Chapter 150
Two weeks ago.
Since my Subordinates took longer than expected to absorb the elixir, I couldn’t help but tremble with a little anxiety.
Even if it was divided into five equal parts, the Great Restoration Pill contained an energy that was not easy to handle.
[What if they suffered Qi Deviation while absorbing it…!]
And what if my Subordinates had collapsed on the floors of their rooms…!
Even so, I couldn’t enter their rooms.
If they were still in the middle of absorbing it, my entering the room would be a disturbance to them.
They might even suffer Qi Deviation because of me.
Thus, I was fraught with anxiety, unable to do this or that, and just waited until they emerged on their own.
And…
“Leader…!”
…When my anxiety reached its Peak, the first ones to finish absorbing and come out were Jeokyeom and Eungchil.
“You guys…”
I could tell as soon as I saw them.
“Looks like you had some results.”
That their realms had risen.
Jeokyeom and Eungchil were guys who had lived the Bandit Life since long before us, so their skin had been dark and tanned, but after finishing the absorption, their skin, though still dark, looked quite clear and clean.
Their bone structures seemed to have changed to some extent, and their eyes flowed with brilliance.
“Thanks to you, Leader, we were able to gain a small amount of enlightenment.”
“Thank you, Leader.”
After receiving their words of gratitude, only then did Bongchun also finish absorbing and Reveal himself.
Bongchun also seemed to have raised his realm to some extent, as he had external changes like Jeokyeom and Eungchil. It seemed to have been effective for Internal Energy Enhancement as well.
Next was the Youngest.
“…Hmm?”
I couldn’t help but flinch upon seeing Youngest’s appearance.
Unlike Bongchun, Jeokyeom, and Eungchil, Youngest had no changes in his external appearance after finishing the absorption.
Still…
“Thanks to the Great Restoration Pill, I was able to achieve quite a bit of Internal Energy Enhancement. Hehe.”
…Just as Youngest said, the Amount of Qi flowing from Youngest’s body was incomparable to before.
It was a much greater growth than that of Bongchun, Jeokyeom, and Eungchil, if we only looked at the aspect of Internal Energy Enhancement.
At this, I nodded my head while feeling a little disappointed.
It was then.
“Leader.”
At the Familiar voice calling me, I could tell that Dongryong had finished absorbing the elixir and returned.
At this, I turned around and…
“…Who are you?”
“…Pardon?”
…Someone who looked like Dongryong, yet was different, but was still Dongryong, was standing behind my back.
“Leader! What are you saying! It’s me! Dongryong-i!”
When I tilted my head, Dongryong-i shouted as if he felt wronged.
“No…, it’s just…”
Of course, the Base was Dongryong. Even though he had changed a lot, his facial structure hadn’t changed so much that he was unrecognizable.
However…
[He got weirdly handsome…]
…Yeah, he got a little handsome.
Well, Dongryong-i’s face wasn’t on the ugly side to begin with. Was it just around the upper tier of average?
But now, Dongryong-i’s face has evolved to a level where most people would nod their heads even if he was openly called a handsome man.
[If the external change is this much, how much is the Internal Energy Enhancement?]
With a little expectation, I gauged Dongryong-i’s Internal Energy Level and…
[Oh…!]
…I ended up a little surprised.
Seeing my expression, Dongryong-i spoke with a face containing a little pride.
“…Thanks to you, Leader, I was able to grow, albeit slightly.”
“…You Bastard.”
I was going to get mad if his face had only gotten handsome, but his Internal Energy Enhancement was also beyond my imagination.
Did going to Anhui this time help raise his insight?
With internal energy backing him up, his realm shot up rapidly.
Even if it wasn’t as much as the original Protagonist Ha Jinseong…, it was to the point where he had caught up to just a few levels below him.
I was inwardly happy at Dongryong-i’s Rapid Progress, but I instead scolded him.
“Hey, you Bastard. Still, a Bastard who is the Green Forest Deputy Leader should naturally be like this. Don’t get arrogant, because it starts from now.”
“…Yep.”
The words that it started from were not wrong.
Because Dongryong-i had only now become an existence that I acknowledged as a Martial Artist.
Still…
[Now it’d be quite all right to call him the Bandit King.]
…Having eaten the Great Restoration Pill, Dongryong-i had become a man who wouldn’t fall short even if he were called the Bandit King.
* * *
“Hey, Dongryong. You try fighting him.”
“…With that guy?”
Being suddenly called over and ordered like that, Dongryong-i was Staring blankly at the guy I pointed out, Heuk Su-Dol.
I added a word to Dongryong-i.
“I heard he’s that famous on the Yangtze River. They say his alias is the Pirate King. He’s a king just like you.”
“…A guy like that is the Pirate King?”
Having gauged all of Heuk Su-Dol’s skills, Dongryong-i clicked his tongue. It seemed his pride was hurt that the guy was on the same line as him.
And Dongryong-i wasn’t the only one whose pride was hurt.
“Hah! You Bandit Bastards are all just Bastards who have completely forgotten your manners!”
Heuk Su-Dol must have been severely angered, as he emitted a Fierce Aura with the intention of cutting us all down.
I calmly made a proposal to Heuk Su-Dol, as if taming a wild Beast.
“Hey, Heukdol! Then let’s make a bet! If you beat my Subordinate here, I’ll give you half of Hunan Province just as you want. Instead, if you can’t win, you become our Minion!”
“What? Puhaha-! Alright! I accept! I will crush that arrogant Bastard and take over Hunan Province-!”
Heuk Su-Dol laughed heartily and immediately raised his Saber, lunging at Dongryong-i.
“Hey, Dongryong-a!”
“Yes! Leader!”
Dongryong-i also drew and gripped his Saber as if he had been preparing.
However…
“But you only use one hand.”
“…Pardon?”
“That way the level will be somewhat matched.”
“What do you…”
…At my continued words, his face was immediately tinged with absurdity.
CLANG-!
“…Ugh-!”
But because Heuk Su-Dol immediately struck down with his Saber, Dongryong-i had to put his left hand away and block it with only his right hand, without even a moment to argue back.
CLANG-! CLANG-! CLANG-!
A Saber is a much more wicked weapon than a Sword. Each and every intense Attack is more important than anything else, because it is important to constrict the opponent with an oppressive flow.
For such a Saber User, Physical Strength is the most important factor. That is also the reason that the bodies of the Hebei Peng Family martial artists, who mainly use sabers, are rugged and muscular.
However, if one arm is not used, the body’s balance collapses, and the Physical Strength that can be utilized drops to less than half.
“Uhaha-! You arrogant Bastard! Yeah! Let’s see you endure this!”
“…”
Perhaps because of that influence, Dongryong-i showed signs of being pushed back by Heuk Su-Dol. Riding that momentum, Heuk Su-Dol increased his speed even more and further pressured Dongryong-i.
[Oho…]
The alias of the Pirate King certainly didn’t come from nowhere.
That guy Heuk Su-Dol fights pretty well, doesn’t he? That Fierce Aura is like a single rampaging wild Beast.
Furthermore, that Saber Art.
[Did he create it himself?]
CLANG! CLANG-!
At first, the movements looked somewhat light, as if testing the waters.
However…
CLANG-!! CLANG-!!!
As the flow accumulated one by one, speed and weight were added to the blade, and it swept over Dongryong-i like the massive Waves of the Yangtze River, having reached this point.
[How will Dongryong-i react?]
Of course, the current Dongryong-i could easily block an Attack of that level, but he was in a state of only using one arm at that moment.
With Physical Strength alone, it was obvious he would be pushed back by Heuk Su-Dol.
“…”
Swish-! Slash-!
Knowing that fact, Dongryong-i only pretended To Block the guy’s Attack at first.
“You Bastard! Is blocking all you can do! Then try blocking this too!”
Swoosh-!
Then, right when Heuk Su-Dol’s momentum reached its Peak…!
Paat-!
“…!”
Only then did Dongryong-i’s Saber aim at Heuk Su-Dol for the first time.
Rumble-!
But perhaps because it was with one arm, Dongryong-i’s Counterattack looked far too feeble. As if it would be swept away by Heuk Su-Dol’s Fierce Aura at any moment.
However…
“Oho…”
…I could see it.
The ferocious Aura hidden within Dongryong-i’s Saber, which looked so feeble it seemed about to collapse, was there.
Chwaaak-!
“No…!”
Dongryong-i swung his Saber just like that and completely deflected Heuk Su-Dol’s fierce Saber Art.
Because it was an Attack heavily focused on power, once the Strike was deflected, Heuk Su-Dol’s body leaned toward Dongryong-i.
And Dongryong-i did not miss that opening and…
Slash-!
“Kuaaagh-!”
…cut down the bare-bodied Heuk Su-Dol with a single stroke.
Thud.
“…”
It was a perfect Counterattack.
Instead of striking back with insufficient power against the guy’s Attack, he smoothly deflected it and used that opening to subdue the opponent.
Originally, Dongryong-i’s Martial Arts had an aspect of being merely simple and rigid due to the influence of the Hebei Peng Family.
But the current Dongryong-i was like a clever Hunter snatching up his prey.
“No…, this makes no sense…”
As if unable to believe he had lost, Heuk Su-Dol muttered blankly while collapsed.
And I…
Smack-!
“What do you mean it makes no sense, you Bastard!”
“Kkeuaaagh-!”
…delivered a Kick toward his fallen body.
It was the discipline of Weeping while Executing Ma Su, which I had also done when I first met Jeokyeom.
Smack-! Smack-!
“You rude Bastard! What? Divide Hunan in two? Bullshit, you’re now dead last in our Green Forest rankings, you Bastard!”
“Aaaaagh-! W-Wait a minute…! T-That’s where I was cut earlier… Aaaaagh-!”
Like that, after Imparting Manners to Heuk Su-Dol for a moment, I tossed him to Dongryong-i when the guy couldn’t come to his senses.
“Hey, Dongryong-a.”
“Yes, Leader.”
“When you look at him, it seems his Martial Arts tendency is similar to yours, so you try raising him like an Adjutant.”
When I spoke with the nuance of entrusting to him the responsibility of Heuk Su-Dol, Dongryong-i’s eyes sparkled as he asked.
“Oho…, then do I finally get a Direct Subordinate too?”
“Something like that. You take care of it and train him roughly.”
“If so, I will train him in the exact same way you trained me, Leader.”
“That’ll be absolute heaven.”
A real heaven.
Isn’t heaven originally a place you can only go to when you die?
In fact, true etiquette and loyalty toward others naturally arise once you are beaten just enough to exchange eye contact with Guan Yin Bodhisattva in the Underworld.
Since Dongryong-i was the guy who had been under me the longest, he would know this very well.
“Now…, Heukdol. Let’s go to heaven.”
“Ugh…”
Look at that. From his lines alone, it’s obvious he learned very well from me.
Like that, with Dongryong-i dragging the fallen Heuk Su-Dol away by the legs, the first Slave Interview came to an end.
* * *
“Phew…, it was a mess from the first interview. Haomun Leader, you should have done some quality management.”
“No…, why me… This isn’t my fault, is it?”
…True.
Actually, it wasn’t particularly the Haomun Leader’s fault, but after someone was blamed, it turned out to be the Haomun Leader.
“Ahem…, yeah, let’s put that aside and see the next person.”
When I cleared my throat and said that, the Haomun Leader sent an Attendant to bring the next person.
And then she smiled at me and said.
“Still, this person won’t be as rude as the Water Bandit just now. They are actually a Master from the Righteous Faction.”
“…A Master from the Righteous Faction? Oh…, is someone who’s actually educated finally coming?”
I heard earlier that there was a Righteous Faction member among the Interviewees, so this must be the person.
Certainly, if they are a Righteous Faction member, even if these are just Empty Formalities, they are a friend who definitely know Etiquette. I waited for the next Interviewee with a slightly expectant heart.
And…
“…A woman?”
…I couldn’t help but flinch upon seeing the second Interviewee who revealed herself.
That was understandable, as the second Interviewee was a female Martial Artist, which was rare in Jianghu.
Her age seemed to be older than the Haomun Leader’s…, but her skin was clear and her beauty was quite outstanding, perhaps due to the influence of Martial Arts.
[Is she in her late twenties?]
I was then examining the second Interviewee’s appearance.
Shring-.
“…Eh?”
Before I could even say a word, she drew her Sword from her waist.
And then…
Slice!
Rumble-!!
…she fired off Sword Qi straight at me.
“…No, what the.”
I dodged it simply by moving my head, but her Attack clearly contained Killing Intent.
That bitch really swung her Sword to kill me just now.
“No…! Haomun Leader! You said she’s a Righteous Faction member! Do Righteous Faction members greet people by swinging swords at the first meeting? What is going on here!”
“…I will subdue her first.”
Paat-!
The Haomun Leader didn’t seem to know the exact reason either, so she first pulled out daggers from her embrace and threw them at the other woman.
Swish-swish-swish-!
The Haomun Leader’s daggers dug sharply toward her.
However…
Clang!
“Oh, she deflected that?”
…She deflected the Haomun Leader’s daggers without much difficulty.
The woman in front of my eyes was a greater Master than I thought.
That was why I was even more curious.
It was definitely a face I was seeing for the first time, so why did she try to kill me without warning?
“Look here. Why are you suddenly doing this? Are we sworn enemies or something? I haven’t exactly done anything to make us sworn enemies, though.”
“You Bastard…”
When I asked for the reason, unbearable anger flowed from her mouth.
“…I came personally to execute you, the Bastard who dared to sully the honor of my Sect.”
“…Sect?”
When I tilted my head, she made a look of disgust and leaped at me.
“You shameless Bastard! I am none other than-! The Jongrimun Leader!! Yeon Mae-Hyang-!!”
“…Eh?”
Jongrimun…? That Jongrimun?
Don’t tell me she’s that Jongrimun Leader?
“Die for the honor of the Zhongnan Sect and Jongrimun! You villain!”
“No, I think there’s a misunderstanding. I actually raised Jongrimun’s honor…, no, wait a minute…!”
Before she could even hear my answer, she drew her Sword again and began swinging it at me.