Chapter: 797
“What the hell are you doing!”
The shouts of the Twin Swordsman echo throughout the area.
Zhak—!
The table he struck came crashing down, splitting in half. Those around him stared at him in surprise.
I mirrored their astonishment.
Why on earth is he blowing up all of a sudden?
His face was bright red, making it clear to anyone that he was furious.
Curious, I asked him, “Senior, what’s going on?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Oops.
I threw out the words without thinking and covered my mouth, wide-eyed.
My inner thoughts and spoken words had switched places.
Because of that, the Twin Swordsman’s expression twisted further.
“Holy King, what did you just say?”
“Hahaha… I’m sorry about that. I misspoke.”
It was an enormous slip of the tongue. Trying to brush it off, I added, “So, why are you being such a nuisance?”
“…”
At this point, it seemed better just to push through. That was the intention brewing inside me.
Upon hearing this, I could feel a wild energy beginning to bubble up from the Twin Swordsman’s shoulders.
“…Are you asking because you don’t know?”
“Yes. I don’t know, so I’m asking. If I knew, why would I ask?”
Creeeak.
I got up from the chair I was sitting on.
Standing, I noticed the Twin Swordsman was slightly taller, but eye contact was not an issue.
“I’ve told you clearly. If you’re unsatisfied, then leave. So why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
Crack!
A rough sound erupted from his clenched fist at my words.
“…Holy King.”
“Yes, Grand Master.”
“Do you think this is some kind of joke right now?”
His voice oozed with a burning intensity.
“A joke?”
“The whole world is holding you up and praising you as a hero, so do you think this entire situation is a joke?”
“Hmm.”
I nodded, pretending to comprehend his words.
I even feigned puzzlement, as if I really didn’t get what he was saying.
“I think we need a more detailed explanation.”
“Explanation? This isn’t a prank; what are you calling it?”
“Why? I’m working hard here!”
“Ha, that’s funny. Is this what you call hard work?”
The Twin Swordsman pointed somewhere with his hand—right towards the area where the applicants gathered.
In particular, it was the direction where those I had eliminated were clustered together.
“It’s nothing more than a test to select members for the Meng Swordsmanship Corps.”
“True.”
“Are you saying that someone who knows this would pick members in such an absurd way?”
The eliminated applicants nodded in agreement with what the Twin Swordsman had said.
“The fact that so many participants responded to the notice posted just the day before shows how serious this test is. No matter how much the Meng regards the Holy King, you are stirring the pride of the Murim Alliance!”
As the discussion continued, the murmurs grew louder.
Those dissatisfied with my testing method—
Specifically, it was the eliminated ones. That’s totally understandable.
They must have prepped for this. Being eliminated before they even got a proper shot at it was bound to leave them discontent.
However.
‘What am I supposed to do about what I can see?’
It’s glaringly obvious; what am I meant to say?
Why did I set up the heated duel as the standard from the start?
This isn’t a pun. It was simply because that’s who I was.
‘The criteria for passing.’
The beginning of a mature climax.
The level of fierce swordplay was precisely that high, and that’s my minimum standard.
To be frank, the standards are rather high.
Once you reach peak ability, you’re already labeled a master in the Central Plains.
Plus, most elite warriors of the Meng are at their peak, and being at the pinnacle means you’re at the level of a lieutenant.
Given this, how could I possibly say that the standard is a heated duel?
‘It’s my prerogative.’
To put it plainly, this was just how I felt.
I eliminated them because they didn’t match my taste—that’s all there is to it. Searching for deeper meanings here would be futile.
“Why? If you don’t like it, do you plan to quit?”
A mocking smile formed on the Twin Swordsman’s face.
“If you want to quit, be my guest. As the Holy King just mentioned, this is your domain. But—”
Mid-sentence, the Twin Swordsman turned to look at the eliminated contestants, adding,
“If you’re going to continue running it like this from the beginning, I seriously doubt you’ll be able to maintain support as a major player, let alone a martial artist.”
“Hm.”
After hearing that, I turned to look at the applicants.
They seemed to share some unspoken understanding.
‘Ah, I see.’
It was only now that I understood why the Twin Swordsman was throwing such a fit.
‘It’s all politics from the get-go.’
An approach using the applicants and the current situation.
It appeared he intended to pick apart my actions, planting seeds of doubt about my qualifications, and swaying public opinion to spark a reaction.
It’s not a terrible tactic, I suppose.
In reality, my actions were likely easy to target.
I’d acted a bit excessively; perhaps there were even moments I was reckless. So, it wasn’t surprising when the Twin Swordsman, who disdained me, reacted so explosively.
One.
“Aha, so what you’re saying is…”
If a problem exists here.
“The exact reason I’m frustrated is that I went through all this trouble to hide my informants only to have them all disqualified. Is that it?”
I said this during a moment when my side lacked justification.
“…What…?”
The smirk vanished from the Twin Swordsman’s face at my casual retort.
What remained was confusion.
It was short-lived, but I didn’t miss it.
“What are you saying? An informant!”
What the hell kind of nonsense is that? The Twin Swordsman looked offended as if he were wronged again.
“The third, the fourth. And the ninth.”
“…!”
The complexion of the Twin Swordsman turned sour as he rattled off the numbers without pause.
“Right?”
What I had listed were none other than the informants that the Twin Swordsman had sent.
“Besides… where…”
I was thinking of quickly scanning the remaining applicants for more.
“What nonsense are you spewing!”
Bang-! The Twin Swordsman interrupted me, flipping the table right in front of me.
“Were you messing around with the evaluation, and now you’re trying to pin the blame on me!?”
“Accusation?”
“Yes! You’re calling me that… without any proof!”
“Why do you think there’s no proof?”
“…!”
The Twin Swordsman’s eyes widened in shock.
To be honest, I didn’t have any evidence to present, but that reaction assured me of something.
“Your twitching eyes make it seem like I’m on the right track.”
“Bullshit…!”
Finally, the Twin Swordsman grasped his mistake, but it was already much too late.
‘Actually, it was a long time ago, but I was already convinced.’
The reason I was confident that they were informants when I saw them.
It was simple.
‘Some of their energies are strikingly similar.’
The energy I sensed from their bodies had been picked up by my heightened feelings and my inner sight.
It indicated that they were using similar martial arts.
Of course, that alone isn’t enough to label them as informants; they could have come from the same faction or clan.
Additionally, their skill levels weren’t too shabby, so they could have easily made the cut.
The fact that I mentioned a similar demeanor didn’t apply only to those three.
‘The Twin Swordsman’s energy is similar too.’
It bore a striking resemblance to the Golden Dragon’s energy.
This implies that they are likely members of the martial arts clan to which the Twin Swordsman belongs.
Why on earth would people of that caliber apply to the Seongryongdae instead of the Geumryongdae?
This was something that couldn’t be explained without noting their informant status.
It seemed the Twin Swordsman was fuming because I captured those guys and eliminated them.
“Then who was messing with the test?”
To me, it was completely outrageous.
“No matter how you slice it, it doesn’t seem to be me.”
I said this with a slight smile, and the expression on the Twin Swordsman’s face crumpled in response.
“What nonsense are you spouting?! I mentioned that the Holy King was looking down on this test and the Martial Arts Alliance! Don’t dodge the point!”
Desperately, the Twin Swordsman tried to shift the conversation.
Just then, I was about to speak on that.
“That’s right, Your Majesty.”
Another voice chimed in.
It was Eunranggeom, who had been quietly listening from the side.
“I agree with what the Golden Dragon Lord is saying; this test is flawed.”
‘What is this guy doing?’
Eunranggeom suddenly stepped in as if he felt the Twin Swordsman was about to yield.
‘Why is he butting in now?’
This man appeared to be wrapped up in this drama too.
He seems high and mighty, after all.
“Does the Iron Dragon Lord think similarly?”
“… This test is solely under the Holy King’s jurisdiction, so I cannot intervene in that regard. However, I do think that it is definitely a problem to be somewhat biased.”
“Biased?”
Frowning, I wondered what he was talking about. What does he mean?
“What specific bias are you referencing?”
“Upon checking, it seems there are several applicants who are acquainted with the King.”
As he explained, Eunranggeom glanced toward the contest stage.
“Of course, the swordsman you stand next to right now. And the woman beside you is…”
He pausing for a moment, looking at Namgungbia’s face.
She still hadn’t glanced at the Silver Sword and was solely focused on me.
“… From what I understand, she’s someone who has pledged to marry the King.”
“Her?”
“What do you mean—!”
All the boys who had been looking at Namgungbia now turned their gazes toward me.
In those stares, there was a surprising amount of hostility.
‘What the hell are these guys doing?’
How dare they show hostility? It was ridiculous.
“The King’s fiancée…?”
“Is that woman truly the King’s woman?”
“… Well, now that you mention it, I remember hearing that. The King’s fiancée is said to be a sword dancer from the Namgung family.”
“What? If we’re talking about the Sword Dancer… Are you referring to Anhui Jeilmi?”
“I’ve only heard the rumors… I never guessed she would actually be that significant.”
The various reactions unfolded. Seeing this, Eunranggeom immediately added something to me.
“And besides that…”
Sarak.
His gaze swept across the surroundings.
“Most of those martial artists who fought against the hundred-level monsters in the previous battle seem to have applied.”
“…”
I nodded in agreement with Eunranggeom’s observations.
That was true. Many of the martial artists who participated in the last battle were present for this recruitment for some reason.
“So, is it your accusation, Lord Iron Dragon, that I’m conducting a biased evaluation for the sake of my connections?”
“It’s premature to make a definitive claim. The circumstances suggest otherwise.”
“Aha…”
So now you bring that up?
Hahaha, I chuckled, amused by his statement.
“So it seems to you.”
“If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t understand why you would disqualify capable candidates without even looking at them.”
“Hmm.”
It seemed that the Iron Dragon Lord was suggesting that I was disqualifying candidates without even considering their merits just to bring in my connections.
Honestly, I didn’t mind hearing this.
In fact, it had been one of the conditions I presented to Mukyeon.
‘The five people I desire will be entering my ranks no matter what.’
That was the condition I’d set.
So when I considered the individuals who would eventually enter my ranks, such remarks didn’t bother me.
‘But this incessant digging is starting to irritate me.’
Holding back a sigh, I addressed Eunranggeom.
“I’m sorry, but the reason I disqualified you is simply that you didn’t meet my criteria. It has nothing to do with connections. Furthermore, the only reason I was considering disqualifying that woman is that she is my fiancée.”
“Because you deem her weak… What did you see that led you to make that judgment? Also…”
Eunranggeom’s eyes shifted to Namgungbia.
“It also seems unreasonable that Namgung Sojo would have qualified compared to the other dropouts. It’s merely a hasty excuse.”
“…What?”
“Isn’t that so?”
Oh dear.
This seems to pose a serious problem.
‘… This is really getting on my nerves.’
I tried to brush past it, but my irritation flared up.
I didn’t care about anything else, but it seriously annoyed me that they were dismissing Namgungbia.
‘What should I do?’
Should I pull one of them out so they can’t get up again?
Such thoughts flickered through my mind.
‘…’
Suddenly, as an idea sparked, I turned to Namgungbia.
—Hey.
I immediately sent a thought message. Namgungbia tilted her head as she received it.
—How are you feeling?
—… What…?
—How are you holding up?
—… I’m fine.
—Be honest.
—…
The connection fell silent for a moment.
It seemed like she was contemplating something. A few seconds passed in quiet.
—How fine is “fine” supposed to be…?
I heard Namgungbia’s response. After absorbing this, I glanced at the Eunranggeom beside me and asked.
—Can this guy win?
—…
After hearing my inquiry, Namgungbia scrutinized the Eunranggeom, and shortly, I got her reply.
I promptly engaged further with Eunranggeom.
“Lord Iron Dragon.”
“Yes. If you have more to say…”
“Let’s have a bet, shall we?”
“… What?”
The abrupt mention of a bet made Eunranggeom’s eyebrows raise in alarm.
It was such a peculiar proposition; even a bit outlandish.
However.
“Why are you suddenly mentioning such odd things?”
“If I lose the bet, I’ll surrender my Seongryongdae to you. If you want, I’ll kneel and lick your boots.”
“…Well then…”
“How does that sound?”
At my inquiry, Eunranggeom’s expression turned quizzical.
“…What kind of bet are you suggesting?”
Bingo.
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