Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 215

Nine Dragons Chronicle (215)

The Tang Family has fallen.

As this news spread rapidly throughout Sichuan, rumors swelled.

In the taverns of the Central Plains, the only stories being told were those of the Nine Dragons Clan Head and the Sichuan Tang Family, gathered in small groups.

“Indeed. To be honest, I found it a bit strange. Who would dare to cross the Tang Family’s walls and steal the Heavenly Jade Treasure that the Poison King cherishes so much?”

“Exactly. Just getting near the Poison King could turn you into a handful of bloody sludge.”

“So, Tang Chun-gi killed the envoys from the Ferdan Kingdom at the Tang Family because of the Heavenly Jade Treasure he secretly hid?”

“Of course. Even a princess was there. Imagine if they had killed a princess from the Ferdan Kingdom.”

The man speaking shuddered as if he were cold.

“The Tang Family is done for now.”

“You could say so. They relied on the Poison King and got what was coming to them.”

“I heard the Nine Dragons Clan Head killed the Poison King?”

“Apparently. Tang Chun-gi must have stolen the Nine Dragons Clan’s treasure while gambling.”

“That guy must have been a kleptomaniac. He even stole the Poison King’s Heavenly Jade Treasure.”

“Right. That’s why the Nine Dragons Clan Head stormed the Tang Family alone and just crushed them. The atmosphere at the Tang Family right now is beyond words.”

“The Nine Dragons Clan Head must be incredibly strong. I heard he defeated two of the Hundred Great Masters before?”

“That’s right. This time, he just crushed the Poison King.”

“I heard he’s still young.”

“They say he’s shed the ‘rising star’ label, but he’s practically still one.”

“He must be an amazing person. No wonder he fought the Blood Evil Alliance.”

“Of course, if he didn’t have that level of confidence, would he have attacked knowing the Poison King was at the Tang Family?”

People nodded in agreement.

“But didn’t the Nine Dragons Clan close its doors? How can they cause such a ruckus at the Tang Family?”

People fell silent for a moment. Everyone was thinking similarly, wondering how the Blood Evil Alliance would react.

“From the Blood Evil Alliance’s perspective, it wouldn’t be bad, so they might just let it pass?”

“The Blood Evil Alliance could very well do that. It’s also an opportunity to bring in a master like the Nine Dragons Clan Head.”

“That’s right. Then the Righteous Heaven Alliance would be the problem.”

“The Righteous Heaven Alliance will also be deeply troubled. The Nine Dragons Clan is still outwardly friendly with Jongnam and Hwasan.”

“Exactly. That’s why we thought the Nine Dragons Clan was righteous. But this time, the Nine Dragons Clan crushed the Sichuan Tang Family, so the Righteous Heaven Alliance will be very concerned.”

“If they attack the Nine Dragons Clan, the Nine Dragons Clan Head, who defeated one of the Ten Great Masters, might go over to the Demonic Faction. If they just let it pass, the Tang Family won’t stay still.”

“The Nine Dragons Clan and the Nine Dragons Clan Head will keep the Murim [martial arts world] interesting.”

“Where did such a crazy bastard come from…?”

“Now that the Poison King is dead, the Tang Family will likely have a hard time.”

“Indeed. The saying ‘power doesn’t last ten years, and flowers don’t bloom for ten days’ is absolutely true. Who would have thought the Tang Family would fall like this overnight?”

The people in the tavern nodded as if in agreement.

* * *

“How can you cause such a massive accident, even when you’re just trying to cause trouble!”

“What did I do? And you guys are accomplices too.”

Baek Gun-sung and Lee Seo-won looked at Hwa-rin with questioning eyes.

“You absorbed the energy of the Heavenly Jade Treasure. I did this all for you guys.”

“Hey, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?”

Baek Gun-sung shouted at Hwa-rin.

“How did the rumors spread?”

“Rumors?”

“Yeah. The rumors that Tang Chun-gi stole the Poison King’s Heavenly Jade Treasure. And he also stole the Nine Dragons Clan’s treasure.”

Baek Gun-sung and Lee Seo-won looked at each other.

“In other words, it has nothing to do with you guys who took the elixir I made with the energy from the Heavenly Jade Treasure.”

“You’re being stubborn again.”

“It’s not stubbornness, it’s the truth. Even if you go around telling people that you absorbed the energy of the Heavenly Jade Treasure, they won’t believe you now.”

“Hmm…”

“You’re completely cleared of suspicion.”

“Then what’s this about stealing the Nine Dragons Clan’s treasure?”

“Someone else stole the Heavenly Jade Treasure, but the Tang Family framed the envoys from the Ferdan Kingdom and then killed them.”

They had heard the rumors.

“Natalfsha was trying to escalate this into a diplomatic issue.”

“That little brat?”

“That little brat has absolute power in the Ferdan Kingdom. The King of Ferdan cherishes her so much.”

“So?”

“His Highness Prince Heung was apparently having a headache over this issue.”

“His Highness Prince Heung?”

“How do you know His Highness Prince Heung?”

Lee Seo-won asked.

“The special forces unit I used to belong to was directly under His Highness Prince Heung. Of course, I know him. Otherwise, how would I know that little brat Natalfsha?”

“So?”

“He said that if we can’t appease Natalfsha, the tribal nations beyond Seojang in the Saekmok region might join forces.”

“Really?”

“That’s what I heard. The Ferdan Kingdom is the largest country, and they’re suppressing the tribal nations of the Saekmok region with their power. But if the Ferdan Kingdom uses this incident to gather the tribal nations and merge them, it would be a disaster.”

“That seems impossible. Would a king of a country gather forces and start a war over such a small matter?”

“Why not? Imagine if we failed to save Natalfsha and she died in the Central Plains. Would the Ferdan Kingdom stay still?”

“Hmm…”

“They would make it a diplomatic issue. And then there would be various talks, negotiations, and stalling. Meanwhile, the hardliners in the Ferdan Kingdom would incite the people, creating a dissatisfied public opinion.”

Hwa-rin explained what would happen if Natalfsha died in the Central Plains.

“Then the King of Ferdan would have no choice. He would ask neighboring countries for help and merge, or unite by force and grow into a massive empire.”

“And then come to the Central Plains?”

“Yes. Even if it seems impossible, it’s entirely possible in ten years. I’ve been in many wars, so I know this well.”

The two were dubious, but the words didn’t sound entirely unbelievable, so they were confused.

“Anyway, His Highness Prince Heung entrusted me with this matter and told me to handle it, and I just stepped up to handle it. I didn’t cause an accident, I just carried out a royal command. I don’t know how great the laws of the Murim world are, but they can’t take precedence over a royal decree, can they?”

Hwa-rin emphasized the royal command.

“N-No… it can’t take precedence.”

They couldn’t argue with Hwa-rin’s words, as they could be branded as traitors if they insisted it did.

‘How can I never win an argument with him? Did he go to some academy to learn the art of eloquent speech?’

“Still, this time it will be a problem.”

“Problem my ass… I would have lost my head first for disobeying the royal command.”

When Hwa-rin spoke nonchalantly, Lee Seo-won smiled and said,

“How can you act so easily?”

“What did I do?”

“Watching you for a few days, it seems like you act impulsively, but you don’t. It seems like you act with some conviction, but to others, it looks like you’re doing it easily, carelessly.”

“I’ve been rolling around on the battlefield for a long time. So, I can judge things to some extent just by looking. And I calculate. Can I handle it? Do I need someone else’s help?”

“So?”

“If I can handle it, I just take action. There’s no point in thinking about this and that if I can handle it.”

“If you can’t handle it?”

“I’ll need someone’s help. I think about who that will be.”

“Hmm…”

“In fact, if your father hadn’t stepped in, the Demonic Sect or the Righteous Heaven Alliance would have intervened. Then it wouldn’t be a fight between the Nine Dragons Clan and the Blood Evil Alliance, but a fight between the Blood Evil Alliance and the Demonic Sect, or the Righteous Heaven Alliance.”

The two nodded.

“After that, I was going to slip away.”

“Slip away?”

“Yeah. What happens if a small guy is caught between big guys fighting?”

“What happens?”

“He’ll get crushed. Or he might get trampled to death.”

“If you start a fight and then slip away, what do you do?”

“Why not? Get rid of the idea that it can’t be done. There’s nothing in the world that can’t be done.”

“What if the arrow turns back to you after the fight is over?”

Hwa-rin smirked.

“Do you know what a small guy has to do to win among big guys?”

Baek Gun-sung and Lee Seo-won looked at each other.

“What do you have to do?”

“It’s simple. You just have to grow bigger.”

“How?”

“Do I have to tell you everything? Are you guys just carrying your heads around for decoration?”

“Here we go again. Don’t do that and just tell us clearly.”

“For example, the Blood Evil Alliance and the Righteous Heaven Alliance fought. Then they made a truce and the arrow turned to me. What do you think I would do?”

“We’re asking because we don’t know.”

“Aish… hey, of course, I have to go find the remaining Demonic Sect.”

For a moment, the two had blank expressions.

“Why don’t you know something so simple? Are you guys too innocent because you only grew up at home?”

“Does it work like that?”

“Then I’m going to die, so should I look for justice and morality? It’s not too late to find that after I live.”

They had no idea how much help Hwa-rin’s words would be to them in the distant future.

A man walked up to the three who were talking and slightly bowed his head.

“An urgent message has arrived from the Alliance.”

“From the Alliance?”

“It was a message for Hwa-rin, the Nine Dragons Clan Head, to enter the Alliance with you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, Clan Head Hwa-rin.”

The man’s tone was different from before. It was because the young man in front of him was the one who defeated Dok Wang Sa-ok, one of the Four Kings under One Devil and Two Emperors.

He had defeated not just one of the Murim Hundred Great Masters, but one of the Ten Great Masters, and even the Poison King, who used the most difficult martial art of poison, so it was natural for him to express reverence.

“Oh, are you trying to lock me up and beat me?”

The man was momentarily stunned by Hwa-rin’s absurd words, then shook his head vigorously.

“No. I don’t know the reason, but Baek Gun-sung and Clan Head Hwa-rin have received a message to enter the Blood Evil Alliance.”

“Not now.”

“Why not?”

Baek Gun-sung said, annoyed.

“The work at Prince Heung’s residence isn’t finished yet. What if the royal residence looks for me while I’m going to the Blood Evil Alliance?”

“Hmm…”

“Will you guys take responsibility if I’m charged with ignoring the royal residence?”

A smile appeared on Lee Seo-won’s face. He thought that Hwa-rin’s charm was this eccentricity.

‘A slightly different way of thinking from ordinary people, that different way of thinking will create a different difference.’

“Then when will it be over?”

“It won’t be over until the Tang Family’s Tang Mun-soo goes to Prince Heung’s residence and bows his head. And Natalfsha accepts the apology and receives compensation for the damages.”

“Compensation for damages?”

“People died. Are you just going to leave?”

“What about you? You killed a lot of people from the Tang Family too.”

“What are you talking about? I killed people from the Tang Family? The only person I killed from the Tang Family was Dok Wang Sa-ok. The Tang Family’s martial artists died from Dok Wang’s poison.”

“Is it going to be like that again?”

“Then I only destroyed their dantian [energy center]. I didn’t kill them.”

‘You cruel bastard, how important is the dantian to a Murim person.’

“Anyway, I can’t go now. So, you guys take care of it.”

As Hwa-rin was being stubborn, Baek Gun-sung looked at the man and nodded.

“I’ll take him to the Alliance later, so tell them that.”

“Understood.”

After the man left, Lee Seo-won said enviously to Hwa-rin.

“You seem to live life so easily.”

“I suffered like a dog for five years to live like this. This is just compensation for those days of suffering.”