Episode 108

The first person to draw a blade against me was, unsurprisingly, the very one who had sneered at me from the start.

“I am Kang So-cheol of the Guizhou Black Five! Seon Woo-jin, I’ve long known how little you’re worth in the Seon Woo clan! Today, I’ll expose your true colors! Draw your sword!”

“Hmm, Black Five, huh.”

The Guizhou Black Five was one of the eight factions in Guizhou. Probably a group of four or five men, but unusually, they had sent warriors to the front lines.

I smirked and flicked my fingers.

“Just come on. Once you see my sword, you’ll be dead.”

Enraged, he charged at me immediately.

“You bastard!”

Whoosh!

He swung his blade with all his might.

But sorry to say, he was far too slow for me to even bother blocking.

Seeing his attack coming, I jabbed my fist forward like a streak of light, striking his face with a solid hit.

Smack!

“Ugh!”

He barely managed to swing his sword before he tumbled backward, looking utterly pathetic.

“Ugh! You bastard!”

I hadn’t hit him hard enough to knock him out, so he staggered but got back on his feet.

I approached him with cold eyes and said, “You don’t even know your opponent’s skill and yet you swing your blade so recklessly. It’s a miracle you’re still alive.”

Grinding his teeth, he charged again.

“Shut up!”

But the result was the same as before.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Watching him roll on the ground again, I shook my head in disdain.

“You’re weak and stupid. Did the Black Five send you because they didn’t care if you died?”

He charged once more.

“You bastard!”

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Though I hadn’t hit him hard, he gritted his teeth and struggled to stand after taking three solid blows.

I chuckled.

“You’ve got some fighting spirit, I’ll give you that. The problem is, that’s the only thing you’ve got going for you.”

“You… you bastard…!”

This time, I didn’t wait and struck him down with a powerful blow.

Thwack!

He finally sprawled out flat on the ground.

I hit him harder this time, so there was no way he’d get up again.

Looking around at the others, I noticed their eyes were tense, unlike before.

I fixed my gaze on the one who had backed Kang So-cheol’s words and said, “Next.”

Grinding his teeth, he drew his sword.

“I am from the Guangxi Mu family—!”

Bored, I interrupted him while casually scratching my ear.

“Not interested. Just come on.”

Provoked, he stabbed his sword at me.

“You bastard!”

Shu-hak!

But the next moment, his eyes nearly popped out in shock.

I had lightly caught his sword with my index finger.

The blade trembled in midair, held firmly by my finger.

“W-what…?”

The other members watching gasped in disbelief.

“Did he just catch the sword with his finger?!”

“No way!”

I smirked and released the sword.

“You’re already dead once. But I’ll give you one more chance. This time, come properly.”

Swallowing hard, he took a cautious stance and studied my openings.

But since I hadn’t even bothered to take a defensive posture, it was meaningless.

After a brief hesitation, he charged again.

“Hah!”

This time, he used the ‘Bian Chao’ technique.

A quick feint, followed by two more deceptive moves, then a chain strike aimed at the neck.

I smiled faintly.

“Better.”

But the next moment, his sword was caught again—right in my palm.

Thud!

I blocked the blade with my palm and even gripped it.

Yet, not a drop of blood appeared on my hand.

His voice trembled as he asked, “H-how?!”

“I mastered external energy. You should know that.”

Then I kicked him away.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Now, I coldly scanned the other members and said, “Weak, slow, and stupid. This is the level of the Third Squad? So boring it makes me yawn.”

Their eyes, which had lost their fighting spirit in shock at the overwhelming difference in skill, began to blaze fiercely once more.

“Don’t insult us!”

I chuckled in response.

“Insult? How so? I’m just stating facts. The real insult is me, coming here to be your deputy leader. And the one managing you fools is probably that Dang Yeo-eun.”

“What did you say?!”

“You bastard!”

Though I meant it to provoke them, mentioning Dang Yeo-eun to her loyal followers was effective.

Now radiating murderous intent, they glared fiercely.

I grinned and flicked my fingers.

“Come on, all of you. Trash.”

From then on, the front of the Third Squad’s quarters was filled with the loud sounds of blows and screams.

Thwack! Crack! Smack! Thud! Snap!

“Ugh!”

“Guh!”

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

---

A little while later, all the male members of the Third Squad lay groaning on the ground.

I had beaten the poison out of them so thoroughly that it was no wonder they were limp.

Looking to the side, I saw So-cheol Song and another woman staring at me with wide eyes.

Especially the other woman, who looked genuinely afraid.

I felt like a villain, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.

‘Looks like the atmosphere is roughly set.’

Just beating them up would clear my head for a moment, but I couldn’t properly fulfill the deputy leader role that way.

So from the start, I planned to rough them up a bit, then try to connect with them.

After all, the carrot is always sweeter after the stick.

I glanced around them briefly and then spoke slowly.

“I once respected Myeong Sa-hyun, the former deputy leader of the Third Squad. Regardless of his martial skill, I admired the man he was. He was cheerful yet sincere, bold yet meticulous. Above all, his spirit was unbreakable—even after falling victim to the Blood Sect’s soul-binding technique, he never lost his will. Until then, I hadn’t even believed such a thing was possible. So I had high hopes—for the Third Squad he led, and for the comrades who fought alongside him. But…”

I trailed off and silently scanned their faces.

They kept their heads down, staring at the ground.

Though I couldn’t see their expressions directly, it was clear from their posture that each was twisted with longing and shame for Myeong Sa-hyun.

Everyone in the Thirteenth Generation knew how special he was to them.

So their hostility toward me wasn’t just because of Dang Yeo-eun—it was probably more because someone else had taken Myeong Sa-hyun’s place.

That was why I deliberately brought him up.

I wanted to say that I came here because I respected and missed him—that I was no different from them.

And that wasn’t a complete lie.

I truly did respect him.

I continued.

“Before you criticize me, an outsider brought in as your deputy leader, you should first criticize yourselves. Your own incompetence in failing to produce a capable deputy leader from among you, forcing you to bring me in! And before you get angry at my insults, you should be angry at yourselves—for your powerlessness to repay those insults!”

I spoke with just enough force to make my point, and they had no rebuttal.

It was only natural.

They were warriors, after all.

Though they had challenged me with twisted hearts, they were not villains.

Finally, I spoke clearly, word by word.

“Before you get angry, fight harder. At least, if you call yourselves warriors.”

One by one, the fallen members on the ground began to grit their teeth.

I saw the fighting spirit return to their eyes.

And it wasn’t directed at me—it was a desire to improve.

I had succeeded in turning their hostility into ambition by invoking Myeong Sa-hyun’s memory.

A small smile escaped me.

Just like when I was the head of the Seon Woo clan in my past life, I seemed to have a knack for leadership.

It was time to wrap things up.

I’d add a little fuel to the fire while I was at it.

Lowering my tone, I said seriously, “I’ll make you a promise. If any one of you becomes skilled enough to serve as deputy leader, I will leave without hesitation and return to the Seventh Squad. But until then, I am your deputy leader. Don’t forget that.”

They didn’t respond, but I could feel their acceptance.

I shouted sharply, “Third Squad, assemble!”

The fallen members sprang to their feet and lined up in formation.

Some winced in pain from the beating, but none moved sluggishly.

I was very satisfied.

Looking at them lined up before me, I said, “My name is Seon Woo-jin. But I haven’t heard your names yet.”

The one on the far left spoke up boldly.

“I’m Kang So-cheol from the Guizhou Black Five!”

He was the first to sneer at me and the first to get hit.

But now, there was no trace of that arrogance in his expression or tone.

“Mu Gyeong-jin from the Guangxi Mu family!”

“From the Sichuan Jin Do clan…!”

After hearing all their introductions, I gave a brief greeting and dismissed them.

I went back to my quarters, unpacked my things roughly, and then stepped out again.

I was going to see the person who had been watching from the forest since earlier.

I quietly slipped into the bushes, and the person there looked up in surprise at my approach.

“Seonwoo Gongja?”

“Why haven’t you come out yet? It’s all over.”

It was none other than Dang Yeoeun Sojeo.

While I was busy roughing up the team members, Dang Sojeo had already returned and was watching from the forest.

I had sensed her presence back then but pretended not to notice. After everything was done, she still hadn’t come out, so I decided to check on her.

She gave a small, shy smile and shook her head.

“I was just… lost in some thoughts.”

That expression—so rare and only seen when we were alone—was incredibly endearing.

Sure, her cold, icy beauty was impressive, but personally, I preferred this softer side of her.

“What kind of thoughts?”

She smiled a little bitterly and replied, “Well, even though it’s your first time, you’re doing a great job as squad leader. I’m still struggling with it myself. Something like that.”

Her self-deprecating tone made me smile and shake my head.

“That’s not true. When I heard you shouting earlier, I was surprised too. I thought, ‘Wow, the squad leader really is different. Dang Sojeo is doing an amazing job.’”

Her cheeks flushed slightly.

I knew well that encouragement like this brought her great comfort—after all, we’d been through a few things before.

So I made a conscious effort to say such things to her often.

Still, today her face didn’t fully brighten.

Curious, I asked, “How was the letter from the Dang clan? Was there anything important?”

Her expression darkened even more as she shook her head.

“The letter itself had no content. It just said… to return to the main family as soon as possible.”

“To the main family—the Sacheon Dang clan?”

“Yes. It’s something that hasn’t happened even once in the past three years…”

I began to understand why her face had darkened.

She was afraid of having to return to the Dang clan.

I didn’t know the details, but it was probably connected to what she had unconsciously mentioned about her mother.

When she was affected by Mayugyeom’s suggestion technique, she kept crying and apologizing without realizing it…

I stared at her gloomy expression for a moment, then asked again.

“Can’t you just not go? After all, frontline personnel can’t just leave whenever they want.”

She shook her head.

“They said I can swap my leave with the fifth squad. The fifth squad has many rookies who can’t take leave right away anyway. And… no member of the Sacheon Dang clan can ever disobey the Lady’s orders.”

“Hmm.”

Looks like the fifth squad of the Eagle Squad wouldn’t be getting leave again.

Well, after the last Cheolgwi incident, many members died and were replaced by rookies, so it made sense that taking leave now would be difficult.

But for this to keep happening…

Suddenly, a thought struck me.

‘Wait, does that mean I’ll be taking leave again this time?’

It seemed likely.

I was now part of the third squad, after all.

‘What the heck? Lately, I feel like I spend more time outside than on duty. So what am I supposed to do during this leave?’

Lost in thought, I glanced at Dang Sojeo, who was still brooding with a dark expression.

Her worry over her family reminded me of myself not long ago.

Back then, I had wanted to help with all my might but couldn’t—and now, I knew I couldn’t keep doing that.

Maybe that’s why I impulsively asked her,

“Do you want me to go with you?”

She was startled by my sudden offer and asked back,

“What?! Where…?”

I smiled warmly at her wide-eyed look and answered,

“To your main family, the Sacheon Dang clan. Wouldn’t it help if I went with you? Of course, if it’s too difficult for you…”

I was about to say that I wouldn’t go if she didn’t want me to, but when I looked into her big eyes, tears were already welling up.

She wiped the tears streaming down her face and said,

“Thank you. Really… thank you, Seonwoo Gongja.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Looks like this leave, I really will be going to the Sacheon Dang clan.