From the Abyss of Stars Part 2

Vol-2: 102. The Banquet Begins

Yanagimon's tone was full of mockery, clearly looking for trouble.

—But hearing this, Li Aozi grew irritated.

His eyes began to glow with golden rings, preparing to crush this blind idiot when a voice shouted from the distance:

"Hey! Yanagimon! Are you trying to embarrass us internationally?"

A confident man in military uniform with his hands in his pockets walked over, glaring at Yanagimon coldly:

"This is the Kowloon Gathering, a sacred festival where guests from around the world gather. Do you want Tianhuan to become a laughingstock?"

"Oh? Isn't this Gold Tae-hyun, Captain of the Capital Guard?"

Yanagimon showed no fear, despite facing a high-ranking officer, grinning slyly:

"Your job is to protect Prime Minister Park's life, not to safeguard Tianhuan's dignity. On the contrary, only samurai can uphold the honor of Tianhuan."

Yanagimon, as a retainer of the Hojo family, held a much higher status than someone like Gold Tae-hyun, a mere soldier. According to the unspoken rules, Gold Tae-hyun should be speaking to him with respect.

Gold Tae-hyun's face darkened. He had intended to mediate this pointless altercation, but now he found himself ridiculed.

He pointed at Yanagimon, shouting, "Do you even know who's causing trouble here? Don't think that just because Hojo-san favors you, you can act with impunity. This is Joan Capital! It's not your place to throw your weight around!"

"Oh? I'm curious—does that mean it's not my place, or is it not the place for 'us' retainers?"

Yanagimon spread his hands, now fully confronting Gold Tae-hyun.

The rivalry between the new military faction and the traditional clans had been brewing for a long time. The former, buoyed by the prestige brought by the Kowloon Gathering, had become a bit overconfident, forgetting that the country was still controlled by the clan conglomerates.

"If you hadn't picked a fight with a foreigner, I wouldn't have had to step in to stop your foolishness."

Gold Tae-hyun countered, pointing at Li Aozi beside him:

"Everyone here saw it. This foreign guest was simply evaluating the weapon, and Yanagimon blocked his way—what do you want? To make Tianhuan look like a nation of unreasonable savages?"

"Only cowards care about others' opinions," Yanagimon sneered. "Besides, that guy next to you is from the Red Arrow Empire. What? Are you defending an enemy of Tianhuan?"

"I don't care about your personal grudges. This is an international event!"

"Fine, if I've disrupted the order, arrest me. Take me away, lock me up—why aren't you doing it, Captain Gold? Afraid?"

Yanagimon laughed mockingly, knowing full well that Gold Tae-hyun didn't have the authority to arrest a retainer of the Hojo family.

The country would never risk a fallout with the Hojo family. In fact, the whole of Tianhuan was practically armed by the Hojo clan. If anything happened to the Hojo family, the nation would be thrown into chaos.

Because of this, the retainers of the Hojo family acted with near impunity, running wild across the country.

Even if Yanagimon committed a crime, Gold Tae-hyun wouldn't dare arrest him.

Yanagimon's aura of Beta-tier peak strength only added to his intimidation.

Tianhuan was a place where power equaled privilege. Many times, strength was the deciding factor. As a Beta-tier elite and a retainer of the Hojo family, Yanagimon belonged to the "untouchable" tier.