Yagwi City
"How insolent."
"Oops."
I failed. Perhaps it was only natural.
I was just a novice who had barely begun to understand the nature of the soul. On the other hand, Ryeo-ah was an ancient crone whose age was beyond comprehension...
"My bad."
It seemed Ryeo-ah hated being called an ancient crone even more than my attempt to grope her breasts. But they do say a strong denial is as good as an admission.
We just shot the breeze like that. The Demonic Cult was ruined. Although its most important leader, the Heavenly Demon, and a few cultists survived, they would never be able to carry on its legacy. Above all, what the clan's leadership wanted wasn't the death of the Heavenly Demon herself, but a mountain of corpses resulting from the sect's annihilation. So, the objective was largely met. The remaining cultists were barely enough to form a small village, and the Heavenly Demon had become my personal fucktoy.
On top of that, I had reached Tong-un (Universal Circulation) and was looking toward Samgeuk. Surely they would let things slide with this much. Honestly, things like "merits" had long faded from my mind.
Frankly, if the clan had any brains, they would try to keep me happy by any means. I was already highly valuable, not to mention incredibly promising. The only problem was that people aren't exactly rational creatures. And the vast majority of our clan members were Dokkaebi. Beasts who pretend to be rational and logical, only to snap at any moment. I knew this well because I was a Dokkaebi myself.
Do you think I'd stop screwing and raping just because I reached Samgeuk? Hell no. Likewise, one's true nature never changes. It is merely suppressed. Which meant that if I acted too out of line, they could try to discipline me at any time. With my strength, I could easily ignore most sanctions, but the thing was, I wanted to swallow this clan whole.
The Kang Family was a massive enterprise, a truly tempting treasure trove. There was so much to devour before I reached the Johwa (Creation/Harmony) realm. And to suck all the sweet nectar from this giant clan, there was only one way.
"I wonder how Sis is doing."
I had to become a kingmaker.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I was one of the greatest assets at her disposal. And the Red Agate Bow, which I had only been maintaining lately due to a lack of use, would soon need to wet its arrows with blood.
"Being number two is often much more convenient than being number one."
As long as you were useful and didn't covet the top spot, the second-in-command could throw as many tantrums as they wanted. Why? Because the profit they brought in was more than enough to tolerate their stubbornness and whims. That was exactly how I had managed to wring a hug out of my haughty sister.
"Ah. I want to go hug Sis."
Rubbing my body against those addictive breasts of hers was the absolute best. Because she was a woman I couldn't normally touch, the satisfaction of her permitting me into her embrace was on a whole different level.
"Since I haven't held her in a while, maybe I'll just hug her all day when I get back."
Hugs accumulate. Sis seemed relieved that she wouldn't have to hug her overbearing brother while I was away, but I wasn't going to let her off that easily. What if she shamelessly claimed there was no accumulation system? Then I would just shamelessly throw a tantrum. Why? Because I could.
"To make Sis the family head, the fastest way is to beat down the other candidates..."
The problem was, no matter how I sized it up, even if Sis and I joined forces, I couldn't see a viable way to physically assassinate or murder them. Sis Soye, whom I saw last time, possessed a Dharma treasure and looked stronger than me at a glance. And there was no way Kang Su-gong, who was older than Kang So-ye and had received massive support as the eldest son, would be weak.
Besides, even if we succeeded that way, the Elders wouldn't accept it, even if Kang Baek-jin did. Who would willingly tolerate a family head who rose to power by slaughtering all their rivals? They would constantly fear when that blade might turn toward their own necks.
What the power-hungry Elders wanted wasn't a resolute, razor-sharp family head, but a flexible, moderately corrupt one who would play along with them and share power and influence. Just thinking about them made me itch for a purge, but what could I do? Would anyone disband the army just because accidental shootings happen often? Would anyone disband the air force just because of a faulty parachute? Their very existence was a massive core asset and the driving force behind maintaining our power, so we had to play nice to some extent.
For that reason, the eldest son, Kang Su-gong, still held the upper hand despite having taken a massive beating before. The support of the Elders, obtained under the pretext of legitimacy simply because he was the eldest. Even if he lost all his forces, that alone was enough to give him a chance at a comeback.
I pondered the succession dynamics for a moment, then shook my head.
"Man. I've only seen his face once, but I guess there's no helping it."
There was no answer for this guy other than killing him. Sis probably knew this too, which was why she met with Sis Kang So-ye so often, right? Because they wouldn't be able to win unless the second and third ranks teamed up to jump him, or executed an operation to send Kang Su-gong to the afterlife.
And... I wasn't the only one capable of such thoughts. There's a saying, right? Creative ideas are hard to come by in this world, and any theory or delusion your brain cooks up was neither the first nor would it be the last.
"Whoof. My back is stiff."
"What are you doing?"
I stretched lazily. My shoulders went up, hands clasped, forearms raised. And naturally, the dark-red greatbow settled into my hands.
"Wait! Brother, there seems to be some misunderstanding between us..."
"Too late, dumbasses."
I immediately carved a piece of obsidian into a wedge-shaped arrow and shot it.
Thrum—
There wasn't even the sound of an arrow cutting through the air. Only the sharp twang of the bowstring.
Splat!
"Crazy bastard!"
"Just run! We can't beat him!"
The feathers on the Red Agate Bow's limbs fluttered, infusing the obsidian wedge with runic spells. The arrow, glowing mysteriously with runes plastered all over it like talismans, blew open the head of a mid-stage Ungi (Qi Circulation) expert.
It was as simple as that. But looking at it another way, the head of someone whose realm was similar to mine not too long ago had been effortlessly snuffed out with a single twang of a bowstring.
"Fhuuuu..."
I took a deep breath, easing the strain on my body. Even though I hadn't smashed them with my club myself, the heavy vibration of the string lingering in my hand, and the experience of my arrow instantly blowing an enemy's head apart...
"...is fucking insane."
It made me feel like a god. A long-range point-and-click, just drawing the string once, and it so easily took the life of an Ungi (Qi Circulation) warrior.
"Hmm."
But there were downsides. I still could only fire the Red Agate Bow three times, and each shot strained my body. Three shots meant absolute exhaustion. Just firing it once drained the demonic energy of my core and put a ridiculous physical toll on my body.
I wiped my mouth as I regenerated my burst blood vessels.
"Is there really no way around this?"
I felt like I'd be using this a lot before reaching Samgeuk—while I was still in the Ungi (Qi Circulation) realm—so this limitation was a real shame.
"Damn it."
"Who the hell makes these bizarre things anyway?"
It was mind-boggling that such things could be crafted by hand. I had just muttered it as a passing complaint, but Ryeo-ah took it seriously.
"Samgeuk?"
"Oh." She must have been bored. "So they chop them up really finely?"
"What about the Red Agate Bow?"
I asked, holding onto a sliver of hope, but the answer was disappointing.
"Tsk."
Human greed is truly a fickle thing. I was already lucky enough to possess a Dharma treasure; what more could I want? With that, I headed back home.
"Die!"
"These crazy bastards."
I swept away the miscellaneous pests that threw themselves at me with no regard for their own lives.
"Ah. This..."
I had a bad feeling about this. I needed to go see Sis quickly.
"It's been a while."
"It has, Sis."
"Are you not even going to call me 'older sister' anymore?"
"Sister."
"Good boy."
"By the way, Sister, there were way too many ambushes on my way here. It wasn't just one or two. But the scale of those attacks was too small to say they were purely meant to kill me."
Sis silently unrolled a bamboo scroll and showed it to me. I expected it to contain information about the culprits, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
"An order of a higher level than a mere clan directive has been handed down to the family."
"An order received by the clan, rather than issued by it?"
"Yes."
The person capable of doing such a thing was obvious.
"Is it the City Lord?"
"Yes. You, me, and various members of our clan conquered the Seohang Kingdom; Seolyogok wiped out dozens of subterranean races; and Pasumun annihilated over a hundred tribes on the plains. I heard the City Lord was highly pleased."
Hmm. Usually, when a sentence ends like that, there's a "but" coming.
"And while highly commending our three major factions, he also issued another directive."
Sis paused for a moment before speaking.
"Listen carefully, as I am only telling this to you. Within the clan, this has only been conveyed to the Family Head, the Elders, and the successors."
Hmm, usually when someone says "keep this to yourself," it ends up becoming a truth everyone knows.
"Of course."
But I couldn't resist my curiosity.
"Once the current elixir refinement is complete, the next hunt will begin immediately. And the target is a human cultivation sect."
"Isn't that a war, not a hunt?"
Why is a hunt called a hunt? Because the predator and prey are clearly defined. But attacking a cultivation sect was a literal war.
Beyond provoking a backlash from neighboring cultivation sects, other races near Yagwi City might also seize the opportunity. After all, this world wasn't populated solely by humans and Dokkaebi.
The fact that they would betray and slaughter even their own kind if necessary was too cliché to even mention.
"Thus, it seems the neighboring demon races are taking a keen interest in Yagwi City. They've been poking around to observe our movements, which is incredibly annoying. The ones you killed were likely sent for scouting purposes."
"I see."
"For the time being, there will be no infighting among the successors. If we cause friction over domestic matters, how could we face the City Lord?"
"Ah."
That bastard Kang Su-gong is going to have it easy.
Sis also seemed highly displeased by this, but there was nothing she could do in the face of the race's greater cause and the clan's orders.
"So, devote yourself even more to your cultivation. Seeing you return after reaching Tong-un (Universal Circulation) makes this sister's troubled mind feel instantly refreshed."
"Don't mention it. We're family, aren't we?"
"....On that note, brother. Um, when is this going to end?"
"Hmm, maybe in a day?"
For the record, our entire conversation up to this point had been conducted in a back-hug position. I held Sis Hayeon tightly from behind, savoring her scent and flavor.
"Our bond is close, but, well... I feel this is a bit embarrassing."
"Are you going to break your promise?"
"Wasn't it once every three days? This is a bit much."
"Show some generosity, Sister. How can a bold, heroic woman fuss over merely lending her body?"
A sister could easily let her brother have her bare pussy, kiss him, and all that.
"No, that's not it! Whose common sense is that?!"
"Isn't this common sense for Dokkaebi?"
"...I suppose it is?"
For my sister, who possessed a cool, rational mind, this was probably a highly unwelcome piece of common sense.
"Ugh."
Sniff.
I buried my nose near the nape of her neck. As I did, Ryeo-ah spoke up, perhaps feeling a bit envious.
You want some too? Just wait a bit.
Just kidding. So, what is it?
It probably wasn't anything major anyway. I planned to listen half-heartedly while enjoying my sister's body.
"H-Hmm. Isn't this a bit too bold? It seems we've far surpassed a simple hug."
"Not yet, not yet."
I breathed softly against her earlobe and rubbed my face against her neck. Soon, Ryeo-ah spoke in an annoyed, yet somewhat awkward voice.
Her voice carried a casual awkwardness, as if she were admitting to stealing my candy. It felt like a child confessing to their mother about a carrot hidden under their plate.
Even after hearing those words, I continued to press my lips against the curve of my sister's shoulder, enjoying myself, before my brain finally processed the sentence objectively.
"Wait, what the fuck?"
"Brother?"