My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 37. Bandit Suppression
“So this is the place.”
The destination turned out to be a village nestled deep in the mountains.
Yet for some reason, the forest’s verdant green had vanished entirely, replaced by a bleakness that seemed to cling to every corner.
The village’s atmosphere was oppressive.
Everyone wore the same haggard expression, their faces etched with despair.
What on earth could have driven them to this state?
Even with Baekrang-dae’s arrival, the villagers seemed incapable of mustering even a shred of hope.
Not long after reaching the village, the Village Chief came to greet them.
He promptly explained to O Chae-mu all that had transpired.
Ordinarily, Yeo Un-hui—now the leader of Baekrang-dae—would have heard the account, but since this mission was to be conducted as Baekrang-dae had always done with Yeo Un-hui observing from the sidelines, O Chae-mu was handling matters as he had before.
Once the conversation with the Village Chief concluded, O Chae-mu returned with a coldly set jaw.
“There’s reportedly a Bandit Stronghold somewhere in these parts.”
Everyone leaned in to listen.
The story began like that of any other village plagued by bandits.
The crisis truly began when these already ruthless brigands suddenly doubled the extortion payments they’d been collecting from the village just a few months prior.
The villagers, squeezed dry already, reached the limit of their endurance and appealed to the magistrate for aid, but received no response. In desperation, they made their final plea to the Peng Family.
Everyone knew that if word of this reached the bandits, they wouldn’t survive—but at this point, death seemed inevitable either way, so they found the courage to act.
Since even the magistrate had shown no interest in helping a village tucked away in such a remote corner, the Peng Family appeared equally unlikely to intervene. Thus, utterly destitute and without hope, their faces had grown dark.
“Hmm. They doubled the extortion payments all at once, did they?”
Having heard the full account, Yeo Un-hui stroked his chin thoughtfully.
O Chae-mu then voiced his own analysis.
“When bandits raise extortion payments, the reason is always the same—they mean to abandon this place soon. They’ve certainly doubled the amount to squeeze out as much as they can before they leave.”
Yet Yeo Un-hui’s expression showed skepticism.
“Is that truly the case?”
“Pardon? I’m not sure I follow, sir.”
“Something strikes me as odd about it. Might there not be other possibilities?”
At Yeo Un-hui’s counter-question, O Chae-mu’s eyebrows rose sharply.
A man who’d never once faced such circumstances spouting theories—it was absurd beyond measure.
Still, he had to at least appear attentive, so O Chae-mu asked out of courtesy.
“What other possibility did you have in mind, sir?”
Yeo Un-hui was just about to voice his thoughts in response.
But at that very moment—
“Look at this lot!”
A considerable force of bandits materialized before the village.
They’d come to extort more payments, clearly on their usual schedule.
As if by arrangement, to meet them here of all places.
The timing seemed almost too perfectly calculated to be mere coincidence.
As the villagers spotted these unfamiliar armed figures, the bandits’ demeanor grew visibly savage.
Yet they showed no inclination whatsoever to flee—they were either audaciously bold or possessed complete confidence.
Or perhaps both.
“What are you bastards playing at, huh?”
“Yeah, what the hell? Who are you lot?”
The bandits drew their weapons and began snarling.
“We’re from the Peng Family.”
At O Chae-mu’s matter-of-fact reply, the bandits flinched momentarily.
Yet their aggression didn’t diminish one whit.
Though startled, they seemed utterly unafraid of the Peng Family’s name.
Their reaction surprised Baekrang-dae, but they weren’t particularly shaken.
Wherever you went, there were always such witless fools who’d lived too sheltered to understand the world, their audacity boundless.
And for such creatures, only force would suffice.
“Whether you’ve convinced yourselves through sheer numbers, blind confidence, or something else entirely, I couldn’t say—but you’ll regret not dropping to your knees and begging for mercy right now.”
Gu Tae-san drew his massive Greatsword and stepped forward with deliberate strides.
The members of Baekrang-dae followed slowly in his wake.
But then—
“That’s rich! We’re the kings of these mountains! Get them, boys!”
The bandits didn’t retreat; instead, they roared defiantly and charged forward.
Thus the battle began.
“Do you think I should step in?”
Amid the din of clashing weapons and the cacophony of shouts and screams, Yeo Un-hui turned to O Chae-mu with the question.
O Chae-mu and several of his warriors flanked Yeo Un-hui, observing the unfolding chaos with unhurried composure.
“You mean us, sir?”
At Yeo Un-hui’s words, O Chae-mu let out a sharp laugh.
“The lord commander doesn’t yet understand—but the Baekrang-dae are formidable. We need not commit our full numbers against rabble like that.”
“Hmm.”
As if to prove O Chae-mu’s confident boast, dozens upon dozens of bandits were already toppling before the blades of the Baekrang-dae warriors.
Each fighter moved with practiced, unnatural grace.
Among them, the twin brothers Ki Su and Ki Sang, the archer Do Gyeong, and Gu Tae-san stood out with their exceptional prowess.
“Ggh!”
“Aaahhh!”
The Baekrang-dae showed no mercy in their execution.
Thieves were not spared.
Such was the will of Peng Mu-gang, head of the Peng Family.
And so the Baekrang-dae’s blades fell without hesitation upon the brigands who had returned to plague this village.
That a handful were left alive served a purpose.
O Chae-mu approached the bandits now, bound and kneeling in pools of their own blood, and spoke.
“Now then—guide us to your Bandit Stronghold.”
“Never. You think we’ll talk?”
One of them answered firmly, shaking his head, and the rest seemed ready to follow his resolve.
But then—
Flash.
A Baekrang-dae blade severed the defiant bandit’s neck cleanly,
and thump, roll-roll-roll.
The head hit the ground without so much as a blink, rolling until it locked eyes with the remaining survivors.
Shriek!
In that instant, all the false courage drained from the other bandits’ faces, leaving them ghost-white.
“Ah, I forgot to mention—one guide is sufficient. So now there are three of you left.”
The bandits suddenly understood that this was no time for stubborn pride.
And so—
“I-I know the way!”
“No, let me! Let me!”
Only one bandit, the first desperate to live, was spared; the rest had their necks opened to the ground.
“Quite ruthless,” Yeo Un-hui murmured,
tsk clicking his tongue.
Or rather, he pretended to.
O Chae-mu, this time, did not hide his true conviction and spoke openly.
“I’ve no desire to show mercy to irredeemable villains like them. Better to spend that effort saving one more innocent life than waste time on such pointless gestures.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
O Chae-mu answered with unwavering certainty.
It pleased him.
For Yeo Un-hui was perhaps the one person most inclined to agree with that philosophy.
“I hope that conviction never wavers.”
“Sir?”
“I concur with that view. Entirely.”
O Chae-mu had braced himself for the usual hollow platitudes about giving even villains a chance—only to have his own convictions affirmed so thoroughly, which threw him off balance in a different way entirely.
Yeo Un-hui and the Baekrang-dae soon set out for the Bandit Stronghold, with the volunteering bandit leading the way.
It did not take long before they arrived at their destination.
The Bandit Stronghold lay closer than expected.
“W-what—who are you people!”
One of the bandits guarding the entrance cried out in alarm.
They were not foolish.
Only one of their raiding party had returned, and only in the company of suspicious-looking warriors—the natural conclusion followed.
The bandits at the gate turned to flee inward, moving to bar the entrance.
But the Baekrang-dae’s sudden, bold appearance was no reckless gambit—it came from genuine confidence.
“Ki Su, Ki Sang.”
“Leave it to us!”
At O Chae-mu’s call, the twin brothers shot forward with lightning speed.
And then, with a burst of power, they launched themselves from Gu Tae-san’s outstretched palms as he pivoted to meet them.
“Hyaaaah!”
In that instant, Gu Tae-san’s two massive arms—each as thick as an adult man’s head—swelled as if about to burst.
And with that, Gu Tae-san hurled the two Baekrang-dae members high into the air.
It was, simply put, extraordinary brute strength.
The two figures, lifted high into the sky, tumbled as they fell back down into the Bandit Stronghold.
“What—what is this? You bastards! Ahhhhh!”
Chaos erupted inside at once.
The bandits who had been guarding the gate locked the doors and were cut down by Ki Su and Ki Sang’s blades before they could even report the intrusion.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
At the same time, other bandits frantically rang the alarm bell to warn of the uninvited guests,
but the hinges screeched open.
It was already too late.
The twin brothers had completed their task.
The Bandit Stronghold’s sealed gate swung open.
“You bastards!”
The bandits who spotted this rushed at Ki Su and Ki Sang.
Then,
Twang! Twang! Twang!
Thud! Crack!
Do Gyeong’s arrows pierced through the bandits’ heads in succession.
O Chae-mu raised his hand and pointed forward, and the Baekrang-dae members who had already drawn their swords launched themselves into the Bandit Stronghold.
“How in blazes did you get here!”
“Gahhhhh!”
“Aaahhh! Please—spare us!”
“S-stop them! Stop them, I say!”
The bandits, utterly unprepared, fell helplessly before the Baekrang-dae’s onslaught.
‘Hmm.’
Yeo Un-hui let out a quiet murmur of appreciation.
Their coordination was remarkably skilled and swift.
Though they appeared more like masterless swordsmen than a martial force of a great family, their ability was genuine.
For Yeo Un-hui, who had always fought alone, the fluid coordination and movements of the Baekrang-dae were nothing short of fascinating.
They clearly bore the mark of having drilled their formations together for years on end.
So Yeo Un-hui watched the battle unfold with great interest, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, O Chae-mu was utterly bewildered.
He had heard the man was nothing but a scholar who studied books.
One who had never properly learned martial arts.
A lucky son-in-law who found fortune after meeting young Lady Peng Seo-yeon.
Such a man ought to be panic-stricken at the mere sight of heads rolling before his eyes.
He should never have witnessed people die like this before.
Yet this fellow—against all expectation—showed no shock whatsoever, only nodding with fascination as he surveyed the unfolding scene.
As though such carnage were second nature to him.
That couldn’t be. But then, how could it be?
Above all, his composure in the face of this bloodshed—a scene barely different from open warfare—signaled a grave flaw in O Chae-mu’s carefully laid plan.
‘Tch. This fellow… what in heaven’s name is he?’
The operation felt as though it would end in failure.
A premonition told him he would need to devise a different strategy and return.
But first, he had to see this through to the end.
Fortunately, taking control of the Bandit Stronghold had proven easier than anticipated.
That was when it happened.
Thoom.
A tremendous murderous aura suddenly materialized.
“You wretches! What do you dare do in my stronghold!”
A voice infused with Internal Energy rang out as a massive axe crashed down upon the floor.
Crash! Boom!
The ground split and splintered with the force of the impact.
The Baekrang-dae members halted their assault and retreated.
The tide of battle had shifted in an instant.

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