Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 94

The senior warrior exploded with anger and asked the ordinary red-belted warrior, “Just who the hell pulled this stunt?”

“Well……”

The warrior quietly turned his head and gestured with his eyes toward someone standing in formation in the square.

Seeing who it was, the senior warrior was dumbfounded and at a loss for words.

“Is it that bastard again?”

Again, that bastard.

It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

He had left a strong impression and obtained the top position in the first and second stages, so even if they didn’t want to remember him, they had no choice but to do so.

“There’s no way he could have done it alone with so many trainees. Did that bastard and his teammates do it together?”

“It seems that way.”

‘Ha.’

It was truly absurd.

The process of finding team leaders and members that took place last night.

It was designed to voluntarily allow the trainees to find team leaders and members among themselves, to see who had the qualities of a leader.

Of course, they had expected a fierce competition for team members due to the four vacancies caused by the dropouts.

And the reason they had only imposed the restriction of no killing was to allow a certain degree of fighting among them.

But this was a completely unexpected outcome.

‘Damn it.’

They had expected at least five or more Unit Leader-level trainees to be selected.

But only two had been chosen.

After the first and second stages, the trainees had already proven their qualifications and mental fortitude to a certain extent, so the goal was to have as many of them advance as possible.

However, because of that bastard Mok Gyeong-un, things had gotten completely twisted.

The senior warrior cautiously said to the Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom, “Valley Master, this won’t do.”

“What do you mean?”

“It has gone too far.”

“Too far?”

“Isn’t that right? Out of eighty, no, seventy-six, only sixteen have formed teams. If we leave them be, more…..”

“More what? What’s the problem?”

“Pardon?”

The senior warrior was baffled by Lee Ji-yeom’s words.

If they failed to properly filter out the suitable ones by the end of the stage, those higher up might take issue with it.

To the worrying senior warrior, Lee Ji-yeom said, “…….It may be excessive, but no rules have been broken. On what grounds can we stop it?”

The senior warrior frowned.

Just yesterday, the Valley Master had said they should keep a closer eye on Mok Gyeong-un.

But why was he suddenly being so lenient?

“Valley Master……That fellow is not from our sect and is a hostage brought from the righteous faction’s Yeon Mok Sword Manor. If the process of selecting the best is ruined because of him, the Sect Master and the executives will surely take issue with it. Perhaps the Society Leader had anticipated this.”

“………”

At the senior warrior’s words, Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom let out a faint sigh.

Senior Warrior Gwak Mun-gi.

He was like his left arm.

So he knew better than anyone how the Sect Master and the main castle were always finding fault and taking issue with the Blood Valley’s events.

That was why he was offering this opinion.

“…….That may be the case. But it doesn’t matter. In any case, it was the Sect Master who sent that…..fellow. It will be difficult for them to hold me responsible for something caused by his whim.”

“But…..”

“We will proceed as planned.”

“……..I accept your command.”

At the resolute words of Valley Master Lee Ji-yeom, Senior Warrior Gwak Mun-gi finally stopped questioning and accepted the order.

However, his lowered gaze was directed toward Mok Gyeong-un.

***

-How does it feel to be backstabbed for the first time?

Cheong-ryeong’s voice resonated in Mok Gyeong-un’s ears.

Why was Cheong-ryeong saying this?

It was because of what happened last night.

Mok Gyeong-un turned his head to look at the eight people standing in formation next to their team.

Among them, the ones who stood out were a boy with a quite mature appearance and sharp, narrow eyes, and Mok Yu-cheon.

‘Interesting.’

Last night, Mok Gyeong-un had intended to break the legs of everyone except his own team, making them fail.

If that happened, there was a high probability that the third stage would be the last, and all other stages would be skipped, moving directly to the final procedure.

However, a variable arose at dawn.

[Oh, no. Something terrible has happened.]

One of the boys who had been sent in a group of five came to him urgently and said.

[Where are the others, and why have you come alone?]

[……Well, that’s…..]

[It seems something happened, right?]

[……I’m sorry.]

The boy, thinking Mok Gyeong-un would reprimand him, spoke with great nervousness.

In response, Mok Gyeong-un shook his head and gently reassured him.

[Is anyone going to eat you alive? Where are the others?]

[They were all captured.]

[Captured…..you say?]

[Ye, yes. There was no way around it. We went to the last room, but we had no idea eight people were hiding and ambushing us.]

[Eight people were lying in ambush……]

This was unexpected.

It meant that someone had noticed their plan and had prepared for it.

Come to think of it, it was impossible for no one to notice while they were breaking legs one room at a time.

There were even four people who had noticed it midway and came to attack him.

It seemed there was a clever fellow among them.

[Let’s go.]

Mok Gyeong-un, possessing the body of Yeom Ga who was finishing up on the upper floor, joined forces with Ma-seung and Mo Ha-rang from the Demon Fire Hall and headed to the room where their teammates were said to be captured.

In front of the room, in the corridor, two boys were standing as if keeping watch.

Upon seeing Mok Gyeong-un, they were surprised and opened the door.

Then, four people rushed out from inside.

One of them was the narrow-eyed fellow named Moo Jang-yak, and another was none other than Mok Yu-cheon.

As soon as Mok Yu-cheon saw Mok Gyeong-un, he cursed.

[You crazy bastard. Are you even resorting to this kind of thing now?]

[This kind of thing?]

[It’s different from the previous stages. We just need to pick a team leader and cooperate among teammates to conduct the inspection, so why are you doing this….]

[Is it wrong to do this?]

[What?]

[In what way is it wrong?]

In response to Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Mok Yu-cheon replied with an exasperated expression.

[Are you even saying that now…..]

[I didn’t break the rule of no killing, and trainees were going to be eliminated at each stage anyway, so what’s the problem with just hastening it a bit?]

[You!]

Mok Yu-cheon was at a loss for words at Mok Gyeong-un’s statement.

In fact, the idea of breaking everyone’s legs was absurd, but it wasn’t entirely correct to say it was unconditionally wrong.

After all, this was a competition in the first place.

-Gnash!

Realizing that arguing logically in this way was meaningless and that words couldn’t do anything, Mok Yu-cheon said.

[Yeah. There’s no point in arguing with you about this.]

With those words, Mok Yu-cheon exchanged a glance with Moo Jang-yak beside him.

Then, Moo Jang-yak raised one hand and opened his mouth.

[Hello.]

[Yes. Hello.]

[You’ve come to find your teammates, right?]

[That’s right. If it’s alright with you, I’d like you to kindly send our teammates back to us.]

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Moo Jang-yak shook his head, smiled, and said.

[I’m sorry, but that might be a bit difficult.]

[You just need to hand them over, so in what way is it difficult?]

[If we return the teammates to you, you’ll try to break the legs of our teammates, just like you did in the other rooms. How can we allow that?]

[You know well.]

Mok Gyeong-un also smiled and replied.

The sight of the two of them smiling and conversing at a critical moment made their respective teammates unable to hide their tension.

However, the advantageous side was Moo Jang-yak’s.

After all, they had hostages.

[For now, can you leave? We don’t want to needlessly fight with your team and exhaust our strength.]

[Is that so?]

[Yes. If you do that, we’ll kindly return the captured teammates tomorrow morning.]

An unexpectedly smooth proposal.

In fact, although it seemed like a concession, this was the best proposal for Moo Jang-yak’s side.

They were certain that the moment they returned the teammates, Mok Gyeong-un would definitely target them.

At that moment, Mo Ha-rang whispered.

[It’s unfortunate that it’s different from the goal, but it seems best to do it that way for now. This time, they have the upper hand.]

The number of uninjured trainees was 16.

In this situation, if their teammates got hurt, it would be advantageous for the other side.

However, even they couldn’t easily do that.

Because if the numbers were maintained, there would be no fight, but if they injured Mok Gyeong-un’s teammates, they would have to pick a fight to fill the remaining spots.

‘They’ve thought it through well.’

The other side considered this their best option, so they had created this setup.

In response, Mok Gyeong-un said.

[Well, that’s fine, but isn’t there a possibility like this?]

[Possibility?]

[Yes. If you break our teammates’ legs tomorrow morning and return them, won’t we have no choice but to be eliminated?]

[Ah……]

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Mo Ha-rang let out a sigh.

Come to think of it, that was a possibility.

If the other side continued to hold the hostages, they could easily backstab them right before the team leader selection.

At that moment, Mok Yu-cheon snorted and said.

[Do you think we’re like you? At least we won’t backstab.]

[Of course, you can say that in front of us. But situations always force you to make the rational choice.]

[Is breaking a promise the rational choice?]

[Because it’s advantageous for your side.]

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Mok Yu-cheon clicked his tongue.

He had thought they would meekly follow their proposal in this situation, but he hadn’t expected them to bring up a possibility they hadn’t even considered.

Mok Yu-cheon glanced at Moo Jang-yak beside him.

Moo Jang-yak shrugged his shoulders and then opened his mouth.

[It’s natural to have such suspicions, but you have no choice but to trust us anyway. Other than that.]

In response, Mok Gyeong-un said.

[That might be difficult.]

[You’ll be at a disadvantage if this proposal falls through, though.]

At those words, Mok Gyeong-un smiled and said.

[No way. Now that it has come to this, we just need to keep eight out of sixteen people safe. Then, won’t it go according to my original plan?]

-Flinch!

The trainees listening to Mok Gyeong-un’s words were dumbfounded.

Who would have expected him to abandon his own teammates in this situation and come out saying that as long as the numbers match, it’s fine?

Does that guy have no attachment to his own team?

Mok Yu-cheon shouted in an angry voice.

[Don’t you have any sense of camaraderie? The teammates who trusted and followed you…..]

-Swish!

Moo Jang-yak extended his hand toward Mok Yu-cheon and shook his head.

Then, turning his head toward Mok Gyeong-un, he said.

[I had a feeling, but I didn’t expect you to react like that. When I heard from Yu-cheon, I wondered if you would really go that far.]

Moo Jang-yak had heard from Mok Yu-cheon about what had happened at the end of the second stage.

So he had his doubts, but it turned out just as he had heard.

Mok Gyeong-un said to him.

[Is that so? Then you know well that my words are not empty threats.]

[That’s right. It’s a good thing we prepared for the worst-case scenario.]

[What?]

Preparing for the worst-case scenario?

What does that mean?

As Mok Gyeong-un was puzzled, Moo Jang-yak said.

[The possibility you mentioned earlier about breaking our teammates’ legs, we didn’t consider it from the beginning, but we did prepare for the chance that you might react like this.]

[Prepare…..what exactly did you do?]

In response to Mok Gyeong-un’s question, Moo Jang-yak pulled something out from his wrist.

It was a thin needle about the size of a finger joint.

It was even smaller than the gold shackle embedded in the gate.

[…….What is that?]

[The four captured members of your team, and all of our team members, we’ve inserted this into the acupuncture point on their waists.]

[………]

[If this cartilage needle is inserted for half a day, they will limp for about ten days. In severe cases, they won’t be able to walk for half a month.]

‘!?’

At his words, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.

He had inserted that needle not only into our teammates but also into their own teammates?

[……..How can I believe that?]

Then, Moo Jang-yak told Mok Yu-cheon to take off his upper garment and show his back.

Accordingly, Mok Yu-cheon removed his top.

As he undressed, Moo Jang-yak began striking the acupuncture points on Mok Yu-cheon’s back, out of sight.

-Tap tap tap tap tap tap!

And not long after,

-Pop!

The needle popped out from Mok Yu-cheon’s back.

Seeing that, even Mo Ha-rang clicked his tongue in disbelief.

Who would have predicted that they would go so far as to insert cartilage needles into their own teammates to prepare for this situation?

Moo Jang-yak smiled at Mok Gyeong-un with narrow eyes and said.

[Now, what are you going to do? Even if you take Mok Yu-cheon with you after removing the needle, if I don’t cooperate, everyone will be unable to walk properly after half a day. Then, you and your entire team will be eliminated.]

It was a do-or-die kind of countermeasure.

Of course, this countermeasure was extremely effective.

Because it would result in both teams failing to fill eight spots, leading to everyone’s elimination.

‘…….His mind is truly exceptional.’

Even Mo Ha-rang couldn’t help but admire the exquisite move.

It was a strategy that accurately read the unpredictable Mok Gyeong-un.

This time, it seemed that even Mok Gyeong-un had no choice but to accept it.

However, Mok Gyeong-un muttered with twitching lips.

[This is really interesting.]

She frowned.

It was as good as losing the battle of wits against Moo Jang-yak, yet he found this situation interesting?

As she was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un said to Moo Jang-yak.

[It’s a tough decision.]

[Is there a need to ponder? No matter what tricks you use, in this situation…..]

[No. I’m deliberating whether it would be better to kill you now or let you live.]

‘!?’