Almighty God of War - Chapter 113

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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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113

Guyang Cheongang, who had returned to the Yeom Estate, headed straight to the training room.

This was a space that Shangguan Wana had specially prepared for him.

It was his own secret space, even soundproofed so he could focus on meditation and martial arts training.

Guyang Cheongang carefully placed the rusty sword he had brought from the Imperial Treasury on the table.

‘Akasha, I think we need to remove this rust first.’

[Yes, Doctor. I’ll analyze the composition of the rust first.]

After a moment, Akasha’s analysis results came out.

[Interesting. This rust is not simple iron oxide. It’s a complex mixture of special mineral components and traces of time. Judging by the way it’s covered, the rust may have been deliberately created by someone. And it seems quite old.]

‘Deliberately? Then I’ll need to remove the rust even more carefully.’

[I’ll do that. I’ll spray nanobots on the handle and scabbard surface, and precisely decompose and peel off only the rust molecules through ultrasonic molecular vibration. There will be no damage to the sword body itself.]

Invisible nanobots sprayed from Guyang Cheongang’s fingertips and began attaching to the sword’s surface.

The nanobots precisely distinguished between rust and original metal components, selectively decomposing only the rust components.

As the rust was peeled away, a subtle and mysterious aura flowed from the scabbard and handle.

Strange patterns of unknown identity were intricately carved on the scabbard’s surface.

They were mysterious designs that looked like ancient characters or constellations.

The handle was made of dark black metal, and upon closer inspection, thin patterns like silver thread were intricately intertwined on its surface.

However, since he hadn’t drawn the sword yet, he couldn’t see the most important part – the blade itself.

While Guyang Cheongang was concentrating on rust removal, the training room door opened carefully and Shangguan Wana entered.

“Young Master, excuse me. I was worried because you hadn’t come out for so long…”

Guyang Cheongang wasn’t surprised since he had already sensed her approaching presence.

Shangguan Wana, who had been entering, stopped speaking.

Her eyes widened when she saw the sword on the table.

An extraordinary aura was subtly flowing from the half-rust-removed scabbard and handle.

But it wasn’t completely purified yet, so rust remained in places, and overall it still looked like a useless lump of scrap metal.

Nevertheless, she could feel some strange sense of intimidation.

“Perhaps… is that the sword you brought from the Imperial Treasury?”

“That’s right.”

Shangguan Wana couldn’t continue speaking for a moment.

To be honest, when she heard that Guyang Cheongang had chosen that rusty lump of scrap metal, she had been puzzled.

Among all the countless treasures in the Imperial Treasury, why that thing of all things…

Guyang Cheongang, who easily read her inner thoughts, laughed heartily.

“Hahahaha, this fellow’s appearance is quite unsightly, isn’t it?”

Shangguan Wana waved her hands in panic.

“Oh, no! I’m sorry. My eye for such things is lacking…”

“It’s fine. I didn’t bring it because it’s a divine weapon.”

“Then why that sword in particular…?”

“I felt drawn to it.”

Shangguan Wana nodded at Guyang Cheongang’s calm answer.

“If you felt drawn to it, there must have been a reason.”

She looked at the sword for a moment, then suddenly became curious.

“But Young Master, have you also learned sword techniques? I’ve only seen you use palm techniques so far…”

“I have one. There’s a family secret sword technique called the Star Array Great Sword Style.”

“Ah!”

“I just haven’t used it because I didn’t have a sword. I’ve been wanting to study that martial art again lately, so I brought this while I was at the Imperial Treasury.”

Guyang Cheongang turned his gaze from the sword to look at her and asked.

“But it doesn’t seem like you came to find me to talk about this… Do you have something else to tell me?”

Strangely, a slight blush rose to Shangguan Wana’s cheeks.

‘I’ve never thought about anything other than the trading company’s profits and the family’s future… Why does my heart race whenever I see Young Master Guyang?’

Akasha’s voice echoed in Guyang Cheongang’s mind.

[Doctor, there’s a change in Miss Shangguan’s vital signs. Her heart rate is increasing.]

‘Heart rate? Why?’

While Guyang Cheongang wondered inwardly, Shangguan Wana carefully opened her mouth.

“Young Master, you said the Empress tried to kill the Crown Prince, right?”

“Yes.”

When Guyang Cheongang returned from the Imperial Palace, he had told Shangguan Wana and Yeom Pung about the events that occurred there without omission.

It was something they absolutely needed to know if they were going to continue doing business in the Imperial Capital.

Of course, this was an absolute secret shared only among them.

The Imperial Palace had only announced that the Second Prince and Muk Cheolgang were executed for treason.

The Emperor didn’t say a word about the truth regarding the Empress, the dark current, and the Crown Prince’s illness.

Shangguan Wana continued to ask.

“The Crown Prince… wasn’t he the Empress’s own son?”

“He was her own son.”

An unknown tremor arose from deep within Shangguan Wana’s heart.

‘What exactly is this emotion called love that the Empress would do such terrible things…’

“I can’t understand it. How could someone wearing human skin try to kill their own son?”

A bitter smile appeared on Guyang Cheongang’s lips.

“There’s only one possible hypothesis.”

“What’s that?”

“The Empress loved the Second Prince’s father more than the Emperor.”

“Even so…”

“That man must have made the Empress into a mental state where she could do anything for his sake.”

Guyang Cheongang frowned and continued.

“It’s a vicious form of mental domination that clouds the other person’s judgment and makes them believe even abnormal thoughts are their own will.”

Shangguan Wana held her breath and listened intently.

“Think of it as similar to how a cult leader creates followers in a pseudo-religion. Over a long time, they erase everything from that person’s world except themselves, making them believe that only they are the sole answer and salvation.”

“Ah…”

Shangguan Wana let out an exclamation and then asked.

“Does His Majesty know this too?”

“He knows. He’s not foolish enough not to understand that.”

“His mental anguish must be great.”

“It would be. Accepting that the Empress loved another man more than him is hard for even an ordinary man to bear, let alone since he’s the Emperor.”

Shangguan Wana’s heart became even more complicated.

She felt a strange attraction to Guyang Cheongang as he clearly analyzed the complex political situation and deeply understood even the Emperor’s pain.

Guyang Cheongang observed her expression and asked.

“But were you that curious about this?”

“Ah… yes… it’s not a common case.”

Shangguan Wana, who had stammered her words, suddenly stood up and bowed her head lightly.

“I’ll be going now.”

She strangely refused to show her face.

[Doctor, Miss Shangguan’s heart rate has increased even more than before.]

Shangguan Wana, who had come out of the training room, fanned her face with her hand.

Her face had turned burning red.

‘Why is my face getting so red and my heart beating so roughly…? Why do I keep wanting to see Young Master… Could it be that I… I’m five years older than him, yet I…’

She was twenty-three years old, five years older than Guyang Cheongang.

But Shangguan Wana wasn’t foolish enough not to recognize her own emotions.

Still, it wasn’t easy to acknowledge them.

No, she was afraid to acknowledge her own feelings.

Left alone, Guyang Cheongang placed the rusty long sword he had brought onto the table.

‘Akasha, let’s finish what we were doing.’

[Understood.]

Whirrrrr-

With a faint high-frequency sound that only Guyang Cheongang could hear, the centuries-old rust began to fall away as fine blackish-brown powder.

After another half hour had passed, the rust on the handle and scabbard was completely removed, fully revealing the antique scabbard’s appearance.

The handle seemed to originally have four characters written on it, but two had been erased, leaving only the characters ‘Supreme’ remaining.

‘Supreme Sword…’

Guyang Cheongang slowly grasped the handle and drew the sword.

Screeeech-

The sword blade he forcibly drew was also thickly covered with rust, making it impossible to see its true form.

Akasha began removing the rust once again.

An hour later, the Supreme Sword’s blade revealed itself, clear as the sky.

The blade with its deep, sharp blood groove carved into it strangely had a pitch-black color that seemed to absorb all the surrounding light.

And as if stardust from the night sky had been sprinkled over it, fine particles that glimmered softly across the entire sword blade created a mysterious aura.

[Analysis results show that this sword’s material does not match any metal that exists on Earth. It’s an unknown alloy that theoretically is sharper than any existing substance. It’s a material not in my database, Doctor.]

A satisfied smile appeared on Guyang Cheongang’s lips.

* * *

That evening, at the Imperial Palace’s Thunder Prison where the Second Prince was confined.

A person wearing a bizarre mask quietly approached the bars from the darkness.

The Second Prince, who had been sitting on the cold floor with a vacant expression, slowly raised his head.

The masked figure unhesitatingly opened the Thunder Prison door with a key and spoke in a respectful voice.

“Your Majesty the Prince, please come out.”

“Who are… you?”

The Second Prince’s hoarsely cracked voice trembled.

“I am someone who served the Empress.”

The voice flowing from behind the mask was still respectful, but contained no emotion.

“If you don’t intend to die here doing nothing, please stand up. Don’t you need to take revenge?”

“Revenge… against His Majesty and Elder Brother the Crown Prince?”

The Second Prince smiled bitterly as he continued speaking.

“I don’t want to do that. Everything is already over.”

“I’m not talking about revenge against those people.”

Emotion entered the masked figure’s voice for the first time.

It was a chillingly fierce hatred.

“I’m talking about the one who created this situation… the real culprit.”

A flame ignited in the Second Prince’s eyes that had been sunken in gray.

“Hahou Gang…”

“That’s right. That man ruined everything. If only that man hadn’t existed…”

The masked figure’s voice turned cold.

Within it was a bone-deep resentment toward Guyang Cheongang.

“Your Majesty the Prince, you must leave this place if only to kill that man.”

The Second Prince asked with suspicious eyes.

“How can I trust you? You who hide your face with a ghost mask.”

A moment of silence passed.

The masked figure slowly removed the mask as if having made a decision.

The Second Prince’s eyes widened as if they would tear upon seeing his face.

The Lord, having put the mask back on, asked.

“Will you believe me now?”

The Second Prince stood up without asking any more questions.

He felt that this entire situation was within someone’s grand plan.

He said.

“I don’t care who is behind you. Just let me kill Hahou Gang with my own hands.”

“That is how it will be, Your Majesty.”

That night, the Imperial Palace was turned upside down once again by the Second Prince’s escape.

Sang On, who had hurriedly sought out the Emperor’s bedchamber, said.

“Your Majesty! The Second Prince has escaped from Thunder Prison!”

“What! Wasn’t Thunder Prison being guarded like an iron fortress!”

The Emperor’s eyes flashed with anger.

“Not a single soldier guarding Thunder Prison survived, Your Majesty.”

Sang On’s eyes were full of bewilderment.

The Emperor’s gaze intensified.

He realized that the fight was not yet over, and the real enemy was still hiding in the darkness.

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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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