Death and loss

The prince prepares his troops for the upcoming battle with only a few soldiers by his side. The shouts and yells intensify with each passing moment. The sound of their march echoes loudly, resembling thunder in the mountains. Soon enough, a swarm of farmers and ordinary people approach them.

A soldier alerted the prince, "Your Highness, they're just peasants, not a real army."

"Perhaps, but they've murdered the Queen and threatened the King. They're traitors and must face the consequences," the prince stated, gazing at the princess and her archers. "Archers, unleash your arrows in their direction!"

Following the direction of the crowned prince's sword, Princess Yoo-na armed her bow with an arrow and ordered the archers where to aim. "Release!" she cried out, and a cascade of deadly arrows descended upon the oncoming insurgent force.

The princess and her archers demonstrated deadly accuracy, hitting vital points with their arrows and ensuring their targets met a swift end. The female archers reloaded and aimed, and the princess commanded, "Release!" More of the charging men succumbed to the deadly arrows, but the deluge of attackers continued.

"Charge!" Prince Seo-Joon's voice echoed as he signaled the soldiers to move forward, pointing his sword toward the enemy. The soldiers, in unison, brandished their spears and let out a resounding war cry as they charged into battle.

Leading the charge, the prince rode ahead of his soldiers, his sword poised in his right hand. He first struck upward at the enemy to his left, then swiftly brought his blade down to fend off the attacker on his right. Suddenly, two men with spears rushed at him, their strikes wounding his horse, which fell to the ground. Dismounting in a flash, Seo-Joon surged forward on foot. Before the two spearmen could react, he was upon them, delivering a devastating slash that decapitated them in an instant. With adrenaline coursing through him, the prince continued his relentless pursuit of the next foe.

At that moment, Eun-Ae is urgently trying to persuade Young-Sik to come with her to safety. "Your Highness...we must find a place to hide," she said with a tremble in her voice. Looking around, she witnessed the female archers being cut down one by one as the attackers closed in.

"Your Highness, please, you need to pull yourself together! We have to follow the Queen's commands," she implored the prince.

However, Young-Sik was lost in his sorrow, gripping his mother's arm with all his might, unwilling to let go. Princess Yoo-Na noticed him and hurried to his side. "Take the prince and the little girl away," she instructed one of her handmaidens. "I'll distract them."

Just as the handmaiden was about to reach the prince, an arrow struck her neck, ending her life in an instant. The Princess wasted no time slung her bow over her shoulders and led the prince away from the fallen handmaiden. "We have to regroup with the prince," she instructed her handmaidens, one of whom was holding Eun-Ae's hand.

The group hurried in the direction of Prince Seo-Joon, but unfortunately, two more handmaidens were killed when they lagged and were ambushed by armed men.

The handmaidens of the Princess continued to shoot their arrows, trying to create a way through the obstacles. Despite their skill, they were gradually overpowered by their foes. Finally reaching the crowned prince's group near a cliff, they regrouped with only two archers left, Prince Seo-Joon had a mere five soldiers remaining.

"My Princess, how is your group?" Seo-Joon asked his wife. Princess Yoo-Na shook her head and looked at the last two of her archers. "This is where we make our stand" he boldly declared.

He then took and carried his crying brother, and looked around until he saw some thick shrubbery by some large Pine trees. The prince gently put down Young-Sik and led Eun-Ae to the shrubs. "If you continue to walk that way, in two days you will reach our grandfather's land. Stay there until our father or I come for you" Seo-Joon said as he pointed north. He then faced Eun-Ae "Whatever it takes, take my brother and go to the direction I'm pointing at, you don't stop for anything, understand?"

Eun-Ae teary-eyed nodded to the prince. "Yes, Your Highness"

"Brother… are you and sister not coming with us?" Young-Sik asked his eldest brother

"We will follow you as soon as we are sure that no more bad people will follow us. I need you to be brave okay, whatever you see or hear, promise me you will not cry" Prince Seo-Joon told his brother, and he embraced him tightly. He then took his brother's hand and Eun-Ae's. He joined the two children's hands together. "Go," he said to the two children. Eun-Ae pulled the prince away and disappeared into the thick vegetation.

He then walked up to the princess and kissed her passionately "You should follow them, my love, this is no place for you"

"My place is by your side my husband, I will never abandon you, not even if it costs me my life" The two embraced as they prepared themselves, for an impending attack

"I'm so sorry my beloved, that you have to be in this dangerous situation," he said to his wife. He then addressed the seven soldiers standing beside them "Thank you, for fighting with us, it is my greatest honor to share the field of battle with all of you"

They get their weapons ready and face the direction of men charging, they estimate no less than twenty-five advancing in their position.

Meanwhile, Consort Lee's caravan arrived at their destination without a single problem. They are immediately greeted by Magistrate Lee, Consort Lee's father.

"Daughter, are you unharmed? I received word of the capital's problems" he quickly asked as he embraced his child

"I am just fine Father, and your grandson is safe as well" Consort Lee, happily told the magistrate

He then went to his grandson "How is my Prince doing?"

"I'm just fine grandfather, but I worry about my brothers" Man-Ju genuinely expressed

"For now, we can do nothing to know their condition, I can only send word to the King that the two of you have arrived safely," Magistrate Lee told his grandson.

Man-Ju can only glance at the mountain where his brothers currently are, not knowing the dangerous situation they are in right now.

On an off-mountain path, the two children navigate the thick vegetation, towards the north directed at them. "We have to move quickly, the sooner we get to your grandfather's house the sooner we can send help to the prince"

Young-Sik wrestled his hand away from Eun-Ae, and when he broke free of her grip, he just stood with his head bowed. "What's the matter? We can't just stop in the middle of nowhere, there are lots of wild animals here" Eun-Ae told the prince. Young-Sik without even as much as a word turned around and dashed back to where they left his brother.

"Your Highness…come back! You're going the wrong way! Oh my goodness, that boy is so stupid" Eun-Ae said as she ran after the prince

Young-Sik sprinted with all his might, weaving through the branches and foliage that threatened to slow him down. Upon reaching the scene, he was met with the sight of his brother and sister-in-law fiercely battling the insurgents. In the brief moment he had been away, they had already suffered the loss of one archer and three soldiers.

He watched in horror as the last archer was overwhelmed and killed by two attackers. The princess, too close to use her bow, quickly improvised by stabbing the assailants in the neck with her arrows. As they collapsed, she swiftly turned her attention to the oncoming foes, ready to defend her ground.

Seo-Joon found himself facing four men who dared to challenge him. Without hesitation, he lunged at the closest one, swiftly striking him in the chest and ending his life. Moving on to the next opponent, he thrust his sword into the man's neck, taking him down with ease. With a single fluid motion, he spun to his right and delivered a fatal blow that severed the head of the third man. As the fourth charged at him with a spear, Seo-Joon skillfully deflected the spear upward and swiftly dealt a powerful strike that nearly split the man in two

Seo-Joon looked around him to see that it was only him and the princess, and they had four more rebels to deal with. The princess immediately launched her arrow, killing one in the process. The remaining three were startled at how fast the princess was, Seo-Joon capitalized on this opportunity, dashing towards the three men, he killed the first with a sideways slash to the stomach. He spun to his left striking the second one in the neck, nearly decapitating him, and the third one he stabbed through the chin.

Seo-Joon panted heavily as he locked eyes with his wife, who like him was breathing heavily from exhaustion, and smiled warmly at her. Young-Sik was just about to reach out to his brother when he caught sight of five masked assailants creeping up behind his sister-in-law and brutally assaulting her. The prince, filled with horror at the sight, clamped a hand over his mouth to muffle any cries of shock.

Shock painted Seo-Joon's face as he watched a sharp sword emerge from his wife's abdomen. The masked figure yanked the weapon out, causing her to cough up blood as she struggled towards him. Despite her efforts to reach her husband, the assailant cruelly cut her across the back, sending her tumbling forward.

Seo-Joon rushes to his wife's side, holding her close as she struggles to breathe. With one final look at her husband, she closes her eyes and passes away in his arms. The prince weeps as he holds his beloved's lifeless form. Eun-Ae steps in to shield Prince Young-Sik's eyes from the heartbreaking scene.

With a sinister laugh, the masked intruder revealed his face, causing Young-Sik to instinctively cover his ears in fear. "Your Highness it seems this is our final meeting," Seo-Joon's sobs ceased as he realized the man before him was not only his wife's murderer but likely his mother's as well.

"Lim Do-Yung… you beast, this is where your story ends!" The prince carefully placed his wife's lifeless form on the ground before grasping his sword tightly.

"You're mistaken, young man. I initially intended to take you all captive, but I've had a change of heart. It serves my interests far better to eliminate you and watch the King's influence crumble," he declared with a smug grin. "The one who brings me his head will feast on golden plates for eternity!" The men, driven by avarice, raised their swords and surged forward towards Seo-Joon.

The crowned prince sprang to his feet, his voice booming like thunder. He intercepted the downward blows from the first two attackers just in time, preventing the other two from closing in. With a powerful thrust, he sent the first two off balance, leaving them vulnerable. In a single, fluid movement, he dispatched his initial foes, slicing through their throats with fury.

The remaining two surround the prince with Minister Do-Yung joining the fray. The one behind Seo-Joon was the first to attack, the man thrusts his sword at the prince's neck. Seo-Joon did a simple sidestep to his left to avoid the attack. Once the attacker overshoots and his back is exposed to the prince, he quickly cuts him down.

Do-Yung seeing the prince's sword prowess, hid behind the last henchman that he had. "Feeling afraid, are we Minister? You should be! I will not give you a swift death!" The prince charged at the two men, Do-Yung fearing for his life pushed the man in front of him. Seo-Joon killed the man with a simple flick of his sword to the man's neck.

Do-Yung was about to run when he slipped and fell. He was about to grab his sword, but the prince stepped on his hand, and the old man cried in pain when he felt his hands being crushed. "Please Your Highness, spare me and I will be loyal only to you, I will support whatever decree and decision you make, just spare my life I beg of you"