Chapter 197
To catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger’s den.
“If you want work, say so. We’ve been short-handed anyway, so this works out perfectly.”
“You’d really hire me?”
“Sure. You any good at lightness arts?”
“I’m the Iron-Blood Sword! You’ve seriously never heard of me?”
“Nope.”
Gi Horang’s shoulders slumped.
“I’m... reasonably good at lightness arts.”
“Yeah? And your level is... somewhere around the late supreme level?”
He was exactly right.
“Bit disappointing, but I guess you’re usable.”
Disappointing?
He was calling a late-stage supreme-level expert merely usable.
At his level, he could walk into virtually any sect and ask to join, and they would roll out the red carpet for him.
And these bastards dare look down on me?
I’ll make every last one of you regret it.
Grinding his teeth inwardly, Gi Horang put on his friendliest smile.
“I’ll do my best!”
“That’s the spirit. Work hard. Our company is very generous with rewards. Sell plenty of goods and keep your deliveries fast, and you’ll have a lot to look forward to.”
How impressive could the rewards possibly be?
Probably just something they brag about to keep people motivated.
“See this sword?”
SHIIING—
Even from the small portion he drew, Gi Horang could immediately tell how fine a weapon it was.
“That’s an incredible sword.”
“Got it as a reward.”
“What?”
“Surprising, right? And that’s not all. We get spirit pills too. And whoever performs the best this year even gets a chance to undergo Bone-and-Body Rebirth.”
Gi Horang had been suitably impressed by the spirit pills.
But Bone-and-Body Rebirth?
So he’s been screwing with me this whole time.
“Come on.”
His mood soured, but Gi Horang forced his expression smooth and followed. He still had a purpose to accomplish.
“What’s this?”
“We’re short-handed, remember? So I brought us another worker.”
“Huh? Isn’t that the guy who was mouthing off earlier? He followed us all the way here? What, looking for revenge?”
“Huh? You here for revenge?”
“N-No. I’m here for a job.”
“See? He says he’s here to work. He’s one of us now, so let’s leave the past alone.”
“Fair enough. If he’s one of us, that’s that. Hey, we’re moving out soon. Load all that stuff over there onto the wagon.”
“Yes!”
Until he found his opportunity, Gi Horang decided to do whatever they told him.
*****
They encountered countless martial artists while traveling into another region.
Among them was one group that made Gi Horang’s blood run cold.
The Blood Demon Gate.
Even among unorthodox sects, the Blood Demon Gate was infamous.
What do I do?
Am I supposed to fight alongside them?
He was still wrestling with the question when the True Martial Merchant Company delivery team began chatting.
“Those guys are leaking killing intent.”
“Heh. Pretty half-baked killing intent, too.”
“They reek of the unorthodox factions, don’t they?”
“Look at those ugly mugs. Definitely unorthodox.”
Gi Horang thought to himself,
You lot aren’t exactly easy on the eyes either.
He spoke up.
“That’s the Blood Demon Gate. They’re fairly notorious around these parts. The man in the center is Gwangcheon, the White-Bone Saber. As far as I know, he’s a Transformation Realm martial artist.”
“Oh! Transformation Realm!”
“Finally, somebody halfway decent.”
They call a Transformation Realm expert halfway decent?
“That one’s mine.”
“What are you talking about? You already got to have your fun with this guy.”
The man pointed at Gi Horang, prompting an indignant outburst.
“Hey! You call that fun? This bastard went down in one hit! I didn’t even get to enjoy myself.”
“Hey, hey! They’re moving!”
“Damn it! First one to grab him gets him!”
“Deal!”
They charged forward in such high spirits that it was hard to tell which side was supposed to be the villains.
Gi Horang stared at the White-Bone Saber Gwangcheon, who was barely managing to hold his ground.
Good God.
Gwangcheon is being pushed that badly?
Then just how strong are these people?
He could hardly believe his eyes.
The battle ended almost as soon as it began.
It was a completely one-sided massacre.
Gi Horang was still blinking in shock when someone barked at him.
“Hey! New guy! Quit standing around!”
“What?”
“Clear these bastards out of the way!”
“Ah! Yes!”
Gi Horang hurried over and began dragging the fallen Blood Demon Gate martial artists off the road.
GULP—
He swallowed hard.
These people had never been opponents he could handle in the first place.
And it wasn’t just one monster.
There was an entire group of them traveling together.
Why the hell would monsters like these waste their time delivering goods?
Wait.
Could what they said before actually have been true?
Could they really offer Bone-and-Body Rebirth...?
He quickly shook his head.
No. That’s ridiculous.
His thoughts were a mess.
He threw himself into the work to distract himself, and before he knew it, the road was clear.
“Hey. Who hired you?”
Gi Horang answered the question.
“I-I was commissioned by the Thousand-Gold Merchant Company.”
“Really? Those bastards must have money to burn. Why do they keep sending people after us?”
“Who cares? At least it keeps things from getting boring.”
“Guess so.”
“We spend every damn day making deliveries. We need something like this once in a while to blow off steam.”
“Exactly. When you think about it, the Thousand-Gold Merchant Company is doing us a favor.”
“Hahahaha! You’re right!”
What expression would the Merchant Master of the Thousand-Gold Merchant Company make if he learned that the martial artists he kept sending to sabotage them had become their entertainment?
He would be lucky if he didn’t clutch the back of his neck and collapse on the spot.
What Gi Horang found strange was that they subdued their attackers without killing them.
Is that so they’ll keep coming back for more?
He soon learned the real reason.
“That guy from earlier was pretty decent.”
“This one too.”
“This guy’s the best of the lot.”
They were standing around appraising the White-Bone Saber Gwangcheon as though he were merchandise.
What are they planning to do with them?
As Gi Horang watched curiously, they began waking Gwangcheon.
SLAP— SLAP—
After several slaps across the face, Gwangcheon came to.
Still seemingly unable to grasp the situation, he looked around in confusion.
“Over here. Look at us.”
The moment Gwangcheon saw the delivery team in front of him, he sprang to his feet and attacked.
“I’ll kill you!”
WHACK—
“Ghk!”
“We were trying to talk, but you just had to earn yourself another beating.”
“See? What did I tell you? You have to make them obedient first.”
“Damn it. I was trying to live like a nice person for once, and nobody wants to cooperate. Seriously.”
Then they began stomping Gwangcheon into the ground.
After some time—
“I-I was wrong!”
Gwangcheon finally surrendered.
“We’ve still got a long way to go. My lord would’ve settled this whole thing with one punch.”
“Don’t compare us to something ridiculous. How the hell are we supposed to compare to my lord?”
“Exactly. You might as well compare us to the heavens.”
“Fair point.”
Gwangcheon stared at them in terror.
“I-If there’s anything you want from me, just say the word.”
“Really? There is one thing.”
“Yes! Anything!”
“You any good at lightness arts?”
“L-Lightness arts? Yes. I pride myself on them.”
“Yeah? Then travel with us starting today.”
“What?”
“Put this on and start making deliveries with us.”
Gwangcheon failed to answer.
“That’s a slow response. Guess you’re still not obedient enough.”
As they prepared to beat him again, Gwangcheon immediately flattened himself against the ground.
“I’ll do it! I will! I really want to!”
“You mean it?”
“Yes!”
“Good. What was it called again? The Blood Demon Gate? This place pays a hell of a lot better, and you’ll be more comfortable here too.”
Better treatment, my ass.
The White-Bone Saber Gwangcheon was an elder of the Blood Demon Gate.
Several other Blood Demon Gate martial artists who had caught their eye were swept up and added to the group as well.
“We’re probably getting praised when we get back.”
“Yeah. They’ll be happy we brought in so many people.”
“Think we’ll each get a spirit pill as a reward?”
“Who knows? Depends how many the others bring in.”
“Recruiting people is ridiculously easy. We don’t even have to look. They just come straight to us.”
“Exactly. We get new workers, and the martial world gets rid of bad guys.”
By any objective standard, they were the villains here.
“Hey. You manage these guys.”
Gi Horang nearly jumped out of his skin.
“What? M-Me?”
“Why? You don’t want to? You joined first, so you’re their senior. Keep them under control.”
“If anyone refuses to listen, tell us right away. We’ll deal with them on the spot.”
“U-Understood.”
And just like that, Gi Horang received an absurdly rapid promotion and found himself with an elder of the Blood Demon Gate under his command.
******
“You’re the Iron-Blood Sword, Gi Horang?”
“That’s right.”
“Ha. I’ve heard quite a bit about you. Were you also... commissioned?”
“Yes. By the Thousand-Gold Merchant Company...”
“Ugh. Those bastards really did hand out commissions everywhere.”
“Are you all right?”
“My pride’s taken a beating, but otherwise I’m fine. More importantly, what in the world are those bastards?”
“I don’t know either.”
“This is driving me insane. The men who defeated me, the White-Bone Saber, are wasting their time delivering merchandise.”
“From what I’ve gathered, the deliveries themselves may just be a cover.”
“A cover?”
“I think they’re recruiting people. But gathering skilled martial artists normally takes time, so instead they fight whoever comes after them. If someone seems capable enough, they capture them and take them along.”
“Ugh. That would actually make sense.”
Gwangcheon glanced around.
“Is there any way to escape them?”
“I tried. I have no idea what kind of lightness arts they use, but they caught me again in an instant.”
“And somehow you’re still alive?”
“Strangely enough, they don’t kill anyone.”
“Really? So they do have a line they won’t cross?”
“I still don’t have enough information to say.”
“I understand.”
“I’m sorry. I’m stuck watching their moods too... so I may have no choice but to give you orders while they’re watching. Please forgive me. It won’t be what I truly mean.”
“I know. You’re a victim too. How could I blame you?”
“I’ll make things as easy for you as I can.”
“Thank you. Once I get out of here, I’ll make sure there’s a position for you among the Blood Demon Gate’s upper ranks.”
“Thank you.”
“Just hold out a little longer. Once word gets back that I was captured, the Gate Master of the Blood Demon Gate will come personally. Once he does, trash like these men won’t be a problem.”
“If the Blood Demon Lord himself takes action, these people won’t be able to stand against him. They’ll run.”
“Let’s endure this a little longer.”
“Yes!”
Their wish came true before long.
Cho Pae, the Blood Demon Lord, appeared at the head of the Blood Demon Gate disciples.
“HALT!”
HUMMMMM—
The tremendous force behind his voice left Gi Horang and the Blood Demon Gate disciples clutching their ears in pain.
Even then, Gi Horang kept his eyes on the people from the True Martial Merchant Company.
For the first time, their expressions were grave.
That’s right.
No matter how strong you bastards are, you can’t beat the Blood Demon Lord.
Gwangcheon sprang to his feet and shot toward the Blood Demon Lord.
Then he shouted,
“What are you all doing? Get over here! Now!”
At Gwangcheon’s command, the Blood Demon Gate disciples rose as one and hurried over to their Gate Master.
Only Gi Horang remained behind.
“Master Gi! Come over here! Hurry!”
Gi Horang started to rise—
then froze.
Something felt wrong.
For some reason, every instinct he had was telling him not to move.
After a brief hesitation, Gi Horang trusted his instincts and stayed where he was.
Gwangcheon watched him with regret and shook his head.
The Blood Demon Lord spoke coldly.
“You dared lay hands on the Blood Demon Gate and thought you would walk away unharmed?”
The True Martial Merchant Company men said nothing.
Seeing that, Gwangcheon grinned triumphantly.
“What’s wrong, you bastards?! Keep running your mouths like you did before! Can’t do it now?”
“Damn. The Blood Demon Lord is stronger than us.”
“Even all of us together couldn’t beat him.”
“What do we do? Run?”
This was a first.
Never before had these men looked so serious while talking about retreat.
Gi Horang despaired.
He had made the wrong choice.
He had just kicked away his chance at a high-ranking position in the Blood Demon Gate with his own two feet.
“But if we run... would my lord let us off?”
At the mention of their lord, everyone’s expression stiffened.
“Not a chance.”
“The Gate Master might kill us before word even reaches my lord.”
They shuddered.
Then, with grim determination, they turned to face the Blood Demon Lord.
“F***. I’d rather die fighting that bastard than face the Gate Master.”