Chapter 174
Chapter 174
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: The War King Gate (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Thrust!”
“Hah!”
Ten days had passed since the new units were formed.
During that time, the officers who had become leaders of their respective units relentlessly drilled their men.
It seemed the pressure of the phrase ‘endless competition’ was the driving force. Fortunately, the members endured the training without much complaint.
“Are you tired?!”
“No, sir!”
“Then keep going!”
“Hah!”
Even though I had only selected those with potential, they were still martial artists who were, at best, second-rate or lower.
I couldn’t help but be inwardly surprised by their tenacity.
It was like…
Watching a Magikarp evolve into a Gyarados?
Just then, Eighth Unit Leader Wu Je-jun, who had ordered a break, explained the reason to me.
“…They believe they’ve seized an opportunity to rise.”
“An opportunity to rise?”
“Most martial artists live their entire lives dreaming of becoming a master. There are countless people who would have no other wish than to become first-rate. You’ve laid out a path for them to climb, so they have no choice but to work hard.”
“…Well, that’s true.”
“I, too, was astonished when I saw the Black Martial Lance Arts and the Black Martial Arts. You won’t find another sect in the entire martial world that teaches such advanced techniques even to its regular members.”
“We only released the first half…”
I had revealed the latter half to the officers, but for the regular members, I taught only the first half, just as we did at the Jinmu Academy.
There was always a chance someone might memorize the techniques and desert, and learning advanced martial arts without the proper foundation could be more harmful than beneficial.
“But didn't you make them a promise? That you would teach them the latter half once they reached a certain level and achieved merit.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing him say it, he wasn’t wrong.
For those who had spent their lives hoping to learn advanced martial arts, this might be the only path to becoming a true master.
*Master… did you give me the Black Martial series with all this in mind?*
A surge of gratitude washed over me, and I looked up at the southern sky, picturing Master Bukgung’s face.
His image shimmered in the distant sunset.
It looked like I’d have to visit him soon with some white liquor and pork.
“I’ll be returning to my post now. Break’s over! Form up, side by side!”
At Wu Je-jun’s shout, the seventy members of the Eighth Unit roared in unison and moved like lightning.
“One! Two! Hup!”
As expected, Korean military drills really are the best.
The training methods for the First to Eighth Units varied slightly.
For example, Jongli Geuk, the leader of the First Unit, focused on forming an ironclad wall centered around a square formation, while Dang Yang-gang of the Second Unit was training his men in the spear-throwing techniques of the Black Martial Lance.
There was no need to argue over which method was correct. The unit leaders needed to drill their men in the way they saw fit for them to be in sync.
However, one thing was common to all: every unit leader was using the Black Martial Lance.
Conceptually, we had to pursue strength as a collective, sharing a single martial art.
Of course, I couldn’t just stand around and do nothing.
I gripped a black iron spear and stepped forward.
“Break’s over! Run!”
Without a vice-commander, the training of the headquarters company was my responsibility.
And so, another day at the War King Gate passed.
* * *
That evening.
After finishing training, I paid a long-overdue visit to a place labeled the Two Immortals Gang but known to all as the Underworld Sect.
I was there to collect the information I had requested.
Some of it was a bit too dirty to entrust to the Red Dragon Hall.
The sight of Yong Ma-san’s consistently shining head now felt almost familiar.
“Why aren’t you wearing the wig I bought you? It was pretty expensive…”
“I already burned it.”
“…”
My mom was right when she told me not to hang out with bald guys.
*‘Petty men go bald.’*
My mom’s words, saying she would have kicked my dad out of their matchmaking meeting if she’d known his hair would fall out, still echoed in my ears.
As I reminisced, Yong Ma-san handed me two small booklets.
“This contains information on the sects that have expressed interest in participating in the competition, or are expected to. The other booklet details their weaknesses.”
As expected of the Underworld Sect, the martial world’s version of Google.
“I’m just saying this just in case, but you should memorize the second booklet and burn it. It could cause misunderstandings if it falls into the wrong hands.”
“Come on, you think I don’t know that? I’m not that clueless.”
“…”
Besides, I wasn’t the one who was going to memorize it.
Yu So-pyeong was.
“The payment…?”
Yong Ma-san, his head gleaming, asked in a rather tense voice.
“Ah, right. I need to pay you. How much is it?”
“Five gold taels. Since we investigated nine sects, it should have been at least ten, but I’m giving you a special discount because it’s you, Sect Leader Jin.”
His words grew longer, a sign of his anxiety. I held out a money pouch to him.
“Here you go.”
After checking its contents, he met my gaze with wavering eyes.
“Are you perhaps… feeling unwell?”
“Not a chance. Have you forgotten who lives with me?”
How could I be sick when I live with a mad scientist who can create super crickets?
“…But why… are you giving me money?”
“I’m paying you because I hired you. What, you think I’d stiff you?”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
Leaving his trembling voice behind, I stood up from my seat.
“Anyway, I’m leaving. Oh, and thanks for the discount. I’ll be sure to repay your kindness when I make it big.”
“…”
As soon as I finished speaking, I got out of there as fast as I could.
Truth be told, the gold I’d given him was just skillfully made gold-plated fakes.
Ah, but I was serious about repaying his kindness when I make it big.
*Crash!*
“Jin Mujeon—!”
The sound of something shattering came from Yong Ma-san’s office.
Looks like he found out.
Time to run before I get caught.
* * *
A short while later.
I handed the information I had acquired to Yu So-pyeong.
After all, a leader's role isn't to run errands himself, but to find the right person for the job.
Yu So-pyeong, who understood my intentions perfectly, sighed and took the booklets.
Before long, he returned with a perfectly analyzed summary and began his explanation.
“Taemo Mountain Fortress, Johyeong Gate, Hwayang Gate, Baekseom Sword Sect, the Eun Family Estate, Miryeong Flower Palace, Bakjin Gate, Five Tiger Fist Sect, and the Hainan Sword Sect. A total of nine sects are expected to participate, it says.”
I had heard of all of them at least once.
While they weren’t nationally recognized like Nine Dragons Fortress, they were all considered local powerhouses in their respective regions.
In particular…
“The Eun Family Estate and the Baekseom Sword Sect…”
“Yes, they are collateral branches of the Silver Dragon Hall and the White Dragon Hall. Both have the common trait of having grown rapidly after the fall of the Southern Heaven Palace.”
“They opposed strengthening the Fortress Lord’s authority, and now they’re entering their own relatives into the competition? It’s like these people buried their conscience on some mountain.”
“…”
“What? Why are you looking at me like that? It’s almost as if you’re thinking, ‘You’re one to talk.’”
“N-No, sir. How could I… Ahem. My throat was just a bit scratchy.”
Clearing his throat, Yu So-pyeong continued.
“They will likely claim that a hundred years have passed since they split off.”
“A hundred years, my foot. These are the same people who look after their third cousins twice removed.”
“Even so, the Fortress has nothing to lose from their perspective.”
“Because the enemy is too powerful?”
“Correct. They’ll think there’s no need to distinguish between a black knife and a white knife when facing the Ten Demon Alliance.”
I found myself nodding at what Yu So-pyeong called the ‘black knife, white knife’ theory.
That’s how badly Nine Dragons Fortress needed strong allies.
Allies who, in the worst-case scenario, could fight against the Ten Demon Alliance’s ten thousand demons and buy them time.
And the two aforementioned sects were capable of that.
“Besides those two, the Hainan Sword Sect and Taemo Mountain Fortress will likely be major competitors.”
“Why would guys who live cooped up on an island and a mountain bother…?”
“Their poor financial situation is probably a big reason.”
“Right. They have too many mouths to feed for the money they make.”
That was why Nine Dragons Fortress also kept its total numbers just over two thousand.
The more people you have, the more money it costs.
Oh, and for reference, the Ten Demon Alliance was squeezing the common folk living in their territory dry to feed their ten thousand members.
Some regions were already like dried squids, yet they were squeezed so hard that there were cases of entire populations fleeing.
“Hmm…”
An involuntary groan escaped me as I considered the strong competition.
No matter how good our other conditions were, if our military strength fell short of the rival sects, we’d be eliminated immediately.
“It seems we’ll need a plan.”
I said, gazing at the western sky.
* * *
*Follow this for a month and you, too, can be a first-rate master.*
*The way to become a peak master in five years.*
These were the titles of martial arts manuals one could easily find in the West.
While such titles might tempt someone ignorant of martial arts, anyone who has learned even a little knows how absurd these claims are.
One simply cannot become strong in martial arts overnight.
However…
*‘Fighting is a different story.’*
With just a few corrections, one could become significantly stronger.
I mean, look at *The Art of Fighting*.
The scrawny protagonist learned from that old mentor for a couple of months and became the toughest kid in school.
So, who could play the role of that mentor in our current situation?
*‘It has to be Master Bukgung.’*
Who else but Bukgung Baek, one of the Ten Great Masters and hailed as the ultimate master of practical combat?
Of course.
“I was wondering what nonsense you’d spout after visiting for the first time in ages, and it turns out to be complete and utter bullshit.”
I was reminded once again that nothing in this world ever goes my way.
“…Isn’t there some way? You’re one of the Ten Great Masters, after all.”
“So, you want me to personally inspect the martial arts of over seven hundred people?”
“Can’t you do that much for your disciple?”
*Fwoosh.*
The Black Dragon Hand flew at me like a bolt of lightning.
“!”
As a member of the martial world’s upper crust, I couldn’t afford to be a disciple who gets beaten.
*Kwoooar.*
The War King Aura I had been cultivating even before meeting Master Bukgung formed the War Dragon Aura.
*Kwaaang!*
With a sound like a grenade exploding, my master’s room was wrecked.
“Geez, you could have just used your words. Look at the state of this roo—!”
*Boom! Crack.*
A palm strike slammed into my chest mid-sentence.
It was so fast that the War Dragon Aura couldn’t even react.
“*Cough*.”
I flew through the wall, letting out a dry cough.
The force was so great that if I hadn’t been wearing the Dragon Scale Armor, I would have suffered internal injuries.
But today, I had no intention of losing either.
“How can you be so irresponsible?”
“What did you say?”
“Frankly, you’re the one who pushed me to start my own sect, weren’t you? Saying the White Dragon Hall’s businesses originally belonged to the Bukgung Clan.”
“…You’re asking for a beating.”
“Hmph, you should brace yourself too, Master. Today, I’ll show you firsthand what it means for the new generation to surpass the old.”
* * *
I got beaten to a pulp.
He only hit the areas covered by the Dragon Scale Armor, so it wasn’t visible, but on the inside, I could feel dead blood surging up.
As I glared at the old man Bukgung with resentful eyes, he said something incomprehensible.
“How was it?”
“…What do you mean, how was it? It just hurt like hell.”
“…It seems you need another round.”
“W-Wait! Let’s talk, let’s talk this out.”
“I’ll give you some time. Think about why I beat you up.”
He took a gourd filled with liquor and plopped down on the floor.
I noticed his servants, who were ex-spies, repairing his demolished room.
Seeing that, I gritted my teeth.
*Damn it, he just beat me for no reason and is trying to justify it now.*
It’s not like it was tough love or anything.
The pain lingered, so I took off the Dragon Scale Armor to check the bruised areas.
Fortunately, I wasn’t seriously injured.
It seemed the pain was amplified because old man Bukgung’s internal energy was so potent.
Still, I was amazed by the effectiveness of the Dragon Scale Armor, which had blocked an attack from a Transcendent-level master.
I offered a silent thanks to the first toad of the Martial Emperor Fortress who gave me the armor, and to the third toad who created the opportunity.
*I would have died if not for the Dragon Scale Armor… huh?*
Suddenly, a memory from my past life surfaced.
The memory of getting paddled in a line while wearing five pairs of underwear.
“Gasp!”
Master Bukgung seemed to notice and spoke in a low voice.
“The Black Martial Lance and the Black Martial Arts are military techniques. In that case, what do you think is needed?”
“…Armor. To block the enemy’s attacks.”
“Horses would be even better. Military martial arts are mostly designed for cavalry.”
“Seriously?”
You could have just told me that from the start.