Chapter 149 : Chapter 149

Chapter 149. Embers (4)

After a moment of contemplation, Hwangbo Ak asked in an uncharacteristically cautious tone.

“Do we really have to kill the Fortress Leader?”

“You’ve been through all that and you still have lingering feelings?”

“……No matter what, he’s the one who raised me.”

“Then what about the other bandits? Do you want to spare them all too?”

I asked, prepared to draw the Master’s Blade, but Hwangbo Ak snorted.

“Hmph. I considered them brothers and gave them everything I had, but not a single one of them sided with me. I’m not that stupid.”

He looked that stupid.

“Then at least get revenge on the other bandits. I’ll take care of the Fortress Leader.”

At this, he shook his head.

“I said I would repay the debt of saving my life, didn’t I? Sending Brother Jin to the Fortress Leader would be repaying kindness with enmity.”

“Are you saying I will lose?”

Hwangbo Ak nodded his head roughly.

“I know your skills are superior to mine, Brother Jin. But honestly, you are no match for the Fortress Leader.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not like I’ve shown all my skills either.”

Of course, in terms of martial arts alone, it was not much different from having shown my full strength.

But I had an ace up my sleeve.

Special two eyes.

It was thanks to my past life’s experience and the power of these two eyes that I had survived fights against masters several levels above me.

“Then I’ll take care of the Fortress Leader, so you and my companions can take care of the other bandits.”

At that moment, for some reason, the Tang Clan guy interjected into the conversation.

“Just in case, I will also face the Fortress Leader with you.”

“Are you dying to die?”

The future Poison Immortal might be a different story, but for a guy at his current level to go against the Nine Dragons Fortress Leader was simply a suicide mission.

“Could it be because of your promise to Miss Yeo?”

As if I had hit the mark, he coughed awkwardly.

“Ahem.”

It was a moment that made it clear who was truly crazy about women.

As I was looking at him as if he were a lust demon, he fumbled for something in his sleeve.

“I didn’t just say that without thinking. I have an ace up my sleeve. At least this will work on the Nine Dragons Fortress Leader.”

I looked at it for a moment and then nodded.

That guy was certainly unreliable, but that item looked useful.

“Th, then are we go, going to attack again right away?”

At Nam Geon’s question, I shook my head.

“If we were going to attack with just us, we would have done so already. There are things to prepare.”

“If we delay, won’t the Nine Dragons Fortress prepare even more, Senior Brother?”

“It’s the opposite. The more time passes, the more the bandits will think.”

“What do you mean by think more, Brother Jin?”

“You were the one who was the hound killed after the hunt, weren't you?”

Hwangbo Ak nodded like a moron, as if he understood.

“Ah! Are my allies going to betray them from within?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Do you think those trashy bastards have any loyalty?”

“…….”

When we were moving to Nine Dragons Mountain with Hwangbo Ak.

I had pondered, recalling the rumors I had heard in my past life.

Why did the Nine Dragons Fortress fall? To be precise, why did internal strife break out?

Then, a possibility suddenly occurred to me.

Perhaps Hwangbo Ak being kicked out was some kind of catalyst.

Because Hwangbo Ak’s loyalty seemed genuine to anyone.

Such a loyal subject was the hound killed after the hunt.

“The guys over there will think something like this. ‘Maybe I’ll be the one who gets discarded next.’”

Of course, there was no guarantee that it happened just because of that one suspicion.

But one thing was certain.

In human relationships, there was nothing more dangerous than suspicion.

After all, the Nine Dragons Fortress Leader had also created this mess because he couldn't trust Hwangbo Ak.

“In the first place, bandits have no loyalty. They are all bandits to fill their own pockets. But if they can be backstabbed by the Fortress Leader at any time, the story changes.”

I glanced over my companions and finally added.

“So what we have to do is simple. Induce a situation where the vile bandits would betray the Fortress Leader. If so, they will self-destruct.”

“How do you intend to induce that situation?”

At the Tang Clan guy’s question, I pointed at Hwangbo Ak.

“With this guy here, it seems it will be solved more simply than I thought. Since I also saw something on the way here.”

Hwangbo Ak blinked his foolish eyes.

***

Two days later, we arrived in Guju.

Thanks to running and using movement arts without rest, we were able to reduce the time by more than half compared to when we first went to Nine Dragons Mountain from Guju.

As a result, all my companions were in rags, and Hwangbo Ak’s face had turned completely pale, but it didn't matter.

“We greet the Third Dragon Leader!!”

The bandits were paying their respects to that pale-faced Hwangbo Ak.

“Fortunately, it seems the news hasn't reached here yet.”

Hwangbo Ak was kicked out. Or Hwangbo Ak betrayed them.

It seemed that rumors of this kind had not yet spread here.

This alone meant that nine-tenths of the plan was a success.

“Let’s start by tidying up.”

Saying that, I immediately rushed at the bandits.

The ones who were harassing the commoners of Guju in heavy armor.

If I had my way, I wanted to kill them all with a single stroke, but for now, I avoided their vitals.

Thwack!

I struck them with the flat of my sword or pressed their paralysis points with my fingers to subdue the bandits.

My companions also followed behind me and began to subdue the bandits.

Nam Geon, perhaps due to his strength control, was just subduing them with his bare hands, and the two Senior Sisters were precisely striking their paralysis points with their exquisite swordplay.

The Tang Clan guy was also using the hidden weapons he had received as a gift from Miss Yeo, coated with paralyzing poison.

After a dozen bandits fell in an instant, the remaining bandits quickly drew their weapons and shouted.

“Wh, what is this!?”

“Third Dragon Leader! Please help us!!”

They looked at Hwangbo Ak with desperate expressions, but it was a foolish act.

“I am no longer your leader!!”

Hwangbo Ak had also joined in and was swinging his iron fists at them.

“Don’t kill them yet!”

Hwangbo Ak responded to my shout.

“Don’t worry!”

Crack!

At the same time, the arm bone of the bandit in front of him was shattered.

I thought he was planning to make them half-crippled instead of killing them, but he added.

“I remember the faces of all those who are from the Nine Dragons Fortress!”

If so, it was understandable.

“If they are from the Nine Dragons Fortress, you can just kill them!”

It wasn't that we were sparing them because we wanted to.

It was because there were innocent people mixed in, those who had been forcibly conscripted by the Nine Dragons Fortress bastards.

***

It didn't take long to subdue the Nine Dragons Fortress bastards in Guju.

After imprisoning all the subdued ones, we had a selection time.

“This one is from the Nine Dragons Fortress.”

“Hmm. I’ve never seen this face before. It seems he was dragged here.”

Hwangbo Ak was walking among the subdued ones, separating the trash from the humans.

After observing the scene for a moment, I said to my companions.

“Stay here and guard this place with that guy. I have a place to go for a while.”

And then I left the manor and headed for the marketplace of Guju.

After wandering through the marketplace and its surrounding back alleys for a while.

I finally found the guy I was looking for.

I walked quickly towards the beggar who was busy begging in a corner.

The middle-aged beggar held out his palm to me and said.

“S, spare a coin.”

“Not just a coin, but a big job that can feed the beggars of this region. What do you say?”

The beggar, who seemed to contemplate my words for a moment, glanced around and then opened his mouth in a very small voice.

“Can we move to another place?”

When I nodded, the beggar stood up and started walking somewhere.

After arriving at a deserted corner where no one passed by, the beggar scratched his head and said.

“Ghost Sword Young Master. Didn’t you join the Nine Dragons Fortress?”

“So you knew me.”

“I was only half-sure since I’d only seen your face on a wanted poster, but I became certain after seeing you fight that Third Leader bastard. But how did you know I was a Beggar’s Gang member?”

“I was also certain after seeing you watching.”

When I first came to Guju. When I was dueling with Hwangbo Ak, there was a beggar watching from a distance.

A beggar who should be busy begging was watching my fight with Hwangbo Ak with great concentration, so there was no way he was an ordinary beggar.

“Ah…….”

The Beggar’s Gang member, who let out a faint exclamation of admiration, sighed and replied.

“But what was that you said just now? Are you planning to join hands with the Nine Dragons Fortress and cause some trouble?”

“You only know my wanted poster, but you haven’t heard about my personality?”

“……I did think it was strange, but since I’d never seen you in person, I just let it be. It seems you didn’t join the Nine Dragons Fortress after all.”

I nodded and replied.

“That’s why I came to find you. I’m planning to attack the Nine Dragons Fortress. Help me.”

That beggar asked with the same kind of eyes the Tang Clan guy used to look at me.

“Are you crazy?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“……You’re just as I heard.”

I didn't know what he had heard, but it wasn't particularly important.

“After we deal with the Nine Dragons Fortress, the beggars will be able to eat their fill.”

“It’s not about eating their fill, it seems like their bellies will all be split open and they’ll die?”

“Don’t worry. I didn't come here without a plan. I plan to use the internal strife of the Nine Dragons Fortress.”

The beggar’s eyes widened.

“I, internal strife? What do you mean by that?”

I briefly told the Beggar’s Gang member what had happened on Nine Dragons Mountain.

“You managed to come back alive. But are you planning to go there again? And drag us along with you?”

“That’s right, but you won't be going in the name of the Beggar’s Gang.”

“???”

“Disguise yourselves as bandits. To be precise, you must wear the heavy armor they have prepared. We will stage it as if Hwangbo Ak has integrated the bandits who went outside the Nine Dragons Fortress and started a rebellion.”

“Ah…….”

The Beggar’s Gang member, who let out a faint exclamation of admiration, soon frowned.

“What’s the point of that? If an elder or a gang leader were to step up, it might be a different story. If the Beggar’s Gang members in this area alone could have attacked the Nine Dragons Fortress, we would have done so long ago.”

“It doesn’t matter. Your role is not to fight anyway.”

“……If we’re not even going to fight, why are you dragging us into this?”

“A display of false power. To intimidate them.”

“Do you think that Nine Dragons Fortress Leader bastard will be intimidated by just that? Since we’re disguised as bandits, he’ll think we’re traitors and will probably be furious.”

“The one who will be intimidated is not the Nine Dragons Fortress Leader. It’s the bandits under him.”

We didn't need enough strength to defeat the Nine Dragons Fortress.

It was enough to make the bandits, who had witnessed the killing of the hound after the hunt, anxious.

If I step forward and fight, I might die.

Do I really need to risk my life for a guy who just kills the hound after the hunt, no matter how much loyalty I show?

It was enough if the bandits thought of such questions.

***

Two shichen later.

We left Guju with a group of dozens of heavily armed men.

We had to move as quickly as possible to seize more weapons and create more fake bandits.

We visited every village on the way from Guju to Nine Dragons Mountain and subdued the bandits.

And after taking their weapons, we made the Beggar’s Gang members or beggars there wear them.

The reason we even mobilized ordinary beggars was to increase the number of people visible on the outside.

But we didn't force them.

The equipment worn by the beggars was to be taken by them after this was over.

Since there were iron equipment mixed in, it would fetch a considerable amount of money if sold at a forge or a similar place.

Many beggars stepped forward for this money, and there were even non-beggars who volunteered because of the equipment.

Furthermore.

“We heard the news that you are fighting against the Nine Dragons Fortress!”

“We will also join you!”

The remaining well-meaning people in this area also joined us, and occasionally, young men full of spirit but lacking in skill would join us boldly.

Since it was for a display of false power, the more people, the better.

After recruiting people like that and distributing the equipment used by the bandits several times.

By the time we left Guju and reached the vicinity of Nine Dragons Mountain.

The number of fake bandits and righteous army had grown to several hundred.