Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: I Will Live Without Hesitation!
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I stood up and dove into their midst.
I struck the two closest men, one in the chest with a straight punch and the other in the throat with a swift knife-hand chop.
Thwack! Crack!
“Ugh!”
“Gak!”
“Alright! Next!”
Whoosh!
‘Huh? What’s this?’
Swords and sabers were slashing toward my neck and waist from both sides, fast and sharp.
Just a moment ago, the attacks from the eight demonic bastards had seemed so slow that I predicted I could take them all down in a single move.
But in reality, the moment I struck two of them, the attacks of the remaining six rained down on me.
Moreover, it was a desperate situation; if I didn't evade immediately, my neck would be severed and my waist slashed.
‘Hmph!’
Swoosh!
As I hastily twisted my waist and ducked to avoid the blades, I saw an opening in two of them.
Thinking my feet would be easier and faster than my fists, I quickly pivoted on my left foot, spun halfway around, and struck the jaws and heads of two men with my right foot.
Thwump!
“Heuk!”
“Wak!”
The instant my right foot struck their heads, four blades slashed, stabbed, and sliced at me from the front, back, left, and right.
Even in this urgent situation, a thought flashed through my mind.
‘Can I only handle a maximum of two at a time?’
My spirits sank. To think I’d wasted four whole moves on these eight riffraff.
What’s more, if I let my guard down for even a second, I would be the one taken down before I could defeat them. It was a touch-and-go situation.
At that moment, a realization struck me.
‘Right! This is a real fight!’
Ideals and reality are clearly different.
What I was facing were real enemies in a real battle.
And defeating them had only required one-tenth of my power. If I used more, I could have felled them all in a single move, but for now, my body only permitted me a tenth of my strength.
Perhaps that meant one-tenth was enough.
The last two men fell.
Thud!
“Keuk!”
“Kuhuk!”
Watching them, I tilted my head, feeling like the fist and kick techniques I had just used were on the tip of my tongue, yet just out of reach.
‘This is…’
But nothing came to mind. It was just a lapse in memory, a simple mistake.
The unarmed combat skills I had displayed felt first-rate or even better, yet a moment ago, it seemed I had only used the most basic techniques.
If my opponents had been much stronger, I would have deployed far superior methods instead of basic unarmed combat.
Since my opponents were incompetent fools, there seemed to be no need to use any fancy fist techniques.
Except for the fourth Altar Lord and the one I had knocked out first, all eight men were still conscious, but every one of them had been struck squarely in a vital spot, making it difficult for them to get up.
At this point, I was a little confused. The fact that these men, hit by what felt like basic unarmed techniques, were either unconscious or unable to rise was perplexing.
The skills I used to take down the demonic bastards were definitely basic, but the impact they suffered seemed to be of a first-rate level.
The fourth Altar Lord was still unconscious from a single light squeeze to his neck. It was possible I had injected some of my power into him.
And the second one, the man who had tried to stab me in the neck from behind and was hit by my fist, was completely still, perhaps dead.
He hadn't even been directly hit by my fist. There was a distance of about a foot and a half between my fist and him; at that moment, a faint white energy had shot out from my fist and struck him in the chest.
It was clearly a fist wind. In other words, the power accumulated in my dantian had been released as a fist wind through some incantation.
That meant if I had extended my palm, a palm wind would have been released.
That was the level of a first-rate master.
That man had ambushed me. This meant that in a critical moment, martial arts on the level of a first-rate master would manifest from me.
I was slightly encouraged by this fact.
Hyeong In-geol, as well as Deung Bo, Yeon Cheong, and Dam Geum-hu, looked around at the seated or fallen demonic bastards with astonished faces, their expressions filled with disbelief.
In all their lives, Hyeong In-geol and the others had never seen anything like this—one man taking down ten.
Having been stuck in a rural backwater, dealing only with people of a similar caliber, when would they have ever witnessed such a spectacle?
Only the two men supporting the fourth Altar Lord remained, and they seemed to have no intention of attacking, their faces pale as they watched me warily.
I approached the two men supporting the Altar Lord.
“It would only be fair if you two got a taste as well, right?”
Fear washed over their faces.
My hand chopped down, striking both of their shoulders.
Crack!
“Kauk!”
“Heuk!”
The two men collapsed on the spot.
I spoke coldly to the demonic bastards.
“Go back and report exactly what you saw and heard.”
The fourth Altar Lord had yet to regain consciousness.
The demonic bastards seemed to be waiting for my command.
“Go.”
At that single word, the demonic bastards carried the unconscious and supported the injured, retreating like a receding tide as they fled.
Deung Bo, Yeon Cheong, and Dam Geum-hu knew a little about my skills, but they had never imagined I was this strong, and they couldn't hide their amazement and admiration.
Hyeong In-geol, while surprised, looked at me with a complicated expression.
I sat down and said.
“Aren't we going to have that company dinner?”
* * *
A day after that incident, the Branch Master summoned me and my Team Three members.
When we entered the Branch Master’s office, Team Two Leader Hyeong In-geol, who had been sitting and talking, stood up.
My team members and I lined up before the Branch Master’s desk.
I had a rough idea of why the Branch Master had called for me.
The Branch Master, with his hands clasped on the desk, stared at me for a moment before speaking.
“Ak Bi-ryong, would you like to be the Team Three Leader?”
The position of Team Three Leader was currently vacant. The previous leader had died when the entire Dong-ro Branch was dispatched to support the Hangzhou branch.
For him to ask me to become the Team Three Leader was unexpected. I thought he was going to lecture me about the incident at the tavern, but this was a surprise.
However, it wasn't incomprehensible. He was saying my skills made me worthy of being a team leader.
Without much thought, I shook my head.
“I’m not interested.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t like being tied down.”
“Hmm! There’s something you should know.”
Although I hadn't known him for long, the Branch Master seemed to be a man of great depth.
“Whether you like it or not, you have become a representative of our Dong-ro Branch.”
“Is this about yesterday?”
“Indeed. Nothing like that has ever happened since the Dong-ro Branch was founded, so in that regard, you are its representative.”
The Branch Master was right about that.
I had served for two years as a low-ranking warrior at the Martial Alliance headquarters, so I was skilled in combat and dealing with the petty tricks of street thugs, but I knew little about the politics of the so-called executives, even for a lowest-ranking executive like a Team Leader.
The Branch Master spoke calmly.
“You have two choices.”
“What are they?”
I asked, though I already had a good idea.
“Either stay here and become the Team Three Leader, or leave.”
I could guess what would happen if I became the Team Three Leader and what would happen if I left.
To put it in extreme terms, if I became the Team Three Leader, I would be protected as a member of the Martial Alliance, but if I left, I would have to face the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union alone.
Of course, in the former case, responsibility would accompany the protection.
In any case, if I were to be pursued by the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union after leaving and becoming alone, it would be extremely troublesome.
Also, I needed to sort out the uncertain state of my martial arts while I was here.
I asked, as if in passing.
“What do you think about what happened yesterday, Branch Master?”
“It was exhilarating. I slept soundly for the first time in a long while.”
The Branch Master and Hyeong In-geol smiled faintly.
That was enough. I nodded.
“I’ll be the Team Three Leader.”
“A wise decision!”
The Branch Master smiled and nodded, while Hyeong In-geol and the members of Team Three beamed.
It wasn't that I wanted to be the Team Three Leader. I simply intended to use this place as a temporary nest while my martial arts were still incomplete. Once I achieved my goals, I would leave without a second thought.
Deung Bo, Yeon Cheong, and Dam Geum-hu were all genuinely delighted.
“Congratulations on becoming Team Leader!”
“Congratulations, Team Leader!”
“Congratulations, Chief!”
Dam Geum-hu called me Chief.
* * *
Only the members of Team Three were happy that I had become their leader.
No, there was one more: Team Two Leader Hyeong In-geol. He personally expressed his gratitude to me for saving the tavern his wife ran.
The Branch Master, who had asked me to become the Team Three Leader, was not in a position to be genuinely happy.
He must have had one or two other branch members in mind for the position.
In terms of experience or seniority, I, a stone that had just rolled in, was not fit to be a team leader.
For that reason, the members of Team One and Team Two were not pleased that I had become the Team Three Leader.
In fact, within the branch, the members of Team One and Team Two not only didn't greet me when we crossed paths, but their faces also showed open animosity.
But as long as they didn't bother me, I didn't care.
I suspected I knew why the Branch Master had appointed me as the Team Three Leader.
He wanted me to handle any future incidents arising from the beating of the twelve demonic bastards, including the fourth Altar Lord from the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union’s Dong-ro Branch.
The Dong-ro Branch of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union had five altars and over seventy subordinates under them.
That's why they wielded the most power in Dong-ro County, and no one dared to challenge them. In Dong-ro County, they were the law.
And yet, I alone had snapped one of the five fingers of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union’s Dong-ro Branch.
However, I figured they wouldn't publicize the incident out of shame.
For those who held sway over Dong-ro County, revealing it would be like spitting in their own faces.
But they wouldn't just let the matter slide either. The damage was too great, and their pride had been severely wounded.
This meant they would scheme behind the scenes, and the Branch Master wanted me to handle it.
The Branch Master seemed to be planning to use a lizard's tactic. If things got dicey, he would cut off the tail. And of course, I was the lizard's tail.
For the Branch Master, this was the best approach. If I were in his shoes, I'd do the same.
My response to that?
‘Bring it on!’
My new creed was to live without hesitation.
If anything gets in my way, I'll crash into it and smash it to pieces. Isn't that why I spent three years and five months living like a wild man in a deep mountain cave, mastering one hundred and eighty-nine martial arts manuals day and night?
* * *
I was assigned the room previously used by the old Team Three Leader, and my stipend doubled to four silver taels.
The only change to my attire was an epaulet on my shoulder that read ‘Team Three Leader.’
* * *
On my fifth day at the Dong-ro Branch, a small commotion arose during lunch.
Among the branch members, seven had families and commuted to work. Five of them were voicing their complaints.
The commuters who didn't openly express their dissatisfaction were the Branch Master and Team Two Leader Hyeong In-geol.
One of the seven, a man from Team One named Bong Geun-san, was attacked by an unknown assailant on his way home last night and suffered a serious stab wound.
However, the branch members were all blaming me for Bong Geun-san’s attack.
They complained that the Dong-ro Branch of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union had retaliated out of resentment, and that this was only the beginning, each one eager to voice their grievances.