Chapter 108 The Newly Appointed Third Squad Leader of the Dragon Thirteen – Part 2

Chapter 108: The Newly Appointed Third Squad Leader of the Dragon Thirteen – Part 2

The first to draw his sword against me was none other than the one who had mocked me first.

“Kang So-cheol of the Black Five Clans of Guizhou! Sunwoo Jin, I’ve long known what sort of treatment you receive in the Sunwoo Clan! Today, I’ll expose your true worth! Draw your sword!”

“Hmph, Heiwufang.”

The Guizhou Black Five Clans were one of the Guizhou Eight Clans.

Though they were supposed to be a martial arts sect, they had unusually dispatched warriors to the front lines.

He chuckled softly and wiggled his fingers at me.

“Just come. If you see my sword, you die.”

The enraged man immediately charged forward.

“You bastard!”

Whoosh!

He swung his sword diagonally with all his might.

But unfortunately for him, he was too slow for me to block.

Seeing him swing, my fist shot out like a bolt of lightning, striking his face.

Thud!

“Guh!”

He couldn’t even finish his swing and fell backward in a pathetic heap.

“Ugh! You bastard!”

The blow hadn’t knocked him unconscious, so he staggered to his feet immediately.

I approached him with a cold stare and said.

“To wield the sword so recklessly without truly knowing your opponent’s skill—it’s a miracle you’re still alive.”

Then the bastard gritted his teeth and charged again.

“Shut up!”

But the result was exactly the same as before.

Thud!

“Gah!”

Seeing the creature roll on the ground again, he said with a look of pity.

“Weak and stupid too. Did the Black Five send you because they figured you wouldn’t matter even if you died?”

Then the bastard charged again.

“You son of a bitch!”

Thud!

“Gah!”

He hadn’t hit him hard, but even after taking three solid blows to the chest, the bastard was gritting his teeth and getting back up.

He chuckled.

“You’ve got some fighting spirit, I’ll give you that. The problem is, that’s about all you’ve got.”

“You… you bastard…!”

This time, without waiting, he charged straight in and struck the bastard hard.

Thud!

Then the bastard finally collapsed flat on his back.

This time I hit him harder, so he wouldn’t get back up.

Looking around at the other team members, they were staring at me with tense expressions, unlike before.

I looked at the man who had just echoed the words of Kang So-cheol, who had collapsed, and said.

“Next.”

The man gritted his teeth and drew his sword.

“I am the son of the Gwangseo Mook Family…!”

As if bored, I dug in my ear, cutting him off.

“Couldn’t care less. Just get on with it.”

Enraged by my provocation, he thrust his sword forward.

“You bastard!”

Shushak!

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

Because I had casually caught his sword with my index finger.

His sword, caught mid-air, trembled violently.

“Oh, my…”

The other team members watching gasped in shock.

“He… He caught the sword with his bare hands?!”

“I-I can’t believe it!”

He chuckled softly and released the sword.

“You’ve already died once. But I’ll give you one more chance. This time, you’d better come properly.”

The man swallowed hard and this time carefully studied my openings.

But since I hadn’t taken any defensive stance to begin with, it was pointless.

After a moment’s hesitation, he charged once more.

“Haah!”

This time, the bastard chose the chain thrust.

A chain feint—a quick thrust feigned, followed by two more feints to confuse, then a slash to the throat.

He smiled faintly and said.

“Not bad.”

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

Clang!

I had blocked the blade with my palm and even seized it.

Yet seeing not a single drop of blood emerge from my hand, he asked in a trembling voice.

“Wh-what?!”

“I’ve mastered external martial arts. You should know that, right?”

Then he kicked the bastard hard.

Thud!

“Guh!”

He then swept a cold glance over the other squad members and said.

“Weak, slow, and stupid to boot. It’s so boring I could yawn. Is this the best Team Three has to offer?”

At that, the eyes of Team Three members, who had been losing their fighting spirit in shock at the overwhelming skill gap, began to harden once more.

“Don’t insult us!”

He chuckled in response.

“Insult? In what way? I merely stated the plain truth. The one truly insulted here is me, for coming to this place to serve as a deputy leader for the likes of you. And the one managing the likes of you as team members is surely Lady Dangyeo-eun.”

“What?!”

“You bastard!”

Though done deliberately, mentioning her to these followers of Young Lady Dang proved undeniably effective.

Now, as they radiated sheer hostility, he gave them a savage grin and flicked his finger at them.

“Come on, all at once. You trash.”

After that, the front of the Samjo lodging was filled for a while with loud thuds and screams.

Thud! Bang! Thump! Thud! Crack!

“Gah!”

“Gulp!”

“Gah!”

“Gah!”

***

Moments later, all the male members of Team Three lay sprawled on the ground, moaning.

They’d been beaten until the poison was completely purged, so it was only natural they were limp and floppy.

Glancing to the side, I saw Miss Song Yeong-yeong and another woman staring at me with disgusted eyes.

Especially in the eyes of the other woman, not Miss Song, there was even a hint of fear.

It felt like I’d become a villain, but it wasn’t all that bad.

‘Looks like I’ve set the mood just right.’

If I just beat him up, I might feel temporarily refreshed, but there was no way I could properly fulfill my role as deputy leader.

So from the start, I planned to give them a taste of their own medicine before trying to connect.

After all, the carrot after the stick is always sweeter, isn’t it?

After glancing around at them for a moment, I slowly opened my mouth.

I respected Myeong Sahyeon, the former Third Squad Leader. Regardless of his martial prowess, I was genuinely impressed by the person he was. He was cheerful yet sincere, bold yet meticulous. Above all, that mental fortitude—to not break his will even after falling victim to the Blood Sect’s soul-stealing technique—I had never even heard of such a thing being possible before. That’s why I had high hopes. For the Third Squad he commanded, and for the squad members who served alongside him. But….”

Having said that much, I silently scanned them all.

Then they kept their heads down, staring only at the ground.

Though not directly visible, it was easy to tell that each of their faces was twisted with longing and shame for Myeongsa-hyeon.

It was a fact known to everyone in the Thirteenth Generation that Myeong Sahyeon held a special place in their hearts.

Therefore, while their hostility toward me was certainly partly due to Lady Tang, I suspected it stemmed more from the fact that someone other than Myeong Sahyeon had taken his place.

That was precisely why I deliberately brought up Myeong Sahyeon.

I came here because I respect and miss him, so I wanted to tell you that I’m no different from you.

And that wasn’t a complete lie.

Because I truly did respect him.

I continued speaking.

“Before you criticized me, an outsider brought in as deputy leader, you should have criticized yourselves first. Your own incompetence that forced you to bring in an outsider like me because you lacked the ability to become deputy leader yourselves! And before you raged at the insults I hurled, you should have raged at yourselves. At your own powerlessness, which couldn’t even muster the strength to repay those insults!”

They offered no rebuttal to the reproach I delivered with measured force.

It was only natural.

They too were warriors.

Even if they had picked a fight with me out of twisted hearts, they weren’t villains.

Finally, I spoke to them, enunciating each syllable clearly and deliberately.

“Strive before you rage. At least if you are warriors.”

Then, I saw the members lying on the ground begin to grit their teeth, one by one.

The fighting spirit was returning to their eyes.

And that resolve was not directed at me, but rather a burning desire for their own growth.

He had succeeded in using Myeong Sahyeon’s story to transform hostility into motivation.

A faint smile slipped out.

Even when I served as the head of the Seonwoo family in my past life, I sensed it—I seemed to have a hidden talent for leadership roles.

It seemed time to wrap things up.

And while I was at it, I might as well pour some oil on the fire.

Lowering my tone, I addressed them in a solemn voice.

“I make one promise here. If any one of you gains the skill to take on the role of deputy squad leader, I will return to Squad 7 without hesitation. But until then, I am your deputy squad leader. Never forget that again.”

Though they gave no reply, he could sense their acceptance.

He shouted with precision.

“Third Squad, assemble!”

At that command, the members of Team Three who had been sprawled on the ground sprang to their feet and began lining up in formation.

Some grimaced at the pain of being struck, but at least none acted sluggishly.

I was very satisfied.

Seeing them lined up before me in an instant, I said.

“My name is Seon Woo-jin. But I haven’t heard your names yet.”

Then, starting from the one on the far left, they shouted out boldly.

“I am Kang So-cheol, from the Black Five Clans of Gwiju!”

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

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

“I am Mok Gyeong-jin from the Moksang Farm in Guangxi!”

“From Jindo Gate in Sunch’ŏn…!”

After receiving introductions from all the team members, I dismissed them with a brief greeting.

I went back to the lodging, roughly unpacked my things, and came out again.

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

Stepping out alone and quietly into the thicket, the person there looked up at me in surprise.

“Seonwoo… Young Master Seonwoo?”

“It’s all over, so why haven’t you come out? What are you doing?”

She was none other than Lady Dang Ye-eun.

Young Master Dang had already returned and was watching from the forest while I was busy beating up the team members.

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

Then she smiled faintly and shook her head.

“I was just… thinking about this and that.”

Her expression, one only visible when we were alone, was truly adorable.

Sure, her cold, aloof beauty was impressive too, but personally, this side of her was much more pleasing to the eye.

“What are you thinking?”

She answered with a slightly bitter smile.

“Hmm, even though it’s your first time, Mr. Seonwoo, you’re doing a great job as team leader. I’m still struggling like this. Is that what you were thinking?”

I shook my head, smiling at her slightly self-deprecating tone.

“Not at all. When I saw Lady Tang shouting earlier, I was genuinely surprised too. I thought, ‘The leader really is different. Lady Tang is doing an excellent job.'”

At that, Lady Tang’s face flushed slightly.

I already knew that the encouragement telling her she was doing well enough was a great comfort to her.

Because there had been a few instances before.

So he was consciously trying to tell her that kind of thing more often.

But even so, her face didn’t seem to brighten up completely today.

A strange thought crossed my mind, and I asked her.

“What was the letter from the Tang family like? Was there anything important in it?”

She shook her head, her face darkening even more.

The letter itself contained nothing. Only… a message telling me to come to the main house as soon as possible.

“The family home, the Sicheondang clan?”

“Yes. It hadn’t happened once in the past four years…”

I thought I understood a little why her face had darkened.

She was afraid of the very situation of having to return to the clan.

I didn’t know the details, but it probably had something to do with what she had unconsciously said about her mother.

When she was subjected to Mayu Gyeom’s暗示法, she had cried unconsciously and kept saying she was sorry…

After watching her dark expression for a moment, he asked again.

“Why don’t you just not go? It’s not like frontline personnel can just leave whenever they want anyway.”

She shook her head and replied.

“I heard I can swap vacation slots with Oh Jo. Oh Jo has a lot of new recruits anyway, so he can’t take leave right away. And… members of the Ssangchundang Clan absolutely cannot disobey the Lord’s orders.”

“Hmm.”

It seemed Oh Jo from the Eagle Squad couldn’t take leave again.

Well, last time during the Iron Demon incident, many died and the vacancies were filled with new recruits, so taking leave in this situation probably wasn’t feasible.

But for it to lead to this…

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘Huh? But if that happens, does that mean I get to take leave again this time too?’

It seemed likely.

After all, I’m now assigned to the third squad.

‘What’s going on? Lately, it feels like I’m spending more time outside than actually working. So what should I do during this vacation?’

As I pondered this, I glanced at Miss Dang, who was deep in thought with a gloomy expression.

Then, her troubled expression over matters at her family home suddenly overlapped in my mind with how I, Young Master, had been not long ago.

I wanted to reach out and help her with all my strength, but I couldn’t. And now, I shouldn’t do that anymore.

That was probably why.

What I impulsively asked her.

“Should I go with you?”

Startled by my sudden words, she asked back.

“Huh?! Where…?”

I gave her a sly smile as she stared at me with wide eyes and replied.

“To your family home, the Sichuan Tang family. Wouldn’t it be helpful if I came along? Ah, of course, if it’s inconvenient for you…”

I was about to say that if it was inconvenient, I wouldn’t go, but her large eyes, fixed on me, were already brimming with tears.

Wiping away the tears streaming down her face, she said to me.

“Thank you. Really… thank you, Young Master Seonwoo.”

“Ah, you’re welcome.”

It seemed I was definitely going to the Sicheondang Gate this vacation after all.