The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 175

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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 Martial Emperor Chapter 175

Chapter 175 — The Return (2)

The Imperial Capital of Zhao Kingdom.
It was evening when Yang Chan entered an inn in the marketplace district.
This area, close to the Imperial Palace, had suffered less damage from the earthquake than elsewhere, so there were still several functioning inns, and the place was crowded with people who had come to watch the martial arts tournament but hadn’t managed to leave yet.
Yang Chan drank.
He was drinking without even touching appetizers, and he’d already gone through more than four bottles. People glanced at him. His entire body was caked with dust.
Yet Yang Chan paid no mind, repeatedly filling and emptying his cup without pause.
That was when it happened.
Five warriors entered the inn. They took a seat at the table next to Yang Chan’s, which happened to be empty.
“You guys hear about that? Our unit isn’t being sent in for rescue work—they say we’re going into a massive search operation starting tomorrow morning.”
“With the tournament cancelled, how the hell are we supposed to find those damn rebel factions who’ve probably scattered by now?”
“I heard it wasn’t a rebel faction?”
“What? Then who are we looking for?”
One of the warriors lowered his voice and spoke.
“A friend of mine who stands guard at the Crown Prince’s palace overheard it when he passed the officers’ dining hall—apparently the Crown Prince has issued a strict order to find those descended from Dae-ya Fortress or something.”
“Descendants of Dae-ya Fortress? Do you mean that Dae-ya Fortress from two hundred years ago?”
“Probably, right?”
“But why all of a sudden?”
“Hell if I know. Anyway, because of that, a tremendous number of terrifying masters have apparently come to the Crown Prince’s palace.”
Yang Chan’s hand, which had been tipping his cup steadily and repeatedly, froze for a moment.
His eyes, which had been sunk in a gloomy darkness, wavered once—at the words of the warrior that followed.
“Someone carved the words ‘Gold Malyung’ on the wall of the Crown Prince’s palace and killed one of his bodyguards before vanishing, I heard. Maybe that’s why?”
“I heard about that too. Apparently the master was phenomenal. I mean, believe it or not, the bodyguard they call the Crown Prince’s shadow was killed in a single strike.”
“A single strike?”
“That’s right. One strike.”
“Is that even possible? How strong are they?”
“Someone who was at the scene said it, so it must be true. Anyway, first the rebel factions cause trouble, then we get an earthquake, and now these people descended from Dae-ya Fortress or whatever have appeared—I don’t know what’s going to become of this country. Sigh.”
Yang Chan began tipping his cup again. Only after draining what remained did he rise from his seat.
Leaving the inn, Yang Chan walked heavily. When he reached a quiet place, he threw himself into the darkness like a gust of wind.
Some time later, he arrived at the regional headquarters of the Gold Guard—the place where a bloodbath had occurred not long before.

* * *

Operations Control Center.
Two commanders were engaged in a serious conversation at the facility that oversaw the Gold Guard’s intelligence operations.
“The Crown Prince seems quite anxious, given that he’s suddenly ordered us to search for the descendants of Dae-ya Fortress when we’re already stretched thin with rescue operations.”
“Of course he’s anxious. Didn’t someone carve ‘Gold Malyung’ on the wall of the palace where the Crown Prince resides and then disappear? And they carved it to a depth of a full inch, at that.”
“An inch deep, you say?”
“You didn’t know?”
“I knew someone had carved ‘Gold Malyung,’ but I’m hearing for the first time that it was carved to a depth of an inch. What kind of inner strength would one need to carve characters into that hard wall to such a depth?”
The commander across from him received the words with a heavy tone.
“That’s exactly why the Crown Prince can’t help but be anxious. What’s even more alarming is that they’ve apparently been watching us from very close by all this time. Actually, the Crown Prince didn’t pay much attention at first because he believed the Yen Kingdom’s Fourth Prince was a descendant of Dae-ya Fortress, but it seems he became far more confused when he learned that the person who appeared at the palace didn’t even know about the Yen Kingdom’s Fourth Prince.”
The commander brought a cup to his lips and finished speaking.
Thud!
“It’s late, so let’s call it a night for tod—”
The commander stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening in shock. The commander across from him was slumped over the table, utterly still.
That was when it happened.
The window opened and Yang Chan stepped inside. The commander stared at Yang Chan with his eyes wide open. Then his neck began to flush with strain.
But no sound came from his mouth.
Yang Chan stood quietly behind the motionless commander and spoke softly.
“From now on, answer every question I ask without hesitation. If I judge your answer to be false, you’ll experience a hell where your internal organs slowly dissolve. And don’t even think about calling for help. The moment your voice reaches outside, the pain will begin.”
Yang Chan snapped his fingers. The commander’s blocked throat opened in an instant.
“They were saying that the Yen Kingdom’s Fourth Prince is a descendant of Dae-ya Fortress. I need to hear the reason for that first.”
“……!”
The commander glanced at his colleague, slumped over the table like a corpse, then resigned himself. He answered in the smallest possible voice.
“In the war with Yen Kingdom some time ago, Your Majesty and Yen’s Fourth Prince clashed at the Northern Military Unit. That man used the Dae-ya Fortress Martial Arts at that time.”
“You’re certain?”
“Your Majesty witnessed it firsthand, so there can be no doubt. Thus, we invited him to the Martial World Tournament to eliminate him, but he vanished without a trace on the way.”
“Vanished?”
“Indeed. We believe Yen’s Empress killed him, but nothing has been confirmed.”
Yang Chan’s eyes flashed with keen interest.
“Why would she kill her own son?”
“You don’t seem familiar with Yen’s internal affairs?”
“Then explain it.”
“The Fourth Prince is a bastard born to a concubine. Until recently, he was called a puppet Grand Prince with almost no presence at all, but then one day he suddenly began to rise……”
The weary general laid bare everything he knew. As his words continued, Yang Chan’s expression grew heavier with each passing moment.
“That is all I know.”
After a brief silence, the general bowed his head.
“I wish to die without pain. I ask this of you.”
Instead of an answer, wind flowed through the room. When the general, sensing something amiss, lifted his head, Yang Chan had already vanished.

* * *

Yang Chan walked through the darkness.
Dae-ya Fortress, Dae-ya Fortress, Dae-ya Fortress……
The general’s voice would not leave his mind. The destiny he had tried to sever bound him once more, suffocating his entire being.
Yet this time it felt different.
For two hundred years he had waited and searched, but no one had appeared and nothing could be found. Now, at last, they had emerged.
‘Are they searching for me as well?’
‘Should I plunge back into the clutches of destiny?’
‘To carry on as a descendant of the Poison King, must I not retrieve the sacred artifact buried in Yunnan?’
‘Should I simply ignore destiny and retreat into some remote mountain valley?’
Yang Chan questioned himself endlessly, yet found no answers as he walked deeper into the darkness.

* * *

“This is maddening.”
Ju-tae muttered while gazing out from the cave mouth. With torrential rain and howling wind combined, the entire mountain swayed as if dancing. At this rate, they would be trapped in the cave all night.
The Female Warrior gathered dry branches scattered throughout the cave and kindled a fire.
Everyone settled against the cave walls.
They were all exhausted from the relentless journey. Worse still, they had managed nothing more than scraps to eat in the full day since they had set out, and their fatigue had reached its peak.
“Please, have some.”
The Female Warrior produced rations and offered them to Yi Hwan. Everyone quieted their hunger with the meager provisions.
A short time passed.
Ju-tae, who had been sitting near the cave entrance, spoke quietly to the others.
“Someone is climbing up.”
The Female Warrior quickly stripped off her wet cloak to smother the fire. Then she waved her hands frantically to prevent the smoke from escaping outside.
“Ugh, really. Not a moment’s peace.”
Hwa Ryeong grumbled.
Click.
Ju-tae and Cheol Mu-ok drew their sword hilts.
Rumble!
Crack!
As lightning and thunder painted the cave’s entrance white, Cheol Mu-ok’s mental transmission flowed into Yi Hwan’s ears.
[Two of them. By the direction, they appear to be about to enter the cave.]
At those words, Yi Hwan rose and moved inward. A few paces in, he found straw mats and bedding, along with several bowls and a rice sack.
‘Someone had been living here.’
Yi Hwan returned to his place and sent out a mental transmission.
[These appear to be the cave’s inhabitants. Do not draw your blades recklessly.]
[Understood.]
Shortly after, two Hwang Po-in entered the cave. Ju-tae and Cheol Mu-ok moved like wind and subdued them. But the opponents’ response exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Clash!
The Hwang Po-in drew their blades and, backs pressed together, held Ju-tae and Cheol Mu-ok at bay.
Yi Hwan asked calmly.
“Do you live here?”
Hwang Po-in and his men turned to look at Yi Hwan. Only then, realizing there were several others besides Yi Hwan, did their faces harden like stone.
But with Ju-tae and Cheol Mu-ok blocking the entrance, they could neither advance nor retreat.
“W-who are you people?!”
“We were passing by when the rain came down, so we stepped in for shelter. Lower your swords.”
“……!”
Hwang Po-in’s men did not immediately sheathe their blades. In that moment, Yi Hwan’s eyes flashed with keen perception.
“You’re wounded.”
“……!”
“Are you part of the group that attacked the Empress of Yen?”
“Damn it!”
Had their identities been exposed?
Two of Hwang Po-in’s men lunged at Ju-tae and Cheol Mu-ok like lightning. But the narrow space confined their movements, and in that instant, Papa moved like wind, snapping one man’s arm.
“Ugh!”
At the same moment, Ju-tae’s blade pressed against the other man’s throat.
“That’s enough, don’t you think?”
“……!”
A thin trickle.
A shallow cut—blood dripped slowly from the man’s neck. Yi Hwan’s words followed.
“We have nothing to do with the Empress. That’s all. Papa, let go of his arm.”
Papa stepped back, and Ju-tae and Cheol Mu-ok seized the men’s swords.
Yi Hwan flicked his hand lightly, and a blade that had been leaning beside Hwa Ryeong flew of its own accord into his grip.
Yi Hwan threw the sword before Hwang Po-in’s men.
Clang!
“Is this your comrade’s?”
Their eyes trembled.
The two men’s eyes shook violently. Their answer was written in that tremor alone.
“Don’t get any strange ideas. We found it by chance on the way here.”
“…….”
Yi Hwan gestured with his chin to the opposite side. The two men hesitated briefly, then sat across from him.
“We’ll rebuild the fire.”
“I’ll do it.”
Papa stepped forward.
A warm energy rose from her palm, and the dead embers suddenly blazed back to life.
Yi Hwan studied the faces of the two men.
Both had hardy features with prominent temples, unmistakably those who had trained in External Martial Arts.
“I need to hear why you attacked the Empress.”
“If it’s not your concern, please just let us go.”
Let me correct myself. It’s not that it’s not my concern—I simply despise that woman. So I absolutely must hear your reason.”
“Who are you?”
“That’s none of your business to know.”
“Unless you reveal your identity, we cannot say anything.”
Then Ju-tae stepped forward.
“Should we just beat it out of them, sir?”
Whack!
Cheol Mu-ok struck the back of his head.
As Ju-tae grimaced and clutched his head with both hands, Cheol Mu-ok spoke in a grave, warning tone.
“You’d better tell us everything truthfully. Otherwise, we’ll have to leave it to him—and then no one can stop what happens.”
“…….”
As Hwang Po-in’s men fell silent, Hwa Ryeong stepped forward.
“I’m rather skilled at torture. Want me to take over?”
“Just hold on a moment.”
Go-mi grabbed Hwa Ryeong’s arm and pulled her back.
Yi Hwan chewed on a piece of rations as he spoke.
“If you’re going to keep your mouths clamped shut like that, I’ll have to reconsider my position.”
The moment he finished speaking, light began to emanate from Yi Hwan’s body.
“What do you think will happen when this enters your bodies?”
“……!”

* * *

In the quarters of Yi Seong-ji, the Third Prince, Gong Ya-un was sipping his tea. A young man across from him refilled the cup with hot water and asked carefully.
“When do you think His Highness will emerge?”
“Who can say? He’ll come out once he’s obtained what he desires. How long that takes depends entirely on his abilities—we can only wait.”
The lamplight caught Gong Ya-un’s eyes, burning them a fierce red. The young man was about to ask something else.
A voice drifted in from outside.
“I seek entry.”
“Come in.”
One of Hwang Po-in’s men stepped through the door.
Gong Ya-un gestured for the young man to leave. Once he was gone, the visitor reported.
“The messenger birds have gone silent. Something has gone wrong.”
Clink.
Gong Ya-un set down his teacup and fixed his gaze on the man.
“Verify once more. When you’re certain of the failure, report back to me.”
“Understood.”
After the man departed, Gong Ya-un rose and walked to the window. He threw it open, and the stars that filled the sky seemed to pour forth in a cascade.
“Of course it failed. The Empress has allies at her side—people even His Highness does not know of.”
Gong Ya-un murmured words of uncertain meaning, an odd light flickering in his eyes.
“The Empress’s suspicion will fall entirely upon the Crown Prince Palace. That will suffice. Hehehehe.”

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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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