Sword God Reborn

Chapter 28 : A Mutt Is Still a Mutt

Humans are truly strange beings.

There are times when they can communicate with each other without even speaking.

Now is such a time.

Cheon Mubaeck looked at Neung-heo's side-eye. It was as if words were floating in the air.

"Is this guy crazy?"

"Heok!"

"I got it right, didn't I?"

"By any chance, have you learned a martial art that reads people's minds?"

"You said you wanted to be a spy like the Dark Heaven Sword Emperor last time, right? Give it up. It's all over your face."

At Cheon Mubaeck's words, Neung-heo stroked his chin as if embarrassed.

"Honestly, isn't it a bit absurd?"

"Why?"

"You can just deal with them one by one safely. Why do you have to fight one against many?"

At Neung-heo's words, Heo Seong secretly nodded his head.

Isn't it too much to give the enemy a numerical advantage just for the sake of convenience?

Neung-heo, who had read the atmosphere of Heo Seong agreeing with his meaning without even having to say anything, put more strength into his voice.

"Although they are black-way, the Black Heart Gang kids are tough guys. They are really tough. These bastards."

"Then do the black-way kids say, 'I'm gentle'? They all say they're tough."

"No, to be blunt, isn't there a saying that even a mutt has a home-field advantage? I know well that my lord is great. Huh? But if you get bitten by a mutt, and if you get bitten by crazy mutts, there's no medicine, right?"

That's not wrong.

There are many scary things about the black-way. One is their number, which is so large that it would make the Beggars' Sect and the Hao Faction Sect sad.

"When the Black Heart Gang executive meeting is held, all the kids under each executive gather."

"I see. It's not the first or second time that thugs have shown off their power with numbers."

"The number of people gathered like that is over a thousand. Are you saying you're going to deal with all of them at once?"

This matter was also important to Neung-heo.

He couldn't just watch it like a fire across the river.

But Cheon Mubaeck just narrowed his brow as if he were annoyed.

It was an atmosphere where persuasion did not work at all. Neung-heo became a little desperate.

'This guy, he's really going to do it?'

It doesn't matter if he does it alone.

Huh? But I have to go with him, right?

"Okay. Let's say you're going to deal with all the top brass at once where they're gathered. But how are you going to get there?"

At that question, Cheon Mubaeck's eyebrow twitched slightly.

'It worked! I got a reaction!'

Perhaps it was a sharp point, as Cheon Mubaeck reacted.

"The reason you're getting rid of only the top brass is to take over the Black Heart Gang, right? Huh? But if you kill all the kids who block you on your way there, aren't you just going to wipe out the Black Heart Gang altogether?"

After saying that, Neung-heo shut his mouth and examined Cheon Mubaeck's expression.

'Shit. I'm so scared.'

To be honest, Cheon Mubaeck was a skilled person who could do that.

'I don't know. I have no idea how strong he is.'

Seeing how he had dealt with the Wansegum in one go, it meant that he was at least superior to him.

At the very least.

In fact, hadn't Neung-heo just dealt with the crazy Wansegum?

It would be fine if his neck had been cut off with a strong martial art.

But the state of the Wansegum was terrible. His dantian was completely destroyed. Even Neung-heo, who thought he had seen all sorts of things, shuddered at the sight of his dantian being not just destroyed but completely torn to shreds.

Moreover, to make a person go crazy.

He couldn't even guess Cheon Mubaeck's martial prowess.

'The Black Heart Gang Master I saw was similar to or slightly stronger than the Wansegum.'

Then it would be no problem for Cheon Mubaeck to deal with the Black Heart Gang Master.

Of course, the level of martial arts could not be determined solely by the level of internal energy.

It was meaningless for enthusiasts to talk about who was stronger than whom.

Although one could gauge the approximate level according to the known martial prowess, the martial world was a place where one could not dare to say who was stronger unless they actually fought.

The given environment, atmosphere, the body condition of the day... there were countless variables.

'It's certain that this guy is stronger than the Wansegum, but if he really breaks through that wall of people and goes to the meeting place...?'

Honestly, he didn't know.

How many of them were there?

When the executive meeting was held, the executives would bring all their subordinates to show off their power while having a war of nerves with each other. The Black Heart Gang Master knew that and even encouraged it more.

Because when the executive meeting was held, Kaifeng would freeze.

Wasn't it also suitable for showing off the power of the Black Heart Gang?

Neung-heo had also participated in the executive meeting a few times, so he knew well. That wall of countless people.

They were all guys who would throw their bodies and desperately spray their poison to hold on. To break through such a wall and go to the end?

But...

'It seems possible.'

Looking at Cheon Mubaeck's face, he had such a thought.

He didn't know where that belief came from, but it seemed possible if it was Cheon Mubaeck.

"Hmm. Certainly, that's true."

Cheon Mubaeck slowly nodded his head.

Neung-heo suppressed the urge to raise his hand and cheer.

The persuasion had worked.

No, that was his illusion.

Cheon Mubaeck narrowed his eyes and looked at Neung-heo.

"Neung-heo."

"Yes."

"How does the Great Dragon Gang compare to the Black Heart Gang?"

Why was the Great Dragon Gang suddenly coming up here?

Neung-heo narrowed his brow.

The Black Heart Gang was also clearly a large black-way sect.

To be honest, where was there a black-way that had almost unified a single provincial city?

But it was not comparable to the Great Dragon Gang.

The Great Dragon Gang was literally the number one black-way gate in the martial world.

If it was the orthodox way, it was the Nine Sects One Alliance, if it was the demonic way, it was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and if it was the black-way, it was the Great Dragon Gang.

So it couldn't even be compared.

"It's not even comparable."

"Right? Then does the Black Heart Gang also pay tribute to the Great Dragon Gang?"

"...Yes."

Neung-heo's expression became ambiguous as he felt the story was going in a strange direction.

The Great Dragon Gang, claiming to be the number one black-way gate, played the role of protecting other black-way from the orthodox sects based on its powerful strength.

To be precise, it was no different from all the black-way in the world being under the Great Dragon Gang.

"Well, the Great Dragon Gang is the head. And it actually has that much influence."

"Right. Even a mutt doesn't bark at its owner."

"Pardon?"

In an instant, Neung-heo's pupils shook greatly.

He thought he knew what Cheon Mubaeck was saying. Cheon Mubaeck looked at Neung-heo with a sullen face and said.

"No matter how tough a mutt is, it's still a mutt."

A smile appeared on Cheon Mubaeck's face.

* * *

Kaifeng was bustling.

From broad daylight, the red lanterns of the brothels in the red-light district were lit. All the taverns opened their doors.

At first glance, it was a completely different world from the sight of the plague slowly spreading.

But there were no people on the streets. All the commoners had locked their doors and did not come out. The owners of the inns and restaurants also looked at the streets with anxious expressions.

Before long, rough-looking people entered the city one after another.

They all had swords or axes at their waists.

It was forbidden to rashly wear weapons in the city. But the soldiers of the government office did not impose any particular sanctions.

"Damn it. Those Black Heart Gang kids have come in droves again!"

"What's so important about that thugs' meeting?"

"Hey, watch your mouth, Mr. Yang. How many people have gotten into trouble for cursing the Black Heart Gang in Kaifeng?"

"What are the government office soldiers doing? Aren't those guys all criminals?"

"Ahem. Those guys say that the Black Heart Gang is a matter of the martial world, so they won't interfere."

"Martial world, my ass! They're all guys with a foot in both worlds."

The martial world and the government office did not interfere with each other on the surface.

This was an unspoken rule.

But the government office had been paying close attention to the martial world since its inception.

One of the ways the government office monitored the martial world was the black-way.

The black-way used swords, but they originated from the thugs in the back alleys.

So they could be seen as members of the martial world, but in a way, they could also be seen as a matter of the government office.

So the black-way had a foot in both the martial world and the government office.

The government office had received various bribes from such a black-way and had used them to monitor the martial world while appropriately suppressing them.

From the perspective of the black-way, they needed the help of the government office for their own business, so they had maintained a certain cooperative relationship by offering considerable bribes.

How could such a black-way be viewed favorably by the orthodox martial world?

"When the Namsa Mun was in Kaifeng, the Black Heart Gang or whatever, those thugs didn't dare to hold their heads high."

"When was the Namsa Mun, you old man? Didn't it disappear during the righteous-demonic war when we were young?"

"Sigh. That damn Heavenly Demon bastard. If it weren't for the Azure Sky Sword God, the orthodox martial world would have disappeared altogether."

The commoners looked at the black-way of the Black Heart Gang with eyes full of dissatisfaction.

Now that the power of the orthodox sects had noticeably weakened due to the aftermath of the righteous-demonic war.

The number one black-way gate, the Great Dragon Gang, had gained power, and thanks to that, the Black Heart Gang had also come to the fore in Kaifeng.

Collusion with the government office.

Almost no orthodox martial arts forces to check them in Kaifeng.

Since it was the Black Heart Gang that had taken control of Kaifeng, the largest provincial city in Henan, their arrogance was truly terrible.

The pavilion where the executive meeting of the Black Heart Gang was held.

Jeok-rang, who was in charge of guarding the front of the pavilion, frowned as he looked at the red lanterns of the brothel that were lit up red.

"Shit, some are guarding, and some are drinking and enjoying themselves."

"What can you do? It's because our superior has the least power."

"Is it just that he has the least power? Hasn't Deung-cho been missing since he went to Seongyang County?"

"Well, they say they're going to investigate after the executive meeting today."

"What a load of crap. They'll go, alright. Who had any loyalty to that bastard Deung-cho?"

"When that guy Neung-heo was here, this side was also quite close."

"He's a guy who's already left, so what. Hehehe. Hey. How about going to the Jeokyeongru after work today?"

"Will work be over? The meeting today seems to be long. They're all hell-bent on taking over everything that that guy Deung-cho was doing."

"Well, that's none of our business."

It was then.

Since the rough-looking black-way were guarding, no one approached the vicinity of the pavilion.

The commoners of Kaifeng, of course, did not even look. But three people approached the pavilion.

In an instant, the gaze of the wary Jeok-rang met the gaze of the young man in a black martial arts uniform standing at the very front.

"..."

Jeok-rang, under a subtle pressure, unconsciously lowered his eyes.

The young man who had come right in front of him said.

"The Black Heart Gang Master, is he inside?"

It was a young and beautiful voice.

But Jeok-rang clearly felt the internal energy that was faintly felt in that beautiful voice.

'He's a big shot!'

Jeok-rang's two eyes widened. He could feel it even with his lack of internal energy. Moreover, to feel internal energy in his voice. This was something he had never heard of or seen anywhere.

The nervous Jeok-rang opened his dry lips.

"Where are you from?"

In an instant, the corners of the young man's mouth went up.

"I'm from the Great Dragon Gang."

(End of Chapter)