The Poison Demon’s Strategy for the Martial Tower Chapter 72

Chapter 72: The Left Foot is Just for Support (1)

The Unorthodox are truly wicked people. Betrayal is as routine as eating, and their cruelty knows no bounds.

‘But then, they're just as lonely.’

They seek out others because they fear dying alone on so roadside, cold and forgotten.

Yet they cannot bring themselves to trust anyone—so they end up alone again. That is the Unorthodox.

And so, sotis, once you win their affection, no one is more warm and devoted than an Unorthodox man.

Of course, even in those monts of laughter and banter with an Unorthodox man, one must never forget—

‘The mont you turn your head, that bastard might be driving a blade into your gut.’

I like the Unorthodox.

I like them because no matter how hard I think, I cannot understand them—and above all else.

……They're fun to tornt.

* * *

Sowhere in the heart of Seoul.

Hwang Mu-yeol massaged his still-aching leg as he waited for his guests.

"Why are they taking so long."

He had just begun muttering when—bang!—

The door flew open and people walked in.

"Welco."

The ones who entered were the forr Elders of the Red Dragon Gate—An Kang-han and Sin Jung-dan.

Park Jae-mu, who had been dismissed along with them, was not present.

He had been faint-hearted from the start.

He had gone into hiding, declaring he would leave this world entirely.

Sin Jung-dan spoke first.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. I was a little late because Elder An and I stopped to speak briefly outside."

"It's fine."

Hwang Mu-yeol gestured to the seats, and the 2 of them sat down.

He asked them,

"Find it strange? You're looking at like a dead man coming back to life."

"Ah, no, not at all."

"Did I seem like soone who could die so easily?"

"Of course not. Ha-ha."

He asked Sin Jung-dan,

"And Elder Sin Hyeon-u?"

"I ca alone."

"……"

Hwang Mu-yeol fell silent, clearly displeased with Sin Jung-dan's answer. Then An Kang-han spoke.

"Sin Hyeon-u is his father. A father's will is naturally his son's will."

"……Let's get to the matter at hand."

Hwang Mu-yeol brought up the main subject.

"The Naless Hero. No, hero—what a joke. That piece of trash is treating us like pawns."

"What are you planning to do about it?"

At An Kang-han's question, Hwang Mu-yeol stroked his chin and answered.

"He has to die."

Sin Jung-dan bit his lip slightly and asked back,

"But we saw it with our own eyes that day, didn't we. That man is an extraordinary master. He cut through a cigar with a single sheet of paper, and even you, Elder Hwang……"

"A good Artificial Dantian would let do the sa!"

Hwang Mu-yeol snapped at Sin Jung-dan, who had let his words trail off.

"He's a cowardly man. He made it look like he killed , but in the end he couldn't even lay a proper hand on ! There is no reason to fear soone like that."

Then Sin Jung-dan spoke again.

"Even if you were to face him, Elder Hwang—for one thing, he has now taken the Red Dragon Gate into his hands as well. He commands Lee Won-ryong like an arm and a leg, so our forces may not be enough to handle this."

"That's right. His guard won't number just 1 or 2."

An Kang-han added, seemingly worried as well. Hwang Mu-yeol laughed and spoke casually.

"You two are thinking about this the wrong way. The Naless Hero—even his na is unknown. What do you think that ans?"

"……?"

"It ans he's a man who walks alone. A man desperate to keep his identity hidden."

"Hmm. Then he may have no guards at all."

"I've already had people look into it. Apparently he always travels alone."

An Kang-han nodded. Sin Jung-dan asked Hwang Mu-yeol,

"However, your assertion, Elder Hwang, is premised on the assumption that you can actually defeat the Naless Hero."

There was a faint note of doubt in his voice.

Sin Jung-dan had co on the off chance after hearing Hwang Mu-yeol's proposal—but leaving his son behind was proof that he did not fully trust him.

Hwang Mu-yeol smiled. It was the smile of a man who had anticipated all of this.

"I said it just now, didn't I. A good Artificial Dantian is more than enough."

"You did say that."

Thud.

Hwang Mu-yeol placed an Artificial Dantian on the table between them.

It looked quite worn, yet even at a glance it appeared extraordinary.

"This is……?"

Hwang Mu-yeol picked it up and showed it to them.

The characters engraved on the Artificial Dantian were visible.

Hwangbo.

"……!"

The pupils of both n widened.

"Hw, Hwangbo……! Could this possibly be that person's?"

Hwang Mu-yeol slowly nodded.

"That's right. It is the Artificial Dantian that person once used."

"Remarkable!"

"If it belongs to him—the one they called the strongest—then the Naless Hero is nothing at all!"

An Kang-han reached toward the Artificial Dantian first.

But Hwang Mu-yeol smacked his hand away with a sharp clap! and took the Artificial Dantian, strapping it around his own waist.

Whirrrr—

A chanical hum rang out, and Hwang Mu-yeol's eyes began to gleam.

Sin Jung-dan asked,

"How did you acquire sothing of his? The Gukmubon must still be turning the world upside down searching for it."

"I manage the Black Market, don't I."

"Ahh!"

At Hwang Mu-yeol's words, the eyes of both n changed.

Sin Jung-dan thought to himself,

‘Even so—even with Hwang Mu-yeol managing the Black Market, getting hold of that person's Artificial Dantian couldn't have been easy……. The price alone, not to ntion that it's too remarkable a thing to simply bury away.’

He stared at Hwang Mu-yeol.

‘He's hiding sothing. There must be a powerful backer behind him.’

A backer whose identity he couldn't discern. It was a little unsettling—but they had no other options.

No matter how he looked at it, returning to their positions as Elders seed to go through this path and this path alone.

Sin Jung-dan did what he could do.

"Magnificent! Truly impressive!"

"Not at all. Elder Sin."

When Sin Jung-dan heaped on extravagant flattery, Hwang Mu-yeol shrugged his shoulders.

Then he picked up 5 palm-sized monkey wrenches from the table in both hands.

"Both of you have heard this said before. One alone is weak—but many gathered together are strong."

"We have."

"Then the 5 of us together?"

Hwang Mu-yeol gripped all 5 wrenches and began to exert force. Whirrrr—the Artificial Dantian engraved with 'Hwangbo' turned, and both of his forearms swelled.

Krrrrk! The wrenches shrieked with the sound of tal and slowly bent in his hands like taffy.

"Do you believe now?"

"Good heavens!"

"That is definitely his, without a doubt!"

Clatter. Hwang Mu-yeol tossed what were now lumps of iron back onto the table.

Then Sin Jung-dan spoke as though sothing had just occurred to him.

"Ah? Why are there 5 wrenches?"

"What do you an?"

"Elder An—think about it. , Elder An, Elder Hwang, my son. That's only 4—so why did you say……5?"

Both n stared at Hwang Mu-yeol. Hwang Mu-yeol smiled and pointed toward the door they had entered through.

"Because there's 1 more person."

Bang!—

The mont he finished speaking, the door flew open and one more person walked in.

"……!"

It was Elder Jo Je-bin.

* * *

"How much further do we have to go?"

"We're almost there."

I was riding in a car driven by Elder Jo Je-bin, climbing up a mountain road.

A black German sedan.

After passing through a paved road on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province and turning onto an unpaved road, we still had to go quite a distance further in.

Jo Je-bin was driving and, seeming to grow bored, asked ,

"Um…… What would be comfortable for to call you?"

"Why?"

"Gate Master Lee Won-ryong calls you 'My Lord'. But the Gate Master is still Lee Won-ryong."

Now that I thought about it, Jo Je-bin still hadn't called 'My Lord'.

My Lord.

It was a title that didn't quite fit in this Republic of Korea.

Honestly, it made a little embarrassed too.

The very fact that he was asking this question at all felt awkward.

‘The guy hasn't co to think of as his lord yet.’

I told him:

"Do as you please."

Rustle.

I reached into the paper bag and pulled out a Bungeoppang, bringing it to my lips.

A handso Bungeoppang—bought with my own money from my own shop.

I'd bought 10 of them, and 9 had already disappeared into my mouth, leaving only 1.

"Is that good?"

As the sweet, nutty aroma filled the inside of the car, Jo Je-bin asked , sounding as though he was salivating.

"It's good."

" too—c, could I have just 1?"

He worked up the courage to ask.

I asked him back,

"Elder Jo. You smoke, don't you."

"Yes."

"Deep in the mountains, you have only 1 cigarette left. If soone asks you for it then, do you give it to them?"

"Not a chance. Absolutely not."

"Not a chance."

"……Yes."

Rustle.

The 1 remaining Bungeoppang was carefully tucked back into the bag. I'll eat it on the way down.

I asked Jo Je-bin once more,

"Elder Jo. If you were to give away your last cigarette—what would that an?"

Jo Je-bin thought for a mont, then answered,

"I think you could give it to soone you truly cared about."

"I see."

"Um……"

"Not a chance."

"Yes."

We climbed for quite a while longer before arriving sowhere.

"This is it."

After ascending a long mountain road, we arrived at a small abandoned factory built from corrugated slate panels.

Night had fallen early in the mountains, and it was dark and silent.

I stared at the building and tilted my head.

"This is the Red Dragon Gate's safe house?"

"That's right. This is a place we set up so ti ago—we once thought about trying to grow herbs from the Murim Tower here. Growing them failed, so now it's used simply as a safe house."

Sure enough, several greenhouses were visible outside the 2-story container building.

"Using a factory as a safe house."

"It only looks like a factory from the outside. Inside it's no different from a proper residence."

I looked around.

"Quiet. You'd usually at least hear birdsong."

"……Ahh. There are no birds around here originally."

"Is that so."

"Please co this way."

I walked slowly toward where Jo Je-bin extended his hand.

Drawing closer, I saw the 2-story container building was quite large.

The 1st floor alone was big enough to hold 100 people.

Beep-beep-beep—

Jo Je-bin unlocked the door keypad.

At his waist, I could see that he was wearing an Artificial Dantian.

"……"

"Please go in first."

"Sure."

Creeeeak—

I opened the door and stepped inside. It was dark. And slightly warm.

"Turn on a light."

"Yes."

Jo Je-bin went further inside, and I clasped my hands behind my back.

Click—

Click—

A tallic electric sound echoed from the factory ceiling.

Flicker—flicker—

Like the ragged breathing of sothing old, the fluorescent light soon flashed! and spat out a yellow glow.

And the silence was torn to shreds.

Thud-thud-thud!

The sound of leather heels and iron grating underfoot erupted in an echo from all directions.

Where the light reached—there were dozens of thugs.

60 of them, no less.

Every single one of them was gripping sothing.

Steel pipes, Japanese swords, and hand axes were the least of it—roughly half of them carried vicious weapons of the kind only seen in the Murim Tower.

Not a single one was lacking for killing.

"Puhahahaha!"

Laughter exploded through the space like a detonation.

From the very center of the mob, Hwang Mu-yeol strolled out, raising one hand in a leisurely wave.

Behind him, Sin Jung-dan and An Kang-han followed like a solid wall.

And from the dark corridor to the left, another group erged.

At their head, Sin Hyeon-u grinned, a red towel draped around his neck.

Dozens of gleaming blades all snapped upright in unison with a sharp ring!

"Puhahahat! Surprised?"

Hwang Mu-yeol, looking suprely pleased with himself.

He leveled his longsword at and sneered.

"Did you think you could take the Red Dragon Gate with such petty tricks!"

A suffocating pressure closed in around from all sides.

Behind pillars, atop conveyor belts, beyond iron shelving—the gaze of death was nailed into from every direction.

"And because of this, we now have justification to strike at Lee Won-ryong!"

Hwang Mu-yeol's voice was climbing higher, as though he was growing excited.

"Should I thank you? From this point on, I will be taking control of the Red Dragon Gate!"

But I still had not unclasped my hands from behind my back.

"……"

I simply raised my head and slowly scanned my surroundings.

Hwang Mu-yeol stared at as though he found pathetic and shouted,

"Thinking of running? Useless. You're a rat trapped inside a jar."

"……"

"Don't worry. I won't kill you."

Clinkle-clinkle.

He pulled a single Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine from his pocket and shook it.

"Even I know very well the imnse value of the knowledge you carry and the Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine. But instead!"

Swish!

Hwang Mu-yeol pointed to the floor with his index finger.

"You cannot leave this place. You will spend your entire life here making Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine for —"

"Sothing you said is a little off."

I cut him off and asked with a slight smile,

"’I will be’ taking the Red Dragon Gate……Shouldn't that be 'We will'?"

I gestured toward An Kang-han and Sin Jung-dan with the tip of my chin and asked again’

"You two—are you of the sa mind?"

"Th, that's—"

"Shut up! Don't try any cheap tricks!"

The 2 of them made puzzled expressions, and Hwang Mu-yeol bellowed with full force.

And as though determined not to give another chance to speak, he called out to Jo Je-bin, who was standing to one side of the factory.

"Elder Jo! Co over here."

"……!"

Jo Je-bin flinched and glanced at , then slowly drew a dagger from within his robes.

Hwang Mu-yeol erupted in booming laughter that shook the factory walls.

"Puhahahat! Did you think Elder Jo was on your side? Elder Jo, co over here!"

"Ah, yes……"

Jo Je-bin scratched the back of his head—then sprinted over.

And stood beside .

With both hands clasped respectfully, he bowed his head toward .

"I've gathered them exactly as you instructed."

"……!"

Hwang Mu-yeol and the other 2 stared in disbelief.

"Ri, right now?"

"Elder Jo!"

I gave Jo Je-bin a pat on the shoulder.

"Step outside."

"Yes."

"What were you drawing the dagger for."

"Ahh, just in case. Hehe."

Jo Je-bin hastily tucked the dagger behind his back, bowed his head, and darted toward the door. He stepped outside.

Creeak—! Thud!

Beep-beep-beep.

The door shut, and the sound of the keypad locking followed.

Hwang Mu-yeol and the Elders couldn't make sense of what had just unfolded.

I said to Hwang Mu-yeol,

"How does it feel. Being truly betrayed."

"Y, you……!"

"You chose the location well. No people around, no CCTV. Only 1 door."

Step. Step.

"And I'm standing in front of that door."

Stop.

The mont I ca to a halt before the door, a shadow fell over Hwang Mu-yeol's expression.

"Now then—let's talk."

I raised my head slowly.

"Who exactly is the one that's been trapped?"