9. Rusty Ebay Tortuga (6)
9. Rusty Ebay Tortuga (6) – Who would say they’re not a couple?
The place Seolyeong arrived at, led by Baek Sahee’s hand, was Totuga Alpha, the twin planet where the Ronin Market is located, and the headquarters of the Samgeukhoe is located. After leaving Mokjin, who had no direct connection to this matter, to stay at a separate hotel with Sunja, Seolyeong headed to the headquarters of the Samgeukhoe alone.
The atmosphere before the Tripartite Conference was gloomy. It wasn’t particularly solemn, but it wasn’t overly relaxed either. If I had to describe the atmosphere, it was more like, ‘Oh, the black bastards are having a fit again.’
Unlike the other dark forces that were at most branch level, the only one where the main force was located, the Three-Way Association was able to lightly let go of one or two provocations. The influence of the Three-Way Association, which practically dominated the Ronin Market, was so strong that all other forces had to join forces to barely equalize.
Oh, it’s been a while. One of the executives who recognized Seolyeong waved at her. At his voice, the other executives’ eyes turned to her and spoke to her one by one.
What the hell did you do to make them do this? Did you get anything good in Bidong? Did you make a lot of money? I heard something happened at Hwasan. Do you know anything about it? Etc. Their attitudes were strangely friendly compared to the seriousness of the situation, which was a protest or something.
It was only natural. Most of the people here had been working in this field for nearly ten years, since Serin was young.
Although Serin was not officially a member of the Samgeukhoe, it was true that she had been with the Samgeukhoe members for a long time, so she was treated as if she was a half-member of the Samgeukhoe. That was also the reason why the Black Red Yeomcheonseong asked the Samgeukhoe to hand over her new soldier.
If it were a normal time, I would have been able to reminisce with those I hadn’t seen in a long time, but now was not the right time to be friendly. Seolyeong didn’t respond to the executives’ words and instead looked straight ahead.
The man there was a man as huge as a mountain. He was a middle-aged man, over two meters tall, with large, solid muscles that could be seen through his clothes. He was Baek Mu-jeong, the father of Baek Sa-hee and the leader of the Baekjeok Samgeukhoe.
“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”
“It’s been two years. I’ve heard news from time to time.”
A voice that was as loud as his size echoed through the conference room. He looked down at Serin with cold eyes and continued speaking.
“I heard you recently ran into Seocheon Sword Master. His martial arts footage was very impressive. What was your relationship with that guy named Woo-gong?”
‘I had a feeling it might happen, and it was as expected.’
Seolyeong clicked her tongue inwardly. She had come because she had been asked by Heukjeok to hand her over, but Hwiju’s attention was actually focused on something else.
A mysterious master who has overwhelmingly defeated Seocheon Sword Master, the best master in the western universe. It is a story that Baek Mu-jeong, who is very greedy for people, cannot just ignore. Even these days, he occasionally sends a secret love call to Se-ryeong, so how could such a master appear without any affiliation?
Although he didn’t know, it was clear that he was doing everything he could to win the heart of Mok-jin, who was waiting for him at the hotel.
But would a nobleman who lives in self-pity just go under someone else? Although she could guess his intentions to some extent, Se-ryeong answered without much worry.
“I was the one who woke up the gentleman who was sealed on Earth. I’m accompanying him now because our goals overlap.”
“Wow. So the rumors about the ancient people from thousands of years ago were true.”
Then, does that mean that he is an independent who has not been sworn in yet? Baek Mu-jeong’s eyes lit up.
Unlike the sects of the Jeongpa and Sapa who, despite being able to claim that the family tree of the Samun is genuine martial arts, fail to take the talents they have in front of them, the Heukdo, which is fundamentally a gang of bandits, is more open than any other place when it comes to recruiting talents. Of course, the sense of belonging and unity among the disciples is weaker, but no one expected the same sense of belonging from a gang of bandits as from a regular sect.
Whether the original was a member of the Jeongpa or Sima Weidao, whether they were excommunicated from other sects, whether they were notorious martial artists, as long as they had strength, that was all that mattered. The criteria for recruiting talent from the Black Way were surprisingly flexible. Naturally, the fact that the opponent was an ancient being whose originality was unknown was not a problem worth worrying about.
“Mr. Koh.”
“I will upgrade your hospitality level to first class.”
In response to Baek Mu-jeong’s words, a skinny man sitting on one side of the conference room pushed up his glasses and answered. If it was a special hospitality grade, it literally meant that he would be treated with the utmost respect, even more than a VIP.
A man moves for the sake of those who recognize and treat him well. No, he didn’t even want to be recruited by the Samgeukhoe in the first place. He is an absolute master who has the Seocheon Sword Master under his feet, so even if he is a member of the Sixth Struggle, would he go under a mere black path sect?
However, if he could only establish a friendly relationship with Dong-woo-gong Lee Mok-jin, the entertainment expenses were nothing. An absolute master who was not entangled in the interests of the modern martial arts world was a once-in-a-century opportunity. Baek Moo-jeong looked at it broadly and boldly bet everything he could.
A man who could spend a fortune to get someone. Baek Mu-jeong was a man of great generosity by the standards of Heuk-do, who valued righteousness. Se-ryeong felt burdened by his blatant greed for people, but on the other hand, she had no choice but to acknowledge his generosity.
Baek Mu-jeong’s gaze softened a little. He felt like giving a reward to Se-ryeong for bringing Mok-jin. He opened his mouth to Se-ryeong.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“no, I do not want.”
“······I haven’t even brought it up yet.”
“I’m not going to ask you to build a bridge between Bonama and Dong-woo-gong.”
Tsk. Baek Mu-jeong clicked his tongue lightly. Since they had only known each other for a day or two, Se-ryeong had already figured out what he wanted to ask. The skinny man who was called Mr. Ko and served as the strategist for the Samgeukhoe opened his mouth.
“I’m not asking you to persuade him to join the Samgeukhoe. Of course, it would be great if it were possible, but it’s not realistic. The Lord simply wants to have a personal relationship with Dong-an-woo-gong. All I ask of you is for you to just stay by Dong-an-woo-gong’s side and catch a little wind.”
“I’m not good at that kind of thing. I owe that guy something, so I feel bad about talking nonsense.”
Seolyeong narrowed her brows and shook her head. Mokjin, whom she had never seen before, wanted to help her take revenge on him in order to repay the debt owed to her distant ancestors whose faces she had never seen before. Seolyeong was not thick-skinned enough to try to trick him.
‘I’d rather be asked to go to some remote planet and find something worth money. How could I refuse that······.’
In fact, the request of the Triad Council was burdensome to her as well. Although she was not in a position to receive orders from the Triad Council, it is true that she had received favors from them in various ways thanks to her friendship with them. It was not easy to refuse such an ambiguous request.
Baek Mu-jeong’s gaze turned cold again as he noticed Se-ryeong racking her brain to come up with an excuse.
“Fine. Forcing it will only make things worse. Especially for a rebel like you. We’ll take care of that, so let’s pretend it never happened. After all, you’re not a member of the council, you’re just an outsider.”
Seolyeong flinched as she received Baek Mu-jeong’s cold gaze. The thought that she had rejected him so blatantly flashed through her mind. The main topic hadn’t even begun yet.
‘You really think I rejected this one······?’
And Serin’s premonition came true.
Baek Mu-jeong was a man who invested generously when trying to get people, but he was also a man who was very strong in the end.
“The construction will be carried out thoroughly as you wish. Let me get to the point. A few days ago, the Lord of Yeomcheon Castle requested that we transfer your new soldier. That fool thinks that you are still a member of the Samgeukhoe even if you die soon. ······Of course, you know that we have no obligation to protect you, who is not a member of the council, right?”
“······Is it really true that you’re acting like this? How much have I done for you so far?”
Seolyeong asked back as if she found it ridiculous. It is said that the seeds of the Black Sword tend to move blatantly according to their own interests, but isn’t it a bit much to say something without any room for negotiation?
In the first place, Seryeong did not expect the Samgeukhoe to protect her obediently. She simply followed them because they sent signals to negotiate and wanted to hear the full story.
‘This guy is real.’
There was a look of rebellion in Serin’s eyes. Of course, given the location, she had no intention of openly attacking him, but she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.
Although she received many favors in one way or another, Serin also helped the Samgeukhoe to some extent. Although she was not formally commissioned by the Samgeukhoe, she solved the requests of the board members she was close with, so it can be seen that she ultimately helped the Samgeukhoe.
I thought I had been living my life giving back as much as I had received, but when he suddenly changed his attitude just because I refused a small favor, it was no wonder that Se-ryeong felt very upset.
Mr. Ko, who noticed that she was feeling uneasy, quickly stepped in between the two and tried to mediate.
“Okay. Your Majesty, let’s listen to the story as we decided at the beginning and then think about it. Young Lady Seolyeong, please tell us what happened in Bidong. Since we are both strangers, wouldn’t it be better to make good use of each other’s situations to achieve a win-win situation?”
The timing was good for interfering. Se-ryeong let out a small sigh at Mr. Ko’s words. Baek Mu-jeong still felt bad about refusing his request, but he wasn’t the kind of person who would make the situation worse by saying useless things.
“Okay, first of all, tell me what happened between you and the black guys in Bidong.”
“That’s right. We need to figure out why those guys are doing that again.”
“Those black bastards are really annoying me these days. Should I step on them?”
The executives who were used to this situation spoke up one by one to change the mood and added to Mr. Ko’s words. Se-ryeong brought up the story she had prepared before coming to them.
“I met a guy named Pilzberg in Bidong. He was a brat who said his father was an elder in Yeomcheonseong, and he brought a bunch of subordinates with him. He kept getting angry as we went along, so I half-killed him when I got my hands on the secret weapon of the Damsikgeomgwi.”
That’s all, Serin said with a shrug.
He really was nothing special. He had a decent amount of internal energy and even though he was equipped with a drive, he got beaten up unilaterally by Serin.
To be honest, she had completely forgotten about Pilzburg before hearing the story about Black Jeok today. The events she had experienced were so spectacular that she couldn’t remember every little thing.
But contrary to her thoughts, it seemed that Pilzberg was not such a small-time person, as some of the executives pretended to know him.
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“Pilzburg? If it’s Pilzburg, isn’t it the youngest son of the Flash Heat Fist?”
“Oh, that bastard?”
“They say that although Flash Fever raised his first and second children well, he completely ruined the youngest. I guess that’s true.”
If it’s a flash fever, then it’s a senior-level executive with enough influence to be second only to the Lord of Yeomcheon Castle in Yeomcheon Castle’s true nature. Seolyeong swallowed dry saliva at the executives’ words. Compared to what he said, his martial arts skills were so pitiful that I thought it was nothing special, but he really was the son of a big shot.
“That’s all he did to show his teeth to me? That bastard, Lord Yeomcheonseong?”
Baek Mu-jeong’s eyes twitched. He wouldn’t have moved on his own because he was not even the son of the Lord of Yeomcheon, but rather the son of a mere official. If he had moved anyway, it would have meant that he had another plan.
The Yeomcheonseong clan, whose power has been growing increasingly blatant these days, and the subtle atmosphere flowing between the other enemies. Baekmujeong, who was finally starting to see the picture, frowned.
“You said you were quiet all this time, but now you dare······.”
The Seryeong affair is just an excuse. An excuse to start a full-blown conflict.
They were trying to shake up the board. To change the power structure of the Totuga led by the Samgeukhoe.
“If you want to fight, you have to fight.”
They cannot avoid the challenges that come from the world of black magic. This is because their most important foundation for maintaining themselves, their face, will be damaged. How can a black magician who cannot maintain their face survive in this world?
I will engrave into their bones what it means to dare to challenge the name of the Three-Polar Society here in Totuga. Baek Mu-jeong’s eyes flashed ominously, and an ominous air began to spread among the executives.
However, among the members of the Trilateral Council, only one person maintained his cold composure.
“No.”
Baek Mu-jeong’s eyes quickly turned to Mr. Ko’s firm denial. There was murderous intent in his eyes as he watched Mr. Ko, who dared to pour cold water on the preservation of Heukdo’s reputation.
However, Mr. Ko, who had been through all kinds of hardships as a member of the Samgeukhoe, was not so easygoing as to be frightened by something like that. Without being even a little flustered, he pushed up his round glasses and opened his mouth.
“The amount of goods currently being sold in the Ronin Market is the largest this year. With the profits coming from the Ronin Market at an all-time high, is there any reason for the sect-to-sect conflict to ruin the market? In addition, the spaceship fuels that have been hoarded this time are also in abundance. If the conflict starts and the sales channels are blocked, how are we going to stop the bills that are maturing this time?”
“······.”
The conference room suddenly became quiet.
Face and manners aside, the most important thing for Heukdo is money. In that sense, Mr. Ko’s words were not just cold water, but like pouring ice water on him.
No one is so concerned about their dignity that they dare to bring up the topic of struggle when faced with money issues. Not even Baek Mu-jeong, the leader of the Samgeukhoe.
Baek Mu-jeong, who had been forcibly calmed down in front of capitalism, asked in a somewhat timid voice.
“······But even if we don’t like it, they’ll start a fight.”
It is not a problem that can be solved by them not wanting to fight. They have already been calling for resistance. If the Trilateral Council remains silent, they will probably make up any excuse and start an all-out resistance.
But there is a way. Mr. Koh flashed his glasses.
“There can be no official protests, but we can unofficially discourage them from protesting.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Totu Rally is about to start. You know that, right?”
Totuga Rally.
Held once every five years in the ruins and dangerous areas of Totuga, it was the largest race in the universe, with numerous martial artists participating due to the huge prize money.
Every round, the Ronin Market offers prizes that easily surpass common sense, so it is a race of such a large scale that not only the six-legged one but sometimes even the martial artists of Jeongsama participate. There was no one who did not know that the Totuga Rally was held here.
“It is said that most of the main forces of the land, including the Yeomcheonseong, as well as the Flash Heat Fist, will participate in this Totu Rally. If I tell you this much, your Majesty must have noticed.”
“······Are we going to deal with them as much as possible during the competition to break the momentum of the main faction?”
“Yes.”
It is not at all unusual for people to die in the Totuga Rally. No, it is quite normal. This Totuga Rally was a death race with a casualty rate of over half.
The Totuga Rally is not just a race, it is a race for martial artists. In short, although there are some restrictions, you can use weapons and martial arts to your heart’s content. That is precisely why the casualty rate of the competition is so high.
A battle royale race that requires basic hover bike piloting skills to overcome dangerous courses, as well as martial arts skills to fight off competitors. Where else is there a better place to proudly kill someone?
In fact, there were quite a few who participated in the race to settle their grudges. However, even so, the competition was always crowded with participants due to the huge prize money and winning prizes. That was the Totuga Rally.
“Okay. Let’s do that. Let Totu select the executives and disciples who will participate in the rally.”
Baek Mu-jeong nodded after calculating in his head.
If it happened during the Totu rally, it could have been quietly resolved without dragging it out of the competition. Of course, they might have thought similarly, but that was something that could be suppressed with skill.
“And this time, Lady Seolyeong must also participate.”
“······Me?”
This time, Mr. Ko turned his head and looked at Se-ryeong, who was watching the situation. Se-ryeong pointed at herself with a trembling face. Mr. Ko nodded with a faint smile.
“It goes without saying that So-Jeong Seol-Ryeong is very skilled, and since there are two or three of them as a team, it would be even better if they were together with the Great Swordsman of Dong-Woo-Gong. And most of all.”
There is a reason why you must participate in this competition. Seolyeong’s brows furrowed at Mr. Ko’s words.
“Why?”
“I heard from Miss Baek Sa-hee that you finally came here to obtain a new internal energy drive.”
“······That’s true, though.”
Why is that story coming up here? Seolyeong nodded with a trembling face. I don’t know why he suddenly brought up the topic of internal energy drive, but what does that have to do with the Totuga Rally?
Mr. Koh smiled brightly. It was as if he was saying that you can’t miss out on this.
“The prize for winning this race is an Alpha Prime-grade internal energy drive core.”
Hearing those words, Serin realized that she had no choice from the beginning.
information)
The Tortugas Ronin Market is located on both sides of the twin planets Tortugas Alpha and Beta. The terrain between the two planets is very unstable due to the gravitational pull between them.
