Chapter 370: Hand Crafted (2)
Ran-yeong, Guardian of the Imperial Palace.
Her true ident.i.ty was Mun Ran-yeong, the clan elder of the Demonic Cult’s Dragon Fist Clan.
Now, she had come under the command of Chun Yeowun, and had been rewarded with the new t.i.tle of Great Elder.
‘I can’t believe we have recruited a peak leader from the Imperial palace.’
The excitement was plain to see on Hu Bong’s face
After putting an end to its internal war and the clash between the six clans, The Demonic Cult’s Strength was rapidly increasing…
Of course, in the case of Ran-yeong, it wasn’t just a simple recruiting, but her returning to her rightful place.
“Sigh…”
Shh!
With reddened eyes, Ran-yeong wiped away the tears that flowed down her cheeks, using the back of her hand.
Once she seemed to have regained her composure, Yeowun spoke again.
“Normally, I would’ve taken you to the Cult right away, but there’s still Work left to do. I’ll finish up and then I’ll come to get you. until then, can you protect this place, Great Elder?”
“No need to ask my Lord! Please just order me! I will definitely accept the task.”
Ran-yeong spoke in a serious voice.
She had spent two hundred years in the Imperial Palace’s underground.
Waiting a little longer wouldn’t bother her.
“Great. Then there’s something that, Great Elder has to do.”
“Me?”
Chun Yeowun told her what he’d been thinking of.
After hearing the entire plan, her pale face brightened, as if she’d regained some of her long lost vigor.
“I have received the command! I shall follow the order!”
“Nice. Then, I guess I need to leave the Imperial Palace now.”
It was already the end of the celebration.
Before dawn, there was something he had to do before leaving the Imperial Palace.
As he turned around to leave, Ran-yeong suddenly called for him.
“W-wait a minute! Lord!”
“Hmm?”
“…hm, uhm, there are some extra clothes in the chamber for both of you, please wear them before heading out.”
“!?”
Right!
They hadn’t noticed it, but Yeowun’s clothes had been burned by the black flames whilst he’d been in the pond, Chun Yeowun was nothing but naked.
No matter how fast he moved, going around the Imperial Palace naked, would still be embarra.s.sing.
As morning came, chaos reigned in a certain place inside the Imperial Palace
The corpses of the East Spear’s members and the court ladies, who were considered to be the Imperial palace’s Guardians, had been found in the Guest House, where the East Spear warriors rested.
They had been found early in the morning, and the bad news made everyone within the palace upset.
The Imperial Palace hadn’t discovered the incident earlier because the Guards who were supposed to be on duty had already been eliminated.
“This is terrible!”
An Imperial Guard, Lieutenant Lee-am, shook his head.
He’d gotten an emergency alert from the council, and upon arriving, the sight of terribly mutilated corpses and the smell of blood welcomed him.
‘Such a ma.s.sacre happened here and no one knew anything about it?’
What he was witnessing was so weird and illogical that it was hard to believe.
The intruders had even made sure to kill those who’d been on watch duty. That’s maybe why no one heard about it.
‘Did they really block all the noise that would be made from such a large ma.s.sacre?…No, I must have lost my mind!’
Even the Supreme Commander, one of the best Martial Artists in the Imperial palace, had come to realise after numerous attempts, that blocking the sound within such a large area with energy was utterly impossible.
The first thing the lieutenant had to do was to collect the bodies and investigate them.
“Listen to me everyone. Check every corpse…”
Bang!
Before he could even give the orders, the door to the main hall opened with a bang, and unwanted visitors appeared.
Officials in blue uniforms rushed into the yard.
‘East Spear?’
Lee-am’s expression hardened.
The East Spear were the last people he wanted to see at the moment.
There was a man wearing a jade necklace in the middle standing at the front, that man was Elder Dang-du.
Dang-du approached him arrogantly and opened his mouth.
“Huhuhu, from this point on, this case will be investigated by East Spear.”
At those words, lieutenant Lee-am spoke.
“What is that supposed to mean? This murder took place inside the Imperial Palace, we, the Imperial Guards will…”
“Where do you think this place is?”
East House, Guest House.
It was the domain of the East Spear.
This meant that it was their responsibility to manage the case, but the Imperial Guards also had the right to investigate the incident since it happened within the Imperial palace.
Furthermore, the only job the East Spear members were charged with was spying on people who might cause a rebellion within the Empire.
“Dang-du, we don’t have the luxury to argue over rights at the moment. Dozens of court ladies and officers were killed.”
Since arguing wouldn’t do them any good, Lee-am decided to cooperate.
Licking his red painted lips, Dang-du responded.
“huhuhu, I think you don’t realize the situation you’re in, Sir Imperial Guards’ lieutenant.”
“!?”
“This is a crime in which the Imperial Guards are also involved.”
“Wh-what?”
Those words caused anger to boil inside Lee-am’s stomach.
He’d just received an order to head over to the site, but now that he was there, this man from the East Spear was claiming that the Guards were involved.
‘What bulls.h.i.+t is this eunuch spewing?’
Not caring about Lee-am’s confusion, the East Spear’s Elder ordered his subordinates.
“Arrest all the Guards who were on duty in the Imperial palace last night! Arrest all the rebels!”
Once the order fell, the eunuchs approached the Guards with ropes that had been prepared in advance.
Lee-am, who’d been completely lost, shouted.
“Arrest? What the h.e.l.l do you think you’re doing! And who do you think you’re calling rebels!”
Rebels?
A term used to address traitors and rogues.
At the crime scene, these Guards were being called rebels even though it was their first time at the scene.
“Who the h.e.l.l would accuse us, the Guards, of rebelling?”
“The order has been given by the crown prince himself!”
“Did you just say, Cr-Crown prince?”
Upon hearing Dang-du’s words, Lee-am couldn’t hide how puzzled he was.
The crown prince, Zhu Taiyoon.
The man who was most likely to become the next Emperor.
It was totally Incomprehensible! What had the East Spear told him so that he gave such orders?
{At the same time, in the East Green Palace.}
It was the palace in which Prince Zhu Taikhan resided.
Over there, more than two hundred East Spear eunuchs had surrounded the entire palace.
The entrance to the residence had been thoroughly blocked so that no one could escape.
A pale young man with gorgeous white armor stood proudly at the entrance.
Next to him, an old eunuch adorned with colorful ornaments in blue robes, and a middle aged man in the attire of a military officer served as his a.s.sistants.
“You two are all fully prepared, right?”
“Hohoho, we are, your Highness!”
The young man in white armor was Zhu Taiyoon, the Crown prince.
The one who responded with a feminine smile and didn’t act his age, was the East Spear’s Admiral Lim Cheong-hwa.
Mostly called Admiral Lim, he was one of the three greatest warriors in the Imperial Palace along with Southern Commander Yon Namgun and the Supreme Commander. He had learned the eunuchs’ legendary martial art called ‘Sunflower Treasure Blade’.
“With the help of some Yulin masters, a thorough investigation must have already been carried out inside the Palace. Hahaha.”
At that, the crown prince nodded and asked the middle aged military officer next to him.
“I hope you are ready.”
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I have already received a message, everything has been set.”
The military officer replied as he glanced at the man standing behind him, whose face was covered with a veil.
A feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed the Crown prince.
“Nice. If this incident confirms his involvement, then the Emperor will start actively supporting the Blade G.o.d Six Martial clan.”
“Everything will go as planned, your highness!”
The military officer a.s.sured, bowing his head to the Crown prince.
His true ident.i.ty was a skilled warrior of the Blade G.o.d Six Martial Clan.
He was the only one who hadn’t shown up the previous night because he’d been with Zhu Taiyoon the entire time.
“Start it.”
“Yes.”
As the command fell from Zhu Taiyoon’s mouth, the East Spear’s Admiral spoke in a loud voice.
“Your Highness, Prince Zhu Taikhan, come out of your palace and receive the Crown Prince’s command!”
His voice was so loud that all the eunuchs surrounding the palace could hear it.
Shortly after the Admiral shouted twice, the door of the palace opened and prince Zhu Taikhan appeared alongside Southern Commander Yon Namgun.
“Brother Zhu Taikhan, I came to take you to His Majesty, the emperor.”
Zhu Taikhan bowed his head to greet the Crown prince Zhu Taiyoon.
Within the imperial palace, Taiyoon had a higher position.
However, after greeting him, the Crown prince immediately spoke in a voice filled with displeasure.
“…did you forget manners? Brother.”
“It has been so long, Crown prince”
Unlike Zhu Taikhan, who addressed him in a formal manner, Zhu Taiyoon only referred to Taikhan as Brother…
Speaking as if he didn’t acknowledge Zhu Taikhan as a prince, but just as a brother, half-brother.
“It has been long, but why are the eunuchs besieging my palace together with their admiral?”
They treated him as if he had turned into a criminal overnight.
It was Admiral Lim, who then answered Zhu Taikhan’s question.
“Prince. A big problem arose in the palace last night. A group of rebels have invaded and killed dozens of court ladies and East Spear warriors.”
“What?What nonsense are you spouting?”
Zhu Taikhan was genuinely shocked by Admiral Lim’s words.
Admiral Lim continued.
“That’s not the end of the story, Prince. We actually have a Tip that these rebels have invaded the Royal Shrine and stolen the Emperor’s treasure.”
“A Tip?”
Zhu Taikhan’s eyebrows shot up at those words.
Looking at Admiral Lim, Zhu Taikhan asked.
“Ha! Admiral Lim. I wonder what kind of tip made you create such a fuss in the palace?”
He wanted to know what this Tip was, he wanted to know why he was being considered as a criminal just because of some unverified tip.
Hearing his question, Admiral Lim laughed before speaking.
“Hohoho, don’t drag this out, Your Highness.”
“H-How dare you?”
“It seems that these rebels are from the Demonic Cult. They secretly entered the empire, hid themselves during the procession and infiltrated the Imperial palace. The East Spear warriors who discovered it last night tried to stop them, but sadly failed.”
One of the Guards who was standing behind Zhu Taikhan, flinched at the words of Admiral Lim.
Fortunately, Admiral Lim’s eyes were directly looking at Zhu Taikhan.
With displeasure, Zhu Taikhan asked angrily.
“Did they tell you that I brought them here? Are you trying to say that I, a prince, brought them here? Don’t you think you are letting your tongue wag a little too much? Can you take responsibility for your claims? Ha? ”
Expecting such a reaction, Admiral Lim’s lips formed into a mischievous smile.
“That is something I don’t know. The Emperor has asked for the truth behind this incident to be revealed and for the criminals to be arrested. If we continue our investigation, the truth will soon be unveiled. Ho ho ho.”
“Investigate? Ha! You want me, the prince…”
“Huh!”
Zhu Taikhan was about to express his displeasure, when the crown prince Zhu Taiyoon interrupted him by releasing his threatening energy.
“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You dare to mess with the Imperial Palace, but then act all confident in front of us! If you were involved with that group of rebels, your reputation should be the least of your worries!”
The last drop of mutual respect between the two princes had faded.
‘I am the future emperor!’
Zhu Taiyoon had never considered his step brother to be his equal.
He expected to one day see Zhu Taikhan kneeling with his head touching the ground before him.
It was shameful for Zhu Taiyoon to compete for the Emperor’s t.i.tle with a later wife’s kid.
‘I will definitely not miss this opportunity!’
Everything had been prepared for this very moment.
Using this incident, Zhu Taiyoon had planned to drive out the Imperial Guards as they had never supported him.
It would be difficult to implicate the prince, Zhu Taikhan, but completely destroying the Emperor’s trust and hopes in him would be more than enough.
“Don’t act up anymore. Whether you are guilty or not will be revealed soon.”
Zhu Taikhan, who had remained quiet whilst his brother spoke, opened his mouth and spoke with cold eyes.
“To do this without any evidence…”
“Hahahaha, you think we weren’t given proper evidence?”
All the necessary measures had been taken in advance.
All the corpses inside the Royal Shrine had been marked with the art of Demonic Cult.
“Isn’t it easy to manipulate the evidence for such kinds of investigations?”
“Do you think that the crown prince would have to go to such great lengths to overpower you? Now, not just the East Spear, even the members of the Guards and the Yulin amba.s.sadors are confirming it.”
It was to show that everything was being done fairly.
Of course, even if they were saying how thoroughly the evidence had been gathered, there was no way someone could look so deeply into some random ‘tip’.
If there was no official doc.u.ment with a jade bird stamp on it, Zhu Taikhan wouldn’t have to comply with them.
“I won’t believe you until I see it.”
“Huhuh! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
“Your Highness!”
The crown prince was about to yell again, when Admiral Lim called out to him, calming him down.
“What now? Admiral!”
“Hohoho, your Highness, the prince won’t be easily convinced, so why don’t we show him some proof?”
Admiral Lim predicted that prince Zhu Taikhan wouldn’t be convinced with simple words.
If he took him directly to the corpses and showed him what the Demonic Cult had done, he would have no choice but to listen to them.
The Crown prince, Zhu Taiyoon, had planned everything from the very beginning.
“You think we would come here without proof?”
As he said that, Zhu Taiyoon stared at Zhu Taikhan like a hawk aiming for its prey.
Just a little more provocation and Zhu Taikhan would come out not wanting to lose this battle of words anymore.
And the prediction was right.
“Huh! Fine. If I see the proof, I will let myself be subject to investigation!”
When the desired answer was heard, the eyes of the Blade G.o.d Six Martial Clan warrior, who was behind the crown prince shone.
If the prince was to completely lose all trust and favor with the Emperor, then they could use Zhu Taiyoon to eliminate the entire Demonic Cult.
‘Huhu, everything is going as planned.’
Inside the huge shrine on the northwest side of the Imperial palace.
Through the hidden pa.s.sage in the altar, Zhu Taiyoon and Zhu Taikhan were on their way to confirm the proof.
Behind them, East Spear’s Admiral Lim, the middle aged warrior from Blade G.o.d Six Martial Clan, the eunuchs of East Spear, four guards and Yong Namgun followed.
‘I will make sure you face your doom!’
Crown prince Zhu Taiyoon couldn’t hide his overflowing happiness.
The results were set in stone
The fact that Zhu Taikhan, who was a candidate for the throne, would get arrested for bringing rebels into the Palace and helping them steal the imperial treasure, would cause many officials in the palace to turn their backs on him.
Woong! Woong!
Loud noises resonated from the end of the pa.s.sage.
Numerous bodies were lined up on the first level of the underground pa.s.sageway, with torches lighting the room.
The corpses were being inspected by the amba.s.sadors of the Yulin envoys and the Imperial palace officials.
“We greet the Crown Prince! Our young king!”
“We greet the Prince!”
When the two princes appeared, they stopped working and greeted them.
Crown prince Zhu Taiyoon raised his hand whilst looking at them, and turned towards Zhu Taikhan.
‘Huhhu, everything is going the way I planned. n.o.body can save you from your fate now, Brother!’
Even the middle aged man from the Blade G.o.d Six Martial clan was satisfied.
If all the Imperial palace’s Guardians inside the underground had been annihilated by the Demonic Cult’s warriors, then the Emperor was bound to be furious.
‘Those spear men and Blood Master must have worked hard to give us this priceless opportunity.’
He’d heard that the underground cave had several floors, and there were almost 90 corpses on the first level.
It would have taken quite a lot of time for those five to use their skills and leave the marks of Demonic Cult on the bodies.
‘If the leaders from Yulin testify, the reports will be considered credible. Hehe. Those Demonic Cult b.a.s.t.a.r.ds won’t even know why they are being persecuted!’
Over the past few years, the Blade G.o.d Six Martial clan had planned this.
With just this one perfect plan, they would obtain the support of the next Emperor, take the Blood of the Spirit Beast, and most importantly, take down their sworn enemy, the Demonic Cult.
The man was so immersed in his fantasies that Zhu Taiyoon’s shout made him panic.
“Wh-what the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean? No! Impossible! Nonsense! That can’t be!”
As the reaction was odd, the man frowned and tried to listen to what was happening.
Zhu Taiyoon was unable to understand what was happening right in front of him.
What had they told him to make him shout so loudly?
The reason was soon revealed.
“The traces on the corpses belong to the Blade G.o.d Six Martial Clan? What kind of bulls.h.i.+t is that???”
‘What!?’
Upon hearing those ambiguous words, the middle-aged man’s eyes went wide in perplexion.
What the h.e.l.l was this turn of events?