Chapter 414: Collapse of the Ice Palace (1)

Drrrr!

The office of the North Sea Ice Palace.

The intense vibrations caused all the furniture to vibrate and the office decorations to fall.

Two people were casually talking. Perhaps they were getting used to the continuous vibration, which only got worse with time.

They were Dan Jucheon, Deputy King of the Palace, and Seol Young-gwi, the 1st Elder.

“This is a problem. Word is quickly spreading among the officials in the palace.”

“… how long has it been?”

Dan Jucheon shook his head with a disappointed face.

The news that prince Baekhyun, the previous king’s rightful successor and the Lord of the Demonic Cult, led a contingent into the palace spread quickly.

Thanks to that, news of the successful arrival of Yulin's contingent got buried.

“Hm, it is going completely different from the original plan. Ugh!”

Dan Jucheon wanted to use the success of his dispatch request to change the minds of several officials and direct members of the palace who didn't support him becoming king.

Instead, the prince, whose credibility had been lost in the palace, came back to highlight the unreasonable selection of the heir.

‘The Lord of the Demonic Cult can’t be considered since there was no official request sent to them. Haa.’

They could have used that excuse if it hadn’t been for the Lord of the Demonic Cult, Chun Yeowun.

Everyone hated admitting it, but after seeing his high skill level while crossing the lake, it was hard for anyone to make a move.

The Ice Palace was already having a hard time dealing with the Dragon Turtle, and they couldn’t afford to create a stronger enemy.

‘Even if it was too much, should I have tried to defeat the monster with just the palace warriors?’

It was a regret.

But soon after, he realized that such a thought was foolish.

A four-headed dragon is almost a disaster class spirit beast.

It was completely unknown if there would be any piece of the North Sea Ice Palace left if they dealt with the Dragon Turtle alone.

‘Right. It’s impossible to ascend to the throne of the palace without making any sacrifices.’

Dan Jucheon wanted absolute power in the North Sea Ice Palace.

The fact that he was able to overtake the prince and take office as the Deputy King was only possible because of the support of the senior officials.

It was better to act safely than sacrifice everyone around him.

“It is highly unlikely that the prince will stay in the limelight for a long time.”

“Well, the senate officials are showing interest in the Lord of the Demonic Cult.”

“Those old people in the back room are quite meddlesome.”

Crack!

The handle of the chair that Dan Jucheon was sitting on cracked as he released his energy.

The senate officials had stopped him from time to time.

Starting from the time when the former deceased king competed with Dan Jucheon for the position of king.

‘This much should be enough.’

Seol Young-gwi was satisfied looking at Dan Jucheon’s expression.

His real purpose was to stimulate ill feelings towards the prince and make the Deputy King consider the prince a threat.

He thought that the Deputy King wouldn’t make a move since the prince is his nephew and disciple, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

‘You shouldn’t turn weak just because the person who decided to walk alongside you is a blood relative. Sympathy is not a good emotion.’

In order to do that, the bloody path should be faced head-on.

In his mind, Seol Young-gwi wanted to advise Dan Jucheon to eliminate the prince right away, but looking at his reaction on the watchtower, it wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

Dan Jucheon asked.

“And their accommodations?”

“For now, only the leaders of both Yulin and the Demonic Cult are being given entry into the Royal Palace's VIP side, temporary barracks are being set up on the west side of the palace.”

“Ugh, too many people…”

Originally, they only prepared residences for the Yulin contingents.

However, as the number of people increased, the accommodations inside the palace weren’t enough, so they had to set up barracks.

“Once the dragon affair is resolved, we will have to expand the palace and increase the number of guests. I don’t think the prestige of the palace will stand tall if we don’t change.”

“I understand. Leave it to this old man.”

Elder Seol Young-gwi agreed to it.

Since the North Sea Ice Palace had never accommodated so many guests before, it felt like an expansion had to be done.

“I hope nothing goes wrong tonight.”

The vibrations had recently grown stronger. Now it was almost like an earthquake was happening right below their feet.

The source of the vibrations was where the Dragon was sealed, yet the tremors would shake the entire palace.

There was something wrong, and they tried to think of what was wrong, but they couldn’t understand why the entire palace shook.

“It’s strange how no one is surprised that the palace is shaking like this! Isn’t it? Mun…”

Hu Bong, who was looking at Mun Ku, was shocked by the shaking and looked to the side.

Instead of standing tall, Mun Ku was clinging to Chun Yeowun.

She wasn’t scared at all. Instead, she was smiling.

“Hehehehe. I am fine. My support here is pretty strong.”

Grab!

“You, you~ Do what you want~.”

The Six Swords all laughed at Hu Bong’s ridiculous words as he pouted.

“What kind of stupid expression are you making?”

“Puaahhhh!”

Chun Yeowun ended up laughing out loud.

Walking down the hallway to get to the VIP residence reminded him of the old days in the academy.

In a way, those were enjoyable times for him.

“Don’t worry too much. Our palace is built out of a single stone, it is unlikely for it to collapse despite the shaking.”

The lieutenant of the Snow Sword Troops, Oh Young, who was guiding them to the VIP rooms on the fourth floor of the palace, spoke with a smile.

Although the palace shook quite a lot, it was weird to see that there were no cracks.

Unable to believe, Hu Bong spoke.

“If this is moderate shaking, then fine, but won’t this come down with stronger shaking?”

“W-well? I think it will be fine.”

“Ah! here! Here! There are cracks on this side.”

Looking at the wall of the hallway, Hu Bong pointed to the thin cracks.

It wasn’t that bad, but Hu Bong, who never witnessed such a thing, couldn’t help but worry that the palace would collapse.

Puck!

“Ugh!”

“Calm yourself. Such nonsense. Is this your bedroom? You keep making noises.”

Hu Bong only became silent after being hit on the back of his head by a huge palm.

Oh Young smiled awkwardly at that.

Actually, he was shocked in his heart.

The Demonic Cult he knew was supposed to be made up of rude and strong people with warlike tendencies, but seeing them up close, they were no different from normal people.

Tak!

Chun Yeowun placed his hand on the cracked wall.

‘Nano. What is the condition of this building?’

[I will scan and check the condition.]

Along with Nano’s voice, a faint light escaped from Chun Yeowun’s palm.

Mun Ku, who was the only one next to him, looked at Chun Yeowun.

Eventually, Nano told him the results.

[As a result of scanning the cracks in the wall, it is a crack that has progressed recently. As the damage is progressing at a rapid rate, the building is…]

Rumble!

“Woah!”

The palace shook again.

This time, it was a lot stronger than before.

The palace even wobbled a little.

“Ah…”

Even Oh Young, the lieutenant of Snow Sword troops, who just comforted Hu Bong, looked around bewildered.

‘What? Did it shake like this before?’

Until yesterday, there was only one huge vibration at a time.

And then it would get quiet for a long time, but this time, the interval between the vibrations was very short.

This time, Sama Chak, who had been calm till then, asked.

“Is this really okay?”

It was scary.

And Oh Young couldn’t tell the guests of the North Sea Ice Palace that they weren’t in a safe place.

Firstly, he felt like he had to calm the anxious people and then report to the deputy king right away.

“Although the vibrations are a bit severe, the palace is built out of a single stone, so it won’t collapse…”

Rumble!

Crack!

Before he could even finish his words, the entire palace shook again.

As a result, fragments from the cracked area fell to the floor.

Everyone’s faces went stiff.

And Hu Bong began to break out in cold sweat.

“… excuse me, is this really okay?”

There was a crack in the ceiling of the palace, which was supposed to stand strong.

They didn’t fall since they were all well-versed in martial arts techniques about keeping their balance, but if there were any civilians inside, they would have fallen.

“I will report this to the deputy king of the palace, so I think that it would be better for our distinguished guests to go outside the palace! Follow me!”

Oh Young took the lead and tried to guide them outside.

It was then.

Rumble! Drrrk!

“Waahhh!”

“T-the building!”

This time the palace swayed from side to side along with the vibrations and ended up leaning to one side.

Perhaps, it was the impact that caused a huge change in the ceiling on the side of the wall, which was already cracked.

Crack!

The ceiling and wall, which was supposed to be made of a single stone, cracked and was about to collapse.

Flustered, Oh Young pointed to the window at the end of the hallway and screamed.

“You need to jump out!”

He wanted them to get out.

However, the fact that they were on the upper floor, which was collapsing, made it difficult.

Rumble! Rumble!

“Ugh! The floor!”

The floor cracked like it was going to break.

Even Oh Young, who had gotten used to the vibrations, couldn’t help but lose his balance.

At that very moment.

Bang!

Crack!

Even those who learned the North Sea’s Cold Qi wouldn't be able to create such a chill.

At that moment, frost began to form on the floor, which was about to collapse, and the cracks ended up freezing.

Shockingly, that wasn’t the only thing.

As if the ceiling that was about to collapse was held by someone, every piece which was falling stopped mid-air.

Gooooo!

A heavy dust cloud filled the floor.

“Wh-what is this?”

Oh Young saw that Ko Wanghur, Hu Bong, Mong Mu, and Great Guardian Marakim all had their hands stretched out.

Three Superiors Masters and one Supreme Master had stopped the fragments falling from the ceiling mid-air.

And,

“No way…”

Cold energy radiated from the center of Chun Yeowun, the Lord of the Demonic Cult’s, right foot.

The cold energy made the floor freeze.

‘How, how can he use such extremes…’

Unlike Oh Young, who was surprised, Hu Bong was on the verge of death.

‘Kuak! I knew this would happen! This was why I was anxious.’

He raised his energy to the sky in a hurry, but it was impossible for him to support the floor.

If it hadn’t been for the four of them acting at the perfect time, the ceiling would have collapsed right away.

Shaking!

“Ugh, this is too hard. I think you and the Lord should head out first.”

“Huh… he is right. Lord.”

Marakim spoke in a trembling voice as he was also struggling with the task at hand.

What they were doing was a temporary measure.

They couldn’t stand there and keep the ceiling up forever. All they could do was hold it up temporarily.

“Lord! Mun Ku! Sama Chak! Che Takim! Move!”

As Ko Wanghur shouted at them.

Chun Yeowun, who was holding the floor with cold energy, asked Oh Young, who was on the ground.

“This is collapsing, it shouldn’t matter if we break it, right?”

“Huh?”

It was an incomprehensible choice of words.

Irrespective of that, Chun Yeowun ordered the four people holding the ceiling.

“Ugh. Hang on a little longer.”

“Y-yes!”

Leaving the four struggling warriors behind, Chun Yeowun raised his hand.

That was the moment when something amazing happened.

Crrrrk!

The frost condensed with a stronger energy, and hundreds of ice swords were created in the hallway.

‘Nano! Panel Mode!’

[According to the user’s command, the remote panel system has been activated.]

‘Destroy it all without leaving anything behind.’

[Understood. Target Lock On.]

When Chun Yeowun gave the command to Nano and extended his hand to the ceiling, the Ice Swords all aimed for the ceiling.

Wheeing!

And the swords pierced the ceiling.

Slash! Sha! Sha!

Bang!

The ice swords all dug into the ceilings at once.

Even Lieutenant Oh Young of the Snow Sword troops couldn't help but feel astonished.

“Goodness…”

He could see why Chun Yeowun asked him that.

The ice swords that had dug into the ceiling were smashing the walls too.

Kwa! Kwa! Kwa! Kwang!

Shockingly, the wall and ceiling fragments shattered so fast that not a single person was hurt or scratched.

It was a truly marvelous sight.

‘Is-is he… human?’