Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Invasion (5)
Ehwa Palace.
A mysterious martial arts group, where their headquarters was located and what martial arts they practiced remained unknown.
What was known was that it was an all-female organization and that they displayed tremendous prestige whenever they appeared in the martial arts world.
In fact, according to martial arts records, Ehwa Palace had appeared three times.
The first was when a public enemy disturbing the martial arts world appeared, and the second was during an invasion by external forces. Both times they appeared at moments when the martial arts world was deemed to be in crisis.
The result was that Ehwa Palace saved the martial arts world with their overwhelming martial prowess.
The third and final record was unexpected.
There was an elder council with deep trust in the martial arts world. Made up of elders who were former sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects, they would intervene in certain incidents and reach fair conclusions.
But Ehwa Palace dissolved this elder council. By killing all of them, no less.
No one knew the reason, and this was Ehwa Palace's last record.
Though I had been active in the martial arts world for a long time, this record was all I knew about them.
Because so little was known about them, there were even rumors that they were immortals, but I had just confirmed that wasn't the case.
'They're pretty.'
That was my first impression.
Each one had looks you'd believe if told they were celebrities. Not just their faces but their figures too—there wasn't a single flaw anywhere.
There's a saying in the martial arts world:
—The best thing for beauty is martial arts.
Martial arts balance the body and guarantee proper physical growth.
Of course, in the process, one could get injured, or like with poison arts or demonic arts, the body could be grotesquely transformed. But most martial arts lead the body's growth down the right path.
That's why female masters are often beautiful regardless of age.
'Even accounting for that, they are pretty though.'
Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to appreciate their beauty.
What was even more unfortunate was that they were in a standoff with me.
I'm not a fool who would waver because of beauty.
"Heavenly Demon, let's return now."
The woman who had been soothing the Ehwa Palace Master passed through the encirclement and came before me.
"Return?"
"There's no reason to fight."
"What if I want something?"
"If you're referring to the Chinese President, we'll handle it for you soon."
It was a completely different way of speaking from the naive Ehwa Palace Master. I could feel her experience.
"What's your name?"
"Nakhwa."
She answered surprisingly readily.
"China is a region I claimed first. Since my territory has been violated, it's natural to fight."
"Let's speak correctly. It wasn't claiming territory but capturing the Chinese President out of personal grudge. Since we acknowledge that grudge, we said we'd hand him over."
She was indeed formidable.
"So you're telling me to leave China?"
"If we both maintain our boundaries, there's no need to clash. Even in our past lives, we had no ties of gratitude or enmity with the Heavenly Demon Cult."
The situation had become awkward.
Indeed, they had never threatened the Heavenly Demon Cult or helped our enemies. And it was also true that we hadn't completely taken control of China.
"The Chinese President?"
"We'll send him to you within three days. Do you want a corpse, or do you want him alive?"
I had even less to say.
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Pardon?"
She asked back, seemingly flustered. But she soon regained her composure and answered.
"If you were teasing me, I'll overlook it once. And if by any chance you weren't teasing but were serious, I'll say this firmly. There is absolutely no thought or possibility of dating you, Heavenly Demon."
Complete stonewalling. But she had the wrong idea.
"I have no intention of dating you either. I just asked because you reminded me of someone's soulmate. Jimun Seo-saeng, have you heard of him?"
"I've heard he's a protector of the Heavenly Demon Cult."
"If fate allows, meet him."
I had no grounds to pressure them further. If I wanted to fight, there was only one way.
'Just cause a ruckus.'
Become an invader.
But there were two problems.
One was the current political situation.
It was better to be cautious until Korea found stability.
The second reason was Ehwa Palace's strength.
The martial arts of the women surrounding me were stronger than I thought. And there was definitely someone who hadn't appeared here.
'If they dispelled the magic circle, that means they have a mage.'
It wasn't simply a matter of working together.
'If they lifted the President's mental domination, that means they're skilled.'
They had lifted the Witch's mental domination. That meant they had that level of skill.
'They must be watching from somewhere.'
I hadn't seen them with my eyes yet.
'The Ehwa Palace Master is the biggest problem.'
A few exchanges weren't enough to determine the victor. But one thing was certain.
'She's the strongest opponent I've met in this life.'
There was one more thing.
'She's also the prettiest.'
Her apparent age by appearance was around eighteen. But she was definitely older than that.
"Ehwa Palace Master. I'm curious about your name."
"I don't have the authority to speak directly to the Palace Master..."
"The Ehwa Palace Master called my name first. And now you're going to question authority with the Heavenly Demon?"
I released my qi. The women forming the encirclement reflexively assumed combat stances.
"Myohwa."
The Ehwa Palace Master answered as if it were nothing. Nakhwa stepped aside with an expression that said she couldn't help it.
Myohwa approached up to where Nakhwa had been. She looked at me and said as if boasting.
"I have lots of friends, right?"
"I have that many too."
"I have more in places you can't see."
"I have 50 million friends. I'm the President of Korea."
Myohwa made a tearful face and looked at Nakhwa. It was an expression that said she felt wronged.
"Palace Master will soon have 1.3 billion friends too."
At Nakhwa's explanation, Myohwa put on airs.
"You heard?"
"Even so, you don't have them now. I have 50 million right now."
Judging my words to be logical, Myohwa made a tearful face again.
'It feels like I'm having a war of words with kids.'
I had gone along with it, but at least I won, so that was fine.
The conversation should end about here.
"Send proof that the Chinese President is dead within three days. And make sure to keep the conditions agreed upon at the border region with Korea. This doesn't seem unreasonable."
"We'll arrange it that way."
Nakhwa answered on her behalf.
Myohwa still had an expression pondering how to win the war of words with me.
A clinching remark came to mind.
"You've never even dated, have you?"
At my words, Myohwa looked at me with a shocked expression. Nakhwa beside her also grimaced.
"If you're mocking the Palace Master..."
"If this sounds like mocking to you, isn't there something wrong with your ideology?"
Nakhwa closed her mouth for the first time.
"Teach her common sense and look after her. She won't be able to understand society like that. Am I wrong?"
This was common in the martial arts world. Those who spent their whole lives training in martial arts and never ventured into society.
When they emerge into the martial arts world, they walk one of two paths.
Either they cause problems and become everyone's enemy, or they're just used and belatedly realize the truth.
Right now, the Ehwa Palace Master clearly showed the aftereffects of growing up in an information-blocked group.
"That's an internal matter of our Ehwa Palace."
"That problem might bring you down."
I left those words and turned around.
Ehwa Palace warriors blocked my way. Nakhwa tried to say something, but I was faster.
"Don't block me recklessly."
I launched a Wind Dragon Palm strike toward the ground.
Kwang!
Three streams of qi created long lines on the ground. The lines completely overturned the earth along straight paths.
At the power of Wind Dragon Palm, the Ehwa Palace warriors gulped and showed tense expressions.
I walked across the devastated earth.
By Nakhwa's instruction, there were no more warriors blocking my way.
As I passed by the warriors like that, one woman caught my eye.
She was gripping her sword with a tense expression, and at that sight, I couldn't help but admire inwardly.
'Why is she so pretty?'
She was a woman whose beauty rivaled the Ehwa Palace Master's.
She appeared to be in her early twenties, with innocent eyes, but her full lips and the neckline extending below her chin gave off a sensual feeling.
Two contrasting charms captured my attention.
"You're really pretty. What's your name?"
That was the third time today. I couldn't pass by without asking her name.
The woman who was singled out was flustered. It seemed she didn't have much experience with this.
Her flustered expression looked even prettier.
'She's my type.'
The Ehwa Palace Master who knows nothing isn't my preferred style.
While she couldn't answer, Nakhwa flew over and blocked her way.
"I'll escort you on your way out."
"Tch."
I turned around, leaving my regret behind.
But I didn't forget to make eye contact with her at the last moment.
'I should have come with Kim Mu-jin.'
I suddenly missed him.
***
Jimun Seo-saeng was serious.
The appearance of Ehwa Palace was a variable even he hadn't anticipated.
"Hmm."
He dislikes variables. Because one change can alter many things.
"I thought of a pretty good method, you know."
"What is it?"
"It hasn't happened in past lives, but when two organizations interact, they sometimes send someone to the opposing camp."
"Are you talking about marriage?"
I nodded.
"That's unexpected, for the Cult Leader to mention marriage. Was there a woman you liked?"
At Jimun Seo-saeng's words, I answered immediately.
"Not me, you."
"Pardon?"
"I saw a woman just like you. Plus she's pretty. If you two meet, you'll destroy the Earth with words alone."
Jimun Seo-saeng frowned.
"You were joking."
"Half joking, half serious."
"Which part is serious?"
"The part about meeting her."
"As a woman?"
"No. As the Heavenly Demon Cult and Ehwa Palace."
Ehwa Palace was an unusual group, but if they blocked the Heavenly Demon Cult's way, I'd regard them as enemies.
Whether or not we had ties of gratitude or enmity in past lives wasn't the issue.
"How far are you thinking?"
"Total war. It might be better to uproot them before they grow."
I had sufficiently confirmed the power of the Hundred White Blood Corps.
After experiencing real combat with the Magic Swordsman, they devoted themselves even more to training. The results showed clearly when we attacked North Korea.
'With the current Hundred White Blood Corps, we can overwhelm Ehwa Palace's warriors.'
Objectively speaking, if I handled the Ehwa Palace Master, it was a fight with sufficient odds of victory.
The problem was the existence of the mage who had joined them.
"To meet Ehwa Palace, we need confidence that Lady Yuri will join."
Jimun Seo-saeng seemed to be thinking the same as me.
"Just think of it as the Witch cooperating too."
"I don't have that authority."
"I just gave it to you."
"What about dealing with the aftermath? Lady Yuri won't stay quiet if she finds out."
I looked straight at Jimun Seo-saeng and said,
"She wouldn't kill her sibling, would she?"
"So you're planning to go wild?"
"We've always gone wild with each other. And it's fine if we don't get caught, right? Is there a problem?"
"That's what I do best."
Jimun Seo-saeng wasn't someone who would ever lose if given good cards. My job was to create good cards for him.
The Heavenly Demon Cult and the Ice Witch.
Jimun Seo-saeng seemed pleased with his hand.
***
Three days later.
China was in chaos.
As news spread that the Chinese President had died of illness, Ehwa Palace made their appearance.
Somehow, China's powerful figures acknowledged Ehwa Palace and directly led the Chinese President's funeral.
While we had only touched the President, Ehwa Palace seemed to have made meticulous preparations.
"After all the powerful figures were executed, there were major changes in the officials forming the Chinese government. It seems they intervened from that point."
Ultimately, the Witch and I had done them a favor.
In any case, Ehwa Palace's appearance split China's atmosphere in two.
There wasn't the one-sided enthusiasm of before. Because they had already seen the Heavenly Demon Cult bring them down several times.
Yet they secretly held expectations.
The desire for a powerful group of reincarnators to emerge in China and once again become the center of the world.
This was the natural expectation of the masses.
At least they were reassured that Ehwa Palace didn't speak hostilely toward the Heavenly Demon Cult.
—We had no ties of gratitude or enmity with the Heavenly Demon Cult in our past lives, and if we can interact on good terms, we will do so.
It was a politically excellent statement.
If the Heavenly Demon Cult attacked Ehwa Palace in this situation, we'd be swept up in extreme backlash from the Chinese people.
'Well, doesn't matter though.'
I was fine with it, but Jimun Seo-saeng was different.
"I'll go meet them once."
Finally, the meeting I desired was about to happen.