The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 105

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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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Red Dragon and Martial Emperor, Chapter 105

Chapter 105 — Official Dispatch of the Gold Guard

On a night when the full moon hung bright in the sky.
Go-mi sat in a chair outside her quarters, savoring a rare moment of peace.
Clink.
The Female Warrior approached from behind as Go-mi’s fingers traced the rim of her teacup, her mind drifting through idle thoughts.
“Would you like more tea?”
“Thank you.”
“It’s hot, so be careful.”
Pour.
The Female Warrior filled Go-mi’s cup.
“You seem far too busy these days. I’m worried you’ll damage your health, Go-mi.”
“What else can I do? Until the Lord establishes himself, I need to keep moving and bring him every scrap of information I can gather.”
“Of course, but you must think of your health too. Since you began working with him, you’ve barely rested at all.”
“I’m fine. I’m quite strong.”
“Go-mi.”
“Don’t worry. Sit down here and have a cup with me.”
“……Yes.”
Go-mi gazed at the unusually large and luminous full moon, savoring the aroma of tea. The white steam rising from the cup beaded small, clear droplets on the bridge of her nose.
“Still, I’m troubled. Our enemies seem to multiply.”
“You mean the Lord?”
“Yes. Since he became Guard Commander, Yi Hwang-ja’s faction has been watching closely. If this continues, they’ll bring in far more people.”
“The assassination unit Red Moon concerns me most. They were disbanded by imperial decree, yet she dares summon them to the Imperial Palace. No matter that she’s the Empress……”
The Female Warrior let her words trail away. The Empress was not someone to be spoken of carelessly in her position.
Go-mi’s brow furrowed slightly.

This is getting interesting.

Yi Hwan’s voice echoed in her mind.
Go-mi smiled bitterly.
‘You’d think I’d be used to it by now.’
She still could not comprehend—let alone grow accustomed to—Yi Hwan’s bottomless composure.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing at all.”
Go-mi brought the teacup to her lips.
Then her eyes shifted as she caught something pale moving in the forest behind the Official Residence.
Go-mi immediately channeled her inner strength to sharpen her vision.
‘A person?’
At the tip of a towering tree that rose through the forest, a figure stood. Perhaps perched on a branch—they swayed with each gust of wind, wavering side to side.
‘Could it be Yi Hwang-ja’s people?’
“Why are you staring like that?”
“There’s someone over there.”
“Someone?”
The Female Warrior turned her gaze to where Go-mi looked, but her own sight could not discern a person at that distance.
“You can see that far?”
“Not crystal clear, but clear enough to know someone is there.”
“Really? Wow!”
The Female Warrior’s eyes widened in wonder. Go-mi, having spoken, felt her own gaze shift slightly.
‘Not long ago, that would have been impossible. Has my inner strength grown?’
The first thing that came to mind was Yi Hwan’s Mental Cultivation technique. Without it, there was no way to explain what had just happened.
“Shall I send the warriors?”
“No need. They’re just keeping watch from Yi Hwang-ja’s side. Even if we chase them, we won’t catch them. Just drink your tea.”
Go-mi sipped her tea, eyes never leaving the figure in the darkness. After some time passed, the mysterious watcher vanished like a phantom into the night.

* * *

Youling Quzhu surveyed the vicinity of Yi Hwan’s Official Residence with a sharp, appraising gaze.
The high walls that called to mind a fortress, and beyond them the Palace Halls arranged in the formation of a military encampment, drew forth involuntary admiration.
‘The arrangement of these halls is designed so that once anyone enters, they cannot easily escape. Which means, in the end, one must wait for the moment when he ventures outside the compound…….’
He examined the Great Hall where Yi Hwan was presumed to reside, studying it with particular intensity. It was then he noticed two women seated outside, and he drew his Inner Strength to its height.
Their faces became as clear to him as if he stood mere paces away.
Though their eyes met across that vast distance, Youling Quzhu soon looked away. He deemed them unremarkable.
But then——
His eyes flashed with sudden light.
‘A presence?’
He sensed movement behind him. Beneath the whisper of wind, unmistakably, was the trace of another’s aura. Youling Quzhu glided silently to a different tree.
And moments later.
Two figures in black robes materialized like phantoms atop the towering old tree he had just abandoned.
Youling Quzhu fixed his gaze upon the two black-robed men as they settled themselves upon the slender branches, his eyes growing cold.
‘So there are others who take interest in him besides myself.’
Otherwise they would not be watching Yi Hwan’s residence at this late hour.
Then a sinister voice drifted toward him.
“The entire compound forms a single military formation. I had wondered why a command post was established here rather than in the Imperial Capital, but now the reason becomes clear.”
“It is the worst environment for an assassin.”
“Indeed.”
“In the end, one must wait for the moment when he steps outside…….”
At these words, Youling Quzhu’s eyes gleamed with sudden brilliance. They were killers stalking Yi Hwan, just as he had suspected.
‘How foolish. That man’s head belongs to me.’
His eyes began to glow with a faint crimson luminescence. It was a reflex, a habit that arose unbidden whenever killing intent took hold.
But that was not all.
His hands too began to shimmer with Blood Light.
Youling Quzhu raised his crimson-stained hands, aiming them at the two black-robed figures.
Snap!
Two streaks of Blood Light cleaved the air like lightning.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
A strangled cry burst from one assassin’s lips. The other, seizing his sword in alarm, drew the blade.
Ring!
“Who——Ack!”
The second assassin’s head was severed and flew from his shoulders. Youling Quzhu had already closed the distance. He showed no mercy to the one staggering from the Blood Light strike, beheading him as well.
Thump.
The corpses did not plummet to the ground but caught upon the branches instead.
Thud.
“With such meager skill, they dared hunt him? How laughable.”
Youling Quzhu cast one final glance toward Yi Hwan’s residence, then hurled himself into the darkness.

* * *

The following morning.
Moon Yi-jong received a report from his subordinates: the men he had sent to scout Yi Hwan’s residence had been found as corpses.
“Since the residence stands at some distance from the compound, it seems they grew careless, believing there would be no guard patrols. Or perhaps they were not the sort of men to fall easily to anyone.”
“Fools.”
“It does not appear to have been the work of the Crown Prince’s bodyguards. Had they killed them, they would not have left the bodies exposed.”
“Then who killed them?”
“That requires investigation——”
Moon Yi-jong shook his head.
“It was the Crown Prince’s guards. By leaving the bodies where they lay, they were issuing us a warning—that anyone who comes will die in the same manner.”
“……That is certainly possible.”
“Remind everyone to exercise greater caution, and send in more personnel.”
“Understood.”
Moon Yi-jong raised another matter.
“When will the Gold Guard be restocked?”
“As I understand it, vacancies are filled as they arise. But why do you——”
“We must place our own people within the Gold Guard. Watch for any vacancy and insert our man immediately upon it opening.”
“There are already quite a number of people loyal to Yi Hwang-ja within the Guard, from what I hear.”
“Not Yi Hwang-ja’s men—our people. There may be secrets we cannot share with him, so prepare trustworthy individuals in advance.”
“Understood.”
“Ah—and while you’re at it, send a few who excel at the Incitement Technique as well. If we shake things up from within before he solidifies his footing, the work will go much smoother.”
“I shall see it done.”

* * *

Yi Hwan’s quarters.
Captain Son Young and Go-mi sought him out.
Son Young spoke first.
“I’ve buried the bodies as you instructed. But why did you ask us to leave them exposed for two days?”
“A warning.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Though we didn’t kill them ourselves, those who sent them will believe we did. Let them take it as a warning.”
“Ah, I see.”
Yi Hwan turned to Go-mi and asked.
“Were there any objects that might identify them?”
“No. Their clothes, swords, and even shoes—all common wares from the Marketplace. Nothing distinctive.”
“No identifying marks? Tattoos, perhaps?”
“None. They were clean.”
Yi Hwan sank deeper into his chair, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Someone killed the men who were watching us. But why would that someone appear at precisely that moment?”
“Isn’t it likely they had the same objective?”
At Go-mi’s words, Yi Hwan nodded slowly.
“A conflict among those targeting us… If so, one of them is almost certainly the Red Moon.”
“That’s our assessment.”
Son Young spoke up.
“I’ll expand our guard perimeter to include the forest.”
“There’s no need for that. If they have eyes at all, they’ll see at a glance that they can’t slip past our defenses here. Let them tear each other apart. I have no interest in stopping them.”
Go-mi spoke.
“If one faction is the Red Moon, identifying the other is critical. Fighting an enemy whose identity we don’t know only multiplies our difficulties.”
“Waste no effort on it. Any who come for me will show their faces in the end. I’ll deal with them then, and it’ll be soon enough.”
Son Young was taken aback by the boundless confidence in Yi Hwan’s words.
‘So this is what the Prince is truly like.’
Like Youling Quzhu, Son Young was not a man who judged people by rumor alone. When Yi Hwan had been appointed Guard Commander, Son Young had swept aside the prejudices born of gossip and dealt with him fairly.
Yet being human, he’d harbored doubts about whether Yi Hwan could truly lead the Gold Guard with competence.
Many within the Gold Guard had thought the same—that Crown Prince Yi So had appointed Yi Hwan merely as a tool to serve his own ambitions.
Son Young had partly agreed with that assessment.
But his mind was changing, gradually, in just these few days spent alongside Yi Hwan.
“Captain.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Have you sent the official notices to the imperial relatives and ministers?”
“Yes. By now, they should have been delivered without exception.”
Yi Hwan nodded silently, then spoke quietly toward the door.
“Both of you—come in.”
Click.
Cheol Mu-ok and Ju-tae entered.
“Has everyone arrived?”
“Yes. They all arrived just moments ago.”
“Our Dao Wang clan members have also all arrived.”
“Have them change clothes first, then select one representative from each group and bring them to me. I’ll need bodyguards, so they must be well-suited to the role.”
“Understood.”
As Cheol Mu-ok and Ju-tae left, Son Young asked with a puzzled expression.
“Will you be keeping them in the Gold Guard?”
“These people will take on roles of great importance. I’m thinking of placing them directly under my command, but… is there some formal procedure required?”
“No, sir. Your authority as Prince is sufficient for that. However, the Crown Prince Palace should be informed.”
“I’ll handle that myself. Don’t concern yourself with it.”
“Understood.”
Yi Hwan took a sip of tea, then turned to Go-mi.
“I’ll assign two bodyguards to watch over you. See that you don’t move about alone.”
“I work better alone.”
“Move together even if it’s awkward. Once they’ve finished investigating us, they’ll try to kill you just as readily as they would me.”
“…….”
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“Understood. I will follow your orders.”
In truth, Yi Hwan had summoned many people from the Sword King and the Dao Wang clan to his command post.
Without a clear grasp of the Gold Guard’s true state of affairs, he needed forces he could trust absolutely.
“You’ve done well. You may go now.”
“Yes.”
After Go-mi and Son Young departed, Cheol Mu-ok and Ju-tae entered with two members of the Dao Wang clan.
Yi Hwan studied them both.
“From today on, the two of you will take charge of protecting Go-mi. Treat her as you would the realm itself, and give your utmost.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Yes!”
Cheol Mu-ok spoke up.
“Do you believe Yi Hwang-ja will move against Go-mi?”
“She is my eyes and ears. Those hunting me will surely know that. They will move to eliminate her first without question.”
Ju-tae nodded in agreement.
“I would do the same in their position.”
Yi Hwan rose from his seat.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s lunch time.”
“……Yes.”

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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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