Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: City of the Ronin
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Fujian Province.
Located on the edge of the continent, with most of its territory consisting of rugged mountains.
And with a tropical climate to boot, it was land that was hard for people to live on.
An environment where even farming was difficult.
But even in such barren places, there are always those who don't mind settling down.
Those who found it hard to register their household anywhere gathered one by one and built their nests.
People called that place the City of Ronin.
Ronin.
The word itself was used in various senses, confusing many, but at least in Fujian Province, its meaning was clear.
Warriors unbound by any affiliation.
To them, their pasts were mere remnants buried in memory.
Whether they were once the heirs of prestigious families, officials, disciples of great sects, criminals, beggars, or even traitors—it didn't matter to the ronin.
Not even if they were traitors.
No one pried into each other's pasts, and no one revealed them.
That was the unwritten rule of the ronin.
They pursued freedom.
They rejected anything that bound them.
That alone was the identity of the ronin.
The only law they followed was one.
Take commissions and get paid.
For money, they did anything.
The backstory didn't matter.
If told to lick the floor, they licked; if told to kill, they killed.
Mercenaries who took any job they could handle.
Lives lived utterly recklessly.
Thus, the ronin city of Fujian Province was practically a lawless zone.
If you weren't there to hire someone, it was best not to set foot inside.
The reason we had come all the way to such a place in Fujian was, of course, the mission from the White Lotus Society.
"It's rowdy right from the entrance."
"That's why we're here."
True to Fujian Province.
The moment we entered the city, we were greeted by ronin exchanging murderous glares and brawling.
What a bleak sight.
Groups throwing punches, groups clashing swords, groups arguing with spittle flying.
Each busy with their own concerns.
Yet they treated anyone not directly fighting them as if invisible walls separated them.
A bizarre scene, but fitting for the City of Ronin.
"It's way more brutal than the rumors."
"Junior, those guys over there are glaring at us."
"Ignore them. They're just wary of outsiders."
"For wary, they're coming this way?"
So it comes to this.
The ronin, who had been ignoring each other while fighting, spotted us, stopped, and started approaching.
Thud, thud.
Slow but unrelenting steps from the ronin.
The one-eyed leader in front spoke first.
"Who're you?"
"?"
"Don't look like you're in the trade from your getup. What brings you to this godforsaken place?"
He scanned us up and down.
Both Jegal Yeong and Hwangbo Seyul were in simple martial robes.
But to ronin eyes, they looked excessively luxurious.
Enough to make them envious.
"We seek an audience with the Ronin King."
"What, you think that's some dog's name next door? See him just 'cause you want to?"
"Should I explain?"
"Don't wanna talk?"
"I heard ronin don't pry hastily."
"Secrets, yeah. Secrets are fine."
"Then..."
"But that's talk between ronin. I need to know why you want to meet him."
Jegal Yeong politely made her demand, unperturbed by the ragged one-eyed man's appearance. As if that would work.
Ronin were the type to do whatever they pleased by nature.
Shing.
The ronin drew their swords in unison.
"You know what that means, drawing blades now?"
"Senior. Words won't work on these guys. Leave it to me."
Trying to talk even after seeing that mess.
Senior really...
I stepped in front of her.
"Showing off in front of a lady? I'll give you time to draw."
"Fists are enough."
"Brat's got no fear."
"Why not guard that one good eye?"
"Boys, get 'im!"
With the one-eyed man's shout, the ronin charged.
Seven enemies.
First, I smashed the faces of the two leading ones.
"Gahk!"
"Kragh!"
A solid hit to each nose bone.
The ones struck by my fists lost consciousness.
Unable to even swing their swords, two collapsed, making the rest hesitate a bit.
The rest was straightforward.
Guys who only cared about saving their own skins from the start.
No way they could execute proper formations.
The one-eyed man at least put some effort into his voice, rolling on the ground to hold out, but...
It didn't take long for him to fall too.
"Urk, expert..."
"Ready to talk now?"
"Screw you. Ask my corpse if you wanna know."
This is why I hate ronin.
They won't bend even with a blade to their throat.
Better the arrogant types who live off their own hype.
A few punches and communication flows.
Crunch.
That was when.
The one-eyed man, collapsed helplessly.
He pulled a red pill from his bosom and swallowed it.
"Raaagh!"
Red glowing eyes.
The one-eyed man rose with a beastly roar.
With energy unbelievable for someone who'd been staggering moments ago.
Drip, drip—jerky movements, his pupils vacant.
"Uraaagh!"
The aura was different.
The one-eyed man, barely third-rate.
With speed impossible for his original skill, he lunged at me.
Thwack, pow!
I struck his jaw, philtrum, and temple simultaneously.
The one-eyed man halted, unable to withstand the shock.
But only briefly.
'Definitely unconscious.'
Vital points that would knock out anyone with a single hit.
Yet he moved, meaning he'd lost consciousness the moment he took the pill.
As he turned toward my seniors when I stepped back, his aggression seemed aimless.
'One more check.'
This time, I targeted his limbs.
Specifically, elbows and knees.
Crack!
I shattered the joints.
Nearby meridians severed, rendering them useless.
The one-eyed man could no longer support himself and collapsed.
Yet his body thrashed.
Rusty chains creaking—that was the motion.
Somehow swinging his limbs in frenzy.
Unnatural, like puppeted by invisible strings.
This confirmed it.
"Senior, looks like we hit the jackpot right off the bat."
*
Our mission this time.
Investigate the red pills stirring chaos in the south.
Crimson Blood Pill.
A pill whose name alone screamed "don't eat me," yet rumors said one dose granted realm-transcending power temporarily, and it was circulating wildly around the continent's south.
"As expected, the type that explosively burns one's inner energy."
"Even with meridians severed, it still tries to move..."
"Lost reason, no pain sensation either. This thing's nastier than I thought."
Definitely squeezed out even innate true energy.
Realm-transcending power wasn't something gained easily.
And the ferocity ignoring its own body, treating everything around as enemy.
I could feel the malice of its creator.
"Doesn't it scream 'one bite and you're crippled'?"
"You don't know ronin well. 'Shut eyes, swallow once, make a killing, then slack off'—that's their style."
No wonder Crimson Blood Pills were rampant around Fujian.
Ronin with no roots.
Lives scraping bottom anyway.
Better die swinging for a big score than fizzle out broke.
Jackpot if it works.
"You know ronin psychology eerily well."
"Used to roll rough in places like this back in the day. Traveling the world, you inevitably clash with ronin."
"For that, you're too detailed. Like you've lived among them."
"Hah, can't help it. Guess I have to tell you. The epic tale of a boy who once vied for the Ronin King's throne..."
"Don't dodge with that nonsense again."
After a bit of bull, Jegal Yeong gave up.
She knew by now I wouldn't give straight answers on this.
Curious as she must be.
Grateful for not pressing.
Memories from then weren't ones I cared to revisit.
"At least he's still alive."
"Yeah, alive in the barest sense."
Hwangbo Seyul said, checking the one-eyed man.
Meridians burst all over, half-crippled, but technically alive.
And as a warrior, finished after exhausting innate true energy.
"Enough reason for the Alliance to suspect the Demonic Cult."
"..."
"Doesn't seem like something you take sane."
Fair thinking.
Red eyes like a hallmark of demonic arts.
Performance utterly disregarding user safety.
A pill focused solely on power amplification.
But to me, it fell short.
'Those bastards stop at this level?'
Maybe people underestimated the Moon and Sun Divine Church zealots' atrocities.
If the Blood Demon Squad made this, side effects like these were child's play.
'Still alive?'
Zealots who claimed greatest joy in defying death.
If their drug, the one-eyed man should've dropped dead instantly.
Meridians burst? Too tame an end for body-bomb enthusiasts.
'Can't judge hastily.'
Just a low-end ronin at Fujian gates.
Cheap pill at best.
Performance capped by poor quality makes sense.
Need to dig deeper for certainty.
"Meeting the Ronin King is priority."
"Not sure he'll cooperate."
"We can hope."
I wanted to object.
Better to quietly scour the outskirts first.
But what could I do.
Our team leader was Jegal Yeong.
Follow her lead.
We'd find out once we met him.