Chapter 72

Chapter 72The road in front of the Kang family’s mansion. “It’s much worse than what I saw on the news.” Jang Yeon-Ju stopped her bike, looking uncomfortably at the old gates and the walls full of graffiti, which mocked and denounced the Kang family. It was the work of the protesters surrounding the mansion—people who insisted on taking back the title of duke from the Kang family and preventing the people’s tax money from going to waste. Their signs said they were a civic group, but their actions were radical. It was early morning, just as dawn was about to break, so the protesters were still asleep in the dozens of tents illegally erected around the mansion. All was silent. Roh Jun-Yeop had been upset since joining Jang Yeon-Ju on this commission, but he opened his mouth for the first time. “It’s a wonder he didn’t go crazy growing up in this environment.” The muzzle of Roh Jun-Yeop’s gun glowed. “Let’s just burn them all down.” It wasn’t like he was trying to take the Kang family’s side. Like most children his age, Roh Jun-Yeop wasn’t interested in the Kang family. He didn’t care what they were treated like. However, the sign stuck around the tents bothered him. [Even the youngest son’s school admission was corrupted! All children of Kang Dae-Guk are criminals!] The protesters even took issue with Kang Jae-Hyeok’s admission into Lion’s Castle. It had been a long time since Kang Jae-Hyeok’s re-examination, where he’d proved his qualifications, but they still clung to the initial allegations rather than the truth that had come after. “Don’t the protesters watch the news?” Roh Jun-Yeop had been defeated and deprived of his status by Kang Jae-Hyeok. Yet that same Kang Jae-Hyeok was treated like an idiot by these people? Then what was he? He wanted to burn down all those annoying signs and tents. “The news doesn’t report the truth.” An old, muffled voice was heard. Roh Jun-Yeop looked over and saw a giant snake-like creature on the asphalt—no, not a creature, a human. It was a person wriggling inside of a sleeping bag. “The stations that aired the young master’s admissions re-examination didn’t mention him once after the live broadcast. The videos circulating on social media have long been deleted. Some of the people who didn’t watch the live broadcast that day still believe the rumors of fraud in the young master’s admission.” An old man with white hair stuck his head out of the sleeping bag. In the early dawn, Butler Hwang had quietly left the mansion while the protesters were still sleeping. It was a bit chilly in the early morning, so he’d wrapped himself in a sleeping bag and fallen asleep. Buler Hwang crawled out of his sleeping bag, tidied up, and politely greeted Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop. “You are the ones sent by Young Master Kang Jae-Hyeok, right? I’m ashamed since I came out to meet you but fell asleep. Ah, apologies for the late greetings, I am Butler Hwang, who has served the Kang family all my life.” “Ah, yes... ” Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop were somewhat confused. First impressions were very important. They hesitated to trust the word of the person sleeping on the street that he was the butler of a ducal family. Butler Hwang saw their doubts and pulled out some photos of Jae-Hyeok in his childhood. “Wow, Jae-Hyeok has been carrying a sword since he was a kid?” “Why a sword and not a bow?” Butler Hwang told them, “This photo was taken when the young master was nine years old. He swung his sword thousands of times every day.” “So he swung his sword thousands of times and fired a bow thousands of times?” “Huh? At any rate, he cursed his enemies even after falling unconscious from swinging his sword too much. His natural ambition soared into the sky.” “So when did he fire the bow... ” “He has a dark expression in every picture. It’s not shown, but I’m guessing protesters surrounded the mansion even back then?” Butler Hwang nodded. “That’s right. The young master used to go to the wall to erase the graffiti at the end of his training. Even when the protesters cursed and threw rotten eggs at him, he would silently erase the graffiti with his little hands. From then on, he already had an immovable heart.” “Did he practice shooting a bow after he erased the graffiti?” “......” Unlike Roh Jun-Yeop, who was obsessed with the bow to the end, Jang Yeon-Ju’s expression was serious. Butler Hwang spoke as if reminiscing about precious memories, but the reality of Jae-Hyeok’s childhood was too hard. I know for sure that there are those who want to destroy the Kang family. The media's attitude of broadcasting Kang Jae-Hyeok’s re-examination nationwide and then keeping quiet after seeing the result, as well as the civic groups that have been persistently harassing the Kang family for eight years... It was all so unreasonable. She was convinced that there was a mastermind behind them. More doubts naturally arose from there. Was Duke Kang Dae-Guk, who once rose to become a National Treasure, really a traitor? And why didn’t history shine a light on his achievements? It was something to think about. “Let’s leave before the sun rises.” Jang Yeon-Ju started the bike and urged Roh Jun-Yeop and Butler Hwang. *** Arcane-based vehicles were more energy-efficient. They achieved higher speeds and only used mana rather than oil or electricity. Such vehicles were made of an otherworldly metal with excellent mana conductivity and durability surpassing steel, so they could easily traverse the hazardous, abandoned infrastructure left behind in areas where one-time gates had suddenly appeared. “Do people really live in places like this?” The roads they traveled hadn’t been managed for many years, and weeds and even trees stuck out of the cracks in the asphalt. It was hard to believe that people lived in the isolated city at the end of this road, inaccessible by ordinary vehicles. “It’s nothing special. Areas where gates often appear are waiting disasters for ordinary people like me, but they are a land of opportunity for players,” Butler Hwang said. In areas like Grishi where gates appeared unexpectedly, roads and public facilities would quickly collapse again after being rebuilt, so the government had stopped injecting taxpayers’ money into the area, and many players settled here instead. It was the players’ method of establishing their own illegitimate kingdoms. There were dozens of such areas in South Korea alone. It wasn’t that South Korea was incompetent—China and Japan, who were vying to be the strongest in East Asia, and even the United States, an absolute power, didn’t invest their taxpayers’ money into dangerous areas. Instead, they entrusted it to civilian players. It was simply much more efficient that way. “I’ve never experienced anything like this when I was sent out on commissions with the guilds.” “Guilds that have signed contracts with Lion’s Castle won’t let students do anything dangerous. They only send you to gates where the strategy guide has already been developed... Oh, that doesn’t mean the young master is putting you both in danger. He probably decided the two of you would be enough... Yes, that’s probably why he sent the two of you. Probably.” “......” How many times did he have to repeat the word ‘probably’? Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop felt even more anxious. At this time, the group entered Grishi. There were naturally no signs that welcomed them to Grishi, but the buildings—some long collapsed, others barely standing—were evidence that they had entered the city. “By the way, it’s a weird name, Grishi. What does it mean?” “It must be only a part of the city’s name, with the full name forgotten.” The wounds left by the opening of gates on the world were still evident. Many areas hadn’t regained their names. Jang Yeon-Ju and Roh Jun-Yeop switched their arcane bikes to low-power mode, and the noise decreased significantly. They quietly traversed the desolate city; their destination, a junk shop. It was the place they had agreed to meet Blacksmith Song. When they arrived, however, the worst situation awaited them. Several thugs had captured Blacksmith Song. “What is Old Man Song thinking? Why the rush to pack? I thought he was scouted by some guild, but he was actually waiting for these bratty kids? Does he have dementia?” The leader of the thugs examined Jang Yeon-Ju, Roh Jun-Yeop, and Butler Hwang. He pointed a baseball bat at Blacksmith Song and told them, “Hey, kids. What is your relationship with this old man?” “Fuck. Now even the local punks are talking down to me?” Roh Jun-Yeop snorted at the ridiculous situation. He was a second-year student of Lion’s Castle, which was a completely different story from the first-year students; he was already a player—and had even been the manager of the Shooting Club until recently. In terms of skills, he was among the top in the second year. Perhaps because of his previous defeat at Kang Jae-Hyeok’s hands, Roh Jun-Yeop had no patience to be intimidated by punks holding an old man hostage. “This bastard is so rude. Heh. I see you’re riding an expensive bike. Are you an aristocrat? That’s fine. Your ransom will fetch a pretty profit.” The leader of the thugs beckoned, and new figures appeared on the piles of garbage all over the junkyard. They had tattoos on their necks and foreheads, just like the thugs restraining Blacksmith Song. At first glance, it was clear they were working together. Roh Jun-Yeop slowly stepped back once the number exceeded fifty. “Butler Hwang? Isn’t it too much that the information about our meetup was leaked? This is obviously the client’s mistake, so the client can’t say anything even if we run away. Yes?” Butler Hwang replied, “I’m grateful that you came all the way here. How can I argue if you run away? I just don’t know what the young master will think... ” “......” “Do you think you can run away?” The thugs smirked, and several ten-ton trucks blocked the entrance to the junkyard. As the atmosphere was becoming serious, Jang Yeon-Ju carefully raised her hand. “How much can I pay for him?” "Kuahahaha! We can negotiate! However, can brats like you afford it?” The leader of the thugs said in a meaningful voice, “Thirty million.” Jang Yeon-Ju thought, Uh, we can afford that. “Dollars. Or 400,000 community points. How about it?” “......” The thugs didn’t reply. They had no intention of actually freeing Blacksmith Song or letting them go back. Jang Yeon-Ju realized this and glanced at Roh Jun-Yeop. It was a look that signaled they would have to fight. She was a woman who cursed him with her eyes every time, so Roh Jun-Yeop was able to read her meaning. “Okay. I can’t afford to miss this opportunity to make Kang Jae-Hyeok indebted to us.” Roh Jun-Yeop clicked his tongue and loaded his bullets. He reminded himself that the woman standing next to him was Jang Yeon-Ju. Few people were as intimidating as her when fighting. Now that they were on the same side, she was the most reliable person in the world. “Sigh.” Roh Jun-Yeop took a deep breath and raised his concentration. His targets were the thugs restraining Blacksmith Song. Once he secured the safety of the hostage, Jang Yeon-Ju could go on a rampage, and then... his expression crumpled as he calculated their escape. He called out, “Jang Yeon-Ju, will you put away your bow? Or do you intend for us to die together?” She was a Shooting Club member and the Bow Saint's granddaughter, but the Jang Yeon-Ju whom he acknowledged was the one who threw down her bow. Not waiting for a reply, Roh Jun-Yeop started firing his gun. Jang Yeon-Ju stomped the ground angrily, but she stowed her bow. And then, before anyone knew it, Jang Yeon-Ju closed in on the thug leader. Her waist was already twisted, and her blue hair fluttered around her. By the time the leader noticed the golden-lion insignia attached to the lapel of her riding jacket, it was too late for him to regret. “Lion’s Cas—” Her spinning kick came from outside his field of view and smashed his jaw.