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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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A group of player criminals who committed all sorts of illegal acts under the guise of player liberation. The last organization Limon fought and dealt with as a member of the Player Administration Bureau.
The Liberation Brigade.
Even after hearing that name, Ryu Kang-chul wasn’t surprised. He simply looked up at Wang Ki-neung, as if puzzled, and asked,
“…Why is the Liberation Brigade suddenly being brought up here?”
“No need to feign ignorance.”
His reaction was as if the name was completely unfamiliar, as if Wang Ki-neung’s attempt at a leading question had completely failed. But he wasn’t disappointed.
He spoke with conviction,
“That you belong to the Liberation Brigade is the conclusion our Seven Dragons Association reached after reviewing all information from various angles.”
“What information and how did you review it to reach that conclusion?”
Intrigued by the basis of his unwavering certainty, Ryu Kang-chul asked with a curious expression, even amidst the torture-like pain from being trampled underfoot.
Wang Ki-neung smirked.
“It’s not common to find an organization that can use a player of your caliber as a pawn.”
“Aren’t you overestimating me?”
“No. It’s a very objective assessment.”
Duke-level players above level 80 were essentially one-man corporations, one-man armies.
Players of this level usually established their own guilds and became guild masters, or at least held important positions like sub-masters.
“There are basically only three types of organizations that have enough talent to spare to use Duke-level players for something like this.”
The Ten Great Guilds, each with a Monarch.
The Seven Dragons Association, which held all the wealth in the world.
The major powers that operated player armies.
Groups that had reached the pinnacle in some area, whether it be military, financial, or political power.
Unless a place was overflowing with high-level players like these, it would be impossible to do something crazy like using a Duke-level player for corporate terrorism.
“The problem is, no matter how much we searched those three, we found nothing.”
The Seven Dragons Association was out of the question from the start. No matter how independently the seven clans operated, there was no reason for them to do something like this. The same was true for some of the major powers.
Attacking the Seven Dragons Association, which controlled the global economy, would be an atrocity that would leave the entire population out on the streets.
The only remaining suspects were the Ten Great Guilds.
With the power of the Monarchs and the resources of the dungeons, they had become the undisputed rulers of this era, dangerous rivals who were slowly reaching into the Seven Dragons Association’s territory.
Therefore, the Seven Dragons Association focused their investigation on the Ten Great Guilds. But the result was a blank.
No matter which of the Ten Great Guilds they investigated, they couldn’t find any connection to Ryu Kang-chul.
“Because of that, the investigation almost hit a dead end, but then someone suggested a change in perspective.”
“What kind of change?”
“If we can’t find any clues in those three places, why not look for places outside of those three where a player like you could exist?”
“Isn’t that a contradiction?”
“Well, a drowning man will clutch at straws.”
An individual or group that wasn’t rich in human resources, yet could use a Duke-level player as a killer. It was a nonsensical condition, like looking for someone who owned tanks and fighter jets despite being homeless.
Nevertheless, the Shanghai Royal Family proceeded with the investigation, figuring they had nothing to lose.
Large corporations and billionaires. Third-world countries and cults. Even legendary witches and shamans.
They searched so haphazardly that they even seriously debated whether this wasn’t Limon’s doing.
“But when we looked closely, we found one place that perfectly fit the conditions.”
“And that’s the Liberation Brigade?”
“Yes. As we investigated, we wondered why we hadn’t thought of it sooner; it was a perfect match.”
Since the Liberation Brigade consisted of all sorts of player criminals, it was an organization with many hidden high-level players.
Due to their strict player-centric ideology, the Seven Dragons Association’s information network couldn’t reach them.
It was a criminal organization with an almost mythical lack of substance, rarely having its high-ranking officials captured or its bases revealed, despite having committed all sorts of crimes and acts of madness.
They were so shrouded in secrecy that their high-ranking officials were secretly called “Specters.”
But conversely, that meant there were records of the crimes committed by the Liberation Brigade.
“The massacre of the Jeron family, the US Senator, four years ago.”
“The annihilation of the Slokovskaya Bratva in Russiakan two years ago.”
“The serial murders of the Knights of Malta a year ago.”
“Do you know what all these incidents have in common?”
Neither the victims’ identities nor the countries where the incidents occurred were related.
However, Wang Ki-neung laid out the commonalities, which only the Seven Dragons Association, with their information network unbound by national borders, could discern, with a mocking tone.
“One, the victims were all either anti-player activists or those who sought to reduce player power through taxation or unification.”
Of course, anti-player activists were more likely to incur the resentment of players. But aside from the mafia, there were few high-level madmen who could massacre social elites like senators or the Knights of Malta.
And it was the consensus of all investigative agencies that the most likely place for such criminals to belong was the Liberation Brigade.
“Another is that they were all cases that remained unsolved, with no decent clues even with skills.”
The notoriously difficult-to-track Liberation Brigade.
Ryu Kang-chul, whom even Tracers couldn’t find. His comrades, whose whereabouts were still unknown.
In this era where the introduction of Prophecy and Information Analysis skills had made it rare to miss criminals, this was a commonality that couldn’t be ignored.
“The last one is that the culprit used a knife as a murder weapon. And quite coincidentally, a knife of very similar size and material to the one you use.”
Since the usual reliance on skill-based analysis didn’t work, investigative agencies in each country couldn’t identify the murder weapon.
But the Seven Dragons Association’s experts, skilled in tracking techniques, could tell just by examining the autopsy records that the murder weapon was a similar knife.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit of a stretch to call all of this a mere coincidence?”
Things that seemed like coincidences when considered separately. But when put together?
The conclusion was clear.
That Ryu Kang-chul was a killer for the Liberation Brigade, and that the Liberation Brigade was behind the series of attacks on the Black Dragon Clan’s affiliates.
“It makes sense.”
“Are you admitting that the Liberation Brigade is behind you?”
“No, I’m saying it makes sense.”
Ryu Kang-chul shook his head. He then grinned and continued,
“But, there’s no proof, is there? Isn’t it a stretch to make such claims based solely on circumstantial evidence?”
“So what?”
“…What?”
“Specter of the Liberation Brigade, don’t be mistaken. We are the Seven Dragons Association, not the police.”
Unlike law-abiding citizens, the people’s protectors, or special agents, who couldn’t even take revenge without evidence, the Seven Dragons Association was different.
“It doesn’t matter if you have nothing to do with the Liberation Brigade… or if you weren’t even the one who attacked our clan.”
The Bronze Age, where the will of the Seven Dragons took precedence over law and principle.
Descendants of those who ruled the world. A fanatical organization called the Seven Dragons Association, who considered only that era a utopia, fought to bring it back, and held it as their faith and belief, to the point of being called a demonic cult.
Among them, the head of a prestigious family, who had demonstrated absolute faith and loyalty for generations, looked down at Ryu Kang-chul with a cold sneer.
“It’s enough if I think so and the other clans believe so.”
“…You’re crazy.”
“We’re not crazy. It’s just that the world has become strange compared to the old days.”
“That’s what crazy is.”
Ryu Kang-chul muttered involuntarily as he looked at Wang Ki-neung, who disregarded the existence of modern laws, principles, and common sense.
Even he, who prided himself on being somewhat crazy, couldn’t help but be taken aback by such utterly twisted logic.
“What’s wrong with being a little crazy? It’s not like there’s any harm in getting rid of pests like the Liberation Brigade. If anything, it’ll benefit the world.”
“You’ll regret underestimating the Liberation Brigade.”
“No need to worry. You should worry about what you and your comrades will face from now on.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Look forward to it. You won’t be disappointed.”
Thwack!
After kicking Ryu Kang-chul’s head, Wang Ki-neung turned and left the torture chamber.
He then sighed.
‘I did something unnecessary.’
Compared to the pain of the numerous torture techniques already being used, a little kick was nothing. Giving needless stimulation only served to lessen the suffering. He knew that full well, yet he still acted.
It wasn’t like him.
‘I need to pull myself together.’
Wang Ki-neung steeled his resolve.
To escape the crisis of the Shanghai Royal Family being expelled from the prestigious clans, he needed to handle this matter well.
What he needed to do was clear.
‘I need to make him talk and get information about the Liberation Brigade.’
That was why he gave the order without hesitation to the intelligence officer waiting outside.
“Get ready.”
“…Are you sure?”
“It can’t be helped. If the main family’s torture techniques don’t work, there’s only one place that can make him talk.”
Of the 36,500 torture techniques of the Seven Dragons Association, only 108 were passed down to the Shanghai Royal Family.
Torture techniques were a kind of secret art, and they were so difficult to learn that only one or two people could master them all.
Therefore, the Seven Dragons Association nurtured specialists who learned different subsets of the 36,500 torture techniques. And they created a place that would carry out torture on behalf of the clans when needed, or when there were external requests.
“Isn’t that what the Torture Hall is for?”
“Well, yes, but…”
The intelligence officer trailed off.
It wasn’t just because he was reluctant to pay the exorbitant fees or because he might have to share the credit. The location of the Torture Hall, or rather, the person in charge, was the problem.
“Will the Princess accept this?”
“She will.”
Wang Ki-neung declared.
Even though things had stabilized recently, Li Chingwei’s authority had been greatly reduced.
She wouldn’t be able to object to using the Torture Hall on the culprit who harmed the clan, and she wouldn’t object. No matter how foolish she was, she wouldn’t fail to see which side would benefit.
And if she refused?
“If she refuses, we’ll just make her accept.”
Whether by mobilizing the elders or using clan opinion, pressuring Li Chingwei would be easy.
With that said, Wang Ki-neung strode forward.
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