The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 92

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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 Undefeated — Episode 92

Chapter 92 — A Hollow Conclusion

Dawn painted the world crimson.
Jo Gwang ate a simple breakfast and donned his armor. Papa, who had polished the blade with care since before daybreak, handed it to him.
“Why such devoted care for a sword that will soon grow dull?”
“This blade is a sacred treasure symbolizing Your Highness. It must always be treated with reverence.”
A faint smile played at the corners of Jo Gwang’s mouth.
Clink.
He took up the sword and stepped out of the tent.
The generals stood ready, waiting for Jo Gwang to emerge.
Jo Gwang met each general’s gaze in turn, then surveyed the ridge bristling with troops arrayed like a dark line.
‘Today, we settle this.’
As Jo Gwang steeled himself and moved to give the order to advance, a rider appeared.
Thud-thud-thud!
A single horse and rider came rushing in like the wind.
The words called out by the mounted figure transformed the expressions of all who heard.
“An Imperial Decree! An Imperial Decree!”
‘An Imperial Decree?’
Jo Gwang’s eyes changed.
The generals exchanged glances, stirring with unease.
Whoosh!
One general dismounted before Jo Gwang. Jo Gwang watched him quietly.
The general unshouldered the Bamboo Tube he carried and offered it to Jo Gwang. Recognizing it contained an Imperial Decree, Jo Gwang knelt and received it with both hands.
All eyes were fixed on Jo Gwang.
Everyone’s thoughts were the same.
‘What command has His Majesty issued?’
Jo Gwang composed himself quietly, then opened the Bamboo Tube and withdrew the Scroll within, unrolling it.
His eyes, moving from top to bottom across the text, began to tremble faintly.
Papa, watching, was suddenly gripped by a deep sense of dread. If this were good news, Jo Gwang would not show such a reaction.
Jo Gwang’s face flushed red. His eyes clenched shut and his jaw tightened.
“Your Highness……”
Papa dared not approach.
The air around Jo Gwang forbade it. He looked up at the general who had brought the messenger and spoke through gritted teeth.
“Is this truly an order from His Majesty?”
“Yes. His Majesty delivered the decree to me with his own hands.”
“Was my uncle present at that time?”
“The Seonam King did not enter the palace that day.”
Tremor after tremor racked his frame.
Jo Gwang’s flushed face convulsed. In the next instant, flame erupted from the Scroll he held.
The fire spread to his sleeve.
“Your Highness!”
Papa rushed forward and extinguished the flames.
A general watching in held breath ventured a careful question.
“What is the matter, sir?”
Jo Gwang did not answer.
The heavy silence prevented the general from pressing further.
Whishhh!
Wind swept across Jo Gwang’s entire frame. A light dust stirred and settled upon his dark, layered hair.
Jo Gwang’s lips parted.
What came next startled them all.
“Entire Army, retreat.”
“……!”
“Your Highness!”
“It is an Imperial Decree. Obey it.”
Jo Gwang turned and walked back into his tent.
Where he had knelt, the Scroll lay partially charred and unrolled.

I hereby command: let the Crown Prince Gwang swiftly withdraw his forces and return to the palace to pay his respects to me.

* * *

The Imperial Decree reached the Zhao Military.
Among those turning westward, reactions split sharply. Those who lamented most bitterly were chiefly the warriors who followed Jo Gwang.
Even among the Seonam King’s generals, some showed similar responses.
They were the commanders who had close acquaintances in the Vanguard that had been annihilated. Separate from politics, they dreamed of vengeance more than anyone else. Yet now they had to withdraw without ever getting that chance, and their displeasure was unmistakable.
Jo Gwang, mounted in his palanquin for the retreat, said nothing. Because Papa understood his heart better than anyone, she too could not easily find words to speak.
It was Jo Gwang who broke the silence first.
“He learned that I had seized control here, and so my uncle petitioned the Emperor against me. All to deny me any opportunity at all.”
“Ah…….”
Papa merely exhaled a heavy sigh.
She held the same thought.
“That’s why I hastened to settle this before word could reach his ears.”
Jo Gwang’s clenched fists trembled slightly. When he considered the result, what burned in him was how futilely the Vanguard had been destroyed.
Had they succeeded as planned, the battle would have ended yesterday.
Just one day’s difference.
That single span of time had stolen his opportunity from him. Jo Gwang gnawed his lip, swallowing again and again an uncontrollable bitterness.
Yet such swallowing could not calm his heart.
The bitterness transformed into rage, and its target was not the Seonam King but Yi Hwan.
“Papa.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You will remain here.”
“…….”
“Yi Hwan—bring me his head. However long it takes, by whatever means necessary, you must bring it to me.”
“Disloyal men lurk throughout the realm, watching for any chance to strike at Your Highness. I am duty-bound to remain at your side…….”
“He stole my opportunity from me. He also devoured thirty thousand warriors. I cannot simply leave such a man behind. This is a command I give as Crown Prince—you will obey!”
“……!”
The rage that dwelt in Jo Gwang’s contorted eyes was transmitted wholly to Papa.
Papa bowed her head at once.
“Understood. I shall sever his neck and present it to Your Highness.”
Papa remained.
With three others who were as extensions of himself.
Papa did not rise from her bow until Jo Gwang’s palanquin had vanished from sight.

* * *

“General!”
Go Mi burst in.
Yi Hwan, who had just begun fastening his armor and was about to step outside, fixed her with a puzzled gaze. This was quite unlike the always-composed Go Mi.
“Has the world come crashing down?”
“The Zhao Military is retreating!”
“What?”
“Suspecting a Deception Tactic, I pursued them and observed the Entire Army continuing westward through the Gorge. If this were a trick to deceive us, they would never move so far!”
“They truly passed through the Gorge?”
“They did!”
‘What is this now?’
Yi Hwan narrowed his brow and sat in his chair. Then he rose and removed his armor.
Cheol Mu-ok received the armor and asked, “Do you truly believe they are retreating?”
“Do you truly believe they are retreating?”
“If they’ve passed through the Gorge, retreat is certain. Something must have happened on their side.”
Yi Hwan opened the stopper of a wine bottle on the table and drained it in one gulp.
Clack!
“Did an Imperial Decree ordering retreat fall upon them?”
“Given that this is Jo Gwang, who was willing to risk everything to fight even while slaying the General-in-Chief, an Imperial Decree seems most likely. Otherwise, how could they abandon things at this stage?”
“I share that view.”
Go Mi, having regained her composure in the meantime, picked up the thread.
“Perhaps the Seonam King moved the Emperor to deny the Crown Prince any opportunity. News that the Crown Prince had seized control of the military encampment must have reached the Seonam King’s ears as well.”
Yi Hwan nodded silently.
“If the Crown Prince brings us down, it could become an opportunity for him. The Seonam King was trying to prevent that.”
“Yes, sir.”
It was a sufficiently persuasive argument.
Yi Hwan gave a bitter smile.
“A hollow ending.”
“I suspect it applies more to the Crown Prince of Zhao Kingdom than to us.”
Ju Tae frowned and muttered.
“I thought we’d finally get a proper fight, so why are they retreating?”
“That’s what I mean.”
Go Mi was at a loss for words.
Not a single trace of relief appeared on any of their faces at the enemy’s retreat.
‘These people—they’re genuinely disappointed.’
Both Ju Tae and Cheol Mu-ok felt the same way.
“Wol-ju.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go and inform the General-in-Chief of the enemy’s retreat.”
“Very well.”
“Mu-ok, go out and prepare a celebration feast.”
“A feast, sir?”
“We’ve won regardless, so we should mark the occasion. Tell Suk-su to gather whatever we have and prepare it lavishly.”
“Very well.”

* * *

Thump-thump-thump!
War horses galloped forward, raising clouds of dust.
Two thousand elite riders from the Northern Army raced relentlessly toward the Southern Army.
How far had they traveled?
“Once we cross that ridge, we’ll reach the Southern Army!”
“Pick up the pace!”
“Faster!”
Thump-thump-thump!
The commander leading the two thousand elite crested the ridge first.
A moment later, a horrific sight spread before his eyes.
Countless corpses blanketed the earth, and the blood they had shed had dried to blacken the ground like a wound—the sight pierced his eyes like daggers.
‘We’re too late!’
The commander looked up toward where the Southern Army was stationed. Unlike this place of carnage, the sky there was pristinely clear.
‘Why is it so quiet? Surely it hasn’t already ended. Hold on, please hold on.’
The commander rode forward frantically.
Thump-thump-thump!
A moment later, as the first commander entered the main encampment of the Southern Army, his eyes flew wide open.
“……!”
The Southern Army, which should have been ravaged by the horrors of war, was utterly tranquil. Moreover, everything was intact and spotless—as if no battle had occurred at all.
The commander pulled his horse’s reins as he reached the towering palisade.
Neigh!
“Identify yourselves!”
A commander shouted from atop the palisade.
“We’re from the Northern Army! What in the name of heaven is happening here? Where are the Zhao soldiers?”
“They retreated!”
“……!”
“If only you’d come a bit sooner! You’d have seen quite the spectacle! Ha-ha-ha!”
“……!”

* * *

The commander sat face to face with Peng Wu-wei.
As he listened to Peng Wu-wei recount everything from beginning to end, the commander struggled to contain his astonishment.
‘The Crown Prince led the army himself. Am I supposed to believe this?’
“The Crown Prince will arrive shortly, so wait a moment. In any case, thank you for coming so swiftly. I’ll convey my gratitude separately to the General-in-Chief later.”
“Of course I had to ride here. But the central army never sent reinforcements, did it?”
“Not a soul.”
Peng Wu-wei knit his brow and continued.
“That side has someone supporting the Empress as General-in-Chief, so sending troops would be strange, wouldn’t it? Utterly corrupt, the lot of them.”
At that moment, Yi Hwan entered through the door.
The general quickly rose from his seat and bowed deeply.
“I pay my respects, General.”
Yi Hwan took the place of honor.
“You came from the Northern Army?”
“Yes, General. I rode here under orders from the General-in-Chief to aid the Southern Army. He said that recent movements among the northern barbarians are suspicious, and begged your understanding that we cannot spare more troops.”
“You sent reinforcements without being asked? That’s most generous.”
Peng Wu-wei smiled as he spoke.
“The General-in-Chief is exactly that kind of man! The finest soldier in all of Yen.”
Yi Hwan fixed his gaze on the general and asked, “Has there been word from the Crown Prince?”
“…….”
“So there has been word.”
The general finally answered.
“The truth is, I received orders from the Empress not to send aid.”
“I thought as much.”
Yi Hwan found himself curious about this General-in-Chief of the Northern Army. Even in his memory, there was no information about the man.
‘Defying the Empress’s orders to send reinforcements anyway. The Crown Prince Palace would be quite pleased to hear of this.’
“I report our victory, General!”
“Victory may be too grand a word. In any case, my thanks. When you return, please convey my gratitude to the General-in-Chief as well.”
“Yes, General!”
Yi Hwan turned to Peng Wu-wei with instructions.
“They must be exhausted from their long journey. Open the stores and provide them with wine and food.”
“Understood!”
“Rest comfortably, then.”
As Yi Hwan left, the general looked back at Peng Wu-wei and asked, “Is he always like that?”
“Do you mean in a good way?”
“Of course, General.”
A sly smile crossed his face.
“He’s several times more capable than he appears at first glance. Mark my words—the General will become a treasure to Yen, destined for greatness. So your General-in-Chief made the right choice backing him. Heh heh heh.”
‘Backing him? Is he really that caliber?’
The general couldn’t make sense of Peng Wu-wei’s behavior as he spoke with obvious pride and excitement.
The Peng Wu-wei he knew was a crude, arrogant, and volatile man. Moreover, he was known to be aligned with the Crown Prince.
‘What in the world is going on? Can intelligence be this wrong, even between our own forces?’

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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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