Chapter 1
Prologue
Moyong Gi lifted his head.
"The sky is so..."
High.
A cloudless, deep blue expanse filled his eyes.
It was the season of high skies and plump horses, and while he couldn't say if the horses were getting fat, the sky was certainly high.
"The wind feels nice, too."
It wasn't the unpleasant, sticky wind heavy with moisture.
A refreshing breeze carrying a cool energy tickled the space below his ears.
Taking a deep breath, he felt as if his entire body was being cleansed from the inside out.
"This isn't so bad."
Muttering softly, Moyong Gi let out a faint chuckle.
But what did it matter? This was the end.
"What a shame."
Regret washed over him. If things were going to end up like this anyway, what was the point of all that effort?
It would have been better to have lived as a carefree wanderer, laughing and chatting with his friends.
To think that crawling on the ground, desperate to survive, had all become a joke in the end.
But Moyong Gi shook his head.
If he himself mocked it, what would that make of the comrades who had crawled on the ground alongside him?
At the very least, he shouldn't be the one to laugh at it.
"You scoundrel! Kneel!"
A stern-looking old minister raised his sharp voice.
Moyong Gi glanced at him and scratched his cheek.
'Is there... still a chance?'
The method was simple.
All he had to do was kneel before the emperor, who sat radiating dignity in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
It wouldn't end with him simply bowing and saying, "Farewell," as if nothing had happened, but the emperor had promised to spare his life, so he would at least survive.
After that, wouldn't it be alright to look around and live a leisurely life?
After a moment's consideration, Moyong Gi shook his head again.
[Go. I will buy you as much time as you need.]
Those were the words of Myung Jin, who had been left behind at the Gate of Supreme Harmony.
He was a man who, unlike a typical disciple of the Daoist Wudang Sect, reacted to everything with the sharp edge of a finely honed sword.
He was difficult to approach, but once you got close, he was full of affection.
Even if they fought as if to kill each other and turned their backs, they would always look back for each other later.
The Gate of Supreme Harmony still stood firm.
That man was still faithfully carrying out his promise.
Furthermore.
[You must land a strike on that bastard. Only then will you have something to say to the ones who went ahead.]
Those were the words left by Cheol Muhan, the Young Lord of the Tyrant's Fortress, who had been left before the Daoist gate beyond the Gate of Supreme Harmony.
It was a mistake to think that just because someone was from the Unorthodox Faction, they lacked righteousness and chivalry.
He had upheld chivalry and guarded righteousness more faithfully than anyone from the Orthodox Faction.
It was also a mistake to think that those from the Unorthodox Faction were hot-tempered.
He was kinder and more caring to his friends than anyone.
There were many others besides them.
The comrades who had thrown their lives away like blades of grass just to get him to this place.
How could he kneel to save his own life, leaving them all behind?
'My brother and sister-in-law, and the little ones, too...'
His family had been destroyed.
The emperor's army had not left a single blade of grass standing.
If he wanted to have the face to see his family who had passed on, he had to somehow land a single strike on the gut of that emperor sitting there with such a dignified air.
Shhhng.
Instead of an answer, Moyong Gi drew his sword.
"H-How audacious!"
Just as the old minister's face turned beet red and he was about to shout.
The emperor, with an indifferent expression, raised a hand to silence him.
Then, meeting Moyong Gi's eyes, he spoke.
"Why?"
The emperor was genuinely curious.
He had said he would spare him if he bowed his head.
He had even secretly considered keeping him by his side and appointing him to a high position after observing the situation.
But he drew his sword? What on earth was he thinking?
"I cannot forsake righteousness."
"Loyalty comes before righteousness."
"Does the emperor seek loyalty from his enemies?"
"Am I your enemy?"
"Am I not?"
He was no longer even surprised by the man who so calmly asked if he was an enemy.
He had been like that since their very first meeting.
But it did make him curious.
The way he asked questions with a face that suggested he truly didn't know, without even considering that he was the one who had struck first.
Is this what an emperor is?
As Moyong Gi pondered, the emperor nodded.
"I see. The Martial World was my enemy."
His words were wrong.
It wasn't that the Martial World was the emperor's enemy, but that the emperor was the enemy of the Martial World.
Moyong Gi, who was about to kindly correct him, shut his mouth when he saw the emperor's right arm slowly rising.
"There is no mercy for an enemy. Kill him."
It was something he had felt from the beginning, but the emperor's voice was truly resonant.
Though he seemed to speak lightly, his voice filled the vast plaza before the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Had he learned martial arts?
Was there some kind of formation array laid out?
Or was the emperor truly different from the common folk?
After a moment of thought, he quickly shook off the idle thoughts.
What was important now were the fifteen golden lines of light soaring up from all directions.
The Imperial Golden Dragon Fifteen Swords, the finest swordsmen the Imperial Palace boasted.
Of course, he wasn't worried. No matter how skilled the masters of the Imperial Palace were, he could see flaws in their joint attack formation.
If he faced them with the resolve to sacrifice a limb, he could deal with them in short order.
If he had enough time, he could even subdue them without much damage.
The reason Moyong Gi did not let down his guard, however, was the man in the red robe standing to the emperor's left.
Although the man wasn't exuding any particular pressure or killing intent, Moyong Gi remained vigilant.
'I can't see an opening.'
No. There were openings. Quite a few, in fact.
But could you really call those openings?
Shouldn't they be called traps?
The kind of trap that would snap shut the moment you touched it, biting down and not letting go until you were a bloody mess.
But would it really end with just being a bloody mess?
He could feel it instinctively.
This was a master whose victory he couldn't guarantee unless they fought one-on-one in his peak condition.
Although he was in relatively good shape thanks to his comrades who had cleared the path, could he, pressed for time and needing to overcome the considerable obstacle of the Imperial Golden Dragon Fifteen Swords, possibly win?
Moyong Gi's expression darkened slightly.
'I might not have the face to see you all.'
He was sorry.
He knew well that not everything had been done solely for his sake.
But their goal was the same.
They had sent him to this place with that one goal in mind. But it seemed achieving that goal would be difficult.
'If we meet in the next life... I'll apologize.'
Moyong Gi pictured the faces of his comrades who had gone ahead, followed by the faces of Myung Jin and Cheol Muhan.
Sometimes they showed a gentle smile, and other times they scowled in annoyance.
But he had not neglected a single one.
He remembered the face of every comrade who had been with him, not missing a single one.
And finally, the face of a beautiful woman with delicate features pushed its way through their faces.
This time, there was no smile, no annoyance. Just pain.
[In our next life, please stay by my side.]
Zhuge Yeon.
The only woman Moyong Gi could have called his lover was Baek Unseol.
But the one who had stayed by his side was Zhuge Yeon, a woman he had once hated enough to want to kill.
'I'm sorry...'
A look of regret clouded Moyong Gi's face.
'If only we had both been a little braver...'
The circumstances surrounding her and the situation surrounding him had been like shackles, making it difficult to even approach each other.
But if they had both been a little braver, the time they could have spent together would have been longer.
'If there is a next life... I will definitely keep that promise.'
He would grab the King of Hell by the throat if he had to.
If that didn't work, he would bite his ankles.
If even that failed, he would slam his head on the ground and beg until his hands became his feet.
He would do whatever it took to be by her side.
Whether it was love, pity, or simply repaying a debt.
That was the least he could do for Zhuge Yeon, who had met death in his place.
Even if it wasn't, Moyong Gi needed to confirm the true nature of his feelings for Zhuge Yeon for himself.
Shhhwiik!
At the bundle of sword energy that had suddenly appeared before him, Moyong Gi raised his sword and took a step back.
Looking at the human wall surrounding the emperor, he saw no hope.
But showing a weak side and giving up was not courteous to his comrades who had gone ahead.
Even Myung Jin and Cheol Muhan, whom he could call his friends, would turn their backs on him.
'Still... wouldn't Yeon accept me?'
As Zhuge Yeon's face came to mind, Moyong Gi showed a faint grin.
He quickly shook his head, casting off even the last of his lingering thoughts without regret.
Then, with cold eyes, he stared intently at the joint attack formation of the Imperial Golden Dragon Fifteen Swords closing in like a spider's web.
A moment later, he took a bold step forward and lightly thrust his sword.
Clang
(End of Chapter)