The Poison Demon’s Strategy for the Martial Tower Chapter 95

Chapter 95: How to Stop Your Rivals From Buying Land (3)

Minister Han and Chief Han stood in a daze for a mont.

Minister Han in particular was dumbstruck—his long-awaited first eting with the Naless Hero had co to this.

"My relationship with Gukmubon ends today."

"H-Hero!"

"I'm sparing you because of Chief Han."

The Naless Hero disappeared like the wind, just as he had arrived.

The Naless Hero was a figure central to South Korea's Tower climbing operations.

The fault lay entirely with himself.

When he had passed along the wiretapped information to President Park Jae-yeol, he had known there was a strategy involving the Climber Tournant—but had thought nothing of it.

‘I should have looked deeper. I thought it was nothing that his grandson Park Je-hwang had entered.’

It had been a fatal misstep.

Thinking back now, it seed the presidential office had deliberately arranged the bracket.

‘No wonder they kept ddling in this and that.’

His first mistake had been dismissing it as unlikely. His second had been that the Choi brothers' skills had been unexpectedly imnse, carrying them all the way to the semifinals.

Minister Han clutched his head at the realization that he had utterly destroyed his relationship with the Naless Hero.

"This is no ti for this."

But true to his standing as a minister of the nation, he quickly pulled himself together.

"Jang-mi, are you alright?"

A vivid bruise marked Chief Han's neck.

"Yes. Father."

"I'm sorry."

Minister Han apologized.

"It was sothing I kept from you as well."

"I understand. It was His Excellency's order."

She said she was fine, but Chief Han's expression told a different story.

Minister Han knew better than anyone how much effort she had put into building their relationship with the Naless Hero over all this ti.

"We have to stop the Naless Hero imdiately."

"How?"

"Where do you think the Naless Hero has gone!"

He pointed to the TV news.

[I'm quite fond of martial arts novels. In those stories, the embodint of justice and the strongest person in the martial world is the Murim Alliance Leader. So I too—]

"He's going after Park Je-hwang!"

"……!"

Minister Han issued urgent instructions.

"Summon the agents. Put together an elite team."

"Yes!"

Chief Han rushed to grab the intercom.

Minister Han gave additional orders.

"We need to seal off the tournant headquarters imdiately. Not even a rat gets in without authorization!"

Just then, Chief Han went pale as sothing ca to her.

"The entry pass!"

"What about it?"

"I gave him one. A finals ticket!"

"Ah!"

"He can move freely in and out of anywhere! Even into restricted areas."

"Damn it!"

Minister Han thought for a mont, then spoke to her.

"Tell the agents…… To carry firearms."

***

Park Je-hwang made his way to the players' waiting room.

The mont he stepped inside, he tore off his mask and tossed it aside.

"Je-hwang! Caught your interview. Ha-ha-hah, you were brilliant!"

Kim Do-han, who had been waiting in the room, caught the mask as it flew and jumped up to welco Park Je-hwang.

Kim Do-han was the late-born son of a four-star general.

Like Park Je-hwang, he was a Climber.

Kim Do-han said with a wistful tone,

"Ah, I wish I'd entered this tournant too. Why did Master only let you compete?"

Park Je-hwang looked at him with thinly veiled contempt.

"Because you're not good enough."

"……That's harsh."

"Don't call him Master. Just because he looked over your form a few tis doesn't make you his disciple like ."

"That's harsh too."

Kim Do-han threw his hands up with a shrug.

"Do-han, stop being so lazy and get past 30th floor already."

This ti it was a woman draped in luxury brands who grabbed Park Je-hwang's firm right arm and scolded him.

Her na was Ye Bo-yeong.

The third-generation heiress and youngest daughter of the Miraejegwa Group, South Korea's premier conglorate.

Kim Do-han fired back at her.

"Ye Bo-yeong! It's easy to say that when it's not you. Do you think Tower climbing is simple? It's a matter of life and death!"

"My husband climbs just fine. He's already on 37th floor."

Ye Bo-yeong pressed herself even closer to Park Je-hwang with a drawling tone.

Kim Do-han frowned.

"That's ridiculous. What do you an 'husband'?"

"We had our engagent ceremony last year!"

"An engagent isn't a marriage."

"It will be soon!"

A childish back-and-forth followed.

Ye Bo-yeong clung to Park Je-hwang with a pout and said,

"Husband, let's go to the Maldives after the tournant. I just bought a resort. I've set aside a whole villa block in your na."

Kim Do-han sneered.

"Oh! Ye Bo-yeong, you're still alive. Even after Baekgyeong wrecked your fish-shaped pastry business completely and you still haven't been thrown out?"

"Didn't you see? My husband gave Baekgyeong's Choi Jae-hwa a proper couppance."

"So what. There was a prosecutor's investigation into your company, I heard."

"We shut all of that down."

"One of your company's division managers took the full bla, didn't he? The one who jumped from the rooftop."

"That was all his fault. Who told him to embezzle like that?"

"The money he skimd from the company—you collected all of it in cash, didn't you."

"My goodness! What are you saying!"

Ye Bo-yeong glared.

Kim Do-han kept going.

"And your company always keeps the rooftop locked off. How did the division manager get the roof door open and go up? Could it be……"

"Stop it!"

"I heard from Pyeon Geom-sa that the prosecution's investigation actually started from information leaked from soone above. Though who exactly that 'above' is—"

"Kim Do-han. Quiet."

Park Je-hwang said it softly.

Kim Do-han imdiately clamped his mouth shut.

Park Je-hwang spoke to Kim Do-han.

"Kim Do-han, go get Cheon Sa-in. She says her dicine ran out."

"Where is she?"

At Kim Do-han's question, Park Je-hwang's expression soured.

The look on his face said: ‘Do I have to spell that out too?’.

Ye Bo-yeong quickly cut in.

"Idiot, Cheon Sa-in's hospital is the dical team for this tournant. Obviously she'd be in the dical room."

"Ah right, then have Ye Bo-yeong's secretary go and—"

"You go!"

Park Je-hwang shouted.

Kim Do-han's face flushed red as he stood up and flung the door open to step outside.

But soone was standing right in the doorway.

It was the reporter who had just interviewed Park Je-hwang.

The first to react—before even Kim Do-han—was Ye Bo-yeong.

"Oh my, Gi Ja-eun?"

"Oh hey. Bo-yeong. Good to see you."

Gi Ja-eun waved with a wide smile and tried to step into the waiting room.

Ye Bo-yeong stretched out her arm to block her.

"Hmph. What are you doing here?"

"A reporter naturally has to be here."

Gi Ja-eun kept smiling while Ye Bo-yeong's face had gone rigid.

"Even reporters aren't allowed in here. Authorized personnel only."

"Then what about you?"

"Miraejegwa Group is a major sponsor of this tournant."

At that, Gi Ja-eun grabbed Ye Bo-yeong's arm and pushed past.

"Our broadcast network is the primary relay broadcaster."

Gi Ja-eun ended up inside the waiting room.

Ye Bo-yeong asked, "……Aren't you busy?"

"All done. You saw the interview. Perfect."

"That kimchi juice line was decent, I'll give you that. Coming from soone who doesn't even eat kimchi because of the 'sll'. Maybe you've got nothing but pickle brine flowing in your veins too."

"Pickles are a type of kimchi."

"You little—, at least keep your mouth shut."

"I'm good with words because I'm a journalist."

Gi Ja-eun didn't yield a single word.

Kim Do-han gave her a thumbs up.

"That was incredibly biased. Just dripping with personal feelings."

"Of course. He's the greatest hero of this tournant."

Gi Ja-eun winked at Park Je-hwang.

Ye Bo-yeong let out a derisive laugh.

"You were just dying over him, weren't you. Who'd think you were the fiancée?"

"Ha-ha. The comnts were already flooding in too. Saying we suit each other quite well."

"Ja-eun does suit him, honestly."

"Kim Do-han, you still haven't left?"

"Going. I'm going."

Kim Do-han vanished in a hurry.

Those words made Ye Bo-yeong's face harden again.

The NuTube live comnt section was already exploding. Comnts pouring in praising Gi Ja-eun's refreshingly frank remarks about Gukmubon—calling it a textbook cider interview, burying the feed.

"A first-year rookie managing to land an exclusive interview…… Must be nice having a father who runs a broadcast company."

"Well, she finished her studies at Harvard. Unlike a certain soone who just played around."

"That was just a master's, not undergrad. The kind anyone can get with enough money—"

"Everyone, just shut up!"

Park Je-hwang finally bellowed.

Rrrumble—.

The windows shuddered.

Even Ye Bo-yeong flinched for a mont.

"I'm going to do my breathing exercises. Everyone get out."

"Alright. Husband."

"Je-hwang! Wait, I have sothing to say."

But Gi Ja-eun sat down right beside Park Je-hwang.

Pressed close, thigh to thigh.

Sothing was off.

Ye Bo-yeong's eyebrow twitched.

"Je-hwang. I brought the question sheet for your post-victory interview, just wanted to quickly get on the sa page—"

"Gi Ja-eun, you go too."

"……"

"Ho-ho-ho! Serves you right."

Ye Bo-yeong laughed loudly and grabbed Gi Ja-eun's wrist roughly, hauling her to her feet.

All of them—Kim Tae-yang's aggressors.

They all went outside, leaving Park Je-hwang alone in the waiting room.

Ssspp—. Hhuuuu.

Sitting cross-legged, Park Je-hwang drew in a long, slow breath and thought quietly.

‘Today, the greatest glory of my life will be bestowed upon .’

At the unbearable anticipation, the corners of his lips stretched into a long smile.

***

[Murim Alliance Leader vs. The Returning Prodigal]

The finals curtain rose.

The final act of a tournant that had run for a full month.

The audience swallowed their breath.

Park Je-hwang's eyes blazed like a tempest, burning with the reckless spirit of youth; Jang Ae-guk, in contrast, was perfectly still.

The first exchange.

Clang!—The mont their swords collided, the reverberation shook the entire arena.

They fought as though dancing, each using the other's martial arts as a mirror.

When one thrust, the other twisted and deflected; when one slashed, the other countered half a beat faster.

True to masters who had reached the pinnacle, with every clash the very air distorted around them.

Terrifying explosions rang out one after another in midair.

In the VIP section watching it all.

Pyeon Jae-yeong, the forr National Assembly mber now serving as Minister of Justice, stole a glance at President Park Jae-yeol, who was watching the match.

The president sat behind him, anxious.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs approached Pyeon Jae-yeong.

"What a remarkable battle. Jang Ae-guk, as expected. Truly worthy of being Hwangbo's disciple."

"Jang Ae-guk was expelled long ago, was he not."

"He did learn from him, that's a fact."

"……"

Pyeon Jae-yeong said nothing.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs continued,

"I suppose Chief Han is now the only remaining disciple. If only Jang Ae-guk had been less ambitious, he could have inherited everything from that master."

"It would be hard to call Chief Han his top disciple either."

"Why is that?"

"Master Hwangbo is the one they say, 'Sword in hand, a god; Spear in hand, a demon'"

"His title is Divine Sword Demon Spear, after all."

Sword yields divinity, spear yields demonry.

Pyeon Jae-yeong asked,

"Between a god and a demon—which is stronger?"

"Well…… a god, of course."

"Precisely. He passed sword arts to Jang Ae-guk and spear arts to Chief Han."

"Aah, so that was the untold story."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs nodded, then asked again,

"Then now that Jang Ae-guk has returned, will he be taken back as a disciple?"

"I doubt it. I heard he took on a new disciple so ti ago."

"A new disciple?"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs looked as though he was hearing this for the first ti, but Pyeon Jae-yeong said nothing further.

Appearing slightly awkward, the minister glanced around and said,

"Minister Pyeon, isn't His Excellency focusing on the match a little too intensely?"

"Is he."

"He's been talking about nothing but the Climber Tournant for months. Especially every single match involving Murim Alliance Leader—he's attended them all in person."

"Ha-ha-ha."

Pyeon Jae-yeong's expression read: ‘Of course he has’.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs watched Murim Alliance Leader with an uncomfortable expression.

"At any rate, that Murim Alliance Leader is giving a terrible headache lately."

"There's a great deal of noise from France?"

"Chaos every single day. Saying he left France's top Climbers permanently crippled."

"I've heard Lüsian was a deeply problematic individual."

"They're picking a fight. Demanding we hand over information on the Naless Hero. Haah…… How do we hand over information on the Naless Hero that even we don't have."

"Hmm."

Pyeon Jae-yeong stroked his chin.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said,

"Murim Alliance Leader did go rather far. France is apparently dispatching investigators."

"Block them."

"It's not exactly sothing I can just do…… I'm thinking of smoothing it over, but there may still need to be one or two rounds of investigation—"

"Then your ministerial seat will fly away."

"Pardon?"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs looked puzzled.

Pyeon Jae-yeong pointed to Murim Alliance Leader.

"Do you know the na of Murim Alliance Leader over there?"

"I'm not sure……"

"Park Je-hwang."

Pyeon Jae-yeong turned his body toward the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"His Excellency's grandson."

"What?!"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs was visibly startled.

"A classmate of my son Pyeon Geom-sa. Well, Park Je-hwang transferred away midway."

Pride surfaced on Pyeon Jae-yeong's face at the ntion of his son.

From the ti Pyeon Geom-sa was a child, he had nad him Geom-sa, aning ‘prosecutor’, so that he would follow in his father's footsteps.

But Pyeon Geom-sa had not been as sharp as Pyeon Jae-yeong—enormous tuition had been poured in from an early age.

He had barely been gotten through law school and appointed as a prosecutor.

Naturally, that had been thanks to Pyeon Jae-yeong's influence.

Hearing those words, the Minister of Foreign Affairs glanced at President Park Jae-yeol.

Park Jae-yeol watching his grandson's duel with a grave expression.

Only now did Park Jae-yeol's interest make sense.

***

The finals unfolded with fierce intensity.

Jang Ae-guk and Park Je-hwang seed evenly matched, grappling and separating as they exchanged dozens of moves.

They had already surpassed eighty exchanges.

Not a single drop of blood had been spilled, yet their garnts were already torn, drenched in sweat, and hanging heavy against their bodies.

At the very mont the final resolution was drawing near.

A man was entering the arena.

In his hand—a broken bow.

In his eyes—a flash of green, toxic light.