*
Thunder roared!!
Whoosh!!!
Despite it being midday, a heavy rain was pouring down so fiercely that it darkened the surroundings. Yoo Gyeong, who was alone in the empty Great Hall, stared blankly at the desolate space.
Crash!
Lightning flashed across the sky. In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared in the Great Hall.
The Hidden Bodyguards sprang into action, emerging from all directions.
“How?”
Even though they were guarding the Emperor with perfect coordination, an intruder had appeared in the blink of an eye.
“Stop.”
Yoo Gyeong commanded the Hidden Bodyguards who were blocking her path. Hesitating for a moment, the guards parted, allowing her to face the intruder, Ho Cheon-an.
“I come to see Your Majesty.”
“Do you know where you are to come here so brazenly?”
Despite Yoo Gyeong’s icy words, Ho Cheon-an calmly met her gaze. While the Hidden Bodyguards flared up at his audacity, Ho Cheon-an showed no sign of fear even with the blades of the guards aimed at him.
Their aggression intensified. Unable to draw blood within the palace, they suppressed Ho Cheon-an with their swords.
They aimed to force him to kneel.
Dozens of Hidden Bodyguards joined forces to pin him down. Their upper bodies leaned forward, and the weapons touching Ho Cheon-an warped under the pressure.
However, Ho Cheon-an did not bend his knees nor flinch at all despite bearing the full weight of their attack.
Confusion spread across the faces of the Hidden Bodyguards. They had expected him to be a formidable expert, but why did it feel like they were trying to press down a solid metal statue?
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
As the Hidden Bodyguards grunted, their weapons bent like bows under the strain, but Ho Cheon-an continued to gaze at Yoo Gyeong without a care.
Yoo Gyeong addressed Ho Cheon-an.
“You’ve become quite the monster. You are the one they call Thunder Name Zhonja, who wiped out the Blood Sect?”
“That is how I am referred to.”
“Then, did you also dismantle the gang that rose up nine years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Did you also get involved in the suspicious activities aimed at overthrowing the Huang Nation?”
“That is correct.”
“Why?”
“Because Princess Yuya entrusted me with His Majesty.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Yoo Gyeong gripped the armrest of the throne. Her hands trembled as if she would shatter it at any moment, revealing her inner turmoil.
“Did you think that was atonement? Do you think you could just reappear in the Martial World after all this time? Did you think my rage would have cooled by now? Did you really think so with that so-called intellect of yours?”
“That’s impossible.”
A bitter smile crossed Ho Cheon-an’s face.
“I merely encountered an opportunity.”
In another world, Ho Cheon-an. Friends from another world. Thanks to them, he regained the strength to rise again. That’s why Ho Cheon-an ventured into the world.
Venturing into the world meant forming new connections, and as those connections grew, his heart and will strengthened. Here he stood before Yoo Gyeong.
“Haha… hahaha!!”
Hearing Ho Cheon-an’s response, Yoo Gyeong broke into laughter. She laughed and laughed until she suddenly stopped and glared at him.
“You’ve forgotten…! In the end, you’ve forgotten Yuya! Who did Yuya die for? You dared show your face before me?”
“I have not forgotten.”
“Shut your mouth!”
“Because I have not forgotten, I have appeared before His Majesty at last.”
As Ho Cheon-an observed Yoo Gyeong’s twisted expression, he thought.
Yoo Gyeong was just like his past self.
To endure the grief of losing his comrades, Ho Cheon-an had clung to the goal of reconstructing the Array Formation using the Core Stones. Although it connected him with the otherworldly Ho Cheon-an for a dramatic outcome…it was not the outcome that truly mattered to him.
The Array Formation was merely a refuge to escape reality.
Yoo Gyeong was the same. She needed a purpose to endure the loss, and that purpose was undoubtedly revenge.
So even after sweeping away the outcasts of Yunnan, Yoo Gyeong did not stop. No, she could not stop.
What sustained her was solely the single-minded intention for revenge.
“Then let’s embark on a journey.”
“What…?”
Ho Cheon-an pondered this as Yoo Gyeong questioned him.
Rebirth.
A phrase from the otherworldly Ho Cheon-an led him to the world, and it was only after stepping into the world that he realized one significant fact.
He had been trapped.
Since losing all his comrades, his heart had been empty because he had not taken a single step out of the prison of his own making.
If he had not broken out of that prison, he would have remained forever trapped in that formation.
He would not have been able to save the entities led by Seo Gong, nor would he have realized that Seo I-ryeong and Jo Yong-sang were continuing to carry on the spirit of the Martial World. He would have been unaware that Jeong Sam and Yeo Jin-sang were alive and well, and he would never have taken in the adorable disciple Nab-in, nor would he have known that magic was still being practiced far away in the West.
So, Ho Cheon-an decided to take Yoo Gyeong along on his journey.
The world was vast, and somewhere within it lay something that could change Yoo Gyeong.
Ho Cheon-an released his Qi.
Simultaneously, the Hidden Bodyguards all collapsed like marionettes with cut strings. The guards, shocked, attempted to regain their footing, but they were already powerless to move a muscle.
In an instant, every one of them lost consciousness, and Yoo Gyeong swallowed hard at the scene.
Then she came to accept the situation.
“Ugh… I see. You are indeed a figure from the Martial World.”
“Yes.”
With Ho Cheon-an’s calm response, Yoo Gyeong braced herself for death. Her life’s purpose had merely been revenge against those who harmed Yuya, and now, after the outcasts of Yunnan vanished without a trace, her target became the Martial World itself.
In the eyes of the martial artist Ho Cheon-an, how would Yoo Gyeong appear?
A threat.
Ever since the fall of the Blood Sect, she would be seen as a threat to a Martial World just barely managing to rise again.
The situation of speaking of a journey while downing the Hidden Bodyguards was unsettling. Journey. Did it imply being lost, or did it suggest departing for the underworld?
“Do you think that’s possible? The moment I disappear, the palace will be turned upside down.”
“Indeed. That’s why I’ve made arrangements in advance. The aftermath will be handled by the Commander of the Navy and the Crown Prince, along with the trainees of the Twelfth Squad.”
At Ho Cheon-an’s words, Yoo Gyeong’s eyes shook violently.
You mean Sa Ma Gyeong-hwi…and Yoo Chan wished for my death? Overwhelmed by the shock, Yoo Gyeong lowered her head.
“Don’t think of it as betrayal. The two truly care for His Majesty. That’s why they agree to this extreme measure and are taking responsibility for the aftermath.”
“Ha… haha…!”
At Ho Cheon-an’s words, Yoo Gyeong let out a bitter laugh. True, that was accurate.
The two had been doing everything in their power to stop her. Yet, she had ignored all their pleas and acted on her own.
How could she now call them traitors?
The one who rejected them had been herself.
Yoo Gyeong’s heart broke.
“Rather… let me die.”
Yoo Gyeong reached out her hand. Ho Cheon-an sighed softly at Yoo Gyeong’s reaction. He never thought she would refuse his invitation to journey so stubbornly, considering she viewed Ho Cheon-an as her enemy.
Yet Ho Cheon-an had no intention of backing down either.
Unlike Ho Cheon-an, Yoo Gyeong was not alone. There were Sa Ma Gyeong-hwi and Yoo Chan. Despite having those allies, Yoo Gyeong had not been able to break free from the bounds she had created, which meant leaving the palace was crucial.
“That’s not possible.”
“Ha… haha…! Just kill me! Kill me! Kill me!”
“Your Majesty…”
“How much humiliation do you intend to put me through?”
“Your…”
“Kill me! I command you to kill me!”
Veins bulged on Ho Cheon-an’s forehead. No matter how difficult it was to accept the situation, he had made sufficient attempts to persuade her; yet she screamed like someone facing the most tragic death, and frustration began to bubble within him.
“I apologize, but I must take you by force.”
Yoo Gyeong glared at Ho Cheon-an, who was approaching without hesitation. As he pointed a finger at her, images of Yuya filled Yoo Gyeong’s mind.
‘Finally… I can meet you.’
Amidst her fading consciousness, Yoo Gyeong thought this.
A single tear rolled down Yoo Gyeong’s cheek, and Ho Cheon-an let out a sigh, shaking his head.
“You really have some nerve.”
In the end, Ho Cheon-an’s figure, carrying Yoo Gyeong, completely vanished.
*
When the Hidden Bodyguards regained consciousness, they found Yoo Chan and Sa Ma Gyeong-hwi standing before them.
“His Majesty has gone on a journey.”
“However…”
“He has gone on a journey.”
The steadfast stance of Yoo Chan, denying any further questioning, made the Hidden Bodyguards swallow hard. But they could not simply withdraw without fulfilling their duty.
“However, Your Highness. The safety of His Majesty is still in question.”
“That man promised to take responsibility for His Majesty’s safety.”
The Hidden Bodyguards wore peculiar expressions. Certainly, considering the martial prowess of the Thunder Name Zhonja, one would say he provided the safest protection in the world, but that wasn’t the point.
There was a possibility that the Thunder Name Zhonja was the Emperor’s kidnapper, so what good was it if the kidnapper promised to ensure His Majesty’s safety?
“You’re probably imagining the worst-case scenario in your minds. But remember that what you have in your heads is merely a conjecture, not the truth.”
The eyes of the Hidden Bodyguards trembled.
An intruder had breached the Great Hall and taken His Majesty after incapacitating all the Hidden Bodyguards. The circumstantial evidence pointed to abduction, but the conversation between the Thunder Name Zhonja and Yoo Gyeong had alluded to a clear connection, albeit a hostile one.
So there was a possibility that after their private dialogue, they genuinely agreed to embark on a journey together.
While there were many unanswered questions to convince themselves of that, there was only circumstantial evidence to assert His Majesty had been abducted — nothing certain.
His Majesty being abducted by a martial artist could turn the world upside down, but it couldn’t be revealed on mere conjecture.
Moreover, the Crown Prince and the Navy Commander were addressing the situation, so what right did the failed Hidden Bodyguards have to keep voicing their dissent?
“Do you understand?”
At Yoo Chan’s question, the Hidden Bodyguards could only bow their heads in submission.
Blocked from speaking, a sigh escaped Yoo Chan.
The aftermath of His Majesty’s disappearance was only just beginning.
While the details of how His Majesty had vanished could be concealed, the fact of his absence couldn’t be hidden at all, meaning he needed to publicly announce to the ministers that His Majesty was absent.
Yoo Chan planned to cover for His Majesty by saying he had gone incognito, but there was no denying that His Majesty had suddenly disappeared.
In such situations, which ministers would nod in understanding?
Naturally, there would be an uproar, and just thinking of that scene made Yoo Chan’s head spin.
“This is already giving me a headache.”
“While there may be an uproar, it shouldn’t lead to disaster.”
Indeed, that much was certain.
Ministers who questioned the Emperor’s disappearance would undoubtedly emerge. Yoo Chan and Sa Ma Gyeong-hwi would do everything in their power to keep information regarding the Emperor and Thunder Name Zhonja hidden, but no secret lasts forever. Someone among the ministers would eventually learn the truth.
What would happen if someone found out His Majesty had been kidnapped by Thunder Name Zhonja?
Yoo Chan recalled Ho Cheon-an’s words as he explained the plan.
“When people encounter something they can’t bear, they tend to turn away from it. Just like me and His Majesty.”
What decision would the minister make upon touching the crimson truth capable of plunging the Huang Nation and Martial World into chaos?
Ho Cheon-an had predicted that most would remain silent.
“Those who do not stay silent would take it as an opportunity. They would see it as a chance to place themselves at the center of the world.”
And those individuals would have two options.
To ally with Yoo Chan and Sa Ma Gyeong-hwi, aiding them in concealing the truth, or to seek out members of the Comrades Association, who stood against the Imperial Family, creating overt conflict with their peers.
Of course, regardless of the choice made, the ambitions of that minister would not come to fruition.
Yoo Chan and the Comrades Association were both moving under Ho Cheon-an’s plan.
While it was not completely flawless, it would provide enough time for His Majesty to observe the world.
Although one couldn’t call it a strictly elaborate scheme, the names and strengths of those involved in this plan filled the gaps.
Who would imagine that the Twelfth Squad, the Comrades Association, and the Crown Prince were all working together?
With a few performances orchestrated in conjunction with the Twelfth Squad, it would be even more convincing.
Yoo Chan thought of his father, the Emperor Yoo Gyeong. Since Princess Yuya passed away, Yoo Gyeong had paused in place.
Could he rise again?
As he envisioned Yoo Gyeong leaving Nangyang and heading somewhere in the world, Yoo Chan muttered to himself.
“If you must journey, I hope it’s an enjoyable one.”
“Ho Cheon-an will surely take good care of him.”
“Indeed.”
Unaware that Yoo Gyeong, who had assumed she had met her end in humiliation, was fainted over Ho Cheon-an’s shoulder as they left Nangyang, Yoo Chan and Sa Ma Gyeong-hwi smiled as they exchanged glances.
“Now, let’s move. There’s much to be done.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Thus began the movements of the final gears for peace in the world on that ordinary day.
*
