Beating the Dragons with a Stick
"So this is... the headquarters of those Five Dragons Society guys or whatever?"
In front of me stood a single tiled-roof house on a rather small scale. It was definitely a tiled house, but it was so rundown that I seriously doubted whether people could actually live in it. To think that these bastards acted so arrogantly—like they were the greatest organization in the world—yet their actual base looked like this. From what I'd heard, they named it the Five Dragons Society because there were five of them. In other words, they considered themselves dragons. Well, even an earth dragon counts as a dragon, I suppose.
"Sigh... What pathetic bastards."
In my hand was a thick wooden club. I'd picked it up on the way here after spotting something that looked decent enough. When dealing with punks like these, a solid clubbing was always the right answer. I headed toward the main gate, which looked like it might collapse if someone so much as breathed on it. And then...
BAM!
I kicked the gate with everything I had. It flew right off its hinges with a thunderous crash and toppled inward.
"What the hell's going on!"
"Who the hell is it...!"
Noisy voices erupted from inside. Four men soon spilled out into the cramped garden to assess the situation. They were the same guys who'd visited our dojo before.
Huh? But the one who looked like the boss isn't here.
Had he stepped out? Well... it didn't really matter. I could just beat these four up first and wait for him.
"Did you do this, you son of a bitch?"
"Yeah. That was me."
The man standing in the center spoke up. He seemed to be the second-in-command. If the vice-boss was this scrawny, I could only imagine how greedy the actual boss must be.
"You're that guy from the dojo back then..."
"That's right. I'm Kang Juhyun, head of Baekun Dojo. Glad to see you at least have a decent memory."
"You dare do that to our boss?"
The Five Dragons Society thugs started pointing at me and shouting all kinds of nonsense. I wasn't interested in any of it, so I ignored them completely. With the club resting casually on my shoulder, I stepped further into the garden. The thugs panicked, scrambled off somewhere, and returned armed with swords.
"S-stop right there!"
"If you don't stop..."
"If I don't stop, then what? What exactly are you going to do about it?"
My words must have struck a nerve because all four faces gradually flushed red. The way their hands were shaking made it obvious they had zero emotional control. I stopped in the middle of the garden, tapping my shoulder with the club while watching them. I was curious what they'd spit out next.
"D-damn it! This guy doesn't look that strong! Everyone, get him!"
"W-what? We're really doing this?"
I'd expected the coward to spout nonsense and waste time, but he went completely off-script.
"Yaaaaah!"
"Diiie!"
The Five Dragons thugs charged at me all at once, swords raised high. It was clearly a scene of armed men rushing in, yet for some reason, it didn't feel scary at all.
"Sigh... These are the punks who've been extorting merchants?"
I lowered the club from my shoulder and gripped it firmly with both hands. My first target was the guy swinging his sword at the front. He'd raised it so high that his entire torso was wide open. I stepped deep into his range and swung.
THUD!
"Urk!"
The club sank straight into his gut. A heavy impact spread through my entire arm. The thug dropped his sword and flopped backward onto the ground. Even for a protection-racket punk, it was a pitiful sight.
"Don't freeze up! We outnumber him! Overwhelm the bastard!"
Even after watching their comrade get taken down so easily, the others didn't stop their charge.
This is exactly why they only pull thug crap in a place like this.
Next, one of their swords came slicing in at a diagonal. I dodged it lightly and smashed the club into his side.
THUD!
"Guh!"
He dropped his weapon and rolled across the ground. Only two left now. At that moment, another one swung at me from behind.
"You thought attacking from the back would work?"
I evaded the blade without even looking, spun around, and struck his arm.
CRACK!
"Aaaargh!"
His arm bone had definitely shattered. The garden filled with his pain-filled scream. Not exactly a pleasant sound.
"U-ugh..."
Only the vice-leader remained. While his subordinates were getting clubbed and rolling around the floor, it seemed he'd been watching safely from the back. He gripped his sword hilt with trembling hands, staring at me with pure terror in his eyes.
"Not coming?"
"D-damn you! When our boss gets here..."
"Then tell him to hurry up. This is getting annoying."
When I beckoned with my finger, his expression darkened even further. It didn't look like waiting would bring the boss anytime soon.
"Sigh... Fine. If you're not coming to me, I'll go to you."
The moment the words left my mouth, I leaped toward him.
"H-hiiiik!"
He let out a bizarre scream and started swinging his sword wildly. Looked like he'd gone into full panic mode. I shoved him down, then stood over him with the club raised.
"Ah..."
"You're the vice-leader, right? With a mind like yours, you clearly need more hits."
"P-please..."
No point listening to garbage like that. Without giving him any breathing room, I brought the club down. The garden echoed with crisp impact sounds and ear-splitting screams.
"Sheesh..."
A sigh escaped me as I sat on a chair in the garden, flipping through the ledger the thugs had handed over. Kneeling before me were the Five Dragons Society members, their bodies covered in nasty bruises.
"These guys weren't just small-time crooks, huh?"
"..."
It hadn't been going on that long, but the protection fees they demanded were outrageous. They took half the profits. It was basically ripping out the pillars of these shops and walking away with them. And it wasn't just the protection money. They apparently seized goods under the excuse that they were providing "protection." From what the thugs told me, they beat people whenever the mood struck and extorted cash on top of it.
"So this is all that's left?"
I looked at the small box in front of me. It was filled with quite a few coins. It wasn't a small amount, but considering everything they'd stolen, it was pathetically little.
"Where did the rest go? What did you spend it on?"
"W-we already used the rest on alcohol and food..."
"Haah..."
"Hiiik! W-we're sorry!"
After a few more hits, their attitude had become extremely polite. Like the old saying goes, the rod is the best medicine.
"..."
"P-please, at least spare our lives..."
"Shut up."
"Y-yes sir!"
I was trying to figure out what to do with them. Killing them would obviously cause all sorts of headaches later. But I couldn't just let them off the hook either.
This is giving me a headache.
That was when it happened.
"What the hell is this?"
A man's voice came from outside the gate. It was a familiar one. The owner of the voice soon stepped through the broken entrance.
"Oh? Finally decided to show up?"
"You...?"
The boss I'd been waiting for had finally arrived.
"Where have you been? Took your sweet time, didn't you?"
"Explain this situation first. What the hell happened here?"
The boss moved his hand to the sword at his waist. Shing. A massive blade slid out of its sheath, its tip soon pointed directly at me.
"You're that guy from the dojo back then..."
"Yep, that's me. You remember after all?"
"You son of a..."
Looked like this guy had the same trouble controlling his emotions as his subordinates.
"B-boss! You mustn't fight this bastard..."
"I told you to shut up."
"Sorry!"
The way his subordinate instantly cowered at my single command made the boss's eyes narrow.
"Seems like we won't be needing a conversation."
"That's exactly what I wanted."
I picked up the club I'd left leaning against the chair and stood up. Seeing me approach him with a club while he held a sword, the boss let out a snort.
"A club?"
"What? Got a problem with it?"
"Not at all. Use whatever you want."
With those words, he adjusted his grip on the sword and took a stance.
Huh... Not bad for such a pathetic guy.
Last time he'd been taken down by Soso so quickly that I hadn't gotten a good look, but now it was clear. This bastard had actually learned how to use a sword. His skill level wasn't anything special, but the stance was one that couldn't be faked without proper training.
"Come at me."
"This bastard..."
His face flushed with momentary rage before his body shot toward me. For someone with such a large build, he was surprisingly fast. But his technique was still garbage. I lightly dodged his attack. His sword sliced through nothing but empty air.
"Ugh..."
It didn't take long for the next attack to come. I dodged that one easily too. After that, his strikes flew at me several more times, but I avoided every single one with minimal movement. As time passed, my breathing remained calm while his grew increasingly ragged.
"Huff... Huff..."
"Try a little harder, will you?"
"You...! I'll definitely...!"
His next attack came. Once again, all I heard was the sound of air being cut.
"Aaaargh! Damn it! Why do you keep dodging?!"
"You want me to attack? Got it."
The moment I finished speaking, I closed the distance in a flash. My club strike followed immediately, smashing into his thigh.
"Gaaaah!"
He screamed and collapsed to the ground. It wasn't strong enough to shatter bone, but it had definitely done serious damage to the muscle.
"What? You asked me to attack, so I did—and you fall over after one hit?"
"N-not yet... Not yet...!"
Humiliated at being taken down in a single blow, he tried to push himself up using his sword as a crutch. He looked exactly like a patient on his deathbed.
"Sigh..."
I swung the club again, striking his other leg.
"Gaaaaaaaah!"
He collapsed with another scream. Tears welled up in his bloodshot eyes.
"Still not ready to surrender?"
"D-don't make me laugh..."
"Wow, you've actually got some spine."
Anyway, he couldn't walk anymore. He couldn't even stand properly. I left him there and walked over to the box containing the money. After tossing the club aside and picking up the box along with the ledger, the boss's eyes widened in shock.
"Y-you! Don't tell me you're taking the money..."
"...?"
"You can't take the money! I've worked so hard to earn..."
"Oh really?"
Just how greedy could one person be? And he called it "earned"? After stealing it from others by force? This money was obviously going back to the merchants. It was never theirs to begin with.
"Aaargh! You can't take the money! I haven't even been to the brothel yet!"
Just your typical villain driven by pure desire. No point wasting any more time on him. I turned away and headed for the main gate. That's when the boss's voice rang out from behind me.
"You think you'll get away with this?! Behind me stands the Black Wind Bandit Camp! I even remember exactly where your dojo is!"
"What?"
Wait a second. Black Wind Bandit Camp? And these guys weren't even the end of it?
I walked back to the boss and set the box down beside me. Then I grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked him up.
"Explain in detail. What exactly do you have?"
For a moment, pure terror flooded his eyes.