The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 169

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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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The Red Dragon Undefeated – Episode 169

Chapter 169 – Zhao Yun Achieves His Purpose

The Grand Hall.
Two officials had lost their lives to the rebel faction, and with the incursion laid bare even at the tournament grounds, the atmosphere among the officials had grown not merely dark but positively grave.
Zhao Yun, beneath the weight of that oppressive mood, felt a secret smile of satisfaction bloom within. He fixed his gaze upon the official who had spoken, then posed his question.
“How stands the matter now?”
“This official’s meager talents have failed to devise an alternative course. Thus, I defer to Your Majesty’s judgment.”
‘Surrendering so easily?’
It was unexpected. This official had always been the most stubborn of them all, and Zhao Yun had anticipated he would find some means to obstruct and delay, no matter the circumstance.
“This reflects the sentiment of all?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Zhao Yun swept his commanding gaze across the assembled officials, his tone brooking no argument.
“The ferocity of the rebel faction grows more intolerable with each passing day. Should we falter in this matter, which commands the attention of all under heaven, our Zhao Kingdom would become the laughingstock of the realm. Therefore, I hereby announce officially that I shall task Seo Nam Wang with the subjugation of these traitors.”
Thump!
In an instant, silence blanketed the hall.
Those officials who had stood politically opposed to Zhao Yun exhaled their laments with expressions of resignation, yet none dared voice a single objection.

* * *

As Zhao Yun walked toward his quarters, the smile never left his face.
A middle-aged aide followed at his side, speaking quietly.
“It passed through far more easily than anticipated. I confess, I expected strong resistance.”
“And why do you suppose they capitulated so readily?”
“Please, enlighten me.”
“They feared I might assign them the task of suppressing the rebel faction themselves. Had they accepted and failed, they would have no strength to bear the consequences that followed. Granting them a day’s time served to plant fear in their hearts. The longer one thinks, the deeper fear grows.”
“Ah…….”
The middle-aged man was struck with admiration.
‘Your Majesty perceived their hidden weakness from the very beginning.’
Zhao Yun asked him then.
“How much time remains until the appointment with the Empress of Yen and the Grand Prince of Jin?”
“Approximately one hour remains. The location has been set at the royal villa, chosen to suit the Empress’s preferences.”
“We must not slight the hospitality. Especially with the Grand Prince of Jin—we must attend to him with particular care. This is our chance to dispel Jin’s ill will toward our Zhao Kingdom.”
“Have no concern. I have arranged for specially selected attendants, and the Grand Prince of Jin appears quite satisfied.”
“Does he favor beautiful women, then?”
“Yes. He is quite notorious as a libertine.”
“Then he should prove rather manageable. Still, we must ensure excellence until the very end.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Zhao Yun waved his hand dismissively.
“Some time remains yet. I must rest briefly. Go at once and dispatch a messenger to Seo Nam Wang—bid him enter the city as swiftly as possible.”
“Understood.”
Zhao Yun promptly withdrew to his quarters.
The middle-aged man waited until his master vanished from sight, then turned. His eyes gradually gleamed with exultation.
‘When Seo Nam Wang enters, the time for Your Majesty to ascend the throne draws all the nearer. At last, the curtain rises on a new age.’
Just then, a figure in blue robes materialized like a phantom. The middle-aged man’s eyes recovered their customary coldness.
“What word?”
“Still no trace whatsoever. However, in the course of pursuing his movements, we discovered several charred corpses. We shall require careful examination to determine whether one is the Fourth Prince of Yen.”
“Deploy whoever is most skilled in such matters. Verify this as swiftly as possible, by any means necessary.”
“Understood.”
The middle-aged man turned toward the western precincts of the palace. The figure in blue robes followed, asking quietly.
“What of Seo Nam Wang?”
“His Majesty resolved it outright. You should have seen how those stubborn old men could not utter a single word of protest. Hehehehe.”
“My congratulations.”
“Let us all accept congratulations, for this is our collective triumph. Come now—we must dispatch our missive to Seo Nam Wang without delay!”
“Yes.”

* * *

After surveying the Tournament Grounds, Yi Hwan and his companions returned to the inn and took their evening meal together in the room, having ordered food and drink brought upstairs.
The lower floor had grown far too crowded and raucous to eat in peace.
Once the meal was finished and the drinking was beginning in earnest, Go-mi produced a map she had drawn.
“The military encampments surrounding the Imperial Capital, and the roads leading from there into the city, along with all the terrain and landmarks. I’ve marked everything in detail.”
Yi Hwan studied the map, genuinely impressed.
For something completed in just a few days, it was remarkably comprehensive and precise.
“Well done.”
Yi Hwan handed the map back to Go-mi and drained his cup. As she refilled it, she broached another subject.
“It seems a faction plotting rebellion has entered the Imperial Capital. Have you heard anything about it?”
“More than just heard about it.”
“What?”
Yi Hwan explained what he and Papa had encountered. When he finished, everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
Ju-tae let out a snort of laughter.
“So you’ve come all the way to the Zhao Kingdom only to become rebel conspirators?”
Thwack!
Cheol Mu-ok drove an elbow into Ju-tae’s ribs and spoke up.
“I wondered why the condemned men at the Tournament Grounds today had such strange looks in their eyes. So there was a conspiracy afoot.”
“I intend to prevent Zhao Yun from achieving his aims easily.”
“How do you mean to do that?”
“I’ll need to find a way by tomorrow.”
“……Yes.”
“What’s with that look?”
“I thought you’d already arranged everything.”
“I’ve just changed my mind on this. So I need all of you to think of effective approaches as well.”
“Understood.”
Yi Hwan drained another cup and rose to his feet.
“Take your time with the meal. I need some rest.”

* * *

Yi Hwan’s quarters were at the far end of the corridor.
He had deliberately chosen this room because the other chambers faced the opposite inn and suffered from its light spilling through their windows.
Creak.
Opening the window, Yi Hwan looked down at the marketplace district, which teemed with countless people.
‘A martial arts tournament alone can stir people’s hearts like this.’
Since arriving, he had come to understand something—a lesson Crown Prince Yi So would do well to learn. This was the art of governance through the people’s enthusiasm.
Yi Hwan himself, in days past when he had unified the Martial World, had always held the winning of hearts above all else.
‘Once the Empress is removed and the Crown Prince takes the throne, tournaments like these might very well be worth considering.’
Whissh.
A breeze swept gently across Yi Hwan’s face. His eyes brightened as he lifted his hand to brush back his tangled hair—the moment he caught sight of a figure standing at a window of the opposite inn.
‘Meeting again, are we.’
It was Yang Chan, the man he had seen at the fabric shop.
Yi Hwan quietly stepped back to an angle where Yang Chan could not see him, and watched intently.
‘There’s definitely something odd about this fellow.’
Then Yang Chan turned his head in Yi Hwan’s direction.
Yi Hwan retreated another step. When he cautiously peered out again a moment later, Yang Chan’s window was tightly shut.
But Yi Hwan soon caught sight of him again.
He was threading through the crowd, heading north through the marketplace district. Curiosity suddenly seized him.
‘Should I follow him?’
But then he shook his head.
‘For now, I need to focus on finding a way to thwart Zhao Yun.’
Tap.

* * *

Yang Chan made his way north through the marketplace district.
His destination was the Gold Guard Regional Command Center, which handled security for the city under Zhao Kingdom authority.
Yang Chan moved through the crowd at an even pace—neither hurried nor slow. How much farther did he walk?
As he reached the outskirts of the city, fortress walls built along a ridge came into view, and beyond them rose the commanding structure of the Gold Guard Regional Command Center.
Yang Chan paused in the shadows beyond the torchlight, surveying his surroundings.
The walls and surrounding areas bristled with sentries, and enormous torches burned at regular intervals—there seemed no way to scale the fortification unseen.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept across Yang Chan’s entire body. In that instant, his eyes—which had been utterly empty moments before—flared with a cold, piercing light.
“If one has committed a crime, one must answer for it.”

The commander of this regional post had slaughtered children. Simply because their weeping and whimpering annoyed him.

Recalling the village elder’s words, Yang Chan’s eyes grew sharp with lethal intent.
Whoosh!
As the wind rose again, Yang Chan moved toward the wall—with such ease and naturalness that he might have been simply walking home.
“Halt!”
The soldiers atop the wall spotted him and cried out. But Yang Chan paid them no mind and walked on.
“Stop, or we’ll make you!”
One soldier reached for his sword hilt, but before the blade could even clear the scabbard, he was flung backward like a bundle of straw.
The soldiers flanking him met the same fate.
Whoosh!
The wind moved across the wall as if guided by an invisible hand, free and purposeful.
Thud!
Crash!
Where the wind passed, the soldiers crumpled like puppets with cut strings. Yang Chan vaulted lightly over the wall. Though many more soldiers were stationed further ahead, not one of them turned to look.

* * *

“Khehehehe! Excellent!”
A massive figure with a needle-thin beard covering half his face—this was Ban Noe, commander of the regional post.
He sat with two women pressed against either side of him, laughing heartily. This was Ban Noe, the commander of the regional post.
A trusted lieutenant of Seo Nam Wang Zhao Yun, he had risen to his position immediately after Crown Prince Jo Gwang’s removal, and was infamous for his savage temperament and his voracious appetite for wealth and women.
But with Zhao Yun as his patron, no one dared challenge him.
One general spoke up.
“The quiet we’ve seen until now suggests those rebels have lost their nerve and scattered. Surely this is all thanks to you, General, personally strengthening the Imperial Capital’s defenses?”
“It certainly is!”
As the other generals heaped on their flattery, Ban Noe bared his yellowed teeth in a grin. Then, affecting a grave tone, he continued:
“We must not relax our guard for a single moment until the tournament ends. This is a grand event for our lord’s great cause, and all of you must give your utmost. Do you understand?”
“There is no question—we junior officers will always do our best for our lord and for you, General!”
“Khehehehe! Come now, drink up! The wine tonight is truly exceptional!”
“Yes, General!”
The generals each pulled women close and continued their raucous revelry.
“Bring more wine!”
“At once, sir.”
A woman stepped outside.
Through the gap in the not-quite-closed door, something colorless and odorless drifted in. But no one inside noticed.

* * *

Despite the late hour when the streets should have been deserted, they remained thronged with people, and their noise made it impossible for Yi Hwan and the others to sleep properly.
Yi Hwan, lost in thought over ways to strike at Zhao Yun, shook his head at the clamor pouring through the window and lay down on his bed.
‘The simplest method would be to ruin the Martial Arts Tournament…….’
But that would mean creating a disturbance at the tournament grounds themselves—an approach fraught with extreme danger and risking injury to his companions, so he had put off deciding.
Yet he could hardly run through the Imperial Capital indiscriminately destroying and killing.
A sharp pain.
With no clear solution presenting itself, a headache bloomed where none had existed before.
Then it happened.
“What in the blazes is that!”
“Aaaaagh!”
A sudden commotion erupted outside.
Yi Hwan opened the window, wondering what was happening. His brow furrowed deeply.
‘What is this now?’

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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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