Chapter 271: Underground Prison (3)
"This is properly done."
Mok Gyeong-un, who had peeled off the face of Trainee Ahn Jong-hu to create a new human skin mask, nodded his head while looking down at the Prison Battlefield Map.
This Prison Battlefield Map belonged to the Chief Banner of the Embroidered Uniform Guards who died in the mechanism trap.
The map appeared identical to the other intact ones Mok Gyeong-un had seen before.
Thus, he did not particularly need to worry about the accuracy of the map he had memorized.
However,
"Hmm."
Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin while looking at the face of the Chief Banner.
He had prevented the incoming volley of arrows from hitting the face, allowing it to also be used as a human skin mask.
But soon, Mok Gyeong-un shook his head lightly.
Time was short, and he needed to hurry, so there was no point in further swapping faces.
After all, they would soon notice something strange anyway.
'Let's just move the Chief Banner's corpse to a location with a different trap.'
That seemed more likely to both delay time and increase confusion.
***
Somewhere on the lower level of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.
-Click!
Yeom Gyeong, a disciple of Huashan Sect, stopped pulling the food distribution cart and unfolded the Prison Battlefield Map.
As Yeom Gyeong examined the map, he soon frowned.
'Strange.'
He was clearly moving according to the map but had arrived at a completely unfamiliar place.
Originally, there should have been a passage on the right, but it was blocked, and the left side was open.
What was bizarre was that the path leading to the left was sloped and even more damp.
Somehow, it gave him an eerie feeling.
'Damn it. Can't a place like the renowned Embroidered Uniform Guards even draw a proper map?'
He seemed to have lost his way.
Yeom Gyeong pondered whether he should turn back the way he came.
However, having just finished one round of food distribution, if he returned like this, he might get scolded by the Chief Banner who had come as his supervisor.
'Will he give me demerits?'
That would be troublesome.
In the end, Yeom Gyeong, after some deliberation, pulled the food cart and entered the left passage.
If the map was drawn incorrectly, this was the only path anyway.
He continued pulling the cart for quite a while.
-Whoosh!
'What? There's wind coming from inside.'
The torch in his hand flickered.
There shouldn't be any wind blowing in such a deep underground cave.
Maybe that's why it felt disconcerting.
Could it be that he had taken the wrong path?
Just then, a strange sound reached his ears.
-Screech!
'Huh?'
-Screech!
It sounded like something was being scratched.
It came from deeper inside the cave. What could that sound be?
Maybe a prisoner inside the cell was scratching the wall?
As the puzzled Trainee Yeom Gyeong pulled the cart forward, he saw a red line drawn on the cave floor.
'What is this?'
Among the many colors, seeing it drawn in red made it look like blood, giving him an eerie feeling.
At that moment, the scratching sound came from inside once again.
Judging by how much louder the sound was, it seemed to be getting quite close.
-Flicker!
Yeom Gyeong held the torch forward to illuminate the path.
About twelve steps ahead, a thick iron bar and a human figure inside could be seen.
'Ah! Did I come to the right place?'
It didn't seem like he was lost after all.
With this, Trainee Yeom Gyeong pulled the food cart and moved forward.
As he crossed the red line and walked,
-Screech!
The scratching sound rang in his ears.
In that instant, Yeom Gyeong's eyes turned blank, and his pupils dilated.
-Thud!
Yeom Gyeong, with dilated eyes, let go of the cart's handle.
Then, with vacant eyes, he walked towards the prison cell, holding the torch.
As the torch drew near, the human figure inside the iron bars gradually became visible.
The figure had their eyes covered with a blindfold and a thick leather gag stuffed in their mouth.
Both wrists and ankles were restrained with heavy shackles attached to weights, immobilizing them.
However, even in that situation,
-Screech!
As the restrained prisoner moved their fingers to scratch the floor,
-Tap! Tap!
Yeom Gyeong, with dazed eyes, began tapping on various parts of the iron bars, as if searching for something.
His actions seemed like he was trying to open the iron bars.
As Yeom Gyeong touched the upper part of the iron bars, characters were engraved there.
[One Hundred and Twenty-Six]
***
Somewhere else in Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.
-Swish!
Blood dripped from Joo Woonhyang's hand, which was grasping sharp iron spikes.
Although he had defended himself with his innate true energy, the force of the fall caused his palm to be torn by the spikes.
If someone other than him had fallen, they would have been impaled by the spikes and met with misfortune.
'Fortunately, the torch fell first.'
It was a relief that he saw the spikes embedded below beforehand.
Had it not been for that, he would have fallen face-first into them.
"Phew... Phew..."
Enduring the pain of his torn hand, Joo Woonhyang reached down with one hand, grabbed the torch that had fallen between the spikes, and lifted it.
Then he bit the handle with his mouth.
'If I hadn't learned Wind Cloud Steps from my master, I would have been in big trouble.'
Being able to do a handstand and maintain balance in such an unstable position was also thanks to the Wind Cloud Steps.
Otherwise, his face would have been punctured first.
Joo Woonhyang slowly focused strength in his waist and bent his elbows.
'Ugh.'
His palms tore further, and it was painful.
But if he couldn't endure it and let go, he would be heading straight to the afterlife.
-Thud!
Joo Woonhyang, who had bent his arms, exerted force and pushed his body away.
Like that, Joo Woonhyang's body flew towards the floor without spikes and landed.
He dropped the torch he was biting and clenched his teeth while looking at his bloodied, torn palms.
'My hands feel like they're burning.'
It was an old spike trap that had been left unattended for a long time.
It wouldn't be surprising if it was laced with iron poison.
'Damn it.'
Enduring the pain, Joo Woonhyang took something out from his bosom.
It was a small amulet pouch, containing Blood Detoxification Pills he had brought just in case.
Though he wasn't sure if it would work against iron poison, Joo Woonhyang chewed one-third of the pill, mixed it with saliva, and spat it onto his palms.
"Urgh."
The pain was no joke.
Gritting his teeth, Joo Woonhyang rubbed the mixture onto both of his torn palms.
It stung and burned like hell, but he endured it.
"Ha... Ha... Fuck."
A curse slipped out involuntarily.
Joo Woonhyang, breathing heavily, chewed another one-third of the Blood Detoxification Pill and swallowed it.
He saved the remaining one-third in the amulet pouch, just in case.
-Rip!
Tearing his sleeve further, Joo Woonhyang wrapped it around his palms like a bandage.
Strangely, at first, it hurt as if it was being burned by fire, but at some point, the pain disappeared.
It seemed the Blood Detoxification Pill had some effect.
Now that the bleeding had somewhat stopped, Joo Woonhyang returned to reality.
'Ha...'
It was infuriating.
He didn't expect Im Gyu-wol to prepare such a double trap.
Even if he resented him, he never thought he would give a fake map to another trainee like Yeom Gyeong.
Thanks to that, he had been thoroughly backstabbed.
'Enough to make my head spin.'
He didn't know this guy was so skilled in trickery.
It was a scheme that had read two moves ahead.
'That punk Yeom Gyeong must have also suffered a mishap.'
If he had moved according to that incorrect map, he would be in danger as well.
But what mattered right now was not that guy.
It was himself.
'Can I climb back up?'
Joo Woonhyang looked up while holding the torch.
To crawl back up there and break through the blocked ceiling again, he would have to retrace his steps back to the original path he came from.
However, it was quite high to do so.
He would have to remove all those spikes and then cling to the smooth wall and climb up for a long time.
'If there's a mechanism trap, it'll be even worse.'
Just in case, Joo Woonhyang picked up a stone from the floor where there were no spikes and threw it to test.
Then, from the walls surrounding the spiked area, more spikes protruded.
-Thud thud thud thud thud!
'This is crazy.'
If he hadn't tested it, the moment he clung to the wall, he would have been skewered.
All he had was his body and this torch.
If only he had a hidden weapon, he could try something, but to enter the Prison Battlefield, he had to go in empty-handed.
'What should I do?'
A sigh escaped involuntarily.
Since he didn't know when and where a mechanism trap would activate, it seemed dangerous to move recklessly.
However, he couldn't stay here forever either.
'Should I just hold out?'
That was also an option.
Even though Im Gyu-wol had set a trap, he wasn't a Thousand-men Commander named Mak Myeong-bo.
As the person in charge, if the trainees who went in as apprentices didn't return, he would conduct a search to find them.
'Until then, I could endure in this place without mechanism traps...'
-Swoosh!
At that moment, a strange sound was heard.
When Joo Woonhyang looked in that direction, smoke was rising from beneath the spike pit.
'They really went all out.'
Seeing this, Joo Woonhyang clicked his tongue as if fed up.
He didn't know what the smoke was, but there was a high probability it was poison.
Even with the Blood Detoxification Pill, prolonged direct exposure wouldn't be good.
'Damn it!'
Joo Woonhyang gathered as many stones as he could from the floor and ran towards the open passage before the smoke could reach her.
-Tap! Thud thud thud thud!
The mechanism traps were triggered once every two or three times he threw a stone.
With the traps viciously protruding, Joo Woonhyang couldn't let his guard down for a moment.
'Whoever built Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield, they really did a great job.'
Escaping from here seemed like a distant possibility.
Without a torch, it would be complete darkness itself, so how could one get out of here?
The mechanism traps appeared every twenty steps or so, driving him crazy.
'Attempting to escape is certain death.'
After running for a while, triggering the mechanism traps along the way, Joo Woonhyang stopped.
He had already used up all the stones he had gathered.
From here, he couldn't move recklessly.
'...Hmm.'
Joo Woonhyang took off his outer clothing, tore it, and then twisted it to make a rope-like string.
He took off his shoes, wrapped the string around them, and tied it.
The length was less than 2 jang, but it seemed sufficient.
-Thud!
Joo Woonhyang threw the shoe with the string attached forward.
Then he slowly pulled the shoe back.
-Whirr!
At a certain point, the distinct sound of a mechanism activating was heard, and numerous crossbow bolts shot out from the walls, piercing the opposite wall.
'Done.'
Joo Woonhyang pulled the shoe back.
A few bolts were stuck in the shoe, but he could remove them and use it again.
In this manner, Joo Woonhyang slowly moved forward, activating the mechanism traps and finding safe footholds.
As he struggled to move like this, Joo Woonhyang thought,
'Ha... Even for me, with a lot of experience, it's like this, so Yeom Gyeong and Bae Ji-seok... No, that punk must also be struggling, stuck in a mechanism trap...'
He almost fell forward.
Now was not the time to worry about others; the urgent priority was to safely escape from here.
***
At the entrance leading to the inner part of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.
Mok Gyeong-un, wearing the face of Trainee Ahn Jong-hu, looked around and thought.
For Mok Gyeong-un, who had memorized the map and could visualize it three-dimensionally in his mind, it was clear where he needed to go.
Thus, he easily descended to this point while avoiding all the mechanism traps and guard posts on the third floor of the underground prison.
However, there was one problem at this fork in the road.
To pass through the middle passage safely without mechanism traps, he would have to pass by one of the eight guard posts in Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.
'Hmm.'
Dealing with them was not a difficult task.
However, he had heard that each guard post had something to deal with enemy infiltration or escape attempts.
So it seemed best to avoid carelessly disturbing them.
With this in mind, Mok Gyeong-un moved his steps towards the left passage.
'No choice.'
It seemed he would have to pass through one area with mechanism traps.
Once he got past here, he would be closer to Cell No. 130, where Holy Fire Priestess was imprisoned.
It was a bit troublesome, but it wasn't impossible for him to pass through one mechanism trap.
Like that, Mok Gyeong-un entered the left passage, suppressing his presence.
It was when he had taken a few steps after entering the passage.
-Click!
-Clank clank clank!
The floor sank inward, and soon, mechanical sounds could be heard from inside the walls.
At the same time, numerous holes appeared in the ceiling, and a rain of arrows poured down.
-Swish!
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un walked forward and waved his hand upward.
Then, the countless falling arrows stopped in midair, changed direction, and embedded themselves in the ceiling.
-Thud thud thud thud thud!
Mok Gyeong-un calmly walked forward.
-Clunk!
-Clank clank clank!
It didn't end there; huge triple-layered blades protruded from the walls one after another.
The blades aimed to instantly cut Mok Gyeong-un's body into four pieces.
However,
-Clang clang!
The blades stopped before even reaching Mok Gyeong-un's body, unable to move properly.
Mechanical sounds came from between the walls, as if something was blocking them, making a racket.
This phenomenon occurred because the blades were held in place by profound true energy.
In that state, when Mok Gyeong-un flicked his finger at the uppermost blade,
-Clang!
The upper blade broke, shattering all the blades below it.
Mok Gyeong-un moved forward again.
After walking about five steps,
-Swish! Swish!
Hearing the sound of air being pierced from ahead, Mok Gyeong-un, without stopping, slightly tilted his head.
Then, two sharp spears that were flying to penetrate his shoulders bent and ended up stuck in the walls on both sides.
-Crash!
"Hmm."
Mok Gyeong-un glanced at both sides and then walked forward again.
After walking another five steps,
Smoke began to rise from the floor.
The smoke was poison.
'Judging by the root of gold-grass, it seems to be a paralysis-type poison.'
-Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss!
The poisonous fog soon filled the entire passage, but Mok Gyeong-un walked forward unaffected.
In the first place, as he was the ultimate poison itself, this kind of poisonous fog had no effect on him.
Mok Gyeong-un, who had been walking slowly to deal with potential mechanism traps, opened his mouth and yawned.
'Is this all?'
It was becoming more boring than he had expected.
273: Chapter 272: Underground Prison (4)
Embroidered Uniform Guards Fourth Office Office.
The expression of Six-Office Commander Im Gyu-wol, who had been blankly staring at the hastily revised Prison Battlefield Map, hardened.
"This is..."
Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom, who had been watching him while elegantly drinking tea, asked with a puzzled look.
"What's wrong?"
"D-Defender-in-Chief. We have a problem."
"Problem?"
"In the rush to revise the map..."
"Don't beat around the bush and speak quickly."
"If they move according to the twisted path, it leads to the special area of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield."
"Special restricted area? Could it be... Are you referring to the 120s section?"
Muk Seom had served as the head of the Fourth Office before becoming the Defender-in-Chief.
Thus, he knew more details about the underground prison than most of the Embroidered Uniform Guards in the Fourth Office.
Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield was already called the worst prison in itself, but among them, the cells numbered in the 120s and beyond were the ones that even experienced Embroidered Uniform Guards had to be cautious of.
The latter half of the 120s section was so difficult to manage that there were even rules that must be followed at all times, no exceptions.
"Bring me the map."
"... Yes."
Upon this, Six-Office Commander Im Gyu-wol brought the map to him.
As Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom looked at the revised map, his gaze stopped at a certain point on the map.
"Oh no..."
The same words Im Gyu-wol had uttered flowed out of his mouth as well.
Even though only a part of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield was marked, the path on the map led to the latter half of the 120s section, which should never be entered under any circumstances.
If one were to follow this map...
'Cell No. 126...'
If it was the Cell No. 126 he knew of,
"Are the remnants of the Nine Blood Cult still alive?"
"... That's right."
"Oh my."
At Im Gyu-wol's answer, Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom clicked his tongue.
"Such a tenacious life."
"Yes... I can't understand it either."
"That's not within the realm of understanding."
"... You are right, Defender-in-Chief. I was informed that it has been nearly thirty years since the food supply was cut off, but whenever someone approaches that area, they can still hear scratching sounds. So we have taken measures to prevent anyone from going near there, but how a human can survive for decades without eating anything..."
"If that mystery could be solved, our predecessors would have solved it long ago."
The prisoner of Cell No. 126.
The exact name was unknown, but the identity was the Sixth Blood Saint of the extinct Nine Blood Cult.
No one knows when she was imprisoned.
However, she was known to be the longest-held prisoner in the underground prison and one of the three most dangerous individuals that needed to be guarded against.
This Cell No. 126 was classified as an extremely dangerous person, even though she was confined to the point where it was difficult to provide even a single meal, unlike ordinary prisoners.
This was due to the prisoner's peculiar skill.
That skill was the ability to enchant people's minds simply by stimulating their sight and hearing, which had caused many mishaps.
However, in addition to this skill, there was a strange nickname that identified this prisoner.
That nickname was none other than "Immortal."
The higher-ups found the prisoner's incomprehensible tenacity of life intriguing and tried to investigate, but they couldn't uncover anything.
Unable to handle the stubbornness of Prisoner No. 126, who kept her mouth firmly shut despite torture and interrogation, the higher-ups issued an unofficial order to break her will.
That was none other than cutting off the food supply to prevent the prisoner from consuming anything.
One of the greatest desires of human beings is food.
If this desire for food was blocked, they believed it would break her obstinacy and will, but something no one expected happened.
Despite not consuming anything, she did not die of starvation.
She was still alive.
The higher-ups were astonished by this fact and blocked the information from spreading anywhere.
Only a very small number of people in the Imperial Palace knew about this amazing fact, and among the Embroidered Uniform Guards, only those who had served as the head of the Fourth Office were aware.
Even now, the ordinary Embroidered Uniform Guards of the Fourth Office still believed that Prisoner No. 126 was receiving a minimal food supply.
Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom spoke with a grave voice while looking at the map.
"This has become troublesome. If it were just approaching Cell No. 129, it would be equivalent to bringing death upon oneself, so it wouldn't matter, but if they were to approach Cell No. 126..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Six-Office Commander Im Gyu-wol stood up and said,
"Defender-in-Chief. I will go down personally. If it's not that bastard Bae Ji-seok, I can handle it at my level."
"... No. The trainee is not the problem. If the worst-case scenario occurs, even you won't be able to handle it."
With those words, Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom rose from his seat.
***
Somewhere deep inside Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.
Trainee Joo Woonhyang, who had been surveying his surroundings, tore a tiny piece of his sleeve and attached it to the torch.
As it burned, smoke rose.
'Ah...'
When he held his breath, the smoke drifted towards the right path among the four intersecting passages.
Joo Woonhyang looked at the right passage.
The direction the smoke flowed seemed to have the most possibility.
So he moved in that direction.
As he walked, his shoes became completely tattered, and he had to take off his other shoe as well.
If it weren't for his innate true energy, the soles of his feet would have been injured by the damp and cold cave floor.
As he aimlessly moved forward,
"Save me! Please save me."
Hearing a voice pleading for help from somewhere, Joo Woonhyang listened attentively.
Could someone have fallen into a mechanism trap like him?
The only person who could be in such a situation was Yeom Gyeong, who had been assigned to the inner part of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield along with him.
With this in mind, Joo Woonhyang ran towards the direction of the voice.
There, he found a sunken area on the floor with a diameter of about 1 jang.
"Save me! Please! Please!"
The voice was coming from below.
Joo Woonhyang immediately held the torch towards that spot.
In the flickering torchlight, he saw a figure with firm-looking thighs pierced by a rope, hanging helplessly in the deep sunken floor.
Joo Woonhyang shouted towards that figure,
"Is that you, Yeom Gyeong?"
In response to Joo Woonhyang's call, the figure gave no answer.
Joo Woonhyang frowned.
Could he not hear his voice?
As he was puzzled, a voice came from the bottom,
"Save me. Please!"
Is it really him?
Judging by the voice, it sounded almost like begging.
He thought he should save him first.
Pondering how to do it, Joo Woonhyang looked around while illuminating the bottom with the torch.
But when he shone the torch below, apart from the person hanging by the rope, there was a skeleton that appeared to be a corpse.
It seemed someone had fallen here and met their death.
'Did they fail to dispose of the corpse?'
They had mentioned that the mechanism devices were being repaired in between, but it seems they hadn't inspected everything.
However, on the opposite side above the person hanging by the rope, something protruding was visible.
It was obscured by the shadow cast by the torch, but,
'A sword hilt?'
A sword with a unique shape was stuck in the wall.
It had a smooth blade with the hilt directly attached to it. There was also a rope-like object tied to the hilt.
It seemed possible to reach down and pull it out directly.
'I can use that.'
Having made his decision, Joo Woonhyang moved to the opposite side and reached down.
It was just within reach, and he soon grasped the sword hilt stuck in the wall.
He tried to pull it out, but at that very moment,
-Thump!
His heart pounded violently, and his innate true energy fluctuated.
"Ugh."
Along with it, convulsions spread throughout Joo Woonhyang's body as he held the sword.
Unable to control the trembling, numerous noises filled his head, turning it upside down.
[Kill! Kill it!]
[Why, why are you doing this?]
[Please spare me. Please...]
It wasn't just one or two voices.
The number of voices gradually increased, seeming to reach dozens or hundreds.
In the midst of this, Joo Woonhyang's eyes wavered.
He clearly saw someone hanging below, whom he thought was Yeom Gyeong, but there was no one there.
It was as if he had seen an illusion.
As he was perplexed by this,
[Give me your body!]
[Die! Die!]
'Ugh!'
The noises that sent chills down his spine further clouded his mind.
The noises were filled with murderous intent and resentment, and they tried to quickly erode Joo Woonhyang's mind and body.
'I need to... let go... of my hand.'
Joo Woonhyang tried to remove his hand from the sword hilt.
However, as if it was stuck, the sword hilt wouldn't leave his palm.
Rather, with the sword hilt in his grip, the blade smoothly slid out from the wall.
If the blade had been stuck there long enough for the corpse to become a skeleton, it should have been rusted, but surprisingly, it was intact and even emitting sword energy.
'Let go! Let it go...'
Joo Woonhyang tried to remove the sword from his hand with all his strength.
But it was useless.
The innate true energy in his middle danjeon was generating intense heat, resisting this murderous energy, but the screams and vengeful spirits contained in this unknown sword were too strong.
Eventually, the trembling in Joo Woonhyang's hand that held the sword stopped.
Then, as Joo Woonhyang raised his head, a strange light flowed from his eyes.
-Swish!
With his eyes changed, Joo Woonhyang, holding the sword in one hand and picking up the torch, walked towards somewhere.
On the way there, a warning was written in red letters on both walls.
[No entry within thirty steps]
It meant not to approach within thirty steps.
However, Joo Woonhyang ignored this warning and walked forward.
The moment he stepped on the spot corresponding to thirty steps, an eerie wind began to blow from inside the prison cell.
-Whoosh!
The torch flickered violently.
The shadow touched by the light was rippling like waves.
Despite the strange phenomenon occurring, Joo Woonhyang didn't seem to care at all and approached further.
And he stood in front of the prison cell.
[One hundred and twenty-nine]
It was engraved on the thick bars of the cell.
It was the cell number that had a warning written in the prison register to never approach.
At that moment, Joo Woonhyang raised the sword and swung it towards the bars.
-Swish!
A sharp aura enveloped the blade, and with a clanging sound, the thick iron bars were sliced off.
Joo Woonhyang kicked the cut-off bars, and they fell into the cell.
-Thud!
Without hesitation, Joo Woonhyang entered.
In the flickering torchlight, a grotesque figure leaning against the wall could be seen.
The corners of Joo Woonhyang's mouth twisted bitterly as he looked at it.
***
"Hmm?"
Mok Gyeong-un, who had easily passed through the section with mechanism traps, tilted his head and looked somewhere.
Originally, he had intended to just pass by since it had nothing to do with his plan, but one prison cell was open.
Above the entrance of the open cell, it was engraved as follows:
[One hundred and twenty-six.]
Seeing this, the words of his subordinate Mong Mu-yak came to Mok Gyeong-un's mind.
[The cell where Holy Fire Priestess is located is No. 130. But just in case, I'd like to tell you something that you should keep in mind.]
[What is it?]
[It would be better to avoid the vicinity of Cell No. 126 and Cell No. 129 as much as possible.]
[Why?]
In response to his question, Mong Mu-yak had mentioned the warning he had seen.
Perhaps Cell No. 126 was where the Sixth Blood Saint of the Nine Blood Cult was imprisoned.
He said there was a warning that one should not approach within ten steps of that place, and even when approaching for the purpose of delivering meals, one must cover their eyes and ears without fail.
'Eyes and ears?'
Why did they give such a warning?
For a moment, a hint of curiosity arose, but since it was unrelated to his goal, he quickly dismissed it.
There was no need to enter Cell No. 126 anyway.
However,
'Did that guy open it?'
The cell that should have been tightly closed was open.
And someone had entered that cell and was doing something inside.
That someone was none other than the trainee named Yeom Gyeong, a disciple of Huashan Sect.
Wondering what he was doing, Mok Gyeong-un saw that Yeom Gyeong was pulling something out of the body of someone who was fully restrained with a blindfold over their eyes and a gag in their mouth.
-Pluck!
The moment he pulled out each one,
-Roar!
The energy of the restrained person began to surge rapidly.
Mok Gyeong-un's eyes gleamed as he watched this.
That was because, in the eyes of Mok Gyeong-un, who had opened the Ghost Eye, energy was visualized, and this energy possessed a nature he had never seen before.
-Crackle! Crackle!
It was generating blue lightning that spread like roots in a downpour.
274: Chapter 273: Underground Prison (5)
-Crackle! Crackle!
Blue lightning spreading like the roots of a tree.
Mok Gyeong-un's eyes gleamed as he watched this.
Since opening the Ghost Eye and gaining the ability to see the substance of energy, he had seen numerous types of energy.
This included demonic energy and spiritual energy.
However, the energy he was seeing now was completely different from the others.
'... Nature.'
The energy literally possessed a nature.
It had the power of lightning, or thunder, which he had never seen in ordinary humans or even those who had cultivated martial arts.
In the first place, could a human body handle such vast energy close to nature?
Suddenly, the words of his grandfather came to mind.
[Humans are born from nature and return to nature. Thus, the human body, like nature, maintains a balance of the Five Elements, even if only in a small way.]
Grandfather had said that if this balance was disrupted, the human body would not be able to endure it.
Yet, right before his eyes, there was a human being who was fine despite breaking that balance.
At that moment, the dazed Trainee Yeom Gyeong was grasping and pulling out something else from the back of the restrained prisoner.
-Swish!
In that instant, Mok Gyeong-un's figure blurred.
Then, he instantly appeared behind Yeom Gyeong, grabbed his neck, and threw him towards a corner of the cell.
-Thud!
"Ugh!"
Yeom Gyeong, who had hit the cell bars, rolled on the floor and then held his head, looking around with a bewildered expression.
'What the hell?'
Why was he inside the cell?
He clearly remembered pulling the food distribution cart and entering the cave.
But suddenly, his memory was cut off.
"Ah. One more was pulled out."
"What?"
'Wait... That guy?'
Isn't that Trainee Ahn Jong-hu?
He knew Ahn Jong-hu was assigned to the 3rd floor of the underground prison, so why was he here?
And the person in front of him was clearly a prisoner...
'Huh?'
Suddenly, Yeom Gyeong noticed something grasped in his hand.
It was a pointed object with three prongs, but he couldn't tell what it was.
Right then,
-Crackle!
In that instant, his vision flashed, and something blue popped out.
Along with it, the blue light spread throughout the entire cell, and Yeom Gyeong's body once again collided with the iron bars of the cell.
-Crackle crackle crackle!
"Kkkkkkk."
Convulsions spread throughout his body, and Yeom Gyeong let out a bizarre scream, then blood flowed from his eyes and nose, and he fainted on the spot.
Faint smoke rose from his unconscious body.
On the opposite side, Mok Gyeong-un had one hand extended forward.
-Crackle!
Blue streaks of lightning flashed in a root-like shape from his extended hand.
It was the power of thunder.
Mok Gyeong-un smirked while looking at his palm where the thunder power was sparking.
Suddenly, the power of thunder had spread from the body of the restrained prisoner, and the energy was no ordinary matter.
'Tingling.'
His own energy, which had blocked the thunder power, had momentarily stopped as if paralyzed.
However, it didn't last long.
'Does it suppress the energy that activates the thunder power?'
Mok Gyeong-un immediately grasped the characteristic of this thunder power.
The moment the energy is suppressed by the lightning, proper energy circulation doesn't occur.
This could be extremely effective against martial artists who manipulate internal energy.
However, the fortunate thing was that his own energy was on a different level from the ordinary.
The energy of the dead, or death energy, had the nature of dispersing energy, so it seemed to be temporarily affected by the lightning but quickly overcame it.
-Clang!
At that moment, the fully restrained prisoner rose from their position.
As they straightened their body, lightning continuously flowed from the shackles on their wrists and ankles, emitting blue sparks.
-Crackle crackle!
Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un realized that the prisoner was trying to break free from the restraints.
Watching this, Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin.
'Hmm.'
At first, he had intended to dispose of them, thinking they might interfere with his business.
But was there a need for that?
Come to think of it, if this prisoner caused a commotion trying to escape, it would actually be more helpful by diverting attention.
'A useful pawn.'
Mok Gyeong-un, with a smirk on his lips, grasped his sword fingers.
As he grasped the sword fingers, the surroundings rippled, and a sharp aura arose.
Mok Gyeong-un, generating the aura, then slashed the sword fingers towards the prisoner's restraints.
-Slash slash slash!
The moment the aura cut through the restraints,
-Crackle crackle crackle!
The sharp energy and lightning overlapped,
-Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Eventually, the shackles on the wrists and ankles split and fell off.
As the restraints were removed, the prisoner, who had been forced to stand bent due to the weights attached, straightened their posture.
'... Was it a woman?'
Due to the shaggy hair, blindfold, and gag, the gender was unclear, but the prisoner was a woman.
And her physique was more petite than expected.
-Crack!
As she moved her neck, the sound of muscles loosening could be heard, indicating her body was stiff.
The prisoner then removed the blindfold and spat out the gag that was in her mouth.
"Ptui."
After spitting out the gag, the prisoner brushed her long hair back, revealing her face.
She looked rather disheveled from being imprisoned for a long time, but she had a very mature and beautiful appearance.
Judging by her appearance alone, she looked no older than her mid-twenties.
'Young?'
Mok Gyeong-un's eyes gleamed with interest.
According to his subordinate Mong Mu-yak, if she was from the Nine Blood Cult, she should be a very old monster.
But no matter how he looked at her, she was young.
As he was puzzled by this, the woman frowned while looking at the torch that had fallen on the floor.
It seemed her eyes were sensitive from not seeing light for a long time.
However,
'Oh ho.'
It didn't take long for her to adapt to the torchlight.
It could be seen from the stabilization of her pupils' movement.
Having adapted to the light, she then looked at her own palm that had been freed from the restraints.
Then, she suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
She laughed like a madwoman, but she seemed genuinely delighted.
After laughing for a while, she snapped off her extremely long fingernails.
-Snap! Snap!
Just looking at those long, curled nails gave a sense of how long she had been imprisoned here.
As she broke off her elongated fingernails and toenails, Mok Gyeong-un said,
"It seems you've been imprisoned for a long time. I hope you can safely escape from here."
There was no need for him to engage in conversation with her anyway.
He just hoped she would cause as much commotion as possible.
That way, all the attention would be focused on this woman.
With that thought, Mok Gyeong-un tried to leave the cell.
However,
-Whoosh!
Feeling a sinister energy from behind, Mok Gyeong-un turned his body using his movement technique and tilted his head back.
At that instant, a red-stained hand brushed past his face.
But it didn't end there.
The red-stained hand unleashed a claw technique, aiming for Mok Gyeong-un's neck.
-Swish swish swish swish!
It was a swift movement that was hard to believe came from someone who had been restrained until just a moment ago.
Mok Gyeong-un tried to retreat using his movement technique to avoid it, but she used a variation and attempted to grab his left arm using the Capturing Arm Technique.
-Swish!
In response, Mok Gyeong-un utilized the Bright and Evident Water Crossing Steps of the Great Heir Na Yul-ryang and moved at an extremely high speed.
In an instant, the distance between him and her widened to more than ten steps.
Stopping at that distance, Mok Gyeong-un asked with a puzzled look,
"Why did you attack? We can just go our separate ways."
"You're a little Embroidered Uniform Guard. Do you dare try to deceive me with your nonsense?"
"Embroidered Uniform Guard? Ah..."
Mok Gyeong-un scratched his head.
Come to think of it, the clothes he was wearing were the Embroidered Uniform Guard attire, even though he was just an apprentice.
From her perspective, someone in an Embroidered Uniform Guard uniform would be an enemy.
With this in mind, Mok Gyeong-un said,
"I understand the misunderstanding due to these clothes, but I have no connection to the Embroidered Uniform Guards. I'm just…"
-Whoosh!
Before he could finish his sentence,
She kicked the ground and launched her figure towards him.
Her speed was so fast that in the blink of an eye, she closed the distance to within three steps of Mok Gyeong-un.
As if seeing a blood-red jade, her two red-stained hands flickered with a blue light, and then claw energy burst forth.
-Swish swish swish swish swish swish swish!
The burst of claw energy instantly tore through the ground and pounced on Mok Gyeong-un.
Mok Gyeong-un let out a soft sigh at the tremendous power.
Judging by her momentum, it seemed she was determined to kill him on the spot.
-Swish!
Mok Gyeong-un widened the distance with high-speed movement, evading her charging claw energy.
-Boom boom boom boom boom!
The power was so strong that the floor where the claw energy had slashed was deeply gouged, leaving huge claw marks.
-Rumble rumble!
Even the cave passage trembled.
Being deep underground, it seemed vulnerable to impacts.
However, as if not caring about the trembling of the cave passage at all, she charged forward with a terrifying momentum, her red-stained hands infused with claw energy.
-Whoosh!
She instantly closed the distance, but this time, Mok Gyeong-un didn't widen the gap.
If he increased the distance, she might release her strong energy and impact the cave, potentially causing it to collapse.
To avoid this, close combat was the only answer.
Mok Gyeong-un closed the distance with her as she charged and blocked her claw technique with his bare hands.
-Swish swish swish swish!
The woman, who had thought he would choose to run away, was surprised to see Mok Gyeong-un directly engaging her.
That was because, even though her body was not fully loosened after being restrained for a long time, this young man was properly blocking her while exchanging blows with her.
On the surface, he looked like he wasn't even in his prime yet.
But when it came to martial prowess, that wasn't the case at all.
With this,
'He's too valuable to simply kill.'
She thought she should make use of this Mok Gyeong-un.
If such a strong fellow fought against her comrades and caused a commotion, it would help her escape from this damn prison.
-Whoosh!
With this in mind, she used a variation and momentarily grabbed Mok Gyeong-un's arm with the Capturing Arm Technique, then pulled him in.
Then, she precisely made eye contact with Mok Gyeong-un and flicked her opposite finger.
-Flick!
'From now on, go and kill your comrades.'
She chanted a mantra in her mind and issued a command.
While being imprisoned here, she had honed her illusion techniques for a long time.
Now, if she stimulated both sight and hearing in close proximity, she was confident she could make anyone fall under her illusion.
However,
"Are you suggesting a staring contest?"
'!?'
-Thud!
Mok Gyeong-un headbutted her face directly.
Being pushed back about two steps from the headbutt, she held her nose and made an incredulous expression.
'What's with this bastard?'
The illusion didn't work.
275: Chapter 274: Blood Saint (1)
[The foundation of illusion techniques is to deceive the five senses.]
[What are the five senses?]
[It's literal. The five senses you possess. It can be sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch.]
[How does one deceive them?]
[Humans can unconsciously recall sensations they have experienced before.]
[What does that mean?]
[For example, when you think of sour food, your mouth automatically waters. What do you think is the reason for that?]
[Ah...]
[That is the unconscious recollection of sensations.]
[Then, if illusion techniques deceive this?]
[It makes people unconsciously recall a situation and accept it as natural.]
She had learned everything about illusion techniques from her master.
Except for her master and the one who had taught them this secret art, she was confident that no one could surpass her in this field.
Holding her nose, she looked at Mok Gyeong-un with an incomprehensible gaze.
'Why didn't it work?'
Illusion techniques that drive one to extreme self-harm are very difficult because the body or mind unconsciously and strongly rejects them.
However, temporarily turning hostility like this was surprisingly easy.
It was because one only needed to unconsciously select the target of hostility.
But this guy, the illusion technique itself didn't work on him.
'That can't be.'
Of course, illusion techniques were not absolute.
If the opponent had reached the peak of enlightenment and completely transcended, or if their mental strength was even stronger than hers, it might not work.
However, after exchanging blows, it didn't seem like the former, and the latter was even more impossible.
After being imprisoned in the underground prison, she had lost track of the years, but even before that, she had already surpassed a hundred and sixty years.
Not only her age but also her mental strength, which had not succumbed despite enduring torture and not consuming food for a long time, could not be surpassed by this young lad.
'Is it a mistake?'
Just in case, she stared intently at Mok Gyeong-un while inwardly chanting mantras and flicking her finger.
-Flick!
'From now on, go and kill your comrades.'
"... What are you doing?"
"Huh?"
She was dumbfounded.
The illusion technique really didn't work.
For her, who could make someone fall under an illusion even with just a sound made by her hand while covering their eyes and mouth, this situation was beyond comprehension.
To her, Mok Gyeong-un said,
"I don't know what you were trying to do, but how about ending it here? If I were really an Embroidered Uniform Guard, I would have tried to stop you somehow."
"..."
"Instead, I helped you get released, but attacking me like this doesn't seem like proper etiquette towards a benefactor."
"Nonsense!"
"It's not nonsense."
"Do you think I would believe your words?"
"There's no reason not to believe me, is there?"
"No reason not to believe? There are more than enough reasons. You people have used all sorts of methods to get what you wanted from me. Interrogations, torture, all kinds of persuasion tactics. But when I refused to speak, you went even further and cut off my food supply, starving me for dozens of years."
"Do... dozens of years?"
Mok Gyeong-un frowned.
Did she just say with her own mouth that she had been starving for decades?
Was her mind wandering?
How could she have survived starving for decades, not just a few days?
If a human starved for even a few days, they would become haggard, and if it continued for a long time, they would lose weight and become emaciated.
However, there was none of that in her appearance.
As he was puzzled, she spoke,
"You deliberately released me as if it were a mistake, giving me hope and then trying to subdue me again to break my will. I'll make you realize that this is your foolish mistake."
-Roar!
As soon as those words ended, energy surged from her.
Her true energy was so strong that even wind pressure was generated.
Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un sighed.
He had thought she was a pawn he could use appropriately, but perhaps because she had been imprisoned for a long time, her mind seemed to be wandering, and she couldn't trust anyone at all.
'Does she consider this situation itself a trap?'
If that was the case, no matter what he said, it wouldn't get through to her.
Mok Gyeong-un looked at her as if he was annoyed.
He needed to hurry, but he was being held back at an absurd point.
'Ah.'
Mok Gyeong-un then looked at her with a sharp gaze.
Then, he muttered softly,
"There's no other choice."
It seemed better to just kill her as quickly as possible.
With this in mind, Mok Gyeong-un was about to assume a martial stance when he felt a presence behind him and turned his head.
Looking back, he saw an Embroidered Uniform Guard Chief Banner standing with a perplexed expression.
The impact from her claw energy had been so great that it shook the cave passage, so it would have been strange if he hadn't come here.
"Oh damn it..."
The Embroidered Uniform Guard Chief Banner was greatly startled by the sight of the escaped prisoner.
Right then,
-Flick!
The sound of a finger flicking was heard.
At that moment, the Embroidered Uniform Guard Chief Banner's eyes suddenly lost focus.
Then, he shouted at Mok Gyeong-un and charged at him.
"Die!"
'Huh?'
When the person who had been perplexed upon seeing the escaped prisoner suddenly displayed killing intent towards him, Mok Gyeong-un couldn't hide his confusion.
However, the martial prowess of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Chief Banner was only at the beginning of the peak realm.
Naturally, there was no way he could be a match for Mok Gyeong-un.
-Swish!
After easily dodging his saber that aimed to cut his neck,
-Thud!
He struck down on the Chief Banner's wrist, causing him to drop his saber.
As the saber fell, before it even touched the ground, he kicked the hilt towards her.
-Swish!
The saber rushed towards her forehead as if to pierce it.
"Hmph."
As she swiftly turned her head to the side, the saber blade collided with her long hair infused with true energy and ended up stuck in the wall.
-Thud!
But it didn't end there,
"Ugh."
The Embroidered Uniform Guard Chief Banner, who had fallen under her illusion, flew towards her.
'Huh?'
In an instant, she frowned.
Then, she unleashed her claw energy towards the flying Embroidered Uniform Guard Chief Banner, tearing his entire body into pieces.
-Swish swish swish swish swish!
As his body was divided into dozens of pieces, blood splattered everywhere.
But in the midst of that, someone passed through and thrust their sword fingers towards her neck.
It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
-Thud!
Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, her left shoulder was pierced by the aura infused in his sword fingers.
'This bastard?'
Her eyes gleamed with interest.
He threw his own comrade to obscure her vision and then attacked through that gap?
What the hell was he doing?
-Swish swish!
The puzzled woman then dodged Mok Gyeong-un's sword fingers aiming for her neck with an elegant footwork technique and widened the distance.
-Swish swish swish swish!
While widening the distance, the pierced area on her shoulder sizzled, and the blood stopped flowing.
Noticing this, Mok Gyeong-un's eyes narrowed.
'The wound?'
The healing speed surpassed human limits.
He also had a fast recovery rate for injuries, but her speed far exceeded that.
If it could heal immediately after being pierced, it wasn't just recovery but the realm of super-regeneration.
'Does it heal even with death energy?'
Death energy disperses martial power.
However, it seemed unable to stop the regeneration of her body.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un's eyes caught sight of thunder power sparking from her wound.
It seemed that power was promoting the regeneration.
While he was marveling,
-Swish!
She counterattacked with her claw energy, and Mok Gyeong-un twisted his body to the side.
Then, he tried to strike her wrist, which was unleashing claw energy, with his elbow.
In response, she used a variation to avoid it and aimed for Mok Gyeong-un's neck.
-Swish swish swish swish swish swish!
In a flash, their hands clashed about six times, and they were both pushed back.
-Swish swish swish swish!
-Swish swish swish swish!
The woman who was pushed back raised an eyebrow and looked at her red-stained hand.
'I'm using Blood Jade Hand and strong energy simultaneously, but he's blocking it with a strange strong energy in an instant.'
Her martial art, which turned her hands into blood-red jade, was called Blood Jade Hand, a divine technique that combined claw and palm techniques. Its power was enough to crush rocks and tear iron with bare hands.
If strong energy was added to the Blood Jade Hand, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was difficult to find an equal match in close combat.
However, the fierce-feeling strong energy unleashed in an instant was blocking it.
The power was completely different from ordinary strong energy.
'Who the hell is this bastard?'
On the surface, he didn't even look to be in his prime.
Even if her body wasn't fully loosened and she wasn't exerting her full strength, it was unbelievable that a young lad who hadn't even lived for twenty years could almost match her.
She thought she could easily subdue him, but it seemed difficult to do so without going all out.
Inwardly clicking her tongue, she opened her mouth.
"You're no ordinary fellow."
"That's what I'd like to say to you."
Mok Gyeong-un was also inwardly amazed by her martial prowess.
It was doubtful whether she had really been imprisoned in the underground prison for a long time, considering how agile and lively her movements were.
Moreover, her internal energy and martial power were beyond imagination.
It flowed endlessly like an inexhaustible spring, making him wonder how they had managed to confine such a monstrous woman.
According to Cheong-ryeong, in terms of martial power, he was infinitely close to the Profound Realm. Except for the Six Heavens, who were at the current peak, there were hardly any in the martial arts world who could match him, aside from the Eight Stars, who were called the greatest masters of the era.
However, it seemed he had encountered such a person quite quickly.
'... Was it the Nine Blood Cult?'
Come to think of it, both Mong Mu-yak and Cheong-ryeong had mentioned that during the era of the Old Martial Arts World, the level of martial prowess of the masters was even higher than now.
Looking at this woman, it certainly seemed that way.
'I'll have to go all out.'
Mok Gyeong-un had been controlling his martial power to the maximum extent possible due to the deep underground cave.
So he had only unleashed demonic energy in the instant of clashing.
However, that level seemed insufficient to deal with this woman.
With this, Mok Gyeong-un released the control he had been maintaining and circulated demonic energy throughout his entire body.
Then,
-Roar!
A sinister black energy flowed out from Mok Gyeong-un.
Seeing this, wariness appeared in her eyes.
'Look at this bastard.'
She had thought he was quite skilled, but if he exerted his full strength, she believed she could kill him within about thirty moves.
However, when Mok Gyeong-un revealed his demonic energy, her thoughts changed.
Even if she went all out, it wasn't a level where she could settle the match within thirty moves.
'I'll have to be a bit more serious.'
-Crackle crackle crackle crackle!
At that moment, blue sparks erupted from her entire body, and lightning enveloped her.
The moment she revealed the thunder power she had been concealing, Mok Gyeong-un made the first move.
He intended to settle the match before she could fully demonstrate her abilities.
-Tap tap!
Mok Gyeong-un tapped the ground twice, and with a gust of wind, his figure split into two and charged towards her.
This was the Wind God Steps he had stolen and learned from the Thousand-men Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, Ma Ra-hyeon.
However, seeing Mok Gyeong-un's mysterious lightness skill that split his figure into two, her eyes widened.
'Th-this is?'
276: Chapter 275: Blood Saint (2)
Tap tap tap tap tap!
Six-Office Commander Im Gyu-wol of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, which oversees all the Prison Battlefields in the Imperial Palace, was leading four One Hundred-men Commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guards and someone wearing a bamboo hat down to Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.
Just by looking at Im Gyu-wol's serious expression as he moved, it was clear that the situation was very urgent.
'Damn it. Trying to catch a flea, we ended up burning down the whole house.'
Trainee Bae Ji-seok and Trainee Joo Woonhyang.
The Prison Battlefield Map was changed to catch those two, and that became the trigger.
Even if it was changed, it should have been designed to only lead them into the mechanism trap, but unintentionally, it led them to a place that should never be approached.
'Cell No. 126...'
Not just the cell itself, but even approaching the surrounding area was forbidden.
That was because that place was very dangerous.
The monster known as the remnant of the Nine Blood Cult had enchanted the Embroidered Uniform Guards with a mysterious illusion technique despite being fully restrained.
Therefore, without sufficient preparation, one should never approach within the designated radius.
-Tap!
Im Gyu-wol, who had descended to Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield, hastened due to his anxious heart.
If, by any chance, the prisoner of Cell No. 126 were to escape, it would be no different from the worst-case scenario.
Not only was resolving the issue a problem, but as the head of the Fourth Office, he might have to take full responsibility.
Thus, he had to prevent it before it happened.
'We must hurry.'
While running ahead through the cave passage of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield, Six-Office Commander Im Gyu-wol frowned.
-Clang clang clang clang!
That was because the sound of weapons clashing could be heard from one of the guard posts deep inside Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.
Wondering what was happening, he ran towards that location.
'What in the world?'
The guards who were supposed to be guarding the post were desperately fighting against someone.
However, that someone was not the dreaded Cell No. 126.
To be precise, it was multiple people, and they were none other than the prisoners who should have been locked up.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Die! Die!"
"How dare you bastards try to capture us?"
The prisoners, filled with murderous intent, were rampaging with a strange madness in their bloodshot eyes, and the guards who had trained in martial arts were desperately trying to subdue them.
-Clench!
Six-Office Commander Im Gyu-wol bit his lower lip hard.
He didn't know how they had managed to escape from the prison cells, but the situation had become even more twisted than he had feared.
'Damn it.'
Im Gyu-wol glanced back at the person wearing the bamboo hat.
The one who slightly lifted his bamboo hat and shook his head was none other than Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom.
Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom muttered,
'Handle it. I'll go further in.'
At these words from Defender-in-Chief Muk Seom, Im Gyu-wol nodded his head as if he had no choice.
-Swish!
Then, he drew his sword and said,
"Subdue them."
"Yes, sir!"
With that, Im Gyu-wol and the four One Hundred-men Commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guards launched their figures towards the rampaging prisoners.
***
Near the innermost part of Eternal Hell Prison Battlefield.
Her eyes trembled.
'That's right. Even at a young age, not falling for the illusion technique is certain.'
-Crackle crackle crackle crackle!
Enveloped in the blue sparks of lightning, she suddenly retracted her thunder power upon seeing Mok Gyeong-un's figure splitting into two and charging at her, leaving afterimages.
Then,
-Whoosh!
She widened the distance and held out her hand, gesturing for him to stop.
Mok Gyeong-un, who had intended to properly fight her, raised an eyebrow and stood still.
"Why the sudden change?"
Just a moment ago, she had been desperate to kill him, unable to trust him.
But why was she suddenly withdrawing the energy she had unleashed?
As he was puzzled, she suddenly clasped her hands together, bowed respectfully, and spoke in a trembling voice,
"Sixth Blood Saint Dam Baek-ha pays her respects."
'!?'
What?
Moreover, unlike before, she was even using honorifics.
He couldn't understand why she was doing this.
As she kept her hands clasped, she raised her head, and with reddened eyes, she opened her mouth.
"Could it be that you are a member of the true lineage?"
"... What are you talking about?"
He couldn't comprehend what she meant by 'member of the true lineage' out of nowhere.
At Mok Gyeong-un's reaction, she waved her hands and spoke as if telling him to lower his guard.
"I am the direct disciple of the previous generation's Sixth Blood Saint Dam Ye-hwa, who was personally taught by that person. Although I have unintentionally achieved longevity beyond my station and continue this wretched life, if you are a member of the true lineage, you are no different from my superior. Please, I beg you to lower your guard and speak to me."
"..."
At her polite words, Mok Gyeong-un's eyes narrowed.
It was still difficult to understand what she was saying.
Why was she showing this attitude?
'What could it be?'
In an instant, Mok Gyeong-un traced back the cause of this.
It was something that happened after he had unleashed his demonic energy to properly fight her.
However, demonic energy was purely his own unique power.
Thus, it couldn't be the reason for this.
Then,
'... Wind God Steps?'
To confuse her, he had performed the Wind God Steps that he had stolen and learned from the masked Thousand-men Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, Ma Ra-hyeon.
Come to think of it, when he performed this, she withdrew her thunder power and changed her attitude.
Her arrogant attitude from before had vanished without a trace.
At that moment, something flashed through Mok Gyeong-un's mind.
It was,
[Do you perhaps have the surname Jin?]
[Surname Jin?]
[Yes.]
[No.]
[Then, it would be the surname So...]
[All sorts of surnames are coming up. I am from the Mok family.]
[Mok family?]
The conversation he had with the masked Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon.
When he said he was from the Mok family, Ma Ra-hyeon showed a strange reaction and then said,
[You really did steal and learn the lightness skill.]
Recalling this, Mok Gyeong-un was convinced that the change in her attitude was due to the Wind God Steps he had stolen and learned.
Ma Ra-hyeon had also abruptly asked him if he had the surname Jin.
What was the surname Jin or the true lineage that a single lightness skill could change her attitude?
Although he didn't know the reason, based on her words introducing herself as the Sixth Blood Saint Dam Baek-ha, if he pieced it together to some extent, it seemed that her master, the previous generation's Sixth Blood Saint Dam Ye-hwa, had received teachings from the person with the surname Jin.
'Does she consider me his descendant and treat me respectfully like this?'
That was all he could speculate at the moment.
How great must the prestige of the person with the surname Jin be for the attitude of this monstrous woman to become so polite?
At this, Mok Gyeong-un's eyes became strange.
In any case, since he didn't know who the true lineage was, he had no relation to this woman.
And if they continued to talk, she would surely realize this before long.
'Hmm.'
However, Mok Gyeong-un's thinking went beyond ordinary people's and was quite bold.
Mok Gyeong-un judged that he could take advantage of this situation.
When she showed killing intent towards him, he had no choice but to kill her, but if he persuaded her appropriately, she could be useful in diverting attention, just like before.
Before that, there was one thing he needed to confirm.
With this, Mok Gyeong-un clasped his hands together, bowed respectfully like her, and said,
"Did you say you're Dam Baek-ha? Did you perhaps recognize me because of my lightness skill?"
"Ah. So you are indeed from the true lineage?"
Dam Baek-ha asked with sparkling eyes.
Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un reconfirmed that it was because of the lightness skill.
The reason he confirmed this was simple.
It was to determine if this lightness skill belonged to the person with the surname Jin, whom she and the masked Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon had mentioned.
'I see.'
With this, Mok Gyeong-un shook his head and replied,
"I apologize. You may have had expectations because of the lightness skill, but I am not from the true lineage."
'!?'
At these words, Dam Baek-ha, who had been looking at him with hopeful eyes, frowned.
"What do you mean you're not from the true lineage..."
"It's exactly as I said."
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, Dam Baek-ha spoke in a disbelieving tone,
"That can't be. You are definitely from the true lineage. Just the fact that you can easily withstand the Illusion Scripture, which that person passed down to me..."
"It's true. How could I deceive you about this?"
"... Could it be that you don't trust me?"
"That's not it..."
"If it's because I said I'm the direct disciple of Dam Ye-hwa, I can also explain the secret of my longevity. Please don't push me away with suspicion. After the cult fell, I spent a long time searching for the bloodlines of the Hundred Families and the Jin Family. So please..."
"I am truly not from the true lineage."
"Sir!"
"However, my master who taught me the lightness skill might know that person from the true lineage."
"..."
At Mok Gyeong-un's words, Dam Baek-ha's eyes became complicated.
Based on the circumstances so far, she had been convinced that he was undoubtedly from the true lineage.
But even when he kept insisting he wasn't, she felt disappointed and wondered if he couldn't trust her.
'Huh?'
At that moment, a doubt arose in her mind.
With this, she asked in a somewhat heavy voice,
"You said the person who taught you the lightness skill knows the person from the true lineage. Then, does that mean that person is also not from the true lineage?"
"Yes, that's right. That person has a different surname. Do you perhaps know anyone with the surname Ma?"
Mok Gyeong-un asked, just in case.
It was certain that the masked Thousand-men Commander Ma Ra-hyeon had a connection with the person with the surname Jin.
So when he imitated the lightness skill, he must have asked about that surname.
-Crackle!
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un's eyes, which had opened the Ghost Eye, saw Dam Baek-ha drawing upon her thunder power.
When he said that he had learned the lightness skill from someone with the surname Ma, her expression turned cold, and she was about to change her attitude once again.
With this, Mok Gyeong-un said,
"My master with the surname Ma, who taught me the lightness skill, also told me to treat those with the surnames Jin and So with the utmost respect."
Of course, he had never said such a thing.
He had only asked if he had the surname Jin and then asked if he had the surname So.
So, just in case, he improvised and said this, wondering if the surname So might also be related.
However,
-Whoosh!
As soon as he finished speaking, the thunder power within her body subsided again.
Then, Dam Baek-ha approached Mok Gyeong-un, grasped the front of his robe with both hands, and spoke in an agitated voice,
"Your master! Where is your master? Take me to that person right now."
She was convinced that the person with the surname Ma, whom Mok Gyeong-un mentioned, was related to the bloodline of that person.
Otherwise, there was no way he would have mentioned both the surnames Jin and So simultaneously.
Mok Gyeong-un, looking down at her emotionally agitated state, smirked with a shadowed face.
'Ah.'
This was enough.
She had been well-prepared to be appropriately used.