Emperor’s Divine Palm (Bawang Shenzhang) 3

“Woah…”

“…Ye, yeah, they’re tall alright.”

Indeed, it was one of Skeletonia’s renowned fortress cities.

Even Chiwoomen, who had joked about simply hopping over the walls, couldn’t bring himself to make such remarks when faced with the over 20-meter towering ramparts.

Doyun shared the same impression.

‘An impressive fortress.’

Through his Seventh Sense, he could see that the walls, especially the gates, were layered with high-grade defensive and preservation magics.

At this level, even Vanguard Commanders would be hard-pressed to dare attempt breaching the gates.

“Ahem, ahem!”

Then, a voice amplified by a voice projection stone boomed down from the walls.

It was the gruff, double-chinned visage typical of a corrupt aristocrat – the lord of Amasbin.

“Why have you come all this tiresome way again? I’ll open the gates myself in a week and arrange for the guild members’ return, so go back!”

Without even a greeting, his first words oozed arrogance.

His statement caused the team members to collectively frown.

“I am Leona, the team leader from the World Tree. My lord! Your current actions constitute a clear breach of contract and can be interpreted as an expression of hostile intent towards the World Tree – a grave crime!”

“Why are you saying such well-known things? How many years has this been going on? It’s merely for a week, can’t the World Tree show a little flexibility? I’m just keeping them for a bit!”

Leona’s crisp retort marked the start of their formal back-and-forth exchange.

This was precisely why this mission was so dreaded.

That obstinate lord would only repeat the same lines over and over, never opening the gates.

The assigned guild members had no choice but to shout futile protests from the surrounding residential areas for the remaining period.

It was utterly draining and infuriating, their energy and tempers fraying to the limit. Truly a vexing mission.

Some time passed…

“Team leader. Let’s take a break.”

“Phew… I suppose we should.”

With her nape flushed from the excitement, Leona fanned herself with a slightly hoarse voice. Chiwoomen quickly handed her some water.

They planned to take turns addressing him. But the lord, who had to face them all alone, showed no signs of fatigue as he stood arrogantly on the walls with his arms crossed.

“That stubborn bastard…”

Chiwoomen muttered under his breath.

Leona called out to him again.

“My lord! The World Tree holds the legitimate right to use force through compulsory enforcement against your breach of contract…”

“Well said! So, the week I’m keeping them is the enforcement period? Why don’t you try resolving it with force then!”

Sneering with the utmost confidence in his impregnable fortress city, the lord’s arrogance caused Chiwoomen to grit his teeth.

Meanwhile, after observing the gate for quite a while, Doyun began to move.

Seeing this, Sophie asked, “Hm? Where are you going?”

“Just going to experiment with a technique I recently acquired.”

As if the timing couldn’t be better, Doyun stood before the gate with his palm outstretched.

Over 10 meters tall and thickly fortified, it was an exceptionally sturdy gate layered with flawless defensive magics.

“Hm? What’s this?”

The lord furrowed his brow, looking down at Doyun.

The Emperor’s Divine Palm. Over the past few days, Doyun had practiced the technique numerous times on iron dummies. However, it was originally designed to be used on living bodies containing mana or large inanimate objects.

‘It’s a bit too massive… but more data is always better.’

How it would react to defensive magic, how it would fare against sturdy wooden walls – all useful data points.

Even if the gate sustained minor damage, it didn’t matter. The preservation magic would self-repair it, and more importantly, they were currently in the ‘compulsory enforcement’ period with force authorized, so any actions were permissible.

‘It would be nice if some gold came out.’

Doyun chuckled inwardly at the absurd thought. That was impossible, of course. He had simply felt pity for Leona’s struggles and decided to give it a try.

From atop the walls, the lord and his vassals looked down at him in bafflement.

“What is he trying to do now?”

“Who knows, I’m not sure either…”

“Is he going to try shaking the gate or something? A show of force? Does he think he’s a Hero or Vanguard Commander?”

“Hahah. How ridiculous, wah…”

“Anyway, this is why those Disciple brats are… so arrogantly full of themselves, blessed as they are by the gods, huh?”

They sneered derisively.

Regardless, Doyun assumed a stance.

‘With no risk of damage, I can go all out…’

The Dragon Heart in his lower abdomen transformed into a blazing star, radiating light and heat.

His Mana Level 4’s meager mana reserves, fueled by the Dragon Heart, unleashed an output surpassing Mana Level 5.

Vibrating mana gathered in his palm with an intense tremor.

As he focused the mana in his palm, Doyun furrowed his brow, caught off guard by the stronger-than-expected recoil.

‘Without skill embodiment or adjustments… and the technique’s complexity means my control ability is still lacking. Unleashing it at full power is impossible.’

Left with no choice, he reduced a portion of the mana to lower its intensity.

“Nngh…!”

Even then, his palm trembled violently, as if it would tear apart.

Forcefully suppressing the unruly mana that thrashed like a wild horse with his peerless mana control, Doyun braced his legs firmly against the ground and pulled back his palm.

‘Emperor (Bawang)…’

Then, preparing to release the vibrating mana he had been containing with all his might…

‘Divine Palm (Shenzhang)!’

He thrust out his palm.

To his teammates, the lord, and the vassals who had been observing Doyun’s actions, the scene unfolded in slow motion.

Doyun’s palm made contact with the gate.

Jjeojeok-

Like dipping a hand into a water-filled surface, his palm sank shallowly into the gate.

And from that point…

The shock absorption magic, defensive magic, anti-magic field, and fortress magics layered upon the gate…

All those magic arrays simultaneously shattered.

Jjeojeojeojeojeok-!

Spider-web-like cracks spread across the entire towering, thick gate over 10 meters tall.

All of this occurred in the instant his palm touched the gate.

Accompanied by a deafening boom as if the sky was collapsing…

Jjeojeojeojeong-!!

The gate shattered.

“…?”

For a moment, Doyun couldn’t comprehend the situation.

The outwards-radiating shockwave, the gate fragments flying inwards.

The guards inside scattering in panic, citizens dropping to the ground in fright from the quake-like roar.

And with eyes wide open, mouths agape…

His teammates and the lord atop the walls stared in utter disbelief.

Kkugugugunggung…!

The quaking aftershocks rippled outwards from Doyun’s position as the remaining gate fragments rained down.

A short while later, the once-imposing fortress gate had vanished, leaving an empty void before Doyun.

As the silence settled…

“…”

Frozen in his palm-thrusting posture, Doyun found himself the sole recipient of the city guards’ and citizens’ gazes, unable to regain his senses.

For 10 seconds, no one moved or spoke.

Inwardly, Doyun cursed.

‘Shit… insane…’

As the dust cleared with the wind…

‘Just what technique…’

He stared at his palm.

‘Did that Master teach me…?’

In his mind, the Vagabond Hero’s hearty laughter replayed like an auditory hallucination, reveling in the utterly dumbfounded expression on Doyun’s face.

+++

The lord, who had been obstructing them from the walls, hurriedly descended and prostrated himself before Doyun and Leona.

“I, I’m so sorry! Just this once! Please forgive me just this once, Disciple Sirs!”

The ‘arrogant Disciple brats’ he had referred to earlier had now become ‘Disciple Sirs.’

Inwardly, the lord was utterly shaken, drenched in cold sweat.

‘This fucking… I should have just played nice and sucked up to the World Tree when they let me off, but I underestimated them!’

He thought the accumulation of his misdeeds had finally prompted the World Tree to draw their swords against him.

It wasn’t that they lacked the ability to stop him – they had simply chosen not to escalate the situation and responded minimally.

But his arrogance had led him to disrespect the World Tree, crossing the line and ultimately resulting in this catastrophe.

‘No… but still, does it make sense to send a monster capable of shattering gates?!’

However, Doyun himself had left the lord’s treatment to the team leader Leona, too preoccupied with analyzing the Emperor’s Divine Palm in his mind.

‘…At that moment, it definitely nullified… no, shattered all the fortress magics layered on the gate.’

Rather than simply using destructive force or penetrative power to break through, it had torn apart the magic arrays from within.

It was closer to annihilation than mere destruction.

‘The true value of the completed Emperor’s Divine Palm that the Master said had only existed in theory. Was this what he meant?’

Initially, he hadn’t given it much thought, but the concept of shaking something from the inside proved to be utterly terrifying.

It was truly an outrageous technique befitting the name ‘Emperor’s signature move.’

‘A divine skill conceived by a transcendent expert from another dimension… I’ve received something extraordinary.’

The Vagabond Hero, a master of martial arts research who had nurtured two Heroes and countless top-tier Disciples – the legendary wandering master. He was far more formidable than Doyun had imagined.

This was a testament to the enhanced might of the current Alliance, bolstered by the influx and blessings of other-dimensional talents.

‘I can’t just focus on regaining my former abilities. Through the new generation’s legacy, I can become far stronger.’

Doyun clenched his still-tingling palm as he pondered deeply.