Chapter 253
Chapter 253
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 253
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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“T-Tae-yul…”
“Tae-yul…”
The other Yongseok, who had been spectating from across the river like it was just a show, awkwardly started backing away at Tae-yul’s appearance.
They had momentarily forgotten that Jin-ryeo was Tae-yul’s person, the rightful heir at the top of the succession order.
“F-Finger… Finger…”
Jin-ryeo staggered, leaning on Jang Du.
Tae-yul took in the sight completely.
Swish…
Swish…
Tae-yul glided forward.
Behind him trailed a line of his usual underlings, including the Yonghwa fawning over him, all subordinates like Jin-ryeo.
This was Tae-yul’s current stature.
“What exactly are you lot doing in the palace where the Dragon Emperor resides?”
Their responses were feeble.
To make matters worse, with Kang Seol’s finger mark visible on Jin-ryeo’s forehead, they had no ground to stand on even if Tae-yul raged.
As Kang Seol and Jang Du hesitated on how to reply, Jin-ryeo suddenly straightened up.
“Ugh… Tae-yul.”
“Jin-ryeo, what’s that on your forehead?”
“A scar of defeat from the game.”
“…What?”
“The commotion in the palace…”
“No, that’s not it.”
Tae-yul looked around at everyone in turn and said,
“You lost the game?”
Jin-ryeo bit her lip hard and answered.
“Yes… shamefully.”
“Who did you lose to?”
“Th-That’s…”
Jin-ryeo couldn’t stare straight at Kang Seol, glancing at him furtively with her eyes drifting his way. Fearing their gazes might meet, she took small, quick steps away from him bit by bit.
Tae-yul stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then gave Jin-ryeo a sly smile.
“Jin-ryeo.”
“Y-Yes…”
“You haven’t forgotten our previous promise, have you?”
“Promise…?”
“The one where, if you suffered a major loss in a game, you wouldn’t play any more without my permission while you’re with me.”
“Ha…”
“You’re not thinking of breaking a promise with me, Tae-yul, are you?”
Jin-ryeo rolled her eyes desperately before letting out a deep sigh and saying,
“As if. I’ll keep the promise.”
And so, it seemed neatly resolved.
The Yongseok swallowed hard.
Tae-yul glanced up at Jin-ryeo’s forehead once more before turning away.
“Gruesome.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Let’s go.”
Tae-yul’s group shuffled out in a mass.
Even as they exited the palace, Tae-yul remained silent for quite a while. Until his carriage arrived.
Tae-yul’s carriages weren’t just one.
A great many waited, enough to carry all his followers.
Among them, his own carriage was fit for a future emperor. The horses pulling it gleamed with luster, their muscles refined without excess, instantly marking them as prized steeds. The carriage’s exterior also seemed crafted from uncommon materials.
Swish…
Tae-yul’s non-Yongseok subordinates boarded with him.
The mere fact that the Yongseok rode separate carriages showed how much Tae-yul trusted his other underlings.
“Jin-ryeo.”
“Yes.”
“You handled it just as I instructed.”
Jin-ryeo bowed her head, thinking for a moment.
‘Instructed…? Ah!’
She’d forgotten briefly.
The orders Tae-yul had given his underlings.
“As expected, your brazenness lets you blend in so well.”
“Hehe… Knowing a man is far more efficient through a brief game than spending a night together.”
“I’ve always valued that about you.”
Jin-ryeo’s heart pounded.
She’d truly forgotten—the directive to approach him and verify the truth behind the rumor that one man had single-handedly defeated the revived Adulshini.
The other underlings of her rank looked at Jin-ryeo with admiring eyes.
‘No! I was just playing around…’
Tae-yul had many underlings, and she didn’t aspire to rise further, so she figured someone else would handle the orders. She’d just casually set the stage and played.
It wasn’t out of loyalty that she’d approached Kang Seol.
She felt wronged.
If only Jang Du hadn’t dragged that man in.
‘Wait, is this a chance?’
A chance to repay Tae-yul’s trust.
And that repayment would buy her even greater leniency.
Work to play even more recklessly.
That was the true reason Jin-ryeo followed Tae-yul!
“What did you make of him?”
“He was…”
Jin-ryeo described the impression Kang Seol had left on her.
“Unique… no, special.”
“……”
“His looks were dull, nothing I’d want close to, but the more we talked, something came through.”
“A silver tongue?”
“No… just…”
What was that guy like again?
Ah.
“His words carried weight.”
“Words with weight?”
“He backed every one with action.”
“That means his actions carry weight too. You gleaned that from just a game?”
“Games make even those who’ve reached the end of life smile. Spotting a young man’s character is easy.”
“Reassuring he’s not frivolous. At his age, with such achievements, he’d normally be drunk on power… What of his strength? Is the rumor true that he felled Adulshini alone?”
Jin-ryeo shook her head.
Tae-yul scoffed.
“Just a false rumor?”
“No, I couldn’t confirm that far. We didn’t actually fight. But… I got the sense it’s not entirely baseless. His prowess surpasses Jang Du’s.”
“Hmm…”
“Jin-ryeo, let me ask Tae-yul.”
Jin-ryeo looked at Tae-yul and said,
“Do you plan to eliminate him?”
“…That’s not for you to meddle in.”
“If you do harbor such thoughts, I won’t try to stop you. But… from what I felt, he’s a necessary man.”
“I need nothing more.”
“Not for you, Tae-yul.”
This time, she spoke with genuine sincerity.
“For the Khan.”
“…I’ll consider it.”
In a suffocatingly dark chamber sat one man. Beside him stood a pot-bellied man resembling a catfish.
At a glance, the seated man held far more power.
“This is the place you so meticulously prepared? It’s plain.”
The man with greed gleaming in his eyes chuckled and replied,
“That’s why it’s good. The doors and walls are all made of Hwiri steel. Covered over with other materials.”
“Hwiri steel? All of it?”
Hwiri steel.
To martial artists, it was the stuff of nightmares. Steel that absorbed qi, magical pressure—anything. In a space fully enclosed by it, even Taoist arts dispersed, rendering sorcery unusable.
Moreover, its energy felt utterly ordinary until impact, making it exceedingly rare.
A material from legends, but sadly, once it absorbed force, it deformed, unfit for durable weapons—mainly used for projectiles.
Yet the catfish-like man claimed he’d built this entire room from it.
“If it’s all Hwiri steel…”
“Yes, even that brute Jang Du, infamous for his savagery, couldn’t breach it from outside in short order.”
“And we just handle business inside?”
“Exactly.”
“But even if we extract oaths from Sin-yo and the other Yonghwa that way, how do we enforce it? Release them, and they’ll come straight for my neck. What if the Record Keepers intervene?”
“No need to worry. The Record Keepers never intervene, no matter what happens. That’s the rule. And our plan isn’t forbidden by the Dragon Emperor either.”
“Hmm… Jang Du still scares me.”
“That’s why we prepared this safeguard.”
Swish…
The catfish-like man pulled out a scroll.
“A blood pact contract.”
“…Isn’t this from the Blood Charm Sect? They vanished ages ago.”
“It circulates quietly in the underworld. Not in great supply, but I’ve gathered plenty with care.”
Blood pact contract.
A cursed scroll left by the vicious Blood Charm Sect. Write your name in your own blood, and you become blindly loyal to its owner.
Even if the owner died, breaking it was excruciatingly hard—many shuddered at it.
“Still, to get them to sign, we’d have to subdue them first? Even locked in here, I can’t beat a single one. Ah! Maybe Seolhong?”
“Pfhehe… That’s why we hired these.”
A list of names was handed to the seated man.
“These are all…?”
“Leech Gwanghong, Glutton Wang Jang, Thunderbolt Dang Sung. Assassins we hired with big money for this job.”
“Never heard of them.”
“If an assassin’s name is known, wouldn’t that be the weird part?”
“How do you know these names?”
“I built ties with them back in my old group.”
“Hm… Can they fool Jang Du’s eyes?”
“Maybe not elsewhere, but impossible in this Hwiri steel room. We even have custom tables ready for them.”
A plan with all sorts of preparations.
“…You’ve prepared thoroughly. Yu-kyung, you’re quite useful.”
“Heh… I still fall short in repaying you for taking in this lowly one.”
“Why did Bang-hyu punish you? You’re so capable.”
“Jealousy, no doubt. He feared my relentless drive, methods be damned. Worried I’d snatch his seat someday.”
“Hm…”
“If things had gone right back in Yo-cheon, I wouldn’t be wandering the Khan’s lands in disgrace. The Warrior’s Heart that Gwak-seong held would’ve been mine…”
“Fine, trust in me alone. When I become Dragon Emperor, I’ll put you in the Prime Minister’s seat.”
Thud-!
Thud-!
Catfish-like Yu-kyung slammed his forehead on the floor in reply.
“Hahaha! Want to test Hwiri steel’s might?”
“As much as you like! Command me to die, and I’ll die in an instant!”
“…Really? For real?”
Yu-kyung lifted his bleeding forehead and grinned.
“If it’s your command, Je-gaek.”
Je-gaek replied to Yu-kyung’s smile with one even more innocent.
This had happened two days prior.
Now, two days later, a man visited Seolhong’s residence. Naturally, he first passed through Cheonju.
“What is this?”
“Deliver this to Seolhong.”
“May I check the contents first?”
“Of course. Feel free.”
As the man turned to leave, Cheonju hurriedly asked,
“But who…”
“It’s written in the letter.”
“Ugh…”
Cheonju broke the seal and checked the contents first. A bad feeling, perhaps. Or just old age making him cautious.
“Gasp…”
Cheonju skimmed the letter, then rushed to Seolhong with a grin plastered on his face.
“Seolhong! Seolhong!”
“What is it, Cheonju? What’s going on…?”
Seolhong grew anxious at Cheonju’s urgency, fearing disaster.
“It’s big!”
“B-Big?!”
“Read this letter quick!”
“Wh-What…”
“Hurry!”
Rustle-!
Seolhong anxiously read the letter Cheonju handed her.
At first, unease filled her, but by the middle, she thought it odd.
The letter felt subtly luxurious, each syllable and phrase pressed with care.
Heh…
“Hey, girl.”
Bitan, sensing Seolhong’s weird reaction, called to her from atop Kang Seol’s head.
Heh…
“Girl.”
“D-Did you call me?”
“Yeah. Why’re you grinning like an idiot?”
“M-Must be a mistake.”
Seolhong finally folded the letter.
Then, to Bitan and Kang Seol with their questioning looks, and Chiwu who’d dropped by for fun, she said,
“I… I’ve been invited to a banquet. For the first time.”
Seolhong’s face lit up like it was broken.
“Wh-What should I do?”
Bitan picked his nose and muttered.
“Such a fuss…”
“No!”
Chiwu cut Bitan off and said.
He’d inwardly fretted that Seolhong had never properly enjoyed a banquet. He wanted to fix that regrettable state, and now the chance had come.
Chiwu wanted to make this first banquet her best memory ever.
“This is… right, that thing…”
Chiwu looked at his comrades.
Kang Seol and Bitan… fine, whatever.
He turned to Cheonju.
Cheonju clamped his mouth shut and nodded firmly.
Chiwu declared as if he’d found kindred spirits.
“It’s a showdown, Seolhong!”
Cheonju chimed in.
“You must shine brighter than anyone!”