Chapter 125: The Turmoil of Hwangdo Part 2

The dark sorcerers who imprisoned me are, simply put, idiots.

They threw my life away without a second thought.

“A… Aaah…”

“To put it simply, even the lives of a hundred of you were never enough to bind me in the first place.””

You’re just fools. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s all there is to it.”

“A… Aaah… A… Ma… My Lord, the Demon King…”

‘Oh? They’re calling me the Demon King now. What exactly are they seeing in me right now?’

“You. You really are seeing something in me, aren’t you?”

“Aaah… Ma… My Lord, the Demon King…”

A young woman’s voice.

‘Just how many people have been swayed by this?’

This isn’t just a matter of low intelligence.

At this point, I have to wonder if they even have brains in their heads.

“This is why humans struggled against the Demon King. Hey, Shadow 1.”

I called upon the shadow who had laughed at me first.

Judging by their state, things had already turned disastrous for them.

“See? You should’ve at least considered who you were up against before attempting an equivalent exchange or whatever nonsense you had planned.”

“Keuhk—!”

“You put in quite the effort, but your opponent wasn’t the right one for that, was it?”

At my words, the shadow who had taken the lead in mocking me suddenly started to smirk.

“Kuhuhuh… To think someone like you would cooperate with the Empire… Even if we fail here, we won’t lose!”

Oh? They still have something up their sleeve?

“Keep talking.”

“The real target is the Imperial Palace! The Imperial Palace is where we strike!”

The shadow let out a twisted laugh, as if to say, ‘Doesn’t that just infuriate you?’

Like they were trying to taunt me, trying to get under my skin.

“They’re aiming for the Imperial Palace?”

“That’s right! Crown Prince Aslan is already riddled with failures! Princess Amelia is constantly wandering outside! If we kill the Emperor, a battle for the throne is inevitable!”

Wow. Seems like they really thought this through.

But the problem is… it’s still going to fail.

“Oh. I sincerely wish you success.”

“Acting calm won’t change anything!”

Maybe my lack of reaction wasn’t what they were expecting.

“I’m calm because, well, you’re going to fail anyway.”

‘Since it’s going to fail, why should I even care?’

“You think we can’t even take down one incompetent Emperor?”

Well, just hearing it out loud, it does sound plausible.

Honestly, if I were in their position—if I weren’t the Grand Marshal, if I hadn’t personally met the Emperor while traveling with the Hero’s party—then maybe I’d think the same.

But I have the luxury of knowing better.

Because there’s no way the Emperor will die.

“Calling him incompetent is exactly why you’re going to lose. Frankly, if I weren’t here, you might have succeeded halfway. You probably could’ve captured Aslan.”

‘But the Emperor?’ There’s no way you could take him down.

So Aslan would’ve been the only feasible target.

And even that was prevented because of me.

In other words, it’s all over.

They really did prepare ambitiously.

Some rogue nobles who thought they could simply overpower the Emperor had teamed up with anti-Empire forces and the New World Order.

“No! The Emperor is still vulnerable! We sent far more people into the palace, and we made sure to station the Imperial Knights outside under the pretense of training!”

Oh. Well, I’ll give them this—

They really did think things through.

In an ordinary country, that plan might have worked.

If something like this happened in a kingdom, it could have even sparked a civil war.

But this is the Empire.

Not only does the Empire have superior national strength, but the palace’s defenses were never weak to begin with.

Do they really think that in the entire fifteen hundred years of the Empire’s history, nothing like this has ever been attempted before?

Of course it has.

Probably many times.

And right now, the Emperor has the backing of the Assassins’ Guild.

So even if they pulled some tricks to remove the knights guarding the palace, it wouldn’t matter.

Protecting the palace wouldn’t be difficult.

If I recall correctly, the palace was even remodeled at some point.

Back when I was in the Hero’s party, I remember hearing that the palace was reinforced in preparation for a potential invasion from the Demon King’s army.

‘And the ones who handled that remodeling?’ The Assassins’ Guild.

“Wow. You guys really are idiots. Let me tell you something— The maids in the palace are stronger than the knights. And that palace? It was remodeled by those very maids.”

“Wha—?”

‘Oh, for crying out loud. Do they seriously not get it?’

“In short, you’ve already failed.”

You absolute morons.

***

Imperial Palace

Around the same time Atlerina was under attack, the Imperial Palace wasn’t safe either.

Just as the shadow had said, hundreds of assassins had infiltrated the palace.

They had prepared thoroughly in advance.

A commander from a faction of provincial nobles had embedded spies within the Imperial Knights, using the excuse of training to send them outside the capital.

Because of that, the number of guards protecting the palace was at a bare minimum.

Thanks to this, the assassins had no trouble slipping inside and taking a look around.

“So this is the Imperial Palace, home to fifteen hundred years of history. It sure is big.”

“Khehehehe… I hear the maids here are of high quality.”

“Oh-ho. Now that you mention it, isn’t the Emperor supposed to be quite the looker too?”

The assassins each voiced their thoughts on the palace.

The Emperor is handsome.

The maids are beautiful.

The place is overflowing with gold and treasures.

All sorts of conversation topics were being thrown around.

Just thinking about it put them in a good mood.

If time permitted, perhaps they could even enjoy themselves a little before finishing the job.

“Well, since the nobles were kind enough to provide us with maps of the palace, sneaking in was easy. And since we’re going to kill them anyway, we might as well have some fun first, right?”

The New World Order consisted mostly of dark sorcerers, but among their lower ranks, there were plenty of criminals.

Naturally, rumors of the Emperor’s beauty had reached their ears.

So it was no surprise that some of them had their own ideas about what to do with him.

“We are all servants of our master. The so-called ruler of this continent, the Emperor—shouldn’t we defile him first?”

“But still… isn’t it strange? There’s not a single soldier guarding the palace?”

They had brought hundreds of men, just in case.

Yet, there wasn’t a single guard in sight.

That meant they could kill whoever they saw and enjoy themselves however they wanted.

After all, their ultimate goal was the Emperor’s head.

Once they captured him, they had no more use for this place.

Yeah. That was the plan.

Until—

Shiiik—

They heard the sound of wind rushing through the air.

“Huh? What kind of palace has wind blowing through it?”

“Yeah, seriously. Must be a gap in the building somewhere.”

“This is a sign of ruin, you know? It means the palace is falling apart along with its ruler.”

That was their first thought.

That the Emperor, who spent his days indulging like a harlot, had let the palace fall into disrepair.

They thought that way—

Right up until the moment their bodies were split in two.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

For just a brief moment, there was a sound—like the wind passing by.

Then, a tickling sensation on the neck.

I thought it was just the wind brushing past.

But instinctively, I knew.

‘If I moved even a single step, something would happen to my neck.’

But that thought lasted only for a moment.

Soon, blood began to trickle from the assassins’ throats, and then—slowly—their heads tilted at an odd angle, separating from their bodies.

One by one, heads tumbled to the ground.

The dozens of assassins, whose heads had been severed in an instant, had no idea why their perspective had suddenly shifted downward.

Only when their heads hit the floor did they finally see their own decapitated bodies with their own eyes before dying.

***

“A string. There’s a very thin string! It wasn’t the wind! The sound we heard in the hallway was the string moving!”

The remaining assassins, standing amidst the bodies of their fallen comrades, finally noticed it—a fine, blood-stained thread hanging in midair.

That was it.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the string had been specially crafted for assassination—thin, strong, and sharp enough to cut at the slightest touch.

“Wait. This was made to kill. That’s why we couldn’t even see it.”

“The palace wouldn’t normally have something like this. Which means…”

“Could it be…? Did they know?”

“Then this whole thing—was it a trap?”

“If they knew already, isn’t this dangerous?”

“What about our escape route?”

“They had already come too far. Beyond this hallway lay the emperor’s throne room. So… were they lured in? Did they lower their guard just to be trapped like this?”

“At this point, there’s no turning back.”

“You’re right. Might as well kill them while we’re at it.”

“Were they planning to trap them here?”

“No. Don’t panic, all of you!”

“Then what do we do now?”

“We still have a chance. We haven’t lost yet!”

That’s right. They hadn’t lost yet.

The emperor may have anticipated their attack and prepared a trap, but this was nothing.

He must have heard the commotion and hastily set this up.

He wouldn’t have any real means to stop them.

If he thought he could, he was mistaken.

“As if he has enough troops. If he did, they’d be attacking us already!”

If the emperor had enough men to stop them, he wouldn’t have needed a trap.

No, this was clearly his last, desperate struggle.

Yes. That had to be it.

Then they just had to seize him.

Capture him and complete their mission.

So, the foolish assassins charged into the hallway.

If they had no time to enjoy tormenting the emperor, they would at least make sure to kill him.

“We move forward!”

“Forward! Kill the emperor!”

That was their only thought.

They believed that, since they had come this far, everything would somehow work out.

***

‘Idiots.’

A strange voice tickled the assassins’ ears.

“Where was that coming from? Or… were they just hearing things?”

“Did anyone else hear that weird noise?”

“What is this? Something feels off.”

“Ignore it. It’s probably just some kind of magic trick.”

It was just a trick to buy time.

That’s all it was.

That’s all they had to believe.

And yet, an eerie chill ran down their spines.

“What the hell was going on?”

“No—there was a bigger problem.”

***

They ran. And ran. For a long time.

By now, they should have reached the other end of the hallway.

But for some reason… it felt like they weren’t making any progress at all.

Something was wrong.

Seriously wrong.

“What the hell? Wait. Where are we?”

“Again?”

“What?”

“It feels like we’ve been running through this hallway forever.”

They had been running and running, but it was as if they hadn’t moved at all.

“Why does it matter?!”

“We need to get past this to reach the emperor!”

Yes. That was the issue.

The situation itself was completely bizarre.

‘What was happening?’

It had gotten to the point where their minds were breaking, questioning whether it even mattered if they were running.

“We’re running in circles!”

“Wait. Then what the hell is happening to us?”

“Damn it. It’s a trap!”

Of course, they all knew it was a trap.

But so what?

That was the reason they had come this far in the first place.

“We already knew we were walking into a trap.”

No. Something was fundamentally wrong.

The assassins began to think.

‘Why was it normal to keep running down an endless hallway?’

‘Why did they accept being trapped without questioning it?’

Something was off.

Everything.

“What? Wait—who are you?”

The assassins suddenly realized something.

Someone had been subtly leading them all this time.

Someone had been manipulating their minds—clouding their judgment with strange magic.

The figure shrugged and pulled back their hood, smiling faintly.

“I was just planning to watch and let the imperial guards deal with you. But you were so stupid, I couldn’t help myself.”

It was a woman they had never seen before.

She was definitely not part of their assassination squad.

‘Then who the hell was she?’

“You… who the hell are you? Never seen you before.”

“Wow. I thought you’d at least have some black magic up your sleeve. But you’re so stupid, I almost felt like letting you keep running in circles.”

Katarina, the leader of the assassins, narrowed her eyes.

Schwick!

The woman sliced through the throat of the assassin standing in front of her.

“You’re all just too hopeless. It’s not even fun anymore.”

She smirked.

“So, I’ll just put you out of your misery.”

“When… when did—?!”

“You idiots.”

And then—

From the ceiling, figures in black robes descended.

“Who the hell were they now?”

“When did everything change?!”

“From the moment you set foot in this place.”

At the woman’s words, she snapped her fingers.

From somewhere unseen, machetes flew through the air—slicing through the assassins’ necks.

Shhk! Slash! Shhk!

“What the hell?! Who are they?!”

“Who?”

They were the emperor’s handmaidens.