Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 222
Chapter Title: Upheaval in Nine Dragons Fortress
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Next to the War King Pavilion was an underground storeroom I had built myself.
It was a cellar dug deep into the ground, intended for making ice to enjoy iced green tea or iced white tea.
And now, lying within it was the preserved body of the Lord of the Fortress.
I had planned to keep him here until someone from the Green Dragon Hall arrived, but I felt I should pay my respects and thank him for saving my life.
“They say any life is better than none, so why did you make such a choice…? It’s truly a pity.”
“He was an old man. Perhaps he no longer clung to life.”
“…”
I shook my head.
Just like his son, Master Bukgung, Grandmaster War King seemed indifferent to another’s death.
Perhaps because he was used to killing people, the concept of respecting life seemed to be completely absent from his mind.
‘I guess there’s no helping it. A humanitarian like me will have to take control…’
In contrast, Yu So-pyeong and the Three Freaks of Dang, who had come to pay their respects with me, were shedding tears as they bowed.
As the Grand Chancellor’s son and former members of the Green Dragon Hall, they had known the Lord for a long time, so the shock must have been immense.
“My lord…”
“*Sob*, my lord!”
“*Wails*! How could you leave us like this?”
“I’m… so… sorry…”
“…”
Feeling a bit awkward just standing there next to the crying people, I dragged the War King out of the tear-filled cellar.
A short while later.
At Yu So-pyeong’s request, we had a tea time in my room.
“There is word that the atmosphere in Nine Dragons Fortress is unsettling.”
“Suddenly?”
“When a king dies, it is the way of things for his vassals to begin a power struggle.”
“Hmm…”
In a way, it was a natural course of events.
Nine Dragons Fortress was a megacorporation formed by eight major shareholders. Any of the halls could think, *Perhaps it’s my turn?* and challenge for the position of Lord.
However, the late Lord had been no ordinary man, and the line of succession was already firmly established.
“The Green Dragon Hall Master has reached the Transcendent State. Will they truly challenge him?”
To think he had reached that state and kept it completely hidden.
The Green Dragon Hall Master was no ordinary man either.
If it were me, I would have boasted about it to the entire neighborhood.
And beaten up a few people I didn’t like.
“My father tells me that public opinion in the Forest of Recluses is not good.”
The problem was that the situation was taking a strange turn.
“…That place actually exists?”
“There is no smoke without fire.”
Looking at the letter Yu So-pyeong handed me, I saw a warning that the Forest of Recluses might make a move, along with a brief summary of the sentiment among them.
“…The Green Dragon Hall has been in power for a long time.”
Their argument was that although the Dang Clan had made sacrifices to play a leading role in the establishment of Nine Dragons Fortress, if the position of Lord was held exclusively by the Green Dragon Hall, the other seven clans could harbor resentment.
“Yes, after all, someone from the Green Dragon Hall has held the position of Lord three times now. It’s not unreasonable for such talk to arise.”
“Still, is there anyone suitable besides the Green Dragon Hall Master?”
By defeating the Ten Demon Alliance, Nine Dragons Fortress had become a power rivaling the Martial Emperor Fortress for supremacy under the heavens.
To ascend to the leadership of such a power, one needed martial strength capable of contending for that supremacy.
Only then would the thousands of masters follow.
From that perspective, there was no one in Nine Dragons Fortress more qualified than the Green Dragon Hall Master.
The only drawback one could point out about him was that until now, he had been solely focused on cultivating his own martial prowess, paying no mind to anything else.
“But his political power is weak.”
“That’s because the Green Dragon Hall cut off external activities and went into seclusion. He can just start being active now, can’t he?”
“By that logic, the Forest of Recluses can compensate for a new lord’s lack of martial might.”
Hearing Yu So-pyeong’s words, I had a feeling this situation would not be resolved easily.
“Why are those old geezers on their deathbeds causing trouble…?”
“No one knows the exact reason, but… it seems someone has drawn them in.”
“Who?”
“Someone who wants to become the Lord, I imagine.”
A few suspects came to mind, but I quickly shook my head.
There was nothing I, a semi-outsider, could do even if I found out. Besides, I detested politics.
What mattered was how the turmoil in Nine Dragons Fortress would affect us.
“Hmm… Will this have anything to do with us?”
“The impact won’t be significant. No matter who becomes the Lord, the current War King Sect possesses power comparable to the eight inner halls. Our contributions in this war were not small, either. However.”
Yu So-pyeong finished his tea and continued.
“The fact remains that a trustworthy person must become the Lord.”
“That’s true.”
It was obvious.
No matter how much of a super-subcontractor we had become, a subcontractor was still a subcontractor, and the client was still the client.
Being on bad terms with the CEO of the client company would inevitably lead to losses.
“The war isn’t over yet, so we have plenty of time. We have to go to the fortress for the Lord’s funeral anyway.”
He rose from his seat.
“I will look for a solution by then. I also need to figure out what’s going on.”
“If you need information, shall I introduce you to the Lord of the Underworld Guild? You can put the fees on my tab.”
“Ah, I’ve already met Lord Yong through General Manager Myo’s introduction. He had a very impressive, shiny head.”
“…”
My boy So-pyeong, so efficient and reliable.
* * *
The war was not over.
The remnants of the demonic path were returning to the Heavenly Mountains to carry out the final order of the Lord of the Ten Demon Alliance.
The war would only truly end when all four thousand of them were dealt with.
However, Hanzhong, which had no part in the fight against the remnants of the Ten Demon Alliance, was busy with post-war recovery.
The pressing issues needed to be resolved as quickly as possible for the city to return to its former vibrancy.
The first task was to revitalize the commercial district.
There were concerns that merchants would avoid the city due to rumors of poor public safety immediately after the war, but the solution turned out to be surprisingly simple.
“You don’t have to do anything. Ah, but you do have to answer my confession.”
“What? Why? And I’ll give you my answer after this whole situation is sorted out. So many people have died, you know?”
“Hmph.”
She pouted but still obediently gave me the answer.
“It’s because the expensive tolls collected by the Ten Demon Alliance are gone.”
“Ah.”
“And that’s not all. There’s more good news.”
“More?”
“In preparation for the war, the Ten Demon Alliance plundered all the wealth from the commercial cities in three provinces: Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang.”
“And that’s good news?”
“Come on, that means the entire region has been devastated. So where will the merchants who used to trade there come now?”
I couldn’t help but be impressed as she pinpointed the core of the issue.
She truly was born with the makings of a tycoon.
“…Indeed, your business acumen reaches the heavens, sister.”
“Hahaha, you’re only just realizing that now? If you really want to do something for me, pave the roads.”
“The roads?”
“To attract more customers, the path to get here must be convenient. Oh, how about you secure the roads as well? If the warriors of the War King Sect patrol the roads, bandits won’t even dare to show their faces, right?”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to the elders about it.”
“Yes. But I’d like to know the date you’ll give me your answer in advance. I need to prepare myself, you know?”
“…”
Well, that’s more or less how it went.
The next urgent matter was population distribution.
During the war, we had evacuated the area south of Gansu Province and sent its people to Hanzhong.
Although many went elsewhere, the promise of enough food to survive for a while drew over half of them—more than seventy thousand people—to Hanzhong.
This was seven times the original population of Hanzhong and a quarter of the population of Nine Dragons Fortress or Chengdu. It was a number that Hanzhong, given its size, could not possibly accommodate.
We had no choice but to give them a little money and food and send them back to their hometowns, but the Military Affairs Department, including Yu So-pyeong, expressed a concern.
“If we send them back like this, a significant number of them won’t survive the winter.”
“Assuming they’re frugal, about one silver tael per person should be enough…”
“Hordes of bandits could attack them.”
“Can’t we dispatch warriors to escort them?”
“There’s no guarantee that bandits won’t come after they reach their homes, and they might even rob each other. Besides, we’re short on warriors as it is; we can’t afford to send them on months-long dispatch missions.”
“But we can’t have them all live in Hanzhong either…”
It was a dilemma.
However, the answer came from an unexpected place.
“How about mobilizing them to build the roads? We need the manpower anyway, and if we provide daily wages and food, their survival won’t be an issue. And since the road they’re building is the way to their homes, they can travel safely.”
The person who came up with this brilliant idea, which made me want to shout ‘Eureka!’, was none other than Jeok Hwa-ran.
As I gave her a look of admiration, she seemed to blush slightly as she continued.
“The problem is money. My sister Myo Hyang said the merchant guild would cover some of it…”
Yu So-pyeong cut Jeok Hwa-ran off.
“Don’t worry about the money. I have a way.”
He took out something he had hidden deep within his desk.
“This is the operational agreement we made with Nine Dragons Fortress in preparation for the war against the Ten Demon Alliance.”
“And?”
“Look closely at the very bottom here. See what it says.”
“Why is the writing so small? Nine… Dragons Fortress will bear the full cost of the war expenses incurred by the War King Sect?”
“Hehehe, that’s right. I discreetly slipped it in when I was negotiating with the Grand Chancellor, my father in private. In the smallest font possible. We can use this to get the money from Nine Dragons Fortress.”
“Hey.”
Working hard is good, but you can’t be scamming your own father.
What if he disowns you…?
* * *
After resolving all the administrative issues, only three problems remained.
Public safety, security, and veteran affairs.
Public safety was a minor issue. The Hanzhong garrison, having received medals, voluntarily stepped up to protect the city.
I awarded the War King Martial Merit Medal to the Black Dragon Gate Master, who had distinguished himself in this war, the Iron-Blooded Martial Merit Medal to Geum Ja-hwan, Sa Ma-heun, and the Dragon-Slaying Gate Master, and the Steel Martial Merit Medal to the rest of the garrison.
Although they were only medals of honor, everyone was satisfied, saying they would treat them as family heirlooms.
After all, this was the martial world, where things like honor and reputation were highly valued.
The next thing I focused on was honoring those who died in this war.
Given the era, opinions were divided, and a fierce debate ensued, but my will was firm.
“If we neglect them, who will risk their lives to fight for us in the future?”
Everyone in the War King Sect had to agree. He wasn’t wrong.
While everyone agreed on the principle of honoring them, another lengthy argument followed about what the benefits should be.
In the end, three benefits were decided upon.
Sufficient education, stable employment, and tax reductions.
If the only remaining family was a child, the sect would take them in. If only the elderly remained, we would provide support to ensure they could live.
Although it was a far cry from modern-day workers’ compensation, everyone in the War King Sect was so overjoyed upon hearing it that they cheered three times.
“They’re even taking care of our families! What kind of insane policy is this!”
“*Sob*! What are you all doing! Bow to the Sect Master!”
“Long live the Sect Master! Long live the Sect Master! Long live the Sect Master!”
“…”
It was a moment that once again brought the term ‘labor rights’ to mind.
By the way, I wasn’t sure if it was okay for them to cheer ‘long live’ for me, even if the emperor was just a figurehead.
And so.
To solve the final remaining problem of security, I left the War King Sect.
Through this war, I had realized the importance of numbers.
I couldn’t count how many times I had nearly died while fighting the main force of the Ten Demon Alliance.
‘Ah, it was twice.’
In any case, the important point was that if the War King Sect had more members, far fewer people would have died in the war.
Of course, numbers alone don’t solve everything.
The strength of a sect is evaluated by combining individual martial prowess, teamwork, and even mentality.
If the predecessor of the War King Sect hadn’t been the Jinmu Academy, a martial arts school, we would have struggled much more, even with the same number of members.
In that sense, I sought a way to secure our forces as quickly as possible.
“We behold the Dragon’s Presence!”
It was to merge with and acquire the Black Dragon Gate.
“…”
Seriously, can’t they stop with that greeting?
