Chapter 91
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: 26. Duel of Black and White (1)
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"Are you Gale White Horse Deng? I am Tiger Wing Wang Baek-gun of Dance Melody Manor."
As Wang Baek-gun stepped forward and spoke, White Horse Deng, positioned in the center of the bandit horde, gleamed with a sly light in his eyes.
White Horse Deng was a solidly built middle-aged man.
His face was sharply angular, with thick eyebrows framing bulging eyes beneath, and a hooked nose above a meticulously groomed mustache that lent him a fierce, incisive impression.
And right now, the blazing intensity in those eyes was so piercing that merely meeting his gaze sent prickles racing across one's skin.
Flying Tiger could tell at a glance that White Horse Deng stood a full realm above the so-called masters he had encountered thus far.
If he had to compare, perhaps like the warrior instructor who had once trained him?
'A regional overlord, huh? If I tangled with him... yeah, no shot in hell.'
"So you're Wang Baek-gun? Then those behind you must be the Martial Qin Alliance's hunting dogs—the Face Pursuit Squad."
Wang Baek-gun's brow twitched at White Horse Deng's insolent words.
"Hunting dogs... There's a flaw in your phrasing, but if you're inquiring about my comrades' identities, then yes—we are the Jeong Unit of the Face Pursuit Squad."
"Heh heh heh. Very well. One more question. Did you kill 'Hawk's Eye' and 'Snake's Pursuit'? And have you come all this way to capture me now?"
"If you mean the sharpshooter of uncommon skill and the one wielding the whip, then yes. And it is true that we stand here to face you."
"Ha—do you truly believe the likes of you can take down this White Horse Deng?"
White Horse Deng scoffed in derision, but Wang Baek-gun shook his head.
"You're under some misunderstanding. Your opponent is me alone."
"Huh?"
"Here and now, by the laws of the jianghu, I, Wang Baek-gun, challenge you—White Horse Deng, one of the Four Kings and leader of the Swarm Unit—to a duel!"
"......!"
White Horse Deng eyed Wang Baek-gun with undisguised curiosity, but Wang Baek-gun returned the stare steadily, without the slightest tremor.
At that, the man standing beside White Horse Deng—like an iron pagoda—Do-ryung suddenly bulged his eyes in outrage, as if personally insulted, and bellowed thunderously.
"How dare the likes of you? Brother! Let me step in instead. I'll snap that mangy old dog's neck so he can't spout any more drivel."
As Do-ryung looked ready to charge at any moment, the bandits stirred in unison, half-rising from their haunches.
In response, Jin Ga-yong moved to Wang Baek-gun's side, prepared to intercept Do-ryung. The rest of the Jeong Unit members tightened their grips on their weapons, radiating killing intent.
The air crackled on the brink of eruption.
That was when it happened.
"What are you, thick-skulled idiots? Or did you not get enough last time? We were trying to settle this all proper and clean, and you've already forgotten, lost your damn minds. Want to go all out for real? Huh?"
It was Flying Tiger.
As he spoke, he reached into his bosom and rummaged around—the very picture of someone about to draw something out.
Flinch.
The overheated tension chilled in an instant.
How had the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong slipped into the Three Kings Citadel without issue and even managed this exchange with White Horse Deng?
It was all thanks to the True Heaven Thunder Flying Tiger had demonstrated.
Barring White Horse Deng and a handful of Swarm Unit leaders, no one could deny that those vicious devices exploding wildly meant total disaster.
Of course, had they known only three remained—two with Jin Ga-yong, one with Flying Tiger—their reaction might have differed.
But there was no way for them to know.
In any case, the Swarm Unit had already been thoroughly ransacked, so their eyes turning bloodshot with fury was understandable. Yet for White Horse Deng at this moment, a far graver concern loomed.
The men inside the Three Kings Citadel now were the true elites. Losing even them could render this year's expedition—the Swarm Unit's sole annual rite—utterly impossible.
If that came to pass...
The legacy White Horse Deng had built, the Swarm Unit's legend itself, would shatter!
And a legend once broken was no legend at all. That was the one thing he was determined to prevent.
Thus, White Horse Deng had allowed the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong inside without resistance—to gauge them with his own eyes, test for deceptions, and adapt as needed.
But setting off True Heaven Thunders here en masse?
No path the Swarm Unit could desire.
"Hmph. Empty intimidation? You think you'd walk away unscathed if you set that thing off in here?"
Pung Bae-deok spat, thoroughly incensed.
A solid point.
In the chaos of melee—indoors, no less? It was tantamount to mutual suicide.
Flying Tiger took it in stride with utter nonchalance.
"What're you on about? That's exactly why, to spare the messy bloodshed, our Wang Protector proposed settling it clean with your boss in a duel. And if our Jeong Unit boys feared death, how'd we have made it this far? Right?"
"Well..."
"Less blood if we can manage it—that's the idea. But if you lot want it, we're game anytime. Go on, say it with that flapping trap of yours. You really want that? Huh?"
His comrades' hearts clenched at Flying Tiger's words. Bluff or not, the raw madness gleaming in his tone and eyes made it impossible to dismiss.
Like begging for a slap just to have an excuse to cry.
Pung Bae-deok dared not act rashly; words died on his lips. But the venom in his glare at Flying Tiger burned hot enough to rend flesh from jaw to jaw.
A hush descended briefly upon the Three Kings Citadel.
Shattering it came White Horse Deng's hollow, irritated laughter. He guffawed long and loud before calling to the withered elder at his side—the 'Old Fox' Hak Da-won.
"Hey, 'Old Fox.' What's your take? Break it down."
"Yes, boss."
Hak Da-won cleared his throat, glancing between Wang Baek-gun and Jin Ga-yong before asking.
"So your request boils down to no needless blood spilled—a clean duel between each side's champion to end it?"
"That's right."
"And what are you putting up?"
"What do you mean?"
"What's the stake? Even gutter punks toss in pocket change for a scrap. You expect us to play this big hand for free?"
"A duel wagering our honor as warriors. What more could there be?"
"These guys some kind of street toughs?"
"What?"
Hak Da-won cocked his head like he'd spotted something absurd, souring Wang Baek-gun's mood. Hak replied icily.
"Win against us, and your fame alone overflows. Fine for you. But us? You telling me a pissant Jeong Unit from Face Pursuit Squad matches the Swarm Unit's weight class? Even your squad chief stepping up falls short—maybe her old man, but what's in it for us to entertain your challenge?"
"Well, we..."
"No. Want a straight fight? Stakes equal on both sides for it to be fair. Isn't that right?"
Wang Baek-gun was unpretentious to a fault, rigid in his ways. Sharp wits weren't his forte.
Truth be told, his own renown paled against White Horse Deng's, so a one-on-one challenge held little appeal from the bandit's vantage.
Yet he wasn't fool or pushover enough to say, 'Understood—we'll fetch stakes and return,' then slink away.
Merely, he wished above all to sideline the Face Pursuit Unit Jeong from the fight ahead—a snag in itself.
Sure, if talks soured, no quarter given. But this delicate balance felt ripe for reason...
Wang Baek-gun asked, frustration mounting.
"What do you want? This creaky old carcass is all I've got."
"Concede defeat and withdraw clean."
"...That's all?"
"As you yourself admitted, what else do you have? Oh, right—the True Heaven Thunders. We'll let you keep those as spoils and send you off. Then most of your crew goes free."
"Most?"
"Think we'd just trust you to honor the deal and let everyone walk? We'll hold two or three we pick as surety. No worries—we'll cut them loose the moment we meet your squad chief later."
"Huh—you want an audience with the squad chief too?"
Wang Baek-gun gaped at the mounting demands, but Hak Da-won pressed on brazenly.
"Obviously! Conceding means Face Pursuit Squad at minimum won't scheme against Swarm Unit henceforth, yeah? For that, someone of rank needs to face our boss and ink a non-aggression pact."
"Hmph. And if we win?"
"We send you off with honors, naturally. Winner's prerogative. If you like, we'll stuff your pockets with travel funds to boot."
In the end, the Swarm Unit dreaded the True Heaven Thunders.
More than that, they needed pretext to accept the duel, however flimsy.
'The offer itself isn't bad.'
Flying Tiger thought so.
A damn fine deal—from the Swarm Unit's angle.
Already the effect rippled; eyes once steeled for all-out war now wavered among the squad.
Who wouldn't falter with death's door cracking open?
But issues abounded beyond that.
No ironclad guarantee they'd honor it if we won—or if we lost.
Plan A had been True Heaven Thunder both Wang Baek-gun and White Horse Deng in the blast. Agreeing scrapped or reworked that.
'Still, second thoughts: White Horse Deng knows of the True Heaven Thunders now, so banking on shock value's done. If ignorance reigned, maybe—but no. Wang Protector takes him down fair and square.'
Flying Tiger watched Wang Baek-gun and Jin Ga-yong hesitate, then sent a transmission with his view.
-Jin Squad Leader, willing to ditch the remaining bandit brass if we lock in White Horse Deng vs. Wang Protector duel—and retreat safe, win or lose?
-Possible?
-Hinges on them keeping their word. But we take the deal. So...
Jin Ga-yong conferred briefly with Wang Baek-gun via transmission, then nodded thanks to Flying Tiger and stepped forward.
"I am Jin Ga-yong, leader of Face Pursuit Unit Jeong. A murim novice, but duty compels me to speak."
"You—Ye Mountain's Unperson Sword, Jin Ga-yong?"
"You know me?"
"Know you? Traitor cur, turning blind eye to the master who raised you, tail wagging raw for the enemy and a shot at glory?"
Hak Da-won jeered viciously, drawing oily chuckles from the bandit ranks.
Jin's youth made him prime to crush first—before talks proper.
Flying Tiger, suddenly itching again, plunged his hand back into his bosom, fidgeted, and tsked loudly.
"Ugh, moron pricks. Like our squad leader's gonna waste breath jawing with trash like you."
Said like musing to himself—but pitched clear for the nearest bandits' ears. A naked threat: keep stonewalling, and True Heaven Thunder turns this into pandemonium.
The bandits' faces indeed soured. Jin Ga-yong spoke evenly.
"Ignore me same as them. Only way for real talk."
"Ahem. So—you're taking this old man's terms?"
"Impossible."