Chapter 8: Bizarre (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 8: Bizarre (1)
-Hey. You really need to train harder.
‘...I know.’
There was no room for excuses.
Without the help of the Lesser Conversation Sword, I wouldn't have even been able to lay a finger on Blood Wolf Great Leader No Seong-gu. Even though he wasn't using internal energy, his movements were so fast that he was difficult to catch.
“Ow.”
My face and body were covered in bruises.
Even though we had reached a deal, he showed no mercy in his strikes.
‘I definitely need to train.’
Otherwise, forget about not being swayed—I wouldn't even be able to endure.
Regardless, I got what I wanted for now.
A [Medium] identity token.
With this, I was one step further away from being a discarded pawn.
But I couldn't relax yet. There were often those who were demoted to the [Low] rank during training.
“Ah... again? This is getting ridiculous.”
“Truly ridiculous.”
The twins, Song Jwa-baek and Song Woo-hyeon, looked at me and spoke grumpily. I was certain they would receive [High] tokens, but surprisingly, they received [Medium] ones. It seems our fates are quite intertwined in this life.
“Good grief.”
However, despite their grumbling, they looked somewhat pleased to see me. After all, in a place like this where they had no connections, I was the only familiar face. Even if they acted tough on the outside, they were likely relying on me more than they realized.
“Unit Leader, please reconsider.”
“Hmph. Keep your voice down.”
About twenty paces away from the training disciples, the officials held an emergency meeting. It was because Great Leader Oh had raised an objection. It was likely about me.
‘I can't hear them.’
At first, I could hear bits and pieces whenever they raised their voices, but once they switched to Sound Transmission, I couldn't hear a thing. Sound Transmission was a technique that used internal energy to deliver one's voice only to the intended recipient.
‘Well, even with Sound Transmission, I can pretty much guess what's happening.’
Great Leader Oh was arguing heatedly with the Blood Wolf Great Leader, No Seong-gu. No Seong-gu was shaking his head repeatedly like an iron wall.
‘He’s doing a good job.’
As expected, he was a man who kept his word strictly. Thanks to the Blood Wolf Great Leader standing as my guarantor, Great Leader Oh lost his pretext for finding fault. Consequently, as the conversation progressed, the Raging Blood Unit Leader and the other Great Leaders began to treat Great Leader Oh as if he were being overly sensitive.
At this rate, he wouldn't be able to pull any tricks for a while.
After the rank assignments were finalized, the training disciples were issued clothing. It wasn't anything flashy, just clothes suitable for training. However, since these clothes didn't have an outer layer, I couldn't keep the Lesser Conversation Sword in my shirt and had to carry it at my waist.
-Wow. I can finally breathe.
The guy chattered excitedly. Of course, he chattered whether he was visible or not. Once all the disciples had changed, we moved to different locations under the guidance of the Great Leaders according to our assigned ranks.
The one guiding us was a female Great Leader. Her name was Hae Ok-seon, and it had been difficult to meet her eyes since the fart incident. Whenever she saw me, her expression turned demonic.
-You sure know how to make enemies.
‘Tell me about it.’
Unintentionally, my enemies were increasing one by one. Still, it was a relief that she didn't suspect my identity like Great Leader Oh did. She just disliked me.
-Because you're a farter.
‘.........’
Ignoring his words, I walked in formation. Once we were assigned an instructor to lead the training, the official regimen would begin.
-How long does it last?
‘One year.’
-That’s not very long.
‘Low-rank warriors are deployed after that much training.’
After one year of training, the basic course for a Blood Cult warrior ends. At that point, those who lack further talent are assigned positions as low-rank warriors. The place I was first assigned to was the bottom rungs of the Blood Wolf Unit.
-What did you do there?
‘Logistics.’
-Logistics?
‘...Fine, I carried luggage! You happy?’
I was literally at the bottom. Even if one has mastered external martial arts, they're only slightly better at fighting than an average person. Because of that, I had to handle all the menial tasks for the Blood Wolf Unit, like hauling supplies. Still, those days were more peaceful than when I was a spy.
-You’d have to be at least a mid-level warrior to escape the chores.
‘Escape? That’s just the start.’
It would provide the framework to climb higher. Becoming a mid-level warrior meant one could at least become a squad leader. From there, by achieving merits or honing one's martial prowess to become a first-rate master, one could even aim for the position of Great Leader.
-How do you become a mid-level warrior?
‘You have to become a second-rate master within a year.’
-Eh? How? Your Dantian is still a mess.
‘I told you, I have a way.’
-What way?
Curious, the Lesser Conversation Sword pestered me to tell him.
‘An opportunity will arise exactly ten months from now.’
To be honest, I was incredibly bitter when I first heard about this. Of course, I only found out about it much later, and since no opportunities were given to low-rank training disciples, it had been meaningless back then.
-What kind of opportunity?
‘A very important noble guest is scheduled to visit this place in ten months.’
-A noble guest? You mean someone important is coming?
‘Yes.’
-Who?
‘I don't know.’
-.......Are you kidding me right now? You farting piece of trash.
For a moment, I almost suffered Qi Deviation despite not having a Dantian. This damn dagger was getting a taste for mocking people. He’d become a total foul-mouth.
‘If you mock me one more time, I’ll snap you in half.’
-Hey, are you mad? You’re the one who said something pointless first. Getting my hopes up when you don't even know.
Fine, it was my fault. I should have just gotten to the point.
‘I don't know who the noble guest is. The guest isn't the important part; it's the person who accompanied them to treat them.’
-Who is it?
‘The Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments!’
The Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments. He was a physician known for being able to cure any disease. Belonging to neither the Orthodox nor Evil factions, he was said to treat anyone as long as they paid the price he demanded.
-Ooh! Then he could treat your Dantian too.
‘Exactly. I heard the Divine Healer once even treated a shattered Dantian.’
-But how is that person going to help you?
‘The Divine Healer will be looking for a certain herb.’
-An herb?
‘The reason they brought the noble guest all the way here for treatment is that the moment this herb is uprooted, its spiritual energy dissipates within a day.’
I couldn't remember the name of the herb clearly, but it was called "Ha-seon" something-or-other. All the mid-level training disciples were mobilized to find it, and one of them discovered it and received a single promise from the Divine Healer.
‘A promise to treat anything.’
-Whoa. Then you just have to aim for that.
‘Exactly!’
I remembered the exact location where that herb was found. My Dantian was in bad shape, but this was the reason I had tried so hard to get a [Medium] rank token. I had laid out all these plans while I was still in the wagon.
‘If I become a mid-level warrior and transfer to the Blood Wolf Unit...’
Everything would be smooth sailing. If I could achieve merits with the help of Blood Wolf Great Leader No Seong-gu, there was a chance I could rise through the ranks. Since I ended up in the Blood Cult anyway, I might as well try to make something of myself here.
-Pwahahaha! You’re really something. A guy from a prestigious Orthodox family thinking about making it big in the Evil Faction.
‘Everywhere people live is the same. Whether it's the Orthodox or Evil faction, the rotten ones are all rotten.’
This was a truth I realized while living as a spy. No matter where you are, the one who climbs to the top and survives is the winner.
While I was chatting with the Lesser Conversation Sword, we were nearing the mountainside where the training grounds for the mid-level disciples were located.
“Wait?”
At that moment, a bewildered voice escaped the mouth of Great Leader Hae Ok-seon, who was leading the disciples. Wondering what was wrong, I looked ahead and saw about twenty people lying on the ground of the training area.
‘What the...?’
I had no idea what was going on; this was completely unexpected. I had never even heard of such an incident happening. Then, I saw someone who had been lying near the platform of the training ground stand up.
-Whoa. He’s huge.
Just as the sword said, he was a man of massive stature. Even from a distance, his physique was incredibly large and robust, and his clothing was unusual. He was wearing tiger skins, and his entire face was covered in a beard, making him look like a wild man.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the wild man charged toward us with incredible speed, like a charging bull. He crossed dozens of paces in just a few strides—it was the Lightness Skill, a martial arts technique for rapid movement.
“Everyone, get back!”
Great Leader Hae Ok-seon shouted urgently as she drew the sword from her waist. She, too, seemed not to know the identity of the wild man. Like the first-rate master she was, she swung her sword with swift movements, attempting to intercept him.
In that instant, something unbelievable happened.
Clang!
The wild man blocked her sword with his bare hands and then sent her flying with a single punch.
Thud!
“Agh!”
With a short scream, Great Leader Hae Ok-seon was sent flying nearly five paces. After rolling on the ground a few times, her head slumped.
‘This is impossible.’
It was my first time seeing a Great Leader, a first-rate master, be so helplessly outmatched. This was something even a Unit Leader shouldn't be able to do.
“H-He’s dead!”
Song Jwa-baek shouted in terror.
“No, she’s not dead. Calm down!”
She looked dead, but her body was still twitching. Then, the wild man who had defeated Hae Ok-seon began to stride toward us—not with Lightness Skill, but with heavy steps. The pressure he exerted with every step was immense.
As everyone stood frozen, not knowing what to do, the wild man suddenly spread his arms wide.
“...?”
Then, he slammed his palms together.
In that moment—
BOOM!
Along with a powerful pressure of air, a sound that felt like it would tear my eardrums apart flooded my ears. The impact was so strong that I couldn't bear the pain; I clutched my ears and screamed.
“Aaaaaagh!”
A strange noise continued to ring in my ears.
Beeeeeeeeee!
I couldn't hear any other sounds around me. Amidst the pain and confusion, I only saw the training disciples around me collapsing. It seemed they couldn't withstand the sound.
“Ugh...!”
When I took my hands away from my ears, blood was trickling down. I felt dizzy and nauseous, but then another strange thing happened.
Thump!
I felt a hot energy in my chest that gradually surged upward. My ears felt warm, and the tinnitus vanished.
“Huff... huff...”
I had no idea what kind of phenomenon this was. But then, a shout reached my ears.
“God dammit! K-Kill me if you want! But don't you touch my brother!”
Looking over, I saw Song Jwa-baek standing in front of his agonizing brother, who was clutching his ears. Jwa-baek had his fists clenched, confronting the wild man.
That crazy bastard. It would be better to just pass out. It was a truly unexpected display of bravery.
However, the result was exactly as expected. With a single punch from the wild man, Song Jwa-baek was sent flying with a choked grunt. After taking him down, the wild man passed by Song Woo-hyeon, who was still groaning in pain.
The place he was heading was—
-Run away!
The Lesser Conversation Sword screamed at the top of its lungs. My legs had been frozen, but I snapped out of it and immediately turned to run.
Thwack!
But soon, a blunt sensation struck the back of my head, and I lost consciousness.
It was cold. My face felt like it was going to freeze off. I woke up because of the cold sensation against my skin. My head throbbed with a dull ache.
Then, a coarse, gravelly voice rang in my ears.
“Heh heh, how unexpected. A brat with a shattered Dantian and no internal energy managed to endure that? And he’s the first to wake up, too.”
The voice was very close. Startled, I bolted upright.
“Gah!”
In my panic, I scrambled backward. Right in front of me sat the massive wild man, leaning back in a large stone chair covered in tiger skins. I was trembling so hard from fear that my whole body shook.
Trip!
“Oof!”
My foot caught on something, and I fell backward.
“Huh?”
It was larger than a rock; it was none other than Song Jwa-baek. But he wasn't the only one. Beside him, his brother Song Woo-hyeon was sleeping, mumbling as if he were having a dream.
“W-Where is this?”
Looking around, I saw we were in a cave that wasn't particularly large. Since none of the other training disciples were in sight, it seemed only the three of us had been kidnapped.
‘Damn it!’
I had planned everything so perfectly, so what on earth was happening? It was utterly absurd.
‘Ah!’
Suddenly remembering the Lesser Conversation Sword, I reached for my waist.
“Heh heh, are you looking for this?”
I looked at the wild man at the sound of his voice. The Lesser Conversation Sword was held in his thick, massive hand. No wonder I couldn't hear the guy chattering; he had been taken hostage. I felt like if I asked for it back, that thick hand would crush my skull.
“You’re an interesting one. A new training disciple carrying a dagger like this, even if it is worn out.”
‘What is he?’
This wild man knew I was a training disciple. He didn't look like someone from the Blood Cult, so I had no idea how he knew. After hesitating for a moment, I summoned my courage and asked.
“W-Who are you, Elder, and why have you brought us here?”
“Heh heh heh.”
The wild man let out his characteristic gravelly laugh and spoke.
“Me? I am Haeakcheon.”
‘!!!’
The moment I heard those words, a chill ran through my entire body. For a second, I thought my ears had deceived me.
‘No way!’
If what he said was true, he was Bizarre Haeakcheon, one of the Four Venerables of the Blood Cult. He was known as the most eccentric and unique among the four absolute masters of the cult.
‘H-How is he here? Wait... could it be?’
My trembling gaze naturally shifted toward the twins, Song Jwa-baek and Song Woo-hyeon. They were still fast asleep, oblivious to the world.
I could be certain now.
‘My god... The one who taught these guys martial arts was Haeakcheon?’