WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 46: Imperial Palace (4)
──────
-Drip. Drip.
Mumu beckoned him down with a hand dripping blood.
Emperor Hong In-se, seated upon the throne, felt an icy chill crawl down his spine, followed by a bone-deep shudder.
At the Flying Horse Brigade's founding ceremony, he had personally watched the two Grand Elders and the Chief Brigade Leader engage in a martial match.
The two Grand Elders and the Chief Brigade Leader had truly surpassed human limits.
Their match had been so fierce that no one could observe it from nearby, and the surrounding area had nearly been reduced to ruins.
Emperor Hong In-se had believed then that all his investments had not been in vain.
Yet...
‘...This is impossible.’
The Chief Brigade Leader, whom even the two Grand Elders, guardians of the Imperial Palace, had acknowledged, had died so pointlessly that it was absurd.
He had expected Mumu and the Chief Brigade Leader to at least be evenly matched after hearing Mumu was at the Grandmaster level.
But they were not evenly matched at all. The Chief Brigade Leader had not even been a worthy opponent.
“H-how could this happen?”
Emperor Hong In-se asked the two Grand Elders standing on either side of him.
Without taking their wary gaze from Mumu, Eunuch Jo, Commander of the Western Eunuch corps and the Grand Elder to his left, said,
“Your Majesty... I believe you should leave this place.”
“What do you mean?”
“That man is not merely close to the Grandmaster level. He appears to be a supreme master on par with, or even beyond, the Four Immortal Masters.”
Eunuch Jo had personally fought the Chief Brigade Leader of the Flying Horse Brigade.
The Chief Brigade Leader's martial prowess had broken through a barrier. They were a supreme master fully worthy of being called the next Grandmaster.
Yet Mumu had subdued someone like that so easily.
-Trickle.
Cold sweat streamed down Eunuch Jo's forehead.
The tension had reached its limit.
Eunuch Jo had no confidence in facing that monstrous fellow alone.
“Your Majesty, grant Eunuch Go and me permission to use the artifacts.”
“Must you go so far as to use the artifacts?”
“Without them, there is no way to deal with that monster.”
“I agree with Eunuch Jo.”
Eunuch Go, Commander of the Eastern Eunuch corps, shared Eunuch Jo's thoughts.
As guardians of the Imperial Palace, their own martial prowess had already broken through a barrier, bringing them close to Grandmaster-level masters.
But the situation changed when they used artifacts.
‘They even contended with the Overlord of Blood and Slaughter when he raided the imperial capital.’
Among the Six Great Artifacts that possessed wills, only one set came in a pair.
The Yang Pole Sword and the Yin Low Blade.
The two Grand Elders had boldly held out against the Overlord of Blood and Slaughter, who had raided the Imperial Palace, for nearly an hour. With support from the Northern Heaven Fist Hero and the Southern Blade Imperial Uncle, they had barely managed to stop him.
They had been strong even then, but the possibility of a second Overlord of Blood and Slaughter appearing had driven them to hone their Martial Arts further and train relentlessly to wield the artifacts with greater skill.
“Your Majesty, please grant us permission.”
Emperor Hong In-se nodded with trembling eyes at the sight of the two Grand Elders making their request so tensely.
The two Grand Elders descended from the dais.
Eunuch Go, Commander of the Eastern Eunuch corps, gave an order to several Eastern Eunuch corps eunuchs waiting beside the platform.
“Escort His Majesty out. We will handle that man...”
-Boom!
At that very instant, the floor of the grand hall shattered and erupted with a deafening crash.
Mumu shot straight toward the throne at terrifying speed.
“Eunuch Jo!”
“Got it!”
-Shing!
Eunuch Jo, Commander of the Western Eunuch corps, drew a peculiar sword with a hollow center in a flash and swept it forward.
Eunuch Go, Commander of the Eastern Eunuch corps, likewise drew a peculiar blade with a hollow center and swung it over Eunuch Jo's sword.
-Chaaaaang!
The Yang Pole Sword and Yin Low Blade crossed.
A powerful wave erupted from the centers of the sword and blade, forming a circle as it surged toward Mumu.
Mumu swung his fist to shatter the wave.
Then...
-Baaaaang!
The moment Mumu threw the punch, his body floated high into the air.
‘!?’
It was a bizarre sensation.
The instant he touched the wave, it felt as though all the weight had vanished from his body.
Every sensation that had anchored him to the ground had been completely reversed, making it difficult to control his body.
“Get His Majesty outside! Hyaaa!”
-Wooooong!
Eunuch Jo swung the Yang Pole Sword at Mumu, who floated overhead, with ki manifestation flowing through it.
A sharp blue sword ki manifestation shot straight for the center of Mumu's chest.
Mumu, who had been flipped upside down, slapped aside the incoming sword ki manifestation.
-Baaang! Boom!
The sword ki manifestation was deflected and burrowed into the floor of the grand hall.
Eunuch Jo could not believe it.
Mumu had not even covered his hand in ki manifestation, yet he had casually knocked aside the sword ki manifestation with his bare hand.
‘This person defies all reason.’
“Eunuch Go!”
“I understand!”
-Papapapapapap!
Apparently skilled in combined attacks, the two eunuchs crossed back and forth in zigzag patterns as they shot toward Mumu, firing sword ki manifestations and saber ki manifestations at him.
-Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Sword ki manifestations and saber ki manifestations flew in from every direction, rushing toward Mumu's vital acupoints.
Having grown accustomed to his impossibly light body, Mumu lightly flicked his fingers at the incoming attacks one after another.
-Papapapapapap!
Invisible gusts of wind collided with the ki manifestations in midair.
The blue ki manifestations burst apart under the wind pressure, scattering like flowers in bloom.
-Kwakwakwaboom!
Their power did not fade easily even after dispersing, and the aftermath shattered pillars and shook the ceiling of the grand hall.
The Double-Saber Wanderer King, Agong, clicked his tongue at the sight.
All three of them were on an entirely different level.
‘So the rumors were true. The guardians of the Imperial Palace can rival the Four Immortal Masters.’
They were already that strong, and they wielded artifacts capable of producing strange, unknown forces.
Even Peerless Herculean Strength would not find it easy to defeat them this time.
“Hup!”
Mumu drew in a huge breath, his chest muscles swelling.
Mumu blew out a breath straight ahead. With the strange sensation of having no weight, that breath propelled Mumu's body toward the two eunuchs who were about to cross paths.
‘What?’
The two eunuchs clicked their tongues at Mumu's unusual way of escaping the weightless state. Then they met each other's eyes and crossed their sword and blade again.
The Yang Pole Sword and Yin Low Blade had more power yet to reveal.
-Chaaaaang!
As the sword and blade crossed, another wave burst from their hollow centers.
Mumu lowered his head and blew air downward.
“Fwoooooo!”
-Baaang!
Mumu's body shot upward.
As a result, the wave flew past him and struck several masters of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Eastern Eunuch corps who were surrounding King Jin's entourage.
-Kwaaaaboom!
“Gah!”
“M-my body!”
Those struck by the wave collapsed onto the floor.
It was as though their body weight had doubled, leaving them unable to rise.
Their bodies were even sinking into the floor of the grand hall.
‘Ah!’
A gleam appeared in Mumu's eyes.
At that moment, the two eunuchs had already flown up to Mumu's height and crossed the Yang Pole Sword and Yin Low Blade once again.
-Chaaaaang!
“You can't avoid this one!”
With Eunuch Go's shout, the wave surged toward Mumu.
They were only about ten paces apart, so the wave struck Mumu squarely.
The instant it hit...
-Boom!
Mumu's airborne body plunged straight down to the ground.
Depending on how they crossed them, the Yang Pole Sword and Yin Low Blade could multiply the force of their waves hundreds of times, either driving an opponent completely off the ground or pulling them down toward it.
They called those powers Repulsive Force and Attractive Force.
It was because of these strange powers that they had been able to hold back the Overlord of Blood and Slaughter for an hour.
-Tap.
The two eunuchs landed and curled their lips as they looked at Mumu.
The deeper one's internal energy, the stronger one's resistance. But judging by how Mumu had sunk thigh-deep into the floor of the grand hall, even moving would not be easy.
Eunuch Go, Commander of the Eastern Eunuch corps, sneered at Mumu.
“The force pulling you toward the ground is several hundredfold. Unlike the Repulsive Force that removes your sense of weight, this will make even moving difficult.”
Originally, they could only control Attractive Force up to one hundredfold.
But after nearly seventeen years of training, they had raised it to several hundredfold.
Even the Overlord of Blood and Slaughter had become significantly slower under one hundredfold Attractive Force.
At several times that amount, an ordinary person would have already been crushed into the floor.
“Eunuch Jo.”
“Let's finish this.”
The two eunuchs aimed the Yin Low Blade at Mumu's neck and the Yang Pole Sword at his heart.
They intended to finish him before he could adapt.
Then...
-Crackle! Crackle!
The Yin Low Blade and Yang Pole Sword, both wrapped in ki manifestation, were caught in Mumu's hands.
‘!?’
The two eunuchs' eyes widened.
How could he move under several hundredfold Attractive Force?
As they stood frozen in disbelief, Mumu spoke as though he wanted the weapons.
“They look useful as training tools.”
“What?”
“I'd hate to break them, so I'll use my feet.”
-Kwakwakwak!
Mumu's leg, buried in the floor, shot upward without restraint and struck Eunuch Go squarely in the left ribs.
-Thud! Crack!
“Urgh!”
-Baaaaang! Kwakwakwakwakwakwaboom!
With the sound of bones breaking, Eunuch Go's body flew away and punched through the wall of the grand hall before vanishing.
Deafening crashes continued to echo, as though Eunuch Go had been sent flying so far that no one could tell where Eunuch Go would land.
‘!!!!!!’
Eunuch Jo stood dumbfounded.
Several hundredfold Attractive Force should have made movement difficult.
Yet despite having his legs buried thigh-deep in the floor, Mumu had kicked Eunuch Go as though the ground had never been an obstacle in the first place.
“Y-you bastard, how can you move under such weight...?”
“Is this heavy?”
‘!?’
Was he saying it was not heavy at all?
As Eunuch Jo faltered in confusion, Mumu released the Yin Low Blade he had been holding, then struck Eunuch Jo's head with his palm.
-Thud!
“Urk!”
-Crack!
Eunuch Jo's neck sank into Eunuch Jo's torso like a turtle retracting into its shell.
* * *
-Tatatatatak!
“Huff, huff!”
Escorted by eunuchs of the Eastern Eunuch corps and Western Eunuch corps, Emperor Hong In-se fled from the grand hall and out of Golden Emperor Hall.
His dignity was in ruins, but this was no time to care about that.
If even the two Grand Elders, guardians of the Imperial Palace, lost, it would be the worst possible crisis.
Then...
-Boom!
Hearing a thunderous crash from the grand hall, Emperor Hong In-se turned to look behind him.
-Kwakwakwakwakwakwaboom!
Something burst through the wall of Golden Emperor Hall, tore through another palace building, and flew onward.
It flew so far that no one could tell how many buildings it had smashed through. The sight was absurd beyond belief.
‘W-what was that just now?’
It had moved too fast for him to see clearly, but it seemed to be one of the two commanders.
Could one of them have been defeated in such a short time?
“Your Majesty!”
“Y-yes!”
At an Eastern Eunuch corps eunuch's urging, the Emperor turned back and ran.
He had to get out of here somehow, even if it meant mobilizing every soldier in the Imperial Palace to stop that monster.
Just as he ran with all his strength...
-Boom!
Someone landed before him from above, blocking his path.
It was Mumu.
With Skin Masks giving him a fierce-looking face, he looked like a grim reaper.
“Eek!”
Emperor Hong In-se recoiled in terror.
The Eastern Eunuch corps eunuchs rushed at Mumu to protect him.
“Your Majesty! Run...”
-Smack!
Mumu casually swatted away the charging eunuchs as though they were a nuisance.
Like paper dolls, the eunuchs struck by his gesture flew in every direction.
-Papapapapap!
“Aaagh!”
“Urk!”
At this absurd sight, Emperor Hong In-se collapsed onto the ground.
There was no point in trying to run.
Mumu was not someone anyone could oppose by any means.
-Step. Step.
Mumu walked over to the Emperor, grabbed the collar of his jade dragon robe, and lightly lifted him into the air.
Meeting the Emperor's eyes, Mumu asked,
“I'll ask only once. Where's the imperial seal?”
Footnotes:
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