Almighty God of War - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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102

[Your Majesty, what if someone had skillfully manipulated the Princess’s memories and emotions, making her report ‘false facts’ that you firmly believe to be true?]

Of course, this was a lie.

Akasha had already confirmed that Princess Sohwa was not under the influence of the Soul Absorption Technique.

Yet Guyang Cheongang claimed this incident was caused by the undercurrent to create an escape route for the Emperor.

If Princess Sohwa was truly the culprit who orchestrated this incident, the Emperor would face not just humiliation, but political danger.

Guyang Cheongang did not wish for such a situation.

The Emperor’s gaze grew heavy.

[The Princess firmly believes she is the victim, so that is not false, and I have never committed such acts, so that is also not false. All of this means there exists a third party who used the Princess like a chess piece and set a trap for me.]

Emperor Changseong’s angry face became expressionless.

[Your Majesty, if you would coordinate with me briefly, I will prove both the Princess’s and my innocence. Please give me this opportunity.]

A brief silence passed.

Emperor Changseong nodded almost imperceptibly and opened his mouth.

“I ask once more. Do you truly claim it is false that you attempted to assault Sohwa?”

Guyang Cheongang’s voice was unwavering as he answered.

“It is not a claim but fact. And I can prove my words are not false.”

The Emperor’s eyes widened, and the civil and military officials murmured.

“How can you prove this?”

“I know several techniques of the Mysterious Gates Escaping Techniques, among which is the Causal Reverse Deduction Technique. It is a technique that recreates the true appearance of the past by tracing cause and effect in reverse. I wish to recreate the situation at that time with this technique. Please grant permission, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Changseong’s gaze grew heavy.

He fell into contemplation.

If Guyang Cheongang truly performed such a technique and it revealed Sohwa’s false accusations against him, the Imperial family’s dignity would be utterly ruined.

Left Prime Minister Jo Mungyeong raised his white eyebrows and shouted.

“Your Majesty, you must not permit this man to use such wicked sorcery! I fear the truth will be distorted by being deceived by such evil arts!”

Muk Cheolgang also joined in.

“Your Majesty, the Left Prime Minister speaks correctly! All techniques from Gangho are wicked things, so how can the Imperial Palace allow such things!”

Just then, the sound of several footsteps echoed from behind the hall.

What appeared was the Empress accompanied by dozens of palace maids.

Despite being in her fifties, she still boasted bewitching beauty, with her hair styled in an updo adorned with splendid phoenix hairpins and wearing purple palace robes embroidered with gold thread.

Her beautiful face was cold as ice, and her gaze toward Guyang Cheongang held chilling killing intent.

“Your Majesty!”

The Empress’s voice as she continued was filled with rage.

“How can you be deceived by the wicked words of a mere Gangho sorcerer and seek to destroy the Imperial family’s dignity yourself! By publicly revealing Sohwa being toyed with by this man’s evil sorcery, do you intend to drive a nail into my heart?”

Even Emperor Changseong was momentarily speechless at the Empress’s fierce rebuke.

But just then, a frail voice was heard from the hall entrance.

“Your Majesty…”

It was Princess Myeonghwa, supported by a palace maid.

Though she had recovered much from Guyang Cheongang’s treatment, her still weak appearance drew everyone’s attention.

Emperor Changseong’s surprised eyes widened.

“Myeonghwa…”

Princess Myeonghwa spoke with a trembling voice.

“Father, I believe we should give the divine physician who saved my life… a chance to defend himself. If he is truly innocent…”

A cold killing intent briefly flashed in the Empress’s gaze toward Princess Myeonghwa. But she soon spoke with a worried expression.

“Myeonghwa, your body is still not fully recovered, so why have you come all the way here?”

Princess Myeonghwa shook her head.

“Mother, I am fine. Prince Hahou is my life’s benefactor. I believe in his character.”

The Emperor recalled Guyang Cheongang’s eyes from their recent private audience.

‘Hahou Gang, do you seek to draw out the undercurrent…’

He spoke.

“I shall permit it. Demonstrate that technique.”

As the Imperial Guards approached to remove the wooden blade and iron chains, Guyang Cheongang said.

“That is unnecessary.”

He closed his eyes while remaining in his kneeling position.

‘Akasha, are you ready?’

[Yes, Doctor. Three-dimensional spacetime data recorded from Sohwa Palace hall loading complete. However, to visually implement this data, we need a medium. The blue stone floor would be best.]

‘Understood. I’ll decompose the blue stone into fine powder with internal energy and float it in the air. Use that as a screen.’

As Guyang Cheongang placed both palms on the floor, the invisible Transcendent Impermanence Divine Art spread out like ripples.

Shortly after, the solid blue stone floor touched by his internal energy began silently transforming into sand-like fine dust.

Those stone particles rose into midair as if possessing will, surrounding him like a massive curtain.

[Stone powder density sufficient. Aerial suspension stabilized. From now on, I will attach nanobots to each stone particle you created to construct three-dimensional image projection.]

With Akasha’s words, the stone powder floating in midair began vibrating minutely in unison, starting to form human shapes.

The figures of Princess Sohwa and Guyang Cheongang sitting calmly in a chair.

[Recording data projection initiated. Beginning recreation of the past.]

Everyone in Taehwa Hall held their breath and watched.

They had never seen even the most powerful Taoist masters implement something like this.

The shapes made of stone powder began to move.

Princess Sohwa waiting for Guyang Cheongang in the hall, Guyang Cheongang entering.

The two people conversing briefly.

Princess Sohwa suddenly tearing her own clothes and backing away.

Guyang Cheongang calmly drinking tea while watching her.

Before the observers’ eyes, Princess Sohwa tore her own clothes and screamed.

Then she soon crouched in a corner trembling, but a cold smile hung on her lips.

The scene was perfectly recreated up to the door breaking and warriors rushing in.

It was not an illusion but a living fragment of the past itself.

The Emperor, Empress, Princess Myeonghwa, and civil and military officials who witnessed this mysterious and strange demonstration were spellbound.

Especially the Empress’s face turned pale, and her hands trembled slightly.

When the recreation of the past ended and the stone powder fell powerlessly to the floor, the front of Taehwa Hall was enveloped in deathly silence.

The officials could only stare at the empty air with vacant expressions, unable to distinguish whether what they had just seen was reality or fantasy.

What broke that silence was the Emperor sitting on the Dragon Throne, Emperor Changseong.

His voice trembled slightly with suppressed anger and shock.

“Is this… truly the truth of that day?”

Guyang Cheongang answered with an unwavering voice while remaining in his kneeling position.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Even to my eyes, there was something strange. The warriors who captured you… rushed in too quickly, as if they had been waiting for that scream.”

At the Emperor’s sharp observation, Guyang Cheongang raised his head.

His gaze was colder and clearer than ever before.

“Your Majesty’s insight is accurate. At that time in Sohwa Palace, dozens of warriors were standing by as if they knew such an incident would occur.”

He paused briefly, then continued with a voice clear enough to resonate throughout the entire hall.

“As I understand it, Sohwa Palace is a forbidden area for men, so how could so many men be hiding in the place closest to the Princess’s quarters. If you conduct even basic investigation into why they were there, you will catch the tail of whoever is behind this entire charade.”

Complex emotions crossed Emperor Changseong’s face.

Anger, bewilderment, and… disappointment.

The Empress cried out with a trembling voice.

“This… this is sorcery! It is nothing but false illusions created by this man!”

But her desperate cry only echoed emptily.

No one thought what they had just seen was an illusion.

It had been frighteningly vivid for that.

The movement of a single speck of dust dancing through the air, each thread of the phoenix pattern intricately embroidered on Princess Sohwa’s sleeves, and that cold smile that bloomed on her lips when she thought no one was watching…

That scene displayed without a single error was like peering into the past with divine eyes.

That’s why no one had sided with the Empress’s words.

The ministers who had been murmuring now looked at the Empress with cold eyes, having withdrawn even their sympathy.

Even the Left Chancellor and Minister of War, who had raised their voices in her defense, could only maintain silence without daring to lift their heads.

Her outcry sounded like nothing more than the desperate death throes of one driven into a corner.

Taehwa Hall fell into a deathly silence.

The technique(?) that Guyang Cheongang had displayed not only proved his innocence, but also revealed clues to the hidden conspiracy.

Guyang Cheongang speaks.

“Your Majesty, I believe my innocence has now been proven. I wish to remain rather than withdraw from the palace and devote all my efforts to completely curing Princess Myeonghwa’s illness. Please grant me permission.”

His calm words shook Taehwa Hall.

“You wish to remain in the Imperial Palace?”

“That is correct. Princess’s illness has improved by more than seventy percent, so if I remain in the palace and give my all, I can cure her completely within three days.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it is.”

At that moment, the Emperor slowly rose from the Dragon Throne.

He descended the steps and stood before Guyang Cheongang.

Then, looking around with cold eyes, he spoke in a dignified voice.

“You there, why are you not immediately releasing the physician’s restraints!”

The title ‘physician’ rather than ‘Hahou Gang’ or ‘criminal.’

It was like a declaration announcing how the Emperor would conclude this incident and what power he would grant to Guyang Cheongang.

The Brocade Guard warriors hurriedly approached and removed the blade and iron chains from around Guyang Cheongang’s neck.

During this time, no one dared to mention Princess Sohwa’s name.

This was both the ministers’ promised loyalty to cover the Imperial family’s shame, and instinctive self-censorship to survive the massive storm.

The Empress’s face was deathly pale without a trace of blood, and the ministers who had loudly impeached Guyang Cheongang only watched each other’s reactions while keeping their mouths firmly shut.

Sensing that everything was over, the Empress glared at Guyang Cheongang with coldly hardened eyes for a moment before silently turning around.

And just before exiting, she turned her head to look at Princess Myeonghwa.

A cold light flashed through the depths of her eyes.

It was not anger… but a deeper, darker emotion.

Freed from the neck shackle and iron chains, Guyang Cheongang bowed deeply to the Emperor.

Then, Princess Myeonghwa, supported by a palace maid, approached him and said.

“Prince Hahou, let us go to my palace now.”

Her voice contained absolute trust.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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