Chapter 17
“The look on that bastard’s face when he said that was so infuriating... Naturally, my subordinates and I rose up in protest against his nonsense. Even I couldn’t tolerate it then.”
Jeokyeom’s Aura, as he recalled the past, seemed ready to grab an axe and charge out at any moment.
“But... the Magistrate stopped me. What did he say...? Ah! He said the Non-interference between Officials and Martial Artists must be upheld no matter what. He stopped us, saying that no crack should appear in centuries of tradition. He even imprisoned us for trying to attack that bastard.”
“...So what happened then?”
“What do you mean, “what happened”? We could only watch with our own eyes from inside the prison as that bastard leisurely returned to his home.”
“...”
Ha, damn it.
What a fucked-up and tragic story.
From the middle of the story, I barely managed to hold back from asking what that bastard’s name was.
However, the harder part was that his story wasn’t over yet.
“In prison, I thought to myself. *Ah... I should have just killed him when my subordinates wanted to. That bastard doesn’t even follow the nation’s laws, so why was I foolishly thinking of upholding them?* Regret surged within me. It was unbearable. And it was the same for the other subordinates imprisoned with me. When people’s hearts united, the prison bars blocking our way seemed lighter than air.”
“You mean... you broke out of prison?”
As if confirming it, Jeokyeom nodded.
“Yes. We all gathered our strength, broke the bars, grabbed our weapons, and went to that bastard’s house. Damn, it was disgustingly lavish. Even after killing all our villagers, that bastard was leisurely drinking alcohol on his porch.”
“He was still drinking in that situation? What a real son of a bitch!”
Dongryong, who was listening to the story with me, couldn’t hold back his anger and cursed out loud.
Dongryong’s face was so red it looked like it might burst; it seemed he had truly empathized with the story and couldn’t control his rage.
I restrained Dongryong and listened to Jeokyeom’s story further.
“Even after we were right in front of him, that bastard was still shouting about Non-interference between Officials and Martial Artists. He scoffed, asking what the Imperial Army could do to a Martial Artist...”
“So what did you do?”
“I shouted back at him. I told him we weren’t the Imperial Army anymore, just a Bandit Group wielding weapons. I swung my axe, shouting that.”
“...”
Something about this flow isn’t good. Are Imperial Army soldiers breaking out of prison, storming a Noble Family’s estate, declaring themselves a Bandit Group, and swinging weapons?
There was no way this story would end well.
“But, damn it, Martial Artists are strong beings... Even that human trash... blocked my axe with surprising ease. I couldn’t even follow his movements with my eyes.”
“...”
“After that, other Escort Warriors from that Noble Family appeared from everywhere. Since I had already declared myself a Bandit, their swords were utterly merciless. Over sixty people had charged in, but less than half, only twenty-six, managed to come out.”
“So after that, you were hunted as criminals until you settled in the mountains...”
Jeokyeom gave a sheepish, bitter laugh, then nodded.
“Yes, that was eight years ago. We had already lost our families, and we had to find a way to survive... So we truly decided to become Bandits.”
“...I see.”
To be honest, when I first saw these Muak Mountain Brotherhood guys, I noticed something different about them from the very beginning compared to other Bandits.
First, I first encountered Deputy Leader Eungchil.
“This place is the territory of our Muak Mountain Brotherhood. Sirs, who exactly are you to be making such a ruckus on the mountain at this late hour?”
His manner of speech was surprisingly polite for an uneducated Bandit, and he didn’t draw his sword against us first.
This might have been because he hadn’t properly identified our true identities, but he seemed quite accustomed to such polite speech.
A bandit with ingrained politeness? That’s where things started to seem odd.
Furthermore, the movements of all the Muak Mountain Brotherhood members showed traces of unified training.
Given how well-organized their Mountain Stronghold was and their strict hierarchy, they also seemed to have a strong sense of cooperation and loyalty, unlike other bandits.
At first, it was just, *“What are these guys? How strange.”* But it was surprising to think they were originally Imperial Army soldiers.
“...”
I couldn’t help but fall into thought.
Honestly, as I’ve said before, I prefer operating on a small scale. I don’t particularly want to draw attention to myself in the world.
So, after gathering them, if I judged that they weren’t the kind of guys I could live with, I planned to immediately kick them out and just live here with the original five members of the Hyeongak Mountain Green Forest Stronghold.
But...
*“Damn, that”s pathetic.’*
His story is so tragic; it’s just too pitiful.
It’s true I’m a bad guy, but that doesn’t mean I have no sympathy.
The circumstances of Jeokyeom and the Muak Mountain Brotherhood were enough to move my heart.
And...
“Hey, uh...”
“...Yes?”
“Your face... I’m sorry I hit you so hard.”
I felt a little guilty for turning that poor guy’s face into a bloody mess.
“Well, did I know he was such a guy? I just wanted to make sure the Rank Adjustment was clear, and it ended up like this...”
At the mention of his face being a bloody mess, Jeokyeom’s face momentarily filled with fear, but he quickly let out a hollow laugh.
“No, it’s fine. Haha...”
At first, he just looked intimidating, but now he seems so pathetic.
After a moment of contemplation, I spoke with difficulty.
“So... do you still want revenge on that bastard?”
“...!”
At my question, every trace of a hollow laugh vanished from Jeokyeom’s face. All that remained in him were Poisonous Qi and Killing Intent.
“Not for a single moment... have I forgotten. Even now, I often dream of beheading that bastard in my sleep. But...”
“It’s impossible.”
Jeokyeom nodded bitterly and replied.
“...Yes. It’s shameful, but it’s true. I still don’t have the confidence to defeat him. A lot of time has passed, so he must have grown even stronger. We tried to learn Martial Arts on our own, but... it wasn’t easy.”
“Of course.”
Practicing Martial Arts through self-study without any guidance is impossible unless one is an extraordinary genius.
It must have been difficult, naturally.
I pointed to the four original members of the Hyeongak Mountain Green Forest Stronghold and said to Jeokyeom.
“The four people here are stronger than all forty-three of you. That’s because these guys have cultivated Martial Arts.”
...Yes. I know that well. We couldn’t possibly contend with them...
“I will teach you Martial Arts too.”
“Yes...?”
Jeokyeom’s eyes widened, and he raised his head as if to confirm what he’d heard. I repeated myself to him... no, to all the Muak Mountain Brotherhood guys behind him, so everyone could hear.
“I will make you true Martial Artists too. I will make you strong enough... to get revenge on that bastard.”
“H-how could you bestow such great favor...?”
“Well... the Mountain Stronghold is nice, and the mountain is beautiful... I want to live here. So, I’ll teach you as a bonus while living here.”
“...”
Jeokyeom stared at me with a bewildered expression for a long time after I finished speaking. Then...
Thud-!
He prostrated himself on the spot, pressing his forehead to the ground.
“If you do that for us, I will never forget this kindness!!”
As he bowed, all the other Muak Mountain Brotherhood members behind him also began to prostrate themselves.
“We will never forget-!!”
Thud-!
Jeokyeom pressed his forehead to the ground once more, then raised his head. His eyes seemed slightly moist, filled with tears.
“If you only teach us Martial Arts, we will pledge our loyalty to the very end... We will never betray you.”
“...”
“Please, become the Leader of our Muak Mountain Brotherhood...”
Jeokyeom’s earnestness somehow felt embarrassing to me, so I turned my back and said.
“Damn it, what kind of name is Muak Mountain Brotherhood? Let’s just keep it simple and call it the Muak Mountain Green Forest Stronghold.”
“...Yes! Thank you, Leader!”
And so, I became the Leader of the Muak Mountain Green Forest Stronghold.
**
I sent the guys off to do their respective tasks, then called Dongryong aside.
“Did you call, Leader?”
“Yes, Dongryong. There’s something you need to do.”
I commanded Dongryong, who seemed a little nervous.
“The Muak Mountain Brotherhood... you know, the new subordinates? You teach them Martial Arts.”
“M-me?”
As expected, as soon as he heard my command, Dongryong was greatly surprised and shook his head.
“I-I can’t do it, Leader. I don’t have the skill to teach anyone...”
“I’m not asking for anything difficult. First, put them through rigorous Physical Training, just like I did with you guys, and teach them the Cultivation Method incantations I taught you, so they can accumulate Internal Energy.”
“If it’s just that much, then somehow...”
“And when you think the time is right, teach them the Hebei Peng Family’s Martial Arts that you know.”
“...!!”
Dongryong’s eyes widened, and he stammered, as if he hadn’t expected the words “Hebei Peng Family” to come out of my mouth.
“L-Leader...! How did you k-know that my Martial Arts are from the Hebei Peng Family...?”
“Dongryong. If you want to hide something, don’t make it so obvious. Anyone can see you swinging your saber as if shouting, “I learned Martial Arts from the Hebei Peng Family,” so how could I not know?”
“...”
“I don’t know how you ended up leaving there, but I’m sure you have your reasons. I won’t press you. Instead, just teach the subordinates some Martial Arts.”
Dongryong seemed to ponder for a moment, but then he nodded. And then he asked me.
“But, Leader. Didn’t you usually teach Martial Arts yourself? Why this time...”
“Because I have something important to do.”
“What is that?”
I pointed to the enormous pile of Shanxi Yu Clan treasures stacked in one corner and said.
“I need to quickly convert those into cash. If I just leave them to rot, they’ll just be junk.”
“In that case...?”
“Yes.”
It’s time to descend the mountain after a long while.
“I’ll be out for a bit.”