Nano Machine 372: Hand Crafted (4)
The sky was still dark and the sun hadn’t quite risen yet.
There was a middle-aged man standing in the yard of Zhu Taiyoon’s Royal Palace with an impatient look.
He was a Master of the Blade G.o.d Six Martial clan, Master Dogun.
‘… It is getting late.’
Since the official appearance of the Blade G.o.d Six Martial clan in Wulin, it had been considered as the third largest clan within Wulin.
Despite the clan’s shortcomings, the benefits of this one specific plan would make up for all the losses.
However, according to the plan, everything should’ve been done by now, but for some reason, they were falling behind schedule.
‘Did they fail?’
The plan had taken them several years to prepare.
From infiltrating the East Spear, who were known to be influential within the Imperial Palace, to establis.h.i.+ng contact and trust with the Emperor’s eldest son, the Blade G.o.d Six Martial clan had meticulously planned everything.
‘Are the Guardians inside the Royal Shrine that strong? Did they perhaps fail in eliminating them?’
The main goal of the plan was to remove the Imperial Palace Guardians.
To successfully achieve it, even Blood Master, one of the top six Martial Masters of the clan, had been dispatched.
Her defeat would mean failure.
The dark sky looked like it had been dyed indigo blue, and there were signs of the approaching sunrise.
Swoos.h.!.+
“Were you waiting?”
“Ack!”
He felt no presence, but a voice greeted Master Dogun from behind, making him turn around.
A person whose face was hidden by a veil stood behind him.
“Your face?”
“There is no time for formalities.”
It was the arrogant voice of a woman.
The only woman he knew who spoke that way was Blood Master.
She then purposely showed him the bloodshed and damage that had been caused to her body by the flames of the Guardians.
‘Ah, she got injured in the battle with the Guardians’
Everyone knew that the Qilin’s Flame was hard to subdue.
However, there was no way that Blood Master, known for her arrogance and pride, would allow herself to get injured because of it.
Blade Master Dogun decided not to overthink the issue and to hastily send her to the Crown Prince Zhu Taiyoon.
Who wouldn’t recognize Blood Master’s voice and tone even with her face hidden?
Chak!
“Kuakk!”
They were inside the 1st level of the Royal Underground Shrine when Master Dogun’s arm was suddenly and viciously severed from his body.
‘Ugh, what did…..?’
‘W-what the h.e.l.l is this crazy woman doing?’
Woong! Woong!
Even the East Spear eunuchs couldn’t hide their shock at what had just happened.
Who could have predicted that the veiled person, the one who was supposed to be Blade Master’s ally, would suddenly separate one of his arms from his body with a surprise attack?
However, they weren’t given the time to think about it.
Puck!
“Kuak!”
“Yo-you!”
It was because the Southern Commander, Yon Namgun, and the Guards behind him had picked up their spears and attacked.
“Defeat these rebels and protect His Highness, the Crown Prince, and the members of our East Spear!”
“Yes!”
Admiral Lim’s order to kill fell, and it eventually led to an all-out fight.
In an instant, the underground shrine had turned into a battleground.
Thanks to that, the eunuchs didn’t have much time to worry about Blade Master Dogun.
“Do you still think I am Blood Master?”
Forgetting about the pain that surged through his arm, Dogun looked at the veil with wide eyes.
He had been so convinced that the voice belonged to Blood Master that he hadn’t even bothered to check the person’s face.
But, how did this man do it?
‘A man’s voice?’
To be able to flawlessly change one’s voice… such a thing didn’t make sense.
Spies would sometimes imitate voices using unique tricks, but that was only possible if the voice was of the same s.e.x.
Dogun’s expression turned bitter.
“Y-you, who the h.e.l.l are you?”
He was so confused that his brain almost stopped functioning.
To change his voice and disguise himself as Blood Master meant that this man knew everything about their plan, the plan that was meant to be perfect!
To his question, the man replied casually.
“A dead man has no need for answers.”
Upon hearing that, he felt a heavy force landing on his weapon.
‘Huh?’
Blade Master Dogun, whose senses were heightened because of his lost arm, immediately jumped back to create a gap between himself and Yeowun.
Fortunately, he was able to respond quickly as he began gathering energy around his giant club to defend himself.
Chaeng!
Miraculously he managed to escape being beheaded as he waved his weapon to defend against his opponent’s violent attack.
However, the club vibrated intensely because of the force, and his body got pushed even further back.
Kiiiik!
‘Wh-what kind of power is this?’
The man hadn’t used any energy.
He’d only swung his sword lightly, but its overwhelming force was astonis.h.i.+ng.
The man’s face was covered with a veil, so neither his face nor the expressions could be seen, however, it didn’t seem like he’d put much force into the attack.
‘He… is strong.’
He had realised the huge difference in skill from just that one strike.
The attack that had cut off his arm definitely hadn’t been a simple, lucky surprise attack.
Crack!
‘How, how is he able to? To a club made of steel!?’
His giant and st.u.r.dy weapon was cracking like gla.s.s.
As he lifted his head, a white blade flew over and attacked him.
Using his feet to support his body, Blade Master skillfully moved his weapon to defend himself against the continuous incoming strikes, but the club made of steel was clearly, slowly being broken by the thin blade.
Competing with his air Sword seemed foolish.
‘I need to make use of his devastating power.’
He thought of using the white blade’s speed and power to his advantage.
Blade Master Dogun then deliberately reduced his concentration on the white blade and focused on the opponent’s qi.
Clang! clang! Clang! clang!
He then swiftly moved.
When the white blade attacked again, he masterfully rotated his body and made a lateral turn.
Wheeing!
Thanks to that, the veiled man’s blade swept by, completely missing its target.
Chuk!
‘ Now! ‘
Whilst rotating, he used the Extreme Art of Blade G.o.d.
His plan was to avoid the blade and then take the opportunity to attack his opponent.
The veiled man wouldn’t be able to defend against this blade art with just the air Sword he was currently using.
That was what he thought.
Hweeik!
‘What?’
Dogun’s eyes, whilst still in the middle of his rotation, went wide.
The white blade, which had been deflected, suddenly halted and came back, aiming right at him.
‘Th-this is ridiculous!’
Suddenly stopping his body would tear his muscles.
The only martial artists that were able to control their body as he was doing were those from the Blade G.o.d Six Martial Clan.
“d.a.m.n it!”
As he was turning, Dogun tried to stop the attack with his club.
Cha! Cha! Cha!
“Kuak!”
The instant that Blade Master Dogun, who was in the middle of rotating, blocked the white blade, the already badly cracked club broke into pieces, and his body was flung backwards due to the force like a pebble bouncing off a lake.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
His body stopped only after cras.h.i.+ng into the wall at the end of the underground hall.
“Kuak!”
He fell to his knees and began vomiting mouthfuls of blood.
His injuries were too severe.
All he’d done was block a single blow, but he felt like he’d been struck by five blades at the same time.
‘This guy is a real monster!’
He’d blown away Blade Master as if he was nothing but paper.
He’d lost an arm, his weapon was broken, and the situation seemed hopeless.
‘I’ve got no choice! I have to use the Blood Reversion Art!’
He felt lucky as he had recently learned the complete Blood Reversion Art.
Despite the side effects, looking at his current despairing situation, he knew that there was no other choice but to use that technique.
‘If I don’t kill that monster, our world will fall into chaos.’
The internal injuries were too severe, and the probability of surviving with a single arm was too low.
If so, he had to join hands with someone else.
At least, if this one monster was killed, the East Spear’s Eunuchs would be able to deal with Zhu Taikhan and the rest.
Thud!
The Blood Reversion Art was initiated causing major changes to his body.
The veins in his body began popping out like that of a volcano about to erupt.
His face and torso muscles bulked up significantly, while the pain from the injuries slowly disappeared.
‘My internal energy is increasing!’
He hadn’t used it before, but surprisingly, the internal energy in his body had already increased by a lot.
He would be able to exert tremendous power regardless of the technique he used.
“Kukukukuku! With this strength, no matter how monster-like you are…”
Kwak!
“Ugh?”
The veiled man suddenly appeared next to him and grabbed his head as he spoke.
“You are using a technique you don’t even know about.”
“What?”
At that moment, a bright light had begun s.h.i.+ning from the veiled man’s hand.
An electric shock was then sent throughout Dogun’s body.
Jiring!
“Kuakkkkk!”
Blade Master screamed and wailed as the electricity wreaked havoc within his body.
Never had he ever experienced such pain.
Starting with his veins, the electric shock ran through his body and interrupted his internal energy flow.
Due to that, the rapid changes in his physique were reverted, and he returned to his original state.
Chik! Chik!
When the electric shock that almost sent him to the afterlife stopped, Blade Master Dogun looked at the veiled man with despair in his eyes and asked.
“Wh-what kind of nonsense…”
Dump!
He didn’t even get to finish what he wanted to ask.
Looking at the fallen Blade Master, Chun Yeowun muttered in a calm tone.
“It wasn’t your fault. It’s just that you are on the wrong side. ”
And it was true.
The man’s luck had run out for him when he ended up having to face Chun Yeowun who could crush him like an ant.
Meanwhile, the one hundred eunuchs inside the underground hall were still unleas.h.i.+ng their attacks.
Four disciples of Elder Cheong-su tried to stop them, but the number of men they had was too overwhelming.
Clang! Clang! Clang! clang!
“Yah!”
The eunuchs didn’t look like much, but their skills were on a whole different level.
The eunuchs were skilled blade users, and they accurately aimed their swords at the blood points of the opponents.
Due to that, even the disciples of the clan were having a hard time.
‘Huh, we should have caught the crown prince first!’
Elder Cheong-su was in distress.
The idea of protecting Zhu Taikhan from the attacks of eunuchs was considered as the first priority, however, this situation would have been a lot easier if they had captured crown prince Zhu Taiyoon first.
‘There are so many of them, this is going to be tough!’
Admiral Lim, who had given the order to attack, had immediately pulled Crown prince Zhu Taiyoon away from the front of the battlefield.
Having learned martial arts, he caught Zhu Taiyoon with his unique light steps and aimed for the life of Zhu Taikhan.
However, his attempt failed.
‘Not a usual one. That woman…’
When the eunuchs had moved to kill Zhu Taikhan, the woman who’d been kneeling in front of him, Ran-yeong, had made a s.h.i.+eld out of flames and blocked all the attacks.
It wasn’t the usual way flame qi was used.
“Wh-what is taking you so long? Admiral! Are you planning on killing them all?”
Zhu Taiyoon, who had barely managed to escape from danger thanks to Admiral Lim, shouted with an anxious face.
As if it wasn’t enough for him that the plan had failed miserably, Admiral Lim had decided to kill everyone inside the hall.
“Your Highness. Please trust me. I will take responsibility and solve everything!”
Thinking that his current situation was absurd, Zhu Taiyoon spoke.
“Trusting you or not isn’t the problem at hand! We didn’t plan for this! If we can’t kill them here, both you and I are done for!”
Aiming for the life of an Imperial family member was the worst.
And if the other member of the family survived, the aftermath of the situation would be uncontrollable.
“Please, please believe in me. Your Highness. I’m the East Spear’s Admiral.”
“Admiral…”
Admiral Lim smiled to soothe the Crown Prince’s anxiousness.
If the Admiral himself showed his anxiousness, then the Crown Prince would have a hard time calming down.
Still, even after trying his hardest to a.s.sure him, Crown Prince Zhu Taiyoon barely regained his composure.
“You must kill Zhu Taikhan and all the others. No one gets to survive!”
“Huhuhu, don’t worry. Your Highness.”
Admiral Lim rea.s.sured the Crown Prince.
He was worried that with this turn of events, the Crown Prince would abandon him, but the opposite was happening, so he felt satisfied.
Admiral Lim then checked the development of the battle.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The fight had been going on for a long time.
The men from Yulin and the woman named Ran-yeong were busy dealing with the eunuchs who were aiming for Zhu Taikhan.
“Ha!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The group leader of East Spear was dealing with Southern Commander Yon Namgun.
Originally, Yon Namgun had been taking care of the eunuchs at the underground’s entrance, but when Zhu Taikhan seemed to be in a crisis, he’d dashed over in an attempt to save the prince, only to get blocked by the leader of East Spear.
“You did well blocking him!”
If he hadn’t stopped him, then Zhu Taikhan’s protection would have become impenetrable.
Besides, if Yon Namgun and all his Guards were prevented from helping prince Zhu Taikhan, then dealing with the people inside the hall would be an easy feat.
‘They need to be dealt with first, and then the prince needs to be taken care of.’
Shockingly, 4 Guards were doing great in blocking the eunuchs’ attacks on the Imperial officials.
The Guards were tightly blocking the eunuchs’ attacks in order to protect the officials as their words would hold meaning in the court.
‘What? Were the Guards always this good?’
These 4 Guards were much stronger than normal Guards.
The number of eunuchs was domineering, and constant attacks kept coming in, but they could hold their ground.
‘They need to be dealt with first.’
Phat!
It was at that moment that Admiral Lim decided to deal with the 4 Guards and the officials of the Imperial palace, when the ground beneath him shuddered.
Goooo! Thud!
“Huh!”
His knees. .h.i.t the ground as he tried to regain his balance. The force with which his knees crashed into the floor was so strong that it caused the ground to crack.
The overwhelmingly threatening energy dominating the hall made his body feel heavy.
“Wh-what is this?”
Admiral Lim, who had enormous internal energy, was finding it hard to move.
‘What the h.e.l.l is this energy…?’
Rather than normal energy, it was more like an invisible energy, but striking down upon the body and soul with its terrifying aura.
“Th-this is impossible…”
Something amazing had happened.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
He suddenly heard a few dull but distinctive sounds.
“Kuak!”
“H-how is this…”
“My, my body isn’t moving!”
More than a hundred eunuchs were stuck to the floor.
As the energy was extremely powerful, people began falling onto their knees.
Even the eunuch leaders who had strong energy were having a tough time enduring it.
“Down!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Kuak!”
As the energy got stronger, more and more people fell to their knees.
Puke! Puke! Puke!
“Kuakk!”
“He-help me!”
The energy was making the eunuchs uncontrollably bow their heads to the floor.
They weren’t able to keep themselves stable in one position anymore.
‘ Your Highness!’