Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: I'm a Lord?!
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“Then what’s below the Fifteen Venerables of the Martial World?”
“There are various other titles and names, but you need not concern yourself with them, Third Team Leader.”
“Hmm! But are you saying I’m on a similar level to your master, one of the Fifteen Venerables?”
“It’s not an exact comparison. It’s just an assessment based on what I’ve seen of your martial prowess so far.”
At that moment, I set a clear goal for myself.
I would defeat the Fifteen Venerables, the Eight Absolutes of the World, and the Four Wonders of the Universe, one by one, and rise to the very top.
* * *
As I watched the Third Team members clean up the assassins’ bodies and the kite, a question suddenly occurred to me.
“Jo-suk, how long do you plan on staying here?”
“I’ll be frank.”
Sang Gang-jo spoke with a serious tone.
“This area is swarming with pursuit squads. I don’t dare try to break through.”
“Have you confirmed their presence?”
“You saw them yourself last time, did you not, Third Team Leader?”
“I did.”
“I’d have to risk my own neck to confirm if they’re still out there.”
“Hmm! That sounds like a decent plan.”
“How amusing.”
Sang Gang-jo smiled faintly.
“There is one other way, however.”
From his expression, I had a feeling this other way had something to do with me.
After all, I’d spent fourteen years, from age six to twenty, living on eggshells.
“Oh, Jang Ung is here.”
Ignoring Sang Gang-jo’s next words, I turned to watch Jang Ung approach.
From a distance, Jang Ung bowed respectfully to me. He then inspected the bodies the Third Team had cleared away before coming over.
“They are from the assassin organization, the Northern Underworld Manor.”
What Sang Gang-jo didn’t know, Jang Ung identified at a single glance.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. They have a Five-Kill Mark behind their ears. It’s definitely the Northern Underworld Manor.”
Sang Gang-jo frowned.
“Are you saying the Zhejiang Demonic Union of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union hired the Northern Underworld Manor to kill the Third Team Leader?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what?”
“Besides assassination, the Northern Underworld Manor also works as mercenaries.”
“Is that so?”
“Sixty percent of the Northern Underworld Manor’s forces are mercenaries, and forty percent are assassins. These bodies belong to mercenaries.”
“Is the Five-Kill Mark behind their ears proof that they’re mercenaries?”
“That’s right. Assassins have a Seven-Kill Mark.”
Jang Ung knew things even Sang Gang-jo didn’t, yet his demeanor was unfailingly humble.
“Why would the Zhejiang Demonic Union use mercenaries?”
Sang Gang-jo mumbled to himself, as if doubting Jang Ung could possibly know the answer to that as well.
“Because they were short on manpower.”
Jang Ung stated it as if he had seen it himself. Come to think of it, he rarely seemed to speak in hypotheticals. He only stated what he knew for certain.
‘Well, look at this fellow.’
I watched Jang Ung with interest.
The clever Sang Gang-jo immediately understood the meaning behind his words.
The Sword Demon Union—that is, the Zhejiang Demonic Union—had deployed so many people to track him down that Nu Jin-sang lacked the subordinates to bring with him, forcing him to hire mercenaries from the Northern Underworld Manor.
‘Does that mean the hundred Sword Demon experts Nu Jin-sang brought weren’t elites?’
As Sang Gang-jo looked at him, Jang Ung spoke politely.
“Please, ask me anything.”
A thought suddenly struck Sang Gang-jo.
“Do you know who I am?”
Given the astuteness Jang Ung had shown over the past two days, he had a feeling it was possible.
“I do.”
‘Just as I thought!’
Sang Gang-jo didn’t ask who he was. If Jang Ung said he knew, then he knew.
Instead, he asked something else.
“Is the Sword Demon Union still searching for me?”
“Yes.”
“Hmph!”
Sang Gang-jo let out a groan at Jang Ung’s definitive answer.
“Do you know about the pursuit squads?”
“Yes.”
“Will you tell me?”
“The Zhejiang Sword Demon Union has formed pursuit squads with six of its eight Demonic Squads—over three hundred Sword Demon experts—and they are searching the northern region of Zhejiang Province.”
“Three hundred Sword Demon experts?”
“Not only that, but all eighty-four demonic sects under the Zhejiang Sword Demon Union have joined the search. Their numbers reach over two thousand.”
A muscle in Sang Gang-jo’s cheek twitched.
“Four Demonic Squads from the Jiangsu Demonic Union’s Blade Demon Union, two hundred experts in total, are heading south to support the Zhejiang Sword Demon Union.”
After speaking, Jang Ung stood ramrod straight for a moment before adding cautiously.
“The Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path are also in the process of forming a pursuit squad.”
“The Ten Heavens?”
“It shows just how critical this matter is.”
It occurred to him that Jang Ung might even know the nature of Sang Gang-jo’s mission.
The man was more than brilliant; he was frightening.
Sang Gang-jo looked at me with a troubled expression, but I feigned indifference and looked away. In truth, I had no interest in such matters.
What did surprise me was the fact that Jang Ung knew who Sang Gang-jo was.
The Demonic Emperor's Grand Union had poured thousands of men into a frantic search for Sang Gang-jo, yet they had failed.
But Jang Ung, the mere head of the Beggars' Union in Dong-ro County, not only knew Sang Gang-jo’s identity but was also fully aware of the movements of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path.
If Jang Ung had even the slightest ill intent, he could easily expose Sang Gang-jo’s whereabouts.
Discovering this other side of Jang Ung, I was, frankly, a little startled.
What made me value Jang Ung so highly was not just that he already knew who Sang Gang-jo was, but that he wasn’t trying to use that knowledge to gain an advantage.
An ordinary person would have used it as leverage to strike a deal with Sang Gang-jo or me.
I hadn’t misjudged Jang Ung. He was not only extraordinary but also a man of gravity and class.
Sang Gang-jo asked Jang Ung an important question.
“Is this place safe?”
“It is safe.”
In other words, Sang Gang-jo would have to be a ghost in the Dong-ro Branch for the foreseeable future.
I asked Jang Ung a question of my own.
“Why did those bastards try to kill me?”
“This is my conjecture.”
It seemed Jang Ung made sure to preface anything that wasn’t a certainty with a disclaimer.
“The mercenaries from the Northern Underworld Manor likely received their orders directly from the master of the Sword Demon Union.”
“To kill me?”
“Yes. It was likely a preemptive order, in case the Sword Demon Union Master lost his fight against you, sir.”
“A meticulous man.”
Sang Gang-jo clicked his tongue.
“Usually, the strong assume they will win, and even if they lose, they don’t expect to die.”
Sang Gang-jo was right. I would have thought the same.
Jang Ung spoke.
“But the Sword Demon Union Master prepared for the one-in-a-million chance of his own death. Do you know why?”
“Why is that?”
“Because he is a man of the Demonic Path.”
Sang Gang-jo nodded in understanding, but I was not familiar with the ways of the Demonic Path.
Sang Gang-jo explained.
“Those of the Demonic Path value their mission above all else. Therefore, if he were to be defeated and killed by you, Third Team Leader, it would mean that such a powerful enemy must be eliminated for the sake of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union.”
“I see.”
When I was a low-ranking warrior in the Martial Alliance, I never felt such a sense of duty or spirit of sacrifice.
Perhaps Nu Jin-sang’s high position as one of the nine Union Masters of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, on top of being a man of the Demonic Path, was the reason.
At that moment, something dawned on me.
“Does this mean the Northern Underworld Manor will continue to try and kill me?”
“Yes.”
Jang Ung replied respectfully.
“There were a hundred Sword Demon Union experts who followed the Union Master and hid outside the Purple Cloud Pavilion, but seventy of them were mercenaries from the Northern Underworld Manor.”
“Is that so?”
It seemed there was nothing Jang Ung didn’t know. He straightened his posture.
“I will now report on the matter you commanded me to handle yesterday.”
Last night, I had instructed Jang Ung to monitor the movements of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path.
“I have confirmed that both the Dong-ro branches of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path are preparing to withdraw.”
“They are?”
I decided to test Jang Ung’s intellect.
“Do you know why I wanted the Dong-ro branches of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens to withdraw?”
“I do.”
He even knew that. If he was telling the truth, Jang Ung was a frighteningly intelligent man.
He was beyond compare to anyone I had ever known.
During my two years and five months as a low-ranking warrior in the Martial Alliance, I learned a few things the hard way. One of them was to never save the good stuff for later.
There’s a saying that if you save it, it goes to waste. Good food will spoil or be snatched by others. The truth is to eat it before that happens.
I prefer to work alone, but a man like this was worth keeping by my side as a subordinate. He would only make me shine brighter, never cause me harm.
To become the ultimate master of combat, I wouldn't need to painstakingly search the world for the strongest experts. Jang Ung would take care of all that for me.
I spoke to Jang Ung with sincerity.
“Very well! I will take you as my subordinate.”
“…”
Caught off guard by the sudden declaration, Jang Ung’s eyes widened in surprise before he immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed.
“Thank you! I pledge my loyalty!”
“Rise.”
Sang Gang-jo smiled faintly. His smile seemed to say, ‘You’ve made a good decision.’
* * *
A single carriage stopped before the main gate of the Dong-ro Branch.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
At the sound of knocking, Yang Rim, who was in the Third Squad Hall, rushed out.
*Clip-clop! Rattle!*
When Yang Rim opened the gate, a one-horse carriage slowly entered. Jang Ung sat in the driver’s seat.
As the Third Team members and I came out to see what was happening, members from the First and Second Squad Halls, including An Do-pil and Hyeong In-geol, also poured out.
The carriage stopped in front of the Third Squad Hall, and Jang Ung leaped down from the driver’s seat to open the door.
Four young women alighted from the carriage. One of them approached Jang Ung’s side and gently bowed her head.
Jang Ung gestured toward me with both hands.
“This is my lord. Pay your respects.”
‘Lord?’
Jang Ung’s use of the title ‘lord’ struck me like a physical blow. It was the first title he had ever used for me.
My heart pounded, and blood rushed to my head.
‘Whoa! I’m a lord?’
To think someone would ever call me their lord—I can say with certainty that it was a possibility I had never once considered.
Jang Ung’s title of ‘lord’ elevated me by a level, no, by several levels.
In turn, my subordinate, Jang Ung, was also elevated. Knowing his character, he wouldn't have called me 'lord' simply to elevate his own status.
The woman, her long skirt rustling, walked toward me, then knelt and bowed, touching her forehead to the ground.
“Ja-un greets her lord.”
‘Ja-un?’
I looked at the carriage. On its side was an elegant painting of a single white crane soaring through purple clouds.
Seeing it reminded me of something.
‘Could it be the Purple Cloud Pavilion?’
When I went to meet Nu Jin-sang, I had seen a similar painting on the grand edifice of the Purple Cloud Pavilion.
Jang Ung pointed at the prostrated woman.
“My lord, this is the Mistress of the Purple Cloud Pavilion.”
The fact that the woman named Ja-un was the Mistress of the Purple Cloud Pavilion was less shocking than the fact that Jang Ung was calling me ‘lord.’ Even hearing it a second time, the shock hadn’t faded.
“My lord.”
As I stood there dumbfounded, Jang Ung called out to me quietly.
Only Sang Gang-jo knew that I had taken Jang Ung as my subordinate, so everyone else wore expressions of confusion.
Only Dam Geum-hu had a complex look on his face.
Jang Ung looked on cautiously, assuming my silence was due to inner turmoil or displeasure at being called ‘lord.’