Nano Mashin

Hu Bong then pointed toward the back of the parade. Yeowun and his members became surprised at the ones following from behind. They wore different clothes, and the letter the flag showed was clearly who they were.

[Yulin Clan]

These people were from the Yulin Clan, the largest group from the Forces of Justice. It was the first time in the Cult’s history where members from Justice walked into the castle. Crowds began to grow noisy.

‘What is this?’

‘Yulin clan?’

‘Didn’t the ambassadors come last time?’

And unlike the last time, there was a large number of them entering the gate. Crowds then began to boo and taunt at members of Yulin clan.

“Booo!”

And warriors from Yulin clan too looked very nervous and tense. Within them, there were multiple other clan flags from the forces of justice. At the center, there were two carriages covered with golden clothes, that showed that important members were in it.

“Oh, it’s very interesting, I see.”

“UGH!”

Hu Bong was surprised by the sudden voice coming from his side. It was Huan Yi, the 11th Elder who appeared. Huan Yi had many spies over all places of the world, so it seemed he had a guess of who and what these were.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

Yeowun asked and Huan Yi shook his head.

“It’s not clear… but maybe we might side with the Yulin clan this time.”

“Side with the Yulin clan?”

Lee Hameng asked back surprisingly. For the past fifty years, the Cult had waged fierce war against the Yulin clan. There was no severe fight in recent five years, but they were still very hostile against each other.

“Well, we’ll hear what’s really going on at the palace.”

Members of the Yulin clan were allowed to enter the castle in front of every cultist. It was sure that the Lord’s palace was going to announce something to the cultists. When everyone got into the castle, the castle gate closed and the crowd followed the parade into the Lord’s palace.

But things turned out differently from expectation. Members of Yulin clan were escorted inside to the guesthouse at the inner palace, and First Elder, Mu Jinwon got up on the stage and shouted.

“Greetings! Fellow cultists of the Demonic Cult! It’s me, First Elder Mu Jinwon.”

Cultists became confused when Mu Jinwon, instead of the Lord, got up on the stage. When the crowd became silent, Mu Jinwon shouted in a large voice.

“I first want to thank all of you who cheered for our, and our Lord’s return. The Lord is very exhausted from the long trip, so please gather back here tomorrow afternoon for his announcement. For the ambassadors from the Yulin clan who entered the castle, please consider them as our guests — they were formally invited. It is the Lord’s order.”

Mu Jinwon then bowed and walked down the stage. So, the announcement of what was going on was postponed to tomorrow.

‘What is going on? Why did they invite the Yulin clan here?’

‘Dammit, he didn’t say anything!’

Cultists noisily talked about their speculations and soon scattered. There were multiple questions but there was no way to find out until tomorrow. And when people began to return to their homes, short horns sounded three times, signaling the summoning of all elders, leaders of clans, and guardians into the palace.

“I guess we have the Grand meeting first.”

Huan Yi spoke and Yeowun nodded. He was now allowed to enter the Grand Meeting formally, and sit together as equals with the other elders.

“We’ll wait at the restaurant near the palace.”

Only elders, guardians, and clan leaders were allowed so Yeowun’s members weren’t allowed in.

“Okay. Please take care of this.”

“Yes, master.”

The inner palace required weapons to be left behind, so Yeowun asked Hu Bong to carry his White Dragon Blade and the sword created from cold steel. He then walked into the inner palace with Lee Hameng and Huan Yi.

Inside the inner palace, there were many large buildings, and across from the Lord’s residence, there was a large building made just for the Grand Meeting. The building was a lavishly decorated hall, with chairs placed so that people could sit down in ranks. The throne at the farthest inside was the Lord’s throne that sat toward the crowd, and there were twelve elder seats that placed down to look at each other. Other clan leaders were located towards the outside. 7 elders who just returned were already in their seats and clan leaders began entering to sit down in the empty seats. All leaders from high ranking clans sat down in front row seat, and the other clan leaders sat behind.

“9th Elder, entering the hall!”

When the elders entered, guards at the entrance shouted to alert everyone.

“Welcome.”

“It’s been a long time, Elder Sama.”

All clan leaders got up and greeted 9th Elder Sama Yi. The Grand Meeting didn’t happen that often so it was a good chance for clan leaders to get a chance to talk with the elders. After a few minutes, most clan leaders got in and sat down on the chairs. And with the Lord who was going to enter with the three guardians, everyone else was now here. The only one that hadn’t arrived yet besides the Lord and three guardians, were the 10th, 11th, and 12th elders.

“Three elders are late.”

“Well, he won’t be happy, so we’ll have to understand.”

Hang Soyu, the 5th elder and leader of the Lust clan spoke with frown, and the fourth elder, and leader of Loyal Clan, Ja Kinkeng laughed and responded. Ja Kinkeng was talking about Baek Oh. Baek Oh was a member of the six clans, but was pushed down to the 12th elder, and couldn’t join the trip. That’s when the guard at the gate shouted.

“10th Elder, 11th Elder, 12 Elder, entering the hall!”

Three elders entered at once and Hang Soyu shook her head.

“Hmph. Does he made friends with low ranking elders while he’s there?”

And with the gate being opened, three men walked in. Everyone then turned to the three elders coming in.

“huH?’

“What?”

All elders who sat on the high ranking chairs frowned. They expected Baek Oh to be walking in with his staff, and the one who entered instead, while having two other elders on both sides, was Chun Yeowun.

“H-how can he?!”

Hang Soyu knew Chun Yeowun’s face clearly. She had seen him in the first test in the Demonic Academy years ago. Yeowun had turned into an adult, but he still had the same face from when he was a teenage boy. Yeowun then walked up to the elders who were lost for words and bowed.

“Greetings, elders. I am new 12th elder, Chun Yeowun.”