Chapter 241

Qing opened his mouth.

“First of all—”

“Ah! Aaaah!”

“Hmm?”

Qing, who was about to say something, tilted his head sharply at the scream that burst forth like a wild animal.

In his line of sight stood the One-armed Warrior. The moment their eyes met, the One-armed Warrior stiffened.

“Come on, a person is talking here—tch. I forgot about that. Just because your shoulder got bitten off, you don’t need to yell like a little baby. Seriously, how rude. So rude.”

Qing’s body was now facing the One-armed Warrior directly.

“Eek.”

“Are you going to be quiet?”

At that, the One-armed Warrior seemed ready to shove his remaining fist into his mouth to silence himself.

Qing smiled with satisfaction and continued speaking.

“For your mistake, just ten hits. And since you’ve been so noisy, if you make a sound, we’ll start all over again.”

The One-armed Warrior swung his detachable arm with fierce momentum. It was an unprecedented experience in human history. Who else would get slapped across the face with their own shoulder?

Smack! Smack! Smack! The unpleasant sound echoed through the underground. Liquid splattered everywhere from the end of the makeshift club, and the One-armed Warrior desperately covered his mouth.

And finally, ten hits.

Qing casually tossed aside the severed arm that looked like it had been through a blender. It had so much cushioning that it barely had any power, and it wasn’t sturdy enough to use again.

“Hmm. There was something I wanted to say… what was it again? Oh, Grandpa the Eunuch! Do you have any idea what I was trying to say?”

“Y-you…”

The noble wish of Gyeongdamgan to ruin the life of the world’s most innocent, virtuous, and beautiful woman was gone.

What stood before him was truly a Flesh Demon.

“Oh, right. Where the heck is Grandpa the Eunuch’s superior? I could have sworn I heard that Lord Isun Bloodsucker was here, but you’re just some lackey holding the fort.”

“Who are you calling a lackey!?”

“Oh dear, why are you getting angry? If you’re the Deputy Lord, aren’t you just a lower version of the Great Lord? Once the Great Lord is done with his business, doesn’t the Deputy Lord have to give a thorough clean-up with his tongue? Then doesn’t that make you a lackey?”

“Who said such a thing! That’s nonsense! Where do you get off making such vile accusations!!”

“Well, Grandpa the Eunuch is clearly angry right now. You always get mad when your sore spots are poked. What if the deceased Blood Sect Member I saw with my own two eyes testified to that? They wouldn’t lie in the face of death; what if they did indeed witness the Great Lord and Deputy Lord licking each other like filthy dogs, ugh, disgusting! You all, your leaders, mixing tongues like, ugh.”

Of course, the Blood Sect Member didn’t actually say that.

Since Qing usually avoided outright lies, he didn’t say that the Blood Sect Member had made such statements.

It was simply a pun, but it was impossible to overlook the disdain with which the Blood Sect Members regarded their Deputy Lord.

“It’s all nonsense! A lie!”

“I’ve never lied. I would even bet my honor as a clansman or my master’s.”

“Ugh! That’s a lie! You’re selling out your clan and master while spreading falsehoods!”

“Hmm. Isn’t that a bit of a stretch? Hey, everyone, what do you think?”

The members of the Isun Blood Sect fell into deep shock. They looked like they wanted to flee the area where they had just eaten their food.

Suddenly, they had become subordinates of the disgusting traitors, so mental trauma was inevitable.

“So, where exactly has your significant other, I mean, Great Lord, gone off to without even showing his face?”

“If you keep spewing that nonsense…”

“There you see? Since he’s a lover, he must be desperately trying to hide and protect him. If he weren’t a lover, there’d be no need to protect someone like the Great Lord, right? When did the Blood Sect ever uphold loyalty to their superior? Once it’s out, I’m superior, isn’t that so?”

The gazes of the Blood Sect Warriors turned towards Gyeongdamgan. Upon hearing it, they felt it was a valid point.

What a cunning instigation.

It’s generally not okay to casually reveal the superior’s whereabouts, but the Blood Sect members were already going to do away with him. So why even bother protecting him?

“Y-you believe that ridiculous talk?”

“You weren’t that reliable as a leader most of the time; only now are you demanding trust?”

“Augh!”

Gyeongdamgan’s eyes turned wildly.

At the same moment, with a gasp of horror, the Blood Sect Members collapsed, shivering and convulsing.

It was the suicide order of Queen Solitude.

Qing also felt the crazed flare-up of solitude twisting in his stomach.

The suicide order was a mysterious signal that spread in all directions with great gaps.

It was the intention to take down all the minions gathered just to capture one Qing.

Hmm. Farewell, my little parasite. If I had known I would part like this, I should’ve at least given you a name. What a shame, but late, my little wine bottle, goodbye.

Qing accepted the separation from Solitude, who only just got a name right before dying.

But then again, the poison was much stronger, wasn’t it?

Is this a big final gift?

Heh heh, looking forward to it.

Whether the encouraging words were heard, the squirming movements of Solitude began to slow.

If Solitude could convey his intentions, he might have said something like this:

It’s okay, I made it, dear.

Huh? The wine bottle isn’t dead? Why?

For some reason, Qing didn’t understand.

Even the highest authorities in the field of solitude wouldn’t understand this bizarre case or small miracle; how could an average expert like Qing grasp it?

It could have been the miraculous effects of the Blood Poison Body’s bile, or maybe the indelible poisons were clumping together to cultivate some self-reliance in Solitude.

Or perhaps it endured just because of Qing’s warm support.

In the end, surrounded by the sobering pain of the Blood Sect Members dying from the poison explosion, Qing suddenly leaped.

Oh my, it doesn’t even care about life!

Such a shame! Besides, with this number, I could enjoy a good week of fun!

Qing dashed around, stomping the heads of the Blood Sect Warriors and kicking them, ensuring that no precious life was wasted.

Luckily, due to the pain, their heads were right in the spot to be stomped or kicked.

Thanks to that, before they all lost their breaths, he managed to eliminate them, and after kicking the final Blood Sect Warrior’s head, which left only half of it intact, Qing lost balance and tumbled around.

Qing’s muscles screamed, and his joints creaked; with the last kick of the soccer game done, he could only roll on the ground.

“You! You b*tch!”

In the blink of an eye, Gyeongdamgan hadn’t a chance to act. Because Qing, with a sudden burst of true effort, had moved faster than before.

Thanks to that, as he zipped past, the heads of the Blood Sect Members disappeared or simply remained half, or they would abandon their bodies and fly away.

“Tch. In my haste, I can hardly feel anything. But, hey, Grandpa the Eunuch… If you lose your minions again, does it mean something like, ‘I can just bring them back later, right?’”

“Y-you? How…”

“I don’t know. I thought I’d die but here I am? Ah, but, who’s the one who killed the dead minions now? Was it Gyeongdamgan who unleashed the explosion of solitude? Or was it Isun Bloodsucker who released the poison? Surely you won’t brand me a murderer for trying to alleviate their pain, right?”

“Of course… Huh? Trying to relieve their pain…?”

Gyeongdamgan hesitated.

It seemed impossible to believe, yet at the same time, it seemed plausible, or just complete nonsense.

In the meantime, Qing stood up, dusting off his clothes, and pulled a sword from one of the corpses’ waists.

Sorry, bro. Sorry, Choryeo.

It looks like I can’t help being a swordsman after all.

Holding the sword calmed him down,

Qing swiped the sword through the air a couple of times.

Namgoong Shin-jae once said that Qing’s mastery lay in handling the sword like it was an extension of his body, understanding its weight and length and maneuvering it effortlessly.

Though the center of balance was somewhat off, as long as it wasn’t a nameless lackey swinging it, it should be fine.

As Qing held the Moonlight Sword (No. 10), he said,

By the way, the wooden sword and the steel sword used in combat are not recognized as Moonlight Swords. To Qing, a sword is a tool for cutting down people.

“Are you still going to talk?”

“Ha! Let me see your pathetic skills!”

Gyeongdamgan declared this while charging forward first.

Qing effortlessly twisted to push away the incoming trajectory and didn’t stop his mouth.

“As a senior in the martial world, shouldn’t you give me a few rounds to warm up? Aren’t you a little embarrassed considering your age?”

“Hmph. Do I look like an orthodox person of Zhengpai to you?”

“Not a chance! Just a pathetic old eunuch, that’s all.”

“Damn you! You keep saying ‘eunuch! Eunuch! Eunuch! I am NOT an eunuch!”

With each strike exchanged, the sounds echoed.

Compared to that, Qing’s tone was relaxed as if he didn’t believe he was engaged in a battle against a Supreme Martial Artist.

“By the way, is it even up yet? It must have been a miserable experience to keep swinging that limp thing around. I heard the deceased left a will, you know?”

“Ugh! Die! Die already!”

“Are you sure about that? Come on, put some effort into it.”

Though Gyeongdamgan was already a Supreme Master even without Solitude, for some reason, he found himself being consistently pushed back against Qing’s skills.

That was because Qing’s sword was a deadly weapon, and he had spent almost a month honing his fiercest technique, sealing the lethality away as he diligently trained.

It was only natural that Qing’s skills had improved so significantly.

What’s more, when employing the lethal sword style, the aura contained within the musical flow of Heaven’s Kill was sharper and more durable than everything he had ever accumulated before.

When combined with the raw power, facing off against half-baked techniques from a Supreme Martial Artist was not a challenge.

“Why!? Why! Why must you die!?”

“Hmm. Truthfully, I anticipated this but… you’re even more disappointing than expected. It’s no longer even entertaining.”

In that moment, Qing’s gaze sparkled.

Simultaneously, his sword traced the most absolute trajectory.

The laziest sword under the sky, however, such might could be the virtue of an emperor; the ruler of the world need not move recklessly but should shake heaven and earth at the first move.

Swish. Gyeongdamgan’s sword fell to the ground with a loud crash, severed at the wrist.

Gyeongdamgan quickly pressed against the gash on his wrist, wrapping it with a cloth.

Qing merely looked down at him as Gyeongdamgan muttered helplessly.

“Why, why is it that someone with only peak mastery…”

“Hmm. Curious? It’s five hundred coins if you want the answer. I mean it’s obvious that I’d win, right?”

“That’s nonsense! The difference in mastery is—”

“Oh come on. Back when you lost your reason, you unleashed your power to summon Solitude instead of pulling your sword. At that moment, you should have drawn your weapon, it’s only natural for a martial artist to defend themselves when insulted, right?”

“What are you talking about!?”

“Because you relied on the parasite, your sword was ruined. When was the last time you genuinely swung it with intent?”

“A. Aah…”

Gyeongdamgan, a Supreme Martial Artist, understood Qing’s words.

He realized that the explosion he invoked out of madness was the very suicide order of Queen Solitude.

As a martial artist, he should have naturally drawn his sword at that moment, but he had long forgotten his weapon, intoxicated by the omnipotence of Solitude.

No matter how supreme a martial artist was, it amounted to nothing when one doesn’t wield their sword.

Qing had already eased his mind from that point onward.

Peak—or whatever, it was evidently rusted beyond repair; he simply wouldn’t be a match.

Qing pointed the tip of his sword directly at him and asked,

“So, where is the Great Lord?”

Qing had returned underground for that very reason.

He had heard there was a head here, but he had never even seen its face.

He wasn’t trying to gaslight some old man; he just had an ulterior motive for enjoying the sport of pulling out limbs from insects.

Initially, by taking care of Ji-tan Gwangma alone, the automatic chain suicide order caused by Queen Solitude’s death would annihilate everything below.

Yet there was another Queen Solitude from the same line, and she hadn’t made an appearance, which was somewhat concerning.

“I don’t know either. I haven’t seen him since morning. Whether he’s passed out drunk or has wandered off looking for decent ingredients, how could I possibly know?”

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