Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: First Strike Wins (3)
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Gansu Province, Wudu County.
Located right next to Shaanxi, this place was a strategic transportation hub, much like Hanzhong, and was considered one of the more livable areas within the barren Gansu Province.
Thanks to this, the Madmen Gang, a lesser sect of the Ten Demon Alliance that controlled Wudu County, managed to possess a respectable amount of strength.
The Madmen Gang poured great effort into protecting Wudu County with that strength.
This was because they never knew when or where a demonic group from the same Ten Demon Alliance might turn into a band of brigands.
That day was no different from any other.
The Madmen Gang members guarding the gate inspected the travelers and their goods, filtering out anyone suspicious.
Their purpose wasn't to catch spies from the Nine Dragons Fortress, but to apprehend demonic practitioners who entered with impure intentions.
‘What a damn mess, having to watch out for your own allies.’
Though he grumbled internally, he performed his duty to the best of his ability.
A moment of carelessness could lead to the gates being breached and a demonic group, turned brigands, storming in.
The strong prey on the weak.
It was an inseparable part of the demonic path's culture.
Had about half a day passed like this?
*Dudududu.*
In the distance, a group of riders could be seen approaching, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A sight like that never boded well.
Nine times out of ten, it meant allies disguised as brigands were attacking Wudu.
“It's an attack!”
*Clang, clang, clang, clang.*
He struck the bell hanging by the gate to signal the enemy's assault.
It's an attack—!
Instantly, members of the Madmen Gang began pouring out from all directions.
They moved as if they were one body, forming a line just inside the city wall.
The plan was to close the gate to neutralize the cavalry's charge and deal with the enemies as they came over the wall.
It was a response that spoke of extensive training and real combat experience.
And then.
“Hah! Who dares!”
The leader of the Madmen Gang.
A peak master of the demonic path, recognized by the Ten Demon Alliance, made his appearance.
Nearly seven feet tall with a massive build, carrying a six-foot greatsword. His appearance was a perfect match for his moniker, the Iron-Willed Demonic Saber.
*Dudududu.*
The sound of hooves was now just a stone's throw away.
The gang leader shouted, his voice laced with internal energy.
“Raise the spears!”
*Shink, shink, shink.*
Sharp spearheads were raised toward the wall.
In this formation, they could impale the enemies one by one as they vaulted the wall.
However.
The enemies didn't leap over the wall.
Nor did they conceal their presence.
*Hee-hee-hing.*
The neigh of their horses came from right in front of them.
“Is it not an attack?”
Just as the bewildered gang leader tilted his head in confusion.
*KABOOOM!*
A massive explosion roared as the city wall collapsed.
“What in the world!”
The gang leader's eyes widened as he stared straight ahead.
It was only natural. To demolish a wall weighing tens of thousands of pounds, one would either need to detonate dozens of pounds of explosives, or...
“A-Aura Blade.”
...have an absolute master, one who had reached perfection, strike it with their full-powered Aura Blade.
And then.
“Hand over everything you've got, you bastards.”
The young martial artist from the band of brigands charged toward the gang leader.
***
*Fwoosh—!*
The massive greatsword fell, tearing through the air.
In terms of size alone, it was even larger than the sabers of the Gray Dragon Hall.
*CRACK!*
But the power behind the blade was laughably light.
“Huk!”
When his prized sword shattered from a single punch of mine, the gang leader stumbled back in shock.
I wasn't one to miss such an opening.
*Thump.*
I closed in and slammed the force-infused Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes into his entire body.
*Pow! Craaack.*
His body was instantly wrecked. As his neck bone snapped, the life faded from his eyes.
I immediately grabbed the gang leader's hair and lifted his head, intending to demand their surrender.
“...”
*Shlick! Squish!*
But seeing the scene unfolding before me, I fell silent.
Annihilation.
The twenty Black Mountain Tigers had slaughtered every single member of the Madmen Gang present, leaving no survivors.
‘Seriously, who are the demonic ones here...?’
Looking at the faces of the enemies who had died filled with terror, I was getting confused about who was truly demonic.
‘I need to keep my distance from them after this job is done.’
As I made this internal resolution, the blood-soaked Black Mountain Tigers approached me.
It was a good thing the official uniform of the Blood Killing Gate was red; otherwise, our disguise would have been compromised.
“Young Master, shall we bring the Gate Lord?”
“...Please do.”
For reference, the Black Tiger Corps Commander was outside with ten of the Black Mountain Tigers.
Something about how it would lower the Gate Lord's dignity to personally engage in battle.
They were surprisingly dedicated to their roles.
Anyway, as soon as the Black Tiger Corps Commander's group joined us, we rode our horses across Wudu County.
The residents who saw us fled in fear or bolted their doors.
They probably thought it was their turn after we massacred the Madmen Gang.
‘What a mess...’
It was a sight that made me shake my head involuntarily.
“Let's go, Young Master.”
*Nod.*
I nodded at the voice, deliberately spoken loudly for others to hear, and spurred my horse on.
And so we entered the Madmen Gang's headquarters.
*Hee-hee-hing.*
The place was silent, as if the ones who remained had also fled. Only the sound of our horses neighing could be heard.
“Now, shall we grab our share?”
*Grin.*
“We won't have to worry about operational funds for a while. Heh heh.”
When I said this to the Black Tiger Corps Commander, he chuckled and nodded.
A short while later.
After we completely emptied the Madmen Gang's coffers, the loot filled a chest the size of a small child.
“...This is incredible.”
At a rough glance, the treasure seemed to be worth at least four thousand silver taels.
I'd heard this place had a relatively high GDP, but I didn't expect this much.
Of course, we couldn't take all of it.
To maintain our mobility, we had to pick out only the most valuable items and bury the rest somewhere.
It wouldn't make sense for a band of robbers to just leave treasure behind.
And the best person for appraising treasures was right here.
Who, you ask?
Me, of course. Who else?
The amount of Outer Hall slop I've eaten could fill a one-ton truck; you think I wouldn't have developed an eye for treasure during all that time?
“This goes there. That goes here...”
After about two hours of sorting the treasures.
After picking out the valuable items, they filled two money pouches, each the size of a grown man's fist.
It was a sight that made me laugh involuntarily.
“Puhuhu.”
Seeing the pouches glittering, filled with precious metals and gold nuggets, made my heart swell with pride.
“Are you done?”
The Black Tiger Corps Commander approached and asked me.
“Yes, the rest can be buried somewhere, as we discussed.”
“I've been thinking. Instead of burying it...”
“I know what you're thinking, but no. We have to do this many more times, and we can't carry that much around.”
This old man is so greedy...
“No, that's not it...”
I held up the money pouch I had just filled to the Black Tiger Corps Commander, who was trying to argue.
“Sigh... I said no. This alone is worth a thousand silver taels. Is there any need to be greedier?”
Of course, I understood the temptation of burying such a large sum of money and leaving.
‘I'm also enduring the gut-wrenching pain of it.’
Looking at the silver we had to leave behind, I felt a pain as if my insides were being torn apart.
But you can't let a little greed ruin the bigger picture.
There were more than just one or two Ten Demon Alliance territories to raid in the future, right?
We would surely be able to gather even more wealth than this. That's why I tried to stop the old commander.
“No, not that...”
“Sigh... You're incredibly stubborn. Fine. I'll adjust the six-to-four ratio. We'll go fifty-fifty. How about that? Are you satisfied now?”
Originally, I was supposed to get six parts.
But despite my generous decision, the old commander suddenly flared up.
“That's not what I'm talking about! I'm saying! The remaining treasure over there!”
“Hey! What's so praiseworthy about an old man being greedy for money that you have to shout about it!”
“You little brat!”
*Clang.*
“You're drawing your sword? This old geezer, really!”
“Hey! Stop them!”
*Rustle.*
A moment later, after the Black Mountain Tigers intervened and calmed the situation, I was finally able to hear the Black Tiger Corps Commander's opinion.
“So, you were trying to say that instead of just burying it, we should give it to the common people outside?”
“That's right. I saw earlier that they seemed to be living in poverty.”
Feeling embarrassed, I scratched the back of my head and said.
“You should have said so earlier... You made me look like the weird one.”
“...”
I cleared my throat and quickly changed the subject.
“But would that be meaningful? Even if we give it to them, some other thugs will just take it away soon...”
“Still, wouldn't it be better than just abandoning it? If they have any sense, they'll hide it well and use it.”
“Hmm...”
It was a reasonable point.
It wasn't our responsibility to prevent it from being taken later.
“Alright. Let's do that.”
***
A short while later.
We gathered every single resident of Wudu County.
Their number reached a staggering seven hundred.
I stood before them and overturned the chest containing the Madmen Gang's treasure.
*Clatter.*
As nearly three thousand taels of silver poured onto the ground, the eyes of everyone gathered went wide.
“This is the wealth the Madmen Gang accumulated by exploiting you. I intend to return it to you.”
*Murmur, murmur.*
“What are you doing? Not taking it.”
However, despite my offer, they only exchanged glances, and no one stepped forward.
“...You must be well-fed. If you don't need it, I'll take it back.”
At my signal, one of the Black Mountain Tigers began to put the money back into the chest.
At that, the startled people began to step forward one by one, and soon, as if on cue, everyone rushed out.
*Swarm.*
It was just like a department store's open run on a 70% off sale day.
The only difference was that the people of Wudu County, intimidated by the murderous aura of the Black Mountain Tigers, could only take the exact amount being distributed.
***
After annihilating the Madmen Gang in Wudu County, we proceeded to run a GTA on several other towns.
*CRACK!*
Just as in Wudu County, I grabbed the hair of an enemy leader whose chest bones had been shattered and heart exploded by my fist, and lifted his head.
“Your leader is dead! Surrender—... huh?”
Once again, the Black Mountain Tigers had killed all the enemies before I could even shout for their surrender.
“...”
After a few rounds of robbery, we gained experience, and from then on, everything went smoothly.
“Let's go!”
We mounted our horses with complete naturalness.
“Search every nook and cranny!”
We plundered their base with complete naturalness.
*Clatter.*
And gathered the treasure with complete naturalness.
‘Are they metal detectors or something?’
The Black Mountain Tigers, having done this a few times, seemed to have gotten the hang of it. Now, they automatically found where everything was without me having to say a word.
Ah, but there was one thing they couldn't do.
“Appraise this, please.”
Appraising.
Having spent their entire lives swinging swords, they had no eye for such things.
After a brief appraisal, once I had picked out the precious metals, the Black Mountain Tigers swarmed in and took the remaining treasure.
It was to be distributed to the people here.
And then.
“Let's move out!”
As if nothing had happened, we mounted our horses and headed for the next destination.
From the attack to the escape, the entire seamless operation took less than two hours.
Realizing this, a shiver ran down my spine.
‘So this is the Black Mountain Tigers?’
They were truly the legends of the Nine Dragons Fortress.
As we were riding, the Black Tiger Corps Commander asked.
“Did you say we're only going as far as Xihua?”
“Yes. Any further is too dangerous.”
Three hundred li north of Xihua is Lanzhou.
And there, the burned-out Gansu branch of the Ten Demon Alliance was located.
No matter how badly they'd been beaten, a branch of the Ten Demon Alliance was still a branch; a considerable force was sure to be gathered there.
It meant we could get caught from behind if we acted recklessly.
Strictly speaking, even going to Xihua was risky.
The reason I decided to target that place nevertheless was...
‘To draw aggro.’
The more notoriety we gained, the less likely those demonic bastards would dare to come all the way to Hanzhong to plunder.
No one in their right mind would go out raiding while risking their own base being plundered.
Well...
Gold and silver treasures await us—!
“...”
...it was also because the Black Mountain Tigers, who had taken a liking to robbery, wanted to.
And I was also looking forward to it a little.
“Let's go!”
If we hadn't started at all, that'd be one thing, but since we've already started this GTA, isn't it right to go all out and clean them out properly?
Two days passed like this.
“Everyone, halt.”
We finally arrived at Xihua, one of the top five cities in Gansu Province.
Sitting on my saddle, I shouted to the Black Mountain Tigers.
“Are you ready to plunder?”
“Blood Kill—!”
“...”
At this point, I'm starting to think they actually believe they're from the Blood Killing Gate.
“Ready shooters, charge!”