Chapter 558: Harboring Murderous Intent
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 558: Harboring Murderous Intent
"Am I to take that to mean you are dissatisfied with my decision?"
Lee Jae-won’s eyes flashed sharply as he spoke.
"You may take it exactly as such, Alliance Leader."
Gu Ja-yeop, the Master of the Yellow Turban Party, met Lee Jae-won’s gaze without flinching, his voice calm.
"Ha."
Lee Jae-won let out a hollow laugh. He knew the man didn't approve of him, but he hadn't imagined he would show such direct hostility.
"What exactly is your grievance?" Lee Jae-won asked, his expression one of genuine incomprehension. "What is so wrong that you’ve dragged your heavy feet all the way here?"
"To think you don't even know what the grievance is... This is truly disconcerting, Alliance Leader. Do you really not know? Or are you merely feigning ignorance?" Gu Ja-yeop shot back, looking utterly baffled.
"I truly do not know. Where exactly did my decision go wrong?"
"Alliance Leader, what was the founding intent of the Cheonmu Alliance? Is it not a gathering of free and chivalrous men who revere and practice Chivalry?"
"And what of it!" Lee Jae-won snapped, still looking confused.
"You are acting in direct opposition to that founding intent!" Gu Ja-yeop glared at him with cold eyes.
"I don't understand! How am I acting against the founding intent?"
"We are a community of free men who revere Chivalry! And yet, you, the Alliance Leader, are attempting to run these men as if they were your own private property!" Gu Ja-yeop raised his voice, shouting now. It was clear to anyone that he was fuming.
"What?! When did I ever do that!"
"You just did! Did you not say that you would decide the terms of this Succession Contest unilaterally? How is that any different from a dictatorship?"
"I am the Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance! Are you saying the Leader doesn't even have the right to make decisions?" Lee Jae-won thundered, pounding his chest in frustration.
He was the Alliance Leader. He was the hero of the Murim who had saved the world, the monarch of this Chink kingdom. And yet, he didn't even have the final say in a fucking trivial matter like this?
He was angry. He was so angry that irritation began to surge through him like a tidal wave.
"If the Alliance Leader decides everything alone, then why is there a need for a leadership council? Is it not the role of the Leader and the council to hold meetings, coordinate opinions, and seek the best possible path? If you cannot even uphold such basic principles, how can you stand proudly before the members while shouting about freedom?!" Gu Ja-yeop’s face was flushed red with rage as he shouted.
"Then are you saying I should just stand here like a scarecrow?"
"That is not what I am saying! We should discuss it together to find a way—"
"It’s the same thing!" Lee Jae-won flared up, his voice rising. "Are you saying that no matter what opinion I offer, I have to scrap it if you lot oppose it?"
"It is not about scrapping it. It is about the process of coordinating and compromising to find a better way."
"Isn't that exactly what I said? In the end, it means you won't accept my opinion, doesn't it?"
"Naturally, if it is an opinion that everyone opposes, it will not be accepted," Gu Ja-yeop replied flatly.
"Look here, Hall Master Gu. I am the Alliance Leader. I am the supreme being who rules the Cheonmu Alliance. How can my opinion possibly not be accepted?"
"If the Cheonmu Alliance were your private organization, you could do as you please. But it is not. It is a community gathered under the banner of Chivalry. And the Alliance Leader is merely a position elected by collecting their opinions. You are the one who represents them, not the one who rules them!" Gu Ja-yeop poured out the words he had been holding back, his speech impassioned. His resentment toward a Leader who constantly tried to dominate had finally reached its limit.
"............"
Hearing this, Lee Jae-won fell silent, his expression grave. He looked as if he were lost in deep thought. Gu Ja-yeop watched him silently, waiting for him to say something.
After some time had passed...
"Hall Master Gu."
Lee Jae-won finally spoke, his voice slow as if he had finished his deliberations.
"Speak, Alliance Leader."
"You said it yourself. The Alliance Leader is a position that represents the members."
"I did."
"Then shouldn't I be making the decisions unilaterally all the more?" Lee Jae-won asked, still looking like he didn't understand the problem. "My decision is the members' decision... so why should I have to listen to the leadership council?"
"While it is true that the Alliance Leader stands in a position to represent the members, the leadership council also represents them. How can you possibly handle matters through your own dogma?" Gu Ja-yeop stared at Lee Jae-won in disbelief. He felt a sense of pathetic pity for the man who was pushing such nonsensical, bullshit logic.
"Look here, Hall Master Gu. Let me ask you again."
"Go ahead."
"Is the Alliance Leader higher? Or is the leadership council higher?"
".......Wh... what?" Gu Ja-yeop looked at him, bewildered. What kind of nonsense was this now?
"Both positions represent the members, but there must be a hierarchy in rank, right? Tell me. Who holds the higher rank?" Lee Jae-won asked, his eyes turning cold.
"...........The Alliance Leader holds the higher position." Gu Ja-yeop forced the words out slowly.
"Then that’s that. Don't argue with me anymore." Lee Jae-won gave a satisfied smile.
"What kind of ridiculous logic is that!" Gu Ja-yeop snapped, his temper flaring at Lee Jae-won’s bullshit.
"The members trust me, their Leader, more than they trust the council, don't they? I'm sure the majority of the members would agree with me making all the decisions." Lee Jae-won looked at Gu Ja-yeop with eyes full of conviction.
"That is sophistry! How can you judge everything by rank? The Alliance Leader is the final decision-maker, not an Emperor or a King! Even if you were an Emperor or a King, if you practiced such a dictatorship, you would not escape the title of a tyrant!" Gu Ja-yeop glared at Lee Jae-won, his face beet-red.
"Are you calling me a tyrant right now?" Lee Jae-won’s face crumpled into a nasty scowl.
Even with his lack of education, Lee Jae-won knew what a tyrant was. Wasn't it someone like Yeonsangun?
Does this motherfucker think I'm gay?
Recalling the portrayal of Yeonsangun in a movie he’d seen, Lee Jae-won’s scowl deepened. To a man who knew nothing of actual history, his image of a tyrant was solely based on the Yeonsangun from that movie. And in that movie, Yeonsangun was gay.
"If you intend to carry out a dictatorship while spouting such sophistry, then calling you a tyrant would not be incorrect!" Gu Ja-yeop continued, his eyes burning.
This piece of shit...
Confronted with this, Lee Jae-won’s face twisted. The man was crossing the line—way past the line. Lee Jae-won felt a surge of heat so intense he wanted to rip the man's head off right then and there.
Fuck... endure it... just endure it...
However, Lee Jae-won barely managed to suppress the rage boiling inside him. Gu Ja-yeop was the most influential figure among the leadership council. If he killed him here, a riot might break out. Gu Ja-yeop was stubborn, but he had no shortage of followers.
"Look here, Gu Ja-yeop." Lee Jae-won called out, having dampened his anger as much as possible. "I don't care if you call me a tyrant. I will walk my own path."
Lee Jae-won stated his conviction, which was nothing more than pure, unadulterated stubbornness. In truth, even from his perspective, it would have been a better decision to accept Gu Ja-yeop’s opinion and discuss it with the council. He hadn't even thought about how to make the contest fair yet.
But his pride—his pride that refused to bow to a lowly Chink—made him dig in his heels. Even if it meant spewing utter nonsense.
".................."
Gu Ja-yeop fell silent. He was utterly exhausted by Lee Jae-won’s persistent obstinacy. He realized then that no amount of reasoning would break Lee Jae-won’s bullheadedness.
"Alliance Leader." Gu Ja-yeop finally spoke, his voice heavy.
"Speak." Lee Jae-won replied in a flat tone.
"Must you really go this far?"
"Of course. I am the one who stands in the position representing the members. How can I easily bend my will? For me to bend is no different from the members bending!" Lee Jae-won’s eyes sparkled with a twisted sense of conviction. He even allowed himself a satisfied smirk. He had just been talking out of his ass, but he felt he’d sounded surprisingly plausible.
".........I see." Gu Ja-yeop replied, his expression unreadable.
Grin.
Hearing that, a thick smile spread across Lee Jae-won’s lips. He thought his "dog logic" had actually worked.
But he soon realized he was wrong.
"Alliance Leader, I will impeach you."
It was the voice of Gu Ja-yeop that followed.
The smile on Lee Jae-won’s face vanished instantly. He glared at Gu Ja-yeop with eyes that were nothing short of murderous.
Whooooosh!
A terrifying amount of killing intent began to pour out of him. In an instant, the office was filled with the suffocating aura Lee Jae-won unleashed.
*
"Say... that... one more time."
Lee Jae-won spoke slowly, his voice dripping with murderous intent.
"Ugh... Argh..."
Exposed to that killing intent, Gu Ja-yeop couldn't speak; he could only let out pained groans. Lee Jae-won had reached the Profound Realm, a stage often called Half-Immortal. There was no way Gu Ja-yeop, who was merely at the Super-Peak Realm, could withstand the killing intent he unleashed. He began to writhe in agony, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Didn't I ask you a question? Do you find my words funny?" When there was no answer, Lee Jae-won continued to glare at him with cold eyes.
Vroooooom!
Furthermore, the killing intent filling the office began to intensify even further.
"Aaaargh... Ugh... Argh..." Gu Ja-yeop began to thrash in pain under the mounting pressure.
"I told you to speak!" Lee Jae-won roared, demanding an answer.
"......I... will... im... peach... you..." Gu Ja-yeop gritted his teeth against the pain, forcing out each word with all his might.
Snap.
Hearing those words, Lee Jae-won instantly withdrew his killing intent.
"Fine. I shall take it as such." He then spoke with an eerily calm expression.
"Haa... Haa... Haa... Haa..."
Released from the killing intent, Gu Ja-yeop gasped for air, glaring at Lee Jae-won. He seemed to be trying to figure out what the man’s intentions were.
"You may leave now. I have things to think about." Lee Jae-won spoke with a composure so sudden it made one wonder if he was the same person.
".......Haa... Haa... Understood." Gu Ja-yeop hurried toward the door. He felt an inexplicable sense of dread from the now-calm Lee Jae-won.
Creeeeeak.
Bang!
Gu Ja-yeop exited and slammed the door shut behind him.
Vroooooom!
Watching him go, Lee Jae-won began to circulate his internal energy, wrapping the entire office in a Qi Barrier.
"KRAAAAAAAARGH!!!!"
Then, he let out a bone-chilling scream. His rage toward Gu Ja-yeop, who had dared to shout for impeachment even while facing lethal killing intent, had reached its boiling point.
Impeachment? How dare he even utter such a word? And to his face, when he held absolute power?
Arrogant piece of shit!!!
It was grating. It was beyond grating—Gu Ja-yeop’s arrogant attitude.
He was the hero of the Great War of Righteousness and Demons. He was the hero who had saved the Murim from the Heavenly Demon. He was the Leader of the Cheonmu Alliance, the greatest power in the Murim. Furthermore, he was the supreme martial artist who had earned the title of the World's Greatest Martial Artist. He was a perfect superhuman who lacked nothing in terms of martial prowess, power, or fame.
He was a King. A King who ruled over the entire Murim.
And this man said he would impeach him? A fucking little shit who was only at the Super-Peak Realm? A coward who had done nothing but hide during the Great War because he was afraid to die?
How could he not be annoyed? How could he not be furious?
"KRAAAAAAAARGH!"
Lee Jae-won screamed again and again. He screamed until his fury was somewhat spent.
After some time had passed...
"Haa... Haa... Haa... Haa... Haa..."
Exhausted from his relentless screaming, Lee Jae-won began to breathe heavily.
Gu Ja-yeop... don't think you'll have a peaceful death... you Chink bastard...
He vowed to himself. He wouldn't just leave Gu Ja-yeop alone. He would wipe out his entire clan along with him.
Lee Jae-won’s eyes, filled with murderous intent, began to glint.