novelraw Chapter 129
Chapter 129
Chapter 129 Prince Yeomseong (7)
The manor, which had been shrouded in deep darkness just a moment ago, had now become a fortress with hundreds of torches, hundreds of warriors, and a brilliantly blazing ring of fire.
‘I did not expect… this.’
Jaun let out another small sigh.
The warriors surrounding the manor were dressed in golden official robes, with golden swords at their waists and golden spears in their right hands.
‘So those are the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If they block the walls this completely, it will be impossible to get over without being detected.’
The formation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was very dense. On top of that, the ring of fire blazing on all sides was illuminating the manor's exterior as bright as day.
‘...I am completely trapped.’
Jaun scratched his head and squatted down on the ground.
From the time he left the Sado Alliance until he arrived here, the Ice Rakshasa had repeatedly pleaded with him not to clash with the Imperial Court.
In such a situation, if he secretly entered the manor without telling the Ice Rakshasa and clashed with the Imperial Court, he was not confident he could handle the aftermath that would follow.
‘A way to secretly escape the manor without clashing with the government soldiers…’
After pondering for a long time, Jaun finally made a decision and raised his head to look up at the pavilion.
‘A forced breakthrough is too risky. So, let’s change the direction entirely.’
Jaun scanned his surroundings and began to loosen up his body by cracking his neck from side to side.
‘If I cannot sneak out, I will have to create a way to walk out of the manor with my own two feet, head held high.’
Jaun quickly scanned the inside of the pavilion. There were about a few dozen warriors remaining inside the pavilion. They seemed to be Prince Yeomseong's personal guard.
Each one possessed formidable martial arts, but none of them could handle Jaun, who had surpassed the wall.
‘I will deal with them as quietly as possible, and if that does not work, I will subdue them all.’
Jaun untied the cloth covering his mouth, retied it meticulously to completely cover his face, and took a deep breath. Then, he soared up and stepped on the fourth-floor railing. Next, he pushed the window with his body and jumped into Prince Yeomseong's residence.
─ THUD!
“Who goes there!”
As soon as Jaun entered the room, the warriors who were lined up in the corner of the room drew their swords.
Prince Yeomseong, who was sitting on the large bed in the center of the room, also looked at Jaun with surprised eyes.
“Who are you!”
Confirming the sword hanging at Jaun's waist, Prince Yeomseong clenched his molars hard. As the Blood Immortal Pill dissolved and flowed down his throat, a thick Blood Qi began to emanate from his body.
Just as the escort warriors urgently blocked Prince Yeomseong's front and were about to pull out a signal flare, Jaun opened his mouth.
“I have come from the Divine Cult.”
Hearing Jaun's words, Prince Yeomseong narrowed his eyes and raised his hand to stop the escort warriors' movements.
“...You are the Divine Cult's envoy?”
Having regained some composure now that the energy of the Blood Immortal Pill had sufficiently filled his body, Prince Yeomseong slowly looked Jaun over.
“There would be no reason for the Divine Cult's envoy to enter this place at this time, in this manner.”
Prince Yeomseong, with eyes full of suspicion, gripped the sword placed next to the bed.
‘He definitely mentioned the Red Blood Art earlier, did he not? That must have been referring to the Blood Demon's Wuji Red Blood Art.’
As Jaun drew up his energy, Demonic Energy began to rise around his body. Then, as he moved the Demonic Energy according to the verses of the Wuji Red Blood Art, a crimson energy slowly covered the pitch-black Demonic Energy.
Prince Yeomseong's eyes widened upon confirming Jaun's energy.
“...The Red Blood Art?”
Since he only vaguely knew the verses of the Blood Cult's martial arts, it was bound to be clumsy, but Prince Yeomseong, not being a martial artist, could not discern the subtle difference.
The Blood Qi that Jaun had cultivated to its fullest enveloped his body and swirled around him like a red blood-colored cloak.
Prince Yeomseong, who had been watching the scene intently, nodded his head and waved his hand to the side.
“All of you, leave for a moment.”
At Prince Yeomseong's words, the escort warriors left the room without hesitation.
After confirming that everyone had left, Prince Yeomseong slowly walked to the door and locked it.
─ CLICK
Returning to his bed, Prince Yeomseong looked back at Jaun with nervous eyes.
“...Are you truly the Blood Demon's envoy? But what is the reason for revealing yourself so recklessly? We should have had a prearranged signal.”
Jaun, who had been looking at Prince Yeomseong with a calm gaze, opened his mouth.
“It is because the plan has been slightly changed. A situation has arisen within the Demonic Cult, so we have no choice but to postpone the transmission of the final verse of the Red Blood Art for a month or two. Therefore, I would like you to act accordingly.”
“The plan has been changed?”
Prince Yeomseong slowly rose to his feet. Upon closer inspection, Prince Yeomseong had a larger build and a more solid energy than he had thought.
Jaun could not know why he had given up the Imperial Throne, but he had such a strong impression that he thought if Prince Yeomseong had ascended to the throne, he might have become a supreme ruler who held the Imperial Court in one hand and shook it.
Prince Yeomseong, who had been scrutinizing Jaun with eyes that seemed to be blazing, opened his mouth.
“Since I have seen the Red Blood Art, I will set aside my suspicions. But if the plan has changed, could you not have left the details in the promised signal? Does your master think I will just accept this kind of disrespect?”
“I only moved as instructed. It must be that they were concerned that the Imperial Court's side was rushing too much when the situation had changed, which might ruin the grand plan.”
At Jaun's reply, Prince Yeomseong burst out laughing.
“Kekek. Hahahaha!”
Prince Yeomseong, who had been laughing for a long time, his expression instantly hardened.
“I am rushing things and ruining the grand plan? You vermin-like martial artists have completely lost your sense of proportion.”
Prince Yeomseong slowly walked toward Jaun. Coming right up to Jaun's nose, he bent his waist to meet his face and clenched his teeth.
“Me, who has endured years of humiliation, and you people, who make such a fuss over a small matter. Who is more likely to ruin things?”
A huge flame was blazing in Prince Yeomseong's eyes.
“Although I have received the Blood Immortal Pill and the Red Blood Art, that is only a transaction. If you use that as a pretext to cross the line and act in this manner, I will have no choice but to show you the true terror of the Imperial Court.”
Prince Yeomseong, who was glaring into Jaun's eyes, snorted.
“Make sure that does not happen. Tsk. I was so against it when that Jin-pyeong fellow handed over discretionary power to the martial world because I thought this would happen.”
Prince Yeomseong, who had ground his teeth, turned his body and walked to his bed, continuing to speak in a rough voice.
“Do not forget the promise. What you people can take is only the martial world. The master of this continent is the Imperial Court. The moment you forget that fact, that will be your end.”
His martial arts level was only just at the peak, but the pressure he exuded was like that of Mount Tai.
This was something else that could not be expressed by the realm of martial arts.
‘Is this the power of the Imperial bloodline?’
Jaun inwardly admired him and nodded his head. And looking at Prince Yeomseong who had plopped down on the bed, he organized his thoughts.
‘I have confirmed that Prince Yeomseong is dealing directly with the Blood Cult. What is left is to find a way to get out of this manor naturally. If he is dealing directly with the Blood Cult, there must be a hidden passage somewhere.’
After pondering for a moment, Jaun opened his mouth nonchalantly.
“It seems we have both said all we need to say. If there is nothing more to talk about, I would like to leave the manor now.”
“...The one who barged into the room as he pleased is now asking for permission to leave? Get lost. I do not even want to see your face.”
When Jaun did not move from his spot, Prince Yeomseong frowned and turned his head toward Jaun.
“Did you not say you were leaving?”
“...There are many eyes watching within the manor. I would like you to suggest a way to leave here quietly.”
“...Ha. You are really something else.”
Prince Yeomseong looked at Jaun as if he was dumbfounded, then picked up a wooden plaque placed next to the bed and threw it.
“Did you not see it on your way in? This manor is just a scaled-down version, but it has the exact same structure as my manor in Tianjin. So, take that wooden plaque and leave through the usual way.”
Jaun caught the flying wooden plaque as if nothing had happened.
‘The way they usually come and go…’
Jaun, who had come here for the first time today, had no way of knowing the path the Blood Cult members used. But asking any more here would only arouse unnecessary suspicion.
Still, now that he had obtained Prince Yeomseong's token, Jaun was confident that he could somehow get out of the manor, so he naturally stored the wooden plaque in his bosom and turned his body.
As Jaun slowly walked toward the window, Prince Yeomseong, who had been watching the scene blankly, let out a deep sigh.
“Where are you going now? Did you not say you wanted to leave quietly? Are you planning to jump out from there and attract everyone's attention?”
‘Ah, so I could have gone through the door?’
Jaun was inwardly startled, but he turned his head toward Prince Yeomseong with a nonchalant expression.
“Since it is an important matter, I only received this wooden plaque in case any problems arise. Have you forgotten that I came this far without being detected by anyone?”
After replying briefly in a cold tone, Jaun drew up his Demonic Energy to its fullest, wrapped it around his body, and flew out of the window.
“Really… these martial artists.”
Prince Yeomseong, who had been looking at the window through which Jaun had left, shook his head, closed the window, and returned to his bed. Then, he lifted a small box from under the bed, took out a thumbnail-sized red pill, put it in his mouth, and lay down on the bed.
A moment later, a hazy Blood Qi began to form around Prince Yeomseong's body.
***
─ THUD
Jaun's figure, who had come over from outside the window, seeped into the swaying shadows.
Jaun, who had descended the wall of the pavilion while reducing his presence as much as possible, lowered his body as much as possible and surveyed his surroundings.
‘Phew. I have cleared one big hurdle for now.’
Even if he were caught while sneaking out of the manor, it seemed unlikely that he would directly clash with the Imperial Army.
‘If there is even a shadow from the torches, I can hide my presence for a moment with the Demon Shadow Step, so let’s go for now. If it is a secret passage, it is unlikely to be at the main gate. It is probably near the back gate.’
Jaun hid his body in the shadows of the flickering torches and cautiously began to move toward the opposite direction of the main gate.
When patrolling warriors appeared, he would hide his body in the darkness, and after they passed, he would move again. This continued for half a Sijin.
Finally, after passing through the vast manor without being detected, the back gate came into Jaun's sight.
‘...The security at the back gate is just as strict. This is where it gets important.’
Confirming the Embroidered Uniform Guard who were watching the surroundings like an iron wall, Jaun expanded his senses. As he checked the walls to the left and right of the back gate, something incongruous caught Jaun's eye.
‘That place is…?’
The other pavilions were slightly separated from the wall, but a small pavilion that was directly connected to the wall caught his eye.
‘I think it is that place.’
Jaun cautiously approached the pavilion and pressed his body against the wall.
As Jaun was observing the situation inside the pavilion, a familiar voice and presence were felt.
“What will you do?”
“I will have to think about it a little more. The Commander is completely unwilling to move, so I have no choice but to try and persuade the Twelve Swords.”
“Tsk. The grand plan will be disrupted if the Embroidered Uniform Guard does not move properly. We must find a way quickly.”
“Sigh. I do not know how the Admiral of the Eastern Depot made such a momentous decision so quickly.”
“Hoho. It was not difficult on our side. I gave him one Blood Immortal Pill, and the next day he was so happy, saying his skin had changed remarkably. After that, it was smooth sailing.”
“The Commander has no interest in the effects of the Blood Immortal Pill, so I am at a loss. He is a person who only looks after His Majesty the Emperor's well-being even if he only lives for a single day, so I do not know how to overcome this difficulty.”
‘It is the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard guys who were in Prince Yeomseong's residence.’
The fact that the two people who knew the Blood Cult's secret were here meant that this was definitely the secret passage Prince Yeomseong had spoken of.
Jaun took a deep breath, pushed open the door of the pavilion, and went inside.