Chapter 456: What a relief.

I shouted with all my might.

-Draw your sword!

Fortunately, it seemed my scream, which was at the level of a desperate cry, reached Magyeomhu-nim.

Magyeomhu-nim immediately tucked her arm into her sleeve.

Right after.

Kwaaaahhhhhh-!

An immense light shot up into the sky from Magyeomhu-nim.

Kwoooooooo-! The surrounding energy mixed with the wind pressure and spread out like crazy.

With lightning energy mixed into the wind, it was at a level that would blow away anyone below the peak unless they were of considerable cultivation.

“Gck…!”

I barely kept my feet on the ground, releasing my energy to withstand it.

Deudeudeuk-! As I tried to overcome the pressure, my feet dug deep into the ground.

It felt like I could be blown away at any moment.

Still, I endured.

Because I absolutely had to see this.

‘…Fuck, what the hell is going on.’

Gritting my teeth, I stared straight ahead.

The lightning bolt soared upwards, letting out a tremendous roar.

Its power was so immense it gave the illusion of a hole being punched through the sky.

Contrary to the menacing atmosphere, the clear clouds began to dissipate.

And so, above the sky where all the clouds vanished, leaving only blue light…

Kureureureung…!

Dark clouds, appearing from nowhere in an instant, began to occupy the space.

The intact sun hid its face.

Kureung….

All that remained were the dark clouds brimming with lightning. It was a situation so unnatural, it felt wrong to call it a naturally formed shape.

In the midst of such a subtle situation that even evoked a sense of awe.

Kureureureung–!

Suddenly, the lightning energy permeating the dark clouds began to rage wildly.

Each lightning bolt seemed to possess its own will, bursting forth its presence through the gaps in the clouds.

The moment I saw it, goosebumps erupted all over my spine.

As my cultivation level increased, I could discern the extent of the power contained within those lightning bolts.

Kureung-!

After coiling several times, the lightning energy eventually gathered at a single point.

Kwaaaahhhhhh-!

Unlike the initial upward surge, it now drove the lightning bolt straight into the ground with its full power.

That tremendous power was enough to pulverize the surrounding ground.

The wind pressure also reversed, starting to pull my body towards it.

Fortunately, this magnetic force didn’t last long.

The intensely surging light subsided within a few seconds. All that remained was the dust obscuring my vision.

“…”

The obstruction to my vision was quite inconvenient. But knowing it would disappear soon, I endured.

And sure enough.

Hwooooooosh-!

A tremendous gust of wind blew, clearing away the dust that had been blocking my view.

What my now-clear vision captured was.

“…!”

Sogeomseong-nim, panting heavily with his sword planted in the ground.

And Magyeomhu-nim, looking at Sogeomseong-nim with her sword lowered in front of her.

Seeing that sight, I couldn’t help but swallow hard.

‘That’s… a sight I haven’t seen in a while.’

That’s what I thought as I looked at Magyeomhu-nim.

Magyeomhu-nim looked completely different from her usual self right now.

Unlike just moments before, when she was bleeding profusely from one hand and on the verge of collapse from exhaustion.

Now, she stood tall and unwavering, exuding an noble presence.

The sword in her hand had also changed from before.

The sword’s form was quite peculiar.

A sword with just a handle.

Specifically, where the guard should have been above the sword ring (Do-hwan), a mysterious blue gem was embedded.

That was the sword blade of Noea (Reo-a).

It looked like something you’d wonder ‘what is that?’

It was clearly a weapon that didn’t seem usable as a sword in appearance.

But it was definitely a sword (Geom).

That was one of the Five Great Swords of the Central Plains.

And it was Noea, the divine sword used by Noecheonilgeom, the hero of the Namgung family.

In other words.

A sword that only a true Namgung could wield.

This was the name Namgung Myung left behind for future generations.

It’s an old tale that one could only be appointed as the head of the Namgung family if they could handle that sword.

This means that Noea is a sword that cannot be used by just anyone.

A sword whose blade flew off, leaving nothing visible.

It looked far from qualifying as a ‘rare artifact’ just by looking at it.

But if one had the qualifications, Noea became a weapon more fearsome than anything else.

“…”

If the one wielding it is Magyeomhu-nim, the story changes even more.

Sabak.

Magyeomhu-nim moved.

Gugugugugung-! The earth vibrated along with her.

I could feel the air rapidly distorting.

Beonjjeok-!

At the same time, the gem of Noea emitted light.

A brilliant light, enough to illuminate the entire front.

I closed my eyes for a moment due to the bright light.

Only after the light subsided with difficulty did I slowly open my eyes.

‘…!’

My eyes widened at the sight before me.

Because a blue blade was shimmering above Noea’s gem, where there was nothing before.

That was Noea’s blade.

A blade made solely of lightning energy.

An unknown power could be felt from its form, created purely from energy.

Pajijijijik-!

As if to prove it, I could see impossible amounts of lightning energy coiling within the blade.

‘The Fang of Thunder….’

That appearance fit the meaning of Noea perfectly.

Furthermore, that wasn’t all Noea emitted.

Kugugugung-!

Magyeomhu-nim’s body underwent a change upon unleashing Noea.

Her hair began to sway wildly in the air, and the excess lightning energy she couldn’t contain swirled around her body, emitting an imposing aura.

The form of the lightning energy looked like a moving dragon.

Magyeomhu-nim’s full combat stance using Noea.

This rare artifact, which not even the current Cheonjun, nor the previous head of the Namgung family known as the Sword King, could use.

People referred to this state as.

‘The Descent of the Thunder Empress (Noehu Gangrim)….’

They would show their fear upon seeing her, saying…

Magyeomhu-nim, now in the Thunder Empress state, made a slight gesture.

The dark clouds gathered above slowly moved following her delicate gesture.

Kureureung-!

‘…It’s amazing no matter how many times I see it.’

I don’t know the specifics of Noea’s power since I’ve never used it, but just using it changes Magyeomhu-nim’s combat potential.

The blade imbued with lightning energy could cut through anything.

The domain of lightning energy that dominated the surroundings expanded endlessly.

It was enough to say it changed her ‘class’ rather than just her ‘level’.

Watching this, I always had one question.

Does Magyeomhu-nim, possessing such power, truly fall behind compared to the Three Venerables?

I wasn’t sure about that.

If I had to make excuses, it would be that she borrowed the power of a rare artifact, but…

‘Besides, only Magyeomhu-nim can use Noea.’

That was why Majae wasn’t too concerned even if Noea fell into Cheonjun’s hands.

Noea can only be used by Magyeomhu-nim.

If Cheonjun could have used the rare artifact….

‘At least he wouldn’t have died pathetically at Cheonma’s hands.’

He wouldn’t have died so ineptly.

That just goes to show how strong Noea’s power is.

Sabak.

Magyeomhu-nim moved.

The lightning energy surged accordingly.

Sogeomseong-nim noticed this and tried to get up.

Several golden sword blades formed behind his back.

‘Oh no.’

This isn’t the time to be watching the situation unfold nonchalantly.

It seemed Sogeomseong-nim had no intention of backing down, no matter Magyeomhu-nim’s current state.

Even though Magyeomhu-nim wielded Noea.

If Sogeomseong-nim also revealed his full power, who knew how the situation might turn out.

‘She wasn’t fighting seriously either.’

The problem was.

Sogeomseong-nim shouldn’t recklessly reveal his full power right now.

According to my prediction, Sogeomseong-nim should now be able to unleash his true power after realizing the essence of his strength and the meaning of his martial arts, but…

Such power consumes her ‘life force’.

That couldn’t happen.

I scanned my surroundings.

Seeing that Cheonjun wasn’t intervening despite the situation being like this, it seemed that old geezer wasn’t here.

That’s a relief; if that guy were here too, it would have been a disaster.

‘But conversely.’

Why isn’t that bastard Majae nowhere to be seen in this situation?

‘Could it be that Magyeomhu-nim came alone?’

Not only Majae, but even the other demons are nowhere to be seen.

This means we can assume Magyeomhu-nim charged in here all by herself.

‘Is she fucking crazy?’

Why?

Why did she suddenly come here?

Could it be… she came to save me?

The situation didn’t make sense.

Why would that crazy bitch, who was cutting down both friend and foe indiscriminately, come here?

She shouldn’t have come.

Then she wouldn’t have gotten hurt like that.

Just as I scowled.

Kuaaaaaaaa-!

A tremendous roar began to erupt from Noea.

That was a declaration of intent to launch an offensive with Noea.

It was dangerous.

‘Damn it.’

It was obvious she would become this powerful, yet I remembered the reason why she hadn’t drawn her sword despite fighting a life-threatening battle.

It only occurred to me then.

‘I told her not to draw it.’

‘Do not draw Noea without my permission.’

These were the words I uttered right after facing Magyeomhu-nim, who was fighting using Noea.

I couldn’t help it.

The battle where she used Noea back then…

‘Was a complete mess.’

Because I saw enemies and allies alike getting incinerated by the continuous lightning strikes from the sky and the onslaught unleashed by Noea.

That’s a dangerous power.

Even Magyeomhu-nim couldn’t easily control it.

While its destructive power and strength were outstanding, it tended to devastate the surroundings.

Of course, burning everything down is something I do too, but…

How much worse must it have been for me to tell her not to do it?

That’s why I said those words.

‘…Was she protecting it?’

It seems Magyeomhu-nim had been keeping the words I uttered until now.

I didn’t know.

I hadn’t paid attention.

And I couldn’t pay attention.

Because my thought was that I didn’t care whether she kept it or not.

Does that mean she was keeping those words?

Seeing that, I bit my lip.

‘Is it because she’s the Magyeomhu of this world?’

She might be different from the Magyeomhu in the world I originally came from.

According to Hyeolm-a-nim, this place is different from the world I was in.

But.

Somehow, I didn’t think that was the case.

Kureung-! Kureureung-!

The lightning energy grew rougher, creating an atmosphere like a surging blade.

Seureung.

Magyeomhu-nim’s sword tip pointed towards Sogeomseong-nim.

Soon, Sogeomseong-nim also generated golden energy around his body.

A situation on the verge of exploding.

Seueueueueu…!

A gradual change occurred in Sogeomseong-nim’s body as he gathered his energy.

As the energy shifted, I felt suffocated.

The moment I confirmed that, I threw myself forward.

This couldn’t be left as is.

“…!”

“…Hut!!”

I leaped with all my might, arriving between the two women.

Magyeomhu-nim and Sogeomseong-nim looked at me with expressions of great surprise.

“Stop….”

I tried to stop Magyeomhu-nim, telling her to cease…

“Ah….”

Kung.

Upon seeing me, the light from Magyeomhu-nim’s Noea immediately extinguished.

Meaning the blade vanished, leaving only the handle.

Furthermore, the densely packed dark clouds slowly retreated, regaining the bright sky.

The oppressive pressure of the lightning energy surrounding us also disappeared.

I was about to be taken aback by the sudden turn of events.

“…Thank goodness.”

Magyeomhu-nim said that, looking at me.

“…”

I had to shut my mouth tightly at those few words.

How could I possibly speak?

Her left arm was bleeding profusely, no matter how it happened.

Her exhausted eyes and faint breaths revealed just how bad her condition was.

Only after confirming that did I unconsciously run a hand down my face.

“…You…”

Always protecting me until you’re in such a state.

That damn thought pierced deep into my core.