Nano Machine (Web Novel KR)

Just like the other court ladies, Yeongwol couldn’t feel any pain. But how many people could be composed seeing their hands cut off and fall onto the floor right in front of them? She was expecting for the black sword to stop, but her hands were cut in a single strike.

“UGHHHH!”

‘Even the scales on my hand weren’t able to withstand the power.’

Yeongwol’s energy was incomparable to the other court ladies, but even that wasn’t enough to withstand the sword of Chun Yeowun.

Twitch! Twitch!

Her veins wriggled like earthworms in her severed arm. Her ability to regenerate had been initiated yet, it didn’t stop the blood from gushing out. It looked as if she didn’t possess any regenerative ability at all. The shock of getting her hand cut in front of her lasted for a moment and when Yeongwol looked up…

Slash!

The sharp tip of Chun Yeowun’s sword pressed on her wrinkled old neck. It was clear to her that Chun Yeowun wanted her dead.

‘Ugh! This monster!’

From the moment she clashed with him, she thought that his skill could be deciphered by her but it turned out to be an illusion. She was oblivious of Chun Yeowun’s capability.

‘Am I going to die like this?’

The sensation of fear that she felt when the tip of the black sword touched her couldn’t be shaken off. As soon as it became clear to Yeongwol that Chun Yeowun was intent on silencing her at any cost, her politeness disappeared. She began to change tactics.

“Uh! Do you need help in smoothly leaving the Imperial Palace?”

Her speaking tone and style became uncourteous. An attitude that’s nearly identical from the first time she talked with him. Human nature would never change.

“Do you think I will have trouble getting out?”

“Ha! You’re belittling the Imperial Palace. You made such a racket and you thought no one would notice you.”

His fight together with the battle between the Guardians’ court ladies and the East Spear’s warrior made such a racket that even the nearby East House, the base of the East Spear, and the Golden Guards who served as night guards, would surely notice.

“As soon as they arrive, you’ll be considered as an enemy of the Imperial Palace! Murderer! Huhuhu, don’t go around dreaming bullshit about escaping!”

She acknowledged that Chun Yeowun was a strong opponent but she thought that he couldn’t handle the forces of the Imperial Palace in its entirety.

“If the Imperial Palace turns noisier with the arrival of others, even the high ranking officials of the Guardians will come. And they are a lot stronger than me! You will never be able to walk past them! The Demonic Cult will cease to exist!”

Yeongwol was blinded by the power she thought the Imperial Palace had. However, Chun Yeowun’s reaction was weird. He didn’t show unease at the information nor had any thoughts, it was as if he was indifferent to it.

‘What is he up to?’

Looking at his indifferent behaviour, she wondered. But the tip of the sword that was on her neck soon touched her right cheek.

Tap!

“What are…”

Slash!

“UGHHHH!”

Before she could even ask, Chun Yeowun’s sword pierced her cheek from one side to the other, and pulled it out. Yeongwol screamed as her mouth got ripped and hanged in shock.

“WH-what the hell did you do!”

Her words filled with shock and fear. Chun Yeowun answered while pitying her.

“I tried to cut your tongue, but it looks like it didn’t work.”

“Wh-What?!”

Yeongwol felt a chill run down her spine at his words. The moment the sword was pushed into her mouth, she made sure to save her tongue by shoving it down, otherwise it would’ve been cut off.

Shhhhhhkkkkk!

The veins in her cheek once again began to regenerate. Such regenerative ability is hard to imagine that humans have it. Looking at her, the minor wounds easily healed while her limbs, that were completely cut off, were hopeless.

‘Wah! Wah! Why aren’t they here yet?’

Although the wounds healed, Yeongwol began to turn impatient at the thought of facing more humiliation from Chun Yeowun. People around the Guest House must have heard the commotion considering how usually quiet the nights were. Even the Imperial Army should have arrived. Disdaining the anxious Yeongwol, Chun Yeowun clicked his tongue.

“You are so stupid”

“What?”

“Don’t tell me you thought I wasn’t thinking things through?”

“What do you mean?”

Chun Yeowun’s words made Yeongwol look around puzzledly.

“This entire area has been covered with Sound Blockage.”

“Sou-Sound Blockage?! What nonsense are you spouting?! How can that be used in such a vast area?!”

She shouted in shock. Yeonwol always thought of herself as someone who’s equal to the commander due to the nature of her skills and abilities. She was adept at Profound Sound Blockage in a certain area however, only in small rooms could she maintain the sound blockage. She becomes exhausted maintaining exorbitant internal energy used for it.

‘Impossible! Does he possess infinite internal energy to make me seem so useless?’

Even if her internal energy increased by tenfold, it would still be improbable for her to block the sound of the main vast courtyard of the Guest House.

“You seem to be the one of the stereotypical people who say – “since I can’t do it no one can””

“It…it makes no sense.”

She found reality unacceptable. She wanted to reject what her eyes showed her. Still, she waited, she waited to hear some kind of the sound, but it was in vain. Which meant that Chun Yeowun’s words were indeed true. Sound had been completely cut off.

“Your body seems to regenerate, but will it regenerate if I cut down your throat?”

Shhhh!

He raised his black sword, checking if he could cut her throat or not. Yeongwol paled as she saw that.

‘No! No! If this happens, even someone as strong as me will meet a dog’s death!’

A dog’s death meant dying with the truth being distorted. She couldn’t let that happen to her. So in order to escape that, Yeongwol yelled desperately.

“If-If you kill me, your men will die too!”

“Don’t talk bullshit”

Just before dying, she began to speak rubbish. Ignoring her words, Chun Yeowun raised his sword after adjusting the angle for a clean strike. Holding her severed hands close to her chest, she begged earnestly.

“Th-The Guardians have currently caught three spies who wore a mask and gold armor on them. You wouldn’t say that you don’t know them, right?”

Pang!

Immediately Chun Yeowun’s sword, which was ready to strike her throat, stopped mid-air. She said that there were three people who wore gold armor. They were the people he knew.

‘Did they get caught?’

They settled to meet with Zhu Taikhan at his residence tonight. Chun Yeowun didn’t know that they got caught. Seeing Chun Yeowun stop, hope blossomed in Yeongwol’s eyes.

‘It worked. So, they’re this man’s subordinates!’

She just has this last straw to save herself, and it worked! Her sweating face that barely held any sanity, finally found some hope.

“You said that the Guardians caught them?”

“Y-yes!”

Chun Yeowun, who looked unconcerned until a moment ago, was frowning. It made Yeongwol feel delighted. Finally, she found his weakness.

‘I thought he was some cruel monster, but I guess not’

It was hard to believe that Chun Yeowun wasn’t willing to abandon his subordinates so easily. There were always rumors about the Lord of Demonic Cult being cruel to others, but righteous to their members. Yeongwol decided to use this rumor against him.

‘If only he would follow me to the Guardian Hall telling him that I’d release them…’

She could somehow use the situation to save herself. Once she reaches the Guardian Hall, she can scream to let them know that he is an enemy, and they would attack him right away. If she took him to the Elder, the true hidden power of the Imperial Palace, even the Lord of Demonic Cult would be brought down on his knees, which was why she was carefully trying to bait Chun Yeowun.

“So, if you can spare me, your men can be released…”

Puck!

“HUH?!”

Yeongwol’s eyes were in shock. She couldn’t differentiate reality and her imagination anymore. Even before she could put forth her deal, Chun Yeowun swung his sword. Her throat felt dry and cold as the sword came closer and closer.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

“You sly and verbose fox, just die!”

“!?”

Shhhiiinnngg! Tuk!

The moment his words fell, Chun Yeowun’s sword moved and her vision became hazy as she fell. It wasn’t until her head fell to the ground that she realized that she had been decapitated. Was it a side effect of her regenerative power which was abnormal? Even though her neck got cut, she didn’t die immediately.

‘H.. how… how did it come to this?’

It was only for a moment.

Crack!

Chun Yeowun crushed Yeongwol’s head, which was currently on the ground. A miserable end for a person who tried to work hard the entire time.

Shh! Shh! Shh!

In front of Chun Yeowun, who seemed vexed, Great Guardian Marakim and Left Guardian Hameng appeared from the roof. Putting their hands together, Lee Hameng and Marakim greeted him.

“Your command has been carried off!”

They were the ones who killed all the court ladies. It didn’t feel right to hit or kill women, but seeing how they acted, they took the task seriously. They made sure to not use the swordsmanship of the Demonic Cult as much as possible. That would probably make it hard for others to guess the wounds or the cause of death of the corpses. That’s precisely why Chun Yeowun didn’t use the Demon Sword.

“Then…shall we take this man and withdraw?”

Lee Hameng asked, pointing to the bald man who fainted on the ground. Chun Yeowun sighed.

“I would like to do that, but the others have been captured.”

“Are you talking about them?”

At the unexpected turn of events, the two Guardians were shocked. It was shocking that the trained people spying and assassination got caught. Great Guardian Marakim, asked carefully.

“What do you plan on doing, my Lord?”

It was known that spies were to be killed, but in order to save his men who got trapped, Chun Yeowun had no other choice but to break in. Moreover, Chun Yeowun was unaware of the Guardian Hall’s location, as it was known to be hidden from everyone. It was a place that even the members of the Blade God Six Martial Clan couldn’t find.

“Lord, realistically, rescuing them shouldn’t be an option for us. It is a pity, but… how about we just give up on them?”

The left Guardian, Lee Hameng suggested a rational option. Our members were already taught to be prepared in case they got caught by the enemy. If escaping is difficult, then they have to kill themselves.

Grunt!

‘Ugh… is there really no other choice but to abandon them?’

Hu Bong bit his lip at the thought of abandoning his members, however, even he knew that there was no concrete way to help them. That was when Chun Yeowun shook his head and spoke.

“If I decide to abandon the people who I picked up with my own hands, I am unqualified as Lord. I can’t stand and let them kill themselves just because they got caught.”

Chun Yeowun looked at Yeongwol’s smashed head as he said those words. When he decided to infiltrate the Imperial Palace, he was aware of the fact that there were people who used unique methods and tricks.

“Ah… then what are we gonna do?”

Lee Hameng, who opposed the rescue operation because of the risk, asked anxiously. But it wasn’t Chun Yeowun who answered…

“Some are still breathing”

Suddenly, Marakim pointed to the inspection maids who were on the floor. All the other court ladies were dead, but these two were kept alive. He spoke.

“… Great Guardian. Would they bow to us easily?”

Would they really give out the location of the Imperial Palace Guardian Hall just because they slaughtered a few court ladies? But Chun Yeowun wanted to grab onto any thread he could. If he had time, he could take them outside, infuse them with drugs and make them confess, but Chun Yeowun didn’t have time.It was also impractical doing it in the courtyard.

However, if they missed such a perfect timing, they would never find the location of Guardian Hall. Especially if news spread that court ladies and their group leader were killed.

Marakim, shook his head.

“Of course, enemies won’t bow to us”

“Huh?”

Marakim turned to Chun Yeowun and spoke.

“Lord, how does this sound?”

How long has it been since they decided to walk on the same path as the Lord of the Demonic Cult?

‘Did I pass out?’

Having a strong and cursed body that couldn’t sense pain felt amazing. As it was her first time meeting a strong opponent, she fainted from being overpowered.

‘What happened?’

She finally got her thoughts sorted out and tried to get up, but her body betrayed her.

Thud!

“Ah?”

Was this the drawback of her inability to feel pain? She was completely unaware of her condition until she tried to get up. Unfortunately, it took time for her to realize that her ankle got severed.

“My… feet…”

Realizing that both her feet got amputated, the maid’s face turned pallid. It was like living inside a nightmare.

What happened after she passed out?

On one side, she found numerous bodies of women on the ground as their blood’s malodour invaded her nose.

“Uh… ughh…”

It was foul enough to make her eyes burn. When she looked nearby, she saw a familiar outfit on her body. The hands and neck were brutally severed, which meant that the bearer was dead.

“Le.. le… leader!”

While she fainted, all the court ladies including her leader got killed. They crossed paths with monsters.

‘How long was I out?’

It was still dark, and no one wandered. It seemed like nobody found them. At that moment, a deep voice reached her ears.

“Ah! It seems that a court lady still lives!”

As she turned her head towards the voice, two men, who appeared to be cadets of the Golden Guards appeared. They appeared to be the night guards of the House.

“Ah! Goodness!”

One of the guards expressed his shock as he saw her cut off ankles. A white masked man examined her condition.

“Aren’t you a maid? Are you alright?”

As these people arrived, the shocked maid answered.

“I-I am fine. When did the Golden Guards come?”, she pried.

Maybe the terrible battle only transpired briefly, and the others hadn’t discovered it yet.

“We heard some clamor, and when he entered the East Spear Hall, we were confronted by this atrocious sight. Ugh! One of our guards had gone to report to our central office, people will arrive soon.”

“Ah!”

‘It hadn’t been long!’

Her eyes shook. If the words of the man were indeed correct, it hadn’t been that long since that horrible battle. If so, she had to report it to the higher ups of the Guardians to prevent the Lord of the Demonic Cult from escaping outside the Imperial Palace. But the problem was her severed foot.

“I-I am sorry, but could the guard please help me?”

“Of course. We will take you to the Imperial Palace’s infirmary…”

“No. it’s crucial than that. Bigwigs have infiltrated the palace, and they might escape. I need to let someone know”

At her hasted words, one of the guards tried to sooth her.

“Uh! Is that true? That is huge. But don’t worry, the Guards will come soon”

“No. Not just them. Sorry. Could you please lift me up? I… I will guide you”

“Treating you is important. Why guide us somewhere?”

“Please! Please just trust me! We are running out of time! Please!”

“Uh… ah, fine.”

Seeing the stubborn maid, one of the guards put her on his back and carried her. Laying on him, she pointed to the northwest direction of the Imperial Palace, and asked him to hurry. That was when the white masked guard who was following them from behind smiled wantonly.