Chapter 33
Chapter 33
33.
Butting In Means Death
Heukdo's small factions were often mixed in with commercial districts, but the Black Cat Clan was not. It was located a bit away from the commercial area, like a high-ranking official's mansion.
I stared at the main gate of the Black Cat Clan and said to So Gun-pyeong, "Wait here for a moment."
"Wouldn't it be better to go in together? We're going to fight anyway."
I looked at So Gun-pyeong. "As you said, the Black Cat Clan Leader will order us both killed immediately. I can't help it then. I'll have to kill everyone who comes at me. So, let's try my way first. If I scratch the Clan Leader's pride a bit, we might get a one-on-one duel. If that goes wrong, or at the right moment, it's good for you to step in. Understand?"
So Gun-pyeong had been subjected to my harsh words and provocations before, so he should roughly understand my actions.
"Understood."
So Gun-pyeong moved towards the wall first, and I, with the Great Axe on my shoulder, walked confidently and roughly knocked on the Black Cat Clan's main gate.
The center of the wooden gate opened with a thang sound, and two human eyes appeared in a small, rectangular space.
"Who is it?"
"Lee Jaha from Ilyang Prefecture."
The man's eyes scanned my face. "Who's Lee Jaha?"
I sighed briefly and replied, "Don't ask questions, just open the door. Before I smash it down."
"Playing games, are we?"
The gatekeeper scoffed and shouted loudly inside, "Is there anyone here who knows a cheeky, rude, and green young punk named Lee Jaha from Ilyang Prefecture?"
I sighed slightly, but it was an appropriate introduction nonetheless. However, I didn't have the patience to wait for the door to open.
I jumped up with the Great Axe in hand and landed lightly on top of the main gate.
The entire view of the quite large Black Cat Clan came into view at a glance.
Regardless of the power, I felt strangely twisted inside whenever I thought of a house as a rich one.
"Living well, aren't you? Living well..."
No matter how I looked at it, it was a house with a structure that didn't suit Heukdo's base. But if I thought about how they probably took it from someone else, it wasn't that surprising.
As I stood on the gate with the large axe on my shoulder, the guys who found me were shouting or approaching with grimaces on their faces.
I listened to the stream of curses pouring out on me for a while.
Dog bastard, cow bastard, they called me the child of beasts, threatened to break my limbs, stab my belly...
Well, what else would you expect from Heukdo?
After being thoroughly cursed, I jumped down and walked along the central path of the spacious outer courtyard.
I picked up a chair that was standing alone next to the central path, walked with it, placed the chair in the very center of the outer courtyard, leaned the Great Axe upside down in front of it, and sat down.
My expression and atmosphere.
The act of walking in leisurely with a large axe on my shoulder and taking a seat in the center.
And if my silence hadn't been effective, the rabble staring at me now would have rushed at me immediately.
But all these actions became my presence, and for a while, I was able to exchange glances with the Black Cat Clan's rabble without any interference.
In the meantime, the executives appeared one by one. The executives arrived in order on the platform on the inner courtyard side, and the waiting subordinates took their places widely, as if building a siege.
The old man who arrived last asked me, "Are you Lee Jaha from Ilyang Prefecture?"
I nodded, looking at the old man who seemed to have been rotting in Heukdo for a long time.
"That's me."
"You didn't come here alone, did you?"
"Old man, I didn't come here to talk to you. Tell that rabbit to come out quickly."
Just then, a calm voice was heard from inside.
"Who came?"
"Lee Jaha, who killed the Gold Dragon Hall Lord, has come in person."
The executives split to the left and right, creating a path from which a man wearing a rabbit mask walked out.
I examined the Black Cat Clan Leader's posture and atmosphere first. His physique was average, and I didn't feel anything special from his aura.
The Black Cat Clan Leader looked down at me and said, "Are you that Shop Assistant?"
When engaging in a battle of wits, it is the way of the Martial World to respond to a question with a question.
"Are you that slave rabbit of Daenachal, who is rumored to be an old cripple?"
"......"
"Was it a slave rabbit or a rabbit slave? Anyway."
The executives' eyes widened, and a quiet silence fell. The Clan Leader's expression could not be seen because of the mask.
Before the Black Cat Clan Leader could choose his words, I continued, "You sent assassins to me, you slave who plays the leader of a rural faction in a backwater village. If you run away from here right now, and all your subordinates rush at me, will your escape be successful or not? You ignorant black rabbit. Now, open your mouth."
Someone next to the Black Cat Clan Leader gave me this evaluation.
"He's not just any crazy guy."
I spoke clearly, distinctly, and forcefully. "Listen, Black Cat Clan. If your Clan Leader steps up to face me directly, regardless of his skill, he's a pretty decent leader. However, if he orders you to rush at me first, knowing my skills, that guy is Heukdo's trash, Heukdo's vermin, Heukdo's coward who is not worth serving as a leader..."
So Gun-pyeong, who was listening to this near the wall, shook his head.
"...Daenachal's slave, a cripple who only knows how to create an atmosphere without any skill, a rat hiding behind a mask, a useless guy who manipulates you by relying on Daenachal's trivial fame. A pathetic guy."
As the accusations poured out like a storm, a silence of a completely different atmosphere descended this time.
"......"
In the meantime, some of the subordinates' gazes subtly turned to the Black Cat Clan Leader. In fact, if you take out the curses, my words were correct, so an atmosphere was formed where they wanted the Black Cat Clan Leader to step up and take care of it. A situation that made him sigh involuntarily.
I held out my hand towards the Black Cat Clan Leader.
"Don't you understand the meaning of this silence? That kind of guy is not Heukdo. He's a cripple. Whose words are these? The Shop Assistant of Ilyang Prefecture, the Sect Leader of the Low Filth Sect, the words of a hidden master who is hard to find a rival in the area. The common saying that the Martial World is wide and there are many masters refers to me, so keep that in mind."
As soon as I finished speaking, I let out a low chuckle.
The Black Cat Clan Leader finally opened his mouth. "Who are you to define Heukdo? Licking when told to lick, rushing when told to rush, barking when told to bark, that is Heukdo."
"Is that so?"
"That's what Heukdo is originally."
"Did you get the wrong early education? Did Daenachal raise you like that since you were young? Like a dog... That's why you're in that shape."
In an instant, a few executives tried to burst out laughing but quickly controlled their expressions. When the enraged Black Cat Clan Leader looked around at the faces of the surrounding subordinates, they were already wearing stiff expressions.
I shrugged my shoulders and laughed at the Clan Leader and his subordinates' antics.
"Ah, that's why the Martial World is a funny place. The subordinates can't even laugh as they please."
It is true that the Martial World is a place where you can die if you laugh. There is no funnier place in the world than this.
The Black Cat Clan Leader said, "In short, you're saying you want to compete one-on-one. Do you think there's a Clan Leader of a faction who would easily fall for that kind of provocation? Your thinking is as childish as your face. Your schemes are as short as your thoughts. Is it because you're a country bumpkin Shop Assistant?"
This guy, look at his rhythm?
Suddenly, the Black Cat Clan Leader looked around at his subordinates and realized that even they were hoping that he would step up and duel one-on-one. A situation that made him sigh involuntarily.
The Black Cat Clan Leader glared at me with angry eyes. "I accept that one-on-one."
"Oh..."
"Instead, let's have all those who make the wrong choice today about who will win die on the spot. Those who think I will lose, move behind the Shop Assistant. Shop Assistant, wouldn't this be more fun?"
The Black Cat Clan Leader looked around and said, "Don't worry about my feelings, move comfortably. What's the worst that can happen but death?"
Of course, no one was moving yet.
Because it was natural to think that if the Shop Assistant of Ilyang Prefecture and the Black Cat Clan Leader competed, the latter would naturally win.
The Black Cat Clan Leader sneered at me. "Shop Assistant, this is your reality. Do you understand?"
At this time, a man soared from the wall and landed lightly on the outer courtyard floor.
Everyone's eyes turned to the man who suddenly appeared. Short exclamations mixed with various emotions burst out from here and there.
"Ah."
"Huh?"
Of course, it was So Gun-pyeong, the Gold Dragon Hall Lord of the Black Cat Clan and the Three Hundred Cycles of the Low Filth Sect.
The Black Cat Clan Leader scoffed at So Gun-pyeong's unexpected appearance. "Hall Lord So, how are you still alive? I clearly told you to kill yourself if you failed. Did you beg for your life?"
So Gun-pyeong, who had firmly decided on the direction of his life in the Black Cat Clan Leader's answer, replied in a calm tone. "Begging or whatever. Clan Leader, I'll take care of my own life now. What kind of deep affection or loyalty has passed between us that you keep telling me to die? I don't think we have that close of a relationship."
I interrupted the conversation between the two with a short remark. "That's right."
The Black Cat Clan Leader's gaze was fixed on me. "Why did you spare that guy?"
I immediately resolved the Black Cat Clan Leader's curiosity. "Am I you? You cripple. So Gun-pyeong and I have even shared pork bone soup. Isn't that right?"
When I suddenly mentioned pork bone soup and looked at So Gun-pyeong, So Gun-pyeong nodded with a slightly dazed expression. "Ah, that's right."
So Gun-pyeong looked around the Black Cat Clan and tried to turn the atmosphere around. "Anyway... the two of you should have a manly one-on-one duel. And my position will be decided according to the result. The Golden Dragon Division, come over to my side. I'll bet my life on the Sect Leader of the Low Filth Sect of Ilyang Prefecture winning."
So Gun-pyeong thought that he would know whether he had lived properly or not, depending on the subordinates' choices.
The Black Cat Clan Leader said in a sneering tone. "...Will there be anyone?"
At this time, one of the Golden Dragon Division's warriors said to the Black Cat Clan Leader, "Clan Leader, farewell. I'm going over there."
The young swordsman immediately headed to So Gun-pyeong and asked, "Hall Lord, what's wrong with your face?"
So Gun-pyeong smiled and greeted the Golden Dragon Division's subordinate. "What do you mean, what's wrong? It's like this because I got beat up."
"It's good that you're alive. I'm glad to see that ugly face that got beat up."
The Black Cat Clan Leader couldn't help but feel unpleasant. "Only one person, huh?"
As soon as the Clan Leader's words ended, another warrior of the Golden Dragon Division opened his mouth again. "Only two people."
As he walked to where So Gun-pyeong was with these words, this time, four or five people moved at the same time in succession.
When one of the men drew his sword, So Gun-pyeong stopped him. "Put your sword away. As I said, it's one-on-one."
"Is that so? I understand."
So Gun-pyeong didn't have any particular expression, but he was very happy inside. Anyway, the subordinates who had shared joys and sorrows under the name of the Golden Dragon Division were all coming over to where he was without exception.
So Gun-pyeong asked me, who was sitting in the chair, "Sect Leader, are you confident? If you lose, the Golden Dragon Division will all die."
"What confidence?"
"Of course..."
"Shut up."
I grabbed the axe and stood up. "The duel is one-on-one between me and that rabbit. It doesn't matter if anyone interferes. However, I promise that that guy will also die..."
Before my words could even finish, something cut through the wind from the left and flew towards my temple.
Swaeeng!
I quickly tilted my head without even being able to gauge the identity of the hidden weapon. A flashing hidden weapon passed like a whirlwind in front of my eyes and was embedded in the wall.
"......!"
Everyone closed their mouths with surprised eyes. Someone had ambushed me before the Black Cat Clan Leader and I even clashed. So much so that even the executives of the Black Cat Clan frowned and said a word each.
"This kind of despicable act..."
"Who is it? Doing something that wasn't even ordered."
I immediately found the guy whose movements had become large because he was throwing the hidden weapon with a sidelong glance.
I don't know whose orders he received to throw the hidden weapon. Maybe he made the decision himself and launched the surprise attack.
In this case, I have no choice but to lose my words.
I poured all my internal energy into the Great Axe that I was holding and threw it at the guy who threw the hidden weapon like a thunderbolt.
Swaeeeeeeeeek!
The body of the man who threw the hidden weapon was hit head-on by the large axe and split horribly to the left and right.
Puak!
While the blood gushed high into the air, the Great Axe that flew fiercely was embedded in the wall with a loud noise.
Because I acted according to my temper, the axe that the Dragon Head Smithy had prepared for me was immediately out of my hands. But as I had slightly worried, the Dragon Head handle and the blade embedded in the wall were separated in vain and were split in two. Since the axe was used to create an atmosphere anyway, I didn't feel anything special.
While everyone was looking at the horribly torn corpse, I said in a calm tone, "I said butting in means death. I don't know why you treat your precious lives so carelessly. Is this what Heukdo is?"
While the atmosphere was heavy, So Gun-pyeong said in a serious tone, "Don't interfere again. Not even the executives... I'm asking you."
So Gun-pyeong knows best that my words are not a lie.
If he doesn't stop it at the right moment...
The entire Black Cat Clan could die today.