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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Call the Sword Saint a sucker? No one would dare.”
Wang Ki-neung’s reply was instinctive, completely sincere.
He, like the other members of the Black Dragon Clan, especially those who had witnessed Limon dismantle Ryu Kang-chul, knew how terrifying he was.
But Limon scoffed.
“Really? Then what’s this?”
“What do you mean?”
“This junk you brought me, claiming it’s the Shanghai Royal Family’s entire fortune.”
Limon nudged the flimsy documents spilling from the bisected chest with his foot.
Wang Ki-neung opened his mouth to explain, to clear up the misunderstanding, to assure him that this was indeed everything the Shanghai Royal Family possessed.
But as their eyes met, he swallowed his words. He looked at Limon’s cold expression, at the large chest Limon was tapping with his finger, and sighed heavily.
“…You knew all along?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“I heard you weren’t interested in accumulating wealth.”
“So, you thought I was a fool.”
Limon raised an eyebrow, his gaze turning icy.
“You thought you could offer me this empty shell, hide your true assets and talents, pledge false loyalty, and I’d fall for it?”
“…”
“You idiot.”
Wang Ki-neung remained silent, his face hardening. Limon clicked his tongue, his expression more of exasperation than anger.
“If you wanted to make a deal, you should have made a deal. If you wanted to beg, you should have begged. What kind of idiot tries to swindle someone while pleading for mercy?”
“I was calculating the potential gains and losses.”
Offering everything and pledging loyalty was a risky gamble. If the recipient changed their mind, he could lose everything.
In that sense, Wang Ki-neung’s attempt to secure a safety net was a logical decision.
“Did your calculations include the losses from being caught?”
“I didn’t expect to be caught.”
Except for the fact that he would be ruined if his deception was discovered. Wang Ki-neung chuckled, a hollow, resigned sound.
He glanced at the large chest on Limon’s lap.
“How could I have anticipated that my own family would offer you everything before I even made a decision?”
Limon tapped the chest, which, unlike the flimsy one Wang Ki-neung had offered, contained the true wealth of the Shanghai Royal Family.
“You should have anticipated it. It’s the result of your precious calculations of gains and losses.”
“You’re right.”
Wang Ki-neung readily agreed. He understood why his family had betrayed him and sided with Limon.
“One scapegoat is enough. There’s no need to drag the entire family down.”
“Good. You understand quickly.”
“From their perspective, it was the most beneficial choice.”
If Wang Ki-neung had remained a powerful Grand Duke, his family wouldn’t have abandoned him.
But now, crippled and powerless, despite his mastery of law, he was a liability, a stain on the family name, an old hunting dog fit only for the stew pot.
“Do you resent them?”
“How can I resent them when I’m the one who brought this upon them?”
He didn’t blame his family. The heavy casualties suffered by the Shanghai Royal Family during the attack, their current predicament… it was all his fault.
“What will happen to the Shanghai Royal Family now?”
“Ask your new family leader.”
Limon glanced towards the masked figure, who removed his mask. Wang Ki-neung’s lips twisted into a wry smile.
“I’m surprised, Wang Ryun. I didn’t expect this from you.”
Wang Ryun, the leader of the Shanghai Royal Family’s martial forces, a distant relative who had become the family’s strongest warrior after Wang Ki-neung’s downfall, replied in a stiff voice,
“I was merely following orders.”
“…The Princess’s?”
“…”
“I can’t believe I didn’t realize the head of our martial forces was a spy.”
Wang Ki-neung chuckled dryly.
He prided himself on his perceptiveness, yet he hadn’t even seen through his own family’s deception. And with Wang Ryun as the new family leader, the Shanghai Royal Family’s future was clear.
As Li Chingwei’s spy, he would be utterly loyal to her to maintain his position.
“The Shanghai Royal Family is now at your service, Sword Saint.”
“Good. Finally, I can fill some vacancies at Guardian.”
“That’s a relief.”
Wang Ki-neung’s smile turned even more bitter.
To serve under Limon, of all people, to be tasked with monitoring his own family… The Shanghai Royal Family would be completely under Limon’s control, whether he liked it or not.
Was it fortunate, or unfortunate, that they were no longer in danger of being discarded? He didn’t bother searching for an answer.
The family’s survival, though not in the way he had envisioned, was all that mattered.
Except for one thing.
He was no longer the leader.
“One last question, Sword Saint.”
“What is it?”
“Where do you think I went wrong?”
When he intercepted Ryu Kang-chul? When he took charge of the investigation? Or when he met Limon? When had he made the wrong choices that led him to this end?
He couldn’t figure it out.
Limon replied softly,
“I don’t know, but one thing’s for sure.”
“What?”
“If you had prioritized your Princess over your family’s interests, you would have received help, no matter how dire the situation.”
Li Chingwei would have protected the Shanghai Royal Family, not out of loyalty, but out of self-interest. They had become scapegoats because they had failed to prove their worth.
Wang Ki-neung chuckled.
“So, you’re saying I miscalculated the benefits?”
As a cunning member of the Black Dragon Clan, as the head of a family in this ruthless era, he had believed that true value lay not in loyalty, but in tangible assets and power.
Yet, in the end, he had lost everything because he lacked that intangible trust. He sighed, then looked up at Wang Ryun.
“Don’t end up like me.”
It was his last word as the family leader, a final piece of advice for his successor.
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[So, what happens to him now?]
“You don’t want to know.”
[Coming from you, Team Leader, I can only imagine.]
“The Seven Dragons Association isn’t kind to failures.”
After the warriors escorted Wang Ki-neung away, Limon replied calmly to Na-kyung’s question.
Despite their current corporate facade, the Seven Dragons Association was still the world’s largest criminal organization, once known as a demonic cult.
They wouldn’t offer a peaceful retirement to Wang Ki-neung, a crippled failure who had caused significant damage to the clan through his repeated failures, especially not after he had repeatedly crossed Limon, the rising power within the Black Dragon Clan.
[And yet, you’ve been slacking off without any consequences.]
“I have a powerful backer.”
[Which means you would have been ‘dealt with’ if the Princess hadn’t protected you.]
“That’s not going to happen.”
Limon scoffed, stating the obvious reason.
“I would have just had to deal with a few dozen assassins, which is a bit of a hassle.”
Na-kyung fell silent, realizing that Limon’s seemingly leisurely life was a stroll through a minefield.
[…I’ve been meaning to ask, Team Leader. Do you really have to marry the Princess? This place doesn’t seem like your style.]
“I can’t abandon my fiancée just because I don’t like her family.”
[Is that what this is about?]
“Yes. And even if it wasn’t, I’m not backing out now.”
Limon’s voice turned cold.
“You saw the Specters of the Liberation Brigade, Na-kyung. You know how dangerous and… different they are.”
[That’s…]
Na-kyung trailed off.
Vellus, Eugene, and Ryu Kang-chul had been abnormal in many ways. Their ability to not just borrow power from Constellations through ‘Constellation Descent,’ but to embody them, transcending their level limits and rivaling even Monarchs.
Their strange armor, Vellus’s monstrous transformation after losing his divinity…
And if ‘Constellation Descent’ was a skill all Specters could use? The Liberation Brigade might be as powerful as the Ten Great Guilds, or even more so.
“I don’t know why they’re after the Seven Arks, or what they plan to do with them, but one thing’s for sure.”
Limon’s gaze hardened, recalling Eugene’s final words, the Liberation Brigade’s objective: the seven arks containing the secrets of the stars.
“Something is happening.”
Like the Demon War, when demons descended upon the world, or the Great Refinement War, which reshaped the American continent… something ominous was brewing, something that could plunge the world into chaos.
He spoke with the certainty of a seasoned hero who had saved the world countless times. Na-kyung’s expression turned troubled.
[Is that why you’re siding with the Seven Dragons Association? Because you need their power to stop it?]
“No. I’m not just siding with them. I’m going to take over the entire Seven Dragons Association.”
[…What?]
Na-kyung stared at him, her beak dropping open.
Limon smiled coldly.
“I’ve saved the world countless times. I think it’s time I collected a little reward.”
[…The Seven Dragons Association is a ‘small reward’? They control a vast fortune!]
“It’s still cheaper than the entire world.”
He was tired of being the world’s unpaid savior. He would take what he deserved, regardless of the Liberation Brigade’s plans.
Na-kyung stared at him, as if he were a street vendor trying to force her to buy world peace.
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