After only the officials gathered, the doors to the main hall were closed.
“Call Manager Byuk.”
“Yes.”
Moments later, while we are waiting for Manager Byuk’s arrival, Cha Sung-tae asks,
“It’s strange that the Murim Alliance is suddenly asking for our support.”
Indeed, it is strange.
But there is a difference between my suspicions and Cha Sung-tae’s.
“What’s weird?”
As he looks around the officials, Cha Sung-tae says,
“Even if they don’t ask us for help, wouldn’t it be easy for them to get rid of Tree Spirit Fortress and Namak Green Forest Sect on their own? Are they trying to pull allies to incur less damage? But that’s too modest.”
“Not really.”
While Cha Sung-tae is asking questions, Manager Byuk sits down.
“Manager Byuk.”
“Yes, Leader.”
“Please explain to Cha Sung-tae. Why is the Alliance asking for aid from a countryside faction like us?”
“Yes.”
Manager Byuk says as he looks at the officials,
“An aid request is inevitable.”
“Why is it inevitable?”
“If you think of them as allies, you can contact and ask them for help no matter what happens. If we help them, we can proudly ask the Alliance for help from now on. What the Alliance wants is the unity of factions. It’s a combination of these things. Rather, sect leaders who hadn’t received a request for aid might feel unpleasant. As a result, the Alliance will ask as many forces as they can for help seeing as not many factions are joining the Alliance otherwise. It’s only when an incident like this occurs that will get them all to interact together. Anyway, the reasons are overflowing.”
“I see, there are a lot of reasons.”
Manager Byuk asks me,
“By the way, did Tree Spirit Fortress and Namak Green Forest Sect join hands?”
As I nod, Manager Byuk continues.
“If Tree Spirit Fortress and Namak Green Forest Sect rise to power, it seems like they might be able to take down the royal troops, so it is natural for the Alliance Leader to ask for help from as many forces as he can. But the question is, how much are you planning to help the Alliance?”
I look at Manager Byuk with my arms folded.
‘What kind of life would this old man live without me?’
“Manager Byuk.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“With your resourcefulness, wisdom, insight, and analysis, it feels like I’m looking at Jiang Ziya.”
Manager Byuk eyes me suspiciously.
“That’s a compliment, right?”
“Did it work?”
“No.”
“Manager Byuk, you’ve grown in the meantime.”
Only then did Manager Byuk say with a smile.
“Thank you.”
“…….”
Thinking that compliments work too well on Manager Byuk, I say to the officials,
“Good timing, I wasn’t planning on letting the Namak Green Forest Sect off.”
“Yes, it is.”
“This is not something the Low-Down Sect can help the Alliance with. Low-Down Sect will not be helping the Alliance.”
“What?”
“Shut up.”
“Yes.”
“Listen carefully. I’ll make this simple. We, Low-Down Sect are not helping the Alliance, but the Alliance is now helping me with my personal revenge.”
Cha Sung-tae blinks.
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“No, the Low Down will stay here and continue training. I will take personal revenge on Green Forest Sect, who asked for ransom after starving, beating, and making Brother Geum-hae limp. Do you all understand?”
Cha Sung-tae nods.
“Understood. In short, you mean you’re going to go in alone.”
I nod solemnly.
“No, I’m going with the Alliance. I’m not alone. I have the Alliance by my side. A reliable force.”
“Wow… Saying that makes you look grand and cool.”
“So Gun-pyeong, Sung-tae, Brother White Tiger.”
“Yes.”
“Train hard every day… Train the same no matter if I’m here or not. Next time this happens, at least one of you three can represent the Low Down. Skill is key. You’re doing your best, but still lacking in many areas.”
“I see.”
“And Manager Byuk.”
“Yes.”
Scratching my cheek I say,
“Take enough travel expenses, and make sure… my outfit doesn’t appear like a bumpkin’s. Low-Down Sect shouldn’t look like Beggars’ Sect at an orthodox faction gathering of masters.”
“I will.”
“I’ll leave as soon as I’m ready, so as usual, everyone…”
My subordinates rise from their seats and salute.
“Have a safe trip, Leader.”
“That gave me goosebumps….”
Other officials also cut me off and say,
“Have a safe trip, Leader.”
“Increasing Low-Down Sect’s reputation… Ah, is this too much? Anyway, have a safe trip.”
“Please don’t go and fight with other sect leaders, Leader.”
The officials are nagging more and more.
“Yeah, yeah. So noisy.”
Cha Sung-tae adds,
“Leader, you can’t kill your allies.”
“Enough.”
“Yes.”
When I look around, all my subordinates are looking at me like I’m a kid going out to the water.
‘Uhm…’
I nod a few times and reassure my men.
“It’s me. Don’t worry. Nothing’s gonna happen to me for beating up the Green Forest Sect and the pirates.”
“Yes.”
The officials mutter among themselves as they proceed out of the hall.
“How worrying. I’m afraid he’ll beat up our allies.”
“Shush, I can hear you.”
I nod as I listen to my subordinates’ conversation.
“Nice. This atmosphere… A warm atmosphere where you can freely express your opinions.”
Manager Byuk nods besides him.
“That’s right.”
Two hours later, I was sent off by my subordinates and left for the meeting location of the Alliance Mount Heng branch.
You have to run intensely while training footwork anyway. As I run with footwork after a long time, I feel a little excited. This is the first time I have trained my footwork since training my Yin and Yang energy.
After running non-stop for four hours, I stop on a quiet road for a while. I wonder if it’s because my footwork was faster than usual.
‘Why did I run so fast?’
Is it simply because the accumulated Qi by drawing the power of Heavenly Pearl has deepened?
I couldn’t clearly find out why my footwork suddenly turned so rapid. However, even if I was running more than before, my body was feeling ‘pleasant.’
Is it because I mastered Shadow Moon Martial Arts?
Usually, if I run fiercely for more than four hours, my whole body will heat up as if it were in flames, but now the heat subsides easily even though I didn’t use Shadow Moon Martial Arts.
“Has my body advanced?”
I take a short break and advance for Mount Heng again.
When I returned, I would have never guessed that I would end up helping the Alliance.
Come to think of it, when the alliance members become seniors…
These guys will become the ones who spread the Heaven Net and hunt me down.
Goosebumps form on my forearm while I am running.
“…….”
Thinking about it now, the alliance members I beat to death would be there. Even during my time as Crazy Demon, I had beaten the masters of family clans and the hypocrites of orthodox factions to death, but I have not directly killed an alliance member. However, this couldn’t be helped as I escaped the horrendous Heaven Net.
If I get caught, I’ll die, or I’ll be stuck in a prison for decades.
It wasn’t until rumors spread that I killed the alliance members and ran away…
That the demonic cult became interested in me.
It’s thanks to this that I was chased by the cult.
Anyway…
I feel very strange running to the Mount Heng branch. It feels like there is a nameless thorn stuck somewhere in my mind.
I also feel a little unpleasant.
If I had the ability to escape the Heaven Net of alliance in my past life, I wouldn’t be feeling this emotion.
Suddenly, ability determines everything.
As I was being engulfed in an unknown emotion, I pick up the pace. I am running furiously to help those who ambushed me in my past life.
The man who leads me to the main hall announces,
“The Low-Down Sect Leader is here.”
The present sect leaders in the main hall turn their heads and look at me. I let out a dry cough and cover my mouth.
Several masters of orthodox factions who were beaten by me in my past life were amongst the crowd.
‘This is pricking my conscience….’
Why is the flow of life so extreme?
Even though only the leaders are gathered, there are still so many people that it is chaotic. Normally, I get distracted even when I am alone, but I am flustered to see all the people I had bad blood with in my past life to look at me in unison.
Leader Im, who is sitting in the top seat, looks at me.
“Leader, you’ve arrived? You came much earlier than expected. It’s not an atmosphere for hosting, so please have a seat.”
I take a deep breath with my arms crossed, sitting in the only empty seat left at the end of the table.
Looking around…
Leader of Mount Heng Sect, Vice Head of Namgoong Family, Vice Head of Seomun Family, and Leader of Diancang Sect first catch my attention.
There are many people I know and don’t know. While looking around to see who responded to Im’s call, I finally find the guy in the opposite corner.
“……!”
Pervert Demon is looking at me with his eyes wide open.
I flinch for a moment and look at Pervert Demon.
“Shithead?”
Leader Im, who was talking, looks at me.
“Leader, what did you say?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
As soon as he heard the word shithead, his face turned red.
When I think about why this guy is here, he seems to have come to represent the Wind Cloud Mong Clan.
Of course, Wind Cloud Mong Clan is also an ally of the alliance.
I scratch my forehead for a moment.
Pervert Demon mouths the words,
‘Do you want to die?’
I shake my head and mouth a greeting,
‘You idiot.’
Two public enemies of Murim in the past is among the supporting forces of the alliance. But not all the allies have arrived yet. The warrior who guided me earlier opens the main hall again and announces,
“Family Head of Sima Family is here.”
Then, everyone looks at Leader Im’s expression. His expression does not change much.
When Sima Hak, the head of the Sima family, appears in the main hall, people stood up.
“Welcome, Leader.”
Pervert Demon also stands up and salutes Sima Hak.
While remaining seated, Leader Im says to Sima Hak,
“Family Head, you’ve arrived.”
Sima Hak says to Leader Im,
“Why do you look so disgruntled at the person who came to help you, Leader?”
Leader Im replies briefly,
“This is my natural expression. Please have a seat.”
I stare at Sima Hak. I’ve never seen him before. But I know who he is and how he dies. He is a man of great ambition and has caused a lot of trouble in orthodox factions.
In short, Sima Hak was a person who sought the alliance leader position.
He doesn’t hesitate to do illegal things…
He was caught by Leader Im and dies in a one-to-one duel. In his past life, he challenged Leader Im and was beaten to death.
When I looked around, the relationship of my past connections is really complicated here.
‘Wow, the alliance is a hell of a mess.’
When I think about how I am the only one who knows this, I get goosebumps again. Sima Hak, who is suddenly looking for a place to sit, comes to me and says,
“Get up, hoobae. I don’t have a place to sit.”
“……!”
I look up at Sima Hak with a startled look. Suddenly, the worried expressions and words of my subordinates’ flashes through my mind.
[Leader, you can’t kill your allies.]
I’m not a fool.
Sima Hak tilts his head and says,
“Hoobae…?”
I stop thinking and then answer,
“If you don’t have a seat, please listen while standing.”
Leader Im sighs and says to a member.
“Go inside and get a chair.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Sima Hak looks at me with half embarrassment and half laughs.
“I’ve never seen you before. Who are you?”
Before I can answer, Leader Im yells,
“Sima Hak!”
Sima Hak looks at Leader Im with an absurd expression. Leader Im says with narrowed brows,
“If you came to support, then act like an ally. Don’t set the mood. Sit there when the chair comes. Stop interrupting the meeting. Are you here to set the mood or to help?”
In private, Sima Hak is the senior, but Im So-baek is currently speaking as the alliance leader.
As Sima Hak remains silent, the member who brings a chair, says carefully,
“Please sit here, my lord.”
The member puts Sima Hak’s chair next to me.
Sima Hak, who calms down his expression in an instant, smiles and says,
“The leader is right. My mistake. Keep the meeting going.”
I look around the hall with my arms crossed.
Suddenly I’m a new member of the orthodox.
It was interesting that the sick atmosphere I was familiar with was unfolding right in front of my eyes.
First of all, I thought that the Alliance Leader was not a difficult position. It would be convenient since it is the most reputable position in Kangho. But if there are more people like Sima Hak then your gray hair will definitely keep growing.
Suddenly, I turn my head, and Sima Hak is staring at me.
‘Fuck, that scared me.….’
When I look straight ahead, this time, Pervert Demon is looking at me.
“…….”
Ah, this is so messy…
