Chapter: 411
‘A bandit?’
Several thoughts crossed my mind as I heard the words of the Venerable Pae, remarking that I looked like a bandit.
Just after the magic realm opened in the past.
The bandits and thieves who had been lingering in the mountains and seas, unable to handle the demons, all came down to the city and joined the Sapa group.
Even those who remained had most of their lives cut short by the Murim Alliance’s decree to exterminate evildoers, which had been in effect until fifteen years ago.
Ah, they say that lives were severed, but it’s not entirely true.
Mentions of encountering pirates at sea or bandits in the mountains are still occasionally heard.
Of course, upon hearing those tidings, the Murim Alliance sent swordsmen to catch them like “squeak, squeak” rats, leading to the prevailing rumor that it was almost the end of that chapter.
In such a situation, calling them bandits is something else.
‘Why does it have to be in the area of Sacheon?’
This is bad news.
‘That bunch of scoundrels.’
I was convinced the moment I heard it.
The bandit that Venerable Pae was referring to was none other than the tail of the guy I had been itching to track down the moment I stepped foot into Sacheon.
There was no room for doubt.
As we approached Sacheon, it’s only natural that these days, all the active bandits would be those under him.
I took a heavy breath and pondered the situation.
‘Even if that’s the case, it’s still odd.’
A question arose. It’s not like he just started to show his prowess now.
If I think back on the timeline, a year or two should have passed.
Until then, he must have been holed up in the mountains, gathering his strength and energy.
To see him moving now… it felt a bit suspicious.
‘Green King…’
I recall the giant who was known as the king of bandits in my previous life.
He was a monster specialized in external attacks, to the point that he could be called indestructible.
The power he received from the Heavenly Horse was even referred to as monstrous strength—how fitting!
I, too, had struggled immensely to breach that formidable body in my battles with that scoundrel.
‘Should I consider this a fortunate turn of events?’
When planning this trip to Sacheon, my priority right after Baekmaseok was indeed that guy.
In his previous life, he was a villain and a demon; a strong master to the point of commanding the elite troops of the Dark Horse.
Had I been in the position to build my own force, I would’ve thought about corrupting him with dark magic and keeping him around.
‘It’s a good thing that he’s practically flashing his tail around like this.’
That said, there’s one little worry gnawing at me.
Glance.
I turned my gaze and glanced at the folks from the Tang family.
‘Just so happens I’m here with the head of the family right now…’
That was where the concern lay.
When the Green King began to make a name for himself, his initial nickname was,
‘The Slaughterer of the Tang Clan.’
He was called that for hunting and killing only members of the Tang clan in Sacheon, right?
In his previous life, the Green King would have seizures at the sight of anyone with the surname Tang.
The reason he didn’t take a liking to me was ultimately tied to that clan.
‘Was it because I killed Dokbi instead of him that he was upset?’
He didn’t like that I was the one who dispatched Dokbi, not him.
Hearing that made me think, what the heck is this ridiculous reasoning?
Sure, I wondered if such a reason existed at all.
However, I could vaguely understand why the Green King harbored such rage against the Tang clan and committed the atrocities he did.
The Green King’s real name is Dangdeok.
You can tell from the name, but the Green King originally hails from the Tang family.
I’ve heard he might be a distant half-brother or cousin of the Poison King, but I’m not particularly interested in that.
The crucial point is that he’s dubbed the failure of the Tang family.
‘What a painful name.’
A failure of the Tang family.
Perhaps because it echoed the history of the failures of the Gu family, it resonated particularly hard with me.
I had a slight understanding of why he’s referred to like that.
The Green King is a character who lacks any of the attributes expected of a Tang clan member.
Excluding his dark green hair, he didn’t possess a single trait that could be associated with the Tang family.
He had no resistance to poison, and unlike his kin, he didn’t cultivate any poison arts.
Due to the unique martial arts specialization in assassination, the Green King’s hefty physique was at odds with that fitting role.
People in the world believed…
There were even rumors circulating that he expressed his anger out of being abandoned by the Tang family.
The real kicker is that the Tang family didn’t refute these rumors, which oddly enough lends credibility to the gossip.
Anyway, looking at this, I see a monster filled with rage towards the Tang clan.
That’s the Green King, Nokwang Dangdeok, the king of bandits.
I have no interest in why he was banished from his clan and needed to settle in the mountains to become a bandit.
What matters to me is simple: is he active right now or not? Just that—nothing more.
‘In any case, I’ll either kill him or turn him into a demon. It’s one of the two.’
Even though there are numerous demons from my past life, I’ve already decided which ones I would like to corrupt with my own hands in this life.
That was something the Green King intended to do upon arriving in Sacheon as well.
There’s also the Thousand-Year-Old Sword Demon, who is likely sharpening his blade around now.
The troublesome ones will either be eliminated or absorbed as discarded pawns.
That was the method I aimed to pursue.
“… Elder.”
“Hmm?”
“Then, how does the Dark King intend to proceed?”
I think it was the Dark King who discovered the bandits.
I have no clue what their intentions are, but I assume he has no idea how many monsters lurk within this group.
Among them, the Dark King held an absolute position regarding this matter.
‘If he decides to take them down, we’re in trouble.’
If the Dark King were to declare that he would wipe out any bandits bothering him, it would be quite the problem.
Opportunities like this are rare, and I was in a position where I needed it.
At that moment, while I was mulling over such worries, Venerable Pae chuckled and said to me.
“What’s there to think about?”
His tone exuded a sense of bemusement.
“Just leave it be.”
“Is that the position of the Dark King?”
My inquiry made Venerable Pae’s expression take on a rather peculiar feel.
“Then should I gather them all to kill them off?”
I had assumed it would go that way…!?
That was certainly how I viewed the Dark King.
“Tsk, judging by your face, I can tell the answer without even waiting.”
“…”
“I’m not sure how the world sees it, but he doesn’t quite enjoy killing.”
“Is that so…?”
It was indeed quite the odd situation. The man renowned as the king of assassins doesn’t relish killing.
“He only conducts kill when necessary.”
“…Oh.”
“Oh, of course, if he’s provoked, he’ll kill everyone in sight, but as long as you don’t step off the path, there’s no issue.”
“…”
He truly doesn’t enjoy it, does he? As I listen to him, I find myself casting glances around absent-mindedly.
I wonder if the Dark King is listening in.
‘…Ugh.’
Inherently, I would feel a bit uneasy when I’d encounter the Dark King.
That feeling heightened a little through the grueling training I’ve endured over the past month.
Imagine getting killed dozens of times a day by the same person for more than a month… just thinking about it makes me want to hurl.
‘There really is no answer to this…’
Although I’ve attempted everything night after night, I still can’t reach the Dark King.
By now, even I realize it, no matter how dense I might be:
To overcome this training, I need another method.
The trouble is, I don’t know what that method is, which is why I find myself dying repeatedly.
‘Let’s temporarily set this aside… bandits.’
Since they’re just around the corner, I don’t feel they have a connection with us yet.
It seems that only the Dark King has grasped this matter at present.
The fact that neither I nor the other clan heads have picked up on it suggests there’s quite a distance involved.
I didn’t leap to assumptions about them plotting something against us, so I figured I’d need a little more time to assess.
However, as soon as I heard Venerable Pae, a sense of dread settled in me.
At that instance, Venerable Pae looked at me and asked,
“Aha.”
“Yes.”
“I sense there’s something up your sleeve.”
“…”
How does he know? He picked up on it even with my eyes shut.
Anyway, that old man has quite an instinctive sense about him.
When I seem to have been caught, I narrow my eyes, and Venerable Pae grins.
“Just do things moderately. Just enough so it doesn’t draw attention.”
“…yes.”
What does he expect me to do for him to tell me to keep it low-key?
I doubt Venerable Pae knows that I’ve gone through a regression, yet there’s a sharpened edge I sense from him regarding that matter.
Even if he did notice, he doesn’t seem to care much.
Paejon genuinely didn’t mind what I did as long as it didn’t hamper my training.
Conversely, if it did affect my training, that would be a different story…
“What are you planning on doing today?”
“What… are you saying?”
“Anything.”
“…”
“You seem rather interested. If you keep doing that, it could mess with your training, so take care of it fast.”
I stifled a breath inward as I heard that.
Just how far can this old man see?
Did he sense my concerns as he spoke with a smile?
“Should I ask that bat fellow? Where did he see it?”
“…”
This is downright absurd…
I’m getting chills over this now.
Ah, well.
“Yes… please.”
That didn’t mean I outright refused.
A forest within the domain of Sacheon.
Just ahead, on the middle path, at the point where the moon is rising, it’s the time when moonlight begins filtering through the leaves.
In such a forest.
Behind a dense thicket, several men were quietly walking.
Surrounding the men moving stealthily, something faintly unfolded.
Unmanned individuals would describe it as breathtaking.
It’s a method used to eliminate sound and conceal one’s presence when moving stealthily.
While the men were heading somewhere with such subtleness.
“Oh hell….”
One of the figures in the group quietly uttered a curse.
Instantly, the person in front looked back in shock.
“Are you out of your mind? Don’t make a sound!”
“Ah, Your Highness. Do we really need to go this far?….”
“This little punk, now you’re talking back? Didn’t I say to do it as we ordered? Chaeju told us so!”
As the man growled in anger, the one who cursed shut his mouth tightly.
Dissatisfaction brewed among them, feeling that as bandits, they shouldn’t have to move around like mice.
Remembering that the one who issued the orders was Chae Ju-im made their complaints falter.
‘Damn.’
They could merely endure and curse inwardly.
“…Your Highness, how much longer do we need to go?”
“At this pace, it’ll be another day or two, at least.”
If they ran with a wager, it wouldn’t even take an hour.
But since they were practically crawling, it was bound to take a while.
The man who heard this sighed and swore.
“Damn.”
Seemingly troubled, the man at the front frowned again.
“Stop grumbling and just follow along. It’s not dangerous anyway; we’ll only be watching from a distance.”
What Chaeju requested was simply to monitor their movements and ascertain their route.
Though it didn’t necessitate engagement or ambush, it was still somewhat removed from battle.
“Well, what if we get spotted? It’s not like it’s completely safe.”
It wasn’t entirely without risks, that much was true.
“Is this punk for real? Why does he keep spouting the same annoying stuff?”
The man appearing to be in charge finally pulled something from his pocket and displayed it.
“With this in hand, there’s no need to worry about being discovered, right?”
A dark green orb held in his hand.
Apart from being roughly the size of a standard man’s fist, it didn’t seem to have any remarkable features.
That orb, however, was surprisingly a treasured item.
It’s a ghostly item that erases the presence of anyone nearby.
With this in possession, Chaeju claimed that someone who reached the Hwagyeong would have difficulty recognizing them. Add to that the ghostly veil, and it would be impossible for them to be caught.
As long as the target’s transport didn’t include a monster commonly called Cheonwicheon from the Central Plains.
“From what I gathered, it’s said the only ones to report anything would be the heads of the Tang clan or the traitor family members. Why are you worrying so much?”
“Still….”
“Damn, come on! If you’re scared, just head back to the mountains! But then, you’d be marked for death by Chaeju. Are you okay with that?”
“…”
“All we need to do is follow orders. As long as we don’t think of doing anything else, we’ll be fine. So if you say even one more word, I’ll just bury you and leave, just know that.”
With that, the group’s leader turned away, huffing.
After hearing that, the man remained silent, realizing what could happen if he pushed his luck.
‘…There’s something unsettling about this.’
The man felt anxious.
No matter how potent the ghostly artifact is, they were tracking the transport unit of the Poison King, who bore the title of the most dangerous among the kings of the Central Plains.
One wrong move, and he could find himself rotting at the roots.
How can he not be worried?
He never intended to step into the lair of bandits to meet his end.
After much contemplation, he prepared himself to face the consequences and was about to speak to the captain again.
“Your Highness… I think that….”
Flicker-
He noticed sparks igniting in the eyes of the man.
They hadn’t lit a torch due to the need for careful movement; what sparked just now?
As the unexpected turn of events startled the man,
that moment.
Crash!
A sound of something breaking echoed from behind.
Startled, he whipped around.
“…!”
The man’s eyes widened at the scene before him.
The others trailing behind had already collapsed, their necks broken.
One of them knelt down, their mouth covered by an unknown figure’s hand.
Meanwhile, the man could clearly see the face of the person who attacked them.
Not only was his face uncovered, but flames were also subtly burning on him, making it impossible not to see.
The man’s brow furrowed as he took in the face.
‘…A kid?’
He looked extremely youthful.
The captain came to the same realization.
“What… what are you! You!”
The captain brandished his sword from his waist, trying to muster some courage.
The young man, however, seemed entirely uninterested in that show of bravado, simply glancing at them with disdain.
Then he spoke.
“Three, huh?”
“…What?”
“Yeah, three should be sufficient. Burn two of them, and the last one will spill the beans.”
The young man uttered such incomprehensible words.
Crunch!
“Ugh, ugh!”
He stomped down on the leg of the man he was holding, crushing it.
That brutal act was carried out without the slightest hesitation.
“This kid…!”
The captain rushed toward the young man after witnessing that action.
The young man’s gaze remained fixed on the man and did not budge.
“Your Majesty…! Wait a moment…!”
Seeing that, the man attempted to urgently dissuade his captain.
But it was already too late.
The captain had already charged at the intruder.
Then the young man continued to speak, his tone unperturbed.
“I don’t have much time, so I need to finish this before the situation shifts. Let’s wrap this up quickly.”
At that exact moment, the captain’s scream rang out.
Something went wrong, and the man immediately realized it.
However, that wasn’t the only issue.
The man quickly came to a realization.
What he truly should have been terrified of wasn’t the Poison King but rather someone else entirely.
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