Chapter 154
Chapter 154
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 154
At first, he had thought it was coincidence.
When Gerard had looked at the flag and said he'd seen it somewhere before, and when Risel had gazed at it as if trying to remember something too, Go Jin-cheon had simply let it pass.
When he'd heard about the Season of Depravity that the ancients had suffered and felt a strange kinship, and when he'd seen the Northern Mercenaries and sensed a faint connection, he'd still called it coincidence.
But the words left behind after the standoff with the Gold Dragon, and the meaning carried in the Saintess's words today — those were making him think this was not coincidence but inevitability.
'Wherever my will leads.'
Jin-cheon no longer wrestled with confusion or anguish. He simply resolved to do only what he had to do and walked slowly toward his quarters.
Left behind with the Saintess's party, Dae Mu-deok and the remaining senior ministers were working to learn more details.
In truth, the Northern Mercenaries already felt closer than other people because they had fought alongside them in this battle. But for the Gauri people, the appearance of people who looked almost exactly like them gave them the sense that they had returned to their homeland.
"What I'm curious about is how the continent never even imagined that the Northerners might have a leader."
When Gowin asked with a puzzled expression, Risel — who had stubbornly insisted on attending despite his injured body — spoke up in the Saintess's stead.
"Isn't it likely the aftermath of the Demon Hunts?"
"Ah!"
It was a simple answer, but hadn't they themselves nearly become victims of a Demon Hunt not long ago? It was perfectly convincing.
Even the phrases describing the Demon Hunts that appeared only in old records said that millions had been slaughtered.
Millions had been dragged off as slaves and persecuted. Afterward, as they were used as tools of war, the repression gradually eased — but those lingering practices had made it impossible for them to move openly on the continent.
The Saintess's explanation that only some mixed-blood individuals had been able to operate turned Risel's suspicion into certainty.
"Saintess, your party has black hair and black eyes unlike other Northerners — you would certainly be in considerable danger. And since people of your appearance would find it difficult to go out into the world, may I ask how many of you there are?"
When Mu-deok asked cautiously, a warrior standing behind the Saintess answered.
"People like us have no choice but to live hidden in our refuge. Our number there is approximately eighty thousand, and those scattered throughout the world living as mercenaries or otherwise number roughly four hundred thousand."
"Oh!"
A sound of wonder escaped Mu-deok's lips.
What welcome news this was — like rain in a drought. Gauri's greatest weakness was its small population. Of course, their numbers had surged as a result of this war, but roughly four hundred thousand people was an enormous figure.
Naturally, a sudden influx of population would bring many difficulties, but the people who made up Gauri shared one thing in common.
They were people who had lost their homeland, and people who had nowhere left to fall.
They were not fat, complacent pigs — they were people who longed for a life of freedom.
On top of that, the dragon's appearance and the words it had left behind were etched deep in the minds of everyone living throughout Gauri. And the image of the Gauri soldiers, spread by the refugees who had been there, was that of heroes who stood for their people.
And the tale of Jin-cheon, who had stood proudly at the very front and faced down the Gold Dragon, was more than enough to bind them all together.
It was the perfect moment.
* * *
"What?"
Dae Mu-deok, who had rushed over with a joyful heart to report to Go Jin-cheon, found himself at a loss for words when an unexpected problem was pointed out.
"Think about it. From the perspective of nearly five hundred thousand of them, a different story could certainly emerge. This could easily turn into a power struggle of sorts, couldn't it?"
It was a perfectly reasonable point. At Jin-cheon's words, Mu-deok sank into deep thought. But then, as he was thinking, Jin-cheon's voice reached him.
"History holds the answer."
"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
Mu-deok raised his head and looked at Jin-cheon.
The moment he saw the corner of Jin-cheon's mouth curled upward, Mu-deok felt goosebumps race down his back. He could not tell what Jin-cheon was aiming for.
"Summon the Thorn Bird party at once."
"Understood."
In the end, Mu-deok left bearing yet another command instead of an answer. A short while later, Mu-deok and the Saintess's party entered Jin-cheon's quarters.
"As commanded, I have brought—"
Mu-deok, about to report to Jin-cheon, stopped and froze in place.
"Sniffle."
A pitiful sound slipped out.
In Jin-cheon's arms, a small child squirmed and fussed, fat tears and runny nose streaming down her face. Eulji was there with him.
Her presence itself was no problem, of course — but the sight of Eulji's little hand stretching one of the Yeolje's cheeks long was bound to look utterly surreal to the guests who had been brought in.
"The princess is truly adorable."
The Saintess answered Jin-cheon with a beaming smile.
"She's not a princess."
"I beg your pardon?"
"My wife."
The Saintess's smile froze on the spot, and for a moment she found herself carefully reconsidering the legends she knew.
At Jin-cheon's response, Mu-deok calmly explained to the Saintess's party about Eulji and the will of the previous Yeolje. Only after that could their conversation resume.
What followed was a practical matter, not one from the legends — the potential problem that had surfaced during his conversation with Dae Mu-deok.
"It's not that there's no solution. There's a very simple one."
"Please, speak."
At Jin-cheon's words, the Saintess, Thorn Bird, inclined her head slightly, requesting his answer.
"How old is the Saintess?"
"I turn thirty-two this year."
"Are you married?"
"I am not."
After hearing her answer, Jin-cheon replied slowly, enunciating each word.
"Po. lit. i. cal. Mar. riage."
"That does sound plausible."
Only then did Mu-deok grasp what Jin-cheon was saying. Nothing facilitated natural assimilation better than a political marriage.
Mu-deok's face lit up like a man who'd just had an aching tooth pulled.
"Haha, so there was a method like that."
"Hohoho."
As Mu-deok laughed brightly, Jin-cheon laughed back. The Saintess's reaction was not much different. She had expected something along these lines.
But just as the small obstacle was removed and Mu-deok was basking in delight, a single remark from Jin-cheon turned him to stone.
"Make it happen."
"Pardon?"
Mu-deok, frozen mid-smile, felt cold sweat running down his back as he asked again. Jin-cheon clicked his tongue and said,
"Tsk, tsk. Do you think I'd take a concubine before I've even held a wedding with my own lawful wife? Even Tang law doesn't allow that. And if I did, who would be left? The highest authority after me would be left, wouldn't he?"
"Well, that's—"
"Saintess, I guarantee it."
"I understand."
"Y-Your Majesty!"
Ignoring the flustered Mu-deok, Jin-cheon walked to his bed, threw himself onto it, and issued an expulsion order.
"Tonight, I'll be able to sleep soundly."
As Mu-deok rose weakly and walked out with the Saintess's party, Jin-cheon's final admonition reached his ears.
"Don't cause any trouble before the wedding."
Walking out, Mu-deok despaired.
Dae Mu-deok, age sixty-one. Flowers were beginning to bloom in his life.
* * *
"What!"
Buyeo Gi-yul, who had been tending to his equipment, stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Beside him, Mong Ryu-hwa turned to Samdopyo, who had brought the news, and asked again.
"How many years apart are they?"
"Pfft, twenty-nine years...."
At Dupyo's answer, the two men gaped at each other, then murmured in low voices.
"That's even worse than His Majesty, isn't it?"
"Well, we've seen senior ministers take young wives before. So what."
When Giyul said it as if impressed, Ryu-hwa shot back as if scolding him. But his words, too, were knocked right back by Dupyo.
"Hmph, that only applies to secondary wives. His Majesty and the Daedaero are marrying lawful wives."
"......."
Silence followed.
Whatever the case, the bachelors could only burn with envy.
* * *
Moving nearly four hundred thousand people was far too conspicuous. Their appearance alone drew immediate attention.
In such a situation, there was no easy way. Even though Risel had broken through the Archwizard barrier and become an Archmage, he could not teleport that many people.
And even if he could handle all those people, a movement of mana on that scale might be detected by the wizards of other nations. But this matter, too, was settled by a single word from Jin-cheon.
"Put Gerard on it."
"Gerard... you mean?"
"Are we going to keep him around and boil him for stew? Use him when you need him."
There was no better method than using the sea routes. The hard part was loading them onto the ships — once they were aboard, they would be invisible from then on.
And so Samdori was summoned.
* * *
The eyes that held their breath and fixed on the prey betrayed no disturbance whatsoever. Even his presence had faded, as if he had become one with the surrounding trees.
A silver longsword was gripped in one hand, and his body was coiled in the optimal form to lunge at any moment. Even the sound of his breathing dissolved into the wind and vanished. And then....
"Commander-in-Chief Gerard, communication from the homeland."
"Gyaaaaah!"
The silence shattered, and Phillian Gerard's howl followed.
"I mean, why are you suddenly screaming...."
Gerard glared at Jang Bogo, radiating killing intent, and shouted.
"Fleet Commander Jang, I told you not to disturb me!"
Right then, Bogo watched the Sirens on the sand — who had heard Gerard's shriek and were bolting into the sea — and let out a deep sigh, looking at Gerard with pity.
"Honestly, do you really think a Giant Crab is going to show up and attack the Sirens just because you're doing that?"
"It's instinct!"
Chunsam, who had fought a Giant Crab, rescued a Siren, and taken her as his wife, was an object of envy.
It had gotten so bad that for a while there were soldiers who tailed Giant Crabs and Sirens hoping for a windfall like Chunsam's.
But that had been pure luck, and no such fortune had come again.
Just when it had faded from everyone's minds and grown quiet, the construction of the Turtle Ships had required great quantities of Giant Crab shells, and they had scoured every island in an obsessive hunt.
And then, one of them had been blessed with the same luck as Chunsam.
The craze had reignited.
For Gerard, who had nothing pressing to do, it was irresistible. Wasn't it every man's dream?
"And with that many Sirens gathered together like that, do you think a Giant Crab would come?"
"Don't make me laugh! A man goes for the one big moment!"
Gerard was pointlessly greedy. Since Gerard was his superior, Jang Bogo couldn't say much more and changed the subject.
"This is a message delivered directly from His Majesty, the Yeolje."
"Dammit. Today's not the only day, anyway."
Before Go Jin-cheon, Gerard became a mouse before a cat.
Dusting himself off and casting a lingering, regretful look behind him, Gerard began to move. Watching him, Bogo spoke as if taking pity.
"Honestly, it might be faster to capture a Giant Crab alive and then release it at just the right moment."
Gerard stopped in his tracks.
"Oho! Now there's an idea!"
"......."
Fleet Commander Jang Bogo found Gerard's tenacity newly terrifying.