The Tiger Knights had been roaming the Central Plains, carrying out numerous missions under the orders of the Martial Arts Alliance. They had brutally slaughtered countless members of the Dark Faction, raising their reputation, and earned the trust of the Alliance by crushing several obstructive forces.
The members of the Tiger Knights took immense pride in their name being recognized and in the acknowledgment from the Alliance. With youth and vigor in the mix, their bonds grew tighter than ever.
If there are merits, they exaggerate them; if there are faults, they cover them up. That’s the virtue of the Tiger Knights. They’ve gained not only fame but also irreplaceable brothers.
And the head of the Tiger Knights, Geuk-hyun, considered the entire Tiger Knights as an extension of himself.
The greater the power of the Tiger Knights, the greater the thrill he felt. Their achievements were a direct representation of his abilities.
While he was part of the Hwasan Faction, he was always compared to others and considered relatively lacking, but not here. He finally unfurled his wings after stepping out of Hwasan.
This situation couldn’t just be brushed aside.
‘Jade Flower Sword…!’
His mind was filled with thoughts of the Jade Flower Sword.
The Tiger Knights, or rather Geuk-hyun, was openly humiliated for the first time in his life. And it was by a woman, the Martial Arts History figure, the Jade Flower Sword.
Until now, he had only received praises while leading the Tiger Knights.
He had never failed and would continue to prove his capabilities, monopolizing the Alliance’s trust. Eventually, he would certainly rise to a higher position.
Yet now, that was about to shatter.
Due to a trivial incident, there were complaining voices coming from the Namgoong Clan. Perhaps this incident could turn the Tiger Knights into a disgraceful group that only harassed women.
‘Damn it! How dare you insult me like that…!’
He couldn’t hold back his irritation.
In the first place, the Tiger Knights came to this place under the orders of the Martial Arts Alliance.
That being said, they were here as reinforcements to resolve the incident in Anhui City, but no matter how foolish Gong Son-tan was, this shouldn’t be happening.
‘Ungrateful girl!’
Who in the world demeans someone coming to help?
This is an outrage. Thanks to the foolish actions of the Jade Flower Sword, the banner of the Tiger Knights would now have blemishes.
To be honest, Geuk-hyun secretly thought that someone like the Jade Flower Sword would be best suited to an able and wise hero like himself. But to spread her legs for some other man like a harlot, and even become hostile? That was simply unbearable.
‘I will make her pay.’
Just as the entire Tiger Knight squad made a scene, the Jade Flower Sword should also get a taste of humiliation.
Moreover, he wanted to make her completely submit to him.
Thinking about it, the Namgoong Clan had not supported the Alliance’s fighting forces. Conveniently, that also irritated him. Given that, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to cleverly manipulate this situation to make the Jade Flower Sword subordinate to the Tiger Knights.
“Leader! I have news!”
As he chewed on his anger, Gong Son-tan, that foolish guy, brought the news. But he couldn’t be trusted since he was unpredictable and foolish.
He needed accurate information, so he shouldn’t listen to him.
“Is that so? You there, report.”
“Yes!”
Geuk-hyun pointed to a member he had placed beside Gong Son-tan.
“No, Leader! I will speak directly! It’s about—”
“Deputy Leader. Be quiet. Do you intend to disregard your standing?”
“Uh… Yes. I understand.”
Gong Son-tan immediately conceded.
‘Foolish brat.’
Geuk-hyun brushed his face and listened to the report.
“I’ve gathered information about the Jade Flower Sword. No, more precisely, it’s about the guy next to her.”
“Alright. What kind of guy is he?”
What kind of person has the Martial Arts History figure in his grasp? Geuk-hyun couldn’t help but be curious.
“He is said to be a rising martial artist known as ‘Screaming Demon.’”
“What…?”
Screaming Demon?
‘Is he part of the Dark Faction?’
He had killed quite a few faction members, but he had never encountered someone with such a heinous title. How could the nickname have ‘Demon’ in it?
Even the average thugs wouldn’t dare call themselves that.
“Recently, he ruthlessly slaughtered all the members of the Dark Faction and established a place called the Demon Hall. It’s said he wiped out the Dark Faction to restore the righteous spirit.”
“…”
Geuk-hyun clenched his fist upon hearing that.
‘What an insignificant brat. Why in the world did the Jade Flower Sword end up with such a fool?’
It was absurd. How could the Martial Arts History figure get so infatuated with some lowlife from the Dark Faction? Didn’t she have any pride?
‘How should I punish these guys? Ah, right. He said he’s restoring the righteous spirit? That means he’s saying our righteous spirit is in the mud. How dare he… What right does a scum from the Dark Faction have to tarnish our standing?’
After pondering for a moment, Geuk-hyun came up with a great idea.
‘I’ve decided. Since they’ve tarnished our dignity, we’ll ruin theirs too. They will pay for their misdeeds and face humiliation. Then we can shift the blame onto the Namgoong Clan.’
Now all that was left was to devise the plan.
As he was plotting his sinister scheme, Gong Son-tan cried out desperately.
“Leader! The Jade Flower Sword is being deceived by a Dark Faction scumbag and is ruining herself! We need to save her immediately!”
In response to his words, the other members shook in anger and roared.
“That’s right!”
“Leader!”
“We must save the Jade Flower Sword!”
The passionate members of the Tiger Knights were all thinking the same way as Gong Son-tan.
In reality, they were aware that although the Jade Flower Sword is a Martial Arts History figure cherished by many warriors, they had no right to interfere with her love life.
Sad, but they had to endure it.
However, if the Jade Flower Sword is being duped by a Dark Faction warrior, it was a different matter. They must risk their lives to save her. Regardless of the circumstances, they couldn’t accept such a thing as righteous martial artists.
‘If I save the Jade Flower Sword… I will be the one standing beside her! I can heal her body that’s been defiled by the Dark Faction scum!’
Many of the members thought along those lines.
They had never failed as members of the Tiger Knights and had received praises from numerous women. When they went to places like Kiru, the courtesans fawned over them.
So they were confident they could win over the Jade Flower Sword.
Geuk-hyun saw through the hearts of his compatriots.
‘What pathetic fools.’
The so-called combat members of the Alliance are only chasing after women.
“If we continue like this, the Jade Flower Sword may fall into the hands of the Dark Faction! We must stop this!”
“Huff…! That can’t happen!”
“We must protect the Jade Flower Sword from those scum!”
That line hit the nail on the head.
The Tiger Knights had reached their conclusion.
Screaming Demon is an extremely wicked Dark Faction warrior, and the Jade Flower Sword is currently ruining herself by being deceived by him. This was now a problem for the Martial Arts world. They had to resolve it themselves.
“I understand. Let’s do just that.”
“Leader!!!”
The members cheered at Geuk-hyun’s declaration.
‘Yes… Screaming Demon of the Demon Hall. He pretends to imitate the righteous faction but is actually a vile Dark Faction warrior. The Jade Flower Sword has been blinded by such a lowlife. Therefore, we just need to eliminate this Dark Faction warrior and rescue the Jade Flower Sword.’
Of course, it’s a given that during this process, the Jade Flower Sword, blinded by the Dark Faction scum, would cause a huge scandal on their side.
Geuk-hyun would make sure of that.
‘Damn girl… I will definitely bring her into the Tiger Knights. I will personally educate her.’
With a sinister smirk, Geuk-hyun said, “Alright. Then I will commence the operation.”
“Yes!”
It was time to move.
‘First, I have a mission from the Golden Guards. I can use that.’
No matter what happens, he would restore the honor of the Tiger Knights.
*
“Are these guys seriously insane? What’s the deal?”
“Exactly.”
“Good grief. If I had been there, it would have been a bigger disaster. It’s good that the Martial Arts History figure, the Jade Flower Sword, was there. If it were me, the Fiery Lotus, ooh!”
A delicate white hand suddenly stabbed into Hayoung’s puffed-up chest.
“Be quiet, Wi Hayoung.”
“What the hell!”
Hayoung quickly hugged her chest in protest.
“Who keeps calling me second-rate? I’m the rightful first-rate one here.”
Does that even matter?
I patted the head of Hayoung, who had been attacked.
“Anyway, that guy was completely nuts. But isn’t it good that Geuk-hyun is the leader? It seems like he quickly assessed the situation and backtracked. I suppose that’s somewhat decent.”
“Really, from what I heard, that seems to be the case. But isn’t that Gong Son-tan the deputy leader? The deputy leader is appointed by the leader, but given the level of the deputy leader, isn’t the leader a bit weird too?”
“Is that so?”
I thought about it for a moment, and it indeed seemed to make sense.
The fighting force of the Martial Arts Alliance, the Tiger Knights, is composed of hot-headed youngsters.
What does that mean? They are still young. Their heads aren’t fully formed, so to speak. In other words, they are immature kids. The fact that they were unable to handle the Jade Flower Sword shows how childlike they are.
As onlookers, they had been busy swinging their blades and killing people instead of receiving proper education, so it wouldn’t be normal if they turned out alright.
In modern terms, it’s like middle school kids drinking, robbing jewelry stores, and joyriding while wielding swords, and that’s not normal at all.
As for the righteousness and justice of the righteous martial world? What I learned here is that righteousness and justice in this era have a bit of a strange aspect to them. When murderers proclaim such things, it’s all the more bizarre.
Perhaps the difference between the righteous and the dark factions is determined by the presence or absence of power.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
“The difference between the righteous and the dark factions.”
“Ha ha, you crack me up. Ah, I’m getting sleepy. Should I get going?”
—Swoosh.
Saying that, Hayoung got up from the bathtub. The hot water dripped off her clothes, revealing her fair, voluptuous figure, which was always a sight to behold.
Even the sight of steam rising was like a painting.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh. Ha ha.”
But she didn’t just stand up; she even playfully shook her breasts and butt to tempt me…!
“Hmph, Geunhyeop. Where are you looking? Look over here.”
“Kugh!”
—Splash!
Just then, Serin pulled me into a hug. As a result, my face ended up pressed against Serin’s chest. No, I just said we should get out of the bath!
“Oof!”
And so, after enjoying a bath with both girls, we finally stepped out. But upon exiting, I found a letter slipped under the front door.
“Did the Server slip this in? What is it?”
I picked up the letter and read it.
“Guys, this is from the Tiger Knights!”
“What does it say?”
It was a letter from the Tiger Knights.
It stated that a reconnaissance operation would begin tomorrow, and we needed to come to the precinct before sunrise.
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