Chapter 110

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 110

Each sword strike was heavy, brutal. The impact traveled through his arms and into his shoulders.

Yoo Gueng forcefully deflected his opponent's sword, which had slid down his own as if trying to devour it.

He gasped for breath and turned his head.

Jo Seunghoe, who had followed him, also wore a pained expression, struggling to fend off his own enemy.

His body was already battered, no different from a slab of meat on a butcher's block.

But Yoo Gueng was barely holding his own; he couldn't help Jo Seunghoe. He had to survive on his own.

However, the biggest problem was something else. His life, or that of Officer Jo, was always destined to be lost on the battlefield.

Hadn't he accepted this fate the moment he decided to become a military officer and serve the nation?

So, even if this was his end, he had no reason to feel aggrieved, only regret.

But the prince, the reckless prince he served, was different.

"Any military officer who has set foot in the palace even once should not dare refer to her as the 'deposed queen.'"

Twelve years ago. The day the bloodbath swept through the palace.

"As long as Prince Ikwon does not abandon righteousness... we will uphold his will."

Yoo Gueng, a mere novice who had just passed the military examination, was also present when the military officials indebted to the deposed Queen So pledged their loyalty.

"I cannot express my disappointment."

But the young prince betrayed their expectations.

"You've already taken off your mourning clothes! This is unacceptable, no matter how young you are! If Prince Ikwon himself takes the lead in discarding his mourning clothes, who will honor her memory?"

"And that's not all. He threatened to execute an innocent seamstress from the sewing chamber for the ripped seams in his clothes. Not only is this absurd, but if he cannot control his anger over such trivial matters, how can he possibly maintain the dignity of the royal bloodline, no matter what measures he takes?"

They hadn't asked for much. They only wished for him to uphold his duty, enough to avoid criticism.

But Prince Ikwon disregarded the minimal conditions set by the many who wanted to follow him. Was even that too difficult for him?

The military officials indebted to the deposed queen were prepared to stand by Prince Ikwon, no matter what hardships awaited them. It was the twelve-year-old Ikwon who had betrayed their loyalty.

Who could not understand the difficulty of enduring grief? But he was a prince. He shouldn't have thrown a tantrum like an ordinary child.

But that was all in the past. People grow, and that boy, who couldn't distinguish right from wrong in his grief, had matured.

'You must survive.'

Yoo Gueng realized that his arms, raised to block the incoming sword strikes, were getting heavier.

'You have a duty to fulfill.'

He wondered if the assassin who chased after the prince, attempting to harm him, also possessed this level of skill. Worry filled his mind.

Nevertheless, he didn't believe the prince would be helpless.

Yoo Gueng could confidently assert that he had been the closest observer of Prince Ikwon's transformation over the past few months.

And the reverence he had witnessed was earnest.

Prince Ikwon was earnestly pursuing something.

'Everyone knows. And everyone has been waiting.'

At the same time, the prince also tried to conceal himself.

Yoo Gueng, who was summoned almost daily, had seen the prince secretly training his body and swordsmanship in his quarters.

Even during their journey to Wolhan Fortress, he didn't stop his clandestine training, and it continued to this day.

But no one else would know this, except for perhaps Eunuch Han, Prince Ikwon's most trusted eunuch.

It was like a child who had just started walking was now traversing steep mountains.

If this was what he achieved in just a few months, there must have been even greater efforts that Yoo Gueng hadn't noticed.

How desperate and driven must one be to accomplish such a feat?

'We must return. We have a place to go and a duty to fulfill.'

That desperation was likely directed towards the inner chambers of the palace, left empty and desolate twelve years ago when its owner was lost.

Clang-!

A fierce sword strike hit Yoo Gueng's sword. He managed to block it, but the impact shook him to the core.

But if it was the Prince Ikwon he knew, he would be able to overcome this. It wasn't blind hope, but a calculated assessment.

'Effort never betrays. I believe you will survive.'

Though he didn't know how his own fate would unfold.

"Where are you looking?"

Clang-!

Another ferocious attack surged forward while Yoo Gueng's attention was momentarily diverted. Yoo Gueng gritted his teeth, his jaw trembling.

"I seem to have given you too much leeway."

Slash.-

"Keuk...!"

An involuntary groan escaped Yoo Gueng's lips. A silvery line seemed to flash before his eyes.

In a fleeting moment, too quick for his eyes to register, his opponent's sword had struck him, leaving a long gash across his chest before retreating.

Yoo Gueng stumbled backward, raising a hand to clutch the wound on his chest.

"You're quite the drama queen," his opponent sneered. "You won't die from that. That wasn't even a killing blow."

Yoo Gueng bit his lower lip to endure the pain.

"...Are you saying that if you had intended to kill me, I would already be dead?"

"Indeed."

Yoo Gueng felt a wave of helplessness. He had risen to the rank of Captain because he was among the most capable in his circle.

He had lived with a sense of pride, but today, that pride was deeply shaken.

To feel such a disparity against an unknown assassin, it was nothing short of humiliating.

Sweat trickled down his forehead due to the pain. He spoke in a low voice.

"Are you after Prince Ikwon?" Searᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Yes."

"If you could kill me with a single strike, why didn't you?"

His opponent narrowed his eyes and smiled cunningly.

Facing such a relaxed expression while he himself was struggling only made his situation feel even more inferior.

Yoo Gueng desperately tried to ignore the rising sense of humiliation within him.

His opponent lifted Yoo Gueng's bloodstained sword to his lips. His tongue darted out, licking the blood off the blade.

"It wouldn't be a challenge for our leader to take down a mere young prince..."

His opponent's sword moved slowly, finding its position as if commencing a deadly dance.

"Since I have a toy in my hands, why not have some fun?"

So, he was a toy.

There could be no greater humiliation for a warrior. Yoo Gueng's expression hardened.

If he could see his own face now, he would realize he was capable of such an expression.

"...Toy."

Yoo Gueng muttered his opponent's taunt. He knew he lacked experience.

The Mokryeo Kingdom had been without a major war for a long time. There was no need to mobilize even the capital's central army. Naturally, most military officers from the capital had no opportunity to face overwhelming enemies.

Had they become complacent? Was this the price for that complacency?

Yoo Gueng swallowed his humiliation as he blocked another onslaught of attacks.

He glanced at Jo Seunghoe again, and the situation there was even worse. He hadn't been killed yet, but it was only a matter of time.

It was no surprise, considering Jo Seunghoe had been a prison guard until recently, when the prince had brought him out.

Being appointed as an elite soldier didn't necessarily prove his combat abilities.

"No, no. It's absurd for a toy to get distracted, isn't it?"

Whoosh-

The blade drew an arc in front of his eyes. Yoo Gueng's face paled as he belatedly realized his face had nearly been split in two.

According to his opponent, he could kill him but was choosing to play with him instead. So, this must be another act of mockery.

Helplessness weighed heavier on him than anger.

"Desperation makes it more fun," his opponent chuckled.

The taunt pierced his heart like a dagger.

'This is frustrating.'

"What's this now?"

Just then, a familiar voice rang out. It was Jo Seunghoe, who had been barely holding on with a deathly pale face, who reacted first.

"Y-Your Highness...!"

But tragically, Jo Seunghoe was in no condition to even call out to Prince Ikwon.

The assassin's blade delivered another gash, and Jo Seunghoe's legs buckled beneath him. Yoo Gueng watched his comrade fall and took a deep breath.

"Haa..."

Prince Ikwon was alive. His injuries weren't light, but he was alive. As long as he was alive, anything was possible.

It was a simple realization, yet it brought a faint smile to Yoo Gueng's exhausted face.

"What are you grinning at?" The prince snapped, but Yoo Gueng only felt relief at his reprimand.

The assassins' faces were painted with shock as they saw Prince Ikwon alive.

"How?"

"Damn it, he boasted he could kill him alone, and yet he let that brat live?"

The two assassins exclaimed. Yoo Gueng recalled the assassin he had fought earlier referring to the one who pursued the prince as their "leader."

Did that mean the assassin who chased Prince Ikwon was the strongest among them?

He felt a mix of admiration for the prince, who had reached such a level in just a few months, and disappointment in himself.

"Get your facts straight," Prince Ikwon said to the assassins in a condescending tone. "That guy didn't let me live. I survived."

"...Did you kill him?" The assassin asked incredulously, but the prince didn't answer.

"Are you guys similar to him? Do you know how hard it is to raise competent men...? Such a waste, such a waste. I don't really want to kill you, you know? I'd rather take you in if I could. Even with similar backgrounds, that Jincheon fellow was obedient. Unlike before,” the prince muttered.

"What nonsense," one of the assassins scoffed.

"Dog? Yes, well said. Dog... In truth, neither you nor I are any different from dogs, are we? Have you ever seen a dog choose its owner? No, right? Of course not."

The assassins exchanged glances and then raised their swords, pointing them at Prince Ikwon. He continued speaking, unfazed.

"So, perhaps it's fate that a dog meets its owner and serves them. That means it's fate that I live as my master desires, and you do as your master desires."

"You're insane."

"Oh, sorry. Maybe I've lost too much blood... I might not be in my right mind."

Prince Ikwon and the assassins circled each other slowly, maintaining a distance.

"It's truly a shame. Wouldn't it have been great if you had met me first?"

Yoo Gueng and Jo Seunghoe were no longer the assassins' focus. Yoo Gueng, struggling to catch his breath, pointed his sword at the enemy.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]