WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 43: Monster Master (2)
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On the outskirts of the imperial capital, not far from Geumjeong Palace.
An elderly figure sat in a pavilion behind a lavish Manor, drinking while listening to the rain.
A sharp-featured middle-aged figure in blue silk robes refilled the elder's empty cup and said,
"What an excellent plan. Even this subordinate never imagined bringing down the embankment."
"Heaven favored us. The art of war and strategy are most effective when one borrows the power of natural phenomena."
"Indeed, my lord."
The middle-aged figure found the plan the elder had prepared astonishing.
If the embankment collapsed and the river pooled behind it surged forth like a tidal wave, could even the greatest master survive? If they did, it could only be called a miracle.
"We should hear good news soon."
The elder shook his head.
"Even a perfect plan can have unforeseen variables. Prepare for the slightest possibility."
"The slightest possibility?"
"Didn't I tell you? Heaven is fair. They may escape the flood by some slim chance as well, so don't give them a moment to rest. Keep pressing them."
The middle-aged figure inwardly marveled at the elder's words.
As expected of the elder.
Even amid the bloody political struggles of the Imperial Palace, the elder bore the imposing air of a veteran minister who had retained power for over thirty years.
'Princess Seo and King Jin are both pitiable, making an enemy of someone like this...'
The elder was a monster who never let their guard down or left an opening.
Princess Seo would fall into their hands one way or another.
The middle-aged figure rose.
"I will carry out your command."
* * *
-Kwaaaaaaang!
Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung could not hide his shock as the river split apart in a fan shape and flowed backward.
This was nothing like what he had envisioned.
How could a mere human overcome a natural disaster with brute force?
Yet it was happening right before his eyes.
Even the Four Immortal Masters would have focused solely on protecting themselves in such a situation.
'T-that monster... how?'
How could the name of such a monster remain unknown?
He had heard Mumu was an instructor at the academy, but at this level, he ought to be called one of the Five Immortal Masters, not the Four Immortal Masters.
"H-he's the River God!"
"The River God!"
The young boatmen around him prostrated themselves.
To them, the fierce middle-aged man, no, Mumu, who had not only forced the river backward with a single fist but exposed its riverbed, seemed like the god of the river itself.
Anyone who saw it would have thought the same.
This power had already far surpassed humanity.
'This is insane!'
Kang Mu-i was equally dumbfounded.
He had thought Mumu was a monster when he heard Mumu had defeated the Eastern River Sword Sage and the Western Wind Lone Angle, two of the Four Immortal Masters.
But this was too much.
Mumu had reversed a river surging like a tidal wave with one punch.
'...It's impossible.'
Kang Mu-i had held out a faint hope that he might use this situation to escape.
If Mumu were swept away by the river, he might not die, but it could buy Kang Mu-i some time.
But this monster defied all common sense.
There was no way Kang Mu-i could escape.
-Thump! Thump!
Princess Seo Hong Na-yeon's heart pounded as she watched.
How could a human possess such strength?
Even the word overwhelming was not enough.
'...Strong. He's so strong.'
She had thirsted for strength enough to become a disciple of the Sichuan Bow Emperor and enroll at Changcheon Martial Academy, all because she wanted to help her father, King Jin.
That thirst had never been satisfied.
Yet seeing Mumu cast aside even a natural disaster with one punch made her heart race wildly and her face grow hot.
Truthfully, gaining such power would be impossible even if she trained for the rest of her life.
But how reassuring would it be if a man like that protected her for the rest of her life?
-Clench!
Her hands tightened as desire welled up within her.
Perhaps it was a woman's instinct to want a strong man as her partner.
Just then, as the river flowed backward and split apart, Mumu came into view as he landed on the exposed ground.
-Tap!
After landing, Mumu clenched his fist again and raised it overhead.
His gaze was fixed on the river, whose backward flow was gradually weakening.
The force of his punch was powerful, but it could only create a temporary effect.
That was why Mumu's solution was...
-Creak!
Mumu's raised arm looked like a black iron bar.
His biceps and triceps bulged as though ready to explode, while his forearm muscles twisted like a vortex.
The instant their contraction reached its peak...
-Kwaaaaaaang!
Mumu's fist struck the exposed riverbed.
At that moment, something even more shocking occurred.
-Rumble! Craaack!
The earth shook violently as if an earthquake had struck, and the ground around the river split open.
Terrified, everyone fled from the riverbank.
Even Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung, a former member of the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice, was no exception.
Byeok Ung used his movement skill to retreat faster than anyone else, then was left speechless by the absurd sight before him.
'...This is impossible.'
A massive hole with a radius of over three hundred meters had opened in the riverbed Mumu had struck.
It was so deep that its bottom was impossible to make out, swallowed in darkness.
'H-he isn't human.'
Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung trembled from his dantian through his entire body.
Mumu could not possibly be human.
Even if he attacked with all his strength, it would be like an egg breaking against a rock.
How could such a monster have remained unknown until now?
It was enough to make him wonder.
-Swaaaaaa!
Then he saw the river that had been flowing backward rush down once more.
The rushing water came down with even greater force, but it was sucked into the enormous hole that had appeared in the middle of the riverbed.
"Ah!"
An exclamation escaped Hong Na-yeon's lips.
As the river water was drawn into the huge hole Mumu had created, the force of the violent current weakened in an instant.
Naturally, the current flowing downstream also weakened.
-Paaaaang!
Someone shot up from the massive pit where water was being sucked down like a waterfall.
It was Mumu.
Suspended in the air, Mumu changed direction and kicked off toward the downstream waters, where the current had weakened.
-Paaaaang!
The flow of water had been cut off, and the water level downstream was actually becoming shallower.
Thanks to that, Mumu could easily rescue his older brother, Jin-sung, who had fallen into the water.
-Splash!
"Cough!"
"Are you all right?"
"Y-you, what in the world was that just now?"
Though he had fallen into the water, Jin-sung had clearly seen Mumu split the river and force it backward with a single punch.
He could not help but be shocked.
At this point, Mumu's superhuman strength made no sense to him.
How had his father, Yu Yeop-kyung, even found this child?
As Jin-sung stared at him in confusion, Mumu smiled.
"I'll save the others first."
Besides Jin-sung, more Censorate officials had fallen into the water.
Jin-sung, who had forgotten about them for a moment, nodded.
Then...
-Splash! Paaaaang!
"Gah!"
Mumu tucked Jin-sung under his arm and took off at incredible speed.
Jin-sung's eyelids and lips were blown inside out.
* * *
-Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung used every ounce of his strength to employ his movement skill.
His pale face alone showed how terrified he was.
'Monster... monster...'
Byeok Ung had realized something after witnessing that sight.
Mumu was a being he must never provoke.
How could anyone possibly face someone whom not even a natural disaster could overcome?
Running away was the only answer.
'I need to get as far away as possible and hide.'
If he wanted to stay alive, he had to go somewhere beyond that monster's sight.
Otherwise, he could be in danger.
'How could a monster like that have remained hidden until now?'
His luck could not have been worse.
He had set out lightheartedly, thinking it was a chance to earn some money and stretch his legs.
Yet after roaming the martial world for decades, he had finally encountered a monster unlike anything he had ever seen.
'Damn it.'
It seemed he would have to hide for a while.
He felt sorry for Lord Yang, but that monster was simply...
-Kwaaaaaaang!
At that moment, the wind pressure flung Byeok Ung backward as he used his movement skill.
As expected of a former member of the Ten Great Masters, Byeok Ung protected himself with Defensive Ki and regained his balance.
-Swoooosh!
When he raised his head, his pupils trembled wildly.
'T-this...'
A man stood before him.
It was Master Yu, an instructor at the academy.
Had Mumu already saved everyone who had fallen into the water?
Byeok Ung was so stunned he could barely breathe.
He had used his movement skill with every ounce of strength he possessed, yet Mumu had caught up with him this easily.
'I-I have to run.'
Byeok Ung twisted his body to kick off the ground.
Then...
-Bang! Slide!
Mumu, Master Yu, appeared before him in an instant with a fierce expression.
With his path blocked, Byeok Ung did not know what to do.
He had to do something, but would any attack of his even work...?
-Swish!
At that moment, Mumu curled his middle finger against his thumb and held it toward Byeok Ung's forehead.
'A forehead flick?'
The instant he recognized it...
-Bang!
The flicked finger struck his forehead.
An intense pain, as though he had been hit by a stone hammer, erupted through him, and Byeok Ung's body was hurled backward.
-Kwaaaaaaang!
He had no idea how many trees he broke.
Only after his body had smashed through countless trees did Byeok Ung finally lose momentum and crash into the rain-soaked ground.
"Ghhhh..."
Blood flowed from his dented forehead and drenched his face.
Byeok Ung could not believe it.
With nothing more than a flick of a finger, he, who had once been renowned throughout the martial world as one of the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice, had ended up in this state.
Mumu truly wasn't human.
'H-how did I end up provoking a monster like this...?'
Had he known, he would have refused the request without question.
In this situation, he could not help resenting the person who had sent him here.
-Bang!
Mumu appeared before him again.
Byeok Ung wanted to run, but he could not move his body.
Even though he had protected himself with Ki Armor, repeatedly crashing into trees seemed to have broken and cracked his back and spine.
-Clench!
Mumu grabbed him by the head and lifted him up.
Terrified beyond measure, Byeok Ung could not look Mumu in the eye.
Mumu spoke to the trembling man.
"Was it your right hand that you waved at me earlier?"
'!?'
Byeok Ung's pupils trembled wildly.
Why was he asking that?
Could it be...?
-Snap!
Mumu grabbed Byeok Ung's right wrist.
Then, without hesitation...
-Crack!
"Arrrgh!"
He brutally snapped Byeok Ung's right arm.
Bone jutted out through Byeok Ung's elbow as he screamed madly in unbearable pain.
Seeing an elder over seventy in such agony might have softened someone's heart, even a little, but Mumu did not care in the slightest.
Instead, Mumu looked emotionlessly at Byeok Ung and spoke.
"I'm getting tired of people coming after me like moths to a flame. So I'll ask only once. If you don't want your waist folded in half, answer me the first time."
"Ghhhh..."
"Who sent you?"
* * *
On the outskirts of the imperial capital, not far from Geumjeong Palace.
The elder was still drinking in the pavilion behind the lavish Manor.
Having taken every possible measure, the elder waited for the bargaining chip, Princess Seo Hong Na-yeon, to fall into the elder's hands.
'King Jin... You should have kept what you cherish hidden away. Your choice this time was foolish...'
-Kwaaaaaaang!
'!?'
The elder froze as the drinking table overturned.
What had that been just now?
The entire rear garden had shaken. Had there been an earthquake?
As the elder wondered, the elder caught sight of a fierce-looking middle-aged man striding closer.
Something was clutched in the man's hand.
'Byeok Ung?'
That wretched figure was none other than Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung.
'!!!!!!'
The elder was left speechless.
Byeok Ung should have been several days' journey away. How had he ended up looking like a ruined man, caught in that person's hand?
Footnotes:
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