Chapter 55: 14th Floor: The Red Moon
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 55: 14th Floor: The Red Moon
Damn, that guy's handsome.
He had the looks of a protagonist straight out of a martial arts novel.
His neat martial arts uniform contrasted with his carelessly tousled hair, giving him a wild charm.
As I stood there silently, Jang Sam noticed and whispered in my ear.
"Ma'am, that man is Namgung Myeong-il, known as the Divine Dragon Sword of the Namgung Clan. He used to follow you around all the time. I never expected to see him here."
The Namgung Clan? Isn't that a pretty famous family? And a guy like that used to follow me around?
He stood with his hands clasped in a martial arts salute, a relaxed smile on his face, as if he was certain I would accept.
A duel, huh...
If you asked me whether I wanted to or not, I did.
His skill level didn't seem too different from mine, and I'd always enjoyed sparring with people who used diverse martial arts.
And I liked being the center of attention.
It wasn't that I wanted people to stare at this body that practically begs to be sexually harassed. It was just that getting a certain amount of fame would be advantageous in finding out the cause of the Shaolin Abbot's Qi Deviation.
However,
"I must decline."
Hmm... with the Blood Cult's attack less than a day away, a sudden duel...?
Having experienced the world of Murim, I knew that the high-ranking monks of the Shaolin Temple were quite the old-fashioned bunch.
They were already looking at me with disapproval for walking around in an outfit that exposed my entire ass and let my tits jiggle. If I did anything to stand out even more, I might not get to see the Abbot at all.
When I refused the match, his face twisted.
"Miss Lee, why...?"
"Master Namgung, let's try to read the room. The Blood Cult's attack is less than a day away. You should be resting and preserving your energy."
As I gently expressed my refusal and turned to go back to my room, Jang Sam followed, massaging my shoulders.
"Hey, my lady is going to rest here, so you'd best be on your way."
"Grrrk..."
As the massive Jang Sam massaged my shoulders with a smirk, Namgung Myeong-il's hands began to tremble.
I could feel a faint killing intent from him, but I casually ignored it.
Is this a man's jealousy?
Thanks to that Namgung whatever-his-name-was, my desire to look around the Shaolin Temple had completely vanished.
I decided it was better to take a nap and conserve my energy than to cause a commotion by getting sexually harassed somewhere.
*
Time passed, and dusk began to fall.
While I napped, I had my viewers look for any information on this trial, but there wasn't much to be found.
- No records.
- Nothing in Korea, and nothing in the World Awakener Association records either.
- If there are no records, it's gotta be S-rank for sure.
But Lee Do-hee's team of internet detectives managed to find one article.
- Found one while digging through Chinese articles and translating (link). But it just says they all died at the mid-boss.
- No video, huh... It's the same Blue Dragon Escort Agency, though.
- There's one photo left. It just shows them all dead under a crimson moonlight, killed by some weird monster.
- Looks like the mid-boss is the first major hurdle.
Right, I definitely can't let my guard down in this trial. There's even a mid-boss...
"Ma'am? What are you looking at?"
Just then, Jang Sam's huge, bandit-like face appeared in front of my chat window.
"Ugh, can you move your big head?"
"Ah, no... Not that way, this way!"
"Oh, right."
We were currently heading to the Shaolin Temple's training grounds at the request of the Lord of the Blue Dragon Escort Agency.
The core members of the agency and other skilled mercenaries were all gathering in one place. And it wasn't just us.
Looking around, I saw the elites of the martial world all converging on the same location.
"So, why'd they call us here?"
Jang Sam had become my convenient information helper.
"Hmm... Probably for some grand speech, don't you think? Something about asking us to risk our lives and fight?"
When we arrived at a spot overlooking the large training grounds, various clans and famous figures were already lined up in formation.
It had the classic feel of a large Chinese temple, with monasteries and pagodas surrounding the wide, open space.
Since I was probably a nobody compared to them, I went to stand at the very back of the Blue Dragon Escort Agency's line, but...
"Explosive Breast Divine Spear! Why are you back there? Come to the front!"
Someone's shout drew all eyes to me.
"Haha!! Explosive Breast Divine Spear, are you feeling shy? What are you doing not standing at the front?"
"Hehehe... A talent like you should be at the front to boost morale!"
"Huh? M-Me?"
It felt awkward to refuse, so I started moving forward, and somehow I was pushed and shoved all the way to the very front row.
Th-This is a little embarrassing...
Right next to me were the Lord of the Blue Dragon Escort Agency and that guy I just met, Namgung Myeong-il.
And then I felt the scorching gazes.
From behind, everyone was staring holes into my huge ass, while from the front, the high-ranking monks glared at me with disapproval.
Of course, not all the Shaolin monks looked at me that way. Those with less training would blush and turn away, or suddenly double over and crouch down.
It made sense. A woman with such a lewd body had suddenly appeared in a place forbidden to women; it must have been too much stimulation for the young, improperly trained monks.
"Ahem... It seems everyone has gathered. I am Jeollyun, one of the Eighteen Arhats, and I am serving as the temporary representative in place of our Abbot, who is currently indisposed. I thank you all for gathering here. Today, we, for the peace of the martial world..."
I let his words, which sounded like a principal's long-winded speech, go in one ear and out the other, focusing instead on the energy of the people here.
I needed to get a feel for them beforehand so I wouldn't accidentally attack an ally in the chaos of battle.
Is it over?
Once Monk Jeollyun's speech ended, other people began to step forward one by one to speak.
"The Hwangbo Clan will stand with you! We will vanquish all of those wicked enemies!"
"The Jegal Clan will not bow to the violence of the Blood Cult!"
"The Blue Dragon Escort Agency will provide financial support without any conditions. We promise unlimited aid until the day the Blood Cult is annihilated!"
Everyone shouted their resolutions, one after another.
This is at least worth listening to.
Applause erupted after each unique speech.
If the battle against the Blood Cult ended in victory, the people gathered here would become the de facto leaders of the martial world.
And so the turns passed, until it was Namgung Myeong-il's turn.
He shot me a smirk before heading to the front.
What's with that weird smile?
A sudden sense of foreboding washed over me.
But the surroundings were still perfectly calm.
The Blood Cult's attack was expected at dawn.
With regular martial artists and reconnaissance teams monitoring the cult's movements, everyone felt safe for now.
It was in this atmosphere that Namgung Myeong-il's speech began.
"I am Namgung Myeong-il, the third son of the Namgung Clan, the Divine Dragon Sword."
He gave a sharp salute, and a brief round of applause followed.
"Is that the last of the Namgung bloodline?"
"Seems so, tsk tsk..."
After the surrounding murmurs died down, Namgung Myeong-il continued.
"Today, we are all united under one sky. This is a divine revelation. I, too, believe that there will never be a better opportunity than now. Today is the day the history of the martial world will be rewritten!"
Hmm...? Something about that sounds strange.
A divine revelation.
There will never be a better opportunity?
Do they have gods in the martial world? Buddhists don't usually refer to them as gods, do they...
Something felt off, but I couldn't object just because his choice of words was strange, so I kept listening.
"Let me tell you the story of my Namgung Clan's destruction. On that day, a very red moon rose. Yes, it was just like now, at dusk as the sun was setting..."
He looked up at the sunset-stained sky, lost in reminiscence.
"There was no warning, no omen. A red moon suddenly appeared in the sky, and from the ground of our peaceful home, red Blood Zombies suddenly burst forth. Family members we thought were on our side turned into Living Jiangshi and attacked us. Like the red moon, our clan was instantly drenched in blood. It was a tremendous shock to learn that the family we lived with were actually Living Jiangshi."
His eyes grew slightly moist.
"And so, they died without even being able to properly fight back. My father, Namgung Hyeok, hesitated, unable to cut down his own children with his own hands, and was killed. It was a truly horrific sight!"
He looked up at the sky as if trying to hold back his sorrow.
But just then, someone quietly raised a hand and interjected.
"Hmm... Young Master, how would you know that? From what I've heard, you were somewhere else and were lucky to have survived... Hasn't the destruction of the Namgung Clan been shrouded in mystery until now?"
Following that question, the venue grew slightly restless.
"Why didn't he release this information until now?"
"You're right... This is the first I'm hearing of it. They said the clan was wiped out so quickly that by the time the investigation team arrived, there were only corpses..."
"No. It's just that... I never had the chance to speak of it until now! I couldn't speak of it because my life would have been in danger!"
At his denial, people seemed to accept it, thinking, 'Is that so? I suppose that's possible,' and moved on.
"How could I have spoken of it, and where?! How could I describe watching my father bleed to death right before my eyes!"
'Before... my eyes?'
Now, others seemed to have noticed something was off, tilting their heads in confusion.
"But! Now I can speak of it! Now, everyone, look! Look at the sky!!!!"
Hearing his words, I turned and looked up at the sky...
The sky, once painted with the red of sunset, was gone. In its place hung a massive moon, as crimson as blood.
When I came to my senses and lowered my gaze, the entire world was bathed in the red light reflecting off the moon.
Since when...?
Not just me, but every master here had missed it.
A great confusion swept through the area.
"The moon... it's turned red?"
"It's sorcery!"
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
"Everyone, calm down!"
Just then, a loud laugh rang thunderously in my ears.
"Kuhahahahahaha!!!!!"
The chilling laughter made everyone turn their attention back to him.
It was an unpleasant sound, like metal scraping against metal, echoing as loud as a monster's roar.
While everyone was stunned into silence, he continued.
"The red moon has risen, so let the festival of blood begin! The day our god descends upon this land is not far off!"
Namgung Myeong-il was laughing like a madman, his mouth stretched from ear to ear. His large, sharp teeth didn't look human; they looked like those of a monster.
He was even crying tears of red blood from his eyes.
"That crazy bastard, get him right now..."
Just as someone tried to channel their internal energy to rush forward and restrain him,
"Cough...!!"
A mouthful of blood poured from the man's lips.
And he wasn't the only one.
As the martial artists, sensing the crisis, instinctively tried to draw upon their internal energy, they collapsed, screaming in agony and vomiting blood.
"Everyone, don't use your internal energy! It's Dispersing Qi Poison!"
"Dammit, since when?"
"Dispersing Qi Poison... It actually existed?"
Dispersing Qi Poison.
One of the deadliest poisons, it renders one unable to use internal energy. It spreads through the air and is a forbidden poison, impossible to detect until one tries to circulate their Qi. Its creation, and even the method of its creation, was thought to be lost to the martial world, but for some reason, the Blood Cult was using it.
"Damn those Blood Cult bastards... To think they could even create Dispersing Qi Poison!"
"So this is how the other clans were wiped out so easily..."
"It's alright. Everyone, use Qi circulation to slowly push out the poison. It's not much different from a regular poison."
"Everyone stay calm, nothing has happened yet!"
No, it's already happened. According to that bastard, this is...
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
As I thought... they're coming!
With the trembling of the earth, Blood Zombies shot up from the ground.
The Blood Zombies, difficult to fight even with internal energy, began to attack the martial artists who couldn't use their Qi.
Splat!
Their bladed hands sliced through the bodies of the martial artists as if they were tofu. Worse, the durable Blood Zombies were unaffected by normal blades that weren't imbued with sword Qi or force Qi.
In an instant, the grand training grounds of the Shaolin Temple became a sea of blood.
The stones, already red from the moonlight, were stained an even deeper crimson with blood as the elite martial artists fell in vain.
"Ugh, even if it's risky, force your internal energy! We can't die here!"
Even when afflicted by the poison, martial artists of a high level could use a certain amount of internal energy. Although using it would worsen their internal injuries, it was better than simply dying.
However,
The problem wasn't just the Blood Zombies.
"Cough... Clan Head Mo, please take this side!"
An injured martial artist tried to tag in an acquaintance he was close with, but—
Stab!
He was impaled by the sword of his own ally.
"Clan Head Mo... wh-why?"
That was the beginning. All over the place, allies began attacking allies.
The friendly forces, who had just begun to form a defensive line, took a massive blow.
"Dammit, those guys are Living Jiangshi! Attack them! Their original souls have already been devoured, and they're being controlled!"
"So that's where the Dispersing Qi Poison spread from..."
Even with someone shouting the truth, the situation didn't calm down easily.
The damage was already spreading uncontrollably.
"Brother, is it true? Are you really dead?"
There were those who couldn't bring themselves to kill people they had spent their entire lives with like family.
"This can't be, this can't be happening!!!!!"
And there were those who simply went mad in the midst of the situation.
It was utter pandemonium.
Dammit, I think I'm screwed.
In the middle of it all, I was busy smashing Blood Zombies with my spear. Fortunately, since I didn't use internal energy, the Dispersing Qi Poison had no effect on me, but my strength alone wasn't enough to break through this crisis.
These things are slow, but their defense is too high. And the problem is...
I could see Namgung Myeong-il, who had been standing at the front until just a moment ago, killing the high-ranking monks and entering the inner sanctum of the Shaolin Temple.
The Shaolin Abbot. If he dies, it's over. But if the people here die...
I finally understood why I'd been given such a high-scale martial world trial. My role in this was far more critical than I'd thought.
Naturally, since the poison didn't work on me, I was the only one who could use my full power.
If I had challenged this with a party of four, we would have had to split up, with some defending this place and others giving chase. But right now, I was alone.
The Shaolin Abbot suffering from Qi Deviation, or the elite warriors of the righteous factions...
I had to choose.
Dammit...