Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Team Leader Three Steps Out
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Hyung In-geol spoke frankly.
“Team Leader Three, to be honest, we're at a loss. Tell us what you think we should do with those three.”
Hyung In-geol asked, and Ahn Do-pil clasped his hands and watched me.
I had suspected from the moment I brought them in that Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol would find the three men overwhelming.
I was curious how they would handle them, and just as I thought, they had no plan.
It's not their fault. They are simply ordinary men, perfectly suited to be the Branch Master and Vice Branch Master of a rural branch.
All they want is for each day to pass without any major incidents.
“Do you know why I had no choice but to drag those three here?”
“You brought them here because you couldn't kill them, but you couldn't let them go either?”
“That's right.”
Ahn Do-pil said seriously.
“I'll be honest.”
“Go on.”
“I'm a little scared.”
“Why is that?”
“This is beyond my capabilities; I can't handle it. Besides, aren't we dealing with the Dong-ro Regional Branch of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, the very ones who have Dong-ro Prefecture in their grip?”
That was Ahn Do-pil's honest feeling.
Hyung In-geol, who felt the same, said gravely.
“In this situation, we have no options.”
I sensed what he was getting at.
“Are you suggesting we just send the three of them back?”
“Right now, it's the only way.”
“Just send them back? With no conditions?”
“Couldn't we add the condition that they never touch our branch members again?”
“And you think the Dong-ro Regional Branch will agree to that?”
“I can't guarantee it, but…”
Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol's faces darkened. They just wanted to get rid of this burden as quickly as possible.
I stood up and walked to the door.
“Do as you please.”
Ahn Do-pil asked.
“What would you do?”
“I'm not interested.”
*Thump!*
“We'll do whatever you say.”
Ahn Do-pil spoke urgently as I opened the door.
“Anything?”
Ahn Do-pil's face contorted, then he finally nodded.
“Yes. Anything.”
He had no other choice.
He was the kind of man who couldn't eat even when the table was set for him, but whose fault was it that his capabilities only went so far?
I sat back down.
***
I entered the warehouse with Dam Geum-hu, who was holding a thick club.
The three captives were sitting against a wall, their vital and vocal points sealed. Their faces tensed as they saw us enter.
Dam Geum-hu released the pressure points on their vocal cords, then stood before them with his legs apart, speaking menacingly.
“Who ordered you to attack our branch members, Bong Geun-san and Seok Won-sang, and this Team Leader?”
The three men's eyes darted about as their minds raced.
Dam Geum-hu didn't wait for an answer.
*Whoosh!*
The club cut mercilessly through the air.
*Crack!*
“Argh!”
Wi Geun-seong, the youngest brother of the Dong-ro Regional Master of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, took the club to his head. Blood splattered as he passed out.
The club in Dam Geum-hu's hand didn't neglect the other two.
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
“Gah!”
“Aargh! W-wait, let's talk!”
The two men couldn't move; all they could do was scream.
“That's enough.”
“Hah… hah… hah… hah!”
Dam Geum-hu gasped for breath. If I hadn't stopped him, it looked like he would have beaten the three to death.
It seemed Dam Geum-hu was also enraged that two of his comrades and his Team Leader had been attacked.
I asked quietly.
“Who gave the order?”
“Ugh… why are you asking?”
The impatient club sliced through the air again.
“You bastard! We're the ones asking the questions!”
*Whoosh!*
*Thwack!*
“Haaargh!”
“Gaaack!”
Only after they were covered in blood did the two men confess. Fools.
***
*Rattle! Clatter!*
A horse-drawn cart rolled through Dong-ro Prefecture.
Hyung In-geol sat in the driver's seat, guiding the cart, while Ahn Do-pil and I walked on either side.
Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol looked extremely tense. They had agreed to follow my lead, but their faces were grim, as if they were being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
The cargo bed of the cart was covered with a straw mat, concealing the three men from the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, their pressure points sealed.
We were on our way to the Dong-ro Regional Branch of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union. That was why Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol were frozen with fear.
Ahn Do-pil had promised to do as I said, and my decision was to go directly to their regional branch and confront them.
Within the confines of the Dong-ro Branch, Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol carried themselves with dignity and composure. But now that the three of us were about to storm the enemy's headquarters, their feet felt as heavy as lead.
Ahn Do-pil kept glancing at me, his lips parting as if to say something, before he finally spoke.
“What do I need to do?”
“Relax your face.”
“Mm! Understood.”
Despite his words, the faces of Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol remained rigid.
***
I stood with Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol in a line before the cart in the courtyard of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Dong-ro Regional Branch.
Across from us, in front of the main hall, stood the Dong-ro Regional Master, Wi Heun-chang, and his close aides. The entire force of the regional branch surrounded us.
Excluding the Fourth Altar Lord and the twelve men I had beaten at the tavern, plus the three in the cart, there were about sixty men here. The entire Dong-ro Regional Branch had turned out.
The presence of these sixty men alone was formidable. Moreover, we were in the heart of enemy territory.
To be honest, this was a first for me. In fact, everything I had done in Dong-ro Prefecture was a first.
But there was no reason to be intimidated. I had my practical combat skills.
I would face each challenge as it came. The novelty of it felt strangely refreshing, and my heart fluttered with a bit of excitement.
I was only recently realizing that I liked and even enjoyed this feeling.
It was a thrilling sensation, and I had grown fond of it.
The Dong-ro Regional Master, Wi Heun-chang, spoke with a frown.
“Ahn Do-pil! What is the meaning of this?”
Just as Ahn Do-pil was about to respond, I said quietly.
“Wi Heun-chang, I've brought your men back.”
I had decided to be blunt with Wi Heun-chang. Judging by the way he spoke, he was the type who deserved it.
One of the executives next to Wi Heun-chang scolded me harshly.
“You insolent whelp! How dare you address the Regional Master with such disrespect!”
I scowled.
“What a nuisance.”
“A nuisance?”
Wi Heun-chang's eyebrow twitched.
“Who are you?”
“I am Team Leader Three of the Martial Alliance's Dong-ro Branch.”
It was clear that the members of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Dong-ro Regional Branch didn't recognize my face yet.
After all, the ones I had beaten up were all laid up in bed. How could anyone here possibly know who I was?
The news that the man who had crushed the Fourth Altar Lord and his twelve men had been appointed Team Leader Three of the Dong-ro Branch had not yet spread.
Wi Heun-chang stomped his foot sternly.
“A mere Team Leader speaks to me so informally? How audacious!”
“You're speaking informally to me, aren't you?”
Wi Heun-chang looked utterly dumbfounded.
His aides were furious.
“Seize that bastard!”
“Tear that brat's mouth off!”
Wi Heun-chang raised his hand, and his aides fell silent.
He must have thought that since we had walked into his regional branch on our own, we were like rats in a trap.
He was reining himself in for now, planning to teach me a harsh lesson later.
Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol were frozen stiff, standing there blankly, their eyes darting around.
I pointed directly at Wi Heun-chang.
“In any case, you're going to get a beating today.”
Wi Heun-chang looked past annoyed to utterly amused.
“And do you have the ability to do that?”
I just gave him a strange smile.
Seeing my smile, Wi Heun-chang frowned.
I grinned. This wasn't what I had intended, but things were heading in a strange direction.
But it didn't matter. What happens when you try to block a powerfully flowing river? It overflows without restraint. That's what I was about to show them.
‘That’s right! I am a mighty river. Just try and stop me!’
For now, I had no plan, as I lacked experience. But once I accumulated enough experience, everything would fall into place.
Suddenly, a good idea came to mind.
“I have a proposal.”
“Speak.”
From what I could tell, Wi Heun-chang seemed to value face and honor. I knew how to handle this type of person.
“Let a representative from our branch and a representative from your regional branch fight one-on-one.”
“And?”
“The winner's will shall be done. How about it?”
“Fine.”
For Wi Heun-chang, it was a deal with no downside.
Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol, however, were extremely anxious. If I lost the one-on-one duel, Wi Heun-chang would be in command.
The aftermath would be painfully obvious. The Martial Alliance's Dong-ro Branch would either be reduced to a subsidiary of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Dong-ro Regional Branch or be forced to shut down.
Ahn Do-pil kept looking at me, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something. I could guess what he wanted to say without hearing it.
This was the perfect time to use the voice-projection technique. I decided to try it.
[Branch Master, trust me.]
‘It works!’
Ahn Do-pil's eyes widened as he looked at me. This was because sending one's voice telepathically was not something just anyone could do; one had to have crossed the threshold into the ranks of first-rate masters to perform it.
When I gave a slight nod, Ahn Do-pil's expression finally relaxed a little.
Wi Heun-chang's expression was complicated for a moment.
The first thought that came to his mind was the troublesome figure from the Dong-ro Branch who had single-handedly crushed the Fourth Altar Lord and twelve others at the Gwanghwa Pavilion.
Wi Heun-chang frowned.
“Who will represent the Dong-ro Branch?”
“Me.”
“You?”
Wi Heun-chang's face brightened.
“Who was the one who disciplined my men at the Gwanghwa Pavilion?”
“His name is Ak Bi-ryong.”
I spoke of Ak Bi-ryong as if he were a complete stranger.
Wi Heun-chang seemed to think that Ak Bi-ryong and Team Leader Three were different people.
“Who is the strongest fighter in the Dong-ro Regional Branch?”
I deliberately used the phrase ‘strongest fighter’ to subtly prod Wi Heun-chang into stepping forward.
“Me.”
Wi Heun-chang said, puffing out his chest.
***
The current state of the martial world resembled the Warring States period, but the five largest powers were the Orthodox Faction, the Demonic Path, the Unorthodox Path, the Spirit Realm, and the Forest of Green.
Until thirteen years ago, the Martial Alliance was the largest and strongest power, followed by the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path, the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, the Four Seas Way of the Forest of Green, and the Mysterious Jade Palace of the Spirit Realm.
However, thirteen years ago, the martial world's landscape changed dramatically when the Martial Alliance's headquarters on Mount Jinbao in Luoyang was annihilated in a surprise attack by the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union.
Across the land, the Martial Alliance's power crumbled like a sandcastle against the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path.
As a result, it had been reduced to a power less than half the size of either the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union or the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path.
Currently, the martial world's power structure could be divided into two great powers, two medium powers, and one small power.
The two great powers were the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path. The two medium powers were the Martial Alliance and the Four Seas Way. The one small power was the Mysterious Jade Palace.
Not only had the Martial Alliance, once the most formidable power thirteen years ago, been reduced to a medium power, but it had now shrunk to about seventy percent of the size of the Four Seas Way, its peer.
In Dong-ro Prefecture, the Martial Alliance's Dong-ro Branch was living with bated breath.
The moment the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union or the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path issued an order to annihilate the scattered Martial Alliance chapters and branches, the Dong-ro Branch was fated to vanish like the morning dew.
And in this situation, I was stirring up trouble with the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Dong-ro Regional Branch.
I stood facing Wi Heun-chang, a distance of about ten feet between us.
Typically, duels between masters are held with a distance of twenty or thirty feet between them, but for a novice, even ten feet is a long way.
Although Wi Heun-chang was the Dong-ro Regional Master of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, in the grand scheme of the martial world, he could be considered a second-rate fighter.
Of course, I still considered myself a novice, as I had never been in a proper fight. I earnestly hoped to improve my skills, become an intermediate fighter, and then a master.
And of course, I had to!
And I would definitely beat down someone of Wi Heun-chang's level.