Chapter 299
Chapter 299
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 299
Chapter Title: The Reverse Heaven Society's Ultimate Goal
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The Reverse Heaven Society leader was tilting his cup with his close aide when a scream suddenly erupted from downstairs. He shot to his feet.
“I’ll go check it out!”
The aide, who had leaped up first to rush down, froze as his eyes widened. He had spotted seven glowing lights hovering outside the window.
“……!”
The seven lights reflected in the aide’s pupils.
Seeing this, the Reverse Heaven Society leader didn’t head for the stairs. Instead, he hurled himself toward the opposite window.
Crash!
Thud thud thud!
The aide took the full brunt of the seven lights and collapsed without even a scream.
Boom!
Yi Hwan and Cheol Mu-ok burst through the window and immediately pursued the Reverse Heaven Society leader, leaping out the opposite window after him.
Boom!
Yi Hwan emerged outside and spotted the Reverse Heaven Society leader dashing into the inn across the street. He twisted midair to change direction.
That was when fighters presumed to be Reverse Heaven Society members burst out from the nearby houses, swords swinging. The Eastern warriors dropped down in front of them.
One warrior turned to Park Ji-mun and asked,
“They came from the houses—what do we do?”
“In a situation like this, anyone charging at us with a sword is obvious. Kill them all.”
“Understood.”
Kim Mu-gwan moved first.
The head of the man charging at him while swinging a broadsword exploded like a watermelon under his single fist strike.
Splat!
“Argh!”
Because the situation unfolded far differently from expectations, Ju Tae and the others waiting nearby all charged in at once.
Ju Tae glanced back at the inn Yi Hwan had entered and furrowed his brow.
“It’s too quiet in there.”
* * *
Yi Hwan and Cheol Mu-ok had leaped into the opposite inn in pursuit of the Reverse Heaven Society leader.
But something was off. They had followed right behind him, yet he was nowhere to be found.
That wasn’t all. The inn was quiet—too quiet. A commotion like this should have sent anyone rushing out.
Cheol Mu-ok turned to Yi Hwan with a puzzled expression.
“The exit’s over there, but with our troops outside, he couldn’t have slipped out that way. All the windows are shut too. Where the hell did he go?”
Yi Hwan stared at the wide-open entrance. Right outside, Kim Mu-gwan and the Eastern warriors were dancing their sword dance.
As Cheol Mu-ok said, all the windows were closed, and aside from the wall they had smashed through, everything else was intact.
‘Since we came in through the upstairs wall, he shouldn’t have any escape route downward except outside…….’
That was when Yi Hwan noticed a section of the floorboards slightly misaligned. He immediately crouched down to inspect the area.
“He went down here.”
“Pardon?”
A hazy light rose from Yi Hwan’s hand and pierced straight through the floor.
Boom!
He then pulled upward, yanking up an entire room-sized section of the floor.
Creak creak creak……
Yi Hwan and Cheol Mu-ok leaped down without hesitation. What appeared was an earthen tunnel just wide enough for two adults to squeeze through.
The pitch-black void, without even a flicker of light, exuded an eerie aura like a gateway to hell.
“It’s a tunnel. They prepared thoroughly for something like this. Shall we pursue right away?”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“A guy who dug a tunnel like this in preparation for a crisis like this is meticulous to the core. Who knows what other traps he’s set inside? It might not be a problem for us, but if they find out we went in there, the Moon Lord and the others will come chasing after us. We can’t put them in danger.”
“I see. Understood.”
That was when Go Mi and Hwa Ryeong descended.
Hwa Ryeong asked with a startled look.
“Did they flee down there?”
“Yeah. Looks that way.”
“Then we need to chase them now!”
“It’s already too late. Let’s head out.”
Yi Hwan stepped outside. The fight was already over, and they had captured around thirty men.
Ju Tae approached.
“We’ve rounded them up for now—what should we do with them?”
“Wait for a bit.”
“Yes.”
Yi Hwan looked for Yang Chan. Just then, Yang Chan emerged from the opposite inn.
Beyond the open door, the fallen men lay with blackened faces, blood drooling from their mouths. They must have fallen to Yang Chan’s poison.
“Did he get away?”
“They had a tunnel dug under the inn. Looks like they prepared it over a long time.”
“Losing the ringleader might lead to some annoying trouble down the line.”
“Maybe.”
Yi Hwan nodded silently and continued.
“There’s something I need you to do.”
“Tell me.”
“We need to extract more information from these captives. Think you can manage? Your ancestor could.”
Yang Chan stared silently at the captives, drawing a quiet breath. Then he turned to Yi Hwan with a faint smile.
“Understood. I’ll do it.”
“I’ll be expecting results.”
Yi Hwan turned to Ju Tae.
“Take them all to headquarters.”
“Yes.”
Yi Hwan turned to Cheol Mu-ok with another order.
“Light a fire in the tunnel. Make as much smoke as possible. And have the Moon Lord send out warriors tomorrow to check for any sudden smoke rising anywhere.”
“Yes, Great Prince.”
“Understood.”
Yi Hwan finally turned to leave.
Yang Chan followed at his side and asked,
“If I’d said no, would you have killed them all right here?”
This time, Yi Hwan gave a faint smile. But there was no answer.
* * *
The next morning.
Yang Chan visited Yi Hwan’s office. Yi Hwan personally poured tea as he asked,
“Any progress?”
“Luck was on our side—one had a pretty high rank. I got quite a bit out of him.”
“Drink.”
“Yes.”
After taking a sip, Yang Chan continued.
“But he looked completely different from what you described—age and all. I suspect someone else has become the new leader.”
“A new leader?”
“Yes. And this one seems to have seen the Dark Heaven Cult uprising and completely changed the Reverse Heaven Society’s direction. He plans to build up forces using massive funds, then ally with the Dark Heaven Cult. Of course, the ultimate goal after the alliance is still a reverse palace revolution in the Yeon Kingdom.”
Yi Hwan leaned back, his gaze settling heavily.
“This might not be limited to the Reverse Heaven Society. The Dark Heaven Cult’s influence could spawn similar groups in the Zhao Kingdom and Qin Kingdom too.”
“Entirely possible. The Dark Heaven Cult uprising had such a massive ripple across the land.”
“Hmm…….”
Yi Hwan’s eyes grew heavier. Yang Chan’s lit up with concern.
“You’re worried.”
“I’m not afraid of enemies marching in with a million-strong army for open war. But foes like the Dark Heaven Cult, leeching away in the shadows of people’s lives or in places we can’t even fathom, are a different story. One slip, and we could end up like the Qin Kingdom.”
Yang Chan, who had witnessed the Qin Kingdom’s devastation firsthand, fully empathized.
“What will you do now?”
“We’ll have to come up with countermeasures somehow.”
“If there’s anything I can do, just say the word.”
“Your enthusiasm is refreshing.”
“Honestly, I don’t care much what happens to the Yeon Kingdom’s imperial family. If anything, I’m closer to a Zhao Kingdom subject. But the people are different. My belief is simply to prevent the powerless from having their lives destroyed by the powerful, no matter what.”
“A fine belief.”
“I’ll take that as praise.”
Yi Hwan straightened up and drained the rest of his tea. He met Yang Chan’s eyes squarely and continued.
“You need to harden yourself a bit more, Yang Chan. If killing a thousand saves ten thousand, you have to be able to do it.”
“If that thousand is Dark Heaven Cult scum, I’d do it gladly.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
That was when.
“Great Prince, may I enter?”
Go Mi’s voice drifted in from outside.
“Come in.”
Go Mi opened the door and entered.
“Smoke was spotted rising from the west of the capital. I’ve already dispatched Moon Pavilion warriors.”
“Gather everyone.”
“Understood.”
* * *
The western outskirts of the capital boasted the most stunning scenery near the city, always bustling with sightseers.
But not today. The Golden Army had cordoned off the area and begun searching the tunnels.
Yi Hwan climbed to higher ground and surveyed the surroundings.
Go Mi said,
“They deliberately chose a crowded spot. Even if something happened, no one would suspect a place like this.”
Yi Hwan nodded silently. He had thought the same ever since discovering the Reverse Heaven Society’s tunnel.
‘If the Dark Heaven Cult had used tunnels…….’
The mere thought sent chills down his spine. They would have struggled to suppress them.
Go Mi continued.
“Calculating from the tunnel’s starting point to here, it’s just under ten li in a straight line. They must have been digging nonstop even during past attacks on high officials.”
Everyone was stunned. A ten-li tunnel was an unheard-of feat.
Hwa Ryeong narrowed her eyes and asked,
“But why did they act before the tunnel was complete? Waiting until now would have made it far deadlier.”
“In the end, they achieved plenty even then. Without the tunnel, the authorities couldn’t respond anyway, so they probably didn’t mind. Of course, a sudden variable ruined everything.”
“A variable?”
Go Mi looked silently at Yi Hwan.
Hwa Ryeong nodded in understanding.
“It all started going wrong when the Great Prince appeared out of nowhere.”
“To be precise, the Great Prince becoming the Golden Army commander turned into their worst nightmare.”
That was when.
Bang!
A single firework burst from the west side of the lake.
Go Mi turned to Yi Hwan, eyes gleaming.
“They’ve found a tunnel.”
“We’re heading there.”
* * *
It was the point where the forest met the lake.
The tunnel entrance lay in a spot thick with underbrush, one people rarely entered.
It was barely wide enough for two people to pass, and even that was concealed by foliage—impossible to spot unless you were looking for it.
“This area is right by the lake, so it’s often shrouded in mist. They must have exploited that.”
“There are probably passages to other spots too. Deploy more Golden Army troops if needed—find them all, then we move to action.”
“Understood.”
Yi Hwan turned to Deputy General Yu Woo-seong and issued an order.
“Keep smoking both passages.”
“Yes, Great Prince!”
Finally, Yi Hwan looked at Yang Chan.
“A word?”
“Yes.”
Yi Hwan and Yang Chan moved a short distance away. The others watched from where they stood.
“He’s going to use poison?”
Go Mi shook her head.
“If poison smoke leaked into other passages, it could harm innocents, so he won’t.”
“Makes sense.”
Cheol Mu-ok, Ju Tae, and the others listening behind exchanged glances and smiled.
[He really is something.]
Ju Tae grinned at Cheol Mu-ok’s words.
[Would you believe I was thinking the same as the Moon Lord?]
[No way in hell.]
[…….]
Yi Hwan and Yang Chan returned then. Everyone eyed them curiously.