WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 149: I Think One Person Could Do It
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[I’ll go check on the kids for a moment...]
Pop!
Perhaps because she had heard such overwhelming news.
Not long after Yoo Na-gyeong left with a tired expression, using spatial teleportation.
An unexpected visitor came to the reception room.
“Did your conversation with Clan Head Wang go well?”
“...Why are you here, Princess?”
The black-haired girl entered through the door.
Li Qing-yu tilted her head at Rimon’s dubious question.
“Was this a bad time for me to come?”
“It’s not about the timing. What happened to the remaining work?”
“I left another member of the clan to sort the documents instead of the Sword Duke, but it’s taking longer than I expected. I came down to wait until they’re finished.”
“You could process the documents without sorting them.”
“It’s a matter of efficiency.”
Without adequate rest, one’s work efficiency declined as well.
Rimon wore a subtle expression at Li Qing-yu’s shameless answer, then glanced at what stood before her.
“So that’s why you came here? With all that prepared?”
“Even during the same break, a tea time with simple refreshments is more effective.”
“This seems a little extravagant for simple refreshments.”
A steaming teapot.
A seven-tiered tower of cookies.
And an assortment of snacks besides.
No matter how he looked at it, there were enough refreshments for a full tea party, never mind a simple tea break.
Rimon scratched his cheek, but Li Qing-yu simply pushed the cart inside and answered lightly.
“There’s something to celebrate. We don’t have the time to throw a party right away, so we should at least toast with refreshments.”
“...Don’t tell me you stayed behind earlier to prepare all this?”
“Who knows?”
Li Qing-yu answered with a mysterious smile.
Then, setting out the refreshments herself and pouring tea into the cups, she continued.
“Congratulations on subjugating the Shanghai Wang Family, Sword Duke.”
“Was this really worth congratulating?”
“Of course. You’ve finally gained a force within the Seven Dragons Society that will be loyal only to you, Sword Duke.”
Li Qing-yu smiled brightly.
Until now, even if Rimon had held a superior position within the Black Dragon Clan, it had been little more than throwing his weight around under her name as her prospective prince consort.
Even Guardian was merely an organization she had given him, operated with the attendants she had assigned him.
But things were different now.
Not only had he resolved this entire mess and proven his power as a Sword Master.
Now that Rimon had taken the Shanghai Wang Family’s forces into his hands, no one in the Black Dragon Clan would see him as an empty figurehead anymore.
In other words, Rimon had finally secured the bare minimum of support needed to make the Seven Dragons Society his own power base.
“The Shanghai Wang Family’s power and wealth are far from insignificant. At the very least, they are more than enough to serve as the spearhead you put forward when you take control of the Seven Dragons Society.”
The Shanghai Wang Family was, after all, a prestigious clan.
Its total assets easily surpassed those of most major corporations, and it possessed both the wealth and personnel needed to maintain combat units.
If the Seven Dragons Society were a vast empire and each clan a kingdom, then the Shanghai Wang Family could be considered a lord with a domain of its own.
And subjugating the Shanghai Wang Family meant gaining that domain.
Its significance was considerable.
No matter how outstanding a knight might be, alone they were merely a swordsman. A lord with a domain, however, could take part in the struggle for hegemony.
The Shanghai Wang Family was only a starting point.
If he gradually expanded his power from that foundation, Rimon could gain as much wealth and authority as he wanted.
Just like the countless overlords in history who began with nothing more than a small domain and rose to become not only kings of nations, but something even greater.
“Besides, among the powers of the Constellations you newly acquired, there are abilities that will be extremely useful when you expand your forces in the future.”
The reputation and the Shanghai Wang Family were not the only things Rimon had gained by defeating the Liberation Brigade.
There were also the powers he had newly absorbed by slaying the Constellations of Ryu Gang-cheol, Eugene, and Velos.
That alone had greatly expanded what Rimon could do.
But his greatest gain was that he could now handle the Pitch-Black Violin perfectly.
With a single performance for Eugene, he had completely assimilated the powers of no fewer than three Constellations.
That held immense meaning for both Rimon and Li Qing-yu.
Now that the side effects of absorbing fragments of starlight had disappeared, Rimon could slay as many Constellations as he wished.
“With the Sword Duke having gained so much, how could I not congratulate you?”
As if she herself had gained it all.
Rimon let out a faint laugh as he watched Li Qing-yu beam with delight.
“If that’s the case, I’m not the only one who deserves congratulations.”
Rimon took the teapot from Li Qing-yu’s hand.
Perhaps because it was unexpected.
Li Qing-yu’s eyes widened for a moment.
Then, smiling happily, she respectfully offered her teacup with both hands. As Rimon poured tea into it, he said calmly,
“Congratulations on taking control of your clan again, Black Dragon Princess.”
“The Elders’ forces still remain. You’re congratulating me a little early.”
“At most, it’s only a matter of whether it happens sooner or later.”
Rimon smirked.
Li Qing-yu had gained more from this incident than he had.
She had swept away the distrust built up against her over the past decades and reclaimed her authority as a Princess.
Authority was not something to dismiss lightly.
Within the Seven Dragons Society, a religion and criminal organization by nature, the authority of a Princess was absolute.
It was remarkable enough that Li Qing-yu had plotted something that drove that absolute authority into the dirt just to stop Rimon alone.
“You made good use of this incident.”
“A crisis is an opportunity.”
Rimon set down the teapot and held out his own cup.
Li Qing-yu gently tapped her cup against his and continued in a calm voice.
“Actually, as the Sword Duke said, taking control of the clan is only a matter of time. There’s something else we should worry about.”
“The Liberation Brigade?”
“Yes.”
Rimon was not surprised by her words, since he had already been discussing them with Yoo Na-gyeong.
He merely asked calmly,
“Do you think you can track them down?”
“To be honest, it will be difficult with the Black Dragon Clan’s strength alone.”
“Yes, I thought so.”
Rimon nodded at the answer he had expected.
The Liberation Brigade was a ghostly organization that law enforcement agencies around the world had hunted with gritted teeth, yet failed to catch.
Even with just three members, they had thrown not only the Black Dragon Clan’s subsidiaries but Leviathan itself into chaos.
Of course, if this had been the Zhonghua Seventy-Seven Federation, they would not have been able to run wild so freely.
To begin with, this was only one branch, and the Black Dragon Clan’s influence in this country Rimon had protected for centuries was extremely weak compared to its homeland.
But even considering all that, the Liberation Brigade was undeniably dangerous.
Being difficult to find was only the lesser problem.
Even if grandmaster-level masters went after them, they would likely suffer losses instead of catching them.
“Besides, there’s something else that concerns me.”
“Concerns you?”
Rimon wore a puzzled expression.
There was hardly a word less fitting for the calculating Princess of the Black Dragon Clan.
Li Qing-yu asked him calmly,
“Do you remember? When I first met the Sword Duke, the Infinite Monarch was pursuing me.”
“Hmm... Right. Now that you mention it, that did happen.”
At the time, he had been focused on collecting a blood debt, so he had forgotten about it. But it certainly was not something to simply overlook.
Even if a Monarch was an absolute being of the age, touching Li Qing-yu could have escalated into a war with the Seven Dragons Society.
“When I met the Infinite Monarch this time, I asked him about it. Why he had been tracking me.”
“What did that wishful-thinking bastard say?”
“He said he wanted the Black Dragon Clan’s supreme treasure that I possess.”
The moment he heard that.
Rimon raised his eyebrows without realizing it.
He stared at her silently for a while, then tilted his head and asked in a serious voice,
“What is that?”
“Who knows?”
As if she were immensely curious herself.
Li Qing-yu tilted her head in imitation of Rimon’s and continued in an indifferent voice.
“According to the Infinite Monarch, it is a supreme treasure containing the power of our progenitors, one that grants its owner the power of an absolute being.”
“...I fought you people for centuries, but this is the first I’ve heard of such a thing.”
Rimon’s face grew even more dubious.
“What a coincidence. I’m a Princess of the Seven Dragons Society, yet I never knew we possessed such a treasure either.”
As though she had found it just as absurd when she heard it.
Li Qing-yu smiled and nodded, as if inviting Rimon to be as dumbfounded as he pleased. Then she added meaningfully,
“So I asked the Infinite Monarch where that rumor had come from, and an interesting name came up.”
“...Don’t tell me it was that bastard.”
“Yes. It was Manager Park, Park Hyeon-gun, from whom the Sword Duke personally collected a blood debt.”
Perhaps because he had not expected to hear that name again.
Li Qing-yu calmly explained as Rimon wore a strange expression.
“It’s not that strange. He was responsible for managing the Infinity Guild on the Infinite Monarch’s behalf, and important information passed through him.”
“But it’s different if the information was fake.”
“That’s true.”
“...For a man called a Monarch to believe such suspicious information, it must have seemed that credible.”
“And there are not many organizations capable of secretly fabricating and leaking information convincing enough to fool even the Ten Great Guilds.”
“And that bastard...”
“Had ties to the Liberation Brigade.”
The fact that Park Hyeon-gun had used the Liberation Brigade’s headquarters as a trap, planted explosives, and lured Rimon in was proof enough that he had been connected to them.
If so, it was entirely possible for the Liberation Brigade to use Park Hyeon-gun to feed certain information to others.
“You’re saying the Liberation Brigade used that bastard to make the Infinity Guild clash with you?”
“Who knows? Honestly, there’s no way to tell whether their objective was simply a clash, or something more.”
Li Qing-yu shook her head.
Park Hyeon-gun, their connection, was already dead. Even if Park Hyeon-gun had lived, they would not have known the Liberation Brigade’s secrets.
Even so, there was another reason she had brought this up.
“The important thing is that the Liberation Brigade’s influence may have reached the other Ten Great Guilds as well.”
“Isn’t that taking suspicion too far?”
“Looking at this incident alone, it is.”
Basing such suspicions on Park Hyeon-gun alone was indeed stretching things too far.
Traitors could be found anywhere.
That was why she said softly,
“But what if the Ghost of the Liberation Brigade stated with certainty that even if the Seven Dragons Society fell, the Ten Great Guilds would not step in?”
“...Are you sure?”
“I extracted that information after using the Soul-Usurping Demon Eye Style.”
“Fuck...”
Rimon cursed.
As an old enemy of the Seven Dragons Society, there was no way he did not know how frightening the Soul-Usurping Demon Eye Style was.
Including why Velos could have made such a certain statement under its effects.
“If even the Ten Great Guilds are entangled with the Liberation Brigade, then this truly isn’t something the Black Dragon Clan can handle alone.”
The Ten Great Guilds were the rulers of this age.
No matter how many high-level Players they had, the Liberation Brigade was merely a criminal organization and could not compare to them.
But what if the Liberation Brigade had planted its roots even in the core of the Ten Great Guilds, just as it had guided Lee Cheon-gi’s movements through Park Hyeon-gun?
Trying to catch a bug could turn into facing a ferocious beast.
“Yes, the Black Dragon Clan cannot handle it alone.”
Li Qing-yu readily admitted they were outmatched.
But Rimon did not miss the premise repeated in her words.
“...So, to catch the Liberation Brigade, we need the strength of the entire Seven Dragons Society.”
“Exactly.”
It was not a new idea.
The Liberation Brigade had merely made that necessity more urgent.
Ever since they decided to stand against the Constellations, bringing the entire Seven Dragons Society in was naturally a step they would have to take.
The problem was how.
“You don’t have the power to move the Seven Dragons Society right now.”
“No.”
The Black Dragon Clan had already sold off nearly half its shares in Leviathan.
Even within the same Seven Dragons Society, Li Qing-yu had effectively lost her voice after losing nearly half her power.
“Then you’ll have to win over the other Princesses. Do you think that’s possible?”
“Not by ordinary means.”
“It won’t work by extraordinary means either.”
Rimon frowned.
Even he had no way to force the Princesses of the Seven Dragons Society to follow him.
If threats or intimidation could work on them, they would not have stood against Rimon for centuries.
That meant they had to gain their voluntary cooperation somehow, but Li Qing-yu’s persuasion was unlikely to work when she was already betrothed to Rimon.
No matter what anyone said, Rimon was the Seven Dragons Society’s sworn enemy and old foe.
“Hmm, that was what I thought at first, too...”
“...Why are you speaking in the past tense?”
That was why Rimon found Li Qing-yu’s strange expression puzzling.
“I’m not certain, but I think there may be a chance of winning over at least one of them.”
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