Chapter 353: The Hidden Power Within The Imperial Palace (2)

It's natural to neither distinguish the opponent's Qi nor read their strength, but as the opponent gets closer, the more it's possible to recognize the energy they hold.

Chun Yeowun, who sensed Hu Bong's energy in the East House and Guest House left Dae Dang-Du and the eunuchs who were traveling along with him. Thanks to that, Hu Bong buzzed back to life, as he realized who saved him.

[Lord!]

[You did well. Hu Bong.]

Chun Yeowun looked and praised him. In order to save him, he had to confront Elder Khum. As a result, Chun Yeowun learned that he was tough to deal with. Unlike the other eunuchs, he was mastering an extraordinary skill with his internal energy.

Although the eunuch had transformed his internal energy into a skill, Chun Yeowun was never deceived and knew that the opponent had exceeded the unique human limits.

[Sorry? I did well?]

Hu Bong, who knew that both their behaviors would be deemed as suspicious was puzzled.

[You found the warrior and the members of the Blade God Six Martial Clan.]

[UGH? Did I found it? Then, then that eunuch is from that clan?]

He was stunned. Hu Bong would've never guessed it. He looked at Elder Khum whose body oozed with white steam as he tried to seal off his torn arm. That was when Chun Yeowun gave him an urgent warning.

[Hu Bong. Once I give you a signal, get ready to run or hide.]

[What?]

Hu Bong felt extremely lost at Chun Yeowun's order.

However, there was one other person who could have understood what Chun Yeowun meant, it was Elder Khum.

'Kuahh'

Elder Khum's complexion wasn't good as he turned pale while he stopped the bleeding on his arm. The moment he sparred with Chun Yeowun, he realized that the man didn't belong to the Golden Guards.

'There is no such skilled person in the Golden Guards.'

Even the Southern Commander, who is known to be the best of the guards, is far inferior than the man standing in front of him. That being said, the opponent seemed to be higher than Super Master Warrior.

Anything beyond that was hard to guess.

'He isn't a person from the Imperial Palace. What the hell...ugh?'

Swoosh!

As he was contemplating for answers, Elder Khum's expression went stiff. Afar, an unknown energy seemed to be approaching him at a rapid pace. Sinister energy.

Elder Khum immediately shouted to the ones wearing a junior officer's uniform.

"Something is approaching us! Take your stance and be on guard!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Don't ask and just follow!"

At first, they thought that their Elder was trying to warn them about the Perfect Supreme Master who suddenly popped out. However, the members of the East Spear sensed something off and quickly pulled out their weapons.

Clang! Clang!

They were masters who were approaching Superior Master Level, but when compared to Elder Khum or Chun Yeowun, they seemed weak. Yet, they still managed to sense the foreign energy that was coming for them.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The sound of something stepping on the ground kept entering their ears. The source of the creepy and eerie foreign energy surfaced.

"It is here."

"All of you be quiet!"

Elder Khum silenced the officials of the East Spear who kept on mumbling in anxiousness.

Heeeeiiiing!

As the unknown cold energy circulated, the wind began to move in incomprehensible directions and extinguished the torches on the walls. With the torches extinguished, everything turned dark in an instant. Small spheres of light appeared one after the other, accompanied by a sound from the walls and ceiling of the building, which didn't belong to the East Spear nor Chun Yeowun.

'There are Flame Energy Warriors here.'

Elder Khum cautiously looked around with narrowed eyes. Suddenly, he could see that countless eyes had surrounded their building. Those eyes, shining in yellow under the moonlight, watched them closely.

'Wh-what are they?'

'Does the Imperial Palace have such people?'

Surrounded by humans with ominous energy, the 30 something warriors tensed up. Their hands that were gripping onto the spears tightened. Turning nervous and anxious because of an unknown enemy is a natural reaction.

Swwosh!

At that moment, a person appeared in the middle of the yard. The moon hidden by the clouds showed up and the person's face was dimly seen. She was a court lady wearing a red silk robe, with straight flowing white hair, and clasped hands.

"Chief Maid?"

Elder Khum opened his mouth in surprise.

Although Elder Khum was only in charge of the duties of the East Spear, he still entered the Palace for events and festivities, which was why he knew her. The identity of the court lady was Yeongwol, who was said to be the 2nd ranked Court of Lady of the Imperial Palace.

She was placed in charge of the deposit and payments of the Imperial Warehouses in case of a civil war.

'No way!'

He couldn't help but be surprised at what he witnessed. Standing on walls and fences, with their hands and feet placed on the ground like hunting animals, were the holders of the yellow eyes, the court ladies!

Rustle! Rustle!

Even those who were newly recruited couldn't hide their unease. The foreign energy they sensed from the court ladies was fundamentally unknown and made them feel nervous. They weren't ordinary court ladies anymore, they all looked unfamiliar and ambiguous.

'...it can't be, are they the ones who are called Guardians?'

The hidden power of the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Palace Guardians.

Since infiltrating the Imperial Palace, every effort made was for the sole purpose of finding the Guardians. According to the rumors, the leaders of the Guardians had skilled members that even those from the Forces of Justice couldn't match.

Elder Khum, who only came across East Spear and West Spear would have never in a million years thought that the Guardians would end up being the court ladies!

'If they really are the members of the Guardian, we need to avoid fighting with them. Moreover...'

He had already lost his right arm and his internal energy was drained. He had previously decided that it would be impossible to deal with the unknown Golden Guard. It felt even more unreasonable to clash with Yeongwol, the Chief maid of the court ladies, who was exuding unfathomable energy.

Clench!

Elder Khum clenched his wounded hand.

"Was the Chief Maid sent here to the Guest Hall to deliver some task?"

According to the eunuch's rank, Elder Khum would have been on the same level as the lady. But, because of the East Spear and its effective workings, he was able to become a high ranking bureaucrat. Chief Maid of the court ladies, Yeongwol, opened her lips as she looked around.

"There were rats in the Imperial Palace and the most dangerous one of them got chased in this direction, did anything interesting catch your eyes?"

"Interesting?"

"I have been thinking for a while, but the audience of the East House seemed to have the Devil's Pandemonium."

Hidden Devil's Pandemonium.

A term that refers to a battlefield where a devil is said to be hiding. It means that bad things or conspiracy are constantly being done for some evil cause. Elder Khum responded right away to avoid getting cornered.

"Devil's pandemonium? What kind of nonsense is that? This is the realm of the East Spear! No matter how important you are as the Chief Maid, this isn't a place where you intrude and speak without evidence!"

It was the rule of the Imperial Palace, irrespective of the royal titles given, the access to the residence and training grounds had to be given by the person in charge of the guards. Elder Khum was intent on using the Imperial Court Law as an excuse to kick out the Guardians.

Though it's indefinite that it would work.

"I didn't come here as the Chief Maid of the Court ladies."

"...then?"

"I came here as a member of the Imperial Palace Guardians, the one you were desperately looking for."

"Chief Maid!"

Shockingly, the Chief Maid, Yeongwol boldly revealed her identity. There was only one reason why a member of the Imperial Guardians would reveal the identity. To punish and threaten those who disrupted the order in the Imperial Palace.

"...Chief Maid, the 3rd leader of the Guardians, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Everyone says the same thing."

Yeongwol's right hand began to gather energy. Elder Khum, who sensed it, hastily raised his arm and said.

"Lady! It seems like that man there is the Devil's Pandemonium. Look here, I don't know if you can see but he tore off my arm. I was struck!"

For an arm to be ripped out, there would be no further explanation other than that. Grateful, he thought that his statement was reasonable, but the Chief Maid didn't even care. Rather, she spoke in a voice filled with power.

"What of the injury? As I said before, I paid close attention to you from the moment you entered the Imperial Palace."

"Yah! Chief Maid! I wanted to persecute the spies I saw earlier, but yo...ugh!?"

Wheeing!

Elder Khum tried to point towards the unknown Golden Guard, but he wasn't in sight. From the moment the torches were extinguished and darkness engulfed them, it was certain that the Golden Guard wasn't in the yard anymore. Moreover, the new recruit who coughed disappeared too.

'Th-those men!'

Elder Khum was embarrassed as the people he was trying to blame disappeared! Either they were present or not, Chief Maid, the 3rd leader of the Guardians, had already ordered the court ladies to surround the building.

"According to the law of the Guardians, subdue everything and everyone. If they rebel, you can kill them."

"What!!!"

Swosh! Swosh! Swosh!

The moment the order was given, the court ladies simultaneously entered the courtyard. The recruits, who were nervous and anxious about their future, swung their spears.

"Fight them!"

"Even if they are the Imperial Palace Guardians, they are just girls!"

The ominous energy exuding from the court ladies penetrated their minds, but they were soldiers who were trained to fight till the very end. They weren't the kind who would step back without fighting.

"Haaaaa!"

A military officer with a spear rushed towards a court lady. The spear, imbued with internal energy, split into five, drawing out exquisite trajectories, trying to cut the lady.

Swosh! Swosh! Swosh!

Shockingly, the court ladies flooded the enemy's yard. They didn't even gather energy on both of their hands. A court lady manifested a technique loaded with Qi as her bare hands moved towards the men. A startling scene to behold.

'That girl is crazy to the core!'

The boldness of taking down the enemy with their spears began to sink as they witnessed the force of the ladies. Still, the men decided to meet their end with a brave heart.

Cang! Cang! Cang!

Shockingly, the spear which was used to cut down the girl's hands bounced back upon contact, it was as if the spear hit something rigid. Rather, his palm that was holding onto the sword began to tingle.

"Wh-what is this?"

While the man was muddled and unable to understand, the court lady's eyes flashed as her palm gathered Qi and struck the man's chest.

Puck!

"Kuwak!"

The moment he was struck on the chest, it felt like fire was implanted into his heart. Along with the pain of his internal organs burning up, black smoke began to escape from the man's gasping mouth.

A never before seen phenomenon.

"These, these women, something is weird about them!"

The other officers also experienced a similar effect. The court ladies ran around like crazed warriors who weren't afraid of death.

Cang! Clang!

"The- the sword isn't stopping them?"

However, unlike regular girls with delicate moves, these girls didn't even flinch at the incoming attacks and went for those who were equipped with weapons. The only attack that worked on them was an attack imbued with a strong Qi.

Puhk!

Among the officers, there were few Superior Master Warriors. Once they witnessed that neither the swords nor the spears worked on the girls, they intensified their Qi.

'This will work!'

Fortunately, the intensified Qi attack worked on them. Although they were strong, they weren't at the level of Elder Khum, who could have destroyed them in an instant. The attack worked and caused damage. But the problem was, it didn't stop them.

"Th-this is crazy!"

Even though the arm of the girl had been cut off, she still ran towards the officer with her eerie eyes glowing in yellow. It was as if she couldn't feel pain.

'These girls are like monsters!?'

Tatatatatak!

As a result of what he witnessed, a Superior Master Warrior immediately decided to increase the distance between them. He realized how dangerous it would be to continue fighting such a person.

"Hoo...Hoo..."

Gooooooh!

The court ladies, who could feel the heat rising in their bodies, approached them at a terrifying speed to wring their hearts. The recruits and the officers eventually got tired of running and failing at attacking the ladies who seemed to be immortal.

On the other hand, Elder Khum who witnessed it all, was gloating inside.

'Found it! This is it!'