Ch.167Chapter 167 – The ‘Divine Archer’ Has a Plan

The Liu Empire, the ruling nation of the Eastern Continent.

This empire with its long history boasts numerous renowned families, but among them, the most exceptional are known as the Great Families.

The Great Families of the Liu Empire are connected by blood to the imperial family and possess the authority to select the next emperor, making their power immense.

Among them, the trading city responsible for 65% of the maritime trade volume between the Liu Empire and the Archipelago Alliance belonged to the Han Dongbaek Family.

This city, Honggung, was named after the red bow used by Baek Dan-hyeop of the Palace Ghosts who defeated the monster.

Among Honggung’s many ports, the largest and most magnificent was Haeryong Harbor.

Haeryong Harbor was named after the sea dragon, known as the guardian deity of the sea, and was a place where only imperial officials or members of the Han Dongbaek Family could enter.

“You there.”

And among them, the youngest daughter of Baek Dan-hyeop, a woman with the title of “Divine Archer.”

Baek Yu-wol called out to a worker at Haeryong Harbor.

“Oh my, if it isn’t Lady Yu-wol! What brings you here today?”

“I heard that an imperial ship is bringing an honored guest today, but I don’t see any sign of it arriving. Has it not arrived yet?”

Baek Yu-wol had come here to escort the distinguished guest that the Liu Empire’s imperial ship was bringing.

Even though the current imperial family of the Liu Empire was little more than puppets of the sixteen Great Families, the imperial family was still officially the ruler of the Liu Empire to the outside world.

Therefore, if they simply dismissed a guest officially invited by the imperial family, it might appear as if the Han Dongbaek Family was disrespecting the imperial guest.

However, it wouldn’t look good for the head of a Great Family to personally escort a guest.

Yet, sending inadequate escort forces that might make mistakes during the escort would tarnish the family’s honor.

That’s why Baek Dan-hyeop sent his daughter, recognized as the Divine Archer, as an escort.

Baek Yu-wol was a genius among geniuses who had entered the ranks of the Fifteen Great Masters and earned the title of “Divine Archer” at just twenty-something years of age.

Therefore, even for Baek Dan-hyeop, the head of the Han Dongbaek Family, sending Baek Yu-wol as an escort would prevent anyone from saying they disrespected the imperial guest by assigning an insignificant person.

The sixteen Great Families appeared to cooperate on the surface, but in reality, they were engaged in covert struggles to bring each other down and strengthen their own family’s influence.

Baek Yu-wol had come to Haeryong Harbor early to wait for the ship, intending to showcase the Han Dongbaek Family’s prestige to the imperial guest.

However, having overindulged in alcohol the night before to relieve tension, she had overslept.

After bathing, washing her face, and getting dressed, she rushed to Haeryong Harbor with the vermilion bird’s feather that had become hers strapped to her back.

But when she arrived at Haeryong Harbor, there was no ship in sight and hardly any people around.

However, showing panic would diminish her family’s prestige, so Baek Yu-wol took a deep breath to calm herself.

Once she had regained her composure, she asked the worker who arrived earliest at the harbor whether the imperial ship had arrived.

If anyone would know when the imperial ship had arrived and departed, it would be the worker who started earliest at the harbor.

“Well, my lady, I’ve been here since early dawn maintaining the facilities, but no ships have entered Haeryong Harbor yet.”

“Hmm, is that so? I understand. Thanks for your hard work~”

“Yes, my lady. Take care.”

Baek Yu-wol’s steps lightened after hearing the worker’s response.

If what he said was true, it meant the ship carrying the imperial guest had not yet arrived at Haeryong Harbor.

‘Phew… that’s a relief. I almost got called in by Father to face wall meditation all day.’

Baek Yu-wol feared being summoned by her father, the family head Baek Dan-hyeop, and receiving the punishment of wall meditation more than she feared damaging the family’s reputation by oversleeping.

The reason she had grown quickly enough to earn the title of Divine Archer was because of the harsh training regimen imposed by her father, Baek Dan-hyeop.

What was done to Baek Yu-wol under the name of training would have seemed to others like an experiment to determine the limits of human endurance.

And remarkably, Baek Yu-wol had passed all those training sessions and risen to the ranks of the Fifteen Great Masters in her twenties.

Of course, above her were stronger individuals like the Ten Supreme Masters and Absolute Masters, but at least among people her age, no one could defeat her.

Nevertheless, to Baek Yu-wol, Baek Dan-hyeop remained a frightening and powerful figure.

Although Baek Dan-hyeop had once belonged to the realm of the powerful, after passing down most of his martial arts and inner strength to his daughter, he had descended to the level of a Hundred Great Masters.

However, while his inner strength had permanently decreased, the techniques ingrained in his body still remained those of a Ten Supreme Master.

So even though Baek Yu-wol had more inner strength, she couldn’t defeat her father in terms of technique, as he had once reached the level of a Ten Supreme Master.

“I wonder when that guest will arrive.”

Entering a Western-style teahouse in Honggung, Baek Yu-wol sat by a second-floor window overlooking the sea and harbor.

Befitting a city that handled 65% of the Liu Empire’s maritime trade volume, Honggung had incorporated some Western cultural elements.

“Hmm, this cake thing is really delicious. It doesn’t help with increasing inner strength, but it’s sweet, soft, and nutty—I really like it.”

Among these, sweet cakes were Baek Yu-wol’s favorite.

The carbohydrate and sugar mass that quickly replenished energy to her body after grueling training had an addictively fatal charm.

If she hadn’t reached the ranks of the Fifteen Great Masters, she might not have been able to resist the temptation of cake, but as one of the Fifteen Great Masters, she could easily control that temptation.

“So, when is the guest arriving? I was planning to escort them to the capital and then have some fun there…”

Baek Yu-wol had made plans to enjoy herself in the capital for a while, using the escort duty for the imperial guest as an excuse.

Naturally, for this to happen, the imperial guest needed to arrive at Haeryong Harbor as soon as possible.

However, despite the scheduled time having long passed, the ship had still not arrived.

Now the sun was high in the sky, and it was time for lunch, but there was still no sign of the ship.

“What’s going on…? Why isn’t the ship arriving?”

Just as Baek Yu-wol was wondering about the ship’s absence—

—Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

“The imperial ship is arriving!”

“Everyone prepare for docking! Prepare for docking!”

As ten bell rings announced the arrival of the imperial ship at Haeryong Harbor, workers began to move urgently.

They removed all the small vessels docked near Haeryong Harbor to move them to safe locations and began washing the harbor that had become dirty from work.

Seeing this, Baek Yu-wol looked out toward the distant horizon.

Her body, strengthened through years of training, had eyesight so good that she could even identify the flags on the masts of ships crossing the horizon.

What entered Baek Yu-wol’s eyes as she gazed at the horizon was a sail with the imperial golden dragon emblem.

The golden dragon sail could only be used by imperial ships.

And there was only one imperial ship scheduled to enter this harbor today.

‘That ship must be carrying the honored guest!’

Baek Yu-wol’s mood lifted as soon as she saw the imperial ship.

Thanks to the excuse of escorting the imperial guest, she was certain that no one would complain if she spent some time enjoying herself in the capital.

If anyone had complaints, they could come find her in the capital.

Of course, by the time they reached the capital, she would have already returned to the Han Dongbaek Family’s territory.

“I wonder what kind of person the guest is?”

Baek Yu-wol knew nothing about the distinguished guest arriving on the imperial ship.

All she knew was that they were someone of quite high position from Celebrio Empire, a powerful nation in the Western Continent.

“I hope they’re not ugly. If I’m going to escort someone, it would be nice if they were handsome so I could enjoy my time…”

She walked toward the harbor, thinking various thoughts about the person she would be escorting.

Although it would take at least two hours for the ship to arrive, whether she arrived on time or early, she had nothing else to do anyway, and showing up early to wait might help maintain the Han Dongbaek Family’s image.

And so, arriving at the harbor, Baek Yu-wol finally met the imperial guest.

“Eh?”

What came from her lips was a single word filled with confusion and incomprehension.