Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: First Strike Wins (2)
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“Ugh… You jerk!”
‘I’m screwed.’
After downing one bottle, then another, Myo Hyang began to sway, her words slurring.
To be honest, I’d expected this to happen to some extent.
‘Why did they keep giving her alcohol?’
The tavern owner, Yang Ryeong, had sent over a few more bottles.
Top-shelf white liquor, at that.
I’d tried to refuse, but Myo Hyang had snatched them up and started drinking.
‘Hehe, when else would I get to drink such fine liquor?’
She’d argued, why refuse something that’s free?
It was a mindset that made me fear for her future—and her hairline.
I considered carrying her back on my piggyback, but quickly shook my head.
‘If someone were to see…’
In the Central Plains, dominated by Confucian ideals, carrying a woman who wasn't family was an unimaginable act.
Of course, Myo Hyang and I were like family, but we weren't blood relatives, so nothing good would come from others seeing us like that.
Thud!
As I was scratching my head in a bind, Myo Hyang slammed her head on the table and passed out.
“Oh, dear… Sis, wake up. Sis!”
“Ugh… son of a bitch.”
“What?”
Who is this son of a bitch she's talking about?
I need to know who it is so I can beat them up later.
Just as I was struggling with her, a hopeful voice reached me.
“Do you need some help?”
“Oh, that would be great… Huh?”
It was Yang Ryeong.
We weren't on comfortable terms, but when you're in a pinch like this, you'd welcome help from anyone.
“I asked if you need help.”
“Ahem, if you're offering, I'd be grateful.”
“Very well.”
At her nod, a muscular woman standing guard nearby hoisted Myo Hyang onto her back.
Yang Ryeong gestured toward the stairs.
“Shall we?”
“…Let's.”
I followed her silently down from the third floor to the first. As we passed through the bustling first floor and out the door, I cheered inwardly.
Because I hadn't paid for the meal.
‘I can understand the alcohol, but she's not even charging for the food!’
It seemed I had been misunderstanding Yang Ryeong all this time.
She was so magnanimous.
As I walked on in high spirits, Yang Ryeong's voice reached me.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“Huh? About what?”
“…You really don't know anything, do you.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? What is there that I don't know?”
What a strange woman.
I clicked my tongue and shot her a glare, and Yang Ryeong looked back at me with an aggrieved expression.
‘Ah, right.’
Meeting her eyes, I finally remembered the story Myo Hyang had told me about the bandits.
“I heard that some demonic path bastards from Qinghai have been turning into bandits lately. Do you know anything about that?”
“Of course. That's why we set up a branch in Hanzhong.”
“If you have any information, share it.”
“Is that a request?”
“…Can't you just do this kind of thing for free?”
It's for the public good, after all.
“The Underworld Gate sells information for money. We wouldn't even give out a dog's name for free.”
“If bandits are running rampant near Hanzhong, won't that make it harder for the Underworld Gate to operate?”
“You see one side, but not the other. On the contrary, people will be lining up at our door, trying to find safe routes.”
She's as tough as they come.
“Ahem, should I go to the Red Dragon Hall, then?”
“…Well, do as you please.”
Seriously, I gave her such a big hint. Shouldn't she have gotten it by now?
As I grumbled inwardly for a moment, Yang Ryeong, who was following, spoke.
“Why not use one of the three chances you have?”
“Mmm… I'm saving those for something else.”
I can't use my personal assets for company business.
Yang Ryeong shook her head and said.
“I'll bill the branch for the information fee. That should work, right?”
She was suggesting I use public funds.
It was a good idea, but there was a problem.
“The Red Dragon Hall will raise hell…”
If I gave the job to a competitor instead of them, the Red Dragon Hall's pride would surely be wounded.
In the martial world, pride is something that can't be bought with money.
One misstep and our relationship with the Red Dragon Hall could hit rock bottom.
“Couldn't you just create a justification? For example…”
Yang Ryeong smiled slightly and continued.
“You could insist that the situation was too sudden and you had no choice.”
“That's ridiculous. The Red Dragon Hall aren't fools; they'd never fall for a lie like that.”
“But it's true.”
“What?”
“The situation really is urgent. In just three days, hundreds of bandits will be crossing into Hanzhong.”
As I stood there with my mouth agape at the completely unexpected news, Yang Ryeong took out a small piece of paper.
“This shows the areas where the bandits are stationed and their expected infiltration routes. It's information the Red Dragon Hall hasn't obtained yet. What do you think? Isn't this worth a deal?”
“…”
It wasn't just worth a deal; it was information I had to get right now, no matter what.
“How much?”
“Twenty nyang.”
“Silver?”
“…”
“Just kidding. But can't you give me a little discount? It's too expensive.”
Even though it wasn't my money, it was still taxes paid by the people of Hanzhong, so it was right to save it if I could.
“Ahem, khm, kaham!”
I gave an exaggerated cough to signal the silent Yang Ryeong, and she sighed before answering.
“Alright. I'll take ten percent off.”
“…Hmm.”
It wasn't entirely satisfying, but two nyang of gold was a fortune.
I'd have to be satisfied with this.
“If you try to pull any tricks like last time…”
“Hey! I'm Jin Mujeon. The supreme master whose name echoes throughout the world, Fighting Dragon Jin Mujeon.”
“…”
What does she take me for?
* * *
A short while later.
After putting Myo Hyang to bed in her room, I returned to mine and examined the information I'd received from Yang Ryeong.
“Hmm…”
It was a single, messily drawn map.
The number of enemies was larger than I'd expected, forcing me to frown.
“Roughly five hundred…”
It seemed they had gathered all the riffraff from the Gansu branch as well.
Moreover, the bandits' encampments were scattered all over the place.
There were over ten possible routes they could take to cross into Hanzhong.
Of course, with the Black Mountain Tigers, the branch's forces were more than enough to overwhelm them all.
The problem was.
If the enemy was determined to cause chaos, there was no way to stop them.
If we concentrated our forces in Hanzhong, the merchants whose trade routes were blocked would be ruined. But if we went out to fight, we risked leaving the city vulnerable.
“Ahem…”
I stared at it for a long time, but no solution came to mind. I decided to seek wisdom from everyone.
“I'll ask the guys tomorrow.”
This is what collective intelligence is for.
The next day.
As soon as I woke up, I rushed to the branch, gathered everyone, and explained the current situation.
Naturally, the reaction was heated.
“How dare those crazy bastards!”
“Seems those demonic path scum haven't learned their lesson.”
“Hmph! Let them come! I'll take my Vermilion Bird Sword and run it through their necks!”
For reference, the Vermilion Bird Sword was the Reconnaissance Squad Leader's prized sword.
A treasure sword inherited from his father, said to contain the essence of the Green Dragon Hall, or so he claimed.
I didn't believe it, but since he said so, I just pretended to.
“Ahem, let's save the anger for later. Does anyone have any good ideas?”
A hand shot up.
Geum Ja-hwan, who was considered the most brilliant strategist in the branch after me, raised his hand.
“Defense. A defensive siege is the only answer.”
“A defensive siege?”
“We evacuate the nearby villages and concentrate our forces here in Hanzhong. Then the enemy won't dare to attack.”
“What about the merchants? There will be those who go bankrupt if they can't conduct business.”
“It's a sacrifice for the greater good. They will understand.”
“…”
An answer steeped in the Confucian ideology of prioritizing the community over the individual.
“Rejected!”
Of course, I rejected it.
I had to prevent any harm to the Hanzhong Merchant Guild, my greatest asset.
“Any other ideas?”
Another hand went up.
This time, it was the Reconnaissance Squad Leader. Given his position, I thought he might have some groundbreaking idea, but…
“We expand our reconnaissance range as wide as possible and defeat them one by one.”
“…And if they all attack at once?”
“Ah.”
At such a one-dimensional opinion, I once again declared it rejected.
‘Ugh… How can they be so lacking in creativity?’
I couldn't help but groan at the detrimental effects of this era's educational methods, which prioritized memorizing the Four Books and Three Classics over fostering critical thinking.
“Is there anyone else with an idea?”
Silence fell over the meeting hall in response to my question.
It seemed no one had any thoughts.
I had no choice. I would have to figure this out on my own… Just as I was about to give up.
“Heh heh, it seems the young 'uns have had their say. May this old man offer his opinion now?”
An unexpected person raised his hand.
It was the leader of the Black Mountain Tigers, a military group directly under the Lord's command—the Captain of the Black Tiger Corps.
“Of course. In times like these, the wisdom of our elders is needed most, is it not? Hahaha.”
In truth, I wasn't expecting much.
He was the Captain of the Black Tiger Corps, a man who just went around cutting people down on the Grand Chancellor's orders. How brilliant could his strategy possibly be?
However, he was my superior, several ranks above me.
I had no choice but to put on my best smile and nod.
“You don't look very expectant.”
The problem was, he saw right through me.
“Ahem…”
As I coughed awkwardly, embarrassed at having my thoughts exposed, his confident voice rang out.
“*Seonjeukjein* (先則制人).”
It's the Hanja version of 'the first strike wins'.
“Are you suggesting a preemptive strike?”
“Exactly. Shouldn't we just kill them before they cross the border into Hanzhong?”
“…”
It sounded plausible, but it was an absolutely impossible strategy.
Why?
‘How can a mere temporary supervisor of a branch decide to launch a preemptive strike?’
Because I don't have the authority.
“Mmm… I'd have to get permission from the main fortress.”
I said that knowing they would never grant it.
I don't know why, but the Nine Dragons Fortress's—or more precisely, the Grand Chancellor's—strategy regarding the Ten Demon Alliance has always been purely defensive.
In that respect, the Black Mountain Tigers' recent burning of the Gansu branch was a highly unusual event.
The Captain seemed to know this, as he replied immediately.
“I understand completely. It's certainly a different approach from the fortress's usual direction.”
He clicked his tongue and continued.
“But we can't just keep taking hits forever, can we? We have to consider the morale of those fighting on the front lines.”
“…”
His point had merit, and as I remained silent for a moment, the Captain added one more thing.
“Well, this old man has said his piece. I'll be taking my leave now.”
With that, the Captain left the meeting hall. I could only watch him go, speechless.
‘Wait, what if…?’
An idea had struck me like a bolt of lightning.
* * *
Two days later.
I left Hanzhong with the Captain of the Black Tiger Corps and all the Black Mountain Tigers in tow.
Just as the Captain had said: *Seonjeukjein* (先則制人). In other words, we were going to eliminate our enemies with the resolve that the first strike wins.
Did I get permission from the main fortress?
Of course not.
The plan was to go and come back in secret.
‘If you don't get caught, you're golden.’
Even a crazy stunt is fine as long as you don't get caught, right?
Besides, I had a plan to perfectly deceive both our allies and our enemies.
“Alright, alright, you've all heard this, but it's important, so I'll say it again. From now on, who am I?”
“The Young Blood Demon, Jo Jin-soo!”
“And the Captain of the Black Tiger Corps over there?”
“The Great Blood Killing Demon, Jo Hyeong-cheon!”
“And who are we?”
“The Blood Killing Gate!”
“And what is our purpose?”
“To plunder!”
“Excellent. You all brought your outfits, right? This red bandana here is the symbol of the Blood Killing Gate, so don't you dare lose it.”
The plan was a disguise.
We would disguise ourselves as the Blood Killing Gate, a sect that was annihilated recently in an attack by the Lion's Alliance.
For this reason, I silenced everyone in the branch while also using the Underworld Gate to gather information on the Blood Killing Gate and procure the most similar-looking attire.
It cost me three nyang of gold, but I had a way to recoup that as well.
‘You fight plunder with plunder.’
With a real-life GTA session in the Ten Demon Alliance's territory.