Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: The Flute's Deadly Call
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Su Magen's eyes were filled with terror and shock as he stammered, unable to give a proper answer.
At that moment.
"...What do you mean by that?"
Su Ri-tae threw out the question, his face twisted as if he'd been struck on the back of the head by the unexpected remark.
Bringing in outsiders from beyond the Southern Barbaric lands?
Was this bastard saying he'd colluded with external forces to plot a rebellion?
Su Ri-tae stared blankly at Su Magen as he voiced his doubts.
Hyeok Mulin, who had turned his gaze toward Su Ri-tae, soon opened his mouth.
"You're thinking correctly."
Hyeok Mulin nodded in affirmation before shifting his eyes back to Su Magen.
"He joined hands with external forces to incite a rebellion. And it's something he's been planning for a very long time."
There had been odd inconsistencies here and there.
Wheels that should have rolled smoothly had jammed midway, halting everything that followed.
As he pondered what the obstacle might be, Hyeok Mulin realized that everything fell into place if he assumed Su Magen had been receiving help from someone even before becoming Little Palace Lord.
With that, he ordered Su Ah-rang to bring all information related to the Little Palace Lord and reviewed the gathered intel.
—This is...
The more he examined the information connected to Su Magen, the stronger the possibility seemed that he'd allied with outsiders.
And today, two additional facts turned Hyeok Mulin's suspicions into certainty.
The first was the ferocious beast he'd brought to the Ferocious Beast Festival.
A lion.
Lions weren't native to the Southern Barbaric lands; they were rare even in the Central Plains.
Thus, securing a lion—especially one as massive as the one he'd brought—far exceeded the Little Palace Lord's own influence.
Someone must have helped him, but who around the Little Palace Lord? The Southern Barbaric Beast Palace folks?
That was impossible for them alone; it absolutely required outside assistance.
And the second piece.
The flute he'd blown.
It made no sound anyone could hear, yet right after, the Southern Barbaric lands erupted as tens of thousands of beasts rampaged.
Moreover, the flute's appearance was utterly unlike any Southern Barbaric artifact.
It was a metal flute with only a single hole.
Hard to believe it was made in the Southern Barbaric lands, and even the Palace Lord seemed unaware of its purpose.
'Which means it was brought in from outside.'
Who could easily obtain an item with such extraordinary power?
It had to have been handed to him by someone.
Of course, even without today's two revelations, Hyeok Mulin had been half-convinced of external interference. The evidence he'd already uncovered pointed too clearly in that direction.
He'd formed a powerful faction even before his coming-of-age ceremony, which made sense if someone was backing him.
No matter how politically adept he was, fooling the Palace Lord's eyes and winning over tribal leaders well past seventy? Impossible through ordinary means.
External influence had surely been at work in various subtle ways.
Su Ri-tae's expression hardened as he listened to Hyeok Mulin's explanation.
Finally, with betrayal etched across his face, he bellowed at Su Magen.
"Not content with plotting rebellion, you brought in outsiders? Are you truly set on destroying this palace?!"
His roar was entirely understandable.
Rebellions fueled by outsiders almost always ended with real power slipping into their hands.
As Su Ri-tae unleashed his rebuke, Su Magen clenched his fists and trembled for a moment.
Then, as if abandoning everything, he let out a light scoff.
"That was the only way. If I wanted to surpass you, Palace Lord."
"Wasn't it the Palace Lord's seat you craved?! It would have been yours in time naturally—why couldn't you endure and wait...!"
"How long are you telling me to wait?!"
Su Magen cut him off, exploding with pent-up rage.
The fury bottled inside him burst forth like an arrow.
"You're hale and hearty, Palace Lord. Do you expect me to just sit twiddling my thumbs until old age claims you naturally?"
Hyeok Mulin understood his mindset.
Such situations arose often even in ordinary sects.
Door lords or sect leaders who remained robust into old age, forcing successors to grow ancient before finally ascending—far too common.
From that perspective, Su Magen's rebellion could be seen as a desperate struggle.
Rather than waiting indefinitely, he'd shifted to pulling down the Palace Lord.
Hyeok Mulin could comprehend the intent.
But.
"That path was one you should never have taken."
He'd failed, and the method he'd chosen was unforgivable.
After all, Hyeok Mulin led the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult as its Cult Leader.
The Junior Cult Leader position was vacant now, but what if a future one, like Su Magen, brought in outsiders to aim for the throne?
No mercy could be shown for that.
Aiming for the Heavenly Demon's seat? Fine.
That followed the law of the strong prevailing.
But introducing external forces with impure motives into the cult? Absolutely intolerable.
It would be like entrusting the cult's head to an outsider.
Cult matters must be resolved within the cult.
That principle had to remain inviolable.
Under Hyeok Mulin's gaze, Su Magen flinched.
As if even he knew he had no defense, he swallowed his words.
"I cannot spare your life."
"...I suppose not."
Su Magen responded to Hyeok Mulin's declaration in a voice heavy with resignation.
Treason—especially letting the ringleader live—was impossible anywhere under heaven.
Thus, as Su Magen relaxed his shoulders in defeat, Hyeok Mulin spoke.
"However, if you reveal who these external collaborators were, I'll grant you a painless end."
At Hyeok Mulin's final offer, Su Magen looked up at the sky.
A clear blue expanse without a single cloud gazed down upon the world.
Is this how it ends?
Years of preparation crumbling into utter futility.
All at the hands of one man.
With things come to this, Su Magen now resented his past self.
When he'd first met the Heavenly Demon, if he'd been more aggressive in recruiting him.
When he'd rejected the offer.
Instead of trying to kill or subdue him, if he'd maneuvered to expel him from the palace.
Su Magen regretted every choice he'd made in their encounters.
But the outcome was set; nothing could be undone now.
"I'll tell you."
Su Magen had indeed colluded with outsiders, but it was merely a means to become Palace Lord—not to hand the Southern Barbaric Beast Palace over to them.
He'd simply overestimated his own abilities.
Once seated with their borrowed power, he believed he could drive them out afterward.
Now that all was lost.
Su Magen decided to come clean for the sake of the Southern Barbaric Beast Palace, transparently naming his external allies.
"The one I contacted was..."
As he began to get to the point.
"......?"
Su Magen's mouth suddenly froze.
The Palace Lord frowned at the sight.
"Why stop mid-sentence?"
Moments later, with trembling eyes, he spoke.
"The sound."
"Sound?"
"Can't you hear the flute playing right now?"
At his words, Su Ri-tae tilted his head and focused his hearing.
But hearing nothing, he voiced his confusion.
"What sound are you talking about?"
Su Ri-tae asked with a frustrated expression.
At that, Su Magen's face drained as if the ground had collapsed beneath him.
Soon, he began shuddering violently, like standing in the heart of a midwinter blizzard.
Tremble, tremble.
His condition was far from normal; anyone could see his overwhelming anxiety.
Gnashing his teeth against his nails, Su Magen muttered to himself incessantly.
"This can't be. No. Me. Why."
Su Ri-tae glanced at Hyeok Mulin, who met his gaze in return.
Hyeok Mulin nodded, and Su Ri-tae stepped forward.
Approaching Su Magen at the peak of his panic, Su Ri-tae addressed him.
"What in the world is wrong with you?"
But Su Magen was beyond hearing anyone.
He clamped his hands over his ears, signaling his desperate refusal to listen.
Yet.
"Why is it still ringing—?!"
With a voice choked by fear, Su Magen pounded his own ears.
As if wishing to lose his hearing.
Soon, he changed tactics.
Grabbing a fallen dagger, he sliced off both his ears.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, but he didn't care.
His nerves were fixated on sound.
"Nooooooo!"
Even after severing both ears, the flute's melody grew clearer in his mind.
Thud.
Dropping to his knees, utter despair settled on Su Magen's face.
Like a man foreseeing his grim fate.
"Just tell us what's happening...!"
As Su Ri-tae reached for his shoulder, alarmed by the unnatural sight.
"Palace Lord Su."
"Yes?"
"Get back."
Su Ri-tae puzzled over Hyeok Mulin's words for a moment.
Get back?
From what?
The very instant the question formed.
"......!"
Su Ri-tae instinctively leaped away.
Almost simultaneously, azure-infused internal energy erupted from Su Magen's entire body.
"Gaaahhhh!"
Su Magen screamed in agony as his back arched like a drawn bowstring.
Reversing qi rampaged fiercely through his meridians.
A revolting sensation swept over him, like thousands of ants crawling beneath his skin.
His veins swelled to bursting, muscles writhing like earthworms under his flesh.
Crack—crunch—
His skin grew coarse and rugged.
Nails sharpened like a wolf's claws; his jawbone twisted grotesquely.
His pupils slit vertically into a serpent's gaze, fangs sprouting to jut from his mouth.
This was the last glimpse of the rational Su Magen.
All that remained was a beast's hunger for blood and frenzied madness.
"Groooarrr!"
The sound from his throat was no longer human.
A savage roar tore through the Southern Barbaric silence.
Birds fled skyward in unison; every creature in the lands fell utterly still.