Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 279

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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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Chapter 279

Wu refers to horizontal rows, and lie refers to vertical columns.

When wu and lie are aligned, the left-right and front-back spacing forms a square.

Just like right now.

With faces swollen red and blue, bodies without a single uninjured spot, kneeling on their knees – these former Palgong bandits, Jeongyang Mountain gang members, currently belonging to the lowest ranks of Daebyeolsan’s subsidiary base.

“I am deeply disappointed.”

Zhuge Munhyeon sighed quietly.

Despite explaining so clearly with his entire body to make them understand, they had once again committed the evil act of kidnapping innocent civilians.

Crack.

Zhuge Munhyeon, who had been watching the bandits kneeling in formation while only glancing around nervously, broke off a nearby tree branch.

Three feet in length, thick as a forearm, and just the right weight.

The shock would be carved deep into their bones.

Swoosh.

As he swept the tree branch with his internal energy-infused hand, the small branches and bark were stripped away, revealing a smooth wooden club.

“I should have done this from the beginning. Since they’re not the type to listen to words, I should have governed them with beatings from the start. How disappointing my previous actions were.”

At his muttering, the bandits turned pale with shock.

The disappointment was on that side?

For not beating them enough?

And when did he ever use words?

Some of them still had bones that hadn’t fully healed from last time.

But none of them opened their mouths.

Because they knew that the moment they made even the slightest sound, that smooth club would perform an exuberant dance on their bodies.

“I exercised patience and endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, and tried once more to handle it with words as much as possible… Don’t you know? You really don’t know? I might have let it slide if you just told me the location of Daebyeolsan Main Sect.”

“…”

“Can’t be helped. From now on, whoever is within reach of my steps, lie down immediately. I’ll fix your rotten mental state first and then ask again. Khak, ptui!”

As Zhuge Munhyeon spat on his hands, rubbed them together, gripped the tree branch and approached, Han Bulhae’s face at the very front turned pale.

Damn it!

Just how much beating would satisfy him?

Not content with pummeling with fists, he had even trampled and crushed him after slamming him to the ground!

But more than anything, the fact that he couldn’t answer his question was heartbreaking.

Because he really didn’t know.

Though he had become part of the Daebyeolsan gang, he wasn’t even an official member yet, just belonging to a subsidiary base.

How could someone like him know the location of the main base?

“Y-Young Master, please spare me. I truly don’t know the location of the main base.”

“Who said anything? Saying you don’t know what you don’t know takes quite a bit of courage. It’s better than pretending to know when you don’t.”

“Then why…?”

“What can I do? I want to know.”

What kind of bullshit is that, you Evil Seed!

Because of this unreasonable bastard, tears were about to burst forth.

“What are you doing? Lie down.”

“Young Master, please…”

“Would you rather get hit standing up?”

He was more than capable of it.

Whether he lay down or not, he would definitely beat him senseless anyway. If he was going to get hit regardless, then the fleshy buttocks area would be…

Han Bulhae lay down with tears in his eyes and raised his buttocks high.

Thwaaaaaack!

It was a miscalculation.

Whether there was more or less flesh didn’t matter.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

He had definitely been hit on the buttocks, but the pain spread throughout his entire body along his spine.

Thud!

Han Bulhae sprawled flat on the ground like a frog hit by a stone, his limbs trembling violently.

He could feel his buttocks swelling at a terrifying speed, making his pants tight.

“Next!”

Zhuge Munhyeon’s beating continued as he passed Han Bulhae.

Thwack! Thwaack! Crack!

“…?”

A sound that shouldn’t have been heard reached the ears of Han Bulhae, who was lying sprawled with his limbs stretched out.

Someone had definitely been hit on the bone.

With that kind of sound, there was no doubt that either the tailbone or thighbone had broken.

His mouth went dry at the continuing sounds.

Zhuge Munhyeon, who had given every single one of them a club massage without missing anyone, returned to the beginning.

“Get up.”

“Y-Young Master.”

“Want to get hit while lying down? Then go ahead.”

Zhuge Munhyeon grinned and raised the club again.

He couldn’t endure it.

If hit accurately, his swollen buttocks would surely burst, and if hit wrong, something would definitely break.

What if his spine broke?

His life would be over right there. He’d have to spend the rest of his life bedridden.

“Young Master! I remembered! A way to find out the location of the main base just came to mind! It’s true!”

“…”

“Just a moment, please listen to what I have to say!”

Han Bulhae shouted with all his might, putting his desperate hope that he would listen into his voice.

“…Go ahead.”

“Th-there’s someone who would know.”

“Someone who would know?”

“Yes.”

“Who would that be?”

“Jang Kwae.”

“Jang Kwae?”

“That’s right. He’s the leader of the subsidiary base that took us in.”

“Hmm.”

The leader of the subsidiary base, Jang Kwae.

In other words, Han Bulhae’s superior.

What a commendable fellow, willing to sell out a comrade without hesitation to save his own skin.

“We were kidnapping people under Jang Kwae’s orders. We received ten iron coins per person.”

“Ten iron coins?”

“That’s right.”

“Tsk tsk, do you only see human value as mere iron coins?”

“…I’m sorry.”

He couldn’t lift his face.

Indeed, how could one put a price on human life?

Looking back, even they as bandits sometimes felt this wasn’t right, so it was understandable that someone from the Orthodox Sects would be angry.

“Even two taels of gold per person wouldn’t be enough.”

“Pardon?”

“Just talking to myself. Don’t mind it.”

“…Yes.”

“Anyway, that Jang Kwae bastard knows the location of Daebyeolsan Main Sect?”

“He should know. I’m certain.”

“Hmm.”

It was a distinctly speculative answer.

Saying ‘he would know’ included the possibility that he might not know.

But that was enough.

What could be heard through Han Bulhae, who was nothing more than a lackey, would be limited, so there was no point in interrogating him further.

He needed to find someone higher up.

By beating them up step by step, one level at a time, he would eventually learn the location of the main building.

“Good, guide me to Jang Kwae.”

“What? If I just tell you the location… Of course that won’t do. I should guide you there myself. Naturally.”

Han Bulhae, who had been making a puzzled expression, changed his words just from Zhuge Munhyeon placing the club on his shoulder.

Now he had no choice.

If he wanted to live, he had to sell out Jang Kwae.

Though he had practically joined under that guy’s command, they hadn’t even formally shared drinks together.

There was no need to maintain loyalty.

And around that time, Mujin and Dan Yeonhwa returned.

“We’re back.”

“What about the people?”

“We handed them over to the village at the foot of the mountain.”

“Well done.”

“And we told them to take a boat and send word to the Zhuge Branch in Dangang District.”

“To the Zhuge Branch?”

“It seems unlikely that the bandits’ kidnapping incidents are only happening around Daebyeolsan.”

“Hmm.”

At Mujin’s answer, Zhuge Munhyeon nodded.

According to Hao Gate Branch Manager Seolhui, kidnapping wasn’t a problem limited to just bandits.

Water bandits were also on the move.

Perhaps this was happening all over the Central Plains.

Naturally, the orthodox sects should take action.

“You didn’t reveal our whereabouts, right?”

“No.”

“Good job. It would be troublesome if Mother worried unnecessarily. Let’s go find this guy called Jang Kwae.”

“Understood. But what about them…”

Mujin, having finished his report, looked at Han Bulhae and his subordinates and tilted his head.

Their appearance was quite different from before.

For some reason, their buttocks had become quite plump.

It looked even more prominent because they were bending their waists awkwardly.

“They look like ducks.”

“…”

He almost burst out laughing at her expression.

A flock of ducks in formation.

An accurate description.

“Mujin. Yeonhwa.”

“Yes.”

“Keep a close watch so not a single one escapes. If these bastards send word to nearby mountain inns, it’ll create unnecessary trouble.”

“Understood.”

Thus, Mujin and Yeonhwa joined the center of the bandits.

“Now, let’s go!”

“Yes!”

The bandits climbed the mountain path, waddling due to their sore buttocks.

A flock of ducks ascending the mountain.

To meet another flock of ducks.

* * *

Eastern Daebyeolsan, the rocky mountain.

On top of it was a mountain inn nestled in dense forest that was barely visible from below.

It was Gyegong Mountain Inn, one of the small strongholds controlled by the Daebyeolsan gang.

The leader was Jang Kwae.

With a bear-like massive build, he was a bandit skilled at wielding a crescent blade based on his outstanding strength.

“Still no word from Younger Brother Han’s side?”

“He should come soon. He was bragging about kidnapping quite a large number this time.”

“Hehe, it was good to take him in as a subordinate. He’s quite capable.”

Jang Kwae didn’t hide his satisfaction.

The kidnapping that began on the great leader’s orders.

How difficult could it be to go down to slash-and-burn farming villages and even nearby villages to kidnap people?

But since small strongholds were limited in scale, the number of bandits staying there didn’t exceed a hundred.

Subtracting the manpower guarding the mountain inn, only about fifty could be sent outside.

There was a shortage of personnel.

Even dividing them into groups of ten made only five groups.

Meanwhile, other small strongholds were also competing to capture people, so vagrants in the nearby area were running dry.

When would they fill the quota set by the great leader at this rate? When would they rise to higher positions by just doing the assigned tasks like others?

They had to kidnap more than the assigned quota to catch the great leader’s eye.

“It was good to take those guys under our command.”

“That’s right. It was truly an excellent decision, leader.”

At Jang Kwae’s words, Deputy Leader Seo Chung nodded and agreed.

About thirty men, wasn’t it?

Meanwhile, when they stirred up Han Bulhae’s desire, who was desperate to be recognized as a small stronghold, he moved more diligently than anyone.

The number of people that guy kidnapped in a short period was more than what the existing gang had kidnapped.

“This is why we need to refresh our ranks from time to time.”

“Well, we can’t help but acknowledge it.”

“That guy is quite quick-witted too, isn’t he?”

“It seems so.”

“He works well too… Should I report to the great leader and formally share drinks with him?”

“What? Already? The other guys will strongly oppose it, won’t they? Even when you gave him a mountain inn last time, there were many complaints from the existing brothers.”

“Complaints? Tell them to shut up. These guys who can’t even work properly talk too much. We need to adopt a merit-based system too. What development can there be if we exclude people just because they came from outside?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Enough, convey to the brothers my intention to accept Younger Brother Han as the youngest.”

“Sigh, understood. If you think so, leader, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll try to pacify the younger brothers so they don’t harbor resentment.”

“Right. Is this something I’m doing just for my own benefit? It’s good if everyone does well and receives recognition from the main building.”

“That’s true.”

“Don’t just look at what’s right in front of you, look far ahead.”

“Yes.”

It was around the time when Jang Kwae was highly evaluating Han Bulhae and feeling satisfied.

“Leader! Leader!”

“What is it?”

“Han Bulhae has arrived.”

“Oh! How many did he kidnap this time?”

“Well… it looked like three people?”

“What? Three people? That’s all?”

“Yes.”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t the earlier message say he raided a village and kidnapped over ten people?”

“That’s what it said, but… he was definitely bringing only three people. No other guys were visible.”

“Younger Brother Han wouldn’t do such a thing….”

Jang Kwae’s brow furrowed.

Though it hadn’t been long, he had never brought different numbers from what he contacted about until now.

“Let’s go out and see for now.”

“Yes.”

Jang Kwae went outside the mountain inn to greet Han Bulhae.

He could see their long procession climbing up the Rocky Mountain Trail.

At the front, middle, and rear.

Two men and one woman.

Non-bandits were mixed in at three places in the formation.

From their clothing, they were clearly from wealthy families… but why three instead of ten?

And.

“Have those guys been working their lower bodies hard lately?”

“Right? They’re excessively bulky… they weren’t like that just a while ago.”

“Hmm.”

Bandits who run around mountains naturally develop lower body muscles.

But even so, the lower bodies of Han Bulhae and his subordinates, still far away, looked excessively thick.

Especially their buttocks… it’s too much.

No wonder they run well.

There’s a reason for their good kidnapping performance.

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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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