Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Translator: Penny
Chapter 37
Into the Summer (4)
Gong Suchan gave me my last job of the summer: guarding the Society Head of the Dongping Merchant Guild. They needed protection for a single day during an important contract negotiation.
The reward was two thousand taels—a substantial sum for just one day's work.
It seemed someone might be targeting the Society Head.
Well, if it weren't dangerous, why would they pay us to handle it?
I decided to take the job.
Before I left, Father gave me only this advice:
"Don't get complacent just because you had a success last time. Accidents always happen when you're overconfident."
"Yes, Father. I'll keep that in mind."
Father was stubbornly righteous, and I admired that about him.
Mother, on the other hand, was remarkably carefree.
"Bring back lots of money, son!"
How could she not be worried? It was almost heartbreaking to see her trying to hide her true feelings with such a nonchalant attitude.
"Yes, Mother. I'll bring you back a gift when I return."
"Make it something expensive!"
"Ha ha, yes."
When we arrived at the Dongping Merchant Guild with the Sword Guard members, the atmosphere was heavy.
Swordsmen and servants from the Baek Family Manor stood guard over the Yang Family Manor, armed with weapons and clubs.
They seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief at our arrival.
Baek Yeo, the Dongping Guild Head who had summoned us, rushed out barefoot to greet us as if a celestial deity had descended from the heavens.
"Welcome! You've come at just the right time."
"Why such heavy security?"
"Look at this."
He showed us a threatening letter. The chilling message warned that if he didn't abandon the contract, his entire family would be slaughtered.
"Who sent this?"
"Someone coveting this contract. They're trying to push me aside and seize it for themselves."
"Could it be just a bluff? An attempt to scare you into backing down?"
Baek Yeo shook his head.
"That cousin of his is the Society Head of the Seojong Association."
"Seojong Association?"
"The Seojong Association is a notorious Black Association in this region. They're named after their Society Head, Seo Ryang, whose followers call themselves the Seojong Association."
Black Associations weren't Martial Arts Sects; they were gangs of wastrels who operated in the back alleys. They made their living by extorting money from brothels and taverns, preying on their interests.
"Now that we're here, we don't need to fear the Black Association."
"Don't underestimate them. They're ruthless and numerous. I've heard some of them have even learned martial arts."
"Understood. Let's prepare to depart."
"I'm counting on you."
After leaving the room, he immediately summoned Gwanhwi.
"It seems we'll be facing the Black Association. They might come in force, so tell everyone to prepare themselves mentally."
"Understood."
The agreed-upon location for the contract signing was about four hours by carriage from Baek Yeo's residence.
The Dongping Merchant Guild's swordsmen guarded the house, while only our Sword Guard escorted the carriage carrying the Society Head.
We fully anticipated interference from the Black Association.
I focused all my senses. If they launched an arrow attack from a distance, casualties were inevitable.
These recent missions were experiences I could never have imagined when I was Alliance Leader. I had heard rumors of the Black Association meddling in the Merchant Guild's high-stakes contracts, but this was my first time witnessing it firsthand.
Baek Yeo spoke through the carriage window.
"I heard you eliminated the Beast Squad."
"That's right."
"Impressive. The Beast Squad was a notorious bandit group."
"So, there's no need to worry too much. Just look at the Martial Artist sitting next to you—he's the one who took down four Beast Squads."
"Oh! Really?"
The person sitting next to Baek Yeo was Gwangdu.
"Don't worry. We'll protect you," Gwangdu said, lowering his voice dramatically.
"So, they've put a master swordsman next to me after all."
Gwangdu flinched. That wasn't why he was in the carriage. He had started practicing horseback riding, but he wasn't yet skilled enough, so they had put him in the carriage.
Gwangdu had insisted on riding a horse with only a few days of practice, hoping to impress Do Sun with his riding skills. But just staying on the horse without falling off was a challenge. Do Sun still hadn't attached a tassel to her sword.
As they crossed the wide plains, ambushing enemies revealed themselves.
When the first thirty or so men blocked their path, no one was surprised.
But they kept appearing—ten at a time, twenty, thirty, emerging from all directions.
They carried every kind of weapon imaginable. Their numbers swelled past a hundred, then two hundred, and finally reached three hundred.
The surroundings were swarming with Black Association thugs. The sheer intimidation of being surrounded by three hundred men brandishing swords and spears was overwhelming.
Baek Yeo, peering out the carriage window, was terrified.
"Oh no! We're as good as dead!"
"Don't worry," Gwangdu said, his voice trembling so violently that it only heightened their fear.
Following Gwanhwi's orders, the Sword Guard members formed a defensive circle around the carriage. Though they had experienced combat before, the sheer scale of the enemy force made it impossible to remain calm.
There couldn't possibly be this many Black Association members in one place. They must have gathered every last thug from multiple locations after hearing we were coming.
Still, Baek Yeo had a conscience.
"I'll abandon the deal," he said, leaning out the window and shouting. "There's no need for you to die over this."
"I'm giving up the contract and turning back. Let us go."
The crowd parted, and a man who appeared to be their leader stepped forward. Judging by the Black Association members surrounding him, this must be Seo Ryang of the Seojong Association.
"How could such a wise man have been so stubborn?" Seo Ryang asked.
"I was foolishly stubborn," Baek Yeo replied. "Just let us go."
"This isn't as simple as you think."
Seo Ryang stepped forward, and the men surrounding them followed suit, closing the distance.
As the enemies drew closer, the Sword Guard members tensed. In a one-on-one fight, these men would be no match, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming.
Moreover, many of them carried long spears. The fear that a chaotic charge with those spears would render martial arts and all other defenses useless began to creep in.
Seo Ryang stopped about ten paces away and spoke with menacing authority.
"How can we trust you? What's to stop you from returning tonight to renegotiate? We elders are far too busy with our nightly affairs to reconvene so soon."
"No, I'll give up cleanly. I'll even write a formal agreement if you want."
"What good is a scrap of paper?"
"Then what do you suggest?"
"How about leaving a severed hand as collateral?"
"What?"
Baek Yeo turned deathly pale.
Seo Ryang burst into laughter.
"Ha ha ha! Just a joke, just a joke. You're more easily frightened than you look."
Seo Ryang quickly sobered, his tone turning icy as he threatened, "But if we have to intervene again, a single hand won't be enough. Now, get out of here. Clear the path."
He didn't forget to address us either.
"If you Martial World types think you can swagger around with your swords and act arrogant, you'll end up dismembered and dead. Get lost! I'm being generous enough to spare your lives this time."
The Black Association members erupted in loud laughter from all sides.
The Black Association members who had surrounded us from behind parted to clear a path.
Baek Yeo turned to me and said, "Let's go back now."
When I didn't react, Baek Yeo grew frantic.
"I said, let's go! If those bastards change their minds, you'll all die too. Hurry!"
I finally spoke.
"If you're so afraid of them, why did you hire them in the first place?"
"What are you talking about?"
"If you hired us, you should trust us."
"What?"
I turned to Seo Ryang and said coldly, "You dogshit, wastrel bastard! Do you think we're the kind of people who come when you call and go when you tell us to?"
"How can someone who was once the Alliance Leader curse like this?" I thought. "But who were my enemies? Considering the insults I've endured from every villain in the Demonic Cult and Unorthodox Factions... just recounting them would make anyone recoil in horror."
Seo Ryang glanced at his subordinate beside him and asked, "What's that greenhorn brat saying?"
"It sounds like he wants to fight us."
"Has he got dicks for eyeballs or something?"
Laughter erupted from the surrounding men.
"If he's so eager to die, we should grant his wish."
As Seo Ryang drew his sword, the Black Association thugs simultaneously raised their weapons. He had absolute faith in their numbers—three hundred strong.
I ordered Gwanhwi, "Use the carriages as a wall. Form a semicircle around the Baek Patriarch to protect him."
"Yes, sir."
"Watch closely," I said. "I'll show you how to deal with scum like these. I'll demonstrate the difference between a true Martial Artist and this trash."
Clang.
I drew my sword with a crisp, clean motion and strode forward deliberately.
My composure made the Black Association thugs tense slightly.
How do you fight a battle like this? It's simple.
Tat-tat-tat.
I charged toward Seo Ryang. As always, in a large-scale battle, you take out the enemy leader first.
The men surged forward, swarming toward me.
My sword sliced through the air with a clean, whistling arc.
Whoosh! Crack!
The first man who tried to block me had his head severed.
My sword swept diagonally again.
The next man's torso split open along the same line. The sight of heads and torsos being cleaved apart right before their eyes sent the surrounding thugs into a panic.
Spears rained down from all directions.
I dodged the spears with precise movements, swaying my body this way and that.
My movements were precise: dodge and strike, dodge and strike. One enemy fell with each swing of my sword.
In an instant, over a dozen men lay dead on the ground.
It was the enemies who were now in disarray, their formations collapsing into chaos.
I evaded what needed evading and struck only what needed striking. My movements were even more disciplined than when facing a single opponent.
With each swing of my sword, someone died.
Another ten men fell, bringing the total dead to twenty.
Seo Ryang, panicked, shouted, "Stop him! Kill him!"
His panicked voice only further demoralized his men.
The command he should have given was:
"Kill Baek Yeo!"
That would have forced me to divide my attention. Though, even then, the outcome would have been the same.
Seo Ryang was never one for such tactics. Now, panicked and half-mad, he was completely out of his depth.
Enemies swarmed from all sides, yet it was they who fell.
No matter how numerous, they were still just Wastrels from the Black Association. Even the best among them had only mastered martial arts equivalent to our Sword Guard members.
Not that I intended to kill them all.
I stomped on the back of a man collapsing with a split chest and leaped powerfully forward.
I descended, cutting through dozens of enemies in a single motion.
Seo Ryang stood barely ten paces ahead. As I closed in, he screamed hysterically,
"Stop him! Stop him!"
Only a dozen men stood in my path. If their comrades couldn't stop me, what chance did these few have?
Whoosh!
Slash!
My sword sprayed blood into the air. Five of them fell, and the remaining five stumbled backward.
"Block! You bastard! Block!"
But no one dared to move. Their faces were frozen in terror.
I wasn't even breathing hard.
Seo Ryang retreated, saying, "I'll just turn back now. So..."
I lunged at him. To subdue the remaining men, I couldn't afford to let him live.
He drew his sword and swung it wildly at me. It might have worked on his subordinates, but it was no match for me.
Whoosh!
Thud.
As I brushed past him, Seo Ryang's movements froze. A crimson line appeared on his neck, followed by a soft thud.
His head rolled across the floor.
Puaaaak!
The decapitated Seo Ryang collapsed, blood spurting from his neck. Everyone froze, staring at his head rolling across the floor.
Chwaaaak.
Flicking the blood from my sword, I spoke in a low voice, "Drop your weapons and kneel."
Though my voice was soft, amplified by internal energy, every word rang clear as a bell.
The men exchanged panicked glances, unsure what to do.
I strode toward the nearest man.
"Eek! Spare me!" he cried, throwing down his weapon and dropping to his knees.
That was the signal. One by one, the others discarded their weapons and knelt.
"Spare me!"
"Please, spare me!"
Three hundred rabbits can't catch a tiger. Besides, these were back-alley wastrels who valued their lives more than loyalty.
I shouted to the Sword Guard members, "From now on, cut down any pup who opens his eyes or raises his head!"
"Yes, sir!" the Sword Guard members roared in unison.
The Black Association thugs immediately closed their eyes and lowered their heads. Nearly three hundred men kneeling and bowing their heads in unison was a spectacle in itself.
As I walked toward the Sword Guard members, I said, "These are Martial Artists. We are called Martial Artists because we are people like this. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
The Sword Guard members' faces were filled with pride and a burning desire to become stronger. Gwangdu and Gwanhwi, in particular, had dreamy looks in their eyes.
Yes, this was the reaction I had hoped for. This was the influence I wanted to exert. Even if three thousand of them gathered, they shouldn't cower before the Black Association or turn their backs on what's right.
In time, each Sword Guard member would wield such awe.
I genuinely looked forward to that day.
Baek Yeo stared at me with wide eyes and an open mouth, completely speechless.
I smiled and said, "Let's go sign the contract."
The dead man was Seo Ryang of the Seojong Faction. The last ones to die protecting him were the Deputy Head and the faction's leadership. In essence, the Seojong Faction had been annihilated.
The remaining members were thoroughly intimidated before being released. It was a direct threat: if I heard they were involved in such villainous acts again, I would personally hunt them down and kill them.
Of course, most would eventually return to the back alleys, but for the time being, they wouldn't even venture outside their homes.
The day's contract concluded without incident.
Baek Yeo handed me the payment.
"I've added extra."
"I won't refuse."
Since it wasn't money he was being forced to give when he didn't have it, I accepted without hesitation. Opening the envelope, I found five One Thousand Taels bills—Three Thousand Taels more than the agreed-upon sum.
"Thank you. We'll be taking our leave now."
"If anything like this happens again, I'll be sure to call on you."
"Very well."
But by then, the same amount wouldn't suffice.
Our price would have increased tenfold.