Cut!
Fight!
Squeezing out every bit of my willpower, I lunged at the cultivator's leg with my sword.
The cultivator, who had been relaxed until now, contorted his face in shock as my Sword Gang penetrated his defensive spells.
Then.
Shuck! Crack, crack!
The Sword Gang, created by draining all my internal energy, extinguished like a candle in the wind.
My energy was insufficient. Despite pouring decades worth of internal energy into it, lacking enlightenment, I couldn't maintain the Sword Gang for more than a second.
My sword barely nicked the cultivator's leg, cutting through his clothes and inflicting a minor wound.
Ugh...
As the Sword Gang extinguished, my sword could no longer penetrate his defensive spell.
Simultaneously, the backlash of using all my internal energy hit me, causing blood to spill from my mouth, draining my strength, and leaving me collapsed on the spot.
"Cough! Cough!"
Blood splattered with each cough.
It felt like my insides were being churned.
"You, you filthy mortal...!"
Enraged by my attack, the cultivator scattered talismans that transformed into glowing daggers, stabbing my arms and legs.
"Ugh...argh!"
I endured the pain, trying to grasp my sword, but the cultivator stomped on my hand.
"You filthy, mortal scum!"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
He stomped on my hand mercilessly, spreading a more powerful defensive barrier around us.
"How dare you, how dare you attempt to cut me! You, of all people! I am a noble descendant of the cultivator clan, not someone lowly mortals like you can touch! How dare you, how dare you!!"
After crushing my hand for a while, he reached into his pouch and scattered another handful of talismans.
"I planned to toy with you before killing the Makli Clan's branch family but I've changed my mind. I'll tear all of you mortals to shreds like insects!"
Flames engulfed the talismans, transforming them into fireballs, and started shooting towards the guards.
"Watch carefully, insect. You'll see all your comrades torn to death before I chew you up. You insects, no matter how much you struggle, are meaningless before cultivators!"
"Cough, cough..."
More blood gushed out of me.
My internal organs were shaken from expending all my internal energy at once, blurring my vision.
But my hearing was still clear enough to catch a few words.
Insect.
Meaningless.
'Yes, I am nothing but an insect.'
Compared to those truly talented, to the cultivators.
"But, but..."
I struggled.
With my crushed hand, I grabbed the cultivator's ankle.
"I may be an insect, but even an insect's struggle is not meaningless!!!"
"You filthy thing, let go of me!"
Fire erupted in the cultivator's hand again.
It would have incinerated me instantly, but...
'It's time.'
The fireball extinguished as time passed.
"What? Why isn't it"
Blood flowed from the cultivator's eyes, nose, and mouth.
'The poison works!'
I smirked at the bewildered cultivator, grabbed his ankle tighter, and pulled hard.
He collapsed.
"Ah, antidote..."
He reached for his pouch.
Thud!
I knocked the pouch away.
"Gurgle..."
Blood foam rose from his mouth as he tried to chant a spell.
But I wasn't going to let him.
I climbed on top of him, shoving my crushed hand into his mouth, preventing him from chanting.
"You see, your death will be just as meaningless as those you looked down upon."
After struggling for a while, the cultivator died.
His dead body wasn't much different from the insects he had looked down upon all his life.
In death, everyone is equal.
The defensive barrier collapsed.
The leader and other guards, having watched from outside, quickly came to me.
The black barrier set by the cultivator disappeared, and I lost consciousness, seeing this as my last sight.
When I opened my eyes, I was in my room. The leader was beside me, smoking a pipe.
"Ah, you're awake."
"Yes. But is it okay to smoke tobacco next to a patient?"
"What are you talking about? Tobacco is a healthy herb."
'I can't believe this,' I thought, remembering this was a medieval-like era.
"How's the situation with that cultivator?"
"You killed him yourself, Deputy-leader Seo Eun-hyun. He's dead. I've reported to His Majesty that you bravely sacrificed yourself to kill the cultivator, so don't worry."
"I've completed my mission today as well."
I nodded, checking my body's condition. My right hand was still numb, and there was some damage to my vital energy channels, but it was stable. The wounds from the cultivator's daggers had all healed.
"The Emperor ordered the Imperial physician to treat you. Be thankful for His Majesty's grace."
"The Imperial physician healed me cleanly. I wish I could learn his medical skills."
I admired the physician's skill and circulated my internal energy.
Lying in bed, my body felt a bit refreshed.
"About your right hand"
The leader looked at my hand and hesitated.
"It might still be usable, but not like before, is what the physician said. It's not fully healed, so don't strain it."
After all, it was the hand that the cultivator had crushed and chewed.
"Honestly, I didn't expect it to be fine. Just being able to use it is a blessing."
"Good. You're positive, which is great. Also, His Majesty was impressed by your bravery and decided to award you. Since a Shadow Guard can't be officially rewarded, he asked me to pass this on. I hereby present you with an award on behalf of the Emperor."
I kneeled as I received a small silk box from the squad leader.
"His Majesty decrees: 'Deputy-leader Seo Eun-hyun, for bravely protecting the sacred throne, we grant this reward to remind you of your heavy responsibility.''
Inside the silk box was a small pill with a reddish hue.
"It's said to be made from the same ingredients as the pills eaten by Qi Refining Cultivators during their transition to Qi Building. I don't understand it all, but"
I realized what the pill was.
'Leftovers from a pill.'
Working in a medical center, I knew that leftover materials from making elixirs were often used for detox or sold to fake spiritualists.
"It's said to extend life by about ten years when taken by mortals."
"Ten years?"
I was astonished.
"Just leftovers can extend life by ten years?"
The pill looked different now.
"Be forever grateful for the Emperor's grace."
After he left, I thought, 'The Imperial family sure knows welfare.'
I planned to take the pill when my life was almost over, to test its full effect.
"Always grateful for His Majesty's grace."
Ten years later.
Thirty years since my return.
The pain in my hand had become familiar.
My swordsmanship and hidden weapon skills improved, and I was close to uncovering the cultivators' secret.
'Cultivators of the Jin Clan hide in powerful formations. They gather talented mortals and train them to peak masters for assassination.'
I understood why I never heard of these peak masters in my previous lives.
'If the Jin Clan rises to power again, maybe it'll be slightly better than these filthy Makli cultivators.'
I decided to focus more on my martial arts and Kim Young-hoon's movements.
Just then.
Click!
A figure entered through the window.
"Young-hoon Hyung?"
Kim Young-hun had entered the palace at night.
"I was just reading your letter. Knowing about the cultivators' domain..."
He interrupted, "That letter was sent a month ago. But I've discovered something more critical in the past month. There are two cultivator clans in this country. The Makli and the Jin."
"The Makli Clan ousted the Jin Clan a century ago. Since then, the Jin Clan has been planning to assassinate the Emperor using peak masters trained from mortals."
"Yes, I know that."
"But do you know why the Jin Clan could produce so many peak masters? They forced the spirits of the dead family members of the assassins into the assassins, sacrificing their vitality to enhance their talents."
"The Makli Clan is worse. For 20-30 years, they've been capturing the poor to make a forbidden elixir that extends cultivators' lives using their blood and vital energy!"
Horrified, I shouted.
"Makli Clan is eating people!"
I instantly decided to join Kim Young-hoon in fighting these heinous cultivators.
That night, I left the palace with Kim Young-hoon, ready to fight against the corrupt Makli Clan.