The Bandit Chief

I was an orphan abandoned by the heavens. The first world I remember was nothing but the stench of the back-alley gutters behind an inn and the scraps of spoiled food. Life itself was pure suffering. I’d get beaten bloody by a gang of beggars for begging in the wrong spot, or get kicked by a waiter after getting caught stealing food. It happened more times than I could count.

But I was vicious. The moment my body grew enough, I ambushed the beggar boss who’d tormented me. While he slept, I smashed his skull in with a rock. The thrill of that first murder, the electric jolt that ran through my fingertips—I still can’t forget it.

Maybe I was lucky. That very night, as I stood covered in blood, the Sacheon Ssang-ma happened to pass by and witnessed the scene. Sacheon Il-ma, the elder of the pair, looked down at me with interest.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Hoh. A little brat with some serious venom in him. Skinny as a twig, but those bones are solid. You’ve got the makings of a martial artist.”

Sacheon Il-ma took me straight to his thatched hut. Of course, nothing in this world is free. Laundry, cleaning, cooking, chopping firewood—I became their hands and feet, serving them in every way. In return, Sacheon Il-ma taught me the Sacheon Red Demon Claw, a claw technique.

Dealing with their twisted personalities was hellish, but I cut my sleep short and trained until dawn every single night after finishing my chores. To them, I was half slave, half disciple.

But… even that was just my delusion.

Two years later, after I’d trained like a madman, Sacheon Il-ma coldly handed down my death sentence.

“Tsk. You’ve got the venom, but no brains. Good bones, but zero talent. I thought I’d found a dragon, but you’re nothing but a worm.”

I thought I’d disappointed my master, so I slammed my head against the floor and begged for forgiveness. I swore I would train even harder.

But his reply was ice cold.

“Who said you were my disciple? You think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I’d take trash like you as a student? I just needed a sturdy mutt to do my chores. The martial arts? I taught you for fun because I was bored.”

“......”

“In the end, you’ll never even cross the threshold of the Peak realm. You’ll live out your pathetic little life and die. Don’t go around telling people you learned my techniques. Don’t tarnish my name.”

“Big brother, why kick him out already? We could still use him,” Sacheon I-ma chimed in from the side.

“He’s so frustrating to watch that I might just kill him with one strike if I keep him around any longer. Get lost!”

And so I was chased out by the Sacheon Ssang-ma and left to wander the Murim. I lived as a ronin, surviving countless brushes with death and committing just as many murders. But Sacheon Il-ma’s words clung to me like a curse. Even after twenty years at the First-class level, I could never break through the wall of the Peak realm.

So I gave up. I threw that empty dream of raising my name as a martial artist into the trash. With no goals left, I decided to fill the rest of my life with pleasure.

I gathered up the trash from the back alleys who followed me and headed into the mountains. Banditry. It suited me perfectly. If I wanted to kill, I killed. If I wanted to steal, I stole. If I wanted to rape a woman, I raped her. Inside this small mountain stronghold, I was the law. I was the king.

“Heh heh heh…”

A few days ago, I’d heard rumors of a beautiful woman near the ferry town and ordered my men to kidnap her. But the idiots dragged her entire family along.

“What the hell? I told you to bring just the woman. Why did you bring her husband and kids too?”

“Since we were already there, we cleaned the place out. We can sell the husband and son to the mines or salt fields. The daughter’s already got a pretty face—she’ll fetch a good price at a brothel, right?”

“Handle that yourself. I’m going to enjoy this one right now.”

The moment I tried to violate the woman, her husband tied to the pillar and her six-or-seven-year-old son started screaming their lungs out. The woman struggled like mad, and the whole room was a noisy mess. The mood was completely ruined.

I’d originally planned to rape her in front of her family to savor their despair, but it was too much of a hassle. So I decided to make an example.

I tore the husband’s throat out with the steel-like claws of the Sacheon Red Demon Claw that Sacheon Il-ma had taught me.

“Grrrrr…”

The gurgling sound lasted for a long time.

“Aaaah! Honey! No!”

The woman’s son collapsed in hysterics, and the daughter lost her mind. The woman herself went completely insane. Her screams and the children’s cries filled the room. She thrashed like a lunatic, and the little boy clung to my leg, sobbing.

“Ugh, so damn noisy.”

Annoyed, I grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck and lifted him into the air.

“Let go! Give me back my dad! You bad guy!”

The child flailed in midair.

“Should I kill this little bastard first? Maybe then you’ll behave.”

“N-no! Please! Not the child! Please spare him!”

The woman slammed her head against the floor, begging. That look of utter despair was strangely stimulating. A twisted smile crept across my face.

“Too late.”

I raised my arm high to smash the child’s head against the floor.

That was the moment.

[KWAANG—!]

Something massive and heavy smashed through the door and flew inside. The thunderous crash sent wooden splinters flying everywhere.

“...What the?”

I froze, still holding the child, and looked at the object that had flown in. It was beaten to a pulp, so it took me a second to recognize it… but it was one of my subordinates.

Then I heard steady footsteps. I looked up. Through the broken doorway, someone was walking in through the thick cloud of dust. The graceful steps were like strolling on clouds—anything but ordinary.

Her nose bridge was as elegant as if carved from jade. Her long phoenix eyes held an eerie mix of innocence and seduction that gripped the viewer’s heart. Her eyes were as clear and deep as a mountain lake, seemingly capable of swallowing souls. Her lips were a vivid red, shaped like ripe cherries. But most of all, her skin was pure white and pristine, like untouched snow on a sacred mountain. She was truly a world-toppling beauty.

A celestial fairy straight out of a painting had descended into the mortal world. The sight was so unreal that I could only stare in a daze. Could the legendary Xi Shi or Wang Zhaojun have looked like this?

The fairy, who had been quietly scanning the room with profound eyes, finally met my gaze. Her red lips parted gently like a flower bud.

“Not a human bastard, I see.”

…I didn’t quite understand what she said at first. Her voice was so calm and clear that the meaning didn’t register right away. I was too curious what kind of golden words could come from such beautiful lips.

“M-miss, what do you—”

Before I could finish, the fairy’s figure suddenly shot toward me.

---

I threw the bandit into the main hall where the chief was and slowly stepped inside. The scene that greeted me made me let out a low groan.

A man’s corpse with its throat torn out was tied to a large pillar. The vicious-looking chief was frozen mid-motion, about to slam a boy who couldn’t be more than seven or eight years old onto the floor. A beautiful woman was screaming, trying to save the child, while a girl around the same age sat in the corner, completely out of it.

I understood the situation in an instant. By some cruel twist of fate, I had arrived at the absolute worst possible moment.

Our eyes met. The chief looked stunned by the sudden door explosion and the flying body, staring at me blankly.

I have my own principles. Even in my original world, I set standards and punished the wicked. I’ve killed people. In other words, I’m a murderer. Right after the Great Catastrophe, the world truly became hell on earth. There were even cannibals. No need to explain what that was like. I fought desperately to protect humanity, but those who committed atrocities beyond forgiveness were not included in “humanity.” They were demons. I am humanity’s hope, not the hope of demons or beasts.

Looking into the chief’s dazed eyes, disgust surged up from the depths of my stomach until I nearly vomited.

“Not a human bastard, I see.”

If it’s a demon, I have to kill it.

The chief opened his mouth and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tried to say something, but I had zero intention of conversing with a demon. I didn’t need the Phantom Butterfly Soul-Bewildering Steps against trash like this.

Carrying my disgust, I exploded the inner energy of the Heaven-Shattering Divine Power Art at the tips of my toes.

[BOOM!]

I kicked off the floor and charged at him. I reached him in the blink of an eye, but he still wore that stupid expression like he didn’t understand what was happening. That idiotic face annoyed me even more. I wanted to crush that disgusting face flat.

If you want to do it, just do it. Holding it in only makes you sick.

I grabbed the dazed chief by the hair and slammed his face into the floor.

[KWAANG!]

“Kwaaaak!”

The impact made him scream and drop the boy he was holding. I quickly caught the falling child and set him down gently.

“Go over there. You’ll get hurt.”

The boy was young but sharp; he understood immediately and ran over to the girl who seemed to be his older sister.

“Ugh… you crazy bitch! I’ll kill you!”

The chief roared as he got up. Even though his forehead was split open and blood was pouring into his eyes, he swung his hand at my face like a hook.

Not bad?

I’d expected him to recover this quickly. I regretted not hitting him harder. I’d held back a little, worried I might kill him in one blow. If a beast like this died in one hit, the victims would feel too wronged. He needed to die while feeling as much pain as possible, you demon bastard.

I dodged his attack with a slight turn of my head. The simpler the dodge, the better. If you attack with such wide, excited motions, you should know you’ll get countered immediately. Like right now.

With minimal movement, I slipped into his guard, twisted my waist, and drove my fist straight into his face.

[THUD!]

“Kuk!”

His nose exploded with blood. He reflexively raised his hands to cover it. His reactions were so satisfying to hit.

How can you act like it hurts so much after just one hit? Aren’t you going to block the next attack?

I widened my stance and slammed my fist into his now-exposed side. Then I immediately drove my elbow into his temple as he curled up.

[THWACK! CRACK!]

His knees buckled and he staggered. I didn’t miss the chance and swept his legs out from under him.

[CRASH!]

Didn’t know how to fall properly? He flopped down in the most pathetic way. I mounted his waist as he lay there. Mount position. Then I rained down wild punches on the bastard beneath me.

[THUD! THUD! THUD!]

“Kuk! Ack! Gaaah!”

Screams burst from his mouth. He desperately raised both arms to protect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his face.

This bastard—raising his guard like a little bitch?

I changed my swinging punches into hammer-like downward strikes. Guard or no guard, I just smashed down.

[BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!]

What I was doing to him right now wasn’t martial arts. It was literally just a brawl. Not some refined exchange of techniques, but a back-alley dogfight between thugs. Nothing more, nothing less.

Even under this one-sided beating, the chief must have actually learned some martial arts—his endurance was no joke. He still hadn’t passed out. Then, for a split second, his eyes sharpened.

Huh?

He twisted his waist and kicked out with his leg, breaking my upper body balance. In that instant, he broke free of my pin and shot to his feet.

To keep the initiative, I grabbed his collar the moment he stood and tried to take his back. Controlling an opponent’s rear gives absolute dominance.

But the guy was a bandit who’d seen it all. He read my intent and instead grabbed the arm that was holding his collar. Then he bent at the waist and used his hips to fling my lower body upward.

A shoulder throw!

Since I was much lighter than him, I flew into the air in an instant.

...Oh?

If I got slammed into the floor like this, my smaller mass would put me at a huge disadvantage. But I was an S-class hero. Instinctively, I twisted my body in midair and landed lightly on my knees instead of my back.

[Tap.]

I immediately retreated to create distance. We faced each other in a standoff.

The chief panted heavily and roared at me.

“You crazy bitch! Who the hell are you?!”

...He asks awfully fast.

The situation was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but snort. My expression seemed to provoke him even more. I answered him kindly.

“I’m your mother, you son of a bitch.”