Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Martial Alliance's King of Hell
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Crack! Thwack!
"Aaargh!"
In the second duel, Wi Heun-chang was sent flying back with a wretched scream after a single move, hitting the ground and rolling over five times.
This time, to prevent him from crying sorcery again, I broke his right shoulder bone outright.
Even a little bit of force from the Fire Dragon Sword felt like it would shatter not just his shoulder but his ribs too, so I had a hard time striking him gently enough.
This time, I used only one-tenth of my power. That was more than enough to deal with Wi Heun-chang.
And I realized something else.
I could draw out more than one-tenth of my power if I just willed it.
"Guuuh... Gguk...!"
Covered in dirt, the man collapsed to the ground, his face contorted in a grimace as he groaned in agony.
His broken shoulder hung limp, and he lacked the strength to even hold his sword.
I slowly walked toward him, brandishing the Fire Dragon Sword.
"Still think it's sorcery? Want to go another round?"
"Guuuh..."
I had to break his spirit completely.
"Get up. Let's fight one more time."
"Ugh... No! That's enough...!"
Wi Heun-chang was terrified. He must have thought another fight would mean his death.
I stopped in front of Wi Heun-chang.
"Enough?"
“...”
"Am I your friend?"
I felt another side of my personality, one I never knew existed, coming to the surface.
This wasn't the subservient, repressed nature of a low-ranking warrior from the Martial Alliance headquarters; this was the nature of the strong.
It had been hidden deep within me, and now, with victory, it was baring its sharp fangs.
I raised the Fire Dragon Sword as if to strike.
"Not answering?"
I threatened him, ready to tear out his throat with my sharp teeth if he crossed me.
Wi Heun-chang, startled, shouted reflexively.
"Yes... Sir!"
A sense of triumph and accomplishment that only the strong can taste stirred within me.
"As of this moment, the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Dong-ro branch is hereby disbanded."
“...”
Wi Heun-chang's face went blank, then shifted to an expression that said he would rather die.
"You can't do it, is that it?"
The Fire Dragon Sword swung down mercilessly toward his left shoulder.
Whoosh!
I infused it with a bit of power, deliberately making the sound of it cutting through the air louder.
Wi Heun-chang covered his head with both arms and yelled frantically.
"Aaaah! I'll disband the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Dong-ro branch!"
Thunk!
The Fire Dragon Sword stopped just above his left shoulder.
"Do it as soon as possible. Understand?"
"Yes..."
"I can't hear you."
"Yes, sir!"
I slowly looked around at the Dong-ro branch's underlings.
They wore various expressions, most of them defiant and displeased.
It's in my nature not to let things like this slide. Even if it is the nature of the strong I just discovered.
"Those who defy, step forward!"
When I crush someone, I make sure they're thoroughly crushed.
So they can never rise again!
The underlings hesitated. Some looked ready to step forward, while others wavered.
I couldn't stop here.
"You can all come at me at once!"
If all of them attacked, it would be over sixty men. I had taken down an Altar Lord and his twelve men before, but I had never faced sixty people at once.
But this wasn't bravado; it was confidence. I had to be able to handle this much to become the strongest.
I roared.
"Come at me all at once!"
At first, about ten men shuffled forward, but seeing them, the remaining fifty or so gained courage and all stepped out.
The only ones who didn't join were Wi Heun-chang, Ahn Do-pil, and Hyung In-geol.
Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol were so anxious they didn't know what to do.
I slowly scanned the sixty-odd men who were surrounding me, gradually closing in.
I had boasted for them to come at me all at once, brimming with confidence, but now that it was reality, my legs couldn't help but tremble.
I had never been in a ridiculous fight like this, one against sixty.
If I got scared in a fight like this, how could I ever become the strongest?
I tensed my lower abdomen.
'Alright! Let's do this!'
Instead, I will give my all in every fight. That is my new motto.
Ch-ch-chang!
Just then, the sixty men drew their weapons in unison and surged toward me from all sides like a wave.
Swoooosh!
The moment I saw the ten or so men closest to me rushing in and swinging their blades, my mind suddenly became crystal clear.
When my body reacts, my mind clears.
'It's happening!'
The moves of the ten men leading the attack became perfectly clear at a glance, and at the same time, their movements seemed to slow as if frozen in time.
As I expected, my body reacted to this fight as well.
'Here I go!'
I gripped the Fire Dragon Sword and met them, this time using one and a half-tenths of my power.
Since I had used one-tenth of my power on Wi Heun-chang alone, I figured one and a half-tenths would be enough, even against a crowd.
In that moment, I realized something.
All ten of the men leading the charge bumped into each other as they attacked.
No, it was more of a slight jostle than a collision, but it didn't escape my eyes.
When many attack one, the limited space means that at most, only four can attack at the same time.
That's why the ten attackers bumped into each other while trying to strike first, and I didn't miss that moment.
Shhhk!
Before their blades could even begin their attack, the Fire Dragon Sword struck like lightning.
Th-th-thwack!
"Ugh!"
"Gak!"
As the first five fell, the Fire Dragon Sword shot toward its next prey.
Hwoooong!
"Hah... hah... hah!"
My breathing was a little ragged as I looked around.
On the ground, all sixty men, beaten by the Fire Dragon Sword, were either lying down or collapsed, groaning in pain.
To think I had fought against sixty men and knocked them all down—I could hardly believe it even as I saw it with my own eyes.
This was truly a monumental event. From this point on, I would grow even stronger.
To make sure they wouldn't dare challenge me again, I broke an arm or a leg on each of them.
But one thing bothered me: even though I had faced sixty men, I was out of breath.
'Is it because they were third-rate warriors?'
Perhaps my body only reacted to that extent when facing third-rate warriors.
'No!'
Then I realized. It was because I had only used one and a half-tenths of my power when fighting them.
If I had used a more generous amount, say three or four-tenths, I wouldn't have gotten this tired.
It was like the difference between a frail woman lifting an object and a robust man lifting the same thing.
I walked over to Wi Heun-chang, who was standing off to the side, and stopped in front of him.
Wi Heun-chang had never dreamed that I would fight his sixty men and take them all down.
He looked at me with a complicated expression.
"Are you, by any chance, Ak Bi-ryong?"
"I am."
"Ngh!"
Wi Heun-chang let out a groan.
Watching me take down him and his sixty men, Wi Heun-chang had suddenly recalled Ak Bi-ryong, the man who had crushed an Altar Lord and his twelve men at Gwanghwa Pavilion.
Wi Heun-chang's face twisted into an ugly grimace.
I called out to him softly.
"Wi Heun-chang."
"Yes."
"Disband the Dong-ro branch."
Wi Heun-chang said with a troubled voice.
"That's practically impossible..."
"That's not what you said before."
Wi Heun-chang's face contorted unpleasantly.
"Please, have mercy!"
Without answering, I spoke to Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol, who were standing a short distance away.
"Take them down."
The two men removed the tarp from the cart and lowered Wi Heun-chang's youngest brother, Wi Geun-seong, and two others to the ground.
Wi Geun-seong and the others were half-dead from the beating they received from Dam Geum-hu.
Wi Heun-chang pleaded.
"Disbanding the Dong-ro branch is beyond my authority!"
"I can disband it with my own hands."
Having defeated Wi Heun-chang and his sixty men, killing them all would be the same as disbanding the branch.
Wi Heun-chang looked like he was about to cry.
"What must I do for you to retract that order?"
At this point, Wi Heun-chang had completely submitted.
"You choose."
Wi Heun-chang's expression turned complex, and he finally spoke with a heavy heart.
"If I take my own life, will you spare my men?"
'Hm?'
This was unexpected.
"Promise me, and I will take my life."
A look of resolve, though troubled, appeared on Wi Heun-chang's face. From what I could see, he was sincere.
As a low-ranking warrior of the Martial Alliance, I had enough experience to discern someone's true intentions.
Wi Heun-chang's actions meant that disbanding the Dong-ro branch was truly something he could not do.
I nodded.
"Then take your life."
"First, promise you will spare my men."
"I promise."
"Hmph!"
Wi Heun-chang grunted heavily, then stood up, picked up a nearby sword, and knelt neatly before me.
He held the sword in his right hand and bowed his head for a moment. He looked incredibly solemn.
His sixty-odd underlings all got up and gathered around, watching him. Most had sorrowful faces, wiping away tears with their fists and sobbing quietly.
Finally, Wi Heun-chang raised his head.
I saw his face was filled with determination.
When Wi Heun-chang extended his right arm, the sword spun around, its tip pointing toward him.
He then immediately thrust the sword's tip toward his own throat.
Ssk!
In that instant, I knocked his sword away with the Fire Dragon Sword.
Clang!
"Ah!"
As the sword flew from his hand, Wi Heun-chang stared at me, bewildered.
"That's enough."
"Why... did you do that?"
Because I had seen his manliness. Whether he had been vile or vicious in the past, his willingness to sacrifice himself to save his men moved me.
He may be a man of the demonic path, but he is a man nonetheless. That was enough. This man still deserved to live.
"I will suspend the order to disband the Dong-ro branch."
"Thank you!"
As I walked toward the main gate, Wi Heun-chang watched me with a complex expression.
Once the cart and I passed through the main gate and out of sight, his underlings crowded around him.
"Regional Master!"
"Uwaaah! Regional Master!"
* * *
Clatter! Clack!
The empty cart headed back to the Dong-ro Branch.
Hyung In-geol sat in the driver's seat, steering the cart, while Ahn Do-pil and I walked on either side.
Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol were still reeling from what had just happened at the Dong-ro branch.
Having never witnessed anything like it in their lives, the two men couldn't tell if the incredible event had been a dream or reality, and they kept glancing at me.
"Branch Master."
"Aah!"
"Whoa!"
Ahn Do-pil and Hyung In-geol jumped in surprise when I called out.
Ahn Do-pil was even more startled.
"What... is it?"
He was polite, as if I were a strange and fearsome being.
"Branch Master, pull yourself together."
“...”
"It's me, Team Leader Three."
"Ah..."
Ahn Do-pil gave an awkward laugh. Even though he knew I was Team Leader Three, he couldn't seem to shake his fear.
'Heh! Could there be some respect mixed in there, too?'
The shock of the incredible incident that had occurred just a short while ago would probably not fade easily, even after several months.
* * *
A rumor spread like wildfire, not just through Dong-ro County, but throughout all of Zhejiang Province, including Hangzhou.
It was the rumor that Team Leader Three of the Martial Alliance's Dong-ro Branch had defeated Wi Heun-chang, the Regional Master of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union's Dong-ro branch, in a single move, and had then single-handedly taken down all sixty of the branch's underlings.
However, those who heard the rumor were skeptical. They doubted how a mere Team Leader could accomplish such an incredible feat.