I'm screwed.

I gave him so many looks telling him not to say it...

I couldn't tell if he was just dense, or if he was completely ignoring me...

'But when did I ever swear to die on the same day at the same time?'

It definitely didn't exist in my perfect memory.

Anyway, it wasn't as if I hadn't expected a situation like this to occur in the first place.

But as I headed for Sichuan, this man was the only place I could ask for help in case of an emergency.

In the worst-case scenario, we might have to fight the entire Blood Cult. I didn't want to do something crazy like waiting helplessly for the Murim Alliance to arrive like in my past life.

With all those ridiculous rumors about me being the Underworld's Divine Star or the joint successor of the Underworld anyway, would adding one more rumor about being sworn brothers with the Green Woods really do any more damage?

Anyway, how long had it been since I last saw him for Bang Duchil to become a complete monster?

No matter if he had the Heavenly Dipper Limitless Body, wasn't this practically cheating?

With the effects of the Nine Spirits Divine Grass and the Sacred Fire Demon-Extinguishing Hand, I had gathered a little less than two hundred and forty years' worth of internal energy myself.

Whatever Bang Duchil had shoved down his throat in the meantime, he was showing off an aura that didn't fall behind mine in the slightest.

"Little Brother! It seems you haven't been slacking on your training either, uhahahahaha!"

Every time he heavily patted my shoulder, it felt like my two feet were sinking into the ground.

Anyway, he only trained?

But he got this strong...?

"Did you really just train?"

Bang Duchil rolled his eyes around with a slightly guilty expression.

I knew it. He must have eaten something.

Like drinking a whole jug of Hollow Azure Stalactite Milk thinking it was alcohol, or wolfing down a Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Ginseng thinking it was bar snacks...

"To be honest, I couldn't fully devote myself to training because I was busy sorting out the Green Woods strongholds in Zhejiang. Seeing how much you've improved, Little Brother, makes me feel ashamed anew."

"..."

Wait, he didn't even do that?

Dammit, I give up.

Right then.

"You son of a bitch!"

A curse that represented my exact feelings burst out from among the Vice Stronghold Masters.

As the previously amicable atmosphere instantly sank into a cold chill, Bang Duchil glared at the Vice Stronghold Masters as if dissatisfied.

"Which bastard is it? Which bastard interrupted us?"

Factually speaking, it was Bang Duchil who had interrupted the confrontation between the Green Woods strongholds and us, but Bang Duchil, who lived alone in the world with an arrogant 'heaven and earth, I alone am supreme' mindset, didn't seem to think so.

"We are the Vice Stronghold Masters of the Hwaeom Stronghold, Jeokhwa Stronghold, and Heukbong Stronghold!"

"And so what?"

"Grr!"

Was this what they meant by not being able to communicate?

Honestly, if Bang Duchil had shown me that kind of attitude and spoken those words to me, my insides would have felt like they were turning upside down.

Since it was an attitude of having absolutely no clue what he did wrong.

From the Vice Stronghold Masters' perspective, if Bang Duchil was an easy target, they would have told him to use his brain more and split his head open with an axe in a single strike, but there was no way they couldn't feel the overwhelming aura I felt radiating from him.

"Darling. It seems they don't like that we interfered."

At Baek Soryeong's elegant voice, Bang Duchil raised one eyebrow.

"Then they should just say so. As expected of ignorant bandit bastards."

The Vice Stronghold Masters' faces flushed bright red.

They all wore expressions that looked like they were about to burst from sheer frustration.

"If you don't want to die, get lost right now!"

Despite the Vice Stronghold Master's fiercely sharp shout, Bang Duchil calmly asked me.

"What was the reason you called me all the way here, Little Brother?"

It was a lot different from my original purpose, but still, him coming here was the equivalent of a golden rope descending from heaven for me.

For a guy with nowhere else in the world to lean on, wasn't it great to at least have an older brother like him?

I nodded heavily and said.

"Please engage in a Mountain King Duel with them."

"Hmm?"

One of Bang Duchil's eyebrows shot up.

He must not have expected the words 'Mountain King Duel' to pop out of my mouth.

"What you did in Zhejiang Province was also done through a Mountain King Duel, right? Please put this Sichuan under your feet as well."

In my past life, the Sichuan Blood Tragedy involved the Blood Cult, the Murim Alliance, the overlords of Sichuan—the Qingcheng Sect, the Emei Sect, and the Tang Clan—along with dozens of mid-to-small sects that followed them.

With the Green Woods strongholds throwing themselves into the mix on top of that, it had turned into a complete pandemonium.

There was a reason such a massive event occurred to earn the name 'Blood Tragedy'.

If the Green Woods strongholds at least stayed put, the overlords of Sichuan wouldn't disregard the Murim Alliance and make a move.

"Huhu, as expected, you knew about it, Little Brother. But having just obtained Zhejiang, is there a reason I must specifically start with Sichuan next?"

Even the great Bang Duchil would know that subjugating the Seventy-Two Strongholds of the Green Woods was something to be done step by step, like playing a territory game.

"I'll be honest with you. Just like you said, Brother, it is a bit nonsensical."

But I knew Bang Duchil better than Bang Duchil knew himself.

The 'treasure-like' words that could make him move as I pleased, almost as if he were under a sorcery spell.

"But would the 'King' of the Green Woods even care about such things?"

"Huh?"

Just as I expected, he fell for it.

I gently provoked his competitive spirit.

"The 'world' belongs to the 'King' of the Green Woods anyway, so what does it matter which place you put under your feet first?"

After a brief moment of silence.

Bang Duchil, raising both eyebrows, let out a small gasp and began to tremble all over.

Even in my past life, Bang Duchil couldn't handle the emotional turbulence brought on by a single grandiose word.

That was definitely the case, but...

"Eumhwahwahwahwahwa!!!"

His thunderous laughter practically rang my eardrums.

'Isn't his reaction a bit too intense?'

It didn't even seem like he imbued it with internal energy, yet it felt like my insides were going to shake apart.

On top of that, he was in such a good mood that there was zero mercy in the hand striking my shoulder.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

After barely enduring the bone-crushing pain, I looked down to see that my two feet had actually dug into the ground quite a bit.

Did this guy not have any concept of moderation?

"Exactly! The current 'King' shouldn't move around calculating this and that like some petty coward!!"

... His reaction was much more extreme than in my past life.

Was his personality slightly milder back then because his dantian had been destroyed?

Bang Duchil withdrew the hand that had been hammering my shoulder and sharply lifted his head.

"Listen up!"

He spoke as he looked at the Vice Stronghold Masters one by one.

"I, Bang Duchil, Stronghold Master of the Green Dragon Stronghold and the conqueror of Zhejiang Province, say this to the Green Woods bandits..."

The moment the names 'Zhejiang Province' and 'Bang Duchil' were mentioned, the Vice Stronghold Masters audibly gulped.

"I challenge the Green Woods strongholds of Sichuan to a Mountain King Duel!"

"The Green Dragon Stronghold is..."

"The Second Coming of Xiang Yu?"

"Why is he here...?"

Even if they had holed themselves up deep in the mountains and severed ties with the mundane world, they still kept tabs on their own faction's rumors, and the Vice Stronghold Masters quickly recognized Bang Duchil.

Those who were ready to furiously lunge at us just moments ago were now rolling their eyes around and nervously smacking their lips.

After a bit of whispering among themselves, having seemingly reached a consensus, the Vice Stronghold Master of the Hwaeom Stronghold opened his mouth.

"Stronghold Master of the Green Dragon Stronghold, Bang Duchil. I know we must accept the Mountain King Duel, but now is not the time."

"Are you planning to break the First Rule of the Green Woods Alliance?"

"That's not it! We are here right now to execute the enemy who threatened the very survival of our strongholds. Since you are also a Stronghold Master, you should know this is no time for a Mountain King Duel, right?"

Bang Duchil's eyebrows twitched minutely.

"Threatened your survival, you say?"

"T-That's right! That person you call your little brother inflicted irreparable damage on our three strongholds. In order to accept the Mountain King Duel, resolving that matter comes first."

I had expected they would pull something like this to some extent.

Naturally, they couldn't just proceed with a Mountain King Duel when using an excuse like that.

What I was hoping for was for Bang Duchil to step up recklessly, just like he usually did.

Normally, he would stubbornly insist that none of that mattered, claiming that everything would be moot once he won the Mountain King Duel.

However, contrary to my expectations.

"Is that so? If that's the case, then it won't be a problem."

Bang Duchil said, pointing a finger at me.

What's this? While I failed to even attempt to cover Bang Duchil's mouth amidst an inexplicable sense of unease.

"Because my little brother can just participate in the Mountain King Duel too."

Huh? Excuse me?

The Mountain King Duel is supposed to be fought between bandit bastards, though?

It seemed I wasn't the only one dumbfounded; the Vice Stronghold Masters were too.

"Stronghold Master Bang Duchil! Are you intending to break the rules of the Green Woods Alliance?! If so, you have no right to belong to the Seventy-Two Strongholds of the Green Woods!"

Yeah, yeah.

It would honestly just be better to stubbornly force a fight instead. Indeed, that was right.

I could contact Moyong Jaehwa to fire off a few Thunderbolt Arrows, and if Bang Duchil and I caused a bit of chaos, wouldn't they eventually accept Bang Duchil's Mountain King Duel, even if they had to bite the bullet?

Me participating in the Mountain King Duel was just utterly nonsensical.

However, Bang Duchil's solemn voice continued.

"I am not being stubborn."

"T-Then! Are you saying that guy is the master of one of the Seventy-Two Strongholds of the Green Woods?"

"I am!"

Huh? What did he say?

Did I hear him wrong?

I wasn't at the age to be having hearing problems yet...

"My little brother is Jin Sowoon, the Stronghold Master of the Black Dragon Stronghold!"

Huh?

Fuck, what is he talking about? This crazy bastard...!

* * *

"So, to sum it up..."

Desperately holding onto my fading consciousness, I continued speaking.

"You created things called the Green Dragon Stronghold and the Black Dragon Stronghold where the Ssangmak Stronghold used to be..."

Even though I was stating a fact I had heard with my own two ears, I prayed and prayed that it wasn't true.

"... And the Stronghold Master there is me?"

"That's right!!!"

Has this guy lost his mind?

That attitude of talking like it was completely natural was even more absurd.

"Um... I'm just asking just in case, but does this Black Dragon Stronghold actually exist?"

"It does! My subordinates and the new recruits combined make up a stronghold of two hundred men."

"... Then who is leading that Black Dragon Stronghold right now?"

"One of my subordinates holds the Vice Stronghold Master position."

That just means you're ruling over two strongholds yourself!

"The Stronghold Master of the Black Dragon Stronghold... shrouded in fog... was you?"

Listening from the side, Gu Jeongryong looked at me with an astounded expression.

Fuck, it's not like that at all.

"I knew you were extraordinary."

Vice Hall Leader Gam Cheon-ak was looking at me with somehow sparkling eyes.

"It's nothing like that."

I forcefully avoided their gazes and glared at Bang Duchil.

Tell them it's not true right now!

However, Bang Duchil merely nodded his head.

Eventually, Baek Soryeong stepped forward and spoke.

At least it was a relief that there was one sane person...

"I'm sorry, Young Master Jin. My darling is just so stubborn. I honestly just let it slide half as a joke."

A joke? A joooke?

Where in the world is there a joke this ridiculous?

"But how fortunate is this? Thanks to that, you can participate in the Mountain King Duel now. Huhut."

"..."

I take back calling her sane.

Like husband, like wife, as they say.

Actually, looking at the madness hidden behind that beautiful smile, she was even weirder than Bang Duchil.

"Sister-in-law..."

I completely couldn't tell whether I should laugh or cry.

The Vice Stronghold Masters led us to their stronghold, claiming it was not something they could decide on their own.

We tried to leave the injured behind with their guardians, but there was no way the Green Woods bandits would allow that, so we were ultimately forced to head to the Hwaeom Stronghold alongside nearly a thousand bandits.

"WAAAAAHHH!"

A roar that seemed to shake the very heavens and earth.

'Crazy...'

The nightmare of visiting the Ssangmak Stronghold resurfaced in my mind.

Back then, only Golden-Faced Buddha Blade and One-Eyed Blood Axe had been sitting there like kings, but right now, a total of three Stronghold Masters and a massive crowd that completely filled a mountain peak were gathered in one place.

The academy students and elders who had unexpectedly been dragged to the Hwaeom Stronghold wore equally dumbfounded expressions.

"You came here to wage a Mountain King Duel?"

At the words of the Hwaeom Stronghold's Stronghold Master, Cho Sang-bin, the cheers echoing across the entire peak abruptly cut off.

Bang Duchil stepped forward without the slightest hesitation.

"I, Stronghold Master of the Green Dragon Stronghold, Bang Duchil, and Stronghold Master of the Black Dragon Stronghold, Jin Sowoon, hereby propose a Mountain King Duel."

"... I know for a fact that Jin Sowoon is an academy student."

Bang Duchil nodded his head.

"He is merely attending temporarily; he is originally the Stronghold Master of the Black Dragon Stronghold!!"

This guy seriously...!

It's not! It's not true!

Not to mention the Green Woods strongholds' personnel, even the academy students couldn't stop murmuring.

"The Black Dragon Stronghold? Wasn't he just the Underworld's Divine Star?"

"They called him the joint successor of the Underworld, so couldn't he be affiliated with the Green Woods too?"

"... Just what exactly is his identity?"

I knew this would happen. He was setting fire to my career path that was already a thorny road.

Ah... I shouldn't have called him. Seriously.

Whether my expression was rotting away or not, the Stronghold Masters continued their conversation.

"Even so, inflicting damage on the Green Woods strongholds before even proposing a Mountain King Duel is unforgivable."

Bang Duchil snorted at Cho Sang-bin's words.

"And so?"

"... What?"

Bang Duchil dug into his ear with his pinky finger and asked again.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

At that attitude, Cho Sang-bin furiously ground his teeth.

"... We could slaughter all of you right here and now."

At his words, the elders as well as the academy students grew extremely tense.

Truthfully, with this kind of numerical disparity, differences in martial prowess became somewhat meaningless.

However, Bang Duchil didn't seem to care that the combined number of subordinates he brought and our own group was less than three hundred, letting his mouth run wild without hesitation.

"Try it if you can!"

"..."

Bang Duchil took a couple of steps forward.

That was it, yet Bang Duchil's subordinates quickly drew up their internal energy and crouched down low.

'What is it?'

Just as I was about to continue my train of thought, a massive wave of qi erupted from Bang Duchil's body.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ground around Bang Duchil caved in slightly as piles of dirt were pushed back and gravel scattered in all directions.

'He just flared his internal energy?'

It was normally hard enough for a warrior to just inflate their martial robes to the point of bursting, yet Bang Duchil was effortlessly displaying this absurd divine might.

As Bang Duchil simultaneously stamped his foot, it felt as though the very earth trembled.

"If you do not accept the Mountain King Duel, I will beat every single one of you to death!"

... He was ranting like a madman, but I couldn't just brush it off as the ramblings of a lunatic.

"... Gulp."

Because it felt like it would actually end up that way.

It was enough to make even my flesh tremble.

"I-In a Mountain King Duel, killing is strictly forbidden."

Cho Sang-bin cast his eyes down, seemingly a bit intimidated.

Hey now, what are you going to do if you chicken out this early?

Bang Duchil confidently pointed a finger at him and shouted once more.

"Therefore, accept the Mountain King Duel, and I will at least spare your lives!"

"..."

He's not even a robber..., telling them to accept it if they want to live...

Wait, he's a bandit, so I guess he is a robber?

It's truly a stroke of extreme luck that this guy didn't enter the Murim Academy.

If he had somehow joined the Murim Alliance, he probably would have quickly caused a massive incident, been branded an enemy of Jianghu, and spent his life on the run.

He definitely picked the absolute perfect career path for himself.

Under Bang Duchil's momentum, Cho Sang-bin eventually squeezed his eyes shut.

"F-Fine. We'll accept. However, if you lose the Mountain King Duel, we will hold Jin Sowoon responsible for the damage inflicted on the Green Woods strongholds and take his head!"

If they're going to take my head when we lose, wouldn't there be no point in having the Mountain King Duel?

I was about to raise an objection to this.

"Excuse me..."

But Bang Duchil was a step faster.

"Of course we should do that!"

... Mister, didn't you say you'd die on the same day at the same time as me?

Can you really agree to that so easily?

"Who will step forward first?"

At Cho Sang-bin's question, Bang Duchil replied.

"Two of you step out at once. I will take you both on at the same time."

"What?"

Staring at the Stronghold Masters whose eyebrows twitched in bewilderment, Bang Duchil casually threw out his words as if it were nothing.

"This great one needs to go sightseeing while I'm here in Sichuan. What I'm saying is that I have no spare time to waste on a Mountain King Duel."

"..."

By this point, the Stronghold Masters began to emit killing intent, seemingly entirely unable to tolerate it any longer.

Because in their eyes, the behavior of Bang Duchil, who was barely past the age of twenty, was nothing short of unparalleled arrogance.

"Do not regret those words."

"The King of the Green Woods does not take back words he has already spoken."

Wow, look at him.

He's already become the King of the Green Woods.

The Stronghold Masters of the Heukbong Stronghold and the Jeokhwa Stronghold stepped forward first.

Holding a great saber and a great axe respectively, they looked like your quintessential bandits.

An enormous fighting spirit radiated from the two as they pushed their internal energy to the absolute limits.

"UWWAAAAH!"

"UWAAAAAAGH!"

The Stronghold Masters charged forward, spitting fierce battle cries as if intent on beating Bang Duchil to death with a single strike.

However.

BAM!

The Heukbong Stronghold Master scattered white teeth from his mouth before collapsing to the ground.

The moment the Jeokhwa Stronghold Master's expression drastically stiffened and he faltered, Bang Duchil yanked him forward with the Gale Art— SWOOSH.

CRASH!

He then smashed the great axe to pieces with his bare fist and sent the Jeokhwa Stronghold Master flying three zhang away.

──────.

The entire stronghold fell into a deathly silence, as if a torrential downpour had suddenly halted.

Everyone popped their eyes wide open, looking as if they were about to fall over backward in shock at this nonsensical divine might.

Only Bang Duchil was moving about nonchalantly.

"Next!"

When he looked over and said that, Cho Sang-bin's complexion darkened.

"Y-You're not planning to take on all three of us, right?"

"That's a given. The one fighting you will be my little brother."

Cho Sang-bin let out a small sigh as if relieved.

What is this? Why am I considered a pushover?

This is souring my mood for no reason.

Cho Sang-bin swept a glance over the Stronghold Masters rolling on the ground before glaring at me.

"I will beat you to death and avenge our comrades of the Green Woods and our Stronghold Masters."

"But the guy who beat down the Stronghold Masters is that guy over there?"

Even though I pointed this out logically, Cho Sang-bin reacted quite illogically.

"No more words!"

Cho Sang-bin swung his greatsword like a tempest, even shrouding it in Sword Qi.

I shouted loudly without hiding my sense of injustice.

"Why is everyone only giving me shit?!"

At the same time, I pulled out the First Form of the White Moon Heaven-Subduing Three Forms and sliced through the bastard's greatsword and his waistline.

CLANG───

With a bizarre sound, the greatsword split in half and rolled across the ground, and his pants completely fell down.

Cho Sang-bin alternated between looking at his greatsword and me with a dumbfounded expression.

"Will you keep going?"

Bang Duchil asked Cho Sang-bin, who was blankly standing there with his pants down.

Shake, shake.

Having lost his mind in shock, Cho Sang-bin hurriedly shook his head.

Bang Duchil smiled in satisfaction and declared to the surroundings.

"From this moment on, the Jeokhwa Stronghold and the Heukbong Stronghold shall follow the orders of the Stronghold Master of the Green Dragon Stronghold, Bang Duchil. At the same time..."

His gaze turned toward me.

"The Hwaeom Stronghold shall follow the orders of the Stronghold Master of the Black Dragon Stronghold, Jin Sowoon!"

His thunderous voice echoed throughout the entire stronghold, and everyone's gaze centered on me.

Hah, fine, just go ahead and spread the rumor that I'm the Black Dragon Stronghold Master to the whole neighborhood.

If we're lucky, it might even reach all of Sichuan.