The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 380

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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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The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 380

Chapter 380. A Letter from the Northern Sea Ice Palace (4)

Four days had already passed since I left the Hubei Province Headquarters.
And I kept my word.
“Oh my….”
“Isn’t this going too far?”
Before my eyes lay Jin-ho and the members of the Sixth Squad, groaning and sprawled on the ground.
Today marked the second day of sparring.
Following yesterday, this morning I had sparred against Jin-ho and the Sixth Squad as I had promised.
However, my Guard Warriors stepped forward instead of me. They had requested this of me when I mentioned sparring with them.

“We shall take the front lines. Please grant us this request.”
“Is there a reason?”
“We are your Guard Warriors. It means we must always stand before our lord. Furthermore, we too wish to gain practical combat experience.”

Palgap spoke to me as I deliberated.

“Young Master, a true leader always makes their entrance last.”
“Hmm, is that so?”

Isn’t the title “Bandit Chief” a bit odd-sounding, though?
In any case, I accepted their request and sought Jin-ho’s understanding regarding the matter.
Jin-ho was delighted and accepted immediately, but… was this truly such a good thing?
In some ways, my Guard Warriors possessed even harsher temperaments than I did.
Even if Jin-ho was a Peak Warrior, I had two Peak Warriors among my guards.
The remaining four were also exceptionally skilled among first-rate warriors.
Jin-ho couldn’t withstand the combined assault of Seo-woo Warrior and Jin Yu Warrior for long before collapsing, and the Six Instructors fell one by one against my remaining four warriors.
He lasted perhaps half a watch longer than yesterday, but that was barely more than a single watch.
Though he had steeled his resolve based on yesterday’s experience, my Guard Warriors’ skills were far from ordinary.
I approached Jin-ho.
“Are you alright, Elder Brother?”
“You bastard, don’t offer me your hand while grinning!”
“Sorry. But I can’t help laughing.”
“Damn it!”
“Still, you lasted a bit longer today than yesterday?”
I felt grateful that Jin-ho was making an effort to fight according to my intentions.
.
.
.
Before long, we had left Hubei and entered Henan.
Hubei was a place where the Eunhae Trading Company’s influence ran deep, so the Green Forest Bandits didn’t dare show their faces there.
But Henan was different.
Though it was the headquarters of the Murim Alliance and Shaolin, they wouldn’t intervene unless someone touched them or their associates.
If they were to actively suppress the bandits, there would inevitably be casualties, and there was no reason to bear that cost.
Knowing this, the Green Forest Bandits in Henan only targeted those they could safely prey upon.
For instance, merchant guilds like us.
“Killing intent.”
At Jin Yu Warrior’s words, I let out a sigh.
“I see. Inform everyone that there are those ahead who have set their sights on us.”
“Understood.”
Jin Yu Warrior first informed Ha Pyo-doo of this fact. Ha Pyo-doo then announced it to everyone.
“Prepare for combat.”
“Yes, sir!”
Usually they’d collect a toll and let us pass, but this intense killing intent…
There was no way we’d get through quietly.
In other words, they knew what we were carrying. News travels fast indeed.
Since food prices had reached their peak value right now, what we carried was far beyond what the Green Forest Bandits could overlook for mere tolls.
Moments later.
Twang—!
An arrow flew toward us.
Crack—!
Jin-ho’s Azure Dragon technique cleaved through the arrow. The battle had begun.
“Attack! There’s food over there!”
At the command of what appeared to be the Mountain Stronghold Master, the Green Forest Bandits roared and charged at us.
We responded with composure.
“Don’t let them take it!”
“Yes!”
The Changin Escort Agency’s escort warriors fought valiantly, and our Eun Pung-dae held our ground without yielding.
However….
“Argh! You bastards! Are you really hitting us?”
“It really hurts, you damn fools!”
“Sir! Weren’t we happy in our Eun Pung-dae? Weren’t we content?”
Was it merely my imagination that their fury seemed directed not at the Green Forest Bandits, but elsewhere?
With that thought, I turned to look at the Guard Warriors.
“It seems we may have been a bit harsh.”
At Seo-woo Warrior’s words, I chuckled and replied.
“Not at all. Please continue doing exactly that. Thanks to you, the killer instinct that was lacking has been properly sharpened.”
With those words, I drew my sword as well.
I ordered Palgap to protect Seo Hyang, then fought alongside the Guard Warriors against the Green Forest Bandits.
Though they outnumbered us, they were no match for our strength.
Excluding myself, we had four peak-realm warriors.
Ha Cheol Pyo-du was also a peak-realm warrior, after all.
After half an hour.
The situation was over, and we hastily departed.
Lingering long in a place soaked with blood would only attract wild beasts and flies.

We arrived in Luoyang and immediately boarded a boat.
We chose to travel by boat to Jinan and then head straight north from there.
Ah, traveling by boat is certainly more comfortable.
I lay on the cabin roof, gazing up at the sky. The spring sky had a way of making one feel languid.
“Seo-woo Warrior.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Have the sparring matches against Elder Brother Jin-ho and the Sixth Squad been helpful?”
Seo-woo Warrior answered my question.
“Yes. They have been invaluable in learning how to efficiently face multiple opponents and how to use my inner energy more effectively.”
“I’m glad to hear it’s been beneficial.”
“It’s unfortunate that we cannot conduct group training while traveling by boat.”
As I conversed with Seo-woo Warrior, I reviewed the report that Elder Brother Jin-ho had submitted.
I had persistently pushed Elder Brother Jin-ho to provide detailed battle reports analyzing his fights.
I still could not forget the contents of the first report Elder Brother Jin-ho had written.

[Fought. Lost. Seo-ho was stronger than me. The places I was hit still hurt.]

That day, Elder Brother Jin-ho had endured an hour of my lectures and was forced to rewrite the report.
After repeating this process several times, he eventually began producing reports worth reading.
And I could gradually sense that Elder Brother Jin-ho was now fighting while thinking strategically.
Indeed, it was a matter of unwillingness, not inability.
Elder Brother Jin-ho was grasping the principles of efficient combat faster than I had anticipated.
His preference for overwhelming force in the opening exchange had led him to cling to that approach, but Elder Brother Jin-ho was never lacking in intellect.
“Seo-woo Warrior and Jin Yu Warrior, starting tomorrow, let’s have Elder Brother Jin-ho spar with each of you one-on-one every morning.”
“Understood.”
During our journey by boat, I intended to give Elder Brother Jin-ho a thorough understanding of what numerical combat truly meant.

* * *

Baek Woo-i, Vice Squad Leader of the Eunpung Guard Six Commanders, was a warrior with fifteen years of experience this year.
He had held the position of Vice Squad Leader even before Eun Jin-ho became the Squad Leader of the Six Commanders.
Because he possessed such extensive experience, he was always uneasy watching Eun Jin-ho.
He understood that victory and defeat were not determined solely by the level of martial prowess.
Yet Eun Jin-ho had insisted all this time that strategy was unnecessary, crying out that the first strike guarantees victory, and had pushed through with his own convictions.
As Vice Squad Leader, he had been wrestling with whether he should speak to Eun Jin-ho about this or simply wait and see.
But such worries were resolved by an unexpected person.
Thanks to Eun Seo-ho, Eun Jin-ho’s younger brother and Small Guild Master, who advised Eun Jin-ho to fight with his mind.
The problem was that to help Eun Jin-ho internalize a different fighting approach, he had drawn the entire Six Commanders into the training.
His leg still throbbed from the blows dealt by Seo-woo. His back ached from the strikes by Jin Yu.
But….
As the sparring continued, the Six Commanders’ eyes grew sharper, and he could feel their strength steadily increasing.
Only then did Baek Woo-i realize it.
That Eun Seo-ho truly cherished Eun Jin-ho.
That putting the Six Commanders, including himself, through such training was all for the sake of helping Eun Jin-ho.
As he was thinking such thoughts, he doubted his own eyes.
Eun Jin-ho was reading what appeared to be a book on military strategy.
“S-Squad Leader? Surely the book you’re reading right now isn’t a military strategy manual?”
“It is.”
“But didn’t you say all this time that strategy was unnecessary?”
“I did. But seeing my own squad members getting beaten because of me made me feel so sorry I thought I’d go mad. So I got a strategy manual before boarding the boat.”
Now that he thought about it, Eun Jin-ho had said he was going somewhere briefly before boarding the boat, and it seemed he had gone to the bookstore.
“Then you didn’t learn about strategy from the Stronghold Master?”
“He probably tried to teach me. But I didn’t pay attention back then.”
“….”
“As I read the strategy manual, I’m starting to remember what I learned back then. Damn it! And I’m realizing just how foolishly I’ve been fighting.”
Watching Eun Jin-ho speak thus, Baek Woo-i thought to himself.
Leaps and bounds of progress.
Honestly, Eun Jin-ho’s spear technique was formidable. If he could now use his mind as well….
Baek Woo-i swallowed hard.
In Hubei Province, the very name Eun Jin-ho would become a powerful shield.
‘In other words, a mighty warrior to protect the Eunhae Trading Company!’
That was likely Eun Seo-ho’s true purpose. He looked forward to Eun Jin-ho’s future even more.
‘Then I too must grow stronger! I can’t fall behind as Vice Squad Leader when the Squad Leader is growing!’
Baek Woo-i clenched his fists tightly.
“And Seo-ho told me that starting tomorrow morning, I’m to have one-on-one sparring matches against Seo-woo Warrior and Jin Yu Warrior.”
Eun Jin-ho ground his teeth.
“This time, I’ll definitely smash that smug face of theirs!”
And still, Eun Seo-ho was excellent at fishing for motivation.

* * *

“Young Master, we’ve reached Jinan.”
At Palgap’s words, I nodded.
“We should start preparing to disembark soon.”
The comfortable journey ends here. The moment we leave the boat, the arduous road begins anew.
The Green Forest Bandits will come rushing after the grain again.
Still, the government roads from Jinan to Beijing are well-maintained, and it’s a region where civil unrest hasn’t erupted.
The Green Forest Bandits are one thing, but I don’t feel good about cutting down common folk.
We soon arrived at Jinan and disembarked from the boat.
Watching the Cart Laborers unload the grain from the boat, I asked Ha Pyo-doo.
“Do we depart immediately?”
“Yes. It’s difficult, but it seems necessary. Still, if we travel for just one hour, there’s a place where we can wash and rest. We can spend the night there.”
“Understood.”
It would be better for the horses, freshly disembarked from the boat, to rest at an inn, but our circumstances didn’t allow for it.
Fortunately, just as Ha Pyo-doo said, we arrived at a suitable place within an hour’s journey.
A decent stream flowed nearby.
Upon arriving there, I fell into a moment of reflection.
In my previous life, when I traveled as a merchant, I had occasionally camped here.
Thinking of those days felt strangely nostalgic.

Preparing the campsite had become routine by now.
The group divided in half—one half set up the campsite while the other went to wash.
The Yellow River we traveled by boat was murky yellow silt, but the stream here was clear enough to see the bottom.
Clean enough to drink.
In other words, an ideal campsite.
Shortly after, those who had gone to wash returned with clean faces, and those who had been preparing the campsite switched places to begin preparing the meal.
Those who had been setting up the campsite went to wash, and after about an hour, when they returned, it was the women’s turn.
There were women among both the Eunpung Guard Six Commanders and the Escort Warriors of the Changin Escort Agency.
“Gwak Vice-Manager, please go wash as well.”
“Yes, I’ll be back shortly.”
Seo Hyang went to wash with the others.
I sat before the campfire waiting for dinner. I planned to wash separately after eating.
Though I wanted to wash quickly, those who had worked hard should go first.
I used the spare moment to read the combat report that Jin-ho had submitted.
He’d recently obtained military treatises to study, and the results were clearly showing.

My opponent was Seo-woo Warrior. He came from the Pyodo background, and as a result, he was a warrior who employed quite practical swordplay. Moreover, because protecting others had become habitual for him, he frequently surveyed his surroundings.
To defeat such a Seo-woo Warrior, I determined that an unconventional combat method would be necessary.
So this time, I would employ attacks designed to induce Seo-woo Warrior to move as much as possible, thereby depleting his stamina….]

I let out a soft chuckle and burned the report.
It was partly because Jin-ho had analyzed it quite keenly, and there was no benefit in leaving such things lying around.

Shortly after, Seo Hyang returned. For some reason, a plum blossom fragrance emanated from her.
Now that I thought about it, a sweet plum blossom scent had been coming from her for some time.
I was curious what fragrance it was.
“Is there something you wished to ask me?”
“By chance, do you use any fragrance?”
“Fragrance?”
She shook her head.
“No. I don’t use fragrance. It’s expensive and I don’t really need it.”
“I see.”
She didn’t use fragrance, yet this plum blossom scent….
Now that I thought about it, Bing Haerin, Young Palace Master had carried an orchid fragrance.
I still couldn’t determine the reason for any of this.

After finishing our evening meal, we prepared for sleep.
Sleeping on the floor had become familiar by now.
Thinking this, I started to go to Seo Hyang and tell her to rest, but I stopped short.
Her eyes lacked focus.
Could she have seen the future?
Moments later, Seo Hyang looked at me with a grave expression.
“Um, Small Guild Master.”
“What is it?”

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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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