Chapter 070. The Lost Kingdom (9)
A lost kingdom...
Hundreds of eyes moved between the two crown princes.
Nam Geumdo had remained hidden beneath Haemora's protection until only moments ago, when he was suddenly appointed heir.
Nam Hyeon had disappeared more than ten years earlier.
No one knew what had happened to him during that time.
The nobles trusted neither crown prince.
That made it difficult to choose which successor to support.
"Clan Head Hae."
Hyeon smiled coldly.
"I am the one who severed the Ghost Path."
Mora's expression changed.
"How does it feel?"
Hyeon tilted his head.
"Now that you can no longer play with ghosts?"
Then he gestured toward Geumdo.
"Your child is a monster wearing human skin."
Gasps followed.
Hyeon's eyes became sharp.
"It would be wise to step down before I reveal his true nature myself."
Geumdo flinched.
He looked toward Mora.
His shadow twisted into a grotesque shape and flicked out a long tongue.
Mora's face filled with rage when Hyeon completely denied the existence of her precious son.
"Silence, rebel!"
She glared at him.
"The only true successor recognized by His Majesty is Crown Prince Geumdo!"
Neither side could retreat.
Hyeon's uprising forces...
And the Hae Clan trying to place Geumdo on the throne...
Tension stretched between everyone holding a blade.
"Since you returned on the very day your memorial altar was prepared..."
Mora's voice became cold.
"I suppose I can kill you and complete the funeral with your actual corpse."
She covered herself with black cloth embroidered with the Hae Clan symbol.
Then disappeared like a ghost.
Only afterimages remained as Mora moved rapidly through the area.
Silver daggers flashed.
Mercenaries screamed as blades pierced their chests.
"The Black Sun of the Hae Clan will curse all of you!"
With Mora's message...
The Hae Clan began its counterattack.
Their guards burst open sandbags containing rotting animal corpses.
Explosions shook the banquet hall.
Fragments blasted outward.
Walls collapsed.
People screamed and fell.
"You recognized my true form?"
Geumdo had been staring at Hyeon for some time.
He studied every movement carefully.
This man was clearly not ordinary.
He had infiltrated the Ghost Path.
Even attended the Hae Clan's secret gathering.
And he had seen through Geumdo's appearance immediately.
Geumdo smiled.
"I should properly welcome my half-brother."
He looked toward the mercenaries behind Hyeon.
Then concentrated.
His eyes beneath long eyelashes began shining like golden jewels.
A moment later...
Several mercenaries slowly raised their heads.
Their eyes became golden.
"How easy it is to deceive humans."
Geumdo smiled like a crescent moon.
"This is fun."
The Rang Merchant Group mercenaries under his control suddenly attacked their own allies.
Confusion spread through Hyeon's forces.
"My puppets."
Geumdo whispered.
"Hold on just a little longer."
His smile became mysterious.
"The Ghost Path will reopen soon."
He looked upward.
"My twin will awaken the power of darkness and command the balance of heaven."
Whoooosh!
An arrow suddenly flew through the Hae Clan guards.
It struck Geumdo's left shoulder.
A perfect hit.
To Geumdo, the human body was only temporary housing.
Still...
When flesh tore and blood flowed, he felt exactly the same pain as any human.
"Aah!"
He dropped onto the floor.
"It hurts!"
Geumdo grabbed his shoulder.
"Mother! Save me!"
Mora had been moving through the air like a black spirit.
The moment she heard him cry, she threw away her outer robe and rushed toward the child.
"Your Highness!"
Her voice broke.
"What are you doing?!"
She screamed toward the Hae Clan guards.
"Protect His Highness!"
The Hae forces stopped attacking for a moment.
From far away, Seung-gyeom held his bow.
"That arrow was for my sister."
His expression looked both furious and close to tears.
A face completely different from his usual carefree self.
Are you watching, Sister?
"We still haven't come close to repaying the grudge of the destroyed Ban Clan."
The momentum of Hyeon's forces rose after Seung-gyeom took control of the battlefield.
"Come down from the platform!"
Seung-gyeom shouted.
"Kneel before Crown Prince Nam Hyeon!"
He raised another arrow.
"If you refuse, my next arrow will pierce that wicked child's heart!"
The soldiers beneath him shouted together.
"Kneel!"
"Come down!"
Geumdo sobbed inside Mora's arms.
"Mother!"
His body shook.
"I'm scared."
His voice became small.
"I don't want to die like this."
Mora gently touched his cold body.
"My child..."
She whispered.
"It will be all right."
Her voice trembled.
"Your mother is here."
Hae Clan sorcerers removed the arrow from Geumdo's shoulder and treated the wound.
When Geumdo coughed up bloody phlegm, Mora bit her lip.
If only I could suffer instead...
Motherhood could be painfully desperate.
"This mother will protect Your Highness in life and in death."
Mora ordered the guards to protect Geumdo more tightly.
Then she slowly stood.
She removed her heavy ceremonial clothing.
Her body beneath was frighteningly thin.
Almost skeletal.
Her flesh looked ready to collapse.
Only her eyes still burned with intense light.
"I only wanted my child to live in a bright world."
Mora raised both arms toward the sky.
"Yet everyone here only wishes to drag us down."
The colorful bottles arranged on nearby tables suddenly shattered.
Sounds escaped from within.
It sounded like many people screaming in anger together.
The sounds possessed power.
They caused abnormal conditions in those who heard them.
They amplified fear.
The waves of noise passed across the ruined stage and overturned banquet tables.
Large instruments covered in drums and metal pieces fell over.
Dancers and musicians fled in panic.
Palace servants and nobles collapsed in pain.
Blood ran from the soldiers' ears.
At that moment...
Seongha stepped before the platform.
Until now, he had supported Crown Prince Nam Hyeon using a formation of light.
But when he saw how powerful Haemora's black sorcery was...
He entered the battle himself.
Seongha unfolded his fan, the Nine-Light Fan.
His arm moved in a circle.
A border of light followed the path of the fan.
Then...
An enormous bronze bell appeared within it.
The bell rang twice.
A gentle, deep sound spread throughout the palace.
It resembled the primordial sound called Yullyeo, said to have been created when heaven and earth first opened.
Seongha stood at the center of the sound.
His pure white figure resembled a blooming lily.
The sound from the bottles...
And the sound from the ancient bronze bell...
Two completely different waves collided.
At first, neither side gained ground.
Then gradually...
One became stronger.
Even evil black sorcery could not resist the primordial power contained in the ancient sound.
The strange screams slowly became quiet.
Then vanished.
Once the black sorcery disappeared, the Hae Clan soldiers could no longer maintain their defense.
They were pushed far backward.
Hyeon's forces began gaining victory throughout the banquet hall.
At this rate...
The rebellion seemed almost certain to succeed.
Meanwhile, nobles and foreign envoys who wanted nothing to do with the civil war hurriedly escaped.
Many seats on the platforms became empty.
Strangely...
The Jin Clan remained.
Sangwon calmly watched everything without changing posture.
He knew nearly everything about Hui Kingdom.
Yet even he had never expected the missing Nam Hyeon to return alive.
More interestingly...
His eldest son Seongha had apparently used the jade plaque Sangwon had given him to bring the Ban Clan into the rebellion.
And now Seongha was helping Crown Prince Nam Hyeon.
"Interesting."
Sangwon placed a hand inside his sleeve and touched the carved token hidden there.
"But I cannot allow the rebels to accomplish their goal."
At that same time, the inside and outside of the palace were packed with people running away.
High status.
Low status.
Everyone mixed together in complete chaos.
Princess Moryang of Yeohae Kingdom was leaving her detached palace.
Her homeland had fallen.
And now civil war had begun in Hui Kingdom.
Yet her expression remained surprisingly calm.
Perhaps it was because she knew who was leading the rebellion.
And what kind of man he was.
"Your Highness."
A servant approached her palanquin.
"A woman is blocking the way and begging for help."
The servant frowned.
"We tried to chase her away because every moment matters, but she refuses to leave."
A voice immediately came from outside.
"Please help me!"
Moryang looked out of the palanquin.
"I need to know what's happening inside!"
A woman with beautiful and exotic features stood there.
Her huge blue eyes filled her small face.
She looked almost like a delicate porcelain doll.
Bam stared at Moryang.
Then her eyes widened.
"You..."
She immediately recognized her.
The woman who had secretly met Hoyeon in the bookstore.
The one with light brown eyes and a neat appearance.
Bam had guessed she was a noblewoman.
She had not expected her to actually live inside the palace.
Moryang looked confused.
"Have we met before?"
For Moryang, this was their first meeting.
Still...
There was something strange in Bam's eyes.
Desperation.
Longing.
"N-No!"
Bam hurriedly waved both hands.
"Of course not."
She took a breath.
"My name is Rang Bam."
"I'm the owner of the Rang Merchant Group."
Then she bowed slightly.
"I'm sorry, but could you help me reach the grand banquet hall?"
Her eyes became serious.
"There is something I absolutely must confirm."
The Rang Merchant Group?
Moryang remembered that Crown Prince Nam Hyeon had disguised himself as Hoyeon, mercenary captain of the Rang Merchant Group.
Perhaps this woman knew him.
Curiosity appeared in Moryang's expression.
"At this very moment, Crown Prince Nam Hyeon is carrying out a rebellion inside the grand banquet hall."
Bam froze.
"If you go there, your life may be in danger."
Crown Prince Nam Hyeon?
Who is that?
Is he connected to Hoyeon?
Bam closed her eyes tightly.
Her fists clenched.
"I don't care if my life is in danger."
She opened her eyes.
"This is that important to me."
Moryang quietly studied her.
Then gestured toward her servants.
"I will lend you the palanquin."
Bam nodded.
Moryang's voice became calm.
"But whatever happens afterward will be your responsibility."
A short while later...
With Moryang's help, Bam reached the grand banquet hall.
The area around it looked nothing like a festival.
Everything was chaotic.
Bam moved against the crowd fleeing through the gates.
She passed sword fights and people struggling violently.
And continued forward.
At the very center of the stage called history...
Stood the man she thought she knew.
