Chapter 278. I Did Not Stop Talking.
I looked at the sobbing Thunderbolt Sect Master.
Why was that lunatic crying like that? As far as I knew, the black path did not cry. Dumbfounded, I jumped down and approached the Thunderbolt Sect Master.
When I crouched down and looked at him, a bearded boar was glaring back at me, so I slapped him across the cheek.
“Why are you crying? Are you crazy?”
I asked the Myriad Manifestations Sect Master for help.
“Why is this boar bastard crying?”
“I do not know either.”
Someone from the Thunderbolt Sect answered.
“The Sect Master had a son. Not long ago.”
“Ah, really?”
I grabbed the Thunderbolt Sect Master by the shoulder.
“Congratulations. Thunderbolt Sect Master, having a son is good news.”
“…….”
Even though I smiled for him, the Thunderbolt Sect Master glared at me with his eyes wide open. I gazed steadily at him and said,
“Even a moronic bastard who takes tribute from people with no money would find his own child precious enough to put in his eye and not feel pain. It’s something to celebrate. Why are you opening your eyes like that?”
The Thunderbolt Sect Master replied.
“I can accept losing and being defeated in a fight, but must you insult me by bringing up my child as well?”
“Insult? Since when did you ever think about other people’s children when you collected tribute? This is the first time I’ve seen the black path living this richly. Judging by how well you live, this wealth wasn’t built in Makseong by being considerate of others’ circumstances. Anyway, we’re in the middle of a war, and the look in a defeated commander’s eyes is…”
This time, I struck the Thunderbolt Sect Master’s face with some emotion behind it. With a thwack, the Thunderbolt Sect Master collapsed and did not get up, apparently having fainted.
“A child is a child, and a man has to live his own life.”
I stood up and said to the Myriad Manifestations Sect Master,
“We’ll escort him to the Martial Alliance later, so bind him. If he’s innocent, he’ll get a warning; if he’s guilty, he’ll go to prison; if it’s serious, he’ll probably die, right?”
“Yes.”
“After the Martial Alliance comes out to inspect things, they’ll handle it with some measure of fairness. I won’t be the judge. Until then, he should be locked up.”
“Understood.”
I looked around and said,
“It’s decided that the Myriad Manifestations Sect will absorb the Thunderbolt Sect. If there’s anyone else who wants to be beaten to death, say so now. I’m busy because I have to go strike the Heavenly Eagle Gang next. Has anyone here heard of the Great Rakshasa’s reputation?”
All the officers of the Myriad Manifestations Sect raised their hands.
“We have.”
“Well, I’m not trying to talk about the Great Rakshasa, but the Great Rakshasa had disciples. One was beaten to death by me, and another survived and looks like he’ll be getting married soon. Don’t you dance on the boundary between life and death either. Now that I’ve come here, Makseong’s black path has to be reorganized from the ground up.”
At that moment, a man in his thirties from the Thunderbolt Sect walked out holding a sword and introduced himself to me.
“Sect Master, I am Seol Gyeongdeok, Vice Sect Master of the Thunderbolt Sect.”
Judging by his face, a man who liked stepping forward was stepping forward, so I was inwardly flustered.
“Vice Sect Master Gyeongdeok, what is it?”
“If you are going to strike the Heavenly Eagle Gang, I will bring our forces and join you.”
“With what intention? Are you saying you’ll help? Or is there another reason? I can wipe out the Heavenly Eagle Gang even if I go alone, so why are you butting in? Do I look like an idiot?”
“No.”
“Then what? Do you think this is your chance to grab a position?”
“No. If the Sect Master is escorted to the Martial Alliance, he’ll be lucky to merely be imprisoned, and since he had a son not long ago, I thought you might show some leniency…”
“Leniency? If you lot have been collecting tribute all this time while showing leniency to the merchants, I’ll consider it. I don’t know, but the Myriad Manifestations Sect Master should have a rough idea. How was it?”
The Myriad Manifestations Sect Master answered with his expression hardened.
“They were merciless.”
“Merciless… so he says. You want me to show leniency to a bastard who was merciless to others. I can’t. The truth is, the fact that I didn’t beat him to death is already more than enough leniency. Isn’t it something that I didn’t kill him? Do I look like a monk with hair?”
The Vice Sect Master spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“Sect Master, that is still fine. I am not asking you to show leniency. They are opponents we would have fought someday.”
“Vice Sect Master.”
“Yes.”
“I find that decision a little unfortunate. If you go to the Heavenly Eagle Gang and try to pull some petty trick, you die on the spot. There will be no next time.”
The Vice Sect Master replied,
“I have already seen your skill, Sect Master, so unless I am a fool, I will not try any petty tricks.”
“What do you think, Myriad Manifestations Sect Master?”
After pondering for a moment, the Myriad Manifestations Sect Master answered.
“Let us do that. Makseong’s black path is not that far gone. The Vice Sect Master has always been a man with backbone.”
I looked the Vice Sect Master up and down.
“…Do as you please. Bring your forces, and we’ll all go together and watch. Before daybreak, we’ll know who ends up dead.”
Vice Sect Master Seol Gyeongdeok cupped his fist to me.
“I will do so.”
The Myriad Manifestations Sect Master asked,
“The Thunderbolt Sect Master is a flight risk. Should we bring him with us?”
“Ah, what a bother. Just cut off one of his ankles.”
“Pardon?”
I patted the startled Myriad Manifestations Sect Master on the shoulder, then headed outside.
“A joke… let’s bring him. Thunderbolt Sect, bring him along.”
Mixed among the officers of the Myriad Manifestations Sect and the forces of the Thunderbolt Sect, we moved toward the Heavenly Eagle Gang.
It was a strange combination.
Since we were still at a disadvantage in numbers, the atmosphere made it seem as though we were being dragged by the Thunderbolt Sect to the Heavenly Eagle Gang.
* * *
The gates of the Heavenly Eagle Gang were wide open.
My mouth fell open on its own.
“Wow, what is this? They were getting ready.”
Fires were lit everywhere as if they had prepared for a field battle. Even from inside the Heavenly Eagle Gang, I could already feel killing intent rising like flames from a campfire. As martial artists holding weapons climbed atop the walls, someone’s voice rang out.
“…Welcome.”
To my eyes, it looked like Zhuge Liang’s bluff when he opened the city gates against Sima Yi. Whether they opened the gate or not made no difference.
A man who seemed to be an officer appeared on the wall and said,
“I thought it couldn’t be, but it was true. Is the Hao Sect Master here?”
“That’s me.”
The officer looked at me and said,
“Why have you suddenly meddled in Makseong’s black path conflict?”
“Take your bullshit to the Martial Alliance. Tell your Gang Leader, the one who slapped the messenger, to come out first. The messenger is the grandson of my second cousin aunt’s next-door neighbor.”
Seol Gyeongdeok, who had come up beside me, said,
“Sect Master, I will break through as the vanguard.”
“Don’t step forward. By the way, is this the extent of my reputation?”
If the Cult Leader or the Heavenly Wicked Scholar had come, the entirety of Makseong’s black path would have knelt and prepared to have their faces slapped, yet here I was, such an inadequate person. Thinking that I had not been enough of a lunatic, I wrapped Lunacy around my right hand and Damnation around my left.
“…….”
The moment a strange roar erupted from my hand, not only the Byeongnyeokmun but even the Mansang Sect Master recoiled in fright and stepped back. Once they saw the bizarre light spreading out, there was no one left around me.
I compressed the chill of the full moon and wrapped the lightning qi of the Baekjeon Ten-Stage Art around it.
Not using Ilwol Gwangcheon was my mercy. I had created an unidentified combination of the Moon Shadow Heartless Art and the Baekjeon Ten-Stage Art, but it was a technique I had yet to name.
It was an ominous white, not one that suited the word pure white. Like a disgusting shape of white loaches clinging to a white sphere.
I intended to drop it first, see its effects, and then give it a name.
A combination of ice arts and lightning qi?
It was a technique that had never existed in this world.
A tremendous amount of energy was consumed, as if I had poured in a third of all the internal energy I possessed in one go.
If I threw it at a person, they looked like they would vanish into dust, so for now I hurled it far into the main base of the Cheoneung Gang. The clamorous sphere, spinning furiously in white, flew off while lighting up the night sky like starlight, then exploded in the Cheoneung Gang’s headquarters.
Kwagagagagagagagagagwang!
Even so, compared to Ilwol Gwangcheon, the roar was weaker. But the spectacle was no less than Ilwol Gwangcheon. Along with the roar, white streaks of light surged all over the night sky like shattered lightning, and people’s screams mingled in very faintly before soon falling silent.
I said to the Mansang Sect Master in an indifferent tone.
“Enter.”
“Yes.”
Those who had already been on top of the wall had been struck by the wave of qi and sent flying in every direction.
Since even I did not know exactly what had happened, I followed the Black Path in through the main gate.
The moment I saw the state of the Cheoneung Gang, I flinched in surprise.
How should I describe this? It was as if white lightning had clung to every direction, and everything in sight had frozen solid.
A fucking plague of a disaster, perhaps.
For the moment, even the Mansangmun officers and the Byeongnyeokmun disciples who had entered first were watching me as I came in late, instead of inspecting the inside.
Their expressions were completely different from before.
It was the moment they confirmed that what I had said was not mere bravado.
I said to the Mansang Sect Master and Vice Sect Master Seol Gyeongdeok.
“Bring me the Cheoneung Gang Leader.”
“Yes.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the officers and Byeongnyeokmun disciples charged toward the shattered main building.
With my hands clasped behind my back, I checked the damage caused by the technique I had created. In other words, this scene was like a painting. An abstract painting expressing the dead of winter suddenly sweeping in on a perfectly fine spring day. Even as I watched, Byeongnyeokmun disciples who had entered late passed by me with blades in hand.
From inside came the screams of Black Path men killing Black Path men, along with the sounds of weapons clashing, as if there were still some bastards alive.
I had no intention of letting all of them live either.
I am not a philanthropist.
Those meant to die would die, and those who survived, I intended to have the Mansang Sect Master take in. At the entrance, the men supporting the Byeongnyeok Sect Master came in last. The moment the Byeongnyeok Sect Master regained consciousness, he must have confirmed the惨 state of the Cheoneung Gang, because his complexion changed like that of a man who had seen a ghost.
I greeted the dazed Byeongnyeok Sect Master.
“Welcome, Byeongnyeok Sect Master. You didn’t know it would turn out like this, did you?”
“…….”
“I hear the Cheoneung Gang Leader slapped the messenger. This is the price of that slap. No matter how much of an enemy he is, laying hands on a messenger is not battlefield etiquette. Isn’t that right?”
The Byeongnyeok Sect Master could not say a word.
The wall on the second floor of the building shattered, and someone came flying out while spewing blood, then rolled beside me. He still seemed to have a bit of strength left, so I kicked him in the face with a light kick.
The Byeongnyeok Sect Master must have been shocked, because now he looked like a man who could not even think of running away. He was utterly out of it. When I looked back, a middle-aged man was fiercely swinging a sword from the hole in the wall before being struck by a kick and falling. The middle-aged man twisted his body in midair and barely landed properly, then turned around and immediately ran toward me.
“…….”
As soon as the Mansang Sect Master appeared from the hole in the wall, he shouted.
“That is the Cheoneung Gang Leader!”
The Cheoneung Gang Leader, whom I was seeing for the first time, raised his sword as he approached me. The moment I saw it, I greeted him.
“Gang Leader, I am the Hao Sect Master. Why did you slap my messenger?”
“…….”
The Cheoneung Gang Leader took a stance as if to cut me down, then must have sunk deep into other thoughts, because he did not move. It was easy to know what those other thoughts were.
“If you swing that, you’ll die, won’t you?”
The Cheoneung Gang Leader extended his sword in front of me. The tip of the blade was trembling.
I lightly caught the trembling sword between my thumb and index finger. White chill advanced along the blade toward the Cheoneung Gang Leader.
The Cheoneung Gang Leader glared and infused his energy, resisting the Moon Shadow Heartless Art. He could have simply declared his surrender right then, but it was a response befitting a man of the Black Path.
Out of nowhere, I engaged in an extremely orthodox internal energy contest with the Cheoneung Gang Leader, then, into the sword that had frozen and lost its bending resilience, I injected my internal energy as if making a snapping strike and flicked my wrist.
The sword broke in two.
Only then did the Cheoneung Gang Leader drop the broken sword to the ground, let out a sigh, look around, and say,
“……Stop. We lost.”
I looked at the Byeongnyeok Sect Master, then at the Mansang Sect Master, who had come down from the second floor.
“Leaders, let me see you for a moment.”
I beckoned the Byeongnyeok Sect Master and the Mansang Sect Master over, then sat on the ground. The bound Byeongnyeok Sect Master sat on my left, and the Mansang Sect Master sat on my right.
The Cheoneung Gang Leader, who had been looking at me, approached without a word and plopped down.
While I was briefly choosing what to say, Seol Gyeongdeok, the Vice Sect Master of Byeongnyeokmun, naturally joined us and sat nearby.
I said to Seol Gyeongdeok.
“You, get out.”
“Yes.”
Seol Gyeongdeok stood up, clicked his tongue, and went over to his subordinates. I gathered the two sect masters and the gang leader and said,
“……The three of you should be grateful I’m sparing you, shouldn’t you?”
Only the Mansang Sect Master answered.
“That is so.”
“It would have been nice if you had gathered when I told you to gather at Suwol Pavilion, so what the hell is this nonsense in the dead of night? You goddamn idiots, Byeongnyeok Sect Master, Cheoneung Gang Leader. If either of you happens to have some higher power backing you, say it now. Don’t make a fuss later when it comes to light.”
The Cheoneung Gang Leader answered.
“I have none.”
The Byeongnyeok Sect Master also shook his head.
“I have none either.”
I looked over the three of them, then brought up the matter we should have discussed at Suwol Pavilion.
“The Black Path of Makseong will be led by the Mansang Sect Master, Sun Woojin.”
“Yes.”
The other two did not answer. I continued with what I had to say.
“Mansang Sect Master, do not collect tribute during the period of recovery. Announce that to the surrounding area as well. Send a messenger to the Murim Alliance, inform them of this matter, and ask them to send an inspector.”
“Understood.”
“Thunderbolt Sect Leader, Heavenly Eagle Gang Leader. If you don’t like my decision, kill yourselves right here. I can’t be bothered to clean up after you either. Those of us who survive will figure out how to settle things somehow. Don’t worry and ascend to heaven. A man has his pride, doesn’t he? Having fallen this low, how do you plan to live from now on? All of you look like you’ve stuffed down at least ten more years than I have. If you lose like this, you’ll be too ashamed to keep living in the black path. If it were me, I’d have charged headfirst into a wall and died.”
“…….”
There are people who suddenly lose their temper in the middle of chewing someone out, and I am one of them. I sat the three of them down, folded my arms, and repeated what I had already said, then repeated what I had repeated, like a monk chanting sutras.
“Why did you slap the messenger?”
“……Well, that was.”
I slapped the Heavenly Eagle Gang Leader across the cheek, then continued.
“Explain.”
I listened to the three of them speak. I heard the secret story behind the founding of Makseong’s black path, the tale of the founding patriarch of the Thunderbolt Sect, the story of the first gang leader of the Heavenly Eagle Gang, and even the stories of their hometowns. Before I knew it, dawn was breaking, and the subordinates around us were sprawled here and there, nodding off, but my talk was not yet over. In the meantime, the Heavenly Eagle Gang Leader and the Thunderbolt Sect Leader were occasionally slapped by me. I watched the daybreak with the three men, eyes wide open, and kept speaking.
“……So keep going. What did you do after collecting such excessive tribute?”
When the sky grew bright, the Thunderbolt Sect Leader cautiously asked me.
“Sect Leader, but could you perhaps loosen these bonds a little……”
I took out the Flash Dagger and cut their bindings. It seemed the three of them were gradually relaxing as well, their eyelids growing heavy.
I drove the Flash Dagger into the ground and said,
“Are you lunatics? If you want to die, close your eyes. Keep talking.”
I had no idea what the three of them were thinking, but with the gravest attitude in the world, I listened to their stories, berated them, and hit them until the sun rose high in the sky.
I lent an ear to the stories of the men of the black path.
It seemed these three still did not know that I had been trying all night not to kill them, so I did not stop the conversation.