“Impossible.”

Viceroy Gam Youngjae couldn’t help himself but to exclaim.

Though Youngjae would hesitate to admit it publicly, at least if it didn’t serve his interest to do so, he knew he was far from being infallible, and could be eventually fooled or caught unprepared by events beyond his control.

For all his thoughts and plans, he knew very well that there always were events, situations and circumstances his sharp intellect couldn’t predict. Something that would ruin his plots in the instant in some cruel, unexpected twist of fate.

Jin’s invasion‌ was just one.

As much as it surprised him, the war was within the realm of possibility, with the foreseeable outcomes he could plan around, allowing him to gain from it, or in the worst case, at least emerge from the conflict unscathed. Jin barbarians were‌ human, albeit uncultured ones. It was possible to broker a peaceful arrangement with them, even if they conquered the capital.

An army of evil spirits, on the other hand, was truly impossible.

Yet, there was one rampaging through his lands!

This contradicted everything that he had been told so far.

It was not one evil spirit he could easily ignore, nor it was a few he had seen in his own eyes chasing after the wounded Sword Adept, nor even a dozen as the Princess had claimed. There was a large host of them, killing his subjects and his soldiers, threatening to assault his very home!

“Impossible!” He repeated, quietly, but not any less irritated.

“It is as I reported, Lord.” A captain kneeling next to him, his head lowered, insisted.

“I believe you, Captain.” Youngjae said, truthfully. He had carefully chosen men he could trust, after all.

It still didn’t mean he expected an accursed army of spirits!

No amount of handpicking the best, most reliable and trustworthy soldiers could prepare him for this kind of enemy.

It wasn’t about appeasing a crowd of commoners or preventing a riot.

It wasn’t something that could be cast away by the ritual the Priestess he summoned performed right now, somewhere behind his back, in the fortress's courtyard. He never thought of it as a solution. That one was purely to ease the minds of the people.

Viceroy Gam Youngjae stood on the battlements of his fortress, staring into the distance, trying to catch a glance at the strange monsters.

He didn’t see any, at this moment at the very least, but it didn’t mean the situation had been resolved. It was quite the opposite.

This was a disaster!

One that ruined everything he had strived for!

He knew he could likely strike a deal with the Jin if their armies came south.

But an evil spirit?

How could he deal with one?

He didn’t know. He, however, knew he couldn’t ask the Priestess he had sent for either. They wouldn’t appreciate the very idea of parlaying with the evil spirits, let alone cooperating in doing so. A crowd of superstitious commoners along with the Crown Princess herself would make this situation considerably more difficult.

Disaster, indeed.

It, together, created a deadly cocktail no amount of time spent at royal court could prepare him for.

“Where is the army now?” He asked, again.

“They plundered one of the surrounding villages, killing everyone. The men I sent to guard the Apprentice Priestess, and the scouts I returned with to check on them, are all dead. I barely escaped with my life for the second time!” the captain answered. The monsters upset the man more than the whole prospect of war itself. That much was obvious.

Viceroy knew that the Jin barbarians weren’t above plundering entire villages. The difference was that Youngjae could imagine the mind of a marauder, a bandit, or a warlord. He, however, couldn’t fathom the mind of the evil spirit.

“You did well.” Youngjae said. Any lesser leader would yell at the cavalryman captain for cowardice, but Viceroy knew that truly valiant warriors would only die in pursuing glory, a sacrifice which would in the end serve no one.

“First. We need to prepare.” He continued, “Once the ritual is finished, all men should prepare for the imminent siege. Be on the lookout for the approaching enemy. Burn the torches through the entire night if need be.”

Although he tried to keep up the dignified, calm expression, completing the image of a wise strategist, he was far from it on the inside. The whole situation infuriated him.

“Tell the soldiers to not hesitate to sound the alarm. I will not punish a false alarm.” He added, “We don’t know what the enemy can do.”

“As you command, Lord.” The captain answered. Viceroy briefly considered abandoning the fortress and retreating to the city.

He rejected it immediately. That would be foolish.

Chunnan, the heart of Surao province, wasn’t as backward as the rest of the lands he gained, and while it was far from being richest city in Hanulbeol-guk, it offered many comforts, including but not limited to the palace intended for the Viceroy to live in.

Defences were, however, lacking. There were guards nominally subjected to him, along with the rest of the population, who might help defend their homes, but that was about it.

The city was surrounded by walls on all sides, although those were more of an afterthought than the actual obstacle raised to repel the invaders. The laughable walls of Chunnan wouldn’t stop the Jin if they came down there, and they wouldn’t stop the evil spirits. Viceroy Gam Youngjae could imagine himself climbing those walls. It would be undignified for a man of his standing, but it wouldn’t be even remotely difficult.

The current king had been spending a lot of the treasury on buildings, including the fortifications, but he didn’t even invest a single coin in Surao.

Staying in the fortress, which itself was much older and better defended than the city, was much safer for him, even if it meant facing enemies. Fortress was old, but tall and sturdy, and even with the deaths among his riders, Viceroy had enough soldiers to hold the walls.

“Another thing…” Youngjae added with another pause dedicated to the silent consideration. The captain of the cavalry still patiently waited for orders.

“Did you say that Priestess’ powers work against the monsters?” He asked.

“Yes, Lord! I saw it with my own eyes!” The soldier confirmed, sounding hopeful.

As much as he disliked owing the clergy anything, Gam Youngjae knew had to use this to his advantage. There was, however, a problem.

“Select a few reliable men from your unit, ready to ride out as soon as possible..” The Viceroy said, grimacing at the sentence being said as it meant his most trustworthy unit would also be the most likely to be decimated with the clashes with the monstrous enemies. From now on, the more common soldiers had to do.

He still continued quickly: “They will escort the Princess, and all those commoners that arrived last night in the city. Priestess will stay, tell her she will be rewarded handsomely for aiding in defence!.”

“As you command, Lord.” The soldier answered with the hand on chest in salute, and left.

He presumed that monsters, the evil spirits, were after the Princess, and would blindly chase after her instead of trying to storm the fortress, making the defence much easier. They arrived at the same time as she did and the Viceroy couldn’t shake the lingering suspicion that the princess purposefully lied about the numbers of those spirit-beasts lurking in the forest.

To what end, he didn’t know.

He still had to wonder: Did she try to hide how many monsters lurked in the woods, or desperately try to hide the whereabouts of the scroll, or had other hidden motives?

Youngjae cursed his decision to send his riders out after the relic. The mind of a spirit was beyond his comprehension, but a scheming royal shouldn’t be. Yet he made a mistake, Viceroy had to admit.

But the connection between her, the now mysteriously missing relic, and the host of evil spirits, was undeniable, and he fully intended to use it to his advantage.

The fortress was built on a riverbank overseeing the shallow ford ideal for crossing the otherwise wide river with many strong currents, and the bridge which has been built over this strategic location. Despite standing on the wrong side of the river, the error attributed to Viceroy’s predecessors, it also made the fort more suitable for suppressing the rebellion within the city than the invaders from outside. It served men like Gam Youngjae well, even in dire times like this.

Despite the unfortunate positioning, it wasn’t possible to cross the bridge without being peppered with arrows, and the Crown Princess would make an excellent bait to trap the monsters between the city’s walls, the river, and his fort. It wasn’t perfect, considering the abysmal state of the city's defences, but a lot of desperate townsfolk might overwhelm the monsters.

Either way. monsters chasing after the Princess would pose a much easier target, while the Viceroy could easily claim he did this in order to protect the members of the Royal family. Provided there even would be a royal lineage left to question him by the end of the war.

Leaving the members of the royal family to take part in the battle was heavily frowned upon, and two warrior-kings posthumously praised for their battle proves were an exception rather than a norm in the tradition that spanned centuries.

Even if the monsters went after the fortress, sensing the trap, he could at very least separate the Crown Princess Cheonchong, supposedly chosen by the gods, from the members of the clergy and the scared crowd ready to listen, giving him larger leeway in his decisions.

The powers of the Priestess he now commanded might serve him well, but only as long as she knew her place. With the Crown Princess Cheonchong around, a woman chosen by the gods, this was no longer certain. Though her authority in matters of war was dubious at best, one in the matter of faith which the presence of the evil spirits suggested was something very different.

But now, one would be mostly alone in the palace that Youngjae didn’t use, while others would be employed in combating the threat. Though it was possible to slowly poison the minds of the townsfolk against him, it would happen only after the battle was decided.

Still, Gam Youngjae would prefer if there was a more elegant, more profitable solution.

Briefly, he considered approaching the Princess with all the proper protocol, attempting to justify the decision, but he decided against it.

Youngjae was sure that guards hurrying the princess to safety wouldn’t raise any suspicion from her side. After all, the Royal Guard would do the same if they were present.

Only should she refuse, Viceroy would appeal to her as the official that had her best interest in mind, but until that, he would stay away from his important quest. He needed her for what she represented, after all. However, with the royalty and clergy out of the picture, he would have to seek counsel on spiritual matters elsewhere.

“Find my advisor.” He shouted at one of his guards, “I will speak with him in private!”

A man saluted him, and ran off, while the Viceroy headed straight into his chambers, avoiding the gathering of people in the courtyard, and the overly theatrical ritual the Priestess performed.

The crown Princess herself attended the ritual, much to the shock of everyone, intermingling on this level was extremely unlikely, though not entirely impossible: who else would ply for Heaven favour than the very person the gods supposedly loved. Youngjae thought that even the uptight royal court back in the capital would stop moaning and allow such a thing if it benefited them.

He groaned.

For Viceroy Gam Youngjae, it spelled trouble either way, and getting the Princess away for the time being was the best option he had.

He quickly rushed through his stronghold and prepared to receive the sage, this advisor, in his quarters, for a private conversation.

Viceroy didn’t have a reason to speak with the sage when he had arrived in this province.

He couldn’t even remember San Hyun-Ki’s name. He remembered it now.

The old fool almost got himself executed for improper conduct, or treason as the zealous officials would call it, which would ruin the Viceroy’s reputation in the process, but now, it had changed. The Hyun-Ki’s value had risen significantly.

Viceroy quickly hurried his guards away when they finally took the Sage in.

“Guards. Leave us alone.”

His soldiers were hesitant, but did as they were ordered, and the old man bowed appropriately this time, showing no sign of disrespect for the time being.

“My Lord.”

“San Hyun-Ki, I seek your knowledge about the relic scrolls and the evil spirits. Speak freely.” Youngjae said, officially. He knew very well that the Sage could be insolent and rude even towards the highest ranking people if his most favourite subject was involved, though permission was more for Youngjae’s sake than for Hyun-Ki’s.

“Yes. Yes, my Lord. The Lost Library of Pho-us-kah!” The man was excited, but the Viceroy stopped him before it became a rant.

“Could relics create an army of spirits?” He asked. It was an obvious question, after all.

“I don’t know, my Lord, but it must be possible! I saw the beast-women of the forest, they are real! And they are since the scroll appeared! It must be it! Breaking into the Spirit Realm -it must be it. Phrase ‘Repeat the words until the crack in the truth shall emerge’ is rumoured to be on every scroll.”

“Meaning?” Viceroy interrupted when he felt the Sage was going to continue in the endless tirade, wasting his time.

“Not all scholars agreed what it meant, and when we assume it is a universal truth, that one can’t break into the Spirit Realm. And the Scrolls of Pho-us-kah are powerful. Beyond what anyone dreamed of. Few used them to full potential. Many who tried died. There might be people chosen to use them without reprisal though…” The Sage continued, spitting words without taking a breath despite his age. And with little structure to his words, too, it appeared. Something about the relics put new life into these veins.

The Viceroy could forgive the man not addressing him by the title, as long as he learned something worthwhile.

“People like who?” Youngjae asked carefully. The logical conclusion was that the Crown Princess was indeed chosen. It, however, also enforced the decision to send her away to not to influence or be influenced by a priestess. Or vice versa. Spirits were bad enough. Inviting other forces into it only made his plots endlessly more complicated.

Perhaps this San Hyun-Ki could be more helpful than Viceroy ever imagined.

“I … I don’t know.” Hyun-Ki lowered his eyes, “I heard it was prophesied who can use them, but I was exiled before allowed access to the royal library.”

“What could you say about evil spirits?” Youngjae tried.

“I don’t know. Sealing the spirits plaguing the people is Priestess’ job, but…” Sage said, and soon continued his outburst: “...but I saw them! Beast-women, more beast than women, but more woman than a beast! They control fire and appear from the thin air! They can kill a Sword Adept with their magic, and possess people!”

“Did you see them possessing people?” Viceroy asked carefully. It was a very reason he called for the help from the clergy, even if he himself didn’t believe in the possession as it was. From his experience, men could do cruel things without the spectres whispering into their ears, or puppeteering their bodies.

“No…” The Sage admitted, sounding disappointed, “But the travellers I brought here saw it after they were captured and released by the beast-women. A boy attacked the Dark One, and the beast-women possessed him!”

“Dark One?” Viceroy clearly recalled the Princess describing the foreigner she summoned with the ritual. It was just one man, though. He, however, very much doubted that things would escalate that fast, resulting in the mighty horde of monsters in three nights. There must be something else to it, that’s why the Princess lied about the numbers.

A plot he foolishly fell into by sending his riders forward to search for the scroll, maybe.

Youngjae couldn’t help himself growl once again, which unintentionally urged Hyun-Ki with an answer.

“Yes, they saw the stranger. He looks like a man, but speaks as an evil spirit. His eyes burn in black! And beast-women obey him! There are taller monsters that follow him around, and smaller ones that do their bidding.”

“He has the scroll?” Was the next question.

“I don’t know, my Lord. The travellers spoke nothing about the scroll.” The sage admitted.

Viceroy Gam Youngjae was disappointed that the powerful relic slipped away. If it was in Surao in the first place, but if the horde of the Evil Spirits didn’t disrupt his plan, he wouldn’t need the mystical object, anyway.

“But he, the Dark One, can command the beast-women?” He asked, carefully.

“Yes. The commoners didn’t understand him, but the beast-women guarded him, and when he spoke…” Sage split a few more excited words, but the Viceroy didn’t listen to him at that moment.

Despite the supposedly incomprehensible nature of the otherworldly beings, this sounded surprisingly familiar. A warlord and his lieutenants, Youngjae pondered, stroking his chin. Jin commanders wouldn’t fall for the trap he had thought of, but the Viceroy never intended to fight the Jin either.

His mind formed another plan. One that didn’t require the Princess he couldn’t trust anymore. She misled him once and could have misled him again. Perhaps she had an arrangement with the monsters herself. She admitted she was responsible for their appearance. However, if that was true, the evil spirits might not be that different after all, he thought - or at least, he could pray they wouldn’t be.

Though it was risky, there was a way to make the sacrifice bearable in the case he was mistaken, or misled again. This time, he wouldn’t send his soldiers.

“Tell me, Sage, are you familiar with the language of the foreigners?”

“Jin?” Hyun-Ki swallowed loudly, visibly nervous, and answered a question: “Do you have Jin prisoner to interrogate?”

Understanding the language of the invaders could be as much a boon as a curse due to the fear of spies, Viceroy understood, but it wasn’t what he had in mind.

“No. Not the Jin. Could you talk with Evil Spirits?”