novelraw Chapter 128 : Chapter 128
Chapter 128 : Chapter 128
Chapter 128 Prince Yeomseong (6)
Jaun arrived at the pavilion, hiding himself in the shadows of the flickering torches.
He encountered patrolling warriors from time to time, but none here could sense Jaun's presence, as he had perfectly concealed his energy.
Having thus broken through the security net, Jaun pressed his body against one of the pavilion's walls.
‘Hoo.’
Taking a small breath, Jaun extended his senses, and the internal structure of the pavilion began to feel as if he could grasp it with his hands.
In the large space on the first floor, dozens of warriors were gathered and talking, while the second and third floors seemed to be used as lodging, with small rooms lined up in rows.
‘The place where I felt the Blood Qi is the fourth floor.’
To avoid the warriors inside the pavilion, Jaun decided to climb up the wall.
After carefully surveying his surroundings, Jaun kicked off the ground and launched his body into the air.
─ TAP, TAAAP.
In just two steps, Jaun was on the fourth-floor railing. He lowered his body, held his breath, and observed the situation inside the pavilion.
‘...Three masters of the Peak Realm.’
A low humming sound could be heard, so it seemed they had blocked the sound from the inside with an energy barrier. Jaun, lost in thought for a moment, slowly extended his hand around the energy barrier and felt the flow of energy.
‘At this level, I can dismantle it without being detected.’
Having grasped the flow of energy, Jaun reached out and touched the energy barrier. Simultaneously, Jaun's energy passed through the barrier, and he could feel the presence of three warriors with immense energy from within the pavilion.
“Squad Leader Jo!”
At the fierce momentum emanating from beyond the energy barrier, Jaun held his breath and focused on the voices that could be heard quietly.
“You are being loud. I doubt shouting will change anything.”
Following that was a thin, calm voice. It was definitely the voice of the eunuch he had briefly encountered that morning.
“Do you really intend to act this way? Can you handle what is to come?”
“Thousand Households Commander Ma. It has already happened. And did I start this? The Admiral himself decided to act. As long as he has decided, the Eastern Depot will only move forward.”
“Surely… you do not mean to say that the Admiral of the Eastern Depot really gave such an order?”
With those words, silence fell for a while. A moment later, a deep, low voice shook the room.
“…What are the thoughts of the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”
“Your Highness Prince Yeomseong. With all due respect, the Commander is of the same mind as His Majesty the Emperor….”
“Weaklings!”
In that instant, a massive energy wave struck the energy barrier hard.
‘This is…?’
Jaun briefly removed his hand from the energy barrier and looked down at his own hand.
‘Blood Qi. This is definitely Blood Qi. The one who learned the martial arts of the Blood Cult… was Prince Yeomseong himself.’
A strong trace of Blood Qi.
This was a trace that Jaun could never miss.
Jaun bit his lip.
‘The link between the Blood Cult and the Imperial Court is, of all people, Prince Yeomseong.’
Letting out a small sigh, Jaun slowly brought his hand back to the energy barrier.
“This is the power to shake the world. Why does the Embroidered Uniform Guard not understand that with this power, not only the Central Plains but also the Western Regions can be brought under our feet?”
“Your Highness. But that power is a power that His Majesty has clearly forbidden.”
“Tsk, tsk. Jin-pyeong was always like that since he was young. Always worried too much about everything. Even though he is the Emperor, that habit of his has not gone away.”
“It is a matter on which the fate of the nation hangs, so it cannot be decided so easily. One wrong move and…”
“Enough. That is far enough. I did not ask for your thoughts.”
Silence once again descended inside the pavilion. At the same time, a chilly wind swept over the railing where Jaun stood.
Lowering his body a little more to avoid being spotted by the passing warriors, Jaun listened again to the voices flowing from inside the energy barrier.
“When does the Admiral of the Eastern Depot plan to move?”
“Your Highness. If you give your permission, we will be able to complete sufficient preparations within two months.”
“Two months… That is too long. Finish everything within a month. Preparing for too long only increases the risk of being caught. I will distribute additional Blood Immortal Pills, so convey that to the Admiral.”
“I accept your command, Your Highness.”
Following Squad Leader Jo's reply, Prince Yeomseong's voice was heard again.
“Thousand Households Commander Ma.”
“Yes…. Your Highness.”
“If the Commander does not move, then at least the remaining members of the Twelve Swords of the Embroidered Uniform Guard must move. Can you do it?”
“…Your Highness.”
“Steel your heart. You rascal, did you not decide to move with me anyway? If this does not succeed, you will never be able to escape the shadow of the Commander whom Jin-pyeong favors for the rest of your life.”
“That is…”
A deep sigh filled the room.
“If you were born a man and decided to wear the embroidered uniform, should you not at least try to become the Commander?”
“Everything Your Highness says is right, but…”
Silence descended once again.
After a very short time, the man called Thousand Households Commander Ma, as if he had hardened his resolve, opened his mouth with a firm momentum.
“I understand. It will not be easy, but if I cannot overcome even that, how can I handle the great things to come? I will overcome it somehow and be a source of strength to Your Highness.”
“Well thought. First, you must recruit at least one or two more of the remaining Twelve Swords. If you are struggling, I will assign you a Secret Imperial Inspector, so shake up that Commander fellow from the inside.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I will say it again, but until you have perfectly obtained the power, you must absolutely not act rashly. They say an envoy from the Cult will be arriving soon, so you should be able to receive the final verse of the Red Blood Art.”
“Finally…”
“Yes. It has been a long time, but we have finally come this far. We have already had the warriors of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard learn the modified mental cultivation art for over five years, so the moment we complete the Red Blood Art, we will have an elite force of at least tens of thousands. When that happens, there will be no reason to watch that Jin-pyeong fellow’s every move anymore.”
Heat radiated from Prince Yeomseong’s body.
“Until then, may Your Highness preserve your jade body. We will risk our lives to accomplish the remaining tasks.”
Squad Leader Jo's clear voice echoed through the pavilion.
“I am counting on you. The remaining month. Finish it well without any mistakes.”
“As you command!”
Squad Leader Jo and Thousand Households Commander Ma, who had answered with voices full of resolve, could be felt slowly retreating from the pavilion.
Jaun, who had removed his hand from the energy barrier, let out a small sigh and fell into thought.
‘This… I think I have gotten myself involved in something bigger than I thought.’
Confirming that the two were moving away from the pavilion, Jaun slowly rose to his feet.
Just as the Ice Rakshasa had suspected, it seemed Prince Yeomseong planned to use the martial arts of the Blood Cult to shake the Imperial Court.
‘Does the Blood Cult intend to seize control of not only the martial world but also the Imperial Court?’
The Blood Cult's plan was far more ambitious than Jaun had anticipated. It was a plan they had bet the fate of the Blood Cult on and spent ten years honing, so it was only natural.
Swallowing up the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, placing tools that could use Blood Qi all over the Central Plains, and on top of that, seizing control of the Imperial Court.
If the Blood Cult's schemes had come to fruition so far, no one would have been able to stop them.
‘...If they had not touched me, my father, there is a high probability it would have become a reality.’
Jaun clenched his teeth tightly.
Touching Wi Jeong-cheon for the reason of properly seizing control of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was their biggest mistake.
And Jaun wanted that mistake to remain as a bitter regret for the Blood Cult.
To do that, he had to completely sever the tie between the Imperial Court and the Blood Cult here.
‘What if I dispose of Prince Yeomseong here…?’
A situation where everyone was off guard.
Moreover, Jaun had the power to dispose of Prince Yeomseong.
But after careful consideration, he came to the conclusion that doing so would not make the Blood Cult's martial arts, which had already secretly spread within the Imperial Court, disappear.
Disposing of Prince Yeomseong would buy time, but in the end, the Blood Cult would obviously find someone to replace Prince Yeomseong and try to swallow the Imperial Court.
‘It is right to inform them about the Blood Cult's martial arts that have spread within the Imperial Army. They say the current Emperor is prohibiting the martial arts of the Blood Cult... In the end, conveying this situation to the Emperor is the best course of action. The affairs of the Imperial Court should be settled by the Imperial Court.’
To do that, he had to convey everything he had learned here to the one and only existence who possessed an Imperial Army of five hundred thousand and could control both the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, the Emperor.
‘For today, let's get out of here.’
Judging that there was nothing more to be gained from this manor, Jaun cautiously rose to his feet. At that moment, the energy barrier surrounding the fourth floor of the pavilion disappeared.
At the sudden change in the situation, Jaun quickly held his breath and lowered his body to the ground. And not long after, Prince Yeomseong's low voice spread out in all directions.
“Announce that I have arrived here.”
As a humming sound spread around, the warriors who were standing guard on all sides shouted in unison.
“We accept your command, Your Highness!”
The warriors returned to their respective positions and busily began to wave their torches from side to side. At that signal, torches began to flare up all over the manor.
The torches, which had been concentrated only on the huge pavilion, began to illuminate the entire manor.
Confirming the torches flaring up on all sides, Jaun jumped down from the railing.
─ TAAAP
As Jaun landed on the ground and hid his body, the doors of the huge pavilion swung wide open, and warriors dressed in official attire rushed out in a flood. Then, the light from the torches reflected off the weapons the warriors drew, beginning to light up the manor as bright as day.
‘...Surely, he concealed the fact that he had arrived at the manor from the public for this secret meeting?’
Looking around the manor, which was now assuming a proper guard posture, Jaun let out a small sigh.
‘No wonder. For a residence where a big shot like Prince Yeomseong was staying, the security was too lax.’
That did not mean it was impossible to get out of here.
When he came in, he had easily passed through the darkened manor using the Demon Shadow Step, but now he had to pass through a manor that had become as bright as day, which made it difficult to use the Demon Shadow Step. That was the only difference.
Jaun, who had judged that he could escape if he moved a little more carefully, was about to move when something was caught in his senses.
‘...Huh?’
Hundreds of warriors were rapidly approaching the pavilion from all directions. Jaun frowned as he spread his senses wide and confirmed the momentum of the warriors approaching the manor.
Warriors with sharply honed energy, in perfect formation, were gathering from all sides.
‘...Surely, the Imperial Army?’
It seemed that the Imperial Court, having confirmed Prince Yeomseong's arrival at the manor, had sent the guards they had prepared to the manor.
‘This changes things a bit.’
As if they had been waiting not far away, they quickly gathered at the manor.
Jaun spread his senses wide and began to focus on the surrounding situation.
The warriors who were running to the manor leaped up onto the manor's wall and began to form a line. As they took their positions in perfect order, surrounding the manor's wall, a loud shout erupted from the main gate.
“From this moment on, this manor will be under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Guard Command. Unrelated persons are forbidden from approaching within ten jang of the manor, and if they approach, they will be executed on the spot.”
A middle-aged man in an official robe with gorgeous golden embroidery shouted from above the main gate of the manor, holding a long spear. Immediately after, he looked around once, gathered his energy, and swung the spear forward.
─ KWA-A-A-ANG!
As the middle-aged man swung the spear, the energy shot out from the spear left a deep mark on the ground exactly ten jang away from the manor.
“All troops! Defend!”
At the middle-aged man's signal, hundreds of warriors lined up on the manor wall shouted in unison and swung their spears forward.
─ KWA-A-A-ANG!
─ KWA-A-ANG!
The energy shot out by the warriors lined up on the wall gouged out the ground in unison, and in an instant, a long ditch was formed around the manor. Then, someone poured oil into it and set it on fire, and soon, flames reaching up to a person's waist began to blaze, surrounding the manor.
‘...Ha.’
A small sigh escaped Jaun's lips.