The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Creating a new martial art is not difficult. If you write down some plausible-sounding words and draw some random pictures, that becomes a martial arts manual. There were countless such martial arts manuals in the world. There's even a saying that if you search a latrine in the marketplace, you'll find ten martial arts manuals.

But that doesn't mean it's a good martial art, a manual containing a supreme martial art. A supreme martial art is born only amidst countless research, experiments, effort, and talent, and it develops by using time as nourishment, so it is not something one can see easily. Let alone creating a custom martial art tailored to an individual?

Sama Hwi opened his fan again as if he couldn't believe it.

"Do you even know what an unreasonable request you've just made?"

"I don't know martial arts, so I don't know if it's an unreasonable request, but I do know that it's possible for you, Strategist Sama."

"It's possible. There's nothing I can't do."

Sama Hwi's family, the Sama family, had produced countless high-ranking officials for generations due to their outstanding intelligence, and they had been active for several generations, serving as strategists for the Martial Alliance or the Heretic Dao Alliance.

They believed that the best way to utilize their intelligence was to study military strategy and martial arts. Among them, they felt they were slightly behind the Zhuge family in the study of military strategy, but they considered themselves the best in the world in the study of martial arts.

But unfortunately, the people of the Sama family were outstanding in intelligence but lacked the enlightenment to learn martial arts, so it was very difficult for them to become masters themselves. So, to fill their lack of enlightenment, they wanted to collect a lot of data, and they accumulated a lot of experience by precisely observing many people and creating or modifying martial arts that were a perfect fit for them and passing them on.

"But that's a story up to two generations ago. From my father's generation, we have already accumulated enough of such records, so we no longer create martial arts for others."

"Because you've already obtained enough data for your own use?"

"You've seen it right."

Sama Hwi was already a master. He was an undeniable, firm, absolute master, one of the top masters among the many masters of the Orthodox faction. The martial arts of the Sama family had finally developed to the point where they could nurture their own descendants into masters.

"If it were for our own people, it would be a different story, but now there is no reason to let our supreme martial arts leak outside."

"I see, I see... anyway, it means you can do it."

"I can do it, but I won't."

"What about the promise to cooperate?"

"I will cooperate if it's necessary for the Martial Alliance's inspector, but isn't that method of cooperation very advantageous only to you, Inspector So? There are plenty of other ways, so why should I go out of my way to create a martial art for you? It would be faster to just introduce you to another martial artist."

"Ha, really. You're playing hard to get. Why don't you just make it for me?"

"I refuse. Not only do the elders of my family dislike it, but it's a really difficult task."

The creation of a martial art is a task that shaves bones, carves flesh, and boils blood.

It was not something that could be done lightly, and if Sama Hwi himself were to do it, it was an extreme ascetic practice that would shorten his lifespan by ten years in an instant. So, the creation of such a martial art was something one would do for one's parents, descendants, or lover, never for someone one disliked.

"Hmmmm... so that's how you're going to be."

Jang So-gil narrowed his eyes and picked up a candy from the table. Then he took a big bite.

Truly, no one in this Martial Alliance was a pushover. From the Alliance Lord who was always trying to make him work, to the strategist who cleverly diverted the point and broke his promise. They all knew nothing about the way of commerce, but their political skills were master-level, so things didn't get resolved easily.

He said he would learn it if they made a martial art for him, but they had so much to say.

If they refused so openly, there was not much Jang So-gil could do. The best plan was to give up, get introduced to a master to increase his escort force, or receive the right to call for troops or reinforcements on a case-by-case basis. Because he knew that, Sama Hwi was also refusing so openly. It was a checkmate, so to speak.

But if he were to back down so easily, he wouldn't have set up this board in the first place.

Jang So-gil chewed and swallowed the candy in one go and then slurped the hot tea. Then he said to Sama Hwi with eyes full of venom.

"Alright. Then I will give up on the proxy creation of a martial art. Help me with something else instead."

"Wise. Then what can I do for you, Inspector?"

"I'm looking for a person."

"A person?"

"I want that person to help me with my work and to make something for me."

"He must be a blacksmith. The Beggars' Sect is under the Martial Alliance, so you can find anyone quickly. What is the name of the person you're looking for?"

"Byeokryeokja."

Sama Hwi's smiling face hardened. Then his expression crumbled like a lump of clay that had been hit with a hammer after hardening. He couldn't control his facial expression properly.

"B-b-b-b-byeok, byeokryeok."

"Byeokryeokja. In the world, they also call him the Thunderclap True Lord, the Explosion Demon."

Byeokryeokja (The Thunderclap One).

That name itself was a legend.

As the master of an Unorthodox sect called the Thunderclap Sect, his specialty was the forging of hidden weapons and explosives. The Thunderclap Bombs and Heaven-Shaking Thunders he created made him a legend.

The Thunderclap Bomb was an explosive of such mighty power that if you threw one, a castle gate would be destroyed and a bridge would collapse.

The Heaven-Shaking Thunder was a strange weapon that, once aimed, would let out a roar and a small short spear would fly out, piercing a large hole in the chest of the one it was aimed at.

Byeokryeokja, who ran wild throwing Thunderclap Bombs and firing Heaven-Shaking Thunders, was feared by many people because despite using such formidable explosives, his own martial arts were also of a high level. People, seeing his Thunderclap Bombs, Heaven-Shaking Thunders, and his martial arts, called him one of the three greatest troublemakers of all time, the Explosion Demon, with a mixture of respect and fear.

If he hadn't been a person who lived for fun.

If he hadn't been an eccentric who showed up without fail whenever a fight between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions broke out, the Thunderclap Sect would have been ten times stronger than its current influence, and he himself might have been called one of the Ten Venerables instead of a branch of the Unorthodox faction, one of the three troublemakers.

At the mention of Byeokryeokja's name, Sama Hwi's Adam's apple bobbed greatly.

"Y-y-y-you crazy bastard! What are you trying to do, looking for him!"

"What do you mean, what am I trying to do? It's because I need what the Thunderclap True Lord makes."

"Why the Thunderclap Bomb!"

"To use it."

"I'm asking why you would use it!"

Tsk tsk tsk, Jang So-gil clicked his tongue and wagged his finger.

"Hey, Strategist Sama. Think carefully. As an inspector, I have to wander around the martial world and collect money. But do you think the kids who are getting their money taken will give it up obediently? No, they won't. They'll lock the door and rush at me, screaming that they can't give me the money."

"S-so?"

"So what? Yang Gwan is my subordinate, but he's not always by my side. Now, think about it. A bastard who has embezzled our money is running away right in front of my eyes. If I were a master, I could just run and subdue him. But I'm just a good commoner. I can't do anything but watch. But Yang Gwan happens to not be by my side. Oh my, what should I do, I'm just watching, and this bastard, he runs into the mountain fortress he built. He goes into the mountain fortress and locks the door tight, so there's nothing I can do."

If you think about it, it wouldn't be a rare case. It was a situation that would happen once out of ten times, so Sama Hwi unconsciously nodded his head in affirmation.

"So I waited for Yang Gwan, wondering when this bastard would come, and suddenly the door opens wide. I go in and shout, 'You bastard, give me my money~!' and what's this? The bastard smiles brightly and denies everything, saying how can I catch him when he's burned all the evidence. Oh no, it was literally true. I went in and saw that the important documents were already just ashes, and the witness had already gone to the grave. Oh my. The work is ruined. I'm ruined~!"

"..."

"But let's say I meet the Thunderclap True Lord and I have a Thunderclap Bomb. Even if I'm not a master, I can throw a Thunderclap Bomb. Here, you bastard, take a Thunderclap Bomb-! I throw it at the door and blow up the mountain fortress's gate. And I rush inside, take out a Heaven-Shaking Thunder, aim it, and say, 'You bastard, freeze!' Do you think that bastard will stay still? Or will he burn the rest of the evidence to get hit by the Heaven-Shaking Thunder?"

"...He'll stay still. He wouldn't want to die."

"That's why I'm looking for the Thunderclap True Lord. I need to meet him and arm myself with Thunderclap Bombs and Heaven-Shaking Thunders."

Silence fell between the two.

Only the sound of Sama Hwi's Adam's apple moving echoed.

Jang So-gil calmly placed his hand on his teacup and savored the aroma. Sama Hwi, who had been silent for a long time, clutched his aching stomach and shouted.

"R-rejected! Rejected! I can't grant such a request!"

As Sama Hwi was terrified, Jang So-gil, thinking this was his chance, banged on the table.

"This is not allowed. That is not allowed! You lost the bet and will cooperate, but you won't listen to a single thing I say? Then what in the world can you do for me!"

"Ugh!"

"From today, should I spread flyers in the marketplace of Luoyang saying that the second son of the Sama family is a dog-like bastard who speaks with two tongues, to feel better!"

"You rude bastard!"

"You're the rude one! If you make a bet and a promise, you should keep it. How long are you going to keep dodging and changing the subject! And you call yourself a member of the Five Great Families, the second son of the Sama family!"

"Ugh!!"

Sama Hwi's brow furrowed with all his might. Jang So-gil's words were logical. It was annoying and crazy, but it was in line with reason.

Byeokryeokja was a big shot of the Unorthodox faction, but now was a peaceful era after the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions had united to defeat the demons. The relationship between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions was currently one of the best in the history of the martial world. It meant that it wasn't impossible to make a request.

'But I can't look for Byeokryeokja.'

Byeokryeokja was a person who valued fun the most. He enjoyed things that were loud, flashy, broke reason, and shattered common sense. Jang So-gil was a perfect fit for Byeokryeokja's taste. Sama Hwi thought that he would like Jang So-gil so much that he might even take him as his direct disciple.

'Because there's no one as crazy as that fellow.'

Byeokryeokja loves crazy people.

Jang So-gil, in a situation where he might take him as a disciple, there was no way he wouldn't give him Thunderclap Bombs and Heaven-Shaking Thunders. He would hand over a pile of them, telling him to use them for fun, and that crazy mad dog would scatter Thunderclap Bombs and Heaven-Shaking Thunders everywhere, making the world chaotic. The meeting of Jang So-gil and Byeokryeokja was a disaster that should not happen.

'Because the aftermath is my responsibility!'

Even now, Sama Hwi was handling the aftermath of the money that fellow had brought in.

He was a mad dog who caused such a commotion even when he just worked normally, so what would he be like if he were armed with Thunderclap Bombs and Heaven-Shaking Thunders? Even a three-year-old child would know.

'The meeting of that fellow and Byeokryeokja will bring about a terrible result!'

But there was something even more terrifying.

The fact that Jang So-gil himself knew that if he and Byeokryeokja met, it would become a tremendous situation.

Jang So-gil said coldly.

"If Strategist Sama does not cooperate, I will personally spend money to hire people from the Beggars' Sect or the Hao Faction. And I will find the Thunderclap True Lord."

"Th-that's not allowed!"

"What's not allowed? The Alliance Lord has given me permission to do most things for the sake of carrying out my mission. Contacting the Beggars' Sect or the Hao Faction is no big deal."

Even if he doesn't cooperate, that fellow will find Byeokryeokja.

And he will cause trouble.

Sama Hwi understood the whole situation and broke his fan.

He was had. It was a real checkmate.

He mumbled in a mosquito-like voice.

"...it."

"What did you say?"

"...do it."

"I can't hear you."

Sama Hwi shouted.

"I'll do it! I'll make the martial art for you! You damn mad dog!”

(End of Chapter)