Emperor Namgung Mu of the Thousand Years - Chapter 53

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#053

 

-Drip… drip…

 

The sound of water droplets falling.

 

If the Jegal Family’s mechanism I’m thinking of is installed here, there should be no more people in this inner chamber.

 

They are perfectionists who absolutely despise having their creations and planned intentions altered by any variables.

 

So from now on, I only need to focus on breaking through the mechanism rather than dealing with people.

 

“The first one is-.”

 

I can hear the sound of heavy rain pouring in the distance, though it’s not visible in this space.

 

-Chirp chirp…

 

I hear the sounds of fireflies and insects.

 

It was an indoor space wrapped in black darkness with a dizzyingly high ceiling and vast width.

 

Red lanterns hung at regular intervals on all the walls.

 

In the center of everything, a huge green pond blocked the way forward.

 

Cattails were planted on it like any ordinary pond. Fire Fireflies flew between them.

 

Beyond that, very far away, I could see the door leading to the next area.

 

Meanwhile, what constantly stimulated my ears like a tickle was a subtle crackling white noise, as if countless tiny things were moving endlessly.

 

I saw a signboard in front of it.

 

[Phosphorescent Fire Oil Hell]

 

“I can’t waste time. I’ll break through quickly.”

 

I recall the information I already knew in my head.

 

The pond before my eyes is not a simple pond. The green liquid in the pond is not water but odorless oil with special properties.

 

“And if my memory is correct, the insects before my eyes are definitely not fireflies.”

 

Fire Fireflies found in extremely rare places in the southern regions.

 

As their name suggests, they look like fireflies but are insects that emit extremely hot temperatures when stimulated.

 

They have the characteristic of reacting very sensitively to water surface ripples and swarming together. Just to test, I threw a very small grain of sand onto the water surface, and I could see them flinch and try to swarm before scattering again.

 

‘If a human-sized object jumped into the pond, they would really swarm in black masses…’

 

When Fire Fireflies gather at a certain density level, the heat they generate themselves would cause the oil vapors to react and burn everything. The shiny liquid applied to the cattails around the pond’s edge was both a precaution to prevent flames from spreading to the surroundings and a way to trap the high heat inside, amplifying it like a sealed furnace.

 

The moment you thoughtlessly try to walk across this seemingly shallow pond, the water surface ripples would cause all the surrounding Fire Fireflies to swarm at once, and due to their nature of wanting to land on warm places first, they would settle on the body first, instantly covering it with Fire Fireflies, followed by burning to death in the ensuing fire.

 

On the surface, it looked like nothing more than a peaceful, quiet pond with fireflies flying around, but it was also a device mixed with such mechanisms.

 

“I need to cross without causing ripples on the water surface.”

 

I looked around.

 

I found a wooden floor.

 

I kicked with the side of my foot to break it apart and gently pushed a piece of wood to avoid creating splashes.

 

I managed to send at most two pieces onto the water surface like stepping stones. Trying to throw them farther would create too much water disturbance, making it meaningless.

 

‘I originally came on a rainy day anticipating this.’

 

Fire Fireflies become extremely slow to react on rainy days due to humidity.

 

-Thud thud thud!

 

I launched my body.

 

I manifested maximum movement from Pasabeolsik and executed footwork techniques. As I stepped on the two wooden boards, ripples spread through the water.

 

When the Fire Fireflies belatedly reacted and followed, I was already stepping on the next board and leaping forward.

 

‘As expected, the distance…!’

 

I had almost crossed the pond, but I definitely had to step on the water surface for about two to three steps. Even though I had reduced the ripples by stepping on the boards, nearby Fire Fireflies were gathering near me.

 

I gritted my teeth.

 

-Swoosh!

 

As I stepped on the second board and leaped up, I unwound the chain wrapped around my iron gauntlet and lashed it like a whip.

 

-Crack!

 

The board shattered, creating a huge splash.

 

-…!

 

The flow of Fire Fireflies rushing toward me hesitated, then immediately formed a huge red swarm dance with passionate movements different from before, gathering in the center.

 

“Now’s the time…!”

 

In that instant, I took the remaining two steps like lightning and crossed the pond. As soon as I crossed, I immediately kicked open the door in front of me, and as soon as I got through, I grabbed the door handle and threw my whole body against it to close it again.

 

-Rumble…!

 

Simultaneously, the heat from the swarmed Fire Fireflies, along with a low bass explosion, covered everything with tremendous heat.

 

-Clank!

 

The door I pressed down with all my strength shook.

 

But even so, due to the perfect seal of the Jegal Family’s mechanism, only a faint low-frequency vibration could be felt, just enough for me to sense with my ear pressed against the door.

 

The wooden corridor was eerily quiet.

 

Rather, the sound of heavy rain covering the mansion from beyond the door could be heard more faintly, drowning out all other noise.

 

“Now the last one.”

 

Time is running short.

 

I don’t know when the guards I knocked down outside might be discovered again.

 

Only one remains now.

 

I hurried forward.

 

At the end of the corridor, I found another signboard of the same shape as before.

 

[Hundred Joys Resounding Slaughter]

 

‘This is…’

 

I opened the sliding door.

 

-Jingle, jingle jangle.

 

I heard the sound of bells.

 

The entire corridor was filled with ropes hung with bells.

 

Standing at the threshold, I looked down at the floor.

 

It was an ordinary wooden floor.

 

From that threshold, without shifting my center of gravity, I carefully extended one foot forward and very lightly stepped on one corner of the wooden floor with my toes.

 

-Creak.

 

Even at that very faint sound, along with a sharp noise that stimulated the hearing.

 

-Jingle jingle jingle…!

 

The ropes covering heaven and earth reacted, ringing out like the crying of cicadas.

 

“Still the same.”

 

Confirming it was identical to my memory, I looked up at the ropes tangled chaotically like spider webs.

 

I lowered my gaze again to look at the floor.

 

‘The wooden floor that screams when stepped on extends to the end of the corridor.’

 

This specially processed wooden floor was deliberately made with loose connecting parts that would make sharp sounds like human screams when pressure was applied.

 

If you carelessly step on the floor, screaming sounds would echo and the mechanism would activate.

 

But even if you tried to avoid this noisy floor by hanging iron hooks from the high ceiling to move, if your body got caught in the ropes spread everywhere and the bells rang, that would also activate the mechanism.

 

Every ten steps, the color of the ropes and floor boards changed.

 

Seven differently colored sections were arranged along the corridor like this.

 

If the bells on the ropes or the noise from the wooden floor rang loudly within each section of the same color, arrows coated with paralyzing poison would pour down toward that area from all directions.

 

The moment even a single arrow hit or grazed you, you would be helplessly cut up and captured alive by the guards who rushed in afterward.

 

Primitive and simple, but most formidable.

 

In my previous life, this was the mechanism among the Jegal Family’s eight mechanisms that had caused the second-highest number of casualties.

 

‘There is a way though.’

 

This was the method used in the past.

 

Like a spider, extremely finely adjusting the distribution of center of gravity, precisely stepping on the joints where wooden floor boards connected with feet and fingertips, advancing very slowly at an extremely slow pace.

 

‘But that would take too long. It’s not like I have external factors assisting and cooperating with me like in my previous life.’

 

Then, as expected….

 

‘A frontal breakthrough is the only way.’

 

I look up at the ceiling.

 

Between the gaps in the rope.

 

Like the central axis of a massive ship, a single enormous beam protruded in a straight line along the corridor in the middle of the ceiling.

 

The distance is far.

 

Though buried in the grayish darkness, that’s definitely a wooden beam. I can hang from it.

 

Most people would click their tongues at the question of whether one could hang and travel all the way to the end.

 

‘But haven’t I trained every day for all of this.’

 

The most important strength for an assassin is grip strength.

 

There’s no hesitation.

 

I steady my breathing.

 

I crouch low and leap.

 

-Swoosh!

 

I aim for the gaps between the tangled ropes and jump straight up to the ceiling.

 

I grab the side of the beam, which is more than a span thick, with my hands.

 

‘Hup…!’

 

-Creak.

 

I support all my body weight by gripping both sides of the beam with my palms pressed against it. My body stops.

 

‘Did it work…?!’

 

I feel relieved.

 

I try alternating my hands a few times.

 

This seems doable.

 

I look ahead.

 

‘Let’s do this.’

 

I begin moving my body.

 

Hanging and advancing, I push through the forest of countless ropes.

 

When necessary, I rely solely on my two arms to pull my legs and torso upward to climb over the spider web-like ropes blocking my path. I move carefully, sliding and alternating my hands.

 

It was when I reached about the midpoint while proceeding this way.

 

‘Kup…?!’

 

As if the strength was draining from my grip, the beam begins to slip away from my hands again.

 

“Kueup?!”

 

I had enough strength.

 

There was no reason to slip….

 

“These bastards…! They oiled it all the way here…?”

 

Starting from the middle beam, the wood material changed and was even oiled, probably to prevent shrinkage and cracking. For them, it was an unintentionally deadly trap set for me.

 

“Keu…uk…!”

 

I grit my teeth and endure with my grip strength.

 

My palms slowly slide due to the dried oil between my hands. My body slips down with a sliding motion. The tips of my dangling feet touch the pressed ropes. I hastily lift my feet in alarm.

 

-Jingle….

 

A faint bell sound was heard.

 

-Click….

 

I look to the side at the chilling sound.

 

Hanging from the ceiling, I could newly see the internal workings of the mechanism that I hadn’t noticed before.

 

There was a small wedge-shaped piece of wood connected to the end of the rope. It was precariously fitted between enormous gears, barely hanging on.

 

It swayed as if it would fall out at any moment due to the rope’s movement, then stopped again.

 

‘So it wasn’t the bell sound of the rope, but the mechanism activating when that wedge-shaped piece of wood falls out…!’

 

Should I say knowledge is a curse?

 

Rather than the faint bell sound, being able to visually confirm that precariously swaying triangular wedge made me even more anxious.

 

-Grind!

 

I bit my molars as if they would burst and compressed my arms to both sides, squeezing them with only my arm muscles and chest muscles.

 

My ten trembling fingers gripped like eagle talons, almost crushing the wood. My slowly descending body stopped.

 

I exhale heavily and look down. I look at the bundle of ropes at my feet that are about to close.

 

I look ahead.

 

I look at the corridor spread out like a black throat.

 

I raise my head again to look at where I’m gripping.

 

‘…!’

 

Was it because of the Jegal Family’s habit of considering balance and aesthetics in any situation?

 

It might not have been intentional.

 

A single straight line, a pattern so narrow that not even a pinky nail could fit, was carved on the side of the beam.

 

That stripe connected with the wall’s patterns to form a giant mandala shape, harmonizing the overall atmosphere of the corridor.

 

The straight pattern was so narrow that it wouldn’t catch on the blunt fingertips of an average adult man. That’s probably why whoever made this mechanism felt secure and chose this straight pattern as a compromise between beauty and a perfect mechanism.

 

My fingertips had dug into that shallow groove and caught while scraping down the beam.

 

For ordinary warriors or assassins, it was a groove too shallow and narrow to matter anyway. But for me, who was gradually slipping on the oiled surface, it made a crucial difference.

 

‘Before I lose more strength, quickly…!’

 

I put strength into my fingers.

 

Supporting my entire body weight with grip strength alone, I pass through quickly.

 

My arms tremble.

 

My finger joints creak.

 

But I can’t stop.

 

One span.

 

Another span.

 

Sweat flows.

 

The sweat crosses my eyebrows. When I blink, it forms droplets below, flowing along my jawline and gathering at my chin.

 

-Drip.

 

A drop of sweat falls.

 

-…Jingle.

 

One of the bells below rings extremely faintly as if brushed.

 

‘Damn it!’

 

I move my body faster.

 

But compared to the remaining distance, the strength in my grip is rapidly draining.

 

To make matters worse, as I advance, the oil that was initially bone dry is becoming more moist.

 

The limit of my grip strength approaches.

 

My heart stops.

 

I quickly calculate the remaining distance. Less than half remains.

 

I look back.

 

I’ve already passed half the way.

 

‘Kuk…!’

 

I can’t turn back now. All that remains is to advance….

 

‘No…! No matter how I look at it, I don’t have enough strength!’

 

Three breaths’ worth of contemplation.

 

And resolution.

 

If my strength is completely draining… then rather!!!

 

-Crack!

 

I squeezed out all the remaining strength I had been saving. I shoved all my fingers into the shallow groove of the beam. The wood screamed as I dug in, and pain that felt like my nails would break burned through my nerves, but I didn’t care.

 

In that state, digging my fingers in, I began hurling my body forward.

 

-Jingle…jingle…!

 

Though I tried to be as careful as possible, the violent movement of the ropes began, completely different from when I moved cautiously.

 

‘Damn it, damn it!’

 

This was no longer cautious movement. It was a desperate charge like a cornered beast’s final struggle.

 

“Kheup…!”

 

Forcibly swallowing the groans that burst forth, I moved my arms frantically.

 

‘Just a little more…! It’s right in front of me!’

 

Pain wrapped around my forearms as if my blood vessels would burst, and agony that felt like my shoulder blades would pop out pierced through my entire body. The oil-soaked beam scraped my skin like sandpaper, and blood mixed with oil made my grip even more slippery.

 

-Clang clang clang!!!

 

-Clack, clack clack…!

 

The rope swayed as if it would snap, and the wedge-shaped wooden piece hanging at its end shook violently as if it would slip out from between the saw teeth at any moment.

 

In the distance, I could see the door marking the end of the corridor.

 

In front of that door, there was clearly a spot with a distinctly different floor color from what I had passed over so far.

 

“Haaap!”

 

Squeezing out the last handful of strength I had left, I threw my entire body forward.

 

My two hands that released the beam cut through the air, and my body flew into the darkness in a parabolic arc.

 

-Thud!

 

With a dull sound, my body reached the differently colored wooden floor. At the same time, the last rope swayed the most violently of all.

 

-Clatter… clatter…

 

With the sound of wood hitting wood, the end of the wedge piece swayed precariously while caught between the saw teeth.

 

Then it settled down,

 

and all movement of the ropes subsided.

 

“Huff…! Puha…!”

 

Rough breathing burst out through my mask. Blood seeped from all ten fingertips, tangled with oil-soaked wood fragments. Both arms were so numb I couldn’t feel them.

 

But I had done it.

 

When I raised my head, there was the final door shrouded in quiet stillness before my eyes.

 

-Clatter…

 

As I stepped onto the differently colored wooden floor in front of the door, all the trap mechanisms behind me resonated faintly.

 

Whether due to a device installed in advance for the safety of pedestrians who would arrive by passing through the proper route, all the rope tension slackened and the slightly misaligned wooden planks aligned in unison, stopping all functions.

 

I got up and opened the door.

 

-Creak…

 

Inside the door was a single stone chamber.

 

On both sides were countless treasures. And in the center, on a jade platform.

 

Three white plant roots imbued with cold energy lay quietly.

 

Among the silver ingots placed protectively around them, a pure white color as if it contained the very snow of snowy mountains.

 

There was no room for doubt.

 

“Baekhwamodo (White Flower Grass Root)…!”

 

Next to it was what appeared to be the original copy of the Ten Thousand Poison Manual.

 

Along with various other documents.

 

Even before flipping through a few pages of documents, Elder Dangmutae’s seal was blatantly stamped here.

 

“Evidence aside, first-”

 

For something more certain, I tried to approach closer to examine the condition of the Baekhwamodo.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“Hm…?”

 

At first I thought I was seeing things.

 

-Patter… thud…

 

Debris was falling from the ceiling.

 

The floor was trembling.

 

“What is… this?”

 

At first I thought I had unknowingly triggered some additional trap mechanism.

 

But it didn’t take long to realize that was my mistake.

 

-Clang clang clang clang…!!!!

 

The sound of bells ringing faintly in the distance.

 

Along with the sound of dozens, hundreds running around.

 

Once I became aware of it, the bell sound grew closer and louder.

 

“I expected this, but surely not already…”

 

Finally the bell sound echoed from all directions, and the running noise that made the land rumble from far away was so massive it could be heard rumbling through all the barriers. Like spreading waves, it awakened the stillness in all directions.

 

-It’s an intruder…! The guards are down…!

 

-My God, here too!

 

-Block the entrance…! Wake all the squads…!

 

My eyes widened.

 

“I’ve been discovered…!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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