So Gunpyeong stared at the Sword-Breaking Society envoy and asked for permission like he was checking first.

“Pavilion Lord?”

“What.”

“He’s not worthy of being my opponent.”

“Too much of a weakling?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. Step back.”

I scanned the Black Cat Pavilion and Namyeonghui subordinates from the platform, then locked eyes with Cha Seong-tae.

“Cha Seong-tae, you handle this one. Your opponent is this idiot envoy from the Sword-Breaking Society.”

Cha Seong-tae replied,

“Understood.”

With a crack of his neck, Cha Seong-tae walked into the center. The Sword-Breaking envoy glared at me.

“Is this how you treat an envoy?”

“Was I that rude?”

“I’m just here to deliver a message. Show some consideration.”

I stared him down and said in a flat tone,

“Fine. To show the Sword-Breaking Society the proper respect, I’ll fight you myself.”

The envoy turned away and drew his sword toward Cha Seong-tae.

“Let’s do this.”

As Cha Seong-tae also drew his sword, the envoy added as if trying to set the tone.

“Let’s keep it clean—no one gets hurt.”

Cha Seong-tae snapped,

“Shut up, you moron. This is a fight. There’s no such thing.”

I nodded.

“Well said.”

Despite his confident roar, Cha Seong-tae was tense. It was his first duel against someone from another group, and with so many people watching, it was only natural.

Nam Garak, standing nearby, asked,

“What rank is that subordinate?”

“Bottom.”

“Oh, really?”

Hearing me, a vein popped on Cha Seong-tae’s forehead as the fight began.

Nam Garak watched for a moment and tilted his head.

“He’s pretty good.”

Even from my perspective, Cha Seong-tae had improved a lot. It wasn’t complicated. Back in Ilyang County, Cha Seong-tae was the best fighter after the Jo brothers during the wild brawls. Now, he had real combat experience mixed with a solid orthodox sword style. He’d also been steadily building his internal power. Most of all, it seemed Ho Yeoncheong had been teaching him well.

The two clashed hard for over twenty exchanges, swords flashing wildly. Then, almost like they’d agreed on it, they both lunged with palm strikes toward each other’s openings.

Thwack— With the first internal-force-infused strike, Cha Seong-tae staggered back, while the Sword-Breaking envoy wobbled and landed on his ass.

Seizing the moment, Cha Seong-tae stepped forward and placed his sword against the envoy’s throat.

The envoy stared nervously at the blade at his neck. Cha Seong-tae turned to me and asked,

“Should I kill him?”

“Leave it.”

Grinning with pride, Cha Seong-tae withdrew his sword.

“So this is all the Sword-Breaking Society has to offer.”

I corrected him.

“No. That guy is just pathetic. Don’t get cocky. This duel wasn’t to boost your ego. Everyone saw it. That’s the level of their envoys. The Sword-Breaking Society thinks of the Black Cat Pavilion as wandering trash, but as you can see, we refused them. That envoy can leave now. But next time, if you show up acting arrogant again, it won’t end with just two slaps.”

The envoy said,

“Thank you for sparing me. We’ll meet again.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he clutched his ear. Blood was pouring out. He slapped the side of his head a few times like he couldn’t hear from his left ear and then hurriedly left the inner courtyard.

Cha Seong-tae tilted his head and muttered,

“His ear’s bleeding… Was my internal force that strong?”

I ignored his nonsense and said,

“Officers, let’s talk.”

***

The officers of Namyeonghui and the Black Cat Pavilion gathered loosely. I took the head seat.

Cha Seong-tae, seated at the far end as a general manager, asked again,

“His ear was bleeding… Was it from my internal °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° strike?”

Unable to watch any longer, Nam Garak explained,

“He got slapped by Lord Zaha before the duel. Probably ruptured his eardrum.”

Cha Seong-tae mumbled in disappointment.

“Oh. I see.”

The mood dipped a little.

I briefly summarized the envoy’s message for the officers.

“The Sword-Breaking Society is recruiting to fight Nam Cheon-ryeon. They offered three silver per head per day if we join. That’s what they think your lives are worth—three silver.”

The faces of the Black Cat Pavilion officers turned cold.

“Those dumb bastards are unbelievable.”

Even the normally calm So Gunpyeong cursed.

“They made some money shaking down merchant guilds, and now they think this is how you recruit? Trash.”

I corrected him.

“We’re trash too, so take back that last part.”

“Understood.”

I looked around the room.

“But we’re not the same kind of trash. We’re the kind of trash like fallen leaves from a plum tree. They’re more like… the stinking shit you accidentally shit yourself after drinking laxatives.”

“……”

The air went still at my absurd metaphor.

“Was that too much?”

Cha Seong-tae flattered me.

“It was the perfect metaphor.”

“Shut up. It was too much.”

“Yes, sir.”

I introduced Nam Garak to the officers.

“This is Nam Garak, leader of the Namyeonghui. He got the same offer from both Nam Cheon-ryeon and the Sword-Breaking Society and turned them down. Regardless of strength, I respect men who act like real men. Nam Leader is one of them. Whether we fight the Sword-Breaking Society or Nam Cheon-ryeon, the Black Cat Pavilion and the Namyeonghui will cooperate. Keep that in mind.”

The Black Cat Pavilion officers responded in unison.

“Understood.”

Nam Garak then addressed the Black Cat Pavilion officers.

“I once lost to Lord Zaha. If he’d tried to humiliate me after that, I wouldn’t have come here. Our combined strength may not match Nam Cheon-ryeon or the Sword-Breaking Society, but I promise that Namyeonghui will never fight disgracefully.”

The Black Cat Pavilion officers gave him a respectful nod.

“We look forward to working with you.”

This time, I corrected Nam Garak.

“I’ve got more people. If we unite and I lead the charge, either Nam Cheon-ryeon or the Sword-Breaking Society will be reduced to ashes in no time. The only reason I’m holding back is because this kind of reckless battle would mean heavy losses for our men. Let’s talk strategy. We need the biggest victory with the fewest casualties.”

Ho Yeoncheong, who’d been quiet, spoke up.

“Pavilion Lord, I can mobilize some forces of my own.”

Meeting Ho Yeoncheong’s eyes for the first time in a while, I finally addressed him with a different title.

“Master Ho Yeon, you’ve done a good job training General Cha.”

Ho Yeoncheong’s eyes widened a bit.

“Yes, sir.”

“Thanks to you, I didn’t end up humiliated today. But no need to bring in your own forces. You have a talent for teaching. Come and go freely through the Black Cat Pavilion and guide my men.”

It was effectively a declaration that Ho Yeoncheong was free.

Understanding my meaning, he replied with a pleased expression.

“Thank you, Lord Zaha.”

I looked around at the officers.

“Let’s hear some good ideas. We’ll start with Black Cat Pavilion’s strategist, Grand Strategist Byeok. Speak.”

Byeok immediately opened his mouth.

“In summary, both sides are still gathering forces. But neither side knows our full strength. Frankly, if we joined either side, victory would be guaranteed.”

“Correct.”

“Therefore, I suggest we let both sides know this.”

“In what way?”

“We send word under the name of Haomun. Include the Black Line Guard, Black Cat Pavilion, the Twelve Divine Generals, Geum Hae’s merchant group, and if Nam Leader agrees, even the Namyeonghui. With all of us united, victory is inevitable. They won’t act cocky after today.”

Tactical-minded So Gunpyeong gave a counter-idea.

“Grand Strategist Byeok makes a good point, but what if we keep our strength hidden and go for a fisherman’s gain instead? Watch them clash, and when both are spent, we sweep in and finish it. They provoked us first anyway.”

So Gunpyeong’s strategy was more realistic and ruthless.

As expected, Grand Strategist Byeok, with his hobby of painting, proposed a more peaceful approach. So Gunpyeong, who lived by the sword, carried the cold scent of the battlefield.

I turned to Nam Garak.

“What about you, Nam Leader?”

Nam Garak, who had memorized So Gunpyeong’s face and name, answered calmly.

“I like Lord So’s suggestion. Unless there are other opinions, let the Pavilion Lord decide.”

I nodded and laid out the main idea first.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Our primary enemy is the Sword-Breaking Society. For now, ignore Nam Cheon-ryeon.”

So Gunpyeong asked,

“Any particular reason?”

“From what I hear, Nam Cheon-ryeon rose up with nothing but a blade. He seems like a true man of the dark path. If someone proposed settling things with a duel between leaders, he might actually agree. On the other hand, those Sword-Breaking bastards are rich enough to casually hire assassins. They’re the sneakier type.”

I glanced at Nam Garak, who nodded in agreement.

And in my head, I replied to him silently.

‘Yeah, I’m talking about you, you bastard.’

Listening to the envoy earlier confirmed it—back in my past life, the ones who hired assassins were the Sword-Breaking Society.

“Anyway.”

“Yes.”

“For now, ignore Nam Cheon-ryeon. Prepare a written message for the Sword-Breaking Society.”

Byeok, the Grand Strategist, responded.

“Understood. If you give me the key points, I’ll write it up.”

“Black Cat Pavilion, the remnants of Master Su, the Twelve Divine Generals, Geumsan Trade Group, Ilyang County, the Black Line Guard—all of them fall under Haomun. And so do merchants, tradespeople, food vendors, farmers—anyone who works for a living and isn’t protected by power. If the Sword-Breaking Society is caught threatening, kidnapping, intimidating, murdering, or assaulting any of these people, Haomun will go to war. Put that in the message.”

Nam Garak cut in.

“Pavilion Lord, you forgot to include Namyeonghui.”

I looked him in the eye and nodded.

“Add Namyeonghui.”

Byeok responded,

“Understood. I’ll prepare the message accordingly.”

“Don’t just send it to the Sword-Breaking Society. Send it to nearby black-path sects, white-path sects, military offices, mountain hideouts, canal gangs, merchant groups, battlefields, assassin groups, courtesan houses, inns, tea houses, under bridges—and even to temples. Make hundreds of copies, post them on walls, send them to sects, deliver them to homes, widows, and scatter them in the streets. From now on, if anyone messes with honest workers, I’ll slap them, kick them, or kill them myself. Got it?”

“Yes, Pavilion Lord.”

“Yes, Lord Zaha.”

After stewing in a bad mood for days, I had just declared war across the region in Haomun’s name.

“Anyone with complaints, anyone who wants a piece of me, anyone who thinks I’m a joke—tell them to come looking for Yi Zaha of Haomun.”

Maybe thinking I was going a bit overboard, Byeok tried to joke his way in.

“Pavilion Lord, won’t that keep you rather busy? I’ll try to filter some of them first.”

I looked at him and said,

“Then add this, since word hasn’t gotten around yet: the Great Rakshasa was killed by me. Spread it far and wide.”

“Do we really need to include that...?”

“Absolutely. Also add that I killed Master Su, Iryong Nogun, the Lord of the Black Line Guard, and I smashed in Dongbang Yeon’s skull—the gambling cheat who rigged matches—and burned him to death.”

As the situation snowballed, Byeok finally shut his mouth.

“Grand Strategist Byeok. Write it all down. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Seong-tae.”

“Yes, Pavilion Lord.”

“Go to Ilyang County and bring back Brother Deok-soo in a carriage. On the way, stop by the market with him and buy pork bone stock ingredients, various meats, food supplies, and plenty of liquor. Pay fair prices and buy in bulk. Take about ten of our Black Cat Pavilion brothers with you. Ask our Haomun cook to prepare a proper meal for the Namyeonghui brothers. Grand Strategist Byeok, make sure Seong-tae has plenty of funds.”

“Understood.”

I looked at Nam Garak.

“It’s a hassle that you had to visit, but we should at least share a meal.”

Nam Garak grinned.

“Let’s do that.”

Just thinking of bringing Brother Deok-soo back to serve a proper meal to Namyeonghui started to cool my anger.

“Well, did I miss anything? Any other matters to discuss? Anyone I’ve killed who I forgot to name? No? Didn’t think so.”

At that moment, a commotion broke out outside the main hall, and suddenly, the doors burst open. Three unfamiliar men barged in, brushing past the Black Cat Pavilion subordinates, and stared straight at me on the head seat.

“We’ve come from Nam Cheon-ryeon. Who is the Lord of the Black Cat Pavilion?”

Everyone in the main hall turned their heads at once, all with visibly tense expressions fixed on me.

“……”

I stared in disbelief at the ragged envoy squad from Nam Cheon-ryeon.

A cold silence fell.

Sensing something was off, the envoys began shifting their eyes around, starting to realize the atmosphere was dangerously wrong.

Suddenly, So Gunpyeong jumped to his feet, cursed loudly, and began beating one of the Nam Cheon-ryeon envoys.

“On your knees, you bastards! You think you can just barge in here like this?!”

At the same time, Black Cat Pavilion officers rose up, grabbed the envoys, knocked them down, and began kicking and punching them mercilessly.

I didn’t even get the chance to step in.

“Hm.”

In an instant, the three envoys were writhing on the floor beneath the officers’ feet. Even the elderly Byeok stood up, roared in anger, and lifted his stiff leg to stomp on them.

“You disrespectful little shits—this is what you get! This is what you get—what you get—what you get…”

The envoys, now bloodied and beaten, dropped to their knees.

Byeok looked at me.

“Pavilion Lord, perhaps it really is best to make your message public, just as you said. That way, people will learn to show proper respect.”

I nodded.

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

I almost stormed Nam Cheon-ryeon myself and missed out on pork bone stew, but thanks to my subordinates’ excellent response, my anger cooled again quickly. Then, as I looked at the envoys’ bitter, humiliated faces, I gave another order.

“Stomp ‘em again.”

“Yes, sir!” my subordinates roared.