Chapter 149
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: One Person Should Be Possible, Right?
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[I'll go check on the kids for a bit...]
Poof.
Perhaps because they'd just heard such an astonishing tale,
Yuna Kyung had left the room via Space Movement with a fatigued expression only moments ago.
Then, unexpectedly, a visitor arrived at the reception room.
"Did your talk with Wang Family Head go well?"
"...Why'd you come here, Princess?"
The black-haired girl who entered through the door.
Li Chingwei tilted her head at Rimon's sullen question.
"Was it bad timing for me to show up?"
"No, it's not about the timing. I'm asking what you did with the remaining work."
"I left the paperwork sorting to another clan member instead of the Sword Duke, but it ended up taking longer than expected. So I came down for a bit until it's done."
"You could handle the paperwork just fine without sorting it, couldn't you?"
"It's a matter of efficiency."
She explained that without proper rest, productivity drops.
Rimon shot Li Chingwei a subtle look as she answered so innocently, then glanced toward what was in front of her.
"So that's why you're here? You even brought all that?"
"Even for the same rest, having tea time with some simple refreshments is far more effective."
"That doesn't look like 'simple' refreshments to me."
A steaming teapot.
Towers of layered pastries stacked seven high.
And a variety of other snacks to boot.
No matter how he looked at it, it was far beyond a simple tea time—enough for a full tea party and then some. Rimon scratched his cheek indifferently,
but Li Chingwei wheeled in the cart and replied lightly.
"Well, it's a happy occasion, after all. No time for a full party right now, so we'll raise a toast with these treats instead."
"...Don't tell me you didn't come with us earlier to prepare this?"
"Who knows? What do you think?"
Li Chingwei answered with an enigmatic smile.
She personally set out the refreshments, poured tea into the cups she'd placed down, and continued.
"Congratulations on subjugating the Shanghai Wang Clan, Sword Duke."
"Is this really something worth celebrating?"
"Of course. You've finally secured a faction loyal solely to you within the Seven Dragon Society."
Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
Until now, even though Rimon held a superior position in the Black Dragon Clan, it had been more like riding on her name as her prospective consort for show.
The Guardians, for instance, were just escorts she'd assigned, managed as her personal attendants.
But things were different now.
By resolving this incident, he'd not only proven his power as a Sword Master,
but also gained the Shanghai Wang Clan's forces. No one in the Black Dragon Clan could dismiss him as mere pretense anymore.
In other words, Rimon had finally established the bare minimum foundation to turn the Seven Dragon Society into his own power base.
"The Shanghai Wang Clan's strength and wealth are no small matter. At the very least, they'll serve as a solid vanguard when you take control of the Seven Dragon Society."
The Shanghai Wang Clan was a prestigious family.
Their total assets alone surpassed those of most major corporations, and they had ample power and talent to maintain their own armed forces.
If one viewed the Seven Dragon Society as a vast empire and its clans as kingdoms, the Shanghai Wang Clan was akin to a lord with its own independent territory.
Subjugating them meant claiming that territory.
The implications were huge.
No matter how skilled a knight, one alone was just a swordsman. But a lord with territory could contend for hegemony.
The Shanghai Wang Clan was merely the starting point.
Building from there, Rimon could expand his influence and amass far greater wealth and power.
Just like the countless conquerors in history who rose from tiny fiefdoms to kings—or beyond.
"Besides, among the new constellation powers you've gained, Sword Duke, some will be incredibly useful for expanding your forces going forward."
What Rimon gained from repelling the Liberation Brigade wasn't just fame and the Shanghai Wang Clan.
The powers from Ryu Gangcheol, Eugene, and Bellos's constellations, freshly absorbed after he beheaded them.
That alone vastly expanded what he could accomplish.
But the greatest boon was mastering the Violin of the Dark Heart completely.
He'd fully assimilated three constellations' powers with a single performance for Eugene.
To Rimon and Li Chingwei, this held profound significance.
With the side effects of absorbing starlight fragments gone, Rimon could now hunt constellations at will.
"How could I not congratulate you when you've gained so much, Sword Duke?"
She beamed as if she'd gained it all herself.
Rimon chuckled at Li Chingwei's delighted grin.
"By that logic, you're not the only one who deserves congratulations."
Rimon took the teapot from Li Chingwei's hand.
Surprised by the unexpected move,
she blinked wide-eyed for a moment.
Soon, with a joyful smile, she offered her teacup politely with both hands. As he poured, Rimon said calmly,
"Congratulations on reclaiming control of your clan, Black Dragon Princess."
"The elders' faction is still out there, yet you congratulate me too soon."
"It's just a matter of sooner or later."
Rimon smirked.
In truth, she'd gained far more from this than he had.
She'd erased decades of built-up distrust and restored her authority as princess.
Don't underestimate mere authority.
In the Seven Dragon Society—a cult and crime syndicate rolled into one—the princess's authority was absolute.
It was impressive that Li Chingwei had orchestrated such a scheme, throwing that absolute authority into the dirt just to block one Rimon.
"You made excellent use of this incident."
"A crisis is just an opportunity in disguise."
Rimon set down the teapot and offered his cup.
She gently clinked hers against it and continued steadily.
"Truth be told, as you said, Sword Duke, fully seizing the clan is only a matter of time. What we should worry about is something else."
"The Liberation Brigade?"
"Yes."
Having just discussed them with Yuna Kyung, Rimon wasn't surprised.
He simply asked calmly.
"Think you can catch them?"
"To be honest, the Black Dragon Clan's power alone isn't enough."
"Yeah, figured as much."
Rimon nodded at the expected answer.
The Liberation Brigade was a ghostly organization that global law enforcement had chased with bared teeth, yet never caught.
Just three of them had turned the Black Dragon Clan's subsidiaries—and even Hotel Leviathan—upside down.
Of course, if this were the Zhonghua Seventy-Seven Federal States, they wouldn't have rampaged so freely.
It was just a branch to begin with, and in this nation Rimon had guarded for centuries, the Black Dragon Clan's influence was negligible compared to the mainland.
Even accounting for all that, the Liberation Brigade was undeniably dangerous.
Finding them was secondary.
Even elite experts at the attendant level would likely suffer backlash without capturing them.
"And there's something else that's worrying me."
"Worrying? You?"
Rimon looked puzzled.
No words fit the scheming Black Dragon Princess less.
She asked him calmly,
"Do you remember? When we first met, Sword Duke, the Infinite Monarch was pursuing me."
"Hm... Yeah, now that you mention it."
He'd been focused on claiming the blood pact then and forgotten, but it wasn't something to overlook.
Even for a lord like the Infinite Monarch, touching Li Chingwei risked all-out war with the Seven Dragon Society.
"I asked him about it when we met this time. Why he was tracking me."
"What'd that pie-in-the-sky say?"
"He wanted the Black Dragon Clan's supreme treasure that I possess."
The moment he heard that,
Rimon unconsciously raised an eyebrow.
He stared at her silently, then tilted his head and asked seriously,
"What's that?"
"Beats me. What could it be?"
She tilted her head curiously, matching him, and continued nonchalantly.
"According to the Infinite Monarch, it's a supreme treasure containing our ancestors' power, granting its owner the might of an absolute being."
"...I've fought you lot for centuries, and this is the first I've heard of it."
Rimon's face grew more sullen.
"What a coincidence. Even as a princess of the Seven Dragon Society, I had no idea we had such a treasure."
She'd been baffled when she heard it too,
so he was free to be baffled as well.
Li Chingwei nodded with a sly smile and added meaningfully,
"So I asked the Infinite Monarch about the rumor’s source, and an interesting name came up."
"...Don't tell me it's that bastard."
"Yes. Park Hyeon-gun, the section chief who personally handed over the blood pact to you, Sword Duke."
Rimon wore a strange expression, not expecting to hear that name again.
Li Chingwei explained calmly.
"Not surprising. He managed Infinity Guild on the Infinite Monarch's behalf, and all key intel went through him."
"But it's different if the intel's fake."
"True."
"...For a so-called lord to buy into such dubious info means it must've been rock-solid."
"Few organizations could fabricate and leak info subtle enough to fool even the top ten guilds."
"And that guy..."
"Had ties to the Liberation Brigade."
From the start, using their base as a trap with explosives to lure Rimon was proof Park Hyeon-gun was connected.
So it was entirely plausible for the Liberation Brigade to feed him specific intel.
"You're saying the Liberation Brigade used that bastard to pit Infinity Guild—and you—against each other?"
"Hard to say. Honestly, we can't know if their goal was just conflict or something bigger."
Li Chingwei shook her head.
The tail, Park Hyeon-gun, was dead, and even alive, he wouldn't know their secrets.
But she brought it up for another reason.
"The key point is the possibility that the Liberation Brigade's reach extends to the other top ten guilds too."
"Isn't that a bit paranoid?"
"If we look only at this incident, yes."
One case with Park Hyeon-gun was too much speculation.
Traitors could be anywhere.
So she said quietly,
"But what if the Liberation Brigade's ghost declared that even if the Seven Dragon Society falls, the top ten guilds won't step in?"
"...You're sure?"
"I wrung it out of him with the Soul Subjugation Demonic Eye Style."
"Damn it all..."
Rimon cursed.
As the Seven Dragon Society's archenemy, he knew the terror of that technique well.
Including why Bellos could make such a claim under it.
"If the top ten guilds are really tangled with the Liberation Brigade, this is way beyond what the Black Dragon Clan can handle alone."
The top ten guilds were this era's overlords.
No matter how many high-level players, they outclassed a mere crime syndicate like the Liberation Brigade.
But if the Brigade had roots in their cores, like manipulating Lee Cheongi via Park Hyeon-gun?
Swatting a bug could end up facing a beast.
"Yes, the Black Dragon Clan's power alone won't cut it."
Li Chingwei readily admitted their shortfall.
But Rimon didn't miss the repeated premise in her words.
"...So in the end, to catch the Liberation Brigade, we need the full might of the Seven Dragon Society."
"Exactly."
Nothing new there.
The Liberation Brigade just accelerated the need.
From the moment they decided to confront the constellations, rallying the entire society was inevitable.
The issue was how.
"You don't have the pull to move the Seven Dragon Society right now, do you?"
"No."
The Black Dragon Clan had sold off nearly half their stake in Hotel Leviathan.
Even within the Seven Dragon Society, Li Chingwei's voice carried no weight after such losses.
"So we have to win over the other princesses... Think that's doable?"
"Not with ordinary methods."
"Even with unconventional ones, same deal."
Rimon furrowed his brow.
Even he couldn't force the Seven Dragon Society's princesses.
Threats or blackmail wouldn't work on foes who'd opposed him for centuries.
They'd need voluntary cooperation, but Li Chingwei's persuasion—already betrothed to Rimon—would fall flat.
To them, he was the society's mortal enemy.
"Well, I used to think that way too..."
"...Why's it in past tense?"
That was why.
Rimon eyed her odd expression suspiciously.
"Not certain, but... at least one might be persuadable."