I made my decision.
“Alright, Saeng-won. Then let’s negotiate a bit.”
“No need for negotiations! Only struggle exists!”
“Saeng-won, it seems you don’t understand something.”
“Chik?”
“If negotiations fail, there’s no choice but to eliminate.”
“Chik…?”
This is a common sense notion. If negotiations don’t work, you have to get rid of it. It applies whether it’s to a sect or business.
“The ways of the world are like this. When looking at a matter, you must negotiate and set conditions. If that doesn’t work, you simply eliminate.”
Sweat began to bead on Saeng-won’s forehead.
“I-I’m not afraid of death!”
“But are you going to die without meaning? That’s not a wise way. A smart Saeng-won should understand, right?”
“…”
He closes his mouth and looks at me, his expression showing he has no idea what I’m thinking. Seeing him like this makes him somewhat endearing, almost like Ratatouille.
“So let’s negotiate.”
“…What kind of negotiation?”
“You want freedom, and I want information. Am I right?”
“That’s right!”
Then the negotiation begins here.
“Let’s take it step by step, Saeng-won. The reason I caught you is because you were causing chaos in my territory. A rat demon entering the human world has that implication. You must be caught. However, I kept you alive because you had some usefulness and I was extracting information. But as you said, this can’t last forever.”
Just because I have kidnapped and imprisoned him doesn’t mean I can use him comfortably for life.
Things in the world don’t go that easily.
“Thus, I want to talk. Saeng-won, since you’re a potential troublemaking demon, I can’t let you go completely.”
“Chik! Then!”
“But I can give you some freedom.”
“Chik?”
I kept playing with Saeng-won’s thoughts, making him chirp repeatedly.
“Honestly, who knows what you’ll do if I let you go?”
“I won’t do anything!”
“I can’t trust that. So, what I mean is, I’ll give you a chance to be my subordinate instead of a slave.”
“As a subordinate!”
“Yes. Instead of this solitary confinement, I’ll find you a new place to live by yourself. That should be enough freedom.”
“…!”
Saeng-won’s eyes widen.
Just leaving this cell alone must feel like an incredible deal.
“But you can’t leave this territory.”
“Then what’s the use!”
“That’s just for now. Anyway, you can live there freely, and when I ask for information, you provide it. In return, I’ll give you money.”
“Money?”
“You know? In the human world, if you have money, you can live freely.”
“Th-That’s true.”
To sum it up:
I’ll let him live alone somewhere instead of in a cell. If he gives information, he gets money. That way, he can live freely in this territory.
That’s quite a generous offer for a demon.
“Of course, this is just a starting condition. If you show trust, I can lift the restrictions. Honestly, this is already a lot to allow, since I have no idea what a rat demon like you can do in this city.”
“…”
“Let’s do it this way. But if you try to cause chaos…”
*Sniff, sniff.*
I pretended to sniff the air.
“I’ll be able to find you. And you’ll pay the price. Honestly, living here and getting paid for freedom is better, right? Isn’t it?”
“…”
Saeng-won closes his mouth and starts to think.
“Chik. So I can never go to another place?”
“As I said, if we establish a trust relationship, I could let you go. For that, you need to accurately complete my requests, multiple times.”
“Chik… I understand! I accept the proposal! Let me out immediately!”
“Muahaha, that makes me so happy to hear.”
Of course, I can’t trust this brat immediately.
“But Saeng-won, you won’t run away after saying that, right? If you do, I’ll have to kill you.”
“I-I won’t run away!”
“Good. Then I’ll find you a place to stay. From here on, let’s talk more there. Enjoy the last day of your solitary confinement.”
“Chik…!”
Maybe it’s because he sees a glimmer of hope in being able to leave.
Saeng-won’s eyes fill with emotion.
So I left him behind in the cell.
I’ll discuss this with Galbi-jong first.
“Galbi-jong, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
I immediately shared the story of my negotiation with Saeng-won.
“So that’s how it turned out… Well, I never expected to comfortably use a kidnapped guy for generations. It’s actually more efficient to operate by giving him money and freedom. But, the trust? That’s when there’s trust in that demon. If he runs away, it’s over, isn’t it? Plus, he could give our information to other demons.”
“That’s a valid point, Galbi-jong. You’re indeed cool-headed.”
For now, I’m thinking of assigning surveillance.
“But the fact is, Saeng-won doesn’t know much about us. He’s been in solitary confinement. He might have overheard some talk, but not anything crucial.”
“That’s true.”
“I plan to keep him under observation for a while. If issues arise, I’ll deal with it. Anyway, find a room suitable for him to stay.”
“Understood. I hope this works out well.”
Immediately, Galbi-jong started to take action.
The next day.
“Chik…! Freedom!”
Saeng-won finally obtained his freedom.
“Congratulations. From now on, you shall receive payment for the requests. Make wise decisions, Saeng-won.”
“I understand! But I’ll make sure the payment is definite!”
“Sure.”
Saeng-won entered the room joyfully. Soon after, some little rats, hiding nearby, started to follow him into the room.
Saeng-won can control rats. With this, he can conduct reconnaissance as well as espionage. He could even spread a plague.
Letting go of such a guy is risky, but… looking at it from the information perspective, there’s nothing better. Let’s control it well. If it proves uncontrollable, we can just eliminate him.
Once home, I called for Miho-yo.
“Miho-yo, keep an eye on Saeng-won as ordered. Report if he tries to escape.”
“Leave it to me!”
Miho-yo was extremely eager.
During the surveillance mission, she wouldn’t have to deal with her seniors. She seems thrilled to be free from Serin and Hayoung’s grasp.
“Okay, then.”
For now, I’ve instructed Saeng-won to gather information about the Jeopalgi group. He’ll use the rats to bring me information.
Let’s move based on that information.
—
Honestly speaking, I was half expecting him to run away and half expecting him not to, but in the end, Saeng-won didn’t run away. Beyond that, he diligently released the rats and collected information properly.
“The Martial Force of the Pig is moving past Gangseo! The Great Ming army is also deployed and fighting in various places!”
It seems the Martial Force of the Pig is operating quite seriously.
Although the Great Ming army is engaged, the scale of the Martial Force is so large that their suppression is stagnating. Furthermore, the Wulin Coalition is said to be on the move as well.
“The Wulin Coalition, huh.”
I can’t trust those bastards from the Tiger Brigade. They all seem like crazy fools.
Anyway, I’ve heard that many prominent martial artists are also participating in the fight, but at this rate, something is definitely going to happen on our side as well.
“Got it. Here’s the money. Keep gathering information.”
“Chik-chik! This is definitely better!”
Saeng-won chirps after receiving the money. Currently, he’s disguised as a nasty-looking human, making him quite unpleasant to look at.
After returning to the Nachal room, I informed the executives about the current situation.
Soon, there’s a high possibility we’ll have to fight the Martial Force of the Pig.
“If they’re advancing through Gangseo, it’s highly likely they’ll reach us. We need to prepare thoroughly.”
“Right. They’re reported to have dispatched troops from various sects to fight. Next up is our turn.”
“Ah, are we fighting again… Hehehe. To face the Pig Clan, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Jaemi Son, look into it. If any martial artist has fought against the Pig Clan, share their stories with the followers.”
“I was already doing that… Hehehe.”
“This guy is truly a strategist!”
—
Commander Jwa-odon of the Pig Clan raised his head and sniffed.
At his feet lay the corpses of Great Ming army soldiers and martial artists. The ambush was successful, and the weak humans couldn’t withstand the overwhelming power of the Martial Force wielding the Moonblade.
With the hefty bodies of the Pig Clan soldiers charging in formation, even the cavalry from the long-vanished Yuan dynasty would have difficulty holding them back.
“I smell it, I smell it! The smell of treasure!”
Pigs are known for their excellent sense of smell.
Jwa-odon caught the scent of treasures flowing down from the north.
This scent is definitely that of the Demon Treasures. A very rare treasure at that. While he couldn’t identify its exact form, it was certainly valuable enough to please its owner.
“I’ve identified the scent! There must be treasure in Anhui Province! Advance! Lord Jeopalgi desires treasure!”
“Kiik!”
“Kiik!”
The Pig Clan soldiers raised their Moonblades and shouted.
The pig-headed soldiers formed ranks, and the pig generals swiftly moved to engage the units.
This current troop is just the vanguard.
Behind them, other generals of the Martial Force are slaughtering the audacious Ming army and the martial artists as they advance.
“Hooray for pigs! Hooray for Jeopalgi! After victory, greater pleasures await!”
“Kiik! Kiik! Kiik!”
—
Finally, a summons was issued to our Nachal faction.
The Martial Force of the Pig has reached our doorstep, and all the small and medium sects in Anhui Province received orders to mobilize.
This was something we anticipated, and we had been smartly gathering information all along. The Martial Force is strong. It’s said that units dispatched from prominent sects have suffered significant losses.
Even a unit sent from a somewhat known clan has been wiped out, let alone the small and medium sects. And our Nachal faction is one of those small and medium sects.
From here on out, we need to tread cautiously.
Fortunately, we held considerable funds from our expanded operations and maintained a close relationship with the authorities by giving this to them.
This minimizes our chances of being deployed to dangerous battlefields.
“Still, we need to know about the enemy, so we’ll need a vanguard. Alright, let’s go! At times like this, the heads need to be the first to move.”
“Leading by example. It’s admirable.”
The impact team was formed with myself, two of my loyal protectors, and Miho-yo. Now that I have some information from Saeng-won, let’s poke around while earning some merit and assessing the enemy’s combat power.
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