The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 64

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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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Surviving in the Martial Realm as a Mage: Episode 64
The water bandits of Sungwha Island.
A pirate band that rumors had been circulating about recently in the surrounding areas.
Clad in black martial robes, they were commonly called the Black Dragon Gang, and despite the relentless grueling labor that continued day after day, they were surprisingly satisfied with their lot.
“Life is actually worth living these days.”
“Now that I think about it, I can’t remember the last time I felt hungry.”
“Before the Great Leader came, we were always starving.”
“That’s right.”
Most of the water bandits had turned to banditry because they were hungry.
State officials plundered their grain stores.
Local powerbrokers squeezed them dry of provisions through various means.
And with poor harvests and natural disasters piling up year after year,
ordinary people had no way to survive.
So they turned to banditry.
The problem came after they became bandits.
The lower-ranking bandits still went hungry.
Even when they accumulated wealth through banditry,
the bandits above them would extort it all away.
Bandit work was dangerous, the labor was grueling, and their lives were filled with curses and violence.
Living day by day on the brink of death,
a deity called Janggang Heukryong suddenly appeared, utterly destroyed all the water bandit gangs in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and unified them into one.
What happened after that was an enormous change for the bandits.
Janggang Heukryong freely opened the treasures piled high in the warehouses and bought unlimited provisions.
And he gave them work that wasn’t even particularly grueling, keeping the bandits well-fed.
They didn’t even have to do the dangerous banditry like before.
“The Great Leader even built us houses.”
“He even installed running water and sewage systems.”
“Right. Life really feels worth living these days!”
“It’s only the old bosses who are suffering.”
“Why should we even care about that?”
All the thatched houses that had existed before were torn down and rebuilt as brick houses.
Using both magic and pure labor, complete water and sewage systems were installed.
“I wish we could live like this forever.”
Separate from what most of the bandits thought,
the bandits who had previously been bosses ruling each water faction were living a truly miserable existence day by day.
Not only had they lost all their wealth in an instant after living luxuriously before,
unlike the ordinary bandits, they were subjected to surveillance and control so harsh it seemed almost cruel, applied in real time.
“Sigh, I can’t even escape. This is driving me mad. How much longer do I have to live like this?”
“Heh heh, if you’re fed up, why don’t you try charging at him?”
By a small well on Sungwha Island.
Cheolhyeol Sword Maeng Ryeo crouched on the ground, lighting tobacco and letting out a derisive snort.
Soon Hong-dan, once the heir to the Jiao Long Faction, released a sigh before scratching the side of his head and responding.
“Our Yangtze River Bandits’ mad dog. I can’t fathom when Senior Maeng became such a gentle lamb. Your loyalty is truly remarkable.”
“Listen here, kid. Unlike you, I have an eye for people, yeah? Our Great Leader isn’t someone to be trifled with. Watch your tongue.”
Maeng Ryeo’s low warning. Yet Soon Hong-dan, as though all his pent-up frustrations had finally reached a breaking point, suddenly erupted.
“Ha! An eye for people? You mean a talent for finding a master to serve? Watch my tongue, my ass! Cough! Spit!”
“Oh? Our young master shows admirable courage.”
Cheolhyeol Sword Maeng Ryeo rose slightly from his crouch and took a step back to the side.
Then, near the well where they stood, a man with an expressionless face materialized like smoke.
“Don’t cause trouble for people, vermin.”
“…!”
This man was a master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect!
Soon Hong-dan, still not knowing the name of this expert, felt the man’s gaze settle upon him with an expression brimming with annoyance.
“Why do you just stand there watching? You mutter from the shadows but lack the courage to face me directly?”
“Eek!”
Maeng Ryeo extended an arm to restrain Soon Hong-dan, who was trembling and about to step forward, and opened his mouth.
“Master of the Demonic Sect, might you show some leniency toward this wretch? After all, he’s still young, is he not?”
“Amusing. Why should I show leniency to this fool? Before any troublesome matters arise, I could simply kill him and be done with it.”
A master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
Yaksha Lord Mun Wol.
A cold smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Maeng Ryeo, meeting that smile, spoke calmly through his cracked lips.
“He is a rather useful laborer when put to work. I suspect the Great Leader would not be pleased to see his workers perish. You might even face censure for it.”
“Hmm….”
Yaksha Lord Mun Wol.
The commander of the personal guard unit closest to Bing Baek Ma-gun Gu Sang-hak.
At the mention of “Great Leader,” he withdrew his hand from caressing his sword hilt and spoke.
“Honestly, I still don’t understand what kind of person the Great Leader is. That’s probably why this reckless fool has managed to survive.”
“….”
Soon Hong-dan, unable to utter a word, finally lowered his head at Maeng Ryeo’s glance.
Though he had spoken rashly in youthful impetuousness just moments before, clarity returned to him as time passed.
‘I must have lost my mind.’
Those gathered on Sungwha Island were not merely water bandits.
Alongside the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, which was called a public enemy of Kangho and Murim, there were also monsters from the Orthodox Sects.
Honestly, the bounties alone on the heads of the Murim public enemies here would exceed tens of thousands of gold pieces.
Yet even such formidable individuals were now silently carrying out the trivial tasks assigned to them.
‘I was being childish.’
Soon Hong-dan.
Until recently, as the heir to the Jiao Long Faction, he had lived a life of abundance and comfort.
Now conscripted as a laborer building the Magic Tower, the stark disparity had momentarily clouded his judgment.
‘When I think about it, I’m not the only one in this situation.’
Even the leaders of the Yan Wang Faction and Blood Wolf Faction, who wielded considerable influence in the Yangtze River Bandits, were nothing more than laborers like himself.
They were conscripted daily to haul earthen bricks or construct staircases.
The Ooryong Chae, which had joined relatively recently, seemed to have it slightly better.
Rather than pure manual labor, they sailed vessels and collected tolls from merchant ships passing through the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
‘I was a fool.’
Soon Hong-dan reflected with his head bowed, biting his lower lip.
He had belatedly realized that he had acted recklessly without understanding his place.
He knew there were watchers around him, but he never imagined they would attempt to kill him so directly.
In short, he had indulged his impulses while using ignorance as a shield.
The price should have been death, but he survived thanks to Cheolhyeol Sword Maeng Ryeo’s intervention just now.
“Tsk, slack off appropriately and rejoin the work. I’ll continue watching.”
With those words alone, the master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect vanished before his eyes like a ghost.
Soon Hong-dan’s shoulders sagged as he muttered softly.
“Thank you, Maeng, Great Hero.”
Cheolhyeol Sword Maeng Ryeo said nothing, simply dropping the tobacco he held to the ground and crushing it beneath his foot.
“Sigh, your father—the Yangtze River Old Man, Sun Tae-go, the faction leader—and I have at least some old affection between us, so you needn’t worry. Still, it seems you should learn to fend for yourself from now on.”
“Thank you for the counsel.”
As Soon Hong-dan obediently bowed, Maeng Ryeo nodded and rose from his seat.
He was returning to construct the Magic Tower.
The tenth floor was now within reach.
Once that was completed, wouldn’t the situation improve somewhat?
He harbored this vain hope.
* * *
Goe Cheol of the Blood Flame Demon Army was quite the talker.
Throughout the entire voyage to Sungwha Island.
Ilhyang had learned not only about this old man’s complicated family relationships, but even the name of the cat the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect kept.
“Krahaha! That’s why I can tolerate most things, but I simply cannot abide those who torment cats!”
Starting from his exploits in Kangho, where he had beaten Orthodox Sect martial artists to death.
Down to the subtle factional disputes within the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect itself.
These were all stories he had volunteered without being asked.
“Now I understand why Gu Sang-hak dislikes you.”
“Hehe, that Ice White Horse Army fellow never liked anyone to begin with, so it doesn’t bother me at all.”
“Surprising. He seemed quite composed and capable.”
As Ilhyang recalled Gu Sang-hak’s stern expression and replied, Goe Cheol of the Blood Flame Demon Army nodded.
“In terms of work, well, he’s not bad. He’s quite capable, after all. But given his personality flaws, his reputation within the sect isn’t particularly good.”
“I only care if the work is done well.”
As long as the work was done well, there was no need to flatter or fawn.
While Ilhyang stood on the deck, breathing in the winter wind with such thoughts.
“W-we’ve arrived, Black Dragon Elder.”
The Ship Captain of the passenger vessel approached with a thoroughly frightened expression, bowing repeatedly as he made his report.
In the meantime.
Sailing ships were converging from far in the distance to encircle this passenger vessel.
Whoooosh—
The rapidly approaching sailing ship bore a crimson flag emblazoned with a black dragon, fluttering from its mast.
Upon seeing this unfamiliar flag, Ilhyang tilted his head in curiosity before breaking into a slight smile.
“That flag appears to be Gong Jeol-gang’s handiwork.”
“Y-yes, sir. It is the symbol of the Black Dragon Gang. He began flying it recently.”
“Amusing. He has completed his assignment well.”
Before Ilhyang departed for the Upper Realm.
He had instructed Gong Jeol-gang to create symbols that could unite the rabble that had gathered, since they lacked cohesion.
This flag was apparently the result of that command.
At that moment.
Whoosh—
Thud—!
A figure launched himself from the sailing ship onto the passenger vessel’s deck in an instant.
He was a face I had never seen before.
He appeared to be somewhere between forty and fifty years old, dressed in a pitch-black martial robe, and maintained a perpetually furrowed expression as he opened his mouth.
“Who dared command passage through here without prior arrangement? Did you not know this is a forbidden navigation zone!”
As the Ship Captain of the passenger vessel turned ashen with fear and stammered.
Ilhyang, who had been sitting on the deck railing, spoke softly.
“I commanded it.”
“You are… Gasp! Could it be! Are you the Stronghold Lord!”
The Black Dragon Gang.
This was the name Gong Jeol-gang had conceived for his organization.
A name I had heard from the passenger vessel’s captain earlier and deemed reasonably fitting.
“Were you formerly with the Ooryong Chae?”
“Y-yes, sir. Stronghold Lord. My name is Guk Jung-san!”
“Well then, Captain Guk. It seems you are managing your duties admirably.”
Ilhyang withdrew several gold ingots from his robes and tossed them to the passenger vessel’s Ship Captain as he spoke.
“Return carefully. You have done well.”
“Th-thank you, Stronghold Lord!”
He would have been grateful merely to escape with his life.
Yet to receive such a fortune as well!
While the captain, despite his fear, could not suppress his joy and grinned widely.
Ilhyang nodded and glanced toward the Blood Flame Demon Army behind him as he spoke.
“We have roughly a hundred special workers. There should be room aboard, yes, Captain Guk?”
“O-of course, Stronghold Lord.”
“Then let us transfer.”
As Ilhyang walked through the air onto the sailing ship that Guk Jung-san had arrived in, he made the transition.
Goe Cheol, who had been standing behind, let out a low exclamation of admiration as he watched the scene unfold, then boarded a different vessel along with his subordinates.
As Ilhyang made his way toward Sungwha Island, he turned to Guk Jung-san with a question.
“Nothing unusual happened while I was away, correct?”
“Ah! Well… we have a guest.”
“A guest?”
Who could it be?
I tilted my head in brief confusion before a sudden thought struck me, and I opened my mouth.
“The Namgung Clan?”
“Yes. The client has arrived.”
Now that I thought about it, before ascending to the Upper Realm.
I recalled accepting a commission from the Namgung Clan.
‘The Seventh Princess, if I recall correctly.’
It was a time bomb the Namgung Clan had brazenly foisted upon me.
But the compensation was far too sweet to refuse.
A movement technique.
They promised to give the Chipoosa Faction as a reward.
And it was paid upfront, no less.
“Let’s hurry.”
“Understood.”
Ilhyang’s eyes gleamed as I urged Guk Jung-san forward.
Behind us, Goe Cheol of the Blood Flame Demon Army lingered, his expression awkward as he surveyed his surroundings.
But he was already beneath my notice.

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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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