even then, the Tang craftsmen clung desperately to Jeok Ho's legs, while the pale-faced poison researchers frantically spread poisons.
“Out of my way!”
But Jeok Ho’s sword cut through even them like they were weeds. A grotesque killing intent surged in his eyes that were always composed.
Picking them off one by one from behind was meaningless. The most efficient way to crush fleeing enemies was to shatter the front line in one strike.
Jeok Ho cleaved through those blocking his path and surged forward.
"Go! Now!"
Seeing that sight, Tang Wei turned his body abruptly.
“Elder-nim!”
Tang Wei’s hand slipped into his sleeve. Clutching a dozen poison vials in both hands, he uncorked them and poured their contents into his mouth.
With a feeling as if his throat was burning, his body instantly heated up.
'Gods of Heaven and Earth!'
With his body full of poison, Tang Wei staggered and charged toward Ho. Jeok Ho's dao sliced indifferently through Tang Wei's chest in one clean stroke.
Sogok!
A crimson line appeared across Tang Wei's chest, and his eyes lost focus.
Just as Jeok Ho moved to step past him, dismissing Tang Wei as already dead, the wound on Tang Wei's chest darkened to black and his hands both wrapped around Jeok Ho.
"Hmm?"
“Y- You can’t… pass…”
Jeok Ho's face contorted as he saw black blood flowing from Tang Wae who clung to his legs.
"Tenacious old men!"
Kwadeuk!
Jeok Ho's Black Dao pierced Tang Wei's back in one thrust. Tang Wei convulsed violently, but his hands around Jeok Ho’s legs refused to loosen.
“Can’t… pass…. You can’t….”
"You!"
Sogok!
Jeok Ho's Black Dao cut off Tang Wei's arms in one stroke.
"Stubborn bastards."
Jeok Ho bit his lip. The clothes where Tang Wei had clung to were now rotting and stained black with poison.
It may not be a problem right away, but if this dragged on, poisoning was inevitable.
“Then let’s just stop wasting time!”
Kwang!
A fierce blue killing intent flared in Jeok Ho’s eyes. His two eyes caught sight of the back of a woman fleeing ahead.
'I must go!'
Tears flowed continuously from Tang Sobo's eyes.
The screams behind her were too horrifying. Too heartbreaking.
Still, she must go. She had no choice but to keep going.
'Don't cry! I'm of Tang Family!'
Even though she couldn't learn martial arts, martial arts wasn't everything that proved Tang Family. Those who carry the Tang blood must never show weakness before the enemy.
"Aaaaaaaaa!"
Once again, a blood-curdling scream echoed from behind her. Those ahead who turned to look paled in terror.
A child burst into tears.
Someone who simply collapsed on the spot.
Someone poured out curses like a vengeful ghost.
They would all die. Every last one.
No matter how hard they try, they cannot survive with their strength alone. All the sacrifices made to save them would be in vain.
Tang Sobo's mouth opened involuntarily.
"Someone..."
Please, someone.
"Someone help us! Please!"
Then. A furious roar thundered behind her.
“Die! You worthless!”
A chill crept up her back. Sensing her fate, Tang Sobo instinctively clenched her eyes shut.
'Unnie!'
Kaaaaaang!
But what she met at that moment wasn’t pain nor peace.
Only a violent gust of wind. A strong wind that blasted against her back like an explosion.
Then.
Tok.
Something touches her face.
Before she could even understand what it was, a calm voice reached her ears.
“Are you alright?”
“....”
Tang Sobo opened her eyes wide. Before her stood a man she had never seen before.
"I arrived too late. My apologies. But... you'll be fine now."
“...Yes?”
With a stern face, the man patted her back once, then stepped past her.
“...Who?”
Tang Sobo's eyes were filled with confusion. But her bewilderment was nothing compared to Jeok Ho's.
“....”
Jeok Ho's face turned cold.
His wrist holding his beloved black blade aches sharply.
'What’s this?'
Even if the strike had been made without much thought, to be deflected this easily? No, it doesn't matter that it was deflected. What mattered was that, in the instant the blades met, it felt like he had struck an immovable massive boulder.
Jeok Ho's face contorted violently.
“You are....”
The man blocking Jeok Ho calmly surveyed the surroundings. Many have already fallen, bleeding. These are lives that could have been saved had he arrived just a little sooner.
The man's expression hardened.
"Is taking lives so easy for you?"
"...Who are you, youngster?"
"Yi Songbaek of Southern Edge Sect."
(H: Prev. Isong Baek.)
"What?"
A look of bewilderment crossed Jeok Ho’s face. Someone with this level of martial prowess should have been heard of at least once, but this name was unfamiliar.
"If you wish to kill them, you'll have to go through me first."
The man’s foot pressed firmly into the earth. Like a thousand-year-old tree rooting itself deep, Yi Songbaek’s stance solidified, and his eyes shone with pristine clarity.
“Come.”
His weighty voice resonated widely across the land, now frozen in still silence.
|Note
WOAHHHHHHHHH SONGBAEK AT LAST MY BRO SONGBAEK CAME BACK, I literally cried, that was sooo out of the blue. This is just too much for my faint hart aghghhgahghahghag
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