The Ruler of Darkness

Book 2: Chapter 23

The yard was filled with elder Yeom’s steward and the four warriors escorting him, as well as everyone from Wongak Pavilion.

“Say it again.”

Unconsciously swallowing his saliva, the man identified as elder Yeom’s steward looked at Yeon So-Hyeon, who had appeared after kicking the door open.

“Didn’t I tell you to say it again?”

Yeon So-Hyeon’s softly growling voice was very different from the swordless one that he had heard about in rumors.

Still, the steward trusted in the prestige of the Elder he served.

The Elder was at the highest rank within the world of swordsmanship, after all.

“Elder Yeom has issued a command to bring in the Medicine King.”

At these words, the triplets snickered, and Jung-ah burst into laughter.

Yeon So-Hyeon tilted his head and asked,

“Who gave a command to whom?”

The steward hastily cleared his throat.

“Cough. Of course, the command was given to me.”

Yeon So-Hyeon questioned again,

“To you?”

The steward stumbled over his words.

“No, not to me… “

“And?”

“Not to me… that is…”

The atmosphere became comical as the steward fumbled, causing all the maids to burst into laughter.

The laughter seemed to seriously provoke the steward.

Or perhaps he wanted to deny the fact that he was mocked by a swordless one.

“How rude! How dare mere maids…!”

Yeon So-Hyeon cut him off and raised his hand.

“The rude one here is you.”

He was about to slap the steward’s cheek when,

“Your Highness, stop!”

All four escorting warriors simultaneously grasped their sword hilts.

“How dare…!”

Jung-ah signaled, and all the maids also took hold of their sword hilts.

At that moment,

The wrists of the warriors who had grasped their sword hilts fell to the ground.

The cut was so precise that even the warriors who had lost their wrists heard them hit the ground before they realized what had happened.

“Ah, arghhhhh!”

The steward leapt in horror at the sight.

The warriors, true to their profession, calmly applied pressure to their wounds and backed away.

“These insane fools…”

A man dressed as a guard stood with a sword in his hand.

Amazingly, not a single drop of blood was on the sword that had sliced off the warriors’ wrists.

Moreover, it was a blunt practice sword.

“How dare you point your swords at His Highness of this household…?”

The sword in the hands of Life-Stealing Devil Sword flashed again.

Again, there was no sound.

No shadow either.

The arms of the defensive escort warriors were severed at once.

His sword showed no mercy.

“What are you doing, you treacherous wretches?”

At the word ‘treacherous,’ the warriors realized what they had done.

These warriors, who had always looked down upon the swordless one, now understood the mess they had gotten into.

Life-Stealing Devil Sword revealed his teeth in a terrifying manner and emitted an intense killing intent.

The atmosphere in the usually gentle Wongak Pavilion seemed to freeze.

“If you were warriors, die with your swords in hand.”

Just as his sword was about to move again, Yeon So-Hyeon’s soft voice echoed.

“Stop.”

Life-Stealing Devil Sword stopped his sword, but did not return to sheath it.

Yeon So-Hyeon looked at him and spoke again,

“Nobody will be robbed of their life here in Wongak Pavilion. That’s a strict rule set by my mother, who is also the head of this household.”

Only then did Life-Stealing Devil Sword immediately sheathed his sword.

The steward foamed at the mouth.

“Your Highness! Do you think you can just harm Elder Yeom’s warriors and get away with it?!”

“Yes.”

Yeon So-Hyeon grabbed the steward’s collar and slapped him across the face.

Even though he had not used any internal energy, he was a practitioner of Dark Heavens Scripture, a manual of exceptional martial arts.

According to the Medicine King, he was not even a human being.

He was capable of tearing people apart with brute strength alone.

The steward’s cheek burst open, and teeth flew into the air.

With an indifferent gaze, Yeon So-Hyeon looked down at the steward hanging from his grip and spoke.

“It was only due to my mother that I will not kill you.”

He slapped the steward once again.

The remaining teeth scattered into the air along with a mist of blood.

“And not just warriors; I’m confident that even if I turn an ignorant servant like you into a cripple, Elder Yeom won’t say a word.”

He slapped the steward again.

Half of the steward’s face was now soaked in blood, his cheekbone sunk, and one of his eyes ruptured and oozing.

“Do you know why?”

Clearly, the question was directed at the steward, but he had already lost consciousness.

“I—I don’t know.”

One of the warriors, who was clutching his severed arm to stem the bleeding, replied instead.

Yeon So-Hyeon smiled at him.

“Elder Yeom knows his own worth. Even if I may seem incompetent, compared to my reputation, his is even less significant.”

Yeon So-Hyeon bared his teeth at the warriors.

“So, what’s the conclusion?”

The warriors couldn’t answer.

Then Yeon So-Hyeon slapped the steward once more.

His ears flew off, his skin ripped open, and his already fractured cheekbone was exposed.

“This bastard lied, didn’t he?”

Yeon So-Hyeon shook the steward’s collar in front of the speechless warriors.

“And even if he didn’t, it doesn’t matter.”

His aura leaked out, and a coldness incomparable to that of Life-Stealing Devil Sword’s sword aura enveloped them.

“Because I’ll make Elder Yeom just like this guy.”

Everyone was frozen in place when Jung-ah stepped forward.

“…Master.”

Yeon So-Hyeon sighed and retracted his aura.

But he did not release the steward and spoke to the warriors.

“Are you worried that I might disobey my mother’s orders? Don’t be.”

Yeon So-Hyeon chuckled.

“Because there are two of the greatest doctors in the Central Plains right here.”

This time, the Medicine King stepped forward.

“It seems that Elder Yeom’s subordinates have acted out of excessive loyalty, aiming to accomplish great deeds.”

He approached Yeon So-Hyeon.

“When I was in Luoyang, I used to take a look at Elder Yeom’s daughter, who’s suffering from an incurable disease.”

Medicine King frowned at the sight of the courtyard, which was splattered with blood.

“Your Highness. Considering your relationship with Elder Yeom, or even just thinking about the caretakers who used to tend to this yard, shouldn’t we let these people go now?”

Though he was trying to appear composed, there was no way Yeon So-Hyeon couldn’t sense the complicated and frustrating feelings due to the transformed appearance of his grandson.

Yeon So-hyeon tossed the arrest warrant in his hand to his warriors.

Medicine King then spoke to them.

“Given the unsightly events that have transpired, it will be difficult to continue caring for his daughter any longer.”

To those who heard this, it was as good as a death sentence, especially knowing the temperament of Elder Yeom.

But they said nothing, lowered their heads deeply, took their steward, and left Wongak Pavilion.

Life-Stealing Devil Sword followed them to the main gate and confirmed that they had completely left Wongak Pavilion.

The courtyard was wrapped in silence.

After a moment, Yeon So-hyeon spoke to Medicine King without turning back.

“This too is my responsibility.”

Medicine King remained silent, waiting for Yeon So-hyeon to continue.

“Due to my stupidity and negligence that invited contempt, four warriors of our illustrious family had to pay the price.”

Scattered around the yard were their severed wrists and forearms.

Medicine King sighed and approached Yeon So-hyeon.

“…No, they simply paid the price for their own foolishness.” Putting his arm around Yeon So-hyeon’s shoulder, he continued, “Now, let’s run through the dawn together with this old man.”

Yeon So-hyeon chuckled again, “What’s this ‘let’s run’ at your age? How undignified.”

“Are you kidding me? Didn’t you say there were two top doctors in the Central Plains? Did I hear that wrong? Isn’t the top one only me, Medicine King?”

“You heard it wrong. Medicine King is the best in the Central Plains, and I am the best on this continent.”

As the two bickered and returned to the room, Jung-ah sighed in relief.

She had been worried that her master’s heightened emotions might cause ‘it’ to burst out.

After the mass slaughter, it was only recently that the eroding sanity of her master had found stability.

She clapped her hands.

“What is everyone doing? Hurry and clean up this mess, and prepare more side dishes for the alcohol.”

The triplets, who were still frozen due to the lingering murderous aura of Yeon So-Hyeon, started to move busily.

* * *

“What did you say?”

A colossal great sword repeatedly struck the ground.

“Say that again.”

Each time the sword collided, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and thunderous sounds resonated.

“Say it again, I said!”

The hall shook, and dust that had piled up in unseen corners scattered.

“Why aren’t you answering?!”

The ground was deeply gouged.

The faces of those nearby paled.

“Elder.”

“What?”

Unable to bear it any longer, his servant spoke up.

“As you can see, he has long been dead.”

Elder Yeom snickered.

What he had been relentlessly striking with his great sword was his steward who had returned in a vegetative state. 

His corpse was so gruesomely mangled that it was indistinguishable whether it was originally a man or a beast.

As he stared down at the lump of flesh, drenched in blood and embedded in the ground, Elder Yeom sighed.

He threw his great sword over his shoulder, and it flew, drawing a gentle curve, and stuck into its sheath.

It was a Sword Controlling Technique.

He then sat down on the ground.

“…Damn it, killed him in a fit of temper. I’ll get another earful.”

He looked at the four warriors bowing their heads on the ground in front of him.

“Go and confess your sins to the Executioner Princess and receive your punishment. If anyone feels wronged, ask for a Duel Trial”

“…Thank you for your kindness!”

The warriors shouted loudly, but for some reason, they seemed more frightened than when Elder Yeom was angry.

None of them looked as though they would dare to request a Duel Trial.

Elder Yeom waved his hand.

“Everyone except the advisors may leave.”

Once the general crowd had left, only a small group of people who he referred to as advisors remained.

“The Medicine King said he won’t be visiting anymore?”

“Based on what I’ve confirmed, he said, ‘Given the unsightly events that have transpired, it will be difficult to continue caring for his daughter any longer.’”

Elder Yeom didn’t say that it meant the same thing.

In a position like that, he was well aware of just how much of a difference even a small expression could make.

“As if my head isn’t already about to explode because of the Dragon and Phoenix Conference…”

Elder Yeom lifted his large bear-paw-like hand and clutched his head.

‘…Swordless, Swordless, that damn Swordless!’

He slammed his palm down onto the ground, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the flagstones.

He then spoke in a subdued voice.

“There is a misconception among the lower ranks…”

The general took over the conversation.

“And what might that be?”

Elder Yeom answered, “The Grand young master wasn’t belittled for being a Swordless, but rather he was called a Swordless because he allowed himself to be belittled.”He looked up at the ceiling. “If he doesn’t stay silent, he’s not a Swordless. Then, what is he?”

“Then he would only be Grand young master.”

Elder Yeom shouted vehemently, “Exactly! Grand young master! The Grand Master of the Great Luoyang Sword House! Is there anyone here who doesn’t know where the Daegongja stands in the hierarchical order of our family’s law? Anyone who doesn’t realize how weighty that name is?!”

“…We have no face to show.”

His advisors simultaneously bowed their heads deeply.

“So how are you educating the damn underlings?!”

He yelled at his advisors.

“Re-educate everyone under my command on the hierarchy! Especially those who only have swordsmanship in their heads, educate them twice as much! If not, make it three times!”

His advisors responded in unison.

“And find a way to bring back the Medicine King]!”

He growled like a mountain lord.

“And those who bring in someone they can’t be responsible for, under the guise of a plan…”

He pointed his finger.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward a piece of meat at the bottom of the pit.

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