Who Are You?
Sometimes it is better to tear a man to shreds once than to chatter a hundred times.
That was a phrase the Dark Lord had repeated like a habit in my previous life.
It was his philosophy, the only scrap of enlightenment he had wrung from a wretched, gloomy existence.
The Dark Lord asked me,
‘Were you digging into my past?’
I simply shook my head.
Who in their right mind would dare investigate one of the Ten Supremes of the World? Only someone with several hundred or several thousand lives to spare.
He would be troubled. He would have many questions. After all, I had thrown his own favorite saying back at him without changing a single syllable.
Still, I had to achieve this goal no matter what. If I could secure the Dark Lord’s support, operating within the Black Path would become far more convenient.
I would have been trembling if this were the old me.
I was genuinely surprised at how bold I had become. How many people in the world could stand before the infamous Dark Lord and speak their mind so freely?
No matter that I was the youngest son of the Sword Lord, the Dark Lord was not the sort to care about such trivial connections.
He returned the next morning at first light, appearing without sound or rumor exactly as his reputation suggested. It was as though he had been standing in the corner of the room the entire time.
“Have you reached a decision?”
At my question the Dark Lord studied me closely. It must have seemed strange. It must have been incomprehensible. Yet he still had to accept. I had merely cast out an interesting piece of bait; he would have to bite if he wanted to learn what it truly was.
“I refuse.”
“……”
His answer deviated from my expectations.
“You don’t look surprised.”
I nodded at his words. The possibility of refusal had already been factored into my plans.
“Please tell me the reason.”
“There are several.”
The Dark Lord raised three fingers.
“First, I do not engage in losing transactions. This would benefit only your Ju family.”
“I see.”
“Second, the intelligence network you intend to build. I could simply create it myself. That is my second reason.”
“Mm. That is possible.”
I nodded silently. Then came the third.
“My pride does not permit it.”
“……”
When he finished, I nodded as though I understood. In truth this refusal was not a complete rejection. I had already dropped the bait.
“I understand the Black Horn Lord’s intention.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes. I will faithfully convey to the family head that the Black Horn Lord has no desire for war.”
The Dark Lord gave a short, dry laugh.
“I will clean up the inside myself. Thank you for the information.”
“It was nothing. Then I will stay one more day before departing.”
“As you wish. Stay for several days if you like.”
With those words the Dark Lord left the room as cleanly as he had entered, leaving behind not the slightest trace.
“Did it not go well?”
Muyoung, who had watched the entire exchange, asked cautiously.
I gave him a meaningful smile.
“No. It went perfectly. From the start I never expected the Dark Lord to accept so easily.”
“Hmm… I still cannot grasp young master’s intentions. I don’t even understand why you would pretend to start a war, let alone what you plan to build on top of it…”
“There’s no need to complicate it. I simply intend to make them fight each other.”
Spy against spy. Both ultimately sprang from the same root—the Demonic Cult. How would they react? Would they pretend ignorance and hide? Or pretend ignorance and slaughter one another?
“Then is it not over? There is no reason to remain here any longer…”
“No. The Dark Lord has given me an opportunity. He told me to seize it if I can.”
“Pardon?”
“There is such a thing.”
Leaving the puzzled Muyoung behind, I turned my mind furiously.
The Dark Lord would move. The shockwaves would spread throughout the entire Black Horn. Unlike the righteous path, the Black Path carried out purges with ruthless brutality. In that case, what choice would Sa-an Gwi-gun make?
The board had been laid by the Dark Lord. All I had to do was move accordingly. The Black Horn’s pride would be preserved, the spy would be caught, and the connection between myself and the Dark Lord would continue. With this much, my initial objective was already achieved.
The Black Horn was so vast it felt like a fortress. The number of warriors was so great you could practically kick them underfoot.
Truly enormous.
In my previous life I had only seen it after its complete collapse. Countless corpses rotting together, the stench of decay, blood so thick it soaked through leather shoes, and the flocks of crows drawn by the smell.
Given its massive scale, the spies would naturally be moving busily. Among them would be agents of the Demonic Cult. I would locate the link between them and the Ju family’s own spies and eradicate it. No matter how long the tail, follow it far enough and the body will always be revealed.
“Hey.”
“……”
“Are you deaf?”
Someone called from beside me. When I turned, I saw a familiar face—Wi Gun-ak, leader of the Black Ghost Sword Unit.
“What.”
I answered curtly.
“I heard you’re that famous fool from Gangseo.”
So you finally heard the rumor. You’re rather late.
“While you stay here, do not even dream of causing trouble. There is no family here to protect you. Understood?”
“Well… I cannot guarantee that.”
“What?”
“It is not something I can control, so I cannot guarantee it.”
Wi Gun-ak trembled with rage. His emotions were refreshingly honest.
“I will be watching. I suggest you behave yourself.”
After spitting out the icy warning he turned on his heel. He had not originally seemed this sharp-edged, but it was none of my concern.
“Right, then… Since this is a rare chance, shall we take a look around?”
I decided to tour the interior of the Black Horn together with Muyoung.
Nanchang, the capital of Gangseo Province.
Suspicious movement stirred in one corner of the Ju family.
“Report. The youngest young master has entered the Black Horn.”
“Good. We must pull out the annoying pebble and crush it to dust.”
The two men’s voices were so low and sinister they could not be heard even from nearby. The apparent superior glanced around carefully before speaking again.
“More importantly, who is that old man the youngest young master brought with him?”
“We are investigating, but it is difficult. The youngest young master has hidden him completely. No one seems to know the old man’s identity.”
“Damn it. Things are becoming complicated. The Baekryongdae that was nearly in our grasp has slipped away as well…”
The work that had been proceeding smoothly had begun to twist badly. All because of the youngest young master, Ju Woo-jin. Strangely, everything he touched fell apart. The matter with the family matriarch Yu Ha-rin had been the same. This time, too, the plan involving this young master and his mother had collapsed completely.
“Nothing to be done. We wait for orders from above.”
There was nothing more he could do now. Everything had been reported upward; appropriate measures would be taken.
“Pitiful.”
Only fifteen years old, yet he had caught Sa-an Gwi-gun’s eye. The price for that could only be death.
The Black Horn was thrown into chaos.
The owner of the Black Horn, the Dark Lord, had issued a full assembly order to every warrior. Authority within the Black Horn was concentrated solely in the Horn Lord. Moreover, he was not an ordinary expert but one of the Ten Supremes of the World. No one possessed the courage to disobey him.
From the vice-lord to the elders, protectors, unit leaders, squad leaders, and even the lowest-ranking warriors, everyone gathered at the center of the Black Horn—the Black Color Hall. An uncountable host of warriors filled the space.
It was not a meeting of executives but a full mobilization. The Dark Lord looked down at them all and spoke a single cold sentence.
“There are bastards brazen enough to commit espionage inside my own house.”
That was the spark. Murmurs rippled through the warriors.
“Shut your mouths.”
A voice heavy with profound internal energy swept across the hall. The tremendous power silenced everyone instantly.
“I find it far more entertaining to tear a man apart once than to listen to endless chatter.”
It was a warning directed at the spies hiding among the warriors.
“Run if you wish. Hide deeper if you wish. Do whatever you like. I will find every last one of you and rip your limbs off while you still breathe. Heh heh heh.”
Even the executives turned deathly pale. Without waiting for any reply, the Dark Lord turned and vanished.
Of course an uproar followed.
“What the hell! Who is it? Which rat bastard is committing espionage?”
“Just let them get caught! Even without the Horn Lord, I’ll snap their neck myself! Understand?”
Most reacted this way.
“This is a bit excessive, isn’t it?”
“He should at least explain the situation properly. Suddenly talking about spies… Isn’t this just a scare tactic to tighten control?”
“Exactly. This is going way too far.”
There were reactions like these as well.
Naturally the Dark Lord watched every response from the shadows.
“Impressive.”
I observed the entire scene from a distance. I was honestly a little surprised by the Dark Lord’s drastic declaration. I had never imagined he would announce it so openly. This could easily become a foolish act that created more loss than gain. The Black Horn was not a single clan or sect but an alliance of countless factions.
No matter how powerful the Dark Lord was, he could not rule them all through fear alone. As expected, chaos had begun.
And at the very end, the Dark Lord’s gaze met mine. A clear smile curved his lips. The meaning behind it was deeply significant.
As if to say, ‘I have laid the board. Now it is your turn.’
He was helping me without damaging the Black Horn’s pride. Why?
As expected, the Dark Lord had already been suspicious.
It meant he, too, had noticed something. Since expectations had been placed on me, it was only proper to produce results worthy of those expectations.
“Let’s go, Muyoung.”
It was time for me to act. I never wasted even a single day. Although the Dark Lord had said I could stay as long as I wished, I could not simply sit and wait.
First I investigated the merchant caravans entering and leaving the Black Horn. Naturally I could not do so openly; the Black Horn would take great offense. I had to move in secret.
The Muhyeong Merchant Group.
The only information I had obtained from Ju Sang-jin. They manufactured medicine that ravaged the mind, created openings, and then gouged those openings with the Soul-Destroying Illusion Art. That was Sa-an Gwi-gun’s method.
Then what was the fastest, easiest way to spread such medicine? My conclusion was that merchant groups were the only answer. In my previous life the Demonic Cult had secretly swallowed roughly forty percent of the Central Plains’ merchant organizations. There were too many overlapping names for me to remember or investigate them all.
But this life would be different.
A shiver ran across my skin.
“…Muyoung.”
While observing the caravans passing through the main gate, a single carriage rolled past me.
“Yes, young master.”
Muyoung answered gravely.
“Follow that carriage. Do not let them notice.”
This skin-crawling sensation was telling me clearly.
The bastard was already right beside me.