Chapter 234: Chapter 234
With a loud noise, both Leon and Yung were thrown backward. Yung could do nothing but roll helplessly across the ground.
Already with her hair turning white, she found herself unable to move. Meanwhile, Leon had only been pushed back for a moment—he hadn’t even fallen to his knees. With a murderous look in his eyes, he asked, “What happened, Yung?”
“I… I definitely opened the portal to the Imperial Palace…”
But this was not the Imperial Palace. Far from it — they stood outside the massive gates of the Imperial City, with the palace visible in the distance. And that wasn’t all.
“That bastard! He’s the one the First Imperial Princess warned us about!”
“He appeared exactly like the Second Prince predicted!”
“Open the gates! Attack the enemy!”
His eyes turned red with rage. Leon raised his hand, preparing to unleash Lust — but—
No power came forth. He had overused Lust to the point of exhaustion. Seeing this, the charging soldiers burst into laughter.
“What the hell? Look at that idiot!”
“Did he read some fairytale about knights? That fool’s head is mine!”
“What are you talking about? I’ll kill him and claim the gold and treasures!”
They rushed in, eager to capture Leon and claim the promised rewards from the First Imperial Princess and the Second Prince. But Leon had more than just Lust.
“How dare you look at me with such insolent eyes…”
His hands reached toward the approaching soldiers. A vicious glint shone in his eyes.
“Clear away these insolent fools before me. Greed.”
He couldn’t summon the full might of Greed like he had when fighting Ian, but it was more than enough to deal with mere soldiers. A black wave soon engulfed them.
Their bodies melted away like insects dissolving in acid. Soldiers atop the walls shouted in panic.
“Don’t approach him! It’s dangerous!”
“Close the gates immediately! Don’t let him in!”
The massive steel gates began to close quickly. Furious, Leon rushed toward the entrance before it could shut—
“Shoot him from afar! Where are the cannons?!”
“Then what are you waiting for? Fire!”
From atop the walls, a massive cannon was aimed at Leon. The cannonball fired.
A gigantic cannonball crashed down before Leon.
Then, a series of massive explosions erupted. But Leon remained unscathed. He frowned at his dust-covered clothes.
“That black wave must be protecting him!”
Sure enough, a strange black wave shielded Leon. Thanks to it, even the powerful blasts had only pushed him back slightly. But it wasn’t without consequences.
Part of the black wave surrounding Leon began to dissipate. The explosions had damaged it. Naturally, his face twisted in displeasure.
‘Greed can only be maintained if there’s an enemy. But I’ve already exhausted all the power gained from the soldiers I swallowed during that bombardment.’
His only remaining option was to sacrifice part of his own flesh to feed Greed and regain its power. But Leon refused.
‘I won’t use my own body for the sake of those pathetic fools.’
His eyes gleamed coldly. Although anger could have clouded his judgment, he assessed the situation with a rational mind.
‘Have I moved out of their attack range? At this distance, cannonballs shouldn’t reach me anymore.’
Leon turned and called out to Yung, still lying weakly on the ground.
“Yung. Can you move?”
“I… I don’t think I can go much further. But if it’s just to support you, Lord Leon, I can manage somehow…”
“Then that’s fine. You’re still useful.”
Yung hung her head in shame. Leon’s eyebrow twitched in irritation.
‘Honestly, I’d love to drain her completely with Lust and leave her here to die.’
But Yung’s abilities were too rare to throw away at a place . He needed her — at least for now. Still, that wasn’t the most urgent concern.
“What the hell did you do, Ian?”
As always, the youngest was the problem. They had planned to teleport directly into the Imperial Palace, yet a barrier had blocked them. Even with his own powers, Leon couldn’t break through.
‘This must be Ian’s doing.’
He realized Ian had anticipated his arrival and set up the barrier. Leon hadn’t expected the brat to also barricade the city walls and station countless soldiers nearby. And that wasn’t all.
‘They locked the gates the moment they saw my power. They couldn’t have reacted that quickly without prior knowledge about me.’
No — this was something only Ian could have orchestrated. Still, it didn’t add up. No matter how much Ian was the Seventh Prince of Kaistein, he shouldn’t have been able to command so many troops.
Among the forces Leon had seen were clearly soldiers under the Second Prince and First Imperial Princess. Some even appeared to be imperial troops.
‘No way… Did he not only win over the First Imperial Princess and the Second Prince, but also the Chief Eunuch? The Imperial Army should currently be under the Chief Eunuch’s command.’
But that was impossible. The relationship between the Second Prince and the First Imperial Princess was more than mere rivalry — they seemed ready to kill each other at the slightest provocation. Even bringing them together was not enough.
‘Did he manage to persuade the Chief Eunuch as well?’
‘That man despises the royal family and the nobility more than anyone. He even helped me turn the Emperor into a crippled fool.’
It was unimaginable that such a man would side with Ian. And the problem was that Ian’s schemes likely wouldn’t end there.
‘If this continues… I’ll lose Sloth.’
That was absolutely unacceptable. Leon had poured too much effort into creating the Seven Sins. He could not allow his grand plan, now on the verge of completion, to be ruined. There was only one course of action left.
“Yung. Even if you can’t move, you can still send a message, right?”
“If… if it’s just a message, yes, I can manage.”
Yung nodded weakly, and Leon’s lips curled into a grin.
“Send an order to the Organization. Tell them to mobilize every available force to the Imperial City immediately.”
“W-What?! If you do that, the Grand Master won’t sit still!”
Yung’s pale face paled even further with shock. How could she not react that way? The organization created by the Grand Master was a tremendous force scattered across the continent. Only the Grand Master had the authority to give orders. What Leon was suggesting was nothing less than treason.
‘If the Grand Master finds out… even Lord Leon might not be spared. He could be eliminated.’
But Leon simply smiled.
“Don’t worry. Most of the organization members are already under my control.”
“B-but… if the Grand Master finds out, it won’t end with just a reprimand. The Organization exists to realize the Grand Plan—”
“The Grand Plan, huh. I’m the heir anyway. I’m simply making use of it a little earlier. It’s still for the sake of the Grand Plan.”
If anyone disobeyed, Leon would simply eliminate them. With most of the organization members already loyal to him, not even the Grand Master could stop him now. Yet Yung still hesitated.
“We haven’t united the two continents yet. Until that happens, you cannot surpass the Grand Master’s authority, Lord Leon. There will certainly be opposition.”
And it might not be simple opposition. They could very well present another heir to challenge Leon and convince the Grand Master to abandon him. But Leon smirked coldly.
“Don’t worry. The Grand Master won’t even realize what’s happening.”
“He will no longer be able to stop me.”
He had already made the necessary arrangements. Leon’s voice turned colder.
“I won’t say it twice. Send the message now, Yung. Or are you saying you’d rather listen to the Grand Master than to me?”
“N-No! My only master is you, Lord Leon.”
Leon’s eyes gleamed with determination.
‘To provoke me … Ian, you’ll pay dearly.’
If he couldn’t sneak into the Imperial Palace and steal Sloth, then he would break through by force.
It didn’t matter how many soldiers guarded the walls. The Organization had monsters and knights that easily surpassed ordinary knights.
“Wait for me. I’ll be there soon.”
Leon’s bloodthirsty gaze turned toward the Imperial City.
Meanwhile, a soldier burst into the palace in a panic, shouting urgently.
“M-Message! Two monsters have appeared outside the gate! They attacked the soldiers with strange powers! There have been multiple casualties!”
The Second Prince stood up in shock. But the soldier hadn’t finished speaking.
“Over a hundred soldiers were annihilated with a single gesture. The gates are closed, and we are now on the defensive. The monsters have retreated beyond our range!”
“Ha… So he’s finally here.”
But the Second Prince wasn’t surprised that Leon had invaded. Leon had moved through the Imperial City before as easily as if it were his own backyard. What shocked him was the fact that Leon had been stopped.
‘As expected, the Seventh Prince, Ian, was right. That blue barrier he created stopped him.’
No wonder Ian had been so confident. That blue shield — undoubtedly the power of the Dragon’s Tear he had given to Ian — had blocked Leon’s entry into the Imperial City.
For a moment, the Second Prince felt a pang of regret for handing over such a treasure. Meanwhile, Ian, seated comfortably, stretched lazily. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel·fiɾe·net
“Looks like he’s later than I expected. I thought he’d arrive sooner.”
At that, the First Royal Princess, seated opposite him, spoke up.
“What do you plan to do now? Brother Leon isn’t someone you can stop just by blocking him.”
“Still calling him ‘Brother,’ huh?”
“I have no choice. By blood, we are still siblings.”
At that moment, the woman beside her gave a faint smile — a smile that was similar, yet completely different.
“Brother… it feels so different compared to this side, where we only use each other and try to kill one another.”
The woman with golden hair and elegant attire was none other than the First Imperial Princess. She had long since broken free of Leon’s grasp. The First Royal Princess took her hand and spoke warmly.
“It seems you still feel hurt. In the end, survival in this world depends only on your own strength, Ran.”
“I think so too, Lyn.”
The two women — the First Imperial Princess and the First Royal Princess — now called each other by affectionate nicknames.
Their bond had formed after Ian exposed Leonic’s manipulations to the First Imperial Princess through his loyal subordinate, Sang.
The shared betrayal — realizing that the brother she trusted most had used her — had created a deep sense of understanding between them.
But that wasn’t the matter at hand. The First Royal Princess spoke firmly.
“In any case, we’ve protected Cantum. All that remains is to extract Sloth from the Emperor, correct?”
No matter how powerful Leon was, he couldn’t stand against hundreds of thousands — no, millions — of Cantum’s soldiers and the towering castle walls. That was one of the main reasons she had agreed to help Ian in the first place.
“You promised, didn’t you? In exchange for stopping Brother Leon and protecting Cantum, you would hand over Leonic. Once you retrieve Sloth, it will all be over.”
The plan was simple: Take the former crown prince, stage a fake wedding, and become the Empress of Cantum. She had also promised the First Imperial Princess revenge; Leonic wouldn’t even survive his wedding night. Furthermore, with the weakened Second Prince agreeing to cede part of Cantum, everything was heading toward a happy ending. But Ian shook his head.
“No. It’s not over yet.”
“Huh? Why not? Isn’t everything already done?”
“He’s not alone. Although he’s withdrawing for now, he’ll return — and soon.”
“What good will that do? How will he face a million soldiers and elite troops? Even if Duke Lavaltor himself came, he couldn’t break through this defense.”
“Stop beating around the bush. What other strength does Brother Leon have left?”
They had already established a fully prepared defensive posture. Even if not just Duke Lavaltor but his grandfather himself came, they wouldn’t be able to win against it. Everyone looked at Ian with disbelief. But Ian’s expression remained serious.
“Don’t underestimate the forces at his command. Sister, he has already toyed with not only Kaistein but even Bahara.”
If those forces moved, it would turn into a massive war — one they were not prepared for.
Thus, what they needed to do was clear.
“Don’t put your faith in a mere million soldiers. Ordinary troops will only become his prey.”
“Then what do you intend to do?”
“I’ll disband the gathered soldiers and leave only the knights capable of handling them.”
“What?! That would leave the walls vulnerable!”
“The walls are meaningless. The soldiers stationed there have been nothing more than bait to lull him into a false sense of security.”
As confusion spread across their faces, Ian calmly continued.
“The Seven Sins he commands grow stronger through war. That’s why we must avoid unnecessary bloodshed.”
“Then why did you stop him? If that’s the case, you could’ve just opened the gates…”
“No. I couldn’t allow him to seize Sloth so easily.”
The reason Ian had raised a barrier to block Leon’s infiltration was simple.
“Thanks to that, Leon is likely feeling desperate right now. He’ll be forced to mobilize all of his hidden forces.”
And that was exactly what Ian was aiming for — to destroy them all in a single stroke.
“This entire defense is a trap designed for that purpose.”
Ian had already secured an alliance between the First Imperial Princess, the Second Prince, and the Chief Eunuch. Fortunately, with Sang’s assistance, he had managed to win over the Chief Eunuch. Yet even that alone wasn’t enough.
Beside him, Fury stirred restlessly. He materialized Fury into several forms and sent letters in different directions. This was to summon reinforcements to confront Leon. Ian stood up and declared,
“We’ll wipe out Leon and his forces here in Cantum, so thoroughly that they’ll never plot such schemes again.”
Everyone was too stunned to speak. Ian approached the First Imperial Princess and the Second Prince.
“That’s why I need your help.”
“What could we possibly do…?”
The First Imperial Princess and Second Prince looked bewildered, but Ian smiled.
“There’s something only the two of you can accomplish. Ah, and don’t worry — the Chief Eunuch has already agreed to cooperate.”
“W-Well… if it’s something I can do…”
“If it means getting revenge on those who toyed with us, I’m more than willing.”
Ian leaned in and whispered his plan.
“First, I’ll need the two of you to issue an imperial edict under your names. We’re going to turn this entire imperial city into one giant trap.”
Seeing that, Ian gave them a thumbs-up.
“That way, we’ll only have one final task remaining.”
That task was to awaken the Emperor — the man who, burdened with Sloth, had lost all will to govern or act.
“Now then, let’s move.”
Ian began to prepare for battle. This was to put an end to everything that had begun from the very start—or rather, everything that had started before he was even born. The final battle to uproot the true cause of the ruin in his past life was about to begin.
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