"Now, let's move past boring things like memories."
Dong Bong-soo gestured toward the children with his eyes.
"How are you going to clean up the trouble you caused?"
"It's not trouble."
"Then?"
After hesitating briefly, Jeon Ra-hwa also looked at each of the children one by one, chewed her lower lip for a moment, then answered vigorously.
"Chivalry."
"..."
"You said not to hesitate in practicing chivalry. So I just didn't hesitate."
Heh heh. I didn't expect this kind of butterfly effect.
She really is an interesting woman.
Though different from me in many ways, precisely because of that, she was aligning with my purpose. Life really is a continuous contradiction. Even someone like me can't escape that.
"Well done."
"What?"
"I said well done."
"...What!?"
"Stop it already."
"..."
"Why aren't you answering?"
"Aren't you telling me not to say 'yes'?"
"...Distinguish between 'what?' and 'yes!' I told you before."
"Ah, ye-es."
"What's 'ye-es'?"
"Distinguishing."
"..."
After a moment of silence.
Dong Bong-soo's mouth opened again.
"Anyway, since you caused this, I'll give you choices."
"Choices? What kind...?"
[Protection: Train the children and incorporate them as members of 'Faith.'
Guardianship: Entrust them to friendly forces
Abandonment: Sever ties and ignore]
After checking the system options, Dong Bong-soo modified them slightly, then raised his index finger.
"First. Since we've already saved them, our role ends here and we each go our separate ways."
"No, that's a bit-."
"Second. We entrust the kids to the government office here in Gangdo."
"Wow, that's even worse. Gangdo's government office is different from other places, it's really-."
Once again, Jeon Ra-hwa's words couldn't continue to the end.
"Third."
Because Dong Bong-soo extended his ring finger and stated the final choice.
"You take responsibility for those children."
"!!?"
At Dong Bong-soo's words, Jeon Ra-hwa looked at him with slightly surprised eyes, then just moved her lips. She had planned to get the children out of here and take them to an inn, but hadn't thought as far as taking 'responsibility!'
Only after hesitating for a while did her lips open.
"What would you do?"
"My opinion is your choice."
"...What does that mean?"
"A rider simply follows whatever is written on the signpost."
"..."
To her who couldn't answer, Dong Bong-soo asked again.
"You said you didn't hesitate. Then you must have predicted the situation that would unfold afterward, right?"
"...No. I couldn't."
"That's wrong. When I said not to hesitate in practicing chivalry, it naturally presupposed that you practice chivalry within your capabilities."
"..."
"Can you handle all those kids with your ability?"
"..."
"You can't? Yet you recklessly rejected the first and second choices earlier?"
"But the first two are no different from killing them."
"Then do the third one."
"I, I mean. I can't even take care of myself?"
"You really don't understand."
"What?"
Dong Bong-soo smiled.
"My ability is your ability."
Both outwardly and inwardly.
"Ah!"
This show is enough.
[Click-]
[Progress: 100%]
2 and 3 crumbled like sandcastles hit by a storm, and choice number 1 shone while creating new hologram text.
[You did not turn away from fate and appropriately responded to the first belief. A reward is given.]
[+1]
[Trust with your first connection has deepened slightly.]
[Though small, the world has become more beautiful.]
The reward ends here.
Thus.
He chose to save all the 'new burdens' the system mentioned.
[Ding]
[You have decided to 'protect' ten children like a hero.]
['Household Window' is now open. Please take good care of them so they can grow as members of 'Faith.']
[Belief always brings corresponding rewards.]
'Household Window?'
[Jeon Ra-hwa, Ho, Uk, Yuyeon, Wi, Soran, Pung Ji-ho, Ho-ae, Roe, Jomi, and Seon have been newly added to the Household Window.]
Household.
To Dong Bong-soo examining each newly welcomed 'household member' one by one, 'first household member' Jeon Ra-hwa asked.
"Will it be okay?"
"What won't be okay?"
"There's ten of them."
Ten people.
Right. Thinking of them as family, it was certainly a very large number. Moreover, that number could clearly continue to increase in the system.
Does [What is Hero] want me to establish a sect rather than become a sole hero?
Good, then.
If I can become stronger, I'll gladly become a hero or family head.
In that sense.
"Don't you know the more the merrier?"
"What? Why bring that up here?"
*Grin*
A purely innocent smile formed on Dong Bong-soo's lips.
A strange expression that seemed both bright and sincere.
"Originally, the more household members the better."
"House...hold members?"
"Didn't you choose number 3?"
"Well... right?"
"Then they're household members."
"..."
"Then let's go now."
"What? Where?"
"Where else? With this many family members, we need a house."
"A house?!"
Dong Bong-soo's feet were already leading the way.
"I didn't know you'd cause an incident like this, but I already secured a house."
While she went "Huh?" the distance between them widened considerably.
Jeon Ra-hwa quickly turned toward the children, specifically toward the oldest girl.
"You heard everything, right?"
The girl nodded.
"Then let's follow quickly."
Anxiety still flickered like a windblown candle flame in her unusually clear eyes.
However, she didn't immediately agree to Jeon Ra-hwa's words but conveyed her own will.
"I know well that things like us don't have the right to choose. But can I ask just one thing?"
"What?"
"Will you feed us well?"
A desperate tone and gaze as if negotiating with a once-in-a-lifetime condition. Incongruous to the situation, a chuckle escaped Jeon Ra-hwa's mouth.
"Of course."
"Then we'll follow. If we eat one meal, we'll work one meal's worth, two meals then two meals' worth, three meals then three meals' worth. Right?"
The girl looked back at the remaining kids and asked.
*Clap! Clap! Clap!*
One boy clapping, "Mm! Mm! Mm!" another vigorously nodding up and down, even one just staring wide-eyed while repeatedly swallowing saliva.
Though everyone's response method was different, all agreed.
Thus Jeon Ra-hwa gathered all the children and hurriedly followed behind Dong Bong-soo.
However....
***
"Here? This is the house you mentioned?"
"...Can't you tell by looking?"
Dong Bong-soo grinned deliberately.
"I know. I know well. That it's a house where people were killed. That can be solved with a bit of cleaning."
"...Can hundreds of corpses be solved with 'a bit of cleaning'?"
"Cleaning is nothing."
"..."
Jeon Ra-hwa looked at him and shook her head.
At times like this, she doubted what he was like before losing his memory. He keeps talking about chivalry and chivalrous acts, yet seems to regard killing people as casually as swatting mosquitoes or flies.
Of course, most people here deserved to die.
"Have you ever had a house this big?"
At Dong Bong-soo's words, Jeon Ra-hwa walked to the entrance and picked up the half-broken plaque.
Three characters clearly engraved in red on thick black iron plate.
Iron God Society.
She'd heard about it from Dong Bong-soo....but coming to see it directly made it real.
He really demolished this massive sect all by himself.
Stepping inside, it was even more spacious.
A training ground with an entire floor made of granite. Of course, now hundreds of corpses-victims of a 'natural disaster'-covered that vast training ground entirely.
She stood in the middle of the half-destroyed Iron God Society training ground and looked around once more.
"I have."
Long ago, in a childhood she can't even remember now, Jeon Ra-hwa had been the young mistress of a massive sect that everyone in the Martial World would recognize if they heard. She dreamed about it often, so the memories were even more vivid. As if she'd lived there until yesterday.
My home was ten times bigger than here....
"But. You definitely demolished this place, but you're not the new owner, right?"
"If I demolished it, wouldn't it be mine?"
"...Look. No matter how messed up Gangdo is, there's still a minimum of law and documentation, you know?"
*Thud-*
Something blunt lightly bumped into her hand.
Looking back, it was a black jade token.
"What's this?"
"What does it say there?"
Receiving and reading it, three characters in almost the same calligraphy as the plaque she just saw were engraved in relief this time.
"Iron God Command...?"
An object symbolizing all assets and authority of the Iron God Society.
"I picked it up yesterday."
Dong Bong-soo chuckled smugly.
"Destruction is originally the mother of creation."
"..."
Absurd, but his words were true in this space right now.
He had resolved everything here in Gangdo style and 'picked up' this place in Gangdo style.
"If it was going to be like this, you should've destroyed less."
"Right. If I'd known it would be like this, you shouldn't have caused trouble."
"...Tsk. Can't you give in a little?"
"I already gave in big."
"What?"
"You. I entrusted all my paths to you."
While saying that, Dong Bong-soo held out another token to her.
A blue jade token necklace engraved with a crescent moon shape.
"What's this now?"
"Can't you tell by looking? It's a jade token."
"No! Obviously I can tell that. So-"
"Don't you want to become stronger?"
"What?"
"You should say 'yes' Not 'what?'"
At Dong Bong-soo's somewhat serious expression, Jeon Ra-hwa inadvertently received the jade token and answered.
"Yes"
"Then become stronger."
Dong Bong-soo looked at the ten children still standing bewildered at the Iron God Society entrance.
"If you brought them, you must take responsibility. If you accept them, you must protect them."
"...Yes. That's right."
"That's a Dharma Treasure that enhances the power of Yin Cold-type martial arts or Immortal Arts just by wearing it."
"Dhar... what?"
"Dharma Treasure."
Dharma Treasures were treasures among treasures, created by condensing the principles and Spiritual Veins of heaven and earth.
One of her previous owners had described Dharma Treasures like this.
Those who obtain an excellent Dharma Treasure gain not merely a weapon, but the right to newly open their fate and Path.
"Why give such a precious thing... to someone like me?"
"Someone like you?"
"I... I am..."
"Right, right. You've been trampled and suffered like a weed, certainly."
"..."
"But since we decided to stay and go together, you're no longer a weed. Same goes for them."
Jeon Ra-hwa also gazed at the children at the entrance following him.
However, what she saw and what Dong Bong-soo [saw] were too different.
To the former, ten weed roots whose names she didn't even know yet, but now flowers she'd decided to cultivate.
To the latter.
[Ho], [Uk], [Yuyeon], [Wi], [Soran], [Pung Ji-ho], [Ho-ae], [Roe], [Jomi], [Seon]
[Flowers] whose names were already fully identified before even asking.
Flowers in the sense of [Household].
Household would have to be redefined as a word that's warm on one hand but cold on the other.
Of course, Jeon Ra-hwa, completely unaware of that new definition, nodded and smiled brightly at the children.
Everything will be fine.
While reaffirming again.
That she'll become stronger. That she won't be trampled again.
Me and all our family.
"Thank you."
"What's there to thank, I can give that much anytime. As long as we can become stronger."
"Tsk, that's why I'm more grateful."
Jeon Ra-hwa deliberately pouted because she was so grateful and thankful, then hung the jade token necklace around her neck.
[Heavenly Yin Sect Dharma Maiden's Jade Token
◆ Grade: Rare
◆Category: Miscellaneous: Hidden Weapon Weapon
◆Description: A token with the emblem of the Heavenly Yin Sect engraved in intaglio.
◆Special Effect: When equipped, helps increase the power and proficiency of Cold/Ice type magic. ]
However, the moment Jeon Ra-hwa equipped it.
A new line was added to the item description.
[ *Contains a kind of tracking function possible between people who share the same mana.*]
-x-X-x-
Central Plains.
If interpreted literally, it meant the plains spread across the center of the continent.
However, in actual meaning, it was an abstract word encompassing this entire world, or the entirety of the Martial World where martial artists roamed.
Naturally, the Central Plains was a massive world where endless mountains and ranges were vastly connected.
Thousands of years of history piled layer upon layer, transmissions of Dao, Buddhism, and Martial Arts intertwined, and countless sects, families, and factions were scattered everywhere.
Among them, in the Orthodox Path, ten gigantic renowned great sects illuminated heaven and earth.
Their name: Ten Great Sects
Below them, countless small and medium sects each guarded their lands while training and passing down martial arts.
However, where there is light, shadows inevitably dwell.
If there were Orthodox Paths pursuing brightness, then martial artists pursuing the exact opposite direction certainly existed as well.
Seven Evil Grand Cults.
Seven massive organizations formed over long ages as Evil Sect members and Demonic Beings engaged in alliances and betrayals.
Though they possessed different tendencies, they were groups that shared at least the iron-blooded law of survival of the fittest. Because of this, they could never unite with each other, but their combined strength never fell behind the Ten Great Sects.
Among them.
A secret sect that left no trace even in broad daylight, but appeared by squeezing through gaps the moment moonlight and the energy of blood intertwined, mocking worldly justice and order.
That was precisely the Heavenly Yin Sect.
The Heavenly Yin Sect was known as a sect of women who mastered Yin Energy and held cold moonlight in their hands, but information beyond that was almost unknown. Even that only leaked out slightly when they appeared in the Martial World in emergencies and displayed their power.
What martial arts, Formation Paths, or Illusion Arts they learned was hardly known. Thus, people of the Martial World were always curious about the Heavenly Yin Sect.
Though they searched for countless years, there was only one thing Martial World people had definitively learned about them.
Demon Abyss.
The Heavenly Yin Sect is hidden in the Demon Abyss.
Demon Abyss.
A mysterious space not marked on any map of the Central Plains.
It was mentioned only once in Orthodox Sect classics as a dark gap that flowed down when heaven and earth split into Upper Realm and Lower Realm at the beginning of time.
Whether it was actually a gorge of unfathomable depth, a twisted corner of the Upper Realm, or merely an illusion created by people's fears was unclear.
However, what was certain was that the sect called Heavenly Yin Sect truly existed and they were hiding there.
***
A certain massive lake somewhere in the Central Plains.
If one descended three thousand meters below that water surface, the bottom appeared. On that deep, deep bottom, a formation was carved in the ancient language of the Upper Realm.
Only those who dismantled the formation or proved their qualification could enter the space below it.
Though ordinary people didn't know well, at least the name of this place was well known.
Demon Abyss.
The sect of the abyss where not even moonlight reached, the Heavenly Yin Sect.
At the deepest depths of that Demon Abyss, a stalactite cave was now trembling.
"The moon of the Seven Dharma Maidens has shattered."
A low woman's voice flowed from behind a curtain hanging long in a corner of the cave.
"Did she die? Or was she disabled?"
A woman prostrating before the curtain wearing a blue robe answered.
"We cannot yet know."
"Cannot yet know?"
*Tssssss—*
Instantly, cold energy spread throughout the entire stalactite cave. Water droplets falling from the ceiling froze in midair. Moisture on the floor instantly transformed into frost.
Simultaneously, the curtain eerily distorted and warped. The Yin Energy flowing from within was so strong that space itself seemed to twist.
"A Heavenly Yin Sect Dharma Maiden's life and death is unknown, yet you don't know?"
The voice dropped one pitch lower.
"Don't know?"
That alone made the prostrating woman's spine run cold.
"Is that the answer you should give?"
*Rumble-*
The entire cave vibrated. Hundreds upon hundreds of stalactites shattered and fell. Frozen fragments embedded everywhere like sharp daggers.
One of them, as if grasped by an invisible hand, touched the robed woman's neck.
Immediately, her red blood faintly seeped out and spread across the transparent ice surface.
"...I am deeply sorry. I will take immediate action."
Only then did the ice blade fall to the floor.
Clang, the shattering ice made the cold energy that had been shaking the entire cave vanish as if washed away.
"Check. Find out exactly who dared touch our Heavenly Yin Sect's Dharma Maiden without permission."
"Understood, Sect Leader."
"Ice Night."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"Move personally."
"I accept your command."
*Swoosh-*
The robed woman who had completed her report vanished like scattering moonlight.
Thus, after a long time, the Heavenly Yin Sect's formation opened toward the Central Plains.
*Bubble bubble bubble-*
Mermaid or fish-person?
Ten human shadows explosively swam from the bottom of the unfathomably deep lake and ascended outside into the world.
***
At that moment.
Dong Bong-soo was standing atop a hill of corpses. It was dimensional cleaning-he had neatly stacked all the corpses toward the collapsed Main Hall.
They said cremation was common here, so he could burn them at a crematorium on Gangdo's outskirts before long.
On the other side, Jeon Ra-hwa and all the [Household] members were busy cleaning, but Dong Bong-soo, who had lightly finished all his share with his Super True Energy Field, stood with arms folded, lost in thought.
[『Heavenly Yin Sect Dharma Maiden's Jade Token』
*A kind of tracking function is embedded, possible between people sharing the same Mana.]
A newly added line of content to the Dharma Treasure he'd given Jeon Ra-hwa.
It seemed quite meaningful, so he was mulling it over.
'[What is Hero] is a world that uses Mana to employ magic or techniques. But here, Internal Energy is naturally recognized as Mana. This has already been confirmed. Therefore-'
If tracking was possible between those sharing the same Internal Energy?
He gazed at Jeon Ra-hwa.
Her, leading the children as she diligently cleaned the entire Iron God Society.
What mattered was whether the Snow Snow Yin Cold Art he'd given her-meaning the art Jeon Ra-hwa was learning-was or wasn't the Heavenly Yin Sect's martial art.
A secret manual left behind by someone who had died in the Border Realm.
Honestly, the possibility of it not being so was far higher. How many coincidences would need to overlap for such a thing to happen?
However, Dong Bong-soo, who had already experienced countless coincidences, knew well that coincidences belonged to the realm of probability.
0.000001 probability?
A probability that would almost never occur.
But it happened once in a million times.
Even if just once.
Then it needed to be considered.
The world's truth was that nothing could be known before it occurred.
He must prepare.
The existence of even a tracking function meant it was an extremely important item to that sect.
Just as he finished organizing his thoughts about the jade token.
Far in the distance, a group was approaching the new Iron God Society-since there was no separate name yet-. At a glance, they seemed to number over several dozen.
The Fire Bell Society he saw earlier?
Or perhaps it was Single Eye Gate or Black Wind Hall he'd been hearing about.
Once they were certain this place was empty?
Rushing to claim it would be common sense by this place's standards.
Then responding with my own heroic common sense would be appropriate.
*Whirrrr-*
Lightly stepping on a single hair of the topmost corpse to soar up, Dong Bong-soo instantly crossed the Iron God Society's entrance and descended before the guests.
He didn't immediately act.
Because upon approaching closely, he could tell their identity differed from his expectations.
"Who are you?"
When Dong Bong-soo appeared like a ghost, the middle-aged man in the lead flinched in surprise. However, he soon composed himself and stared straight at Dong Bong-soo before speaking.
"That's what I should be asking."
"!?"
"Indeed. I am Gangdo's Magistrate."
He was precisely Magistrate Yo Han-myeong, who had thoroughly investigated from District 7 to the remaining districts but found nothing, ultimately arriving at the Iron God Society.
"Well, I've explained about myself. Then I'll ask again. Who are you?"
Magistrate.
Something like a mayor, perhaps.
This worked out well. Since he'd be staying here for a while anyway, they would have had to clash eventually.
"The new lord of this place."
New lord, meaning the new owner.
Brief but a compressed word explaining almost everything.
Yo Han-myeong swallowed dry saliva and examined the man before him once more.
Overall a cold, emotionless impression, but a tall, fairly attractive-looking young man with silver-gray hair and black eyes. However, looking at his plain Sun Point and lean body, his External Energy Arts also seemed minimal.
In summary, by appearance, a man who could never be a master.
But the Martial World was never a world that could be judged by appearance.
Rather, the more such an appearance, the more careful one must be. Even doubting the opponent's skill while placing such a destroyed Iron God Society before one's eyes was a blunder not even an idiot would make.
After briefly sorting his words, Yo Han-myeong ultimately threw out the most important question directly.
"What did you do with Iron Soul and Cold-Faced Iron Hand?"
"Killed them."
An answer far too ordinary, like saying he ate rice in the morning and noodles for lunch.
Of course, from Yo Han-myeong's perspective, it was a shocking enough answer to make him draw a deep breath. Though the Iron God Society had been losing to the Seven Star Immortal Assembly, he had vaguely noticed Cheol So-a was hiding something.
He'd thought Cheol So-a might be as great a master as Bukgung Ri...
To hear an answer at the level of 'ate Iron Soul for breakfast and Cheol So-a for lunch.'
"By chance, was the Seven Star Immortal Assembly also your handiwork?"
"That was not."
"Then do you know who did it?"
"I do not."
Though he was certain Bukgung Ri had done it, Dong Bong-soo didn't mention information that didn't need telling.
At that, Yo Han-myeong briefly examined Dong Bong-soo's eyes directly before soon turning his head first. It was from an animal instinct that felt like something terrible would happen if he looked any longer.
"Ahem. I see. Then just one more thing."
"Go ahead."
"Are you Orthodox Path? Evil Sect or Demonic Path?"
From Yo Han-myeong's position, whether Orthodox Path or Evil Sect made no difference whatsoever, but he still needed to know. In any case, with both the Seven Star Immortal Assembly and Iron God Society gone, he had to determine whether this 'source' of chaos was controllable and cooperative.
Of course, Dong Bong-soo already read all such intentions.
"Middle Path."
"Middle... Path?"
"I will simply walk the path of punishing evil and raising the banner of heroism."
"...Raising the banner of heroism?"
"Indeed. Whether Orthodox or Demonic matters not. I will kill the wicked and help the good."
"..."
"It doesn't matter whether it's dogs, cats, or trash anyway, does it? From the government's perspective."
"..."
"If foreign enemies invade, I'll block them. And-"
"And?"
Dong Bong-soo wore a faint smile on his lips, slightly revealing his teeth.
"-While I'm at it, I plan to pacify the Gangdo Martial World as well."
At those words, Yo Han-myeong swallowed dry saliva once more. Because it was far too clear this wasn't empty words.
At the point of singlehandedly exterminating the Iron God Society, that ability and qualification were already proven beyond doubt.
"Go... Good. That's up to you."
Nevertheless, having come this far, he couldn't not ask more.
"You, no-what will be the name of your sect you'll establish here?"
The sect's name.
Thank you for answering our call. You are our last hope. Please save this world.
Suddenly, the voice of goddess Lumina he'd heard when first downloading [What is Hero] came to mind.
'Last hope.'
Since he'd already come this far anyway.
Dong Bong-soo was already enjoying this situation. Though he couldn't predict himself just how cruel that enjoyment might be.
Remember. Being a hero isn't something decided by someone else. It's choosing for yourself and being recognized by people.
A direction he could choose himself and be recognized by people.
Dong Bong-soo considered it multiple times but determined there was no better name than this.
Finally, his lips opened.
"Hero Gate."
"Hero... Gate?"
"Indeed. I, we, this place will now become heroes and purify this damned Martial World."
*Thuuuuum-*
[ [Guild] Hero Gate Declaration
: No matter how much a hero, one cannot accomplish great things alone. At your guild formation declaration, countless evil practitioners will tremble.
However, as light gathers, equally strong darkness will also linger nearby, so I pray you and your guild members overcome all crises with faith.
Recruit ten guild members.
→Progress: 0%
• Reward: Hero History +1, [Guild Window] Activated]
-x-X-x-
The Yo Family had been a mid-ranking bureaucratic family employed in the Ministry of War for three generations in the capital, Nakdo.
Yo Han-myeong's father, Yo Jin-san, had risen to the important position of Vice Minister of War within the Ministry, but was purged some ten-odd years ago due to a wrong choice made during the struggle over imperial succession.
Naturally, the family fell from grace.
However, owing to the mercy of the new emperor, they were spared the Extermination Slave Punishment. Instead, Yo Han-myeong and all other officials of the Yo Family were demoted and exiled to the frontier.
And so Yo Han-myeong became the Magistrate of the border frontier city of Gangdo.
It was a position where doing well merely broke even, and doing poorly meant his neck was on the line at any moment. In severe cases, even the remaining members of his family who had survived could all be executed.
Magistrate in name only-what it really meant was that he was a mayfly with no real authority, never knowing when he might die.
Vinegar Fly Yo Han-myeong.
That was, in fact, the derogatory nickname the nobles of the capital used to refer to him.
***
*Clack*
Yo Han-myeong returned to his office at Gangdo Prefecture.
He closed the door and sank into his chair.
'Hero Gate....'
Hero, of all things.
He had heard the word chivalrous warrior perhaps once in a blue moon, but heroes? And Hero Gate?
Did such a romantic word still exist in this Great Viet Empire-and in the Martial World, of all places?
"Hmm."
Yo Han-myeong leaned his head back against the chair rest and recalled what had happened earlier.
***
— You... no, what is the name of the sect you intend to establish here?
— Hero Gate.
— Hero...Gate?
— That's right. I, we, this place we must now become heroes and purify this wretched Martial World.
— What does that...mean?
— Exactly what I said.
— .....
— Purification.
***
'To make it clean.'
This Martial World of Gangdo.
Yo Han-myeong had spent more than a decade here.
During that time, he had governed by exploiting the balance of power between the Iron God Society, the Seven Star Immortal Assembly, and the other factions. More precisely, he had managed them.
Anything beyond that was outside his ability, and it was a custom and convention that had been held for the previous hundreds of years. Under ordinary circumstances, it would have continued that way for hundreds more.
That is, if the variable known as Kim Rae-won and Hero Gate had not appeared.
'The Iron God Society and the Seven Star Immortal Assembly. Both are now gone....'
Taken purely on its own terms, this was a matter so grave that the moment he reported it to the capital as it was, the life of the mayfly called Yo Han-myeong might simply cease to exist.
But what mattered was.
"Hero Gate."
The fact that that man, Kim Rae-won, had remained in Gangdo.
And he and Hero Gate.
Walk the Middle Path.
Plant the Banner of Heroism.
When foreign enemies invade, they will hold them back.
If things went as he said, wasn't that actually a good thing?
Achieving in his own tenure an order that not even the magistrates posted here over hundreds of years had managed to accomplish?
It was an achievement grand enough that it might even allow him to restore the Yo Family to its former glory.
'Then for now, I'd best sit back and watch what our new friend does.'
That had been Bukgung Ri's expression.
That a 'new friend' had appeared in Gangdo.
Whether he would be a friend or a disaster...that remained to be seen.
What was certain was that whether Vinegar Fly Yo Han-myeong would be slapped dead by a flyswatter, or transform and soar as an eagle, solely rests in the hands of Kim Rae-won and Hero Gate.
That alone was now the pressing matter before Yo Han-myeong.
"Come."
At Yo Han-myeong's call, the adjutant who had been standing outside immediately entered.
"Yes, Your Excellency the Magistrate."
The Magistrate's official order fell upon him at once.
"From this point forward, the government of Gangdo shall turn a blind eye to all activities of Hero Gate."
"What that means...?"
"Exactly what it says. We shall support Hero Gate in every way-materially and otherwise-to restore order within Gangdo."
"That would be breaking the principle of the Government-Martial Non-Aggression Pact, Your Excellency."
"No."
Yo Han-myeong rose from his seat and moved to the window, casting his gaze into the distance.
It was the direction of the Western Road-now in ruins, or rather, being rebuilt-where the Iron God Society, now Hero Gate, had taken root.
"Hero Gate walks the Middle Path, and as such, it espouses neutrality, just as the government does. How great could the difference be between walking boldly down the road in the center and standing in the center? This is not a violation of the Government-Martial Non-Aggression Pact; it is simply the birth of a new principle-Government-Martial Unity."
"However, the capital will not permit this."
Yo Han-myeong turned his body and looked the adjutant squarely in the eye.
"And if the capital does not permit it?"
"... "
"The capital doesn't care one whit about such things. Deploy additional troops and masters to manage a border frontier like Gangdo? That is what they truly cannot permit."
"..."
"As long as there are no additional mobilization costs and no loss of skilled fighters, they will allow us to do absolutely anything."
"Such things...."
"All the more so, they would have no reason to oppose establishing a new order through 'heroic' conduct. Do you understand?"
"...Understood. I shall carry out your orders immediately."
The adjutant left the office then and there.
Yo Han-myeong gazed once more into the distance toward Hero Gate, and murmured softly.
"This official has done everything within his power."
The image of Kim Rae-won he had seen earlier came to mind.
A cold and indifferent face-yet when he had smiled briefly, his teeth shone brilliantly.
"A hero who walks the Middle Path."
Middle Path.
The expression center is easy to hear as a way of going left when it suits you and right when it doesn't. In other words, it sounds fine on the surface-a pleasant-sounding word and phrase.
And yet.
In reality, it contained the exact opposite meaning.
This was especially true in a world as savage and unscrupulous as the Martial World. Whether Orthodox or Demonic, each side wanted others under their banner-and they would never permit anyone to stand apart and observe from a distance. In other words, pursuing the Middle Path meant occupying a position where one would inevitably be beaten on one side by the Orthodox Faction and on the other by the Evil Demons and Heretics.
No one wanted the weak to hold their ground in the center. Standing at the center without power to back it up was no different from suicide.
Of course, having eliminated two of Gangdo's influential powers at once-though he denied doing the Seven Star Immortal Assembly himself-it was clear he possessed formidable martial force.
Could he truly raise the Banner of Heroism high in this wretched world?
There were honestly far too many incomprehensible aspects...
But regardless, understood.
I'll be counting on you from now on.
Kim Rae-won.
***
Immediately after Yo Han-myeong departed.
Dong Bong-soo moved at once to work toward founding Hero Gate.
[The Household Window], [The Guild Window], and understanding each of the children individually also needed to be done, but those were not the most urgent matters.
He left Jeon Ra-hwa and the children to continue cleaning up the Iron God Society's grounds-now Hero Gate's grounds. After all, there was nothing they could do or be deployed for at the moment.
He set his priorities for what had to be done immediately.
First: Repair and Construction.
He went outside and headed straight to District 7.
There, he sought out the merchant he had saved before and hired the maximum number of laborers he could, then sent them to the Hero Gate grounds. There was much to fix, much to build, and much to clear away.
Funds were more than plentiful. There was what he had taken from the Iron God Society, much of what he had gathered from the Floating Island, and what he had stripped from the bandits as well.
Second: Cremation.
He asked the merchant for the location of the crematorium and went there.
It was under government management, and-whether Yo Han-myeong's orders had already reached them-they were immediately cooperative. He asked them at once to clear away the bodies piled up on the Hero Gate grounds.
Third: Cleanup.
Despite Jeon Ra-hwa and the children-along with the laborers hired from District 7-already being deployed, more 'cleanup' was needed.
Cleanup in a fundamentally different sense of the word.
The character for clear, and the character for sweep.
Was Gangdo not currently in a state of chaos that required sweeping clean?
This kind of cleanup required not a broom handle, but a sword hilt.
The sweeper, Dong Bong-soo, kept moving without pause.
***
An evenly matched contest between a dragon and a tiger.
It refers to a situation where a dragon and tiger battle one another in near-perfect balance over a single mountain.
But what if both the dragon and the tiger on such a mountain suddenly vanish?
Naturally, the hawks and bats that had been suppressed by the dragon's might would run rampant, and the jackals and wolves that had cowered under the tiger's threats would roam freely and ravage that territory to their hearts' content.
That was the nature of a world governed solely by the law of the jungle.
And.
If one failed to act at a golden opportunity like now-when both dragon and tiger had died-that was no beast at all.
In a hellhole like Gangdo, beast carried no negative meaning whatsoever. The Iron God Society and Seven Star Immortal Assembly had all been beasts. They had simply possessed the ability to rise to the position of dragon and tiger.
A capable beast must never let such a perfect opportunity slip by.
Fire Bell Society Leader Jo Jung-heon was moving covertly, accompanied by twenty of his trusted subordinates.
He had kept his head down all this time under the Iron God Society's tyranny, but now the only powers in the Western Road that outstripped his Fire Bell Society were Black Wind Hall and Single Eye Gate.
'Now both of them are within reach.'
What's more, both forces were currently preoccupied devouring the Iron God Society's former operations. In other words, it was self-evident that the defense of their own main bases would be temporarily weakened.
Indeed, according to intelligence from his spy within Single Eye Gate, there were currently only about twenty percent of their usual number of warriors inside the gate. Even the Gate Leader himself was away.
'If not now, it will be difficult to plan such an undertaking again.'
*Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-*
Though they did make some sound, since they were moving across rooftops, no one had noticed their movement.
Jo Jung-heon and twenty men wearing red headbands.
The numbers were few, but these were the Fire Bell Society's core members. This could be considered nearly half of the total fighting strength the Fire Bell Society could project.
There was a slight gap due to Bo Geon-hwi failing to join in time. Not enough to affect the overall outcome.
'Today, Single Eye Gate will be erased from Gangdo.!'
Even as they moved.
Screams continued to ring out from all over the Western Road-born of clashes between Black Wind Hall and Single Eye Gate and others.
"Heh-heh-heh-heh."
An irrepressible delight leaked through his lips.
This was a feast.
The grandest feast in hundreds of years, with all of Gangdo as its stakes.
The screams billowing up like smoke formed a melody most encouraging.
That beautiful music did not stop, continuing until they arrived near Single Eye Gate.
And yet...
-x-X-x-