Chapter 99
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: People Don't Change
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You're gonna kill the enemy we went to the trouble of capturing alive, just like that!?"
The pop-eyed young man looked utterly shocked, as if he hadn't expected to be executed on the spot.
Even Wailing, who was coldly pressing her foot down on his chest, raised an objection.
"I oppose that."
"See? My comrade gets it!"
"Even if we're going to kill him, we should torture him first, don't you think?"
"You see that, comrade!?"
The young man wore a look of utter betrayal, as if his trusted mascot had turned on him like some magical girl scorned.
But just as there was no taking back a contract with a mascot, Wailing ignored his reaction and continued.
"If you're scared of torture, just confess who your comrades and backers are. Then we'll cut the torture time in half."
"So torture's a given even if I confess!?"
"If you wanted an easy death, you shouldn't have messed with the Seven Dragon Society."
Wailing gazed down at him with chilling eyes.
It was clear this pop-eyed young man was one of the culprits behind the massacre at Heukryong Construction.
And today, he'd caused another slaughter at Cheonhwa Department Store, an affiliate of the Black Dragon Clan.
For that, he deserved at least a thousand of the Seven Dragon Society's thirty-six thousand five hundred torture techniques—none of which would let him die easily.
[Hey, just kill him already.]
The moment she heard Rimon's words, Wailing furrowed her brow.
If not for the lingering afterimage of his sword swing, she might have snapped like Shelung.
"What nonsense is that!?"
"Nonsense? If you're thinking about human rights, it's the obvious call!"
Perhaps seeing a path to an easy death, the young man was grinning ear to ear.
But Rimon's response was ice-cold mockery.
[Human rights are for humans. You think I'd give a damn about the rights of a bastard like you?]
"Now you're not even treating me like a person!?"
"Then why kill him?"
Ignoring the young man's shock, Wailing quietly asked for the reason.
Rimon wouldn't let something like sentimentality make him advocate for a merciful death.
[Suspicious.]
"What do you mean?"
[Doesn't it seem off? This guy who slipped away like a ghost from every affiliate where we sent in force gets caught just like that fighting you alone?]
"...You're saying he let himself get captured on purpose?"
[My gut says so.]
"That's ridiculous! What would he gain from getting caught on purpose?"
Wailing looked grave, but Shelung exploded in anger.
No one with a brain made of tofu would fail to grasp that capture by them meant the most gruesome death.
Even a madman wouldn't deliberately get caught knowing that.
But Rimon's attitude was nonchalant.
[Plenty to gain.]
"What?"
[Spread a plague as a POW, gather intel on the enemy camp, or even bribe a torturer to turn him into an inside spy.]
"That's pure speculation! By your logic, we'd have to kill every prisoner outright!"
Shelung shot back immediately.
This pop-eyed punk was a fiend threatening the clan before he was the killer of his men.
They couldn't kill him yet—not without extracting info.
If the fiend died now, the credit would all go to the Guardian, and he'd bear the blame for failing to protect the affiliate.
Whether reading Shelung's thoughts or just too lazy to argue, Rimon replied flatly.
[Not all of them. Just learn to tell the ones who'll pull that crap from the ones who won't.]
"And how exactly do you tell?!"
[I'm an expert at it.]
"Hah, didn't know the Sword Duke was versed in such dirty tricks."
[Yeah, I wasn't at first. But some folks used 'em so often, I ended up an expert.]
"Where are these lunatics!?"
[Right here. You guys.]
Shelung froze solid.
Speaking for him, Wailing quietly asked.
"You mean us?"
[Didn't you know? Infiltrating as a POW was something the Seven Dragon Society—especially the Black Dragon Clan—used to excel at back in the day.]
"... ."
Unfortunately, Wailing had no comeback.
Given the Black Dragon Clan's nature of schemes and plots, it was no surprise they'd stoop to that.
In fact, getting captured and using honey traps or disinformation was part of their elementary training.
"Th-that's different from this!"
[You think so?]
"Either way, your only basis for killing him now is your hunch! We can't risk losing vital intel over something so trivial!"
[Oh yeah? Let me ask one thing.]
"What?"
To the desperately arguing Shelung, Rimon quietly posed.
[I felt it when that smartass called me too. Didn't he drag things out weirdly?]
"What do you... ."
[Like wasting time on pointless chit-chat mid-fight, or toying with someone instead of killing quick.]
"... ."
Shelung flinched.
The punk had been oddly talkative, for sure.
He'd even waited while Wailing took Rimon's call, and overall, he'd spent more time yapping than fighting.
If that was deliberate?
[Could be he just loves hearing himself talk, the mad bastard.]
As if preempting Shelung's rebuttal, Rimon added quietly.
[But if not? Why stall? It's not like Heukryong Construction, where everything was cut off from the outside.]
"You're saying he dragged it out waiting for someone to come grab him?"
"No way!"
Shelung shouted like a cornered animal.
That would mean his fierce battle was just the punk playing him.
But his flushed face and wavering eyes betrayed his agitation.
"...Just to confirm one last time. We really don't need to interrogate him?"
[Nope. If he planned to get caught, he's got countermeasures for torture too. Prepared lies are worse than nothing.]
"Understood, then."
"What do you understand, comrade!? Comrade!"
With her resolve set, Wailing tightened her grip on her sword.
The moment the young man realized and opened his mouth to scream—
"Could you hold off a moment?"
Wailing paused.
Not just from the sudden interruption.
It was the middle-aged man who appeared with it, sporting a mustache that curled up on both ends.
"Lord Wang, family head!"
"...What brings you here?"
"What kind of question is that? I came running like my feet were on fire when I heard a fiend showed up."
Shelung's ashen face lit up at the mustached man, Wang Gineung.
Wailing, however, stayed stone-cold.
With Shelung alone, she might've executed the pop-eyed youth anyway.
But with Shanghai Wang Family head Wang Gineung here, unilateral execution was off the table.
[Oh, Wang branch chief's here.]
"Hm? That voice—could it be the Sword Duke?"
[Don't play dumb. How many people you know with a voice like mine?]
"My apologies! Who else but the Sword Duke has such a deep, majestic timbre?"
True to the Shanghai Wang family head.
Even mid-call, Wang Gineung never forgot flattery.
But even as he rubbed his palms, his eyes sharply assessed the situation.
"I hope I didn't interrupt your call...?"
[Nah, perfect timing actually.]
Despite the interruption halting the execution, Rimon skipped right over it.
Perfectly casual.
[Got a favor to ask the Wang branch chief.]
"A favor?"
Wang looked puzzled, unable to guess what it could be.
Rimon said breezily,
[About that bastard there. I'd appreciate if you'd kill him right now.]
"You want me to kill him?"
[Yeah.]
"Why me?"
[He's one of the fiends behind the Heukryong Construction massacre. Revenge feels off if it's not by your own hand.]
Only then did Wailing grasp why Rimon said it was perfect timing.
The Shanghai Wangs were hunting their enemies.
Even if the fiend intruded first, having an outsider summarily execute one might rub them wrong.
But if Wang Gineung did it himself, problem solved.
"I see... Leaving this to me out of consideration—truly, the Sword Duke has a generous heart."
[Skip the bootlicking. Just do it.]
"Yes, sir. I'll take him and handle it properly, as requested."
It was something he wanted anyway, so Wang Gineung grinned and nodded—
[...Wang branch chief.]
A chilling voice echoed through the air.
Wailing and Shelung suddenly felt a shiver down their spines.
[What the hell's this bullshit?]
"Pardon?"
[I asked you to kill that bastard right now. Why are you talking about taking him away to 'handle it'?]
Rimon wasn't even here.
Yet the voice alone conveyed bone-chilling pressure.
A criminal would've fainted just from hearing it.
But Wang Gineung didn't bat an eye.
Just chuckled.
"However I kill my enemy is my business, right?"
[...You think you can ignore me like that?]
"Ignore? Perish the thought. You're the clan's overall security chief, not my lord."
[Wang Gineung.]
Rimon was still just an outsider to the clan.
No authority to command until he formally engaged Li Chingwei.
To the smiling Wang, he said quietly,
[I already yielded plenty by giving you the chance to finish that bastard.]
"Grateful for that."
[And you still gotta take more than I offered? After promising not to forget my grace?]
"You said not to worry about repaying such a minor grace."
When yielding the fiend pursuit.
Wang pointed out Rimon's words—no demand for repayment, just a grace bestowed.
Grinning slyly, he added,
"Besides, I said I wouldn't forget—not that I'd repay."
Hearing that, Wailing unconsciously frowned.
Even Shelung, who'd sided with him emotionally, was momentarily speechless.
No matter their poor reputation, it was too brazen for a famed master warrior and noble clan head.
But Rimon neither raged nor faltered.
Just murmured lazily,
[Yeah... That's the Black Dragon Clan for you.]