Monochrome Sovereign (Novel) - Chapter 175 - Sweeping Demons and Annihilating Evil (5)
Chapter 175 – Sweeping Demons and Annihilating Evil (5)
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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“Hoo.”
“How is it?”
“It’s a wonderful ruby. If it’s this level, it’s top-quality.”
“As expected, you recognize it.”
“Two sacks of top-quality rubies… You paid quite some attention this time, didn’t you?”
“Haha, I did quite a bit of legwork.”
Mockery colored the face of Hang Chun, who was looking down at the middle-aged man continuously rubbing his palms together and bowing his head.
He said in a voice that didn’t match his expression.
“The Leader will be very satisfied. Wait a moment. I will show him the goods first and return.”
“Of course.”
Hang Chun went inside the barracks.
A moment later.
Flap!
The entrance of the giant barracks opened, and a large man revealed his figure.
Fear rose on the middle-aged man’s face.
The body of the large man, who came out naked, was full of tremendous muscles. Every time he moved slowly, the muscles all over his body wriggled dynamically.
If it was a spectacle, it was a spectacle, but the problem was the blood stained on his body.
As if it hadn’t been long since he saw blood, the fresh blood flowing down his shoulders and collarbones flashed as it caught the sunlight. It was an appearance that made the viewer feel a bloody fear.
Moreover, the man wasn’t even a person of the Central Plains. As if mixed with the blood of the West, he had an exotic appearance and his eyes were also blue.
The middle-aged man unconsciously swallowed his saliva.
‘Is, is that person the Leader of the Gray Wolf Squad?!’
The large man, Pa Sa-reuk, cracked his neck left and right.
Udeuduk! Uduk!
A sound so vigorous that one would worry if his joints were dislocated rang out. The middle-aged man’s face gradually grew pale.
“Ugh! I’m already feeling stiff.”
Hang Chun said politely.
“Leader, it is that guy.”
“Hmm?”
Pa Sa-reuk looked down at the middle-aged man with a languid gaze.
The middle-aged man hurriedly bowed his head. He didn’t dare make eye contact.
The corners of Pa Sa-reuk’s mouth twitched.
“Rubies?”
Hang Chun continued speaking.
“And he is the person who offered the women.”
“Haha, is that so?”
Pa Sa-reuk laughed loudly.
His laughter was vigorous as if a whale was laughing. The low and heavy laughter had a power that made a person’s mind go blank.
“I was very satisfied. Although I won’t be able to use them anymore.”
The middle-aged man realized that the blood stained on Pa Sa-reuk’s body was the blood of the women he offered yesterday.
Brrr.
His body began to tremble.
Kung!
Pa Sa-reuk plopped down on the bare ground.
“Is this the first time we meet like this?”
“Y-yes, it is.”
“You look more normal than I thought. They said you were a guy who robbed his blood relative’s merchant group, so I thought you’d look like a rat.”
Pa Sa-reuk burst into laughter again.
It was a remark that made one’s blood boil, but the middle-aged man couldn’t dare reveal his dissatisfaction.
Seuu, seueu.
It was as if invisible smoke was slowly rising and binding his limbs.
He couldn’t move an inch. Like a baby deer facing a predator for the first time in its life, both his body and mind froze stiff.
His thinking stopped. It felt like even his vision was becoming blurry from the terrible fear and unknown pressure.
Pa Sa-reuk, who was looking down at the man with profound eyes, asked Hang Chun.
“How much have you cut off for him so far?”
“It is two-tenths.”
“Two-tenths?”
“That is correct.”
Pa Sa-reuk whistled in a low voice.
“That’s huge. Wasn’t the average one-tenth? But you cut off as much as two-tenths for this guy?”
“The goods this guy brought were all decent. So I gave him the value of two-tenths.”
“Did I permit it?”
“Yes.”
“Was I heavily drunk? I can’t remember.”
Hang Chun smiled.
“Shall I bring back half of the money he has taken so far even now?”
It was a scary remark.
Pa Sa-reuk laughed loudly.
“No matter what, that’s a bit much. Isn’t it a bit funny-looking to take back the money already given.”
Having laughed for a long time, he said to the man.
“Raise your head.”
The middle-aged man raised his head while trembling.
Flash!
‘Gasp!’
Seeing Pa Sa-reuk’s blue pupils, he felt like his heart sank with a thud. The man unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut.
Pa Sa-reuk asked.
“You, your resourcefulness is quite something.”
“Th-thank you!”
“What thank you. Rather, we should be the ones thanking you. Since we’re taking as much as eight-tenths as a commission.”
“It is an honor…”
“That’s enough, let me ask just one thing.”
“Y-yes?”
Pa Sa-reuk asked with a gloomy face.
“Are these rubies also flown in from your brothers’ merchant group?”
“…That’s right.”
“What did you say the merchant group’s name was?”
Hang Chun answered.
“It’s called the Sea Dragon Merchant Group, and it’s one of the top merchant groups here in Shandong Province. I heard it’s a merchant group with a long history that has already been passed down for five generations.”
“Five generations? That’s amazing. Their birth is different from a bandit group like ours.”
When Pa Sa-reuk laughed, Hang Chun also laughed along.
However, the middle-aged man couldn’t laugh.
“What did you say your name was?”
“I am called Yeong Go-wi.”
“Right, Yeong Go-wi.”
Seureuk.
Yeong Go-wi flinched.
A hand the size of a pot lid placed itself on his shoulder. It felt like that large and thick hand would crush his shoulder and collarbone at any moment.
“Isn’t it annoying to secretly sneak things out every time?”
“…Yes?”
“Because we have to stay in Shandong for about a month. We can’t earn money or release our pent-up energy. We have circumstances where we must stay quiet.”
Killing intent rose in Pa Sa-reuk’s eyes.
“Before that, we’re thinking of having a big fun time, so how about it, will you guide us to that Sea Dragon Merchant Group or whatever?”
“…!!”
Yeong Go-wi’s complexion turned pale blue.
“Do you mean the S-Sea Dragon Merchant Group?”
“Yeah. That merchant group you said your brothers run.”
He felt like he knew the reason without asking.
It seemed these guys intended to completely dismantle the Sea Dragon Merchant Group. Their intention to swallow all the wealth of the merchant group was clear.
‘Th-this!’
Absolutely not.
The Sea Dragon Merchant Group was large. Therefore, it was possible to siphon off goods. In the first place, since his brothers ran it, there must have been a shred of trust towards him.
But ruining the Sea Dragon Merchant Group was a completely different matter.
No matter how much he hated them, it was the foundation of his blood-sharing brothers. Bringing in the Gray Wolf Squad, called the best bandit group outside the borders, to such a place was clearly going against human morality.
‘…!!’
However, Yeong Go-wi couldn’t bear to say no.
Jureureureuk.
His body became drenched in cold sweat.
Pa Sa-reuk’s gaze, which was full of fierce killing intent even while smiling, evoked a chilling fear more than any Murim master.
“…I will, guide you.”
Pa Sa-reuk burst into hearty laughter.
“Good. Very good! Vice-Leader Hang, what did I say? I told you this friend seemed decent.”
“As expected, the Leader’s discerning eye is the best in the world.”
“Keuhaha! It’s a relief to meet someone I can communicate with. Good, I like it. If we smash the Sea Dragon Merchant Group, I will give you one percent of the wealth buried there.”
The wealth possessed by the Sea Dragon Merchant Group was truly enormous.
If it was one percent of that, it was wealth that wouldn’t dry up even if several generations played and ate for their entire lives.
A subtle greed rose in the eyes of Yeong Go-wi, who had been terrified.
“Th-thank you! Thank you!”
Pa Sa-reuk grinned.
His yellow fangs were sharp like those of a beast.
“Speaking of which, let’s eat and depart right away.”
* * *
“The Gray Wolf Squad.”
Murong Yu said in a blunt voice.
“I hear they pillage across Xizang, northern Qinghai, and northern Gansu.”
“Their radius of activity is enormous, isn’t it?”
“Right.”
Yeon Ho-jeong frowned.
“How much is their combat power? They said they were a bandit group for now, so their simple combat power wouldn’t be that great, but there’s no way they formed a joint army just to catch such an opponent.”
Murong Yu blinked his eyes.
His innocent-looking eyes resembled a deer’s.
“But hasn’t younger brother Yeon heard of the Gray Wolf Squad?”
“I haven’t. Besides, the main points of this operation were reported only to you, the Grand Commander.”
“Of course that’s true, but… didn’t the Yeon Clan Head tell you?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smacked his lips.
“Because he is a person who places importance on principles and rules. He thoroughly keeps his mouth shut regarding matters from the honored guest meeting that are not things he should be talking about.”
Murong Yu clicked his tongue.
He had heard a lot about it, but he truly seemed to have a knife-like personality. The people of the world didn’t call him by the nickname Judge Sword for nothing.
“Tell me about it. Is the Gray Wolf Squad that amazing?”
“It is amazing. First of all, the Leader of the Gray Wolf Squad himself is no ordinary figure.”
“Who is he?”
“His name is Pa Sa-reuk. His nickname is Iron Bone Evil Buddha.”
“It’s a nickname whose childishness pierces the sky.”
“His nickname is like that, but his martial arts are not.”
“How strong is he?”
“I don’t know exactly, but he won’t be lacking much compared to me.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes widened.
“A bandit group boss’s martial arts is at that level?”
“When he was active in Gansu in the past, I heard he clashed with chivalrous warriors called the Seven Heroes of the Jade Gate. It seems all seven of the Seven Heroes of the Jade Gate were peak masters, boasting such brilliant martial prowess that they were called a moving small-to-medium sect in northern Gansu.”
“Don’t tell me?”
“That’s right. It is said the Gray Wolf Squad Leader Pa Sa-reuk clashed head-on with them and massacred them all.”
Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.
“He’s a strange guy. To be playing just the role of a bandit boss even after training his martial arts to that level.”
There are various types of people in the world. Didn’t even Tang Sang-ah tail Murong Yu right now just because she was bored? And inside the Murim Alliance at that.
Even if one learns the best martial arts in the world, if their innate nature is a mess, they could just live doing banditry.
Of course, there would never be many such people.
“That’s not all. The number of bandits making up the Gray Wolf Squad reaches a staggering one thousand.”
“One thousand…?”
“Their races and ages are also said to be diverse. They wouldn’t be called the best bandit group outside the borders for nothing. It’s even said that most of them have learned considerable martial arts.”
Yeon Ho-jeong clicked his tongue.
“I can practically consider them a sect, not a bandit group.”
“What they do is that of a typical bandit group, but as for their combat power, no one can ignore them.”
“But that guy. His name is Pa… hmm.”
“Pa Sa-reuk.”
“Right, Pa Sa-reuk. Why does Evil Buddha go into that guy’s nickname? I’m suddenly curious.”
It was a remark thrown like a joke to lighten the mood, but unexpectedly Murong Yu knew the reason.
“That’s because of the martial arts he learned.”
“Martial arts?”
“Pa Sa-reuk is from the Small Thunder Sound Temple in Xizang.”
In an instant, Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
‘The Small Thunder Sound Temple?’
The Small Thunder Sound Temple is one of the absolute powerhouses of the Murim outside the borders.
‘Outside the borders… Outside the borders.’
Why was it?
When he heard it was a bandit group from outside the borders, he didn’t have much of an impression, but hearing that the boss of the bandit group was from the Small Thunder Sound Temple, the three cults of fanaticism suddenly came to mind.
‘According to Beggars’ Successor’s investigation, he said there were no special problems outside the borders yet, right?’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.
‘By any chance, that guy isn’t connected to that side, is he?’
He, who had been lost in thought for a moment, soon shook his head.
It was an excessive thought. Of course, if asked whether there was absolutely no such possibility, he couldn’t easily conclude, but for now, there was no need to consider up to there.
However…
‘Even before the Three Cults, those crazy bastards, invaded, some of the forces outside the borders stirred up the Central Plains.’
Yeon Ho-jeong stood up from his seat.
“I’ve heard enough if it’s to that extent. So when will we depart?”
“Are you asking me?”
“You are the Grand Commander, aren’t you.”
Murong Yu chuckled.
“When would you like to depart?”
“Go whenever you feel like it. I’m in a position to receive orders anyway.”
“Let’s depart again in half a day.”
“I will do so.”
“But why don’t you call me elder brother?”
Yeon Ho-jeong coldly turned his back.
“See you in half a day, mister.”