Chapter 589: Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians (以夷制夷)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 589: Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians (以夷制夷)
Inside the quarters.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
He lifted the bottle and drained it in one go.
Sizzle.
A searing pain began to fill his throat. The viciously potent liquor stimulated his gullet as if it were burning it away.
"Kugh... ugh..."
Feeling the heat in his throat, Lee Jae-won let out a faint groan. The stinging, burning sensation didn't feel half bad.
"This is fucking delicious, dammit..."
Lee Jae-won slurred his words with a twisted tongue. The alcohol he usually avoided, calling it too bitter, now tasted incredibly sweet.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
Soon, he began to guzzle the liquor again, as if determined to wipe every drop from the bottle.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
How much time had passed? Tiny droplets began to fall from the bottle. It was completely empty.
Fling.
Lee Jae-won tossed the empty bottle behind him.
Crash!
The sound of the bottle shattering echoed through the room. He reached out again, searching for a new bottle.
But his hand found nothing. The bottles that had been piled high on the table were all gone.
He slowly lowered his gaze to the table. There was nothing left.
"Fuck..."
A curse escaped his lips. He felt as if even the alcohol was mocking him. How pathetic did it think he was to run away like this?
Crack!
Lee Jae-won raised his fist and slammed it down on the table. It splintered instantly.
Thud!
Still unable to quench his rage, he struck the table again.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Relentlessly.
Over and over.
He smashed and smashed again until his fury was spent.
How long had he been pounding on it?
Crumble.
The table began to disintegrate into dust. With nothing but his bare fists, he had reduced a solid wood table to powder.
"Aaaaaaaagh!!!"
Yet, his anger remained unappeased. He bolted upright.
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
He began to trample the floor without rest.
Cr-crack.
Creeeeeak.
Massive fissures began to spiderweb across the floor.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Next, he started lashing out at the walls. Again and again.
Crack.
Crash!
The wall began to fracture before finally collapsing entirely.
"Aaaaaaaagh!"
He let out a monstrous shriek. It wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. The resentment lingering in his chest, the fury boiling in his heart—none of it was being released.
"You son of a bitch!!!"
Vroooooom.
Lee Jae-won unleashed the rage pent up in his heart. The room began to vibrate incessantly. His sheer will had manifested through his surging anger.
"Aaaaaaaagh!!!"
He began to scream like a madman, as if vomiting out every ounce of spite held within him. Soon, his screams filled the entire residence.
.
.
.
.
.
How long had he been screaming?
"Ugh... hic... ugh... ugh..."
Eventually, Lee Jae-won began to weep. The fire in his heart had turned into sorrow.
He was sad. The fact that his left arm, which had been with him his whole life, was gone.
He was miserable. The fact that he, who had reigned as the World's Greatest Martial Artist, had been reduced to such a pathetic state.
He was wretched. The fact that his spirit had been broken so thoroughly that he couldn't even think of resisting.
And he was devastated. The fact that not a single person had come to comfort him.
"Ugh... ugh... ugh..."
Lee Jae-won sobbed sorrowfully. He felt as if he didn't have a single ally in this vast Central Plains.
How long had he been crying?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound of someone knocking on the door suddenly pierced his ears.
"Who is it!" Lee Jae-won roared in an irritated voice.
"It's me, Alliance Leader."
A seductive, sultry voice drifted in. It was a very familiar voice.
'Tang Jin-seol!?'
Lee Jae-won felt a wave of confusion. What was that woman doing here all of a sudden?
"..........What is it?"
He roughly wiped away his tears and continued in a composed voice.
"I have something to say, Alliance Leader."
"I am in no state to see anyone today. Leave."
Lee Jae-won issued an expulsion order in a low, heavy voice. Every piece of furniture in the room was smashed, and his face was stained with tears. How could he receive anyone in this state?
Creeeeeak.
Despite his order, Tang Jin-seol pushed the door open.
Step. Step.
She began to walk in slowly with light, graceful steps.
"What is the meaning of this! I clearly told you to leave!"
Seeing her, Lee Jae-won shouted as if having a fit. He felt as if even his wife was looking down on him now.
"How wretched."
Ignoring his outburst, Tang Jin-seol scanned the room. As she said, the room was in a disastrous state. The floor was covered in cracks, the walls were mostly demolished, and even the bed was in shambles. It hadn't been long since he'd had servants repair it, yet it was now in worse condition than before.
"Are you ignoring my words!"
Lee Jae-won's aura flared ominously as he spoke. Her dismissive attitude made his blood boil.
"My apologies, Alliance Leader. I was simply distracted by the sight of the room."
Tang Jin-seol apologized in a calm tone. Of course, there wasn't a shred of sincerity in her voice.
"...Get out... Get out this instant!"
Seeing her attitude, Lee Jae-won raised his voice and screamed. He couldn't stand the sight of her.
"Didn't I say I have something to tell you?"
"And I clearly said I'm not in the mood for it!"
Lee Jae-won glared at her with cold eyes.
"It's an important matter," Tang Jin-seol continued calmly.
"The most important thing to me is that you leave right now!"
Lee Jae-won shouted, the veins in his neck bulging. He didn't care what she had to say. No matter what it was. What mattered now was asserting his pride—confirming that his authority hadn't vanished yet.
"Don't you want revenge?"
Tang Jin-seol asked, looking at him with eyes as cold as a snake's.
"Wh-what!?"
"I'm asking if you want revenge on Jang Sun-woo, the man who cut off your arm, slapped your face, and brought you such humiliation."
Tang Jin-seol's eyes glittered with a wicked light.
"Of course I want revenge! If I could, I'd tear his flesh and bones into ten thousand pieces!"
Lee Jae-won's eyes were bloodshot as he raised his voice. He desperately wanted revenge. He wanted to make Jang Sun-woo even more miserable than he had made him.
But he didn't even dare to try. That man was a predator, etched into his very genes.
"Then why don't you take your revenge?"
Tang Jin-seol watched him before slowly speaking. Her voice was sweet and sticky, as if coated in honey.
".......That man is stronger than me...... How am I supposed to get revenge?"
He spoke in a voice devoid of confidence. He had experienced a crushing defeat at Sun-woo's hands. His heart had been broken so completely that he didn't even have the will to resist.
"Alliance Leader."
Tang Jin-seol called him in a soft voice.
"Being weak doesn't mean you can't have your revenge."
She let out an alluring smile.
".....What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that even against a powerhouse you don't dare to face, there is a way to get revenge."
"There's a way!?"
Lee Jae-won asked back, his face brightening. A glimmer of hope arose that she might have a brilliant plan.
"It's not that there isn't a way... though there is one minor problem."
She continued with a troubled expression.
"What is this minor problem!?"
"It requires a sacrifice."
She spoke in a flat tone.
"A... sacrifice!?"
Lee Jae-won asked, looking bewildered.
"Yes...... and the sacrifice of many innocent people at that."
"Ho... how many sacrifices are we talking about?"
"I can't give you an exact number... whether it will be hundreds or thousands."
She shook her head slightly as if she didn't know.
"But one thing is certain: at least several hundred will die."
Tang Jin-seol's eyes flashed with a sinister light.
"Can you handle the weight of their sacrifice, Alliance Leader?"
She asked as if to confirm—asking if he would pursue revenge even at the cost of his own alliance members.
"................"
Lee Jae-won fell into a heavy silence. He was deep in thought over her proposal.
'The sacrifice of innocent people? What is she thinking? Why would sacrificing people allow me to get revenge? I don't get it... I don't get it...'
His mind began to feel cluttered. He couldn't grasp her true intentions. He agonized over whether to accept her proposal or not.
After some time had passed...
".........It doesn't matter."
Lee Jae-won finally spoke.
"As long as I can get revenge on that son of a bitch, I don't care if it's hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands!!!"
His eyes were bloodshot as he roared. It didn't matter. It didn't matter if hundreds died or thousands were sacrificed.
What mattered now was his revenge. Revenge against Jang Sun-woo, who had made him so wretched and miserable.
'Fuck, what do I care if a bunch of fucking Chinks, who are more numerous than cockroaches, die or not!'
His motivation began to burn fiercely.
"Sacrifice thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of millions! Just tell me! Tell me how I can get revenge on that bastard!"
Lee Jae-won urged her, his eyes filled with a thirst for vengeance. He wanted the method immediately.
"Since your decision is so firm, I suppose I have no choice."
Tang Jin-seol shook her head as if she were relenting. As if she were doing this against her will.
"Alliance Leader."
She looked at him and slowly opened her mouth.
"Have you ever heard the term I-I-Je-I (Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians)?"
I-I-Je-I.
It was an idiom meaning to suppress one barbarian with another—a strategy to make external enemies fight each other to bring about their mutual destruction.
"......Are you saying we should make an external enemy and Jang Sun-woo destroy each other?"
He asked her, sounding doubtful.
"Yes, exactly."
Tang Jin-seol nodded with a faint smile. She thought to herself that he wasn't completely brainless, at least.
"Who on earth could possibly destroy Jang Sun-woo!"
Lee Jae-won asked, his expression suggesting it was impossible. Jang Sun-woo was an absolute powerhouse who had surpassed even him, the supposed World's Greatest Martial Artist. Who could possibly take him down?
"The Heavenly Demon."
Tang Jin-seol spoke in a calm tone.
"If it's the king of those cursed demons, it's entirely possible."
Her eyes glittered with a snake-like malice.
"Did you just say... the Heavenly Demon!?"
Lee Jae-won asked back, looking stunned. Why was the Heavenly Demon being mentioned now? The Heavenly Demon was a dead man who had been reduced to a bloody pulp by his own hands twenty years ago. How could a dead man be Jang Sun-woo's adversary?
"His worshippers said so, didn't they? That he has been resurrected."
"That's nothing but an unverified claim!"
Lee Jae-won shook his head in denial. Of course, as she said, the remnants of the Demonic Cult who worshipped the Heavenly Demon had made such claims—that the king of demons had returned. But it was an unverified rumor. He couldn't just believe it blindly.
"Of course, it hasn't been verified. No one has gone to Mount Tianshan to check for themselves."
Tang Jin-seol conceded. As he said, it was an unproven fact.
"So, why don't we take this opportunity to verify it?"
"What!?"
Lee Jae-won asked, looking bewildered.
"By using Jang Sun-woo."
"He would never accept such a proposal!"
Lee Jae-won shouted, his face flushing. It was an obvious trap. What kind of idiot would accept such an offer?
"We just have to create a situation where he has no choice but to accept, don't we?"
Tang Jin-seol's cold eyes glittered like a serpent's.
"We're going to start the Great War of Righteousness and Demons."
She spoke with a wicked smile. Lee Jae-won's face twisted in shock. It was a completely unexpected suggestion.
The Great War of Righteousness and Demons!?
What the hell was she talking about?