Chapter 1429: Side Story 38
Chapter 1429 - Side Story 38
[You have met Cho-Rong. By meeting Cho-Rong, you have learned about the Cruel Folk Tale: Peeling Off the Tiger’s Pelt in Exchange for Tteok.]
[Royal Crown Prince Alrak had felt as if the walls of the palace were suffocating him for a long time now. Because of that, he ended up leaving the palace at night.]
[Monsters suddenly appeared in front of Alrak, leaving him in a crisis that would probably lead to his death.]
[Just when he feared for his death, a good and kind-hearted tiger appeared and saved Crown Prince Alrak. The tiger immediately turned around and moved to leave after saving the prince.]
[Prince Alrak, who had been staring at the strange and unique tiger, thought, ‘Oh. If I can make use of this unique tiger, then I can turn it into our kingdom’s attraction.’ and began thinking of tricks to lure it to his side.]
[“Older brother!”]
[“Hnggh? Who are you calling older brother?”]
[“I heard from my mother! She told me that I have an older brother who was separated from us when he was young!”]
[The good and kind-hearted tiger stared at him in confusion.] [“Hnngh. I’m a… female.”]
[The scammer royal crown prince was left speechless for a moment.]
[“O… Older sister! D… Didn’t you hear me say older sister earlier?!”]
[“H… Hnghh? No matter how I look at it, there’s no similarity between you and me?”]
[The crown prince spoke, tears pooling in his eyes.]
[“Eyes. Nose. Lips.[1] Can’t you see the resemblance at all?”]
[The two did not have a shred of similarity at all. Regardless, the innocent, good, and kind-hearted tiger fell for his glib tongue.]
[The scammer royal crown prince glanced at the tiger.]
[“Dear older sister, there are many good things in the mountains, right…?”]
[The good and kind-hearted tiger looked for these good things and delivered them to the scammer crown prince’s bedroom every night.]
[And the crown prince? He used these items to cover his expenses after his pocket money was taken away because he ran away from home.]
Minhyuk stopped in his tracks.
‘Doesn’t this mean that the king is a bully…? No. Wait. Isn’t this a different folk tale? Isn’t this the story of the Tiger Brother[2]?’
Alas, the kind and benevolent king that he saw in the video was not only a scammer but also a bully. He hated to say this, but… anyone who saw them would not find any resemblance!!!
[As time passed by, the crown prince eventually became the king. Perhaps he was ridden by guilt, he ended up confessing to the good and kind-hearted tiger.]
[“Sister… There’s something that I want to confess.”]
[The good and kind-hearted tiger flashed a soft smile at him.]
[“Hnggh. Regardless of what you say, I’m pleased that I was able to stay with you. You must have come here to say that us being siblings is a lie, no?”]
[The king, who was about to confess after his conscience was pricked, suddenly felt that it would hurt his pride and ego if he suddenly admitted that he was calling a tiger, ‘Older Sister.’]
[“What do you mean?! We are indeed siblings! It’s just that I’m the older brother and you’re the younger brother.”]
[“...?!”]
[The tiger, who learned the secret of her birth, was left with quite a considerable shock.]
[“Let’s make sure to confirm who’s the older one, okay?”]
[The king was truly a bad person.]
[“H… Hnggh… Older brother…?”]
[The good and kind-hearted tiger was now turned into the younger sister.]
[One day, the good and kind-hearted tiger asked.]
[“Hnngh. I want to have a name too, hnggh.”]
[“Okay. I’ll give you a name.”]
[The king was left flustered and embarrassed. Why? Because the tiger asked for a pretty name while saying, ‘Hnghhhh~’]
[The flustered king tried to think of a name. That was when he thought of the name of the dog that one of his servants raised.]
[“Cho… Cho-Rong…”]
[“Hnngh? How did you come up with Cho-Rong?”]
[The flustered king stared at the tiger’s fierce and glaring eyes and said…]
[“B… Because your eyes are s… sparkling.”]
[“Hngggh! So, my eyes are pretty? To be honest, I knew it too. Hnghhh~! Heehee. Heeheehee.”]
[Goosebumps rose all over the king’s back when he saw the tiger’s shy grin.]
[As time went by, the king gradually grew to care about Cho-Rong.]
[Cho-Rong found a male of her kind and gave birth to her children. They seemed to be living a happy life, but then… her husband suddenly died because of a disease.]
[Cho-Rong, who was taking care of her two tiger cubs, learned the shocking truth one day.]
[She learned that the king was only thirty-eight years old, whereas she was forty-one years old!]
[Angry, Cho-Rong left with her cubs for the mountains. The king tried to go to the mountain to find her.]
[Unfortunately, the Mountain King Clan, a group of mountain bandits, was targeting the mountain’s tigers and had already created a strong barrier that closed off the entire area.]
[The king stared at the mountain and thought about his younger sister, Cho-Rong, late into the night.]
[‘Ah. Shit. My kingdom would have become more famous if we had an entire tiger family with us.’]
[The king stared at the distant mountain for a very long time.]
‘This king. He’s really a bastard…’
At this moment, Minhyuk came to realize how important the story's meaning and message were.
“H… Hnghhh… I’m… Cho-Rong… My eyes are sparkling… Heeheehee…” Cho-Rong mumbled, her eyes gleaming as she slowly fell into the clutches of the hallucinogenic herbs.
“My children are in the east…”
Before Cho-Rong could speak further and leak the location where her tiger cubs were hidden, Minhyuk made a move. He raised his hand and hit the back of her neck.
“Urk!”
After knocking Cho-Rong out, Minhyuk turned his attention to the woman whom he had kicked away. The woman was already standing up.
‘Is she a part of the Mountain King Clan?’
They were the ones who created the barrier to kill the tigers of the mountain.
“What the hell are you, you bastard?”
The woman ripped the skin mask off and revealed her true face. “She” was actually a short man with a nasty look on his face, and he was currently looking at Minhyuk with an ugly expression.
“You’re one of the people who sealed off the mountain with a barrier, right?”
The man smiled meaningfully. “I am Ghost of the Mountain King Clan. You will pay the price for interrupting our plans.”
Ghost was upset at the sudden appearance of this man. Furthermore, his appearance had ruined everything. Of course, he could just kill the man and skin the tiger.
“Hmmm. I am very curious about the Mountain King Clan, and I have a lot of questions for you.”
Minhyuk knew that the only one who could help resolve his curiosity was this man who called himself Ghost.
“If you can listen to it, then I will let you hear it.”
Ghost exerted his strength. He had been learning assassination techniques since childhood and had a good grasp of his skills. He raised his Ghost’s Dagger and aimed for Minhyuk’s neck.
“Absolute Monarch.”
THUD!
Unfortunately, Ghost’s attack could not reach Minhyuk at all. Ghost, who fell on his knees, stared at Minhyuk dumbfoundedly.
“You’ll definitely tell me after I hit you a few times.”
Ghost chuckled. “I am used to pain. I have been enduring a lot of pain since I was young. Don’t you know? Even the people of the Mountain King Clan call me a malicious tumor. Even if you try to beat me to death…”
Thump!
“Keuheok!”
Alas, Ghost felt the wind knocked out of him after Minhyuk punched him once. He had never felt such a strong punch in his life. This was because of Minhyuk’s STR stat. Although Ghost did not know, Minhyuk’s STR stat was so high that only a few could rival it in the entire Western Continents.
‘And he still has to hit five or more times…’
Just when Minhyuk was about to punch him again, he screamed, “Hiiiiiiiik! I’ll speak! I’ll speak!!!”
“...?”
Usually, they could endure being punched at least five times, right? Didn’t they typically declare their loyalty and endure at least that much?
“This bastard. You’re trying to lie to me…”
“It’s true! I swear! I’ll really speak! I’ll tell you everything! I will not leave a single thing behind!”
The bastard in front of Minhyuk was obviously a treacherous retainer in the past!
***
“The Mountain King Clan is a group that aims to facilitate the birth of the Mountain King.”
“The Mountain King?”
“Yes.” Ghost nodded. “There is a legend about the Three Sacred Beasts in the Grania Continent.”
“Samdasoo[3]? That water tastes good.”
Ghost stared at Minhyuk with obvious disgust and contempt in his eyes.
Thud!
“Keheok!”
“What are the Three Sacred Beasts?”
“They are the guardian deities of the Grania Continent. No one knows what the Three Sacred Beasts look like. So, our group believes that one of the Three Sacred Beasts is the Mountain King. The Mountain King is the ruler and monarch of the mountain. It is said that the Mountain King eats everything in the mountain.
“We are confident that once the Mountain King awakens and swallows everything up in the mountain, he will ascend and become one of the Three Sacred Beasts. If we can awaken one of the Three Sacred Beasts, then Lord Rayden, the master and owner of the Mountain King Clan, will be able to control it. Fufufu. Then, our Mountain King Clan will be able to rule over the entire Grania Continent…”
Minhyuk raised his hand.
“I’ll stop messing around.”
“Is that man named Rayden strong?”
“Of course. He’s an amazing man. From what I know, he used to be a Pillar Candidate in the Western Continents.”
“Oho?”
That was quite an interesting story.
“Why did you want to kill Cho-Rong… no, the tiger?”
“To awaken the Mountain King, we need to kill 10,000 mountain tigers and offer them as a sacrifice. We have already killed 9,999. This tiger’s supposed to be the last one,” Ghost said, a bitter smile on his face.
‘So that’s why the tigers in our country became extinct?’
“How are the Three Sacred Beasts and the omegitteok related to each other?”
“From what we know, one of the Three Sacred Beasts possesses an omegitteok with an astounding power.”
“Then, does that mean that the Three Sacred Beasts possess food that represents them?”
“I’m not too sure about that.”
Finally, the outline of the representative ingredients of the Grania Continent that Barlan had mentioned to him before had taken shape.
“If you want, I can take you to the base of the Mountain King Clan.”
“Didn’t you say that you have been raised in that place since you were young?”
“It’s fine. When I became a part of the Ghosts, they treated me as they pleased because I was the youngest. Instead of being treated like that and unable to do something about it, I’ll just serve you and treat you as my brother! So, please take good care of me!”
“Oh? I see,” Minhyuk answered perfunctorily.
He never intended to take such a two-faced and treacherous being as his younger brother. How could he take someone who could easily betray the group that he belonged to since he was young in a split second?
Nevertheless, Minhyuk and Ghost moved together.
***
In fact, Ghost did not think of himself as a treacherous and two-faced person.
‘Do you think I will abandon my brothers? The same brothers who have shared laughter and sorrow with me?!’
He had grown up together since they were young. Their dream was to awaken the Mountain King, turn him into one of the Three Sacred Beasts, and dominate the entire Grania Continent!
‘No matter how strong you are, the moment you step into the barrier that Lord Rayden made, you will not be able to move.’
The barrier that surrounded the home base of the Mountain King Clan would bind the enemies the moment they entered their base. It was an absolute power that could not be reflected or stopped and would remain in effect for ten seconds.
Ghost entered the base first, with Minhyuk following right behind him.
“Keuhahahahaha! You f*cking dog!” Ghost laughed maniacally the moment he entered their base. “You’ve been caught in my trap!”
He could sense his comrades from the Mountain King Clan approaching. They appeared one after another on the trees, the rocks, the fields… everywhere! Around 10,000 people from the Mountain King Clan appeared and glared sharply at Minhyuk.
[You have entered Rayden’s Web.]
[Those who entered Rayden’s Web will fall into a ten-second absolute stunned state.]
[You will not be able to move for ten seconds.]
“Can you see? These are the people of the Mountain King Clan. And we are much stronger than you think.”
Minhyuk saw the level of the people of the Mountain King Family floating above their heads. They were around Level 600 to Level 650. Indeed, they were stronger and at a much higher level than ordinary people.
“You f*cking bastard, I will cut your head off. What can an immobile man do, huh?”
Then, he caught sight of the grin on Minhyuk’s face.
“You know, I have this thought.”
“???”
“If I follow you, I will not only be able to enter the base of the Mountain King Clan, but I will also be able to get my hands on a lot of rare and valuable items.”
Minhyuk never thought of that. He had always been wary. After all, a member of the Mountain King Clan, who could betray them so easily like that, would be able to betray another again.
“Do you think I will follow you if I don’t have the capital to stand on my own? Do you think I will follow you without thinking about this?”
Ghost’s eyes grew wide. Now that he thought about it, this man wearing a cape with the symbol of a fork and knife crossed together was powerful. He might be someone who belonged to an empire. If the empire came here, then the Mountain King Clan would never be able to resist.
But Minhyuk must have never expected that Ghost would betray him again here, right…?
“Brother! To be honest, I invited you here and called for them so that you can kill all of the people of the Mountain King Clan all at once!”
‘Is he nuts…?’
“Hehehe. Hey! You Mountain King Clan bastards! This is our Brother Minhyuk!”
“Ghost. That bastard can’t move.”
“Ghost. You… You can’t fix that treacherous behavior of yours, huh?”
“You’ve been bragging, huh?”
“Ah…? Hey, you bastard! How dare you look down on our Mountain King Clan!”
The number of members of the Mountain King Family present was around 9,000. Even if it were him, Minhyuk would have a hard time dealing with such a massive number of high-level people.
“This bastard. I’ll take your head.”
Finally realizing that he had ten seconds to make his move, Ghost regained his confidence. He even approached Minhyuk.
“Hey, Ghost. I never trust people like you. Do you want me to show you how I’ll wipe out all of the people present here?”
Ghost looked at him incredulously. There were still six seconds left. There was no way that he could wipe out all of the people present here in those six seconds that he was still tied up and unable to move.
At the same time, Ghost thought that the only way he could relieve the anger of the members of the Mountain King Clan that he had openly betrayed earlier was to kill this man and offer his head to them.
“What bullshit…”
Ping!
“Huh?”
“Oh?”
“...?”
The cry of the sword echoed in everyone’s ears. Ghost felt goosebumps rise on his skin.
“Do you want to stick to them?”
Ghost’s eyes rolled as the gears in his head turned quickly. He shouted, “B… Brother! I’m always on your side, brother!”
As expected, this bastard was truly a bastard.
Spurt!
Blood spurted out of the chest of the rambling Ghost. As he slowly got closer to the ground, he looked at the people of the Mountain King Clan around him. Every single one of them was collapsing on the ground with blood spurting out of their chests. Just like him.
“Just kidding. I don’t believe in a bastard like you at all.”
1. CC: Taeyang, is that you?! ☜
2. 호랑이 형님 The Tiger Brother, a folktale about a son tricking a tiger into thinking that it's his brother, but eventually treating the tiger as his family. ☜
3. 삼다수 - a brand of water in Jeju. A misspelling of 삼성수(三聖獸) or Three Sacred Beasts. ☜