MTLNOVEL Chapter 552
“Agh! I’m falling, smack on the back of my head!”
My body, still in motion due to inertia, ended up doing some weird handstand with my head planted on the ground and my legs kicking in the air.
At the peak of that ridiculous position, I lost all strength, and my body folded like a sickle, dropping to my knees with my forehead and forearms flat on the ground.
“Arm! Arm!” “Leg! Leg!” “I want legs too!” “No way! You do arms!”
The Blood Ghouls didn’t bat an eye at me, even while I was groveling on my knees.
Suddenly, a massive Sword Aura swooped down from left to right—it was Gongson Yo-ye’s Hunyuan Sword.
As she swept through four Blood Ghouls, scattering them, she staggered while her companions blocked the way.
“No, I told you not to use that! Ugh, it hurts… I’m gonna lose years off my life. Why do you keep using it?”
“Ah! Young Lady Seomun! Are you okay?”
The bright smile on Gongson Yo-ye’s face twisted abruptly, her words cut off.
Well, my state was just too pitiful to ignore.
A long gash ran diagonally from my left shoulder, past my pelvis, all the way to my right thigh.
Bright red tissue and severed edges lay open for all to see.
“Seomun, Young Lady?”
“Huh? Did I get hurt badly? It’s not that painful, ugh, I mean it stings a bit, but I’m okay. I can endure it.”
Gongson Yo-ye’s eyes briefly flickered.
After all, those are the classic last words of a man.
“I’m really hurt!” “It doesn’t hurt that much!” “I can hold on! I’m fine, I won’t die!”
“Qing Ah!”
Nam Nan-ah’s sharp voice cut through the air like a scream.
Despite the ringing in my ears, her voice pierced straight into my brain, making me frown instinctively.
But I felt a bit sorry seeing her face on the verge of tears. I tried to force a smile through my grimace.
“Hey, Nan-ah? I’m fine.”
Suddenly, something pushed into my mouth. Before I could react, Nam Nan-ah’s finger shoved some medicine in, and I accidentally swallowed it.
Then the fragrant herbal scent spread in my mouth, calming the nausea that had been boiling inside me.
“Whoa, what’s this? Good medicine? I feel more clear-headed. It’s not expensive, right?”
“I can’t… I can’t die! You, I’m doing this just for you! It’s really… the Blood-Stopping Powder, Blood-Stopping Powder!”
Nam Nan-ah frantically patted her body, rummaging through her supplies.
With items tumbling out like a magic trick, was that a stinger? Could she even risk dropping it?
Nam Nan-ah, a master of Tang Family’s storage arts, was in such a panic trying to find her medicine that it was clear how flustered she was.
“I’m fine.”
“Fine? Look at yourself!”
“I’m okay. For now, later.”
I gently pushed Nan-ah away, all the while gripping my Crescent Moon Sword tightly.
Nan-ah hesitated, not knowing whether to hold on. Right now, she shouldn’t pull me back with all this chaos around.
This was the moment: ‘the calm before the storm.’
The saying goes that just before sunset, the sun shines the brightest. It was when time was running out that warriors, both the strong and the wise, make their last stand.
Based on my hometown’s perspective, my brain was all mixed up, nerves firing in all directions.
Who knows if it was the influence of the Hundred-Eight Sura Sword or the abilities of Heaven’s Kill or Blood Poison Body?
But one thing was clear: surprisingly, the pain wasn’t as intense as it should be.
Everything felt fuzzy; the world seemed oddly light, as if its density had dropped significantly.
But right now, I had to do what needed doing.
These pranksters, separated from the pack, had their hearts in the right place but were clueless.
Why step into such a dangerous place?
First, take care of where you’re stepping, for goodness’ sake! Don’t you realize life is on the line?
I appreciated and admired them, but seriously.
They’re out of their minds…
With no choice but to step in, the supreme martial artist, Qing who’s supposedly invincible, has a duty to at least protect the lives of my members.
Then bam! Someone blocked my way.
“Iri.”
“No way.”
Not just a simple ‘no’ but an emphatic ‘no.’
What is this? A new twist in the story?
As the Blood Ghouls closed in, ice dragons twirled and icy blades danced around. I felt unease creeping in.
Honestly, they looked absurdly unreliable.
The ice dragon was pretty yet useless, and their swordsmanship was just clumsy.
“Iri? Can you step aside?”
“No.”
Whenever I tried to change direction, she would uncanny predict me, continually blocking me—Seoliri, who seemed to have an uncanny team-up with Mo Yong.
Honestly, if it weren’t for Young Lady Mo Yong, I would’ve been dead three times over by now with Seoliri’s complacency.
Thinking back, Young Lady Mo Yong is quite admirable.
This Iri would never have coordinated with the others, panicking looking for Gunyongi, fending off this ridiculous mess with such care.
It’s still fresh in my mind how she’d whine about her own issues rather than helping others, but wait, was it really that long ago?
She’s already grown up enough to take care of the team, and if she just matures emotionally, she’d be a perfect woman.
My new moves slid through effortlessly.
Seoliri, caught up in blocking the Blood Ghouls, tried to intercept as I slipped past, biting her lips tightly, blocking a claw aimed at me.
And boom! A booming sound echoed.
As Je-gal Lee-hyun grappled with the Blood Ghouls, blood sprayed from their elbows.
In response, Je-gal Lee-hyun’s muscles puffed up like balloons, sending the Blood Ghouls tumbling away.
“Thanks, sis!”
Sure thing. I’ll treat you as a benefactor for three lifetimes.
Did I just think that aloud, or was it just in my head?
I was feeling a bit dazed, unsure of what was real.
As I stepped forward, thud, my foot hit ground.
Blood spattered everywhere.
But Pang Dae-san and Namgoong Shin-jae struggled against Chang Sanya, constantly pushed back, their lives hanging by a thread.
Both supreme martial artists couldn’t even face one low-tier opponent.
How could I relax right now?
The Moon Lady’s Sixth Strike. The Ten Swords of the State.
Defeating the Ten Swords of the State had become the norm.
Moon Country had been a vassal state of State of Je for quite a while.
Those ten swords, the ten greatest swordsmen, took perverse pleasure in tormenting women in the streets while showing off their skills.
A man furious, he grabbed his sword and charged out, only for the Moon Lady to take him down and instead challenge them to a duel.
Clang! Two swords clashing and one Crescent Moon Sword finessing through took the stage, leaving Chang Sanya in peril.
The Moon Lady stepped up to face ten—
“Enough! Can you just stay still for a moment? You’re causing too much trouble and I can’t even fight!”
Her booming voice shattered my thoughts.
“But I’m trying to help here—”
“True, Swordmaster. Not to say anything against your skill, but men and women just don’t mesh well; it’s all just a mess when we try to combine,” she interrupted.
“What the heck? Just—”
“Enough! You’re just getting in the way; step aside; hurry!”
Her words made my forehead throb, blood streaming down my face, and my hand jolted out!
Clang! My steel staff hit Chang Sanya’s sword blade.
The Sword Aura bent hard, striking the ground below.
A massive crack opened up.
In that moment, Namgoong Shin-jae whirled his two swords, unleashing a sky-blue Sword Aura that pushed a staggered Chang Sanya back step by step.
I tried to help, only to feel dizzy and stagger.
Thank goodness there was something sturdy to grab and lean against. I realized Pang Dae-san had a rock-hard arm, like a boulder.
Seriously, all that toughness, what’s that even for? I was definitely stronger; I mean, he was more like a muscle-bound balloon—totally not envious, of course.
“You’re being annoying. Get back, now!”
His voice somehow shook me out of my chaotic thoughts, and I snapped.
“What? You almost got us killed earlier! Now what? How am I supposed to relax with all this! We might end up burying someone here any second!”
“If I’m dead, what about you? Forget about it.”
Huh?
I was momentarily stunned.
This unexpected rebuttal from Pang Dae-san came with genuine, simmering anger I hadn’t seen before.
It wasn’t just a sulky, childish tone; it felt like a punch right in the gut, the kind that settled regret deep inside.
“It’s always like this. In critical times, you try to handle everything alone. Look at this mess. You’re practically a walking corpse. So stop worrying about everyone else and focus on yourself!”
I couldn’t take it anymore.
“How can I not worry!? I’m not weak! I need to get to at least the level of the Realm; how could I just sit back and let them get hurt while I’m the one leading?! I can’t watch anyone die!”
What met me was a seething glare.
An anger so deep, it felt like self-loathing rather than directed at me.
“And did you think about how we felt when you just left? With no explanation and just vanished?”
“That’s not it—”
“After having a good laugh just the day before, and then suddenly hearing about your disappearance from someone else, did you think we would just shrug it off?”
“It’s not like that.”
“So it is fine if you die? You think you’ll just smile away, dreaming about your friends while you’re at death’s door?”
“But—”
“Have you considered how the ones left behind feel? Feeling useless because they can’t help you, weak, pitiful because you’re just burdening all of us!”
My stomach dropped.
No, that wasn’t my thought.
It was simple. You’re vulnerable, unlike me; you don’t have the immunity to infection or poisons; you aren’t packed with my unique abilities or Heavenly Skills. Besides, I could always escape if I needed to!
But those thoughts churned in my mouth, too gripped by dread to spit them out.
After all, that was the gist of it.
And perhaps, I had always thought that way, hadn’t I? Always dismissed those thoughts blindly.
“You can’t see death!? Don’t you think it would be easier for anyone to avoid it? I’d rather just die peacefully than suffer through these agonizing moments!”
I was breathless for a moment.
Because it rang true.
Too true, it felt like a hit.
“So just leave. Don’t come crawling in that state to help me. Go borrow the Tang family’s strength or just bail out. You seem fit enough to escape on your own, anyway. If you’re not here, we might just deal with things ourselves!”
Sparks of memory flickered in my mind.
When I first met Jang Myung while we were escaping, I remember thinking how ridiculous it was to be scared of anything weaker back then, but hey, I had relied on him to shield me.
I remember fiercely telling him not to underestimate himself.
Because he was not just a crutch; he was sturdy and fierce with his own resolve.
And here I am, acting like this! To think I’d expect my friends to rely solely on me, while I sat back, acting like their shield.
They were kind enough not to just pack up and go home with complaints; if I was like me, I would have shouted and called it quits already.
Seriously, the shame was overwhelming.
“Just a little more.”
“What?”
“The Blades of the Half-Sword Association! Please, just protect the president a bit! This one section, just hold on to it, and I’ll figure out a way to manage!”
I shouted, and suddenly, answers came from every side, “Yes, of course, Young Lady Seomun! We will protect you!”
I looked at Pang Dae-san.
“Don’t mess around; know your role here. If anyone dies or even gets seriously hurt, I swear I’ll be crushed and stuck playing babysitter for life. So if you try to be a hero and get yourself killed, I swear I’ll—!”
“A minute’s worth would suffice, right?”
Pang Dae-san smirked.
That little brat, all muscles and no brains sometimes, but he keeps those good looks of his. What a beauty!
Oddly enough, I felt a blush creeping up. Did the medicine do that? Maybe Nan-ah had mixed something special for me!
“Is the discussion done!? Pang bro! I need backup! Backup!”
Through all the chaos, the bruised and bloodied Namgoong Shin-jae bounced around. I questioned whether I could truly rely on them.
But they were not spouting empty words.
Let anyone die or end up injured. I’d confine them in a stress-free retreat until their skills could develop enough to face the air!
I settled into a meditative position.
In the realm of Awakening Skills, I gathered my friends around in a protective circle.
Indeed, I felt a sense of unease.
I couldn’t shake off the doubt that leaving them alone might not be right, questioning it time and again.
As the commotion faded into a muted blur, my spirit dove deep within, sinking down into the depths below.