Moon-Shadow Sword Emperor

Episode 204

Daejeon Master Mu Jin-cheon shook his head and muttered as if it was absurd.

“This is more like a one-sided assault than a fight.”

Once again, I was able to realize how enormous the power the delegation possessed.

Most of the members of the envoys were experts who had reached the transcendental level or higher.

They were not people with mediocre skills who could do nothing by believing in their numerical superiority and attacking them.

“Kaaak!”

“What a monster!”

The group of thieves who attacked with great vigor were on the verge of annihilation before even an inch.

Before the conflict even began, the leader lost his life at the hands of Chang Myeong-gung, and the chain of command collapsed, and the confused subordinates were subdued one by one and laid down on the ground.

“Why don’t you come forward?”

“There is no need for us to come forward.”

Not even everyone came forward.

The Tang family’s Germans had not moved from the moment the attack began until now.

It seemed like he didn’t feel the need to expend expensive memorization against the thieves.

Mu Jin-cheon muttered to himself as he licked his lips.

‘If they cause trouble within the Beast Palace…’

I thought that in the worst case scenario, my head might be taken away.

He, who was watching the defeat of the bandits while scratching the back of his neck, sighed and shook his head.

I accepted the request to be an escort even though I knew it was dangerous because there were people I had to take responsibility for.

There was no turning back now.

‘I can only hope that the delegation achieves its purpose as smoothly as possible and returns to the Central Plains.’

* * *

‘First of all, there don’t seem to be any dead and there are no injuries…’

After the fight ended.

I quickly glanced around to check on the safety of my companions.

There were a few injuries, but they were only minor injuries.

It seemed like all I had to do was to recommend that the monks at the party get tested in case I was poisoned.

“…….”

The warriors looked at me and my group like they were looking at monsters.

It seemed quite surprising that they had subdued a triple-digit number of thieves in less than a quarter of an hour.

It was decided to hand over the surviving bandits to the Daron tribe.

It was a natural decision since it was impossible to lead dozens of people to the Beast Palace.

“Then we will return to our tribe.”

A warrior from the Daron tribe saw the delegation off in a polite tone.

Even after wiping my eyes, I couldn’t find the previous high-handed attitude.

It was a change in attitude that reminded me of the warrior from the Harel tribe I had fought with not long ago.

Five days have passed since we resumed our journey.

Afterwards, they were attacked by bandits twice, but were able to repel them without any problems.

‘We’ve finally arrived.’

We reached our destination without losing a single person.

I greatly benefited from hiring Mu Jincheon as my guide.

Without him, the journey would have been much more difficult.

I looked up at the huge castle soaring high into the sky and let out an exclamation in my heart.

It was a building that felt foreign in many ways.

This fortress has a distinctly different appearance from the tribal residences we saw on the way here and from the buildings in the central plains.

When I arrived in front of the castle gate, a warrior carrying two machetes on his back looked at me with intimidating eyes and said,

“Please state your name and identity.”

“It’s called Yeonsoun. “I am serving as the representative of the delegation dispatched by the Murim Alliance.”

“A representative of the delegation…?”

The warrior’s eyes darkened.

It seemed like he felt a sense of discomfort at the fact that the representative of the delegation was a young late Jisoo.

I had seen this reaction so many times that it felt familiar now.

“…!”

The warrior who discovered Mu Jin-cheon among the group opened his eyes wide.

Then he bowed his head and said hello.

“See you Elder.”

“Greetings have been made. “I’m no longer an elder or anything.”

“Many warriors are praying for the elder’s return.”

“I’m sorry, but no matter how much you wish, I will never return to the palace.”

As I overheard the conversation between the two, I looked back at Mu Jin-cheon with a new expression.

Contrary to appearances, he seemed to have a certain reputation.

“It is true that these are envoys dispatched by the Murim Alliance. “Can you put a message inside?”

“I will tell you the news right away.”

The warrior bowed again and ran inside the castle gate and disappeared.

I crossed my arms and smiled.

He was truly a poor actor.

‘You’re trying hard to pretend not to recognize me.’

Rumors about the delegation dispatched by Meng had already spread throughout southern Manchuria.

Perhaps the gatekeeper guarding the gates of the Beast Palace had heard in advance that the delegation would arrive today.

‘In the first place, people with different skin colors from the Namman residents flocked in, but it’s even stranger that they don’t recognize them.’

It may have been that he was trying to be faithful to his duty, but instead of feeling pressured because his insides were clearly visible, he only laughed.

After waiting for about half an hour, an old man wearing thick clothes unsuitable for the climate appeared in front of the group.

He quietly bowed in the direction where Mujincheon was and gestured with his hand toward the inside of the castle gate.

“The palace lord said he would welcome the delegation as guests. “Please follow me.”

We were finally able to enter the castle.

Mu Jin-cheon said goodbye to me as if he had been waiting for me.

“I guess we should part ways here. “I hope you achieve your goal safely.”

“Thank you so much.”

The request fee was paid in advance.

Mu Jin-cheon turned his back without regret and left the place with his subordinates.

“…….”

The first thing that came into the sight of my group and I as we stepped into the castle was the crowd that had gathered like a cloud.

At first glance, the number seemed to be over a hundred.

“They’re really from the Central Plains, right?”

“They are fearless. “I can’t believe I’m visiting the Beast Palace at this time.”

“her. “There’s a great beauty in the mix?”

“The level of each person seems to be extraordinary.”

A whispering voice pierced my ears.

I felt like I was an ornamental animal locked in a cage.

Hwang Bo-kyung clicked her tongue and said, ‘Tsk’, perhaps because she felt uncomfortable at being a spectacle.

The old man in charge of the guide lightly gestured, and the warriors blocking the path retreated to the left and right to clear the way.

After passing through the human barrier and passing through a road that could easily accommodate two carriages, we arrived in front of a large stone building.

It was a building located a little away from the main castle.

“You can use this as your accommodation while staying at the palace.”

“All right. Thanks for the guidance. But…”

“Is there something you want to ask me?”

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t even heard the old master’s name yet.”

“I’m just a handyman who runs errands. “You don’t even need to remember my name.”

“…….”

What kind of chore worker is a freezing chore?

On the way, I received a message from Dang Sang-jin.

The old man in front of me is a master who has reached the level of flower painting.

‘Should we really call it the Beast Palace? It’s truly Yongdam Tiger Blood.’

I felt like I was once again in the jaws of a tiger.

If it weren’t for Dang Sang-jin, I would have almost been fooled.

I can guarantee that the old man in front of him was a person of considerable status within the Beast Palace.

There was no reason why Prince Yasu would not have made heavy use of a talented person who could compete head to head with a hundred great masters in the central plains.

“You must be tired, so please unpack and rest for now. “I’ll come back later.”

For a moment, I just stared at the back of the old man as he left without revealing his identity.

I took the lead and entered the building, immediately undressed as a woman and assigned a room for my group to use as lodging.

One by one, the group, exhausted from the forced march, entered the room and disappeared.

About two hours have passed.

The old man who guided the group to their lodgings reappeared.

“The palace lord said he would grant an audience.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Finally, it was time to meet the Beast Palace lord and negotiate.

* * *

In order to have an audience with the Beast Princess, who was lying sick from old age, two conditions had to be accepted.

First, disarm.

Second, bring only one person.

I untied Damro (湛盧) from my belt, left it in the care of Damun, and headed to the main castle of the Beast Palace with Dang Sangjin.

It took a while to move across the large garden.

A middle-aged man appeared in front as if blocking the road.

Judging by his attire, he seemed to be a palace warrior.

What’s unique about him is that he is on the smaller side compared to other warriors.

He spoke to me with a bright smile.

“Are you the representative of the delegation dispatched by the Murim Alliance?”

“That’s right.”

“Nice to meet you. My name is…”

“Prime Minister Lee.”

The old man who was walking ahead cut off the middle-aged man’s words.

The middle-aged man said, raising his hands with a sly expression.

“Isn’t it okay to just say hello?”

“I am taking guests to the villa under the orders of the palace lord. “If you have anything to talk about, it would be better to do it separately later.”

“All right. “Since the elder said so, let’s step aside for now.”

The man glanced at me and Dang Sang-jin with meaningful eyes and left the garden, humming.

I narrowed my eyes as I stared at the man’s back.

‘This is Confucius.’

I was able to find out quite a lot through the conversation between the two people.

To summarize, there were three main types of useful information.

Firstly, the identity of the man who has been talking to me in a friendly manner is the second son of the Beast Prince.

Second, the identity of the old man who claimed to be a guide is an elder of the Beast Palace.

Thirdly, the relationship between the two sides does not seem to be very good.

‘It seems like they belong to different factions.’

About a quarter has passed since then.

An old man standing in front of the separate room where the Beast Palace Lord lived came out in a voice full of knowledge and announced Tang Sang-jin’s visit.

The warrior standing in front of the entrance opened the door as if he had been waiting.

“…….”

As I entered the room, an old man sitting at the head of a large bed came into view.

There was one guard on each of the left and right walls of the room, and I was able to guess their identities without difficulty.

‘Two guardians who assist the beast palace lord by his side.’

The tension slowly rose.

Even though I had accompanied the party to prepare for an emergency, it was a situation where I couldn’t just relax.

Even if it were the case that the Beast Palace was suffering from old age, the inaction of the two guardians could never be taken lightly.

In particular, I was concerned about the existence of the Left Guard, known as an expert in Hyeongyeong.

If something went wrong and a fight broke out, it would have been a disaster.

Isn’t this a situation where they even disarmed for an audience?

After clearing my throat once, I politely bowed and introduced myself.

“My name is Yeon-woon, and I am the head of the Sacheon branch of the Murim League. He serves as the representative of the delegation dispatched by the Republic of Korea. And this one…”

“Amazing.”

The first thing the Beast Palace Lord said when she saw me was not a greeting of pleasure or a question about the purpose of her visit, but an exclamation.

After staring at me in silence for a while, he suddenly asked.

“How old are you?”

“I am twenty-one this year.”

“Hwa-kyung at the age of 21? “It’s absurd. I never thought such a monster existed in the world.”