Nano Machine (Web Novel KR)
chapter-379

‘What is he trying to do?’

Prince Zhu Taikhan, who was observing Chun Yeowun, was shocked.

The conversation between him and the Emperor had deviated a lot from their agreement.

All of a sudden, Yeowun was talking like a villain who had plotted a rebellion since the beginning.

The situation had totally changed, and a sense of fear ran down Zhu Taikhan’s spine.

“Ar-are you planning on killing me?”

The eyes of the emperor trembled.

Unlike the Yulin people he knew, the Lord of the Demonic Cult standing in front of him was an inescapable nightmare.

Chun Yeowun looked directly into the Emperor’s fearful eyes.

“You think I won’t kill you Your Majesty?”

Gulp!

As he spoke those words, the White Dragon Blade that was pressed against the Emperor's neck, dug deeper.

It was to show that his will to kill wasn't a show.

“Uhk!”

‘He, he's really serious about doing this.’

The emperor was someone who had never been hurt or mistreated even once in his entire lifetime.

The ominous feeling of death couldn’t even be expressed, as the blade was pressed into his neck.

“How dare you, a lowly cultist, act like this towards His Majesty!”

Shiiing!

Yeongjo, the Northern Commander, was so furious at Chun Yeowun’s behavior that he tried to attack him.

Clang!

Great Guardian Marakim blocked him as he was the closest to Yeongjo.

Yeongjo tried to get past the man by using his sword, but the opponent wasn’t an easy one, and he was called the Dark King.

‘How fast is he?’

Yeongjo thought that he could charge in and have at least one chance to attack, but when he took a single step forward, he felt something cold touching his neck.

All of a sudden, Marakim, who was close to him, swung his sword towards his neck.

In a fleeting moment, the warning from Marakim flashed through Yeongjo’s mind.

[I swear, take one more step and I will make sure to cut you down]

Yeongjo’s eyes widened.

As promised, with just one step, his throat would be cut.

“Ah! No!”

Flustered, he turned around and tried to move back, but Marakim’s sword was too fast.

As the cold sword touched his neck, his face, which showed only fear, broke out in cold sweat.

Phak!

“Kuak!”

The attack that collided with his sword made Yeongjo fall heavily to the floor.

He'd been warned, but he hadn’t been killed. Marakim had knocked him down with his sword.

‘To act like the Lord is hard.’

No matter how horrible the situation was, the opponent was a high-ranked military officer of the Imperial family.

It was difficult to kill such people as Chun Yeowun had done.

Furthermore, without the Lord’s order, they couldn't kill anyone.

In other words, only Yeowun got to decide who got killed.

‘Huh, what a mess. What is going on?’

It was embarrassing for the Emperor’s disciples, but even Cheong-su, a long-standing member of the alliance, looked at Chun Yeowun and the emperor with a perplexed expression.

From the point of view of one of the Forces of Justice's leaders, who had a close relationship with the Emperor, he had to intervene and stop him.

If the emperor died, the current stable relationship between Wulin and the Empire would collapse.

But even more confusing were the words that Chun Yeowun had spoken a moment before.

‘He is going to make the second prince the new emperor? Then, did the prince join hands with the Demonic Cult?’

Yulin was the one that had maintained a closer relationship with the emperor and the crown prince, who was supposed to inherit the throne, in order to continue Yulin's ties with the Imperial family.

Yulin had been convinced that it was the eldest son, Zhu Taiyoon, who would inherit the throne, and they had supported him with everything.

However, this time, the plan had gone wrong because of the crown prince’s attempt to join hands with the Blade God Six Martial clan.

‘This can’t go on. If that happens, the balance of Yulin and the Imperial family which we tried to maintain until now will be disrupted.’

It was something they were aware of.

Cheong-su had to prevent the worst from happening, but the problem was that he could do nothing on his own.

‘For me to feel so powerless.’

It would take ten Superior Master warriors to take down one Supreme Master.

But the opponent was a Divine Master.

The seventeen leaders of the Forces of Justice, would they even be able to take down this monster, even if all of them joined hands?

‘He is an army on his own.’

That was the difference that one level, especially at the peak, made in martial arts.

The influence of a single strong warrior would be able to determine the flow of the war.

The current Lord of Demonic Cult, Chun Yeowun was such a legendary existence.

“Your Majesty!!”

“Kuuuk!”

“Let go of him now!”

Even if the officers cried out, there was no use.

As they were being suppressed by Yeowun’s energy, there was no way for them to save their Emperor.

All they could do was scream while kneeling down.

‘Is this the true power of a Divine master?’

That was when the emperor came to terms with his humiliating reality.

Being in the middle of the Imperial Palace, and in midst of the numerous military officials and commanders, this man was scared of nothing and cornered everyone.

Chun Yeowun, a Divine Master, had all the ability to kill him whenever he wished.

‘I overestimated myself. I was told by the past emperor to never break down the non-aggression treaty.’

The previous emperor had warned him to never try and overpower the people of Wulin.

Although aware of it, the emperor had only regarded Wulin as a group of people, and never took an actual interest in them.

It was only now that he came to realize his fatal mistake.

If this man, Chun Yeowun, put his mind to it, he could have quietly assassinated the emperor in the middle of the night.

‘Wait! Hopefully, his purpose might…’

Suddenly, a strange idea crossed the emperor’s mind.

If a man with such ability was greedy for power, he could have quietly assassinated the emperor rather than creating such a scene in the underground.

‘If he kills me to put Zhu Taikhan on the throne, he will have to shed more blood as he would have to kill the officials who support the other princes.’

It was something that the man in front of him couldn’t have known.

At that moment, the man who had killed the Guardian Escort without showing any mercy was currently suppressing him with his energy, whilst holding him midair.

‘This is a showcase of his overwhelming abilities.’

He showed that he was a monster who couldn’t be controlled.

And it was something the officials in the underground had clearly realized. Chun Yeowun’s goal had been achieved.

‘Lord of the Demonic Cult, this person wants something from me. Then…’

The emperor, convinced of it, was about to open his mouth, but then someone appeared between him and Chun Yeowun.

He was none other than Zhu Taikhan.

Zhu Taikhan appeared, put his hands together, and then bowed.

Shocked, Chun Yeowun asked.

“What are you doing, prince?”

“Lo-Lord Chun! Please stop this!”

Unexpectedly, Zhu Taikhan was trying to dissuade Chun Yeowun from harming the Emperor.

The Emperor couldn’t understand the situation.

‘This kid and the Demonic Cult aren’t one team?’

The emperor had thought that Zhu Taikhan and Chun Yeowun were on the same boat.

Zhu Taikhan was the son of a concubine.

Although he was born a prince, it was no exaggeration to say that he was behind the third prince when it came to the emperor's favor.

Such a man had gotten the chance to become the emperor if he received Chun Yeowun’s support.

“I understand how displeasing this situation is. However, our agreement was only to remove the spies of the Blade God Six Martial clan in the palace.”

“Blade God Six Martial clan?”

Hearing that, the Emperor was even more confused.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know the clan.

In a way, the emperor knew that they had been the ones supporting Zhu Taiyoon, who wanted to make them a major faction in the non-aggression treaty.

“The promise is being kept.”

“Even so, you can’t touch His Majesty the Emperor!”

Despite his pale face, Zhu Taikhan's words came out strong.

It was like he was trying to fight against some injustice.

This appearance caused confusion amongst the emperor and his companions.

With a cold gaze, Chun Yeowun spoke to Zhu Taikhan.

“It was the same during the founding time. We were helping the dynasty then too, but the results are always the same with you people.”

Chun Yeowun looked at the Guardian Escort’s body.

If it hadn’t been for the overwhelming power they had, the Demonic Cult would have been forced to swear allegiance even after helping the imperial family.

“That…”

“As His Majesty said, if a favor continues, one thinks of it as their right. Our cult is about to stop doing that from now. I see no reason to show favor to the empire, the Imperial family, or His Majesty.”

The emperor’s face hardened at Yeowun's words.

It felt like Chun Yeowun really wanted to strike him down.

Zhu Taikhan shouted again.

“Ugh, stop! It is because His Majesty doesn’t know the truth!”

“Sorry, but I am in no mood to tell the truth right now. If you don’t move, I’ll move you with force.”

“I won’t move! If you are going to kill His Majesty, you’ll have to cut me down first.”

Chun Yeowun clicked his tongue after seeing Zhu Taikhan speak such words with a trembling body.

“You are being too stubborn.”

With those words, Chun Yeowun waved his hand.

Crack!

“Kuak!”

Zhu Taikhan. Who'd been standing with his arms wide open, suddenly had both his legs broken, and he fell to the floor.

Flustered at the sight of Zhu Taikhan screaming in pain, the emperor shouted.

“What are you doing! Didn’t you say that you were going to kill me and put this child on the throne!”

Even if he was a child from a concubine, he was still the emperor’s child.

What kind of a parent would watch their children suffer?

Without hesitation, Chun Yeowun answered.

“It doesn’t matter as long as he is alive.”

“You… you ma…”

The Emperor was at a loss for words.

It was impossible to predict the way Chun Yeowun did things, he seemed like a man who ignored conventional wisdom.

He was very different from the Yulin people he met frequently.

‘Is, is this the Demonic Cult?’

Clench!

Collapsed on the floor, and screaming, Zhu Taikhan looked up with a pained face and shouted.

“Please! Please Lord Chun, spare His Majesty!”

Despite his pleading voice, Chun Yeowun responded without a blink.

“You still haven’t come to your senses even after having your two legs broken? Then I guess I’ll take your hands as well.”

When Chun Yeowun raised his hand, the emperor shouted.

“L-Lord Chun! Stop! Don’t do it!”

Crack!

Chun Yeowun ignored his words and turned his hand, which made Zhu Taikhan’s arms twist.

With tears flowing from his eyes, the emperor spoke.

“I... I lost!”

At the declaration of defeat from the emperor’s mouth, the faces of the eunuchs, admirals, and commanders hardened.

The words that should never come out of an emperor’s mouth, were heard.

“How could…”

“Your Majesty…”

Not listening to his officials’ words, the emperor continued to speak.

“… I have lost. I will grant everything that Lord Chun wants… please, please have mercy on me and my kids.”

The declaration of complete surrender.

If this news was to spread, it would cause serious trouble across the entire empire.

“Will you keep your words?”

“… I will.”

Chun Yeowun’s mouth rose into a smile at those words.

He'd finally gotten the answer he was looking for.

The emperor closed his eyes, feeling horrible after looking at Chun Yeowun’s expression.

‘Indeed… there was something you wanted.’

It was a hunch, and in the end, the opponent’s intentions were clear.

Thud!

“Kuak!”

The Emperor, who was in the air, fell to the ground.

The Emperor collapsed onto the floor, and couldn't get up as his legs were still shaking.

Looking down at the Emperor, Chun Yeowun spoke.

“The requirements will be heard in two days from now in His Majesty’s palace. Make sure you have your seals ready to process the requests.”

“S-seal!”

The emperor’s gloomy expression hardened more at those words.

If a formal paper had been stamped, it was like turning it into an official document, like signing the treaty the same way the first emperor had.

The greatest disgrace ever for the Emperor.

The Emperor, enraged, looked at Chun Yeowun furiously, but only received a mischievous smile in return, that looked more like a warning.

“The reason I gave you two days is to give His Majesty and the officials of the Imperial Palace the time needed to find out the truth. And…”

Chun Yeowun waved his hand in the air.

The 300 or so Guards and eunuchs, who'd been unable to move, began slamming their heads into the ground as if someone was controlling them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Kuak!”

“Kuk!”

With their foreheads bleeding, they all fell to the ground.

They hadn't died, but they'd fainted from a strong concussion.

“If you do anything useless this time, I will really take your head. Therefore, I believe that you will make a wise decision.”

“Kuk… understood.”

An obvious threat, the Emperor bowed his head and answered in a bitter voice.

Chun Yeowun had already shown that he could kill anyone.

Leaving behind the emperor, who could no longer make eye contact, Chun Yeowun spoke to his subordinates.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Shouting aloud, the members of Demonic Cult followed Chun Yeowun.

Even Ran-yeong, who had been protecting the treasure and the shrine for many years, looked at the hall one last time and disappeared.

After they’d gone, the two Admirals and the Commanders, who were pushed to the back, knelt down and cried before the Emperor.

“Your Majesty! We were powerless and have committed a grave sin. Please give us a chance to remove this disgrace.”

“Give me a chance, Your Majesty!”

The Emperor calmed himself and looked at them whilst speaking in an angry voice.

“You say such things now that he's left?”

The two Admirals and Commanders were embarrassed at the emperor’s words, they didn’t know what to say.

They couldn’t give an answer, it was true that they couldn’t act when Chun Yeowun and his subordinates were present.

In response, Elder Cheong-su, the Elder of the Forces of Justice, cautiously spoke.

“Your Majesty… if you want, I can inform Yulin…”

“I expect the elder to stay out of this.”

“… yes… yes.”

The emperor looked at them pathetically and bit his lip.

“If you don’t want me to face disgrace anymore, don’t talk about this matter ever again. And never, Lord of the Demonic… wah, don’t touch him.”

“… yes!”

When they answered, the emperor looked at prince Zhu Taikhan who was lying in front of him.

He'd fainted from the extreme pain.

The emperor looked at him pitifully, patted his back lightly, and ordered the eunuchs.

“You men. Take my son to the infirmary.”

“Ye… yes!”

Smirk!

However, Zhu Taikhan, who was thought to have fainted, had a small smile on his lips.