Chapter 110: He’s Your Subordinate, So You Win Him Over
Chapter 110: He’s Your Subordinate, So You Win Him Over
The moment his eyes met those of the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, the Black Murder Lord felt goosebumps erupt across his entire body.
It was a case of one villain recognizing another. The encounter was so chilling, so primal, that he momentarily forgot the agony in his shoulder—a pain that felt as if his very flesh were being shredded.
“I asked if it was you.”
The Black Murder Lord had forgotten the question entirely, and the Smiling Demon was not a man known for his patience.
Zip! Thwack!
The Smiling Demon unleashed his Blood Calamity Finger, the piercing energy boring straight through the man’s other shoulder.
“Aaaaaagh!”
The Black Murder Lord let out a scream of pure agony. No matter how seasoned a martial artist he was, the sensation of raw bone and muscle being hollowed out was impossible to endure.
Watching the display, I hopped down from the wall and approached the Smiling Demon.
“Don’t kill him yet. I have questions.”
I looked down at the writhing Black Murder Lord. “Who was the one who offered you a position in the Unorthodox Path Alliance?”
I already knew the answer, of course. However, I needed the Smiling Demon to hear that name from the man’s own mouth.
The Black Murder Lord gritted his teeth, his expression a mask of stubborn defiance.
“Please move your foot,” I said to the Smiling Demon. He was still grinding his heel into the man’s mangled shoulder.
When he stepped back, a gruesome, hollowed-out wound was revealed. Forget martial arts; the man wouldn't even be able to hold chopsticks with that arm again.
I quickly pressed the acupoints on both his shoulders to staunch the bleeding and dull the edge of the pain. I made sure he understood this wasn't an act of mercy.
“You can choose to stay silent and die here. But since you’ve inconvenienced us, your death will be a miserable, lingering one. Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll let you live.”
The Black Murder Lord glared at me, his eyes swimming with pain and deep-seated distrust.
I didn't rush him. He had only ended up in this state because he was facing the Smiling Demon and me; otherwise, he was a survivor of a thousand battles. He wasn't the type to break easily.
I reached down and picked up the hidden weapon he had dropped earlier: his signature Wind Wheel.
The owner might have been pathetic, but the Wind Wheel itself was a masterpiece of craftsmanship. I gave it a sharp flick toward the wall.
Whirrrrrrrr!
The Wind Wheel spun with a predatory hum, gouging the stone surface as it traced a path along the wall before returning perfectly to my hand. Deep marks, looking as if a monstrous bird had raked the stone with its talons, remained behind.
The Black Murder Lord’s eyes widened. The Wind Wheel was a notoriously difficult weapon to master; an untrained person attempting to catch it would likely lose their fingers. Seeing me handle it perfectly on the first try was a shock to his system.
“Who... who are you?” he asked, his voice trembling.
“Feeling better now, are we? Enough to ask for names?”
“I asked who you are!” he barked, his voice cracking. He had already realized he wasn't walking away from this.
“Geom Mu-geuk.”
The name sent a fresh wave of shock through him. Since I was standing beside the Smiling Demon, he had no choice but to believe me.
I showed the Wind Wheel to the Smiling Demon. “May I keep this?”
“I wouldn't take a piece of junk like that even if it were handed to me,” he scoffed.
“Thank you.”
I tucked the Wind Wheel away. It would be useful for dealing with pests not worth drawing my sword for, or perhaps as a gift for a subordinate who specialized in hidden weapons. Either way, it was a prize worth keeping.
I crouched back down beside the Black Murder Lord. His face was now a mask of utter despair. Moments ago, he had been dreaming of a brilliant future within the Alliance, only to be cast into the abyss in an instant. The sense of loss must have been overwhelming.
“As long as you’re alive, there’s always a chance,” I whispered. “Who knows? You might undergo Body Reforging tomorrow and become an Absolute Master, or meet a peerless beauty who changes your life. Just give me the name.”
How could he not want to live? Even with shattered shoulders, the human heart always clings to the hope of a comeback.
“If I give you the name, he’ll kill me,” he rasped.
“If you give us the name, we’ll kill him.”
“How can I trust you to let me live?”
“I’m sorry to say this, but you have no value to me. Whether you live or die makes no difference to my plans.”
Strangely, my cold honesty seemed more persuasive than any promise. I watched the conflict play out in his eyes until, finally, he spat out a name.
“Naeng Yeop.”
Naeng Yeop, the leader of the Ghost Hand Unit—the elite force of the Unorthodox Path Alliance. He was one of the most prominent masters in the entire organization.
It was a lie. A lie born of the Black Murder Lord’s spite, hoping we would throw our lives away trying to assassinate a man of Naeng Yeop’s caliber.
“Well, you’re free to lie,” I said, standing up abruptly. “And I’m free to rip your arm off.”
I planted my foot on his shoulder and began to pull.
“AAAAAAAAGH!”
I pulled with the genuine intent of tearing the limb from his torso.
Crack, snap, pop.
No matter how much malice the Black Murder Lord harbored, he couldn't withstand the agony of his arm being physically uprooted.
“Stop! Please, stop! Ugh... Argh! It’s Seok Gwan-chu! It’s Seok Gwan-chu!”
This time, the answer rang true. The mastermind was the Grand Elder of the Unorthodox Path Alliance, Seok Gwan-chu.
“Is it truly Seok Gwan-chu?”
The Black Murder Lord squeezed his eyes shut and said nothing more.
Seok Gwan-chu was a respected master of the previous generation. He had spent so much time in the Council of Elders that he was almost a forgotten figure. No one would have imagined him stepping back into a power struggle.
Indeed, the Black Murder Lord would never have agreed to dissolve his organization and join the Alliance if the offer hadn't come from someone of Seok Gwan-chu’s immense stature.
“Keep... keep your promise to let me live.”
“Of course...”
At that moment—Crunch!
The Black Murder Lord’s head shattered like a watermelon smashed against the pavement.
The Smiling Demon’s palm was extended, still vibrating with power. He had ended the man’s life with the Demon Extreme Wild Rage Palm.
I finished the sentence I had started.
“...Of course I can’t. The man stepping on you is the Smiling Demon.”
The Smiling Demon didn't say a word. He didn't give the dead man a second thought.
Searching the Black Murder Lord’s robes, I found a thick envelope. It was filled with high-denomination bank notes totaling one million yang. Seeing as he had received the full amount in advance, it seemed the success of the assassination hadn't actually mattered to his employer.
I handed the money to the Smiling Demon.
“This is the payment for the contract on your life, so it belongs to you.”
The Smiling Demon took five hundred thousand yang and handed the rest back to me.
“We almost died together, so we split it. Don't refuse.”
“Then I shall accept it gratefully.”
The Smiling Demon wasn't a man consumed by greed. If he had been, he would be a very different person standing before me today.
The luggage the Black Murder Lord had intended to take with him was filled with treasures. Given his line of work, it seemed he preferred keeping his wealth in tangible valuables rather than trusting a bank.
“These will fetch a good price. We can have Blue Face sell them when he arrives.”
“You take them, Young Master Geom,” the Smiling Demon said.
“No, these should be yours, Lord Smiling Demon.”
“Consider it the prize for winning our race.”
“That’s a very large prize. Buying you a drink would have been much cheaper.”
“A single drink with me is more expensive than that,” he countered with a smirk.
I laughed heartily. I didn't force a refusal when someone insisted on giving. Go Wol once told me that money has no name tags; its value is determined solely by how it is used in the moment.
The Smiling Demon turned to me, his expression sobering. “Do you believe it was really Seok Gwan-chu?”
“Isn't that why you killed him without further questioning?”
“No. I just killed him because I didn't like the look of him.”
I chuckled, thinking that was likely the truth. “In my estimation, he wasn't lying.”
“Seok Gwan-chu. It’s been a long time since I heard that name. He must be nearly ninety. I can’t understand why an old man like that would lust after the position of Alliance Leader.”
“Seok Gwan-chu has a grandson he dotes on. I’ve heard the boy is incredibly ambitious.”
“So, it’s for his own blood?”
“The affection an old master feels for his kin when death is near is likely beyond our understanding. Regardless, if Seok Gwan-chu is the mastermind, taking him down won't be easy.”
The Smiling Demon nodded. However, the prospect of a powerful enemy seemed to please him. I could see a flash of predatory joy in his narrow eyes.
Half an hour later, Lee An and Blue Face arrived.
“I know you’re tired from the journey, but let’s handle this before we rest.”
I took Lee An to the marketplace. We visited several shops and sold all of the Black Murder Lord’s treasures. Even though we sold them below market value, they still fetched a staggering four hundred thousand yang.
“He could have lived a comfortable life forever with this money,” Lee An remarked, looking at the gold. “Why was he so greedy? This is more than enough to last a lifetime.”
“Human greed knows no bounds, doesn't it?”
“Lee An. If you ever see me becoming greedy, you must stop me. If I end up like that, why did I even bother mocking the Black Murder Lord?”
“I might be too busy being greedy myself to notice,” she teased.
“You?”
“I feel it while I train. I’ve realized I’m a very greedy person. Every day, I’m plagued by the desire to reach Great Achievement and fight powerful enemies.”
“That’s not your greed; it’s the Flying Heaven Sword Technique.”
“The sword technique?”
“An extreme martial art like the Flying Heaven Sword Technique tempts and provokes the practitioner. You know what happens if you let it consume you, right?”
Lee An nodded. She was sharp enough to understand my meaning.
I took her to the Continental Bank. Of the nine hundred thousand yang we had acquired, I deposited six hundred thousand in my name and gave three hundred thousand to Lee An to deposit in hers. Even three hundred yang was a lot of money; when I handed her three hundred thousand, she gasped in shock.
“Young Master, I absolutely cannot accept this!”
“I’m not giving this to you to spend on wine.”
“Then what is it for?”
“When you’re running the Ghost Shadow Squad later, there will be times you need to spend money on your subordinates. Use it then.”
“But it’s such a huge amount!”
“You need to learn how to handle large sums. Besides, now anyone trying to bribe you will need at least three hundred thousand yang, won't they?”
“No matter how poor I am, I would never be swayed by money.”
“Then how much would it take to sway you?”
Lee An seemed to think for a moment, then held up three fingers.
“Three million yang?”
She shook her head.
“Oh, thirty million?”
She shook her head again.
“...Three hundred thousand? Surely not three thousand?”
Only then did she smile. “Three hundred million yang. Go ahead and try to find it. If you want to buy me with money, that’s what it takes.”
“Even if I gathered all the money in the world, it wouldn't be enough.”
“That’s who I am.”
We looked at each other and shared a small laugh. Honestly, it felt good. A person who couldn't be bought was staking everything on me.
“If there’s money left over, buy yourself something delicious.”
“I’ll make sure there’s plenty left over.”
On the way back, I asked her casually, “What do you think of Blue Face?”
“He seems like a good person.”
“No, I mean as a subordinate for you.”
“What?” Lee An was startled. “My subordinate?”
“Team Leader of the Ghost Shadow Squad’s First Division, Blue Face. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? The organization is called Ghost Shadow, and he wears a blue mask. It fits perfectly.”
I said this because I knew the depth of Blue Face’s loyalty.
“It’s not a matter of whether it fits! Lord Blue Face is someone aiming to be the next Demon Lord. In fact, he’s the most likely candidate.”
But he would never become a Demon Lord. The Smiling Demon was going to live far too long for that. Wouldn't a life starting as a Team Leader of the Ghost Shadow Squad be better than a lifetime spent cleaning up after the foul-tempered Smiling Demon?
He could be a Team Leader, then a Squad Leader, and who knows what after that. His current life was a dead end with a fixed conclusion, but a new life would have an open ending.
“If it’s too much pressure, we can just ask him to be a Team Leader until the Ghost Shadow Squad is established.”
“Would he even do it?”
“There’s no reason he wouldn't.”
“Oh, come on. Still...”
“Lee An. Do you think the position of a Ghost Shadow Team Leader is lower than that of a Demon Lord’s successor?”
“...Of course it is, isn't it?”
“Lee An!”
“Yes!”
“As my direct subordinate and the leader of the Ghost Shadow Squad, you hold a position higher than any Demon Lord’s successor. Because I am the man who will become the Heavenly Demon.”
Sensing the absolute sincerity in my voice, Lee An bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect you, Young Master. It’s just that the title of Demon Lord still feels so daunting to me.”
“I know. From now on, change your perspective. Then, making Blue Face a Team Leader won't seem like such a burden.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And for now, Blue Face will likely refuse. We can’t force him. The Smiling Demon won't give him up easily, either. We have to put in the work slowly.”
I looked at her, my expression firm. “He’s your subordinate, so you win him over through your own efforts.”
“I will.”
With that, we returned to the Black Murder Lord’s hideout. The Smiling Demon, who was waiting for me, asked about our next move.
“What do you intend to do now?”
“If we confront Seok Gwan-chu directly, it could trigger a war between the Cult and the Alliance. So, I plan to use someone else to fight this battle.”
“And who would that be?”
“Bi Sa-in.”
As the successor to the Unorthodox Path Alliance, Bi Sa-in was the perfect person to pit against Seok Gwan-chu.
I looked the Smiling Demon in the eye and said softly, “You and I are going to intervene in the selection of the Unorthodox Path Alliance’s successor.”