Chapter 228
Chapter 228
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 63
>Chapter Title: Consort Seo (4)
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“I hear you have many enemies, Your Highness.”
“What?”
“Since Your Highness seems eager to sever ties with us anyway, and it appears you've outlived your usefulness, how about we negotiate with them using Your Highness's life as collateral? What do you think?”
‘!!!!!!’
In that instant, the rear garden fell into dead silence.
Mok Kyung-un's words were shocking enough to stun not only Consort Seo but everyone present.
Even the vanguard from the Heaven and Earth Society, who could be considered on the same side, felt the same.
Kan Yang, the leader of the vanguard, stared wide-eyed, unable to hide his bewilderment.
‘What the hell is he planning?’
He had thought Mok Kyung-un must have some clever plan since he said he had something to say to Consort Seo.
But he never imagined that plan would be a threat so outrageous he couldn't even fathom it.
And not against just anyone, but Consort Seo—one of the Four Great Figures who controlled the nation's power and the mother of the Crown Prince.
‘...He's insane.’
A threat needs some basis in reality.
Only then can you maneuver the opponent as you intend, but suddenly escalating it like this made the consequences impossible to handle.
How did he plan to clean up after throwing out such a threat?
‘If it were before, maybe, but provoking Consort Seo like this now is dangerous.’
She wasn't just a power broker in name only.
If she set her mind to it, she could even move the Emperor.
And if that happened, the enraged Emperor might deploy the imperial army or orthodox faction forces to crush the Heaven and Earth Society.
Kan Yang feared the situation spiraling into the worst possible outcome.
Sure enough, Consort Seo's delicate brows furrowed fiercely in obvious fury.
It would be strange if she wasn't angry after such a blatant threat.
At that moment, Chief Eunuch Jang of the Eastern Depot roared in outrage.
“You filthy cur! How dare you spout such nonsense about whose safety? If you don't bow your head and beg forgiveness from Her Highness right now, I'll exterminate you and your entire clan...!”
“Chief Eunuch Jang.”
Consort Seo cut off his scolding.
“Your Highness! But...!”
“Chief Eunuch Jang!”
As her voice rose, Chief Eunuch Jang promptly shut his mouth.
‘Hoo.’
A glint appeared in Mok Kyung-un's eyes.
He had expected her to struggle with containing her rage or be flustered by his direct threat, but surprisingly, even in her anger, she didn't lose her composure.
It seemed she hadn't risen to that position solely on her beauty.
Consort Seo, having restrained Chief Eunuch Jang, spoke.
“What is your name?”
Mok Kyung-un answered nonchalantly to her question.
“Mok Kyung-un.”
“Mok Kyung-un... Very well, Mok Kyung-un. Aren't you afraid of the repercussions for daring to threaten me like this?”
“Repercussions?”
“Your impressive martial arts may be formidable, but Chief Eunuch Jang here and Paeng Chi-jung, the Administrator, are no pushovers either. And beyond them, there are experts from the renowned North Hebei Paeng Clan of the orthodox martial world and hundreds of soldiers.”
‘The North Hebei Paeng Clan experts have come to support her too?’
At those words, Kan Yang swallowed dryly instead.
It seemed Consort Seo was truly determined to cut ties with them today.
The thoroughness of her preparations said as much.
One wrong move, and this place could become their grave.
Yet Mok Kyung-un responded indifferently.
“You've prepared thoroughly.”
Her eyebrow twitched at his reaction.
“What an arrogant fool. I don't know if your guts have spilled out or if you're that confident in your skills, but let me tell you what will happen next.”
“What might that be?”
“Make sure you keep your promise to kill us all.”
“Pardon?”
“If you fail even slightly, the consequences won't end with just your head.”
“...”
“I'll exterminate not only you but all your related kin, and furthermore, hold the Heaven and Earth Society you belong to accountable for this incident.”
‘This is bad!’
At Consort Seo's words, Kan Yang and the Heaven and Earth Society members' faces darkened.
He had thought she'd waver at least a bit under the threat, but she counterattacked with cold rationality.
‘Hold the Heaven and Earth Society accountable too?’
If things played out as she said and they failed to kill everyone here, they'd face the worst scenario.
All of them grew anxious.
No matter how skilled Mok Kyung-un was, Consort Seo's assembled forces didn't look to be pushovers either.
-Swish!
Watching their reactions, Consort Seo filled her cup and spoke.
“Does the reality before your eyes sink in now?”
“...”
“So, in my mercy, I'll grant you one last chance.”
“A chance?”
“Indeed. Whether you seize it or not will decide if my wrath extends to the Heaven and Earth Society or not.”
“How intriguing.”
“Curious, are you? Then I'll tell you. For daring to utter irreverent words unfit for your mouth against me, I cannot overlook this sin. So cut out that insolent tongue of yours first.”
‘!?’
“Then take your own life. Do so, and I won't hold your comrades, kin, or the Heaven and Earth Society accountable.”
With that, Consort Seo curled her lips slyly and drained her cup.
-Gulp!
How dare a mere martial riffraff threaten her?
While he was still crawling on all fours, she had survived countless struggles and eliminated rivals in this ruthless, cold imperial palace.
Did he think such a threat would shake her judgment?
If so, he was gravely mistaken.
‘I've survived this razor-thin ice of the palace, where death lurks at every turn, to reach this position. If you try to provoke me so crudely, I'll show you the price.’
It was right then.
“Pfft.”
Consort Seo's right eyebrow shot up.
‘He's laughing?’
It was absurd.
She had meant to make him realize how precariously he walked the tightrope, yet here he was laughing in this situation.
Moreover, it was unmistakably a sneer.
“You dare...”
“Ah, apologies. Your Highness begging like that was just too ridiculous.”
“What? Begging?”
“Pleading so earnestly for your enemy to take his own life is quite entertaining.”
With that, Mok Kyung-un's lips split into a grin reaching his ears.
At that malice-filled expression, Consort Seo felt a chill run down her spine.
She wasn't the only one.
‘...This guy's dangerous.’
She had dismissed him as merely insolent.
Chief Eunuch Jang instinctively sensed an eerie menace from Mok Kyung-un.
It wasn't something that could be subdued easily; he resolved they needed to gang up and kill him somehow.
Chief Eunuch Jang signaled Paeng I-mun beside him with his eyes.
Attack now.
It was right then.
-Swish!
Mok Kyung-un, who had been sitting and sneering, vanished like mist.
‘What?’
Losing sight of him right before their eyes, everyone hurriedly scanned the surroundings.
Even Chief Eunuch Jang of the Eastern Depot and Paeng I-mun, the finest experts among Consort Seo's close aides, were the same.
They had prepared meticulously to fight Mok Kyung-un from the start.
For him to slip from even their vision—what kind of speed was that?
It was in that moment.
-Twitch!
Sensing a faint presence and unease from behind, Chief Eunuch Jang hurriedly unleashed a claw technique backward.
‘Sunflower Claw Formation, Fifth Stance: Dancing Lotus Swift Claw!’
-Paak!
It was a stance that struck the elbow at an enemy targeting the rear while clawing the face.
But he hadn't even turned fully.
-Pak!
His elbow was blocked by something like a palm, preventing him from turning.
He tried to leap forward to create distance,
-Thud!
“Urk!”
A strike to his waist sent Chief Eunuch Jang flying forward with a dying scream, crashing straight into the rear garden wall.
-Boom! Rumble!
He hit so hard the wall crumbled, tiles collapsing from above.
“Chief Eunuch Jang! You bastard!”
Spotting Mok Kyung-un's position thanks to Chief Eunuch Jang, Paeng I-mun gathered energy in his hand and unleashed a blade art.
It was the Fourth Stance of the Five Tigers Gate-Severing Blade: Blade Cleave Strong Pierce.
The five-pronged blade art targeted the crown, throat, both shoulders, and chest with blinding speed.
-Shwaaack!
In that instant, Mok Kyung-un countered with his own blade art.
It was the Seventh Stance of the Flying Ghost Blade Method: Flashing Shadow Quick Blade.
Normally, Flashing Shadow Quick Blade made the blade art flicker like a shadow in its swiftness, but from Mok Kyung-un's hand, it was entirely different.
And for good reason,
-Clang clang clang clang!
Mok Kyung-un's blade seemed stationary, yet Paeng I-mun's five incoming prongs were all deflected at once.
‘W-what speed...’
In a quick-blade clash, victory hinged on speed.
But Paeng I-mun's couldn't even compare to Mok Kyung-un's.
It surpassed the difference between walking and running.
Paeng I-mun's right hand jerked upward, and Mok Kyung-un instantly closed in on the opening, seizing his left arm with Capturing Hand and twisting it back while crushing his right shoulder.
-Pak!
“Grrgh!”
-Thud!
As five fingers dug into the crushed right shoulder, Paeng I-mun groaned and dropped to one knee.
Overpowered in a single exchange, Paeng I-mun clearly realized.
‘...Impossible.’
If this monster went all out, not even he and Chief Eunuch Jang together—nor everyone ganging up—could stop him.
And this freak was just a disciple of a mid-level Heaven and Earth Society leader?
Unbelievable.
At that level, he wasn't a junior expert; in Heaven and Earth Society terms, he'd be a Five Kings-level executive, or in orthodox martial world, an elder of a major sect like the Nine Great Clans.
Then Mok Kyung-un spoke toward Consort Seo.
“Your Highness, it seems you had high hopes for these two.”
-Tremble!
At Mok Kyung-un's provocation, Consort Seo's hand shook as she held her cup.
Even she, ignorant of martial arts, could tell her aides—Chief Eunuch Jang and Paeng I-mun—were no match for him.
Consort Seo bit her lip and glared at Eunuch Yu Bong.
[Don't worry. Though stronger than me, Paeng the Administrator can subdue him easily.]
‘Easily subdue him?’
She hadn't fully trusted the eunuch's words.
But since they were just young juniors sent by the Heaven and Earth Society, she figured veterans like Paeng I-mun with renown in the martial world would handle them.
Yet her expectations were completely off.
‘...Even with reinforcements, can they really take him down?’
No matter how strong, numbers prevail, as the saying goes.
She had thought the same.
But an inexplicable dread gnawed at her.
Would that adage truly apply to such overwhelming power?
‘I can't tell yet. But...’
Her instincts, honed by years of surviving rivals in the palace, were far sharper than ordinary.
That sharpness had given her the deep insight to survive and rise.
‘Continuing like this might lead to greater losses.’
Her senses screamed for her to stop now.
Thus,
“Enough!”
She shouted loudly for all to hear.
She gestured for the warriors encircling the Heaven and Earth Society side to withdraw.
The hesitant warriors retreated en masse.
Consort Seo then spoke in a calm voice.
“You said Mok Kyung-un?”
“Yes.”
“Not even thirty, yet your martial prowess is truly astonishing.”
-Clap clap clap!
Consort Seo clapped, continuing in a somewhat softened tone as if in admiration.
“For even Chief Eunuch Jang and Paeng the Administrator to be no match... It seems my judgment underestimated you.”
Her plan was simple.
Praise him somewhat by acknowledging him, then naturally defuse the heated situation.
It was the only way to resolve things without losing face as a consort.
If handled well here, no matter the outcome, it would end with her showing mercy and magnanimity.
So, just admonish him moderately...
It was right then.
-Krunch!
“Gaaahhh!”
‘!!!!!’
Consort Seo hurriedly turned her head away from the gruesome sight before her.
And for good reason—Mok Kyung-un had torn off Paeng I-mun's right arm from the shoulder he had pinned.
‘This madman...’
She was so dumbfounded she was speechless.
She had just yielded to smooth things over, and this was his response?
To her bewilderment, Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly.
“You can't just gloss over it like that.”
“What?”
“You didn't think praising and soothing me moderately would make me back down, did you? Such naive thinking?”
“...Are you really going to see this through to the end?”
“As I said clearly: the moment you tried to sever ties with us, you'd outlived your usefulness.”
“You! You!”
“By the way, I'm suddenly curious. With you gone, Your Highness, can the young Crown Prince survive unscathed?”
‘!!!!!!’
At those words, Consort Seo's pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
Though she averted her gaze, the vibrating blood stench and dripping blood drops tightened around her throat.
She had thought they were just pushing hard to get what they wanted.
But no.
This man was truly driving her into a corner.
-Thump! Thump! Thump!
Once fear swallowed her, even her heart raced wildly, refusing to calm.
Savoring her terror, Mok Kyung-un sneered.
“This is all of your own making, Your Highness.”
“......”
“Now watch as they die one by one.”
With that, Mok Kyung-un wrapped his arm around Paeng I-mun's neck, who writhed in agony from the severed arm.
-Tighten!
“Gack gack!”
He prepared to twist it off.
In that instant, Consort Seo screamed in near-despair.
“Stoooop!”
End of Episode 63: Consort Seo (4)