Chapter 237: A Sudden Reunion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 237: A Sudden Reunion
‘Blood Dagger is coming back! Blood Dagger! He’s coming back!’
The thought that completely filled Lee Wanyong’s mind was of Blood Dagger’s warm embrace. It had once been the most dangerous place to be, but now, it was the safest. After all, he never cast aside talented individuals.
He dearly missed everyone. Lee Jihee, who sometimes nagged him like a wife; Hazaku, the elite Orc swordsman who had become his friend; the young Laveua, who used to ride him like a Giant Wolf; and even the esteemed Mev, who would sometimes maneuver him into a position where he had no choice but to lose when they played cards.
Is this what home feels like?
He even found himself thinking that. It was only natural that a sudden rage boiled up inside him when he thought of Choi Seulgi. But with Blood Dagger by his side, there was nothing to fear. The scriptures he had read at Baek Ahyeon’s temple clearly stated that Blood Dagger had once fought the current Queen of the North.
Looking at the bigger picture, the alliance between the East and the North was likely just a temporary measure to fend off the Southwestern alliance. Once all the wars were over, the North would likely become an enemy as well, so he thought Blood Dagger might even take care of Choi Seulgi for them. After all, they were Green Skins, not humans.
‘No one can stand against Blood Dagger.’
Of course, he had to consider an escape route in case things went wrong, but that was difficult now that he’d heard the news of the baby in Lee Jihee’s belly.
With a pounding heart, he rushed into the conference room and waited with fluttering excitement. Before long, space slowly began to tear open.
The figure that appeared was slightly different from the Blood Dagger he knew. His face had changed a little, large horns sprouted from his head, and behind him was a large tail he had never seen before. His presence was so majestic that for a moment, Wanyong wondered if he was truly looking at a Demon King. When Choi Eunju and Baek Ahyeon also appeared, Lee Wanyong was certain that the man at the forefront was the Blood Dagger he knew.
‘He’s become even stronger. Blood Dagger is invincible.’
“L-Lord Blood Dagger.”
“Lee Wanyong. It’s been a while.”
His voice was so reassuring it put Wanyong’s mind at ease just hearing it. Tears suddenly began to well up in his eyes. He didn’t know why, but it was probably proof of how much he had suffered mentally.
“Where is Jang Ye Ri?”
“Ah, the Queen said she would be here shortly. Please, let’s go up to the room together. The Queen instructed me to attend to you well, Lord Blood Dagger.”
“Hmm… I don’t think that will be necessary. I have something to discuss, so let’s just spend our time here. This is a conference room, after all…”
“Ah… yes. I will let them know.”
This was the feeling. Just being in his presence made everything feel stable.
‘I am safe. I am safe. I am safe.’
He hadn’t felt this way at first, of course, but having spent so much time in the Brother’s Land, Lee Wanyong felt an overwhelming sense of security and nodded unconsciously. He had never felt like this even when he was working in the small eastern city of Gomorrah.
Blood Dagger casually took a seat on one side of the conference room, and the teleporter Choi Eunju and Baek Ahyeon, whom he had heard about beforehand, sat on either side of him. When a castle maid briefly entered and offered Blood Dagger some tea, Baek Ahyeon spoke up cautiously.
“You seem to have been through a lot, Brother Lee Wanyong.”
“Ah… yes. It’s been a little difficult, but it’s bearable, Sister Baek Ahyeon.”
“As I thought… I completely understand how you feel, Disciple Lee Wanyong. Being separated from our Savior must be agony.”
It felt like she was missing the point, but Lee Wanyong nodded eagerly. Baek Ahyeon was one of Blood Dagger’s women, and she cared for him in her own way. It was only after he had attended her services, of course, but Baek Ahyeon was, in a sense, another lifeline. In any case, he couldn’t help but be pleased that Blood Dagger had something to discuss. When Blood Dagger sought him out, it was almost always for work.
He has a task for me.
I can get out of here. Just as he swallowed, the main topic was brought up.
“I need you to do a job for me.”
‘I was right.’
Lee Wanyong couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s about the Eastern Continent.”
Blood Dagger slowly began to explain. He wanted Wanyong to help Baek Ahyeon build and manage a large factory on the Eastern Continent. The sole purpose of this factory was to bring pain and despair to the Japanese there.
Simply inflicting pain wasn’t enough. When he heard it was a factory designed to inflict sorrow more directly, Lee Wanyong nodded.
“I don’t care what methods you use. You can build an underground fighting arena, or a gambling den that feeds on sorrow. You can even create a congregation of believers like Baek Ahyeon. I just want you to try various things in various ways. I don’t have time to worry about that place.”
“Ah… yes, I understand.”
Various thoughts swirled in his head. Lee Wanyong didn’t know why Blood Dagger wanted to do this, but he didn’t think he needed to know. All he had to do was perform the task he was given.
Inflicting pain wasn’t a bad idea, but what Lee Wanyong envisioned was creating another society underground. A society that was bound to be sad and desperate. He believed that emotions like despair and sorrow arose more intensely not when there was no hope, but when even the smallest glimmer of hope was visible.
‘An underground city.’
An underground city that feeds on sorrow and despair as its raw materials. It didn't seem like a bad idea. Various ideas were already popping into his head, and he began to organize them into documents in a corner of his mind.
He was instantly categorizing the points he would later organize into a formal proposal. As he began to formulate a small presentation, he felt the plan taking shape. As they continued their discussion, Baek Ahyeon spoke up cautiously.
“My Savior… if… if that is the case, do you intend to use the Eastern Continent merely as a factory…?”
“Hmm… Baek Ahyeon, you can build a temple there if you wish.”
This wasn’t a bad option either. Lee Wanyong had been to Baek Ahyeon’s temple, and he had also been to the basement beneath it. It was no exaggeration to call that underground interrogation chamber a culmination of sorrow and despair.
Of course, it had the drawback of diminishing returns over time, but he thought it could produce sufficient short-term efficiency.
Building a grand temple would fit even better with the underground city concept Wanyong desired.
The hope of being able to ascend from the underground city to the temple on the surface, and the despair and sorrow upon realizing that it is ultimately unreachable. He couldn’t be certain, but he was sure it would be helpful to Blood Dagger.
“O-Of course! Th-Thank you! Thank you! My Savior!”
Beside him, Baek Ahyeon was nodding with an extremely excited expression. The greater the gap between the two worlds, the better.
“Building a temple seems like a good idea. It would be best to completely separate the underground from the surface.”
“Indeed, Brother Lee Wanyong. The insects who insulted our Savior will see hell, while our disciples will see heaven.”
As Lee Wanyong agreed with Baek Ahyeon, Blood Dagger also spoke slowly.
“Do you have a good idea in mind?”
Presenting his organized thoughts to Blood Dagger was always a nerve-wracking moment. It was even more so when explaining verbally like this, without a perfect plan. Nevertheless, Lee Wanyong opened his mouth as he always did.
“Ah… yes. I still need to think about it a bit more, but building a city underground doesn’t seem like a bad idea. I don’t know the scale of what you desire, Lord Blood Dagger, but rather than simple despair and sorrow, a meticulously designed, desperate society where living itself feels like hell doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Hmm…”
His expression was good. That was a sign of preliminary approval.
“Humans fall into greater despair when the hope of climbing up is shattered. Of course, I don’t know if you can continue to get what you want through simple methods, but in the long run, a method like this seems promising. After a full day of laboring to the point of death, all they get in return is a single coin to buy a piece of bread… They must always clutch their starving stomachs and live in constant fear and pain. We won’t even need managers. Once this system is established, I believe they will diligently feel sorrow and despair among themselves.”
“Interesting.”
Growing more confident, Lee Wanyong continued.
“Hehe… thank you. And that’s not all. It’s important to torment them just enough so they don’t die. If they die, wouldn’t that be a great loss of manpower? As long as they aren’t killing each other, I don’t think we’ll need to worry about security. You can think of it as raising dairy cows. In this case, however, you’re not squeezing out milk, but emotions… I believe these are emotions you can naturally obtain if they live a hellish life in a filthy, dark place.”
“………………………”
“It would also be good to create an escape route. ‘If you pay a vast sum of gold or show good behavior, you can be freed. You can go to the land of healing and happiness where the Savior’s disciples reside.’ And all we have to do is present the Japanese who survive that hellish society and try to climb up with an even greater hell than before.”
Looking around, the reactions were quite varied. Baek Ahyeon was nodding repeatedly, while Choi Eunju was staring at him with a look of disbelief.
‘Was that a bit too much?’
Even though it was his own idea, he had to admit it sounded quite demonic. But Blood Dagger nodded.
It was a passing grade.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
Those words warmed his heart. I’ll leave it to you. Lee Wanyong nodded repeatedly and began to look at Blood Dagger again. His face was quite different from before.
“I’ll speak to Jang Ye Ri, so it would be best for you to head back first thing tomorrow morning.”
Though it was news that should have made him ecstatic, Lee Wanyong couldn’t express his joy. Strangely, the words Choi Seulgi had said before came to mind.
‘Really? You seemed so sure… I really hate liars. I really do… I’ll ask you one more time. The Kim Taesung you know is about 177cm tall and very handsome. His eyebrows are a bit thick, and his mouth is a little small. Monolid eyes of average size, a swordsman who uses a one-handed sword. His defining trait is that he’s weak, but a little righteous. Answer me.’
He was taller now, but the part about being very handsome was correct. Eyebrows a bit thick, mouth a little small. Monolid eyes of average size… He wasn’t weak or righteous, but he didn’t know why those words suddenly popped into his head. It bothered him that his name was also Taesung, making it hard to dismiss him as a simple look-alike. While the titles used to refer to Blood Dagger within the tribe varied, he clearly remembered that Jung Hayeon called him Taesung-ssi.
“U-Um…”
Lee Wanyong swallowed hard.
“L-Lord Blood Dagger. By… by any chance.”
“Speak.”
“Do… do you know a human named Choi Seulgi?”
The moment he finished speaking, a sudden chill filled the air. It wasn’t coming from Blood Dagger, but from behind him. Startled, he spun around to see Choi Seulgi, the woman he feared so much, glaring at Blood Dagger. The door hadn’t even opened. He was utterly bewildered as to how she could have gotten behind him. Then, a voice escaped Blood Dagger’s lips.
“Choi Seulgi?”
“You… you… you… you… YOOOOUUUUUUU!”
A piercing scream erupted.
Blood Dagger wore a bewildered expression while Choi Seulgi was consumed by rage. Choi Eunju and Baek Ahyeon were unconsciously preparing for battle. In the midst of it all, Lee Wanyong could only stand there, his mouth hanging wide open.