These bastards were going to die to the Alliance Leader anyway.

If I trampled them early with Sun-Moon Radiance, maybe they’d surrender faster than they did in my past life. That idea, mixed with the anger of my empty stomach, had taken hold of me.

“Haa…”

I almost muttered, For the sake of Haomun…

It was a tone-deaf thing to say, so I barely managed to hold it back.

“…For the Martial Alliance.”

That was the right thing to say.

By now, the Martial Alliance had already retreated quickly behind me after hearing the lecher’s warning.

I poured energy into the Sun-Moon Radiance—a sphere forged from Moonlight Cold Heart Energy and Flame Incense, sculpted using the Absorption Technique—and hurled it toward the largest cluster of enemy forces.

It flew like a colossal mass, heavy and ominous…

As it arced through the sky, the speed of the Sun-Moon Radiance gradually slowed, descending.

The problem was… the Namak Green Forest Alliance and the unorthodox sects hiding among them didn’t know who I was.

Did they think I was some idiot playing ball?

A brute of a swordsman from the unorthodox sects leapt into the air to meet the orb and drew his blade.

Lightning burst twice from his sword.

But the moment he slashed at the Sun-Moon Radiance, forming a cross—

The Alliance Leader roared something unintelligible, but his voice was drowned in the blast of the technique.

“…!”

All the Martial Alliance members behind me raised their swords vertically and infused them with energy.

As the unorthodox swordsman was vaporized by the backlash midair, leaving no trace—

The orb finally crashed into the horde of Green Forest warriors.

The lecher shouted.

“Hey! You crazy son of a—!”

I had deliberately positioned myself ahead of the formation, shielding the Martial Alliance with a Flame Incense Cross Palm Barrier to absorb the shockwave.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

“Whoa—shit…”

I threw it, and I blocked it.

What the hell kind of lunacy was this?

The moment I deflected the impact, I heard a chain of cracking sounds as trees snapped. For a brief instant, I blacked out—then found myself staring up at the sky.

“….”

Peaceful clouds floated by overhead.

“Today’s forecast… clear skies. Nice.”

Suddenly uneasy from the silence around me, I sat bolt upright. It was really quiet.

“Ah, ah—”

I pinched my nose and blew out through my ears, and finally, sound returned.

The Alliance Leader’s voice barking orders, weapons clashing—faint, but back.

Holding my aching back, I stood up and brushed aside the grass I’d landed in. Apparently, I’d been flung so far no one had been able to catch me.

A terrified bandit was running toward me.

“Uwaah!”

I waved casually at him.

“Bad luck, running into me.”

The moment the bandit let out a shriek and turned, I drew Fang of the Black Rabbit and lopped off his arm with the back blade.

Splurt!

Back at the main battlefield, the Martial Alliance had begun a full-on slaughter after the Alliance Leader gave the order. It was obvious—bandits were fleeing, and Alliance warriors were chasing and cutting them down.

That’s how important morale is in battle.

At the clearing, I spotted the Namak Green Forest Leader clashing with Im Sobaek. The outcome was pretty obvious. To be ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) honest, Im Sobaek could probably massacre a thousand of them alone without breaking a sweat.

The area where Sun-Moon Radiance landed on the left side of the stockade was completely obliterated.

I placed my hands on my hips and surveyed the battlefield. Taking a deep breath, I gathered internal energy in my abdomen and shouted:

“Kneel! You goddamn bastards! Before I beat every last one of you to death!”

In an instant, small groups of three or four dropped to their knees all over the field. Seeing that, a few Alliance members ran past and still smashed their heads in anyway.

The rest of the Martial Alliance surged forward like a hunting pack and began chanting my words.

“Kneel, you bastards!”

Excited Alliance members began clubbing the heads of kneeling bandits with the hilts of their swords. The more experienced elders of the Alliance spread out and blocked escape routes, turning it into a complete slaughter. Meanwhile, the calmer members focused on forcing bandits to their knees, leading to a surge in surrenders.

At that moment, a unified cry rose from the bandits.

“Leader!”

All heads turned toward Im Sobaek.

He tossed the Namak Alliance Leader’s severed head to the ground. Around him, the corpses of high-ranking Namak officials lay in piles.

Im Sobaek, eyes bloodshot, swept his gaze around.

“The Namak Alliance will drop your weapons and kneel. That’s the last mercy you’ll get.”

“…”

I smacked the head of a kneeling bandit as I passed.

By now, they clearly recognized me. Some tried to flee on their knees—only to be trampled by Alliance members.

“Stay still. Just stay down!”

I walked over to where the Sun-Moon Radiance had exploded and surveyed the aftermath.

“What a mess.”

The entire section of the stockade was gone.

Within a radius of twenty paces, a crater had been blasted into the earth. No corpses were visible inside—but the farther from the center, the more limbs and chunks of bodies were scattered about.

Many bandits sat frozen, dazed.

I crossed my arms and took in the carnage.

Was this a meaningful sacrifice… or a pointless, miserable death?

In my past life…

Regardless of how many casualties the Martial Alliance suffered, the bandits could never kill the Alliance Leader. He personally hunted every last one of them down.

This time, over a hundred had been instantly vaporized before the battle even started. The rest were either dead, kneeling, or being forced into submission.

And wouldn’t you know it—the ones the lecher had fought were still frozen stiff. Still alive.

Somehow, once again, in trying to save at least a few of them…

…I’d ended up killing the most.

A smile slipped out.

“Heh heh heh…”

Just then, Im Sobaek approached and spoke.

“Master.”

He came closer, lowering his voice.

“More survived than I expected. It’s surprising.”

I turned, surveying the field. Most bandits had lost the will to fight—kneeling or fleeing—yet, as Im Sobaek noted, their numbers still exceeded ours.

I met his gaze.

“Well, since it’s come to this, let’s keep going like devils.”

“Any ideas?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“We lead the surviving Green Forest forces north and strike Mokryeong Stronghold. Use the bandits to fight other bandits. The ones who survive that—we’ll keep.”

Im Sobaek understood my meaning and nodded.

“We can’t take all of them.”

“Right. Leave the wounded and useless ones here. I’ll stay and beat them into shape. You and the others head north with the rest. It’ll be rough. If the Alliance is going to leave troops behind, at least thirty will be needed to maintain control—so better I stay alone.”

Im Sobaek folded his arms, thinking, then nodded.

“You’ll do that for us?”

“Let’s do it.”

I met his eyes again.

“But first, let’s steal whatever rations they’ve got. I’ve had nothing but jerky all night.”

Finally, a smile cracked across Im Sobaek’s stiff face.

“Agreed. I’m starving.”

As he returned to the Alliance members, the lecher finally wandered over.

He said,

“Hey, earlier—you were gonna say for the sake of Haomun, but switched to for the Martial Alliance, huh?”

“The hell do you want, bastard?”

Too sharp for his own good.

He sighed and said,

“Would it kill you to give people a warning before you use those explosive techniques? Why’s it always gotta be so last second?”

“What if I get stabbed while I’m ‘preparing’ it? You want me to die with a polite heads-up?”

“…Okay, fair.”

The lecher shut up, having nothing to say.

Meanwhile, the Martial Alliance was rounding up surviving bandits into the Namak main stronghold.

“Go help the Alliance Leader.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll lock this place down. Too many bodies.”

“Yeah, true.”

“Use your ice arts in the water fight—it’ll be efficient. Support the Alliance Leader. Don’t you think he looks pitiful?”

“What’s pitiful about the Alliance Leader?”

“His hair’s turning white because of punks like you. You bastard.”

“Quit whining. I’m off.”

The lecher glanced at me once, then walked off toward Im Sobaek.

***

A large number of those left behind at the Namak Green Forest Alliance stronghold were men with leg injuries, or who had been beaten or slashed by the Martial Alliance.

Most of them had been wounded during the explosion of Sun-Moon Radiance. By the time Im Sobaek had eaten his fill of the bandits’ food and led the surviving ones down the mountain to use as meat shields, it was already late afternoon.

I sat in the Namak Alliance Leader’s strangely ornate taesa chair and stared at the bandits.

As the Martial Alliance troops gradually pulled out…

…and left me behind at the Green Forest stronghold, the bandits looked noticeably shaken.

I ran my hand along the tiger pelt draped over the taesa chair.

“Why the hell do bandits all have the same damn taste? What’s with the obsession with tiger hides?”

Leaning lazily in the seat, I spoke to the bandits.

“Alright, boys. I’m the only one left now. That means I’m your new Namak Alliance Leader.”

“……”

“Anyone not doing shit, come forward and kneel. If you’ve got work to do, go do it. Or I’ll beat you to death.”

Before long, all the injured warriors of the Namak Green Forest Alliance and the unorthodox sects had gathered and knelt before me.

I grinned to myself and said,

“Whoever locked up the heir of the Geumsan Trade Group—starved him, beat him—step forward. I’m that fat bastard’s senior brother. The Master of Haomun. Who was the punk that demanded a toll from me?”

“……”

“Who the hell am I talking to?”

I stood up and looked them over.

“So kneeling’s comfortable for you, huh?”

I figured some of them were faking injuries or conserving strength—sharp-eyed little rats.

“Bury your heads in the ground. Let’s see who wins.”

I scanned their faces, then grabbed one guy by the hair and flung him into the stockade wall.

Thunk—

He hit headfirst and went limp, hanging there like a ragdoll.

When I turned around, the rest of the bandits finally smashed their foreheads to the ground.

“……”

“Who asked Haomun for a toll? I’ll rip you to pieces. Who’s gonna rat?”

“It was Strategist Hong-an-Gwi. He was killed earlier by the Alliance Leader.”

“And that’s it? He’s dead, so it’s over? Next in command?”

“Chief Jinryang. Also killed by the Alliance Leader.”

“Dead, so it’s over? Next?”

“It wasn’t a specific order. That’s just how the Green Forest Alliance operated… We beg for your mercy.”

“So, you want me to understand… because robbing people is just how you do things?”

“……”

“I don’t like your tone. Everyone, stand up.”

As the kneeling bastards stood, I wrapped Flame Incense Energy around my right hand.

Fwoooosh…

All their eyes widened.

Keeping the flame swirling in my palm, I glared at them.

“You’re looking down on me, huh? I asked who was responsible, and all I hear is that they’re dead? Fine. Let’s see what happens next.”

Then I wrapped Moonlight Cold Heart Energy around my left hand—same as when I created Sun-Moon Radiance.

Just as I was about to combine the two—

Several bandits pointed toward one man.

“It was Chief Deungyang!”

“He’s the one responsible.”

“I heard he wasn’t even injured.”

The bandits immediately scattered away from Chief Deungyang. Still kneeling, he looked up at me with a savage glare and barked,

“You fucking cowards. The Martial Alliance left, and it’s just this one guy. Kill him, take the money, and leave. Are you really gonna sit there like morons?”

I withdrew the energies from both hands and clasped them behind my back, eyes locked on Deungyang.

“You rat bastard. That one guy… is me.”

“……”

I stared him down and turned to the others.

“Who am I?”

The bandits answered.

“You’re the Master of Haomun.”

“That’s right. That’s who I am.”

Locking eyes with Deungyang, I pushed the issue of authority.

“Anyone who wants to follow this Chief Deungyang, come at me all at once. But if you don’t want to die together, kill him here and now. It’s your choice.”

Arms crossed, I swept my gaze across Deungyang and the others.

“Let’s see who dies.”

“……”

“I’ll count to three. One. Two. Three.”

The moment “three” left my mouth, the bandits around Deungyang swarmed him.

They pinned him down and started punching him.

Then, others—ones clearly lacking even a shred of mercy—rushed in from all sides, kicking and stomping and beating him without hesitation.

That’s how it works in Jianghu.

Without blinking, I gave the order.

“Kill him.”