Chapter 825

– Kwad-deuk!

The last pursuer, with an arrow lodged between his eyebrows, falls off his horse and is trampled by the startled warhorse’s hooves.

Brain matter oozes out from the shattered skull, and the trampled abdomen bursts, spilling crimson entrails that dangle grotesquely near the groin.

“Phew…”

Ima-ra wipes the sweat from her forehead with her trembling arm and stows the bow she was holding into a leather pouch beside the saddle.

‘It’s still too much to handle.’

Her arms ache as if they might fall off. After a fierce chase and a shooting spree, she managed to hunt down all five warriors chasing her, but the cost was her arms now screaming in exhaustion, barely able to wield even a dagger.

Ha-shal-leur’s Strong Bow was a weapon powerful enough to kill most warriors in a single shot, but for those without her monstrous strength, it was nothing more than a defective product that would numb the arm muscles after just seven or eight shots.

Ima-ra, having practiced archery in secret since childhood, could barely handle it. But firing twenty or thirty shots endlessly like Ha-shal-leur? Impossible.

‘…Hurry. If there had been twice as many pursuers, I would’ve been caught.’

Ima-ra opens the water pouch hanging at her waist and gulps down the lukewarm water. She then lightly kicks the horse, which had been nibbling on grass, and gallops off again.

Once the pursuers’ bodies are discovered, Targien’s warriors will swarm in droves to track her down. There’s no time for rest.

If she gets caught by Targien’s warriors again, she won’t escape a horrific death and disgrace this time.

‘…Will I make it safely? No, even if I do, what comes after…’

Despite her efforts to steady her mind, anxiety leaks out, and she bites her lip, desperately racing toward the setting sun.

No matter how anxious she is, she has no other choice.

‘Right, I’ll just beg for forgiveness. That woman… my sister… she wouldn’t kill me on sight, right? …Right?’

Logically, the wisest move for Ima-ra would be to return to Ordos.

Targien’s forces chasing her wouldn’t dare pursue her near Ordos, where the Blue Army is stationed.

So, turning her horse around and heading back to Ordos, spinning some lies to those panicking over her disappearance, and acting as if nothing happened would at least guarantee her safety.

But—

‘Mother’s gone mad. And my brother, just watching it all, is mad too.’

Ima-ra had no intention of returning to Ordos. If she had, she wouldn’t have fled in the first place.

Whether by chance or fate, she had unwillingly witnessed Meiharin’s secret. Having seen ‘that,’ returning to the palace would be like stepping back into the poisonous swamp she had barely escaped.

So, she galloped westward, toward the kingdom beyond the barrier, Hestela, where the legendary Abha Gisaka was said to reside.

‘After all, the only one I can trust is my sister… Even if she’s a lunatic, compared to ‘that,’ it’s nothing.’

Ima-ra recalled the reports from the spies she had planted among the 4th Imperial Guard Cavalry and Ha-shal-leur’s maids.

A life of endless slaughter and plunder, building up feats and reputation, then drowning in strong alcohol every night before passing out. Her cruelty was said to make no distinction between friend and foe.

Ima-ra knew this was a misunderstanding.

While Ha-shal-leur did execute her subordinates for trivial reasons, most of those killed were spies planted by her siblings.

In Ima-ra’s view, Ha-shal-leur wasn’t a lunatic who disregarded her subordinates’ lives; she simply had few trustworthy subordinates to begin with.

The only ones she truly trusted were her closest aides, Ja-han and Mersin.

Because she trusted no one, even the slightest suspicion could lead her to cut down a subordinate without hesitation.

‘Ruthless and cruel, yes, but far from a lunatic.’

If anything, she was more of a lunatic when she was around fifteen.

Drunk, she would suddenly declare herself the “Abha Gisaka”—the reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon—and demand cheers. She even claimed a black dragon was sealed in her right arm, using her Life Force Technique to create a dragon’s head and swing it around.

For someone who had reached the level of a Paladin, such antics were beyond lunacy.

Rumors even circulated that awakening the Power of Feats at such a young age had slightly unhinged her mind.

Of course, she only showed this side to her closest confidants, like Ja-han. When out plundering, she was nothing but a demon, tearing through Westerners without a hint of playfulness.

Regardless, for Ima-ra now, Ha-shal-leur was the only one she could trust.

Their relationship had deteriorated to the point where sending spies had become a monthly event, but…

At least Ha-shal-leur hadn’t retaliated against Ima-ra for sending spies, even when those spies turned into assassins under Meiharin’s orders.

Given that situation, and Ha-shal-leur’s temper, the fact that she didn’t come charging with a sword to kill Ima-ra was proof enough that she still cared for her.

Maybe she thought Ima-ra wasn’t worth the trouble… but at least, Ima-ra believed Ha-shal-leur still cherished her as a younger sister. After all, Ima-ra still admired her as an older sister.

She just didn’t show it, knowing Meiharin would flip out if she did.

In hindsight, it was only natural.

Targien, whose very nature was extreme cruelty.

Sahallyeon, with whom she had no particular bond.

Compared to Amin, who seemed like a walking embodiment of incompetence, Ha-shal-leur, though brutal, was surprisingly generous and bold toward those she opened her heart to.

Sure, she had dabbled in sorcery after fleeing to the West, and she had killed their father, Kagan Or-han, which suggested her personality had changed somewhat…

But unless she had become a completely different person, she wouldn’t harm a younger sister who prostrated herself and begged for forgiveness. Ima-ra was certain of that.

That’s why, upon witnessing that scene, she chose to flee westward without hesitation.

‘Yes, this is right. Staying there any longer would’ve been…’

Cooling the heat of battle with the wind tousling her hair, Ima-ra recalled the scenes she had witnessed a few days ago.

——[ A Few Days Ago ]——

After news spread that Ha-shal-leur had founded a kingdom near the barrier, Ima-ra’s mother, Meiharin, had become increasingly irritable.

She would hole up deep in the Imperial Palace with mysterious people from her maternal family or leave with them for days at a time.

Leaving the war against Targien, who had declared himself Khan with the remnants of the Black and Enemy Armies, and the tribal chiefs who had sided with him, or the tribes attempting to break away from Ai-shan, entirely to Sahallyeon.

“Where is Mother? Has she left again today?”

“Yes. I regret to inform you that we do not know her whereabouts.”

“Ugh, what is she even doing…?”

The palace maid, unable to provide an answer, bows her head in shame. Ima-ra sighs lightly and gestures for her to leave, then irritably adjusts her twin braids.

For a sixteen-year-old, her mother’s sudden change was unbearably frustrating.

If she at least knew what was going on, she could endure it, but whenever she asked, Meiharin would dismiss her, saying she didn’t need to know.

‘Do you really distrust me that much? Because I’m not a warrior?’

Her older brother, Sahallyeon, clearly knew about Meiharin’s activities.

He had even subtly advised Ima-ra not to bother their mother too much, as she was dealing with important matters.

The blatant favoritism—telling Sahallyeon but not her—was the root of Ima-ra’s irritation.

So.

‘…If you really don’t trust me, then I’ll find out myself.’

Ima-ra decided to secretly investigate her mother’s movements.

It wasn’t difficult. When Meiharin left the palace, Ima-ra would thoroughly search her private chambers.

“—Lady Ima-ra, this is no place for someone of your stature…”

“Step aside. Who gave you the right to block the bloodline of Ai-shan’s princess?”

“Empress Meiharin, Your Highness…”

“I already have Mother’s permission. So, I won’t ask a third time. Move.”

And after pressuring the servants with authority and lies to step aside, she reached the underground of the private chambers—

“…What is this?”

She saw it. The truth her mother had tried to hide.