Chapter 159. Even If I Have to Paint Myself with Lacquer or Swallow Charcoal (5)

Chapter 159. Even If I Have to Paint Myself with Lacquer or Swallow Charcoal (5)

“W-what the hell happened?!”

“The front gate suddenly disappeared!” shouted someone who had been on the wall to witness what had just happened.

Woosh!

“Agh!!”

“Ugh!!!!”

Forty-three Hegemon Clan members rushed out the destroyed main gate, only to see a beautiful woman standing before them. She looked young and innocent, but at the same time, strangely dangerous.

Suddenly, black demonic qi flew out like a whip and strangled them all.

Si-Hyeon smiled.

“Die, dogs of Martial Heaven.”

Squelch!

The sound of their throats bursting and blood gushing out to the ground with a gooey splatter echoed strangely.

“A-aagh!!!!!”

Several servants who saw the terrifying scene from inside the estate screamed and ran away.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Is this an enemy attack?”

Hegemon Clan members poured out from each hall.

“W-what the hell? Just what happened here?”

“There’s an enemy! We’ve been invaded!”

The first thing the Hegemon Clan members saw was the miserable deaths of their comrades.

Filled with rage, they turned to look at Si-Hyeon.

“What, it's some girl?”

“There’s no way... was this your work, bitch?”

“No, it can’t be. She doesn’t even look like she has any cultivation. Oi, girl, you must have seen who did it, right? Hurry up and tell us!”

Si-Hyeon smiled, jumping on top of a lion statue placed near the gate and crossing her legs.

“What the...”

All the Hegemon Clan members let out shocked gasps. Si-Hyeon’s beauty, which had been difficult to see in the midst of the hazy blood in the air, was finally revealed to the fullest.

There were many demonic arts that the Heavenly Demon Cult used to seduce and control men. As the Heavenly Demon, Si-Hyeon naturally knew them all.

“Hehe...”

“I want... I want her.”

Drool dripped from the corners of the roughly two hundred Hegemon Clan members. Some of them giggled hysterically as if they had lost their minds, while others approached Si-Hyeon, eyes flashing with a strange heat.

Si-Hyeon then opened her mouth.

“Do you want to come to my side?”

Even her voice was the epitome of captivating!

“Y-yes, we do!”

Emotions that exceeded one’s limits were akin to poison. Several of them had already collapsed, bleeding from their five orifices.

“Even if you have to die in return?”

“Of course!”

“Then prove it with your death.”

"Understood!”

In a way, it was spectacular.

Nearly two hundred warriors simultaneously drew their blades and stabbed themselves through the heart.

Squelch!

Squelch!!!

Without giving anyone any time to interfere, two hundred warriors committed suicide, cutting through their hearts as fountains of blood burst out everywhere.

“You demoness!”

With a sharp cry, the Huangshan Branch leader flew at Si-Hyeon. He was clearly a master of the sword, and he was in a state of unity with his sword.

Si-Hyeon looked over and stretched out a hand, almost as if she was bored.

Crack, crack, crack!

In a split second, demonic qi flowed around her body, forming wings. Then, some of the strands came together tightly to block the Branch Leader’s attack.

“You all stink. What a disgusting smell... the smell of Martial Heaven!”

Si-Hyeon’s voice was filled with bloodlust. A strand of her demonic qi moved and crushed the head of the branch leader.

“Kill! Kill all the dogs of Martial Heaven!”

Ma-Ra looked down at the Pure Flower Hall Leader with a cold gaze. Her hand slowly descended, and the longsword in her grasp pierced down in turn.

Squelch!

“What dirty trash. I heard everything.”

As an Absolute Master, she had heard every word of the assassin leaders’ conversation with her excellent hearing.

The Pure Flower Hall Leader was unable to make any sound as blood filled his pierced lung, and eventually dropped dead.

Ma-Ra looked at the other assassin leaders with her steely gaze as Black Assassin and her other subordinates streamed in behind her, happy to see the end result.

“As expected of the Death God!”

“How incredible!”

Ma-Ra had dismantled all the traps and defeated all of the assassins on her own. She had ordered all of her subordinates to just follow from behind without taking any action in order to reduce the damage to her forces.

Black Assassin proudly proselytized to the defeated leaders.

“You bastards, wash your ears and listen carefully. Our Lord Death God has single-handedly destroyed all the traps and mechanisms prepared by you cretins!”

"How is that...”

“No way!”

Black Assassin laughed as his voice dropped as low as it could go.

“It’s over. Kneel before the Death God.”

***

“Have you both come because of the Marriage of the Snow Flowers?”

Namgoong Sung and Baekri Yeong-Woon blushed at Woo-Moon's question.

“I happened to meet Young Lady Yeo-Hong while we were both at the Justice Coalition...”

“I also met Young Lady Nak around then, too. Oh, we should introduce you first...”

The two Snow Flowers were the disciples of Ga Seo-Gun, an expert of the highest ranks of the North Sea Ice Palace. They stepped forward and bowed.

“Hello, my name is Seo Yeo-Hong, and I am Young Hero Namgoong’s partner.”

“I’m Yeong Hero Baekri’s betrothed, Nak Eun-Mi.”

“It’s good to meet you, sisters-in-law. Although they may have some shortcomings, they’re good guys in their own ways, so please take good care of them.”

As Woo-Moon teased them with a mischievous smile, the elders of the North Sea Ice Palace followed the Otherworldly Ice Fairy Ah Hee into the hall.

“We greet the Palace Lord.”

“We greet the Palace Lord.”

The Snow Flowers all hurried to bow, while the men next to them also made a display of courtesy.

“...!”

Just like when Yeo-Seol appeared earlier, the eyes of several men in the room widened and gasps littered the hall.

It was well known that Palace Lord Ah Hee was around forty. However, she looked as if she had just barely reached her mid twenties.

Moreover, her beauty wasn’t at all inferior to that of Yeo-Seol.

Sitting at the head of the table, the Palace Lord turned her gaze to Woo-Moon.

‘In the end, you chose the Marriage of the Snow Flowers.’

Her gaze deepened as she continued to look at him.

‘He’s an Absolute Master... No, what is this? I can’t believe it...’

She had been impressed with Woo-Moon the first time she had seen him, recognizing him as an outstanding talent. However, less than two years had passed since then, and Woo-Moon had surpassed every expectation she had of him.

He was no longer simply an outstanding talent.

From Ah Hee’s perspective, Woo-Moon had the aura of a grandmaster who was at least at the same level as herself. [1]

Woo-Moon’s aura was so incredible that Ah Hee couldn’t help but watch him for a while.

‘Who did he choose?’

Her eyes slowly turned to the right.

‘What!’

Her expression, which always seemed as if carved out of ice, finally broke as she let out a surprised gasp.

The person next to Woo-Moon was Yeo-Seol.

“Is everything all right?” asked the old woman who followed Ah Hee like a shadow.

Ah Hee quickly regained her composure and nodded so quickly that her surprise seemed almost as if it had been a dream.

Afterward, Ah Hee stayed silent, and Cha Moon-Yeon, the Vice Palace Lord, announced the commencement of the Marriage of the Snow Flowers.

Then, the most crucial part began—the explanation of how the Snow Flowers would be ranked.

It was simple.

There was an array of flags placed, one in each of the eight cardinal directions and two in the center, spread around the vicinity of North Sea Ice Palace.

The ranking would be determined by who obtained the most flags.

1. The term translated here as “grandmaster” literally means a first-generation master, i.e. the founder of a martial arts school. ☜