Chapter 163: Escort Agency Alliances
The delicious food pleased their mouths, and as the liquor flowed, their spirits rose.
As the sun went down and darkness fell, a large bonfire flickered; if the atmosphere loosened up just a little more, it wouldn’t be surprising if songs and dances broke out.
In the midst of this, talk of sparring came up.
No matter how weak-willed a person is, once liquor goes down, their blood boils.
In a place full of such men, once talk of establishing a male hierarchy came out, the situation was already irreversible.
“Kua! This is it!!”
“Fight! Fight!”
The sound of glasses shattering rang out from all directions. It was the doing of those who had already been consumed by liquor and turned into beasts.
Glancing back at Baek Mu-ho, his expression was unusual.
Because all of that was money.
Grrrk!
The sound of Baek Mu-ho grinding his teeth harshly spoke for his mood.
‘Anyway, now I get to see it.’
Although he couldn’t help but pity Baek Mu-ho’s position with the increased workload, his interest was already directed toward the center of the commotion where the escort warriors gathered.
Pressed by the unavoidable atmosphere, Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo stood up from his seat with a reluctant look.
“Since it’s an atmosphere where I must, I shall, but do you intend to use real blades?”
“Hey, that spoils the fun. Let’s not say such things.”
As if he had planned this from the start, the opponent pulled out his blade without hesitation.
The well-maintained, clean blade glistened red under the firelight.
“You might get hurt, though?”
“Isn’t a scar like a medal of honor for a man!”
“Ooooh!”
“Indeed! That’s right! Of course!”
Wahahahahaha!!
At that single spirited remark, the atmosphere heated up.
If he said even one more word, mockings of whether he was scared would fly at him.
“Your tongue is quite long. Are you perhaps scared?”
The escort warrior standing before Myeong Il-seo sneered.
“Wahahaha!! He said it! That fellow actually said it!!”
“Show us the strength of the Bright Fate Escort Agency! If you can, that is! Hahaha!”
Incitement and mockery rose like a swarm of bees, filling the surroundings.
In the midst of this, there were those who watched carefully with cool eyes.
[There are instigators.]
“It seems so.”
Apparently, someone wanted to see the practical strength of the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
If they did not meet expectations, they would probably crush them immediately.
One could view this as the response of the escort agencies who were humiliated by Ju So-ran’s boldness in declaring that she would openly absorb the forces of other agencies if needed.
Although they didn’t participate directly, those quick-witted ones who grasped the unfolding situation also condoned it.
They, too, probably wanted to check the capabilities of the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
“If that’s the case.”
As if a firm center was established in his heart just like his solidified skills, Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo drew his blade while calmly taking in the surrounding malice.
“Here I come!”
Toward the opponent rushing forward with a spirited shout, Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo’s blade moved.
The result of that exchange silenced the surroundings in an instant.
“……A single exchange?”
“What in the world……”
“Heh……”
The exhilaration everyone expected was nowhere to be found. The sound of clashing blades did not ring even once.
Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo’s blade was resting against the neck of the opponent who had rushed forward so spiritedly.
A droplet of blood rolled down the blade touching his neck.
“I am sorry the medal is small.”
“Uh…… it was the left…… no, why is the blade on the right……”
The opposing escort warrior, who still couldn’t grasp the situation, could not escape his confusion.
Those watching also wore expressions of incomprehension.
While a deep silence dominated the surroundings, he barely held back the laughter that threatened to burst out.
‘That was what I showed him.’
Originally, the martial arts Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo used required him to throw himself as bait to gain a small advantage.
He had shown Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo that he could show the same technique well enough without taking such unreasonable risks.
That first move was it.
[He is still clumsy, but his center has become quite stable compared to before.]
To his Master, it seemed far from satisfactory. Even to his own eyes, there were quite a few loose ends.
But it was definitely a remarkable growth in that he could now display technique without taking the risk of throwing himself as bait.
“I will try next.”
Perhaps because the result was so overwhelming, there was no festive, cheerful atmosphere.
In a situation filled only with murmurs of commotion, a middle-aged man stepped forward.
“It’s Escort Leader Jeong of the Seongryu Escort Agency!”
“Woah!”
The opponent this time seemed to be a fairly well-known escort leader.
Drawing his blade and standing directly in front of Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo, the man called Escort Leader Jeong spoke with interest.
“You have changed quite a bit. At this rate, it is almost at the level of learning a new martial art.”
He seemed to be someone who knew Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo from before he formed a connection with Yeon Cheong-un.
It was bound to be a world of difference compared to back then.
“I obtained a great fortuitous encounter.”
“I am envious. That you can change even at that age. Well then, let us see the results of that encounter.”
Escort Leader Jeong and Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo took a large step forward and swung their blades.
Clang! Clang-clang! Clang!!
The blades clashed rapidly, sending out loud metallic sounds.
As a proper duel unfolded, the people gradually showed signs of shaking off the shock.
“It must have been a coincidence.”
“Being caught off guard probably played a big part too.”
However, those with discerning eyes saw their expressions stiffen as the exchange dragged on.
Baek Mu-ho also asked him with an intrigued look.
“Is that the martial art you taught him?”
“Yes, that’s right. How does it look to you?”
“……It’s annoying. Unless you crush it from the start with sheer skill, the variables will become too large.”
Baek Mu-ho’s evaluation was close to high praise.
Clang!
“……Kh!”
No sooner had Baek Mu-ho finished speaking than Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo began to seize the momentum.
Most of the watching escort warriors wore expressions of confusion.
In truth, that martial art showed its true value when facing an opponent head-on.
“Every movement endlessly forces a choice between left and right. That gentleman uses his shoulders well.”
The beginning of an attack is the shoulder. In actual combat, it is basic to read the opponent’s attack through the direction of their shoulders and eyes.
Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo had acquired and used that subtle principle through real combat.
Even though he had established the framework of the martial art and strengthened his foundation, his inherent nature did not change.
That was why the first escort warrior he faced was defeated in a single exchange.
He thought the blade was swinging from the left, but in reality, it cut from the right.
“It feels like Mount Hua Sect’s technique with the excess stripped away. Truth and falsehood. Is it a feint, or a real strike? Even if the choice is narrow since it’s a binary option, if it connects continuously, the story is different. Furthermore, it has decent speed, which covers its obvious flaws well. Once caught up in it, it will be troublesome to deal with.”
It was a martial art touched by Master Zhang Sanfeng. Even if it was a martial art with inherent limitations, it was only natural for it to be enhanced to a level that could not be ignored.
“You created that kind of martial art?”
“Somehow it turned out that way.”
“When did you even learn swordsmanship?”
Having no particular answer, he simply shrugged his shoulders.
Meanwhile, he looked for points of improvement in the martial art Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo was performing.
‘Now, if he only equips a pure internal cultivation method, his center will be properly established.’
Then, a martial art comparable to any famous sect’s would be completed in no time.
Of course, since internal energy is not achieved overnight, it would take time to see results, but preparing a proper foundation was as good as half-completed.
‘Although his basics have become much firmer, due to the nature of the martial art, he might focus too much on technique and lose his direction, so I will also need to point that out. One way or another, there are quite a few things to polish.’
Perhaps because he had grown accustomed to looking down from a high perspective after spending a long time with his masters, various points of improvement stood out.
Waaahhhhhh!!
With a massive roar, the match concluded.
Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo’s blade, which had been overwhelming the opponent, rested against Escort Leader Jeong’s neck.
Escort Leader Jeong spoke with a trembling voice.
“I-impressive……. Just what kind of price did you pay to be taught such an ultimate art?”
“Well, from my perspective, it was nothing much.”
“Ha! I am envious.”
Escort Leader Jeong could not close his agape mouth.
Suddenly, Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo turned his head and looked at him.
It was a gaze asking for permission.
‘What’s the point now?’
Smirking, he nodded his head.
Having received his permission, Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo spoke nonchalantly.
“If you are envious, come. The Bright Fate Escort Agency is not a place that is stingy with its help.”
“……”
Greatly flustered, Escort Leader Jeong’s Adam’s apple bobbed noisily.
If one wanted, they could learn such martial arts.
At the declaration openly thrown out, the area began to turn chaotic.
The air heated up in a different sense than at first.
‘He still has his temper.’
Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo had also noticed it.
He openly mocked the escort agencies that had stepped forward to test the Bright Fate Escort Agency.
He thought that depending on Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo’s skill, they might become the eye of the storm in this meeting of escort agencies, and it truly turned out that way.
The Bright Fate Escort Agency was no longer an existence to be ignored.
***
When morning came, several escort agencies left as if fleeing.
They judged that their people might be taken away due to Escort Leader Myeong Il-seo’s skills and remarks shown last night.
It was not a wise decision.
Unless they were held by the leash of a contract resembling shackles, in the end, one cannot hold onto a person whose heart has left.
It seemed to be a misjudgment made in a hurry, but the escort agencies fleeing now would pay a heavy price in the future.
Deciding to urgently separate their people from the Bright Fate Escort Agency was no different from revealing their distrust of their subordinates.
‘The Bright Fate Escort Agency will grow faster than expected.’
For him, it was a good thing.
The chiefs’ meeting, which started amidst thick tension, proceeded in a heavy atmosphere, with the first day’s harmony completely gone.
The discussions mainly focused on how much the Green Forest’s sphere of influence was fluctuating due to its movements, what steps the Green Forest would take in the future, and what consequences would arise from them.
To sum up the conclusion, it was sluggish.
There was too little information.
The Seventy-Two Fortresses of the Green Forest are showing movements to reborn as a single power through a great harmony.
Everything discussed now was based solely on this one possibility.
Whether there was truly a possibility of the Green Forest uniting into a single power, which place was leading the talks if so, and how many factions existed if they were split.
Lacking concrete information, only speculations were traded back and forth.
In that case, was the harmony between the escort agencies going well? Not at all.
Everyone was opening their mouths, but perhaps having the same thought as him, one person finally stepped forward, bringing the meaningless speculation to a close.
“At this rate, this is just academic discussion!”
“Haha! Then it seems the Chief of the Daejin Escort Agency has some special measure?”
‘Daejin Escort Agency?’
It was the place where the crazy guy who said he would become a bandit himself to collect tolls just to create work for the escort agency was from.
“Sigh…… I wasn’t planning on speaking about this…… but it might be better than this sluggishness. So…… what I am saying is……”
The preface was somewhat long.
“What is important right now is information from inside the Green Forest. Since we have no information, aren’t we making no progress? So…… how about we each send a letter to the place where the Seventy-Two Fortresses of the Green Forest are meeting? Asking them to let us know how the internal situation is turning out. If you are chiefs of this level, shouldn’t you have a few familiar bandit chieftains you know?”
“Sigh……”
“What a crazy……”
“Haha! If it was a joke, it was funny.”
The reactions that came back were dramatic.
Everyone just laughed, dumbfounded.
However, the Chief of the Daejin Escort Agency was serious.
“I also had the same reaction as all of you when I first heard this from a lunatic in my escort agency. However, as I thought about it carefully, it made some sense.”
“No, what in the world is that……”
“Think about it carefully. If the Green Forest’s great unification ends in failure, we will simply return to our existing ways. Nothing changes. However, if the Green Forest’s great unification succeeds, they can no longer remain in their mountain strongholds, so they will have no choice but to come down the mountain and become a martial world sect.”
“That is…… true.”
“The enemy of an escort agency is the bandits targeting the goods, but if the Green Forest comes down the mountain and performs large-scale banditry, they will immediately become targets of subjugation. For us, we can solve it without lifting a finger. However, if it is a Green Forest that does not perform banditry, we wouldn’t have any reason to fight, would we? Honestly, in my opinion, I don’t think they would set up a martial world sect after succeeding in the great unification and then run wild acting like mountain bandits. Instead, won’t they rush to prey on other interests with that power? If we make such points clear to them, I think there will be bandit chieftains who will respond to us.”
“……”
It sounded like crazy talk, yet somehow made sense?
What was this?
At this rate, even if talk of the Green Forest setting up an escort agency came up, it didn’t seem like it could be dismissed as nonsense?
Huh?