Chapter 112
The death of Yulaios Aphahiel.
The people of the Empire, who heard the tragic news of the Emperor’s passing a step later through the mouth of Gion Tindal, fell into confusion in an instant.
The Emperor’s death alone was an enormous shock, but on top of that, the Fifth Prince, Yurion Aphahiel, was nad as the murderer responsible for the deed.
This shocking news spread swiftly, from the Imperial Capital all the way to the remote mountain valleys, reaching every corner without exception.
“Good heavens… how could such a thing happen… I thought he had reford, but in the end, the wastrel prince has caused trouble yet again… No matter how sweet power may be, how could he betray his own blood… A new age of war will begin once more….”
Those who had lived under Emperor Yulaios’s rule and enjoyed nearly thirty years of peace without war sighed as they recalled the faint mories of the age of war before Yulaios.
“I knew it would turn out like this! See? What did I tell you! That Fifth Prince—nothing but a white dog dressed up with a handso face—an hero? Don’t make laugh. This was bound to happen from the start!”
Drunkards in the marketplaces, unaware of what would actually unfold, chattered boastfully, turning their past insults toward the Fifth Prince into drinking tales.
Among the nobles, Yurion’s reputation was already high, and it was difficult to find anyone unfamiliar with his renown.
But to commoners whose news arrived late, the Fifth Prince Yurion still resembled a white dog far more than a white dragon.
Once Gion ignited the flas, the mouths of the Empire’s people were busy ntioning the na of the Fifth Prince Yurion day after day.
Gion’s beautiful, clear voice and his dignified, handso appearance—combined with his perfect acting, painted with false loyalty—were more than enough to deceive the people, who had no way of knowing the truth.
Of course, the nobles who had at least heard roughly what had happened in the palace, even if they weren’t directly involved, reacted quite differently.
“Hah! What a joke. His Highness Prince Yurion planned treason and even went so far as to assassinate His Majesty with his own hands? Gion—that traitorous wretch worth tearing to pieces—is truly swindling the ignorant masses.”
The young nobles of various houses, who had once accompanied Yuwon on the southern subjugation mission and had experienced him up close—those who had long owed their lives to him—did not doubt Yurion’s innocence despite Gion’s sches.
Erol Hampton was one of those who had been deeply moved by Yuwon’s character during the southern subjugation.
“…This is no ti to sit still. Though I have yet to inherit the family, I soon will. I must convince Father myself and take the lead in restoring the foundation of Aphahiel.”
Filled with chivalry and righteousness, Erol naturally stepped forward to relay his thoughts to his father, the Head of House Hampton—his duty as a vassal of Aphahiel.
However, in response, the Head of House Hampton’s stern rebuke followed.
“…Mind your words, Erol. Even this father has eyes and ears. Do you think I know less than you do? But I have a family, a domain, and subjects to protect. Do you intend to drag all of them into war?”
This reaction was far from what Erol had expected.
Though flustered, he did not back down.
“But… Father, to know and yet do nothing is against the knight’s code. Aphahiel, founded under the chivalry of the First Emperor and General Geiorn, is being shaken by the deceit of a traitor. How can we knowingly turn away?”
The Head of House Hampton, the one being persuaded, was no easy opponent.
“Erol, you will soon succeed and beco the lord of Hampton. Yet because of one careless word, our family and our land—protected by our ancestors for generations—may disappear overnight.”
“Father, how could you… How could you say such things when you have served His Majesty Emperor Yulaios all your life?”
Father and son clashed sharply, with the sa event placed between them.
“…Sigh, look, my son. At tis like this, one must look far ahead. This matter, truthfully, began only with the Tindal Duke Family and a few of their allied forces. It was lantable, but there were several chances to correct it. Yet now, having missed the timing, it is no longer as simple as it once was.”
“Our holand is on the verge of falling into the hands of traitors—how can you call it ‘complicated’? Please explain it to so I may understand.”
The son stepped forth to persuade his father, and the father opposed him in order to persuade the son in turn.
“His Majesty has passed, and the Fifth Prince was accused as the murderer. On top of that, the other princes have vanished as if into the sky or the earth, only deepening the people’s suspicion. And then those traitors stepped forward first and threw false accusations onto His Highness the Fifth Prince. Do you understand what this ans?”
Erol remained silent, and the Head of House Hampton continued.
“Mark my words well, my son. When sothing unbelievable occurs, people desperately seek sothing else to believe. At such tis, truth ceases to matter.”
“That ans…”
“Yes, by now you must understand. While the nobles uninvolved in this matter hold their tongues and cling to their own houses for protection, the traitors who seized the center of power struck first. Now they have even gained the justification of protecting the Empire from chaos with the people's support. If we move rashly now, we may turn the entire Empire into our enemy.”
“I understand what you an, Father. However, the entire Empire? Do you truly believe the other nobles will accept this absurd situation?”
To Erol’s question, the Head of House Hampton nodded heavily.
“When one has much to lose, fear grows just as much. Truthfully, I am afraid. Like you, I wish to restore the broken foundation of the Empire, but I do not know how many would share that resolve.”
Those final words gave Erol a sliver of hope.
“In that case…”
“…Yes. We must remain low and wait for the right ti—until the rightful heir of Aphahiel rises and leads us.”
This was an answer even Erol could accept. At this point, he stepped back.
“…I understand. Then I shall wait for that ti. And when it returns, I trust Father will make the right choice.”
“Good. Then that is enough. You may leave.”
“Yes, then… I shall take my leave.”
After receiving his father’s dismissal, Erol withdrew.
The Head of House Hampton, who had barely managed to restrain his son, could not tear his gaze away from the empty space where Erol had stood.
‘Sigh… As this father grows older, I grow ever more like a politician, yet you—whom I believed would remain a child forever—have already beco a full-fledged knight. Forgive this cowardly father, my son. There are too many lives hanging from these hands.’
Throughout the Empire, similar scenes unfolded across the land—only the nas of the places changed.
Heirs urged action, and patriarchs restrained them.
Whoooosh—
Sowhere within the Southern Great Jungle.
A place where only the occasional chirping of birds and insects sounded—suddenly, the wind roared.
Soon after, in the place where a gust swept past, mana surged on its own, emitting an eerie light.
The mana began to draw a circular magic formation upon the ground by itself.
The nature of that magic was a transportation spell that folded and twisted space by borrowing the power of imnse mana to move long distances in an instant.
It unfolded in the middle of the Southern Great Jungle—an utterly unfitting place for such a precious spell that ordinary people of low status might never encounter in their entire lives.
Wooong— Woong—
The magic circle emitted light and a resonant hum. Soon, the circle that had been fiercely pouring out mana and vibrating fell silent as though it had all been a lie.
Tak—
After that, light footsteps echoed. With that sound, the traces of magic vanished cleanly from the place where the magic circle had been drawn, as though nothing had happened. And in its place, a familiar face appeared.
“…We’ve arrived.”
Long white hair flowing to the waist, and an exceptionally handso appearance rarely seen anywhere—
It was Yuwon.
“Fortunately, it seems we arrived safely.”
“Even though this is only my second ti using transportation magic, it is truly… convenient.”
“Argh, I’m dying. Dying…! There are countless low-grade mages out there who will never even co near transportation magic in their lifeti, yet what sin did I commit in a past life to transport four people—including myself—alone…?”
Terrien and Hastings appeared right after Yuwon, and finally Bernid erged with a pale, exhausted face, groaning as though he might die.
For Yuwon and his group, the difficult question wasn’t how they would get sowhere, but what they would do once they arrived.
After all, among them was none other than Bernid, the Genius of Magic.
Thanks to Bernid once again fulfilling his role flawlessly, Yuwon and his group instantly arrived at their destination—the Great Jungle.
“Hoo, at least we made it in one piece. We were lucky. I don’t know if Marcellus intentionally left mana traces behind, but I didn’t expect the coordinates to be so detailed. Without that, we would’ve had to risk being split in half during the jump—or end up sowhere like the Valaris Count Territory.”
“Yeah. You did well. You must’ve spent a lot of mana, so get so rest.”
Yuwon patted Bernid’s shoulder, praising his effort, and Terrien and Hastings followed behind Yuwon, briefly thanking Bernid for his contribution.
“So we ca straight to the Great Jungle, but… what now?”
“Did I not say? First, we need to visit the place Hastings stayed while he was training in the jungle. According to him, there shouldn’t be anything there, but well, you never know.”
“Well, I’ve done my part for now, so I plan to recover my depleted mana and rest. So please, do your best to keep my head attached to my neck going forward.”
Bernid spoke half jokingly, half sincerely, and Yuwon smiled.
“Well, your mouth is still working, so I think you can be pushed a little harder.”
“Hey, don’t say that. I may be a prince, but even a prince can’t just collapse and lie around anywhere. I’m on the verge of fainting right now.”
Bernid spoke that way, but the fact that he had transported four people—including himself—to the southernmost edge of the continent all alone and still had the strength to speak was astonishing. His nickna as the Genius of Magic was clearly not sothing given rely because he was a “prince who knew so magic.”
“Alright, alright. I understand. I don’t know if we’ll have the luxury to rest in the Great Jungle, but at the very lea—”
Yuwon suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
‘…! Sothing is coming this way! Fast…!’
By the ti Yuwon sensed sothing strange, Hastings and Terrien had also noticed the presence that Yuwon felt.
“…Hup!”
“Your Highness, sothing is coming toward us! It’s fast!”
Ching—!
Hastings imdiately drew his daggers with both hands and stood to Yuwon’s left as if to protect him, and Terrien took position on Yuwon’s right without delay.
“Yes, I felt it as well.”
Yuwon had sensed the approaching presence before Terrien and Hastings did.
Yet he didn’t alert them for one particular reason.
‘Why are they…?’
For so reason, Yuwon sensed not even a speck of hostility from the unknown entities rushing toward them at great speed.
‘They’re coming in at that speed, yet there’s not even a trace of hostility?’
Even Yuwon found his own reaction strange. His sixth sense—far surpassing the five senses—was telling him they were not dangerous.
“Your Highness?”
“Hey, Yurion! What are you doing?!”
Seeing Yuwon unmoving despite claiming he sensed the threat, Terrien and Bernid called out urgently.
Just as Yuwon was about to draw a weapon just in case, sothing wriggled from inside his left chest pocket. A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“I see. So that’s why I felt no hostility.”
“…?”
Yuwon muttered sothing that no one understood. Before the others could question him—
Piii— Piiik—!
The Hatchling of the Dragon-Scaled Serpent wriggled out of Yuwon’s chest pocket and curled up on his shoulder, chirping happily.
And as if responding to its cry, the approaching creatures released sounds that echoed through the silent jungle.
Srrr—
A sound not of running, but of sliding across the ground.
Yuwon knew that sound very well.
‘Those creatures… from that ti.’
There was no ti for longer thought.
“Sn… sn… snakes…!”
Bernid’s frightened voice rang through the jungle. The beings that had rushed toward them were monstrous serpentine beasts.
So were as small as a human, while others rivaled the size of a large stallion.
One by one, they revealed themselves before Yuwon.
They varied in shape and color—so had two heads, others had horns. So were not even snakes but four-legged lizard-like beasts.
Dozens of extraordinary serpents ford a wide circle centered around Yuwon.
Bizarre, yet strangely majestic.
The overwhelming sight drew silent awe from Hastings.
‘This is like…’
The scene resembled loyal vassals greeting their emperor.
They had once shown such behavior during the southern battlefield—but this ti was different.
Back then, the battlefield of the South had been the stage.
Now, they stood in the heart of the jungle, the serpents’ own domain.
Yet Yuwon looked completely natural in this unfamiliar setting, greeting the beasts with a warm smile.
“It has been a while.”
The soft voice he uttered sent chills running down the spines of those listening.
Hastings felt goosebumps sweep up his back.
It was unmistakably Yuwon’s voice, yet this ti, it carried the aura of a sovereign looking down upon all creation—the very aura that had made the serpents follow him.
‘Ah… His Highness truly…’
Was becoming emperor of a great empire not enough for him?
Yuwon, thrust into a new ecosystem, did not adapt to his environnt—
He ruled over it.
As Yuwon received the serpents’ fervent welco, he spoke another cryptic line.
“Interesting. So this is what they call ‘Heaven beyond the heavens’….”
At that mont, Yuwon focused not on the reverent serpents before him, but on a powerful energy he felt from far away.
Just as the serpents sensed Yuwon’s presence and approached—
sothing else in the Great Jungle had sensed him as well.
The mont they sensed Yuwon, he sensed them.
Sowhere deep within the jungle—
entities with enormous power had noticed his arrival.
“This Great Jungle truly is a sky above the sky of the continent.”
Long ago, monstrous beasts had once ruled the entire continent, until humans rose with the birth of the Aphahiel Empire and drove them out.
Those beasts fled to this cursed land—the Great Jungle—and created their own ecosystem over hundreds of years.
And now, Yuwon had arrived.
The long-established ecosystem and food chain of the Great Jungle began to stir once more upon his appearance.
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