The Incompetent Hero and the Emperor of Yeom (2)
Since Baekryeon and Seollin still had all sorts of preparations to make—being women and all—I left them to it, threw on some simple clothes myself, and headed downstairs first.
On the first floor, a solidly built man sat quietly in a chair, waiting for me.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not at all. I haven't been waiting long."
As I came down the stairs and spoke, he rose from his seat and looked at me. Then, as if something felt off, he tilted his head and opened his mouth.
"Jang Cheon-woo... are you the great hero?"
"That's right."
"...I'd heard you burned your face and went around covering it with a mask."
"That was a bluff. I only wore the mask when I needed to hide my identity."
Even after my explanation, he still looked unconvinced, eyeing me with open suspicion. In this state, if I asked him what business he had, I'd get nothing but more doubt instead of an answer. I let out a long sigh, fretting over what to do next—when Baekryeon and Seollin, finished with their grooming as if nothing had happened, came down from the second floor.
"Doryeong? Who is this gentleman?"
"No idea. I told him I'm Jang Cheon-woo and he won't believe me."
"Well of course he wouldn't. You've been covering your face this whole time. Even I wouldn't have recognized you if it weren't for your voice."
Seollin nodded as if she understood completely. On top of that, the man seemed to know both Seollin and Baekryeon; after muttering something like Really...? and staring at me for a moment, he bowed his head in apology.
"My deepest apologies. You truly are the great hero Jang Cheon-woo."
"Good enough. More importantly, what's this about? You said the master of the Flower Tower summoned me..."
Was something going on with Haoman? When I asked with that thought in mind, he began to explain.
"I was not informed of the full details. Only that there is someone who wishes to meet the great hero Jang Cheon-woo, and that I was to bring you with all haste."
"Someone wants to meet me?"
"Yes. They set out several days ago and are expected to arrive sometime today, so while bringing you, they also wished to discuss the schedule going forward..."
"Hmm..."
I had no idea who wanted to see me, but I was just as eager to talk about the schedule ahead. The reason I was wandering around Yeom Kingdom in the first place had two goals: first, to obtain the Geogeonhwan; second, to hunt down the fragment of the Demon King that was supposed to be here in Yeom—the Heavenly Demon. The first goal was already solved; instead of the Geogeonhwan I'd gotten the Taeyanghwan, a straight upgrade.
Now it was time for the second goal: go crush the Heavenly Demon that was about to sweep through Yeom Kingdom. And to do that, I needed Yeom's help. Well, honestly, I could crush the Heavenly Demon without Yeom's help... but unfortunately, I wasn't a hero.
If I'd been the original Leon, I never would have gone around flaunting my achievements... but I'm different.
If I just charged in alone and took down the Heavenly Demon, no one would give me credit. And if I shouted "I can kill the Heavenly Demon!!!" I'd be lucky to be treated as anything better than a lunatic. More than anything, I needed to understand exactly what kind of existence the Heavenly Demon was to these people. That way, when I finally killed it, my achievement would carry even more weight.
"Fine. If it's about discussing the schedule going forward, I'm all for it. While we're at it, I'd also like to check on the state of the Dan family."
"Then we shall depart at once. Is that acceptable?"
"I don't mind, but..."
I glanced back. Baekryeon and Seollin met my eyes and both nodded.
"My companions are coming too. That's fine, right?"
"Yes. It should be no problem."
"Then let's go."
As I'd mentioned a few times already, the temporary poison workshop sat a short distance outside the city. To reach the city from here, we naturally had to pass through the gate. Standing there, of course, were the guards who controlled entry and exit—soldiers of the Yeom Army. But today, something was different.
"Who's that?"
"Hmm... not sure."
"...The pattern on those clothes looks like the Moyong family's crest."
"The Moyong family...?"
If it was the Moyong family, they held all of Yogyeong—including Dandong—as their territory. When I'd first headed for Dandong, the thing I'd been most careful about was getting into a conflict with the Moyong family. At the time I'd even suspected they might have some connection to the Beastman Alliance, so the caution had been natural. Of course, until the business here was finished I never even met the Moyong family, and once it was confirmed that the Beastman Alliance had been raising funds through the pirates operating in the area, I'd written it off as an unnecessary worry...
And now they show up at this exact timing...
No matter how I looked at it, nothing good was going to come of this. More than that, the atmosphere between the Moyong people and the Yeom soldiers right now was anything but calm. It felt like a fight could break out at any second—a dangerous tension. I shot a glance at the man guiding us.
"Don't tell me the people we're supposed to meet are them?"
"Ah, no. It shouldn't be. More importantly, I never heard anything about the Moyong family coming."
"...Is that so."
If the people we were supposed to meet had been the Moyong family, Haoman wouldn't have gone so far as to send someone to fetch me. Either way, if we wanted to enter the city we had no choice but to pass through there. The closer we got, the clearer it became that both sides were raising their voices in an argument.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"Nonsense? Yogyeong has been Moyong land from the very beginning."
"And that means the entire Yeom Army is supposed to just pull out overnight? Does that even make sense?!"
What? I'd thought they were ordinary soldiers, but that was the northern adjutant. I couldn't remember his name, but apparently he and the Moyong people who'd shown up weren't seeing eye to eye.
"You never lifted a finger to help with the pirate cleanup, and now you suddenly say the Moyong family will take over and we should leave? From every angle it looks like you only came the moment you heard the pirates were wiped out so you could snatch this land for yourselves!"
"Now, now—don't say things that will cause misunderstandings if others overhear."
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Ah! Great hero Cheon-woo!!"
The moment I approached, the adjutant's face—which had been twisted with rage—lit up. In contrast, the Moyong people frowned as they looked at me.
"And who are you?"
"Why do you need to know?"
"Wh-what...?"
The Moyong side looked flabbergasted. A few of them seemed to recognize Seollin standing beside me, murmuring in surprise, Th-the young lady of the Dan family...?
"Y-you are clearly Dan Seollin, are you not? Why are you here?"
"What business is it of yours where I am?"
"Th-that's not what I meant... This place belongs to the Moyong—"
"So? Are you saying no one from the Dan family is allowed on Moyong land? Then I suppose no one from the Moyong family should ever set foot in our Sichuan either?"
"Th-that's not it..."
Damn. Seollin's tongue really was something else. When she was an enemy she was pure hell, but as an ally she was this reliable.
"More importantly, what the hell is the Moyong family doing here?"
"Ahem... Young lady Seollin. This area has always been under the Moyong family's protection..."
"Is that so? How strange. I've been staying here for over a week... and in all that time I haven't seen a single Moyong martial artist or even a regular person."
"Th-that is..."
She narrowed her eyes and stared the Moyong people down. Under that gaze they couldn't even meet Dan Seollin's eyes properly, clearing their throats and looking away.
"Haa... so that's what this is. The Yeom Army pulls out, and you take over management of the place."
"Th-that's right!..."
"That's absurd! Do you have any idea how much effort the Yeom Army has poured into wiping out the pirates here?!"
The adjutant shouted, sounding thoroughly wronged. Looking at the situation, it was no wonder he was pissed—he'd worked himself to the bone for results, only for another department to swoop in and snatch the credit. And it wasn't as if the Moyong family had even helped achieve those results. They'd just watched from the other side of the river like it was a fire show, and now they wanted to gobble everything up... These bastards had no shame.
"Hey, Adjutant. Lend me your sword."
"M-my sword, sir?"
"Yeah."
"Why all of a sudden..."
Tch. Just hand it over. When I silently held out my hand, the adjutant nervously passed me the sword. I gave it a few experimental swings, then turned to face the Moyong family.
"If you're martial artists too, there's no need for all this talk. Draw your swords. We'll settle this with blades."
"Wh-what..."
"Hah!..."
"Who in the world are you to begin with?!"
The Moyong people scowled in confusion at my words. Of course they would—they had no idea who I was.
"Jang Cheon-woo of the Yeom Army's Jaryong Unit."
"J-Jaryong?!..."
"Why is a special unit of the Yeom Army here..."
"Why do you think? The pirates here were making life hell for the people, so I came to deal with them."
I leveled the sword at the Moyong family.
"If you don't even have the courage or the guts to draw your blades, then disappear. There's no reason for you to be here."
"Wh-what!..."
"You insolent—!!!"
"You will regret this!"
Shing-shing-shing!!
As if answering my provocation, they drew their swords.
"I am Moyong Jung-ri of the Moyong family!"
"My name... well, I already told you."
"Cross Sword Dragon Severance Style: First Form!"
A swift leap forward, blades flashing in a dazzling arc.
He darted in nimbly and swung. The sword work looked flashy enough, but it was painfully slow.
...Ah. So that's how it is.
Thanks to Hyeonmu's help, my stamina had fully recovered and my physical condition was at a hundred percent. On top of that, the battle with Fukhaedaeseong had pushed my instincts and the skill levels of the Sword King Secret Arts to their absolute limit—and this was the result.
...From now on, unless it's a named powerhouse on Fukhaedaeseong's level, this is how it's going to look.
"Haa... the head."
THWACK!!!