Chapter 185: The Downfall of Golden Lion
Chapter 185: The Downfall of Golden Lion
I sank deep into my chair and watched Ban Dahee. Even after taking two of Ko Yeonju’s powerful stomps, she hadn’t lost consciousness. I wanted to applaud her toughness and grit, but seeing her lips still flapping made that feeling vanish.
“G’nna… kill ya… I’ll… definitely… kill ya.”
“Oh my. Speak clearly, dear. Oh, right. Your head was shoved into the floor. Hoho.”
Ko Yeonju giggled with a relaxed voice and casually moved her foot. Ban Dahee immediately lifted her head and, the moment she did, began spewing a torrent of harsh curses. Other profanities aside, most of her threats culminated in “I’ll kill you.” Watching her, a thought suddenly surfaced in my mind.
I turned my head toward Yoo Hyuna and Cha Seunghyun. Yoo Hyuna was staring at the two of them with a restless expression. Cha Seunghyun’s face was fairly composed, but seeing him raise and lower his hand, it seemed he was inwardly flustered. Seeing them both, I felt my head cool down.
This was an opportunity. An unexpected opportunity had presented itself. An opportunity that could only exist here in the Hall Plain, not in the modern world. However, I didn't want to be swayed by a momentary emotion. Jumping at an opportunity the moment it appears is what a fool would do. What I needed now was a cold, rational mind that could accurately assess the situation. I decided to carefully weigh the possibilities.
The most important thing was justification. Therefore, I had to gauge Ban Dahee’s fate under that pretext. Even if it was just a threat, she had launched a preemptive attack on my people at the beginning. In addition, she had intentionally provoked me and picked a fight with Ko Yeonju, one of the Ten Strong. Ko Yeonju responded, and Ban Dahee, unable to contain her anger, had charged, screaming, “I’ll really kill you.”
Looking at this situation alone, Ko Yeonju had the justification to execute Ban Dahee on the spot. Of course, there was the matter of morality, but the Hall Plain tended to prioritize pretext over ethics. That was why Yoo Hyuna and Cha Seunghyun were so agitated. Conversely, Ban Dahee had also been slapped by Ko Yeonju, so she too had a reason to kill her. But the winner right now, the User holding the power to decide, was Ko Yeonju.
Now, let’s weigh the benefits of killing Ban Dahee against the potential risks to me. By executing her, I could eliminate a potential member of the Ten Strong who was highly likely to become an enemy in the future. It was certainly a tempting choice, but a few things gave me pause.
If it had been just me, or just me and Ko Yeonju, I would have killed them all without a second thought. But we were in a city, and there were more than a few other Users around. What was certain was that, in this situation, there was no justification to kill Yoo Hyuna and Cha Seunghyun. The two had consistently tried to stop Ban Dahee, but she had ignored their words and acted on her own. They had no intention of fighting us.
Even if we were to just kill them all, the Beech Tree Clan was the representative clan of the small city of Mule. The death of a representative clan’s lord was not a matter to be taken lightly. Sooner or later, the identities of their killers could very well be revealed. This brought up another reason why I was reluctant to kill Clan Lord Yoo Hyuna.
Furthermore, we needed to ride a wave of positive momentum after the upcoming promotion, and an incident involving the murder of a fellow User would undoubtedly have a negative impact. That was because, for now—or to be more precise, until the Vagabonds retreated—there was still a line that Users did not cross with each other.
In any case, things had already reached a point of no return between Mercenary and Beech Tree. That meant from now on, I had to find a justification or a method to erase or minimize the risks I’d identified, one by one.
I decided to expand my thoughts a little further. A way to achieve maximum efficiency while minimizing the risks. At that moment, Cha Seunghyun caught my eye. Without taking my eyes off him, I immediately activated Third Eye.
Player Status
1. Name: Cha Seunghyun (Year 3 User)
2. Class: Spearman (Normal, Spearman, Master)
3. Nation: Barbara
4. Clan: Beech Tree
5. True Name · Nationality: Unbending Conviction · Republic of Korea
6. Sex: Male (27)
7. Height · Weight: 187.5cm · 89.6kg
8. Alignment: Pride · Neutral
Stats
1. [Strength 92] [Durability 91] [Agility 85] [Stamina 89] [Magic Power 73] [Luck 72]
(Remaining stat points: 0)
Stat Comparison
1. Kim Soohyun: 544 / 600~
(Remaining stat points: 12)
[Strength 96(+2)] [Durability 92] [Agility 98] [Stamina 72] [Magic Power 96] [Luck 90(+2)]
2. Ko Yeonju: 536 / 600~
(No remaining stat points.)
[Strength 89] [Durability 90] [Agility 97] [Stamina 85] [Magic Power 93] [Luck 82]
3. Cha Seunghyun: 502 / 600~
[Strength 92] [Durability 91] [Agility 85] [Stamina 89] [Magic Power 73] [Luck 72]
Just as I thought. To be at this level in only his third year, and considering he still had room to grow, was nothing short of amazing. If it were just Ban Dahee, it would be a bit ambiguous, but killing Cha Seunghyun along with her would make it a profitable deal. In that case, I needed to provoke Cha Seunghyun into launching a preemptive attack on us.
As long as Yoo Hyuna was alive, the murders would be brought to light. This was precisely why she shouldn't be killed. It was necessary to downplay the incident, not as the murder of a Clan Lord, but as a simple clash with her subordinates. To drag it down from a major incident to something that wasn't entirely unheard of. That would minimize the attention it drew. And all of it could be covered by the status of Ko Yeonju, one of the Ten Strong.
This line of thought was realistic because Beech Tree was not a large clan. They were nothing more than a temporary representative clan, one that got lucky and was only established to be cast aside once their purpose was served. Most Users might be curious about what happened to a small, unknown clan, but they wouldn't care that much.
Following that logic, Cha Seunghyun and Ban Dahee were skilled, but likely not well-known relative to their abilities. In other words, if things proceeded as I planned, this would be seen as nothing more than a simple conflict between the Mercenary Clan and the Beech Tree Clan. Furthermore, by putting Ko Yeonju at the forefront, we needed to make others think, "Well, that could happen." To do that, I needed to secure the maximum possible justification for our future actions.
Killing those two would drastically change Yoo Hyuna’s future. No one knew if that change would be positive or negative for me. I could only guess based on my own subjective thoughts. Rather than debating an unknown future, seizing the benefits I could gain right now seemed like the more realistic choice.
There was a bit of a gamble involved. It was uncertain whether Ban Dahee would react as I predicted, or if I could unsettle Cha Seunghyun’s mind. But even considering all that, my mind was leaning in one direction, and I slowly organized my thoughts. For now, it was best to try and see how far I could take this.
“Ban Dahee! Are you really not going to listen to Unni?!”
“You promised you’d stay quiet! What are you trying to do, causing all this trouble?!”
“Fuck! Why is everyone on my ass?! That bastard spoke to me like shit first, and this bitch slapped me!”
Watching Ban Dahee shriek, I let out a deep sigh. That immature bitch. It seemed she didn't even remember that she was the one who had made the first real threat. That aside, she was kicking away the efforts of Yoo Hyuna and Cha Seunghyun, who were trying desperately to save her. I stood up and slowly closed the distance between us.
I subtly swept my hair back, my gaze passing over Ko Yeonju. I was sure she would understand my signal. As I crouched down in front of Ban Dahee, who was still pinned to the floor, the surroundings instantly fell silent. Since Ko Yeonju was now my clan member, I too had the right to intervene.
With everyone’s eyes on me, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Apologize. I don't want to escalate this any further. I won't ask you to apologize to everyone. If you apologize to me, Ko Yeonju, and my people, whom you insulted, we will consider this matter closed. If you do, we will also apologize for having gone a bit too far.”
“U-User Kim Soohyun-ssi! Haa~.”
“Phew.”
As I finished speaking, I heard Yoo Hyuna’s exclamation and Cha Seunghyun’s sigh of relief. They must have been thinking they had narrowly avoided the worst-case scenario. However, there was a reason I had crouched in front of Ban Dahee.
“Ptui!”
“Oh my!”
“Ban Dahee!”
Ban Dahee glared at me as if to kill me and spat. I didn't dodge, letting it hit me. Yoo Hyuna and Cha Seunghyun, who had just been relieved, screamed again. At the same time, a dagger, gleaming with a cold silver light, was pressed against Ban Dahee’s throat.
Feeling the bloody saliva run down my cheek, I smiled inwardly in triumph. The faint sneer I had secretly shown her probably played a part as well.
“Fuck off, you motherfucker. Who the hell are you to tell me what to do, you little piece of shit?”
“Keep talking. You'll really die, dear. No, please, keep talking. It'll give me a perfectly good reason to kill you.”
Ko Yeonju’s voice was not as gentle as usual. It was laced with a terrifying killing intent, sharp enough to cut with the slightest touch. Sensing her sincerity, the atmosphere around Yoo Hyuna, Cha Seunghyun, and my companions froze. Hearing someone faintly chanting a spell behind me, I calmly pushed the dagger away.
“User Kim Soohyun-ssi! I’ll apologize on her behalf! I’m sorry! We won’t bother you anymore! Please!”
Yoo Hyuna’s desperate voice came from the side. I turned my gaze to her for a moment. I felt a little sorry for her. If this had been the Golden Lion Clan in its prime or a large clan of similar stature, instead of Beech Tree, I would have given up cleanly. She had no power. No, rather, she had less power than us. That was why she was in this predicament.
“User Yoo Hyuna. What I want is an apology from the person responsible, not from you. I don’t need an apology from another User.”
“B-But… Dahee!”
“Idiot. Go on, kill me if you can. A fucking 0-year rookie, acting all tough.”
Did she not realize the dagger at her throat belonged to Ko Yeonju? Or did she think that now that I was here, they wouldn't dare kill her? I listened to her vulgar curses, unfazed. If I could just endure a little longer, I could kill a future member of the Ten Strong. What were a few insults compared to that?
“I’m not asking you to get on your knees and beg. A single, sincere apology is all it takes. Is that so difficult?”
“Hey. Shut your fucking mouth. Are you two lovebirds putting on a show? Huh? Keke. I wouldn't apologize even if you beat me to death, you got it? Hey, you said you're Kim Soohyun, right? And you, Miss Shadow Whore. Just you two wait. I’ll kill you someday. Hehe. Someday, I really will, someday…”
Those were the exact words I wanted to hear from her.
“I’ll kill you with all my… Gurgle!”
Ban Dahee couldn't finish her sentence. I glanced down and saw the silver dagger that Ko Yeonju had mercilessly plunged into her. As blood gushed from her neck, Ban Dahee stared up at me and Ko Yeonju with wide, unbelieving eyes. The die had been cast.
“Gurg… Gurgle!”
With the dagger still embedded in her neck, Ko Yeonju twisted her arm. Blood spurted out once more, and at the same time, Ban Dahee’s eyes rolled back into her head. She had died in an instant.
Thud!
At the sudden noise, I turned my head to see Yoo Hyuna, who had collapsed onto the floor. Next to her stood Cha Seunghyun, his mouth agape, his right arm stretched out uselessly. I, too, feigned a slightly surprised expression before standing up with a look of deep regret. Then I let out a heavy sigh.
“Ah… ah… ah…?”
“……”
Yoo Hyuna. Cha Seunghyun. They just stared with pale faces at Ban Dahee, who now lay as a corpse. Looking at them, I opened my mouth and spoke in a low voice.
“I regret what happened to your clan member. However, she crossed a line that should not have been crossed, and she refused our final offer. If you understand the ways of the Hall Plain, even if you cannot sympathize… I trust you can at least discern right from wrong.”
“There's no need for a long-winded explanation or an apology, Lord. The bitch deserved to die. Huhu.”
Right on cue, Ko Yeonju chimed in from my side. She twirled the blood-stained dagger, a languid smile on her face. Droplets of blood fell from the dagger, floating in the air for a moment before splattering onto the floor. I stared at the bloodstains for a moment, then turned to my companions, who were holding their breath behind me, and spoke.
“Pack your things. We’re leaving.”
I tossed the words out as if nothing had happened. Of course, I didn't forget to glance at Cha Seunghyun in the process. There was no reply. However, sensing the gravity of the situation, my people moved faster than ever.
Once the clan members had packed everything, I gave a slight nod to the two of them. Just as I turned with an indifferent expression to walk toward the inn’s entrance…
“Halt.”
From behind me, a heavy, low voice shook the lobby. The voice was quiet, but the magic contained within it was on a level that couldn't be ignored. I slowly turned around to see Cha Seunghyun’s face, his expression sunken as he glared at me. He appeared calm on the surface, but his face was flushed red and his eyes were blazing. He seemed to be utterly enraged.
Bingo.