Chapter 210: Iron-Blood Guardian 'Empire' (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 210: Iron-Blood Guardian 'Empire' (4)
There were numerous secret routes within the imperial palace reserved solely for the imperial family.
In the worst-case scenario, even if enemies breached this far, the imperial family had to be evacuated.
Because security was paramount, only members of the imperial family were supposed to know the locations of these passages...
So how on earth did an outsider know the exact location of a secret imperial passage?
"This makes no sense..."
Veinstern bit his lip hard, utterly shocked by the situation.
The other nobles were equally astonished.
"To think... to think there was a secret passage in the conference room."
"I've attended meetings here for thirty years, but I never knew that wall could open up."
"I can't believe it."
While everyone clamored and stared at the passage, Abraham approached Mackenzie.
"Are you alright?"
Mackenzie's face was still flushed red, unable to contain his anger.
"Yes. I am fine."
His tone was dismissive.
However, Abraham immediately grabbed Mackenzie's arm.
"Ugh!"
A pained groan escaped Mackenzie's lips.
Abraham's eyes narrowed.
"It-it is nothing. I simply failed to infuse my mana properly, resulting in a minor injury..."
Mackenzie tried to make excuses, but Abraham wasn't listening.
No way... Was it really that bad?
His arm was broken.
To the naked eye, they had seemed evenly matched...
No, Abraham had actually thought Mackenzie overwhelmed his opponent in terms of physical build and strength.
...It was a complete miscalculation.
In that brief split second, the outsider had unleashed an instantaneous burst of mana so subtle that it was nearly impossible to detect through sensory perception.
That was why Abraham hadn't noticed.
It was a chillingly natural and rapid manipulation of mana.
He didn't run away with his tail between his legs.
In fact, if the outsider had wished it, Mackenzie's head would currently be rolling on the floor.
Right then, Veinstern, his face twisted with rage, approached.
"Sir Abraham. Form a pursuit party immediately and hunt him down. If we let that heretic escape like this, we risk losing the trust of the neighboring kingdoms."
"Your Grace. Before that, may I ask you one thing?"
Abraham lowered his voice.
"You seem to have something to say. Speak."
"Must we make an enemy of him?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. Rather than making an enemy of him and spilling blood, it would be far better to win him over to our side."
"Haha. Though he may possess decent skills, he is nothing compared to you, is he? Above all, with our grand ambition right before our eyes, we cannot risk harboring some unknown stray. So, form the pursuit party at once."
The seed they had meticulously prepared for so long was finally about to sprout.
Just a little longer, and Veinstern would finally ascend to the throne as emperor, shedding his status as a mere noble.
For that sole purpose, he had sacrificed everything over the past ten years to lay this plan.
For that sole purpose, he had joined hands with Murim, an entity he had fought against as an enemy his entire life.
However, Abraham, whom Veinstern expected to agree immediately, remained surprisingly quiet.
With a stiff expression and tightly bitten lips, there was hardly any confidence to be found in him.
"...Is he truly someone you must worry about to this extent?"
"To be completely honest, I believe my chances of winning are fifty-fifty."
A fifty-fifty chance of winning.
Had anyone other than Abraham himself said this, no one would have believed it.
And for good reason.
If the strongest knight in the Empire spoke of a mere fifty-fifty chance, who could possibly accept it?
Especially against an outsider he had met for the very first time.
"You must be serious."
"Yes. Judging by how he controlled his mana to break Mackenzie's arm in a single strike, he is by no means inferior to me."
Only then did Veinstern realize that this new variable was far more serious than he had anticipated.
"This... means we must completely redraw our plans."
His hesitation did not last long.
"Gather all the leaders involved in our rebellion at my estate. We will need to have a long discussion over dinner. Of course, make absolutely sure those loyal to the imperial family do not catch wind of this."
* * *
Splash! Splash!
After walking along the sewer for a long time, Jinhyuk finally emerged into an alleyway on the outskirts of the imperial capital.
"Damn it..."
He had walked the entire way without using mana to avoid leaving any lingering traces, and now he was thoroughly soaked up to his ankles.
"Tsk, tsk. Didn't I tell you to be careful? My noble wings were almost stained with filth. And why is the smell so foul? It does not suit me at all."
Perched on his shoulder, Alice complained while pinching her nose.
He had worked himself to the bone to get them here, yet she, who had traveled in absolute comfort, did nothing but complain.
Jinhyuk gently grabbed Alice's wing.
Then, he slowly lowered his hand toward the dirty water.
"Kyaaaah! Let go! W-wait! It's touching! My feet are touching the water!"
Alice thrashed about wildly.
"My apologies. I failed to recognize the noooble True Ancestor and brought you to such a wretched place. I have truly committed a mortal sin."
"I'm sorry! Okay, I get it! Stop it! Hey! This outfit is expensive!"
"If you do that one more time, I'll test your lung capacity firsthand underwater. So behave yourself. I'm asking nicely."
"Y-yes."
"Good."
Jinhyuk placed Alice back on his shoulder.
Catching her breath, Alice spoke again, her voice much more subdued.
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"What do you mean, what am I going to do?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to ally with the Empire? But after causing such a scene and running away, aren't you public enemy number one now?"
Yes, it was easy to think that way.
Since he had broken into a conference room packed with nobles and caused a massive ruckus, the guards across the entire capital would be frantically searching for him by now.
However,
"On the contrary, because of what I did, one side will have taken an interest in me."
The Empire was currently divided into two factions: the Noble Faction and the Emperor Faction.
While Duke Veinstern and Mackenzie, whom he had just fought, belonged to the Noble Faction, the lifeline Jinhyuk needed to grasp in the Empire was not them, but the opposing faction loyal to the Emperor and the imperial family.
Since a spark had been lit in the helpless Emperor's eyes, he had created more than enough of an opportunity.
"Hmph. So you did all that with a plan in mind? You're not as reckless as you look."
"What on earth did you take me for?"
"Well, obviously a dev—I mean, the most wonderful contractor in the world. Seriously."
Seeing Jinhyuk's finger twitch toward her wing, Alice hastily changed the subject.
"But is it really possible for the imperial faction to fight Murim on their own? Especially when the Duke's side has already joined hands with them?"
"That's true, but we don't need to face the entirety of Murim. There's a card among them that we can exploit."
The faction they had clashed with so far was the Murim composed of the Five Great Families, the Nine Sects and One Gang, and the Unorthodox Faction.
But there was one more power in play...
And that was the Heavenly Demon Cult, which had just ended its seclusion.
"The Heavenly Demon... I've clashed with him a few times myself. That guy is truly relentless. Even for you, he won't be easy to use."
"That depends on how I handle it."
Of course, Jinhyuk knew how difficult he was to manage.
How could a chuunibyou who spouted arrogant lines like "none under heaven shall defy me" ever listen obediently?
Even so, Jinhyuk was confident he could factor that personality into his calculations.
"I feel this way every time, but you really are always overflowing with confidence."
"It's nothing new... Anyway, get ready. We're almost at our destination."
No matter how vast the capital was, they couldn't evade every single guard forever.
He needed a place to stay while he was here.
And that place...
...had already been decided from the very beginning.
Jinhyuk adjusted the amount of mana he was channeling into Alice.
Hummmm!
With a bright flash of light, Alice's height stretched to nearly 160 centimeters.
"Is this the place?"
"Yeah."
Clack!
Jinhyuk opened the door to one of the countless shacks lining the slum.
And then,
"You've arrived right on time."
A familiar voice welcomed them.
* * *
A small room barely large enough to fit four people.
The person occupying one side of the worn wooden table was...
...Penheimer, whom they had met in the conference room.
"Isn't this a bit much for a safehouse?"
Jinhyuk grumbled.
Even if he wasn't expecting a mansion with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, this felt a bit too extreme.
For someone who was supposedly one of the Empire's 100 Sword Masters, his spending habits were on par with a common guard.
"Haha. A place like this is actually less conspicuous. Please, both of you, come inside."
As soon as Penheimer let Jinhyuk and Alice inside, he locked the door securely.
"It may be humble, but I have prepared plenty of food."
From drinks like water, wine, beer, and tea, to various types of bread, cheese, sausages, and bacon.
A feast completely out of place with the shabby interior was laid out.
Alice's eyes sparkled.
For her, whose greatest happiness lay in gastronomy, the culinary delights of a new world never failed to make her heart flutter.
"Oh. Not bad. This combination of cheese and wine is quite satisfying."
While Alice stuffed her cheeks and munched away, Penheimer gazed at Jinhyuk with a pleased expression.
His gaze was genuinely overwhelming.
"I take it you quite liked my performance in the conference room."
"Of course. It must have been an incredibly difficult request, yet you delivered results far beyond my expectations, Lord Jinhyuk."
To suppress the imperial knights with overwhelming might, and to even break the arm of Mackenzie, who was said to have no equal in the Empire when it came to toughness.
"I have never seen the always-composed Sir Abraham so flustered. And of course, Duke Veinstern's expression was quite a sight to behold as well."
At this point, any further proof of qualification was meaningless.
"I apologize for daring to test you, Lord Jinhyuk. I swear on the name of Aibak von Penheimer that I will never doubt your abilities again."
Thud!
Penheimer dropped to one knee before Jinhyuk.
The sword he held in both hands touched the wooden floor.
It was a gesture of knightly etiquette.
This sudden action caught Jinhyuk off guard this time.
Is he willing to throw away everything for the revival of the Empire?
Otherwise, it would be unimaginable for a proud knight to kneel and apologize.
"Please, lift your head. I understand your intent. Of course, if something like this happens again, I will hold you accountable for the oath you just made."
"You need not worry about that."
"Then, please tell me the plan you have in mind, Lord Penheimer. How does the imperial family intend to move forward?"
"I do not know if you are aware, but we can never win this war with our forces divided."
The conversation had turned serious.
It was a sharp assessment that pierced to the core of the matter, a cold and realistic judgment.
"...That is likely true. The military power currently possessed by the imperial family would never be enough to secure the 'base'."
In the war against Murim, the first key objective was determining who would secure the 'Citadel of Giants' located on the 29th floor.
Although it was a crucial base that could establish a foothold in each other's territory, the giants were so formidable that neither faction had dared to attack it easily.
Ultimately, securing that region was the top priority to seize the upper hand.
"Indeed. We do not know when the nobles might stab us in the back. Above all, all information regarding the skilled Sword Masters on our side has already been leaked."
What their specialties are, what swordsmanship they prefer...
...and even which restaurants they frequent.
The nobles already knew everything inside out.
They say knowing your enemy and knowing yourself leads to a hundred victories, but if only the enemy possessed that knowledge, nothing could be more despairing.
Therefore,
"I would like you to take on this mission, Lord Jinhyuk."
Penheimer uttered the absurd request with a calm face.
...Huh?
What did he just say...?