WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 95: Seems Useful, Doesn’t It?
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“No need.”
“Would you reconsider?”
“Why would I need to?”
A young man in martial garb.
Xue Rong snorted.
Then, looking coldly at the woman dressed as a man standing opposite him, he said,
“Who would accept a crazy proposal to replace the company’s entire security and guard system?”
“Since there is a possibility that the murderers’ next target will be this place, it is necessary if you care about the company’s safety.”
“That’s exactly why I can’t.”
“...What do you mean?”
“This Guardian System ultimately leaves everything to your company, doesn’t it? The company headed by that mad dog, the Sword Duke.”
Cheonhwa Department Store.
One of the Black Dragon Clan’s particularly profitable subsidiaries.
Xue Rong, the head of its security, twisted his lips.
“Unless they are a traitor selling out their clan, why would anyone entrust anything to such an outdated fossil, much less the clan’s sworn enemy?”
“Watch your words.”
“Why? Ah, come to think of it, wasn’t it our beloved princess who entrusted the clan’s safety to that man?”
Xue Rong smiled mockingly.
“Her Highness is truly impressive. Selling off all the clan’s assets was not enough, and now she is putting the clan’s lifeline in the hands of its enemy.”
Clang!
The next moment, a sword sank into the chair Xue Rong was sitting in.
“I told you to watch your words, Xue Rong.”
The woman dressed as a man had drawn her sword in the blink of an eye and driven it into the chair, a hair’s breadth from Xue Rong’s ear.
At the chill in Weiling’s eyes, he swallowed dryly without realizing it.
But only for a moment.
Xue Rong soon sneered again.
“You ought to be careful yourself.”
“I do not believe I have any reason to take advice from you.”
“That might have been true when you were the princess’s guard. But what about now?”
Chao Weiling.
The heir to the Chao Family, a prestigious clan.
Having earned the princess’s trust from childhood, she had won a martial arts tournament at a young age and been recognized across the Seven Dragons Society as a promising young talent.
If Weiling from those days had been his opponent, he could never have spoken so rudely.
Weiling had been far too lofty a figure for him to treat casually merely because they were peers.
But that was only true in the past.
“You are nothing more than that mad dog’s lackey now. After being abandoned by Her Highness, no less.”
After being dismissed as the princess’s guard.
After being appointed as Rimon’s secretary.
Weiling’s reputation had plummeted.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say it had dug through the bottom and begun tunneling underground.
Her reputation had once stood so high that the disgrace of serving the clan’s enemy seemed all the deeper and more glaring.
“Are you still going to offer such foolish loyalty to Her Highness after everything has come to this?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Blindly following orders is not the only form of loyalty.”
Xue Rong smiled slyly.
Weiling raised an eyebrow.
As the former princess’s guard who had seen and heard much at Li Qing-yu’s side, there was no way she could miss his meaning.
“Do you mean loyalty such as breaking off the Sword Duke’s engagement and forcibly marrying Her Highness into another clan?”
“When one’s lord cannot make the right decision, it is also the duty of a loyal retainer to make them do so, even by force.”
“I did not realize the Elders were still entertaining such foolish thoughts.”
“Hey, don’t jump to conclusions. This has nothing to do with the Elders. It is only my personal opinion.”
“Bullshit.”
Whatever the circumstances, no one but the Elders could discuss Li Qing-yu’s marriage.
The Elders merely could not act directly because Li Qing-yu had leverage over them, so they were pulling strings behind the scenes.
“Do not be so emotional. Think carefully about what truly benefits the clan, and who you should be currying favor with if you want to choose a new patron.”
Perhaps he trusted the Elders behind him.
As if he believed himself superior, Xue Rong carried himself arrogantly.
Weiling looked at him with cold eyes before speaking quietly.
“Is that all you have to confess?”
“Why? Are you going to arrest me and charge me with the crime of loyalty?”
“I will not.”
Weiling made a cool assessment.
If the Elders were backing Xue Rong, she could not readily punish him.
If she acted against him without solid evidence, she would give the Elders grounds to strike back and only make things harder for Li Qing-yu.
That did not mean she lacked other means.
“Instead, I will relay those words exactly as they are to the Sword Duke.”
“...What?”
“So if the Sword Duke loses his temper and comes looking for you, do not blame Her Highness.”
“Weiling, you...!”
Xue Rong’s face twisted.
He had never expected her to respond that way.
He glared at Weiling as though he could devour her, then finally spat out a mocking remark.
“You are this devoted, so I suppose you have already given that old man both body and soul. What, did he promise to make you his concubine?”
“Reporting work-related matters to the Sword Duke, the CEO of Guardian, is my natural duty as a secretary.”
“...Fine. Sell your body and learn some swordsmanship from him, then. You will be cheated if you get nothing else out of it, Chao Weiling!”
“Xue Rong.”
Xue Rong flinched.
The eyes that had been merely cold before.
He sensed the chilling, dreadful killing intent rising in their depths.
It was on an entirely different level from a mere threat. It was the intent of someone truly considering whether to kill him.
“Do not casually use my family name.”
“...”
“If you commit such insolence once more, it will not end with a warning.”
According to the clan’s ancient rules, insolence that crossed the line would be settled through a duel.
The words were too courteous to be called a threat.
And far too vicious to be called a warning.
Leaving only those few words behind, Weiling sheathed her sword, turned her back on him, and left.
“...That arrogant bitch!”
Only after Weiling disappeared did Xue Rong finally break free from his stiffness and roar.
“She has always had a talent for pissing people off! Fucking bitch!”
Her status had already fallen as far as it could.
Yet her gaze remained unchanged from when she had been called the Black Dragon Clan’s foremost young talent.
And the fact that he had been intimidated into doing nothing by the light in her eyes stoked Xue Rong’s fury.
The past still lingered vividly in his memory.
He remembered how she had effortlessly defeated him in the martial arts tournament, then turned away without granting him so much as a glance.
“Hmph. Acting so arrogant while clinging to a rotten lifeline like the Sword Duke.”
Xue Rong fumed for quite some time.
Only then did he manage to calm his anger.
He forced himself to accept that things were different now.
‘The Sword Duke’s expulsion is not far off anyway.’
The Elders were strangely cautious when dealing with Rimon, but Xue Rong considered that nothing more than excessive worry.
Rimon was as good as finished.
He had deceived their princess into letting him acquire a company like Guardian, only to go around acting like a gangster.
What if the engagement proceeded as planned?
The Seven Dragons Society’s many illustrious experts would rise up and try to kill Rimon.
‘Sword Masters may have been absolute beings in the past, but he is still nothing more than an outdated relic now.’
Xue Rong scoffed.
The past was an era when strength was everything.
In this era, money and power could buy as many miracle-producing items and near-invincible Players as one wanted.
Rumors were already circulating that the Elders were contacting not only other clans, but Monarchs through the Ten Great Guilds.
The Seven Dragons Society’s wealth and power.
The Players of the Ten Great Guilds.
And even Monarchs, absolute beings.
If all that power were properly gathered?
Even if the Sword Emperor himself returned from the dead, he would have no choice but to climb back into his coffin.
‘He must be pulling this kind of stunt because he is afraid of that.’
Thud!
Xue Rong scoffed as he tossed the documents and business card concerning the Guardian System, which Weiling had brought and left behind, into the trash.
‘What a joke. As if we cannot handle a few lousy murderers!’
He knew about the tragedy at Black Dragon Construction.
He also knew that several subsidiaries had suffered losses in the subsequent attacks.
But he never believed that he would be unable to stop a few criminals.
‘And that shameless old man tried to force a contract on us by using predictions that have already been wrong several times as an excuse.’
Guardian had contributed to preventing attacks by predicting the murderers’ raids, but Xue Rong believed that was merely good fortune.
The fact that there had been several incorrect predictions made it obvious that the information was unreliable.
Even if it was not luck, they were surely obtaining information from a Player with a Prophecy Skill or some prophet.
He did not need such information.
He was confident he could catch the murderers, whoever they were. Even if he could not, there was no reason to borrow the strength of an obsolete old man like the Sword Duke.
At worst, he could borrow the power of the Ten Great Guilds the Elders had contacted, or another clan.
‘Just wait, Weiling. When that time comes, I will make you kneel at my feet!’
Dreaming of the day he would earn credit for driving Rimon out and get to look down on Weiling, Xue Rong smiled grimly.
But that smile soon vanished.
Before that promising future could arrive, a very special guest came to see him first.
Riiing!
“Hm?”
An emergency alarm suddenly rang.
Screams erupted in the distance.
Just as the surroundings became noisy, a warrior burst through the door and cried urgently,
“Chief! We are under attack!”
“...What?!”
Xue Rong wore a stunned expression for only a moment.
Then he came to his senses and leaped to his feet.
“Where? Who are they?!”
“The luxury boutiques on the tenth floor of Building A! A masked intruder is rampaging through the place and killing customers indiscriminately!”
“This is insane...!”
Perhaps this was the expression of someone who climbed onto a roof to install a lightning rod, only to be struck by lightning from a clear sky.
Xue Rong felt dizzy.
Weiling had warned him.
But he had believed the warning to be a bluff meant to threaten him into signing the contract. That the murderers had truly attacked was completely unexpected.
“Request support from the Shanghai Wang Family and gather every guard in Building A! Have the regular staff evacuate the customers, then get out themselves!”
“Yes, sir!”
Xue Rong issued rapid orders.
His reputation may have been lower than Weiling’s, but he was still an elite of the Black Dragon Clan.
No matter how bewildering the situation, he was not enough of an idiot to forget what he needed to do.
“Once every employee has evacuated, block outside intervention! Other than reinforcements, do not let anyone enter!”
“What? Not even the police?”
“Are you planning to let outsiders know our department store was attacked?!”
“Ah, understood.”
Having finished issuing orders that considered both political judgment and business calculations, Xue Rong took the spear hanging on the wall.
Before running from the room, he glared sharply at the trash can.
Then, gritting his teeth, he turned away.
‘I do not need the help of a fossil or a traitor!’
Racing to Building A like lightning with his subordinates, Xue Rong was certain.
This was an opportunity.
If he dealt with the murderers, he could earn great merit.
And then he would finally be able to erase the disgrace of losing to Weiling in the martial arts tournament.
He was certain of it.
“Argh!”
“Good grief, this comrade sure is dramatic. All that screaming just because I stabbed one eye?”
...
That certainty lasted less than ten minutes.
Until a knife was about to be driven into his eye.
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