Bad Born Blood-Chapter 149

Chapter 149 freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Creak, creak.

The Emperor’s Shadows circled around me and Hemillas, pacing along the perimeter of the conference room. The cybernetic implants revealed between their jet-black coats were pure exoskeletons, lacking even artificial skin.

They were likely refraining from making any rash movements, waiting to report to the Emperor and receive his orders.

"Luka, your first plan has failed. Even if the Crown Prince arrives, he won’t have the military’s cooperation. Those who pledged to rise with me were all just killed."

Hemillas spoke as if prompting me to come up with a new plan.

"Is there no Imperial Guard member you can call upon?"

"There’s no one close enough to be an immediate force. I’ve stationed troops along the routes leading into the Imperial Palace."

I felt like I understood the full scope of the military leadership’s coup plan now. I also saw why they had dragged things out this long.

‘A coup can’t be executed with just a handful of people. They needed a chance to mobilize the army somehow. The riots during the Storm Season must have been a convenient excuse. The military and Hemillas must have been working behind the scenes to escalate the riots as much as possible.’

Chaos during the Storm Season was inevitable. Everyone had been waiting for this moment to push their own agendas.

‘Most of the summoned soldiers probably don’t even realize they were gathered for a coup. But given a soldier’s nature, even if they have doubts, they’ll still follow their superior’s orders. If field commanders can fabricate a reasonable enough justification to attack and seize the palace... the rest will fall into place somehow. The legitimacy of the coup can be justified later with a plausible excuse. Besides, they have a royal, Ivan Accretia, by their side.’

It was actually a solid plan. If Hemillas hadn’t harbored ulterior motives, it might have even succeeded.

"Then let’s order the advance now. No matter what, we must seize the palace—"

"My orders alone won’t mobilize the entire army. The chain of command is different. Besides, the Imperial Household is already aware of my plans. They’ll have prepared contingencies just in case. That brings me to a question—why would the Crown Prince, the rightful heir, help us pressure the Emperor?"

It seemed Ivan hadn’t explained that part yet. He must have kept the truth about being the real Crown Prince a secret.

The more I grasped the gaps in Hemillas’ information, the more impressive his judgment seemed. No wonder the Emperor was so intent on eliminating him.

"The Emperor intended to use Francec’s death as a justification for war. The true Crown Prince was actually Ivan. He wasn’t scheming because he was the second-born—he simply couldn’t restrain his greed and wanted to become Emperor just a little faster."

Even the great Hemillas hadn’t anticipated this development. His pupils flickered slightly before shifting toward Ivan.

With his limbs broken, Ivan was sprawled across the chair like a discarded wooden puppet.

"......I see."

The only person who truly understood this entire situation was the Emperor.

The small pictures we had each drawn, without knowing the full extent of one another’s plans... all of them were merely fragments within the Emperor’s grand design.

But there was one exception. Or rather, I wanted to believe there was.

"The variables created by my actions must be an anomaly in the Emperor’s plan. I’ve made a series of irrational decisions that contradict my usual operating principles. Originally, the possibility of me and Francec cooperating should not have existed."

Even I couldn’t shake off a lingering sense of unease.

‘Kinuan.’

Kinuan’s actions and thoughts were the one thing I couldn’t predict or anticipate. There was no way for me to know what kind of picture he had painted in this situation.

Creak.

The Shadows’ gazes locked onto us. Their eyes were closer to those of androids than humans.

"His Majesty has given you a final chance. He will include the survival of Lukaus Custoria in the deal."

One of the Shadows spoke. Unlike Rowzen, whom I had killed earlier, this one’s speech functions were intact. The other Shadows had lowered their weapons, but their eyes remained fixed on us.

‘I must not accept this proposal.’

The Emperor’s offer was generous. If he truly held the advantage, he would have imposed harsher conditions or attacked outright.

‘Even the Emperor isn’t in a completely relaxed position. Too many things have gone wrong, and he just wants to put out the most urgent fires first.’

Hemillas must have been thinking the same thing. There was no need for me to spell it out.

Swish.

I slowly stepped away from Hemillas and positioned myself. I placed myself between the Shadows and Ivan to prevent them from taking him.

‘Ivan is a valuable bargaining chip.’

As long as he remained alive, he would be useful in various ways. It was in our best interest to secure him. Francec had also wanted Ivan captured alive.

We continued our power struggle, each securing our own ground.

"You have completed your preparations, yet you choose extinction?"

"My brilliant son has found another solution, so why wouldn’t I follow it?"

Hemillas’ arrogance remained unchanged. He spoke as if he had believed in me from the very beginning.

Hemillas must have agonized over whether to kill me tens of thousands of times, and even when he saved me from the Shadows, he must have wavered hundreds of times inside. If his mind had leaned just a little more toward the mechanical, I would already be a corpse.

‘Hemillas knows how to inflate himself well.’

I had been fooled by his bravado more times than I could count. I had assumed he knew something I didn’t and shrank back on my own.

"The patriarch’s foolish decision will lead his entire family to slaughter."

The Shadow fell silent after those words.

"Luka, if you trust me, from now on, follow my orders without a single complaint. Take Ivan and join Crown Prince Francec. The Crown Prince needs a strategist by his side who understands the full situation. I will handle the cleanup and follow after."

"But they were originally the Imperial Guar—"

"Even if a thousand corpses devoured by the Legion come at me, they are no match for me."

This damned man was bragging again. Surviving against them would not be easy. Before I could say anything more, Hemillas snapped fiercely.

"If you object one more time, I’ll cut off your head and proceed with my original plan. His Majesty would be most pleased."

I wanted to argue, but I clamped my mouth shut, biting down on my lip.

The seven Shadows moved immediately. Three of them ignored Hemillas and went straight for me.

Bzzzzzt!

Hemillas swung his spear in a wide arc. Instead of blocking those charging at him, he intercepted the ones targeting me.

There was no time to argue anymore.

As ridiculous as it sounded coming from me, discipline was crucial for a soldier. If we wasted time debating during battle, we’d all be wiped out. The priority was to follow the superior’s orders.

Right now, I had to follow Hemillas’ command.

Whoosh!

I hoisted Ivan over my shoulder and sprinted toward the window. His limp body jolted with every step I took.

Bzzzt.

I sharpened my auditory focus on the Shadows. With my narrowed perception, their movements became clearer.

The Shadows raised their firearms, aiming at me from different angles.

I didn’t zigzag or waste any movement—I ran straight ahead. Even a slight hesitation in my path would let them catch up. Hemillas would handle the gunfire.

‘Trust Hemillas.’

Gaining momentum, I took a long leap forward.

Bang—! Fwhip!

Bullets whizzed past me, scattering in disarray.

I hadn’t dodged them.

Hemillas used his spear shaft and his feet to hurl furniture around, precisely disrupting their gunfire. It even seemed like he had blocked some shots with his own body.

Craaaash!

The reinforced glass beneath my foot stretched stubbornly along the shape of my shoe before reaching its tension limit and shattering with a deafening roar.

The path was open. I hunched my head down and burst through the window. For reference, this was the 21st floor.

Whoooosh!

As the window shattered, the sound of rain suddenly flooded in. The abrupt shift in external noise completely scrambled my auditory perception, like staring directly into blinding headlights.

But there was no need to panic.

Right now, my cognition and brain functions had far exceeded their usual limits. The moment a few raindrops touched my face, I had already finished recalibrating my auditory senses.

Screeeech!

I scraped down the side of the building. Once I reached a reasonable height, I launched myself toward a streetlamp.

Crash!

The streetlamp bent under the impact, absorbing some of the shock. I slid down the half-toppled pole before landing smoothly beneath it.

I didn’t bother looking up. Instead, I bolted straight into a nearby alley, bracing for any potential snipers.

Tap, tap, tatatat.

Ivan, with his broken arm, tapped his fingers repeatedly against my back. Deciphering the signals, he was asking me to remove his gag.

I ignored him and scanned my surroundings.

‘Francec should be on his way here. I need to link up with him.’

Ivan persisted, his tapping irritatingly insistent. My nerves were already frayed, and I felt a violent urge to snap those fingers disrupting my thoughts.

But I needed to hear what Ivan had to say before meeting up with Francec.

Crack!

I yanked off his gag roughly, breaking the clasp. Ivan’s head snapped back like he’d been struck with a hammer.

"If you say anything useless, I’ll shatter your jaw. I won’t warn you twice."

I spoke while dashing through the alley, Ivan’s body jostling with every step.

"......You’re all making a mistake. If the ambush has failed, it’s over. You don’t understand the bloodline of the Imperial Family and the Accretia lineage.

You think of the Emperor as merely a symbol of the Empire, but he is the single most powerful force within it. Now that this has dragged on, you have no chance of winning. By now, Father must be making his move. He’ll personally step in and burn every last traitor to ash. By that point, even if you bring in a whole legion, it won’t matter."

Ivan chuckled, a dry, self-mocking laugh.

New information. I crammed what I had just heard into my mind. My existing knowledge was being rearranged and jumbled together.

"Why are you only saying this now?"

"If I ever revealed this information, even I’d be killed. Father thinks I don’t know about that. I only found out by chance.

Luka, do you understand why I’m telling you this now? I’m offering you asylum. Corite, Bellato—it doesn’t matter where. Take anyone you want with you. It’s still possible right now. If we sell the classified information we hold, we’ll be treated well. Especially Corite—yes, Corite would be ideal. They’re even more insidious than we are."

Ivan spoke in a sweet, coaxing voice. But I heard the emotion within it. Without sight, the subtleties of his tone were even clearer.

‘He’s afraid.’

The ever-arrogant Ivan was trembling. If this was how he felt, then why had he initiated the rebellion in the first place? Why was he so desperate to become Emperor?

‘Ah...’

I had misunderstood Ivan’s motivations. He hadn’t been driven by greed. He had been pushed here by fear.

That explained his hasty decisions and sloppy plans, all hidden behind the mask of arrogance.

"Then tell me what the Emperor’s power is. I’ll decide after hearing it."

"By—... No, even if you understood, you wouldn’t choose exile. If you were that kind of person, you wouldn’t have made it this far. Get me to a safe place, Luka. Then I’ll tell you everything."

Ivan spoke as if regaining the upper hand.

But I had already warned him—there wouldn’t be a second chance.

I moved my hand.

Crunch!

Ivan’s lower jaw shattered. He let out a faint groan, his eyes blinking in shock. Tiny mechanical components clattered to the ground from his ruined jaw.

"Then let’s go to Francec."

I muttered and started moving forward.

Thud.

For a moment, the world flipped upside down. I barely managed to brace my knees and keep myself upright. My sense of direction was completely scrambled, making it difficult to stand properly.

Grit.

I clenched my teeth and leaned my shoulder against the wall.

I felt dizzy. My auditory perception had temporarily vanished, leaving me in pitch-black darkness. I had no sense of how long I had been standing here.

Steadying my breathing, I focused on the sounds around me.

In the meantime, I grabbed Ivan’s fingers, which had been persistently tapping against my back, and snapped them.

In the darkness, white threads of sound unraveled like glowing strands. I barely managed to restore my auditory perception.

‘Kinuan?’

At the end of the alleyway, I saw someone. I thought it was Kinuan.

...But his form soon vanished. Dissolving like smoke, he was nothing more than an illusion.

‘Now I’m hallucinating even through my auditory perception.’

Or was it really a hallucination? What if that had actually been Kinuan? How long had he been watching me?

Something had been strange from the start. What if I had been moving according to his plans all along?

Kinuan... Kinuan... Kinuan was...

I felt like I was losing my mind.

No, I was losing my mind. I was on the verge of paranoia. If I lost my balance even slightly, delusions and reality would blur together.