Rise of the Fallen Kingdom’s Third Prince

Yuri’s blow knocked Hwang Bo-cheol unconscious.

Blood was still gushing from his leg.

“Haa…”

Yuri sighed.

For an Easterner of sub-chief rank to be illiterate… it seemed their journey would have to continue on to Liberta.

“Your Highness, what will we do now?” Jared asked.

Yuri looked down at the man lying there.

He had crossed into the West just to turn to banditry—a shameless criminal.

But.

“Even if he’s a despicable bandit, he knows how to recognize the beauty of our continent. I can’t just leave him lying here.”

Hwang Bo-cheol’s passionate shouting hadn’t been in vain; it had stirred something in Yuri’s heart.

“We’ll hand him over to Joachim for treatment.”

“Why go to all that trouble…?”

“We complain ourselves that this continent is chaotic, but seen through Eastern eyes, it’s truly a beautiful place. Maybe we’ve been the ones failing to appreciate it.”

“Wow…”

“A man who can see the beauty of our continent…”

Yuri looked at him warmly.

“Will also get to discover how advanced our prison system is.”

“Yes, Your Highness. One day I’ll visit him and hear his thoughts on how wonderful the continent’s prison is.”

“He might like it so much that he’ll want to live there forever.”

“Hahaha, should we pad the charges so he stays?”

“I think that’s a great idea!”

Yuri and Jared looked at each other and grinned from ear to ear.

“Now that I think of it, isn’t this area Joachim guerrilla territory?”

“Yes.”

“Perfect, then we can visit them too.”

***

The Joachim guerrilla, founded by Yuri, had once been a thorn in the Empire’s side.

They didn’t have the strength to threaten it in open battle, but in the mountains there was no imperial unit that could surpass them—a knife in the Empire’s back, impossible to ignore or eliminate.

That was, of course, in tense times.

After the war and the Empire’s stabilization under Yuri Briol, Joachim ceased to be an enemy and resumed exchanges with them as before.

“Hey, Joachim guys, get out here already!” Yuri shouted.

Something shot out from the undergrowth without sound or warning.

Phantom arrows—the secret art of the archer Murray, instructor of the guerrilla.

“Not bad.”

Yuri swung his sword; suddenly, an invisible arrow split in two in midair and flew off to the side.

There was slight commotion among the bushes.

“With that much noise, you’re disqualified as guerrillas. Keep calm! Is that how you plan to catch ghosts?”

More invisible arrows flew; Yuri deflected them effortlessly.

“Ooooh…”

The bandits, tied up in a row behind him, murmured.

“So these are Joachim’s phantom arrows…”

“You really can’t see them at all…”

“How does he cut them like that?”

“No wonder Liberta crushed us…”

“Shhh,” Jared shot them a glare.

“Yes, sir.”

In the end, one of the guerrillas stepped into view.

“What brings you here?” he asked seriously.

“Don’t you recognize me anymore?” Yuri smiled, walking closer.

The man looked at him and his eyes went wide.

“Your Highness! What are you doing here?”

“What a loud voice. How have you been, Amunson?”

It was Amundsen, Joachim knight, old rival of Simon in a duel years ago.

“Where’s Simon?” he asked immediately.

“In Liberta.”

“Damn it!”

“Still itching to fight?”

“Of course. You promised me a match after training was over…”

“We were at war.”

“And now you’ll grant it?”

“If you want, come with us to Liberta.”

“I’m on duty—would need to ask for leave.”

“Then look for me later, I’ll let him know.”

***

Soon, more guerrillas came out to greet him. Many were old “owls” trained by Yuri; those who weren’t still revered him.

Seeing the scene left the bandits gaping.

“It was true? He’s Yuri, the prince?”

“Of course, idiots,” Jared said, kicking them in the rear.

“And be grateful he’s not resentful, or you’d already be dead.”

“When you get out of prison, work hard.”

“There’s no work…”

“No? Then go to Briol, there’s plenty of work there.”

“Really?”

“Briol is booming. Study and learn a trade.”

“What do you recommend?”

“Electromagnetism or quantum mechanics. Easy and in high demand.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Yuri handed the bandits over to Joachim, and as he was saying goodbye, he stopped.

In front of the headquarters was a statue so realistic it seemed more art than sculpture.

“You recognize it,” Amunson said with a smile.

“It’s the work of our sculptor Smith—the statue of the Four Heroes.”

“Four heroes…” Yuri repeated.

“When the Empire invaded us, four heroes fell from the sky to help us. They’re gone now, but their spirit lives on in Joachim. Look, this is…”

“Yubi.”

Yuri said, smiling.

The figures, with imposing bearing, radiated determination.

“And this is Javid, right?” asked Jared.

“Correct. And the other one…”

“Lou,” said Laurent, stepping forward.

“I didn’t expect you to know so much about them,” said Amunson.

“How could we not? They were heroes of their time.”

Yuri smiled nostalgically.

“If only Jose could have seen this…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. They’re magnificent heroes.”

He patted Amunson on the shoulder.

“Take good care of these bandits.”

“I checked — they only stole a few bundles, so they won’t be imprisoned for long.”

“Oh, really?”

“By the way, that Hwang Bo-cheol fellow asked me to tell you something…”

Amundsen smirked.

“He says everyone is trying to learn electromagnetism, quantum, or linear algebra because they’re easy and get you work, but…”

“But?”

“He says he’s going to study national literature to spread the beauty of the continent’s common language.”

“Ohhh…”

“He also said he’ll live cleanly from now on and thanks you for making him come to his senses.”

“That guy…”

Yuri gave a faint smile.

“Understood. Tell Bo-cheol that when we meet again, he should be a man who contributes to society.”

“Understood.”

“Then, we’re off.”

“Yes.”

Yuri waved goodbye to Amunson and set off again toward Liberta.

At that moment, Yuri didn’t know that Hwang Bo-cheol would later become the Holy Poet of the continent, spreading the beauty of the common language and even receiving a medal from Yekaterina for his merits.

In any case, his escape was still far from over.

***

Yuri and his group arrived in Liberta.

The “Blue Star School” of Moyongchan that they were looking for had been established with great majesty right in the city center.

Yuri, looking up at the huge sign, commented,

“Looks like this dojo is doing even better than I thought…”

“They say there’s no one in this city who hasn’t learned martial arts from the Blue Star School. If you don’t know martial arts, they consider you a spy.”

“Come on, where else in the world does something like that happen? Martial arts aren’t that easy to—”

At that moment, Yuri stopped.

A lady in an elegant dress, walking gracefully, tripped and began to fall backward.

The tilt was so dangerous that if he didn’t intervene, it seemed she would hit her head on the ground.

“T-that’s…!”

It was so sudden that even Yuri was caught off guard.

But then, the woman stretched out an arm, pressed her hand to the ground, flipped backward, and landed smoothly, resuming her elegant walk as if nothing had happened.

Her movement was flawless.

“Uh…”

But the surprises didn’t end there.

A coachman trying to park his carriage, seeing that the horses wouldn’t obey, lifted the vehicle with his hands and placed it carefully at the side of the road before leaving.

“Whoa…!”

And not only that — now Yuri saw a gardener trimming the street trees using sword energy to cut branches and leaves.

With just a few motions, he left the treetops perfectly shaped.

All around, a spectacle of martial arts unfolded.

“No way…”

Yuri swallowed. The influence of the Blue Star School was completely enveloping Liberta.

With a tense expression that soon turned into a sly smile, Yuri murmured,

“As it should be. Only then can I call him my master…”

“That’s no small thing…”

Yuri took a deep breath and planted himself in front of the great main gate of the Blue Star School.

It was a thick, solid wooden door that blocked the way like a wall.

For an ordinary person, it would be far too heavy to even open.

Yuri said,

“Laurent, Jared. Today we’re going to bust a dojo.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Jared grinned from ear to ear. Laurent just shrugged.

“What nonsense.”

“You’re starting to sound like…”

“Like who?”

“There’s a certain sickness they talk about that second-year middle academy students get.”

“First time I’ve heard of it.”

“Anyway.”

Yuri didn’t want his reunion with his master after so long to start in a boring way.

So he shouted loudly,

“Hey! Blue Star School! We’ve come to challenge you!”

And right after, he kicked.

The door, which seemed bigger and sturdier than that of a fortress, shattered instantly.

Yuri shouted,

“If we win, we’re taking your sign! Hahahahaha!”

With the laugh of a third-rate villain, he walked in.

Jared and Laurent followed with such a threatening aura they looked like thugs ready to wreck the place.

Yuri exaggeratedly swung his shoulders as he advanced into the training courtyard.

“Well, everyone’s training hard.”

The disciples of the Blue Star School, startled by the intrusion, stepped back with uneasy faces.

Yuri raised his voice even more.

“Are you scared? Is this all the Blue Star School is worth? Let the one with guts step forward! Hahahahaha!”

With his hands on his waist, Yuri let out a loud laugh.

At that moment, someone came out of the Blue Star School and stood before him.

“How insolent! Who are you?”

They were instructors from the school.

But among them was someone Yuri never expected to see.

“N-no… What are you doing here…?”

It was his third wife.

“You said you had an important matter to attend to, and it turns out you’re doing this?”

Her identity was none other than…