Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: The Emperor (3)
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In a private chamber of the Imperial Palace.
A man in a dragon robe and a blond man glared at each other, frowning.
“I refuse.”
“Refuse?”
“Are you deaf? You’re making me repeat myself. Yes, I refuse.”
As the emperor declared his refusal once more, the blond man looked bewildered.
“Didn’t I say I would lift your restrictions?”
“Just for this one incident, you said? Trying to act all high and mighty by freeing me just to put me to work is rather nauseating.”
The emperor, Ju Won-hong, scoffed, and the blond-haired man sighed.
“Uriel, if you handle this matter well, I will recommend to the higher-ups that your disciplinary period be shortened.”
“That’s hilarious. Hey, Luciel, cut the wordplay. Do I look like a summoner to you? Not that you’ll shorten it, but a ‘recommendation’?”
“I will genuinely recommend it.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Don’t you want to get out of here? Why are you being so difficult?”
Emperor Ju Won-hong shook his head.
“Are you really asking because you don’t know? You gave arbitrary orders to my men and got them all killed, and now you ask why? I’m speechless.”
“Didn’t I apologize for that? They’re just people you can replace anyway.”
Ju Won-hong’s expression hardened even further.
“Just replace? It’s not like you raised them. The ones who died to the Cult Leader this time… Forget it. Whatever the case, I have no intention of helping you.”
“If you don’t stop him here, he will become a greater threat in the future.”
“What do I care? In fact, that sounds great.”
The blond man, Luciel, scowled and glared at him.
“Do you really mean that? Even if you’ve been confined, you’re still one of us…”
“Us what? Shut up and get out of my palace.”
“You’ll regret this.”
The blond man’s face turned red as he snapped his fingers and vanished.
“Regret what… Hey, is anyone out there?”
At Ju Won-hong’s call, the door opened, and a eunuch entered.
“You called, Your Majesty?”
“Send a letter to the leader of the Demonic Cult. State that the recent attack was due to an error in the chain of command, and that I will not hold them accountable for the deaths of my men. In return, tell them to provide information on the Outsider.”
“An… an Outsider… I will immediately contact the Commander of the Imperial Guard and the Admiral of the Eastern Depot…”
Ju Won-hong had no intention of granting his old colleague’s request, of course.
But a question had formed in his mind.
It must be serious if his colleagues, who hadn't visited him once in the hundreds of years he'd been confined here, came to ask for a favor.
“Leave them be and just do as I say.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
****
I left Hoeyang Prefecture and headed for Beijing, where the emperor resided.
Normally, the journey would have taken over a month by horse, but by using the Qilin partway, I was able to arrive in just three days.
Upon arriving in Beijing, and even on the way, I gathered information about the emperor, and his reputation was quite surprising.
‘His Majesty, you ask? There is no sage king like His Majesty.’
‘His Majesty shows no mercy to corrupt officials and collects taxes reasonably, so he’s the absolute best for common folk like us.’
‘He even investigates all the damages caused by those martial artists and makes them compensate us. He holds them accountable for their crimes, too.’
The emperor’s reputation was incredibly positive.
Not only the common people, but also the few martial artists I met at the inn, all praised him in unison.
At first, I thought maybe he had just adopted this persona for the current generation.
Since the emperor’s true identity was an angel, all the past emperors must have been the same being.
But that wasn’t the case either.
I was told that not just the current emperor, but all the past emperors, including the previous one, had been exceptionally good and wise rulers.
To summoners, angels had always been unreasonable, backstabbing schemers with sinister motives…
Perhaps because he was confined, he was a different breed from the other angels.
More importantly, he hadn't done me any harm first.
Of course, I was attacked, but they attacked the Demonic Cult, not me.
“Are you going to infiltrate the Imperial Palace tonight?”
Bio, standing beside me, asked, but honestly, I wasn’t sure.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do.”
Is it right to eliminate him simply because his true identity is an angel?
Moreover, the emperor would have been the same entity during the Lord’s time, which means he’s just of the same race as the ones who dragged us to Elsia, not the root cause.
Just because there are scumbags among humans who deserve to be executed doesn’t mean it’s right to kill all people.
“If you’re uncomfortable with it, why not go for the Martial Alliance Leader?”
The Martial Alliance Leader might indeed be a better choice.
I had gathered information on the other targets on my way here. The emperor was one thing, but even the Heavenly Demon had a better reputation than I expected.
In typical martial arts novels, they are portrayed as a force of evil, but based on their reputation, they were more like a wholesome religious group.
The one with the worst reputation was the Martial Alliance.
‘The Martial Alliance? Those bastards are absolute trash.’
‘They extort money from us every month under the guise of protection fees, order food and drinks wantonly, and they’ve skipped out on the bill more times than they’ve paid.’
‘It’s only because His Majesty the Emperor declared he would punish any martial artist without mercy that their tyranny has lessened recently.’
The Martial Alliance had long been involved in all sorts of concessions, extorting money under strange pretexts and causing trouble everywhere.
“I also think the Martial Alliance Leader is a better choice than the emperor.”
“I agree. I don’t think you need to take the hard road, especially when it’s not even the righteous one.”
Following Hanna and Rina, the other companions added their thoughts one by one. It seemed everyone was hesitant about harming the emperor.
“We have an uninvited guest.”
Just as I was wondering what he meant, a person in a black mask descended from the ceiling.
I immediately grabbed the sword I had left on the table.
My companions did the same, instantly assuming combat stances.
“To have detected my presence… I see no need for questions.”
Questions?
As he spoke, he removed his mask, revealing the face of a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties.
“Who are you?”
“I am Seo Ung, Admiral of the Eastern Depot.”
The Eastern Depot? So, a eunuch?
I heard they were one of the emperor’s core forces, like the Imperial Guard.
“His Majesty has commanded me to bring you to him. Outsider.”
The emperor wants to see me?
No, wait a minute. He even knows I’m an Outsider?
I was bewildered.
“Did the Heavenly Demon tell him?”
I didn’t think he was that kind of person, but the Heavenly Demon was the only one who knew I was an Outsider.
“We received the information from the Divine Cult.”
I knew it. I really didn’t take him for that kind of person…
But still, a question remained.
Even if the Heavenly Demon had divulged the information, it didn’t make sense for them to find me like this.
I hadn’t sensed anyone tailing me so far.
I hadn’t even used the Ice Jade Tablet Go Hwa-yeon gave me once.
“Anyway, I don’t particularly want to fight, so I’d appreciate it if you came along quietly.”
Is an admiral a high rank?
His tone was quite arrogant.
There were many of us, and he was just one man.
For him to act this way even knowing I’m an Outsider, he must be confident in his skills.
None of us, except for Bio, had even noticed his presence.
“Who are you to order my mister around?”
“Sir Hyeon-ung, shall I take care of him?”
“So you’d rather drink the penalty cup than the one offered?”
The atmosphere was about to turn hostile, but I raised my hand to stop them.
“Everyone, stand down. Fine, I’ll go. Let’s have a talk.”
“Mister?”
It seemed that meeting the emperor in person would help me make a decision.
“You’re not unperceptive. An excellent choice.”
“Don’t be so provocative. I don’t think he’s agreeing to meet you out of fear.”
Bio, who had been silent, retorted with a provocation of his own, causing the man to frown and step forward.
“How dare you act so proud? In whose presence do you think you stand? If it weren’t for His Majesty’s command, scum like you would be immediately—Ugh!”
Thud-
Whatever trick Bio pulled, the Admiral of the Eastern Depot collapsed to the floor mid-sentence.
Tsk, tsk. I knew this would happen the moment he decided to mouth off to Bio of all people.
“Wh-what sorcery did you use? My body has no strength…”
It was quite a sight, him speaking while pressed to the floor, unable to even lift his head.
Still, going any further would make it seem like I started the fight, so I persuaded Bio to release him.
His attitude was a bit grating, but his orders were to bring me, not attack me, which meant they were initiating a dialogue first.
There was no need to give them a reason to act.
“How do I meet the emperor?”
“I will return and send someone for you.”
With those words, the Admiral of the Eastern Depot vanished like smoke.
“That’s amazing.”
“I can’t sense his presence at all.”
“That’s because it’s not a normal technique. It’s the power of the angels.”
The power of an angel?
“Bio? Then could that guy be…”
I thought he might be the emperor, but thankfully, Bio said he wasn’t.
“The emperor must have bestowed it upon him. It seems I’ve misjudged the situation.”
Bio’s expression hardened slightly.
“Misjudged what?”
“An angel who can bestow power like that… our chances of winning seem to have dropped significantly.”
He was sounding uncharacteristically weak.
“But I have you, don’t I?”
“There’s no meaning in you climbing the tower by relying solely on me.”
“You said you’d help.”
“Only when the opponent is the emperor.”
So cold.
No, actually, he only pretends to be cold. I was a little touched that he stepped up right away earlier.
After about ten minutes, the innkeeper came upstairs with an urgent expression.
He said soldiers from the Imperial Palace had arrived. When I went down, I saw a carriage and soldiers in yellow armor.
A rather magnificent six-horse carriage was also waiting.
“I am Han Wi, General of the Northern Route. By order of His Majesty, I have come to escort the esteemed guest.”
Unlike the pompous Admiral of the Eastern Depot from before, this general and his soldiers were extremely courteous and polite.
“Should I get in there?”
“Yes, sir.”
My companions and I boarded the carriage and headed for the Imperial Palace.
“It’s farther than I thought.”
“How much longer do we have to go?”
From the outside, it hadn’t seemed that far from our inn, but the ride was taking quite a while.
After what felt like thirty minutes, the carriage came to a stop.
I thought we had arrived, but looking out the window, I saw we had only just passed through the outer wall.
After that, we traveled for another thirty minutes along a road lined with endless Chinese-style pavilions before the carriage finally stopped and the door opened.
“Have we arrived?”
“From this point on, no one but His Majesty is permitted to ride in a carriage. It is only a short walk, so I ask for your cooperation.”
“Is that so? We’ll do that. Let’s walk, everyone.”
As the general said, after about a ten-minute walk, we arrived in front of a massive pavilion.
The size of this imperial city seemed comparable to Kramis.
Soldiers with swords stood at the entrance of the pavilion, and besides those in plain sight, I could feel presences hidden in various places.
“This way, please.”
We climbed the stairs and entered the pavilion.
Even after entering, we had to pass through four more gates.
Still, they didn’t search our bodies or confiscate our weapons.
When the next door opened, a vast space, perhaps twenty times the size of my room in Carvisa, appeared.
In the center of the room, a man in a black dragon robe sat on a golden throne.
Anyone could tell he was the emperor.
“You’ve had a long journey. Outsider. There’s no need for formalities, so come a little closer.”
I had no intention of being formal anyway.
As I approached, I saw that he looked similar to the other residents.
I wondered if he was really an angel, but then Bio’s voice echoed in my head.
—My judgment was completely off. I thought he was no ordinary being when he bestowed that power, but… judging by the aura I feel now, he’s at least an Archangel.
An Archangel?
I didn’t know what that was, but Bio’s voice was unusually urgent.
“Why no answer? Are you having a secret conversation with your companions?”
He’s sharp, too.
“I am Oh Hyeon-ung. Thanks for the invitation. I was hoping to have a word with you as well.”
He said there was no need for formalities, so I spoke casually, and he didn’t seem to mind.
“Excellent. I also have many questions for an Outsider. How about we ask and answer one question each?”
A Q&A session?
That was exactly what I wanted.
I was about to agree when the emperor disappeared… no, he was now standing about a meter in front of me.
It was the same power the Admiral of the Eastern Depot had used.
“It’s not polite to remain seated when a guest has arrived. So, what will it be?”
“Let’s do it.”
At my answer, the emperor grinned.
“I like your straightforwardness. Since you’ve come a long way, I’ll yield the first question to you.”
I had more than a few questions, so I pondered for a moment before deciding.
It had little to do with clearing the 65th floor, but I was going to ask what I had been most curious about for a long time.
“I understand that you are the same kind of being as those who brought summoners like me to this world.”
“Oh? Is that your question? That’s correct. Then it’s my turn. Who told you that…”
“No, my question is something else.”
Trying to get a freebie, are we?
The emperor frowned slightly but nodded.
“Ahem, very well. What is your question?”
“What is your purpose for bringing summoners to this world?”