Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 232
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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“Were you planning this from the start?”
“Your mouth is all red. Let me clean it up a bit…”
Sluurp…
Kang Seol wiped around Seolhong’s mouth.
The spicy sauce smeared onto her pristine handkerchief and vanished.
“Y-You startled me! I thought it was just simple scouting…”
“So, what did you think?”
Seolhong glanced around furtively before saying,
“This must be part of the plan too, right?”
“Correct.”
“I could tell from the crowd chanting your name around us. In truth…”
She leaned close to Kang Seol and whispered softly.
“…this was the plan, wasn’t it?”
“…Who told you?”
“Am I right? Hearing the audience rattle off Daesan’s history without even being curious—it painted a clear picture in my mind.”
“You nailed it. Impressive.”
“I-If I’m not an idiot, anyone could guess it. Don’t overhype me.”
Kang Seol was genuinely surprised by Seolhong.
She hadn’t gathered intel herself, yet she’d pieced together the broad strokes of their plan from mere snippets dropped by the audience.
‘Does she have more talent than I thought?’
Perhaps she was being underrated precisely because she currently lacked power.
“But will it come together within the deadline?”
“That’s what worries you, then.”
“This plan is worthless if it doesn’t draw out that guy, Kwak Sung, right?”
“Exactly. Which is why we need one more step to get there.”
“What…”
Kang Seol explained the next part of the plan to Seolhong.
She listened quietly, then spoke with a dubious expression.
“Where are we supposed to find someone like that?”
“Money makes the impossible possible, doesn’t it?”
“Not wrong, but… we don’t even have the cash to hire people. You’re not planning to empty your pockets for it, are you?”
“I could, but this money needs to go toward something more important. So, here’s what I’m thinking…”
* * *
If you had to pick the most comfortable places to sleep in Yocheon, it’d be the ultra-luxury suites at upscale brothels or the mansions of local magnates.
But the absolute best spot for a sound sleep was undoubtedly the arena manager’s bedroom.
There, a middle-aged man sprawled on the legendary bedding—where even tossing and turning wouldn’t dislodge the embroidered butterflies from the pillow—jolted awake.
With a horrific scream.
“Kwaaaagh!”
The maid outside jumped in alarm and rushed inside.
“What’s wrong…”
“Huff… huff…”
“…Another nightmare?”
“Huuuh… huuuh…”
The middle-aged man was Kwak Sung, master of the Warrior’s Heart. A massive scar across his face and his dead-fish eyes made him look utterly ferocious.
And he was, in fact.
“Huff… heh… Don’t overstep.”
“……Understood.”
“Get out. Don’t come into my room unless I call for you.”
“I’m sorry.”
The maid scurried away.
Kwak Sung straightened his disheveled clothes.
The dream he’d just had lingered vividly.
- Kwak Sung… tell me…
- …Daesan?
Daesan’s death.
Kwak Sung wasn’t a child anymore, yet he dreaded thunderous nights and wailed like a ghost on days plagued by nightmares.
A downpour like a hole torn in the sky had taken Daesan away.
Daesan had died on a rainy day.
That was why Kwak Sung hated rainy days.
“Heh heh heh heh… Daesan… Why do you still torment me? Did I wrong you? Is that why your ghost comes for me on rainy days?”
There was no reply from the dead.
Exhausted, Kwak Sung slumped into an ornate chair. He had wealth and power, yet he wasn’t happier than before.
Back then, he hadn’t realized how much more valuable the thrill of the challenger’s life was than the boredom of a conqueror’s.
“Why was that…”
- Daesan, from now on, that’s your name.
- Daesan… my name…
Long ago—very long ago—he’d bought a hulking slave. Despite his station, which barely filled his belly, the man had an impressive build.
Even then, as a famed gambler, Kwak Sung had spotted at a glance that he wasn’t ordinary.
He bought him on the spot and named him Daesan. On a whim, he even bought his scrawny younger brother and named him Daeha.
- Show me your potential.
Kwak Sung taught Daesan martial arts.
Not personally, of course. Kwak Sung couldn’t even perform basic breathing exercises properly, so that was inevitable.
He hired instructors instead.
At first, unsure of any talent, he didn’t splurge on top-tier ones.
Daesan was just a slave back then, after all.
But…
- His talent is extraordinary. Daesan needs a master better than me.
Was the first instructor slacking for pay? Impertinently, he claimed he wasn’t good enough for Daesan’s gifts.
Figuring no real loss, Kwak Sung hired the next. And the next. This went on for years.
- With my meager skills…
- A genius! Daesan will go down in history…
- He should formally train at Mount Sinwang…
Daesan was no ordinary man.
He possessed a phenomenal talent, one in a hundred—no, a million.
From some point, Kwak Sung quit gambling.
A gambler quits for only two reasons:
They’ve lost everything, or they’ve found something more fun.
Kwak Sung was the latter.
- Daesan, I’ll unleash you on the world. Go shatter it.
- Do I have to break?
- What choice is there? Think the world will leave you be? Your talent’s rare, but crazier bastards abound.
Daesan laughed.
Before, Kwak Sung had whipped any slave showing expression in his presence.
Yet for some reason, he couldn’t with Daesan’s smile.
Kwak Sung loosed the beast called Daesan into the Warrior’s Heart arena. He figured some veteran hunter would eventually collar him.
- Daesan! Daesan!
- Daesan wins again!
- Hahaha! I come these days just for Daesan!
But Daesan didn’t break.
He was no mere beast—he was a born hunter.
Daesan ascended the arena, toying with the masses, kneading their hearts. Kwak Sung’s heart was stroked the same way.
He was a cynic.
One who belittled others’ efforts and lived dissolutely, blaming the world’s flaws.
Yet after meeting Daesan, he quit his beloved gambling and poured attention into him.
- Daesan, you can do it! You’ve got this!
- Raaaaagh!
- The undefeated man! The arena’s demon Daesan becomes conqueror!
- Waaaaaah!
That day, Kwak Sung shed tears for the first time since age ten. He’d never heard such cheers in his life.
Daesan had shaken his roots, remade him into a different man.
But that spark soon guttered out.
Because Daesan left the world.
Time passed, and after Daesan’s death, Kwak Sung remained.
“Damn you… Wasn’t it over? What grudge makes you haunt me…”
Ruuuush…
Pushing aside the curtain revealed rain-lashed windows.
The day he lost Daesan.
* * *
“Impossible.”
“Why?”
Another Dragon Flower, Soryo, was tackling the trial to reclaim the Warrior’s Heart for the arena.
She’d been confident deep down.
Not a true Dragon Heir, but her clan’s influence was vast.
Especially since Yocheon neighbored her clan’s stronghold; they’d long colluded with local magnates.
That was why the magnate’s frustrating response during their meeting left her dizzy.
“That approach won’t work.”
“What do you mean? You’re saying this Soryo can’t reclaim the Warrior’s Heart?”
“The Warrior’s Heart belongs solely to the victor. We can’t order Kwak Sung to hand it over. Not here in Yocheon, at least. Find another way.”
“Nonsense! Since Kwak Sung took over the arena, he hasn’t turned over a single coin to the Empire! Isn’t he disloyal? I’ll meet him myself—set it up…”
“Stop! Soryo!”
“Wh-What?”
“I made time for you out of respect for your mother. Do you still think this is your sheltered Dragon Palace?”
The Yocheon magnate bellowed.
Soryo, who’d never imagined anyone barking at her like this, stared blankly.
“Does my warning offend you?”
“…What did you just say?”
“This isn’t the Dragon Palace. Not everyone smiles for you! Do you even know what Kwak Sung is like?”
“Why should I care about his character?”
“Of course you should.”
“Why?”
“If you ignore my warning and approach him recklessly…”
The magnate spoke for Soryo’s sake.
“You’ll come back a corpse. That’s the kind of man Kwak Sung is.”
“……”
“No one will protect you here. Remember that.”
Soon after, Soryo left the mansion, shoulders slumped.
Someone approached her.
Step…
Step…
Startled, Soryo scowled.
“It’s you, Seolhong.”
“…You look pale. Talks didn’t go well?”
“Now you’re just tailing me? Pathetic.”
“How about we talk?”
“About what… Changed your mind?”
Ruuuush…
Seolhong and Soryo huddled under umbrellas against a merchant’s stall.
“About teaming up for the trial?”
“Of course. Even now, if you…”
“Yeah.”
“……What?”
“I’ll join you, sis. But on my plan, not yours. What do you say?”
“You’ve… lost it completely? You?”
Who led the trial’s resolution would obviously affect their evaluation. Helping another Dragon Flower, even successfully, would mean deductions.
Still, it was a decent offer all things considered. But Soryo’s pride wouldn’t allow it. No good ideas came to mind, yet she hated yielding leadership to Seolhong.
Soryo was petty, and entering the service of Seolhong—whom she deemed inferior—was horrifying. So she replied,
“Seolhong, even if it kills me, I won’t team up with you.”
“…Shame.”
“The shame’s your future. Hmph! Let’s go!”
“Yes.”
Soryo departed.
Seolhong looked up at Kang Seol with a blank face.
“She really hates me.”
“Seemed like she hates everyone. Can’t be helped.”
“What now? We need numbers to spread rumors… Reliable ones, at that. How do we get them?”
“We’ll figure something out. More importantly, Seolhong.”
“Yes?”
“Without turning your head, can you check that man and woman in front of the fabric shop?”
“…Fabric shop?”
“Someone’s watching us. Know them?”
At Kang Seol’s words, Seolhong glanced over.
“Oh god…”
“Acquaintances?”
“Oh, yes.”
Seolhong locked eyes with the woman Kang Seol had indicated. The woman called out.
“Seolhong, long time.”
“Sinyo… sis.”
Cold-Blooded Flower Sinyo.
The hulking man beside her was likely her Dragon Stone bearer.
‘Strong one.’
Kang Seol sensed the man’s aura was no joke. The man eyed Kang Seol and twitched his brow.
“I had business in Yocheon. Heard you were here, so I came.”
“How… Your second trial’s still…”
“Done.”
“…What?”
“Your second trial—didn’t I say?”
Seolhong’s face darkened.
Sinyo was a top Dragon Flower, nipping at Taeyul’s heels in succession rankings.
Her trials surely hadn’t been easy— polar opposite to Seolhong’s, barely underway.
“I see…”
Sinyo’s tone held no warmth whatsoever. Chilly as her moniker suggested.
“Need help?”
“…Pardon?”
Seolhong hadn’t dreamed of meeting Sinyo here, let alone hearing such an offer from her lips.
“Wh… why?”
“You look like you do.”
“……”
“Not pity.”
Shwick—!
A scroll burst from Sinyo’s sleeve.
Enmity Ledger.
Seolhong knew it instantly.
“Whatever help I give, I’ll record it here. No worries.”
Sinyo had an obsession bordering on compulsion.
She documented every favor and grudge on that scroll—another reason for her Cold-Blooded Flower name.
She always repaid debts and collected what was owed.
Seolhong’s face brightened visibly.
Kang Seol didn’t know Sinyo, but seeing Seolhong pleased, he figured she wasn’t hostile.
“But… why me?”
“Hm?”
“Baeyu oppa or Soryo sis are on this trial too…”
“No interest in them.”
“…Huh?”
“Seolhong, I’m interested in you.”
“Because of my mother?”
“Not at all.”
“Then…”
“You and…”
Sinyo’s gaze landed on Kang Seol.
“…him.”
“……”
“So I’m settling the debt upfront. Before it gets harder to pin on you.”
Sinyo calculated gains and losses lightning-fast. While others dismissed Seolhong’s rise, she’d spotted the changes early.
Swoosh…
The giant man extended a hand.
Not to Seolhong—to Kang Seol.
“Call me Jang Du.”
“…Kang Seol.”
Kang Seol clasped his hand.
The size difference was like nephew and uncle, but Jang Du’s hand flinched instead.
“…Good grip.”
Jang Du nodded curtly and released.
Sinyo addressed Seolhong.
“So, you accept?”
Seolhong pondered briefly, then whispered to Kang Seol.
“Should we… take the offer?”
“Reliable help?”
“Sinyo sis is… second only to big bro Taeyul in the Dragon Palace. She can handle our little request, no doubt.”
“Reputation?”
“Known for clear-cut bonds—or lack thereof.”
“No choice, then. Better than Soryo. The ‘debt’ won’t be bad—our ask isn’t tough.”
“…Okay.”
Seolhong nodded.
“Great.”
“So, what do you need?”
“Spread a rumor across all of Yocheon.”
“A rumor?”
“Tough?”
“Not at all. I’ll have people handle it—done in days. Content?”
And soon after, Kang Seol and Seolhong left Sinyo and Jang Du.
One line was added to the Enmity Ledger.
“Fun…”
Sinyo smirked, rolling up the scroll.
“What do you think?”
“Of what?”
Jang Du replied gruffly.
“You suggested dropping by since we had time. You said you were curious about Seolhong’s Dragon Stone bearer.”
“Hmm…”
“Threat?”
Jang Du furrowed his brow.
“Not sure.”
“…What?”
“Not ordinary, for sure… but somehow… nothing stands out right now.”
“Not ordinary, yet ordinary… You’re probably right. Worth the trip.”
“Now what?”
“Send people. Reliable ones.”
“How many?”
“Enough to make it look good.”
Shortly after, over a hundred outsiders flooded Yocheon. They spread rumors like wildfire, as if waiting for the cue.
Three rumors in total.
One: The gladiator Kang Seol shaking things up was challenging the Conqueror.
Another: Gladiator Kang Seol would surpass Daesan as the greatest.
Last: Kwak Sung, fearing defeat, was dodging Kang Seol’s challenge from his hideout.
Rumors fit to jolt Kwak Sung from his seclusion.