I Don't Forgive Those Who Bare Their Fangs
Whoooosh!
The yellow storm, thick with sand, slammed straight into the Guryong-bang forces.
A ferocious gale that called to mind an ascending dragon.
At the eye of the tempest, Hong Yunsu glared down with razor-sharp eyes.
“You don’t get to pass without my permission.”
A whirlwind charged straight into the heart of their formation.
The Guryong-bang tried to intercept it with long-range attacks, but the vortex only grew fiercer instead of weakening.
“We can’t hold formation like this!”
“Damn it. Split to both sides of the whirlwind and hit Yeokcheon!”
The players who had been advancing in tight ranks broke formation and scattered in every direction.
In that momentary collapse of their lines—
“You’re going to regret that choice.”
Hong Yunsu released the wind he had compressed around his legs.
The sand-twisted whirlwind exploded outward in all directions, blinding the enemy.
A blade hidden inside the wind drove into a Guryong-bang player’s vital point.
“Guh…!”
One short scream, and the player collapsed.
Team Yellow Storm members had ridden Hong Yunsu’s wind to slip through the gaps.
◈ Conceals the wearer inside the user’s wind currents
◈ Perfect for ambushes in storm environments
It was equipment every member of Team Yellow Storm wore. An artifact designed to hide their bodies the instant Hong Yunsu released his stored wind, allowing them to dismantle the enemy one by one.
A combat style that maximized the battlefield environment.
In contrast, Team Mugeuk charged head-on.
Golden condensed energy surges forward like a pouncing tiger.
The materialized tiger-shaped ganggi devours everything in its path.
Each Guryong-bang martial artist tried to manifest their own energy, but it was helplessly swallowed by the tiger-shaped ganggi. The moment it touched the golden light, they vanished without even leaving dust behind.
“That’s ganggi!”
“Only the boss should be able to wield that power. How can a mere Korean martial artist—!”
Fear flickered in the Guryong-bang players’ eyes.
Ganggi.
Martial arts might raise your level and give you skills, but without enlightenment they could never display their true strength. That was why martial artists were unpopular in other countries.
Yet once a martial artist crossed a certain threshold, they possessed might that surpassed ordinary players.
Guryong-bang stood at the peak of China’s guilds. It housed some of the continent’s strongest, but even among them, only Zhang Wufei could wield ganggi.
“They said China was the origin of martial arts,” Shin Junseok muttered. “Doesn’t look like much.”
The undisguised disappointment in his voice made the Guryong-bang players roar in fury and charge, only to be sent flying by his next punch.
⊳ Shin Junseok — Cover the left flank.
⊳ Ping Lei — Circle right and use clones to draw enemy fire.
⊳ Lee Jiyoung — Deploy large-scale barrier to cut the enemy formation in half.
⊳ Carla and Enrique — Press the frontal assault.
⊳ Hong Yunsu — Gather the wind again and restrict their advance.
“Kyaa!”
“This hurts less than getting beaten by Master!”
The guild members accumulated small and large injuries, and the front line was slowly pushed back. Yet each time a gap appeared, Kim Youngsoo immediately sent in reserves, plugged the hole, and popped open another potion.
“Drink up. You’ll feel better.”
Kim Youngsoo was using his unique ability to perfection.
By the time Yu Jinho finished destroying the Changcheon Sword Formation and suppressing Guryong-bang’s main force, more than half the enemy players who had rushed out lay dead or crippled across the desert sands.
I swallowed the gasp that almost escaped my lips.
Brother Youngsoo, you’re no joke.
The fact that none of our guild members had died was entirely thanks to Kim Youngsoo’s superb command ability.
The various buffs were impressive enough, but reading the flow of battle and issuing timely orders had let us overcome the numerical disadvantage.
Every fighter Guryong-bang had brought was Platinum-rank. They seemed to have held back their Diamond-rank players to keep the operation secret, but even so it was no force to take lightly.
I had thought it would be lucky if we simply avoided being overwhelmed.
“Right? He really is amazing. That’s my vice guild master for you.”
“Why not?”
Well, that’s only possible because I’m a regressor.
I swallowed the rest of the thought and shifted my gaze to Zhang Wufei.
“We still had more to talk about, didn’t we?”
Zhang Wufei, face deathly pale, looked up at me with trembling eyes.
“Don’t you want to leave this place alive?”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Not a threat. A deal.”
“In the current situation, the one whose life is in danger isn’t me—it’s you.”
“The true strength of Guryong-bang doesn’t end here. Even if you escape this place, a second and third wave will come for you.”
“Cute bluff. You brought everything you had, didn’t you?”
I curled my lip.
I had already confirmed Guryong-bang’s movements through the Black Network and our National Intelligence Service. Simultaneous gate raids and tower climbing. Their activity level hadn’t deviated much from normal.
“This is everything you brought.”
“…Do you truly believe that? It would be wise not to underestimate the depth of Guryong-bang’s power.”
“Bluff all you want, but the longer this drags on, the worse it gets for you, doesn’t it?”
The wound from my dark blade. On top of that, the consecutive use of Blood God and Blood Explosion was draining him. His face was growing whiter by the second.
“Three hours. If you don’t receive a blood transfusion by then, you’ll die no matter what you do.”
“A wound like this can be fixed with a potion…”
“You know better. The Blood Heaven Asura Art consumes an enormous amount of blood. Even if you stop the bleeding, if you can’t replenish what’s lost, you die.”
“How could you possibly—?!”
Zhang Wufei’s eyelids quivered violently.
How? Because my brother fought you in the past, that’s how.
“Yu Jinho. If you let us go, Guryong-bang will no longer treat Yeokcheon as an enemy.”
“Still making threats. You really are shameless.”
“Hear me out. We have invested capital to collect secret manuals and spiritual herbs from all over the world.”
“Oh?” I let out a short whistle.
Come to think of it, even when martial arts were unpopular, secret manuals and elixirs were ridiculously expensive. I’d assumed the Chinese government was behind it, but it seemed Guryong-bang had been the true backer.
“I’ll hand over half of them.”
“That seems a little cheap for your life, doesn’t it?”
“…All of them.”
“Heh. Now that offer I like.”
“That’s not all. Returning to your country will involve many obstacles. I can clear them for you.”
“It still feels like I’m getting the short end of the stick. I came all the way to another country and went through all this trouble.”
“With my connections, I can provide considerable benefits to both the Korean government and the Yeokcheon Guild.”
Connections—guanxi. China’s unique network culture.
As the guild master of Guryong-bang, his influence in politics and business had to be immense. Even the artificial gate in the Dunhuang Desert showed a glimpse of that power.
“And if you wish, I can also secure dungeon raid rights for you inside China.”
“Would the Chinese government really grant that kind of special treatment to a foreign guild?”
“I will make it happen. With the Dunhuang raid as precedent, there will be enough justification.”
I folded my arms.
He was throwing out incredible offer after incredible offer.
China was a closed nation. Their ideology differed from the start, so they were hostile to outsiders, and government policy flipped on a dime. The only thing you could truly trust was their unique guanxi culture.
If I put a leash on Zhang Wufei here, I could comfortably monopolize every future opportunity that would appear across Chinese territory.
It truly was…
“Small gain, big loss.”
Even if I took everything he promised and used my future knowledge, none of it was more profitable than cutting this bastard’s throat right here.
“Wh-what?”
“You see, I don’t forgive those who bare their fangs at me.”
“Do you really think you can kill me and walk out of this country safely?!”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
The Dunhuang Desert raid was already known worldwide. My fame had spread far and wide after resolving the Spice Islands and Iguazu Falls gates. An artificial gate or the desert itself could block outside eyes, but once I returned to the airfield, even the Chinese government couldn’t touch me easily. At most they might try to shoot our plane out of the sky.
Zhang Wufei’s face turned ashen. He shook his head violently.
“You—you aren’t afraid of my country?!”
“Send assassins, do whatever you want. I’m waiting.”
Once I left the Dunhuang Desert, China wouldn’t even glance my way for a while. That had been my plan from the beginning. Thanks to Zhang Wufei coming out in person, I had gained far more than expected.
The future had already begun to change. Removing the head of Guryong-bang would likely become a positive shift.
“If you have nothing more to offer, let’s end this conversation.”
“Fuck…”
That quiet curse was the last word Zhang Wufei ever spoke in his life.