Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 230 - Desire (2)
Chapter 230 – Desire (2)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“Hehehe. Your Ladyship. Are you ready to lie in this man’s arms tonight and cry out beneath me?”
‘!!!!!!’
No one had expected it.
For such shameless and obscene words to come from none other than Peng Seok-im, the younger brother of Assistant Administrator Peng Yi-mun, one of Imperial Noble Consort Seo’s closest men, was something no one could have imagined unless the man had truly gone mad.
“Ha!”
Even Imperial Noble Consort Seo herself was so flustered she looked thunderstruck.
She had held great expectations for the Peng Clan of Hebei.
They were her escape route, the means by which she could sever ties with the Heaven and Earth Society, which had supported her only to manipulate her in the end.
And yet a situation that shattered those expectations had now erupted.
-Papapapak!
Junior Supervisor Jang of the Eastern Depot, who had been trading moves with Seop Chun, widened the distance and then furiously barked,
“Peng Seok-im! Have you truly gone mad? How dare you speak to Her Ladyship in such a rude…”
He did not even get to finish.
Peng Seok-im let out a laugh overflowing with madness and strode toward the hall.
“Hehehe.”
Just by looking at him, one could tell how utterly far from sane he was.
The martial artists stepped in front of him to block his way to the hall.
“Hero Peng. Stop!”
“If you attempt to come any closer, we will have no choice but to act.”
-Shing!
The men drew their weapons and took opening stances.
At the sight, Peng Seok-im sneered and said,
“Act? Do worms like you think you can stop me? Very well, if you think you can, then try. But you will have to stake your lives on it.”
With those words, Peng Seok-im kept walking forward without stopping.
-Step!
He had taken only one step, yet the martial artists all flinched.
And no wonder, because the dense killing intent and unknowable ominous aura pouring off Peng Seok-im were crushing them.
“S-stop!”
“Then make me stop.”
“Tsk! Attack!”
-Papapat!
In the end, though somewhat cowed by his presence, the martial artists all hurled themselves at Peng Seok-im together in order to stop him.
Skilled in joint attacks, the three warriors each aimed for one of Peng Seok-im’s vital points.
But at that very moment,
-Slash!
The instant they entered his radius, Peng Seok-im’s sword swept broadly through the surrounding space and brushed past the martial artists.
Then the three men who had been stabbing at him with their swords all froze at once.
Their faces were dyed with shock and fear.
“Ah… ah…”
“H-how…”
-Charrreuk!
Then their bodies split apart, their upper and lower halves separating cleanly in two.
-Thud!
The sight of their bodies twitching on the ground was beyond gruesome.
Blood spurted like a fountain from their severed lower halves.
-Puhsh!
When the three warriors were cut in half in an instant, the martial artists on Imperial Noble Consort Seo’s side who witnessed it could not conceal their bewilderment.
Peng Seok-im was the younger brother of Peng Yi-mun, one of Imperial Noble Consort Seo’s close attendants, which made him a powerful ally to them.
And yet that very man had cut them down without hesitation.
As everyone stirred, some eyes turned not toward the dead martial artists but toward the sword with the strange patterns in Peng Seok-im’s hand.
‘The Evil-Answering Sword?’
‘How does that man have our lord’s sword?’
Those thoughts belonged to Mong Mu-yak and Seop Chun.
They had recognized that the sword in Peng Seok-im’s hand was the Evil-Answering Sword.
The Evil-Answering Sword was a peerless demon sword created by the great master smith Ou Yezi.
‘Ah!’
Come to think of it, before entering this rear garden, they had entrusted their weapons to the soldiers at the entrance of the tavern grounds.
Apparently he had touched the sword at that time.
‘Has he been seized by the sword’s demonic nature?’
Otherwise there was no way he would show such madness.
They had expected the Evil-Answering Sword to be dangerous since it too was a demon sword, but seeing even a master close to the utmost extreme of the Transcendent Peak get seized by its demonic nature, that nature clearly was no ordinary thing.
‘So it was not a sword one could touch lightly.’
Mong Mu-yak, who had once coveted the Evil-Answering Sword himself, inwardly felt relieved as he recalled those days in the Heaven and Earth Society.
That sword was not something the unworthy could greedily covet.
It was then.
-Pat!
Junior Supervisor Jang of the Eastern Depot stepped in front of Peng Seok-im, who had not stopped after cutting down the martial artists and was continuing toward the hall.
Junior Supervisor Jang took the opening stance of a claw technique and cast a glance at the sword in Peng Seok-im’s hand.
As a Transcendent Peak master, he could tell at a glance that the sword was no ordinary blade.
‘I can feel a demonic nature from it.’
It was sinister to the extreme.
In a low voice, Junior Supervisor Jang said,
“Hero Peng. Put down that sword at once and withdraw.”
But there was no way Peng Seok-im would retreat after such a warning.
With a sneer, he continued walking forward.
Junior Supervisor Jang shouted,
“Peng Seok-im. I said withdraw at once!”
At that shout, Peng Seok-im smirked and said,
“For a gelded bastard, you sure do flap your mouth a lot.”
-Crack!
At that, Junior Supervisor Jang’s expression twisted horribly.
Every eunuch entering the palace was castrated.
Because the only men permitted into the inner palace had to be members of the imperial house.
So eunuchs became bodies that were neither men nor women through castration.
But that did not mean they liked their reality or were content with it.
Naturally, if one mocked them as geldings and provoked them, they would have no choice but to become enraged.
“You bastard!”
After being mocked as a gelding twice, Junior Supervisor Jang could no longer endure it and launched himself forward first.
Knowing that Peng Seok-im’s martial ability was even higher than his elder brother Peng Yi-mun’s, Junior Supervisor Jang unleashed a killing move with full force from the very start.
‘Sunflower Mysterious Claw, Eighth Form, Blood Wave Reaching Corpse!’
It was a sure-kill secret move, a finishing art meant to kill the opponent without fail.
-Papapapak!
Junior Supervisor Jang’s claw art, shimmering with blue astral qi, generated countless claw-shadows with wave-like force and engulfed Peng Seok-im.
Its momentum was so fierce that wind pressure rose all around them.
“For a gelded bastard, you have some skill. But with this sword in my hand, you can never defeat me.”
-Clench!
Peng Seok-im gripped the hilt tightly and concentrated his inner power.
As he did, sharp edge energy gathered and formed blue sword astral energy.
Then Peng Seok-im unleashed a sword form.
‘Primordial Thunderbolt Sword, Thunder Moves in One Harmony!’
-Kururukkwang!
With a sound like thunder crashing down, Peng Seok-im’s sword, twisting through the air like blue lightning, collided with Junior Supervisor Jang’s wave-like claw art.
-Papapapapapak!
As the killing moves of the two Transcendent Peak masters clashed, astral qi burst in every direction.
The ground wherever that energy struck shattered apart.
-Jjeojeojeok! Boom! Boom!
“Hk!”
“B-back away!”
Those nearby had to retreat in panic for their lives.
At first glance, the two seemed evenly matched.
Yet Junior Supervisor Jang’s complexion was not good at all.
‘Can these really be forms from the same root?’
The Primordial Thunderbolt Sword had originally been a saber art, the Primordial Thunderbolt Saber.
Yet it was Peng Seok-im who had turned it into sword forms, and now its power and variations surpassed even the original Primordial Thunderbolt Saber.
Junior Supervisor Jang, who had once experienced the forms of the Primordial Thunderbolt Saber in a martial exchange against Peng Yi-mun, could feel that clearly.
Moreover,
‘Even while protecting myself with astral qi, it feels like my hands are being torn apart.’
He was enduring it by force, but the wounds on his hands were steadily increasing.
Though both were manifestations of astral qi, unlike him, who fought barehanded, Peng Seok-im had the power of a famous sword added on top, making its sharpness all the more extreme.
-Charrreureureureuk!
Little by little, Junior Supervisor Jang’s body was being pushed backward.
Watching this in silence, Seop Chun’s eyes flashed.
‘Now is the chance.’
If he stepped in now, it seemed he could retrieve his lord’s Evil-Answering Sword without much effort.
Just as he was about to move, a voice sounded in his ear.
-Leave it alone.
‘My lord?’
Seop Chun looked at Mok Gyeong-un in puzzlement.
How could he simply leave matters alone when Peng Seok-im had gotten hold of his master’s unique weapon?
He could not understand it, but his lord’s command was absolute.
So Seop Chun did not move.
In the meantime, the clash between Peng Seok-im and Junior Supervisor Jang reached its conclusion.
-Papak! Slash!
Unable to withstand the power of the sword forms, Junior Supervisor Jang exposed an opening, and Peng Seok-im did not miss it, swiftly cutting into the eunuch’s side.
Fortunately, it was not deep enough to reach the organs, but as the sharp edge energy sank in, Junior Supervisor Jang could not endure the pain and dropped to one knee.
-Thud!
“Gghhh…”
“Junior Supervisor Jang!”
At the sight, Imperial Noble Consort Seo cried out in a voice full of despair.
The only close attendant left who could protect her was Junior Supervisor Jang of the Eastern Depot.
And yet even he had been defeated.
Now there was no one among her subordinates capable of stopping that man.
“Hehehe. Gelded bastard. I will spare your life for now, so sit there and watch well. Tonight I will show you Seo Yang-hyo lying beneath me, panting and pleading.”
“Gghhh… y-you bastard.”
Clutching his wounded side, Junior Supervisor Jang still tried to stop Peng Seok-im.
But there was no chance such a thing would succeed with his injured body.
Peng Seok-im kicked Junior Supervisor Jang in the jaw as he tried to cling to him.
-Thud!
“Ghk!”
Struck in the jaw, Junior Supervisor Jang rolled on the ground, vomiting blood and giving a broken cry.
After knocking him aside, Peng Seok-im strode straight toward the hall.
-Step, step!
“What are you all doing? Stop him at once!”
The eunuch Yu Bong shouted at the martial artists, but it did no good.
Not one of the martial artists dared step forward and stop him.
They were too afraid of death for that.
So, apparently deciding it was hopeless, Yu Bong finally turned to the Heaven and Earth Society’s advance and rear parties and cried out,
“Brother Gan. Brother Ok. Please help. If anything happens to Her Ladyship, then you too will not be able to continue the mission.”
“…”
Yet despite his plea, no one moved.
Gan Yang and Ok-gi, who had known him for a long time, both pretended not to hear and remained still, while Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak, the rear party, merely stood with folded arms as though it were none of their concern.
“A wise choice.”
Though seized by desire and madness, Peng Seok-im did not seem inclined to force a fight with them and simply passed by.
His mind was filled with nothing but the desire to violate Imperial Noble Consort Seo.
As he drew closer to her, his lust had already swelled to the limit, and even his lower half had risen massively.
-Clench!
Seeing that, Imperial Noble Consort Seo bit her lip tightly in humiliation.
The Peng Clan of Hebei was the one she had trusted so completely.
And yet how could one of them become such a shameless lust-mad fiend?
No matter how she thought about it, she could not understand.
So she looked toward Mok Gyeong-un beside her and asked,
“…Just what have you done?”
At that question, Mok Gyeong-un shrugged and answered,
“I am not sure what you mean.”
“Peng Assistant Administrator’s younger brother may be somewhat frivolous in conduct, but as a man of the righteous martial world, I was told he was one who knew how to keep to chivalric principle. And when this consort first saw him, he was indeed like that.”
But this appearance was far too different from his usual self.
Those filthy eyes were filled with nothing but madness and desire.
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,
“Do you think I did something to him?”
“Then are you saying you did not?”
“No, I did not.”
“Then why has Peng Seok-im become…”
“You are mistaken if you think otherwise. What you are seeing is the true desire of the man called Peng Seok-im.”
“What?”
“One who is seized by the demonic nature of the Evil-Answering Sword reveals the true desire he had hidden, his innermost thoughts.”
“Desire? What in the world are you talking about?”
“By a curious twist, shall we call it karmic recompense?”
“Karmic recompense?”
“When we came in here, I warned the soldiers confiscating the weapons. I told them my sword was a cursed demon sword and was dangerous, so they were never to draw it.”
‘What kind of absurd nonsense is this?’
Imperial Noble Consort Seo could not easily believe what Mok Gyeong-un was saying.
How could someone merely by gripping a sword reveal the desires or thoughts hidden inside them?
At that moment, Yu Bong, who stood before the hall, hurriedly turned his head and said,
“Y-Your Ladyship! If that sword truly is the Evil-Answering Sword, then it really is a peerless demon sword.”
“A peerless demon sword?”
She frowned in confusion.
There was no way her own eunuch Yu Bong would lie to her about such a thing.
Had he not even betrayed the Heaven and Earth Society already?
-Step, step!
At that moment, Peng Seok-im came all the way up before the hall and said with a laugh full of madness,
“Hehehe. Seo Yang-hyo. At last I will hold you in my embrace.”
-Shiver!
At those words, Imperial Noble Consort Seo felt goosebumps rise all over her body.
She had regarded the righteous martial artists, unlike the vile Heaven and Earth Society, as chivalrous men who at least maintained proper courtesy.
That was why she had intended to sever ties with the Heaven and Earth Society and align herself with them instead.
But if the hidden desire of a so-called righteous man was to covet her flesh, then in the end were they any different?
Falling into disappointment deeper even than fear, she said to Mok Gyeong-un,
“…Help me.”
“You want me to help you?”
“I will never again seek help from the orthodox factions or join hands with anyone else. So please, protect this consort from that man.”
“Well now.”
‘!?’
At Mok Gyeong-un’s response, she looked at him in disbelief.
Then what exactly was she supposed to do here?
To the woman standing there in a fluster, Mok Gyeong-un sneered,
“Ahhh. At this rate, it seems Your Ladyship’s body will be violated by that man’s filthy thing.”
“You!”
It was not as if she did not know that.
In the end, driven by fear and desperation, she spoke in a near-plea.
“W-what in the world do you want?”
At that, as though he had been waiting for those words, Mok Gyeong-un curled his lips into a sinister smile and answered shortly,
“Submission.”