WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 43: Monster Master (3)
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'How could this be...?'
Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung was dumbfounded.
Overwhelmed by the fear and pressure Mumu exuded, he had eventually revealed who had sent him and where that person was.
His relationship with Lord Yang had only ever been about money. He felt no particular loyalty toward the man, nor any need to risk his life for him.
Still, this situation was utterly bewildering.
'Is this bastard really not human?'
In less than an hour, they had flown all the way to the imperial capital.
Even someone who had reached Walking on Air or Soaring Through the Void, the highest realms of movement skill, could not accomplish such a thing.
Yet they had arrived here in such a short time.
The old man standing in the pavilion with a shocked frown was Lord Yang Jeong-myeong, the owner of this lavish Manor.
Yang Jeong-myeong was the Minister of Revenue, heading one of the Six Ministries.
He was a powerful figure who had dominated official politics for over thirty years.
He was one of the three meritorious officials who had placed the current Emperor on the throne, and the father of Imperial Noble Consort Yang.
"Is that old man the one?"
Mumu asked the flustered Byeok Ung.
Byeok Ung did not know what to do.
If he admitted it in front of the man himself, it would expose the fact that he, a former member of the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice, had revealed the person behind it all because he could not overcome his fear.
"Looks like you want me to fold you at the waist..."
"Y-yes. That man ordered it."
At Mumu's threat, Byeok Ung's pride crumpled in an instant.
This monster did whatever he said he would.
He was seventy-four years old. Even if he had lived a long life, he did not want to suffer such humiliation and pain in his old age.
Just then...
"Enemy attack!"
"Protect Lord Yang!"
-Rumble!
The warriors guarding the Manor rushed into the rear garden.
Moving in perfect order, they quickly surrounded Mumu, who wore a Skin Mask resembling a fierce-looking middle-aged man.
The arrival of the guards brought a measure of relief to Yang Jeong-myeong's face.
He opened his mouth, looking utterly confused.
"Elder Byeok. What is the meaning of this?"
Byeok Ung could not answer.
This was no time to worry about pride or appearances.
Then, besides the guards, an elderly man with a small frame and a sharp-featured middle-aged man in blue hurried over.
"Are you all right, my lord?"
'Mun Gyeong, the Left Assistant Director.'
The Transmission Office oversaw memorials submitted to the Emperor and imperial edicts proclaimed by him.
Mun Gyeong was the Left Assistant Director of the Transmission Office, a fourth-rank official and Yang Jeong-myeong's right-hand man.
Though an official, he was also a master at the Expert level.
The small elderly man beside him was Yuk Chon, known in the martial world as the Supreme Unity Sword.
He was around Byeok Ung's age and had been active in the martial world during the same era.
Unlike Byeok Ung, he had never earned the title of Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice, but he was an unaffiliated old master whose martial prowess nearly matched theirs.
With their arrival, Yang Jeong-myeong could finally stand a little taller.
With guards made up of Advanced martial artists and this much strength on his side, anyone would have found their confidence returning.
But...
'You mustn't fight him.'
Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung mouthed a warning to Yang Jeong-myeong.
He could not say it openly, so this was all he could do.
Yet Yang Jeong-myeong did not notice Byeok Ung's warning.
Rising with his hands behind his back, Yang Jeong-myeong spoke.
"Elder Byeok has turned his blade against me."
At that, the sharp-featured middle-aged man, no, Mun Gyeong, the Left Assistant Director, quietly asked the Supreme Unity Sword Yuk Chon beside him.
"Elder Yuk, do you know that man?"
"No. I never saw him even in the days when this old man was active."
"If he subdued Elder Byeok, he doesn't seem ordinary."
"...He is a strange one."
"Strange?"
"Compared to the pressure he gives off..."
'According to my Ki sense, his energy is a little below the Advanced level. Yet that man reduced Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung to that state?'
Yuk Chon could not understand it.
Still, he could not let his guard down based on the energy he sensed alone.
The vapor rising from the man's entire body and the pressure he exuded were far from ordinary.
"Can you subdue him, Elder?"
"I cannot promise that."
Yuk Chon answered honestly.
If the other man could conceal his energy at will, there was a high chance he was at least a step above him.
And after what he had done to Byeok Ung, he was already no opponent to take lightly.
'I must not fight rashly.'
Yuk Chon stepped forward and raised his voice.
"This old man is Yuk Chon, the Supreme Unity Sword. If you understand the ways of the martial world, state your honored name."
If he at least knew the man's name, he could identify him.
But Yang Jeong-myeong did not seem pleased by Yuk Chon's humble attitude.
"Why speak so politely to a thug like that?"
Yuk Chon whispered in reply.
"My lord. If he reduced Elder Byeok to that state, he may be a supreme master beyond even the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice. It may be better to win him over than attack him blindly."
"Beyond the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice?"
Though he was an official, Yang Jeong-myeong knew of the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice and the Four Immortal Masters.
He had heard that every one of them was an extraordinary figure capable of facing ten thousand men in the martial world.
Yang Jeong-myeong stroked his beard.
'Hmm.'
As Yuk Chon said, winning the man over would not be a bad thing.
This was an opportunity to take in a young supreme master, one even stronger than Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung, as a guest retainer.
Yang Jeong-myeong nodded in approval.
"Give it a try."
At that, Yuk Chon raised his voice.
"The person here is the father of Her Ladyship, Imperial Noble Consort Yang, and the Minister of Revenue. He cherishes countless heroes of the martial world and keeps them as guest retainers, so perhaps..."
Before he could finish, Mumu cut him off.
"Never mind that. That old man over there sent this old man to the riverside, right?"
'That old man?'
At Mumu's words, everyone around him, including Yuk Chon, frowned.
His face was that of a fierce-looking middle-aged man, but his voice sounded younger and more innocent than that.
As they looked at him in confusion, Mumu continued.
"You've been bothering me like moths to a flame since the cliff, so I came to warn you."
"A warning?"
"Yes. I came to tell you to stop. But even if I end it with a warning, you'll probably keep sending people after me. Isn't that right?"
'Hah!'
Yang Jeong-myeong was dumbfounded.
This arrogant bastard had come all the way to the Manor of one of the three powerful ministers who could sway the entire nation, and now he was interrogating him?
If the man was this openly hostile, there was no chance he would gracefully accept an offer to become a guest retainer.
Certain of that, Yang Jeong-myeong shook his head at Yuk Chon.
"..."
Understanding what that meant, Yuk Chon let out a faint breath.
He wanted to avoid a fight if possible since he did not know the man's identity, but it seemed there was no other choice.
Yuk Chon drew his sword from the sheath at his waist.
-Shing!
Pointing the sword at Mumu, Yuk Chon spoke.
"You refuse the wine of goodwill and choose the cup of punishment, so it cannot be helped. Let us determine who is superior!"
-Swish!
The moment he finished speaking, Yuk Chon's body shot toward Mumu like lightning.
The guards watching let out cries of admiration.
It was truly the divine might expected of a master said to rival the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice.
'Fourth movement of the Supreme Unity Life-Inch Sword, Will-Shattering Veiled Sword!'
-Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Yuk Chon's sword, wreathed in blue sword ki manifestation, traced dazzling paths as it stabbed toward Mumu's vital acupoints.
Yet Mumu simply stood still without even trying to block it.
'Arrogant bastard!'
Did he think he could stop his swift sword at this distance?
If that was what he thought, he was gravely mistaken...
-Clang!
'!?'
Yuk Chon's eyes widened.
The instant his sword struck Mumu's chest, the blade snapped in half.
"What...?"
"What are you doing?"
"Y-you, don't tell me you have an indestructible golden..."
-Grip!
"Ghk!"
Before he could finish, Mumu grabbed Yuk Chon's head and lifted him into the air.
Startled, Yuk Chon tried to cut Mumu's wrist with the broken blade.
-Clang!
An intact sword had not worked, so there was no way a broken blade would.
The remaining piece shattered completely.
Panicked, Yuk Chon tried to kick his way out of Mumu's grip, but...
-Crunch!
Before he could, his head was crushed.
'!!!!!!!'
Everyone watching was utterly horrified.
Who could have predicted that Yuk Chon, the Supreme Unity Sword, a master said to rival the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice, would die with his head crushed in one hand without properly swinging his sword even once?
-Thud!
'That... that monster.'
Dae Ja-gwang Byeok Ung was even more terrified by the sight.
Yuk Chon was a master who could have exchanged hundreds of movements with him. If Mumu could kill someone like that so easily, it meant he could kill Byeok Ung at any time as well.
-Swish!
Mumu shook the blood from his hand onto the ground.
Yang Jeong-myeong, who had been struck speechless, finally cried out in panic.
"K-kill that bastard at on..."
-Bang!
"Ghk!"
Yang Jeong-myeong could not finish.
Mumu had appeared before him in an instant.
Mun Gyeong, the Left Assistant Director and Yang Jeong-myeong's right-hand man, hurriedly drew his saber and tried to cut off Mumu's neck.
"You..."
-Clang!
Without even looking, Mumu grabbed Mun Gyeong's saber and snapped it.
Mun Gyeong's face turned pale at once.
This monster was too far beyond all common sense.
There was no way to deal with him by force.
"Y-you're a master at Changcheon Martial Academy, aren't you? Do you think you'll be safe after daring to lay hands on ministers of the Imperial Palace when your academy receives the country's support?"
Based on the information they had received, Mun Gyeong guessed that Mumu was a master at Changcheon Martial Academy.
Changcheon Martial Academy received tax exemptions and support from the previous Emperor, so he thought using that as leverage might intimidate him to some extent.
But...
"So what?"
"What?"
"You were the ones who came after me first. And wouldn't it be fine if no one knew who did it?"
'!?'
Mun Gyeong's expression stiffened.
Did this bastard intend to kill everyone here...?
-Swish!
At that moment, Mumu placed a finger against Mun Gyeong's forehead.
Then he lightly flicked it.
-Crack!
The force was so great that Mun Gyeong's head flew off entirely.
His body sprayed blood as it staggered and collapsed.
'!!!!!!!'
At the sight, Yang Jeong-myeong's body froze so completely that he could not move.
Where had such a monster come from?
-Trickle...
Yang Jeong-myeong's trousers grew wet.
He had never felt such terror in his life.
Though he had entered old age, he had never even suffered from incontinence. Yet now he had wet himself because he could not contain his fear.
Mumu reached out toward him.
In a panic, Yang Jeong-myeong threw himself to his knees and begged with all his strength.
"I-I was wrong, sir! Please spare me!"
His dignity no longer mattered.
He believed the only way to survive this monster was to beg desperately.
"This foolish old body has done something stupid. If you wish it, I will give you all my wealth. So please, spare only my li..."
-Tap!
Mumu placed a hand on his head.
Then, in a low voice devoid of any particular emotion, he said,
"You should've done that earlier."
Footnotes:
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