Almighty God of War - Chapter 151

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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151

 

Guyang Cheongang, leading Hyeok Seung and Gang Pil ahead of him, passed through the manor courtyard filled with corpses and descended to the burning port town.

 

Unlike the upper part of the village, the lower area was truly a hellish scene of utter chaos.

 

Hyeok Seung watched with vacant eyes as his subordinates died fighting entangled in the flames.

 

His shoulders sagged with despair.

 

Guyang Cheongang’s indifferent gaze turned toward him.

 

“If you want to save even one more of your subordinates, order them to surrender.”

 

After hesitating for a moment, Hyeok Seung finally shouted at the top of his lungs.

 

“Stop! Everyone… everyone drop your weapons! I have surrendered!”

 

As his voice spread out, the fierce clashing of metal began to cease one by one.

 

The pirates looked at him and Guyang Cheongang with expressions of disbelief.

 

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

 

“We won!”

 

“Victory is ours!”

 

The cheers of the Sahae Merchant Group and Jagang Corps warriors shook Dongban Island.

 

The battle was over.

 

But the grim aftermath of the battlefield remained to be dealt with.

 

Though it had been a short time, the casualties on both sides were severe.

 

Of Baekgyeong Bang’s 2,500 men, about 500 had died, with a similar number of wounded.

 

Hwa Seungryong’s Sahae Group also suffered nearly 150 casualties, and the Jagang Corps had over ten dead and about fifty wounded.

 

Guyang Cheongang’s heavy gaze lingered on the Jagang Corps members who were holding the corpses of their comrades in the ashes, wailing.

 

It was foolish greed to hope that not a single person would be hurt or killed when entering battle.

 

If he only protected them forever like greenhouse flowers, they could never become strong.

 

These were things he understood well in his head.

 

But he couldn’t help the bitter ache in one corner of his heart.

 

Guyang Cheongang tried not to show that bitterness and called Jang Cheol-un in an indifferent tone.

 

“Jang Cheol-un, collect the Jagang Corps casualties and take care of the survivors.”

 

“Understood, Instructor.”

 

Jang Cheol-un bit his lips as he looked at the corpses of the fallen members, but carried out the order without complaint.

 

Guyang Cheongang turned to Hwa Seungryong.

 

“Hwa Danju, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

 

Hwa Seungryong silently looked at the fallen Sahae Group warriors and nodded.

 

“Leave it to me.”

 

Then he gave orders to his subordinates.

 

“Make the prisoners put out the fires and clear away the corpses!”

 

The surviving pirates had to clear away the corpses of those who had been their comrades just moments before and extinguish the flames that had consumed their settlement, all under the strict surveillance of the Jagang Corps and Sahae Group.

 

Fortunately, dozens of houses in the upper part of the village near Hyeok Seung’s mansion had escaped the flames.

 

The expedition leadership established temporary quarters there.

 

A mansion prepared as temporary quarters in one corner of the village that had become ashes.

 

Heavy silence hung in the main hall being used as a meeting room.

 

In one corner, Hyeok Seung and Gang Pil sat in chairs.

 

Though not a single rope was wrapped around their bodies, they couldn’t move a muscle.

 

This was because the invisible aura emanating from Guyang Cheongang pressed down on their entire bodies more heavily than chains weighing a thousand pounds.

 

Knowing that they were psychologically broken, Guyang Cheongang didn’t feel physical restraints were necessary.

 

After glancing briefly at Hyeok Seung, he spoke to Hwa Seungryong.

 

“Hwa Danju, you take charge of that one. Since the Sahae Merchant Group will be managing this Dongban Island anyway, it’s right that you handle his disposal as well.”

 

“I’ll do so.”

 

Hwa Seungryong nodded and replied.

 

Despair flashed in Hyeok Seung’s eyes, but he didn’t dare say anything.

 

Guyang Cheongang’s gaze turned to Gang Pil.

 

“You are…”

 

At that moment, Hwa Seungryong interrupted his words with a heavily sunken voice.

 

“Instructor Jang, wait a moment.”

 

He narrowed his eyes and looked at Gang Pil as he asked.

 

His voice was filled with taut tension as if he had noticed something.

 

“Your appearance is similar to someone I heard about before… are you perhaps affiliated with the Gunma Alliance?”

 

Gang Pil looked at him with cold eyes and answered.

 

“I am Gang Pil, leader of the Blood Tiger Corps of the Gunma Alliance.”

 

Curses flowed from between the lips of Hwa Seungryong, whose complexion had hardened gravely.

 

“What a damn mess…”

 

The Sahae Merchant Group was merely(?) one of the five great merchant groups belonging to the Merchant Alliance.

 

But the Gunma Alliance was one of the Five Great Powers Under Heaven that stood shoulder to shoulder with that Merchant Alliance.

 

So it was impossible for Hwa Seungryong to treat Gang Pil like Hyeok Seung.

 

He spoke to Guyang Cheongang.

 

“Instructor Jang, that one… is not someone our Sahae Merchant Group can handle.”

 

Guyang Cheongang shrugged his shoulders and responded.

 

“Don’t worry. I was planning to take charge of him anyway.”

 

He turned to Gang Pil and said.

 

“Gang Daeju, I won’t confine you.”

 

“…?”

 

Guyang Cheongang continued with an expressionless face.

 

“You may try to escape to the best of your ability. Since this is an island, there’s nowhere to go anyway, but even if you cleverly find a ship and escape, I don’t mind. However, if you catch my eye while doing so, then you die.”

 

Gang Pil felt the blood in his entire body freeze at those words.

 

He erased the very thought of escaping from his mind.

 

‘That bastard… is serious.’

 

On this island surrounded by sea on all sides, it was impossible to flee while avoiding Guyang Cheongang’s eyes.

 

Most importantly, that monster didn’t seem to have any intention of killing him.

 

If so, there was no reason to create unnecessary trouble.

 

After having his subordinates drag Hyeok Seung and Gang Pil away, only Guyang Cheongang and Hwa Seungryong remained alone in the room.

 

Through the window came the faint sounds of people clearing the debris of burned buildings and their shouts.

 

Guyang Cheongang was the first to break the silence and ask.

 

“When will the reinforcements arrive for the Sahae Merchant Group to completely control this place?”

 

“I’ve already sent word that we’ve occupied this place. They’ll gather the necessary personnel and supplies from Fujian Province, Fuzhou and send them, so they should arrive within ten days at the latest.”

 

“Ten days…”

 

Guyang Cheongang, who had been lost in thought for a moment, spoke again.

 

“I trust that Hwa Danju’s Sahae Group will have no trouble controlling this place until then. I must take the Jagang Corps and be away for a while. I’ll return before the support team arrives.”

 

Hwa Seungryong’s eyes widened slightly.

 

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s leaving the island, but what could it be at such a crucial time?’

 

He asked cautiously.

 

“Is there… something I should help with?”

 

Guyang Cheongang shook his head.

 

His eyes were resolute, as if not permitting any further questions.

 

“I’m sorry. It’s Dongryeong Salt Field business.”

 

At those words, Hwa Seungryong asked no more.

 

The reverence for Guyang Cheongang that had already seeped into his very bones made such questioning unthinkable.

 

After finishing his conversation with Hwa Seungryong, Guyang Cheongang returned to his room.

 

Standing by the window, he silently gazed beyond the burned harbor toward the deep inland of Dongban Island shrouded in darkness.

 

‘Though the history of this world is completely different from what I knew, strangely the terrain and mountain ranges are frighteningly similar.’

 

A fragment of memory from his time on Earth flashed through his mind.

 

A similar latitude, a similarly shaped island.

 

And the legendary golden mountain that once existed north of that island, which had shaken all of East Asia.

 

‘If… if that thing exists here too.’

 

He intended to verify that possibility.

 

If a massive gold vein lay dormant there as he hoped, the reconstruction of the Guyang Family Estate would gain wings.

 

‘During its peak period, the amount of gold mined annually… converted to this era’s units would be roughly seventy thousand nyang.’

 

The exchange rate between gold and silver coins in this era was 1:15.

 

So seventy thousand nyang in gold coins equaled one million five hundred thousand nyang in silver coins.

 

The next morning, Guyang Cheongang left the port town with two hundred fifty Jagang Corps warriors, excluding the wounded.

 

On their backs, each carried an empty wooden box the size of a torso.

 

Though the weight was light, the weight of hope contained within was not.

 

As soon as they left the harbor, the path led into treacherous mountain terrain.

 

Sticky, humid air clung to their skin, and the jungle thick with ferns as tall as a person blocked sunlight even at midday.

 

Strange cries of birds and beasts echoed from all directions.

 

Their pace was quick, but they didn’t use Light Body Technique.

 

Since over ninety percent of the corps members were still at second-rate level, they couldn’t afford to waste qi recklessly.

 

Guyang Cheongang silently blazed the trail at the front, and the Jagang Corps followed behind him without showing signs of fatigue.

 

After spending one night camping outdoors, around noon the next day.

 

The sound of massive rushing water reached the group’s ears from afar.

 

As they pushed through the forest, their view suddenly opened to reveal an overwhelming sight.

 

A golden waterfall that seemed to pour molten gold itself was flowing majestically down a massive cliff face!

 

The waterfall spray scattered like gold dust as it caught the sunlight, and even the rocks where the water flowed were entirely golden yellow.

 

“Wow…”

 

The corps members who had been staring at the scene in a daze were approaching the stream to refresh their tired bodies when it happened.

 

“G-gold dust!”

 

“Here too! There’s gold dust rolling around the streambed!”

 

Mong Ji-hye and Jin Yu-han, who had dipped their hands in the stream water, shouted in disbelief.

 

In their palms, glittering golden particles were shining brilliantly between the wet grains of sand.

 

The Jagang Corps warriors moved in perfect coordination, cutting down trees and grass to create a campsite for the night.

 

A bonfire was lit, and as the corps members exhausted from the arduous journey caught their breath for a moment.

 

Guyang Cheongang finished his work and stood before the gathered group.

 

“I’ll tell you why we came here. We came to find gold.”

 

His voice was low, but it struck clearly in every corps member’s ears.

 

“The gold sleeping here will become the reconstruction funds to restore the fallen Guyang Family Estate and your families.”

 

Though they had already vaguely guessed after seeing the gold dust in the stream, when he confirmed it directly, the corps members’ eyes burned hot with excitement.

 

Then Jang Cheol-un asked in a cautious tone.

 

“Leader, you promised Hwa Danju you’d return within ten days. But it already took two days to get here, and subtracting the return time, we only have about four or five days left. Would it be possible to discover a gold vein and mine it within that time?”

 

Doubt also appeared on the corps members’ faces.

 

Because mining a satisfactory amount of gold within three days was logically impossible.

 

Jin Yu-han added to those words.

 

“Though you surely have deep intentions, Leader, are you perhaps planning to establish ourselves here and begin mining?”

 

Guyang Cheongang shook his head.

 

“I have no such intention. I’ve already promised to hand over the management rights of Dongban Island to the Sahaesangdan. So we can’t create a mine here.”

 

Jang Cheol-un tilted his head and asked again.

 

“Then exactly what do you intend to do? In the remaining time…”

 

Guyang Cheongang smiled slightly and said.

 

“I’ll handle that myself.”

 

At that simple and clear statement, the worry and doubt that had been on the faces of Jang Cheol-un and all the Jagang Corps warriors just moments before vanished like a lie.

 

To them, Guyang Cheongang was already that kind of existence.

 

If he said he would do it, then it would be done.

 

Even if he pointed to a deer and called it a horse, they would gladly believe his words.

 

That was how absolutely they trusted Guyang Cheongang.

 

Guyang Cheongang, standing alone before the waterfall, called his partner.

 

‘Akasha, scan the geological structure of this place and create a gold vein distribution map.’

 

[Understood, Doctor.]

 

From beneath Guyang Cheongang’s feet, invisible nanobot waves spread in all directions along the ground.

 

Like a massive sonic detection device that could see through hundreds of meters underground, it began to thoroughly examine the mountain’s interior.

 

Shortly after, Akasha’s investigation results unfolded as a three-dimensional holographic image in his mind.

 

[Scan complete. I’ve discovered a main gold vein formed along a large-scale quartz rock vein eighty meters underground beneath the waterfall. The estimated reserves are substantial, and gold veins with high mining value stretch like a spider web in relatively shallow areas between twenty and fifty meters underground.]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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