The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Boom!!!

Princess Jadeflower felt an eerie dissonance between her feather-light body and her newfound strength, which made cracks on the ground with every step she took.

"Ugh... Ugh!"

"Oh... Princess Jadeflower!"

Unable to control her power, she stumbled and fell while dashing through the forest.

"Ugh..." She groaned and grimaced as she got up, but her face quickly turned gloomy as soon as she saw her dirt-covered hands.

"Are you okay, Princess?" asked Kwak Mi-Young, who had hurried over to Su-Yoon’s side to help her get back on her feet.

But a weak nod was all Su-Yoon could manage to give in response.

"I haven't even gotten a scratch. It seems my body has truly become stronger... It's surprising."

"It's probably due to the soup we consumed."

When she had eaten that ghastly thing, she had thought it was an attempt to poison her. However, running through the forest made her realize the effects were completely different from what she had anticipated. Princess Jadeflower, who had only ever dealt with books and diplomacy, and never ran or wielded a sword herself, had discovered that she could now leap and tumble meters without any difficulty and without a single injury.

"I can't deny it. Aside from its taste, that terrible thing is truly remarkable."

"I'll carry you."

"No. I can’t let myself hold you back any further. Let's go on," she said sternly.

"Oh? What brings such a noble lady to this dense forest?"

Suddenly, a powerful qi enveloped the surroundings, causing both Mi-Young and Su-Yoon to tense up. Then four raggedly-dressed old men emerged from the forest.

"It’s the Seoldo Pervert Demon!"

"Oh, you know me, child. Then you must know these people with me as well."

Hearing this remark, Su-Yoon turned to Mi-Young with a tense expression on her face. "Do you know them?"

"They are the Four Lewd Demons, public enemies of the Central Martial Alliance. Each one is a master of unparalleled skill, and many female warriors have fallen victim to them."

"The Four Lewd Demons... I've heard of them. Surely the ones who kidnapped the daughter of Ok Kwang-Chul, the leader of the Central Martial Alliance..." Su-Yoon muttered, earning a sinister sneer from the Seoldo Pervert Demon.

"Oh, there's still someone who remembers that soft child."

"Shut your mouth, you filthy bastard!"

"Hehe, quite the sharp-tongued girl." The old man chuckled and pulled out a trinket that a young girl would typically possess. "Curious about this? Because I could tell you how she screamed and begged to be spared. I remember it so vividly, and I've even kept this with me since she took her own life."

"Haha. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say you abused her to death?"

The Seoldo Pervert Demon clicked his tongue at the mocking rebuke of his peer.

"We've been unable to locate your whereabouts until now... To think we'd meet here."

"Are they powerful?" Su-Yoon asked with a face marred with worry.

"Yes,” Mi-Young answered with a nod. “It’s not just their martial skills that are fearsome, but also their evil attacks that exhaust the will, their soul-absorbing technique, and their stealth and swift movement."

"Um... this is troublesome."

"Hey, noble ladies, wouldn’t you like to come to me? I’ll bring you to paradise," the Seoldo Pervert Demon said with an eerie grin.

Mi-Young quickly drew her sword, and her stance shifted as if she was ready to fight him. "Shut it. My grandfather has been after you for a long time. But it will be me, the Peach Blossom Fairy, who will punish all of you right here and right now.”

"Pfft! You’re just like a puppy ignorant of the tiger's might!"

Survival was not permitted to the weak. The Seoldo Pervert Demon and the other three men with him were extremely dangerous and wicked. Their sudden appearance here was the terrible culmination of fatal coincidences.

"Princess... Stay close to me."

"Sigh..." Su-Yoon looked around restlessly.

The path of retreat was blocked by the Four Lewd Demons, who were subtly closing in. But the tension-filled standoff was cut short when the Seoldo Pervert Demon slid toward Mi-Young like a flash of lightning.

"Let's start by tearing off that skirt of yours and taking that bra!"

Mi-Young frowned at his shameless lasciviousness. These old men were known as the Lewd Demons, precisely for such demeaning words and actions, and it was their martial skills that allowed them to survive despite such acts, making them notorious.

The Seoldo Pervert Demon’s lightning-fast assault split into dozens and shot down at Mi-Young. His skills as he wielded his monk’s staff were nothing less than astonishing. Mi-Young instinctively felt the incoming attack, but she could not block it.

Being gravely wounded and greatly dishonored would’ve been her ending if it had been any other day. But things were different today. Yes, this day was nothing like her other days.

Bzzzzz!!!

"Huh?!"

"Jadeflower Fairy Sword Art."

Slash!!!

Mi-Young darted forward as if she was using the Illusionary Steps movement art, leaving afterimages and striking down the Seoldo Pervert Demon in a flash.

"My precious purity is not something you can desecrate," she muttered coldly, trampling the head of the now lifeless Seoldo Demon. She then turned to address the remaining Lewd Demons, "Sir Davey gave me power. With it, I will not lose to you."

One thing was certain. The attack of the Lewd Demons was, surprisingly, too slow! After consuming that terrible tasting soup Davey gave her, she realized she now had no reason to falter even against all the Lewd Demons.

"Y-you bitch!"

"Come at me."

Mi-Young started to be intoxicated by her power as confidence swelled within her, and the remaining three Lewd Demons tensed up and surrounded her.

They could not afford to be lax after seeing one of them be taken down so swiftly and so easily.

"Aaah!!"

The Lewd Demons had found a solution for their dire situation. One of them had quickly captured Su-Yoon with a strange power, and he was using her as a threat.

"Hehehe... With your precious lady in danger, would you really keep your sword up?"

Mi-Young could not let it slide. "Release her! Do you know who she is?"

"Why should I care who she is?"

Mi-Young then realized that it was actually for the best. Telling an outlaw that his prisoner was Princess Jadeflower, the Imperial Regent of the Country of Yu, would only backfire.

"Hey! Catch her!" yelled one of the Lewd Demons.

Another one of them began chanting a strange incantation and threw the talisman he’d been holding. Dark energy began to spread, enveloping Mi-Young and Su-Yoon.

"Now, now, when you come to, it will all be over. Don't worry. There will be no pain, only pleasure."

Mi-Young knew exactly what it was. She instinctively realized that the talisman was a curse that could erode the human spirit and collapse the will. But she could not afford to be stopped here. She had to bring Su-Yoon to the Yu Palace and notify a few trusted individuals of her return and the current situation. She had to do exactly what Davey had requested.

As the dark energy crept up on her consciousness, Mi-Young trembled and her eyes closed in apprehension.

[Reinforce the Mana Manifestation]

[Avenger of the Guardian Manifestation]

Bzzzzzzz...

Suddenly, golden light radiated from Su-Yoon and Kwak Mi-Young.

"What... What is this?!"

Boom!!!

The head of the Lewd Demon that had cast the curse on them exploded. The stiff Mi-Young and the captured Su-Yoon gaped in shock at the headless corpse, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Ugh!" Su-Yoon covered her mouth with her hand as she started to gag at the gruesome sight.

"You... You witch!"

Unable to restrain her movements, the frantic Lewd Demon attempted to subdue Su-Yoon, but once again...

Bzzzzzzzz!!!!

A massive burst of golden light erupted, and Su-Yoon twisted and ripped off the Lewd Demon's arm.

"What?"

"Eh?"

The situation was baffling.

"You... You monster!"

The Lewd Demon screamed in pain from having his arm severed off. He then reached out for Su-Yoon with his other arm and grabbed her head. With a qi absorption technique, he began to drain her energy so he could recover from his injury, but the golden light pouring from the women's bodies did not stop there.

[Reflection Mana Manifestation]

"Cough?! What... This is... No, noooo!!!"

The force that was pulling Su-Yoon's energy reversed, drawing in every last drop of energy from the Lewd Demon's body, drying up his powers. It didn’t take long for his body to blacken as if he was burnt, and for him to crumble completely.

"What... What is all this," Su-Yoon muttered in shock. "Could it be... all this..."

"Yes... Princess. It seems that the soup he gave us had..."

What kind of soup has such insane effects! She wanted to rush back, grab him by the collar, and scream and ask what he had fed her. But they remained still, turning their gaze to the only Lewd Demon left.

"You... you monsters!!"

The last Lewd Demon had witnessed his companions get obliterated, so he tried to flee, stumbling in his haste. But then…

Ping!!!

A purple energy orb flew in from beyond the forest and blew the Lewd Demon's head clean off.

"What?!"

Surprised, Mi-Young looked around and saw something in the distance, deep in the woods. A giant, grotesque metal mass of a man, who was holding an abnormally long weapon, stood slowly and oddly saluted at her, before slipping away and disappearing as if he had blended into the surroundings. It was as if a strange cloak had been cast over him, making him invisible.

"Princess... We must leave quickly."

"Y-Yes... I'm starting to wonder what exactly I've consumed..."

"Me too."

A soup turning ordinary people into matchless warriors who could tear through even Absolute realm masters; such a soup or potion, was unheard of. Should anyone use such a drug on a massive scale in war...

"Ugh... Such a terrifying thought."

What she didn’t know was that Davey was the only one who could make such a potion, and that it could only strengthen a handful of people to such a degree. She also didn’t know that such a feat could only be performed by a Saint.

***

If there was a kind of lifeform that exhibited a power that egregiously ignored most principles, had a powerful resistance nearing the point of perfection, and had an unreasonable resilience to any means of killing, then it would be this thing.

Slash!!

Its body instantly reformed and clung together, flinging away the blackened blood.

[Throw me away. I am the one who lost its form, Oedon, and I speak of myself. Even if your blade is ever so sharp, to cut me is to cut water.]

Shh...

The oozing blood morphed into a number of tentacles that lashed out at Perserque.

"Aaah! What's this?!"

Terrified, Yun Hee-Ryeong swung her sword desperately. But just like Su-Yoon and Mi-Young, she had also consumed the soup.

Boom!!!

Thanks to that, her seemingly ordinary blade tore through the air, creating a massive sonic burst.

"Ack?!"

She looked in astonishment as the tentacles were annihilated, then she quickly turned to Davey with a puzzled look.

"How... how did this happen..."

"It works well, doesn't it?"

"That... that's right! You monster, taste my blade!" As she spoke, she began to exude the unique qi gained from learning the Heavenrend Divine Art, and she started cutting through the mass of giant tentacles occupying the field.

Blades were useless against the shapeless monster, Oedon, whose body could withstand even getting sliced in half. All because such an attack could not deal damage and destroy its form. On top of that, Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon were less effective against the Abyssal entities, and all Davey could rely on was the Taboo’s Karma.

Kwang!!! Boom!!!

Somewhere far away, the two beasts, Shandra Minea and Megalodria, were reaching the peak of their battle.

Amidst the fierce clash, a sudden scream echoed. "Aaaaaah!!!"

An abrupt event unfolded. The flesh of Oedon was before Davey, but in the distance, something or someone was now suddenly holding Yun Hee-Ryeong, who was dealing with the severed tentacles.

[I am formless. Thus, I can accept and become anything.]

The voice sounded like there were two instead of just one. Meanwhile a ghastly eye emerged amidst the tentacles. The trembling and struggling Yun Hee-Ryeong was grabbed by a gigantic hand.

"You bastard, what are you…"

Davey instantly realized what that meant, and he immediately rushed toward Yun Hee-Ryeong. But a strange barrier blocked his path. Instinctively unleashing the Taboo’s Karma, Davey punched the barrier, but the creature's scheme was meticulously plotted. It aimed to awaken her, even at the cost of its own flesh.

[Wake up. Decide whether you will awaken and use your strength to assist us…]

Amid its whispering, dozens of tentacles flew toward the trembling Yun Hee-Ryeong.

Just then, a massive sound filled the sky, and a colossal dragon crushed the shapeless tentacled monster, flattening it. Weighing dozens of tons, Shandra Minea's body crushed Oedon completely, without a chance for it to even scream.

Having narrowly escaped death, Yun Hee-Ryeong clutched her chest in shock, saying, "Da... Damn, I was almost killed."

Seeing her panic, Davey halted his attacks on the barrier and looked up at Megalodria, who was proudly crossing his arms after hurling Shandra Minea away.

[Summoner, have I interfered?]

"No, you did well."