The throne room of the palace was supported by huge pillars. And Emperor Hong Inse was sitting on the throne, which is the most powerful seat, and looked at the four people who came in.
The middle-aged man ahead, the True King. Maybe since he hadn’t seen him for ten years, the gray hair and wrinkles had increased.
Nevertheless, there was still strength in his steps, and the light in his eyes was still strong.
‘Despite all this time those eyes are still the same.’
The emperor had always feared him. As the saying went, an awl can at times pierce the awl too, and so, this man felt like someone who bowed his head only to strike later.
So the emperor was sure that peace could be obtained only after the True King was killed. And when he saw him after ten years, that thought had turned more firm in his head.
‘And that child is the princess?’
His niece who he hadn’t seen in a long time had turned into a woman now.
‘You had the wrong father.’
The process of sitting on the throne wasn’t smooth for the emperor.
Since he wasn’t recognized for his deeds and actions, he tried to change the flow by bringing in the concept of legitimacy. Therefore the justification was important, but the words of the military right hand and foreign affairs were correct.
Now wasn’t the occasion to waste time on such things. The justification was worthless once this man had died.
Shh!
The emperor looked at the head of the hidden troops with the white mask standing under the throne steps.
He was the best warrior raised through a lot of support, and even now he was remarkable. Today, in this place he will witness the execution.
The entire throne room was filled with captains of the hidden troops, all captain and leader level, and warriors of the uniformed guards ready for the ambush.
‘This will be your grave True King.’
No matter how much he planned for, this was the end. Even if one of the Four Great Warriors, who were known to be at the peak of martial arts, came here, the emperor was sure that they could not do much.
That was how great the power gathered here was.
Step. Step!
The True King and his party walked right in front of the throne, and the white masked man scanned them.
First was Hong Nayeon.
‘The woman is good.’
He thought it was pretty good for a woman and a lot more than he expected. Next was Ah Gong.
‘That warrior I know… my men must have had a hard time.’
He had seen the warriors in the top 20, but it was no exaggeration to say that Ah Gong was a lot better than them, but now he wasn’t anything compared to him.
‘Is it him?’
The middle-aged man with a rough face and nice muscles—too similar to what he was told. The members who came back alive had spoken about him.
‘Killing a captain in one…’
He found it hard to believe at first. If it wasn’t for their report, he would have misjudged the man.
No matter how he looked, the man seemed to be a first rate warrior at most. He would know how strong the man was, if he used more of his energy to intercept, but that would be troublesome.
‘Well, he has to be at the great warrior level.’
He wasn’t sure if this was an attempt by the opponent attempting to make people be less guarded around him by giving out such low energy. If that was the case, he was a nuisance to go against.
But it will not happen now, because the best troops of the palace have been gathered.
Step
The steps got closer.
‘103 steps.’
‘102 steps.’
‘101 steps.’
Tak
And the party of the True King stopped at exactly 100 steps from the throne where a yellow line was drawn.
It was the distance the imperial palace determined. It was said to be a rule, but it was more like a safety measure to protect the emperor.
Thud!
The True King knelt down and bowed his head.
“The True King of Sichuan greets His highness.”
And everyone then got down on their knees.
The emperor just blankly looked at them and raised his hand. Then the eunuch, the two great warriors, and the captain of the uniformed guards in blue were looked at as he spoke.
“Have a seat.”
And soon as the words came, those who were bowing bent their knees to sit, and so did the four of them.
The True King looked at the emperor, and the emperor looked back at him.
“…”
“…”
A moment of heavy silence elapsed, and the first to speak was the emperor.
“You broke your own word and left the palace.”
He said it.
The True King frowned at the words. He left the palace after making a promise to the emperor who was constantly anxious from his presence. However, despite the promise, the emperor didn’t seem to be calm.
Rather he was testing the True King constantly by creating messy situations. And the True King said,
“… Your Majesty. Before being a member of the imperial family, I am the father to a person. And it was my choice to go and save her.”
“Are you saying that someone is targeting the princess?”
The True King’s face hardened at those words. This child of his was sent to the academy without anyone being informed—
And the imperial palace gave a false order to get her out of the academy and tried to hurt her.
‘How can someone called the emperor of a nation do…’
The True King couldn’t hide his disappointment. The reason why he bowed his head was because this man was his older brother and he did that to keep the people safe.
The emperor raised his hand—
“Go.”
The captain of the West Spear Troops, one of the great warriors, looked somewhere.
And then one after another four eunuchs brought something. There were cups placed on a tray.
Tak!
They set down the tray in front of those seated. And the True King wondered what was in the cup when the emperor said,
“I made up my mind for a great cause. To bring peace and stability to the nation, I give orders to the True King as the emperor to drink the cup.”
‘!?’
At that, not just the True King, but even Hong Nayeon frowned. She guessed they were going straight into a trap, but this was outright murder.
What was in the cup must be something bad.
‘How can they even do…’
She thought that they would only act as such with the right justification but this—
“Father…”
Hong Nayeon looked at her father in a sad voice, he was gritting his teeth.
He, too, knew that his emperor would not be able to try and attempt to take his life within the imperial palace. The reason he even came here was because he was sure of it.
But now even that hope had been shattered.
“In the end… Your Majesty wants to kill your own younger brother.”
The True King struggled to part his lips. And the Emperor spoke coldly,
“If you really think about the welfare of the nation, please ease my anxiety.”
“… Sigh.”
The True King sighed. In the end, this was being done.
He had endured so much for the sake of the people and his only daughter. However, the emperor wanted not just his life but his daughter’s too.
Tak!
The True King grabbed the cup in front of him.
“Father!”
Hong Nayeon was shocked and tried to stop him, but her father had poured the poisoned contents onto the floor of the palace, making the emperor raise his eyebrow.
“You dare to refuse my order?”
“Your order. Sigh.”
The True King got up. And glaring at the emperor, he raised his voice,
“Before His majesty died, he quietly gave the order to the members of the court about me, but I willingly gave up the throne for your sake and for the people.”
“What! Where did you get such rumors…”
“I was the one who persuaded the empress to take the seal into her hand. But now, this is enough, to try and take the life of a brother! Even after becoming the emperor you failed to break free of your nature!”
“True King!”
“You disappoint your younger brother who gave up the throne for you!”
Emperor Hong Inse was speechless at this. But it was only for a while.
This was why he wanted to kill his younger brother.
The True King had the justification, influence, and force to overturn his rule.
“As expected, you thought of rebellion!”
Emperor Hong Inse rose from the throne, and he pointed his finger at his younger brother.
“Listen. The True King has shown his true intentions. Subdue the sinners right now!”
He was afraid his name would fall.
“YES!!!!”
Rumble!
From the ceiling of the throne room, the West Spear troops and the uniformed guards who were waiting in ambush pushed ahead. All of them were skilled warriors.
“It doesn’t go beyond my expectations.”
Ah Gong, the King of Twin Blades, rose from his seat and took a stance. He was already aware of this ambush.
“Seal the exit!”
“YES!”
Rumble!
All of the people began to surround them. Seeing them like this, Hong Nayeon truly hated the emperor. As if bullying her father wasn’t enough, now he was pushing them into a corner.
Clench!
Biting her lip, she opened her mouth with red eyes,
“… The words you said before, can you follow through with them?”
At her words, Mumu, with the mask on, got up and cleared his throat.
Clench!
“If senior want my help.”
“… Help me. Please.”
Trickle
A single tear fell down the right cheek of Hong Nayeon which made Mumu take a deep breath. He then turned the dial on his left hand.
Kikikiki!
Clench!
At the same time, the muscles of Mumu swelled, and his shirt was torn. The densely formed muscles were now turning black with steam gushing out.
Swish!
‘!?’
The eyes of the West and East Spear troops changed at this.
It was the same for the two great warriors on the side of the Emperor. The change in Mumu—
As a result of the sense of intimidation he created, everyone turned wary.
Step!
And Mumu took one step, making the warriors of the three groups who had surrounded them flinch and step back. This made the emperor angry.
“What are you doing! Catch them right now!”
His shout startled and brought them to their senses. However, attacking was not easy.
The feeling of intimidation they felt from Mumu was so great that it was difficult to breathe. At that time, the leader of the hidden troops with the white mask shouted.
“Move out of my way!”
At his cry, the three groups there split to the sides.
Srng!
He pulled out a white sword with a colorful pattern engraved on it. The moment he drew his sword, a sharp killing intent rose up.
Seeing this, the expression of Ah Gong hardened.
‘… I was hoping not.’
He couldn’t help but feel embarrassed at the energy emanating from it. At this level, he was almost at the level of a great warrior.
He was an unparalleled warrior who overcame the wall, a warrior in the top ten which couldn’t be dealt with. Ah Gong glanced at Mumu.
‘It is embarrassing. The man alone was by himself, so if the two guardians of the emperor step ahead then it would be lacking on our side and become dangerous.’
It was an unfavorable situation.
So far, the two guardians were watching the situation, but if they felt that the situation was urgent at any time, they would join in.
Then—
Pat!
It was at that moment.
Like a candle with its wick turned up, the leader’s form rushed in.
It was a movement so quick that even Ah Gong couldn’t see it.
But—
Pak!
‘!?’
At that moment, something happened.
As he rushed in, Mumu held him up. Flustered at this, the man tried to cut off Mumu’s hand with his sword with sword energy on it.
Crack!
Even before that, the head of his was crushed.
‘!!!!!’
Everything happened way too quickly, so much so that the throne room had turned silent in an instant. It was something no one expected.
‘A-a great warrior close to…’
Who would have thought that this would happen? It was extremely shocking.
Thud!
Not caring about it, Mumu placed the body without a head next to the emperor with his blood soaked hand.