Chapter 148
“…Then was the Murim Alliance completely defeated?”
“They say that’s not the case. Thanks to the Kunlun Sect’s Fight to the Death to buy time, the forces were able to pull the front line back and reform it without fatal losses.”
“…That’s a relief, at least.”
It really was a relief.
If not only the Kunlun Sect but all the other Murim Alliance Martial Artists had been wiped out, it would have been a straight Demonic World ending.
‘But why did the Demonic Cult suddenly get so strong…?’
Feeling doubtful, I asked the Haomun Leader, harboring a slight suspicion.
“Did the Heavenly Demon happen to appear in this battle?”
I wondered if he, who was an unknown entity even in the original work, had shown up…
“The Heavenly Demon…, ah. You mean the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult who has been in seclusion for a long time. If he had appeared, the Spy would have sent a separate report, but there was no such report from the Spy.”
…It seemed that wasn’t the case.
“If it concerns you, Great Hero, I will have the Spy send up detailed information about the battle situation at that time.”
“…Yeah, please do.”
The Demonic Cult bastards, whom I thought had been weakened to the limit, claimed their first victory much faster than in the original work.
The future Righteous-Demonic War would likely unfold at a rapid pace as well.
‘We also… need to get stronger…’
I let out a sigh and shifted my gaze toward the wooden box containing the Daehwandan.
I was planning to take it easy…, but it seemed we needed to get stronger quickly.
* * *
My goal is to turn this Hunan Province, ruled by the Green Forest, into a shelter untouched by the Flames of War.
To do that, the overall power of the Green Forest needs to grow, but whether in scale or anything else, the Green Forest falls far short of the Demonic Cult or the Murim Alliance.
From now on, I will focus on growing the Green Forest’s power. And today will be the first day of that effort.
“Um…, Leader, Everyone has gathered.”
At Dongryong-i’s words, I raised my head and examined the faces in front of me.
The Executives of our Green Forest whom I had summoned arrived.
Dongryong-i, Bongchun-i, the Youngest, Jeokyeom, and Eungchil, who was Jeokyeom’s Closest Aide and Subordinate, were five people.
I didn’t call Bang Sam-i.
“But Leader…, why did you tell us to come…?”
“…”
Without answering Dongryong-i, I pushed the wooden box forward and opened the lid.
Hwaaa-.
“…!”
As soon as the lid opened, the subtle fragrance of the Daehwandan filled the room, and the guys' eyes sparkled.
“Leader…, this is…”
“It’s a Daehwandan.”
“…!”
As soon as the word Daehwandan came out, the guys let out exclamations.
“Ooh-!”
“Th-This is-!”
I could also see greed seeping into their eyes.
And rightly so, for what lay before their eyes was Shaolin’s Daehwandan.
It was a Legendary Elixir with such incredible efficacy and difficulty to make that even Shaolin only had a few of them.
Stories of people eating this and becoming a Peerless Master remained like myths among Martial Artists.
And my subordinates, though they were bandits, were also martial artists at the same time.
From the perspective of those polishing their Martial Power, the Daehwandan before them would look more precious than any Priceless Treasure.
I cut to the chase and told them.
“I plan to give this to you.”
“…Huh?!”
Unable to anticipate my bombshell announcement, they widened their eyes and asked back.
“N-No, why wouldn’t you take such a precious elixir yourself, Leader…”
“You guys have suffered a lot working under me all this time. You’re more than worthy of taking it.”
“Leader…”
When I spoke as if I were doing it for their sake, their eyes filled with emotion.
However, the reason I wanted to give the Daehwandan to the Executives wasn’t to reward them.
It was purely for ‘efficiency.’
If I get stronger, the Green Forest gets stronger.
Likewise, if my Subordinates get stronger, the Green Forest gets stronger.
Elixirs have something called tolerance.
For a body like mine, which has a high Martial Arts Realm and has undergone Elixir Consumption several times, even an elixir like the Daehwandan has little efficacy.
But what about our Subordinates, who have a low Martial Arts Realm and haven’t even seen an elixir before?
‘There would probably be an epoch-making change.’
Of course, since it would be divided into five equal parts according to the number of people, the efficacy would decrease proportionally, but even that would allow for tremendous growth.
If I continue to invest in those below me like this, our Green Forest will be able to quickly build its strength.
“T-To think I’d get something this precious…”
“Leader…, I will never forget this grace for the rest of my life.”
In addition, there was the secondary effect of raising their loyalty.
Seeing their touched expressions made my heart feel warm as well.
It felt like being the CEO of a company with great employee benefits and receiving praise from the staff.
Anyway, it felt really good.
“Yeah, you bastards. This is the kind of person your leader is. So listen to me better from now on…”
It was right when I was patting myself on the back.
“…It’s too much for us.”
“…Hmm?”
At the sudden dissenting voice, I turned my head…
“For us…, it’s far too much.”
…The Youngest was muttering while looking at the Daehwandan.
Seu-euk-.
Seeing the Youngest’s expression as he shifted his gaze from the Daehwandan to me, I couldn’t help but be surprised for a moment.
The Youngest, who always had a bright, smiling expression, was now wearing an incredibly cold, emotionless face.
‘Wait, a Martial Artist bastard is refusing a Daehwandan?’
He wasn’t just refusing it; he was dead serious.
Feeling puzzled, I tilted my head, and the Youngest continued speaking.
“…Isn’t Under Heaven in a critical state right now with the war breaking out up north? Someday, a huge battle might occur here in Hunan Province as well. Even just to prepare for that time…, you should be the one to take it, Elder Brother.”
“Hey now, Maknae-ya. When the Leader gives you something, you just say thank you and…”
“No, this is too much for us.”
“…!”
When the Youngest cut off Dongryong-i’s words, I couldn’t help but flinch.
Even at that moment, the Youngest’s eyes were fixed on me.
“If you take this, you could become even stronger, Elder Brother. Giving such an opportunity to us is too much of a waste.”
“…”
Hmm…
Honestly, it wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about throwing efficiency to the dogs and just eating the Daehwandan myself.
No matter how little the efficacy was…, if I ate the Daehwandan, I would be able to become even stronger.
But I soon shook my head.
I don’t particularly desire the pinnacle of martial power. I have no greed to become the strongest under heaven or anything like that; I just want to live safely in this world.
For that to happen, it was right for the Green Forest, the fence that protected me, to become stronger rather than me.
“Maknae-ya, I…”
I slowly explained my thoughts to the Youngest.
The fact that it was more efficient for them, who had never taken an elixir, to eat it and the fact that now was the time to build the Green Forest’s strength were true.
“…”
Even after hearing my words, the Youngest wore a sullen expression for a moment, but soon nodded.
“…If that is what you think, Elder Brother.”
“Right, then it’s decided?”
After finally getting even the Youngest’s permission, I divided the Daehwandan equally into five parts and handed them out to the guys.
“…Why does it seem like Deputy Leader Dongryong’s piece is a little bigger…”
“Read the room, Bongchun.”
After that, I instructed them on the precautions for Elixir Consumption.
How can one absorb the energy without letting it leak as much as possible, and how can one avoid falling into Qi Deviation?
After taking my various instructions to heart, the guys headed to their quarters with excited expressions.
When everyone was leaving, the last one to hold me back was the Youngest.
“…Elder Brother.”
Pu-uk-.
He first bowed his head deeply to me before continuing.
“…I’m sorry for acting disrespectfully. I just wanted you to become stronger, Elder Brother.”
“…”
The Youngest had a cheerful and bright personality, so he was close to everyone in the Green Forest.
However, if you asked whom the Youngest was closest to…, it was undoubtedly I.
He truly followed me as if I were his real older brother.
The slightly aggressive behavior he showed this time was probably out of loyalty to me.
“It’s fine, you bastard. Just focus on absorbing that properly.”
I patted the Youngest’s shoulder a couple of times.
Having too many distracting thoughts could hinder the absorption of the elixir.
And…, honestly, the one I had the highest expectations for when handing out this Daehwandan was the Youngest.
The Youngest has high Martial Arts comprehension.
If he even achieved Internal Energy Enhancement through the Daehwandan, it would be a huge help in improving the Green Forest’s combat power.
“I have high expectations for you.”
“…Yes, Elder Brother, I will definitely become someone who can repay you.”
“Punk…”
Anyway, he’s a guy who knows how to say the right things.
With the Youngest finally regaining his usual bright smile, all the Subordinates left to absorb the Daehwandan.
* * *
Even though a day had passed and it was now afternoon, none of the guys had finished absorbing it, nor had they returned.
“Hmm…, they’re a bit late…”
When I muttered to myself in a worried tone, a reply came from the Haomun Leader beside me.
“…It’s a Supreme Elixir on the level of a Daehwandan. Do you think it would be absorbed quickly?”
“…Hmm?”
…But for some reason, her voice was incredibly cold.
So I asked her playfully…
“Why are you so prickly today, Haomun Leader? Are you perhaps sulking because I didn’t give you a Daehwandan?”
“…I would like you to remember that I am also a martial artist.”
“…Eh?”
…That hit the mark.
I said it as a joke, but she took it seriously and even grumbled a little.
“…I always listen to your requests and handle matters for you, Great Hero, but you tend to neglect me a little.”
“…Ahaha.”
Did I…?
Usually, when people who don’t seem like the type to sulk actually do, it lasts a long time. So, with the intention of comforting her, I spoke in a coaxing tone.
“Hey now…, I know you’re always working hard, Haomun Leader, so I have prepared something even more precious for you.”
“…Really?”
Of course, there was no such thing.
Well…, I could just throw something together later, right?
The Haomun Leader was the type of person who would jump for joy even if I handed her a cheap bracelet or necklace, as long as it was from me.
“Yeah, so about that, I’ll take care of everything for you later, so could you do me another favor this time?”
“…What are you going to make me do now?”
As I naturally steered the flow toward asking her a favor, she sighed but nodded her head.
Even if she was sulking for a moment, the Haomun Leader’s strong point was that she would obediently listen whenever I gave her a task.
“Since a war broke out in the North, the refugees will flock down here to our Hunan Province in the South, right?”
“The Hunan Province Border is already saturated with refugees.”
“There should be Martial Artists among them, too.”
Not all Martial Artists in the Central Plains belong to the Righteous Faction.
Though a minority, there are guys who are openly in the Unorthodox Faction, and there are also guys who are ambiguously between Righteous and Unorthodox.
Such Martial Artists wouldn’t want to mix with either the Righteous Faction or the Demonic Cult, and they would flock here, where the Flames of War haven’t reached.
“…Yes. There should be quite a few Martial Artists as well. Don’t tell me…?”
“Our Green Forest needs to pick up some recruits, too. Smart bastards.”
Now, it was time to meet the new faces.