Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 227 - Imperial Noble Consort Seo (3)

Chapter 227 – Imperial Noble Consort Seo (3)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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In the righteous martial world, there existed many renowned martial clans.

Among them were seven martial families of the greatest reputation, and they were called the Seven Great Families.

Among those Seven Great Families was a famous house in Hebei renowned for the saber, and martial artists called that family the Peng Clan of Hebei.

The man who currently held real power in the Peng Clan of Hebei was the clan lord, Peng Il-hyeon, a saber genius known as the Overlord Blade of Hebei.

Peng Il-hyeon, the clan lord known in Hebei Province as a man no one could match with the saber, had two younger brothers whose martial prowess was hardly inferior to his own.

One of them, the second brother Peng Yi-mun, had long since set his sights on power and entered officialdom.

Thanks to Peng Yi-mun’s official position, the Peng Clan of Hebei was able to receive benefits in many ways.

And there was the youngest brother, Peng Seok-im, whose disposition was the worst among the siblings.

He was so devoted to wine and women that he had become the subject of gossip several times, and though he had been born into a famous saber family, he insisted on the sword and had even fallen out of favor with the elders of the clan.

Yet despite all that, the Peng Clan of Hebei still valued him highly because his martial talent was so exceptional that it was nearly on par with that of Peng Il-hyeon, the clan lord.

-Shick, shick!

This Peng Seok-im, the youngest brother of Clan Lord Peng, stood facing the wall of a lamp-lit restaurant and carefully wiped his sword blade clean with a cloth.

At the sight, a martial artist standing beside him asked,

“Elder brother, why are you paying so much attention to your blade?”

“Of course I should. I may get to show off a little in front of Her Ladyship later.”

“No, is Your Imperial Noble Consort really that pleasing to you?”

“If a man can look upon such a peerless beauty and not be moved, how can he be called a man?”

“Goodness. Please mind your words. She belongs to someone.”

And that someone was none other than His Majesty, the Emperor who ruled this country.

Despite the martial artist’s warning, Peng Seok-im gave a snort.

“Hmph. Even the Son of Heaven can be cursed when he is not standing in front of you.”

“Elder brother!”

“All right, all right. Why are you making such a fuss? Still, you really are a peculiar fellow. But no matter how I think about it, does she not seem wasted on that old man?”

Watching Peng Seok-im mutter to himself, the martial artist clicked his tongue inwardly.

The man’s martial talent was astonishing, but the moment anything related to wine or women came up, he lost his senses.

Since coming to the imperial capital, he had been keeping away from such things, so the martial artist had wondered whether age had finally brought him to his senses, yet here he was daring to gaze at a tree far too high for him to climb.

‘…She really is that beautiful.’

Even the martial artist himself had been unable to suppress his admiration when he first saw Imperial Noble Consort Seo’s face.

There was a reason the old Emperor could not tear himself away from her.

So it was understandable that Peng Seok-im was acting like this.

Still, no matter how fond of wine and women Peng Seok-im was, he would never be able to lay a hand on the Emperor’s woman.

Not unless he had several lives to spare.

At that moment, Peng Seok-im suddenly turned his gaze somewhere.

“Elder brother?”

It was toward a few soldiers standing in front of the wall.

They were drawing the weapons they had confiscated earlier from the martial artists on the Heaven and Earth Society’s side who had gone into the tavern and examining them.

Among them, one soldier was brandishing a saber whose blade was so thin it almost seemed to flutter.

“That saber is impressive.”

“Impressive?”

“Yes. For the blade to be made that thin and still have such spring to it, it looks like it was made by a truly great smith.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“It seems the Heaven and Earth Society sent fellows with some ability, at least.”

“Then is that not bad?”

“What do you mean, bad?”

“We may have to go support them, might we not?”

“Then that would be a good thing, you fool. That way I will have something to show Her Ladyship.”

“You are really something else.”

The martial artist shook his head.

Then Peng Seok-im frowned.

“Elder brother? Are you angry? If so, I apolo…”

“That sword… what in the world is it?”

“Pardon?”

Turning to where Peng Seok-im was looking, the martial artist spotted a soldier holding a sword engraved with some strange pattern.

But the soldier was staring at the sword with a vacant expression.

Something about the atmosphere was odd.

“Why is he acting like that?”

“………”

“Elder brother?”

But Peng Seok-im too could not take his eyes off the sword.

He had the gaze of someone who had discovered an astonishing treasure.

* * *

At the same time.

-Clang!

‘What?’

Junior Supervisor Jang of the Eastern Depot’s eyes flew wide open.

No wonder, because he had never expected the overbearing saber stroke of the middle-aged man in gray official robes, no, of Peng Yi-mun, an expert of the Peng Clan of Hebei, to be stopped by nothing more than chopsticks.

To be exact, it had not merely been stopped. The blade itself had been caught in the chopsticks.

‘How can this be?’

Junior Supervisor Jang was inwardly flustered.

Because of what Deputy Eunuch Yu had said, he had known that among the promising younger talents sent by the Heaven and Earth Society, that beautiful young man was said to be the strongest.

But he had assumed that no matter how strong, he would still be no more than a promising younger talent.

Yet he had not imagined that the boy would be strong enough to catch, in this fashion, the saber of an expert from the Peng Clan of Hebei, one of the righteous martial world’s famous martial houses.

-Whip!

Junior Supervisor Jang looked toward Yu Bong.

Yu Bong was just as flustered by the situation.

No matter how strong the boy was, he had expected he would not be a match for Peng Yi-mun, an expert of the Peng Clan of Hebei, but that expectation had shattered.

In the midst of it all, Mok Gyeong-un curled one corner of his mouth up in a sinister smile and said,

“I do not think staying still will do anymore. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“……..”

At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, Gan Yang could not hide his discomfort.

The original plan had already gone up in smoke.

Imperial Noble Consort Seo’s side was clearly trying to suppress them like this in order to sever ties with the Heaven and Earth Society or to drag the situation in the direction she wanted.

Gan Yang had no choice but to nod as though resigned, but then,

-Clang!

At that moment, the middle-aged man in gray official robes, Peng Yi-mun, twisted the saber gripped in the chopsticks, trying to wrench it free.

But the willow-leaf saber caught in the chopsticks did not budge in the slightest.

-Tr-r-r-r-r-r!

At that, Peng Yi-mun was able to understand for certain.

‘This brat’s internal power is stronger than mine.’

Even now he was already using ninety percent of his power, that is, strength near his utmost limit, yet this was the result. That meant even in inner power he was being outmatched by this boy.

Peng Yi-mun’s face darkened in an instant.

‘…Impossible.’

Peng Yi-mun was an expert who had gone beyond mere maturity and come close to the utmost extreme of the Transcendent Peak.

But for this boy to overwhelm even him in internal power meant it would be impossible if he had merely reached the utmost extreme of the Transcendent Peak.

That would mean this brat had already crossed the wall…

‘Impossible. How could a boy not even twenty have reached the Realm of Transformation?’

There were not many in the righteous martial world who had reached the Realm of Transformation.

And among them, not a single one had attained that realm while still in their teens.

Since it was a realm that could only be reached through long years of training and profound enlightenment, Peng Yi-mun found it impossible to accept.

But the clearest thing was that he could not subdue this boy with his power alone.

So,

‘There is no choice. Then!’

-Step! Smack!

Letting go of the hilt of the willow-leaf saber, Peng Yi-mun struck the end of the saber’s grip hard with his palm.

It was one of the secret techniques of the Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Saber, the Blade-Breaking Technique.

It was a method in which one struck the saber grip with explosive force, shattered the blade, then sent the fragments flying at the opponent with edge energy imbued in them.

-Crashashashashang!

The shattered saber fragments, driven by that burst of force, shot toward Mok Gyeong-un.

They were so close, and he was still seated, that Peng Yi-mun thought there was no way he could avoid them this time.

But the instant the saber fragments touched Mok Gyeong-un’s skin, rushing as though to pierce straight through him,

-Papapapapapak!

The fragments failed to pierce his body and instead slid off course, embedding themselves in other places all around.

‘What in the world is this?’

Startled, Peng Yi-mun kicked off the ground in haste to widen the distance.

To him, Mok Gyeong-un said with interest,

“An interesting technique. To break your own saber and fire the pieces like hidden weapons.”

“Who in the world are you?”

“Who am I?”

“Even if the Shadow Sect Master himself, a sect-master-level executive of the Heaven and Earth Society, came out, he could not block that technique this easily.”

If it had been a direct executive on the level of the Five Kings of the Heaven and Earth Society, that much he could at least have understood.

Among them were monsters who had received the title of the Eight Stars, after all.

But for a mere disciple of a sect-master-level executive of the Heaven and Earth Society to be this strong made no sense.

That truly was blue surpassing indigo.

“You think far too lightly of my master.”

“It is not that I think lightly of him, it is just…”

“More importantly, you tried to take my life, so naturally you must pay the price.”

“What?”

-Swoosh!

Mok Gyeong-un plucked one of the saber shards embedded in the floor between his index and middle fingers.

Then he flicked it at Peng Yi-mun like a hidden weapon.

Seeing the flying saber fragment, Peng Yi-mun hurriedly twisted his body to the side and narrowly evaded it.

But that was not the end.

-Pak!

The moment he twisted his body, Mok Gyeong-un swiftly launched another saber fragment.

The fragment shot directly toward Peng Yi-mun’s throat.

There was no way to avoid it,

-Clang!

when someone struck it away with a flexible sword.

That someone was Junior Supervisor Jang of the Eastern Depot.

“Junior Supervisor Jang!”

Peng Yi-mun, who had nearly had his throat pierced, looked at him with gratitude.

Junior Supervisor Jang hurriedly said,

“Sir, it seems that this time we will have to join forces.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

-Fweeeeeet!

With those words, Peng Yi-mun blew a whistle charged with inner power.

It was a signal calling for assistance.

Realizing that Mok Gyeong-un was no ordinary expert, he judged that unless even his younger brother waiting outside came and joined them, things could go badly.

Junior Supervisor Jang shouted to Yu Bong.

“Deputy Eunuch Yu, take the rest and deal with them.”

“Y-yes.”

Yu Bong answered hurriedly, but inwardly he was flustered.

His original plan had been to have Peng Yi-mun deal with Mok Gyeong-un while he and Junior Supervisor Jang joined forces to subdue the rest.

But even if they had support from first-rate warriors, Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak of the rear party were experts who had reached the Transcendent Peak.

Gan Yang and Ok-gi were no ordinary men either, so could they really hold them off?

‘No. Do not waver. We only have to hold on until the Peng Clan’s supporting force arrives.’

Since they had been waiting right outside, they would come soon enough.

No matter how strong those people were, the whole tide of battle would not turn in such a short time.

“There is no choice.”

“For it to get tangled like this.”

Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak rose from their seats and took the opening stances of their fist-and-kick arts toward the martial artists surrounding them.

From the look of it, it was already too late to turn the situation back.

Gan Yang and Ok-gi also seemed to realize the matter had been ruined, and as they prepared to fight, they glared resentfully at Yu Bong.

At that moment, the only one still seated, Mok Gyeong-un, spoke.

“Your Imperial Noble Consort.”

‘!?’

At Mok Gyeong-un’s sudden address to Imperial Noble Consort Seo in that hair-trigger situation, everyone’s gaze turned toward him.

Naturally, Imperial Noble Consort Seo herself was no exception.

She was already quite shocked by Mok Gyeong-un’s martial prowess, which was greater than she had expected.

Even though she knew little of martial arts, if even Junior Supervisor Jang and Peng Yi-mun, two of the most formidable experts in the imperial palace, intended to join forces against him, then he was clearly no ordinary fighter.

“Why have you called for this consort?”

Imperial Noble Consort Seo asked in puzzlement.

Mok Gyeong-un smiled brightly and replied,

“I only wanted to explain briefly what is about to happen.”

“What is about to happen?”

“Yes.”

Imperial Noble Consort Seo furrowed her brow.

What in the world was this fellow talking about?

Then Junior Supervisor Jang, who had been preparing to launch a joint attack with Peng Yi-mun, raised his voice and barked,

“How insolent! How dare you address Her Ladyship…”

“Stop.”

“Your Ladyship?”

Imperial Noble Consort Seo stopped Junior Supervisor Jang and said, one brow arched,

“You truly are an insolent one. Very well, then what do you think is about to happen?”

“Everyone here except Your Ladyship is going to die.”

‘!?’

For an instant, she doubted her own ears.

She had wondered what sort of nonsense he was about to speak, and yet this brigand-like wretch was actually threatening her?

But Mok Gyeong-un was not finished.

“I hear you have many political enemies, Your Ladyship.”

“What?”

“Since Your Ladyship clearly wishes to let go of us anyway, it seems your usefulness has run its course, so I was wondering what you would think if we negotiated with those people using Your Ladyship’s life as collateral.”

‘!!!!!!!’