Chapter 1834 – 1834. Ascension To The Light
“Patriarch….”
A gloomy voice called out to Dong Sucheon of the Dong family. Dong Sucheon stared at the top floor of the main house, biting his lip. After a long silence, he spoke to his subordinate and cousin, Dong Suoh.
“…Yes. Speak.”
“Are you really going to do as those bastards tell you?”
“There’s no other way. No other way…. You know their power, don’t you?”
Dong Sucheon’s voice was sorrowful.
They had appeared out of nowhere. They had smashed the gate and strode into the family compound, forcing the family members to their knees with their power. Faced with the overwhelming difference in strength, there was nothing Dong Sucheon and the rest of the family could do.
They had to use the wealth they had accumulated over hundreds of years for those bastards. They also had to dress up his wife and daughter and send them to the bastards. What his wife and daughter would experience tonight was obvious.
Anger, hatred, and a desire for revenge surged within Dong Sucheon’s heart. But he couldn’t show them. Hadn’t he just felt the difference in power to the bone? The moment he showed these emotions, those bastards would kill him without hesitation.
The fact that he was too weak to even show his emotions filled him with self-loathing more than anger.
“How about asking for help from other families and sects in the city? We can get out of the barrier under the pretext of bringing in food. I’ll bring them in.”
“Do you think they’ll be enough? Those bastards are martial artists and sorcerers of the Three Peaks. Even if we gather all the martial artists in the city, the chances of winning are slim.”
“Let’s gather not only martial artists but also commoners. Haeoh City has a population of two million. Even if only 10% of them come forward, that’s 200,000. Especially the fishermen who do rough work at sea, they’ll be more powerful than soldiers if they’re given weapons.”
It was a suggestion to fight with quantity rather than quality. It sounded quite plausible. Even if they were absolute masters of the Three Peaks, they were still human. There was a limit to their stamina.
“Even I can’t forcibly mobilize the citizens. You know I don’t have the authority or justification to do that.”
The Dong family, who could be said to be the owners of Haeoh City, did not have a good reputation among the people. After all, the Dong family had achieved its glory with the taxes, blood, and flesh of the citizens. There would be more people who disliked the Dong family.
“Leave that to me. I’ll let the citizens know about the brutality of those bastards. If they know that they’ll be killed first if they don’t kill them first, they’ll try to kill those bastards right away.”
Dong Suoh’s eyes gleamed fiercely. He couldn’t hide his murderous intent. It was probably because of his children who had died earlier that day. The black magical sword that had fallen from the sky. It had fallen on the detached house, and his children, whom he cherished more than his own life, had been crushed to death under the rubble.
“…What are you going to do?”
“You know the old sorceress who crawled into Haeoh City six years ago.”
Haeoh City was a city at the end of the continent. As such, the influence of the martial arts world and the emperor was minimal. Because of this, so-called martial arts enemies and criminals with bounties on their heads would crawl in and live quietly in the shadows.
“Yes. I remember receiving a report about her a few years ago. Will that old sorceress be of any help? I heard she was a useless sorceress.”
“She’s actually useless. But Tangjeong manipulated a small village to satisfy her own selfish desires before the bounty was placed on her. Tangjeong has a sorcery that can control ordinary people.”
“…I see what you mean. You’re going to use that sorcery to attract ordinary people. The problem is the aftermath. If this fact gets to the imperial family….”
“Patriarch. If we can’t do anything about those bastards, there’s no future for the family. We can’t deal with the aftermath if there’s no future. Or are we just going to be exploited and killed by those bastards? Those bastards will kill us all and leave before the government officially intervenes. Otherwise, why would they have revealed themselves so openly?”
“You’re right. Those bastards will run away. We have to kill them here no matter what. ……Wait. I suddenly can’t remember what those bastards look like. Do you remember?”
“Huh? I remember the woman was beautiful…. Oh no. This is sorcery!”
Dong Sucheon gritted his teeth.
“Damn it…. They came here with a plan. What grudge do they have against our family….”
Even if he vented his frustration, there was nothing he could do right now.
“Patriarch. There’s another way. Let’s do that as well.”
“What way?”
“There’s nothing as mysterious as the relationship between a man and a woman. That woman is greedy, and that man is obsessed with lust. If we play them against each other well, we can make them fight each other.”
“…Tell me more specifically.”
• • •
Late at night, Dong Suoh met Tangjeong in a smelly alleyway. Tangjeong was an old woman wearing ragged clothes in a dilapidated house.
“Tsk tsk…. ‘The good don’t come, and those who come are not good.’ So, those crazy bastards came to the Dong family. But what does that have to do with me?”
“I heard you use sorcery to control people. We need soldiers.”
“Ah, so you’re planning to use my sorcery to attract the citizens and kill those bastards? A quantity-based strategy. Not bad. Even if they’re from the Three Peaks, their stamina isn’t infinite. Tsk tsk tsk.”
Dong Suoh didn’t like Tangjeong’s laughter. It was as if a beast was mocking him. But he had to endure it for the sake of his children’s revenge.
“Cooperate if you don’t want to die.”
“Tsk tsk. I don’t care if I die right now. It’s not me who’s in a hurry, it’s the Dong family, isn’t it?”
“…What do you want?”
“I’m feeling weak these days. Even if I want to cooperate, I need energy to do anything, don’t I?”
Dong Suoh took out an elixir from his spatial storage. He had brought them with him before leaving the family. Tangjeong’s lips stretched. The old woman’s smile, full of greed, was repulsive. Tangjeong took the elixir and quickly put it in her mouth and chewed it.
“Good, good…. I feel like I’m getting younger….”
“If the job is successful, I can give you more elixirs. I’ll also accept you as a guest of the Dong family and guarantee you a peaceful old age.”
“A guest of the Dong family, huh? Not bad. Hey, bring me some children’s blood. The more, the better.”
“…Children’s blood? Why do you need that?”
“To use the sorcery you want. Do you think sorcery can be used just like that? Haven’t you heard that sorcery is a technique that deals with curses? I can’t use sorcery without children’s blood. I can’t cooperate either.”
“…Okay, I’ll get it as soon as possible.”
Dong Suoh, gritting his teeth, brought three children’s corpses an hour later. To bring these corpses, he had massacred a farm family living on the outskirts of the city.
“Tsk tsk. You should have just brought the blood.”
“…Shut up and start.”
Tangjeong brought a jar and extracted blood from the children’s corpses and filled it.
“Okay. Where are the people you want to control? Let me tell you, my sorcery doesn’t work on those who have even a little bit of martial arts or sorcery.”
“We’re going to the fishing village by the sea.”
The fishing village was quiet in the dark night. Only the sound of the wind blowing from the sea sweeping through the streets echoed softly.
“Tsk tsk.”
Tangjeong and Dong Suoh stood in the center of the fishing village, in a location where the sound would spread well. The old woman, her dry, rag-like hair flying, placed the jar of children’s blood on the ground. Then, she took out a black flute from her bosom. It was a thin, twisted black flute, like her fingers.
She dipped the flute into the jar and pulled it out. The children’s blood clung to the surface of the flute. Tangjeong smiled and put the flute to her lips.
“―――――”
A metallic sound rang out from the flute. The sound, neither loud nor quiet, soaked in blood, entered the hearts of the sleeping villagers.
Biak Ohsim. Her sorcery could touch and control the minds of ordinary people. However, she couldn’t control them immediately. She had to completely corrupt their minds to control them as she pleased. The time it took to do that was about six months. But the Dong family didn’t have the luxury of waiting six months.
So, she chose a different method.
“――――――――”
She plants anger in their hearts. Anger that, once it explodes, will make them not recognize their own fathers and children.
“――――――――――――――”
This anger will explode only once. The target of the anger will be the bastards who are ruling the Dong family. She doesn’t know what will happen after that. She doesn’t care either. However, Tangjeong knows. She knows that she will die whether the job succeeds or fails. The Dong family isn’t stupid, they wouldn’t let her live.
“―――――――――――――――――――――”
Listening to the blood-soaked flute sound, Tangjeong laughed inwardly.
‘I should enjoy myself one last time. Tsk tsk tsk.’
After that, they headed to another neighborhood.
• • •
“Oooooh!”
Beautiful women enter the room. My mouth stretched wide. The patriarch’s wife and daughter, was it? They looked like goddesses when they were properly dressed and made up. And even the beautiful courtesans following them!
They were stiff with tension, but I didn’t really care. As time passed, the atmosphere would heat up, and they would loosen up a bit. Even if they didn’t, it wouldn’t change the fact that they would be my women today.
“Heehee.”
Mireong made a nasal sound and looked at the women. Then, she chuckled. She had judged that the women’s beauty was inferior to hers. That judgment was correct. Mireong was a few levels above these women in terms of beauty.
Mireong leaned her head on my shoulder. I also put my arm around her shoulder and put my hand inside her clothes. Her full breasts were in my hand. I gently rolled her hardening nipples and said to the courtesans.
“Play a lively tune and dance! I will give elixirs and gold to the woman who dances the best! Of course, that includes you too.”
I said to the patriarch’s wife and daughter. The elixirs and gold next to me were naturally from the Dong family. The two mothers and daughters looked at the elixirs with trembling eyes.
One courtesan stood up. The courtesan, unable to hide her greed, deliberately loosened her clothes and came to the center and started dancing. It was an elegant dance.
“I like it. I bestow a 110-year-old heshouwu and 10 taels of gold.”
“T, thank you!”
The courtesan came to me and bowed deeply. I gave her the 110-year-old heshouwu and 10 taels of gold. The other courtesans’ expressions changed completely. Their eyes, which had been tense, were now gleaming with greed.
I looked at the patriarch’s wife and daughter, who were still stiff, and said.
“I will bestow this inner core to the woman who dances the sexiest dance. It’s an inner core containing water energy. If you take it, your skin will become smooth.”
“Oh my, I wanted that…. Can I participate too?”
Mireong asked as she stood up. I nodded.
“Zero Two is forbidden.”
“Ah, that was my husband’s weakness…. I guess I have no choice.”
