MTLNOVEL Chapter 551
Truly, it was a scene that would make the heavens tremble and the earth shudder; anyone who witnessed such a clamorous chaos would feel the wrath of the sky and kneel in fear, utterly dazed.
However, before Qing could comprehend the situation, she felt an immense weight pressing down on her limbs.
“Arm!” “Leg!” “We’ve got her!”
With a cheerful shout, blood ghouls were clinging onto the prone Qing.
Would these rascals, stopping blades with their hands, have any fear of the booming thunder?
Yet, even in such a frantic situation, the way they held her down was clearly a command—
Just as Qing was about to shake them off and stand up.
“It’s not time yet! Stay still!”
With that, Qing slackened her limbs again.
—!!!
The air around them shattered with a deafening roar, followed by three consecutive thunderous sounds.
Wait, had I heard this before? A cannon?
No, cannons don’t make that kind of noise.
Long before that, way before that.
A grenade? No, that’s too far gone; yes, back then.
When I first met Jang Myung. That…
Hmm. What was it called again? Martial World-style bomb?
Qing had the momentum going but ended clumsily.
The answer is Jin Cheon Roe.
An ancient grenade that literally means “thunder that shakes the sky.”
In the Martial World, it’s called Byulryeokdan, because being caught using Jin Cheon Roe would be considered treason. Jin Cheon Roe? No, this is a Byulryeokdan.
“Swordmaster! Are you alright!?” “Young Lady Seomun!”
The unbearable noise made my ears ring, but amidst it all, I could still hear familiar voices.
Honestly, the moment I heard “Swordmaster,” the memories of other voices surged back all at once.
First it was San, now it’s the Swordmaster and Yes.
“Oh, you all—”
Qing tried to spring up, but the blood ghouls, having clung on thickly, pressed her down, leading to a frantic struggle.
“Hey, wait! Let go, okay? Just for a moment.”
“No way!” “We can’t let go!”
“No, hold on, Young Lady!”
If I were flat on my back looking at the sky, I could at least push with my joints; but with the blood ghouls weighing on my limbs, I flailed helplessly.
In that mix, with her Awakening Skill in full swing, Qing sensed several silhouettes around her.
The weight holding her down dissipated as the ghouls lost their grip.
This was her chance; Qing sprang up as her allies stood shoulder to shoulder, striking down the blood ghouls all around.
“Swordmaster, it looks undeniably tough for you.”
“Young Lady Seomun, are you okay? Blood! There are things that absolutely shouldn’t breathe after this, how dare they!”
“Yes, I’m fine. Relax. It’s not my blood!”
“Seeing you standing up like that, it’s understandable. Tsk.”
While she was glad, Qing felt the need to issue a warning first.
“Everyone, be careful. They are the blood sect’s monsters! They don’t hold back, and having you here makes it dangerous—”
“Sister! Catch this!”
“Qing!” “Young Lady!”
Turning her head, she saw a muscular brute, two short women, and one taller woman.
At once, something hefty flew through the air.
Oops! As Qing stretched out her hand, the heavy object, in mid-air, got snatched up by her grasp, halting it mid-flight.
This cool spear? More than anything, the solid weight!
It’s back, my Crescent Moon Sword!
The Crescent Moon Sword could feel wronged.
It had just been left behind, and now it’s being called back, how unfair.
Vroom! The sound of its blade sliced through the air as it cleaved through the torsos of two blood ghouls, while the spear spun under it, hacking cleanly through one of their heads.
“Yeah, this is it! Finally! At last! No, but you all need to—”
“Who the hell are you guys?!”
A loud voice once again interrupted Qing’s words.
Before she knew it, the blood sect master, Chang Sanya, stood there, his clothing riddled with holes and caked in dirt, a miserable sight with scattered blood stains indicating numerous cuts.
Yet, Qing’s words didn’t get interrupted.
“—You can’t be here?”
“Did you think you could just waltz in here without anyone noticing?”
Pang Dae-san countered while cleaving through the ghouls.
But his voice had a gruffness to it; what was going on? He sounded really mad…
“No, how did you even—”
“I rode over here.”
“General Wang provided us with the horses.”
Qing was shocked.
Wang Sang-ryong! How could the General do this to me!
I thought he was a brilliant commander! A betrayal of this magnitude!
A precious and agile horse, when fully determined to gallop, could outrun the speed of a martial artist.
Of course, it needed flat ground to dash on, and if it ran too far, it would tire quickly, foaming at the mouth.
“No, I’m not questioning the method—”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you sneaking away? Sure, you love to have fun, but you’re also specific about what you end and where; suddenly deciding to delay your schedule by a day? Anyone would find that suspicious.”
“Anyone would…? I don’t—I’m not even a friend…”
“No, that’s not it! Also, don’t use that! The sword lengthening thing! It shaves off your lifespan!”
Pang Dae-san’s unique way of expressing hurt feelings caused Gongson Yo-ye to suffer some collateral damage.
“If it’s of any concern, I requested the General to increase nighttime guard duties. Hmph. Just as expected.”
Qing gasped again. Wang Sang-ryong, once more!
For the record, after hearing Pang Dae-san, Wang Sang-ryong had activated a top-level nighttime ambush warning, so no matter how much you were a quasi-merchant Shintu, Qing had no need to be embarrassed at being caught.
Somehow, the conniving face that smiled “Hehe, Mama” seemed to shimmer faintly in the dawn sky.
“Swordmaster! What in the world are these vile creatures!? What is going on!?”
“Aim for the heart and head! They ignore defense, so be cautious!”
“A! Shouldn’t it be the perfect opportunity to practice the majesty of my King’s Sword Form now? Charge! Haap!”
“No, you all, this is genuinely dangerous? They are the blood sect’s monsters, right? I appreciate you coming but—”
“Who are you calling ‘you all’!!”
“You should just fall back for now—”
“Hmph. Who do you think you are?”
“Yeah, that’s just not how it works.”
“No, now’s not the time to be stubborn—”
“Qing!”
“Lady, this is driving me insane.”
The figures of friends, Nan-Ah, Young Lady Mo Yong, and Je-gal, clearly fell into the range of her Awakening Skill.
Why are they all rushing in here? What place is this for you to be trampling around carelessly?
I thought this through before leaving, but they barged in, which is really driving me nuts!
“Hey, Je-gal! Wind!”
“Uh, if it’s Hangzhou around this time, it’s in the northeast—”
“I know that! Are we changing direction or not?”
“At the very least, it won’t change until summer—”
“Ugh!”
Pong! With a delightful sound, mist rose up.
Since the northern wind was blowing south, spreading to the back of the manor, it still didn’t matter because there were blood ghouls behind, and given their absolute obedience to commands, they wouldn’t comprehend stopping to catch their breaths at all.
“Cough!” “It’s bitter! Like a bitter taste!” “Huh?”
The blood ghouls in the back were noticeably sluggish, stiffening and collapsing one by one.
They would quickly fill those spots again, though.
“Who the hell are you! Can’t you hear me?! For now, just slowly back off! It’s the blood sect, I’m telling you! They’re vicious!”
“Well, you can tell that just by looking at them.”
“No, what are we all trying to do right now? This is dangerous! Quickly back off—”
“Knowing it’s dangerous like this is the problem.”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?!”
Suddenly, something strong shot past Qing’s shoulder, and a brilliant ice dragon dashed past from the left, piercing the chest of a blood ghoul, scattering it into pieces.
Though it was pretty much beautiful garbage, the icy bits scattered on the ground, popping back up, ready to charge again.
The owner of the ice spirit, Namgoong Shin-jae, pushed through the left, naturally forming a position.
“This time, I’ll protect you.”
“No way, even Gun Yong is here? Protecting whom?”
“Young Lady Seomun.”
“Keeping you safe means worrying about you? How am I supposed to fight if I think about you?”
“Would you stop talking that way—”
“Can’t you hear me?!”
“Shut up!” “Shut it!”
Chang Sanya’s mouth went agape.
These fools were completely ignoring a human’s words, getting even angrier, acting all high and mighty, and how dare young ones like them, Chang Sanya grabbed the back of his neck, feeling rage welling up instantly.
“You presumptuous brats! I’ll kill you all!”
Chang Sanya charged furiously.
The Crescent Moon Sword and its thin blade cast a wrathful aura above and below before clashing with Chang Sanya’s sword aura, causing sparks to fly.
A blade whizzed past between the heads of Qing and Pang Dae-san, slicing through the air.
Chang Sanya panicked and fell back, and a thought flashed in Qing’s mind; these monsters are targeting only my limbs, right? If I dive in, they’ll follow me.
“Qing!” “Swordmaster!”
Suddenly, shouts rang out from behind as Qing dashed out of formation.
But the blood ghouls focused solely on the Heavenly Beauty drenched in blood.
In that instant, Chang Sanya realized he made a mistake.
He should have commanded the rest of them to kill her, but in his fury, he hadn’t thought it through.
“Whew—huff.”
“Shut up!”
Qing swung her Crescent Moon Sword, intercepting the vile incantations.
Holding the Crescent Moon Sword, Qing and the Divine Iron Crescent Moon Sword, she was an entirely different being.
In terms of destructive power and reach.
Originally, an incantation requires focusing the spirit and voice, releasing true energy from the abdomen, and since Chang Sanya couldn’t complete the incantation, he jumped back in surprise as Qing cut through the words.
“Kill those bastards! I said kill them!”
“Kill them!” “Kill them!”
Though they echoed the words, their eyes remained fixated on Seomun Qing.
Thanks to that, when their party cut down the blood ghouls, they would counterattack, but as they weren’t targets to begin with, they didn’t fight vigorously.
Taking this chance, Qing leaped forward, smashing the head of a blood ghoul and sending it further away, while the blade of her Crescent Moon Sword carved a graceful arc.
Moon Lady’s sword technique, oh first. Knowing the flower by gazing at the grass.
A glimpse of the specter of the Moon Lady.
The woman in blue darting about gracefully; A-Qing’s expression was delightfully innocent, like a child, despite being fully grown.
The child who grew up alone on the mountainside, playing with monkeys for the first time came into the world, meeting hairless kin, curious about everything around.
Yet, no matter how familiar the kin, wasn’t she afraid of the strange human world?
Still, the Moon Lady was just brimming with joy, for there existed a man who accompanied her, guiding her through this world.
The Moon Lady had come into this world following the man she saved, only then realizing she belonged here.
Alone, her hairless body was but meaningless; existence is determined by an “other.”
A flower that grows alone doesn’t know it is a flower, and a flower without a watcher is akin to a weed without significance.
The smiling Moon Lady, the grinning man. The pure Moon Lady, the one who couldn’t be hindered, the carefree one doubling over in laughter, the man who just shakes his head. The Moon Lady scooping up some rice, smiling, while the man sets his spoon down discreetly, takes up chopsticks, and goes all polite…
The man who had been following behind the Moon Lady, gradually walked side by side with her, closing the distance, and as their fingers brushed, he flinched, and she reached out to clasp his hand.
Thus, their hands intertwined.
Suddenly, the sky darkened and the joined hands, the Moon Lady and the man, the warmth they shared, uncontainable breaths mingling, could resemble the shadows of wavering lights, spirits pulsating, like a wild beast intertwining, warm bodies colliding, producing wet and sticky applause that became faster, more intense, and the heightening groans filled the air…
No, what is going on?
Why are the essence of martial arts being hammered into the heart of the mind?
And since the subject is a woman, ugh, what’s happening, Arghh. Chills, shivers, urgh. Something, something’s happening…
Whatever the case, I’ve read the truth of the herb.
This is where the legendary Muhak began, the furthest origins of martial arts, where the blade of the Moon Lady was born.
An unusual monkey in some unnamed mountain met a man and became a person, and then a woman.
The unusual monkey had been wielding swords joyfully, yet it wasn’t the Muhak yet.
It was only after meeting a person and engaging with another that it became swordsmanship, and thus martial arts.
The Crescent Moon Sword curved oddly.
Instead of pressing down forcefully to change directions, instead of flailing about randomly in high spirits—
Like water flowing, persistently chasing and colliding with the weapon in a sticky sword pattern.
“Ow…!” Clang, clang!
“Ow…!” Clang! Clang!
“Ow…!” Clang-clang-clang! Kraang!
“You brat! If people are talking, listen!”
“Shut up!”
Qing seized the moment, pushing forward.
This? If I do well…
“Do you really think—”
“Just shut it!”
“Graaah! I’ll kill you!”
Crunch.
Huh?
Qing looked up at the sky.
Before she knew it, the deep azure of dawn came into view.
Faintly echoing like screams, the voices calling for her and Seomun were frantic, almost pitiful.
In an instant, her breath hitched.
Her chest tightened painfully, and her lungs shrank, refusing to take in air, as her heart pounded wildly, sending blood coursing through her body, but the air refused to move as everything screamed in agony.
Gah! Suddenly, a surge of crimson blood sprayed out, slowly scattering against the dawn sky—
Qing realized.
Ah. I must have taken a big hit.