Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: The Silent Star
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The brief ten-day vacation came to an end. Even during that short time, I didn't rest.
Because I wanted to gather even a little more information in preparation for any possible contingencies.
With the help of my training companions, I got a rough grasp of the internal situation within the Heavenly Dragon Society. And in the process, I confirmed with my own eyes just how much power the landlords of the granary district wielded.
The granary district.
The true force that allowed the current Heavenly Dragon Society to sustain its war efforts.
The owners of that granary district, called landlords, exerted tremendous influence over the entire Heavenly Dragon Society. There was even a saying that the true master of the Heavenly Dragon Society wasn't the society leader, but these landlords.
A complete reversal of roles, where the Heavenly Dragon Society instead had to watch the landlords' moods.
At a glance, there were far more soldiers than necessary patrolling around the granary district. This undoubtedly maintained better public order, but...
What about the front lines? With that many soldiers pulled away, there had to be people suffering losses once again.
Early in the morning, we set out in a carriage. And at the same time, we witnessed it.
The devastation that became starkly visible the closer we got to the front lines, and...
The plight of the destitute, wailing without anywhere to go.
"........."
A child was walking. His emaciated frame was so gaunt he looked like he might collapse at any moment.
Several such people were gathered together. They stared blankly at our carriage, flailing their arms.
Bent backs groveling. Foreheads pressed to the ground begging for food. Behind them, similarly starved adults wandered around half-destroyed buildings with lifeless expressions.
We hadn't been out of the fertile granary district for long, yet dilapidated buildings were already coming into view. And not just that-eyes devoid of hope gazed vacantly at the sky from the shadows.
All of them had ended up like this because of 'public order.' The abnormally concentrated soldiers in the granary district meant fewer troops available to maintain security elsewhere...
And the ones who slithered into those deepening shadows were the Evil Faction warriors.
Cancerous presences infiltrating among civilians. Hiding among the innocent, they sucked their blood and marrow dry. They clung on completely, stripping away everything they had, then prowled around sniffing for more like beasts.
But that didn't mean innocent civilians could report them recklessly.
The law is distant, but fists are close. What came first after a tip-off wasn't the hammer of justice, but the swords of thugs. It was commonplace near the front lines for a civilian who informed the Heavenly Dragon Society to end up as a corpse hanging on a wall the next day.
Public order in utter chaos, literally. And this was just the situation here...
What would it be like farther ahead?
"...The areas around the front lines will be even worse. The war between the Heavenly Dragon Society and the Demonic Alliance sees the same regions changing hands multiple times a day."
The Black Orchid glanced outside.
"No one considers land they're just handing back and forth as their own. They see it as enemy territory by default. So they try to strip every last resource from it when they hold it. It's the best way for them to profit."
"........."
Those dying in the clash between two massive organizations...
Were ultimately the civilians.
I stopped the carriage I was driving and slowly approached the child whose eyes met mine.
Sua beat me to it, rushing out first. She supported the child who looked ready to collapse and looked up at me with teary eyes.
"Daddy..."
I knew what she wanted to say without her needing to voice it.
Because I was thinking the same thing.
"Here, food."
I pulled rations from my bosom. But the child just trembled and stared at me without eating.
Even when I told him it was okay to eat, he wouldn't. Instead, he turned to look behind him.
"M-my... little sibling..."
...Even in this situation, trying to take care of his sibling first.
Old memories surfaced for a moment. My starving self. The days I struggled desperately to feed my little sister.
I pulled out a bit more food. But it was clear this wouldn't solve the root problem.
Public order was still in disarray.
And even what I gave this child might be snatched away by someone else soon enough.
"........."
My eyes met Sua's. The girl supporting the child seemed to see her past self in someone else.
"...Um..."
But the mouth that tried to speak to me closed again. She was probably worried it might cause me trouble if she made a fuss.
She's a good kid. Truly different from ordinary children, considering my position first-such a commendable trait.
I reached out and stroked the head of Sua, who was watching nervously.
"What do you want to do?"
"........."
"It's okay. Tell me."
"I... want to help..."
"Alright."
I straightened up from my crouch.
"Me too."
"......!"
I turned to my companions, who were watching from a distance, and asked them.
"I'd like to delay our trip to the front lines a bit."
"...You sure? It might give them an excuse to nitpick."
"No choice."
I erased the plan I'd set in my mind.
Because that's what my heart wanted.
I stroked the head of the skinny child looking up at me.
"We can't just leave them like this and go."
"...What's the plan?"
"Let's weed them out."
Once decided, act swiftly.
I turned to the Black Orchid.
"The Evil Faction scum mixed among the civilians."
"...Hmm... so you're going to use me?"
"...Would you help? Danhwa?"
"What a silly question."
The Black Orchid smiled seductively.
"I don't care about other people's troubles... but if it's yours, it's different. Use me as much as you want. Got it?"
......
The remnants of the Evil Factions hiding within the Heavenly Dragon Society's territory.
To root them out, I needed their locations.
This would normally be extremely difficult. Civilians would tremble in fear and refuse to speak, and forcing them would be morally wrong.
But we had the Demon Bewitchment Illusion Technique. Hypnotizing people to extract confessions.
A somewhat distasteful method, but it was quick and clean. We pinpointed the locations of the initiating Evil Faction warriors in one go.
We found a man picking his teeth by a wall.
"...What the hell? You bastards?!!"
I grabbed his nape and subdued him. Then from his mouth, we confirmed the locations of other gangs.
Information webbed like a spider's threads. Tracking it down was something I'd done once before in the refugee camps.
"Brings back memories."
"Better than back then, right?"
"Of course. Much easier."
The Black Orchid's soul-subduing technique went wild. We extracted the truth from the subdued foes and used it to uncover Evil Faction hideouts.
Even inside Heavenly Dragon Society territory, they'd set up full households. We raided those occupying a ruined estate.
"Where'd these crawlers come fro-arghhh?!!"
I showed no mercy.
They'd sucked the blood and sweat of others, so in a way, it was only fitting.
There were hardly any strong warriors among them anyway, so subduing them was easy. After binding them all and tossing them aside, I checked inside.
Piles of loot and stolen grain filled hidden warehouses to the brim. And they still ransacked the surroundings because they couldn't get more?
...Infuriating.
I hauled it all outside and called the starving people to the street center, distributing it fairly.
At first, they hesitated to take it, but upon seeing the bound Evil Faction warriors, they rushed to grab the food. Some wept upon recovering part of their stolen wealth.
"Thank you... sir... truly, thank you..."
"Th-thanks to you... our child..."
"How can we ever repay this kindness..."
Of course, I had no intention of stopping here. My goal was a thorough purge.
I gathered all the captured Evil Faction warriors and handed them over to the sparse Heavenly Dragon Society warriors maintaining order.
They freaked out at the number of prisoners, far exceeding their own headcount. The man in charge even kicked off his shoes and ran out.
"Wh-what in the world...?!"
"We're from the Murim Alliance support warrior squad. We found these Evil Faction warriors and dragged them out-could you take custody and escort them?"
"Doing our job for us...! Th-thank you so much! Escort these scum away! Hurry!"
I asked the man who introduced himself as Deung Yeo-pyeong.
"How big are your prisons?"
"Pardon? Well, they're on the small side, of course. But no need to worry. These Evil Faction criminals will all be sent to Heavenly Dragon Society headquarters and put to work in the quarries there."
"Who's handling the escort?"
"That would be me..."
"Perfect."
I made a deal with Deung Yeo-pyeong, the public order warrior captain.
In exchange for responsibly escorting the prisoners, he could take a share of the spoils.
Deung Yeo-pyeong's eyes widened enormously.
"Th-this seems too good to be true for me alone..."
"I'm not doing this for honor or money."
"...Then..."
"It's just what any person should do. I happened to have the strength and time..."
I smiled faintly.
"So I'm doing what I can."
"......!"
Deung Yeo-pyeong clasped his fists in respect.
"Even so, far more people talk about it than act on it, so heroes like you, Jeok Daehyeop, are rare. This Deung Yeo-pyeong has met a true righteous warrior! I'll support you with everything I've got! Bring any criminals, and I'll stake my life to deliver them to headquarters! I'm personally requesting reinforcements in my name... so Jeok Daehyeop, carry out your plans! I'll stake my neck to catch and lock up every last vile Evil Faction scum!"
"I trust you."
With transport for the prisoners secured, I moved even more boldly.
Six regions stretching to the front lines. I combed through them like hunting rats, rooting out the Evil Faction cancers.
"Y-you bastard?! Don't tell me you're that noisy one lately...!"
"K-kill him! Kill him!!! Get that guy out of my sight right nowwww!!!"
I shattered and deflected incoming swords. I beat down every resistor, making sure to break at least one spot on them.
My followers assisted my actions. Even Sua charged ahead, personally pummeling Evil Faction warriors.
Her body was small, but her skills were those of an expert. Needless to say, rabble like them stood no chance. Those who underestimated her as a child ended up broken and rolling on the ground.
Breakthrough. Breakthrough. Breakthrough.
Time passed without rest amid the successive fierce battles. I toppled Evil Faction rabble, demolished their bases, and distributed every bit of their hoarded wealth to the surroundings.
For the starving.
Speaking for the powerless.
And because of that, my name began spreading wildly throughout Honam.
"Heard of Jeok Daehyeop? The supreme warrior no flying expert can match!"
"He's the one embodying the lost righteousness, the sword of justice that tolerates no evil."
"A star has fallen in Honam. He deserves to rank among the Five Stars, doesn't he? How can we call such a shining star just a sword?"
"Mukseong! The star that aids in silence!"
"Not Five Stars, but Six Stars! I'm telling you, it's real!"
It happened just over a month later.
I finally put the finishing touch on the last region. Along with that, I confirmed the noticeably improved public order around me one final time.
With my face covered by a hood, blending naturally among the people.
Those who had been starving and collapsing just a month ago were starting to return to daily life. They belatedly began farming and preparing for the future; smoke rose from homes as they cooked meals.
Of course, not everything broken would return to normal at once. I'd merely restored what was taken, so even if they dreamed of life again, they'd face plenty of hardships.
...Still.
At least I'd laid the foundation for recovery.
This should be enough.
"...Daddy."
"Yeah?"
Sua tightly gripped my hand.
"...You're my pride, Daddy."
"........."
No praise made me happier than that one sentence from Sua.
I hadn't done it for praise, but that didn't mean I didn't want to hear it.
"...Really?"
"Yes!"
"...Me too."
I squeezed her hand back.
"When you supported that starving child that day, I was so happy."
"...Why?"
"Because if you hadn't, I would have."
I turned to Sua and met her gaze, stroking her head.
"You're my pride too, Sua."
"...Heehee."
Already over a month late.
We finally set off toward the front lines once more.
Expecting not to hear kind words.
"Mukseong, Jeok Daehyeop!"
"......?"
"The Heavenly Dragon Society is in your debt! O silently shining star! Haha! Welcome to the front lines! My heart's all full now!"