The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

The martial world is vast, and the heavens know no end. In this vast world, could there not be black medicinal herbs? If one were to search, there would be hundreds, even thousands. But even with such black medicinal herbs, one could not make a black pill. Strictly speaking, one should not make it.

There was no one who did not know the name of the Demon God Pill.

The foul elixir used by the minions of the Demonic Cult grants immense power in exchange for one's lifespan. How many people had died, been injured, and lost their homes due to the Demonic Cultists who charged in after taking the Demon God Pill?

The characteristic of the Demon God Pill is its black, round shape. It was known as such throughout the world. Therefore, that shape itself was a taboo, and no pharmacist dared to make a black pill.

For that reason, what the martial artists of the Hakseo Escort Agency had just taken could only be the Demon God Pill.

What kind of empty-headed pharmacist would make a medicine in the color and shape of the Demon God Pill!

A mixture of disgust, hatred, and a faint fear appeared on Yang Gwan's face. There was no martial artist of the Orthodox faction who did not feel disgust and hatred towards the Demonic Cultists. At the same time, there was no one who did not know of their formidable power. If they had taken the Demon God Pill, their internal energy would have temporarily increased by a full sixty years. A fight is not won by internal energy alone, so in a one-on-one fight, there would be no problem. But the fact that so many of them had their internal energy increased by sixty years at the same time meant that from now on, this fight was beyond Yang Gwan's control.

"I have no choice but to open the precept of killing. Don't blame me."

"Attack!"

"Kill him!"

As Yang Gwan said that, three of them leaped up. It was the combined attack formation he had seen before. But its speed and ferocity were worlds apart from before. They rushed in like demons, their eerie red eyes flashing. Yang Gwan's spear flashed. It was the Pear Blossom Spearmanship, so called because it was as splendid as a pear blossom in bloom. With the power of the Fire Wheel Art added to it, flowers of fire bloomed in all directions.

Where the flowers bloomed, a one-inch hole was invariably pierced. Not even blood flowed from the pierced holes. The extreme yang energy seared the wounds, burning them and evaporating the blood. Red steam rose from the corpses. Still, they could not be stopped. The corpse, oblivious to the flames blooming on its own body, reached out and swung its sword.

"No-!"

A corpse swings a sword. He had heard that the effect of the Demon God Pill was vicious, but he had not known it was to this extent. Yang Gwan, feeling that he could not avoid it, gritted his teeth until they almost shattered and gathered his internal energy. It was a technique that hardened the hit area by applying the ultimate skill of Shaolin, the Diamond Hand.

The Diamond Internal Energy and the fellow's attack were evenly matched. The sword bounced off and stuck in the ceiling, and the person who had become a corpse rolled miserably on the floor. Seeing that he was not breathing, it must have been an attack that gathered all his remaining strength. From that attack, Yang Gwan naturally took about half a step back. Aiming for that gap, Lee Deokryang's sword danced.

"Swarm him! Comrades!"

"Follow the Chief Escort's lead!"

Lee Deokryang's tactics were cunning and vicious. His hit-and-run using his comrades was excessively skillful. He had his comrades receive Yang Gwan's attacks, and from a safe position, he attacked with his Willow Sword. To ignore Lee Deokryang, his attacks were so fierce that a single mistake could cost Yang Gwan his neck. But to attack Lee Deokryang, the attacks were always blocked by others, and through that gap, Lee Deokryang attacked again, putting him in a dilemma.

"Your methods are truly vicious. And you call yourself a martial artist!"

"I abandoned the pride of a martial artist when I became an escort. We are not martial artists, but escorts."

"Even if you are escorts, isn't there a limit!"

"Blame me all you want. The dead tell no tales. All that matters is that you all die!"

Yang Gwan resisted, creating countless pear blossoms. Lee Deokryang admired and was jealous of Yang Gwan's skill, but he hid all his inner thoughts and continued to move his hands. He could not miss the golden opportunity his comrades were creating for him. With Lee Deokryang's sword, injuries began to accumulate on Yang Gwan's body.

Just as a sense of crisis was beginning to rise, Jang So-gil, who had been watching silently, stepped forward.

He said in a voice full of ridicule.

"Oh my, you're swarming him like a pack of dogs. You've even eaten the Demon God Pill, so why didn't you prepare poison? If you had poison, it would have been over by now."

"...You bastard!"

"For a martial artist, you seem to have some pride left. How pathetic, how pathetic. You were a mongrel who couldn't become a complete martial artist or a complete demon. You're neither this nor that."

Jang So-gil was right. If Lee Deokryang's sword had been coated with poison, it would not have been difficult to kill Yang Gwan. Not coating the sword with poison was the minimum pride they had, so the escorts had not brought poison. It was truly as Jang So-gil had said. Their half-hearted resolve, unable to become either martial artists or demons, had brought about this situation.

Lee Deokryang gritted his teeth. And he shouted like a beast.

"What makes you so great that you run your mouth like that!"

"At least I've done less bad things than you guys. I haven't done anything to deserve being cursed at, and I haven't joined hands with the Demonic Cult."

"A man who hides and just flaps his lips, what's so great about you that you hold your nose so high! Come out here and fight! Pick up a sword! I'll personally take your head!"

"I don't want to. It's scary."

"You're not even a man!"

"That's why I prefer to wear women's undergarments. You, you're quite perceptive."

"You baaaastard-!!!"

He knew it was a provocation tactic. But knowing it didn't mean he wasn't angry. Lee Deokryang was on the verge of being blinded by anger. Lee Deokryang went berserk and continued his attacks. But attacks driven by anger have many openings and are easy to resist. The madman's sword lacked the cunning and softness it had before. Yang Gwan grinned and easily blocked his attacks.

"Your title of Willow Calming Sword would cry. There's no softness to be found."

"You mongrel-! You bastard who deserves to be torn to pieces!"

Yang Gwan's spinning kick hit a man. The fellow spun like a top and rose into the air. Yang Gwan pushed him with his shoulder and threw him at Lee Deokryang. For a moment, Lee Deokryang could not make the right judgment. Should he dodge, block, or ignore it and attack? He hesitated at the crossroads of choice. So he received a long cut on his shoulder from Yang Gwan's spear and took a step back, pressing on his bleeding shoulder. In response, Yang Gwan took a step forward.

"Damn it-! Damn it!"

After all that effort and sacrifice, he had pushed him back by about half a step, but that gap was closed in an instant.

Watching Lee Deokryang's despair, Yang Gwan re-gripped his spear. He was deeply impressed in his heart.

'Guild Master So's mouth is truly amazing. If he hadn't provoked that man, things would have gotten really difficult, but to do this with his three-inch tongue!'

He had no martial power of his own, but Jang So-gil's influence on the battlefield now was not small. With every word, the enemy's morale rose, fell, and wavered. By playing with their emotions, it was not difficult to turn the situation to their advantage. It was a truly genius-level control of the battlefield.

He had provoked the enemy so much that they didn't even seem to think of going around to attack Jang So-gil, breaking the walls, or destroying the building. Yang Gwan couldn't understand it, but several complex factors were at play.

This building was strictly the property of the Hakseo Escort Agency.

There was naturally a psychological resistance to destroying one's own building.

On top of that, the headmaster whom Jang So-gil occasionally kicked or sat on and treated roughly was the brain of the Hakseo Escort Agency. The numerous schemes of the Hakseo Escort Agency came solely from that obese old man, and he managed all the flow of money by himself, so if he died, the Hakseo Escort Agency would be finished. They had to protect him at all costs to have a future.

With Jang So-gil's control of the battlefield and design, coupled with Yang Gwan's divine martial prowess, the situation gradually became a stalemate. As he intended, time passed meaninglessly.

The number of wounds on Yang Gwan's body gradually increased, his vision blurred from the blood loss, and the effect of the Demon God Pill began to wane, and the martial artists were noticeably weakening. It was then.

Jang So-gil opened his mouth again.

"Now, it's about time we wrapped things up."

"Guild Master So?"

"The crimes of these guys that I've talked about so far were four. Accounting fraud by manipulating the ledgers and repeating false sales and transactions, bribery and deception by deceiving the authorities and the Martial Alliance with bribes, the crime of treason for daring to embezzle national taxes. And the crime of colluding with the minions of the Demonic Cult. They are all serious crimes. But well, I'm not here to punish crimes, am I? What did I say I was?"

"You said you were an inspector of the Martial Alliance."

"Since I'm an inspector of the Martial Alliance, all I need to do is take the money."

Hostility rose in Lee Deokryang's eyes.

"You want me to offer you a bribe?"

"Yes. The money you have to give to the Martial Alliance, I've roughly calculated it to be about two thousand silver taels. Add another thousand taels to that and give it to me. Then I might forget about it."

"Out of the question!"

"Guild Master So! What kind of bullshit is that!"

Lee Deokryang glared, and Yang Gwan shouted loudly as if angry.

Jang So-gil shrugged his shoulders and looked at them alternately.

"I knew you'd say that. Then what can I do? Let's end this tedious stalemate now."

"Alright. I'll cut off your neck and end this stalemate."

"First, I have one request for Mr. Yoo Jeongran Deoksam."

"You bastard! To the very end-!"

"Do you know what the people of Luoyang do when they are hit by an escort?"

Jang So-gil's eyes slowly formed a crescent moon. It was a look as if he couldn't bear how amusing this situation was. Lee Deokryang's head was paralyzed with anger, and he could not make a rational judgment. He just gritted his teeth and glared. So the answer came from under Jang So-gil's butt. It was the headmaster, Wang. He had regained consciousness but had kept his mouth shut to grasp the situation, and now he intervened.

"At least in Luoyang, there is no chance of being hit by an escort."

"Oh? Why?"

"The government and the martial world are non-aggressive, but in Luoyang, the government's influence is quite significant. The countryside and Luoyang are completely different. If a commoner who was hit runs to the authorities, the authorities will pressure the escort agency to protect the commoner. So we never attack commoners!"

"Perfect. That's a truly perfect answer. Now, with that said."

Jang So-gil pointed to himself.

"What do I look like to you?"

"You said you were a Martial Alliance inspector, didn't you?"

"Yes. That's right. But that."

He smiled brightly. It was a golden smile full of laughter.

"Starts tomorrow."

"Wh-wh-wh... what!?"

"Today, I'm still an ordinary commoner."

"So what! You arrogant bastard!"

Unlike Lee Deokryang who shouted in great anger, Wang grasped the situation in an instant. He was indeed smart enough to be called the brain of the Hakseo Escort Agency. The fact that Jang So-gil was a commoner and not an inspector changed the direction of the matter. Once he understood that difference, he could also know what would happen next.

Wang's voice trembled as he spoke.

"Chief Escort, w-we're in big trouble."

"What is it!"

"From what this man is saying, it's clear he has reported it to the authorities!"

"Reported it to the authorities? What? This is a matter between the Martial Alliance and our escort agency. The government and the martial world are non-aggressive, so reporting it is meaningless. You don't have to worry too much..."

"You fool! He said he becomes an inspector of the Alliance tomorrow!"

"Gasp-!"

"So right now, this fellow is just a commoner!"

As Wang shouted that, Lee Deokryang realized the seriousness of the situation a step too late.

Just then, a voice was heard from afar.

"Those who confine, harass, and intimidate innocent commoners, receive your bonds!"

"Arrest everyone from the Hakseo Escort Agency and the Gentleman's Academy!"

"This is a just procession by the strict laws of the nation! Those who obstruct will be severely punished!"

The government troops rushed in, and there were even mounted constables, so it seemed that all the constables from all the government offices in the Luoyang area had been mobilized. Lee Deokryang shouted with a face of utter devastation.

"Hey-! You mad dog!"

"Ah, that familiar title. I almost miss it."

"To involve the authorities in a matter between the Martial Alliance and us! Are you even human! Do you have no regard for the laws and iron rules of the martial world!"

Jang So-gil smiled brightly.

"I'm a mad dog, so I don't know about such things.”

(End of Chapter)