The Bastard First Prince Doesn't Want to Die

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 149

Only the sticky scent of monster blood and the ruins of the collapsed cliff mocked me. Time passed in this state.

Of course, I didn't just stand there. I continued walking in the direction I had been going.

I thought I might find Gong Chomun or the soldiers he had led there.

At least their dead bodies would remain. Or perhaps the corpses of the monsters they had fought.

It was better than being in a place with no landmarks. After all, the debris had blocked the path.

Then I reached a fork in the road.

Around that time, the effects of the bellflower were gradually wearing off, and my enhanced senses were returning.

My heightened senses made me tense, but I had been waiting for this.

It was to find a source of light or wind. Of course, there was light filtering through the dense vines overhead, but there was no way to climb up there.

My newly awakened senses sharpened me more than ever before.

Every time the cold, damp air touched my skin, it felt like a needle prick, and a constant, subtle vibration echoed in my ears.

A scent of earth wafted over from beyond the gorge formed by the overlapping trees and rocks.

Normally, it would simply be the smell of earth, but in this scent, there was a subtle mixture of decay and dampness. It wasn't just the natural scent.

Even the sound of a small pebble rolling under my feet seemed as loud as a large boulder crashing.

There was almost no wind, but a slight movement of air could be felt. I could feel the air flowing in from somewhere.

Following that, I drew a map in my mind. It was a poor excuse for a map, but it was better than nothing.

I took a deep breath. The air I inhaled made me want to vomit.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Ugh."

There was a path to the left and one to the right. A breeze was coming from the left, and an echo was bouncing off the cliff on the right.

The difference was that I couldn't smell any decay on the left side.

I thought the source of the smell was the monsters that inhabited this place. It was either dead monsters, their food, or their excrement rotting in the narrow space.

So, the path on the left was more likely to lead outside.

But...

I turned my head to the right. The constant echo bouncing off the cliff made me suspicious about its source.

In the end, I turned right and followed the echoing sound.

I moved forward, relying solely on my senses, with my breathing barely audible.

As I walked along the path, the echo became clearer. I was certain that the source of the echo was not a natural phenomenon.

Something was there, alive and moving. And it felt like it was waiting for me.

My heart began to beat faster. My heartbeat was loud and distracting.

I bit my cheek to clear my head. My racing heart was a warning to turn back, but I had come too far to do that.

Then, I suddenly saw a dead monster. I stopped and examined the corpse.

It wasn't very old. It hadn't started to decay yet.

"Perhaps..."

I muttered, sighing.

It must have been killed by Gong Chomun and the unit he led. That thought was confirmed when I found traces of weapons.

There was not just one dead monster. As I went deeper, I found several more monster corpses. The deeper I went, the more frequently I encountered them.

And then I suddenly noticed a faint breathing sound. It was a ragged, gasping breath. I quickened my pace.

Soon, a familiar silhouette appeared in the dim light.

"Your Highness."

A low, hoarse voice. The owner of the voice slowly revealed himself in front of me. It was Gong Chomun.

As if he had been waiting for me all along, he didn't even look at me, and despite the poor visibility, he recognized me first.

Step, step-

Gong Chomun approached slowly. And in the dim light filtering in from somewhere, Gong Chomun's face and eyes were revealed.

His gaze was cold and indifferent. It almost seemed as if he hated me. It was a rather disconcerting situation.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Gong Chomun replied coldly, "What can you do if you think my gaze is disrespectful?"

I looked around. I was looking for any surviving allies. But there was no one around.

"No one. That's a shame. But where did the others go?"

"They're dead."

I didn't reply, I just clenched my fist. It wasn't unexpected, but it was bitter.

"Is that so? I see. But I don't understand why I'm seeing you here."

"What do you mean?"

"Shouldn't you have been the first to die if someone was going to die?"

"Do you still remember my hand?"

Gong Chomun chuckled scornfully.

"Are there no other soldiers?"

"That's a pity."

"Are they dead?"

"I don't know."

I doubt it. I couldn't imagine Jincheon dying. At least, not before me.

"I don't think so."

"That's a great pity."

"It's no better for me."

I mirrored Gong Chomun's wry smile.

"Well, it's better than your situation."

Gong Chomun's expression twisted.

"I was going to let you die peacefully out of respect for So Ik-Gyeom, but you don't seem to need such kindness."

"Are you daring to mention the General's name like that?"

I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.

"What does it matter how I refer to the name of a dying old man?"

"Why is General So going to die?"

A disturbing thought came to mind.

I was curious how my grandfather had obtained permission to embark on this expedition from the current king, but I hadn't asked my grandfather.

It was obvious what I would hear.

"He will die without returning to the capital, Your Highness. That's why he came all this way."

I gritted my teeth.

"Shut up."

"How tragic. But it's futile."

I glanced at Gong Chomun's hand. Jincheon hadn't said it outright, but his hand was probably... damaged.

With that hand, he would struggle to even fight a small monster. I had already seen that. I didn't think it was an act.

There was no way he would lie, risking his own life.

"You're out of your mind. With a body like that. Do you have some kind of confidence? What are you relying on to create this situation? You won't be able to return alive either."

"So what?"

Gong Chomun stared at me indifferently. I could tell he wasn't going to answer.

"No one will help you. You'll die here too, alone. If you had just stayed still, I would have taken care of your share. Don't you know me yet? I valued having warriors like you supporting my back more than taking credit myself."

Gong Chomun sneered at me.

"Just like So Ik-Gyeom."

"That's the difference between you and General So. Where's your loyalty? Tell me that. Even a dog would know its master better than you."

"How could that be?"

"I'm right. A dog is better than you, who doesn't even recognize its master."

Gong Chomun's laughter grew louder.

"You were never my master in the first place, so what are you talking about?” Gong Chomun burst into laughter, as if he had heard a very funny joke. I was taken aback.

"...So you were a spy."

But who had sent a spy?

"Was it Prince Jaean? Did my younger brother send you to kill me?"

"Do you think that stupid brat could handle me?"

I silently watched Gong Chomun.

"That's the problem with you Ye clan. You're incompetent and stupid, but you're so arrogant... If someone bows their head to you, you take it at face value. Your father was like that, and your half-brother is too. Of course, the worst of them is right in front of me."

"So, you're saying your master isn't from the Ye clan?"

Swoosh-

I drew my sword. The sound of the sword leaving its sheath echoed off the surrounding cliffs.

"If not the Ye clan, then who? A local lord?"

There were many local lords who wanted to make their families into royal families. It was only natural for such ambitions to arise when one's power grew to a certain extent.

But if that were the case...

There would be no need to attack me. There would be even less reason to chase me to Wolhan Fortress. All they had to do was gather their forces and attack the capital.

"Look. You, who could have been a pillar supporting the future of the country, have such a narrow perspective. That's why you're trapped in a well and destined to become someone else's prey. How can you escape that fate? So it must be fate. There's no need to blame your own stupidity."

A thought crossed my mind at that moment.

"...Huawei?"

Gong Chomun's eyes widened. Then he burst out laughing.

I had never seen him laugh so loudly since I first met him, after his hand had been injured and his face had become pale.

"So the well frog has started to explore the outside world."

I frowned. Gong Chomun had connections with Huawei? That was impossible. How could that be?

Then I remembered something I had heard before. Gong Chomun had told me that he had participated in the battle at Blood Cloud Fortress.

Could it be that...

How deep had their infiltration gone? Had all our efforts to resist to the death at Blood Cloud Fortress been meaningless?

Where had it all gone rotten?

...Perhaps the destruction of this country had been predetermined.

I believed I could change the future, but maybe that was just an illusion.

Realizing that my hope was false, I felt like the ground was falling out from under me.

I had thought that Blood Cloud Fortress had fallen because I had lost to Jincheon. But in fact, Jincheon hadn't caused the fall of Blood Cloud Fortress.

The real enemy had been inside, slowly and viciously eating away at us from within...

"But it's too late."

"Too late...?"

Gong Chomun said that and pulled something out of his pocket. Thinking it was a weapon, I assumed a defensive posture, but it wasn't.

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]