“Huff... huff... huff....”

THUD— THUMP—

Looking down at Guiyue collapsed at his feet, Cheongun steadied his breathing.

SWAY—

“Clan Lord!”

“Namgoong Clan Lord!”

Was it because he could not avoid all the venom in the Severed-Soul Sand? Or because he had drawn up his internal power too much in a single instant?

As the tension loosened, a wave of dizziness surged over him.

Namgoong Hyeok, Black Dragon Unit Lord, and Yu Pyo, Vermilion Bird Division Lord, who had stepped back one pace, hurried forward to catch Cheongun.

“Are you all right?”

“Ah... my apologies. Just a moment....”

Cheongun sank down where he stood.

It was beside the head of the dead Guiyue.

Guiyue had died with her eyes still open.

“I suppose she overestimated her strength.”

Namgoong Hyeok looked down at the corpse as he spoke.

Cheongun shook his head.

“Half right, half wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you said, she did overestimate her strength. However, there is something she overlooked.”

“What did she overlook?”

Cheongun drew something from his inner robes.

A small pouch, barely the size of his palm.

“Seolhwa’s existence.”

‘The Blood Cult has a pellet called the Blood-Burst Pill. If you swallow it, the Blood Channels widen and you can draw out explosive power for a brief time.’

‘This medicinal powder prevents the pellet from being absorbed. If one inhales even a trace of this powder before taking the pill, then the pill’s effect cannot manifest.’

‘Most Blood Cultists swallow a pellet whenever they fall into disadvantage during battle. So if we scatter this powder beforehand, we can keep them from powering up through the Blood-Burst Pill.’

Seolhwa knew much about the Blood Cult.

She had shared that knowledge with the trustworthy members of the Martial Alliance, and the Alliance had built its countermeasures against the Blood Cult around her information.

This medicinal powder was one such measure.

“Before coming here, I dusted this powder onto my sleeves and my sword—so that it would spread naturally during the battle.”

Guiyue had inhaled the powder, and the Blood-Burst Pill had done nothing for her.

From the beginning, Guiyue had skill on par with Cheongun.

Though she had absorbed Liang-Moon’s blood-qi, the gap between her and Cheongun had not been large.

“Her arrogance in believing she had grown stronger led to complacency, and that complacency led to her death.”

Certain she had grown more powerful, Guiyue had not fought with her full strength.

Thus it was only natural that she would fall helplessly before a strike Cheongun delivered at full power.

Cheongun closed his hand around the now-empty pouch.

It was not yet time to collapse.

“Let’s confirm the inside of the cave.”

Cheongun rose to his feet.

Supporting him, the Black Dragon Unit Lord asked,

“What shall we do with that one?”

Cheongun turned toward Yao-Moon, who was being watched by two Eastern Depot attendants.

Yao-Moon was still unconscious.

“Wake him and bring him along. There is much to verify.”

“Yes.”

The Black Dragon Unit Lord headed toward the Eastern Depot men, and Cheongun and Yu Pyo moved ahead toward the cave.

A cool air drifted inside the cave.

Cool and dry.

A suitable place for storing Explosives.

A little farther from the entrance, five wagons stood in a row, each piled with something covered in cloth.

“...It smells of gunpowder.”

“Seems we’ve found the right place.”

Cheongun lifted the cloth on one of the five wagons.

As expected—Explosives.

Found it.

The Explosives stolen from the Emperor’s Palace.

After seven fruitless searches, they had finally found them on the eighth.

Now, all that remained was to deliver them back to the Emperor—

“Th... this can’t be...!”

At the sound from behind, Cheongun and Yu Pyo turned.

Eunuch Dang hurried toward the wagon where the two of them stood.

Inspecting the Explosives, he asked:

“Is... is this all...?”

Cheongun and Yu Pyo exchanged a perplexed glance.

“Truly... are you saying this is all...?”

“Is something the matter?”

Eunuch Dang looked at Cheongun with a baffled face.

“This is... not even half of what was stolen...!”

Cheongun furrowed his brow.

“Not even half? Did you not say the amount stolen was roughly five thousand jin?”

Five thousand jin would fill about five wagons.

“It may be a little less than expected, but at this level—”

“They hid it...!”

“...!”

“They deliberately reported a smaller amount! Five thousand jin is already enormous, but if they reported ten thousand, then the Emperor’s standing would suffer...!”

Either way, they assumed all would be recovered together.

After all, moving such a large quantity would not be easy.

“So it should be ten thousand jin in total—!”

Still shouting, Eunuch Dang suddenly froze as if struck by a thought and darted his gaze around the area.

Then he rushed at Yao-Moon, who had been brought over by the other eunuch and the Black Dragon Unit Lord, and grabbed him by the collar.

“Speak truthfully! Where is the rest of the Explosives!”

Struck in the nape, Yao-Moon coughed weakly as he answered.

“Cough... th... this is all of it. The Explosives we seized....”

“Then where is the rest! Did «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» you split the load? Where did it go! Speak at once!”

“I... I know of no such thing...! I’m the one who carried the Explosives here! From the beginning, that was all there was...!”

“What...?”

This was all from the beginning?

Yet they had received reports that ten thousand jin were being transported.

Where, then, were the remaining five thousand jin—

“Don’t tell me...!”

Eunuch Dang’s face hardened rapidly.

With a bloodless expression, he turned to Cheongun.

“We must return to the Emperor’s Palace... immediately...!”

****

SSSSHHH....

A bleak wind swept across the front of the Grand Peace Hall.

At the top of the stairs, higher than anywhere else, the Emperor looked down at the soldiers packed tightly across the vast courtyard of the Grand Peace Hall.

The one leading the troops was the former Brocade-Guard Commander.

Not long ago, intelligence had arrived that he had colluded with the Cheol clan; the Emperor had secretly tasked the Eastern Depot with investigating him.

This was why, in recent days, the Emperor had trusted the Eastern Depot more than the Brocade Guard.

“Your Majesty! Do you truly doubt the loyalty of your humble servants!”

The Brocade-Guard Commander’s voice, overflowing with grievance, rang across the courtyard.

Between the Commander’s troops and the Emperor stood ranks of Imperial Palace soldiers, along with eunuchs of the Eastern Depot, forming an impenetrable barrier.

Eunuch Ju, the Eastern Depot’s Chief Attendant, stepped forward and shouted:

“Brocade-Guard Commander! What madness is this! Lay down your arms and withdraw your soldiers at once!”

“Shut your filthy eunuch mouth!”

The Brocade-Guard Commander raised his sword toward Eunuch Ju and glared fiercely.

“I have not come to bandy petty words with the likes of you! I seek only an audience with His Majesty—irrelevant rats like you should clear the way!”

“For any reason whatsoever, bringing armed troops into the Imperial Palace is treason! Do you truly not understand!”

“What would you know! You blinded His Majesty’s eyes and ears, seized the palace, and crave only power!”

At the Commander’s accusation, Eunuch Ju’s voice grew even more heated.

“We follow His Majesty’s command—that is all!”

“You must have wormed your way into His Majesty’s favor with that cunning tongue!”

The Brocade-Guard Commander and Eunuch Ju bared their teeth at each other like beasts.

One who had gained power, and one who had lost it.

The displaced and the displacer.

The strife between the Brocade Guard and the Eastern Depot had festered for many years.

“You’ve chosen the path of folly after all.”

In truth, merely appearing before the Emperor with armed troops was already treason.

The Brocade Guard and the soldiers following him had come prepared to die.

— Your Majesty. If we drag this out any longer, the collaborators may open the palace gates from within.

Eunuch Ju sent a Voice Transmission to the Emperor.

— Please issue the purge order.

The Emperor slowly closed his eyes.

Days ago, he had received reports that the private forces of several nobles—fronted by the Cheol clan—were gathering.

The rebellion of nobles discontent with the throne had shown signs for some time.

He had planned to seize them all at once when concrete movements appeared, and believed he had prepared flawlessly.

Only the Brocade Guard joining the rebels had been beyond his expectations.

“....”

The Emperor opened his eyes and looked down at the Commander raising his sword.

The Brocade-Guard Commander looked only at the Emperor as well.

With a voice heavy as stone, the Emperor began to speak.

“What has turned your loyalty?”

At the Emperor’s words, the Commander’s face wavered, as though deeply wounded.

But soon he tightened his grip on his sword and hardened his expression.

“Your Majesty. Do you still not see? Those men care nothing for your well-being. How can you permit such treacherous creatures to sow chaos within the Imperial Palace?”

Both the Brocade Guard and the Eastern Depot were military arms existing solely for the Emperor.

But from the Commander’s point of view, the late-established Eastern Depot had secured the Emperor’s trust, and that could never sit well.

“Your Majesty! Please do not disregard the counsel of loyal subjects! You know well how faithfully I and the soldiers of the Brocade Guard have—”

“Brocade-Guard Commander.”

At the Emperor’s restrained voice, the air around the Grand Peace Hall sank as if pressed down.

Everyone held their breath; the tension was like walking on thin ice.

Into that taut silence, the Emperor’s voice fell.

“Tell me—

is it truly I whose eyes and ears are clouded?”