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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
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“Vile scum.”
Those were the muttered words of Kang Ryung, the head of the merchant group, as he walked along the forest path. His mind was occupied with the thought of Kang Chung from the Sanghang Union, with whom he had conspired.
Swayed by their shared hometown connection and the promise of finding a gold mine after driving out the natives, Kang Ryung had readily stamped the union’s seal of approval. But Kang Chung had grown fearful midway and tried to back out.
Making matters worse, upon hearing rumors of a Murim Alliance patrol in the area, Kang Chung had even plotted with the local branch leader to have Kang Ryung arrested. In the end, to buy time, Kang Ryung had been forced to secretly kill Kang Chung.
Then he had to abandon all his merchant group employees and enter this forest with only the sword-wielding mercenaries he had hired with money, men unaware of the situation.
“Do not dwell on it too much. After all, it was a station you would have to leave behind once your goal was achieved,” whispered a low voice beside him, seemingly in response to his mutterings. It came from a warrior dressed in a black windbreaker robe and bamboo hat, concealing his face and physique. However, Kang Ryung knew his face, identity, and martial prowess. Struggling to maintain his composure, Kang Ryung whispered back,
“But we haven’t lost the gold mine, have we?”
“While gold dust may have been found in the river, that does not guarantee a payable mining output. Do not forget, the gold mine was always a means to drive out the natives of that land.”
Kang Ryung wanted to curse. After abandoning the merchant group he had built over three years and fleeing with just thirty clueless mercenary swordsmen into the mountains, how could this man speak in such a way? But the whisper that escaped his lips remained utterly deferential.
“…I certainly hope that wretched primitive’s information proves accurate.”
“I have already confirmed the opened danzongxue of that fellow. To be able to open a person’s meridians like that, he seems to possess remarkable spiritual powers—a rare talent worthy of the grand scheme. The Lord will be pleased.”
“Ah, yes. I’m sure he will be.”
Kang Ryung responded perfunctorily. Being at the very bottom, he was clueless about this ‘grand scheme.’ He could only pray for the departed soul of that native boy the warrior had disposed of.
He went on to hope the valley natives would be sufficiently cowed and retreat, allowing the warrior to accomplish his goal unobstructed. Only then could Kang Ryung rebuild a new merchant group under a new guise. The rapid rise of his group under the shadow’s patronage pained him to let go.
As Kang Ryung secretly sighed, the mercenaries abruptly stopped walking.
“…Hey, employer? There’s someone up ahead.”
The mercenary in the lead turned and called out gruffly. To Kang Ryung, his tone reeked of the ‘vile scum’ he had muttered about earlier, but there was nothing to be done. He pushed past the warriors to assess the man who had appeared.
The man wore a tattered martial arts robe, the right shoulder heavily patched. Even the sword at his waist seemed unremarkable.
Yet the way he stood calmly in the middle of the path, left hand resting on the sword hilt, exuded an imposing aura that discouraged rash actions.
Unnerved for some reason, Kang Ryung shouted from a distance, “You there! I am Kang Ryung Who are you?”
Instead of answering, the man named Jang Geon simply raised his head to gaze at the clear sky for a moment, watching a few mountain birds flutter across. Kang Ryung’s brow furrowed as he questioned him again,
“…You there? Who are you?”
“The Murim Alliance and Sanghang Union severely punish unfair or fraudulent contracts made with the natives. If caught, it won’t just end with a fine. You may even face imprisonment by the Murim Alliance.”
Kang Ryung’s mouth hung open momentarily at the non-sequitur response. Who was this fool to suddenly block their path and spout nonsense? But soon grasping the gist of his words, Kang Ryung let out a derisive laugh.
Laughing dismissively, he said, “…I see now, the valley savages must have hired a Central Plains person. What worthless scum. Taking money from savages because you can’t get any civilized pay? Or did the savage whores offer their services instead?”
Jang Geon continued gazing skyward, his voice remained calm. “If there are misunderstandings between us, we can resolve them. If you believe there is a gold mine somewhere in the valley, instead of driving them all out, you could offer them a share to mine together. Even if you cannot monopolize the mine, it would be enough for one merchant group to handle.”
Kang Ryung’s mocking expression twisted. “What nonsense is this scum spouting? Give the savages a share of the gold mine? I already paid five hundred taels of silver to purchase that land! It’s those idiotic primitives who should get lost immediately! Why should I split my property with savages who don’t even understand the value of gold?”
Having lost his merchant group and forced to flee, with no outlet for his surging rage, Kang Ryung stepped forward as if to vent it all, shouting,
“You want to know what will happen if you and your savages don’t clear out? I’ll have all those primitives living in shanties killed! Anyone who resists will die, and the women will be captured and sold! Every trace of their existence will be burned to ashes!”
Upon hearing this, Jang Geon regarded him with a hardened gaze. Having only heard the natives’ perspective, he had intended to listen to the Central Plains side as well, but this fellow’s words immediately revealed him as a vile beast. Kang Ryung, oblivious to the warriors’ own discomfort, continued ranting,
“Ah, yes. I saw plenty of brats last time too. Seems they did nothing but breed indiscriminately. Nowadays the darknet traders give good prices for children, don’t they? How fortunate! We can capture those runts and sell them too—”
At that moment, an arrow flew from somewhere to pierce Kang Ryung’s chest with a dull thunk. The mercenaries around him were too stunned to react, and neither Jang Geon nor the black-robed warrior showed any intent to stop the incoming arrow.
Kang Ryung, so energetically spewing vile words, now trembled uncomprehendingly at the arrow embedded in his chest, mouth agape. After a long moment unable to even touch the protruding shaft, he slowly turned and pleaded,
“…Uh, Black Windbreaker Sir. S-Save me, please…! I beg you! Do some-something about this…”
The black-robed warrior tilted his chin slightly to regard Kang Ryung. Beneath the bamboo hat’s brim, Kang Ryung could see the warrior’s violet-black eyes and cold smile.
“You want me to do what, exactly?”
“H-Healing arts! Use your arts to…”
The warrior looked down at Kang Ryung, now kneeling weakly, and replied, “For the likes of you?”
Kang Ryung stared up at the warrior with bulging, disbelieving eyes, before finally collapsing forward. He twitched for a moment, then went limp.
The surrounding mercenaries, wearing expressions of bewilderment, alternated between gaping at the slain Kang Ryung and Jang Geon ahead when the valley tribe warriors revealed themselves from behind Jang Geon. With faces painted in various colors, they glared grimly at the mercenaries.
Seeing the tribe seemingly materialize from the forest shadows like ghosts, the mercenaries appeared too frightened to easily speak.
Meanwhile, recognizing Birang’s distinctive fletching on the arrow protruding from the merchant’s chest, Jang Geon realized she must have been outraged by the threat against the tribe’s children. At the same time, he understood the situation had taken an ominous turn.
If the merchant was indeed the instigator the tribe had spoken of, then his arrival leading armed mercenaries suggested he had genuinely intended to act on those vile words. The mercenaries’ stunned reactions only reinforced that impression.
However, Jang Geon also sensed there was something he did not grasp about the black-robed warrior, beyond what was outwardly displayed when the dying merchant had begged him.
His intuition proved correct as the black-robed warrior suddenly bellowed, “Stay focused! Your employer was struck by a savage’s arrow and killed – you’ll just let that go?”
Rather than regaining their senses at his scolding, the mercenaries seemed to have an outburst of pent-up emotion, shouting among themselves chaotically.
“The fuck? He got hit sticking his neck out, so what’s it to us?”
“Dammit! We were still owed money!”
“This, this is…? Shouldn’t we be running? The employer’s dead, why fight these guys?”
The warrior slowly shook his head as the mercenaries bickered incoherently, before speaking again, raising his voice.
“Fools. Don’t you remember what your employer told you? Continue up this path and there’s a native village, filled with gold! Plus there are only about a dozen warriors there, the rest are just elderly and children!”
“Gold? Filled with gold? That’s right, he mentioned a gold mine.”
“Uhh, yeah, he did say something like that… But isn’t that none of our business?”
The black-robed warrior temporarily fell silent before raising his voice further.
“And those savages struck down a Central Plains person first! How dare they! Mere wildlings living in the mountains! What wrong did our employer commit? At most, he spoke some unpleasant words! Yet they shot him with arrows! As expected from uneducated savages – there’s no reasoning with them! As fellow Central Plains people, can we simply overlook this? Don’t we have a duty to avenge our unjustly slain kinsman?”
“…That’s right! Ambushing and killing a Central Plains person – savage bastards!”
“…Our slain employer, Kang Ryung! Let’s avenge Kang Ryung!”
Jang Geon frowned at the mercenaries’ behavior. They were riled up far too easily. For them to be so readily incited and excitedly join the shouting was strange unless they were genuinely hardened killers. Even the grim-faced tribal warriors who had appeared to intimidate now exchanged bewildered glances at the unfolding scene.
Then a peculiar, pungent scent wafted into Jang Geon’s nostrils. Swiftly holding his breath, he summoned his internal energy. Something that had been about to invade his body was expelled back through his respiratory tract by the force of his internal power.
Suppressing his breathing, Jang Geon exhaled the toxic vapors with a “Huh!” Then, while still holding his breath, he fixed a cold gaze upon the black-robed warrior. A murky substance seemed to continually seep out from under the man’s windbreaker robes. Sensing Jang Geon’s chilling stare, the warrior met his eyes and revealed a sneer.
“Avenge him! Kill them! Wipe out the savages!”
“Wipe them out! Kill! Kill and take the gold!”
The mercenaries were now roaring amongst themselves. Although the tribal warriors could not fully comprehend their words, their contorted expressions suggested they grasped the tone of abuse and menace.
Jang Geon shouted towards them, “Hold your breath! That man is using some kind of frenzy-inducing toxin…”
But it was too late – the tribesmen had already lowered their stances with twisted faces, hands reaching for their weapons. Bestial yellow eyes glinted as they glared at the shouting mercenaries, oblivious to Jang Geon’s warning.
Even Jeakpung and Birang had lost their senses, baring fangs and growling. The Central Plains voices swelled louder, and the warriors looked ready to draw arms at any moment. The black-robed warrior who seemed the source of this chaos simply smirked at Jang Geon, as if mocking, “What will you do about it?”
This was bad. If they fought in this frenzied state, not only would Jang Geon’s advice for evading the martial artists’ first strike be useless, but the traps carefully laid in the forest over the past few days would also be redundant. Whichever side emerged victorious, it would not be a true victory. And if the warriors were somehow defeated, it was obvious what the maddened mercenaries would do to the tribe.
As the Central Plains mercenaries bellowed like some rally, they finally drew the blades at their waists. Gripped by frenzy, they tried to unsheathe their swords while practically howling. And the same was true for the warriors behind Jang Geon.
Jang Geon’s eyes hardened grimly. Whether the intoxicating fumes entered through his breath or not, he inhaled deeply. Then he shouted,
“Dak-Chyeo!”
An immense thunderous rumble and tremor erupted, as if ten lightning bolts had struck simultaneously, reverberating through the forest, valley, and entire mountain range.
Startled birds took flight in a flurry from all across the forest, obscuring the previously clear sky. The mercenaries, so vocal just moments ago, and the growling warriors all froze wide-eyed, either sinking to the ground or staring dumbfounded at Jang Geon.
Among them, the black-robed warrior stood unsteadily, his bamboo hat knocked askew, gaping at Jang Geon in apparent disbelief before uttering, “Lion…Roar!”
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