Chapter 486: Side Story 6 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy

Saber Demon Pa Woorang straightened his back and grumbled quietly.

“Ugh! Maybe it’s time for me to retire. I’ve only been standing for two days, and look at me…”

One eunuch beside him chuckled faintly.

“His Majesty always wishes to keep Your Grace at his side, so what choice do we have?”

“It’s obvious the danger has already passed. Isn’t His Majesty a little too timid?”

“Hehehehe…”

Despite the unimaginable disrespect, the eunuch merely laughed it off.

Saber Demon was currently the most revered figure in the Imperial Family.

Having overcome countless crises with his transcendent martial power, which had reached the initial stage of Transcendent Demon Realm, he received many rewards from the Imperial Family—not as a member of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but on a personal basis.

Among them, the greatest were perhaps the permission to carry weapons even in royal court, and being appointed the martial teacher of the current Crown Prince.

“Just endure a little longer. Once we reclaim Peking and display the traitor’s head, proper compensation will follow for Your Grace and the Cult.”

“Well, that much is only right.”

Why else would he have endured such hell in foreign lands for years?

All to bring the Imperial Family over to the side of the Divine Cult.

“But you see…”

Saber Demon’s eyes sank sharply.

“Lately, I’m a little uneasy. It feels like His Majesty is considering alternatives to Our Cult.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

The eunuch’s expression stiffened slightly.

“I heard that the Imperial Preceptor has been actively advising ties with the Murim Alliance…”

Cold sweat began to trickle down the eunuch’s face at those words.

“That… I am not well informed on such matters.”

“If a Grand Eunuch like you doesn’t know, then who can understand His Majesty’s intentions?”

“His Majesty cherishes the Imperial Preceptor as much as he does Your Grace. We cannot interfere with his advice.”

“…”

“More than that, isn’t the Imperial Preceptor’s comings and goings quite mysterious? Appearing and vanishing at the most unexpected times…”

‘Yes, that’s the problem…’

Saber Demon’s eyes grew even more grim.

The Imperial Preceptor.

A middle-aged figure who suddenly began to exert influence beside the Emperor.

No one knew when or from where he had appeared.

‘What is it? What am I missing here?’

The more he thought about the Imperial Preceptor, the more an unsettling feeling spread through Saber Demon’s entire being.

Though his hair was dyed black, its roots glinted gold—an oddity.

Such traits were common among Westerners who arrived via the Silk Road, but the issue was that the Imperial Preceptor was not a Westerner.

‘When I first stepped into Peking, when I fled with the Emperor… he definitely wasn’t there.’

Yet now, not a single soul questioned his presence.

Not Saber Demon himself, nor the warriors of the Extreme Saber Clan he brought with him, nor any member of the Imperial Family or ministers.

As Saber Demon began to gradually recognize the source of this creeping sense of wrongness—

“Well now, who might this be if not Your Grace?”

Flinch!

Suddenly, a familiar middle-aged man he had ‘exchanged with several times’ appeared before his eyes.

“Imperial Preceptor? What business do you have with me?”

“Hahaha, must there be business for us to meet?”

“…”

Though a flicker of displeasure rose in Saber Demon at the Preceptor’s feigned friendliness, he did not reject the approach.

There was no reason to push him away.

The Imperial Preceptor looked at the slightly dazed Saber Demon and smiled faintly.

“Truly remarkable. For a human to resist my authority to this extent…”

“Authority?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Waving his hand, the Imperial Preceptor lightly patted Saber Demon’s shoulder.

“By the way, I heard Your Grace has some dissatisfaction with the Crown Prince’s marriage arrangement.”

“…That’s true.”

“Originally, it would be ideal to wed him to the daughter of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but that would skew the balance too far. It doesn’t suit my plan.”

Plan?

Saber Demon tilted his head momentarily, but the thought slipped away like water washing over rocks.

“In any case, I’ll handle things moderately, so don’t worry too much. ‘We’ aren’t ready to clash with that monster just yet.”

At that moment—

Saber Demon glimpsed three figures faintly passing behind the Imperial Preceptor.

But it was too brief a moment, and like smoke in a daydream, they quickly dissipated—leaving no trace.

“Understood…”

Satisfied with Saber Demon’s answer, the Imperial Preceptor smiled.

“Ah, one last thing.”

“…?”

“In Your Grace’s view, among the other princes, who do you think suits the role of next Crown Prince?”

The current Crown Prince of the Empire, Ju Won-ha, was a man whose abilities matched the external evaluation of being a virtuous ruler.

That was why he could not understand the Emperor’s command this time.

‘Why must I push myself to go all the way to Nakyang in this situation?’

That had been the question persistently lingering in his mind.

The Imperial Family was currently trying to rally all the regional forces still loyal to them to prepare for the reclamation of the capital.

Naturally, as the Crown Prince supported by the military, it was right for him to take the lead in directing the war.

And yet…

‘To travel over a thousand li to Nakyang just to placate the one who will become my Crown Princess…’

Certainly, the woman in question was not only the daughter of a household well-known throughout the jianghu, but also the current Lord of the Murim Alliance—an overwhelming status.

Still, wasn’t this far too excessive?

Moreover, with the chaos in the Central Plains not yet settled, he was accompanied by barely a hundred escorts.

If they were to encounter even a double-digit pack of demonic beasts, it would mean complete annihilation.

‘No matter how I think about it, I just can’t understand. Why didn’t I… protest more strongly to His Majesty then?’

In truth, his doubt regarding this mission began not right away, but some time after receiving the command.

‘Almost as if I were possessed by something…’

Doubts and discomfort kept circling in his heart, but he could not find a single clear answer to wash them away.

With that uneasy feeling lingering, the Crown Prince continued his journey toward Nakyang.

As it was a covert mission lacking formal ceremonial escort, the danger was on a different level.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, an incident occurred.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“What is it?”

“We’re under attack! You must retreat at once!”

While resting at a makeshift camp, the warriors of the Extreme Saber Clan who had been patrolling the front line reported the danger.

“Is it beyond our ability to handle?”

“The number of confirmed demonic beasts at the front alone is about thirty.”

The only bit of relief was that among them, few had high mobility.

Had they been variants of wolves or tigers, even escaping would have been difficult.

“Damn it, we were so close…”

The Crown Prince clenched his fist.

He had just crossed through the most dangerous region of Hebei and reached the border of Henan.

He had deliberately avoided cities and major counties to keep out of the gaze of Prince Yeongsa!

But what was done was done.

The Crown Prince hastily mounted his horse and shouted.

“Detour across the plains! Clear a path!”

“By your command!”

The escorts from the Extreme Saber Clan were highly capable.

All of them were masters capable of drawing out peak-level river-crossing strength.

With them taking the lead, the Crown Prince’s party began to flee the demonic beasts.

Then—

“S-Something’s not right!”

“What is it?!”

The warriors of the Royal Guards, following in the rear, shouted urgently.

“The demonic beasts are pursuing us beyond their territory!”

“What?!”

“That makes no sense!”

Ever since the Heavenly Time passed, demonic beasts’ behavior had become much like that of wild animals.

They established their own territory—attacking when it was breached, but not pursuing beyond it.

Some formed packs like wolves and hunted in groups, but even those rarely left their territory.

Yet the beasts attacking them now, as if something had gone terribly wrong, had chased them for tens of li and were still pursuing relentlessly!

“Left flank ambush!”

“Royal Guards, defend His Highness at all costs!”

“N-Now it’s the right flank!”

“Damn it!”

As if they had been waiting, the demonic beasts surged in from three sides, sparing only the front.

And that wasn’t the end.

As if being directed by a commander, they relentlessly chased and launched wave after wave of attacks from all directions on the Crown Prince’s party.

About three days passed.

The number of Royal Guards, once around a hundred, had dropped to about thirty.

“…This is bad.”

The Crown Prince groaned as he looked at his dwindling retinue.

At least there had been no deaths among the Extreme Saber Clan, but they too suffered numerous injuries and serious internal damage from the continuous battles.

“How far to Nakyang?”

“About two hundred li remain.”

“…Still far.”

Now he could be certain.

This ambush had been a calculated, organized plot by someone.

If not, there would be no reason to wear down their strength like a pack hunt.

“Who could commit such a wretched act?”

No one answered the Crown Prince’s muttering.

This kind of ambush was something no one here had ever experienced before.

‘I’ve heard that in the Central Plains’ murim, there were those called Bancheonhoe who led the previous calamity. But I heard they were annihilated by the current Cult Leader…’

Yet to say it was Prince Yeongsa’s doing, his capabilities were far too lacking.

‘The… Imperial Preceptor?’

For some reason.

Why had the face of the Imperial Preceptor, someone with no connection at all, suddenly come to mind?

Just as the Crown Prince frowned at the sudden wave of discomfort—

“W-What the?! I didn’t sense anything at all?!”

Pa Ho-yang, the captain of the escort unit from the Extreme Saber Clan, suddenly shot to his feet.

“…?!”

“Everyone, up! We’re under attack!”

Pa Ho-yang’s shout was nearly a scream.

And shortly after, an overwhelming presence began to loom over the Crown Prince’s group.

“I-It’s huge!”

“Grrrrrrrr!”

What appeared after tearing through the underbrush was a demonic beast at least five to six times larger than a regular bear.

“W-Why is something like that here?!”

“Wasn’t everything wiped out by the Cult Leader?!”

“Ah, aaaah!”

A massive aura of blackish-red killing intent flowed through its entire body.

And in its eyes was the gaze of an absolute predator, making clear it would not allow even the slightest chance of escape.

It was on an entirely different level than any of the demonic beasts they had faced so far—something that one might now only expect to encounter near the Summit of Mount Tai.

“A-Attack it!”

“Uwaaaaah!”

The warriors of the Extreme Saber Clan, suppressing their fear with desperate effort, let out a war cry and charged at the creature.

But even unleashing enhanced qi, they couldn’t last even a moment. They were torn apart by the beast’s claws like paper dolls.

The warriors of the Clan, who until now had inspired absolute trust, were dying like scarecrows.

‘I-I’m going to die!’

-KUOOOOOOOOO!

At the sight of the demonic beast roaring, the Crown Prince tightly shut his eyes, sensing death.

No—he was about to shut them.

Had it not been for the voice from behind, one that seemed to seize his very soul.

“Fortunately, I wasn’t too late.”

Two twin swords flew in out of nowhere, ruthlessly ripping through the beast’s hide—even the hide that had withstood the Clan’s enhanced qi.

“…!!”

A woman appeared, blocking the beast’s path before anyone realized it.

That day.

For the first time in his life, the Crown Prince saw the moonlit goddess who wielded twin blades.

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