Chapter 416: For a Drunkard, Anything in Hand is a Weapon

TL: FoodieMonster007

Seo Nak was shocked by the Ice Empress's appearance. He was more surprised than when he instinctively realized the Drunken Demon had come to kill him.

"Empress."

At first, he tried to apologize for what he had said moments ago. Even if she had revealed her true colors, they had still spent years together. However, from the Ice Empress's cold gaze, he knew any excuse would be too late.

"Did you orchestrate this?"

"You haven't answered my question yet. Was killing the Brewmaster also for the sake of the Ice Palace?"

Since things has come to this…

"It's always been that way. All my choices are for the Ice Palace…because I am the Ice Palace."

The Ice Empress's eyes grew even colder. For Seo Nak to claim he was the Ice Palace in front of her was beyond rude, a direct challenge.

The surrounding air naturally grew colder.

Amidst it, the Drunken Demon silently tilted his wine cup.

Seo Nak had already overturned the drinking table, but the Ice Empress still treated him with courtesy. After all, he had done many things for her in the past.

"Was joining hands with those who use the Blood Art also for the sake of the Ice Palace?"

After a brief pause, Seo Nak said softly. "You knew all that?"

She knew, yet pretended not to?

Seo Nak's expression hardened, revealing his displeasure.

The Ice Empress found his face unfamiliar. It was horrifying to think he had lived for so long, hiding his true self. A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled Seo Nak making the frail Brewmaster write her will.

"I won't ask why you joined hands with them."

She repeated the words the Drunken Demon had said to Seo Nak earlier.

"Because it must be for some trivial and selfish reason."

At that, Seo Nak roared. "Shut up! How dare you! Even if everyone else in the world curses me, you shouldn't! Whose help did you have to get to that position? If I had harbored ill intentions when you ascended to the throne!"

This was what he ultimately wanted to say.

The Ice Empress understood. The root of this betrayal began here. He regretted not having usurped the throne back then.

"So? Did they promise you the throne?"

Seo Nak gave no answer, but the Ice Empress knew. It was the silence of affirmation. Had he not received such a promise, he would never have joined hands with them.

When had his heart changed? Having known him for so long, she expected a string of questions to arise, but facing him now, it wasn't like that.

Instead, she had no desire to converse. It was clear they would only exchange endless, petty words that would wound each other's feelings.

The bridge back was already burned. What good would it do to argue about what lay beyond it?

The Ice Empress looked at the Drunken Demon. As per Geom Mugeuk's request, she had decided to leave Seo Nak's fate to the Drunken Demon. She also believed it was better for herself.

The Drunken Demon set down his wine cup and said. "It won't take long."

"I'll wait outside."

The Ice Empress walked out into the mist from which she had come.

"You selfish bitch who can't understand anyone else's heart! You block of ice!"

At Seo Nak's curses, the Drunken Demon chuckled derisively.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because you're pathetic. I see why they chose you."

Seo Nak's cold laughter carried killing intent.

The Drunken Demon closed the stopper of his Blood Gourd.

He still isn't afraid. Is he that confident of holding his own against me? Even so, with the Ice Empress outside, what is he relying on?

Seo Nak stared intently at the Blood Gourd. "Is that your unique weapon?"

The next moment, the Drunken Demon flipped the table in front of him.

CRASH!

The instant Seo Nak's palm strike shattered the table.

CRACK.

A chair flew and struck Seo Nak's shoulder. The Drunken Demon had slammed him with the very chair he had been sitting on.

Seo Nak was flustered. It was such an unexpected attack.

A wooden chair couldn't possibly harm him. Only the innocent chair had shattered and scattered. Did the Drunken Demon not know that?

The Drunken Demon's next words answered his question.

"What else would a drunkard's weapon be? Anything in hand is a weapon."

The Drunken Demon laughed like a vagabond, but Seo Nak did not. What vagabond in the world could strike someone by slamming a chair they held? It was a display of skill even greater than stabbing with a treasured sword.

Among martial artists, if one were to choose the most feared Demon Supreme, they would choose either the Poison King, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, or the Soul-Stealing Demon. No one would pick the Drunken Demont.

Now, however, if that question were posed to Seo Nak, it had become a question requiring some thought.

SWISH!

Seo Nak unleashed a palm technique, thrusting out a sudden strike. The Drunken Demon lightly twisted his body to the side, evading it.

CRASH!

The wall of the great hall behind him shattered, and the display cabinet placed there was demolished.

Seo Nak's gaze briefly flickered towards the broken ornaments scattered across the floor. He would no longer care. This would be a scene that heralded the beginning of his new life.

SWISH!

When the second palm technique flew in, the Drunken Demon vanished into the mist. No scream was heard, so he must have evaded it again.

Suddenly, Seo Nak felt his body was different from usual.

This isn't ordinary mist. It's alcohol qi.

Because of it, his body felt lightheaded and languid. His vigilance naturally loosened. This wasn't a matter of mental fortitude or the quantity of inner arts. His body was simply reacting to the alcohol's influence.

Seo Nak drew upon his inner arts and released a cold aura from both his hands.

Snap out of it! If I get drunk, I'll die!

Seo Nak's unique martial art was the White Ice Divine Palm. Even a light hit would cause a cold aura to enter one's organs, leading to lifelong suffering, and a direct hit would instantly freeze the entire body, resulting in immediate death. It was a terrifying martial art.

"Hey, Drunken Demon. Don't hide cowardly in the mist. Come out and face me honorably…"

SWISH!

Seo Nak twisted his body, dodging what flew in from the front.

CRASH!

What flew and shattered the wall behind him was a steel ball rolling on the floor. It had fallen from the previously broken ornament.

As he had said earlier, the Drunken Demon was fighting using everything he could get his hands on as a weapon. However, the trash he picked up from the floor flew more terrifyingly than an assassin's hidden weapons.

"A Great Demon Supreme, acting so cowardly…"

SWISH.

This time, an attack came from behind him. It was too late to turn around, so Seo Nak raised his protective enhanced qi and blocked it with his back.

THWACK!

The moment he was hit, he knew. It was the Drunken Demon's fist.

Seo Nak was thrown forward, then spun around sharply. His back ached as if it would break, but it was bearable.

The Drunken Demon stood where he had been, drinking.

As he drank, he stared at Seo Nak, and the moment Seo Nak met his gaze, a chilling wind swept through his chest. That languid yet decadent look contained a kind of killing intent and madness he had never witnessed before.

WHOOSH!

Seo Nak's surprise palm technique tore through the mist, swirling and flying forward.

The Drunken Demon, however, lightly evaded it with nimble footwork, then disappeared into the mist.

This place, overflowing with alcohol qi, was the Drunken Demon's world. The more skilled a master, the more they would realize how terrifying this mist was. For them, victory and defeat were decided by the slightest difference.

Just then, something gleaming tore through the mist and flew in.

WHIZZ! WHIZZ!

THUD! THUD!

What flew in rapidly pierced Seo Nak's shoulder and arm.

The Drunken Demon, emerging from the mist, held a dagger in his hand.

It was too fast for Seo Nak to evade in time. He swung a palm strike a step too late, but the Drunken Demon had already vanished back into the mist.

He's strong, stronger than I expected.

Seo Nak also moved quickly, trying to conceal himself in the mist. The mist, however, was not on his side. The mist around him, where he had lunged, dispersed, revealing his form.

SWISH! CRASH!

He blocked the palm technique that flew towards him, but his arm ached as if it would fall off, having been pushed back by the force.

Even palm techniques!

That wasn't all.

SWISH!

The Drunken Demon's fingers shot out from the mist, raking across him. His skin tore, and blood splattered.

This time, it's claw techniques!

Now Seo Nak knew for sure. The Drunken Demon had mastered all kinds of martial arts, because a drunkard's martial arts should be like this.

Punching, kicking, stabbing, rolling, throwing.

This was the Drunken Demon's martial arts. The haphazard fighting style of a drunkard was capable of breaking bones and tearing flesh.

The Drunken Demon reappeared. He was conspicuously drinking in front of Seo Nak. The more he drank, the stronger he became.

Seo Nak drew upon all his inner qi. The aura emanating from his hands, which had been blue, now turned pure white. He was about to unleash the White Calamity Palm, the most powerful technique among the White Ice Divine Palm's techniques.

He's not dodging? He's going to take the White Calamity Palm head-on? Good!

At that very moment, when he was secretly rejoicing, Seo Nak saw.

The surrounding mist instantly gathered around the Drunken Demon, then formed a single shape.

It was the back of a Wine God, standing with his back turned.

This was the Drunken Demon's unique martial art, shining amidst the various martial arts he had mastered.

SWISH!

The White Calamity Palm was unleashed. A massive enhanced qi, overturning the ground and tearing the air, flew towards him.

Simultaneously, the Wine God, who had been standing with his back turned behind the Drunken Demon, spun around and lunged forward.

From the Drunken Demon's unique martial art, the Wine God Art. The Fourth Cup, the Wine God Drinks.

The alcohol qi, flying in the form of the Wine God, merged and became a single beam of light.

BOOM!

The two massive enhanced qi collided, unleashing a tremendous explosion. The great hall was completely obliterated by the impact.

As the rising dust settled, the two figures were revealed. The Drunken Demon stood in his original spot. Seo Nak, on the other hand, had been pushed back more than ten steps.

The Wine God Drinks had completely overwhelmed and pushed back the White Calamity Palm.

"Gah!" Seo Nak's entire body was tattered. He vomited a gush of blood. It was an irreparable injury. The Drunken Demon had defeated him without even using his unique weapon, the Blood Gourd.

Seo Nak thought he was strong, but the Drunken Demon was stronger.

The Drunken Demon drank again. This last sip is for you, Brewmaster.

Facing his imminent death, Seo Nak raged. He wasn't angry about losing, but about those who had broken their promise.

"They said they would protect me…"

Blood trickled from Seo Nak's mouth. He hadn't just trusted his own skill.

Just then, a new voice echoed. "They didn't break their promise."

Something flew towards Seo Nak. He looked at it, only to realize that two corpses were thrown down before him.

"It seems you were quite important to them," Geom Mugeuk said, entering the residence.

The two martial artists had been ambushed in a secret part of Seo Nak's residence, and they were no ordinary practitioners. Not only were their martial arts skills excellent, but their stealth and movement arts were also superb, ready to whisk Seo Nak away if necessary.

Geom Mugeuk walked over to the Drunken Demon and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. You?"

Geom Mugeuk nodded, confirming he was fine, and looked to the other side.

"They're coming!"

Something was rushing towards them from beyond the mist.

WHIZZ!

The Drunken Demon instinctively twisted his body, but something grazed his face.

It was a drop of blood.

What flew like a hidden weapon was clearly a drop of blood, but it wasn't an ordinary drop of blood. It was blood qi shaped like a droplet.

Soon after, the one who launched the blood droplet appeared, as if pouncing on them. His eyes, face, neck, and hands were eerily red.

"Dodge!"

At Geom Mugeuk's shout, the two men dodged to either side.

BOOM!

The charging man exploded, splattering blood everywhere. The flying blood pierced through the shattered wall.

It was the Self Destruction Art again. The power of the blood qi unleashed upon death was immense!

This was why Geom Mugeuk was wary of and disliked the Blood King. He was a man who used his subordinates' lives in such a way.

This wasn't just someone who had learned the Self Destruction Art in a short time. This was a martial artist cultivated through long training to effectively use this Self Destruction Art.

Yet at the end of that effort awaited this single moment of self-destruction.

This is why fighting the Blood King is so disgusting!

This time, he truly had to ask.

"Are you alright?"

As the Drunken Demon nodded at Geom Mugeuk's question, about to reply, both men's gazes turned to a single point again.

Someone else was rushing towards them, and it wasn't just one or two.

"There are many this time!"

The Drunken Demon swept away the mist in front of him to secure his vision.

At that moment, the two men saw. A dozen or so figures, rushing towards them, seemed to leap into the air simultaneously.

BOOOOM!

They exploded all at once, unleashing the Self Destruction Art. As if they had been cultivated solely for this moment, they showed not a hint of hesitation. It was an Self Destruction Art designed to concentrate blood qi entirely forward.

WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZZ!

Hundreds of blood qi projectiles flew towards the two men! They flew in densely, leaving no room to dodge, accompanied by ear-splitting tearing sounds. They were too widespread to evade.

The Drunken Demon stepped in front of Geom Mugeuk. "Young Cult Leader! Behind me!"

The Drunken Demon blocked Geom Mugeuk, raising his protective enhanced qi to its limit. At the same time, he crossed his arms to cover his face.

In this moment of crisis, the Drunken Demon referred to Geom Mugeuk as the Young Cult Leader. For this instant, he was not just a younger brother, but the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, whom he, a Demon Supreme, absolutely had to protect.

The Drunken Demon pushed his inner arts to their limit. Considering the power of the blood droplets that had flown in earlier, injury was inevitable.

Nevertheless, even if he was hurt, he would not allow a single hair on Geom Mugeuk's head to be harmed. This was the pride of a Demon Supreme, who had come out to serve the Young Cult Leader.

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!

The sound of the flying blood qi striking something was heard.

The next moment, a fleeting silence fell.

The Drunken Demon slowly straightened the arms he had held before his face and looked up with a surprised expression.

The blood qi, which had flown with terrifying momentum, had not reached him.

Something stood before his eyes. A wall of enhanced qi, shining brilliantly as it reflected the sunlight.

The blood qi had poured in densely, leaving no place to escape, yet not a single strand of it could penetrate this shining wall of enhanced qi.

This colossal wall of enhanced qi, the greatest wall that protected all demonic practitioners.

It was the Impenetrable Demonic Wall of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.