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Chapter: 97

"What are you looking at?"

The moment I spoke, the black magical beast turned its head towards me.

I charged and swung my sword. As expected, its hide was as hard as iron armor.

Despite my well-aimed attack, my sword bounced off instantly. My arm went numb.

From behind, I heard the order to cease fire. They stopped the archers because they feared I might be hit by a stray arrow.

Although my attack didn\'t inflict any significant damage, it seemed to have provoked the black magical beast. Its aggression intensified.

"————!"

The black magical beast roared, throwing its head back towards the sky. Its roar traveled through the air and pricked my skin.

But I felt as if this tension was exactly what I had been waiting for.

"Your Highness!"

"Don\'t come!"

Yoo Geung and the other warriors tried to stop me, but I ignored them.

"But, Your Highness...!"

I had charged in with the intention of fighting it alone. If I had planned to rely on others, I wouldn\'t have charged in the first place.

No, I wouldn\'t have even stepped out of the fortress walls.

Dozens of exchanges took place in an instant. The ground was now covered in bloodstains, making it impossible to tell whose blood it was.

Even though its hide was like iron armor, it was still skin. As long as it was flesh, it couldn\'t be invincible.

As the fight continued, scratches appeared on its hide. Of course, I wasn\'t unscathed either.

However, the wounds on my body were nothing compared to the torment of my heightened senses.

The effects of the bellflower had worn off long ago. My senses were hyper-sensitive, and my body was trembling.

The pain from my wounds felt excruciatingly sharp.

Even the pain that I would normally have been able to ignore felt like a severe injury.

Nevertheless, I deliberately didn\'t seek out the drug.

Since the Wolhan Fortress Lord had discovered the truth about the bellflower, I wanted to show him that I could endure without it.

However, the biggest reason I stopped taking the drug was to test my limits.

Limits. How far could I go with this body?

Of course, I was still no match for Baek Yeon, the genius and best swordsman of Blood Cloud Fortress.

But my senses were definitely better than before.

"————!"

The magical beast, which had momentarily retreated, charged again. I rolled on the ground to dodge its attack and then slashed at it.

Its sharp claws came hurtling towards me. I raised my sword to block, but I couldn\'t avoid it completely.

"Ugh!"

"Your Highness!"

I was sent flying by the impact of its foreleg.

However, I didn\'t just roll on the ground. There was a gain. It seemed to be guarding its chest, as if that was its weak spot.

"I told you not to come!"

I immediately got up and adjusted my grip on the sword.

Around the time I could no longer distinguish which was more agonizing, the internal turmoil of my senses or the external injuries, my vision suddenly became clear.

"Ah...?"

Right. And there was that.

I retreated momentarily, dodging the incoming attacks, and took the opportunity to press on a pressure point. I wasn\'t sure if I had performed the technique taught by the physician Soon Gang correctly, but it was effective nonetheless.

My exhausted and heavy body felt filled with a tremendous energy, as if I was being swept away by a torrent.

I lowered my sword and stepped back. As I retreated, the black magical beast roared, displaying its dominance.

"————!"

Seeing that, I let out a chuckle.

I adjusted my grip on the sword and readied my stance. Then, I kicked off the ground and swung my sword.

"————!"

A long and ferocious roar. Immediately afterward, a giant claw appeared before my eyes.

* * *

The prince\'s sword finally pierced the heart of the black magical beast, and the beast collapsed, its massive body trembling. At that moment, the entire battlefield fell silent, as if all sound had ceased. The death they had longed for had finally arrived.

However, no one cheered. The situation was not favorable for celebrating victory.

The prince was gravely wounded. His armor, which had withstood the attacks of the colossal magical beast never seen before, was now in tatters.

The sight of the prince, unconscious and carried on a stretcher, was unfamiliar and unsettling.

Of course, his life wasn\'t in immediate danger.

The prince, after piercing the heart of the black magical beast, had staggered towards it with his battered body and ripped out its heart.

Everyone marveled at the tenacity that confirmed the beast\'s death.

Meanwhile, after the prince was carried into the inner fortress on a stretcher, the battle outside the walls continued with the same intensity, but the atmosphere became somewhat disorganized due to the loss of their commander.

It was only natural for them to retreat inside the walls.

Having witnessed the whole scene, the commanders realized that the prince\'s role had been more critical than they had anticipated.

"Why didn\'t you stop him!"

It was Heo Seokgyeom who shouted at Yoo Geung, who had followed the prince inside after a brief examination of his condition.

He wasn\'t a particularly affectionate or lenient superior, but they had never seen him so agitated.

Yoo Geung bowed his head and said, "He told me not to go, so I obeyed his order."

Although Yoo Geung was a captain, his top priority was, of course, the prince\'s safety.

His primary role was to stay by the prince\'s side, assisting him in battle and protecting him from attacks.

Heo Seokgyeom scoffed.

"Don\'t be ridiculous."

He frowned.

"Are you saying that obeying orders was more important than His Highness\'s safety?"

"He was adamant."

When Yoo Geung replied, Heo Seokgyeom, seemingly frustrated with his subordinate, squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them.

"Your first duty is to protect His Highness!"

It had been a while since he had been scolded by a superior. Except for the times he was scolded by the prince, it might as well have been years.

At a loss for words, Yoo Geung simply remained silent with his head bowed.

However, he didn\'t think he had done anything wrong. He had simply followed the prince\'s orders.

Furthermore, the prince hadn\'t seemed in danger. At least according to his judgment at that moment, the prince had been exactly where he needed to be.

That\'s how it had appeared to Yoo Geung.

But how could he have become so strong so suddenly?

He didn\'t mean to say that the prince was weak. However, the prince wasn\'t a formidable warrior capable of fighting that magical beast alone.

What had caused him to change so rapidly? And where did his limits lie?

"It\'s a relief that he\'s not seriously injured."

Heo Seokgyeom clicked his tongue after saying that. Yoo Geung, who had briefly raised his head, lowered it again.

"You\'ll be disciplined when we return to the capital,” Heo Seokgyeom said. He spoke as if it were obvious that they would be able to return to the capital.

Yoo Geung felt the same way. He believed they would return to the capital.

* * *

An air of tension and anxiety always lingered in the main hall. A discussion was underway in the main hall where King Bonhyeon and his subjects were gathered.

King Bonhyeon, with his characteristic bored expression, rested one arm on the armrest of his throne and listened to the opinions of his subjects.

"The battle at Wolhan Fortress in the Northern Region is intensifying, Your Majesty."

A considerable amount of time had passed since his eldest son, Prince Ikwon, had left the capital.

One might expect a father to be worried about his son who had gone to war, but King Bonhyeon\'s expression held not an ounce of affection for his own flesh and blood, only hostility.

He recalled the last image of Prince Ikwon.

The last image of his eldest son, who had acted like a wastrel and ultimately earned the nickname "madman," was quite impudent.

"So."

It seemed his son wanted to seize power, even at this point. His intentions were obvious.

He must be aiming to gain the trust of the Northern Region, something no king has ever fully achieved.

Even if he did, nothing would change.

They had already strayed too far.

It was too late to turn back.

Too many things had already happened; they had come too far to turn back.

"Are those old walls crumbling or something?" King Bonhyeon asked in a nonchalant tone, his tone laced with mockery.

Many of the officials who supported Prince Jaean smirked in response.

It was an exceedingly disrespectful remark towards those guarding the northern borders.

"It w ould be difficult for Prince Ikwon to return to the capital anytime soon."

"Would it be possible at a later time?"

King Bonhyeon\'s gaze shifted. He immediately spotted an old man among the officials dressed in identical uniforms.

"I\'m asking if it would be possible at a much later time."

King Bonhyeon\'s gaze was fixed on the spot where General So Ik- Gyeom stood.

So Ik-Gyeom remained silent, his head bowed like an ancient tree.

He looked like he was groveling for his life. An old beast that had pulled out its own teeth and claws with its own hands.

"The war is at a stalemate, so that would also be difficult. If troops were dispatched from the capital, the return of Prince Ikwon will be hastened."

One of the officials spoke. Sending reinforcements to Prince Ikwon, who was in Wolhan Fortress? It was an irritating suggestion, but the official who made it wasn\'t a military officer.

There was no need to be overly cruel. After all, excuses always existed.

Even if there wasn\'t a single word to use as an excuse, more than half of the officials present were on his side.

King Bonhyeon smiled faintly at the suggestion.

"How could we make such a harsh decision when the people are suffering? You should remember that the people of the Northern Region are also citizens of Mokryeo."

Most of the officials sneered at his words. Their smiles were full of mockery.

However, the information they received was already quite outdated.

Even if a horse were to gallop from the Northern Region to the capital as fast as it could, it would be impossible to arrive within a day.

"Next."

King Bonhyeon quickly erased any trace of Prince Ikwon from the main hall.

But deep within King Bonhyeon\'s heart, anxiety lurked like a coiled snake.

A wastrel who didn\'t even know how to wield a sword properly. But the blood of that wastrel belonged to the warrior he hated and envied the most.

The spirit of that wastrel\'s mother was also formidable, so perhaps her son had inherited the same traits.

But even so, a wastrel was a wastrel.

It hadn\'t just been a year or two since his eldest son was labeled a wastrel. The news he received wasn\'t hopeful, and the more dismal the news, the further away his eldest son\'s return became.

With that thought, King Bonhyeon suppressed his anxiety.

But he didn\'t know. Snakes were very patient creatures. His anxiety, like a snake, was always ready to strike him.