Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Victory
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“Wow!”
The Golden Army warriors let out a cheer.
It was more a cry of relief at having survived than joy over the victory. Not a single warrior present hadn’t contemplated death.
The enemy had overwhelmed them in sheer numbers. Their initial assault had been ferocious as well.
Go Mi and Deputy General Son Yeong hurried to Yi Hwan’s side.
“Great Prince! Are you alright?!”
Yi Hwan silently checked Son Yeong and Go Mi over first.
“The deputy general is fine!”
“I’m fine too.”
“See to the casualties first.”
“Yes! Great Prince!”
Cheol Mu-ok and Ju Tae approached, along with the Yi Wang lineage warriors. Fortunately, they were all unharmed. But two of them had sword wounds and were bleeding from the chest and waist.
“Treat them first.”
“We can endure it!”
“Listen to me.”
Yi Hwan turned to look behind him.
Jo Gwang and Pa Pa were approaching. Yi Hwan regarded Jo Gwang’s pale complexion and asked in a calm tone.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m alright.”
Yi Hwan finally fixed Pa Pa with a stare. His gaze was decidedly cold.
“You shouldn’t have strayed even a step from the Crown Prince’s side.”
“……!”
Pa Pa was startled deep down.
She hadn’t even imagined Yi Hwan might be watching. Especially not during a brutal melee that allowed no distractions.
“I caused you worry. I’m sorry, Great Prince.”
Pa Pa lowered her head.
Yi Hwan said to Jo Gwang.
“Rest in the watch shrine until we finish tending the wounded.”
Yi Hwan headed for the watch shrine first.
A moment later, upon entering the watch shrine, Go Mi produced a bottle of liquor and offered it.
“Would you like some?”
“Thanks.”
Gulp, gulp!
Yi Hwan drained half the bottle and offered the rest to Jo Gwang.
“My stomach’s upset, so I’ll pass.”
Yi Hwan finished off the rest and leaned against the wall. Jo Gwang hesitated a moment before speaking.
“You saved my life. I’ll never forget this grace.”
“No need to be so grateful. If you died, it’d trouble me and the Crown Prince, so I merely did my utmost for our sake.”
Pa Pa lowered her head.
“Thanks to your advice, Great Prince, I was able to focus in advance. You’ve bestowed a grace too great to repay.”
“I’m aware the Emei Sect’s techniques include many stances that shine in close quarters. Use those from next time on.”
“……!”
[I already knew you were the Heartless Sword.]
Pa Pa nearly let out a groan.
Yi Hwan averted his gaze from Pa Pa, leaned his head against the wall, and closed his eyes. Go Mi sat beside him.
The look in her eyes as she gazed at Yi Hwan was markedly different from before.
‘The finest version of you I’ve ever seen.’
Her heart pounded.
In all her years, she had never witnessed Yi Hwan like he was today. Today’s Yi Hwan was no different from a divine general dropped straight from the heavens.
That sight was so intensely chilling it transcended even awe at his martial prowess.
At that moment, Yi Hwan asked with his eyes still closed.
“Are you hurt?”
“Ah, no.”
“Your heart’s beating far too fast. If it’s an internal injury, treat it first.”
“No. I’m fine.”
Go Mi unconsciously pressed a hand gently to her chest. At the same time, she marveled at Yi Hwan’s perceptiveness.
‘He can even sense my heartbeat.’
“I’ll rest a bit, so wake me when the cleanup’s done.”
“Yes, Great Prince.”
Yi Hwan closed his eyes.
It wasn’t to sleep, but because of an old man he had spotted amid the clash.
‘That old fellow seemed to be their leader…….’
He had clearly seen the old man directing their forces. But he hadn’t moved to kill him.
He had held back out of concern that stepping away would increase the Golden Army’s losses. Fortunately, the enemy hadn’t approached either.
Had he joined the fray personally, it might have turned into a grueling battle.
‘Who sent them?’
The crisis had passed, but Yi Hwan’s mind grew all the more muddled.
* * *
Even as he oversaw the cleanup, Deputy General Son Yeong kept stealing glances toward the watch shrine where Yi Hwan was. The casualties were urgent, but he couldn’t help it.
The fallen warriors filled him with grief, but recalling Yi Hwan in the thick of battle made his chest tremble for no reason.
‘The Great Prince charged ahead to meet the enemy first.’
In all his time serving under countless superiors, he had never seen anything like it today. Not one of those officers had ever led from the front against the foe; they had busied themselves retreating to safety.
Especially for Yi Hwan, a Great Prince of the imperial house before he was commander of the Golden Army—preserving himself should have come first.
‘At last, our Golden Army has met someone worthy of true respect.’
For Son Yeong, seasoned in the Golden Army, nothing could gladden his heart more. Inevitably comparing him to the excessively political former commander only heightened his elation.
“Hoo!”
Son Yeong threw himself back into the cleanup.
* * *
“Great Prince, cleanup is complete.”
Son Yeong entered the watch shrine and reported at once.
“Twelve dead, three seriously wounded, six lightly wounded.”
“Did you collect the fallen warriors’ swords and insignias?”
“Yes. Every last one.”
Yi Hwan straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall.
Jo Gwang sat across from him, receiving Pa Pa’s aid in treating his internal injuries. His face was still pale, but with Pa Pa channeling qi into him, his complexion had improved markedly.
Yi Hwan asked calmly.
“Can you move?”
“I can.”
Jo Gwang shook off Pa Pa’s hand and sat up straight.
Clank.
Yi Hwan sheathed his sword and rose.
“Then let’s depart at once.”
Stepping outside, he found the Golden Army already formed up and ready to leave.
Yi Hwan mounted a warhorse led up by one of the warriors.
“Move out.”
“Move out!”
* * *
Tremble……
The Society Leader’s gaze shook faintly as he stared at Yi Hwan’s departing figure.
Deep within those quivering pupils swirled shock and fury.
‘How in the world did this happen? For a Great Prince of the imperial house, who’s merely learned the Imperial Palace Martial Arts, to be this strong…….’
Yi Hwan on the battlefield had been chillingly powerful, cruel, and merciless.
His presence had been so overwhelmingly dominant that the Society Leader hadn’t even considered moving to eliminate him personally.
The Society Leader’s gaze shifted to Cheol Mu-ok, Ju Tae, and the Yi Wang lineage warriors trailing in Yi Hwan’s wake.
‘Something was gravely amiss from the very start.’
He had known Yi Hwan’s escorts were formidable.
But they were far stronger than he’d anticipated. They had slain so many of his men in the opening moments that the plan unraveled completely, culminating in this utterly humiliating retreat.
‘How could this be…….’
At that moment, an aide approached.
“Shall we pursue?”
The Society Leader fell silent for a time. Then his response completely defied the aide’s expectations.
“We return to headquarters.”
“……Pardon?”
“I can’t sacrifice everyone here just to kill him. We’ll return to headquarters and bide our time for a more perfect opportunity.”
“Understood.”
“First, tend to the wounded.”
“Yes, Society Leader.”
The aide returned to where the Reverse Heaven Society members were gathered, cocking his head in puzzlement.
The Society Leader had never given up so easily before. Especially not when they still held numerical superiority.
One man spoke in a subdued voice.
“Our intelligence was badly off. The Great Prince’s escorts are one thing, but we truly never dreamed he’d be that strong.”
“Those street gossips who spread word of their movements—did they know the Great Prince was that powerful? They must have, and spread the rumors deliberately to use us.”
“Perhaps.”
As they walked, all recalled Yi Hwan.
‘That must be what a devil looks like.’
To them, Yi Hwan had been the devil incarnate. As if unable to distinguish their necks, he had mercilessly severed his foes’ limbs.
That brutality had caused many subordinates to shift their attack targets away from Yi Hwan to random others, only to lose their lives in the process.
One aide glanced back at the Society Leader.
He stood utterly motionless in the pouring rain.
‘This is his first failure of this magnitude, so naturally the shock must be immense.’
In this one battle, they had lost several times the number of men fallen in all their past assassinations of imperial clansmen and high officials combined.
What pained him more was the considerable loss of the Reverse Heaven Society’s upper-echelon experts.
‘Damn it…….’
* * *
Immediately after the Reverse Heaven Society departed.
A lone figure emerged into the heart of the gruesome battlefield.
It was a Hong Moon assassin who had attempted to kill Jo Gwang but barely escaped with his life.
He crossed the blood-soaked field to where his comrade’s corpse lay. Reaching the body—half its head blown away—the man in blue robes knelt and gently stroked the face.
‘We vowed ironclad to return together, yet here you lie, cold and alone. I’m sorry.’
The blue-robed man’s eyes reddened.
But he shed no tears. It would only make him feel sorrier toward his fallen comrade.
‘That old hag…….’
Recalling Pa Pa, killing intent gleamed in the blue-robed man’s eyes.
He had suspected from the start that she was a martial artist and, as Jo Gwang’s guard, no ordinary one—but he hadn’t imagined she’d be that strong.
Had his comrade not fallen to Pa Pa so swiftly, he could have slain Jo Gwang.
‘Damn it…….’
The assassin slowly closed his eyes.
In Hong Moon, failure meant death. Perhaps an even greater humiliation than death.
Thus, he couldn’t bring himself to return. Yet return he must.
‘Everyone’s been deceived by the Great Prince. I must report his prowess.’
This fact had to reach his superiors. Even if it meant being held accountable for the failure and executed.
The assassin lingered a moment longer over his comrade before rising. Then, sensing something, he whipped around like lightning.
“……!”
A man stood there.
It was Ju Tae.
Clang!
The blue-robed man swiftly drew his sword.
‘I clearly saw him leave with the Great Prince…….’
* * *
Ju Tae regarded the blue-robed man quietly.
*Go back secretly and hide in the watch shrine. Someone will appear.*
That had been Yi Hwan’s order.
‘As expected of a ghost of a man.’
Ju Tae smiled as he stared down the assassin.
“You seem quite startled.”
“……!”
“Failing so sloppily. Can you even call yourself an assassin after that?”
Ju Tae advanced slowly toward the blue-robed man.
The assassin’s sword flared with qi energy. But Ju Tae paid it no mind.
“Did the Second Prince send you?”
The assassin made no reply, channeling all his power into his sword.
But he was already in despair. The Ju Tae he’d seen on the battlefield was beyond anything he could handle.
Especially since he himself was injured.
“Confess honestly, and I might kill you without pain.”
“Shut your mouth!”
“As expected, no dice?”
Sizzle.
“Then I’ll just kill you.”
* * *
Thud thud thud!
Ju Tae galloped up and reported straight to Yi Hwan.
“As you said, some bastard appeared, so I killed him. Just couldn’t confirm his identity.”
“Good work.”
“But how did you know someone would show up at the site?”
“I just happened to spot him watching the battle from the woods.”
“That’s all?”
“Need more?”
“……No.”
Ju Tae scratched his head and sidled up to Cheol Mu-ok, who gave him a once-over.
“You’re perfectly fine, so quit worrying.”
“Strong opponent?”
“Eh, nothing special.”
“Didn’t consider capturing him to interrogate his identity?”
“He wasn’t quite that weak.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s with that look?”
“What about my look?”
“You’re staring at me all weird.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you just gave me a weird look.”
It was then.
“Be quiet.”
At Yi Hwan’s single remark, the two clamped their mouths shut.
Go Mi gave them a faint smile. She soon turned her gaze to Yi Hwan’s back.
Crown Prince Yi So’s voice echoed in her mind.
*You must serve the youngest as your lord.*
At that time, her sentiment had been, *Why me?*
But after spending time together, her thoughts had gradually shifted, and today she had taken Yi Hwan into her heart.
Of course, as the lord she must serve—not as a man.
‘Not bad so far.’