Mun Yun pointed out the fact. He was from a family that had a long history in the Demonic Cult, so he knew many historical pacts made in the past. As he said, Yulin and the Imperial Palace were entirely independent of each other. There were some from the Yulin clan of the Forces of Justice that joined the Imperial Palace, but the Demonic Cult had no interest in that. The cult only served the Fire, Demon God, and the Lord who was a conduit to both of those.
‘Hmph. I knew this was coming.’
Yon Namgun sighed as soon as he heard it. There was no way the Demonic Cult will kneel to the King due to the nonaggression pact, nor will they succumb to threats.
‘It’s better to stop here and then make them become more uncomfortable.’
Carrying out any more of those plans that Yuking asked to do was only going to make cultists more furious. Yon Namgun thought Zhu Taikhan would stop here since things weren’t going as planned. But his expectation was wrong.
“YOU DARE!! You dare try to teach the King of the Great Ming?! Guards! Bring this arrogant man down on his knees!!” Zhu Taikhan ordered and even the handsome lieutenant who stood next to Yon Namgun frowned.
“Wai…”
“As you wish, your highness.”
Three of the Imperial Guards immediately pulled out their swords and charged at Mun Yun.
“Hmph. You are going too far.”
But there was no way Mun Yun would lose to top-class level warriors. Mun Yun easily shattered their swords with a flick of his hand.
“M-my sword!”
“Argh!”
That’s when a few clan leaders came in and struck the guards down.
“Protect the King!”
“Treason!”
The Imperial Guards immediately pulled out their weapons and used their steel shields to create a barrier. Yon Namgun became shocked by the situation going south, but Zhu Taikhan smiled as if he wanted this to happen all along.
‘Hehehe… they are making things worse for themselves!’
That’s when he heard a telepathic message.
[Yuking! What do you think you are doing!!]
Surprisingly, the chubby man who introduced himself as the King was actually Yuking. Yuking looked at the man who sent a telepathic message and responded politely.
[Your highness. I am taking your order to teach these arrogant cultists a lesson.]
[I never told you to do it this way!]
The man who was sending the telepathic message frantically was the lieutenant who stood next to Yon Namgun. He was the true King Zhu Taikhan.
‘He said we just need to show the authority of the palace… YUKING!!!’
He disguised himself as a guard and had Yuking be his decoy, but Yuking said something Zhu Taikhan didn’t wish to speak about and made things worse. Yon Namgun was now looking at him, thinking that Zhu Taikhan actually ordered Yuking to do such a thing.
[I-it’s not me!]
Zhu Taikhan shook his head but it was too late. The Imperial Guards were frantically moving to be ready to fight. Yuking was satisfied with the situation.
‘With this, the cult will now side against the Empire. We didn’t even need to go down to the third option in the Grand Plan… everything has been done by Yuking’s hand…’
It was then when a shadow drew upon Yuking. It was Chun Yeowun who suddenly appeared in front of him.
‘H-how did he come through the guards?!’
There was no time to be surprised. Yuking, who was an established master, immediately attacked Yeowun. But…
“Aaaaargh!”
His hand was cut down immediately from the wrist. Yuking screamed and shouted angrily.
“H-how dare you attack the King! This is treason!”
“King? Don’t give me that rubbish.”
“W-what are you…”
Yeowun then gathered blade qi on his hand and cut down his other arm from his shoulder.
“Aaaaaaargh!”
Yuking rolled on the ground from the pain of losing both his right hand and his left arm. Blood poured out from the wound, soaking the ground with blood.
Yeowun then reached down and picked Yuking’s chubby body up with his hand. Guards became shocked to see such strength.
“W-what are you trying to…”
“I’m trying to do this.”
“Aaaaaargh!”
Yeowun then threw Yuking toward the gate where the cultists were gathered.
“Ugh!”
Yuking was instantly transferred from behind the Imperial Guards to the middle of warriors of the Demonic Cult.
“H-how dare you!”
“Get him!”
The Imperial Guards charged toward Yeowun with their swords, but Yeowun disappeared, leaving his trace behind. The Imperial Guards learned martial arts so they knew what this was.
“H-he disappeared!”
“It’s mirror image!”
They tried to find Yeowun, but Yeowun was already in front of Zhu Taikhan and Southern Commander Yon Namgun, who were surrounded by the Imperial Guards. Yeowun was so fast that no one was able to see him clearly.
“H-how did he get through the barrier?”
“Get him!”
Guards tried to charge at Yeowun, but three figures appeared around Yeowun and blocked them. It was Great Guardian Marakhim, Left Guardian Lee Hameng, and Right Guardian Submeng. Three Guardians at the level beyond their imagination easily broke through the Imperial Guard’s defenses.
Lee Hameng drew a line on the ground with his distinct red sword and warned, “If you cross this line, it will cost at least an arm.”
“Yeah, yeah. Same here.”
Submeng also created a line on the ground with the blade qi from his Crazy Blade. Two superior master levels made all the Imperial Guards stay in their spots in fear. And now, powerful clan leaders were circling around them.
‘I-is this the Yulin… no, the Demonic Cult?!’
Zhu Taikhan was shocked. He too had learned martial arts — a barrier created by top-class warriors would be impenetrable. But it was useless against them. And Chun Yeowun, who didn’t even seem to have learned martial arts, was a monster beyond imagination. When the area became silent, Yeowun bowed slightly toward Zhu Taikhan and spoke.
“Your highness. That lieutenant armor fits you well.”