The Ruler Of Darkness - Chapter 618



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Episode 618 Volume 25 Episode 18

Chapter 18: The Crossroads

Luoyang.

A huge mansion somewhere.

“… … .”

There was an old lady sitting in the reception room, quietly closing her eyes.

Despite his age, his back and neck were as straight as a pillar supporting a beam.

She is the Hwangbo family, the immortal and undefeated empress.

It was Hwangbo Mujo.

“Your Majesty, is there anything that feels uncomfortable?”

“Rather than that.”

Empress Hwangbo Mujo opened her eyes to the question from the person who appeared to be the butler and asked him a question.

“Are all the unmanned people here affiliated with the dark faction of the Luoyang Swordsmanship?”

“that….”

The butler was slightly taken aback by her question.

“I feel like this is the kind of question I can’t answer….”

Empress Hwangbo Mujo smiled wryly.

“It was my fault for asking that bastard. Get out.”

“… … .”

The butler bowed his head deeply, closed the door, and left. Empress Hwangbo Mujo closed her eyes again and tried to meditate.

but.

“Your Majesty.”

With a polite knock on the door, her closest aide appeared.

“They say the results of the Bimu (比武) test have come out.”

Empress Hwangbo Mujo opened her eyes wide.

“What was the result?”

The closest aide, who had hesitated for a moment, opened his mouth.

“… It is the victory of the Grand Duke.”

“… … .”

The deep wrinkles around Empress Hwangbo Mujo’s eyes were seen trembling in the eyes of her closest aides.

The air around her heaved and quivered in response to her emotions.

“My lord… .”

Even as one of her closest confidants, it was rare for him to see the empress so emotionally shaken.

Even when his successor, Huangfu Dusung, was poisoned by the Four Princes of Luoyang Swordsmanship, Yan Fei, and was even beaten to a bloody pulp.

The person who didn’t even blink an eye was Empress Hwangbo Mujo.

however.

The result of this short fight was what shook her up so much.

“… Then, now.”

Empress Hwangbo Mujo muttered to herself, trying to calm her emotions.

“There is no other way.”

that.

It was a word that conveyed a deep and dark intention that was frightening.

“…My lord!”

Her closest aide stepped forward and raised his voice.

“There’s no need to rush like that…!”

He wanted to raise his voice louder, but he couldn’t.

This was because this was not their stronghold, the Hwangbo family.

“My lord, there is no problem in simply meeting ‘them’…! But joining hands with them will have irreversible consequences…!”

He raised his hand and pointed beyond the firmly closed door.

“This place is ominous…! The hallways, the unmanned people, the people in charge of this mansion… there’s something very strange about it! Even if I’m not a Taoist, I can tell that something is seriously wrong here-!”

“-then?”

Empress Hwangbo Mujo cut him off.

“No matter how well I beat up my other children, they were nothing more than idiots, and Hwangbo Du-sung. He’s not much of a brat either.”

She stood up and continued speaking.

“The Sword King of the Namgung family was defeated by a grand prince who was not even a young man, and I also grew old like the Sword King. And I am still growing old.”

She looked at her hands.

No matter how high your level or how much your inner strength increases, time does not flow backwards.

“In this situation… .”

She turned her head and looked at her closest aide and asked.

“To me and to Hwangbo Se-gae. Is there any other way?”

“… … .”

The closest aide was unable to answer.

He opened and closed his mouth several more times with a distorted face.

Then, he lowered his head and said.

“… Many people, including myself, will follow only the Lord until the very end. So please.”

The Empress’s closest confidant, who had been loyal to her for a long time, knelt down on the spot and appealed to her.

“Please don’t make decisions based solely on the belief that there will be no other way…!”

should.

If it were normal.

If she had been the empress she usually was.

“Please reconsider until the very last moment…!”

The Empress would have smashed the head of her closest aide who doubted her judgment.

but.

“…Thank you.”

“… … !”

For the first time in all those years of serving her, he saw her human side.

“My lord-!”

And at that moment, her closest aide was about to say something to her.

“Thank you for waiting so long.”

The butler knocked on the door, came in, bowed his head respectfully to Empress Hwangbo Mujo, and spoke.

“Go.”

* * *

A luxurious hallway leading to the tea room.

“father.”

Namgung Bukwi, the head of the Namgung family, walked down the hallway and cautiously asked his father, King Geomwang.

“… Are you confident that you can turn this conversation to your advantage?”

“What, yourself?”

As he walked, King Namgungje, who was putting his new clothes on for the last time, looked back at the head of the household, Namgungbukwi.

“You just said it was you, Gaju?”

“yes.”

Gaju Namgung Bukwi answered with a serious expression.

“The outcome of this conversation will determine the future of our Namgung family. If you are not confident, wouldn’t it be better to postpone it?”

“You mean… .”

King Namgungje muttered like that, then laughed heartily and said.

“Of course not.”

“…yes?”

Gaju Namgungbukwi’s footsteps stopped.

He couldn’t hide his bewilderment at his father’s blunt attitude.

“What is that…?”

King Namgungje, who had stopped walking with his son, raised his arm and showed the bandage tightly tied to his armpit and said.

“I just got hit so hard, what confidence can I have in this old man, Gaju?”

“No, Father-!”

“-But, go.”

King Namgungje of the Sword.

He returned with a serious expression and asked his son.

“This conversation, and this decision, cannot be delayed any longer, Master. Do you understand why?”

“… … .”

Namgung Bukwi, the head of the household who had been keeping his mouth shut for a moment, opened his mouth with a stern expression.

“… My old father will grow older in the future, and the grand duke who defeated my father has come too close to the position of the minor head of the Luoyang Sword Family, but I am still inadequate as the head of the family?”

“…her!”

King Namgung Je pretended to look surprised.

“That’s really straightforward. It’s true, but… .”

“father…!”

“house owner.”

Gaju Namgung Bukwi was surprised to see a gentle smile appearing on his father’s wrinkled lips.

“… … !”

When had he last seen such a relaxed, almost peaceful smile from his father?

Was there anything like that?

“It is true that we have no choice.”

King Namgung Je nodded with a gentle smile and continued speaking.

“It must have been the same for others who had faced the Archduke before. We thought we would be different from them, but in the end. In front of the Archduke, we were just wasting time and making choices that were not choices.”

“but-!”

“-A little while ago. I was acting like I was a know-it-all and said that now was the real topic.”

King Namgung Je, who gently interrupted his son Namgung Bukwi’s words, asked calmly with a smile.

“If our Namgung Family decides to become hostile to the Grand Duke despite losing to him in a duel, what will the world say about me and our Namgung Family?”

“… … .”

Gaju Namgung Bukwi had no answer.

“That day.”

Then King Namgung Je continued speaking.

“During the triumphal procession in Luoyang, the Grand Duke displayed his spirit in front of everyone for today.”

“… Are you saying that your father forced you to fight today because of his desire for victory and curiosity?”

“exactly.”

The Sword King nodded at his son’s answer and smiled relievedly.

“And crucially, it was you who came to me in person, despite me being called by a derogatory name like the Emperor Without a Crown for over ten years, and stimulated an irresistible desire in me.”

As he said this, he started walking down the long, straight corridor.

“… … .”

Gaju Namgung Bukwi looked at the sight and thought.

If it felt like there were other choices, you were mistaken.

They are faithful.

I was just walking on the path laid out by a person named Yeon So-hyeon.

King Namgungje of Geomwang said so.

“…father.”

“But go.”

King Namgung Je of the Sword walked with a smile on his face and spoke over his shoulder.

“No matter how great your highness the prince is, there are some things that cannot be changed at this point.”

“…what is it?”

The father answered his son’s question with a confident expression.

“Everything that we, the Namgung family, have built up until now.”

“… … !”

At that moment, the end of the hallway appeared, and the maid of the Grand Duke who had been waiting in front opened the door.

“Are you here?”

Yeon So-hyeon’s voice, incredibly calm, could be heard from inside.

“The tea you prepared is really good.”

It’s a bit unsettling to see him so peaceful, as if he were in his own home.

“Haha! That’s fortunate!”

King Namgungje entered the tea room with an even more exaggerated smile.

“I heard that the Archduke is very picky about his tea, so I put a lot of effort into preparing this!”

“Is that so?”

Gaju Namgung Bukwi followed his father, King Geom, into the room and bowed his head silently toward Yeon Sohyeon, who also gave him a brief bow.

“Okay, then!”

Namgung Je, the King of Swords, sat down first across from Yeon So-hyeon, feeling refreshed and calm.

“We’re all busy people, so I think it would be better to get straight to the point.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

And then, before Yeon So-hyeon could even sit down again, he spoke.

“Your Highness, you have many enemies. As great as you are, your enemies are also great and powerful. However, we of the Namgung Sega family can stand by your side.”

Yeon So-hyeon shrugged her shoulders and sat down.

“That’s good news.”

“but.”

Namgungje rubbed his hands together like a merchant with a meaningful expression and spoke to Yeonseonhyeon.

“Our Namgung Se-ga’s assistance. How much will you pay?”

Yeon So-hyeon, whose eyes opened wide at those words, soon burst into a hearty laugh.

“Of course, I should pay you the proper price.”

* * *

“Here it is.”

In front of the gate guarded by the warriors of the dark realm.

The Empress’s closest aide asked the butler, still unable to shake off that ominous feeling.

“Is the former head of the Geumga clan, Elder Wiji Sanggal, inside here?”

“Yes, but…?”

When the butler answered in a low voice as if he was afraid of something, the Empress’s closest aide asked again.

“I heard that he is not in good health to the point where he can hardly have a proper conversation. If he is not feeling well today, there is no need to force yourself to meet him-.”

“-stop.”

Empress Hwangbo Mujo cut him off.

“I know your heart, so stop it.”

“But, my lord-!”

at that time.

A voice came from inside the sliding door.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry about it.”

“… … ?!”

The Empress’s closest aide felt goosebumps run down his body.

It was a problem before the gnawing feeling of unease that came from the voice coming from inside.

‘Didn’t you say that Wijisanggal had pus all over his body and was having trouble speaking properly?’

He quickly glanced at Empress Hwangbo Mujo out of the corner of his eye and sent a small signal.

It was a signal to step back.

but.

The Empress’s eyes were not looking at her closest aides.

“… … .”

Her too.

She opened her eyes wide, perhaps sensing something strange, just like her closest aides, but her gaze was fixed on the closed sliding door.

“My lord…!”

The moment when her closest aide dared to put a hand on her shoulder to try to stop her.

“Open the door.”

With the command, the dark warriors standing on both sides opened the door.

And a dark room.

An old man sitting cross-legged on a bed made of fragrant wood.

Wi Ji-sang-gal, the former head of the Luoyang Sword Family and a member of the thirteenth committee of the emergency response committee.

“You are the famous empress of the Hwangbo family.”

The old man looks healthy.

No, rather, he welcomed Empress Hwangbo Mujo with open arms, looking as if he had even become a little younger.

“I don’t need to tell you what ‘we’ can give you, Your Majesty.”

They who call themselves us.

The devil’s cult.

The thing that the Empress wanted most was shown through the former head of the Elderly Council, Wi Ji Sang Gal.

“Come in.”

And that’s it.

It was the moment when the King of the Namgung family and the Empress of the Hwangbo family took different paths at the crossroads.