Chapter 354: The Hidden Power Within The Imperial Palace (3)

Chop! Chop!

“Damn it!!”

The Superior Master Warrior’s Qi caused his arm to tremble. However, to take down the manic one-arm woman that was running towards him, he unfurled his Qi in the form of a sword. Through his swordsmanship, his Qi shot rampant in abundance, as if it was welcoming the rushing zombie-like court lady towards her demise.

However, the court lady wasn’t foolish enough to run blindly into it, which could’ve sliced her into two.

Pat! Bang!

‘She avoided it?’

The lady turned around and avoided the Qi that was rushing at her. She tried to find flaws in his technique as she kept moving swiftly.

‘What kind of movements are those!’

The court lady’s movements were different from the usual striding sequence. Like a lean, well-balanced cat, she jumped back and forth avoiding the sword Qi. She was a tough opponent to deal with.

‘I need to cut down either her leg or neck!’

If the lady could move so precisely even with a lacking arm, he had no choice but to either cut her leg or her throat. She may be unaware of pain, but it didn’t mean that she was immortal.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Pat! Phat! Phat!

The court lady was gradually turning accustomed to the sword Qi and its movements. Thus, the Superior Master Warrior couldn’t help but come to a decision. If he continues the sword Qi’s motion and abruptly changes its course, he’ll be able to disrupt her maneuvers.

‘Now!’

Before the court lady could reach his sword Qi, he carefully observed how she charged towards him and decided to move slightly to the left. At that moment, with a shattering sound, the Superior Master Warrior pushed the sword to the court lady’s throat. She was surprised and desperately tried to avoid it, but there was no way she could stop after storming ahead.

“AGH!”

Slash!

The Superior Master Warrior succeeded in slashing her throat. She got lacerated, and her zombie-like body fell onto the floor like a detached puppet.

“I did it! Immortal? What bullshit…”

Puck! Puck!

“KWAH!”

The exhilaration he felt after taking down the court lady lasted only for so long. He felt pain and looked at his back in distress just to see that two court ladies had struck him at his back and side. He felt cornered as his insides bleed and fire burned through his organs.

Of course, it wasn’t just a sensation.

Kiiiiiick!

“UGH!”

He was frightened at the sudden attack and tried to protect his blood points, but it was too late. The fire seeped into his body and scorched his innards. Even in his last moments, the Superior Master Warrior managed to pull out the sword Qi with preciseness and slit the throat of a court lady.

Slash!

The court lady, who saw her colleague’s neck get slit, grabbed the man’s throat.

“Le, let go… Ugh, uh, cough!”

The Superior Master Warrior’s face turned red as fire filled his head. He, who had already exhausted his reserved Qi for taking down the opponent, had no strength to rebel anymore.

Bom! Bom!

His eyes burst black as if they got burned with fire. To call the flame that they’re using as the foreign power called Yang was a great misconception. It was literal, pure flame energy.

Tingle! Tingle!

“AHHHHHH!”

Screams resonated everywhere along with the nasty smell of burning flesh. The warriors died one after the other ignorant to the mysterious power that the monstrous court ladies possessed. Of course, not everyone died.

“Huh!”

Although one arm got torn off, Elder Khum, a Supreme Master, managed to save his internal energy. No matter how fast the court ladies were, his eyes interpreted no difference in their movements.

Swosh! Swosh! Swosh!

When one of the court ladies rushed towards him, he just faintly moved his upper body to avoid the attack. The court lady tried to change her form, getting pissed at his minimal movements, but…

Thud!

“You seem to look down on the Elder whose one arm is cut off, hmmm!”

Crack!

Getting hold of the court lady’s arm, he fractured her bones and ripped it off. Elder Khum, who pulled out her arm, kicked her on the stomach.

Kick! Thud!

With Qi imbued into the attack, the court lady’s body flew ten steps in the air and rolled on the ground. No matter how strong she might be, she couldn’t let herself be taken down by basic assaults. But as she tried to get up, her body staggered as if it had been crushed.

Kiiiick!

Elder Khum, who held the lady’s arm in his hand, removed the clothing on it. Seeing the stripped arm, his eyes flooded with joy.

“Kukuku, at last! At last! Found it!”

Shockingly, dense red scales were on the court lady’s arm. Such scales defended the owner from the sword Qi and numerous other attacks. Elder Khum, who figured out the answer, shouted in joy at the warriors who were fighting the court ladies.

“Blood Reversion is allowed against these insects!”

Once his orders fell, the four warriors who were still fighting roared. Sudden changes were occurring inside the four warriors’ bodies. Regardless, the court ladies didn’t hesitate to rush towards the strengthened men. Dum! Dum!

Their muscular upper body began to bulk up at a bizarre and rapid rate. Their eyes turned red and veins popped and bulged on their faces, making them hideous to look at.

“Roarrrrrrrr!”

A beast’s cry escaped from their mouths. Even the other warriors who were in the vicinity of the fight were scared by their appearance. The four monster-like men, now twice the height of an adult, were devoid of any human features.

“WH-what the hell is this?”

“How were these monsters part of the house?”

They were unaware that the demons had disguised themselves as humans. Unlike the warriors who couldn’t shut their mouths with surprise, the court ladies halted and ran towards the warriors who had used Blood Reversion.

Kwak!

The man using the Blood Reversion technique snatched a sword and rushed towards a court lady. It looked like a behemoth had seized the villain. The giant grabbed the ankle of the lady and tore it off while holding her other leg.

Tear!

The court lady got torn in half effortlessly. After killing her cruelly with ease, everyone nodded at the weight of the moment.

“Kwah!”

“Hic!”

The few remaining warriors couldn’t overcome their fear and scrambled to escape the hellhole. They lit the walls in an attempt to run away, but the court ladies intercepted them.

“Da- damn it! these monsters!”

Clang! Clang!

“Shit!”

The soldiers desperately tried to defeat them. But to no avail, their Qi wasn’t strong enough to injure the ladies. Moreover, they had witnessed the downfall of the 3 Superior Master Warriors who were adept in handling strong Qi and the four warriors’ transformation into monsters.

“Kwaahhhh!”

Yeongwol, a member of the Guardians, stared at the deranged men that looked like monsters.

With a smile on his face, Elder Khum spoke to her.

“Did you think that an Elder like me wouldn’t have a secret up my sleeve? Heh, heh.”

“… I knew that the devil’s pandemonium was in here.”

“If you decide to stop fighting and surrender, I will spare your life along with the other court ladies.”

Elder Khum had no intention to kill them. He just wanted to locate the head of the Imperial Palace Guardian and figure out the foreign power they possess. Yeongwol clicked her tongue at Elder Khum, who didn’t even bother to hide his greedy expression.

“You’re trying to find out the Guardian’s identity with those monsters disguised as humans? Tch.”

“What?”

Tap!

As Yeonwol flicked her fingers, two court ladies wearing veils appeared behind her. They were wearing blue silk robes with red patterns stitched on them.

“Inspection Maids?”

Looking at the costumes, it seemed like they must have been in the prosecutor’s office assisting the deacons. Despite the yellow glowing eyes which could be seen through the veils, they were exuding different energy from the other court ladies. If there was anything visibly different, it was the long sword present in their eyes.

“Help the other court ladies in killing those beasts who emerged from their human masks.”

“The leader’s order has been received.”

Phat!

Simultaneously as the former fell, the newly arrived ladies moved towards the beast-like men who were unleashing their strength.

“GGRRRRRRR!”

The beast-like men moved and attacked every lady who rushed towards them. However, the inspection maids were faster than the previous ones, they kept on moving, bouncing from one place to another.

Jump! Jump! Jump!

“GRRRRR, you crazy wench!”

The beast-like man boiled with anger and extended his sharp nails, unfolding a high-level technique.

Hwak!

Despite the beast’s increasing power, while avoiding the attacks, a lady struck his arm with a sword.

“Kuuuuuu! It’s no use!”

Launching the higher-level technique strengthened his body. Both sides were masters in their own domain, one possessing the Flame Qi and the other having the Blood Reversion. However, their strength forced them into a stalemate. But,

Puhk!

“KWAAAK!”

But, when done correctly, the thick arm that seemed to be unpierceable got cut by the sword. Though the lady failed to cut through the bones, the sword still wounded the flesh with the help of her skill.

Clang!

The beast-like man was shocked as he witnessed her sword slit his skin. The sword was burning red as if it had been placed in a fire. Moreover, he witnessed a faint blue light, which seemed to be the reason behind their strength. Unlike the other court ladies, these new ones are extremely skilled.

“Kuaaaaak!”

The beast on Blood Reversion, who judged the lady as a dangerous opponent, rushed towards her with the intent to kill. But due to his hasty movement, one thing was overlooked. He doesn’t only have one opponent. Once the gap was created, a 2nd lady struck him behind.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

No matter how sturdy the beast’s body, it’s bound to break when hit on the same spot with the Flame Qi.

“Ah! Ahhhhhhhh!”

The roar shook the ground as it slowly turned into a cry of pain.

‘Ohh! This is what I get for looking down at the power of the Guardians.’

Elder Khum felt cheated as he thought that the situation would turn around because of the Blood Reversion act. Even after being outnumbered, the beast-like men still fought and killed numerous ladies.

It was a mistake to assume that he could trick the Guardian.

‘I have no other choice but to subdue their leader.’

Yeonwhol, herself, verified her identity as one of the three leaders of the Imperial Palace Guardian. If he could subdue her, he might be able to reverse the situation.

‘Since our efforts are turning useless, the best warriors will be used to overwhelm them.’

Elder Khum, who was making a plan, raised his left hand. At that moment, Yeonwol’s gaze drifted to the fighting court ladies and the beast-like men. It was then that something came towards her.

Right then,

Puck! Kwak!

“Kuak!”

She, who had turned her gaze away, was actually waiting for Elder Khum to attack her, she grabbed him by the neck as he neared her. Yeonwol’s eyes, which had been fine till a moment ago, turned yellow.

“You have a bad habit. Elder Khum.”

“Kuak… kuk! Ugh!”

Elder Khum hurriedly tried to intensify his Qi as he held onto her hand that was squeezing the life out of him. However, no matter how much he tried to impair her hand, she didn’t budge.

Kaaaang!

“Huak!”

He could guess that it was similar to what the court ladies were doing. Despite that, he never thought that she would be strong enough to withstand his Qi at such close range. Yeongwol’s dark eyes were gleaming.

“You cheeky bastard. Neither you nor those devil’s men out there need to stay alive. Just die.”

Clench!

“Kuaaak!”

She already had him in her grasp, as if intending to break his neck, she began to gather internal energy on her hand. He was immersed in fear of his neck being twisted at any moment.

Hot! Hot!

“Huh? What…”

Elder Khum’s throat began to turn crimson. Yet, it appears like the end is still out of reach, his upper body began to swell with blood vessels protruding on the face, creating a sickening face. Meanwhile, he used Blood Reversion to escape from her grasp.

“Foolish attempt!”

Yeongwol raised her left hand and aimed it at his heart to cleanly kill him before he completed the Blood Reversion. Her left hand turned red as the fire burned through. At that moment.

Bang!

‘Huh?’

A stranger’s energy.

Yeonwol was so surprised that she couldn’t help but loosen her grasp on the Elder.

Bang!

At the same time, someone appeared out of nowhere behind Elder Khum and unfurled a sword Qi. The man, who landed from above, grabbed Elder Khum’s head.

-clench!

“Wh-who?”

Elder Khum was unnerved at someone’s sudden touch, he couldn’t turn as a tremendous shock spread throughout his head.

Chirirng!

“Kuuuuuuakk!”

It was a spectacle, white light ran through his body like fire. As the undyed energy entered him, the Blood Reversion act, which created a new energy flow, stopped, and the bulked body shrank, along with his eyes turning back to normal.

Brrrrrr!

The white light subsided, but the aftermath remained. Elder Khum’s body convulsed. Resulting in his hair getting burned and him turning bald.

“This… this… manic!”

Before he could even unravel his skill, his technique was blocked. He shook his head at the absurdity of the situation, and the Golden Guard, who once disappeared was standing in front of him, again!

Chun Yeowun.

‘Didn’t he run away? No… no way…’

“You… fucking… bastard…”

Thud!

Elder Khum cursed till the very moment he passed out.

The leader of the Guardians, Yeongwol, who was trying to keep him alive, spoke with displeasure as she looked at the intruder.

“Haa… here I was thinking where you hid.”

She couldn’t analyze Chun Yeowun’s power and only his grim demonic energy could be felt. Had it not been for that, she could’ve never found him.

Chun Yeowun confidently spoke back.

“This man belongs to me”

“Huh? What did you say? You ran away from us when we arrived! Suddenly coming and saying that… wait a moment! Did you?”

At that moment, leader Yeonwol’s expression turned stiff. At first, she thought that he just ran away because of the disparity of their strength.

“Yo- you were aiming for this?”

Yep, he was.

Chun Yeowun was waiting for them to fight and drain each other. She finally realized why Elder Khum swore as he fell.