The Poison Demon’s Strategy for the Martial Tower Chapter 68

Chapter 68: I'll Take Over (1)

Seong Chu-hyeon glared at .

His eyes were bloodshot, ready to burst.

Huff—.

Huff.

Through his gas mask, I could hear his agitated breathing.

He spoke.

"You crazy bastard……! Kim Tae-yang, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Does that matter right now?"

A ridiculous question.

I scratched my head.

"I knew sothing was off about you. You were clearly a Climber."

Seong Chu-hyeon looked up and down.

Loose tracksuit.

No weapon in hand. No gas mask either.

Seong Chu-hyeon spoke with an expression of disbelief.

"Insane……. Do you know what kind of person you threw into that room?"

"Should I?"

"You fool, he's a Bell Tower Sect Climber! One poisoned by Poison Valley's toxins on the 37th floor."

"……."

"Kim Tae-yang, your cultivation is too low to even sense Poison Energy. Seems you've gotten your hands on an Artificial Dantian sowhere and started swaggering around, but that won't cut it."

Sniff.

I sniffled.

Seong Chu-hyeon said, as if he'd expected as much.

"Right! The symptoms are starting to show! First, your breathing will tighten. Then your nose will bleed, and with nausea, your insides will rot away and your skin will decay!"

"Like those guys?"

I pointed at the two n who'd collapsed while vomiting blood.

"Yes! You reckless fool."

"Urp—!"

I dry-heaved.

"Bwahahahaha! The symptoms are coming out."

"Ugh, damn. Almost threw up from how long you were talking."

"……What?"

[Poison becos dicine. Absorbing Poison Valley's Poison Energy.]

Phew. Feels like I'm getting healthier, actually.

It was then.

Rumble—.

The blast door opened, and the Choi brothers entered.

"Senior!"

"Hey! Don't co in. There's poison all over the place here."

I spun around in surprise, but the brothers were already wearing their gas masks.

When did they even grab those?

Since there was a blast door, they must have kept gas masks on hand.

As expected, the preparedness of the chaebol class.

The one thrown off was Seong Chu-hyeon.

"Damn it! Three against one!"

"And your side ca barging in seven-strong."

The brothers made expressions of disbelief and trained their bows on Seong Chu-hyeon.

An Elder of the Goryeo Sword Sect.

Having witnessed a single one of the brothers' arrows take off a subordinate's head, Seong Chu-hyeon tensed sharply.

Seong Chu-hyeon gripped his dagger and glared at the three of us one by one.

I spoke to him.

"Seong Chu-hyeon. Stop cowering and fight ."

"How amusing."

"If you beat , I'll let you go."

"Ha! Don't lie to ."

I turned to the brothers.

"If I lose, please let this man go."

"Yes, Senior!"

Not a mont's hesitation—the Choi brothers agreed on the spot.

"……?!"

Seong Chu-hyeon was thrown off again.

I pointed at his right hand.

"Was it the right hand? The one that groped Im Ye-rin."

"I wonder if you'll still be able to keep that swagger in the next world."

Seong Chu-hyeon gripped his dagger.

I took a straight-punch stance.

At that, Seong Chu-hyeon began to sneer.

"You're going to face without a weapon?"

I looked at his dagger and said the sa thing right back.

"You're going to face with just that?"

"You really have no sha, do you."

"I have seen my guts once. In another world."

"Spare the nonsense."

Thwack!

Provoked by my composure, Seong Chu-hyeon gripped his dagger tight.

"Kim Tae-yang. I'll at least give you credit for your spirit."

"Co."

I beckoned him with my hand.

Seong Chu-hyeon asured the distance with his left hand and extended the dagger in his right to the front of his chest.

Wooong—.

His Artificial Dantian began pouring out energy in full.

"Senior……."

Gulp.

The Choi brothers swallowed dryly.

They too were tense.

Seong Chu-hyeon had been a famous martial arts fighter in the past.

Even after turning to Tower Climbing, he had achieved considerable results.

Of course, having sparred with , the brothers knew I was strong.

But I had never shown them my true ability.

"Watch closely. This is today's lesson."

"Nonsense!"

Woong woong woong—!

Energy began to load into Seong Chu-hyeon's right-hand dagger.

The force released from the Artificial Dantian traveled through his arm and began to faintly coalesce along the dagger's edge.

Seeing this, the Choi brothers cried out.

"Sword Energy!"

Indeed, his skill is respectable.

Channeling Sword Energy already—he's clearly surpassed the realm of a first-rate master.

Flash!

His shoulder swayed.

An attack faster than words.

His dagger, laden with energy, cleaved through the air and shot toward , and—

I launched a straight punch to et it head-on.

"A counter!" Choi Jae-jun shouted.

Wrong.

What my fist was targeting was Seong Chu-hyeon's right hand—the one gripping the dagger!

Two fists t.

Crack-crack-crackle!

Cataclysmic force!

Power enough to shatter a mountain in one blow was loaded in.

My straight punch, which had destroyed Seong Chu-hyeon's fist, went on to shatter his wrist bones, ulna, radius, hurus, and finally the scapula, one by one.

As if struck through with a battering ram.

The energy wave that erupted in that instant even cracked the bulletproof glass, and the wall-mounted TV crashed down and shattered.

"……!"

Seong Chu-hyeon, who had lost his entire right arm—his pride and everything—in a single exchange.

Even his heart seed startled; blood ca spurting out a beat late.

Pft— Pshhh—!

"Kuh-aaaagh!"

Only then did Seong Chu-hyeon scream.

"I told you. That wasn't going to work. You should've brought at least the Iron Instrunt God's Sword."

Phew. That was close.

"Almost killed him."

I pressed Seong Chu-hyeon's pressure point to stop the bleeding.

I left the pain as is.

Gurgle—.

Seong Chu-hyeon's eyes were rolling back in shock as he tried to lose consciousness, but—

"Not allowed."

I pressed the Indan Point on his forehead and jolted him awake.

"Urgh—. Urrrgh……!"

Seong Chu-hyeon, looking like he could expire any mont.

I searched his chest and pulled out his phone, holding it out.

"Make a call."

"Urrgh!"

"Then I'll let you pass out."

"……."

The bastard glared at . Pfft.

Still has pride in a situation like this.

I reached into his shoulder socket and stirred around.

"Kuh-aaaagh!"

"Make the call."

Seong Chu-hyeon grabbed the phone.

"Wh, who to?"

"Lee Won-ryong. Tell him the mission is a success, say you want to et now."

***

Red Dragon Gate's Sect Leader Lee Won-ryong was getting irritated that Seong Chu-hyeon, who had said he'd arrive soon, was late.

"Insolent bastard! How dare you make wait?"

'It's done……. Let's et there.'

The news of Seong Chu-hyeon's mission success was welco, but the call where he'd said only his piece and hung up put Lee Won-ryong in quite a foul mood.

This place was a construction site.

A night wind swept over the bleak skeleton of a half-built apartnt.

"Cigarette."

He naturally flicked his hand at the subordinate behind him.

One of the Red Dragon Gate's subordinates pulled out a cigarette and held it out, then lit it for him.

"Haah."

Blowing out white smoke to calm his irritation, he asked.

"The n?"

"Scattered and hidden all around."

"Seong Chu-hyeon is strong. Everyone's properly prepared, right?"

"Of course."

His thirty-man personal guard he'd brought along.

Every one of them was an upper-level Climber and core combat power of the Red Dragon Gate.

Seong Chu-hyeon's Muinhoe may be strong, but with the personal guard here, there was nothing to worry about.

"Arrogant bastard, doesn't even know he's walking to his death."

He had never intended to let him live anyway.

Having dealt with a Goryeo Sword Sect Elder and a chaebol second-generation heir, no less.

There would undoubtedly be an enormous uproar.

He'd frad it as the Bell Tower Sect's doing by leaving their mark, but the evidence had to be thoroughly cleaned up.

The most important piece of evidence was Seong Chu-hyeon.

Because it was none other than that bastard.

"How dare you covet the Deputy Sect Leader position? Of my Red Dragon Gate?"

Greed beyond one's vessel invites disaster.

A man not suited for it had craved too much.

Situational awareness is everything in this world.

You have to know where to lie before you stretch your legs.

Seong Chu-hyeon was a villain, and so Lee Won-ryong knew.

That evil is simply devoured by a greater evil.

Soone like Seong Chu-hyeon, before a true villain like himself—

'Is nothing but an insect.'

"Heh—."

The work of rooting out informants was underway, and the evidence pinning the cris on the Bell Tower Sect was already fabricated.

"The Goryeo Sword Sect and the Bell Tower Sect will go to war, and the Gukmubon will join in too."

He flicked the cigarette away and imagined the coming war.

"It'll be a devastating fight. The whole country will be in an uproar."

The Bell Tower Heavenly King was a man who believed it would be fine for the Republic of Korea to fall if it ant his own survival.

It could turn into a great conflict that might bring the nation to crisis, but Lee Won-ryong was actually hoping for that very catastrophe.

"Crisis is opportunity."

Hadn't he already built the Red Dragon Gate amidst the great crisis of the Murim Tower's ergence?

In the next crisis, he might be able to achieve sothing even greater.

His instincts.

A lifeti of listening to the instincts of a villain.

The greatest talent Lee Won-ryong prided himself on was the ability to distinguish between opponents he could beat and those he could not.

"Not yet."

The Gukmubon, with its formidable power.

The Gukmubon backed by the Naless Hero was, at present, an unbeatable match for himself and the Red Dragon Gate.

The board had to be shaken.

The Naless Hero, the Gukmubon, and further—this country itself.

When an absolute powerhouse appeared, he would have to bow his head, but in this Republic of Korea without Jang Ae-guk, without that old man—

"There is no absolute powerhouse."

Once war broke out, the high-and-mighty Gukmubon and all the other factions would all be dying off.

Then he, having hoarded his strength, would step forward as savior.

"If all goes well, maybe I'll swallow this country whole?"

When that ti ca, he would be called this.

'My Lord.'

"Heheheh."

A title he'd chosen after long deliberation.

What a magnificent word.

Full of reverence and dread, glory and dominance.

Speaking of which.

"Why the hell is this bastard Seong Chu-hyeon taking so long?"

Just as a deeply irritated Lee Won-ryong reached for his phone again.

Vrrrr—.

A van pulled into the construction site.

It had to be Seong Chu-hyeon's car.

"So he's finally here. The son of a bitch."

One van.

The people inside couldn't be more than a few.

And the van had driven right up to him without any idea it was a trap, then stopped.

'Stupid fool.'

Lee Won-ryong gave instructions to his subordinate.

"Hey, no need to stay hidden. Tell everyone to co out."

"Yes."

The subordinate raised his hand, and soon his personal guard converged.

Black shadows quietly encircled the van, and subordinates appeared from all corners of the buildings.

There was no way out.

Vroom— vroom—.

The idling engine shuddered roughly.

The intense headlights illuminated the night construction site, and Lee Won-ryong scowled at the brightness.

"The hell, what are you doing. Why aren't you getting out?"

Impatience and irritation laced his voice.

"I'll bring them out."

A subordinate said firmly and approached the van.

Slide—! He yanked open the side door without hesitation and thrust his head inside the vehicle—then suddenly his body began to tremble.

"……!"

The atmosphere froze in an instant.

"What? Hey, what are you doing?!"

When Lee Won-ryong shouted, the subordinate slowly turned around.

But his neck……

Was bent at an angle it shouldn't be able to bend.

"Ugh…… kuhh……!"

The subordinate reached out a hand, trying to say sothing, but—

Thud, he collapsed limply.

In that mont, sothing like a pale green smoke began to spread from inside the van.

That smoke pressed down heavily, as though commanding the winds of the construction site, and crawled along the ground like a great carpet.

"R, right now?!"

Thud—! Footsteps.

Step. Step.

A man slowly revealed himself.

Languid and listless eyes, an attitude as if all of this bored him.

He stepped out of the vehicle dragging sothing in his hand. It was a person's leg.

As the man climbed down from the van, the person gripped in his hand crashed head-first into the vehicle's step and slid down like a rag.

Thud—! Thud. Skreee— skree.

The sound of a body scraping along the concrete floor spread low across the construction site.

A man with everything from his right shoulder gone.

A trail of his blood stretched out long like a red silk road.

Whether dead or alive was unclear, but—

Who it was could be determined.

"……Seong Chu-hyeon!"

Toss, thud.

The man dropped Seong Chu-hyeon indifferently in front of Lee Won-ryong.

A man who had been powerful was now rolling helplessly, drenched in blood.

Tremble tremble—.

Lee Won-ryong shook as he turned Seong Chu-hyeon over.

Rolled-back pupils.

The unconscious Seong Chu-hyeon's lips were curled upward in a grotesque smile.

As if—

He had lost his reason, and had at last been freed from the pain.

"……!"

The instant Lee Won-ryong's eyes went wide!

Shhweeee—!

The green smoke centered on the man transford into shadows and rushed like a swarm toward the subordinates.

Shadows shooting out in every direction!

At the tips of those things sweeping through the site, sothing flashed with a chill.

Wham wham wham wham wham!

A storm swept through the construction site once, and from all corners of the skeletal structure, subordinates ca plumting to the ground.

Thwack! Thud!

Lee Won-ryong frantically looked around.

"Kch!"

"Kuhhhh!"

Those near him were already enveloped in the green smoke, faces turned violet, clutching at their own throats as they collapsed.

"……Im, impossible!"

In that instant, Lee Won-ryong's entire body froze.

His jaw clattered, and his heart felt as though it was being wrung out by the shuddering terror.

The energy waves radiating from the man.

The overwhelming pressure closing in on his body made his breath catch on its own.

It was as if the surroundings were crumbling into fear with every single breath.

Lee Won-ryong, who had lived as a Climber, as a martial artist, as a villain—his mind went completely blank in an instant.

Only the warning sent by his own instincts could be heard.

His body trembled like an aspen leaf, and his instincts were screaming.

'……I must kneel!'

Thud.

Lee Won-ryong acted imdiately, as his greatest talent commanded.

He dropped to his knees at once, bowed his head, and stretched out his neck.

To survive by any ans necessary.

Step, step.

The man approached him, neither slowly nor quickly.

An Evil God was descending.

'Just what is this feeling…….'

Amid the creeping dread, Lee Won-ryong was enveloped in an inexplicable exhilaration.

He wanted to cry, and he wanted to laugh.

When the man ca to a stop before him—

Lee Won-ryong realized he was demanding an answer through his silence.

He slowly raised his head.

The dark shadow of the man, standing with the headlights at his back, fell over him.

Lee Won-ryong wrung out everything within himself and carefully chose the following words.

The choice of a lifeti.

Lee Won-ryong's mouth opened.

"……My Lord."

He couldn't see it, but he could feel it.

That the dark shadow was smiling in satisfaction right now.

The man slowly extended his hand.

At his fingertip was a single drop, carrying a sweetly wicked fragrance.

Lee Won-ryong opened his mouth.

Drip—.

A tremor that began from the tongue shot down his spine like a bolt of lightning.

The man—

In the hollow night, opened his mouth low and composed.

"From today, the Red Dragon Gate—."

A brief inhale, then a concise declaration.

"Is mine."