Survival Guide for the Reincarnated - Chapter 290

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 290
“You said you would only speak with the Prime Minister, so I accompanied you. Yet why did you kill him inside the Royal Fortress? Heaven-Human Realm’s Cheon In-gyeong—did you dare deceive me?”
The Crown Prince’s intention was unmistakable.
Discard After Use.
The picture painted before him looked far too favorable from the Crown Prince’s perspective.
An opportunity to eliminate the eyesore of a Prime Minister and uproot the very foundation of the even more troublesome Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.
Had it been Seo Hyo, he would have done the same.
But the opponent was Seol Woon-hwi.
Seol Woon-hwi spoke.
“You are laboring under a misunderstanding, Your Highness.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, Crown Prince.”
At Seol Woon-hwi’s words, the Crown Prince’s lips curved into a subtle smile.
“What misunderstanding could I possibly have?”
Seol Woon-hwi raised the Jinwha Cheonryeong Geom before him and answered.
“The ancient sages once said that a martial artist’s destiny lies not in heaven, but at the tip of their own sword.”
“And?”
“Though Your Highness may not be a martial artist, you dwell in a world not unlike theirs. Perhaps even more fiercely contested.”
“So, what is your point?”
“I earnestly prayed for heaven to grant me an opportunity, and Cheon In-gyeong of the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance descended as that very chance. Your Highness sought to join hands with him and carve out your destiny, yet you committed one grave error.”
“…An error?”
“At the moment of choice, misguided greed shackled your feet.”
“…Me?”
“Yes. When the Prime Minister fell, Your Highness did not move.”
The Crown Prince let out a hollow laugh.
“What nonsense is this… Ha, I am the Crown Prince. What happened before my eyes was so startling that I could take no action whatsoever.”
“That is not so.”
“…”
“The moment the Prime Minister’s heart was pierced, Your Highness grasped the situation faster than anyone present.”
“…”
“Capturing me at that moment would not have been a poor choice, yet the Right Guard General and Left Guard General troubled you. They are clearly the Prime Minister’s men, and there is ample reason to fear future complications. They command many followers as well.”
The Crown Prince scraped his chin as if somewhat irritated.
“Is it not amusing?”
“…What do you mean?”
“It is difficult to resist suspicion that tenaciously resurfaces.”
“…”
“You find it hard to dispel doubt. Even when evidence appears and you cast it aside, doubt emerges anew. So you waited with caution, again and again.”
Seol Woon-hwi sheathed his sword.
“And thus you cannot achieve the most ideal outcome.”
“…”
“In the end, even the Crown Prince has had to make sacrifices. Allow me to offer some advice—discarding after use is not something just anyone can do.”
The Crown Prince and all those behind him could say nothing.
That was the truth.
Though it was broad daylight, darkness covered the sky, and dozens of figures had silently assembled behind Seol Woon-hwi.
Every single one of them wore a mask.
Those iron masks bore two horns jutting from the forehead—unmistakably extraordinary at first glance.
Among them, a diminutive man with a white beard stepped beside Seol Woon-hwi.
He radiated his aura without restraint—unmistakably that of the Limitless Divine Manifestation realm.
Those behind him were without exception masters of the Four Stages of Heaven and Earth, and among them were two or three who had reached the Heaven-Human Unity realm.
This was undoubtedly a formidable force.
Seol Woon-hwi spoke.
“I have cleaned up one vermin, so the rest falls to Your Highness.”
* * *
Prince Chin was reviewing state documents when it happened.
Crash!
The door burst open violently as an official rushed in.
“Your Highness, Prince Chin! Urgent news!”
“What is it? What could be so urgent that you—”
“The Crown Prince, Your Highness! The Crown Prince has arrived at the Jeong Sa Cheong!”
“The Crown Prince? What’s so urgent about that—”
“He did not come alone! He came with people from the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance, and… and…”
Prince Chin’s brow furrowed.
“And what?”
“The Prime Minister… the Prime Minister is dead!”
Prince Chin shot to his feet.
“What?!”
Prince Chin’s face went ashen.
‘This insane… what in the world is happening!’
His mind went white. The promises the Nine Gate Society had made flashed through his thoughts.
To the Prime Minister, the position of Vice Leader of the Nine Gate Society. To Prince Chin, the throne itself…
All those plans were crumbling in an instant.
The Left Guard General, the Right Guard General—what were these mad dogs doing that they couldn’t even protect the Prime Minister?
“Gather the troops at once! We march to the Jeong Sa Cheong immediately! Summon the Grand General as well!”
Prince Chin stormed from his office.
As he rushed toward the Jeong Sa Cheong, he could hear tremendous crashes and screams.
The sound of buildings collapsing and people dying filled him with dread, yet he had to see it with his own eyes.
When Prince Chin arrived at the courtyard of the Jeong Sa Cheong, the sight before him was the worst of all possible scenarios.
In the center of the courtyard stood his nephew, the Crown Prince, and opposite him stood an unfamiliar young man wielding a sword. Behind him were dozens of masked martial artists arrayed in formation.
The iron masks they wore bore two horns, making them look like demons, and the aura they radiated without any attempt at concealment was beyond imagination.
Even if Prince Chin were not a martial artist, his station gave him the eye to perceive such things.
They were clearly masters of the Heaven Earth Four Realms or higher.
Among them, I even spotted masters of the Martial God Five Realms.
This wasn’t even a call for war.
“Your Highness! What in the world is happening!”
At Prince Chin’s urgent cry, the Crown Prince slowly turned his head.
His gaze was complicated.
It had every reason to be.
Seol Woon-hwi had revealed everything to me. Discard After Use? Precisely accurate.
Frankly, judging by the current situation alone, Seol Woon-hwi was someone who deceived the Crown Prince to enter the Woon-guk Imperial Court, killed the Prime Minister, and also killed the Right Guard General and Left Guard General who served him.
And Seol Woon-hwi’s position was that of Heavenly Righteousness Alliance’s Chief Arbiter.
This provided the perfect justification to drive a wedge between the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance and Woon-guk.
But those arrayed around Seol Woon-hwi were far from ordinary.
No—the mere fact that they stood there meant everything had been revealed to Seol Woon-hwi.
There were only two paths available to the Crown Prince here.
First was to proceed as originally planned: discard Seol Woon-hwi and slaughter all his forces in this place.
He could kill them one way or another. This was the heart of the Woon-guk Imperial Court, after all.
But blood would inevitably be spilled.
With luck, perhaps three or four might survive, but with misfortune, all could perish.
And from what I’d heard, Seol Woon-hwi was a ruthless man—if he faced death, he would certainly drag the Crown Prince down with him. So the first option was best abandoned.
That left only the second choice.
Join hands with Seol Woon-hwi and brand the Prime Minister and Prince Chin as traitors.
The justification existed.
King Yun Deok, the current ruler of Woon-guk, was in his seventies—his movements feeble, his mind and body weakened.
The Prime Minister and Prince Chin had assisted King Yun Deok’s governance, which, depending on perspective, provided grounds for treason.
The Prime Minister was already dead, and if Prince Chin died here as well, the Crown Prince would naturally seize actual control of the court and ascend the throne within no distant time.
There was nothing lacking in this arrangement.
Yet doubt circled through the Crown Prince’s mind.
Seol Woon-hwi had clearly orchestrated this situation.
But what of later?
He ignored Prince Chin’s continued frantic shouting.
He turned his head to gaze at Seol Woon-hwi.
“…How far ahead are you looking?”
“Exactly one step beyond where Your Highness is looking.”
If the Crown Prince seized power and ascended the throne, how would he remember this moment?
With shame—and he might even join hands with the Nine Gate Society to drive out the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.
He had accounted for all of that? He was looking one step further still?
Lightning struck through his mind.
Seol Woon-hwi had spoken at the Chwi Seon Pavilion.
He wanted absolute allies.
At the time, I had dismissed it as mere talk, but now I understood the true meaning of those words.
A deeper, more unshakeable bond between Woon-guk and the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance.
A shared destiny.
To become that, we must carve our blood into each other’s path.
The Crown Prince regarded Seol Woon-hwi quietly and asked.
“What can you offer me?”
“The financial resources of Cheon Rim.”
“And the foundation?”
“Complete control of Cheon Hae, centered on Seong Jak-ju.”
“Is it superior to the Nine Gate Society?”
“The Nine Gate Society offers borrowed strength. We offer strength we will cultivate together.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes shifted.
In this moment, only Seo Hyo had grasped the true current of this conversation. He regarded both the Crown Prince and Seol Woon-hwi with an enigmatic expression.
Even by his reckoning, the Nine Gate Society and the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance were fundamentally different.
Seol Woon-hwi’s proposal was overwhelmingly superior—regardless of whatever the Nine Gate Society might offer in the future.
“What are your terms?”
“Complete alliance.”
“And the aftermath?”
“There is none. And should there be, we will overcome it.”
“There will be casualties.”
“Are you afraid?”
The Crown Prince did not answer.
“Regret is but a luxury for a man walking his path. Once a choice is made, to see it through to the end—that is moral duty, is it not?”
“Moral duty to whom?”
“To oneself.”
The Crown Prince nodded.
He disliked the Heavenly Righteousness Alliance as an organization, but Seol Woon-hwi as an individual pleased him.
Reason enough to stand together.
More than sufficient.
“Uncle.”
Prince Chin gazed at the Crown Prince with a look of despair.
“Your Highness… why has the atmosphere become… like this?”
“I have learned that Prime Minister An Wi-gwan and you manipulated Father from the shadows.”
“Wh… what?”
“Is it true that the Nine Gate Society promised you the throne of Woon-guk?”
“I… what are you… Your Highness… no, Woon-mu… surely you don’t mean…?”
“I have intelligence. Today, I intend to eliminate those who have thrown the Imperial Court into chaos, trafficked wealth and manpower for private gain, and plotted treason.”
Prince Chin stumbled backward. In moments, the Crown Prince’s blade gleamed.
Thwack!
The sound of steel piercing Prince Chin’s heart echoed across the courtyard.
“Worse… than vermin…”
Prince Chin uttered his final words and collapsed.
The Crown Prince sheathed his sword and turned his gaze toward me.
“Are we allies now?”
“We are.”
I smiled faintly.
“Then I’ll leave the rest to Your Highness.”
Crown Prince Woon-mu nodded as he watched the Great General rushing toward us from afar.
I had said it.
That we would return by the way we came without any casualties.
And that is exactly what happened.
My party slipped naturally out of the Royal Fortress of Woon-guk.
When we entered the remote mountain interior, the White-Haired Elder wearing a mask seized my collar and slammed me directly into a massive tree.
I furrowed my brow.
“…What is this?”
Yeom Wang Hwa Mu-nyeom tore off his mask and growled.
“I’m the one asking. What in the world are you trying to do?”
“What troubles you so, sir?”
Hwa Mu-nyeom clenched his teeth.
“…The Muk Se-hoe has now come to the forefront. Are you saying you don’t understand what this means?”

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