Chapter 171

A rather eerie space. A man carrying a spear arrived there.

“Late, huh.”

A woman’s voice echoed from among the two men and women who had arrived earlier.

The man carrying the spear shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“I don’t think I’m that late.”

“Gwi Chang, if you were the one who requested the meeting, shouldn’t you have arrived on time?”

“Alright, sorry.”

Gwi Chang, Baek Si-hoon, scanned the two men and women without letting his guard down.

‘An executive member of the Execution Society.’

The man had a very emotionless face, and the woman seemed to be an archer-type from China or Taiwan.

‘…Her looks are no joke.’

Baek Si-hoon clicked his tongue for a moment. Her appearance was his type, but he couldn’t lay a hand on her.

No matter how much he was into women, messing with an executive of the Execution Society would mean taking a huge risk.

Also, they hadn’t met to fight, but even now, it was a 2 vs. 1 situation.

If a fight broke out, he would be at a significant disadvantage.

‘I could probably take one of them…’

Gwi Chang himself was a ranker. Honestly, it wouldn’t be easy, but if it were just the woman, he was somewhat confident he could win…

‘But I don’t know the extent of the man’s military power.’

While he was assessing the two, the woman spoke up again.

“So, why did you want to meet? You said you had a proposal.”

“Well, yeah. But you see, I’ve already revealed my identity, so shouldn’t you introduce yourselves as well?”

“…Yang So-wol.”

“Good, and the man over there?”

“Jeon Myung-cheon.”

“Alright. Anyway, the reason I wanted to meet with the two executives of the Execution Society is simple. I want to propose an alliance.”

“…An alliance? What do you mean? Gwi Chang, are you saying you want to join the Execution Society?”

‘This guy isn’t mute, but he sure isn’t talking.’

Only Yang So-wol, the female executive, was engaging in conversation with Baek Si-hoon.

For a moment, Baek Si-hoon felt irritated but held it in.

At least in this situation, he wasn’t in the position of power.

“No, that’s not what I mean. I just want to join forces, literally.”

“I don’t get it. What reason do we have to join forces?”

“Well, we have a common goal.”

“…A common goal?”

“You guys planted a spy in the Execution Society, but the spy got exposed, and you had a bit of a headache, right?”

At the mention of the spy incident, Yang So-wol’s face stiffened.

“…Why are you bringing that up now?”

‘Damn, this bitch has an attitude.’

He wanted to teach her a lesson, but since he couldn’t do it alone, Baek Si-hoon decided to hold back.

‘I need the Execution Society’s power.’

“From what I’ve heard, the one who messed with the Execution Society is a guy named Lee Yun-seong from Eternity, right? You sent some people after him, but they got taken out instead, huh?”

“Gwi Chang, I don’t know what you’re trying to say with all this. Should I take it as a provocation?”

Baek Si-hoon gestured with his palms up, as if to calm her down.

“Whoa, calm down. I’m not picking a fight, so relax.”

Once the woman seemed to be listening, Gwi Chang continued.

“The thing is, the one who interfered was Yanagiya Riki, right? So from the Execution Society’s perspective, Lee Yun-seong and Yanagiya Riki are both nuisances, aren’t they?”

“…So?”

“I have business with that Lee Yun-seong guy.”

To be precise, he had business with his bodyguard, Wi Ho-yeon, but he didn’t mention that.

‘Sigh… Damn bitch. So hard to get.’

In hindsight, he should have forced her into his hands back then instead of trying to sweet-talk her.

‘Damn it, back then, there wasn’t much of a difference in strength.’

Baek Si-hoon was confident that now, as a ranker, he could win.

No matter what, his talent with the spear was insane, even to an outsider.

Anyway, Baek Si-hoon had originally taken a request from the Predator Clan to take out Lee Yun-seong and get Wi Ho-yeon.

But, unbelievably, the Predator Clan had disappeared overnight. And all because of one person.

Officially, it wasn’t confirmed to be the work of one person, but to handle things like that without leaving a trace—it was impossible unless it was just one person.

‘There’s something about that Lee Yun-seong guy.’

Baek Si-hoon wasn’t interested in Yanagiya Riki.

Well, honestly, she was somewhat appealing, but his taste was always fixed on Wi Ho-yeon.

The problem was that to take Wi Ho-yeon from Lee Yun-seong, there was this mysterious strong person to worry about.

The risk was too high to handle it alone.

“What I want is simple. You guys can handle Lee Yun-seong however you want. But his bodyguard, the Sword Monarch, is mine.”

“…..”

The woman was silent for a while before speaking.

“So, what do you want from us? And what exactly are you offering? I want to hear the details.”

“We can discuss the detailed plan slowly, but in the meantime, I can tell you how to deal with Yanagiya Riki.”

“…..”

“That bitch has a friend. You might have heard of her—Jo Yeon-joo, the Shadow Sorcerer.”

“…A ranker like you.”

“Right. Jo Yeon-joo and Yanagiya Riki are somewhat close. So, I plan to kill Jo Yeon-joo.”

“I get that the Shadow Sorcerer and Yanagiya Riki are friends. But what do you plan to achieve by killing the Shadow Sorcerer?”

“I want to provoke her. Yanagiya Riki is a bitch driven by instinct. She’ll likely take the bait.”

“…..”

“Once Yanagiya Riki is lured out, you guys can handle her. I’ve set the stage, so you should be able to do it, right?”

“….Hmm. Gwi Chang, your plan seems quite risky.”

“What are you talking about?”

“According to you, Yanagiya Riki did mess with the Execution Society’s plans. That’s true.”



“But it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“So?”

“Taking on Yanagiya Riki and Eternity over that one thing is pretty risky.”

“Ha, is the Execution Society scared now?”

Honestly, Baek Si-hoon agreed with her words even as he provoked her.

Jo Yeon-joo is a shadow sorcerer, so if you ambush her outside her home ground, it’s not impossible to kill her.

But Baek Si-hoon himself wasn’t sure if he could kill Yanagiya Riki.

At least Yanagiya Riki’s notoriety is on par with Baek Si-hoon.

He had never fought her, only encountered her a few times in the past, but he instinctively knew she wasn’t an easy opponent.

“Let’s hold off on Yanagiya Riki for now. But separately, I’d like the shadow sorcerer dead.”

“…Is there a reason? If we’re not touching Yanagiya Riki, there’s no need to do that, right?”

“No, the shadow sorcerer has been digging into our side recently.”

“Hmm… Alright. Can I take that as you accepting my proposal?”

“…No, I can’t give an immediate answer. I’ll discuss it and get back to you within three days.”

“Fine. I hope you make a wise choice.”

Gwi Chang turned around and spat out his words.

“And next time, loosen up a bit. It’s a waste of such a pretty face.”

The woman, Yang So-wol, didn’t bother to respond to Baek Si-hoon’s words.

Since Baek Si-hoon wasn’t expecting an answer anyway, he just walked away.

‘That guy doesn’t say a word except when he mentions names.’

Whatever, for Baek Si-hoon, it was all about getting the Sword Monarch.

He still couldn’t forget the first time he saw her.

She felt like a being born just for him. It was the first time he had met a woman who perfectly matched his taste.

Even more than the wife of the Marquis of Tayos, whom he had once admired.

He had approached her a few times wearing a mask to win her heart, but the response was lukewarm.

But the more he thought about it, the more he looked forward to tasting that sweet fruit, and it drove him crazy. He actually enjoyed the situation.

Until Wi Ho-yeon disappeared from the Eastern Alliance.

‘Sigh… Hold on. It’s only a matter of time.’

It was natural that he couldn’t sleep at night, thinking about making that proud face his own.

When the Sword Monarch disappeared from the Eastern Alliance, he couldn’t control his anger.

He thought she was gone for good.

‘I won’t miss her this time. Look forward to it.’

He was the kind of person who had to have everything he wanted to feel satisfied.

Whether it was money, power, or women.

******

Right after Baek Si-hoon left, the woman knelt on one knee and bowed her head to the man.

“…What do you plan to do?”

Her demeanor seemed more like a master-servant relationship than an equal one.

“Hmm.”

The man answered casually, but the woman waited without a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Gwi Chang didn’t seem to be lying. But even so, he’s not someone to fully trust.”

“Then…”

“Still, it’s not a bad deal. Just taking care of Jo Yeon-joo is a decent trade.”

“…..”

“But Eternity, or more precisely, that man Lee Yun-seong, is bothering me.”

“May I ask what’s bothering you?”

“There’s someone backing him. Or maybe a force.”

“Are you talking about Yanagiya Riki and the Kotozuke Clan? Or the Myth Clan…”

The man cut her off and answered.

“No, I’m not worried about those two. What I’m concerned about is what happened during the Predator Clan incident.”

“That mysterious incident?”

“Yes. It might not be, but there’s a high chance that Lee Yun-seong’s backer was behind it.”

“I apologize for asking, but may I know your reasoning?”

“Kim Nam-gi, the master of the Predator Clan, tried to frame Lee Yun-seong. Right after that, the Predator Clan fell.”

“Ah…”

“The timing was too strange. It could be a coincidence, but…”

Usually, big incidents like that don’t happen by coincidence.

“So what do you plan to do?”

“…Gwi Chang will have to take the risk and step forward after making such a decision. But you and I won’t.”

“……”

“You and I won’t move directly. Sending a couple of other executives would be appropriate.”

“But if it fails…”

“That’s fine too. As long as you and I are here, it doesn’t matter.”

The woman trembled with joy and bowed at the man’s words.

“…Thank you, Captain.”

“After all, the others are just pawns. But you’re special. You’re not just a piece to be used.”

As if there could be no greater honor, the woman responded with a blissful expression.

“It’s an honor.”

“I’m not leading those outlaws because I like them. It doesn’t matter how much damage they take.”

“…I just follow you, Captain. Command me as you wish.”

“Stand up for now. No need to kneel and hurt your knees.”

“…Yes.”