Urban Vagabond: Reload

Choi Geon’s role in this operation was to strike the Black Heaven Society’s branch factions.

—Martial Alliance Leader. I will stop the Black Heaven Society’s branch factions from supporting the main base.

It was a mission Choi Geon had personally gone to Yeo Pilgeuk and volunteered for.

But when he heard that, Yeo Pilgeuk let out a sigh.

—......You always insist on taking the work no one sees. I want to go and put down the Black Heaven Society’s society leader with you.

—I regret that I cannot fight at your side as well, Martial Alliance Leader. But as they say, when you can’t have pheasant, chicken will do. Those old men from the Eight Great Sects should be enough for that.

—Are the sect leaders still that unpleasant to you?

Other than Sun and Moon Gate and AZURE SKY SWORD GATE, the sect leaders of the Eight Great Sects still did not know that Sword Demon Choi Geon had returned.

That was also one of the reasons Choi Geon was not stepping to the forefront in this operation.

He had absolutely no desire to return officially to the Martial Alliance. He never wanted to get dragged back into that sickening political infighting again.

But Yeo Pilgeuk thought differently.

—If you want it, I can force a position to be made. If you distinguish yourself, you may restore your tarnished honor and return as an elder of the Martial Alliance.

If the sect leaders of the Eight Great Sects succeeded in putting down the Black Heaven Society’s society leader on this opportunity, their prestige would rise again.

On the other hand, only a very small number of people would recognize Choi Geon’s accomplishments. It would not even remain in the official record.

But Choi Geon shook his head.

—Martial Alliance Leader. My apologies, but if I return and have to face those old men again, it will only piss me off. You know that as well as I do, so why ask?

—That...... I cannot deny.

With a smile full of sincerity, Choi Geon said to Yeo Pilgeuk,

—I like things exactly as they are now. Acting only as the Martial Alliance’s Shadow Sword suits me perfectly.

The hidden secret weapon of the Martial Alliance.

That was what Sword Demon Choi Geon had once been called, and even now, more than twenty years later, it was still the role that suited him best.

He no longer needed a title he had never wanted.

And now—

“Once you let go of pointless vanity, life really does become this free.”

Choi Geon felt the greatest sense of fulfillment when he put down wicked people not worth leaving alive.

SHHHK!

Following the savage arc of blade aura, the concrete wall was painted red.

Blood flowing from the corpses piled into a small hill had gathered into a thick, muddy pool.

Step. Step.

No one could stop the sword-bearing demon walking out of it.

“D-don’t come any closer! Don’t come any closer!”

The one shouting himself hoarse as he stumbled backward was one of the Black Heaven Society’s branch leaders.

He was an expert whose martial arts had reached the threshold of the pinnacle realm, a man who had ruled this area through terror, but after seeing all his subordinates butchered by Choi Geon, he had completely lost the will to fight.

“I want to ask you something. Did you ever hesitate when you killed innocent people?”

“Ugh.......”

The Five Great Unorthodox Sects, including the Black Heaven Society, controlled countless subcontracted organizations that spread out like a spiderweb.

Among them, the larger organizations were called branches, and what they did was even more vicious than the main base.

That was because they had to meet the tribute demanded by the main base.

In reality, most of the robbery, murder, and human trafficking were committed by the branches.

That was why Choi Geon’s sword carried not the slightest trace of mercy.

“J-just where did a master like you come from? Red Moon Gate? Martial Mausoleum Palace? It can’t be the Black Night Gang.......”

The branch leader assumed Choi Geon was a master sent by one of the Five Great Unorthodox Sects.

That was because of how terrifyingly cruel his methods were.

But the answer he got back was something he could never have imagined.

“I am a righteous emissary sent by the Martial Alliance.”

“Hah, quit bullshitting and answer properly! If there’s something you want, then let’s negotiate—!”

SMACK!

The branch leader was struck across the face with the flat of the blade and sent flying into the wall.

Choi Geon walked over and rested the sword on the branch leader’s shoulder. Beyond the Blue Wolf mask, his eyes blazed with a razor-cold light.

“Your attitude is rotten. I would not mind ripping out your tongue right now and cutting off your fingers so we could continue this conversation in blood.”

“P-please spare me. I’ll do anything you say.......”

The branch leader, now the sole survivor, dropped to his knees on the floor. His body trembled violently from the thick killing intent he had never felt in his life, and tears streamed down his face.

That should do it.

After confirming that the other man’s spirit had been completely broken, Choi Geon gave a nod.

“Go on, then. Say whatever you like. If there is information worth using, I will leave the thing on top of your neck and go.”

Information that the Black Heaven Society treated as confidential came pouring out of the branch leader’s mouth.

If the Black Heaven Society’s society leader found out, he would kill him, but right now the Black Heaven Society’s main base was under attack from the Martial Alliance and the Eight Great Sects.

Because of that, he easily spilled information he normally would not have revealed even with a blade at his throat.

“Hm.......”

But after listening to the branch leader for a while, Choi Geon furrowed his brow.

“It is not enough to save you from the evil you have committed up to now.”

“You motherfucking son of a—!”

Sensing death, the branch leader tried to spit out at least one proper curse.

Slice!

Before he could even finish speaking, Choi Geon cut off his head, then turned around with a click of his tongue.

“What have you two been mumbling about this whole time?”

The former-and-current drifter duo, who had been opening the strongbox in the room, flinched and looked back.

“Haha. Don’t mind us. We were just talking among ourselves.”

At Hwang Suksu’s slick answer, Choi Geon let out a short snort, then sat down cross-legged on the spot.

“I’ll rest for a moment, so now you two do what you need to do.”

“Should we stand guard beside you?”

“No need. I may cut you down unconsciously, so do not come close for no reason.”

“......Yes, sir!”

While Choi Geon closed his eyes and replenished the internal energy he had consumed with a brief breathing exercise,

Hwang Suksu began looting the Black Heaven Society branch’s storehouse with practiced skill.

At the same time, he started giving Han Jaechun a crash course in the skills a drifter needed to learn.

“For a drifter, first is reading the room, second is knowing your place, and third is having lots of side skills if you want to survive a long time. Got it?”

“Reading the room, knowing my place, side skills....... If you teach me, I’ll work hard and learn!”

Seeing Han Jaechun so eager to learn that he was even writing everything down, the corner of Hwang Suksu’s mouth curled upward.

“This young guy’s attitude isn’t bad. Watch closely. I opened this strongbox with the key that bastard branch leader gave us, right? But the contents are kind of disappointing, aren’t they?”

“Huh? It looks enormous to me.......”

The massive bundles of cash found in the strongbox were enough to make Han Jaechun’s eyes go wide.

But to an expert like Hwang Suksu, it was nothing but a laughable trick.

“Watch carefully. This is usually how these unorthodox bastards pull their stunts.”

Using the short machete he had brought, Hwang Suksu tapped and prodded at one section of the wall several times, and then the wall split open with a crack, revealing it packed full of gold bars.

Han Jaechun stared with his mouth hanging open in admiration.

“Woooow.......”

“Heh heh heh! I knew it. There’s nobody better than me at finding where they’ve stashed things!”

And that was not the end of it. Hwang Suksu connected to the Black Heaven Society branch’s computer, hacked the system, and paralyzed it.

Han Jaechun was now looking at him like he was a legendary senior from the industry.

“Sir....... You know how to hack too?”

“It’s not anything grand enough to call hacking. Equipment is good these days, so if you plug in one of these, it does the work on its own.”

But unlike his modest words, Hwang Suksu’s fingers moved busily. Strings of code Han Jaechun could not even begin to recognize flashed by and disappeared.

“I used to be way faster back in the day, but I’m getting old. My hands are getting stiff, getting stiff.”

Fully enjoying that gaze of respect, Hwang Suksu placed a call somewhere.

“Brother Jung! It’s me, Hwang Suksu. Anyway, I’m trying to send a cuckoo out, you know. You’ve got somebody in the Black Heaven Society, right? What, you can’t because you’re worried about the Martial Alliance? No need to worry! I’m doing it after setting everything up first!”

It was while Han Jaechun was staring at Hwang Suksu with eyes full of admiration.

“Tsk tsk. You are really making a ridiculous spectacle of yourself.”

At some point, Choi Geon had already finished his breathing exercise and was getting up from his seat.

Giving a fake cough, Hwang Suksu pointed in the direction of the secret safe he had found by hacking into the system.

“Ahem. Sir. Once we open that one safe behind that wall over there, we’re done. Looks like there’s an expensive miracle elixir inside.”

At that, Sword Demon walked over to the wall and drew his sword.

“You could simply cut it open.......”

“Ah, you can’t smash that with brute force! It’ll explode inside if you do! Just wait a bit!”

The moment the words left his mouth, Hwang Suksu realized his mistake.

For a moment he even thought he had gone crazy for mouthing off to that terrifying Sword Demon.

Then he carefully watched his reaction......

“Hm.”

Choi Geon, who seemed like he would get angry, instead sheathed his sword and stepped back without protest.

“How long will it take?”

“Th-three minutes. Want to smoke a pipe while you wait?”

Choi Geon nodded, took out his pipe, packed it with tobacco, and let out a long stream of smoke.

“You have exactly three minutes.”

“Yes, sir!”

Sword Demon always barked at Hwang Suksu whenever they met, but that was only an old habit of his when dealing with someone from the underworld. When it came to his ability, he never doubted him.

He acknowledged Hwang Suksu as a capable colleague.

Colleague.......

At the sudden realization that he had started thinking of someone from the underworld as a colleague, Choi Geon unconsciously let out a faint chuckle.

It’s all thanks to that admirable disciple of mine.

If not for Kim Muhyuk, he never would have returned to active duty, nor would he ever have taken on a mission alongside an underworld information broker.

If this had been the old me, I’d have insisted on handling everything alone.......

Just as Choi Geon gave a small smile, thinking that he too had softened a lot with age—

“Sir! I’ve finished!”

RUMBLE!

The unlocked wall sank downward, and inside the safe hidden behind it was indeed a precious miracle elixir the branch leader had not revealed even at the very moment of death.

It was a milky liquid miracle elixir inside a small transparent bottle.

“Gulp. This looks like synthetic azure crystal milk....... You couldn’t get this even if you had money.”

Seeing the desperate greed in Hwang Suksu’s eyes as he swallowed, Choi Geon nodded.

No matter how much one fought for justice, from time to time, proper compensation was still necessary.

“We can divide it up and take it later. Pack it carefully.”

“Yes, sir! Let’s head to the next place!”

The three of them rapidly destroyed Black Heaven Society branches.

Choi Geon and Hwang Suksu worked together as smoothly as if they had been coordinating for years, and Han Jaechun also supported them well from the side.

“You’re more meticulous than you look.”

“I do hear pretty often that I’m good at getting things done.”

“Hah, the brat gets full of himself fast.......”

Hwang Suksu deliberately spread rumors that the Martial Alliance special operations team was attacking the Black Heaven Society branches.

Thanks to that, the other branches did not dare go help the main base and stayed shut up tight instead.

When Choi Geon heard the report, he clicked his tongue as if he had expected exactly that.

“That is the true nature of those unorthodox bastards. Do they have the loyalty to risk their own lives to go save their comrades? The Black Heaven Society will be erased from this land today.”

And so the three of them destroyed three Black Heaven Society branches, and the Martial Alliance’s other special operations teams also succeeded in striking the branches that had been pinned down.

Too easy.

Everything was going smoothly. Too smoothly, to the point it felt unsettling.

And a moment later, the reason for that unease was revealed.

[This is breaking news. While the Martial Alliance Leader and the sect leaders of the Eight Great Sects were engaged in battle, reports have come in that the surrounding ground collapsed on a massive scale. Due to this collapse, the Martial Alliance Leader, the Black Heaven Society’s society leader, and the sect leaders of the Eight Great Sects all fell together into the collapsed ground area.......]

The same scene was being shown on every screen in the city.

A gigantic crater filmed from the sky. And within it, a black pillar of flame shooting upward.

KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA!

[It has been reported that the sect leaders of Golden Glory Gate and GREAT HEAVEN GATE, who barely escaped near the edge of the collapsed ground, have both suffered serious injuries. We will continue with more updates as they come in.]

Staring at the hole spewing black flames like the entrance to hell, Choi Geon’s expression hardened.

“......I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”