Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 95 - Reducing (3)
Chapter 95 – Reducing (3)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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The senior martial artist flew into a rage and asked the ordinary red-belt martial artist,
“Just what bastard pulled a stunt like this?”
“W, well…”
The martial artist quietly turned his head and indicated someone lined up in the square with a glance.
When the senior martial artist saw who it was, he looked utterly dumbfounded.
“That bastard again.”
That bastard again.
It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.
Because he had left such a strong impression in the first and second gates and had even won the top plaque, there was no choice but to remember him, even if one did not want to.
“He couldn’t possibly have done that to all those trainees by himself. Did that bastard and his group members do it together?”
“It would seem so.”
‘Ha.’
It was truly absurd in the extreme.
The choosing of group leaders and group members that had taken place last night.
Its purpose was to identify who was fit to lead by having the trainees voluntarily seek out leaders and members among themselves.
Of course, they had expected a scramble over group members, since there were four vacancies caused by the spies.
And from the beginning, the reason they had restricted only killing was because they intended to allow a certain degree of fighting among them.
But this result had been wholly unexpected.
‘Damn it.’
He had thought at least five or more squad leader-class individuals would be selected.
But in the end, only two had been chosen.
After the first and second gates, the trainees who remained had already had their aptitude and mental strength verified to some extent, so the goal had been to draw out as many as possible.
But because of that bastard Mok Gyeong-un, everything had become twisted.
At this, the senior martial artist carefully said to Yi Ji-yeom, the Corpse Blood Valley Master,
“Valley Master. I fear this will not do.”
“What do you mean will not do?”
“He has gone too far.”
“Too far?”
“Is that not so? Out of eighty, no, seventy-six, only sixteen have formed groups. If we just leave it as it is, then there will be even more…”
“What further problem is there?”
“Pardon?”
At Yi Ji-yeom’s words, the senior martial artist was bewildered.
If they failed to properly sift out the capable ones by the time the gates ended, the higher-ups might take issue with it.
To him, who was worried, Yi Ji-yeom said,
“…….It may be excessive, but he did not break the rules. On what grounds would you restrain him?”
The senior martial artist furrowed his brow.
Until yesterday, the Valley Master had said that Mok Gyeong-un seemed to be someone they ought to watch more closely.
So why was he suddenly acting so leniently?
“Valley Master… that bastard is not even from our Society but a hostage dragged in from the righteous Yeon Mok Sword Manor. Yet if the work of selecting promising sprouts is ruined because of him, then surely the Society Leader and the executives will make an issue of it. The Society Leader may even have intended this from the start.”
“………”
At these words from the senior martial artist, Valley Master Yi Ji-yeom let out a faint sigh.
The senior martial artist, Gwak Mun-gi.
He was no different from Yi Ji-yeom’s left arm.
Thus he knew better than anyone how the Society Leader and the people in the main stronghold were always picking fights and taking issue with every event of Corpse Blood Valley.
That was why he was offering such an opinion.
“…….That may well be. But it does not matter. In any case, it was the Society Leader who sent that… bastard. If something happened because of his whim, it will be hard to hold me responsible.”
“However…”
“Proceed as it is.”
“……..I receive the order.”
At the firm words of the Corpse Blood Valley Master Yi Ji-yeom, the senior martial artist Gwak Mun-gi finally accepted the order without further objection.
But the eyes beneath his lowered head were turned in Mok Gyeong-un’s direction.
* * *
-How does it feel to be stabbed in the back for the first time?
Blue Spirit’s voice rang by Mok Gyeong-un’s ear.
Why was Blue Spirit saying such a thing?
It was because of what had happened last night.
Mok Gyeong-un turned his head and looked at the eight people lined up beside his own group.
Among them, the ones who stood out were the sharp-eyed boy with mature looks and Mok Yu-cheon.
‘Interesting.’
Last night, Mok Gyeong-un had intended to make everyone except his own group fail by breaking all their legs.
If that happened, then there was a high chance that the third gate would become the last, all later gates would be skipped, and matters would proceed straight to the final step.
But at dawn, a variable appeared.
[T, this is bad.]
One of the boys whom he had sent in a five-man group came to him in haste and said so.
[Where are the others, and why did you come alone?]
[……W, well…]
[It seems something happened?]
[……I’m sorry.]
The boy, expecting Mok Gyeong-un to rebuke him, said this while extremely tense.
Mok Gyeong-un instead shook his head and soothed him gently.
[Do I look like I’m going to eat you? Where are the others?]
[They were all captured.]
[Captured… did you say?]
[Y, yes. There was nothing we could do. We went to the last room, but we had no idea eight of them were lying in ambush.]
[Eight were lying in ambush…]
This was unexpected.
That meant someone had noticed their plan and prepared for it.
Well, as they went from room to room breaking legs, there was no way none of the others would notice.
Along the way, there had even been four bastards who seemed to have caught on and came looking for him to attack him.
It seemed there had been a clever one among them.
[Let’s go.]
Mok Gyeong-un joined up with the demon monk possessing Yeom-ga of Crimson Kill Valley, who was finishing up the upper floor, and with Mo Ha-rang of Mo Hwa House, then headed for the room where their group members had allegedly been captured.
In the corridor before the room door stood two boys, apparently keeping watch.
When they saw Mok Gyeong-un, they were startled and opened the door.
Then four people came pouring out from inside.
One of them was the sharp-eyed bastard named Mu Jang-yak, and another was none other than Mok Yu-cheon.
The moment Mok Yu-cheon saw Mok Gyeong-un, he cursed at him.
[You crazy bastard. Have you really stooped to this now?]
[To this?]
[This is different from the earlier gates. All we had to do was choose a group leader and cooperate as group members to deploy the sword formation, so why do something like this…]
[Doing something like this is wrong?]
[What?]
[In what way is it wrong?]
At Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Mok Yu-cheon answered with an incredulous expression.
[You’re seriously asking that…]
[It’s not as if I broke the rule against killing, and trainees are going to be eliminated at every gate anyway. So is there some problem with merely moving that up a little?]
[You!]
At those words, Mok Yu-cheon was left speechless.
In truth, the very idea of breaking everyone’s legs was absurd, but it was also not quite right to say unconditionally that it was wrong.
This had been a competition from the start, after all.
-Grind!
Realizing that there was no point in arguing logic like this and no way to settle anything with words, Mok Yu-cheon said,
[Fine. There’s no point trying to reason with you over something like this.]
With those words, Mok Yu-cheon cast a look at Mu Jang-yak beside him.
Then Mu Jang-yak raised one hand and spoke.
[Hello.]
[Yes. Hello.]
[You came looking for your group members?]
[That’s right. If possible, I would appreciate it if you would quietly send our group members back this way.]
At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Mu Jang-yak shook his head and said with a smile,
[I’m sorry, but that will be difficult.]
[You only have to hand them over, so what exactly is difficult about it?]
[If I return your group members to you, you’ll try to break their legs just like you did in the other rooms, so how could I possibly do that?]
[You understand well.]
Mok Gyeong-un answered with the same broad smile.
At this sight of the two talking with smiles in a situation that could explode at any moment, the respective group members only grew more tense.
However, the advantageous side was Mu Jang-yak’s side.
They had hostages, after all.
[Can you just go back for now? We don’t want to waste strength fighting your group unnecessarily.]
[Is that so?]
[Yes. If you do that, I’ll return the group members we captured safely in the morning.]
An unexpectedly smooth proposal.
In truth, it looked like a concession, but for Mu Jang-yak’s side, this was the best proposal possible.
That was because the moment they returned the group members, he was certain that Mok Gyeong-un would target them without fail.
At that moment, Mo Ha-rang whispered,
[It’s a pity that things have gone differently from the goal, but I think it’d be better to do it this way. Just this once, the hilt is in their hands.]
The number of trainees whose bodies were still intact was sixteen.
In such a situation, if their group members got hurt, the ones placed at an advantage would be that side.
But they could not easily do that either.
Because as long as the numbers held, a fight would not break out, but if Mok Gyeong-un’s group members were harmed, they would have no choice but to attack in order to replenish their numbers.
‘They’ve thought this through well.’
From their side, this structure had been created because they judged it to be the best course.
At this, Mok Gyeong-un said,
[Well, I suppose that would be fine, but isn’t there also this possibility?]
[A possibility?]
[Yes. If tomorrow morning you break our group members’ legs and then return them, won’t we be left unable to do anything and fail?]
[Ah……]
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, Mo Ha-rang let out a groan.
Thinking about it, that was indeed possible.
If that side kept holding the hostages, they could stab them in the back right before the group leader selection was finalized.
At that moment, Mok Yu-cheon snorted and said,
[Do you think we’re the same as you? At least we don’t stab people in the back.]
[In front of others, of course you can say that all you like. But circumstances always force one to make the rational choice.]
[You’re saying that breaking a promise is the rational choice?]
[For your side, it would be advantageous.]
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, Mok Yu-cheon clicked his tongue.
At least in this situation, he had thought they would obediently follow their proposal, but he had never expected him to raise a move they themselves had not even considered.
Mok Yu-cheon glanced sideways at Mu Jang-yak beside him.
Mu Jang-yak shrugged once, then spoke.
[That kind of suspicion is natural, but you don’t have any choice anyway, do you? Other than believing us.]
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un said,
[I don’t think that’s possible.]
[If this proposal falls apart, the side that loses out will be yours.]
At that, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said,
[How could that be? Since it’s come to this, we only need to leave eight people safe out of the sixteen. Then wouldn’t it go just as I originally planned?]
-Flinch!
At those words from Mok Gyeong-un, the trainees listening were dumbfounded.
Who would have expected him, in this situation, to say he could just abandon his own group members and merely get the numbers right?
Did that bastard have no attachment whatsoever to being in the same group?
Mok Yu-cheon shouted angrily,
[Do you have no comradeship at all? The group members who trusted you and came in…]
-Slide!
Mu Jang-yak raised a hand toward Mok Yu-cheon and shook his head.
Then he turned back toward Mok Gyeong-un and said,
[I wondered if it might happen, but I didn’t think you’d really come out like that. When I heard it from Yu-cheon, I wondered if you’d truly go that far.]
Mu Jang-yak had heard from Mok Yu-cheon what had happened at the end of the second gate.
That was why he had wondered and wondered, but now it was exactly as he had heard.
Mok Gyeong-un said to him,
[Is that so? Then I suppose you also understand well that what I said wasn’t empty talk.]
[I do. It was fortunate I prepared for the possibility.]
[Pardon?]
Fortunate he had prepared for the possibility?
What exactly did that mean?
To the puzzled Mok Gyeong-un, Mu Jang-yak said,
[The possibility you mentioned just now wasn’t something I had thought of from the beginning, but I did prepare for the possibility that you might come.]
[Prepared… what exactly did you do?]
At that question from Mok Gyeong-un, Mu Jang-yak pulled something from his wrist.
It was a thin needle about the length of one finger joint.
It was even smaller than the Golden Gate Lock that had been embedded in the meridians.
[…….What is that?]
[I stuck one of these into the vital point at the waist of the four group members you captured, and also into every one of our own group members.]
[………]
[If half a day passes with this cartilage needle inserted, the person will limp for around ten days. In severe cases, they won’t be able to walk for fifteen.]
‘!?’
At those words, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.
He had inserted that needle not only into their side’s group members but even into his own?
[……..How can I believe that?]
At that, Mu Jang-yak immediately told Mok Yu-cheon to take off his upper garment and show his back.
So Mok Yu-cheon removed his top.
Then, while his back was exposed, Mu Jang-yak began striking the acupoint on his back with hits too fast to follow.
-Tatatatatatata!
Then, not long after,
-Puk!
a needle shot out from Mok Yu-cheon’s back.
At that sight, even Mo Ha-rang was left speechless enough to click her tongue.
Who could have predicted that he would prepare for a situation like this by inserting cartilage needles even into his own group members?
Mu Jang-yak smiled at Mok Gyeong-un with narrowed eyes and said,
[Now then, what will you do? Even if you take Mok Yu-cheon, from whom the needle has been removed, if I don’t cooperate, half a day later none of them will be able to walk properly. Then you, and your whole group, will fail.]
It was truly a contingency plan of the kind that said if he died, the other would die too.
Of course, this plan was extremely effective.
Because it created a situation where both groups would fail by being unable to keep their full eight members.
‘…….He truly has an exceptional head.’
Even Mo Ha-rang could not help but admire how exquisite the move was.
It was a strategy that had read the unpredictable Mok Gyeong-un exactly.
This time, it seemed like even Mok Gyeong-un would have no choice but to accept it.
At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un twitched his lips and muttered,
[This is rather interesting.]
She frowned.
He had essentially lost the battle of wits with Mu Jang-yak, so how was this situation interesting?
As she wondered that, Mok Gyeong-un said to Mu Jang-yak,
[This is giving me something to think about.]
[Is there any need to think? No matter what trick you use, in this situation…]
[No. I am wondering whether it would be better to kill you now, or whether it would be better to leave you alive.]
‘!?’