“Hehehe. Then, have a good trip.”
“Yes, Governor. I will greet you after I return.”
A luxurious cart with golden banners and over ten cavalry soldiers in escort was waiting for us. The martial skills of the bodyguards were nothing special, barely between top-tier and second-tier, but no crazy person would dare to touch a cart bearing the emperor’s insignia, so the level of the bodyguards didn’t matter much.
This would be my first ride in a high-end cart in this martial world.
Let’s call the Bicheongmacha not just high-end but fast.
“Indeed, the ride quality of a high-end cart is different.”
Once the heavy door closed, there was silence all around. Even the clattering hooves of the horses felt faint. Maybe if we’d been ordinary people rather than martial artists, we wouldn’t have heard any noise from outside?
The seat also felt remarkably less bumpy.
“It really has a sense of ceremony.”
The Black Cat exclaimed, slapping the wide seat.
“Thanks to waiting a day, we get to experience the changes in Sacheon City.”
Thinking of the Outcast Inn, I clicked my tongue in disappointment. I wanted to show off my enhanced strength as Ho Cheon-an after a long time and maybe raise my ranking a bit.
I did stop by the Outcast Inn while on my outing, but every single outcast was out on requests. Only a few intermediaries were left, and even Yu Sa-yeon was absent.
According to the intermediaries, they were so short on manpower that even Yu Sa-yeon was taking requests.
All sorts of characters were flooding in, and there were as many ambush requests coming in as there were active recruitments from outside.
I brushed off the intermediaries pleading with me and the Black Cat to just do one ambush mission before we left and barely managed to escape.
“Are you okay, Miss Black Cat? In fact, you helped stabilize the banner of Sacheon City.”
“I’m fine. It would just be a bigger hassle for my identity to be revealed.”
“Hmm. Still, it’s a shame. How about exploring the imperial capital once the audience is over?”
“I’m all for it.”
“Hehe. The imperial capital has many attractions.”
The imperial capital, Nangyang City.
The backdrop of this martial world is a completely fictional nation, but that doesn’t mean it has no history. Repeated betrayals, prince rebellions, power struggles, and so on… everything that could happen has happened.
Whether the aristocrats gained power, the emperor strengthened, or rebellions broke out. Normally, when the imperial power weakens, or local forces become strong, a country splits, and a new dynasty emerges, but in this setting, the name Huang Nation has just continued without reaching such a situation.
So, if they replaced the emperor, they didn’t change the name of the country—that would be more accurate.
While the detailed history of Huang Nation may exist, I had no particular interest in it as it was merely a backdrop for [Martial World].
What matters is not history but the present and future.
I organized my thoughts while observing the scene where the Black Cat and Hyeok Gi-rin were planning their sightseeing in Nangyang.
Isn’t this one of the joys of travel? In the end, since we have to kill time for movement, we can leisurely ponder various thoughts.
Nangyang City.
I tried to think of any events worth checking out in the current Nangyang City.
“Hm.”
In reality, players in the martial world don’t particularly favor Nangyang City. To be precise, it’s a region they avoid due to the lack of valuable events.
No matter how martial the world may be, Nangyang is the imperial capital. If martial artists create a ruckus here, punishment follows immediately. Most martial artists have no connection to official positions, making it hard to reduce their sentences and easily find themselves in difficult situations.
On the other hand, the rewards obtainable in the imperial capital are negligible. The only benefits from connections with the powers in the capital would be gold or titles.
While the monetary rewards are substantial, one can earn money anywhere, so there’s no need to go all the way to Nangyang, and ultimately, the capital’s distinctive feature is its titles, which are somewhat useless. While titles are immediately useful among civilians, high-level martial artists can hold their own against officials.
Sure, they might rank management higher than martial artists, but a high-level martial artist isn’t socially low, either.
Above all, this is the real issue.
For a martial artist to succeed in the realm of positions, what must they do? They must become a military official! This means! They have to enlist!
Can you believe that even within a martial arts game, there’s enlistment?
Even without the military trauma, there’s really no substantial advantages to getting involved in the military. If you want to command subordinates, just start a sect.
Of course, there’s a rank difference when compared to a general commanding thousands of soldiers, but…
Currently, it’s a time without national-level conflicts, so generals won’t have a chance to lead armies into battle.
Even if one becomes a general, the only opportunity to gather thousands of soldiers would be at the point where they end up shouting, “This general is disappointed in the soldiers!” during a peaceful time.
Becoming a general, there’s no opportunity to execute strategic commands with thousands of troops. The most a general of the imperial army can do is lead a few hundred soldiers to eradicate bandits or thieves, which is something sect leaders can do just as easily.
Sure, it’s easier to become a high-ranking member of the imperial army than to run a sect. There’s no need for promotion or recruiting disciples or managing the economic power of the sect; it’s all taken care of by the country.
However, that also means there’s little return. No matter how hard you train your subordinates, if the ranks change, it’s all over. Monetary income will just be a salary.
Overall, Nangyang is little more than a nicely polished rotten apple, so to speak.
“Senior! Don’t you have any places you want to go?”
“Hmm? Not particularly. I don’t mind going anywhere famous.”
“Hehe, in the capital, there’s a place called Gold Iron Workshop. It’s the place with the largest furnace that can heat the temperatures across the Central Plains. How about preparing a weapon there?”
“Not bad.”
“Great! Then let’s go there!”
Hyeok Gi-rin elaborated on the specialties of Nangyang, and the Black Cat nodded mindlessly while planning the sightseeing itinerary. Even roughly calculating in my head, it was already more than a week’s schedule.
Just sticking to this schedule would be no easy task.
Since we came to Nangyang, I tried to think of some useful events, but nothing particularly came to mind, and even the things that did were just trivial bits.
Let’s just neatly collect the emperor’s rewards in Nangyang and enjoy sightseeing with these two before leaving.
“I heard that if you go up to the upper level of Seongyalu, you can see the scenery of Nangyang in one glance.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Then let’s go there, too!”
I organized my thoughts in that direction and joined the discussion about the sightseeing in Nangyang with the two of them.
*
“Oh, so this is Nangyang City.”
We opened the windows of the cart and admired the scenery of Nangyang City. Fundamentally, it wasn’t too different from the scenery of Sacheon City. After all, Sacheon was one of the most refined cities in the Central Plains.
However, the atmosphere was definitely different from Sacheon.
The streets were clean, without a single street vendor in sight. And a moderate crowd.
It was clear that the streets were under tight control. Thanks to that, the city’s atmosphere, despite the many people, felt quiet.
“Excuse me, honored guests. Since you’ve arrived in Nangyang City, we should start preparing for the audience. Shall we find the inn where the young martial artist will stay first?”
“Please do.”
The cavalry commander led us to a luxurious inn called Yong Sang Inn.
“Senior, I’ll just keep myself entertained here, so you two hurry back. Great Hero Hyeok Gi-rin too!”
“Hehe, I’ll try my best.”
Watching the Black Cat enter the inn, we also set off for the imperial palace.
“Stop! Which royal guard are you from!”
“We are the imperial army from Sacheon! This is a travel certificate stamped with the seal of Governor Samayeom of Sacheon!”
After some communication, we also went through a light inspection while remaining in the cart.
“Welcome to the imperial palace. Visitors to the palace are prohibited from carrying weapons without permission. We kindly ask that you entrust all metal accessories and belongings for safety. They will be returned upon exiting the imperial palace.”
Only after handing over swords, hidden weapons, and all our belongings, including the health talisman and document pouch, could we finally enter the imperial palace.
“Oh…”
Click clack. Click clack.
The scenery inside the imperial palace was magnificent. The first thing that caught the eye was the massive and splendid palace halls. Each tile on the halls was intricately crafted, adding delicate patterns, and decorations naturally blended into the pillars and beams.
The endless display of craftsmanship made from the artisans’ devotion immediately captivated my gaze.
The scenery of the imperial palace was not just splendid.
The flagstone paths laid down without a single flaw or misalignment were surrounded by trees and flowers, with not a single twig, leaf, or petal visible on the ground.
It felt like surreal reality unfolding before my eyes.
Even someone like me, with no knowledge, could immediately recognize the overwhelming elegance.
“Impressive.”
“Yes, quite impressive.”
Still, when I praised the imperial palace, which could be considered her home, Hyeok Gi-rin beamed with pride. I couldn’t help but question whether she was genuinely trying to hide her identity as a princess.
But knowing that Hyeok Gi-rin had returned to the imperial palace, which she could call her home after a long time, I decided to pretend I didn’t see it.
Before entering the imperial palace, she had harbored unspoken worry, but once inside, she was genuinely excited.
After a while, the cart finally stopped in front of a grand hall.
“Welcome to Gongcheongjeon.”
Numerous maids welcomed us with bows.
“Dear honored guests visiting the palace, we ask for your understanding as we proceed with the cleansing process to prepare your bodies and minds before meeting the royal family.”
The first step before meeting the emperor.
Thus began the week-plus of killing time.
