Chapter 381: Title of Five Strongest Warriors (2)

The Imperial Capital.

The Dragon Palace was located at the centre of the city.

If one was to pick the most splendid and grandiose place in the area, it would be the Jian’an palace where around 100,000 officials moved every day.

Jian’an Palace, covered in golden tiles and golden pillars that supported the structure, was the place where the emperor resided.

Admiral Seo Tae-sik of the Cardinal Spear and Admiral Yuk Cheong-eun of the West Spear were on their knees, their heads to the ground.

“Your Majesty! We aren’t obliged to accept such drastic proposals. Please, refrain from taking such a decision! This isn’t the way.”

“Your Majesty! What Admiral Seo said is right, please withdraw this change of State Religion. There are so many arts and religions you could choose from, but please not the Demonic Cult!”

No ordinary officials had opposed the emperor’s decision.

Only those who had seen the Lord of the Demonic Cult’s actions in the underground shrine opposed it.

‘What kind of situation is this?’

Hearing the emperor’s unexpected decision, they couldn’t understand the reasoning behind it.

At first, as the emperor had gone through a terrifying and traumatic experience, they’d thought that he was mentally unstable.

‘There are people who get down on their knees for you, how could you make such a decision?’

The Yulin from Jianghu had a very different attitude towards the Imperial family.

Like other people and officials, they were people who gave the emperor their respect, and because of their friendly attitude, they were comfortable with the government’s work.

However, based on what had happened a few days before, they were aware that not all the factions within Wulin shared the same attitude.

“Your Majesty! The Demonic Cult’s Sky Demon Order isn’t for the empire to follow. In particular that man, Chun Yeowun, he disrespected Your Majesty…”

Bang!

Before Admiral Yuk Cheong-eun could finish, the Emperor struck his throne.

The admiral, who realised the reason, went silent.

For a moment he thought he’d be killed.

The Emperor had specifically told them to never mention what happened in the Royal Shrine. However, overwhelmed by his emotions, he’d ended up speaking of it.

“Your Majesty. Please forgive this lowly servant! I have committed blasphemy!”

Thud! Thud!

Yuk Cheong-eun smashed his head into the floor and apologized.

After a couple of hits, with blood dripping from his forehead, the Emperor raised his hand as a signal to stop.

“Th… thank you for showing me mercy, Your Majesty!”

Drip!

Admiral of West Spear, Yuk Cheong-eun, whose face was covered in blood, expressed his gratitude.

Since he’d made the worst mistake in front of the emperor, a little blood wasn’t a huge price.

“Hmm.”

The emperor looked down at the two kneeling Admirals.

It wasn’t like he couldn’t understand their emotions.

At first, he’d had every intention to reject the proposal of the Lord of the Demonic Cult’s.

However, something had made him change his mind in the end.

“I ask you. What do you think of an enemy’s enemy?”

“Enemy’s enemy…”

When asked by the Emperor, the two Admirals began to think.

They had to give a correct answer, but it was a question which had been always answered, ever since the start of war history.

“… the enemy of an enemy is no less than our ally. Your Majesty!”

The Emperor nodded at the careful answer of Admiral Seo Tae-sik.

“That is exactly what Lord Chun told me.”

“Ah!”

When he came over to the Dragon Palace to give his proposal, Chun Yeowun had spoken those words to him.

Of course, how things went during the meeting was a bit different.

The Emperor had asked Chun Yeowun what he was supposed to do.

And he’d spoken with clear intentions.

[Blade God Six Martial Clan is an enemy which needs to be eliminated by our Cult. You already know that, so let me ask you one question. What kind of relationship would you naturally have with your enemy’s enemy if you had to destroy that enemy?]

The Emperor had understood very well what Chun Yeowun had been hinting at.

The Emperor had come to realize that the Blade God Six Martial clan was a very dangerous existence to the Imperial family based on the various testimonies he’d gathered from people inside the palace, including his son Zhu Taikhan and Elder Cheong-su.

‘If Lord Chun hadn’t stopped those men, then Taiyoon would have become an Emperor who was nothing but a puppet in those bastard’s hands.’

The worst situation would have fallen upon them.

If that was the case, the Emperor couldn’t even imagine what would have happened if he had misunderstood the Demonic Cult as the ones who’d stolen the Imperial treasure and killed the guardians in the Shrine.

“Your Majesty, first, if he did use the concept of the enemy’s enemy, then the Yulin factions are also considering the Blade God Six Martial clan as their enemy. Moreover, Yulin would always act favorably towards His Majesty and the Empire.”

Admiral Seo Tae-sik of the Cardinal Spear countered the Emperor’s words.

However, it only created more room for the Emperor to affirm his stand.

“And so? Did the Yulin block those men in the underground shrine? Even Elder Cheong-su, who was there as an envoy, stood and watched the situation helplessly, he didn’t even move when I, the Emperor, was being humiliated by the Lord of Demonic Cult.”

“Tha… That…”

The Emperor hadn’t forgotten it.

He’d been told that Elder Cheong-su, a long-time Elder of Yulin, and a scholar, was a well-known martial artist.

However, in front of the Lord of Demonic Cult, he’d stood quietly without saying a word.

‘Could such a person even be called an Elder? Ha!’

Even if the officials were powerless, they’d all been ready to risk their lives for the emperor.

But this man, an Elder, and a leader of the Forces of Justice, whose art was being kept as the State Religion, had succumbed in front of the Demonic Cult’s power.

“I am worried. Those rebels from that clan are formidable enemies that even the Guardians of the Imperial Palace couldn’t stop. Such a Clan is aiming for the throne and the empire, and I see no reason to entrust the State Religion to a faction whose leaders are of no help to me when needed.”

‘This…’

The two Admiral’s faces hardened.

They’d cared for the Emperor for many years, and they knew his nature.

‘We overlooked this.’

The Admirals had thought that the Emperor would move closer to Yulin after being humiliated, with the intention of possible revenge.

However, this was utterly unexpected.

It was true that the Yulin’s Elder had completely neglected the situation whilst the emperor was being humiliated.

‘Besides, Your Majesty excludes his emotions when dealing with politics.’

The Emperor was so radical in politics that he boldly discarded those who lacked utility and always appointed those who are useful to him, regardless of their status.

That was how he ruled.

‘Even then, with those rogues…’

It was a risky gamble to hire people who weren’t afraid of the Emperor or the Imperial family.

The Admirals couldn’t understand His Majesty’s thoughts at all.

However, the decision had been made by the Emperor after much consideration.

The Emperor was so furious that he wanted to withdraw his help to the Yulin and even discard the non-aggression treaty, and also discard the state art.

‘Even if I stay far from those Wulin people, will those who are filled with greed stop sending their spies into the Imperial Palace so easily? No, I am sure they’ll do something again.’

He was too confused.

That was exactly what the Emperor felt.

With concern for the future, he decided to not get emotional.

All emotion was discarded and the situation was rationally calculated.

‘If I am to think rationally, that man is strong.’

He saw monstrous power right before his eyes.

Even the experienced masters have fallen to their knees in front of him.

Even the Guardian Escort who’d lived for hundreds of years and had drunk the Qilin’s blood had turned into a cold corpse with just a few swings.

‘Besides, he is so resourceful that he knew what the East Spear and the Blade God Six Martial clan had planned. ’

If it was calculated as such, the man was someone the emperor wanted to have under his wings.

If the Emperor knew how to handle him, he would be the emperor’s strongest ally.

‘Okay. Keeping the enemy’s enemy by my side will give awareness of what kind of people they are.’

If the Demonic Cult’s art got recognized by accepting the suggestion of Chun Yeowun, the Blade God Six Martial clan wouldn’t be able to enter the Imperial palace so easily.

It was beneficial in every way.

“The reason why I made the Sky Demon Order the State Religion, is to keep Blade God Six Martial clan in check. I am not going back on this, unless you people have thought of a better solution.”

In the end, the two Admirals had to withdraw arguments.

The Emperor left no room for others to intervene.

‘How can we think of something better!’

The main building of Yulin in the Henan province.

The hall where all the leaders gathered had been in complete chaos for three days.

They were still discussing their ties with the Imperial Palace after hearing the shocking announcement.

For those who’d been concentrating on the Blade God Six Martial clan because of the alliance with the Demonic Cult, this was a heavy blow to them.

In addition to that, the controversy of the current Lord of the Demonic Cult’s level continued to be discussed.

In the history of Wulin, it was an extremely rare occurrence for a person to reach the Divine Master level.

The only one who was capable of using the invisible sword was a veteran who hadn’t been active for several decades.

No matter how strongly the Elder testified, it was natural that people didn’t want to believe him.

It was just too much to believe.

That was when a visitor came.

A middle-aged eunuch in a navy blue robe, a member of the Cardinal Spear.

The eunuch was visiting Yulin under the order of his Admiral.

The leaders of Yulin, who heard the intentions of Admiral Seo Tae-sik, responded in various ways.

Once the eunuch’s message was received, Elder Sathi, leader of the Hangsan clan asked.

“Well, Amitabha. Is that really true?”

To that question, he nodded.

“The Admiral says that if there is a better plan, His Majesty will consider it to some extent.”

“Huh…”

At those words, sighs escaped from everyone’s mouths.

In fact, some of the leaders’ eyes were directed towards Elder Cheong-su with resentment.

The eunuch had told them one thing, which the Elder was hiding.

The fact that even when the emperor was put in an embarrassing situation, the Elder, out of fear, hadn’t acted.

‘It is no wonder that His Majesty is disappointed in us.’

‘Tch, this lowers the prestige of Yulin!’

Those gazes drove Elder Cheong-su into a corner.

Eyes of resentment and distrust, no matter what the Elder said, it would be of no use at all.

‘God, god. I said everything about how strong Lord Chun was, but they still treat me like this. There is nothing more I can do.’

He’d come to the conclusion that it would be difficult to work with the Forces of Justice any longer

Elder Cheong-su got up from his seat, placed his hands together, and spoke.

“Since this has happened because of the lack of action on my part, I will take responsibility and step down.”

Usually, when such a situation occurred, people would begin to oppose the ones asking to step down, but no one stopped Elder Cheong-su.

It was because every leader in the room believed that he was to be blamed for what had happened.

“Huh! Are you trying to get out of the mess that you made?”

In the midst of the situation, Peng-gyu, with his warlike personality and as head of the Peng family, criticized Elder Cheong-su.

Anger rose in the eyes of Elder Cheong-su, who was about to step down from his seat to take responsibility for his actions.

“Huh? Are you angry? I didn’t think that you would say anything even if you were given two mouths.”

At the constant remarks from Peng-gyu, Elder Cheong-su clenched his fist and took a deep breath.

“I admit that this happened because I was powerless, but even if you were there, Peng-gyu, you would have been in the same position as me, I think your words are meaningless. ”

“Ha! Even if I was there? I think you have been talking too much these past few days. If I were you, I would have never made such a mistake.”

“Words are easy to say, I’m sure you know that too.”

“What did you say?”

“Should I repeat it again? You are all confident here, but if you were there, I would put my arm on a chopping block that you would have behaved no differently.”

As if angered, Peng-gyu’s face turned red, he slammed his hand into the table and shouted.

Bang!

“Can you take responsibility for those words?”

“I wouldn’t say it if I couldn’t. I am sure that you will break something.”

“Huh? This is nothing for me!”

At that, Peng-gyu got up from his seat and looked at the Great Leader of the Forces of Justice.

Tak!

“Great Leader! I will take care of this, please send me to the Imperial Palace. I will try my best to persuade His Majesty to restore our relation back to what it was previously.”

It seemed like he was confident that he would be given entrance into the Imperial Palace.

Even the other leaders in the room thought that he could win.

“I’ll show you my true power. Being afraid of a young Lord of the Demonic Cult? Divine? Ha! You are a disgrace to the faction.”

Peng-gyu, the head of the Peng family, had been the last to enter the Forces of Justice, unlike the others.

He had inherited his position from his father.

For him, this was a good opportunity to prove how great he was to Yulin and the Imperial family.

“Are you really asking, 17th leader?”

“Exactly!”

As Yi Mok, the Great Leader of Forces of Justice, asked, someone got up from his seat and stepped forward.

“Great Leader, please send me to the Imperial Palace along with the 17th leader.”

The man who’d stepped forward was none other than Yeon Buso, the eldest son of Yulin’s Great Leader.